Galactic Bandits Compilation

by Duke Campbell

  “Excellent,” Regan said. “I’m leaving the ship with Straya, Arkei, and Calico. Reverie will be running communications from the bridge.”

  Straya and Arkei brought up a holographic map of the station for Reverie to easily follow.

  “I’m bringing a tracker,” Straya said to Reverie. “So you can easily see where we are.”

  “Good luck,” Reverie said and hugged them one by one, giving each of them a small boost of confidence they all needed.

  Regan and his crew of badass space babes headed for the platform.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Regan, Calico, Arkei, and Straya walked down the ramp of their ship to the platform below, inside the massive pirate hold known as the Boneyard. It was a dingy place with lighting that seemed old and rustic, like neon bulbs on their last leg that were covered in years of dust and grease.

  Ships were docked all over, ranging in all shapes and sizes. Some looked like they were barely operational, but others were streamlined advanced techy ships that looked sweeter than Regan’s.

  And here I thought my space yacht would be the belle of the docks.

  Most of the ships were guarded as well, typically by a large creature with a massive gun. It was a display that demonstrated power.

  Regan noticed that nearly everyone they passed carried a weapon of some type. If it wasn’t in their hands, it was hanging from their belt or over their shoulder. The weapons were incredibly diverse as well, ranging from axes, blasters, cannons, and crossbows. Yet the style of each of them was distinctly different.

  Regan noticed Arkei looking at the surrounding weapons with wide-eyed amazement. He swore she even licked her lips at one point, but he needed to keep his eyes on where they were walking, rather than on Arkei.

  The surrounding creatures were as diverse as the weapons. Tall, short, large, small, slimy, spiky. The range of creatures in this station rivaled even Mephistopheles’s collection. It was impressive.

  None of them seemed to be standing still or just hanging around. They all looked extremely busy. They were either heading to some unknown destination, or if they weren’t, then they were knee deep in conversation or deal making.

  The main walkway of this station had a wide metal floor, which echoed all the surrounding noise. Regan heard mumblings from traders, noisy exhaust vents, ships starting up or shutting down, fights breaking out, and uncensored laughter, in addition to other sounds. It all seemed endless, like they could walk through this place forever and not see all it had to offer.

  The walkway was lined with huts and shops of all sorts. Some gave the impression that they were stocked with reliable products, while others looked like run-down huts full of counterfeit goods.

  Regan wouldn’t have known where to start if he was here on his own. However, they were following Straya, and she seemed to know where they were headed.

  “I know a guy,” was what she said at first. When Regan asked for a bit more clarification, she said, “Well, I’m not exactly sure if it’s a guy, but let’s just call him a guy for simplicity’s sake. Anyway, he’s more likely to hand over good old-fashioned doubloons for these Universal Translator chips. Most traders would rather exchange valuables for them. It’ll pay for our fee to leave. I also get the feeling he’ll have a low down on where we can trade for antimatter modules. It’ll be a good place to start.”

  They took several pathways leading to an area that seemed to get increasingly grungier the deeper they went. Exposed pipes blew exhaust into the area, while wires sticking out of the metal grating on the floor sent occasional sparks into the air. There were definitely no construction regulations here.

  To make matters sketchier, people stood tucked into shadows on either side of the wide pathway, or in alcoves higher up in the walls. They huddled close to each other. Regan wasn’t sure if these were secret trades, drug users, or something else. But whatever was going on in the surrounding shadows, it was meant to stay there.

  Broken bottles were scattered about the place, along with many other items that Regan didn’t quite recognize. If he had to guess, it was all drug paraphernalia. The disgusting scent in the air certainly convinced him this place was reserved for druggies and drunks.

  Regan wasn’t comfortable, but he knew he had to trust Straya. If anything, she was right that this place was far from Intergalactic Council influence. That much was obvious. That thought alone gave him a bit more confidence. The feeling of sanctuary from a corrupt governing power was something he shared with everyone in this place. In a way, it’s why he belonged here.

  Straya directed them toward an unmarked store, the kind of place one needed prior knowledge to find. Inside, it was relatively large, with a handful of people perusing the items for sale. Several shelves of products lined a wall, with a folding table at one end piled high with items yet to be sorted. A large cracked window lit the place, covered in a layer of transparent paper so light could come in while blocking the view from outside.

  Or inside.

  “Well, if it isn’t Straya!” the man seated at the folding table said. He stood up and revealed himself to be twice as tall as all of them. He was a giant with four arms, reminding Regan of a certain Mortal Kombat villain.

  Regan now understood why Straya was confused about whether it was a man. The creature’s voice was very soft, despite the size, and it had long hair braided in the back, with soft eyes and a strong jawline.

  “Hey D,” Straya said, reaching out to give him a hug.

  Regan was relieved to see that the two were on good terms, considering the debts Straya tended to owe people across the galaxy.

  D picked up Straya in a bear hug and gave her a large kiss on the cheek. The way he lifted the former pirate was effortless, as the muscles in his arms were bulging.

  “I thought you were dead,” D said. “I heard your entire ship was destroyed and raided.”

  “My ship was destroyed, and everyone else died,” Straya said. She looked at Regan with a subtle smirk. “But I was given another chance, you could say.”

  Straya introduced Regan, Calico, and Arkei to D, who asked them to sit. They all did.

  “So what can I do for you?” D asked, pouring a large glass of booze from a bottle on the table. D offered it up to everyone else, who politely turned it down. He took the giant glass in one gulp and then motioned for one of his employees to bring another bottle.

  “We have a crate of Universal Translator chips,” Straya said. “They’ve never been registered, and we’re looking for cash as opposed to a trade.”

  D’s eyes lit up as he rubbed all four hands together.

  “Didn’t feel like heading to the Pits, huh?” D said and laughed. “This is wonderful news! I’ve actually started developing a fancy little side business of trading in illegal species, so I can use the chips on them and lump it into the cost.”

  Regan couldn’t help but think of D’s comment about trading in illegal species. His thinking quickly turned to the Bearded Butcher…

  One thing at a time. Let Straya do her thing. Don’t interrupt.

  Straya and D started discussing prices, going back and forth for a bit. Regan realized that even though these two knew each other from a previous life, D was still a tough negotiator. He wasn’t doing Straya any favors, just trading in the way that was commonly done.

  The smiles on each of their faces throughout the discussion of money led Regan to believe that they were both getting a deal that satisfied all involved parties.

  But then something happened. The large window shattered, and a dart came flying through, piercing Calico right in the back of the neck.

  Are you fucking kidding me?

  Straya swiftly did a backflip from her chair, after a dart narrowly missed her, landing on the table.

  D saw the dart and immediately went into Hulk-mode, slamming two of four fists on the table before roaring. He used his other fist to block a dart before it could pierce his bulky neck. The dart was stuck in his palm for a moment until
he pulled it out. He then stood and picked up the bottle of booze, throwing it hard at the window which hit a ninja who was just entering.

  But it wasn’t enough, as the windows behind them shattered and more ninjas entered. There were three of them altogether.

  Arkei dove from her chair as she turned to fire a blast at one of the ninjas, who dodged it. She fired three more times from the ground and missed each time, demonstrating the ninja’s remarkable skills.

  D continued to shout and throw more bottles at the ninjas. None of them landed.

  Straya pulled out her blaster and was firing at the ninjas, but like Arkei, she was missing, making a mess of the room.

  Regan noticed the three ninjas were only interested in one thing though: Calico. They had taken her out first and were trying to make their way to her.

  Why only Calico?

  One ninja was able to knock Arkei’s weapon from her hand followed by a swift kick that knocked the air out of her, sending her back into the wall behind her. The ninja finished her off with a final jump kick, knocking Arkei down hard. Then the ninja spun around toward Straya, but D charged at the assassin with his massive double right fists and knocked the ninja hard into the ground.

  The ninja was able to respond however, and tried to trip D, barely slowing D down, as his legs were massive. Then the assassin stuck two darts quickly into D’s thigh. D dropped that knee, but the darts still didn’t knock him out, just slowed him down a little more. His muscle mass was clearly too much for the darts to take full effect.

  One ninja now had Calico hanging over his shoulder as he hustled toward the window. Regan didn’t hesitate. He grabbed a bottle of booze and threw it toward the left of the ninja. Straya caught on to what he was doing and fired right at the bottle of booze with a blaster. The beam hit the bottle right near the ninja’s head and caused a minor explosion of force that sent the ninja sideways to the ground.

  Calico fell to the ground as Regan dashed for her. He was close to her when another ninja swung in and kicked him hard in his side. The ninja, above Regan and ready to strike down, was then knocked over by D, who was now seriously pissed off.

  Straya jumped on top of Calico and pointed her blaster in each direction.

  The ninja who had been knocked out by the bottle was still on the ground. Another ninja was getting up from D’s hard-hitting punch. And the third ninja was assessing the situation.

  As if on command, the two upright ninjas grabbed the third and disappeared out the window. Regan dashed to the window to see if he could follow where they were going, but there was no sign of them at all.

  By the time Regan turned back around, Straya was pulling the dart out of Calico’s neck, while Arkei was having a bit of a hard time getting to her feet. They had gotten their asses kicked again by these ninjas. Sure, they weren’t taken, but still, these ninjas were getting too close.

  But why only Calico?

  Regan leaned over the dazed feline and looked into her eyes.

  “Fuck,” Calico said. “Those mother fuckers.”

  “Why are they after you?” Regan asked.

  Calico opened her eyes wide like she got caught in the act. Arkei and Straya noticed the look as well and gave each other a glance. They were catching on to the fact that the ninjas weren’t interested in all of them, and they wanted to know why.

  Calico rubbed her eyes and hoisted herself up to a seated position, shaking her head.

  “I don’t know,” she said with some sluggishness. “I’m a princess after all, and now that I’m out of the protection of my family and of Mephistopheles, I’m a bit of a kidnapping target. It’s what princesses do, isn’t it? We get kidnapped.”

  Regan wasn’t satisfied with the response, but he couldn’t deny its merit either. He looked at Calico a bit longer. As badly as he wanted to continue questioning her, now wasn’t the time. They had to move.

  He stood and faced D, who was looking at all of them with disgust. The room was totally destroyed, with shattered windows, broken furniture and bottles, and blaster holes in everything.

  D crossed all four arms.

  “D, I don’t—” Straya started to say, but D wasn’t having it.

  “Not interested!” D shouted. “Whatever you brought here, I don’t want any part of it. Get out!”

  Straya nodded and turned to face the door. They all left without another word. Calico was limping as they did so, a bit off her balance because of the dart. Arkei gave her a bruised shoulder to lean on.

  Outside, many eyes watched and glared at them. None came close, but they clearly all heard the commotion that just occurred.

  “Shit,” Regan said. “What’s plan B?”

  “Plan B is to go to the shitty part of town to try to unload these chips,” Straya said. “The Pits, as they are called.”

  “You mean, this isn’t the shitty part of town?” Arkei asked.

  “Not by a long shot,” Straya answered, and started walking.

  Chapter Fifty

  Regan, Calico, and Arkei followed Straya deeper into the Boneyard. After some time, Reverie chimed in via the communications link.

  “I see you on the hologram, but you’re moving awfully far from the ship,” she said. “I just want to make sure everything is going smoothly.”

  “No problems here,” Regan said, though he knew that was hardly the truth, considering the ninjas had attacked again and their original plan had failed. Reverie could certainly tell this was the case.

  “I’m sensing some tension in your voice, Captain,” Reverie said. “But whatever you say. Just let us know if you have any problems.”

  “Will do,” Regan said. He thought about alerting the ship that the ninjas had tracked them back here, but didn’t want to cause unnecessary stress on their end. Besides, he was certain that the ship was safe, and that the ninjas really were just after Calico. Even so, making sure they stayed alert was a wise play. “Just make sure all entrances are sealed and the immediate radar systems are scanning everything until we get back.”

  “On it,” Bob replied.

  “Thank you.” Regan muted his communications link for the time being.

  “I thought for a moment you were going to tell them about the ninjas,” Calico said.

  “Still pondering that one,” Regan replied. It was a remark that caused Calico to give him a look, as if he were up to something. She turned back quickly, but it was enough. Calico knew more than she was letting on, and Regan needed to figure out what that was. Now wasn’t the time though, in the seedy depths of this pirate hold.

  Straya led them through new areas, and after a while, they even came to a part of the station that was beautiful. It was less populated than the other parts of the ship, and the machinery was better hidden. A large section even had grass instead of metal for the ground. Tall trees grew from it. The ceiling had an expansive screen which made it look like a window into a sunny sky. Regan remembered the exterior of this station, and that was definitely not what space looked like here.

  Straya led them to a series of trees on the far edge of the park. She reached down at one of the tree bases and pulled back the fake turf.

  A strong odor erupted from it as she did so, causing them all to turn their heads away quickly. It smelled like a rank sewer, and perhaps that wasn’t far from the truth.

  Regan peered over and saw a burrowing tunnel. It stretched incredibly far beneath this level.

  “This leads to the Pits,” Straya said. “If something’s so illegal it can’t be found on the main level of the Boneyard, you can be damned sure it can be found down there.”

  “It smells delightful,” Calico commented.

  Straya put a hand to her hip. “Yeah? Perhaps you’d like to try again with D, princess?”

  Calico looked at her in a way she hadn’t in a long time. Regan and Arkei noticed it immediately. They both stepped forward.

  “Let’s keep it cool,” Regan said.

  Straya smirked and raised her arms, as if giving
up. “Sorry, just not looking forward to going down there. This gal who we have to deal with now, well, she’s a big-time asshole. I thought my days of dealing with her were over for me, yet here I am.”

  “It seems we’re never really done with our pasts,” Arkei said.

  “Or they’re never done with us,” Calico said softly.

  Straya started down the stinky slope to the Pits. The others followed.

  The Pits were like nothing Regan had ever seen. Even in horror-driven sci-fi movies or the criminal underworlds of War Games 2, nothing compared to what he saw there.

  They walked through mechanical tunnels full of dust and dirt. Scattered bulbs gave scant light, while candles lit the rest of the way. The mix of wax, dirt, and electrical appliances made Regan feel incredibly uneasy.

  A couple passed them in the hallway who were clearly high on something. They laughed and spoke in words Regan didn’t understand. It had nothing to do with the Universal Translator, it was clearly just intoxicated gibberish.

  They had their arms around each other and swayed heavily in their strides. Regan saw all three of his girls tighten their grips on the weapon closest to their hands. For Straya and Arkei, it was the blaster hanging around their shoulders, and for Calico it was the knife hanging from her hip.

  The passers did nothing though, and continued on their way, but Regan worried that if this was the general status of people in this area, things could complicate quickly. Dealing with pirates and criminals was one thing, but dealing with pirates and criminals who were also on heavy drugs was something else.

  They reached the end of the tunnel and arrived at a large door. Straya turned to them all before opening it and gave them a nod.

  “Stay close,” she said. “Here we go.”

  She turned the large handle. The pressure released from the door, then it opened on its own.

  The world inside was a new landscape entirely. The ground and walls were a combination of dirt and various machinery. There were balconies, hills, rooms, doors, and shadowed alcoves. There were numerous tiny dwellings, stuffed together and stacked up on top of each other. They formed a misshapen structure that reached in all directions and wound around itself, so Regan couldn’t tell how large it really was.