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Liar, thief, space cowboy - Chapter 1

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Liar, thief, space cowboy
Chapter 1

  “Now boarding for Pelin Station now boarding.” The attendant declared. The man started to feel the powerful vehicle rumble slightly. Powerful mechanisms powered on once more churning at the mid hour on the planet Panot. Not a moment too soon as far as the man was concerned.

  Dex Atribar ran his hand through his dusty brown hair nervously. He didn’t like leaving Melanie behind but he had to. She was dead weight, untrained, and hardly tested.

  ‘A risk plain and simple.’ he thought as he looked out through the window of the hydro train. The station fell behind them as the vehicle pulled away and soon long dry brow
Sitting across from him in the double seat was a man in a nice suit. He looked like the teaching type, a crisp cut beard with grey patches forming in the brown whiskers. A hat rested on his lap along with an old black wood cane that rested across both knees. Ocular implants were plain enough to notice from the small gears and tubes coming out from under his eyes and disappeared under his cheeks. Green eyes noticed Dex’s stare.

  “A fine day on Panot don’t you think?” Dex gave a small smile sensing a slight awkwardness in the man’s eloquent tone. Dressed in a ratty looking black duster and a green and black button shirt that was missing the top two buttons Dex wasn’t exactly looking his best. It wasn’t hard to figure out he was not the man’s usual choice for conversation. Truthfully Dex had only just noticed

  “Wouldn’t know… It’s my first time here.” Dex replied curtly and looked out watching more of the arid landscape flash past them.

  “Ah well I do believe we’re fairly within the averages. No acid rain around Turic and no blizzards up north in Aulin.” The Professor said and ran a worn hand through his thinning hair.

  “I’ve been here five years now. After the University of Cordis was destroyed by the Batarins I came here to teach young minds in sociology and history.” This intrigued Dex, he had not heard of the university before this but he knew the Batarins by reputation.

  “That’s a shame I hadn’t heard that they had come this close.” Dex offered and then spied a attendant droid moving down the train taking drink orders. Red and dark chrome just like the exterior of the powerful vehicle it was marked with the three dash logo of the Randelo Corporation.

  “It was during their last campaign good sir. A brutal affair I’m afraid, I remember one month I had a hundred students in one class drop out to enlist and fight for the great Federation.” The Professor said with a roll of his eyes.  

  “The Batarin warlord, Zelsis if I recall. He was a nasty braggart, got three entire tribes behind his march on Varkeron. In the end the 3rd fleet had to come in and help the rangers and planetary guard out. I myself got to witness the battle of Bentau. That battle was the closest thing the Alliance saw to a true victory in the war and it still cost us nearly a million men and women.” The Professor said sharply with a huff of annoyance.

  “I tell you sir when we were still under Emperor Caldris we never had such problems. Now I for one…”

  “Drinks sir?” The droid said and Dex was glad for the interruption. If the man dared wish to be under Caldris’ reign again Dex felt he’d have a moral obligation to hurl him out the nearest window or worse. Caldris could suck vacuum, him and all the remaining loyalists who had stuck by him as he jumped his seed ships into the Peralian Rift. An expanse of dark uncharted territory Dex wished nothing but unspeakable terror and mystery to the surviving imperials.  

  Dex nodded to the droid and ordered a glass of Tedesian Whiskey. “And keep em coming.” He added which awarded him a curious glance from the professor who ordered a glass of water.

  “Must have been a rough morning if you don’t mind me saying.” The professor commented.

  “No worse than any time I woke up with Emperor Caldris in charge friend. Maybe you like having the Kemyar guard doing sweeps every night, waiting for your neighbor to decide it’s worth the bread to betray you to them claiming you’re a traitor to the Empire.” Dex said as the droid returned with his drink. He raised the glass to his lips while his eyes stared right at the older fellow. The vivid image of the Joetri family being round up by the black and blue armored soldiers and being hauled out to the hall of judgment in the dead of night was not lost on Dex.

  “You want to go back to those times I’m sure they’d welcome a man like you at the Rift.” Dex said as the glass rested on his knee.

  “Why the nerve! You’re just another fool, a leech on our race the type the Emperor was right to squash. Order is required for safety and security and I will not endure this nonsense.” And with that the professor grabbed his bag and hat and left the area without another look back to Dex. Relaxing full now he let out a sigh as the train passed a network of farming complexes.

  He propped his feet up on the empty spot left by the man and his hand brushed against his duster.  There was a weight there, an item, a promise for him. His ship the Silverblade had been taken from him, payment to settle a debt as it was. The facts were this, a large gambling binge on Nexus that started out with a win streak and ended worse than terrible.

  It left him without a ship, without money and without a few friends and worst of all in debt to Kemis Dolth a big fish in the Tilagi crime syndicate. He had barely made it to Panot after the crime boss had told him what he wanted as payment. A plan had been formed partially with Dolth’s help but for the most part Dex was left to his own devices including escaping Nexus. A chance meeting with a friendly old spacer and the promise of repayment had gotten him that far then in the town of Relin he had acquired the first item, with Melanie’s help of course. Thinking about her brought a gentle nudge in his gut. She had wanted to stick with him, help him through this or she at least had said as such. But he had seen the glint of lust when they procured the object. She wanted money, Dex didn’t begrudge her for that but he wasn’t doing this job for the money he was doing it for his ship. Having people looking to make it rich on this job wasn’t going to do him any favors.
The train passed farming fields, meat processing plants and a few towering structures that could have served either military or industrious needs. Dex didn’t know and didn’t care so long as it didn’t interfere with his mission. Almost as if by nervous habit his hand brushed the weight in his jacket feeling the item secure in there. One thing about leaving Melanie it meant that he no longer had a partner, it was back to just being him against the world. Part of him almost thought ‘Just the way I like it’ but sometimes it really came in handy having back up. For instance now he couldn’t rest his eyes for even a moment on the two hour trip. Any of the stops could bring in someone after the item or just someone coming after him. So he settled in as the train shot across the rugged landscape of Panot, his mind filling thoughts of Melanie, his chosen profession and of course his ship.
The first chapter of a little side project that I'm working on.
© 2013 - 2024 Sulkon88
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