by AJ Vega
******
Reece sat in his small shuttle, disappointed that he was no longer flying patrol in his Z-40. He and the other pilots had flown CAP in stealth, secretly monitoring the shuttles of crew making sure they arrived safely into the Venus-1 shuttle port. Ahead of him, a long line of craft were forced through a checkpoint, where they would be scanned and verified by Venusian Peacekeepers, one at a time. He waited what seemed like an eternity before his turn came.
“State your business here,” came a voice on his link.
“Leisure,” Reece responded.
“More specific please.”
Reece sighed. “Aphrodite Springs.”
“Where in Aphrodite? It’s a big place; I need more details.”
“The Springs Casino and Palace. And I plan on getting piss drunk and going on a womanizing spree till I catch a disease. Is that enough detail for you?”
“No need to be rude, sir. Your credentials check out. Enjoy your stay at Venus-1.”
Reece sped out of the checkpoint and flew ahead toward the shuttle park. He peered out the transparent metal window of his shuttle. The city had an eerie blue haze that seemed to hover over the multicolored lights that emanated from the building structures. An invisible gravity field enveloped the station, trapping in an artificial atmosphere and keeping out the vacuum of space. This made the entire city traversable without any environment suits.
Streaks of light moved below in orderly streams across invisible flight paths. Each of them was a personal transport carrying tourists and workers across the city expanse to their destinations.
Reece maneuvered his craft to an empty landing pad adjacent to some of the parked shuttles from the crew. He cut off power and exited his craft. There was no activity on the shuttle park; everyone was apparently already deep into their debauchery. He touched his wrist organizer and a hologram displayed the location of his pilots; they were inside the Springs Casino already.
Reece spotted a nearby transport. It was a standing hovercraft, which had pre-programmed routes to all the local destinations. He stood on the craft and punched in the waypoint for the casino. He heard a low hum and it elevated him out of the shuttle park and into an established transport lane sparsely traveled by other visitors.
After a few minutes, he landed at the casino and exited his transport, which automatically parked itself in a valet area after the drop-off point.
Two enormous holograms flanked the outside of the casino, both of a scantily dressed goddess Venus. The two holograms periodically looked down at those at the entrance and gestured inside, beckoning the would-be suckers to come in and blow their credits.
Reece followed the blurred rainbow of lights and maneuvered through the crowd of people to locate his crewmates. It did not take him long to find them. They were at The Impact Crater, a heavily populated nightclub filled with patrons and barely dressed women.
Heading inside, Reece spotted them at the far end of the bar and went over to them. They were drinking away at a table filled with bottles of liquor and cigar butts.
“Hey, laddy,” Mac said, his voice already with the hint of a slur in it. “Have a cigar, you’re going to go far!”
Reece refused the cigar, but found a seat and an unopened bottle of beer to accompany him.
“Not that one!” Eddie blurted. The bottle was in front of an empty spot; he knew what that meant. Reece placed the unopened bottle back in front of what would have been Tash’s seat.
Eddie handed him another bottle. “Let’s have a toast!”
They all raised their glasses.
“To Tash,” Reece said. “And our other brothers who are partying in that big Milky Way Farm in the center of the galaxy!”
They drank and slammed their glasses down after finishing them in one gulp, a tradition they started back in their days with Stromond.
“Reece,” Cronin said. “When are we going to get our hands on the plunder? With the big sale of whatever that was we picked up, do you think we’re close to finishing this tour?”
Reece shrugged. “I don’t know. I think we may have some time before that.”
“We haven’t been here very long, lad,” Mac said. “It’s going to take some time before we have enough.”
“Yeah,” Taffy said. “But how many of us will be left by then?” He motioned to Tash’s chair. “How many more empty seats?”
“Well, I for one plan on sitting here, talking about all the shit I plan to spend my money on,” Cronin said. “I’m going to buy a big island habitat on an asteroid somewhere. I’m going to float through space, and get piss drunk with the best view of the stars money can buy. What about you, Mac? What you going to do?”
Mac puffed on his cigar. “I’m going open up a cigar-friendly club. And I’m going to suck my cigar and blow the smoke at everyone that walks in until they cough.”
He blew a ring in Cronin’s direction, who made a face as he waved it away with his hand.
“What about you, Eddie?” Cronin continued. “What you going to do after we’re done with this ship?”
Eddie tipped his beer to the empty seat before answering. “There is no after the ship for me, mates. We’re all going to die before the plunder is split.”
They all stopped and looked at him in disbelief. At that moment, the lights in the club dimmed and the loudspeakers announced the entrance of the first act of the night.
On the empty stage in the center of the club, a figure began to slickly move from the shadows. It was a tall woman with long, dark hair that seemed to glisten even in the dark. Her eyes were an emerald green and somehow managed to pierce through the darkness like stars amid the fabric of space. She was dressed in an early twentieth-century period flapper dress and from her neck hung a jewel necklace that speckled with tiny lights dancing inside of it.
As she walked slowly onto the center of the stage, the lights began to focus on her. It was at that moment that Reece’s heart began to sink.
“What’s the matter, mate?” Mac said, reading the shock that was evident on his face.
“It’s… her,” Reece managed.
“Who?” Mac pressed.
Reece just stared as their eyes met. The sound of the nightclub was muted to his ears as his gaze was transfixed on her. She gyrated across the stage, never breaking their contact.
He examined her from head to toe, watching the beads on her red dress glisten like diamonds as she glided across the floor, her long, slender legs exposed with each step. Her high-heeled shoes made no sound as they struck the simulated wood flooring. She moved the retro-style microphone to her cherry red lips and began to sing the song “Love for Sale,” never taking her eyes off of him as she performed.
“Reece!” Taffy nudged him. “What’s the matter with you? Who is she?”
“Chorus,” Reece stammered. “It’s… Chorus.”
