by Jake Bible
Meshara waved the smoke from her face and glared.
Roak placed his hand on his Flott. Kalaka laughed.
"Neutralized," Kalaka said. "I could pull my Blorta from my ankle and try to shoot you and it'd only make a pop pop noise. You think I'd trap myself in a roller with armed criminals?"
"Criminals?" Yellow Eyes asked. "Who are you calling criminals? We work for the GF too." He looked over at Roak. "Right?"
"Doesn't matter," Roak said. "This job is off the books so we can't call in any favors with the GF."
"Exactly," Kalaka said. He pointed the stim stick at Roak. "But, to answer your question, we do have a plum distraction role. Probably the least amount of danger in the whole plan. Maybe have the spindly looking yellow guy here handle it. But we'd still need someone else for one of the trickier elements."
"Spindly?" Yellow Eyes replied with disgust. He waved all his arms and legs and even wiggled his body some. "Does this look spindly to you, man? Huh? Does it?"
"Yes," Kalaka replied without hesitation.
"Oh. Well…alright then," Yellow Eyes said.
"Yellow Eyes can handle whatever is thrown at him," Roak said.
"But don't throw stuff at me. That's rude," Yellow Eyes said. Roak growled. "I'll shut up now."
"What's this distraction?" Roak asked.
"I just need someone to be the worst patron the bartenders have ever seen," Kalaka said.
"That is asking a lot considering the Gas Chamber's patrons," Klib said.
"True, true, but it's the least dangerous part of the plan," Kalaka said. "All the being has to do is be an asshole for a few minutes so we can get into the bar storeroom."
"You hid the chits in the Gas Chamber's storeroom?" Roak asked, disgusted.
"Chella found where I originally stashed them then I did my thing and moved them fast," Kalaka said. "Without him any the wiser, of course."
"You stashed them in the storeroom?" Roak sighed.
"That's where you store shit, right?" Kalaka replied. "And don't worry. It's in a spot that no one would even think about approaching."
"What kind of spot?" Roak asked.
"We'll get to that in a minute. Right now, I need to know if you have another being or not."
"We do," Roak said.
"We do?" Meshara asked.
"We do?" Klib asked.
"We… Oh, Roak… Come on, man," Yellow Eyes said.
"Do you mean Nimm?" Meshara asked. "We need her on the ship so we can leave quickly when the time arrives."
"I know," Roak said. He snapped his fingers. "Can you get rid of a docking bay fine for us?"
"You've been on Jafla for half a day and you already got fined?" Kalaka laughed. "No problem. Shoot me the fine number and I'll have it wiped from the system."
"Great," Roak said. "I'll comm Nimm and let her know."
"Getting rid of the fine doesn't change that we need her to pilot the ship," Meshara said.
"I know," Roak said.
"He knows," Yellow Eyes said, looking very uncomfortable.
"Then who…" Meshara's pupils dilated down to almost imperceptible lines. "You must be joking…"
"Is he thinking of using the kid?" Klib asked. "Roak? Are you thinking of using the kid?"
"Is he even old enough to drink?" Yellow Eyes wondered out loud.
"Don't know what kid you all are talking about, but it's the Gas Chamber," Kalaka said. "No one checks ID in the Gas Chamber."
"The kid'll be fine," Roak said. "Dornopheous are tough. Very springy."
"We cannot risk this heist on a child," Meshara said.
"I agree with the Cervile," Klib said.
"You don't mean me, do you?" Kalaka asked and shook his head. "Nah. Not me. Can we trust the kid to not screw up?"
"Can he screw up being a distraction?" Roak asked.
"If he stops distracting," Kalaka said. "That'd be a pretty big screw up."
"I think he can distract and annoy the bartending staff without screwing up," Roak said. "The kid's special skill is being annoying."
"Not wrong there," Yellow Eyes said.
Kalaka sat there in silence. Roak watched with patience. Then several minutes passed and the patience left. Roak growled.
"What?" Kalaka asked.
"You gonna say something or just sit there?" Roak snapped.
"I'm thinking," Kalaka said.
"Think faster," Roak said. "And tell the android to head to the docking port."
"Poq?" Kalaka called.
"Already moving in that direction," Poq responded, his voice coming from the speakers in the roller's ceiling. "Docking bay 312."
"Is that the one?" Kalaka asked.
"That's the one," Roak said.
Kalaka pounded on the partition. "We're stopping for whiskey first!"
"We do not have time for any of this," Meshara said. "Stopping for alcohol, stopping to pick up a child that will only endanger us, using a plan created by an obvious moron. We should storm this Gas Chamber and take the chits by force. I am Trelalla. We cannot lose."
"Damn," Kalaka said. "When you said your clan name, I was worried. But then I saw the company you were keeping so I thought that maybe, just maybe, this Trelalla would be chill."
"She's not chill," Yellow Eyes said.
"No. She's not chill," Kalaka said. "Roak? You've been to the Gas Chamber. Want to be the one to tell her that you can't storm the place?"
"We have to be let inside," Roak said.
"We will fight our way inside," Meshara said.
The roller stopped and the inside flashed bright white.
"I'm going to go get whiskey," Kalaka said. "Be right back."
"I'll join you," Roak said and grabbed his helmet.
Kalaka began to protest then only shrugged.
"Klib? Explain to Meshara what the Gas Chamber is like," Roak said as he followed Kalaka out of the roller.
They stepped onto a street that was even worse than the ones Roak had seen before. He took stock quickly to assess any threats and realized that everything and everyone was a threat. It was almost calming in a way.
"We've been losing the battle for a while," Kalaka said. "You killed Shava Stem Shava then a couple of years later a bunch of terpigshit went down with the Vice Squad. Jafla can't seem to find stable footing."
The store Kalaka walked up to didn't have a door. It had many windows that showed the rows and rows of shelves holding pretty much every alcoholic beverage in the galaxy. But no door.
A Groshnel was inside, stocking the shelves. Kalaka knocked on one of the windows. The Groshnel turned, smiled, saw Roak, and frowned.
"He's with me!" Kalaka shouted at the window. He held up two fingers. "The usual!"
The Groshnel nodded and reached out with one of its tentacle arms to grab two bottles of whiskey from the shelf behind it.
"Probably make it three!" Kalaka shouted.
The Groshnel obliged and walked its tentacle walk up to the window. Part of the plastiglass slid aside and the Groshnel waited.
"Oh, you know I'm good for it," Kalaka said.
The Groshnel waited.
"Do you mind?" Kalaka asked Roak. "I'm a little short."
"Right," Roak said and fished out some chits.
The Groshnel took the chits with one tentacle and passed the bottles over. Then the window sealed itself and the being went back to stocking shelves.
Kalaka cracked one of the bottles and took a long drink. "What's on your mind, Roak?"
"Do you have a plan?" Roak asked.
"Of course," Kalaka responded quickly, offering the bottle to Roak.
"Not right now," Roak said.
"Suit yourself," Kalaka said. He drank deeply then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He spat out some fur and stared at the back of his hand. "I need to really work on my nutritional intake. I'm starting to get mange."
"Do you have a plan?" Roak asked again. "Or is this all just terpigshit you're making up on the spot?"
"A little from incinerator bin A and a little from incinerator bin B," Kalaka said. "You know how the Gas Chamber is."
"I do. But I don't know you. There are some beings I trust to improvise."
"Really? You don't seem like the trusting type."
"There's one being I trust to improvise," Roak said then paused. "Maybe two."
"You have a rich personal life, Roak. I envy you."
"What is the plan?"
Kalaka walked back to the roller.
"No point in me saying it twice. Let's go get your kid," he said and was about to open the door, but Roak placed a boot against it. "Or I can tell you now and then tell everyone else again later."
Roak didn't move his boot.
"We filter in individually," Kalaka said. "I need the kid to head straight to the bar and never leave. Distract, distract, distract. I need one being watching the waitstaff to make sure they aren't alerted to something over the comms. I need another being to watch security for the same reason. Waitstaff is more important since the bartenders and waitstaff comm with each other way more than with security. They'll be the first sign of trouble. But we can fix that. If the waitstaff and security look alarmed then we'll have to move fast or abort."
"Understood," Roak said. "That's three beings. What are the other jobs?"
"I need someone to go get the chits," Kalaka said.
There was a twitch at the corner of Kalaka's mouth that Roak thought was either a smirk or a nervous tick. Knowing Cerviles like he did, Roak guessed it was the former.
"What's so funny?" Roak asked. "Where are these chits? What's this spot you have them stashed in?"
"We'll get to that," Kalaka said. "Who's the fastest in your group?"
"Yellow Eyes," Roak answered.
"How fast? Because he needs to be very fast," Kalaka said. "Or heavily armored. I'd send you in since you're one of those galactic survivors that could probably handle this part easily, but I need you with me."
"For what?" Roak asked.
"That depends on the scene when we get there," Kalaka said. "Is your yellow guy fast enough to handle a nest of Felturean fire ants?"
"Eight Million Gods," Roak exclaimed. He shivered. "The Gas Chamber has a Felturean fire ant nest in the storeroom?"
"Oh, more than one," Kalaka said. "Every time a new one pops up they just wall it over and seal it in then punch a new wall out to make room for the supplies. There's like ten nests behind those walls."
"How sealed?" Roak asked.
"Totally sealed," Kalaka said.
"So whoever unseals the nests will be facing starving, cannibalistic Felturean fire ants that will instantly attack and try to devour anything and everything in sight," Roak stated.
"Now you see why fast is needed," Kalaka said.
"That wall is opened and they won't stop with the storeroom," Roak said.
"I'm counting on it," Kalaka said with a smile. "That's our escape plan. As long as your yellow guy can get the chits then we're good. After that it'll be so much chaos in the Gas Chamber once those fire ants start pouring out of the storeroom that we'll be able to walk right out without anyone noticing."
"Run out," Roak said. "You don't walk away from Felturean fire ants."
"Running is better."
"What's your part in this?"
"I get us in."
"And my part?"
"I told you, that depends on the scene when we get there," Kalaka said. "You'll have to be flexible."
"Flexible usually means getting hurt," Roak said.
Kalaka shrugged. "There may be pain involved, but you didn't think this job was going to be painless, did you, Roak? Come on. You're way too much of a pro to kid yourself like that."
Roak moved his boot.
"Thank you," Kalaka said. "Now, speaking of kidding, let's go get that kid of yours and kick this party off."
Kalaka got in the roller, leaving Roak to stand on the curb. He took a look about the area and seriously wondered what he'd gotten himself into. With Jafla down on its luck like it was, the Gas Chamber was going to be nothing but all the Hells.
"Hey," Yellow Eyes said, sticking his head out of the roller. "You good, man?"
"Probably not," Roak replied.
"Should I be worried?"
"Probably."
"So it's business as usual?"
"Just like always."
"Cool. Let's do this."
"Yeah, let's do this," Roak said and stepped into the roller.
14.
"Have you lost your mind?" Nimm shouted at Roak as they stood on the 714's bridge. "Bhangul will not only never give us the Borgon back, but he'll probably kill Reck and wipe Hessa from the ship’s mainframe when he finds out!"
"You think Bhangul can kill Reck?" Roak asked, a bored look on his face. "And even come close to wiping Hessa?"
Nimm sputtered then shook her head. "No. Of course not. But do not underestimate the being. If we come back without Jagul-"
"We'll come back with Jagul," Roak interrupted.
"-alive," Nimm finished. "He has to be alive."
Roak shrugged.
"Roak…"
"He'll come back alive," Roak insisted. "We good?"
"No, we are not good," Nimm said. "I know you're used to playing with beings' lives and letting the chits fall where they may, but only until recently I was part of the galactic order and some of those things I like to call morals and ethics still exist in me, Roak."
"You should talk to Hessa about those," Roak said. "I bet she can wipe them away with a couple of hours in the med pod."
"Stop being an asshole!" Nimm shouted.
"That's like asking Roak to stop being Roak," Yellow Eyes said.
"When did you get here?" Nimm snapped. "I thought you were outside with the others."
"I was," Yellow Eyes said. "But the sexual tension between Meshara and Kalaka is getting kind of gross."
"What is he talking about?" Nimm asked Roak.
"Cerviles," Roak said as if that explained it all. Nimm nodded since it did explain it all.
"The kid will come back alive and we'll come back with the chits," Roak said. "So you need to be ready and waiting."
"We have a fine to pay," Nimm said.
"Already paid," Roak said. "Kalaka took care of it."
"No, it hasn't been paid," Nimm said. She brought up a holo. "We're still on lockdown."
Roak growled. "I'll talk to him."
"Do that or we aren't going anywhere fast."
"Is that all? Any more lectures?"
"Plenty more."
"Think you can save them for later?"
"Later. Yes. Sure." Nimm huffed. "Go. Get the chits and get back here. Fast."
"Fast is my middle name!" Yellow Eyes said and was gone then back. "Not really. I don't think I have a middle name." Then he was gone again.
"Roak?"
"What?"
"Good luck," Nimm said and sat down in the pilot's seat. "Don't get the kid killed."
"I'll take that advice and apply it to all of us," Roak said, then paused. "Maybe not Klib. Or Kalaka."
"I don't care about them," Nimm said.
Roak smirked. "Now you're learning."
He left the bridge and was standing in front of the others in minutes.
"You," Roak said and pointed at Kalaka. "The fine hasn't been paid."
"What? It hasn't?" Kalaka responded, faux innocence dripping from his lips. "I'll get right on that."
He held up a finger as he activated his comm.
"Poq? That fine hasn't been deleted." He smiled at everyone, all cool and casual. "I know you did it, but they're saying it's still in effect and the ship is still on lockdown." More smiling. "Can you look into it and see what's the problem? Maybe bypass the docking agency and wipe it out yourself. You can get into their system, right? I knew it. Thanks, Poq."
Kalaka clapped his hands together.
"Poq will take care of it right away."
"He better. Beca
use you'll be coming back with us to make sure he does," Roak said.
"I'm sorry, what now?" Kalaka asked. "Uh, no. As soon as we have the chits, and I have my cut, then we'll be parting ways. Klib understands."
"No," Klib said.
"Kind of cryptic there, Klib. What does no mean?" Kalaka asked.
"Not cryptic at all," Roak said and pushed up into Kalaka's personal space. "She means no because she doesn't understand your terpigshit, Kalaka. You want your chits? You'll have to get your cut when we divide them up on my ship. Did you think we'd split them out on the street or in the lift when we escape the Gas Chamber?"
"No, no, that's crazy." Kalaka laughed. "Of course we'll split them up on your ship. Good plan."
"We do not need him," Meshara said. "We know the chits are hidden behind a wall in the Gas Chamber storeroom."
"Do you know which storeroom? Or which wall?" Kalaka asked.
Meshara frowned.
"There's more than one storeroom?" Roak asked.
"The Gas Chamber is a big place and they host the underground orb fights plus serve a full bar and full menu," Kalaka replied. "They have a few different storerooms. And each storeroom has four walls."
"Three walls," Jagul said.
All eyes turned to the Dornopheous kid.
"Rooms have four walls, kid," Kalaka said. "You know that, right?"
"One wall has the door in it and leads out into the Gas Chamber," Jagul said. "Or are these special rooms?"
"No…nothing special," Kalaka said.
"Then one of the four walls isn't the target because it’s the wall with the door," Jagul explained. "You can't hide anything behind that wall because there's nothing but the Gas Chamber on the other side. Three walls."
"Three walls," Roak said. He studied the kid for a second and nodded. "That's good thinking."
"Thanks," Jagul said. "Can I have a pistol or rifle or something?"
"What? All the Hells no," Roak said. "You were able to do a little deduction. That doesn't qualify you to carry a weapon which odds are you'll accidentally discharge and end up shooting one of us or yourself."
"No I won't," Jagul protested.
"Kid, you just made points with me," Roak said. "Don't lose points by making stupid requests."
"You all have pistols," Jagul said.
"We know how to use them," Roak said.
"I know how to-"
