Raygun Heights

1

The sun on Commodus blazed angry and orange across the red dunes out of the outer arid seas. The sands often kicked up when a fierce wind came in from the north. Choking sand, blinding sand, if hurled fast enough on a storm's wind it became cutting sand. A Humanoid could go blind if they did not wear protection or did not have tough enough skin to stand up against the elements. The world may have been hostile to life, but the colony continued to flourish. Commodus was not so bad, not as long as you had a shield screen and a navicom to keep to maintain a comfortable environment and allow the hovercraft to fly itself in most cases. Karl had both and he leaned back in his seat, watching the monitor as the ship followed the prefab road that was laid out from the main colony to the outer housing that struck out into the arid sea.

Karl Jenkins was the son of spacer colonists who had eventually settled planetside. Out of the countless, the Jenkins' chose the colony of Commodus III within the collective of stars that Humans referred to as Longlegs, like an astral spider stretched out across the floor. Each joint in the leg was a star, and around each star drifted many marble-like planets of various shades of red. In Karl's case, Commodus was near absolute in its redness. If there was any blue on Commodus, it was mere dots of moisture that required magnification of an orbiting satellite, and most of the blue was artificial in creation. There was water under the planet, and very few had managed to dredge it up.

Karl had a hand resting on his chin as housing unit after housing unit passed him by. He was born with light tan skin, which had darkened to a pale brown after years under the bright sun. His skin, toughened by the conditions, required a light layer of moisturizers and skin creams to provide any softness, which Karl had on hand and used when he was in his apartment. He gladly paid the price for the luxury item, the last thing he wanted was to take on the traits of the typical colonists of the planet. A tough, wrinkled skin miner or moisture collector. Karl's hair was light brown and cut short so the sand had less to clean to. He wore a light shirt, dark pants, and an ox-blood colored duster. The cuffs of his pants were tucked into a pair of rider's boots to further keep sand from getting in. As he drove out of the housing units that bordered the space port and city of Raygun Heights, he felt relieved. Little stream crime occurred in the units. It was too hot for punks to try and rob you. There was always a threat from the desert, of course. There was native life on Commodus in the form of scorpids that could be as big as the hovercar that Karl drove. There were also the native Saurians, their tough scales colored in various shades of black and orange stripes. Those Saurians that protested often did with teeth or a slug rifle that they had gotten their hands on. Karl still felt relief to be out of the city for a little while. For any trouble, Jenkins carried two blasters: a short barrel tucked under his arm, and a longer barrel blaster lay in the back, wrapped under a case to prevent any warping or interference from the sun despite the shield screen over the car. Karl looked up when he felt the craft slow down.

The hovercraft was two toned black and red that had two primary seats and a small area for cargo in the back. A twin set of heavy repulsor hovered above the ground when the car was in idle mode. The body of the craft was a permanent, physical object, while the roof and windshield was a tinted energy field that formed over the passengers mid-flight. Karl fixed a long brim hat atop his head and a pair of goggles for his eyes for the short walk from his craft to the housing unit he stopped in front of. He used a push button to deactivate the field, pointed rays were quick to flood the compartment and bear down with the heat, angry that they could not strike him dead. Karl could feel the dry wind on his cheeks and lips, causing him to instinctively tuck his lower lip into the moistness of his mouth. He hopped out of the car and reached into his coat pocket for the flat gray datapad that he lifted to his mouth.

"Shield," Was the only word Karl needed to say before the tinted energy returned to protect the car's interior. No point in shutting down, allowing sand to get in. The hovercar's skin acted as a solar battery that collected energy from Commodus' star. The vehicle could almost run indefinitely as long as critical parts and wiring held out.

Both in front of Karl and on either side of him were prefab units. Colonization of Commodus began by setting the foundation of the spaceport in the flatted valley in the middle of the planet, but a great deal of the initial workforce were relegated outside the commercial hub. The units were half the size of a standard shipping crate, made smooth gray with a dark gray roof. There were a pair of viewing ports with a thick, translucent material that served as windows. Sometime back, when the colony began, a freighter had hovered over the planet, lowering each housing unit to the ground. The ruling board of the colony then spruced the package with a rock garden that bordered a concrete walkway that ran from the length of the housing back to the main color. Despite the hostility of the planet to non-native Saurians, the colony board had tried to make things accessible for walkers. As if any humanoid, with the exception of the Saurians, would walk out of doors.

On the second chirp of the doorbell, Karl was greeted by a sliding door that opened for a slim, feminine figure of a bipedal feline. Her fur was golden brown, with a short muzzled face and a small pink nose. She had two rounded ears on top of her head and a pair of golden eyes that regarded Karl with barely suppressed dislike. Her name was Narzli Fife, she spoke in a low voice: "Tangiers is getting breakfast." After a moment's hesitation she added, "Would you come in?"

Karl smiled and allowed himself to be led by Narzli Fife. She had worked behind the counter of a diner when she met her boyfriend, Tangiers Rajpar, a fellow Tigran. Soon the two had moved in together in the housing unit that Tangiers owned. As she walked, ehr hips swayed, but Karl knew that was an unconscious action. Whenever Narzli glanced in Karl's direction, she frowned. Karl was led from the main hall to the slender alcove where a small metal table was into the corner with a set of cushions surrounding it. At the table was the masculine figure of a Tigran that, if he were standing, would have shadowed Narzli and beat Karl by an inch or two. His striped fur had a heavier presence of red over orange, and his muzzle was broader than Narzli's. Tangiers leaned over a slab of dark red meat, cutting it with utensils to minimize the grease and juices that welled up from the meat with each cut. With every bite, Karl could see those long sharp teeth that were truly meant to be eating meat.

"Morning," Karl said when he entered the nook.

Tangiers nodded and said, "Morning. You have breakfast?" He paused and shifted to one side so that he could nuzzle his girlfriend. Their embrace was long enough that Karl looked to the side to give them privacy, "Nothing for me, thanks. I was hoping we could get our job done early today."

"No collections?" Tangiers asked. Karl turned back, watching Tangiers grab a gray cloth and clean his jawline. Tangiers was never overly fastidious, but he kept a clean shop, as clean as one could be in a desert environment.

"No," Karl glanced towards Narzli and said, "We're paying someone a visit."

Despite his attempt to hide it, Karl noticed the way her cheeks reddened underneath her fur and her eyes narrowed at him. She looked from her boyfriend to Karl and asked, "You're not going to hurt anyone are you?" Karl wondered how Narzli got that deep into a relationship with Tangiers and still appeared breathless and hurt when they talked about the job. Did she not know that she was dating a debt collector?

"Not going to hurt him," Tangiers mumbled quickly, "As long as he pays his debts, nothing bad will happen." He reached out and patted her hand. She seemed to relax for the moment before standing from the table and announcing, "I have to get for my shift, Tangiers." Her voice was soft and Karl imagined her hands were electric as they slid around her lover's neck. The way Tangiers' stiffened and shot a glance to Karl, narrowed eyes, a hint of threat if Karl did not look away. Karl rolled his eyes, but obliged by turning and walking back into the living room and staring at the first viewport that was covered by netted curtains. Behind him, Karl could hear the faint sound of lips meeting lips, the soft rustling as fur touched fur. When Karl turned after the sounds had died, Narzli had scampered into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

"Who are we visiting?" Tangiers asked as he was cleaning up his plate. Making out with his girlfriend had left him with a mellow glow underneath his fur. His eyes had a dreamy look as he asked the question, and he looked upon Karl with a renewed sense of affection for his friend and partner.

"A Saurian stevedore working out of the spaceport. You know a Tular Fek?" Karl asked.

Tangiers shook his head and said, "No, but tell me about it on the way. I don't want her to hear about it."