Raygun Heights

3

6th Floor, Room 20. The information was simple text laid out in soft, cream colored letters against a black background of the datapad. Karl never claimed he was a genius with tech. He couldn't crack the holonet, even one as small as it was on Commodus. He knew how to use his datapad, and he was careful with it, unlike Tangiers who dropped his second one already and cracked it.

The halls were lit in harsh fluorescent white. The panels were angled along the side and spaced so that for every other space was a light panel or a sliding door into one of the apartments. The walls were imitation gray brick and uniform, like an ancient cell block back on Terra. Hard time on Commodus meant indentured servitude to the mines. The only people who escaped using a hand tool or serving their sentences by hauling loads of radioactive material were those who could afford bail or had the backing of people who could pay. It kept people who ran the gangs in line. There was no guarantee that you'd get bailed, but you might get lucky in a gang, and that was enough hope to cling to.

There were few sounds emanating from the apartment. The doors were solid metal. You could hear the occasional argument either spoken in what was known as 'trade common' or some native language.

The 20th was at the end of the hall on the left side, all of the even numbers were against the interior of the building, no windows to look out on, only a digital simulacrum generated by a monitor. It may have driven some crazy, but for a lot of colonists on Commodus, a window was not a high priority. All they would see in real time was the blazing sun that might kill them one day in the mines or on the roads, maybe the occasional windstorm that passed over the atmospheric shielding. Although the colony was shielded, as the storms passed through a weakened portion would pass through the buildings and kick up the sand, spinning it in brief vortices. At those times, goggles had to be worn by people traveling out of doors. The debris could take a person's eyesight if they were unlucky.

Reaching Room 20's sliding door, Karl saw the numbers etched in the upper right corner. There was an electronic panel on the right side which included buttons for 'Open,' 'Close,' and 'Call'. The third button activated a comm box where a guest could interact with the resident. In richer apartments, the comm box included full video screens so that the resident could see the people they were interacting with.

Karl tried the open button first, receiving a soft chirp that indicated the door was locked. He looked to Tangiers, who stood on the opposite side of the door with a blaster drawn.

Tangier's eyes were black narrow slits. The Tigran was diving down deep into that innate bloodlust they carried. He was prepared to go in, clawing and blasting.

Karl tried the call button. There was an electronic crackle before a drowsy male voice answered, "Yeah?"

"Food delivery. Someone has to sign for it," Karl said into the box. He flashed a smile at Tangiers who, for the moment, widened his eyes in disbelief.

"I don't think anyone ordered food..." The box clicked off again.

Karl pushed the button and interrupted, "Well I walked this far, how about you take the food? No charge or anything. I can square it with my boss for a good t-"

Karl grinned at Tangiers as the door began to slide open. A loopy voice from out from the otherside, "Yeah man, I could do with some fo-" The doorman was a Human with a medicated smile and unstable sway. A lot of chems were available in Raygun Heights, and a lot of them were consumed to take the edge of the day. The Human had consumed plenty. The eyes, languid, trusting eyes brightened with sobriety real quick as Tangiers stepped closed and pressed the blaster barrel into the man's stomach.

"This our guy?" Tangiers asked. He growled at the shaking Human to prevent the man from crying out.

"No, our man is a Saurian. This," Karl stopped. The sudden acrid scent of urine hit his nose. The Human was probably a fellow dock worker. He was thick, but lacked the arm muscle that the miners developed from using heavy power tools. He had jowled cheeks and short brown hair. His eyes were bright, glistening with tears. Tangiers put a hand over the man's mouth, the Tigran warned: "Scream and I'll start by cutting something you'll miss."

The man nodded to show his cooperation. Karl patted Tangiers' shoulder and looked beyond the doorway into the apartment. It followed a similar pattern as almost every prefab that was set onto the planet with a hallway that was decorated with imitation bricks layered atop a prefab metal surface to give the room some texture. The bricks were off-white in color and standing apart from the bricks was the paneled lighting. The brightness of the lights were toned down and not quite as harsh as the main halls. Beyond the hall was a kitchenette with dining table and on the right and a sitting room straight ahead where a couch and two chairs were facing a terminal. There was a second screen placed on the back wall behind the couches. The screen displayed a gallery of females, both Human and Saurian, in various poses that were suggestive. Karl could smell a combination of old clothes and cloying dreamfoil smoke. Karl looked back at the man and asked, "Tular Fek?"

The man nodded slowly, he used his eyes to indicate the back of the room, beyond the kitchenette where a set of doors served as the entrances to the bedrooms. Near the bedroom door, on Karl's right was a section of wall that jutted from the building to form a separate room. Its door faced away from the trio and was pointed towards the opposite wall. The privy. Standard apartments had a private bathroom for the room on the left, which was part of the master bedroom. The bedroom on the right was the guest room, which offered a bed and probably a terminal, but no private bathroom. In the of Fek and the guest that Karl and Tangiers had, it did not seem like they entertained much for it to matter.

Karl looked back at the man and asked, "Is Fek in the apartment? Don't like? Tigrans can smell lies and your piss won't be able to cover it up."

The man nodded, he tried to work his mouth. The way Tangiers' grimaced, the man must have either accidentally touched the tip of his tongue against Tangiers' palm, or maybe that was on purpose. Tangiers tightened his hold and warned, "Do that again and you know what will happen."

"Just nod or shake your head," Karl said, "Fek is here. Good. Is he in the master bedroom?"

The man shook his head no.

Karl followed up: "Is he in the guest room?"

Another 'no'. The 'no' so quickly delivered that it was like a blow, it led to a conclusion that Karl did not care for. Karl peered into the apartment again, his eyes narrowed as he checked the walls and floors, hoping beyond hope that Fek was either a chameleon attempting in vain to disguise himself as a wall and that his outline would give him away, or that he was laying on the floor. When Karl saw nothing that satisfied him, he looked back and asked: "Is he in the privy?" That got him a nod. A terrible nod of confirmation. The man could have used the moment to smile at Karl's discomfort if it were not for the sharp tips of Tangiers 'claws touching his cheek.

"Well?" Tangiers asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Karl sighed as he crossed the room towards the privy door. The controls were on the right side, right near the edge where the wall facing Karl ended and the rest of the room began. He noted the green button on the control panel. The door was unlocked. Karl placed his ear against the door and heard the distant sound of water splashing. He gripped the blaster and stepped out of the doorway. As he did so, he leaned forward far enough for two of his fingers to push the 'Open' command. The doors slid open and an angry voice called out, "Hey! You know I'm in here, Rook. Just use my bathroom if you have to... go," Tular Fek's voice faltered. His green eyes looked up at the doorway and saw Karl with a blaster drawn looking him over. The Saurian was an off-worlder. His scales were shades of sky blue with a touch of robin's egg blue for his lips. His tongue was vibrant red, which hissed in surprise.

A cloud of steam washed over Karl as he stepped into the bathroom, the blaster was trained on Tular. He could see the Saurian was naked from the waist up and it was not too hard to imagine that underneath the soapy film of the water that Tular was naked the rest of the way down. There was a blue towel cloth bathrobe sitting on the eggshell commode. Karl indicated the robe and said, "Get dressed. No, don't stand up. Just get dressed and come out slow. If you're not out in five minutes, I'm sending my pale in, the Tigran." Karl held up a finger as if asking ofr another moment so he could add: "He's a Tigran aching to use his claws." Karl backed away, but he didn't close the door. He kept in profile so that one eye could glance in Tular's direction as he listened to the splash of water and the fearful scurrying of a Saurian trying to get dressed.