Raygun Heights

13

  Karl had awoken a few hours before the twin suns had risen over the eastern rocks. The orange lights that heralded them were a distant glow outside Karl's apartment window. His apartment faced the west, which pointed away from the glaring sunrise and offered an obstructed view of the sunset. The main tower of the starport was his view. Those silvery towers, the silhouettes of docked ships and shuttles, the wind felt nice so high up and there was little to worry about sand getting anywhere.

Karl lived in an efficiency flat that included one bedroom with a sliding transparent material window that was tougher than glass and a slatted sliding door. The door was a standard automatic model that was capable of being manually operated in the event of something going haywire or an outage.

Karl's morning routine included breakfast that included a cup of coffee and strips of saurlock bacon. When cooked the right way, the strips looked and taste indistinguishable from Human made products back on Terra. Karl had heard saurlock was leaner compared to pork products, the trick was not dwelling too much on what you were eating as you chewed on the leathery jerky. After a few pieces down, he washed, shaved, and got dressed.

Civilian Karl wore a khaki shirt with light plastic buttons, matching shorts, and a black belt with a shiny brass buckle. His socks fit snugly on his feet to prevent sand mites or loose scorpions from crawling into dark moist spaces in his boots or on his body, sinking their fangs or stingers into his flesh. Commodus was one of those hostile planets where any insect or arachnid was deadly toxic either paralyzing the brain or rotting the flesh off. It's why the Saurians found the planet so suited to them, many of them were immune to the natural venom found in the local fauna.

On the streets, Karl found an average work day was in progress for the people of the colony. The suns had risen high enough that flashes of daylight splashed on the buildings and onto the cobblestones. Flatbed hoversleds were in motion, transporting workers to the mines or hauling ore to be refined. Karl scanned the area and found no hoverbikes, no redheads waiting on him. When he had gotten off the lift on the ground floor, there were no Saurians sitting on the soft or standing across the street. If there were eyes on Karl, they had grown tired or found something to do for the time being. It suited Karl fine, he needed privacy for the day's task. Karl had roughly six days to either pay up or deal with his bosses demand for more money. When dealing with gangs and deadlines, it was safer to assume you had less time than offered and be prepared for the squeeze to be applied if you didn't immediately produce results.

***

Tangiers stirred when he felt movement against his bare chest. Sensations that were dulled by the dew of sleep responded to her touch. His whiskers twitched as he felt Narzli's head shift and the tips of her own sensory follicles made contact with a part of Tangiers. When Tangiers eyes slid open, he looked down to see nArzli snuggled against him after the previous night. Her eyes were open at the same time.

Tangiers said as he stretched one arm, "Good morning." He patted Narzli's shoulder and felt the sudden need to relieve himself. All of his organs had begun to awaken with the dawn, and not just his sense of touch. Narzli sighed and disentangled herself from Tangiers. No kisses shared between the two. Not that they were mad at one another, although Tangiers could sense a lingering tension in the room and in her eyes. Their lack of morning affection stemmed from a mutual distaste from morning breath. Narzli rose with Tangiers and they split off once they reached the inner alcove that led from the vanity to the nearby bathroom.

As the woman of the house, Narzli had access to the bathroom first. Tangiers slipped out of the bedroom and used the back door in the dining room to step out into his garden. A few steps along a stoney path led Tangiers to the sand where he relieved himself. His eyes were sharp both day and night, Tangiers depended on those senses to avoid an embarrassment such as a micturating on a blue veined asp or outback scorpion. Neither one had nestled in the sands behind his house, but all it took for one incident to haunt Tangiers' steps. When he returned, Narzli was preparing breakfast and said as he cleared the door, "The bathroom is all yours."