Raygun Heights

17

By the time the Hochar emerged from his apartment and used to lift to reach the lobby, Civil Protection had cordoned off the lobby. One of the officers, a Human male who at first had his back to the lifts, spun suddenly, as if not expecting any tenant to appear and put his hand out to the Hochar who towered him. Civil Protection was in full force with several officers, complete with peaked caps in shades of light blue and brass controlling the scene. The Hochar looked from two of the Protection members smoking spice to the officer who had stopped him.

"We've a crime scene in the lobby, sir. You'll have to use the back exit until we can clear the restroom."

"What happened?" The Hochar rumbled, the main concentration of scanner drones was near the public bathroom doors. The hovering robots passed by a pair of officers that watched the doorway, each drone equipped with several scanners and cameras that recorded both still images and real-time video to be disseminated. The towers had their own camera systems, but they were static positions and could easily be thwarted. The Colonial Authority had paid very little to monitor the towers as long as the ore exports went uninterrupted.

"Shooting in the public bathroom. Looks like both parties came in from the outside and had a fight there. The public waiting area will be closed up for the next hour or so."

"This seemed like such a safe colony too," The Hochar said. In an apartment upstairs, in addition to several crates sitting in the living room, the Hochar had a set of las pistols, a tri-barrel carbine, and several grenades to take on an onslaught. Tucked under the Hochar's coat at the moment was a backup piece under his shoulder that was obscured by the heavy oxblood colored duster that hung off his massive porcine frame. A lot of synth leather was used to make that coat.

The officer said, "It can be a little rough at times, but we try to avoid outright murder. Have a nice day, sir."

The Hochar nodded and followed the order to use the back entrance to get to the parking lot. Although he was under orders from high and dangerous powers to remain in the apartment, even a warrior like a Hochar needed to stretch his legs. Look at the stars, even if they were obscured by an environmental shield, and eat somewhere that was not looking at a monitor in the temporary living room with delivered food sitting in front of him. The Hochar was named Bremin Targ, he was the one that was unknowingly robbed by one of the starport people and at that moment had another set of criminals looking to take every crate that he was guarding.

* * *

The second time that Jarin Jarmosh met Achim Horvitz was the night before he was shooting two Syndicate men in the lobby of a housing tower. There were a few late night ventures available for the interested night dweller in Raygun Heights. Jarin's was late night dancing. Neon colors of blues and reds lining the floors with spotlights languidly gliding across the flood. There was soft mood lighting at the bar where a Human worked behind. Such an establishment was part of the larger Commodus Starport complex and was known to regulars as The Quarter. Jarin was in the middle of the floor, dressed in two-toned light and dark blue colors with shirt and slacks with cuffs that ended a few inches above his hard taloned feet. His long feathered neck swaying it the steady beat that issued from the speaks built into the walls. Beneath the dancers were frosted white panes that could shift colors from the controls within the DJ booth at the far end of the dance floor. For brief moments, Jarin was lit in white as the color patterns shifted, soon he was lit again in deep reds, blues, cyan, or yellows. Throughout it all, his eyes were on his partner, the only other Florin that he had found in the Quarter that night. He wasn't quite sure her name, it started with an 'L'. It could be difficult to hear someone speak over the din. He knew from looking at her that she had indigo blue feathers covering her body and touches of yellow on her beak.