"That'll be about fifteen credits, Mamm."
Karmlyn paid the driver the fare, then stepped out of the cab. The vehicle then rose a couple feet as the driver powered its repulsorlift engine, then he sped off. Karmlyn then looked around. It was night, but in this part of town colorful lights of all kinds lit up the place. Small numbers of people moved up and down the sidewalks, gazing at the buildings and their signs, and either going in or walking on. A few of the places were where free-spirited teenagers went to dance to loud music, at least they called it dancing and music. Why some so-called civilized people bang their heads to some random jumble of blares and shrieks, IÕll never know. She couldnÕt help but wrinkle her nose a bit, as a few punkish-looking young adults walked past her and toward one such place, And some humans accuse us mymar of being little more than animals. She began walking the opposite way.
To her relief, other places she saw were more to her liking. There were restaurants where one could enjoy fine dinning. There were dancing clubs where the clientele was more to Karmlyn's style. There were entertainment arcades where one could enjoy games of many sorts, but not the ones Karmlyn liked best. She soon came to a place she had heard was pretty good, the Starlight Club. The place was a combination of a bar, dance floor, and casino. The exterior was lit up with a holographic light sign, which bathed the now-empty cafe area in it's light. Karmlyn walked past it, and to the front door. The doorman greeted her welcome, and even held the door for her. Karmlyn considered this a good sign. Some human-dominated places didn't like having "aliens" around. Never mind that they were just as alien, or sometimes the real alien.
Once inside the door, Karmlyn had to pay a small amount to get in further. Once inside, she went about and looked around. The place was dimly lit, with colorful lights around the dance floor, which was in the middle of the place. The people in here were mostly humans, but there were a few other races. She noticed a couple reptillian-looking men at the bar, along a few humanoid but not human out on the dance floor, but no other mymar.
She soon saw what she was looking for, the casino area. There was a roulette wheel, some slot machines, and other gambling games, but about half the area was made up of card tables. She went to the cashier, bought some chips, then looked the tables over. There were different games being played. She saw a poker table with a space open and walked over. In this particular table, the dealer cast cards, but stayed out of the playing. The dealer and the four players were all human. The dealer was slightly overweight with balding black hair.
Of the four players, one was a fairly young man in middle-class clothes. He looked frustrated, and clearly was not having a lot of luck. The second was a black-haired man several years older with a fairly muscular build, possibly an off-duty private security guard. He seemed cautiously confident. The third man was overweight and wearing obviously expensive clothes. He had red hair starting to thin at the temple, and judging by his grin was doing quite well. The fourth man's clothes were like that of a upper-middle class business professional. His hair was brown, and sported a mustache. He showed neither frustration nor confidence, but the classical poker face.
Karmlyn made a note to be careful of that man.
The game had the players up the ante a couple times, then the youngest man folded. The other three upped another couple times, then played their hands. The redhead won again, and confidently raked in his chips.
"Is there room for one more?"
The five humans turned to the feline. It was the portly redhead who spoke first with a smile, "Why sure, by all means."
"Why not," the first grumbled, "If nothing else, at least all my money won't go to him." He pointed at the redhead.
The dealer looked at the second and fourth, who both simply nodded, and then brought Karmlyn into the game. The dealer then cast the five players their cards as they cast their initial bets. Karmlyn looked at hers: a pair of tens, a seven, an ace, and a jack. The others raised, turning in unwanted cards for new ones, and Karmlyn did the same. This time she had two pairs.
Not bad, but perhaps luring Mr. Happy over there into a false sense of security would be better. She folded before the betting got high. The redhead won again.
"Well, that's it for me." the first player spoke, "I made up my mind not to lose more than a certain amount, and this is it." He turned to the second man, pointing at the portly redhead, "Maybe you can win some of my cash from him and put it to something besides that guy's tacky clothes."
The redhead grinned, "Aw, getting to be a sore loser?"
The first gave him a sharp look, "Your luck won't last forever." He then walked off.
The winner of the last game then looked at the two remaining men, then at Karmlyn, "Well, guess we're back to four players." He turned back to the dealer, "Deal us in. And another winning hand for me."
We'll see about that. Karmlyn couldn't help but glance his way and grin. If there was a match she loved, it was when an opponent was getting overconfident to the point of rubbing it in, which made beating him/her all the more satisfying.
The dealer cast again to the four players. Karmlyn didn't even have a single pair this time, and when the second cast was made, she decided her hand was too poor to risk and folded again. The redhead and businessman upped the ante a few times more, then delt their cards. This time, the second player, counting Karmlyn as now the first, who won. The third round gave Karmlyn another poor hand and she folded after the second cast. So did the second player. That left the third and fourth players, the redhead and businessman, upping the ante until the came to show the cards came, and once again the plump redhead won. He chortled as he reached forward and swept to him self a fairly large winning.
On the fourth round Karmlyn was in, the portly readhead, brimming with overconfidence, put up fifty credits. Karmlyn and the businessman accepted, the second one thought for a moment then joined in, and all were delt their cards. Karmlyn looked at her cards, a pair of Jacks and the rest single. She looked over the redhead, and saw a look that was obvious to her whether on another mymar, human, or other race: the "can't lose" look. He upped the ante by the maximum allowed: one hundred credits. The second player folded. The businessman called. Karmlyn, keeping up a look of mild confidence, called it with a hundred of her credits.
The dealer then delt cards to replace their discards. Karmlyn looked at her total, and remained expressionless. The redhead looked at his cards, looked at her and the remaining man, and upped the ante again by another fifty. Karmlyn called it again. The businessman put down his cards, "I fold."
This was repeated once again between Karmlyn and the last man. Then the redhead once again put up one hundred credits. By this time, the table was getting a few onlookers. Karmlyn matched the ante. It was then time for both to show their cards. Grinning, the second player put down his cards: two pairs, "Okay, lady, beat that."
Karmlyn looked at him with her poker face for a second, then grinned as she placed her hand: three of a kind. It took a second for this to register to the redhead, then his jaw dropped in shock. And as the dealer announced Karmlyn's victory, still grinning she raked in the chips. Even the other two players seemed impressed with her.
Once again, on her own.
The white mymar, this time dressed in a dark green jumpsuit and shoes designed more for public spaces than work areas, carried her spare clothes and other possessions in a single duffel bag as she walked down the ramp of this freighter for the last time. She walked on and out of the spaceport. While she could have taken a cab, it wasn't that far a walk to a budget hotel she heard about while transferring the freighters' cargo. Besides, it gave her a chance for an initial first impression of the planet.
She couldn't help but be slightly worried. It was night in an urban area. Not the safest of circumstances to be alone. While she carried a pocket knife, a small blade would be little match for a robber's blaster. Still, she had her mental tricks if any problems did come up. Maybe it is better to have a little fear. At least I know I can still feel.
She went down the streets of the city. The shinny area around the spaceport and the business-related buildings around it soon gave way to a lower-income area. The buildings here were older, not as clean, and occasionally a streetlamp was burned out.
There were a few people out. She saw a group of four women wearing minimal clothing. At one point, a hovercar drove over to them, and after a minute one of the women got in the car and the driver moved on. Karmlyn felt less than easy about that, Looks like the local police don't patrol here much.
She walked on, and found a man, dressed in clearly second hand clothes and looking in need of a bath, in her path. She concentrated, trying to psionicly judge his intentions. She couldn't get a clear picture, but sensed no danger. She continued on, and the man saw her and spoke up:
"Hey lady. Want some burstweed?" He showed her a small clear bottle filled with capsules, "Fifty credits."
"No thank you." Isylne told him.
"Okay, how about forty credits, just for you." When she gave no response, "All right, thirty-five. That's as low as I go."
I told you, no." Islyne was starting to get a bit irritated.
"Look lady!" He reached over and took her by the arm, "I -" Before he finished his sentence, Islyne turned around with a cross look on her face, and starred him in the eye, concentrating.
"You will let me go, now."
The man froze, and his hand let go, the arm falling limp. Islyne then took the bottle, opened it, and turned it upside down, scattering the contents all over the sidewalk. Poisonous filth! Islyne then turned back around and continued on. The man continued to stare at her, dumbstruck, then went to work collecting the capsules.
Islyne walked on to an intersection. Not far ahead was the hotel. She could see the buildings in the area ahead looked a little better, and the street lamps were all working. But as she was crossing the street, she began to sense something. She had a feeling about, something, to her left. What could it be? She decided to check it out, and upon reaching the sidewalk curb made the left and quickly walked, keeping an eye out.
Something's wrong, but what?
"You'll tell us where it is, or else!"
Islyne froze momentarily. The voice came from somewhere in front of her. She saw an alley up ahead, and thought it might be from there. She moved forward quickly, but not so fast that her footsteps would be easily heard. As she did, she heard what sounded like a punch, followed by a groan. It was repeated, then came what sounded like a slap.
"Tell us where you hid that damn disk!"
Islyne came up to the corner, and slowly peeked around. In the alley were five men, four human and one large humanoid, balding with a misshapen face, and scaly skin, surrounding another human, who was being held from behind by the big humanoid. The blonde-haired man looked badly beaten up, bruises on his face and his eye swollen shut. Blood was trickling a little down the corner of his mouth. His clothes were torn up a bit.
The man standing directly in front of the victim yelled again, "We can keep this up all night long. There'll be nothing left of you but a flat piece of tenderized meat." He then gave the bruised man another punch in the gut, resulting in another groan.
Islyne wondered what she could do, Outnumbered five to one. Don't know if I can do a mental trick that can fool all of them. She saw some crates in the alley she could hide behind and still get a look at the scenery. She then snuck over, concentrating on those whose heads were pointed her way but had their attention on their prey. She worked at making them keep concentrating on their captive. She almost lost her concentration when the interrogater landed a to the victim's jaw. More blood oozed out.
"Were is it?!"
Islyne finally made it to behind the crates. She could now safely keep an eye on the thugs without being noticed. She thought about what to do, and looked the place over. The floor of the alley was littered with trash, dirty papers and other pieces of litter. She thought she could see a pair of unlit lights at the far end of the alley. She then had an idea, and concentrated, trying to "speak" into the thugs' minds.
Release him.
Three of the men, including the big humanoid, looked around. One of the humans who did spoke, "Who said that?"
"What?" asked the interrogater, who had not been glancing.
"I thought I heard someone. Maybe I'm hearing things."
"I heard it too." spoke the other human who looked.
"Torg hear." spoke the humanoid.
Release him, or you shall know my wrath.
"There it is again." spoke the second thug.
"I heard it too." spoke the one other who hadn't heard before.
The interrogater had heard it this time. He looked around, "You, whoever you are, this is none of your business. Go away, or we'll work you over too!"
Islyne then decided to change tactics. She switched her concentration from the men to the trash beneath them. After a few seconds, the air at their feet began to blow around a little. Trash and paper started to tumble. The thugs noticed it, and looked down.
"Wh-whatÕs going on?" one asked.
"Just a little breeze." answered the interrogater.
Islyne concentrated further, bringing her right index finger and forefinger to her temple, thinking so hard, she shut her eyes tight. Her other hand clenched into a fist. Her tail twitched rapidly. With that man's life at stake, she was concentrating like never before.
The wind began to pick up, slowly going around faster. More trash and papers began to tumble around, soon going around in a full circle, then starting to rise off the ground. The wind continued to gradually get faster and stronger.
"I don't like this." one thug spoke.
"Torg no like." the large humanoid added.
"You, out there," the interrogater yelled, "Cut that out!" He was trying to be defiant, but he was starting to get worried.
Islyne continued to concentrate hard. She was starting to develop a headache that was quickly becoming intense, but continued despite it. The wind was starting to blow quite hard, and the thugs were starting to shield their eyes from the debris.
"What the hell's goin' on?!" one thug yelled.
Islyne then tried to shift part of her concentration while keeping up the wind. She willed the two lights to come on, then projected thoughts to the thugs, BEGONE!! Or be devoured by your fate!
That was enough. All five of the hoodlums broke and started running out of the alley. The interrogater collided with one other, and they both fell to the ground. Both stumbled to get up, getting in each others' way. After a few bumbled tries, they finally got up and ran off with the others.
Isylne opened her eyes when she heard them run. Once they were well away from the alley, she stopped concentrating. Exhausted, she fell back, grasping her forehead in great pain, "Uhhhhhhhhhh..." Tears flowed from her eyes. She also began panting from the strain. The effort had taken a lot out of her.
For what seemed like forever, she laid there, panting and occasionally moaning. She wondered if the gang turned back and saw her, she'd be able to resist. But they didn't return. Her gamble had worked.
She then began to get up. While still slouched down and holding her forehead, she began going over to the injured man. He was just beginning to stir, also groaning from pain a bit, his eyes still closed.
She finally reached him, "Those men are gone, you'll be all right now." The man groaned, and stirred, trying to get up. Islyne reached down, and helped him sit up, "I can help you walk to where we can contact an ambulance."
The man finally opened his eyes, and looked at her. He was momentarily surprised by her appearance, feline and solid white with blue eyes. Then he spoke, "I don't know how you did it, but thank you, for helping me."
"You're welcome. Now, let's get you to a clinic." She began to help him up.
"I am, Kessler, Lexxon Kessler."
"Islyne Jixsi."
The pair began walking out of the alley. Islyne then continued, "I heard some of what they were saying. What were they talking about?"
"I, I was supposed to meet up with a man. He had some important information. I think we were found out. He could be in trouble."
"What kind of information?"
The man paused for a moment, "It's vital that the disk get into the right hands and decoded. Otherwise, a number of criminals will continue to get away with their corruption."
Islyne still hadn't recovered enough to use her mental powers to actively tell if he was being truthful or not, but her intuition told her he was being honest.
"Criminals? Who?"
The man paused for a second, "We found evidence of some men on the take, paid under the table by the Vyrian Mob. I was supposed to get a datapad disk of info, and was on my way to a place called the Starlight Club to get it. Unfortunately, it looks like I was found out. Him too."
"But you acted like you didn't tell them anything."
"They found a brochure of the place on me before some of them dragged me to this alley to see what else they could beat out of me. I doubt they intended to leave me alive. This is a rough neighborhood. One more body wouldn't attract a great deal of attention."
Then they both noticed a hovercar driving up. They were a little tense for a moment, then saw it was a cab. The cab pulled up to them. The driver gave the feline female and the beat-up looking human male a curious look, and he asked, "Uh, do I need to know what happened?"
"We need to get to the nearest hospital." Islyne told him.
"The Starlight Club first." Lexxon countered, "I can go to the hospital afterwards."
They both got in. Islyne told Lexxon, "You're hurt. You can't go on with this assignment of yours. Let me handle it."
Lexxon coughed, "I suppose that would be best. First of all, the man with the disk is Bayle Riveryn. He's a human male with brown hair, mustache, business clothes, professional ones, nothing cheap or gaudy. You should be able to find him at the poker or blackjack tables."