Chapter 17 - CygFive

Ziggy’s Casino

Spice Town, Cygnus V, Syndicate Space

Tuesday, 18 September 3488

            Javyar took a deep breath, gaining the sensation of nearly two-dozen different smells in his nose, most of them unpleasant. “Ah,” He commented. “It sure is good to be home.” Or, at least, the closest place to home he had in this miserable galaxy.

            “I couldn’t imagine a more wretched place to call ‘home’,” Came Tobias’ voice, stepping out of the taxi directly behind him. The Human paused just next to Javyar, doing a once-over of the wide plaza. “Then again, it does suit you.” Javyar met eyes with the man, sharing a wry smile.

            “Come now, that’s hardly a charitable thing to say. Not quite ‘Christian’ now, is it?” Javyar added.

Tobias laughed. “Not a judgement, just an observation.”

            They now stood outside Ziggy’s Casino, the place where the Ontellus kid had said that Euphemia had been taken. The casino itself stood at the far end of the floating plaza, an island in the sky surrounded by the tall buildings of the city. Atop the casino was a gigantic screen, showing a cartoonish image of an unsuited Aquish, the many-eyed being staring up expectantly as he tossed gold coins into the air with his many appendages. Just beyond the casino were the various other tall buildings which made up CygFive’s Spice Town, most illuminated with strips of neon and other flashing signage meant to attract the eye. Although currently in the dead of night the sky was illuminated into a golden orange, a consequence of an incessant light pollution that even Novaterra lacked.

            Standing all around the plaza were different groups of beings, some Javyar recognized as dangerous types – bounty hunters, smugglers, gangsters, and other Syndicate footsoldiers – while many others were simply ordinary galactic citizens. They all dressed the same – a mix of finery and more roguish clothing – yet the civvies were obvious from their body language. For his part Tobias fit in well with the more experienced types, his posture relaxed and his hand casually on his belt. Unassuming, yet ready to reach for his weapon all the same.

            “Surely you and your squadmates spent many a day on leave enjoying all CygFive has to offer.” Javyar said. At the very least, he knew many military types who did.  

            “Not us,” Tobias assured him. “There’s more than enough to keep a group of hotheaded special operations types occupied back on Novaterra. Besides,” He continued. “On Novaterra, there’s a markedly lower chance of waking up in a cryogenic tank with half of your organs missing.”

            A smile creased Javyar’s mouth. CygFive’s reputation brought with it all sorts of lurid stories, both real and imagined. “I would have assumed the poorly substantiated rumors would have come from the Talosian. Not someone as well-traveled as yourself.”

            “That wasn’t a rumor.” Tobias replied, matter-of-factly. “There was a sergeant in the army I knew through a mutual acquaintance. Kid got drugged at one of these casinos and woke up a week later, alone and in a frozen vat. Both of his kidneys, his right lung, and bladder were missing, replaced with shoddy cyberware.”

            Javyar blinked. He’d worked with the Syndicate for years, and never heard that specific story about a Union army sergeant. “You’re kidding.” Although from the serious look on Tobias face, he knew he wasn’t.

            “I’m pretty sure the army got their hands on the punks who did it, and I imagine they’re either locked away where no one will ever find them, or dead. The Admiralty kept things hush-hush but trust me. It happened.”

            “I did not know that bladders could be sold on the black market,” Brextallor commented, also getting out of the taxi and coming to a stop between the other two.

            “I’ve sold a few bladders in my day,” Javyar added. “Drayen are usually the best clients for that.” The Proximan stared up at him, blankly.

            “Drayen are in common need of a bladder transplant?” He asked.

            “No,” Tobias answered. “The Drayen consider it a delicacy. And with the Union’s ban on sapients eating other sapients…”

Brex made a sound which Javyar assumed to be a Proximan retch. “That is disgusting.”

            “It’s their culture,” Javyar countered. Granted, if a Drayen ever tried coming for his insides, culture de damned.

            “Not all cultures were created equally.” Tobias commented, waving to the space in front of them. “Now as much as I’ve appreciated this conversation, I think we have a job to do, no?”

            “Someone isn’t in the best of moods,” Javyar commented.

            Tobias grinned. “I just spent fourteen hours in hyperspace. You try listening to this Desmon Ontellus kid for that long.” Javyar had only met the kid briefly when Tobias and Aves had returned to the Nicodemus, but that was more than enough to understand the sentiment.

            “Are you sure that your boy Ontellus wasn’t lying about this being the place?” Javyar asked as they began walking towards the casino. They passed by the gigantic fountain which lie at the center of the plaza, the obscenely large centerpiece cast in gold and other valuable-looking metals. The casino he knew to be a possession of the Syndicate’s Rorshak Family, an outfit led by a particularly nasty group of Drayen who held a high value on flaunting their ill-gotten gains.

            “No, he was telling the truth,” Tobias replied. “The kid’s not smart enough to go spinning tales; he’s a moron.” He sigh. “At least, that’s what I figure he would need to be, if he thought helping to entrap a senator’s daughter – no questions asked – was a good idea.”

            “You said he did it for the money, right?” Javyar asked.

            Tobias nodded. “That’s right. His family cut him out of their wealth, and he needed something.”

            Javyar grinned. “Well there’s your answer. People become stupid when there’s money involved.”

            “Present company included?” Tobias asked, giving Javyar a side-eyed look.

            Javyar returned a wolfish grin. “I never said I was perfect, unlike the rest of you.”

            Tobias gave a snort. “I have a long way to go before I’m perfect.”

            “Is there anything that we need to know while we are here?” Brex asked, changing the subject. Javyar knew the question was for him.

            “Just don’t make eye contact with anyone and you’ll be fine.” Javyar replied. “This place is Rorshak family territory; they don’t mess with you if you don’t mess with them.”

            “Might they be involved?” Brex asked.

            Javyar considered that. “They’re led by Helkar the Shadow, who – I can proudly say – I’ve never had the displeasure to cross.”  He did a belated glance to ensure that nobody was around to hear that. “He’s a rather nasty one, from what I’ve heard.” And, he didn’t add, no friend of Sleyvar Gruntherson, the Vorrishi boss whose bad side Javyar currently lived on. That meant that if this thing went south, he wouldn’t end up needing to face someone who he did have the displeasure of crossing. 

            “Nasty how?” Tobias asked.

            Javyar did another quick look around. The gangsters he could pick out – mostly those who wore the telltale suits of The Shadow’s henchman, but also some who did not – were still well out of earshot and hadn’t taken any unwanted interest in them. “I can’t say too much given where we are, but I did hear that one particularly unlucky person was flayed alive.”

            “Barbarism!” Brex hissed. “I would very much not like to be that man.”

            Javyar gave a grimace. “That was a woman. From what I’ve heard, it was the wife or girlfriend of the guy who crossed The Shadow. Helkar made the guy watch.”

            “Lord have mercy,” Tobias breathed. Javyar saw him look up at the casino with new eyes. “Does this Helkar the Shadow involve himself in kidnapping at all?”

            “Personally?” Javyar considered it against everything he knew about the Rorshaks. “Hard to say. I imagine he’d have no problem turning a blind eye to it happening on his property, though.”

            “Terrific,” Tobias breathed. “Stay alert, gentlemen.”

            “That’s the idea.”

            They entered the casino proper, greeted by a gigantic hand-carved statue at the center of the large atrium. It was that same Aquish character from the signage outside, the amorphous blob of a being shown without its usual protective suit. They passed around the statue, reaching a moving staircase which took them up to the second level, labeled as the casino proper. By the time they came out onto the spacious casino floor, Javyar couldn’t help but inhale another pungent whiff of the aromatic air.

            “Ashushish leaf,” He identified, picking that one familiar smell out of the bunch.

            “And about a half million others,” Tobias added, his nose wrinkled with distaste. The Human stared out over the wide casino floor; the exact vastness of the room practically invisible amidst the clouds of variously colored smoke which hung near the top. From what Javyar could tell, the residue of just about every smokable substance floated over the room, along with the aromas to go with them. “Ontellus’ orders said to leave the girl just outside a place called the ‘Pulsar Room’, between a specific row of machines and the card tables.”

            “That would be right over there,” Javyar added, pointing across the length of the room towards a relatively distant corner of the floor, where a faded neon sign read ‘Pulsar Room’. “Right where I presume there aren’t quite as many witnesses.”

            “No surprise there,” Tobias muttered, as they made their way over to the location. It had been a long time since Javyar had been inside a casino, and as he watched the activity here, from the bright blinking colors of the machines to the simulated sound of coins clinking against one another, some small bit of nostalgia gripped him. He looked to Tobias.

            “You really never came here during your time with the Navy? I would have thought that someone who enjoyed making bets as much as you do would leap at the opportunity.” He said.

            A small hint of a smile creased Tobias’ lips. “The mark of a good gambler is to know when you actually have a chance, and when it’s not worth it.” He explained. “CygFive isn’t worth it. Most of these machines are rigged.”

            And that Javyar had to grant. The machines, along with the bots who worked the card tables, were specifically designed with all sorts of tricks courtesy of the house. “I once lost five thousands credits to one of these damned places,” Javyar said. “The client whose money I had gambled didn’t take the news that well.”

            “You gambled five thousand of someone else’s money, and you’re surprised that it didn’t go too well?” Tobias replied.

            Javyar hissed. “I was trying to get a bit of spending money off the top before I went to buy what the client had wanted me to.” It had also been the event to get him to swear off gambling.

            “That seems like a clear tactical miscalculation.” Brex added.

            “Granted,” Javyar admitted through gritted teeth. “I realized that after the fact.”

            “And that is exactly why I don’t come here to gamble,” Tobias continued. “Besides; it’s much more fun getting Aves to agree to throw his money away in a poor bet.”

            Javyar snorted. “The Talosian definitely does not excel at betting.”

            Before he could respond Tobias suddenly froze up, holding a low hand as indication for them to stop moving. Javyar’s instincts kicked into analysis mode, as he immediately started scanning the area around them for possible threats.

            “What is it?” Javyar asked. There were plenty of beings all around them – mostly engrossed in their slot machines and games, but also not too few bunched into large groups, speaking in loud tones – yet none seemed particularly interested in them.

            “The bar over there,” Tobias replied. Gone was his usual casual tone, replaced by his more military side. “Galactic Gersen’s.” Javyar slowly turned his head to the bar in question. The establishment sat inside the side wall of the casino floor, two rows of machines between it and them. The large sign above it identified the name, a narrow railing separated the raised bar from casino. The place was packed with many beings, some clearly very drunk.

            “I see it,” Javyar answered.

            “There’s a Freelysh at one of the tables by himself; blood-red skin, reading from a holopad.” It didn’t take Javyar that long to identify this being, he seated against the railing. The target was indeed a blood-red skinned Freelysh male, face tentacles wriggling slowly as he sipped at the cocktail in one hand, while reading from the shimmering pink hologram of his device with the other.

            “You know that guy?” Javyar guessed.

            “He was at Vorknor’s base,” Tobias replied. “He was keeping an eye on us when we nabbed Ontellus.”

            “Are you certain that this is the same sapient?” Brex asked, quietly.

            “Positive.”

            Javyar surreptitiously went for the weapon concealed inside his coat. “Did the kid sell us out? Or was it that damned pirate?” He and Vorknor weren’t on the best of terms at the moment, and this was just the sort of thing for that worthless primate to try and pull.

            Tobias was silent a moment. “Neither I think. He’s probably working for whoever orchestrated this thing. They knew we had Ontellus, so they probably assumed we’d come here next.” Javyar weighed the possibility. He didn’t trust the kid, he definitely didn’t trust Callahan Vorknor, but figured the culprit was probably immaterial at this point. This added an obstacle to their mission.

            Javyar watched the Freelysh, whose attention was mostly stolen by the holopad. Every now and again he looked up, Javyar tracking his gaze towards the Pulsar Room. “He’s keeping eyes on where we need to be. I’d say we need to get him interested in something else before we make our move.”

            “My thoughts exactly,” Tobias agreed. “He’s already seen my face, so I think that should be you.”

            Javyar grinned, releasing the butt of the pistol. “I thought you were going to say that. How much time do you need?”

            “Depends on what there is to find.” Tobias replied. “If we strike it lucky and find a camera we can hook into, it shouldn’t take too long. Brex?”

            The Proximan had lost interest in them, that light dancing from beneath his goggles. “Provided the security is not difficult to breach? Five minutes.”

            Javyar considered that. “I think I can get you about that much time.”

            Tobias nodded. “Keep in contact over comms, and we’ll meet at the front of the club once we’re done.”

            “See you soon.”

            They parted, Tobias and Brex slowly making their way towards the Pulsar Room, trying to stay as close to the slot machines as possible. Javyar meanwhile made straight for Galactic Gersen’s, eyes locked on their Freelysh friend. The more he watched their target, the more he caught the surreptitious looks the Freelysh was giving the Pulsar Room and became convinced that this guy was bad news. He had all the feel of a gangland lookout. Not a Syndicate type – too disciplined for that – but possibly someone with real military experience. “If I had to guess,” Javyar said. “I’d say this guy is one of Dershwell’s goons.”

            “That’s assuming he’s definitely involved,” Tobias replied over their comms channel. “But I was thinking the same thing.”

            “I was also thinking that this guy might not be the only one here.” Javyar said.

            A muffled sigh. “I was also considering that. This guy was the only one who saw us at Lentan, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t working with a team.”

            Javyar ran through his options. “I may need to be a bit more boisterous in my distraction.”

            “Do what you need to do,” Tobias replied. “Just don’t kill anyone.”

            Again, Javyar grinned. “This is why I like you,” He said. “You let me have a bit more leeway than Theck…er…I mean Zealot-4.” He was quick to add that last part, still not completely used to this ridiculous military-esque callsign procedure the crew insisted on using.

            The first thing Javyar did once entering the club was to saunter up to the bar, flagging down the bartending bot. Next, he ordered three shots of the cheapest liquor he could find, receiving some badly smelling Venusian vodka. Each of the shots, downed in quick succession, dropped like a stone into his stomach, burning all of the way. The edge appeared in his senses almost immediately, and he shook his head once to right it. While Javyar never found it wise to dull his senses going into situations like this, he knew that the stench of cheap alcohol on his breath would be critical to this next part.

            For this next part he ordered another drink, this one a taller glass of some cheap ale. Once it was in hand, he began staggering his way towards where the unassuming Freelysh was sitting, taking care to wobble like someone who had too much to drink. He approached the Freelysh from behind, the being utterly oblivious to his coming. Once right next to him Javyar staggered to the right, before making like he was trying to catch himself, but overcorrecting and crashing into the side of the Freelysh. He let go of the beer glass in that hand, it shattering on the floor with a crash, though not before dumping its contents all over the Freelysh. The being immediately recoiled at the attack.

            “What in the…” The Freelysh blubbered, instinctively moving to get out of the way and tossing his holopad across the table. Once he looked up and saw Javyar, his confusion turned to frustration. “What is the matter with you?” He demanded.

            “Sorry…” Javyar slurred. “I didn’t mean to…let me help you…” He stammered the words dramatically, clumsily reaching down as if to help clean the Freelysh off. The being slapped his hands away. “I…didn’t mean to…” He threw a simulated gurgle in there before continuing. “I was just walking and…” Javyar wobbled a bit, placing one hand down on the Freelysh’s table as if to stabilize himself.

            “Get away from me, you drunk feline fool,” The Freelysh growled, trying to turn away from Javyar.

            “Nah, look man, I’m r-really…sorr…” Another gurgle. He put his other arm around the Freelysh’s shoulders, ignoring the slimy consistency of the being’s membranes. “Let me buy you a drink.”

            “I want you to leave me alone,” The Freelysh insisted, shoving Javyar’s arm away. “I’m busy.”

            Javyar took a clumsy step back. “Okay okay…I jusht trying to be nice,” He stammered, deciding to shift tactics a bit. “I…” He paused, looking as if he had just gotten a good look at the Freelysh’s face. “Wait…I recognize you!” That did get the Freelysh’s attention, as he stared up at Javyar, bewildered.

            “What? No, that’s impossible.” He took a moment to see if he may indeed have recognized Javyar, then waved it away. “I’ve never met you before.”

            “Yeah I have!” Javyar said, still keeping the drunk part of his act going. He shoved at the Freelysh’s shoulder. “You’re…him! You’re the one…she ran out on me with!”

            Only more confusion entered the Freelysh’s face. “You have the wrong person.” He said, trying to go back to his work.

            “No mistake,” Javyar muttered. The Freelysh looked at him to address him, but Javyar didn’t give him the chance to. He raised a fist and slammed it right into the center of his slimy face.

            “How much time do we have?” Brextallor asked. Tobias looked back across to Galactic Gersen’s, catching sight of Javyar speaking to the Freelysh. Their companion had seemingly taken to playing drunk, however Javyar seemed to tire of that strategy, as Tobias watched him sock the Freelysh right in the face. Internally cursing, he looked back to Brex.

            “Not much.” They were seated in front of a slot machine, right in the general area that Desmon Ontellus had described to them. To their right were the crowded card tables, manned by robotic dealers. The Pulsar Room club was straight in front of them, opposite the row of machines.

            “I’m almost through,” Brex replied. They had struck out lucky this time, one of the casino’s cameras indeed having a view of this area. “Should be able to get access…” He paused for a few seconds. “Now.”

            “Terrific,” Tobias replied, casting one glance back to Javyar. The Freelysh hadn’t taken too kindly to the strike, and the two beings had entered a hand-to-hand melee, gaining not a few onlookers. “It looks like all eyes should be off of us for the time being.” That, plus the fact that they were acting like any ordinary casino-goers.

            “What timeframe are we looking at for this footage?” Brex asked.

            Tobias thought. “Ontellus said they got here last Tuesday evening, spent the night, and he left Euphemia sometime between 10:30 and 11:30 in the morning.”

            “Looking at all captured data between those times,” Brex announced.

            “Anything which looks like a Dorylaetian girl getting grabbed by some suspicious types.”

            “Nothing so far…” Brex said. “Nothing…wait! I think I got it!”

            “Is it Euphemia?” Tobias asked, a hopeful edge to his voice.

            “Yes! I think so,” Brex replied. “I have two men coming up to a young Dorylaetian female who was left standing right here by a Dorylaetian male five minutes before. The Human one starts talking to her, while the other, a Parfful, comes around from the other side, spraying some sort of aerosol. The Human grabs the female, and she tries to resist before falling faint. They both help her out of frame.”

            Tobias winced at the description of the kidnapping. “Sounds like our crew.”

            “It gets better,” Brex said. “The Human had a scarred face.”

            Tobias blinked. “That definitely sounds like our crew. Download that footage and anything else that looks promising and let’s get out of…” He was cut off by the unmistakable sound of a gunshot, as a bullet-sized hole melted its way through the slot machine just inches from Brex’s head. “Down!”

            Instinctively the two dove from their chairs, Tobias’ weapon in his hand. He came to a stop beside one machine, while Brex came behind one several meters away. Three more shots rang out, these more accurate as they struck the places where both of them had just been. Tobias peeked out from behind the slot machine, surprised to catch one of the dealer bots from the card tables, a small pistol in its mechanical hand. All around them the casino had erupted into chaos, as those at the table where the dealer had been tore away and began sprinting for the nearest exits. It took little time for others to see what had happened, and for them to suddenly start to flee.

            “You okay?” Tobias shouted over to Brex.

            “Yes!” Brex called back, pulling out his own small pistol. He looked around, dazed. “Who is shooting at us?”

            “The dealer!” Tobias called back. He edged out to fire a few shots in return, but the dealer bot was quick to fire a few of its own before he had the chance. Unlike the near-perfect precision of a battle bot, however, the dealer’s shots were poorly spaced and erratic. It was clear this model wasn’t designed for this function, which meant someone had hacked together a combat package into its memory banks on a whim.

            “There are three more,” Brex announced, suddenly.

            “Bots?” Tobias asked.

            “No!” Brex answered. “Sapients! To the left!” Tobias looked in that direction just in time to catch three beings – two Humans, a man and a woman, and a Dorylaetian man – swiftly approaching from the Pulsar Room. They were trying to look unassuming, but Tobias caught their concealed weapons all the same.

            “Damn it,” He muttered under his breath. “Zealot-8, what’s your status? We’re in a bit of trouble here!” Tobias looked back to Gersen’s, seeing a crowd of people milling about, some confused, others panicked. Javyar wasn’t among them.  

            “Sorry to say you’re going to have to deal with it on your own,” Came the harried clip of Javyar’s voice. “I have my own problems. It turns out our Freelysh had some friends who didn’t take too kindly to my assault.”

            “Serving bot?” Tobias asked, positing that one of the bar’s bots had been similarly hacked.

            “How did you know?”

            Tobias grimaced. “We’re under fire from the dealer.” There was a pause in the shooting just then, and Tobias took the opportunity to lean out from his cover and fire four carefully-spaced shots at their assailant. They all hit the dealer bot in the middle of its wide torso, the robot jittering as the plasma seared its internal components. It staggered backwards and fell, only to be replaced with two more of the casino’s table dealer bots, raising weapons and firing.

            “How many did they get a hold of?” He asked to nobody in particular, searching for their flesh-and-blood opponents. Tobias wasn’t a moment too late, as one of the Humans – the man – appeared on their flank, ducking down next to a large planter. “Six!” Tobias shouted. “Behind you!” The man raised a pistol to fire on Brex, but the Proximan was faster. Brex raised his own weapon as he whirled around from Tobias’ warning, wildly firing off five shots. None hit their target – Brex wasn’t a particularly good shot in the best of situations – but they were enough to keep the man pinned behind the planter. Tobias next found the other Human and the Dorylaetian opponent, coming around to box them in.

            “We need to move!” He called to Brex. “This way!” He waved for Brex to cross the aisle where the dealer bots were, in order to put the next row of slot machines between them and their opponents.

            “Coming!” Brex’s barely-audible voice replied. Tobias waited for a lull in the shots from the two dealer bots before turning his shots back on them, nixing another and damaging the third. Brex used that time to expend his magazine on the man behind the planter as covering fire to cross the distance. As soon as they were together, Tobias took the lead as they hurried into the next row of machines.

            “Do you think these are affiliated with the Freelysh? Or the crime boss who owns this place?” Brex asked, as they moved.

            “Don’t know,” Tobias replied, barely hearing the question. He was scanning the exits, trying to decide which to use for their escape. There were many doors leading off of the main casino floor, but none which he knew for sure led to the outside. That meant that their safest bet would be making it back to the main entrance, provided their friends hadn’t gotten there first.

            “Look out!”

            Tobias simultaneously heard Brex’s sudden shout, while completely missing it at the same time. His primary attention was focused on moving them towards some sort of exit, while he was only subconsciously attentive to the goings on around him. Therefore, when Brex’s warning was met with the appearance of the Dorylaetian pursuer, the being’s gun raised as he leapt out in front of them from behind a slot machine, Tobias automatically raised his own weapon to end the threat. The man barely got two shots off at them – both missing – before Tobias had him down and out. A clean kill.

            “Come on,” He ordered, not allowing himself a moment to contemplate what he had just needed to do. “We have to keep moving.”

            Javyar tucked the serving robot’s severed head under one arm as he charged the back hallways of the casino, following each and every sign he could find which read “exit”. The instinct to grab the bot’s head hadn’t really been that well thought out. When he had opted to punch the Freelysh across the face he had assumed that it would become a one-on-one fisticuff match until the bouncers arrived to separate them. Instead, it had lasted for a mere couple of seconds before the nearest serving droid had made its way up to them, grabbing Javyar’s arm with one hand and pulling out a concealed pistol with the other. The serving bot hadn’t said anything, but the Freelysh hadn’t seemed phased by the occurrence, which meant he had known about this. Javyar had spend plenty of hours in casinos like this and hadn’t known any of the major crime bosses to install combat packages into their servile bots, which meant this one had been modified for it, and by the Freelysh’s people most likely.

            Knowing he had to get away, Javyar had reached for the first thing that was at hand – the bot’s serving tray itself, which it had placed down on the nearest table. He struck before the stupid thing could fire off a shot at him, smacking it clear across the head. Javyar hadn’t expected it to give way so easily – two more strikes from the tray in the neck joint had been enough to do it – but the bot’s head snapped off in a brilliant rainbow of sparks and sent the entire robot to the ground. Javyar had been pleased with himself, but by that point another bot and the Freelysh himself had turned on him, both with weapons. In his haste to run, Javyar had snatched the destroyed robot’s head. At the time, it seemed like a smart thing to do.

            The Freelysh and the other bot had been joined by a third man, and they took off after Javyar, guns blazing, as he sprinted for an escape. Javyar had picked off the Freelysh pretty easily, which left two plus however many were now after Tobias and Brex.

            “Are you two still alive?” He asked, hoping for a positive answer. He didn’t relish having to explain to Judith Rigby why he was the only one to come back from this assignment.

            “Copy that, we’re still in one piece. So far.” Tobias’ voice replied in his ear.

            “How many do you have?” Javyar asked, rounding a corner and finding another exit-less hallway.

            “Four,” Brex answered. There was a muffled sound of weapon fire. “Make that three.”

            “I got two,” Javyar said. Provided none of the casino’s other bots had been similarly hacked, that was.

            “I think it would be best to lose our pursuers and regroup at the starport. Can you make it there?” Tobias asked.

            Javyar grimaced. “Provided I can get the hell out of this place.” He said, half to himself. Gunshots from behind him caused him to stagger as he ducked for the nearest doorway as cover. Edging out just slightly, he caught sight of a Human man round the hallway with his gun raised. Javyar fired a few shots off as covering fire. The man was able to get out of the way, but Javyar took the opportunity to leap from his concealment and continue on his way.

            With each labeled door he passed – kitchen, backstage, guest services – Javyar felt as if he was getting deeper and deeper into the building, no true exit in sight. “This place is like a maze,” He muttered, not to anyone in particular.

            “Have you tried to find a waste chute?” Brex’s answer came for.

            “A…what?” Javyar asked, a bullet burying itself in the wall beside him as he jumped out of the way.

            “Waste chute!” Brex exclaimed, louder that time. From the bits of gunfire Javyar caught from his end, they weren’t out of danger yet. “This casino is on top of a floating platform – all of the waste is gathered at the bottom. You should be able to get out from there.”

            Javyar winced. “You want me to jump head-first into a pile of shit?” And he thought Aves and Xanthe’s quick escape through the ventilation at the Novaterra club was bad enough.

            “I’d invite you to come up with a better plan,” Tobias said. Javyar’s jaw tightened as he imagined how long he’d be picking garbage out of his fur. At the same time, he could see the wisdom in the idea. It would get him far enough away from his pursuers to make an escape. As if fated, he caught sight of a door just ahead labeled “Waste Management”. Taking a deep breath, he charged towards it, entering the room and finding the aforementioned chute which ran down into the bowels of the casino’s platform. He had no idea whether or not he’d plummet down several stories to his death, or if the chute would ease him down in a more survivable fashion, but he threw all caution to the wind.

            “If I survive this,” He said. “You both owe me big time.” With that, he dove for the opening and his potential salvation.