Dig Two Graves: "The Pirate Queen" - Part 2
26 Jul 2016CharlieSix
Dig Two Graves: The Pirate Queen
"What the fuck... What the fuck... What the fuck!” The dock hand was screaming into his radio... "Get damage control down here. Right now! Or so help me... I’ll put my foot so far up your ass, you’ll be tasting rubber for a month!”
Six exited the back of his ship and turned around to see what the man was talking about. The station's entrance had been sealed, and the lights in the dock were out. He wasn't sure if it was the explosion, or if something else was responsible for the disaster he was seeing…
“Hey!” Six shouted.
“What’s with the lights?”
The dockhand raised his flashlight, pointing it into Six’s face, blinding him momentarily…
“You just came in and you didn’t see what happened?” He asked.
“No... I didn’t see anything.” Six said.
“Okay pal. Sure….” The dockhand replied disbelievingly.
Just then there was a chirp from his radio and a voice said,
“Hey boss… We got the number four generator running on full, but… Something’s stopping the power. Chief thinks it’s some kinda short, from something one of those incoming pilots did…”
“Well get it fixed!” the boss screamed,
“...Just get it fixed! Pull everything if you have to…” He paused.
Turning to Six...
“You!" he snapped.
"Are you sure you didn't have something to do with this?”
Just then the stations power came back online, and the docks slowly began to light up. Six looked, watching as the space station came back to life...
“If I had...” Six said,
“I think you'd know..."
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the dock boss said.
Six stepped closer to the man, close enough to grab him. He was almost four inches taller than Six was, and had a shaved head, thick black beard, and a large round belly. As the lights came back to their full power, Six could read the name-tag on his uniform. It read, “O’Hara”.
“Listen, O’Hara…” Six said.
“It's O’Hara right? I’m guessing you’re the dock Foreman… Run my PFL registration…”
The fat man put in a call through his radio…
“I need a Pilot Federation License check for a… What’d you say your name was buddy?”
“CharlieSix.” Six said.
“…For a Commander CharlieSix. ASAP!”
There was a brief pause before the answer…
“Uh Boss, we ran the name you just asked for...” The radio voice said. “The name... It came back flagged as priority red… Why did you want to check this out? What's going on? Is everything alright up there? Boss... Boss...”
The fear in the Foreman's eyes was unmistakable, Six saw it and smiled.
“See.” he said.
“…If it was me… You’d know it. Now why don’t you make yourself useful, and tell me where I can find a place called The Galactic Bar?”
“It’s... right over… over that ‘a way commander. Just follow the signs, you can’t miss it.” The man said sheepishly.
“Good. Now I need you to do two things for me…” Six said.
“Anything you ask… Bbosss…” stammered the Foreman.
“First... Fix that door. I don’t intend to stay here long, and I don’t like the idea of being trapped. The second…”
“Yes?” The Foreman interrupted.
Six stepped even closer, now close enough to see his reflection in the Foreman's eyes. Growling in a dangerous tone he said,
“...Get the hell outta of my face…”
********
The Foreman had been right… Six was able to easily follow the signs, making his way to the entrance of the bar. Inside was dark, and the walls were trimmed in neon lights and bits of tinsel. Six took a long sniff, the air burning his nostrils. In it he could detect the strong smell of tobacco, mingled with a light scent of exotic spices, and pungent perfumes.
No one had noticed Six when he entered, a fact that made him very pleased. Searching the room, his gaze settled on an over looked table in a corner of the bar.
“…There…” he thought,
“…Perfect place to watch the show…”
Six made his way to the table, passing through the crowded throng of the bar’s regulars. There were people of all types at this establishment, and Six took particular notice of a few of the patrons as he went by…
There was a kid sitting at the bar, some members of the 9th Legion, the Black Omega’s had their presence, and a whole host of other mercenaries, bounty hunters, and drifters, all looking for a place to rest and have a good drink.
It was then when he spotted her. She was sitting at an empty table on the other side of the room. She had dark brown eyes, and a silky smooth complexion. Her hair was long, black, and matted into a sort of "dreadlock" fashion, stopping slightly past her slender shoulders.
Six took note of her left arm, which was covered in a "sleeve-like" tattoo, and comprised of tribal markings and gang-related motifs. Behind her stood her towering bodyguard. A huge colossus of a man, who wore a "Visored" helmet, and a bandolier around his chest. Around his waist he had two pistols, and though his eyes were shielded, one could feel the fierceness of their gaze. Marra sipped her drink as she studied the people in the bar, leaning back against the armored chest of her protector…
“…Bingo…” Six said.
The word almost a whisper, and was drowned out by the noise of the bar. A wave of pride came over him at the thought of finally tracking her down, and an uncontrollable smile gently broke through…
“…The pirate queen herself…” he thought, "...Impressive..."
“…Now, how do I approach this...?”
Six reached his table, and observed that it had not been cleaned since the last occupant. The entire surface was covered with a sticky substance, one which he hoped was beer.
"Disgusting..." he muttered.
Six took a seat, and continued his thoughts about Marra. Eventually, deciding it best to “Wait for his moment", he began listening to the patrons of the bar…
As he sat, he watched the bar's main doors slide open. Through them walked a man wearing a dark colored suit. On each of his shoulders was a patch showing an image of a sword and scales, overlaid with a shield bearing the Seal of the Empire. The man scanned the room as if searching for someone… then shrugged, and walked towards the bar...
“…An Inquisitor…” Six thought,
“…Hmm…”
The Inquisitor’s suit was thin, but also appeared strong. It had armored plates which were designed to protect all his major organs, and between the plates and the joints, there seemed to be a hint of “greenish” luminescence, which flickered now and then. He had a sidearm attached to his hip, but what held Six’s attention was the sword. It was sheathed, and hung from his left side.
“…Interesting…” Six thought,
“…That sword could be a real problem. Have to take him out before he draws, if it comes down to a fight… Luckily…”
His hand touched the revolver he was hiding under his jacket,
“…Luckily I’m faster…”
Six's attention now shifted to the kid at the bar, who at that moment was looking up at the inquisitor.
“…Those two seem to know each other…” He thought.
Then catching a passing bar attendant he said,
“Bring me a bottle of Old Sol will you...? And here…” Six pulled out a credit chip.
“…It has an open account,” he said,
“Tell the bartender to start a tab…”
The attendant nodded, and took the chip, then went off to bring him his drink. As she did, Six noticed Marra carefully watching the lightly armored newcomer. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes betrayed her thoughts, they were saying, "…Watch that one…"
As if confirmation, Six saw as the mountain standing behind her nodded to something she said, and then slowly fixed his gaze in the direction of the Imperial. Looking back to the bar, Six studied the kid, who had suddenly become very fascinated with his radio…
“Hey boss,” The kid whispered,
"…You haven’t threatened an officer again have you? Inquisitors are here?"
After taking a long gulp of his drink, the Inquisitor put down his bottle. Turning his head, he looked at the kid and smiled.
"Hey kid,” He said,
“…You talkin' to Jes-er Heathen? Tell yer boss I say “Hi”. I still owe that asshole a drink... or a black eye, depending on the day…"
The kid sheepishly looked up, intimidated by the inquisitor at the bar.
"Well, boss is kinda outside, so what day is it…?" He said, stowing away his transmitter amongst a ball of wires.
The Inquisitor smiled again... There was a commotion at the bar, someone made a comment. But Six couldn’t make it out. He thought it might be an inquiry about current events in the bar…
"Well my boss is outside of the dock,” The kid eventually said.
“Santa got a new ship, Jubei here,” he pointed to the Inquisitor,
“…Has just arrived, oh and big build over there is body guard to dreads, apart from that, normal patrons..."
"Trust me bub,” The Inquisitor chimed in,
“…You don't want to mess with the giant. 'Cause even if by some miracle you did cut him down, then you'd have to deal with the lady... And honestly, I'm more intimidated by her."
He raised his bottle in the direction of Marra and her giant, then nodded once as a sign of respect. Turning back to the kid he said,
"Say Muninn, yer boss… Umm... He ain't still sore about our last outing?"
"In all honesty it'll depend whether you caught him after a bottle of Cubeo or not,” Muninn said.
“…He does have mixed feelings… Especially when you dragged him away from that Fed manager a year back."
Jubei laughed, reached into a pocket in his suit, and tossed a credit chip to Muninn. Grinning he said,
“Hey kid, tell 'Santa' you found some change in yer pocket… I'll cover ya this one time. Helps that I collected on a good bounty just before I landed." Adding,
"Yeah, maybe I'll go see Heathen, after my beer..."
Six listened into their conversations a bit longer, careful not to take his eyes off Marra. From where he sat he had a clear line of sight, and watched as she sipped her drink.
“…Now that I’m in a room with her…” He thought,
“…She seems… Different… Dangerous, just as her file says, but she’s also more… Observant… Bet you nobody’s ever called her that before… And then there's something... Something in the way she moves... I can't quite put my finger on it... It seems... Almost... Familiar...”
The bar attendant returned with Six's his drink. Placing the bottle, along with an empty glass, on the table in front of him she politely asked,
“...Will that be all Sir?"
Six looked up at the woman, now disturbed from his chain of thought...
“Yes.” He said, “That’s it… For now.”
“...And how long would you like me to keep your tab open for you?” she said.
“Indefinitely.” Six said.
He knew he would be back... Six opened the bottle and poured himself a drink. The old Earth beverage felt smooth as it went down, warm even.
"Wow, that's good." He said.
Then closing his eyes, he let the memories rush forward…
************
Author's note: Special thanks goes to Marra Morgan, Heathen Jester, and Jubei Himura For their help in contributing to this collaborative work. If you’re looking to find out more about them, and their characters, click on their names to check out their most recent stories! AND if you liked this work, you can also subscribe to receive the most up to date Information about Six, and his adventures!
As always... Thanks for reading!