The man and the woman sat at the restaurant’s table, at the edge of the seating area. It would have been a fairly average restaurant in a relatively average indoor location if it weren’t for the fact they were on an interstellar space station. They were also the only human or humanoid beings in the immediate area. Their waiter was a multi-armed tentacle creature, and the other patrons ranged from giant beings of rock to tiny green aliens.
The two paid the rest of the patrons no mind, focusing more on each other and occasionally glancing towards the rest of the space station. The structure was like a massive combination between an airport and a mall. It had the gates, transportation, and hustle of the former but the verticality and commerce of the latter. Yet, the duo was not at all awed. In fact, the whole place seemed rather pedestrian to them.
“Too wide and open taste,” the woman, a young redhead with long hair, commented. Her outfit was simple and well-worn, a red jacket over a black shirt and shorts. The combat boots that adorned her legs looked like they had crossed a hundred miles of mountains and were ready for a hundred more.
“Feels like home to me,” the man, a slightly older blonde who also wore his hair long, replied. His white coat, blue shirt, and white pants looked fresh off the hooks of the store he bought them in. They were sleek and stylized, as though he walked off the screen of a near-future cyberpunk movie. His white dress shoes didn’t have a speck of dirt and looked regularly polished.
“We can’t all be born so lucky,” the redhead retorted. “Some of us had to make our own way. All I had was my family and the clothes on my back,” she declared. “Damn, I miss them.”
“I see your point. I failed to appreciate what I had,” the blonde admitted. “If only I could take back a few choices, then maybe I’d still have my old job. Oh well, no point in dwelling on the past.”
“So, when you said you ruined things for them…?” The woman inquired.
“Let’s just say, if I hadn’t, I’d have fewer targets on my back,” the man explained. “But I’m sure that’s a sentiment we could both agree with, no?” He smiled.
“You suck at this,” the woman sighed. “What about this? I bet you think magic is all superstition and nonsense?”
“Of course not,” the man shook his head. “Alas, I have no hands-on experience with the subject, so I can’t claim to have an informed opinion.” He admitted. “I could say the same about you. Might I assume you see all technology as terrifying witchcraft?”
“Don’t be stupid. I know what a computer is,” the woman stuck her tongue out. “It’s just, the ones I’m used to have more gears. I get the idea behind it. It’s the same things I’m used to, just further along,” the redhead stated. “Although, I can’t for the life of me wrap my head around the technical jargon.”
“So, we aren’t so different after all?” The blonde chuckled.
“Believe what you want to believe,” the woman shrugged.
While the details of their conversation were lost amid the drowning noises of the surrounding area, the aliens still watched them curiously. The many varieties of interstellar creatures all had their own ideas and opinions on the human display before them. Yet, there was still a general consensus. “Human courtship is strange.”
“They’re watching us,” the woman glanced aside.
“They do that,” the man brushed off any concerns. “They find humans to be odd little creatures.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not human?” The redhead growled.
“You’re at least half though. Are you not?” The man asked.
“Don’t remind me,” the woman huffed and looked away. “Wait, there he is,” she spotted someone in the crowd. He stood out in a particular way, but not by size, dress, or demeanor. He was simply the only other human they had seen in the space station. “Target sighted, let’s roll,” the redhead grinned.
The man and woman casually followed their target. He was a typical young man, aside from his wild hair and goatee. A decent-sized bag was slung over his shoulder, clutched tightly in his grip. Despite his plain human appearance standing out among the exotic aliens that swarmed the station, he drew nothing more than the occasional curious glance.
“The strength of normal humans,” the man commented, “even among a completely alien setting, they are seen as unassuming.”
“Some things never change,” the woman laughed. “A normal-looking guy, not completely invisible, but nobody worth paying attention to. Even when they’re not the dominant species, all the other races think no human would be stupid or capable enough to pull off anything so risky.”
They continued to watch their target from afar. He seemed relatively calm and just stood by a row of chairs, casually checking his watch and scratching the back of his neck. The target appeared no more stressed than the average person trying to catch their flight.
“What a well-crafted façade,” the blonde man complimented, “but I know a man on a mission when I see one.”
“Huh, I didn’t even notice,” the redhead shrugged. “He looks like a bundle of nerves to me. He’s just really good at hiding them through nervous ticks.” The woman gestured to the target, who checked his watch for the fifth time that minute.
“How long do you think he’ll stay?” The man asked.
“Too long,” the woman stated. “He’s got time to kill but is completely on guard. We get any closer, and he’ll know something is up,” she explained. “Of course, if he were a little more panicked and distracted, we could slip right in.”
“I assume you have a devilish plan?” The man smiled.
“Now you get me,” the woman returned his gesture. “Want to see a magic trick?” She bit her index finger and then flicked it in the target’s direction. A small drop of blood flew from her finger to the row of chairs. With a small gesture, the blood morphed into a small ornate dagger right before impact. It bounced off a chair and, with another finger flick, was redirected to clatter onto the ground, out of the target’s sight, before dissolving like vapor.
The target nearly jumped at the sound and, for a moment, believed his cover was blown. After failing to find the source of the noise, he passed it off as simple paranoia. The Target then decided that he probably had lingered in the area for too long, and it would be best to get a move on. As he readjusted his bag and prepared to leave, he failed to notice a certain blonde man was now very close by.
The target left ahead of his original schedule. He had planned to head to the nearest spaceship gate at the right time to slip through with minimal wait time. Alas, his paranoia was getting the better of him, and he decided waiting by the gate would be safer. As his mind was occupied by the changes to his plans, he hadn’t realized he was being followed.
The blonde man trailed the target, slowly closing the gap between them. Concealed in his right sleeve was a small device with an injection needle at the end. He glanced to the side and saw that his female companion had gotten ahead of him and was now in position off to the side. With a small gesture of his left hand, their plan went into motion.
At that moment, that target noticed the blonde man rushing up behind him. Again, he believed his cover had been blown before seeing the person looked like they were just running late. He carefully sidestepped to avoid an altercation, but at the last moment, the blonde diverted and crashed right into him. The target tried to pick himself off the floor before he caused a scene but quickly realized he couldn’t move and spotted the blonde hiding the injection device back in his sleeve.
“Oh, are you okay?” The redhead rushed up, feigning concern. “Let me help you up,” she picked up the target like he was a small child and carried him off. Meanwhile, the blonde grabbed his bag and followed. The target paled as he realized these two were the only other humans in the station.
The whole altercation took less than ten seconds.
/=======\
<============0| III |0============>
\_______/
The duo dragged their target to a secluded back hallway, tied him up, and shoved him into a supply closet. With their primary objective restrained, the blonde man dug through the target’s bag. Secreted within an interior pocket and wrapped in several dozen layers of thick cloth was an odd mechanical contraption that hummed with life.
“Just as we suspected, a bomb,” the blonde explained. “Military-grade and used mostly by infiltrators. Powerful enough to vaporize this whole station if used correctly.”
“Well, well,” the redheaded woman grinned maliciously. “A regular martyr, I see. Looking to get yourself on the news? Got any radical ideas you’re trying to champion?”
“Of course not,” the target squealed. Whatever they had used to paralyze him earlier was starting to wear off, but only so much that he could talk and move his head. “I’m just a smuggler. I wasn’t going to use it, just sell it on the next planet. What the buyer does with it is not my fault.”
“Bahahaha,” the woman laughed in his face. “Do you really believe that? Fine, whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“Regardless, you’re still not blameless,” the man chimed in. “You admitted to profiteering off violence; you’re committing a crime and profiteering off future crimes. Your excuse fails to hold water even under light scrutiny.”
“Forget him. Is this bomb legit?” The woman turned to her companion.
“I’d say so. You won’t find something like this on the side of the road,” the man assured. “He’s either an incredible infiltrator or has a very powerful boss or contact. Most likely the latter.”
“Good, then we’re done here,” the woman flipped around and slapped a badge on the target’s head. It had an odd symbol drawn upon it, which denoted that he was a smuggler, albeit modified to say, “I’m a stupid smuggler. Please arrest me.”
“You’re not arresting me? Don’t you want my bounty?” The target exclaimed.
“We’re not cops or bounty hunters,” the man shook his head. “You’re probably not worth that much anyway.”
“We just wanted the bomb,” the woman admitted.
“You’re making a huge mistake,” the target tried to put on a brave face. “Once the boss discovers this, he’ll have every mercenary and assassin in the galaxy after you. You’ll never know a moment’s peace ever again!”
“Even if that was true, I doubt it,” the redhead chuckled. “You’ll never hear from us ever again.” With that, the duo left their target to his devices, making only a quick call to station security. After that, they turned down a dead-end hallway and literally disappeared into the ether.
Several hours later, the target was put through a long and painful interrogation by station security. Yet, every question they asked just raised more mysteries. With his cover blown, the target could not produce any convincing lies and was forced to reveal the whole truth about his situation. After hearing of the man and woman, both appearing human, they thought their investigation would be easy. After all, there were very few humans in the station.
“It doesn’t make a fraction of sense,” the head of security stated. “I’ve got security footage of them being in the station, but there’s nothing on them leaving.”
“It’s worse than that, sir,” his second-in-command appeared with a digital tablet. “We have absolutely nothing on them. No registered spaceship, no ids, no names, not even an arrival time.”
“What are you implying?” The head of security asked.
“I’m saying, sir,” the second-in-command clarified, “not only did we not see them leave, but we don’t even know how they entered.”
“So, they just appeared from nowhere, stole a bomb, and vanished?” The head of security exclaimed.
“Yes, sir,” the second-in-command confirmed. “I also tallied all the footage we have on them. In total, they were on the station for no longer than 10 centicycles (2~ hours).”
“They came and went like it was nothing, knew exactly when our smuggler would be there, and knew he was carrying a bomb,” the head of security. “What in the galaxy’s name are we dealing with?”
“I don’t know, sir,” the second-in-command admitted, “but they’re dangerous.”
“Dangerous isn’t the right word,” the head of security shook his head. “They’re a warning…”
>>>~~~~<<<
Just because someone is unassuming, doesn't mean they aren't dangerous.
That Maid in Fantasy rewrite is still ongoing, chapter II is ready for editing, but chapter I still needs another once over.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
