Project - Prometheus Ch. 22

"Merchant contracts?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We need to keep up appearances. For now, at least," Inari informed him as she guided the ship to bay seventy-two.

"Shazza, where do you think you are going?" Korsa asked.

"I'm coming out with you! I want to see what the galaxy is like, in all its wonder!" Shazza stated.

"I'm afraid that's not possible. If you were to step one foot outside of this ship, everyone would recognize you as a Xuul'khan. There is a kill order on any Xuul'khan that is spotted in our side of the galaxy," Natalya explained, hoping to let the woman down easily.

"I am leaving as Shazza, but not as a Xuul'khan," she said mischievously.

Shazza then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device which she attached to her leather coat. The device implanted itself to the garment, then made Shazza... ripple. In seconds, the Shazza everyone knew was gone and was replaced by an attractive, dusky skinned, brunette human. The only thing that anyone could recognize about her was her green eyes and her legs.

"Wha... where did you get that?" Taal'ani wondered as she stared at the humanized version of Shazza.

"Before we left, Jaesa made this for me. Because she knew I would want to get out and around the galaxy, she thought it was prudent to create for me, the perfect disguise," Shazza chuckled.

"Is it possible to touch you, without disrupting the disguise?" Korsa wondered, still a little worried.

"Go ahead and see for yourself," Shazza told her. Korsa did just that, and after touching her lover's face, she saw that nothing about the illusion changed.

"What about your legs? Those aren't human legs," Kasumi pointed out.

"As I understand it, humans are out there, modifying themselves constantly. Mostly with cosmetic appearances and from what data we've gathered from the Darkstrider's archives, humans with gene-mods like this exist," Shazza stated, crossing her arms beneath her breasts.

"She has a good point. It's not common, but not unheard of," Inari replied, agreeing with Shazza.

"How did you do it? Or more like, how did Jaesa do it?" Priya wondered, inspecting Shazza's disguise and finding no flaw in it.

"That's something you'll have to ask her, if you want the full breakdown. Something about making the holographic emitter bending light around each individual cell to where there would be little, if any disruption to the holographic matrix," Shazza replied.

"I think I'm going to have to have a word with Jaesa about a few things," Alex stated as he too, inspected Shazza's disguise.

"I think this could work," Korsa said, convinced.

"I would be inclined to agree. As long as you keep the disguise up and stay with the rest of the crew on our visit, you can leave the Darkstrider," Alex said, deciding.

"Yay!" Shazza cried out, giving Alex a brief hug, before backing off.

"Since this is a neutral trading port, there will be some toughs and gangers out there. It would be wise for everyone to arm up with something," Inari advised as she docked the ship.

Nodding, the crew headed down to the armory and everyone picked out a firearm and hand to hand weapon. They picked sidearms and pistols for the most part, and some long combat knives. Korsa stuck with her Thuun'tara blade, slinging the weapon over her shoulder in a massive sheath. Once everyone was armed up, they headed back to Deck Two, ready to step out onto the station.

Inari and Priya led the way, holding a couple of tablets as they strolled through the airlock and out onto the docks. As the controller told them, there were several individuals there waiting for them. One of which, by his uniform, was obviously the customs official, while a trio of others, two women and one man, were obviously from the Merchants' Guild. The rest of those present was station security, who stood close by, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

"Greetings Captain! I trust you have your information required for the port?" the customs official inquired, addressing Alex directly.

"Hold up there! I'm not the captain, she is," Alex said, indicating Inari.

"Oh! My apologies Captain!" the official stated, going red in the face at his blunder.

"It's all right. Most people think he is the one in charge because of his bearing and presence," Inari told him.

"Ah! Very good! May I see your ship's manifest?" he asked, doing his job. Inari handed over the tablet she was carrying, and the official looked it over. Satisfied that she wasn't carrying any contraband, he then eyed the crew, before turning back to Inari.

"I am curious, what species are some of your crew?" he asked.

"They wish for that to remain unknown at the moment. But, for safety purposes, I had our doctor do a thorough scan on them and they are not carrying any pathogens. The report is in the tablet," Inari told him. The man scrutinized the tablet and found the files detailing the findings of the three Artucian.

"Everything appears to be in order. Your crew may debark and roam the station if they wish, but they must always keep their sidearms holstered. The only time it is permissible to draw them is under duress or direct threat to their wellbeing," the official stated.

"Thank you, sir. You heard him guys, go get yourselves some time to relax," Inari said to the crew, ushering them on.

Grinning, they all left at an unhurried pace, as they had nothing but time. The security guards eyed them as they passed, but other than some basic scrutiny, everyone was left alone. They walked their way past the docks and into the station, to the main thoroughfare. Both Shazza and the Artucian were amazed at what they saw.

There were shops everywhere, with people and species of all kinds mingling in the crowds. People from small kiosks to homemade stalls cried out their wares, while large holographic signs advertised various wares and where they could be found. The lanes were busy enough where it seemed to be one big press of bodies, with people from all walks of life strutting about.

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" Nataly asked the foursome.

"I would have to agree with that assessment! Never seen anything quite like this myself," Alex said, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Me neither!" Kasumi breathed.

"Well, just follow us and you'll be fine," Korsa grinned as she led the way into the massive crowd.

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Two men stood in an alleyway nearby, holding a portable scanner which was pointed at the main entrance to the thoroughfare. The one holding the scanner had already completed scans of the crew of the Darkstrider. He sat there, waiting on the results to come through, and they finally did.

"Hmm. Several of them don't have IDs, which is interesting. Might have to do a dig up on them later," the one guy said.

"Anything worth our time?" the other one asked.

"Nothing, nothing, nothing... hold on!" the older man said as the scans for Taal'ani and Korsa came up. There were bounties on their heads, sizable ones, in millions of credits!

"Holy shit! Those two are fucking gold mines!" the younger man replied.

"I need to call this shit in!" the first man said, fumbling on his belt for a comms device. "This is Cracker, I need to speak to Moloch!"

They gave Cracker the run around for a few minutes until he uploaded his scans to the group on the other side of the transmission. They looked them over before he connected the call to their boss: Moloch, leader of the Blood Drinkers.

"What is it?" the man asked his subordinate, sounding bored out of his mind.

"Something that I think you need to see boss!" Cracker stated. Moloch leaned over to see the scan that his underling had sent through, and his eyes widened. A smile wound its way onto his face, and he leaned back, thinking before he spoke.

"This is an opportunity that we cannot miss! You and Bleeder are to trail this group and keep them within your sights at all times. If they try to leave the station, prevent them from doing so. This is the payday we've been waiting for!" the leader said before he cut the comms.

"So, we follow them?" Bleeder asked.

"That's what the boss said! Keep them in sight and keep them from leaving the station if it has to come to it," Cracker told him.

"What's the boss going to do?"

"Probably gather the gang and get ready to take these folks down. We stay on them until then," Cracker told his friend. They then left the safety of the alley and started following the crew, keeping a safe distance so they wouldn't be spotted.

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And that's where this chapter ends! More action and adventure to come and soon! With the crew now out and around in the galaxy, there are so many ideas and possibilities available! What's going to come next? Well, I think everyone who is a fan will agree with not only what happens next, but really enjoy the next locale and the events I have planned for it!

Worry not, as the next chapter will be dropping on time, as it should. If it is a little late, it will only be small delay, as I am nearly caught up to where I need to be! Thank you everyone, my readers, supporters and fans, who had traveled with me in this journey! We have many more places to go and so many things to see and do! I hope you're ready for some amazing places soon!

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my work and I hope that you've enjoyed it! I'm open to constructive criticism and will seriously consider any suggestions made about various story arcs. Please rate and comment on my work down below and ask me questions if you wish, as I love hearing from my fans! If you like what I write, don't be afraid to follow and share with your friends, though your views, ratings and comments are enough for me.

In the meantime, this is C.H. Darkstrider, signing off to grab a beer and some quality time with the wife! ;) You will attain whatever you most desire, as long as you believe in yourself. Cheers!