Chapter 3: Korbin
The blood red moon, aptly named Redeye by the locals, was full in the sky. We had settled down at a docking area in Pleasant City, the largest city on the planet. Pleasant City was anything but. A cruel joke since murders, thieves and psychopaths walked the streets; ready to kill, fight or rob anyone who they felt deserved it.
Like any normal a hot, dry planet, Korbin at night was bitter cold. The wind cut through the air, reminiscent of the scum that live here. Kash had finished collecting his things, carrying them in a pouch he slung over his shoulder. I waited at the bottom of the ramp, pulling the collar of my jacket around my neck to keep out the cold.
As soon as the ramp had closed, I punched in the code for the ship's security system. I set it on maximum. Here on Korbin, you were just asking to be robbed. Even with the thin insulated gloves, I made sure I was able to fire my weapons accurately. Removing the trigger guards helped. I offered Kash a blaster but he insisted he only have his vibroblade.
"Your death wish." I shrugged. We sealed the doors to the hangar and walked through the streets of the city. Pleasant City at night was like one citywide bar fight that never ended. Occasional blaster fire could be hear every few minutes. It seemed like every alley had some fight or attack happening.
A Wookiee was defending himself from a group of Jawas. Even across the galaxy those disgusting little runts could be found. He'd toss a little guy away like a fly but they'd come back for more. If it wasn't for the fact the Wookiee had crushed ones head and killed two others it might have been amusing.
We found our destination. A sleazy bar called The Hidey-Hole. It was in sad shape. The front door was off its hinges, nearly collapsing on Kash as he tried to open it. He tossed it aside and walked in.
The main lounge was nothing but tables and men. The floor was packed earth; dust hung in the dry air. All kinds of gambling and criminal activities were going down. A crowd surrounded a table in the back as bets were made on an arm-wrestling match between a massive reptiloid Barabel and an equally large Abyssian.
The one-eyed Abyssian was faltering slowly as a flurry of credits passed back and forth in a constant frenzy. The all at once the betting stopped as the Abyssian found her leverage. Now it seemed the lizard like Barabel was on the ropes. With a final roar and the large snap of bone, the Abyssian broke her opponents arm. A rowdy cheer rose from the group.
Kash and I walked over to the bar as the crowd dispersed; winners and losers exchanging credits. A small Bothan helped the injured Barabel get up to seek medical attention. The bartender was a rough looking lady with a scar that across her eye from her forehead to her cheek, a patch covering the nasty injury. She was chomping on a stubby cigar and turned to spit on the floor.
"What'll be boys? Cash up front and no tabs. Pay as ya play." Kash ordered a local ale while I asked for the local specialty, Kyrf. It was a fruity drink with a heck of a punch. As the bartender returned with our drinks I suddenly realized who she was.
"Talla!" I said with a smile "Barely recognized ya.". She looked at me with surprise trying to place my face. With a big smile she grabbed me around the neck, hugging me tightly.
"Garic Starr, you old space jockey. I haven't seen you in ages." She pecked a kiss on my cheek. Kash folded his arms, looking amazed.
"Is there anyone you don't know, Starr?" I grinned widely, swallowing my drink down in one gulp.
"Talla here used to run a bar out on Henik, the mining colony out beyond the rim. Best damn drink slinger I've ever known. This is Kash Pyndun. He's tagging along for a job I'm doing." Kash nodded a greeting.
"Nice to meet ya. What brings you to this hellhole, Starr? Ain't no skirts for you to chase but mine." I laughed and leaned closer to her.
"Already caught you." We shared a laugh and I pointed to her patch. "What happened there, honey? Looks nasty."
"Oh it's nothing. Damn Scrub Lizard. Found one hiding in the cellar drinking up all my Kyrf. Caught me off guard and sliced my eye." She seemed to shrug off the injury. She used to be a pretty lady, but time here on this wild planet had aged her beyond her years. The new scar had taken the last of her beauty away. But she still had her spirit.
"Look, Talla. I'm looking for someone. Has some of my property." I talked low so only she could here. "Tark Mentol. You know him?"
"I'd steer clear of them, Starr. They're a mean bunch. They come in here once a month; mess up the place. But the always pay so I let'em come back." She took a drink order, sliding it down the bar to the waiting customer.
"They got some place out by the Last Call. I saw one of'em come in yesterday so I think they're in port. What do they got of yours that's so important?"
"A bloodsniffer," Kash said flatly. He was getting tired of all the small talk.
"Ezra," I added. "They took Ezra."
"Oh, she's such a sweetheart! For a droid that is. I can see why you're here. It's too cold for ya to travel out there tonight. And it'll be hotter than hell during the day." She idly wiped at the bar, trying to look busy. "Your best shot will be in the afternoon tomorrow. Meet me in the back at 1600 hours local. I'll show ya how to get there. I've got some speeders you can use." Suddenly a fight erupted. Apparently the Barabel had decided a broken arm wasn't to his liking. He had come back to face the Abyssian and they were rolling around on the floor breaking chairs and tables.
"Dammit! Take it outside," yelled Talla as she grabbed a stun pistol out from behind the bar.
"I'll see ya later, sweetheart." I yelled as she came around to face the two massive combatants. She lowered the stun pistol, shooting several bursts at the struggling aliens. It took a couple shots but soon they both slumped over, unconscious.
"See ya later, Starr" she yelled over her back not letting anyone move out of her sight. "Get these two outta here. Damn fools always come in here breaking up the joint, ya got no respect for anyone else…" Her voice trailed off as we slipped out the door.
As we walked down the street Kash finally spoke again.
"Interesting friends you've got, Garic."
"Who, Talla? Hell. She's the quiet one."
- - -
The chilly walk back to the landing bay didn't go nearly fast enough. As we neared the hanger, Kash put his hand on my chest, stopping me in my tracks. I was about to ask what the problem was when I saw it myself. The entrance to the hanger was slightly open, a wobbling light falling out into the street. I drew my blaster immediately and we walked to the door.
About six teenage boys were desperately trying to work on the hatch lock to the Slingshot. They had fusion torches, plasma cutters and other tools working busily to break through the thick door. Anger swelled up in me. The nerve of these punks trying to break into my ship!
I fired my blaster in the air to get their attention. Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking up franticly.
"What the hell do you kids think you're doing?" I demanded. The group of boys stood side by side. They weren't the quiet youngsters who played stationball after school. These were thugs raised in the streets. When they saw only us two, their fear subsided. They had strength in numbers.
"Are ya gonna shoot unarmed kids, big guy?" A dirty faced boy of about sixteen, tall and thin asked. He put out his hands to show that he didn't have any weapons.
"Keep your mouth shut and your hands out. I could care less if your armed or if your kids." I scanned the hanger, sizing up the youths. Most were big for their age. They looked like they could handle themselves in a fight.
"Put your weapon away, Garic. I'll handle this." Kash had taken off his jacket and handed it with his pouch to me. Stunned, I took the coat as I looked at him.
"How are you going to handle this?" I asked. I started taking off my jacket as well. He put his hand up again.
"I said I'll handle this." He smiled a cold smile as I stood there blankly as he approached the group.
"But it's six to one. How…?" Before I could finish one of the boys, a dark hared brute, grabbed a hydrospanner, charging Kash. That gave the rush of the other five. Soon a pile surrounded Kash. I rushed over to help, but before I could reach him, two of the boys went flying. Kash tossed another like a rag doll into another pair. Kash held the hydrospanner with both his hands. The initial attacker wobbled his knees fell to one knee. Kash finished him off with an elbow to the jaw that made a sickening crunch.
"Ooh. That had to hurt!" I winced; holding my position as another kid tried to tackle Kash. I had to see this guy in action.
With ungodly grace he leaped over the kid, grabbing him by the throat in a full nelson. Cutting off the blood to his brain, the boy slumped over, unconscious. Two others attacked at once from opposite sides. Kash made a leap, grabbing one boy and using him to push off his attacker from the other direction with both his feet in a powerful kick. The kid stumbled in my direction as a roundhouse kick twisted the boy's neck awkwardly.
I grabbed the boy who was wildly coming at me. He regarded me with a hazy stare, wiping the blonde hair out of his eyes. With the shake of his head to gain his wits, he headed back toward the fracas. I grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him toward me.
"I wouldn't go back there if I were you." I pointed out Kash, who was pounding the head of some poor guy off the hull of the ship. I guess he had decided I was right when Kash managed to spin on his final attacker, grabbing his arm. Bending it in the direction no one ever intended an elbow to bend, Kash snapped the boys arm, letting him fall to the ground.
"You guys are sick!" yelled the blonde hared boy as he hurried out of the hanger. Kash stood there tense with the fight still in him. He looked around waiting for an attack, but none of the boys were conscious. Silently he strode up to me as I handed him his jacket, amazed at the site I just witnessed.
As he put his arms through the coat sleeves he simply looked at me.
"That's how I talk my way out of it."
I looked around at the motionless bodies as Kash walked up the ramp, waiting for me to unlock the hatch. I shook my head and ran up along side of him, punching in the access code.
As the hatch opened I laughed at Kash. "I'm not going to move those kids out into the street. You break it, you bought it. Same deal here."
- - -
Kash had little trouble pulling the punks bodies out into the alley. We spent the day making minor repairs on the SlingShot. I realized then how much Ezra was an important part of the crew. Kash was good with a spanner but Ezra was an artist. It struck me as I was rerouting the main flux capacitor.
I missed her.
Even though she was a machine, I missed her company. She wasn't a normal droid to me, more like a partner and a friend. I went back to work as I realized I must have shorted my brain out. How do you miss a droid?
I needed a break.
"Hey, Kash. You hungry?" I yelled out into the docking bay.
"Sure. I could use some lunch," he said as his head popped out of the deflector duct. I pulled myself out of the engine compartment, brushing off the soot as I walked into the galley. I punched in some meals into the food processors, then stood by the water basin to wash my hands. Kash walked in a few moments later and sat at the table.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you, " I spoke hesitantly as the processors whirred and chirped out two small dishes of Pajdi. The thick brown stew was bland and not very filling.
"Where did you learn how to fight like that? I mean that was some slick stuff." I placed a bowl in front of him. He leered at it, unsure of how it would taste.
"Imperial Navy, Covert Operations. Retired."
"Retired? You're not young enough to retire." I looked suspiciously at him.
"I realized there philosophy didn't conform with my own. So I retired."
"Your AWOL." I chuckled. "How did you manage to get into the Karflo Corp. then? Don't they do background checks?"
"Don't concern yourself with my life. Enough talk. Eat." He looked into his bowl disgusted. After the brief lunch Kash didn't speak for the rest of the afternoon. But I had learned something about this stoic man. Just the fact that he skipped out on the Empire showed me more than he could possibly say.
- - -
With the rumor of some real tough guys in town, we were given a wide berth as we walked to the bar. Some whispered as we walked by but others just tried to avoid us at all costs.
The air was much hotter than last night. It reminded me of Tatooine with less sand. The sun baked us as we found the Hidey-Hole. Not much to look at during the day. Just a small building, nondescript and simple. We cautiously walked down the side alley to the rear of the building. Talla was outside in a dirty tank top, looking under the hood of one of the three speeders she had parked there. They were old, beat-up and not much to look at. The smallest was covered by a ratty tarp.
"Talla!" I yelled to get her attention. Her head popped out of a speeder and she waved for us to join her.
"Alright Starr. Here are the only two speeders I could muster up. That one there," she pointed to an old XP-291 Skimmer. It was like an old rocket-jet patrol vehicle you'd see on some backwater world. Which this was. It wasn't very sleek but it wasn't a wreck either.
"That there has been completely rebuilt. New engine, new thrusters, all new wiring. It's got it where it counts. Coordinates are already in the computer. It's about an hour and a half due west on the far side of the Last Call. She'll be the one you'll haul the carbonite on. You'll have to tie it down to the flat part," she walked to the rear of the speeder, pointing out an area where it was flat and stable, " and haul ass back here. Everything you'll need; glowrods, breathing masks, syntharope…it's all in there. No weapons on it so I got you something to run interference for ya."
She wiped her sweating brow as she pulled a tarp off a sleek, powerful speeder bike.
"Now this is more like it," I said as I passed my hand over the seat. "An Incom Zoom II. Where did you pick this baby up? It's a beauty." I whistled an approving sound as I stood to look at its full grace.
"Keep your pants on, sweetie. This one is going to cost you up front. I can replace the Skimmer there, but this is a rental. But because it's you, I'll knock some off the top. Two-thousand credits." I turned and looked at her.
"Talla! After all we've been through together?" I held my arms out innocently.
"I'm not some skirt you can sweet talk, Starr. Pull out the credits, suns going down." I sank my head into my chest, pulling out all the credits I had. I nudged Kash to do the same.
"What? This is your deal." He said plainly. I gave him a dirty look and he reluctantly pulled out a voucher. "Compliments of the Corporation."
"Put that thing away before someone tries to kill you boys!" Talla cried. Kash looked surprised and I was a little shocked myself when Talla ushered him toward the building.
"How are we supposed to pay you if you won't let us?" Kash started to get irritated with all the antics.
"I can't use that here. Gimme what loose credits ya have and we'll call it even," she looked a little worried as I handed her my credits. Kash pulled out the few he had on him as well.
"I'll need a receipt." Kash spoke calmly. She rolled her eyes, turning away. Kash looked at me, shrugging. "It was a joke!" he insisted.
"Leave the one-liners to me, okay?" I slapped him on the shoulder and we prepared for our journey.
- - -
If the inhabitants were mean and ugly, the planet was worse. Across the hot, sun baked surface was nothing but rock, scrub and dirt. The dull brown scenery zipped by as the sun slowly set in the west. The blood red moon was slowly rising and as the temperature dropped clouds started to form. Talla warned us that the rains came at dusk could be quite heavy, but never lasted very long. A perfect way to hide our entrance.
Occasionally we'd zip past a Scrub Lizard or two. We thought at first they were large snakes but when the popped up on four legs we knew exactly what they were. Vicious buggers, big and rugged with spiked heads and pointy teeth. Not something you'd want to mess around with. It was a testament to the toughness of Talla that she even survived an encounter with one never mind only losing an eye.
On the horizon I could see large carrion birds, circling and diving, on thermals of heat. It could only mean the Last Call. A shaft of lightning hit the ground and the storm started. I was on the speeder bike, nowhere near it's full speed, leading the skimmer towards the valley. Within seconds we were hit with the rain, soaked to the bone. This would only cause us to go faster. The bitter night's cold would freeze us. We didn't want to be still out here when the temperature dropped.
As we closed in on the rocky outbreak I could smell the Last Call before I could actually see it. The stench of rotting flesh exposed to the heat and air. I nearly gagged, trying to hold my breath as I put on the cloth filters Talla gave us. She knew we'd need them. As the rain came down, harder than ever, it was almost deafening. Soon the rocky ground was a muddy quagmire. Behind some boulders we hid our speeders. The valley, a few meters away, was long and narrow.
It was darker than it should have been at this time of day due to the cloud cover but I could see a pole supporting cables and a generator near the side of the valley. A tiny, lit shack with a small window was next to it and I could see a figure moving inside.
"Guard post." Kash stated, muffled by the breathing filter. "Must be some kind of cable lift. Brings them down to the base." As if on cue the generator hummed to life. The cable, indeed, did form a loop and within a few minutes a lift car came to rest on the lip of the ledge. Two rough looking men clamored out as the lone figure in the shack came out to meet them. They spoke for a moment, then the three lit cigarettes of some kind and continued talking.
"Must be a coffee break. Let's make this short and sweet." Kash stood up. Through the blur of the rain silently made it over behind the shack. I pulled out my blaster, prepared to fire at the first sign of trouble. A flash of lightning showed me Kash a few feet away from the trio. Then the orange embers of the cigarettes were all my eyes would allow. I tried to rub the light from them, to get a better look as I wiped rain from my face. I looked up in time to see two orange dots fall to the ground. Another burst into a small flicker. Another flash. Kash was alone, standing among the three who were laying in a heap, signaling for me to follow.
"Damn he's good," I muttered as I ran hap hazardly through the muck, not nearly as graceful as Kash. I quickly opened the shack door to find it empty. A small communications transceiver was all that was in the wooden shed. I walked back into the shower; Kash was tossing the bodies over the steep embankment.
"Let's see how they like it." He quipped. Another flash of lightning. It was horrific. Bodies on top of bodies. I'd never seen so many. Like an entire town had been swept into this vast hole. Small furry animals scurried across bloated, decaying faces. The smell was not nearly as bad thanks to the rain, but I had to fight the urge to vomit. I tried to take comfort that the victims in the massive grave were mostly murders and thieves. But it didn't help.
Kash, seeing my discomfort through the rain, put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up briefly and walked toward the lift.
The lift was just a plain metal box, slapped together and not very stable. I followed the cable into the darkness. Chiseled into a sidewall of the valley, lights of a spaceport shone. Ezra was down there and I was damn sure not going to leave this hellhole without her.
Kash stepped into the lift as it swayed gently. Rain dripped in through rusted cracks in the roof. With the press of a thick button the little tram descended. The trip was only a few minutes long but it felt like an eternity. The machine gun pelting of the rain on the metal roof was maddening. The fact that lightning was coming from every direction and we were in a metal box scared me to death. Kash even seemed a little more sullen than usual.
The lift came to a stop. We had passed the hangar entrance for their shuttle crafts and were in a darkened side entrance. Protected from the rain, we stepped into the dry cave. The smell was no longer prevalent so I removed my filter.
"Probably a containment field. Block out the smell." Kash offered. I nodded, walking near the only door. Drawing my blaster I pressed close to the door, hand on the controls.
"No turning back." I warned. Kash looked vacant and prepared.
"No turning back."