Chapter 39

Derk's POV

I lowered the aircraft onto the ground, nudging Shira awake. We had been flying all day, with no conflict. On the outside I was rather pleased. But a little deeper down, I was disappointed. There was nothing better than a dogfight between a couple greedy mercenaries.

Shira groaned.

"Leave me alone, Derk," she said, eyes still closed.

"Come on princess, I'm tired too," I said, opening the hatch. I was able to strategically land on the darker portion of the planet. It would be easier to fall asleep when it was nighttime.

"Ugh," she moaned, lifting her head. "Where are we going?"

"I brought us to one of the Vireal inn's," I responded, helping her out of the ship.

"What does that mean?" she asked. I rolled my eyes.

"You know, like the Vireal Taverns?" I replied, leading her into the large building. She nodded, but I couldn't tell if she understood, or just didn't care. "I was going to just take us to the Taverns and rent a room there, but I didn't want to worry about any mercenaries trying to break in."

"Well what stops them from breaking in here?" Shira asked, sleepily.

"Bounty Hunters don't bother to find business in an inn. All they get is exhausted travelers," I said, approaching the counter. "A room please."

"What are you paying in?" the innkeeper asked.

"Minerals," I responded.

"That'd be fifty."

I put the amount on the table and took the key from her.

"Room 302, second floor," she said, pointing to the stairs. I lead the way up the stairs and down the hall. Finding the correct door, I slid the key in and opened it.

"Kind of old fashioned isn't it?" Shira asked. "It's been a long time since I've seen a key like that before."

"Eh, once you get out of the Orange Terran, there's a lot of things you don't usually see," I replied, looking around the room. It wasn't anything special. There was a door that led to the bathroom, and a couple cabinets. It was obviously meant for a one maybe two night stay.

"Uh, there's only one bed," Shira pointed out, concerned.

"Yeah so?" I said, looking back at her. "You take the left side I'll take the right?"

She blushed heavily and looked away.

"You serious?" she asked, sheepishly, avoiding eye contact. I smiled to myself, enjoying her discomfort.

"No Shira, I'm kidding," I said, closing the door. She relaxed her shoulder in relief. "You take the bed and I'll sleep on the floor."

"You sure?"

"Well if you'd rather—"

"No, no it's fine!" She replied, jumping over to the mattress. "I'll sleep here."

I nodded. "Good."

"Do you have a change of clothes on you?" I asked, looking through my receptacle.

"Yeah, my dad gave me one of those," She said pointing toward the device in my hand.

"Alright," I said, looking through my undershirts. Man they're all dirty. When's the last time I washed anything? "Hey I'm going to go see if they have a laundry room here okay?"

"What for?" she asked, walking into the bathroom.

"I gotta wash some clothes, I'll be back in a few," I said, opening up the door to our room. "If anyone comes in to kill you take that gun and blow their heads off. I checked the specs on it. It'll go through most armor so don't worry about hitting 'em anywhere specific."

"Uh… okay," She said, nervously.

"Oh and one more thing," I said, before exiting the room. "The first kill is always the hardest, so don't go into shock after you kill 'em okay?"

She remained silent.

"Okay?"

"Yeah yeah sure," she responded.

"Alright I'll be back in ten minutes, so don't shoot me when I walk in the door," I said, shutting the door behind me. Okay now time to find a washing machine.

I made my way down the stairs and over to the counter.

"Hey do you guys have a laundry room here?" I asked.

"Yeah, down this hall to your left, first door to the right."

"Thanks," I responded. I did as she instructed and found myself entering the laundry room. There were several old fashioned washing machines lining the wall. Across from them was a row of dryers. "Alright let's see if I can figure out how use these."

I approached the first machine. Man, look at all the buttons. Back in Razursan all I had to do is set the clothes in and hit wash. I mean seriously "Warm/Cold" like how the heck does that even make any sense. I grabbed the handle to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Oh come on. I yanked a bit harder, hoping that it was just stuck.

"Excuse me?" A female voice came from behind. I turned annoyed. Oh spectacular, now I get to look like an idiot.

"Yo," I replied, hand still clutching the handle.

"Need some help?" the girl asked. She looked about twenty and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. I sighed.

"It won't open."

"That's because you have to hit end," she said pointing to a screen. "The last person who used this forgot to."

I looked around at all the switches.

"Well where's that?" I asked, feeling stupid. She laughed and pointed to a big red rectangular button right in front of my face. I sighed.

"Thanks," I said, hitting the switch.

"You're welcome," she said, happily. I looked back at her. She smiled, and nodded. "Well if you need anything else, I have a whole stack of clothes to do, so I'll be here a while. "

I nodded, watching her lightly skip away. I shook my head. Ugh stupid buttons. Turning back to the washing machine I selected Warm/Warm, because it made the most sense. Hitting start, I glanced back around the room.

Hmm maybe I could go and help her out. I mean, what bad could come of it? I started walking in her direction. But out of nowhere a high pitched ring hit the air. This wasn't any normal ring either. There was a disturbance. Something I didn't feel right about. Probably mercenary technology. I looked around the room again, this time more slowly. I let my psionics search further out.

I hurriedly ran out of the room and charged up the stairs. Once I had reached the top, I stopped. There were three men dressed in some kind of leather armor, using a device to scan each room. Oh that's just beautiful. Now I've got to deal these guys. I stepped out from behind the wall and walked forward.

"Hey, so which one of you guys are going to tell me what exactly it is you're doing?" I said, preparing for a fight.

"Ay, this is none of your business," one said. "Go back where ever you came from."

"Huh, yeah I don't think so. How about you guys put your fun little toys away and get out," I said, reaching for my knife.

"Wrong move buddy," the tallest one said. "Last chance, you don't know who you're messin' with."

I stopped. He's right. I don't need a bunch of thugs following me around everywhere. And worse, what if the Orange Terran got involved. I'd lose a lot more than just my job. I nodded.

"Sounds like the washing machine's done," I said, turning around. I heard them mutter something, but went back to scanning the rooms. When I was out of view I cloaked myself. Kay, as long as I keep concentrating, I'll stay out of sight.

I walked back around the corner. They had reached my room. Moving forward, I quickly closed the gap between us. They were completely oblivious.

"Hey I think I got something here," the leader said, standing next to my door. "Yeah there's defiantly some good loot."

Good heavens how much money did Plank give her?

"So we gonna do this or what?"

"Yeah hand me the—"

"Boo," I said, from behind. They all jumped and looked around. Not waiting any longer, I swung my fist out, connecting cleanly with the leader's face. He went spiraling into the wall, making a loud thudding sound. The others jumped back.

"What the heck?!" one screamed reaching for his gun. I grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. He let out a quick shriek, which was cut off by him tumbling over his partner.

"What are you?!" the leader shrieked, terrified.

"Huh, look at you fools," I said, remaining cloaked. "Now if I'm not mistaken, I would believe that you… have no idea what you're dealing with."

"Oh please! Have mercy!" the short man begged. Pff, and I was worried. These aren't mercenaries. They're thieves. Once caught, they squirm like a child caught stealing a cookie.

"Get out. Before I unleash the wrath of the Xel'naga upon you," I said, scaring them. They cried fearfully outward and ran down the hall. "Pff, pathetic."

I uncloaked and unlocked the door. Before I opened it however, I psionically searched inside, making sure Shira wasn't going to blow my head off the moment I stepped inside. Finding that she was hiding inside the bathroom, which was directly to your left when you walk in, I opened the door. I stepped forward and into the room. Shira jumped out from the bathroom, but before she could point and shoot, I grabbed her wrist and pointed the gun upward.

"It's just me," I said, letting go. Shira was shaking and breathing hard.

"I-I," she started. I shut the bedroom door and walked passed her. "I thought I was going to… to—"

"To kill someone?" I asked, jumping onto the bed. Aw that feels nice on my back.

"Y-yeah," she responded setting the gun down on a desk.

"Well you wouldn't have done a bad job, if you wouldn't have jumped out," I said, stretching my arms. Shira stood at the foot of the bed. "I would've waited for them to pass the bathroom and then shot them when they were inside the bedroom."

"Yeah… okay," she said, still recovering.

"Good thing I have psionic powers huh," I said, putting my hands behind my head. "You could've very well have blown my head into oblivion. Especially with that thing."

Shira nodded, shaking. I sat in silence, thinking. Ugh I'm going to regret this. I sighed.

"Come 'ere," I said, waving her over. She walked shyly toward me. "Lay down."

"Wha—"

"Do it," I said, slightly annoyed. Gosh get a grip woman. Shira slowly walked closer and got onto the bed. I put my arm around her shaking body, and rubbed her shoulder. "You'll be okay…. Just close your eyes and go to sleep."

We laid there for no longer than five minutes and she had fallen asleep. I let out a long breath and got up. Taking the covers, I lifted them across her body. I looked down at the peaceful female lying before me. A quick pain of regret struck my heart. Not for her per se, but for Vanessa. We had laid just like that one night. It was one of the happiest memories I had. And it frustrated me more than anything, to know that I could never have it.

Now Tenny says there is nothing wrong with getting married to someone as a ghost, but he's blind. Tenny doesn't see and I don't understand why. Love is a weakness and he rolls his eyes at me every time I say it. It's a trap that will ensnare a man and mold him into something he's not. I can't afford to do that. It would ruin me.

But what am I thinking. I should be focused on the mission before me, not strutting about wining about what I can't have. I shook my head. Come on Derk, back to reality.

Hello everybody. Two chapters in one day so don't skip the first one. Some of you have a nack for doing that, according to the "Views per chapter". But anyways homies. I hope you enjoyed it

**This may be a small spoiler so don't read if your worried**

Oh and by the way just to let you guys know, the little thing with Derk and Shira was only put in for comfort. Derk had no intentions of "Doing anything" And as far as I know they will never get together. :D:D:D:D