So I wrote Part 1 of this a few weeks back as part of a prompt, I think the word was Holiday. I enjoyed writing it and by the end decided that I was going to continue it because the post got a bit longer than I intended.
If you came across this and haven't read part 1 here's a link to it.
@killerwot/a-trip-off-world
Bit of backstory on the idea, so it is set in a world.. or Galaxy. That I wrote a book based in, while writing the book I was creating a bunch of places, aliens and history as I went, but, the things I created didn't fit into the narrative. As I thought more, the ideas kept growing and I have a lot of notes/ outlines written about each place, the story centres around some Star Jumpers. Basically a delivery crew, each place they arrive they meet characters which expanded the worlds a lot and kept bringing up new ideas and thoughts about each planet. This story is based in the same Galaxy and is a good chance for me to explore it without the pressure of having it all work in conjunction with each other. Flux, for example, is a character in the story but, we meet him later in his life. So this has been a really good chance to actually explore some of his backstories. I like him as a character and I love Jex. Jex as a planet I think is great and a playground for me because I love Dystopian, Sci-fi and Cyberpunk kinds of places, but what I love more is the kinds of people that inhabit them.
The time had gone by slowly, Flux stared at his communicator waiting for a reply from the stranger he met en route to Jex. The badly scarred old Trisken. He could still picture his face, leathery scales. Like an old worn-out pair of boots, which is to be expected of Triskens, but this guy was different. His wasn't natural weathering, more like the kind of weathering that happens to someone caught in an explosion.
Triskens are a tough species, from what Flux had heard, during the war they were the toughest fighters... Well, toughest after the Gnosians. But, Gnosians didn't count since they fled into Uncharted Space. All but the few thousand that remained, Flux thought of his Father. "The war would have been over quick if the Gnosians had stayed." He would often say, especially after a few Beskin Stews. He was right.
It was well known that the Triskens had taken the brunt of the punishment dealt by the Confederation. But, they kept fighting. Their Home-world was decimated, rendered uninhabitable, still though they continued. They weren't the only ones that fought, but, they paid the heaviest price.
Flux's communicator vibrated, jolting him from his thought. A notification from the Trisken. "Yes. Meet me here if you're looking to join up." Following the words was a destination ping. With that, Flux stood up and started walking.
As the night grew darker the atmosphere did too, Flux blended into the crowd and paid no mind to anyone around him. Not wanting to draw any unwanted attention, the odd glance revealed more and more about this city. The bright lights covered up the bloodstains, the adverts kept people eyes off the floor and attention from the ugliness of this place. The distance wasn't too far and his journey was over sooner than he expected, nothing noteworthy happened along the way.
The meeting place was a bar, by the look of it. The sign above read The Junkyard, a few people were gathered outside in pairs and trios, discussing quietly amongst themselves, all but two people off in shadows. They could barely be seen, but Flux could hear them a mile away having a heated debate over the pricing of a stim. Flux looked down at his communicator to contact the Trisken, as he did though he heard the words in a slurred voice. "Well, that's how much it is! Take it or leave it."
Looking over to the two in the alley he couldn't make out shapes but could hear everything had gone quiet. "I'll take it then." The other replied slowly, within an instance there was a blast of light and the whole shadowy area was illuminated. It was a Trisken and a Human, the human must have been the one trying to buy. He pulled a gun on the Trisken and the blast of light was the weapon firing. The only weaponry that makes that kind of blast though, is a Trisken Rifle. I thought they were banned in Free Space. Flux thought to himself.
The Human scrambled around in the darkness for a moment, sounding like he was scraping through the dust pile he just created, then he took off into the night. It was over in an instance, nobody else seemed to notice or care, stranger than that. Flux didn't feel anything about it, he barely flinched as it happened, he cared enough to watch. So at least that's good, right? Flux almost had to ask himself. He looked back at his communicator but, decided to put it away and just go inside and look for him, he wouldn't be hard to find.
Getting through the door was easy, they were huge. Standing in Flux's way though was a Gnosian, He'd never seen one in person before. He was huge, standing a good 3ft taller than Flux, not including his mix mash of broken horns protruding out of his skull. His mouth was open slightly showing rows of chipped and missing teeth, Flux almost didn't notice that the Gnosian was missing an arm, not that it made him any less intimidating. Flux was passing by not thinking the Gnosian had saw him, it said something to him in its own language which Flux couldn't understand. "What?" Flux sheepishly asked.
"He said welcome to The Junkyard." A Trisken standing guard opposite the Gnosian responded. "Oh, thanks." Flux maintained eye contact with the Trisken for a moment. "You new here? Don't see many Beskins around."
"Yeah, first day on Jex." The Trisken turned to the Gnosian and said something in the Trisken language. The Gnosian then started to laugh, well, Flux assumed by the flurry of grunting and less harsh growls that he was laughing.
"Word to the wise, only buy Stims in here. Don't go outside to buy off street peddlers, if you do, don't expect any help from us." The Trisken spoke as though it was rehearsed. "I don't use stims." Flux replied. "Why'd you come here then?" The Trisken chuckled half-heartedly and looked away at the end.
Flux made his way into the main hall, it was dark around the edges, but the centre was pulsating with light in sync with the music. It was loud, but not too loud to hear people talking. Looking around the room was hard in the dim light, so Flux just walked the perimeter.
Finally, after almost two laps of the place, he spotted the Trisken, sitting alone in a booth. "There you are. I thought you got lost, come on. Sit with me." The Trisken said and Flux did, the seats were surprisingly cold compared to the heat of the hall.
"How's your first day going?" He asked. "Well apart from being robbed, good." "Robbed, that was quick. Shouldn't trust anyone here." Flux had gathered that already. "I need some work, I'm pretty much stranded here now and don't have anything to my name apart from this communicator." Flux said, trying not to sound too desperate. "Well, isn't it a good thing you didn't lose that too?" The Trisken said, punctuating his sentence with a sip of his drink. "The sign-up process is easy and you'll fit right in. I can tell. I'll take you to Embers place shortly, some of the other Gunners said that she's meeting with some suiters at the moment so to keep scarce for now."
The Third and final part of this story is out, here's a link to it.
@killerwot/a-trip-off-world-part-203eb04cf99b
