The Rembrandt Legacy

"We-ell," she said, blushing a bit. "Let's just say Cosina wasn't the only hankering for a bit of fur-play. Things escalated."

"Yes?" Now it was my turn to leer. "Was he any good?"

"She," Lily countered. "And yes, very much so. But we got rudely interrupted."

"What, by her fur-rious husband?" That earned me a palm full of water.

"No, by some former business partners of hers. Seems like relocating halfway across the Galaxy wasn't enough to get the Black Scorpions off her tail and they came to collect."

"What, two wet females against a horde of... what?"

"Two Nor and four Gravon. But my little friend made them reconsider. We came to an understanding." She made a gun with her hand and aimed.

"Like, 'I won't burn a hole into your head if you go quietly?'"

"Yes, something like that. Took me three tries to get that message across. Anyway, we have a new client and a simple job."

"I like simple. What is it?"

"My friend, Ruby, hid a ship full of expensive merchandise for just such an emergency. It's parked in a remote system, somewhere in the borderlands between the Nor Republic and the Zuthrian Dynasty. She hired us to get it."

"Huh. I smell a complication."

"Yes. She lost the exact coordinates when her last communicator got destroyed. We will have to scout an area approximately a hundred light years across. Pirate Haven."

"Oh lovely."

"And... we might have to deal with the Black Scorpions as well."

"Why?"

"They usually don't take kindly to their people being vaporized. I'm afraid they know my face by now."

I palmed my face. This was getting better by the second. The Black Scorpions was the biggest crime syndicate in the Nor Republic. Extortion, arms and drug trafficking, prostitution, illegal body mods, sex slave trade -- and those were only the crimes whispered about in the dingy spaceport bars no reputable soul would ever dream of entering. There were other, even more sinister rumors, of people vanishing without a trace or whole planets under their thumb. Being on their bad side meant no end of trouble.

"And now?" I asked her.

"I don't know about you, but I think we should call the rest of the crew for a briefing. The sooner we help Ruby, the sooner she can help us get the Scorpions off our back. I'm afraid our post-job vacation has to wait. Also, let's get off this rock before the Scorpions come knocking."

I stood up and bowed. "It shall be so."

The End - for now.

I hope you enjoyed this twisted fantasy of mine. If you did, let me know. Vote and/or comment. It's the only way for me to know if and how you liked this. Thanks for your time.

(c)2018 Blind_Justice