Chapter 150: Unknown Drug
(One week earlier)
(Planet Calypso- Gerald Wilkens Port)
Visitors to planet Calypso had to first disembark on the lunar colony orbiting the planet and register an identity.
The background of this identity would not be checked or verified as it was mainly for the purpose of counting the number of residents on the planet at any given time.
Visitors would then be beamed down to the nearest spaceport located at the outer docks of the main city.
A steady stream of pirates were now leaving through the mechanical doors of the spaceport and conflicts had already begun to erupt.
"Oi watch where you're going you piece of shit!"
"You want to fight?!"
"Touch my woman and I'll break off your fucking arms!"
"Lawrence you stole my gold last week!"
Loud yells and cries of pain could be heard coming from the crowd exiting the crowded spaceport.
The Blackguards stationed at the entrance watched indifferently as the familiar blood, violence and rioting was taking place before their eyes.
Only in the inner areas of the city would some semblance of order be maintained. The outer area was a chaotic mess of fighting between the various pirate crews.
Two hooded figures melted seamlessly into the crowd and walked slowly towards the nearest tavern.
One figure was noticeably larger than the other with a bulky frame and four blade-like appendages jutting out of his back.
Their appearances did not draw any suspicion from the Blackguards as there were many pirates moving around while wearing cloaks or clothing to hide their looks.
The crowd naturally cleared a small space around the intimidating man but there were still those who were willing to take a risk.
A thin, lanky pickpocket with a face covered in grime and dirt, stepped forward and reached for the lower area of the man's robe.
Without even looking down, the man viciously slapped the would-be thief and grabbed his arm tightly.
Crack!
"Ahhhhh!" the thief squealed in pain as his arm was snapped cleanly in two with the thin bone now visible.
The man chuckled darkly and whispered ever so softly in the ear of the thief,
"Meat...... fresh...... meat...."
The thief struggled with almost superhuman levels of desperation before finally twisting his body free out of the man's grasps.
He frantically ran away while clutching his arm in pain.
The brutal man just stood still for a moment to watch him and then continued on his journey.
Suddenly Sophie heard Cleo's familiar voice as the princess sent her a voice transmission through their mental link.
(Why did you break his arm? Didn't we want to keep a low profile?)
Sophie might have been hesitant to injure someone so quickly but a certain memory that resurfaced from Sui Meng's past had changed her decision.
Sui Meng's brother had spent several years in jail for aggravated assault and battery and had gone out of prison a changed man.
He would tell his little sister stories about his time in prison and the tactics he used in order to survive.
It was important to establish yourself as a difficult target as that would dissuade the majority of inmates from messing with you.
There were several methods to achieve this goal from joining a gang to being friendly with the guards, but the simplest and most effective method was always brute violence.
Sophie concentrated and sent back a message in reply,
(Look at the reaction of the people around us and you will see why I did it. Pirates are notorious for fearing the strong and bullying the weak)
(We need to project an image of being ruthless and not easy to deal with)
Cleo carefully observed the faces of the curious onlookers and soon realised that something had changed.
There were no more greedy stares in their direction and the eager pickpockets had already changed targets.
Cleo gave Sophie a short nod of understanding and the pair walked towards an old tavern called the 'Lucky Lady.'
The duo had drafted a complete plan on how to kidnap Long John Daggers and bring him in for questioning.
The bounty was for his death but the bonus reward for finding the treasure was simply too attractive to pass up.
Of course, if something went wrong then the girls would abandon this plan and just complete the bounty.
The first step of their plan was to infiltrate the inner area of the main city and carefully map out the areas that Long John frequently visited.
It would be easy to plan out an attack once they knew of the target's habits and daily routines.
Sophie had rented out a Mark 11 delta stealth ship which was currently hovering in the upper atmosphere of the planet while cloaked.
The girls were both wearing tracker chips so that the ship's transporter array would be able to teleport them to safely at a moment's notice.
As a backup plan, Cleo was carrying a portable transporter array in her storage ring that they planned on building in the event of an emergency.
The timeframe for this mission would have to be three weeks as the midterm exams would be at the end of the month.
Both Sophie and Cleo were eager to maintain their status as members of the elite class so they would have to return to the main campus.
As the pair wandered around the city, Sophie could not help but stare in awe at the diversity of the different species and races present on the planet.
Mendolesa warriors were the most numerous followed by humans and then the occasional Servie zipping around.
There was a high chance that a significant number of Quafes were present as well, but those shapeshifters would not be easily revealed.
That's not to say that the races of the Federation made up a clear majority of the pirates as many other unique alien species were moving about.
Sophie saw races with thin mouths, small noses and pointed tongues while others had scales, wings and strange- looking body appendages.
They came in all sizes and shapes from those as small as a child to those who towered over the crowd like giants.
"Why don't we get something fun big boy?" Cleo's voice was modified with the help of the mechanical voice modifier placed on her throat, so she sounded like a young teenaged boy.
"Grr..." Sophie groaned in a husky tone as she followed her companion.
They could not solely communicate via the mental link as there could be telepaths or psionics hidden amidst the crowd.
Sophie was playing the role of a freakish monster who could barely speak while Cleo was pretending to be an arrogant young man.
Cleo led the way inside of a run-down bar made of cheap wooden material and had a large statue of a naked woman in the center of the room.
There was a hazy smell of smoke from the patrons puffing out wisps of a greenish gas that came from a liquid injected directly into their blood.
"Give me two shots," Cleo sauntered up to the counter and threw out some coins.
The bartender was an aquatic alien with a feeble tail, five side fins, a thin strip-like dorsal fin and a row of razor-sharp teeth.
He was wearing a helmet filled with a deep blue liquid that allowed him to live on land.
Two shiny syringes filled with a deep green solution were then placed on the counter and the bartender pointed out an empty table at the back of the tavern.
Sophie and Cleo sat down on some empty chairs before picking up the needles and piercing the flesh on their arms without any hesitation.
Naturally, the skin they poked was the synthetic flesh from their disguises as neither girl was interested in taking some unknown drug.