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Ship Rat
Chapter One
Thump

Thump

One foot in front

The other foot in front

Ship rat

Thump

Foot hitting the deck

Ship trash

Wipe away tears

One foot in front

There

Hide hole

Breathe

Jump

Safe

She grabbed the trash that littered her surroundings and fashioned it into a covering.  Huddling underneath it she shuddered.  They wouldn't be able to find her now.  She was safe, until she was able to blend in, or until she had to venture forth again to find food. No she would blend that was he specialty wasn't it, steal some clothes, get washed and no one would even notice her leaving this place



"Hey Lem, whatcha to now. I wanna git an visit de villages."  The spacer looked to her companion.

The merchants who had noticed their attire and were about to swarm them with offers of goods for sale backed off quickly at a glance from the two.  Lem, a tall blond man, wore a tight ship suit that showed off his well toned body, Saph, his partner was a tiny dark girl who's muscles were just as defined as her partners. A closer look would reveal a network of finely drawn tattoos adorning her face, marking her to those who knew how to read them. A stranger would not have paused in accosting them, however Lem and Saph were known and feared by the denizens of the port city black-market.

     "Naw, you know what I'm looking for." The man answered pushing his hair away from his eyes.  "I just want one last check before we go, who knows when we'll be back."

     "Well, I can't see that there's any place we haven't looked for info yet except… Come off it Lem we are not going to bother them… Even you ain't that stupid are ya?"

     "Saph the Sisters aren't that bad they help out a lot of people." Lem looked at his companion.

     "Unt'l you piss them off then you're meat for their gods. Thar just plain creepy Lem we can't go there."

     "Then you will have to be polite for once won't you Saph." Lem answered with a hint of a smile hovering on his lips. "I can't believe you of all people are so superstitious."

     "Laugh at me all you want Lem, you'll find out there are still a lot of things you don't know about and those sisters are definitely one of them."  A panicked edge entered Saph's voice.

     "You're really worried about this aren't you?  Why?" Lem looked at Saph with concern.

     "I don know why! Thar is just sometin hovering around them, sometin bad."

     "Oh, another one of your feelings is that all."

     "Lem you gotta learn thet my feelins ain't sometin to ignore.  When I sees those Sisters, they're goin to be the a big problem for us."

     "No biggy Saph all we're going to do is find out if there's any info on my brother's immigration."

     "Okay, but member when something bad happens it be your fault."

     Lem just laughed in response, as they arrived at their location the both paused to take in the building in front of them. Lem felt a shiver going down his back as he looked at it. Saph was just being stupid, he reminded himself.  The archaic stone walls towered over them, out of place after the steel and rust of the rest of the port city.

     "Well here goes nothing." Lem commented as he entered the building.

     "Let's jus hope it's nothin." Saph replied darkly as she followed him.

     As they waited in the foyer, Saph jiggled nervously from foot to foot before sitting down in one of the velvet couches that were positioned in front of a fireplace.  She wondered at the fireplace.  The only organics that could be burnt on the planet had hallucinogenic properties, `Could explain some of the stories about the sisters though.' she mused.  That opulence was out of place here, in a house occupied by those who were dedicated to caring for the poor. The small table beside her was worth far more than she earned during her best year. Looking closer, Saph gasped, it was worth more than the ships gross profit for the year. It was an antique wood earth table, what in the world was it doing here, out in the open where any thief could see it?


"Hello, how may the order be of service to you?" a quavering voice asked from the door.

     Lem and Saph turned quickly to look at the old woman.  The wizened old lady looked back at them.   A shudder went down Saph's back as she took in the kindly face in front of her.  It was perfect the very image of everyone's granny just ready to bake some cookies for the kids.  The only things that didn't match were her hard black eyes.




K what do you think?