A Prologue Part Three ~ The Rise(sample)

Chapter Four ~ an Arrangement:

On the return trip, the crew celebrated their victory in style. Not only did Captain Xavior have enough rum to go around, but also the drugs she had taken off Aden's vessel. Needless to say, the scene was fairly chaotic, as the young crew was quite intoxicated from a number of things.

She turned out to be one heck of a party animal, before long she had loud music playing all over the vessel. She also turned out to be gay, which Reine found fascinating; however, Aden told her she would have to grow a little older before she would be interested. She informed the pirate that in her culture Reine was still a child and any romance between them would make her feel like a really bad person.

When they arrived in Valhalla, Aden was amazed at how it was hidden inside of the mountain. When Reine informed her that the planet's jungle was filled with giant lizards and what not, she was doubtful. So before they landed, she took a low slow pass over the jungle and pointed out a few of the creatures to the disbelievers.

Deytria and Aden both were in shock, once they saw one of the creatures for themselves. Captain Xavior was satisfied with her results, so she landed her vessel inside her family's hangar. She took Aden to the marketplaces on tier six.

She exclaimed, “I've never seen anything like this place, Reine. I'm going to explore. I'll message you when I'm ready to go, if that's okay?”

“Sure, take your time. Remember that the marketplace also extends to tiers five and four. I will go set up the rest of our arrangement. Be careful though, here - take your pistol.”

Reine returned the woman's firearm and walked back towards the lift, as she pulled out her communication device. She messaged her girlfriend and asked if she knew what family her own contracted out freight running and towing jobs to; her girlfriend did not know, but told her to ask Alexia. When she messaged her navigator, Alex informed her that the Branivins had done that for her father in the past.

Captain Xavior spent a moment looking up the family in the database. When she only found two results in the Valhalla communication database, she picked one at random and placed a video call. She stood waiting by the elevator for him to answer, quickly becoming impatient. 

A chubby face answered the call projected in hologram above her small disk-shaped device, while he spoke excitedly, “Oh Goddess, it's Reine. You're Captain Reine.”

“Yep, I heard my family does business with yours. Zander Branivin was it?”

“Yeah, my dad has been teaching me to take his place for a while. Sometimes we haul stuff for your father, I think we even hauled a Falcon in from your first venture.”

Reine smiled at the teenager, who was much too excited. She considered his manner, as he explained that they were indeed business partners. Thinking him a little bit jittery, she asked him the question now on her mind.

“Good, well. Do I need to meet with your father to discuss business or can you help me?”

“I um... I...”

His words started to jumble, as he tried to respond. She watched him search for the words for a moment. She spoke encouragingly to him, which happened to have the desired effect.

“Yes?”

“I can help you, Reine. Wanna meet at the Poison Emporium like our father's do?”

Zander was completely flustered at the situation, but managed to find the words. She considered him then, as she stepped inside the elevator. She pressed the button for tier two and spoke carefully.

“Sure, sounds good to me. Let's meet right now, it's an important business that we need to discuss.”

“Aye, Reine - I mean, Captain. I'll be right there.”