Awakened by the computer, I saw the ships ceiling from inside the glass case. Pushing the glass away, I stood and stepped out. I looked around, still not quite aware of my location. Yes, that's right, The Courgosy. The target. It all came back as I stood, rubbing my temples softly. I walked down the short corridor to the bridge.

"Computer, what is our current location."

"Perseus system, outer edge. Aboard Courgosy Vendetta, standing approximately three meters from-"

"Yes, that's quite enough. I was simply referring to the system we are currently in."

"Acknowledged. I will consider that factor in the future."

"I'm sure you will." I sat down in the captain's chair. "Can you give me a list of inhabitable planets within this system?"

"Affirmative."

There was a long silence as I waited for such a list, but there was no response. "Well? Give me the list!"

"Pegasus is the only planet which is currently inhabited within this system. There are five other stellar objects, though none are suitable for humanoid life." The monotone computer's voice added.

"Contact the planet's spaceport control. Request permission to land. Once affirmed, take us in to the specified pad." A barely-audible click sounded as the comm beacon was activated.

"Completed. Initiating landing sequence to pad Gamma-seven." The ship veered to the left and downward as the computer calculated specific travel coordinates. The engines kicked in and began to draw the planet closer and closer, until it stretched over all I could see. A slight turn, only a few degrees upward, slowed us down and prepared the heat shields for the impact. A jolt shook the view a bit as we hit the outer atmosphere, though the brand-new ship's dampeners were more than enough to prevent me from feeling it. The shaking continued to increase as the ship moved to higher and higher pressures, and then finally stopped as we began to slow. As the ship became level, I saw the intricate map of rivers and plains that covered the landscape. It was all most exhilarating. The clouds rose above us as we neared closer and closer to the ground, until we touched down with a gentle shake.

"Landing procedure complete. You may now exit the vehicle."

Standing, I turned and began walking toward the door. I stopped dead in my tracks. I had forgotten something. Something important. The pamphlet, of course. I returned to the cockpit and retrieved it. Pressing the panel on the door, I walked out. I continued down the plank as it quickly extended before me and onto the dark asphalt. When I arrived at the main building, I walked into the main plaza within.

Though it was entitled the Spaceport Plaza, that was hardly the term to be used. Funded almost entirely by it's self-sufficient economy, the independant world's main port was basically a few patches of tar with chalk on them. The 'plaza', as they called it, consisted of a restaurant and a refueling station, in addition to a small taxi service. Eyeing the taxi office carefully, I decided from past experience to ignore it. Cabbies fell among the most annoying of people, especially on small worlds such as this one. Public transportation provided a cleaner, less annoying alternative. I suddenly realized that I was incredibly hungry.

Walking into the moist, dirty restaurant, I noticed that there were actually a few people in it, talking about the day, or their life, or whatever interested them. Looking around for some kind of table, but to no avail, I sat on one of the barstools. Choosing the one closest to the wall, I turned it so as to see the door. Force of habit, but not an unhealthy one by any means. Saved my life on many occasions. You never want to be the last to see what's about to come through the door.

A few long, tired faces sat among the bottles of beer (some empty, some full, but more of them empty), and hardly any of them were talking. Two men in grey uniform carried on a conversation a few feet across from me.

"I'm tellin' ya Jenkins, we just don't have the capacity to make some runs these days."

"Yeah, well at least it's never boring." There was a short pause. "Ah hell, of course it's boring."

They both laughed a short while and each took a sip of their beer. The first one pointed to me and spoke. "Say, could I interest you in a bit of courier work?"

I quickly decided against it. "No, that's okay. I'm pretty busy as it is."

"Ah, that's what I figured. Thanks anyway." The worker returned to his drink.

"No problem." My stomach gurgled a bit as I relized that I still had not been serviced. I cleared my throat loudly, attempting to get someone's attention, and was greeted with silence.

"Bartender?" I asked, loudly enough to be appropriate, yet quietly enough not to be obnoxious.

Nothing.

"Bartender?" I called out, a bit louder.

Still no response.

"Bartender!" I didn't quite scream, but I came damned close. A few heads turned and looked at me quite strangely, then turned back as soon as I glared back. Then I saw a small silver bell, with a sign underneath. "Ring For Service", it proclaimed. I did just that. I rang once, then again. When nothing happened, I rang three more times, all very quickly.

A loud shatter rang throughout the bar as something in the back room collapsed. "Damnit!" A large, grotesque man stormed from the kitchen and into the small area behind the bar counter. "Who did that?"

I remained quiet. He turned to walk away, grumbling, when I spoke up. "Excuse me, can I have some service?"

He turned around and looked right at me. "What did you say?"

"Service. Can I have some?" I didn't want to be too forceful, for reasons that should be quite obvious.

A nearly toothless smile grew across his face. "Why of course. Whatcha want?"

Though not exactly aesthetically pleasing, his smile was reassuring. "Well, what is your special today?"

"Plastiburgers."

I grimaced. There were few things more tasteless than a plastiburger. "Hmmm... well what do you have other than the special?"

"Try the Plastiburger Basket."

"And what does that come with?"

"A plastiburger, and a basket. What did you think it came with?"

"Okay... do you have anything other than plastiburgers?"

"Beer."

"Fine I'll have a beer."

"Coming right up."

He walked back into the kitchen and emerged with a long-necked brown bottle. He then resumed his work behind the doors. It wasn't food, but it would surfice for now. I twisted the small metal cap off and laid it on the table. Lifting the bottle to my lips, a thick liquid seeped from the rim. As soon as it hit my tongue I spat it out, sending droplets of the thick brown beverage all over the wall and counter. Retching, I threw the bottle and cap into the waste-disposal unit. If this was their beer, then I'm glad I didn't try their plastiburgers. I was no longer hungry.

As I started to stand up, I spotted a man in casual attire looking at what appeared to be a photograph. As soon as he saw me getting ready to leave he tucked it away in his pocket and walked off down the passageway towards the door. Noting this suspicious behavior, I followed him. He walked on, occasionally looking back, but trying to conceal it when he saw I was looking at him. When he reached the door I had neared very close, and he opened it slowly. The second he was halfway through he slammed it closed, tossing a nearby garbage unit in front of it to block the exit. I too, sprinted towards the glass door, but found it to be completely stuck. Pulling my blaster from my side, I aimed it and fired at the glass, shattering it into a million pieces. Sliding under it, I broke into a full run after him.

I continued to run along the concrete path outside, and we were both beginning to tire. The adrenaline began to wear off, and my legs became tired and heavy. Ahead, he stumbled over his own feet and fell to the ground. I was right behind him when he began to get up. Diving, I toppled him over once again. From the corner of my eye I saw him reach into his jacket, then retrive a small weapon. Drawing my own weapon, I balled up a fist and knocked his aside. I shoved the barrel of the gun into his throat and wiped the sweat from my brow with my free hand.

"Who the hell are you?" Looking into his face I saw that he couldn't be more than seventeen, maybe eighteen Earth years. Hell, he was just a kid.

"Nobody!" He whimpered, drawing his head away from the cold metal of the gun. "I'm just doing what I was told!"

"By who? Who told you?" I asked forcefully.

"I was at Opal, and, and, and-"

"And what?" I was nearly screaming, now.

"And, and-" Suddenly a jabbing pain roared through my left arm. I screamed in agony as I pulled the trigger of the blaster, vaporizing much of his upper body and splattering a spray of blood all over the path we fought upon. I dropped the weapon and reached to cradle my wounded arm, only to find a dagger embedded within it, hilt-deep, then protruding slightly through the other side. I decided quickly that to take this out may mean I bleed to death, so I held my arm limp to my chest, and started walking into the woods around the path. Once the authorities found out about this, there would be a rage in the media. If found, I could be sentanced to death, and on such small worlds, there is little chance of a fair trial (or of a trial at all, for that matter).

I walked through the dense forest for what could have been hours, or days, or minutes for all I knew. Time had little meaning. I finally collapsed and passed out...

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