Space Odyssey: Spectre

They were on Vexical-2, one of three habitable planets in the Vexical system. Salem had taken an overly redundant and roundabout route to make sure they were not being followed. They even landed on Vexical-5 where they switched out their Puddle-Jumper for a more advanced ship. It was unfortunate that she had to leave behind her new ship, it was amazing to fly but now all she had to fly was that junker ship.

The junker ship was used to go around the local system and pick up debris. Sometimes it would be used to pick up smaller rocks or go mining in an asteroid field. Then there was what they used it for, illegal travel between two destinations within the solar system.

At the moment she had a beige hood up with goggles and a sand mask. She was following Marcus Trentwood and Shepard. Shepard, one of the spymasters of the Union, had not disclosed their destination. Likely for good reason, like in the unlikely event that they were caught. But even if they knew their destination they could not see it with this heavy sandstorm that they were currently walking through.

She could feel the sand grinding against the few exposed parts of skin that she had while she moved. Her hand subconsciously moved to the Pyre-21 she had stashed in a hidden pocket on her belt. There were a number of weapons and ammunition in the Puddle-Jumper that were conveniently left behind. So she had a number of magazines to go with it.

Her belt had an array of different items, she had found the belt on Vexical-5 and decided to trade for it. Fortunately the brown color worked well with other colors. It also allowed her to keep an array of items from lockpicks to bandages in her belt.

As she followed their cloaked leader he stopped and waited for them to stand next to him. He then leaned in and they huddled around, understanding his intention. "Listen up, I do the talking when we go in there. This bar is where bandits, pirates, and other scum gather, so they will try to provoke you. Try to avoid killing anyone, that is a quick way to get on everyone's bad side." {Yes I specifically mean you, Salem.} She could hear him point out in his mind.

They then followed him into the bar. The door opened with a whoosh and closed behind them once they were all inside. Only a bit of sand had gathered at their feet. The entire bar went quiet at the entrance of the newcomers. She could hear all of their thoughts, most of them zeroed in on her because of her feminine form and were already imagining doing the unthinkable to her. Except it was very thinkable and they were very imaginative. While she was thoroughly disgusted with most of their thoughts. She was thoroughly entertained by the many others that wanted her to take them to task and act as a dominatrix.

{I am sure this is disturbing for you Salem. But hang in there.} Shepard left his mind open for her to read and respond.

[It is fine. Honestly it is somewhat entertaining. Most of them are subs, and I will admit that having them imagine me in leather and spikes makes me want to get a pair of leather slacks.] She had to hold her laughter as Shepard almost missed a step. It was almost imperceptible to most people. But she spotted a few who caught it in the room. They were all unfortunately part of the small group of people she could not read the mind of.

They arrived at the bar and Shepard began speaking to the bartender in a language she could not speak. But as they were conversing she could feel a rather depraved mind move his way through the bar. The music started up again, but it was quieter this time, almost like they were anticipating something.

Salem soon felt a large hand, or rather paw, land on her shoulder and spin her around. The Uris looked her over with a hungry gaze, both in the figurative and literal sense. She could see in this guys mind and he had a thing for fucking a woman and then eating them in the literal sense. Uris were not typically full blown cannibals like this, but they did have several bear-like features that enhanced their physique.

Salem was wearing a jacket with an undercoat that had a hood. She also had a sand mask and her goggles were still on. While under her jacket she had a tight fitting black shirt. Under that was her fitness bra. She had a pair of basic jeans that ended at her black combat boots. Her utility belt and gun was mostly hidden under her jacket.

"Little lady, how about you and me go into the back room? I could use you up and then spit you out." The uris growled out while he ran a hand along her face.

"Hey back off man!" Marcus spoke up and Salem literally rolled her eyes as the bear man was pushed back by Marcus.

"Back off salmon, I was talking to this precious little-"

BANG! BANG!

"AARGGHH!" The uris began screaming as he dropped to the ground. His pawed hands went to his knees which were profusely bleeding. A fresh bullet hole had gone through both of them and nearly blown them both off cleanly. The bullets had ended their journey in the wooden floor of the bar where two smoking holes were currently.

Salem was putting away her Pyre and turning away from screaming uris to see Sheparad glaring at her. She was not going to voice it out loud or even in his head, but she could tell that the uris was about to hurt or kill Marcus, because it was about to lose its temper. So she made sure to thoroughly embarrass it. "What you said was that I could not kill anyone. I didn't. I just maimed him… thoroughly."

She could hear people whispering throughout the room. As well as read their minds. Was it disturbing that more people were imagining her as a dominatrix? It probably should have, but she was kind of appreciating the idea.

"Girl's just find Shep," the bartender cut in. "That particular guy is a nasty piece of work, has a wrap sheet a few kilometers long and a massive bounty. Honestly, she just made it easier for the bounty hunters to come grab him."

Shepard grunted, "our passes?" Shepard was thoroughly annoyed, she could tell from the few stray thoughts he was letting leak out. He was not completely sealed off like the other people who had some type of protection, but she could not go digging around his mind very easily.

"Yeah, go on back. Ask for the passes from my old man. He should be back there." The bartender answered. Nodding at a heavy curtain that she could not read anything past. It was weird, like it was a blank space.

She followed Shepard to the back but this time Marcus began following after her. She did not even need to read his mind to see what he was thinking but she still did. {How did she pull her weapon so fast? I did not even see her arm move before I heard the gunshots.}

They were soon moving through the curtain and into the back room. It was mostly open aside from a few boxes and an old man who sat in the corner. The moment she moved through the curtain she could no longer hear the patron's thoughts but she could hear the old man's thoughts. {Hmm? More? Fakes or actual members?}

"Old Man Turk, we are here for our sandwiches." Shepard told the old man, which was completely different from what he and the bartender were discussing earlier. Was it all a ploy to throw off observers?

The old man was in some white robes and had a sagging face full of a beard, a mustache, and a pair of large fluffy eyebrows. So when he opened them fully it looked almost comical. Fortunately she could just bite her lip under her mask.

The old man looked them over for a moment before he reached down and pulled a lever out of the ground that was hidden in the sandy floor. The wooden crate raised up into the air. Revealing the basic mechanism that was hidden in the wall, as well as the hidden staircase that descended downward.

Shepard then led them down the hidden staircase. Salem followed quickly after him. Resting her hand on her Pyre just in case. Then Marcus followed after, leading up the rear. They heard it close after they entered and the staircase became pitch dark.

A moment later both Shepard and Marcus pulled out flashlights. "Where's your flashlight Miss Wintry?" Marcus asked from behind her, she could hear the slight chuckle from Shepard ahead of her.

"Between the two of you there is enough light. I would prefer keeping my hand on my weapon just in case." Salem explained and then began following Shepard down the stairs. It was a basic operating procedure that they were taught early on in the academy. Which was why Shepard had chuckled.