This will be all I am posting of the novel, but I wanted to give you all some idea of what I'm writing. Seven years. It had really been seven years since the destruction of Earth. Seven years since the evacuation ships had shown up to take the millions it could off of the planet to one of humanities many colonies. Families had been torn apart. Countries fell. All of it and it’s thousands upon thousands of years of human history and culture. All gone in an instant. Julius remembered this as he stared at the blinking lights and dials that flickered playfully on the console of his ship. The familiar humming of the ship’s Schwarz-Drive could be heard in the background as he continued to stare at the console. This was not the first time he had done this. Ever since his family had made the decision to stay, no, die back on Earth he had been hopping from outpost to outpost. Sector to sector. He was nothing more than a useless vagabond. A beggar who roamed the large hallways and lobbies of many trading stations all across the galaxy. Beside him lay an open guitar case with his earnings from the last outpost still nestled within it’s sewn on pockets. It was how he had been able to feed himself over the past few years. Playing a tune here or there as strangers sympathetically dropped a few coins or small bills into his upturned fedora. As usual, he was low on money and thought that it was time to move to another sector before people started to catch on that he knew all of about five songs and would simply change up the order in which he played them. So he decided to go to a place that seemed a bit more back-water. The Scorpii sector. Essentially what most considered the part of the galaxy where the “less civilized” people lived. It was still under GCIA control but it wasn’t like they ever sent in troops to combat the pirates, bandits, drunks, thieves, and assassins that plagued the sector. They had an entire galaxy to run and they couldn’t waste their time on what they considered to be a small insignificant sector. It seemed like an ideal place for him. A middle-of-nowhere place like the Scorpii sector would be used to beggars like him. They wouldn’t run him out of an outpost, ban him from walking the streets of a colony for simply being poor. He could be here and hopefully be himself amongst others who shared the ill fate of poverty and hardship. He stood up as a small bulb on his console lit up telling him that his ship was about to begin deceleration. Stretching his arms, he walked out the door behind the cockpit seat and past the small table and microwave that he called his dining room. He opened the door to the small walk in closet that marked his room and looked into the small mirror on his night stand. Julius was a skinny man. This is to be expected of a person who hasn’t had three square meals a day in about four years. His scruffy, olive colored hair was accented by the unkempt, badly shaven goatee that he had never found the time to properly shave off. His eyes were a deep brown and carried nothing significant about them. No odd colors, no light of mischief or humor, they were simply the eyes of a man who did what he did in order to live another day. The eyes of a man who refused to curl up and die like most of society had expected him to. He picked up the small black coat that lay next to the mirror on the nightstand and slipped it on with ease as he had done nearly a hundred times before. Grinning slightly, he picked up the fedora and placed it on his head; reflecting on how nearly everywhere he went it was the fedora that was made fun of. This was his usual routine every morning. Like clockwork, he turned on his heel to go grab his guitar. The ship started to decelerate just as he smoothly put the guitar strap over his shoulder. The planet could be seen coming into view through a small window that was placed behind the dining room table. It was a large snowy planet that seemed like an oddity when you compared it to your “goldilocks zone” planets. It was just large enough to be able to hold and atmosphere, but still far enough away from the sun that it was entirely covered in snow. It was as if some great cosmic wizard had cast an eternal shroud of winter over the planet. It’s large mountains and continents of icebergs were occasionally broken up by the oceans that peppered the equator of the planet in what could only be assumed as the planet’s tropical zones. It was called Malkut, well that’s what it said on StarNet (Couldn’t they have found a more original name?) and it was home to only one notable feature. Within the tall snowy mountains and frozen lakes lay a small fortress that was nothing more than an insignificant speck on the initial scans of the planet. From what Julius had read it was called The Den and it was the most popular social hotspot in all of Scorpii. Obviously an ideal place for an entertainer such as himself. It seemed like an odd decision to have the bar on what appeared to be a barren, lifeless planet. Julius sighed, not particularly caring why they had chosen this planet specifically. There were more pressing matters to attend to. For instance, earning enough meager wages in order to get a meal and maybe a bed to sleep in for the night. Grinning, he pressed the button on the console that would initiate the landing sequence and his stomach lurched as the ship made it’s sudden descent. He’d been meaning to fix the often faulty gravity drive on his ship. As the ship lowered itself from orbit down to one of the available landing pads his ears popped with the changing air pressure in his ship. The sun could be seen setting as the final hours of day played out on the planet. Julius’ ship touched the landing pad with the familiar rock as the ships hydraulic landing gear kicked in. It was a comforting feeling to once again be able to walk in an open space. Julius eagerly opened the door and stepped out into the chili night. It was colder than he expected but nothing he wasn’t able to handle. Looking around him he could see ships of all definitions and product lines around. A few even looked as if they had been custom built. However, Julius noticed that a few hard the familiar shape of bomb bays and missile pods that seemed to be a common fashion among many of the ships. He shrugged, it was simply a product of the times, though he felt a little nervous at the fact that he had no defenses on his ship. Hopefully he wouldn’t make anyone too angry during his stay here. A small concrete path lead away from the group of landing pads and into the great stone fortress known as The Den. It was a massive structure that had a look of absolute authority about it. It’s spires lept gloriously into the sky and seemed like they could intimidate even the bravest of men. Under different circumstances, the place wouldn’t have been one that anyone would have visited with the black brick seeming to absorb all light somehow making it appear even darker than the night sky itself. From within it’s many ornate gothic windows the warm yellow light of candles and fires could be seen making the grim place seem oddly welcoming when contrasted against the cold snowy evening. Even from here Julius could hear the sounds of music, talking, and large bursts of laughter as world-weary men traded stories over a nice cold cup up beer or glass of wine. Julius’ grin widened hopefully. The place looked busy and that was exactly what he had needed. He began walking down the concrete path with an air of self assurance. He approached the red oak door that marked the entrance to the bar and opened it with the confidence and arrogance of a politician. As expected, no one took a second glance at the stranger who entered the bar and Julius took this moment to take in the decor of the place. It was very classical. Ornate red curtains covered the windows and his the night’s chill behind a veil of silk. Animal furs from large native animals hung on the walls with various small plaques below them. The tables and chairs were far more classy than what you would expect from a bar in this sector. It seemed so out of place that the owner had such an expensive eye for decor and had the money to support it. Still, people came. Waitresses were tending the bar’s patrons as an entertainer performed on a stage at the back of the room. The music was light, calm, and no one seemed to be paying attention to it. A brown haired woman in a white bartender’s uniform noticed him and walked over to him. “Is there anything I can get for you, sir?” The woman said, smiling sweetly at Julius like she did with every other customer at the bar. She had that overly friendly glint in her eye of someone who had dealt with the wandering eyes of many drunk men and used it to further the business of the bar. “No, I’m fine.” He said a bit stiffly, keeping his attention the stage hoping to find a moment when he could take over for the entertainer. The woman gave him a dismissive look as she walked off to help another customer. She had no time for freeloaders. Julius didn’t even notice and began to walk up to the stage so that he could wait for his moment when he could begin playing for his guitar. He sat at an empty table and respectfully waited for the man to finish whatever song he was strumming on the harp. While Julius waited he took his acoustic out of it’s case and began quietly tuning his guitar. After a while the man became thirsty and hungry and wanted something strong to chase the night’s cold away. So he calmly set his harp down and walked over to the bar where he proceeded to order a drink and awkwardly hit on the bar tender. Julius took the opportunity and calmly walked up onto the stage with his guitar in hand. He strummed once, then twice as he tuned it once more for good measure and began to play. The music was rather unimpressive to most people. It turned one head or two as they noticed that the soft prickles of the harp were replaced by the echoes of the acoustic. However, as much as Julius wanted to believe the attention was now on him, it had quickly shifted over to the man with spiked, jet black, hair and full body armor came in with a gun drawn. Julius’ hand fumbled over a few more notes before stopping entirely. The man’s gaze shifted back and forth nervously across the room, freezing Julius in his place. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest as adrenaline pumped through his veins. However, what terrified him more was the fact that none of the people in the bar seemed to even care. How could they act so casual about this? “You better put your hands up in the air or this bar’s gunna end up bein’ a graveyard!” The man said. How cliché, had this been planned as something to keep the patron’s excited or was this so common that no one even bothered to care anymore. Still, almost no reaction from anyone in the bar. Conversation had died down and a few annoyed sighs could be heard among the bar’s grumpier patron’s. “I said put your hands in the air!” The man yelled, obviously annoyed at the lack of attention he was getting. Julius still sat there in absolute horror as the man’s face became a deep shade of purple, someone was about to be shot. Even though Julius didn’t notice, the bar’s full attention was on the man. Many hands were slowly trying to reach for holstered guns without the man noticing and others simply held conversations in order to distract from the readying guns. Julius only noticed the man and his raving demands. “I want forty-thousand pixels or I’ll start dropping bodies!” The man yelled once more, terrifying Julius even more. In fact, he was so focused on the insane man that he didn’t notice when a man entered through a door at the back of the stage. Luckily enough, the robber was too focused on his on yelling to notice either and carried a look of absolute shock when an arrow suddenly appeared imbedded in his chest. Julius’ mouth gaped open for a second as his head jerked around to see a man holding a bow in his hand. He was a tall, slender man of what would’ve been described as asian descent back on earth. His hair was similar in color’s to Julius’ except spiked upwards and considerably less shabby. He was dressed in light armor. On his back was a deep blue cloak that had the cowl pulled back. The man was grinning slightly as he admired his kill and Julius still looked at him with absolute horror, expecting him to be another intruder. “Carry on.” The man said as everyone continued about their business. The man’s bow folded in on itself forming a sort of odd gauntlet on his left forearm. He nodded to two people similarly armored in heavier, all black, designs. They immediately went over to the now lifeless body and go about the business of removing it from the room. Julius scrambled up from the stool he was sitting and made eye contact with the stranger. “What the hell was that?” Julius said in a surprised, rather cowardly squeak. The man’s confident and piercing eyes locked onto Julius’ and with a smile he casually said. “No need to worry, this only happens about once a week. We usually handle it without too much of a fuss.” The man chuckled lightly as he stared at Julius with a look that said “How naive of you to think that this wouldn’t be the norm” which Julius didn’t care for all that much. “What’s your name, kid?” The man asked, Julius didn’t like being referred to as kid and straightened his posture. “Julius. Julius Mayne.” He said with as much pseudo-confidence as he could muster. The man struck him as slightly arrogant, but Julius wasn’t usually the confrontational type and he was still somewhat thankful that man had saved him. “Yours?” He asked questioningly still making a point of maintaining eye contact. “Mars Ryuogen. I work here. Usually run the place when the boss isn’t available.” He replied with the same satisfied grin and his eyes carried a small twinkle to them. As arrogant as he might be, he was obviously proud of where he worked and all that he had accomplished. It was evident by the look on his face and Julius carried at least a little respect for the fact that the man seemed to be happy with his lot in life. “Who do you work for?” He asked curiously. While the use of deadly force may or may not have been necessary it was still rather shocking to Julius that they had so readily killed the raving lunatic. “A man named Nox. He founded the Wolf’s Den a few years ago after a nasty bit of business in another sector. Since then t has been fitted with a bar and opened to the public; making it the most popular social hotspot in all of Scorpii. Either way, carry on, Julius. i have work I need to get to.” He said nodding going back through the door he had come from. As if he were nothing more than an ocean wave coming up on the beach only to quickly recede again. Julius sat once more and stared at the spot the man had been. His hands shaking slightly as he picked up his guitar once more. he contemplated whether or not he should do as the man said and carry on with what he had been doing. He still wanted to make a bit of money before he turned in for the night, and he still hadn’t eaten. Yet, his nerves were too shaken and his mind was racing too fast for him to even hear what he was thinking. He eventually decided it would be best to call it an early night. After he had put up his guitar he grabbed a quick drink and walked back out into the chili night. It was a beautiful night as it always was at the Den and the sky shimmered with the deep blues and celestial greens of what they called the Aurora Borealis back on earth. Other than the ship landing area there was nothing but miles and miles of flat empty snow that somehow added to the beauty of the night. Julius could even see the system’s moon cresting over the dark horizon. He started the trek back to the landing area. As he fumbled with the key to his ship, he felt as if someone was watching him. He looked over his shoulder, continuing to walk, and didn’t see anything other than vague shadows of movement in the dark night. He just assumed this was his head playing tricks on him and went about his way. He opened the door to his ship and immediately closed it so that the night’s chill wouldn’t follow him. As he lay in his bed that night many dreams plagued his subconscious. Dreams of Earth. Dreams of hope and wonder. Dreams of him making something of his life and being something more than a useless vagabond. He even dreamed of what had happened today. About what a strange, terrifying sector this was. He didn’t belong here, he had known that when he entered the coordinates into his navigation console. As he woke up to grab some water he mused over the idea of going back in the morning. It wasn’t like he had the fuel to go anywhere else. He was stuck here until he could earn the money he needed to buy fuel. This was going to be an interesting stay. Seven years. It had really been seven years since the destruction of Earth. Seven years since the evacuation ships had shown up to take the millions it could off of the planet to one of humanities many colonies. Families had been torn apart. Countries fell. All of it and it’s thousands upon thousands of years of human history and culture. All gone in an instant. Julius remembered this as he stared at the blinking lights and dials that flickered playfully on the console of his ship. The familiar humming of the ship’s Schwarz-Drive could be heard in the background as he continued to stare at the console. This was not the first time he had done this. Ever since his family had made the decision to stay, no, die back on Earth he had been hopping from outpost to outpost. Sector to sector. He was nothing more than a useless vagabond. A beggar who roamed the large hallways and lobbies of many trading stations all across the galaxy. Beside him lay an open guitar case with his earnings from the last outpost still nestled within it’s sewn on pockets. It was how he had been able to feed himself over the past few years. Playing a tune here or there as strangers sympathetically dropped a few coins or small bills into his upturned fedora. As usual, he was low on money and thought that it was time to move to another sector before people started to catch on that he knew all of about five songs and would simply change up the order in which he played them. So he decided to go to a place that seemed a bit more back-water. The Scorpii sector. Essentially what most considered the part of the galaxy where the “less civilized” people lived. It was still under GCIA control but it wasn’t like they ever sent in troops to combat the pirates, bandits, drunks, thieves, and assassins that plagued the sector. They had an entire galaxy to run and they couldn’t waste their time on what they considered to be a small insignificant sector. It seemed like an ideal place for him. A middle-of-nowhere place like the Scorpii sector would be used to beggars like him. They wouldn’t run him out of an outpost, ban him from walking the streets of a colony for simply being poor. He could be here and hopefully be himself amongst others who shared the ill fate of poverty and hardship. He stood up as a small bulb on his console lit up telling him that his ship was about to begin deceleration. Stretching his arms, he walked out the door behind the cockpit seat and past the small table and microwave that he called his dining room. He opened the door to the small walk in closet that marked his room and looked into the small mirror on his night stand. Julius was a skinny man. This is to be expected of a person who hasn’t had three square meals a day in about four years. His scruffy, olive colored hair was accented by the unkempt, badly shaven goatee that he had never found the time to properly shave off. His eyes were a deep brown and carried nothing significant about them. No odd colors, no light of mischief or humor, they were simply the eyes of a man who did what he did in order to live another day. The eyes of a man who refused to curl up and die like most of society had expected him to. He picked up the small black coat that lay next to the mirror on the nightstand and slipped it on with ease as he had done nearly a hundred times before. Grinning slightly, he picked up the fedora and placed it on his head; reflecting on how nearly everywhere he went it was the fedora that was made fun of. This was his usual routine every morning. Like clockwork, he turned on his heel to go grab his guitar. The ship started to decelerate just as he smoothly put the guitar strap over his shoulder. The planet could be seen coming into view through a small window that was placed behind the dining room table. It was a large snowy planet that seemed like an oddity when you compared it to your “goldilocks zone” planets. It was just large enough to be able to hold and atmosphere, but still far enough away from the sun that it was entirely covered in snow. It was as if some great cosmic wizard had cast an eternal shroud of winter over the planet. It’s large mountains and continents of icebergs were occasionally broken up by the oceans that peppered the equator of the planet in what could only be assumed as the planet’s tropical zones. It was called Malkut, well that’s what it said on StarNet (Couldn’t they have found a more original name?) and it was home to only one notable feature. Within the tall snowy mountains and frozen lakes lay a small fortress that was nothing more than an insignificant speck on the initial scans of the planet. From what Julius had read it was called The Den and it was the most popular social hotspot in all of Scorpii. Obviously an ideal place for an entertainer such as himself. It seemed like an odd decision to have the bar on what appeared to be a barren, lifeless planet. Julius sighed, not particularly caring why they had chosen this planet specifically. There were more pressing matters to attend to. For instance, earning enough meager wages in order to get a meal and maybe a bed to sleep in for the night. Grinning, he pressed the button on the console that would initiate the landing sequence and his stomach lurched as the ship made it’s sudden descent. He’d been meaning to fix the often faulty gravity drive on his ship. As the ship lowered itself from orbit down to one of the available landing pads his ears popped with the changing air pressure in his ship. The sun could be seen setting as the final hours of day played out on the planet. Julius’ ship touched the landing pad with the familiar rock as the ships hydraulic landing gear kicked in. It was a comforting feeling to once again be able to walk in an open space. Julius eagerly opened the door and stepped out into the chili night. It was colder than he expected but nothing he wasn’t able to handle. Looking around him he could see ships of all definitions and product lines around. A few even looked as if they had been custom built. However, Julius noticed that a few hard the familiar shape of bomb bays and missile pods that seemed to be a common fashion among many of the ships. He shrugged, it was simply a product of the times, though he felt a little nervous at the fact that he had no defenses on his ship. Hopefully he wouldn’t make anyone too angry during his stay here. A small concrete path lead away from the group of landing pads and into the great stone fortress known as The Den. It was a massive structure that had a look of absolute authority about it. It’s spires lept gloriously into the sky and seemed like they could intimidate even the bravest of men. Under different circumstances, the place wouldn’t have been one that anyone would have visited with the black brick seeming to absorb all light somehow making it appear even darker than the night sky itself. From within it’s many ornate gothic windows the warm yellow light of candles and fires could be seen making the grim place seem oddly welcoming when contrasted against the cold snowy evening. Even from here Julius could hear the sounds of music, talking, and large bursts of laughter as world-weary men traded stories over a nice cold cup up beer or glass of wine. Julius’ grin widened hopefully. The place looked busy and that was exactly what he had needed. He began walking down the concrete path with an air of self assurance. He approached the red oak door that marked the entrance to the bar and opened it with the confidence and arrogance of a politician. As expected, no one took a second glance at the stranger who entered the bar and Julius took this moment to take in the decor of the place. It was very classical. Ornate red curtains covered the windows and his the night’s chill behind a veil of silk. Animal furs from large native animals hung on the walls with various small plaques below them. The tables and chairs were far more classy than what you would expect from a bar in this sector. It seemed so out of place that the owner had such an expensive eye for decor and had the money to support it. Still, people came. Waitresses were tending the bar’s patrons as an entertainer performed on a stage at the back of the room. The music was light, calm, and no one seemed to be paying attention to it. A brown haired woman in a white bartender’s uniform noticed him and walked over to him. “Is there anything I can get for you, sir?” The woman said, smiling sweetly at Julius like she did with every other customer at the bar. She had that overly friendly glint in her eye of someone who had dealt with the wandering eyes of many drunk men and used it to further the business of the bar. “No, I’m fine.” He said a bit stiffly, keeping his attention the stage hoping to find a moment when he could take over for the entertainer. The woman gave him a dismissive look as she walked off to help another customer. She had no time for freeloaders. Julius didn’t even notice and began to walk up to the stage so that he could wait for his moment when he could begin playing for his guitar. He sat at an empty table and respectfully waited for the man to finish whatever song he was strumming on the harp. While Julius waited he took his acoustic out of it’s case and began quietly tuning his guitar. After a while the man became thirsty and hungry and wanted something strong to chase the night’s cold away. So he calmly set his harp down and walked over to the bar where he proceeded to order a drink and awkwardly hit on the bar tender. Julius took the opportunity and calmly walked up onto the stage with his guitar in hand. He strummed once, then twice as he tuned it once more for good measure and began to play. The music was rather unimpressive to most people. It turned one head or two as they noticed that the soft prickles of the harp were replaced by the echoes of the acoustic. However, as much as Julius wanted to believe the attention was now on him, it had quickly shifted over to the man with spiked, jet black, hair and full body armor came in with a gun drawn. Julius’ hand fumbled over a few more notes before stopping entirely. The man’s gaze shifted back and forth nervously across the room, freezing Julius in his place. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest as adrenaline pumped through his veins. However, what terrified him more was the fact that none of the people in the bar seemed to even care. How could they act so casual about this? “You better put your hands up in the air or this bar’s gunna end up bein’ a graveyard!” The man said. How cliché, had this been planned as something to keep the patron’s excited or was this so common that no one even bothered to care anymore. Still, almost no reaction from anyone in the bar. Conversation had died down and a few annoyed sighs could be heard among the bar’s grumpier patron’s. “I said put your hands in the air!” The man yelled, obviously annoyed at the lack of attention he was getting. Julius still sat there in absolute horror as the man’s face became a deep shade of purple, someone was about to be shot. Even though Julius didn’t notice, the bar’s full attention was on the man. Many hands were slowly trying to reach for holstered guns without the man noticing and others simply held conversations in order to distract from the readying guns. Julius only noticed the man and his raving demands. “I want forty-thousand pixels or I’ll start dropping bodies!” The man yelled once more, terrifying Julius even more. In fact, he was so focused on the insane man that he didn’t notice when a man entered through a door at the back of the stage. Luckily enough, the robber was too focused on his on yelling to notice either and carried a look of absolute shock when an arrow suddenly appeared imbedded in his chest. Julius’ mouth gaped open for a second as his head jerked around to see a man holding a bow in his hand. He was a tall, slender man of what would’ve been described as asian descent back on earth. His hair was similar in color’s to Julius’ except spiked upwards and considerably less shabby. He was dressed in light armor. On his back was a deep blue cloak that had the cowl pulled back. The man was grinning slightly as he admired his kill and Julius still looked at him with absolute horror, expecting him to be another intruder. “Carry on.” The man said as everyone continued about their business. The man’s bow folded in on itself forming a sort of odd gauntlet on his left forearm. He nodded to two people similarly armored in heavier, all black, designs. They immediately went over to the now lifeless body and go about the business of removing it from the room. Julius scrambled up from the stool he was sitting and made eye contact with the stranger. “What the hell was that?” Julius said in a surprised, rather cowardly squeak. The man’s confident and piercing eyes locked onto Julius’ and with a smile he casually said. “No need to worry, this only happens about once a week. We usually handle it without too much of a fuss.” The man chuckled lightly as he stared at Julius with a look that said “How naive of you to think that this wouldn’t be the norm” which Julius didn’t care for all that much. “What’s your name, kid?” The man asked, Julius didn’t like being referred to as kid and straightened his posture. “Julius. Julius Mayne.” He said with as much pseudo-confidence as he could muster. The man struck him as slightly arrogant, but Julius wasn’t usually the confrontational type and he was still somewhat thankful that man had saved him. “Yours?” He asked questioningly still making a point of maintaining eye contact. “Mars Ryuogen. I work here. Usually run the place when the boss isn’t available.” He replied with the same satisfied grin and his eyes carried a small twinkle to them. As arrogant as he might be, he was obviously proud of where he worked and all that he had accomplished. It was evident by the look on his face and Julius carried at least a little respect for the fact that the man seemed to be happy with his lot in life. “Who do you work for?” He asked curiously. While the use of deadly force may or may not have been necessary it was still rather shocking to Julius that they had so readily killed the raving lunatic. “A man named Nox. He founded the Wolf’s Den a few years ago after a nasty bit of business in another sector. Since then t has been fitted with a bar and opened to the public; making it the most popular social hotspot in all of Scorpii. Either way, carry on, Julius. i have work I need to get to.” He said nodding going back through the door he had come from. As if he were nothing more than an ocean wave coming up on the beach only to quickly recede again. Julius sat once more and stared at the spot the man had been. His hands shaking slightly as he picked up his guitar once more. he contemplated whether or not he should do as the man said and carry on with what he had been doing. He still wanted to make a bit of money before he turned in for the night, and he still hadn’t eaten. Yet, his nerves were too shaken and his mind was racing too fast for him to even hear what he was thinking. He eventually decided it would be best to call it an early night. After he had put up his guitar he grabbed a quick drink and walked back out into the chili night. It was a beautiful night as it always was at the Den and the sky shimmered with the deep blues and celestial greens of what they called the Aurora Borealis back on earth. Other than the ship landing area there was nothing but miles and miles of flat empty snow that somehow added to the beauty of the night. Julius could even see the system’s moon cresting over the dark horizon. He started the trek back to the landing area. As he fumbled with the key to his ship, he felt as if someone was watching him. He looked over his shoulder, continuing to walk, and didn’t see anything other than vague shadows of movement in the dark night. He just assumed this was his head playing tricks on him and went about his way. He opened the door to his ship and immediately closed it so that the night’s chill wouldn’t follow him. As he lay in his bed that night many dreams plagued his subconscious. Dreams of Earth. Dreams of hope and wonder. Dreams of him making something of his life and being something more than a useless vagabond. He even dreamed of what had happened today. About what a strange, terrifying sector this was. He didn’t belong here, he had known that when he entered the coordinates into his navigation console. As he woke up to grab some water he mused over the idea of going back in the morning. It wasn’t like he had the fuel to go anywhere else. He was stuck here until he could earn the money he needed to buy fuel. This was going to be an interesting stay.
He woke up. Beams of light streamed through the half closed blinds on the window above his bed. It was a soft, almost grey light that woke him slowly. He remained in bed, but he stared out the window for a few minutes. It was cloudy and slightly snowing as it always did on this planet. It was chilly in his room and his single blanket offered comforting warmth, but he begrudgingly sat up and stretched his arms. He yawned once, looking over to his unfolded pile of clothes. With a grunt, he stepped out of bed, recoiling slightly as his feet touched the cold metal floor, and walked over to put his clothes on. He pulled his pants on, then his shirt. Looking around for his coat, he had realized he had left it on the table when he went to bed last night. As he opened the door he noticed that he was rather hungry. After he had seen the gunman shot the night before, he had lost his appetite. The others in the Den, they seemed so used to watching someone die before their eyes. He wondered if it was really so common that people barely batted an eye at it anymore. Maybe they were all just crazy. He pushed the thought out of his head with a firm shake of the head. There was no sense in wasting thought on this. His jacket was on the table next to the fridge. He picked it up, slipping it on in an attempt to fight the mornings chill. Stomach rumbling, he opened the fridge to see if he would get lucky and find something edible. There was an empty carton of milk, a single pad of butter, and some old ketchup packets. A feast fit for a king. He was starting to regret skipping dinner the night before. Maybe he should try again today, he thought. With a sigh, he closed the door to the fridge. He was going to need to go back to the Den and earn his meals like he had done at so many other social hubs around the galaxy. However, he wasn’t looking forward to it. This place perturbed him and he wanted to spend as little time as he possibly could here. Quickly, he grabbed his guitar case from where he had left it the night before. Slipping its strap over his shoulder he reached for his fedora. He slipped it on his head in the same manner he had done the day before. He walked over to the door to his ship, looking outside the small window that was at head height. Snow was still gently falling as it had been before. It looked beautiful but cold. Julius wished that he had bothered to buy a pair of gloves at some point. He opened the door and walked out into the morning’s chilly air. Julius looked around the landing for a moment. It seemed that most people had left at some point during the night. However, he noticed that a few new ships had arrived as well. His breath crystallized in front of him and he started to realize just how cold it was outside as the chill found its way through his coat. Quickening his pace, he began the relatively short trek to the Den. Julius was surprised to see that it was still open. The lights were on and he could see the vague shapes of some of the bars patrons moving about. Julius smiled slightly at the prospect of earning a warm breakfast. As he walked closer he could smell the alluring aroma of coffee. His mouth watered slightly, he had always loved the smell of coffee. He reached the door and immediately entered the Den, thankful for the warmth it provided. It was almost empty compared to the crowd it had the night before. There were a few people that solemnly sat alone at their tables and sipped the coffee. All of them carried the same hardened look that seemed to haunt everyone in this sector. Julius shrugged. It was probably not busy in the morning. He was sure that people would filter in and out as the day progressed. He walked over to the stage that he had played on the night before and set his guitar case down. Taking a deep breath, he began to form a mental cue of the songs he was going to play. He didn’t know very many songs and he would vary the order of the list every now and then. He carefully took the guitar out of its case and put the strap over his shoulder. Tuning his guitar, he took a quick look at the bar’s patrons. As he had observed earlier, it was still the same cold, steely, and silent types that silently sipped their coffee. To Julius, it seemed kind of odd to notice that some of these people were in full combat armor. It seemed kind of odd that someone would come to a bar, a place intended to help someone relax, in what could only be the most uncomfortable clothing possible. He shrugged; this was simply an odd sector. So many people seemed to be absolutely out of their minds. He strummed his guitar experimentally, checking to see if he had tuned it properly. Making one more slight adjustment, he began to play a small melody. It was soft and unobtrusive. It was the perfect kind of song to be played on a drowsy morning. Julius didn’t play it loud or obnoxiously, but he did occasionally miss a note here or there. It didn’t matter, if the audience didn’t know the song then they probably wouldn’t be able to spot his small mistakes. A half-smile began to form on his lips as the song progressed. It calmed him to be doing something as simple as playing the guitar in front of a small audience. It allowed him to momentarily forget his troubles and enjoy the music for what it was. However, one of the bar’s patrons didn’t seem to have the same view as Julius. The man stood up at his table. Like some of the others in the bar, he was dressed in full combat armor. It was grey in color and very military in design. This struck Julius as odd for a moment as the uniform seemed vaguely familiar to him. As he played, he searched his memory for where he had seen the uniform. He continued to ponder this even as the man walked up to him. The man seemed necessarily gruff. His eyes were a dark, deep shade of brown that seemed to look at everything in a threatening manner. Julius, who was sitting on a small stool on the stage, was forced to look up to him. The man was obviously trying to be intimidating for reasons unknown to Julius. Fumbling with a few notes, he continued to stare at the man. The man stared back; his eyes filled with annoyance, and spoke. “Need something?” Julius asked. The man nodded, a grin spreading across his face. “Stop.” Julius looked at him for a few moments before replying. “Why?” he asked, nodding. Julius was a stubborn man at times. He didn’t take kindly to people being rude to him despite having dealt with it for years as a vagabond. However, right now he was just trying to earn a meal and didn’t see why the man was asking him to stop. “Because if you don’t, I will beat you to death with your guitar” the man said with a hint of dark humor. What was with these people and aggression? Would it hurt anyone to take an anger management class? Julius stopped playing, not because of the man’s clichéd threat but because he finally realized where he had recognized the armor. It was some custom variant on the GCIA combat armor. Julius raised an eyebrow. “You’re GCIA?” Julius said curiously. The man’s satisfied grin faded and was replaced with a look of pride. “They wish.” the man said laughing lightly “I am Solour Keenan of the United Systems. We are the authority in this sector.” Alarm bells went off in Julius’ head. The GCIA owned a good ninety percent of the galaxy and was seldom fought against. A planet was allowed to have its own independent government as long as it considered itself a part of the GCIA super government. They would only have to follow a few human rights and standard of health codes in order to maintain their independence. In fact, the GCIA held regular summits where sectors would send ambassadors to make the major decisions in the galaxy. The system was far from perfect but it was functional and met with minimal resistance. However, whoever this man was, he was describing that some small division of the GCIA had gone rogue. “Authority?” Julius said hesitantly. The man had not appeared threatening at first, but this new piece of information made Julius a bit reluctant to blow him off. “Yes, authority. The United Systems owns a few planets in the sector.” Solour said with confidence and a smugness at his implied authority. Julius let out an inner sigh of relief. The idea of a rogue sect was a frightening one but it seemed that this was a rather small organization. “Where are you based?” Julius asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice. The man laughed once more lightly. “I guess you’re new here,” he said “well, if you must know, the United Systems is based on another planet. We live in a hive city known as Union.” Julius simply nodded, not mentioning the fact that the mean seemed to be rather hesitant to answer his question. The man paused slightly. “Now, I will only ask once more. Put your guitar away so that I don’t have to hear it anymore.” Julius, wanting to avoid further confrontation, begrudgingly put his guitar away and stood up. “Good.” the man said with an idiotic grin spreading across his face. Julius began to walk over to an empty table in the corner of the bar so that he could stew. He was simply trying to earn himself some breakfast. He hadn’t been bothering anyone. Sighing, he sat and waited, hoping for the man to eventually leave so that he could try his luck once more. Still, he sat, back to the rest of the bar brooding until he heard a woman’s voice behind him. “That guy was a bit of an ass, wasn’t he?” the woman said, chuckling. Julius looked over his shoulder, a little annoyed that someone had interrupted his brooding. The woman seemed fairly average except that her hair seemed washed out. Not silver or grey, as she was no older than he was, but an almost faded white. She wore simple, warm clothing along with a small red scarf around her neck. “Yeah, I guess.” he said, hoping the conversation would end there. “Is this seat taken?” the woman asked politely. Julius wanted to say yes, he wasn’t in the mood for conversation after his confrontation with Solour. Julius hated being rude to people and replied with a begrudging “No.” before going back to his brooding. The woman smiled widely and sat in the seat across from him. She sat staring at him for a few moments with her fingers interlocked as if she were about to make some kind of business proposal. “So.” the woman said with a smile. Julius sighed. “So?” he replied. His fedora lay turned upwards in front of him and he stared at it for a few seconds. The woman made a mock pouting face for a second before returning to a smile. “Don’t be like that, the United Systems people are always throwing their supposed weight around like that.” she said putting a slight emphasis on supposed. Julius could tell that he was not going to get out of this conversation, so he decided it best to just go along with it until she left. “Who are you?” Julius said with only the slightest hint of exasperation. It was at this point that Julius realized he was being unnecessarily rude to the woman and tried to straighten up his brooding posture. The woman, dismissing Julius’ rude demeanor, simply smiled. “You can call me Edna.” she said. Julius wanted to comment on the fact that she smiled too much, but he held his tongue for. “You can call me Julius,” he said. “It’s a wonderful name.” They both sat in silence for a few moments.“So, Edna,” Julius said, now slightly curious about the woman ”What do you do for a living?” Edna paused for a few moments, her smile never leaving her face, as she seemed slightly hesitant. “I work with computers” she said. “Oh? Are you a programmer?” Julius asked. “In a sense, yes. I am kind of a freelance technician when it comes to the handling of information,” she said, pausing for a moment as if she were carefully choosing her words. ”What about you, what do you do for a living?” Julius noted that she was trying to redirect the conversation, he shrugged. “I’m homeless, unless you consider using a guitar to beg for meals a career.” he said. The woman simply chuckled at his statement. “No, I guess that isn’t a career,” she said “How’d you end up that way, if you don’t mind me asking?” Julius did, infact, mind her asking but answered anyways. “I came from Earth.” he said with a pause. Earth was somewhat of a sore subject for a lot of the people in the galaxy. To many, Earth was essentially still the home from which human life had been birthed. Needless to say, it isn’t something one would normally bring up in conversation. “Oh.” Edna said. She shifted in her seat awkwardly as the smile that had been ever present in their conversation slowly faded away. “I’m sorry to hear that.” she added. Julius paused. “It’s fine, I try not to think about it.” Julius said. “I can imagine.” Edna replied. Julius believed there was no possible way she could imagine. Few people could imagine seeing their planet burn before their eyes. Few people could imagine having to say horrifying goodbyes to family and friends. Julius stared at the woman for a few moments. “So what brings you to the Den, Edna?” Julius said trying to lighten the mood of the conversation. “Drinks and company, mostly. I was here last night, though I doubt you noticed me.” she said. Julius raised an eyebrow curiously. She was right, he didn’t remember seeing her there. “You heard me playing?” he asked. “Yes,” she said shrugging “You play well enough.” “Were you there when that guy tried to rob the bar.” Julius asked. The woman chuckled slightly. “Yes, he was an odd one, wasn’t he?” she said. Julius stared at her. confused at her light-hearted response. “Is that something that happens often here? No one seemed to react like they should when they have a gun pointed at them.” he said. “Who are you to say how people should react in the face of danger?” she replied in a questioning, almost joking tone. “No one, I guess. Still, people treated it with such arrogance. What if the guy had been crazier and just opened fire before making raving demands? And the way that Mars was so ready to immediately murder someone… disturbs me.” Julius said. The woman looked at him with an amused twinkle in her eye. “You must be new here. This is how the sector has always been. Everyone here is crazy in one way or another.” she said. “I guess I am crazy for coming here.” he replied slightly sardonically. The woman simply chuckled once more. “You are indeed. As I said, everyone here is crazy, just depends on who realizes it or not..” Julius nodded. In his opinion, she was right. Everyone was insane in their own way. It was simply how things worked in the universe at this point. Everyone had something to be crazy about. Julius looked around the restaurant finally noticing that a bit of time had passed. The man who had threatened him earlier was nowhere to be seen. “Well, Edna, I hate to cut things short but I need to see if I can earn a little and buy myself something to eat.” he said, trying to be polite yet still a little eager to end the conversation. Then Edna, still smiling as she had been the entire conversation, pulled some credits out of her pocket and put them on the table. “Food is on me” she said, her smile turning into a grin. At first, Julius was going to deny the woman’s generosity. However, he was hungry and she just put more money on the table than he probably would’ve earned in the entire day. Plus, even though he didn’t want to admit it to himself, she made good company. It felt good to simply be talking to someone again. As expected, being the vagabond he was, he spent his time in lonesome silence wherever he went. So he sat back down and gave a small, genuine smile. The two talked. The hours passed and Julius learned a lot about Edna. She lived on one of Malkut’s moons which apparently held a small community. She grew up in another sector but came here with her parents when she was younger, eventually learning how to manipulate technology from her father. They talked about other things too, nothing serious but it passed the time.
