Starchild: Dark Reign

Chapter 1

 Level 90.

Gravis added one more velvet red bag to the pile of credit chips that had been won at today's combat meet in the Arena.

His girlfriend looked up from her notes and open ledger and grimaced.

"Hiding out on me again, man?"

"Nope." The other young man said with a small smile all his own. "Found this in the corner stall again. Looks like someone's out a fortune."

Leona made a grab for the bag and tested its weight.

"I'd say so." She said—before pulling at the drawstrings and opening it up. Then she quietly swore at what she was seeing inside the bag.

"This would keep our tails clean with the Praetorial Guard for at least a couple of months—if we allocated this money towards the ongoing plan."

"Or it could buy us some much needed provisions and supplies for us in the meantime," the other man propositioned openly—without a hint of guilt.

The woman sighed and then nodded. "Make it a month's worth of a payoff so we don't have any problems with those stupid turtleheads and then go to the market level with Toni and Frizz and get as much as you can carry back with you."

Gravis groaned. "Me? Again? This is at least a six man job. Not something the three of us can pull off without drawing any attention to our immediate whereabouts."

"You're not the one with a price on her head, dude. Now, go and get the others. You have pass cards. I suggest you use them."

Gravis shook his head miserably. "I don't think they work anymore." He bluntly revealed.

"What?"

"Yeah, something about the updates to the sky tube terminals. The pass codes have been changed with each card. The ones we stole—?"

Leona saw right through to that problem in a heartbeat. "—they would be invalidated almost immediately. 24 hours in some cases." She mused. Then she sighed.

"Well, this just sucks in so many spicy drink flavors possible."

Gravis smiled. "Don't remind me. The tai cahi is still repeating on me after a week's time."

Leona's face transitioned to a dour expression. "I sleep with you. How can I possibly forget that?"

"I always offered to sleep on the racks with the rest of the guys...?" He motioned with a free hand.

"And subject them to what you dish out every hour on the hour? No thanks. I don't need anymore complaints from the crew on that account."

"So what do we do, baby?" He asked in a pleasant—yet flirtatious tone of voice.

"Well, we definitely need to procure some new cards." The woman quietly analyzed. "Otherwise, we'll never get access to those supplies and provisions. To say nothing of paying off our mole each month on the nose."

Gravis raised his hand then. "Anderson I can find easily enough. He's a card shark at one of the local casino kiosks on the upper levels."

"How far?"

"Um...Level 1253. Give or take a wild goose. You want me to put a tail on him—just in case I don't get to him in time?"

"No. He knows where our usual rendezvous is. It would be a waste of manpower to keep tabs on someone like him anyways." Leona said—tapping one of the red and bronze colored credit chips with a chipped fingernail.