Come to Grindax Used Space Craft, Nobody Can Beat My Prices. If they can, bring in their offer and not only will I beat that, I will beat them as well! Ha-Ha, just kidding folks, remember that's Grindax Used Space Craft, Ring Seven Sallic Trading Hub.

The Starlight Dancer slowly orbited a desolate world in the Tarsus Badlands. Slowly a shuttle carrying Athena, Jason, and Ami slowly left the underside of the Starlight Dancer. The shuttle like the Starlight Dancer was an elegant streamlined vessel that looked like a silver tear drop rather than a vessel.
Athena sat at the controls gently piloting the nimble vessel. " I love this" she said, " these controls are so smooth and responsive. Not like my old shuttle, god that was like flying a bathtub using the faucet as the controls."
" How long until we hit the Sallic Trading Hub?" asked Ami.
" Two hours to get out of the badlands, another hour to get there" said Jason, " don't worry the minute we leave the badlands we'll be swallowed up the interstellar traffic going into Sallic, and besides we have the sensor mask anyways."
" It's not that I'm worried about the massive fleet of heavily armed warships chasing us" said Ami, " I've never been to a trading hub before."
" Really?" said Jason.
" I've read about them but in my years as a worker I never got the chance, I usually got backwater colony duties" said Ami.
" You're in for a treat" said Athena, " Sallic is one of the biggest trading hubs in Terran Space."

Isabella Constantine heard the third engine overheat again and the shuttle slowed again. She sighed, there was an entire hanger bay full of vessels and she gets the only lemon there. The well dressed Isabella was sitting in a cramped cockpit, wires hanging down from the exposed panel above, half the monitors were either displaying static or were blank. Isabella looked at the flickering sensor display and gave the console a swift kick to stop the flickering. She was in luck, the Sallic trading hub was only an hour away. She could ditch this piece of shit and get transport aboard any number of alien transports and get into Rhalic Space with no problem, Nix would never follow her into Rhalic Space. Isabella heard the first engine overheat and the hour to Sallic turned into two. Isabella shook her head and flipped the override switch. Both overheated engines were filled with the last of the emergency coolant and came back on line. Two hours was dropped to 45 minutes, that is if the engines made it that far. Isabella set the autopilot, by tying her stocking to the control stick, the autopilot on the vessel had probably been broken for a decade. Isabella slipped the registration mimic into the computer, wouldn't want the station police to find out this pile of shit was stolen, what would they think of her. Isabella made her way into the tiny living compartment of the shuttle and slipped her dress off. Isabella sat on the floor cross legged and slowly cleared her mind. Isabella mediated, the final stop of her desperate journey was in sight and Nix was probably still combing through Proxima V looking for her. Isabella smirked, stupid ass would probably keep searching forever, good for him let him chase his tail until he drops dead.
Isabella heard the timer go off, she stood up and opened her traveling wardrobe and took out a clean dress, her last one. Would have to find a cleaner soon she thought as she slipped her favorite black dress on. Isabella walked into the cockpit. " This is Shuttle Gamma Kappa 147 requesting docking clearance" said Isabella.
" Confirmed Shuttle Gamma Kappa 147, cleared to dock in pod 90" said the traffic controller, " docking fee is 25 Red Bills."
" Transferring" said Isabella.
Isabella piloted the shuttle into one of the lower docking pods on the vast Sallic station. Isabella pulled her registration mimic out of the ship and pulled the memory chips out and crushed them with the heel of her boot. Isabella packed up her things and exited the shuttle. She gave her luggage to the cargo droid and paid for them to be stored in a storage locker. Isabella now just had to find a way off Sallic.

" There it is" said Jason.
" Wow" said Ami, " the thing is huge."
The Sallic Trading Hub was before them, the ten mile long station was a beehive of activity, ships coming and going, repairs crews fixing ships, massive trading convoys slowly unloading their goods into storage contains that would dock with the station. " This is Shuttle Epsilon Omega 332" said Athena, " requesting clearance to dock."
" Confirmed Shuttle Epsilon Omega 332 cleared to dock in pod 90" said the traffic controller, " docking fee is 25 Red Bills."
" Transferring" said Athena.
" We're going to need to find work soon" said Jason, " I don't know about you but I really didn't save much of my pittance."
" Don't worry" said Athena, " Ami and I made sure we saved up some money in case of a rainy day."
" You two always planned to escape didn't you" said Jason.
" Yep" said Ami, " we had planned to try and take Athena's shuttle in the Kree'Xin Space and travel the galaxy."
" Let's grab what we need and get" said Athena, " our ship isn't exactly that common and I don't want to get too much attention right now."
" Agreed" both Ami and Jason said.
The three left the shuttle and Ami bumped into a woman dressed in an expensive black silk dress. " Excuse me" said Ami.
" So sorry" said the woman.
" Hello" said Jason with a big smile.
" That is a beautiful shuttle" the woman said, " it is so sleek, I've never seen anything so beautiful before."
" It is a custom build of mine" said Athena, " I build custom shuttles."
" You certainly have a flair for it" said the woman.
" If you'll excuse us" said Athena, " we have several stops to make and no time to make them in."
" Of course" said the woman.

Isabella waited until they were gone before slipping her lock scrambler in the airlock and slipping inside their shuttle. She found the shuttle was locked down, she would have to lift the keys off one of them. Isabella quickly followed after the three, she didn't want to steal their shuttle but by the looks of it, they had enough money to get them transportation while she was in need.

The elevator came to a stop and the door slid open. Ami's eyes got huge as she saw the myriad of alien species that were walking through the main bazaar. " Wow" said Ami, " this is so fucking cool."
" Let's find a food market" said Athena.
The exited the lift and slipped into the heavy stream of foot traffic moving from shop to shop. They quickly found a food market, and went inside. " Welcome" said a little Kree'Xin in his reed like voice, " how may I help you?"
" We need food for a long exploration mission" said Jason.
" How many in your party?" the small grey man asked.
" Eight" said Jason, " duration six months."
" I can supply you with a variety of foods, both Terran and alien" he said, " what would be your pleasure?"
" Mix it up" said Jason, " also if you have any Rhalic spiced pudding I would like that."
" Certainly" he said, " it will take me an hour or so to get your order prepared, which will come to 12,000 Red Bills."
" No problem" said Jason, " see you in an hour."
They exited the food market, " That better last" said Ami, " that is all my savings."
" Don't worry we'll go into Rhalic space in a few weeks and find work as freelancers" said Athena, " seeing that we have an hour, let's go have a drink."
" Sounds great" said Ami, " and make sure it has a window, this is just so cool."
The trio made their way through the heavy stream of traffic, making sure to keep their pockets in mind at all times and made their way up the stairs to a spacer cantina on the second level.

Isabella tried to catch up to the shuttle pilot when two huge men grabbed her. They were Resicians, seven foot tall reptilian men with a perchance for violence. Neither spoke, probably didn't know English, and Isabella wasn't about to argue with them anyways. Isabella was hustled through the crowd and down a side hall and into through a door marked maintenance only.
Isabella was pushed against a wall and spun around. " My, my, no wonder Nix wants you so badly" came a sinister voice.
From between the two massive Resicians stepped Reaper Sykes, one of the most vicious and ruthless gangsters who haunted the borders between the TUC and the Rhalic Empire and Kree'Xin League. Reaper was a scared, nasty little man, dwarfed by his Resician thugs. He walked over and plunged his hand down the top of Isabella's dress. " My, my, they are real" he hissed, " oh and so firm. No wonder Nix is offering so much to get you back. But then again maybe I'll keep you for myself, whores like you know how to please a man. I had to remove my old Companion, she knew too much about me. But you look too stupid to be any trouble at all. Why don't we consummate our arrangement, you stay out of Nix's hands and also stay alive, and you do what Companions do best."
" Certainly" said Isabella in a sultry tone, " let's go someplace more comfortable, I do my best work when I'm comfortable."
Reaper followed Isabella into a small monitoring station. He unbuckled his pants, " Give him a kiss" he said.
Isabella got on her knees and slipped her hand inside. Reaper smiled, his eyes rolling back in his head. He went limp and collapsed on the floor. Isabella removed the needle from her palm, enough tranquilizers to keep him out for two days. Isabella leapt up and pushed the vent cover off. She pulled herself into the air vent and started crawling. She had to escape now, no matter what it took.

Athena brought the third round to the table, and the three started drinking once again. " You ever think we'd be in a trading hub having drinks at 2 in the afternoon?" asked Athena.
" Never in my wildest dreams" said Ami, " it tastes surprisingly better than normal."
" It is the taste of freedom" said Jason, " nothing better."
" Hey, look isn't that the woman we bumped into the docking pod?" asked Ami.
The other two turned and joined Ami in looking out the window. They saw the woman, she looked scared. She spotted the three of them, and Athena motioned for her come over and join them. She looked relieved and almost ran across the second level into the cantina. " Something wrong?" asked Athena.
" Yes I'm in terrible trouble" said the woman, " evil men are after me and I need to get off this station no matter the cost."
" We'll take you with us" offered Ami.
" Oh thank you" said the woman, " I'll pay any amount."
" 12,000" said Athena.
" Absolutely" said the woman, " can we leave now?"
" Why?" asked Jason.
" Reaper Sykes is on the station, I just had a run in with him" she said, " he's asleep now but I don't want to chance him waking up."
" Let's see if we can pick up our food" said Athena.
They got up, the woman draining each of their beers in turn. They left the cantina and made their way down to the food market once again. The woman paid the man and almost helped his clerks load the hovercart herself. " You think this is good idea?" asked Jason.
" She is need of help" said Athena.
" And look at her clothes, she must be loaded" said Ami, " we can't leave her here to get diced up by a gangster like Reaper Sykes."
" Okay, I just think we don't want any more trouble than we already have."
" I don't think Reaper Sykes will put much effort into chasing people he has no clue who they are" said Athena.
" Let's go" said the woman.
They followed the clerks who were pushing the two hovercarts down to docking pod 90 and watched as they loaded the food into the cargo hold. The woman paid them and all four go into the shuttle.
The door came down but the ship didn't start, " What's going on?" asked the woman.
" We would like to know who you are and why you are in such trouble" said Athena, " tell us or we don't leave."
" My name is Isabella Constantine, I'm a Companion, well I was a Companion until two weeks ago" she said.
" A what?" whispered Ami.
" High class hooker" Jason whispered back, " they are licensed and legalized."
" Ah" said Ami.
" I was a companion for a shipping magnate named Adolfus Nix" said Isabella, " I saw him murder his wife in a fit of rage, he always had a short temper, even shorter fuse. In any case he knew I saw and has put a price on my head to bring me back so he can kill me as well."
" We won't let that happen" said Ami, " might as well tell you know we're outlaws as well."
" Really?" asked Isabella.
" Yah, we kinda stole a ship from an archeological dig on Sigma Draconis" said Ami.
The colour drained from Isabella's face, " You're them?" she asked.
" What?" asked Athena, " what are they saying about us."
" That you destroyed eight vessels during your escape, one of orphaned children from the dig" said Isabella.
The three started laughing, " What?" asked Isabella, " is it true?"
" Orphans? Oh man that is an oldie but a goodie" said Jason, " they say we sacrifice any virgins on the way out?"
" The only orphans on the colony where the ones in the separation room" said Athena, " the only things we've killed were some Tunnel Apes that had infested out ship. Don't worry we have no intention of hurting anyone. You're safe with us."
" Good" said Isabella, " I didn't believe the reports but you never know."
" They say anything about the task force chasing us?" asked Athena.
" They said they had sent six ships led by Captain Hyerdahl after you" said Isabella, " they said it would be only days until they capture you."
" Well let's make the reports wrong" said Ami.
" Can we get out of here?" asked Isabella, " I do enjoy talking to you but we are all fugitives just hanging around a patrolled trading hub."
" No problem" said Isabella, turning the ship on, " let's go back to the Starlight."
The shuttle slowly detached from the Sallic Trading Hub and started on its journey back into the badlands.