“So,” Mellok said, his voice dripping with a question threatening to burst forth. “You know, the gentlemen who owns this… establishment?”
“In a way.” Aileena twisted to the side, shifting to avoid colliding with a passing pedestrian. “I did some work for him a while back. It didn’t end, as well as I would have liked. Let’s put it that way. He’s not so bad, Greddog. Well, as pirate lords go, he isn’t so bad anyway.”
“Not exactly a well-regarded bunch,”
“Well, you know, there is a certain honour amongst thieves. Unspoken rules and all that. Not that they’ve ever done me any favours when I needed them.”
“There is a reason why the double-cross is a favourite after all.” Mellok was rubbing the bottom of his beak as he spoke. “You think maybe Greddog might…”
“Nah no way. At least, I don’t think so. Not good for the life of Ossiark overall is it? If word gets out about your casino come starport isn’t trustworthy.”
“Casinos aren’t trustworthy by their very nature though?” Mellok had gained some measure of confidence, scuttling out from behind Aileena to instead walk alongside her.
“Well, yes, but they give the illusion of being fair. That’s the whole trick, isn’t it? Ok, this is the place,” Aileena said. She came to a stop, gesturing to the shopfront to her right. It was made entirely of glass, the clerk sitting at a counter that rested right against the street. There didn’t seem to be an obvious entrance. In the glass before the clerk was an old rusted speaker.
Aileena approached the counter. Sat behind it was a large creature, a mound of green scales and clusters of tentacles that burst forth in clumps. It had a single large eye which was fixated on a magazine in its tentacles. Aileena coughed loudly, trying to get its attention. Instead, an enormous mouth stretched wide, a thick slimy tongue sliding forth. It licked the tip of one of its tentacles, before flicking the page of its magazine.
“Excuse me,” Aileena said, annoyance filling her voice. “Excuse me,” she repeated, louder this time. The creature let out a long groan, placing the magazine on the counter with a slap.
“Yes,” the creature grunted, tentacles flailing around as it spoke, its voice rattling from the antiquated speaker.
“I need to exchange some money.” Aileena reached into her pocket, removing a small cloth bag. A metal drawer slid out from under the speaker, and Aileena tipped the contents into the tray. The coins inside were oval, a series of lines and bumps across the surface denoting their value. The coin purse emptied, the drawer slid back under, appearing on the other side of the glass.
“Hmph,” the clerk said. “Council money, not worth much.”
“Pull the other one, Council money is the widest used currency there is. Just because you don’t like them doesn’t mean they don’t have value.”
“Well, that’s your problem, isn’t it. People around here don’t like the Council, so they don’t like Council money. So, not worth very much. Money is only as good as the people who will take it.” The coins rattled as the clerk pushed them around with a tentacle, counting their value.
“Excuse me,” Mellok said, pushing his way past Aileena. “Perhaps we can meet somewhere in the middle. A compromise if you will.” The colours in his feathers seemed to shift, settling on a vibrant green.
The giant eye on the scaled mound rolled back. “A rainbow speaker? Really? Of all the things in the galaxy you bring one of these freaks out for, it’s to exchange some coins?” The creature tutted loudly.
“Oh, uh well, I was on my way through, this is my currency you see. It would be a rather large help.” Mellok clasped his fingers tightly together, the feathers jutting out where they touched.
The creature shuffled the coins around again. “Council money, and with a Council lap-bird at your heels, makes a person wonder.” A tentacle began to snake below the desk, reaching for something unseen. “You hear about the Council ship that’s landed here? After some fugitives apparently? And here you are, handing me Council coins.”
“Wait sorry, what?” Aileena’s face was twisted with shock. “Greddog let a Council ship land? Here. On Ossiark?”
“No, on the fucking third moon of Astagor. Of course, here on Ossiark!” Tentacles slapped the desk, the noise rattling through the speaker. One tentacle was pulsating, clearly manipulating something beneath the table.
Aileena’s largest eyes dropped downwards at the motion, her others staying fixed on the clerk. She felt a strange sense a panic, a gut reaction that had never failed her before. “Listen, pal,” she said. “I don’t want any trouble. We just want to change our money.”
“And you’ll get no trouble, not here anyway,” said a voice. It boomed, a thick heavy voice loaded with a sense of gravitas. Its owner was moving towards them, not walking, but instead floating in a large hovering seat. His flesh poured over the armrests and roiled over the edges of his clothes. Greddog was followed by a cluster of retainers, a mixture of armed guards and scantily clad aliens. Several were holding the edges of his long purple robe, stopping it from dragging across the metal floor.
The clerk immediately lost all composure, tentacles clutching tight to its body, hugging at its scales. It shivered slightly as the portly pirate lord approached. “Lord Greddog, it is… an honour, my lord.”
“I’m sure for you it is,” Greddog said. He waved a hand at the window dismissively, his gaze fixed on Aileena and Mellok. “It is a rather bothersome inconvenience to me, however. I do hope that you are not having any issues, Aileena, my dear?” Greddog smiled, a thick crack of teeth appearing amongst his overflowing layers.
“Oh no, not at all. I was simply exchanging some money.” Aileena gave a wicked smile. “He was just about to give us a fantastic rate on our cash, right?”
“Right, right, of course.” The clerk slid open a drawer and began rustling around inside. It slid the silver Council money in, before removing a pile of thick white discs. Each had a black and white image of Greddog’s smiling face on them. The clerk put them into the metal tray before sliding it through the gap to the other side of the glass.
“Why thank you, most generous,” Aileena said. “Isn’t this generous, Mellok?”
“Oh certainly,” Mellok said, nodding in agreement. “Most generous.”
Greddog let out a chuckle, his body almost vibrating from the motion. “Got yourself a useful little pet there, Aileena. He wouldn’t be for sale, would he? I could use a Cortican.”
“No, Mellok is my current employer. I’m afraid his services aren’t available. Until he pays me what he owes me,” Aileena said, shooting a glare at her shorter feathered companion. His colouring had shifted back to a collection of mixed vibrant hues. “And he owes me a lot.”
“Yes, yes, well we can discuss it later. Come, I want you to accompany me to my estate. You are my honoured guests after all!” Greddog slapped his stomach, a chortle escaping from his lips. “And don’t say no! I might have owed you enough to let you land here, Aileena, but don’t forget what you did the last time I hired you. You at least owe me the pleasure of your company. Come!” The hover chair span around, prompting some panicked scurrying from the retainers, unprepared for the sudden change of direction.
“You don’t need to be a translator to get the subtext there,” Mellok said as the procession headed away. “How in trouble are we?”
“Maybe less than stealing a human, maybe more, depends very much on how Greddog is feeling today?”