Read Online The Space Pirate 1 by George Lambert - Free Book Online

introduction into how Zebans conducted business. They haggled until both parties were almost amused with the result. It seemed to be the tradition here. Despite the plentiful smiles, this was a deadly serious market. People’s livelihoods were on the line. Not only that, most of these folk had families to feed. The bustle of the market masked a desperate struggle to survive.
    Charley had learned a few other bits and pieces of information. It seemed the governor was under increasing pressure to install a garrison in Zeba. Rumor had it that a new political party was forming over in the core worlds, people that wanted to form a new republic out of the old empire. That meant more organization, more pressure on Abeyas to act like a powerful nation even if it had never operated that way. The arid planet had always been a ramshackle den of thieves and poor people. Charley couldn’t imagine what a new galactic republic would mean for the sleepy place.
    In fact, Charley had noticed troopers she’d never seen before. Well, certainly not in Sandflower Downs. No, these soldiers were dressed in creamy yellow armor and carried state of the art rifles. One of the traders muttered something about Spacetown marines. Charley wasn’t particularly concerned about the show of force. She was just worried about keeping a roof over her head. Still, the traders seemed worried that a crackdown was imminent. That the old laws, for so long ignored, were about to come back with a vengeance.
    Charley was oblivious to such concerns as she nodded to the concierge and headed up to her room. She was so tired all she could do was interact with Nex for a little while. She’d seen Nex once or twice in Sandflower Downs but it was always over someone else’s shoulder. She enjoyed scrolling through a mass of information, free to go wherever she wanted. She flicked through a fashion gallery, dreaming about what she would buy when she finally came into some money.

11
     
    After a few quiet, peaceful hours Charley’s stomach rumbled. She wandered out into the cool street and found a noodle bar away from the bustle of the night market. The tarbor noodles were delicious and she washed it down with one of the watery local beers.
    Feeling a little light-headed, Charley made her way back to the hotel and went to sleep wondering where she’d be resting this time the next night.
    Bright light through the window woke Charley just after dawn. Like Sandflower Downs, Zeba only really had two seasons - unbearably hot and just hot. The current season would soon come to an end and Zeba would bake under the sun for six months. Hopefully she would be off-planet by then. Well, a girl could dream. After a simple breakfast of pork and fresh bread Charley headed back into the day bazaar with the confidence of someone who already had some experience there.
    Apart from gleaning a little more information on the political front, there seemed to be nothing in the way of available work. Charley slumped in the shade of an alleyway as the noonday chime resounded across the crowded streets of the bazaar. On impulse she went to see the old bora pod seller, but the hot coal pit had been extinguished by water. The woman was nowhere to be seen. Charley hoped she had taken the extra money they had both made yesterday and treated herself to something nice. Closer to the street, though, Charley saw a suspicious object lying behind a foul-smelling skip. It was the old woman’s body. She had telltale silver residue around her nostrils. She used the extra money alright - to trip to a better place, perhaps to meet up with her long lost husband.
    Blinking back tears, Charley considered what she should do. In the end she heaped a pile of oily rages together and started a bonfire with one of her blasters. She watched as the old woman burned, thinking of the hardships had led her to live such a desperate, solitary life in Zeba. At length a window opened a few storeys above and a thuggish man complained