FSE

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Piro IV was an odd duck to be sure. It was a small planetoid, several degrees smaller than the moon we had just left, named for being the fourth orbiting body discovered in the system. It was the only real place of note in the system, with the rest consisting of a few rocky planets and a larger than usual amount of stellar debris in orbit around an uninteresting M-class star. It was about as far up the ass end of the universe one could get without getting lost in the celestial small intestine.

It was such a small mining operation that it had managed to remain independent far longer than most other such ventures, and as such was still employing live workers rather than just handing the job over to autonomous drones. The colony, if one could actually call it that, consisted of the refinery and storage depot, a bar, and the company housing for the couple dozen or so workers that remained on staff.

The docking bay Corey guided the Sleipnir into was suited for the larger transport crawlers that would transport refined ore back to Horizon, and the ship looked almost comically small in comparison to the magnetic clamps that locked it into place on the asteroid's surface.

The colony proper was a disk shaped complex, with all the mining operations buried beneath the surface, their presence only noted by the occasional vent out into space to dump excess gasses and garbage rock.

Lilith and I waited at the exit of the airlock while Corey shut down all the non-vital systems for the ship. The entryway for the colony was abandoned, with only a few information kiosks and seats differing it from a delivery dock. The aesthetic was barren and metallic, with technology stuck half a century behind the rest of the galaxy and style another couple decades behind that. The hallways were cramped and narrow, with electrical wiring and plumbing exposed for easy access.

All and all, it seemed like a place untouched by anything other than freighter captains and deep-core miners with few concessions made towards any sort of hospitality or comfort. Odd coincidence that, right?

"Could you have picked a shadier place to set up the meeting?" I asked, leaning against the wall, hoping that smell wouldn't sink into my clothes. The colony managed that rare variety of stench between discount cleanser and decades of caked-on grime of dubious origin.

"It's close, it's quiet, and there hasn't been a federation patrol here in over a decade," the wolf responded, "sounds safe enough for me."

"Unless you count the hull," I snorted, "As old as this metal is, I'm surprised they can keep this place pressurised."

"Consider it extra incentive to keep the guns holstered," she shrugged, "you two aren't going to get a warm welcome here."

"Ship's locked down," Corey said, coming down the ramp, slamming shut the airlock's door in the process, "I left the engines idling in case we need to get out in a hurry."

"Getting paranoid Rhys?" Lilith mocked, "can't handle three cops in a dive bar?"

"I'm more concerned this place will start to implode with so many new people on it," the ram said, his tone annoyed, "I doubt this place would pass even the barest safety inspection."

"I didn't see another ship docked here," I said, looking at one of the information stands to find the bar we were supposed to meet these people in, "I thought you said they'd get here before us?"

"They got passage on a mining freighter out from Horizon," Lilith said, "The captain make a round trip every couple days, so they're hardly stranded out here."

"Howdy there, folks!"

The three of us spun around to face the voice, my own hand flying to the holster at my thigh. I managed to gather the foresight to actually keep myself from drawing it, and was rather glad I had upon seeing the source of the voice.

The woman was in her mid-fifties by my best guess, wearing a bleak if uninteresting uniform with the name 'Stacy' ironed onto the lapel. She was a dog, though her features were too muddled with various sub-species for me to identify exactly what kind. From her cheerful demeanour and the length of her fur, however, I felt it was a safe bet to say retriever made up a good portion of it. Her hair was coated in dust and unkempt, the situation not likely helped by the delicate task of managing water in such a remote colony.

"I got word from control we were getting some more visitors, but I didn't believe it 'till I saw it with my own eyes," she said, stepping forward with the energy one'd expect of a much younger woman.

"I take it you don't get visitors often." Lilith led, the sour tone she used for most of our interactions replaced with something that could almost be described as tact.

"Couldn't imagine why..." Corey muttered behind me, looking around as if he expected the station to explode at any moment and send us spiralling into the void.

"Where are my manners?" the woman said, shaking her head with a beaming smile, though I was starting to get the impression that was her normal expression, "I'm Stacy, crew chief and foreman of the mine."

"I'm Lilith," the wolf said, turning back to introduce Corey and I before I stepped forward to stop her, "I'm Derek, and this is Martin."

"Pleasure to meet y'all," the foreman said, stepping forward to shake all of our hands in sequence. I was surprised by an ironclad grip, though I supposed one didn't get to be a foreman in a mine without putting in some hard work.

"I take it y'all are the one's our other guests are waiting on?" she said, giggling like a schoolgirl crossed with a bible-belt mother, "not like there are many other reasons you'd come here, unless you're interested in refined platinum by the tonne."

"Yup," Lilith said, the non-angry tone completely alien to my ear, "They said they'd be waiting in the bar."

"They're still there, as far as I know," Stacy said, "not like there's too many other places they could've gotten off too. If you're planning on drinking with them, you'll be alone for a little while before next shift ends."

The dog woman looked down at her watch, finally turning back towards the station's interior, "I'd love to chat more, but duty calls. If you're still around by 17:00, I'll buy y'all a few drinks before ya get on your way."

"Well," Corey said once she was out of earshot, "place may be a shithole, but I can't fault them for their hospitality."

"You just want the free drinks," I said, trying to work out the fastest way to the bar from the airlock through the intricate web of passageways detailed on the map.

"Your ears perked up the moment she mentioned alcohol, you hypocritical shite," Corey responded, "besides, it'd be plain rude to refuse such a kind invitation."

"Great," Lilith hissed, her voice resuming its normal sullen tone, "I've got alcoholic idiots to deal with now."

I turned to Corey, whispering just loud enough for the wolf to hear me, "I bet you a fiver she takes the drinks too."

The bar was located strategically between the elevators down into the asteroid's tunnels and the dormitory sections, catching the traffic of workers coming off shift before they slumped into their beds.

Like most of the station, it was dirty and bare-bones. Even in a shoddy neighbourhood it would've classified as a dive, and given it's range from anything resembling civilization, it was no surprise it's selection was rather slim.

The three of us peeked at the establishment from around a corner, keeping an eye out for any of the three officers we were supposed to be meeting. The bar stretched from one corner to about the middle of the room, with a disinterested looking canine tapping his fingers along with the awful music that droned from the jukebox. High-topped tables filled the area around it, unoccupied save for condiment bottles. The far side of the room had a number of booths, though it was impossible to see if they were occupied from the outside.

"I don't see them," Lilith said, both stating the obvious and pawning off any responsibility for coming up with a plan, "What do you want to do?"

"We're going to sit here," I said, gesturing to the ram and myself, "you are going to go in and say hello to your co-workers."

"You want me to bring them up to speed?"

"Nah," I shrugged, "I'd prefer it to be a surprise."

"Surprises in situations like this tend to get people shot, Grey."

"It's been all of two weeks since I last handed the HPD their collective asses," I pointed out, "I think I can handle a potential round two."

"We need them on our side, Grey."

"I can be nice if I want to be," I said, folding my arms, "Gentlemanly, even, if the need arises."

"Yeah, and black holes are filled with cotton candy and unicorn dreams," she muttered derisively, straightening her hair before setting off towards the bar.

Corey and I watched as she approached the table, and she was greeted by a flurry of motion.

The horse was easy to spot, standing a foot or two taller than the rest of the assembled officers. He rose, scooting towards the wall so Lilith would have a space to sit. The rabbit echoed the motion, only to realize there was no need for him to stand, and so sat down awkwardly. Absolutely adorable.

Chief slumped against the wall on the same side of the booth as the rabbit, looking disinterested or even annoyed, and rather unimpressed with the former lieutenant's arrival. Out of all of them, he was the only one who sported a drink, straight whisky from the look of it, completing the grizzled-ex cop image perfectly, and I had to wonder how much of it was intentional.

I waited five minutes for Lilith to break the ice and settle in, mostly so they'd be too off guard to draw weapons when I showed up. Hell, I didn't know if any of them would still carry guns now that they were off the force.

I slid my hand down to my gun, unholstering it but keeping it at my side and out of view from the bartender. Corey moved his hands closer to his twin pistols, but didn't draw them. He was quick enough that they could be out in a heartbeat if they needed to, and any more firepower might lead to escalation.

I led the way, keeping my right side close to the wall, out of sight from the officers in the booth and my weapon hidden against my thigh. I could hear their voices as we got closer, and it became clear they knew something was up.

"...drag us all the way out here without so much as a reason," Chief said, that gruff tone of his annoyed with an intensity buried under the surface like a drill sergeant, ready to break through at any moment.

"There is a reason," Lilith argued, her own tone pleading and exasperated, "And I know you're not going to like it, but please, just hear them out."

"Them?" The rabbit asked, and I saw his ears spring up to attention over the edge of the booth, "who is 'them?'"

"That'd be me, love," I said as we reached the edge of the booth. I swung up the pistol, leaving it level at chest height while still blocking sight of it with my body. All four of them turned in unison, and their reactions followed one of two routes. Lilith and Chief both reverted to angry glares, though the shepherd's at least had some degree of surprise behind it. The horse and rabbit, on the other hand, remained entirely in the domain of surprise, the rabbit's jaw even falling open in shock before he managed to find his sense and seal it shut. The horse's reaction was more tempered, but his eyebrow still rose, his eyes widening too as he looked between his fellow officers, myself, and my gun before sitting back, knowing this was a fight he couldn't win.

"You have about five seconds to explain this, Lieutenant," the shepherd said, his glare turning downright vicious as he flicked his eyes between me and Lilith.

"Don't get ahead of yourself there, Chief," I said, gesturing to the gun with my free hand, "If there are any ultimatums to be made, I'll be doing the ultimating."

"You said you wouldn't use the gun," Lilith growled.

"I'm also a compulsive liar," I shrugged, "besides, grumpy over there is already trying to draw his sidearm without me noticing."

"Try it, asshole," Corey shot in, tapping the sides of his holsters, "see if you're faster than me."

I glanced back at the ram, gesturing for him to calm down, "Now I'm aware we didn't part on the greatest terms the last time we met..."

"Fuck you," Chief interrupted, though he did take his fingers off the grip of his gun.

"For fuck's sake," I sighed, "Doesn't anyone know how to have a civil conversation these days?"

"What this is supposed to be," Lilith cut in, stopping chief from what I'm sure was a scathing retort, "Is a means of recompense for getting us fired."

The rabbit and horse perked up, their curiosity piqued. Chief was already at maximum scowl, but I imagine if he were able he would've become even more of a sour shite.

"I wouldn't use such flowery language about it," I elaborated, "but if you help me steal some shit I can pay you more than you'd have made in a lifetime on Horizon."

"I thought you were better than lowlife scum like this, lieutenant," Chief growled, "You can be damned sure I'll be reporting your involvement with this asshole to the Federation the moment I get off this station."

"Now now," I said, trying to defuse the situation, "Let's take a moment to identify the real bad guy here."

I leaned against the booth, ensuring I looked about as unprofessional as possible while maintaining control over the situation to infuriate chief as much as possible.

"I did what any reasonably intelligent thief would've done in my situation," I said, "I didn't kill anybody, though I assure you it would've been easier to do so, and I escaped with minimal damage to the station."

"Believe me when I say that nobody could have stopped me if they had been in your place," I continued, "and the fact you managed to inflict any injury on me at all puts you above about 99% of the galaxy's law enforcement. Yet the moment I'm off the station, you're kicked off the force despite what I've been told are clean records and spotless service."

"Face it," I concluded, "You're scapegoats, no disrespect intended, Corey. Shills. Fall guys. Your superiors needed someone to take the blame, and you lot had the most direct contact with the problem, so out the door you go, from little to no fault of your own."

"Grey's an ass, Roger," Lilith said, "But he's right. We weren't equipped to handle someone with his experience and skills."

"Can I get that in recording? Maybe on a plaque?"

"Shut up, Grey," She responded, "He may have been the catalyst, but we got screwed by bureaucrats. If he can get us the kind of money he's promising... I think it's just repaying the debt."

"And what do you get out of this?" The shepherd asked, his brow lowered in suspicion.

"Besides a shitload of money and the Federation off my back?" I shrugged, "I doubt you'll believe me, but I'm not exactly fond of knowing that I got you lot fired."

"Does that 'thief with a heart of gold' shit actually fool anybody?"

"I've done worse to better people, Chief," I responded, rolling my eyes, "I'm not losing sleep over any of it, but having a few less people pissed off at me has got to be better for me in the long run."

"I'm not buying this," The shepherd said, pushing back from the table and crossing his arms, "you wouldn't come to us for something like this. A criminal like you would look for another criminal, not cops."

"Believe me," I snorted, "you three were not my idea. She insisted I make an offer, and I've made it. Take it or leave it."

"It's one hundred and thirty five million, Roger," Lilith said, preventing him from rashly making his decision, "for taking down some nasty people that really do deserve it."

The rabbit's eyes widened. Neither he nor the horse had said much in the previous conversation, and from what I gathered, the horse wasn't the type to say much at all, while the rabbit seemed too nervous to speak out.

"Who?" the bunny said, finally finding his voice, though his eyes darted around with uncertainty.

"Atlas Dynamics," Lilith answered, "specifically a vault in their corporate headquarters on Luna."

"So it wouldn't even be breaking Federation law?" the rabbit asked, receiving a scowl from the shepherd in return.

"Clever," I noted, smiling at the rabbit, "I knew there was a reason I liked you. I was downright heartbroken you didn't call."

The rabbit shrank into himself, and I could just barely make out a furious blush beneath the pure white fur of his cheeks.

"They, uh, confiscated the tablet as evidence," he stammered, eyes flicking between me and the surface of the table.

"How's your head?" I asked, "Wouldn't want to damage someone as cute as you."

"Grey," Lilith cut in before I could get an answer, "keep it in your pants for five minutes."

"It's not my fault he's so adorable."

"Roger," Lilith said, leaning across the table, "I sure as hell don't like it any more than you, but do you see another option here? We're basically blacklisted, so unless we want to pursue careers as mall cops, we have to do something on our own. And while Grey is a special breed of shithead, he can get this done, and we'd be doing the galaxy a favour in the process."

The massive horse leaned over the table, his bulk allowing him to instantly shift from the background to dominate the conversation.

"You can get us one hundred and thirty five?" He asked, his voice deep enough it was practically a feeling instead of a sound.

"Split evenly amongst all of us, plus any specialists we need," I answered, thankful to be dealing with a professional at last.

"How many specialists?" the massive equine asked, his brow raised in thought.

"Not many. One or two at the most. Depends on the specifics of the vault."

"I want five thousand up front," He said, his tone making it clear there would be no negotiations, "and access to your weapons dealer."

I thought it over. It was a lot of money, but then again, I was a damn good thief. It wouldn't clear out my accounts by any means, and I could always pick a few pockets along the way to Atlas to cover the loss. The weapons dealer was another matter. I could introduce him to Marcus, but I doubted the old man would appreciate being connected with a cop, even a recently deposed one. Then again, the old man had to have friends of his own, those without such hangups.

"Deal," I said, stretching a paw over Lilith to shake. The horse's limb completely encapsulated mine, his casual motions demonstrating strength leagues beyond my own.

I faced the other two, "You want the same deal, it'll take a few days to move the money around. Otherwise, you know the terms."

"Do you even own your own gun, Ian?" Lilith asked, looking at the diminutive rabbit, "I only ever saw you with the standard issue."

"No ma'am," he answered, only realizing he didn't need to follow rank and protocol after speaking, "So I guess I'll need the money too."

I moved my hand towards his, winking as he shook it.

"Nice to have you on board."

Chief at this point seemed torn between a desire to kill himself or merely the rest of us, and drove his palms into his forehead in exasperation.

"What kind of evil shit did I do to deserve this karmic punishment?" He muttered under his breath, finally sitting up with a semblance of self-assurance, "Fine. I know I'm going to regret agreeing to this farce, but fine."

I leaned forward, extending the paw towards him, but stopped as he raised up a hand.

"On one additional condition," the shepherd said, "I get to punch you two fuckwits in the face as hard as I can."

"Not on your fucking life," Corey snarled, tightening his grip on his pistol.

"Relax, Corey," I said patting the ram on the shoulder, "Can't do that Chief. Corey is far too delicate for something like that, and without his pretty face he's basically useless."

"Fuck you too, Grey," the ram said, "If this asshole wants a fight, I can give him one."

"Yeah? Let's see how well you do without your boyfriend here to back you up!"

The two of them charged at one another, Lilith and the rabbit holding back Chief while I held Corey in an arm lock, the pair of them shouting obscenities the entire while. Apparently the shouting was enough to finally draw the bartender's attention, because he was now peering around the corner of the bar with a small metallic communicator pressed to his ear.

"Okay okay okay," I said, managing to get Corey's rage to subside enough I no longer needed to physically restrain him, just as Lilith managed the same with Chief, "How about a compromise? Everybody loves those, right?"

I looked around the table, trying to pull such a thing out of my ass.

"Okay," I decided, speaking fast so I wouldn't have time to think about the words coming out of my mouth, "Corey gets off with a warning, and I get both punches."

I held up a finger as Chief rose, eager to start swinging away, "But only in the gut, not the face. You fucks already screwed up my ear, I'm not letting you ruin my face too."

"Fuck this," The shepherd said, pushing himself up from the table, "and fuck you. I'm not going any farther with this farce."

"And where exactly do you think you'll go Chief?" I asked, sighing upwards towards the ceiling, "I've got the only ship on the station, and it'll be another day or so before your ride comes back around. I'm being more than reasonable here, and you're only holding out because of your ego and some delusions of moral superiority. So unless you want to keep scowling over a glass of whisky like some dime-a-dozen noir cliché, I suggest you ditch the attitude and accept the reality of the situation."

He sat down, the lines of his scowl getting even deeper, "Five punches."

"Three," I countered, shoving my gun back into the holster.

He stewed over that for a few seconds before an idea hit him, manifesting in a wide, shit-eating grin.

"Three punches," he conceded, then proceeded to gesture to the three of them, "one from each of us."

"Fine," I said, smiling at the group, "see? A happy solution for everybody."

"Yeah," Chief said with a smirk, pushing the rabbit besides him to his feet while Lilith stood to let the horse out of the booth, "This'll be a grand ol' time."

I walked around to the front of the bar so there'd be less of a chance of damaging anything. The bartender pushed himself as far as he could into the back corner, still speaking quietly into his phone.

"Relax," I said to him as I removed my coat, tossing it to Corey, "but it'd probably be a good idea to have a couple shots ready."

No sooner had I finished the sentence, Chief's fist caught me right in the gut, driving upward under my ribcage to expel all the air from my lungs. I dropped to all fours, gasping for air while my eyes watered up at the shock of it. I regained my composure after a moment, my diaphragm recovering enough to refill my lungs.

"Fuckin' wanker..." I coughed, dragging myself to my feet with the assistance of a nearby stool.

The shepherd was standing at the bar, holding the chilled surface of his glass against his knuckles, "Not quite worth it, but it's a start."

"Hey, bartender," I said looking around for the man, "Where's that shot?"

He looked at me like I had the plague, and stood stock-still in the corner, as if he could blend into the background.

I looked over the counter, eyes gauging the various bottles and glasses, finally settling on a middling-tier vodka.

"Never mind, I've got it," I said, rolling my eyes as I fought to ignore the dull throb in my stomach, "but don't expect a tip for this one."

I poured it into a glass, sans ice, and threw it back in one go, the burn it put in my mouth far surpassing that in my abdominals, and I set down the glass with a hearty thud.

"Alright," I said, turning around, "Which one of you is next?"

The rabbit fidgeted in the corner, "It's alright, I don't really want to hit you."

"I'll take his turn," Lilith volunteered, moving to take off her own jacket and step forward.

"No," I said, stopping her before she got too attached to the idea, "I made a deal, and I'll honour it."

"Come on," I said, beckoning the rabbit closer, "I'm not nearly as delicate as I look."

The kid made a fist with one hand, holding it at his side hesitantly for a moment as he looked between me and the assembled officers around him, "are you sure?"

"Love," I smiled, "I broke at least one rib and knocked you out, this is just deserts."

After another moment of hesitation, he drew back his arm, driving it into my gut mere inches from where Chief had done the same thing. It wasn't as hard as the shepherd's had been, and I was prepared for this one, and so managed to stay on my feet; but if you've never had the pleasure, let me tell you, getting punched in the gut is never a fun experience.

"Ah, shit," I cussed, pacing back and forth as the pain slowly subsided, "Seriously, man, get your shit together and get me a drink."

The bartender inched forward from the corner, grabbing the same bottle I'd used to pour another, similarly sized glass. He pushed it across the bar towards me, then quickly retreated back into the corner.

I downed that too, the bite much smoother than the first, then turned to the horse, who cracked his knuckles expectantly.

"Alright Franken-Horsie, let's do this," I said, preparing myself for what I expected to be a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

Let me tell you, I've lived a coloured, dysfunctional life most people couldn't even imagine. I've been shot, stabbed, run over, thrown out of a moving car, strangled, and even battered about the head with a four-foot-long dildo. Out of all of those, few were quite so bracing as a punch from Mr. Ed.

I lay on the ground with a pool of saliva and vomit besides my face, curled into a ball with my hands gripping my midsection. The events of the past couple seconds were blurry, but I was fairly sure I'd been lifted off the ground by the blow, and I could feel an odd bump were a rib was supposed to be.

"My name is Tobias," The horse said, kneeling over me, "In the future, I'd recommend using it."

I gasped like a fish for another few seconds, then sputtered out, "gotcha'" with what little lung capacity I could manage.

"I did tell him he was a boxer, right?" Lilith said, directing the question towards Corey, "So this idiocy is entirely his fault, right?"

"That would be true even if you hadn't told him," The ram responded, grabbing a glass of his own from behind the counter before looking to the horse, "He doesn't look to great, you didn't kill him, did you?"

"Broken ribs, internal bleeding, maybe," The horse shrugged, "won't kill him. Probably."

"It's just the one rib, actually," I corrected from the heap I lay in on the floor, "And your support is much appreciated Corey."

"You're already back to being a smart-arse," he said with a shrug, "so I imagine you'll be at 100% by tomorrow."

"What the hell is this?"

I managed to crane my neck far enough around to catch a glimpse of Stacy, shotgun at her hip, flanked by two burly miners, likely what amounted to Piro's security force. Her friendly demeanour was replaced by a look that would be at home on a drill sergeant, and she kept her finger tight on the trigger guard.

"Hello again Stacy," I coughed from the floor, flopping around until I was facing her general direction, "This would be the most one-sided fight club of all time."

Her expression softened from stern to confused and she looked to the bartended for answers. He, however, could only answer with an equally confused shrug.

"Now, if that offer of a drink is still on the table," I said, pulling myself up to a sitting position, "I could sure as shit use it."