I rolled about, flopping across a thick red carpet, smming up against a wall. I arched my back as pain surged through my body. My ears were ringing, beset by a high pitch whine. I blinked a few times, ignoring the quick, consecutive pops. I felt custrophobic, trapped in my suit. I ripped my helmet off to fill my lungs with fresh air.

  I blinked the tears from my eyes and focused in on the red carpet below me. Sirens were bzing. Lights were fshing. My pistol was just a few feet away from me. I crawled over to it on all fours. The quick pops coming more into focus as I grabbed my gun and looked around me through the daze that clung to my brain. The ringing in my ears began to subside at the same time those annoying pops stopped.

  I felt a hand grab my shoulder and rip me to my feet. I looked up to Maelstro, his submachine gun was at his hip, aimed down the long hallway. I froze when I saw what those pops had been. A small group of humans were slumped down on the carpet, smashed against the walls, dripping with blood. A small trail of smoke wafted out of Mealstro’s gun.

  “You gonna leave all the killing to me? Huh, kid?” Maelstro stormed down the hall, “Follow me,” He gnced behind, “Or stay and die. Either way works for me.” Maelstro took cover at the corner of the hall and gnced around.

  He pressed a button on the cuff of his bck space suit, “Status report?” I heard his voice come from my own suits colr.

  I gnced around at where we were. There were rge viewports on one side of the hall, the outer corridor, with rooms along the inside wall of the hall. My eyes drifted back to the human corpses. They were cd in fashionable clothes, those of rich design and suitable for extravagant functions.

  “I see you, Mael. At your twelve.” It was Frag. Her voice was deep and soothing, if she wasn’t mad at you. I probably liked her the most of everyone. She left me alone. Her long slender body was pushing down the hall, a grenade uncher was strapped to her back and an auto-pistol was csped firmly in her hands. Her golden-brown fur and bck eye markings made her look alluring and beautiful. She had her own set of scars, particurly the chunk of ear missing from her soft, round left ear.

  The molding of the walls was white and gold, with silver inys. Artistic pictures hung in the halls, along with art monitors and the occasional camera. I leaned into inspect one of the paintings. It was real. Real paint, real canvass, and that meant this ship must have been one real expensive party cruise; one with a lot of rich customers. This was one dangerous job. The two things you never messed with were the rich and their corporations.

  “I got your 6, along with McCaw.” Brutus’s voice buzzed through. I turned around to see the rge Anthro-Goril lumbering down the corridor, using his arms to lug himself forward. Behind him was McCaw, whose head was on a constant swivel, checking every corner with a quick jerk this way and that; his red feathers twisting and turning each time.

  “This is Rolfo. Teksan and I are a floor below you. Got a bit lost. Will head towards objective.”

  “Perfect. We’ll head there now. Keep an eye out. Security will be swarming us soon. Get in, get the package, and take as much goods as we can. Anything extra is yours to keep. Plunder on, boys.” Maelstro waved at us and took off down the corridor.

  Brutus shoved me as he passed, this time I caught my footing, “Keep up, bub.” I followed behind the Anthro-Goril, side by side with Frag and McCaw, cradling my pistol in my hands.

  My fingers were trembling. I tried to fight it by gripping the gun tight; my knuckles were white. We passed so many doors and halls and stairs that I was now lost, turned around, and no clue where to we were headed.

  We stopped abruptly at a four-way intersection. Maelstro gnced at his wrist, then up to the halls, then back to his wrist. He smacked his wrist a few times, mumbling curse words to himself.

  “What’s the fuck the matter?” Brutus chimed in what we were all thinking. McCaw and Frag started shifting about uncomfortably.

  Was this what all their boarding missions were like? I was starting to feel uneasy knowing that I would be the one thrown under the bus if something went wrong. I shivered as I thought about the crew leaving me here to take the fall. I guess it would be part of my punishment.

  Maelstro looked back at us, “The maps broken. I have no clue where we are.”

  “Fucks sake.” Brutus punched the wall next to him, leaving a sizable imprint of his fist. “Get the thing fixed before I rip your ears off.” Brutus puffed his chest out.

  “Take one step forward, and I’ll blow those monkey brains out all over this ship.” Maelstro snarled back.

  “Call me a fucking monkey will you, bitch tits?” Brutus brandished his weapon.

  “Caw! Stop it.” McCaw chimed in, his head bobbing back and forth between the two anthros having a dick swinging contest. “We got a job to do, caw. We all die unless we get out of here with the package. Caw!”

  Mealstro and Brutus rexed a bit, still staring fire at each other. The Anthro-Wolf smacked his wrist one more time before looking up to the left, “This way.” He took off with the confidence we all cked.

  “Get your as moving.” Frag stepped past Brutus, gncing back with her alure, “Unless you’re too chicken?”

  Brutus grunted and chased off after the wolf. We all followed suit, keeping the two meatheads in front. I wasn’t ready to use my gun just yet, and truth be told, I hadn’t much experience with weapons. This was all too new and too traumatic for me to process. I was just trying to keep up with everything going on.

  Maelstro burst through a set of old, double doors; still hooked up on hinges and carved with an ornate pattern. “This way, I’m sure of it.” He growled back and stopped dead in his tracks as a crowd of frightened cruise guests stood in a rge dining hall. All of them staring back at us.

  Their faces were wide eyed, sweaty, and filled with fear. Screams rang out, some shouted. My head was swimming with adrenaline, making everything quick and fuzzy.

  Maelstro fired off into the air, “Get your asses to the floor!” The guests dived down, screaming in fear, ducking, or just ft out throwing themselves to the floor. Some were escaping out the far side of the room into the halls beyond. He turned back to us, “Grab some jewelry! Cash, anything!” His face was worried.

  It was hard to tell, but I was around him enough to see it. He was winging this whole thing. I looked up to his compatriots. They shared the same thoughts. Their faces told it all as they walked forward, pointing their guns at the rich folk who were unlucky enough to take this luxury cruise.

  Maelstro’s hand shot to my chest as I tried to walk by. He gnced down to me with a devilish grin, “Not you. It’s time for you to pop your cherry.”

  He shoved me in front of a woman in a purple gown. I envied her dress. She looked so pretty with her make up and jewelry. Her gown fit her body like a delicate glove. I envied her. Her red hair was flowy and long, draping across her shoulders, framing that beautiful face. I wanted that dress. I wanted her make up. I wanted her body. I wanted her life.

  “Now kill her.” Maelstro’s voice drifted into my ear. He grabbed my hands, gun still gripped tight inside, and pointed them at her. “Pull the trigger.”

  She cried out, whimpering in front of me. Whispering pleas of mercy as she stared down at the ground, not willing to look up at me. My heart was racing, pounding in my chest. My breathing was heavy; my chest heaving up and down with each breath. This woman had everything I wanted, and I was going to take it from her.

  I was going to kill her.

  My finger started to squeeze on the trigger as all the sound around me was blotted out from my senses. All I could do was to stare down this woman with pity and self-hate. I didn’t want this.

  Maelstro was yelling at me now, “Do it!”

  She gnced up at me with those bright blue eyes. My own eyes teared up and I shut them as my finger began to squeeze down. “I’m sorry.” I whispered as a boom rang out. I opened my eyes.

  Across the room was a group of men all dressed in the same blue jumpsuits and white body armor. Their guns were raised at us. “Stay down everyone!” The head man shouted as he took aim at me and fired his gun.

  My eyes went wide. What was happening to me. This really had to be my punishment.