Chapter 6

“Teraks?! You got to be fucking kidding me?!” Nuum said loudly in the bar. Drayk had gathered up his team for a round or several rounds of drinks to unwind. They were all sitting at a table in the back of Ryuzu’s Bar. It was a dingy and darkly lit bar but Drayk loved that the drinks were cheap and that a lot of hot women frequented the bar. Tonight, he was mostly focused on drinking and seeing how his team took the news of their next mission.

“Shh,” Ashor said to Nuum. “Do you want everyone in this fucking bar to hear you? If so, I could grab you a mobile speaker to blare it to the crowd.”

Nuum laughed. “Sorry, Lieutenant. I’m just confused as well as excited if this mission proves fruitful. Fuck it, plentiful! We will be rolling in coins, baby!”

Drayk laughed. He looked at the rest of the team to gauge their reactions after telling them about what Colbix had said to him and Ashor. Fio had a huge grin on her face and Drayk could see that she was just as elated as her lover. Nuum grabbed Fio and gave her a deep kiss.

“We are going to be rich!” Nuum whispered to Fio. Fio laughed and kissed Nuum back. Drayk smiled and looked at Briji. He had a jug of beer in his hand and upon his placid face and perpetual scowl, Drayk could see a hint of a smile. His earring was pulsating at a bright gold color which made Drayk know that his Staff Sergeant enjoyed this news.

“We can’t celebrate yet. Remember this is a scouting mission,” Drayk said. “It is not definitive that teraks are in this desert. It is all speculation. We can go there and find fuck-all.”

Ashor nodded. “That is true. This could be another waste of a mission. For all we know, Colbix could be fucking with us and sending us to scout another new location for him and his harem.” “It better not be that!” Nuum said with a hint of anger. “I pray to the gods of the galaxy that we are going to be knee-deep in teraks. Please, Lord, make me a rich woman!”

Drayk laughed. “You believe in the gods now?”

Numm looked over at him with that sly grin of hers. “Only when it suits my needs. Sorry, hun.” Fio shook her head. She was the only believer in gods on the team. She worshiped the god Irik who was the sun god. He was told to be merciful but exacting in punishment. There had been virtual images of Irik pasted all over building walls back on Isato as many people were followers of the god and his religion. Isato was drawn as a tall and thin man with gold eyes, black hair, and dark brown skin. He was dressed in a golden robe and was bare feet. In every image, he was radiating sunlight and smiling at the viewer. His hands were outstretched as if welcoming you in his warm embrace.

Drayk had never believed in any of the gods as his parents were atheists. He became more of an atheist after the deaths of his parents. No god would take parents away from a child and leave them to fend for themselves. The rest of the team did not believe in any god or gods. Ashor would always claim that things happened according to the universe but never spoke about a creator.

“Let me order another round,” Captain Drayk said. He turned to look at the android waiter that moved effortlessly around the bar. There were two of them that served drinks to the customers as the bartenders worked effortlessly to supply drinks to the crowd of people. One of the androids saw Drayk raise his hand and came speeding over as it dodged the patrons. The android wore a grey robe of sorts that was not cloth material but metal. It adhered to its body from neck to feet. The android had an oval face without any features. It was just a blank canvas. The android was still able to see, speak and hear due to its internal parts that were designed to respond to humans.

“Let me get another pitcher of Helm’s Beer,” Drayk said to the android.

“Yes, sir,” the android said in a flat male voice. It sped away to the bar to fulfill the order. Drayk was already feeling nice and drunk but figured one more round would be great to get him to truly relax. Ever since he had joined the military, he was always moving forward and always felt restless. It was difficult to relax as he went from mission to mission. If he wasn’t gearing up for a mission, he would get very bored. The only distractions that helped were liquor and women.

“Would you guys still stay in the military if we find the teraks?” Nuum asked the group. She seemed very curious to hear everyone’s answer.

“Yes, I believe I would,” Fio said first. “I can’t imagine leaving especially with this war going on. It would feel like I am stepping away from something much bigger than myself.”

Nuum smiled at her lover. “I knew you would say something like that, my dear. Always for duty and country, huh?”

Fio laughed as Nuum gave her a big kiss on her cheek. Her rabbit ears twitched constantly which meant that she was very stimulated and pleased. Nuum turned to the rest of the group. “How about you, Lieutenant? Are you going to retire and become a wife and spit out babies with Lupa?” Nuum asked Ashor with a grin.

Ashor made a disgusted face. “Never. I mean I do not see myself marrying and having children. That is not a life that I could lead. I would stay in the military and keep fighting the good fight. Hopefully, use the teraks to make armor to fight the Me’ria and also get our fucking ship out the shop.”

“What about you, Briji?” Nuum asked the quiet Lyzarian. Briji had finished his drink and his scowl had faded. Drayk had noticed that the Lyzarian’s scowl only disappeared when he was tipsy or drunk. Briji looked at Nuum and seemed to think for a moment. “I would keep fighting. My kind does not know anything but that. There is no life to be led but in war,” Briji said as his fists hit the table. The glasses bounced on the table as they all grabbed them to prevent them from falling and shattering.

The group laughed at the Lyzarian’s response. The android came over with another pitcher and Drayk swiped his card across the pad that popped up on the android’s chest.

“Thank you for your purchase. Enjoy,” the android said before it sped away.

“We all know what you are going to say, Captain, so there is no need for you to answer that question,” Nuum said with a grin.

Drayk smiled. “What about you, Nuum? What would you do with your share of the teraks?”

“Hmm. I would buy a lovely little farm and raise sheep and goats with my dear Jart,” Nuum said before she began laughing heartily. “Of course, I would stay in the military! I can’t let you bastards have all the fun!”

The group laughed and continued drinking until the pitcher was gone. Drayk could sense the excitement radiating from his team as they talked about the new mission. It had been some time since they had felt this amped for a mission. It felt good.

He secretly felt that there were no teraks in the Ridgeyard Desert of Eeo. It seemed too good to be true but he was interested in going to Eeo to obtain some Jiry Rifles. Those rifles were only made on Eeo and were made from the dark red mineral Jiry. These rifles fired beams of refracted light that could tear through even the hardest armor. It would be a tremendous asset to his team and their future missions. He figured that if the mission was a loss they could at least walk away with that.

The team exited the bar near closing time. Each one of them was drunk and stumbled back towards the base. Ashor had to keep grabbing Briji by the arm as he almost stumbled into an oncoming vehicle many times. They entered the gate with the guards smirking at their drunken state.