Chronicles of a Space Mercenary 0: Tanya by Ronald Wintrick

more than sufficient. There would be no hunger here for Tanya.
     
    Chapter 21
     
    It was a land with no laws whatsoever. Though the Station’s volume wasn't as large as Earth’s, for example, and there were billions of people living on Earth, there were a great many more than that living here. Trillions of beings upon level after level lived within this place. An entire world of levels filled with beings of every imaginable stripe and nature. Thousands of alien races were represented here, all intermingling and mixing, doing the things that all sentient beings did. Gambling, drinking, drugging, carousing, whoring, fig hting and murdering one another- and here and th ere some legitimate business thrown in for good measure. The only difference between this place and the ghetto of her youth was the upkeep.
    If the Kievors had been able to discover her real name, howeve r it was they had done it, they would also know how she was planning to support herself on their Station, and apparently were perfectly approving. In other words, she had a license to steal, a license to murder, a license to do whatever she wanted as long as she could pay her rent.
    A lizard walking towards her, nearly dwarfing her, appeared as though it was going to attempt to walk right through her, the old sidewalk game; t wo people- or bei ngs - walking towards one another down the center of a sidewalk and neither willing to move out of the way. A fight likely to ensue ! Tanya had an ego of her own and wasn't about to step out of the way, but neither was she going to let that lizard walk right over her. She stopped walking and dropped her hand to hover over the grip of her hand-laser. She smiled when the lizard stopped dead in its tracks. It was not a warm smile. Tanya was not as big or mean looking as this species of lizard, but she had the character to match one, and then some.
    For a moment it looked like the lizard was going to go for its blaster. It was wearing a Kievor made blaster, Tanya recognized. They were showing up all over human worlds now. They were extremely powerful. No question about that, but w as the lizard as fast as she heard they could be? Lizards were reputed to be extremely fast. It didn't appear she was going to find out, because the lizard snorted in derision, but when it started walking again it went around her. Tanya stood stock still while the reptile passed her, her hand not moving a millimeter from where it was poised over the grip of her weapon.
    “I thought I was going to have to burn that lizard down.” A voice said as the reptile moved on. Tanya turned to look to see who was speaking. She was immediately unimpressed. He was well-dressed, rings on his fingers, a friendly smile on his face, but coldly dead calculating eyes. He was now measuring her. Tanya gave him an uncertain smile.
    “I thought I was dead meat.”
    “You could've been if that lizard hadn't backed down.” He said as he sauntered over to her. His motives were about as transparent as they came, but that was what made it all okay; made it perfect, in fact. Though this hustler was as transparent and stupid as they came, he hadn't put those rings on his fingers working at a legitimate job. People or aliens or whoever, had paid dearly, probably with their lives, over and over again without a doubt, so that this one might live a life of ease and comfort. He would not feel so comforted shortly. Tanya would lose no sleep over this one.
    “Thank God you were there,” Tanya breathed as she leaned on him, her hand resting a moment on his arm, “I was so scared.”
    “No. You were remarkable. You bluffed that lizard right down.” He said. “You must be a poker player?”
    “Well I've played a couple times.” Tanya said. Could it be this easy?
    Four hours later, her new friend James, who was now no longer her friend, and who was now also realizing he had been hustled all along, slammed his hands on the card table as he leaped to his feet, his hand reaching