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The Wrong Bar at the Wrong Time For Taiko By Draconicon

Panther looked back towards the landing pad. His Wolfen was secured, but he knew that Wolf would tear him a new one if it disappeared again. The last time that he had romanced someone on one of these backwater worlds, his ship had been lifted right out from under him, and it had taken the whole team - and some good will from Star Fox - to get it back. He wouldn't get that favor again if he screwed up.

Still, he couldn't resist the urge to check out the bar and see what was there. The romantic in him was hoping for a lady or two to seduce, but even another pilot to boast to would be a welcome change from all the long term boredom that these long flights induced. Plus, maybe one or two of them would know where he could pick up a few spare parts. The Wolfen wasn't damaged badly, but he wanted to keep it from spreading and maybe damaging his paintjob.

He stepped into the bar, and immediately shook his head. Not a lady in sight, he thought with a sigh. There went part of his night's plans.

Nevertheless, he approached the bar - stepping around a few different aliens and other toughs before taking one of the stools for himself. The bartender nudged a drink list his way, and he started perusing it.

No sooner had he settled on a drink, however, than he felt a pair of eyes on him. He lifted his head, looking one way and then the other before seeing the source. A gray-green lizard looked back at him, wearing a set of body armor and a pair of blasters at his hips, as well as a larger, stranger looking gun over his shoulder. The reptile had the look of a bounty hunter, at least as far as Panther was concerned.

Not wanting to spend his drinking alone, he nodded towards the bar. The reptile got to his feet and walked over, doing the same bobbing and weaving to get around the locals as he had, and plopped himself down on the right hand bar-stool.

"Nice to see someone else new. Name's Vassk."

"I am Panther Caroso." He paused the bartender, asking for a Cerinian Delight. "I'm just passing through."

"That's what I said before I crashed."

"I don't crash."

"Oh, really? Come in on your own ship then?"

"Of course."

Of course, that hadn't been easy either. It was why he was looking for spare parts. Still, the look of shock and admiration from Vassk made him chuckle, and he continued to smile as the bartender brought him his drink. It was just what he needed, and he closed his eyes with a small sigh of bliss.

When he opened them, he found himself looking down the barrel of a gun.

"Sorry, but we have some stuff to talk about."

Panther jerked his head back, but it wasn't quick enough to avoid the full blast. The majority of the white light shooting out of the lizard's gun went over his head, but the edges of it caught his face. He hit the floor, immediately feeling for any signs of burn marks, but there was nothing.

Before the lizard could shoot again, he rolled to the side, ducking behind one of the chairs. The locals were getting to their feet as well, bustling around at the sight of a raised gun. They made good shields, Panther thought, but they wouldn't be standing up to the bounty hunter for long. Vassk would cut through them quickly, and he needed a weapon for when that happened.

Panther ducked out of the bar and ran for his Wolfen. A button press on a remote he carried opened the cockpit, and he climbed into it as the bar continued to erupt with shouts and blasterfire. The feline reached into one of the pockets of his seat, pulled out a blaster, and -

"Freeze."

That wasn't Vassk's voice. Panther slowly turned his head, seeing two locals that he hadn't seen before. The tall, furred miners put Wolf to shame in terms of size, and he doubted he could have gunned them both down even if they didn't have rifles in their hands.

"Freeze. Freeze. Freeze. Freeze."

They kept repeating the same word, and he leaned his head back in mixed fear and confusion. What was going on?

The blasterfire at the tavern stopped, and he turned his head. As the door opened, the entire group inside spilled out, each one pointing their weapon at his Wolfen. At this point, there was no way that he could even take off. That many weapons would put holes through even its shields.

Behind the group was the lizard. He still had that strange gun in his hand, but he had a number of blaster burns along his arms and his shoulders. He should have been dead; nobody could have lived against that many guys. Then again, nobody should have been walking out with them either.

He stopped at the side of the Wolfen.

"I said we had things to talk about. You didn't have to run."

"You were going to shoot me."

"I still am. Of course, now we'll have even more to talk about."

Panther lifted his gun, getting off a single shot before the lizard fired his. This time, the blast hit him full in the face.

The white light settled in his mind, and for a moment, he could see nothing but white. He couldn't even think of anything but white. White, white, white, white. It was so blank, so...blissful, in a way. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, and it felt like he was just waiting for something. The white was nice, but it was definitely missing some element or another. What was it?

"Come down."

Down. Down was good. His body moved mechanically, stepping down the side of his fighter craft before coming to a halt.

"Take off your clothes."

Taking off his clothes was also good. Something to fill the white. He pulled them off, his jumpsuit getting laid to the side, and he got the reward of his heavy sac rubbing against his thigh as he shifted his weight back and forth at the end.

"Heh, you're going to be fun to 'talk' to. Now, come over here. I have a whole town's worth of men under my control, and I'm not gonna waste it. Everyone, take off your clothes."

Panther walked over to the alien, going down to his knees when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Other things soon pressed against his shoulders, too, long, hard, musky things that made his nose twitch. He wondered what other things would fill the white in his head today.

The End