Walking up to the club felt a little strange. Normally, I’d have to get to the back of the line, waiting until it was my turn but somehow, today was different. It had started earlier, when I had gotten dressed and Airah had seen my get-up for the first time. The slight widening of her eyes, just before she broke into a wide smile had been satisfying to the extreme and her insisting on hooking arms with me as we walked made me feel like a million mark. Maybe because of her choice of dress, a strappy summer-dress in deep crimson, ending just above her knees, drawing attention to her gorgeous legs and showing quite a bit of cleavage up top. Quite frankly, she looked like sex on long legs while I looked like a mischievous pixie, ready to trick you into a night of fun. It was a nice contrast, even if I had resigned myself to getting hit on by various wingmen, hoping to help their friends score on Airah.

When we met Grace, just as we got off the transport from the Academy, I felt my lips curl into a smile. Where Airah was oozing a sensual charisma, Grace had taken it to a different extreme. Moderately high heels, maybe seven centimeters, brought her to roughly the same size as Airah, who was wearing light sandals and a tight sheet made from black fabric showed off a great deal of her shoulders and cleavage. Her hair was in a tight ponytail, making her neck look longer while giving her an expression of strength, maybe even dominance. While it wasn’t quite my cup of tea, I had to admit, she looked good.

She, too, hooked her arm into mine, taking up the other side and instead of walking to the end of the line, they guided me towards the entrance. Even with the three of us merely walking up, the bouncer let an appreciative eye roam over us, before nodding and allowing us direct entrance.

Soon after, we had claimed a table and acquired drinks, some bubbly pink concoction chosen by Airah that seemed to be appropriate for a celebration. With a happy toast to a successful year, we drank before Airah took possession of my arm again, pulling me towards the dance-floor. While I wasn’t a great dancer, the idea to let my body move against hers made up for any misgivings I might have had.

On the dance-floor, any conversation was next to impossible due to the thrumming music, but that might have helped me, simply allowing me to let the beat flow through me as I moved with it. No need to talk, no need to think, just a pounding beat that made me move. It was quite enjoyable and, for some time, I let myself get carried by the music, first dancing with Airah, then with Grace before we split a little and I was dancing with different people, mostly other women but some guys got into the mix as well. It was fun, plain and simple, hot bodies moving against my own in a primal ritual of enjoyment.

Finally, when I was more than a little hot and sweaty, I walked back to the table we had claimed, stopping at the bar to get a new drink, nothing alcoholic but a simple, cold soft-drink. Looking around, I noticed that Grace had apparently found something she had been looking for, sitting at a different table, looking very cozy with a smiling girl. Good for her.

On the other hand, I needed a few moments to locate Airah and she, too, seemed to have found someone. She was standing at the bar, with a guy standing nearby and I had to admit, the guy was easy on the eye, if you were into the tall and rugged type.

I watched them for a moment, when the guy started towards the back of the club, gently pulling Airah with him. As she walked, I noticed something strange, something that made my hair stand on end, there was nothing of her normal grace and poise in her movements. She walked like a completely different person, shuffling after the guy like some sort of puppet, having its strings pulled. I wasn’t quite sure what I was seeing but I was certain something was going on.

Looking around, I was unable to spot a bouncer or something but when they disappeared into the back of the club, I noticed that I was on my feet, having crossed half the distance, quickly moving after them. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard Commodore Ryker remind me that comrades had each others back and Airah certainly was a comrade of mine. And I would have her back.

It took me a few more moments to get past the various people and I only just saw the backdoor of the club swing close, causing me to hasten my steps, my mind wondering for a moment why the backdoor wasn’t wired to an alarm but I pushed the question aside and the door open.

It led into a mostly dark alleyway, just a small side-road allowing deliveries and such to the various shops and some fifteen meters away, I saw Airah and the guy she had been with. Only now that single guy had turned into three guys, the original guy bringing up the rear while two other guys were flanking Airah, looking as if they were half-carrying her.

Questions flashed into my mind, did they drug her drink? She certainly didn’t look like she was in control of her faculties, a realisation that made my blood run cold. But what to do about it?

Sure, I could call out and hope that I, alone, would be able to stop them. Three civilians, if they had absolutely zero training and no weapons, I might manage to win in hand-to-hand combat. Maybe, with a lot of luck.

That was no option.

Taking a step forward, I pulled the needle-pistol I had habitually strapped to my ankle and aimed at the guy in the back.

“Step away from her and hands up!” I shouted down the alleyway. One of the two up front looked over his shoulder while the guy in the back turned and, once he was looking at me, I felt a strange pressure in my mind, a pressure I somewhat recognised. It felt like the few lessons we had on resisting psionic intrusion and as my mind was suppressed, instinct and training took over.

There were no people over there, only one comrade and three targets. Not thinking about anything but acquiring the target, pulling the trigger, absorbing the recoil and acquiring the next target, I sent six shots down the alley, the needle-gun making surprisingly little noise as it spit deadly glass-needles towards the guys.

Once the guy in the back went down, so did the mental pressure and my conscious mind returned, cringing in horror. I had just killed three people.. Each of my shots had been spot on, one needle each into their center mass, with a second one going into their heads. Without serious body-armour beneath their clothes, each shot would have been deadly, the needles were designed to penetrate into the first object they hit before breaking into razor-sharp shrapnel, shredding whatever it was they hit. The three guys were dead, no doubt about it.

Pistol still in hand, I quickly moved towards the spot where Airah had fallen, still looking a little dazed. Maybe not drugged but some sort of mind-whammy by the, now dead, psion. The thought sent a new shiver down my spine, making me wonder just what was going on.

“Airah? Are you alright?” I asked, mainly to ask something, once I was next to her, deliberately not looking at the three shredded corpses next to us.

“Twitch? What…?” she sounded a little confused but reached out to me with one hand and I helped her to stand, if on shaky legs. She looked around for a moment and let out a string of curses, more harsh and vile than anything I had ever heard of her, before looking at me, her eyes filled with something I hadn’t expected. Sorrow.

“I’m so sorry.” she muttered, walking to one of the guys, flipping him to his back, ignoring the mess of blood and gore that was his head, and opening his jacket. The front of his torso was surprisingly intact, allowing me to get a better look and notice that he had been wearing simple body-armour. Nothing strong enough to stand up to my needle-pistol, but body-armour nonetheless. In addition, he was carrying some sort of pistol, not that I had an idea of the type, in a shoulder holster. So, serious gear, plus a psion. This couldn’t be good, not in any way, shape or form. Theories started rising in my mind as was the bile in my stomach, as the smell in the alley was getting to me.

When Airah reached into his pocket and pulled out a billfold, I was a little confused but the confusion lifted when she opened it, showing me an identity-card inside. An Federation-Security Identity-Card. I had shot at least one security-officer.

“All three?” I asked, dreading the answer. In return, she merely nodded and, to my light disgust, reached to the wrecked ruin of the guys head, removing a small piece of equipment that I had missed, an earbud. They had been conducting an operation.

“What is going on?!” I asked, the consequences of my actions popping into my mind. I had shot three security-officers on a mission, but why had they tried to grab Airah.

“I’ll explain everything. And, I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to help you. But we need to move, now, or we will be in more trouble than you can imagine.” Airah said, her voice filled with worry and urgency, as she reached out, grabbing my hand. Part of me wanted to pull away, to run away, hoping to hide from the events but I knew that it was next to impossible. So, I let myself be pulled along, to an uncertain future.