The slow steady pang of stiletto footfalls echoed throughout the darkened remains of what used to be a parking garage.

Margo punched the thrusters into high gear. She had been carrying this load since Alphax 6, and nothing was going to stop her from dropping off the shipment. She was the best damn pilot this side of the space line. Maybe she wasn’t sneaky enough to avoid a chase, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to be caught by the space pigs. 

“Damn it Ma’, can’t this piece of shit go any faster?” The twitchy Asian girl growled in frustration. Avery was glued to the radar. At this rate, they might as well be the ones chasing the cops. 

“Watch your tongue girlie”, Margo snapped. “This ship is a classy bitch. You have to woo her a little to warm her up… and stop calling me ‘Ma’ before I take you over my knee and spank you.”

“That might help with the stress… c’mon M, get serious! Right now, I need this ship to be more of a filthy slut. I need her to be slick, loose, and fast… got me?” Avery started flipping switches, and prepping the FTL drive for the jump. She pressed the intercom button. “Gilda, Yvette, and Harvey. Stop playing Oreo and get your sorry asses on deck. We need eyes, turrets, and clearance codes.” 

Avery cracked her knuckles and started plotting the course. Her fingers rapidly entered numbers into the navigation console. 

A few moments later the Mocha twins slinked onto the bridge. Gilda slipped into her seat and started to arm the turrets. Yvette took over monitoring the action. 

“Damn it. I leave you two alone for a nanosecond and we reek of bacon…” Yvette straightened her hair. “The cloaking device works up to a five mile radius… Did you fly right into their radar?”

“Well, maybe if you didn’t leave Avery as our eyes…” Margo teased. The spunky blonde never let anything get under her skin. She was always chill as a frozen daiquiri, maybe because she was always sipping on one too. 

“Okay. We all know I have squinty eyes…” Avery giggled. She felt more relaxed with the other crew members to pick up the slack.

“Turrets are almost ready. You want me to clear some of the swine?” Gilda’s voice was animated and frisky. She always got excited when it was time to cause serious damage. 

“Not yet love.” Avery shook her head. 

Harvey strolled onto the bridge, lighting up a smoke, and sunk back into his chair. He hadn’t even bothered to put pants on. He propped his feet up on the console.

The mocha twins giggled. Avery smirked. Margo laughed, but then said in a mock stern voice, “Boy… you better get your lazy feet off my dash. So help me god, if you get any goo on my seat, I’m going to lock you in the cargo bay.”

“It’s nice to see you too, beautiful.” Harvey winked at her. He removed his feet from the console and stretched. “Where are we headed?” He took a drag from his cigarette.

Avery remained silent.

Everyone else got quiet, in response. All eyes were on her. “Where are we going Ave?” They almost said in unison. 

Avery cleared her throat. “Omega 9, but we’re going to pick up Moxie on the way… we’ll need the extra guns.” she semi-mumbled their destination, knowing that the chances they were going to survive a run to Omega 9 was incredibly slim.

“But that’s the planet of the Ex’s…” Gilda vocalized what they were all thinking.

Harvey just about choked on his smoke. He coughed violently before saying, “I think I’m going to need something a little stronger than this…” 

“Save your voice silver-tongue. We’re going to need you to get us permission to land…” Avery bit her lip. She wasn’t sure how he was going to react. 

“Aw hell Ave…” He shook his head. “You give me too much credit…”

“Baby, you could talk a crater snake out of its scales.” Gilda interjected. 

“I mean, you got all of us into bed…” Yvette grinned. The other girls burst into laughter.

“So it’s settled.” Avery’s voice dropped into a serious tone. “We pick up Moxie at Phi 12, and then we’re all going to have to face the Ex’s… drop off the cargo, and then high tail it back to Alphax 6. Anyone who wants out of this mission, say so now.” 

Avery sighed in relief, not that she really expected anyone to back out. This was the tightest smuggling crew in the galaxy. If anyone could pull off this job, it was them. Plus, with Moxie back on the ship, that completed their super sexy crew of inter-galactic bandits.

Her train of thought was derailed by the sounds of the turrets. Gilda was squealing with glee. “DIE SCUM!” Everyone chuckled. She peeked up from the scope. “What?” 

Avery shook her head. Yeah. This was an amazing crew. All pro. 

She just hoped that was enough to get them out of this mess alive…

She’s got a vicious streak. It’s the kind of ugly that makes me think that I could love her. You know… if I was the star-eyed, idiotic type. Don’t let her looks fool you. She’s a killer. I am too. 
 
Our relationship is strictly profession. We are a super-sexy duo of stripper assassins. Not the kind that take their clothes off… we’re the kind of strippers that peel back skin in long, thin layers. You’re the paint, and we’re the solvent. 
 
The girl has a thing for blades, because she likes to be close enough to feel blood splatter on her face. I prefer guns because they’re more impersonal. She’s more social than I am. 

On a good day, she’s laughing like a manic. I’m crying like a child… because I’ve never seen anything quite as spectacular as her, elbow deep, digging inside of a chest — cutting hearts out.

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