Leaving Animalus.
The hull still managed to tremble for a few moments despite all the implemented dampers as the passenger shuttle tore through the heavens, the city below disappearing quickly into the diminishing features of the countryside soon obscured by clouds. Everything merged together and the horizon curved into a large bright orb. The atmosphere glowed brilliantly in the rays of Animalus' star, the entire planet becoming a beacon as it began to shrink into the encompassing darkness, the blue atmosphere giving way to space. It was quite the sight. With the liberties made possible by the spacecraft's gravitational fields, passengers could pack themselves like sardines in a tin around the larger shielded windows to stare in awe at the spectacle, as if it was better than watching it on the video feeds from their seats. Those who would differ either had weak stomachs or jaded eyes.
One such person was sitting on a vacant bench next to a vending machine, one of many scattered in the seating area, with two black suitcases placed to the right of himself on the ground. He was a human; the common Caucasian descendant from Earth. His visage was disheveled with his dark hair slicked up and combed back in what must have be a feeble attempt at fixing what would have been a mess, though the adhesive had already dried and locks of shaggy hair began to spike up. It would have been difficult to discern his age through the lines of fatigue on his face, the lines under his green eyes, and his untamed stubble, the remnants of a neglected shave from days earlier. He Bordered on a haggard appearance as he slouched in his seat with his left elbow propped on the armrest, hand on his chin, yet his his body told a different story. He wore black boots polished to a mirror shine, impeccable black jeans and a green button up with the sleeves rolled above his elbows, all of which concealed the powerful frame underneath. Honed muscles comprised the athletic legs and strapping arms, wound up like springs.
Out to his left, one of the large screens had been displaying footage captured from the rear of the shuttle. He finally shifted his gaze to see how he was putting thousands of miles between himself and Animalus as the craft picked up speed to a modest forty-five kilometers a second. In a few days it would be a few tens of parsecs away, its star a dot in his homeworld's night sky.
The man sighed, getting up and stepping over to the vending machine. It would be two and a half hours before the bucket he was on would reach the docking station and he had not eaten for the better of eighteen hours. However, perusing the displayed items and finding nothing that appealed to him in the selection all-natural fruit beverages and blood drinks, the latter being the most numerous. With a grumble he sat himself back down, pressed to endure the journey until he'd come across something more satisfactory than shuttle fare.
He was leaving Animalus for the second time. The first time it had been right after his breakup with his longtime girlfriend, who had dragged him to Animalus planet from his homeworld, but shortly after she would leave him for some hybrid denizen of the planet. Looking for an excuse to leave, he needed not to look further than he previous career, which was indeed the military, an obvious correlation to his current physique. Reenlisting was easy; as soon the human military caught his name they shoved him into a uniform and immediately shipped him out to the Tau Ceti System. From there, certain routines kept him on the move, always changing his scenery, bouncing from system to system, from planet to planet, satellite to satellite, on some remaining stationed longer than others but never staying put for longer than a year. Eventually, when he did not reenlist when his time was up once more, circumstances got him down to Animalus a second time in 4996. The next three years were spent on solid ground and in solid time, the longest he had done since he left his homeworld.
It was the millennium in ten days. 4999 A.S. was going to turn into 5000 A.S., or "Y5K" to some, or to those astrology wackos it was the "Peak of the Age of Scorpio". They were still clinging to the idea that predictions based off of ancient Babylonian astronomy held influence over the flow of the universe. Well, those things just didn't seem to hold up now that there was no longer a little mudball circling Sol, and the constellation of Scorpio just didn't look right from the angle at Sigma Draconis.
No, he could care less about any of that. Year 5000 just also happened to be the fiftieth anniversary for his first hostile alien engagement that took place on the planet called Vegas. It was one of those times when his old combat buddies with whom he rarely spoke, would get together and knock a few back, raise a glass to the past, fallen comrades, the future, and all that jazz. Though with this reunion he hoped to finally slow his life down. His two bags were packed with everything he cared to own and he would start anew on on Vegas.
**********************
"I can't believe it! What a ripoff!"
The man stirred awake at the sound of banging on metal. He must have fallen asleep during his train of thought.
"Are you sure you pressed it right? The buttons are right next to each other."
Tilting his head sharply from side to side, eliciting a few pops from his neck, he became suddenly away of the three teenaged hybrids standing around the vending machine next to the bench he was sitting on.
"No way! Look at them; I wouldn't mix up buttons that damn big!"
They were all male, wearing casual clothing like hoodies, t-shirts, and blue jeans. They didn't look the part to be the kind of. . .persons to be making a journey as expensive as the shuttle ride itself. One of them was shaking the entire machine, or at least trying. He appeared to be a fruit bat; wings folded along his back, those big ears standing atop his head with scruffy blond hair on the rest of his scalp, the rest of his fur brown, and those big eyes that would have almost been cute if they weren't boiling with frustration at the moment.
"I don't think the machine would make a mistake like that. You must've done something wrong," said his friend, an iguana. Lizard head, lizard tail, lizard feet. Not a Herog, so, an iguana.
"It has to be rigged!" the bat growled. "I didn't want lemon-lime, I wanted orange! They just expect me to blow more money on this thing because it gave me the wrong drink!" The bat paused to look at his other friend, a buck with cream colored fur and large, sturdy antlers. He watched the scene unfolding with his arms crossed and a bored expression on his muzzle. "Hey, Ed, ram this thing so that it spits out the can it owes me."
The deer waits for a beat before inhaling and his hooves bracing against the floor, his muzzle suddenly carrying an expression that said, "Aw, what the hell," then suddenly charging forward, head down, antlers connecting with the machine that shuddered with a metallic ringing noise. The beck staggered back, easily shaking off the impact just in time to hear the whirring of machinery from within the machine.
"Hey, did it work?" the bat asked excitedly. "I think you got it, Ed"
A burst of noise and a can of juice flew out of the vending machine's receptacle, but probably with more force than what the boys expected, especially the buck whom the projectile nailed right in the groin. His hands grabbed for his privates and his legs clenched together as he fell over and gave out high-pitched groans. His friends stared in shock, first babbling their disbelief and trying to help their friend when they notices the machine. The human had already scooted down the bench when he saw the machine raise itself off the ground, sprouting four metal spider-like legs from its bottom corners. The two boys still standing were freaking out already, screaming confused obscenities, only deciding to run when another can sailed over their heads. They fled down the corridor and the vending machine burst into motion, skittering after the two hybrids, shooting cans at them from a distance.
Then human observed the spectacle with a somewhat vacant expression; he had always found the ways of justice on Animalus perplexing.
"Attention passengers," a female voice boomed over the intercoms, "We will be docking at the interplanetary space station in five minutes. Please......" and the message went on. Relieved that he had the fortune of sleeping through the hours of space travel, the human grabbed his two bags and set out to wait next to the exit, stepping over the supine form of the buck, the vandal still huffing and clutching at his battered balls.
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