Jaimie pointed to a distant planet in the solar system. "What about that one with the specialized tech?" She asked as both of their suits fired to life. "Its reported their pods are mind altering." Jaimie looked up and smiled.
"Race you there!" Astral muttered out as Jaimie flew off faster than he could speak. "Well, worth a shot. She wins this time I guess." Astral crouched and jumped with both legs, launching him straight at the planet as Jaimie stands at the entrance of the metallic planet.
"Weird, they keep it so heavily guarded. And sealed." Jaimie ran her hands across the gate as it slowly opened to the two of them. No pressurized air sucked them in or out. There was no vacuum as they walked to the help desk. "Astral?"
"Yes Jaimie?"
"Do you think this place is safe for us?" She questioned him as a robotic woman turned and faced them.
"Of course it is safe, let your mind feel at ease here inside of Madams Pods." The robot felt slightly broken as Astral looked up to his wife.
"Two answers. Yes it's safe and yes it shouldn't work on us." The robot tilted its head as Astral looked at the robot. "Two please." Astral put up two fingers as two metallic pods hovered in.
"Please lie down when ready." the robot announced to them as both laid down. Feeling sharp needles dissect their way into their skulls. They could no longer move a muscle as they became stuck. Motionless as neither of them could talk to the other, all that was seen was darkness.
Minutes passed as an Astral clone ripped apart his pod slowly to not hurt Astral. Once the needles were pulled out both of the Astrals saw Jaimie's pod. "Did you study the layout of mine?" The clone nodded. "Good, cause we have company." Astral flicked his pistol up as small soccer ball sized drones came flying in. The entire planet was packed in like sardines.
The clone carefully pulled the three needles out of Jaimie's skull as she popped out of her pod. Astral's magnum popped apart each drone with ease as Jaimie slashed upwards with her spear. Leaving a crevasse for the three to escape. Astral and Jaimie each grabbed an arm of the clone as they soared away to the next planet a solar system over.
They landed on a city hovering among the swamps of the planet. Astral looked at the engines as they glided softly down. "I wonder how their propulsion drives differ from mine?" Astral muttered as a guardsman put his weapon to Astral.
"Why do you want to know about our systems?" He asked, his scaly armor covering his green skin, head to toe.
The clone pushed the weapon away as Jaimie cracked her knuckles. "Just a food for thought question." Astral's paws pointed themselves at the guard as Astral waved off this pale attack at him. "Where is the local pawn shop?"
"Why should I tell you?" the guard tapped the end of his spear to the ground as Astral extended his hand upside down. The guard held out his hand as a steam of currency poured out. "Down three blocks to your left." Astral, Jaimie and the clone all walked past the guard as a drone floated away to study the engines.
Once they entered the shop their suits vanished. The clone looked around at all the wares. "Are you ready to become yourself?" Astral whispered into his ear as the clone was happy. The two of them scurried around the store looking at random wares, weapons and artifacts. Jaimie went up to the register.
"Sorry about my husband, he can be a bit wild at times." Jaimie heard a loud bang as Astral and the clone knocked over a shelf.
"It's whatever, the empire has me on heavy tax audits and the cartels won't do shit to stop the tariffs or support me." the brown scaled lizard spoke, standing as tall as she did. "If you guys buy everything, good chance is I get ten percent of that between the cartel and the empire."
Jaimie looked disgusted as Astral and the clone had a full cart of supplies. "We have what we want, meet the newest clone. Hephaen. He wants to forge things just like Lone."
"How much to buy half of your shop's goods over the table, get taxed appropriately, then buy the other half under the table in discrete and move you away from here?" Jaimie asked as Astral and Hephaen looked around in glee.
"Thr-three million yama plus another two under the table?" The lizard knocked on the door.
"Astral, pay the man." Jaimie stood straight up and pointed to the lizard.
"For the entire shop, greedy bitch." Astral took three seconds as he set it all into two unified boxes. "This one is the three million. For legal reasons. The other is two million. Hephaen, start setting up in the pocket dimension." A white circle glew as Hepan started to dash back and forth.
"Thank you so much. Honey, we are moving to the outskirts finally!" The lizard shouted as a lizard with purple scales matching his came down.
"Really?"
"All thanks to these three lovely gentlemen, we can let the state seize the shop and vanish." the lizard clasped his hands over hers. They embraced each other as Jaimie rolled her eyes as being called a dude.
"FREEZE OUTSIDERS!" Five guards held pistols up at the three inside as Hephaen didn't stop moving. They opened fire into the shop. Hephaen pulled out one of his new items he just bought and created a metal box that trapped the guards inside. They pounded on the metal as Hephaen pushed it outside.
"You want to throw that box?" Astral asked nodding for Jaimie to help the other two. Hephaen nodded before picking it up and throwing it to the wayside into the swamp.
Jaimie cradled the two lizards into her chest as they quieted down. "Do you want help getting to the countryside?" Astral had dropped all of the toys for Hephaen to play with into the pocket dimension.
The two quietly nodded. Jaimie peek above the counter as Astral stood still. "You wouldn't happen to have a hoverhome for these two available?" Astral spun a full one hundred eighty degrees and faced her.
"Yes, but like, what a random question. Not like I can summon it at any moment. I have to know exactly where it is in the pocket dimension and voila." Astral flicked his wrist as it appeared in the street next to Hephaen.
They rushed to it as Astral and Jaimie smiled. Hephaen tugged on his jacket. "You want to learn from Lone?" Astral opened the pocket dimension as he handed the enchantment tome to him. Hopping in Hephaen is happy to learn something new!
"Well, looks like we have a new goal on this vacation."
"Oh?"
"Getting the insider information to bring the galaxy to its knees." Jaimie snickered as Astral gave her a thumbs up.
"One step at a time, we still have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves."