Free Rift Breaker by Tristan Michael Savage

replied Tazman.
    â€˜I’m still the one with the guns,’ she said, stepping forward and pushing the barrel towards him. He quietened, but still, he couldn’t wipe the giant smirk off his face.
    The captain was about to say something else when Tazman burst out again, giddy as a child. She shot a glance at Milton, who shrugged. ‘He’s under the influence,’ he explained.
    Tazman gasped for air. ‘Listen to you. A wanted criminal can’t cash in on a bounty — especially not when the Tranquillian Composite is paying. Do you know what they do to “suspected” Tyde agents? A bit of secret torture here and there — and don’t think they’ll go any easier on you, darling.’
    Tazman calmed down. Something else caught his focus. He took a slight step forward to look at her guns. Luylla inched back self-consciously. Tazman’s eyes went wide. His face lit up again, and he burst out in laughter more heartier than before.
    â€˜And you haven’t even turned the safety off!’ he yelled.
    Luylla’s eyes flitted down in panic, flaring wide at the discovery. The sight was too much for Tazman. Weak in the legs, he backed up against the wall, unable to stop pointing and laughing. Luylla slipped her thumbs over the back of her guns and the charge pitches reversed polarity.
    â€˜Nope,’ said Tazman, ‘Not that one.’
    She muttered at the weapons and crossed her right hand over her left, fidgeting with a moving part on her pistol while trying to keep both of them in her sights.
    â€˜I think she’s new to this, Milton,’ Tazman laughed.
    Milton searched for options. He wasn’t sure if Tazman was coordinated enough to run. Moreover, he wasn’t sure how far they could get, given the whole wanted-for-organised-crime situation. The hooded guy from the alley had said something about a safe haven.
    â€˜Listen,’ he spoke up. ‘I’m being completely honest when I say we know as much about this situation as you do. We don’t know what happened to that colony but we do have a lead.’ He held out the gold disc. ‘We were framed, but we found someone who is willing to help us.’
    Luylla stepped back. Her hands slipped over the guns and the ammunition battery ejected from the right pistol. She quickly caught it and thrust it back. Milton moved to avoid the barrel.
    â€˜Help us get off-world and together we’ll find a way out of this mess.’
    An odd humming caught Milton’s attention. A patrol bot floated towards the group. The purple and white sphere, the size of a head, was covered with gadgets.
    It circled an arc behind Luylla, twisting to face her. Round lenses flipped out and extended. The bot flashed repeatedly as it circled her face. She squinted and turned away. It turned, spotted the other two and unleashed a volley of rapid flashes. It chirped and made a clicking processing sound, then it let burst a blaring screech. Milton reflexively slammed his palms to his ears, still holding the disc tight. Every passer by did the same as they looked in their direction.
    Luylla holstered one gun and cocked the other. She swung her arm to the side and pulled the trigger. A bright blast exploded from the chamber. It ripped clean through the patrol bot; a clump of wires burst from the exit hole. The bot paused in the air. Sparks spurted from its crinkled front. The siren ended with a high-pitched choke and the sphere hit the pavement where it twitched and sparked for the last time. Tazman giggled.
    â€˜It’s your call,’ added Milton, not even sure if she had listened to his proposal.
    â€˜I can’t afford to go down for this,’ she said, worry in her voice, switching her aim between the engineers.
    â€˜Then help us,’ cried Milton.
    She sighed angrily. ‘I will be watching the both of you. If you so much as look at me funny … you and that patrol drone will have something in