(Author's Note: For greater enjoyment and atmospheric ambiance, listen to this while reading the intro or the whole story, really. Thanks to cronor for first posting the link to this great song that is now the unofficial theme song to this story in my mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RVTvwZUAyM )

Space. The final frontier...or something like that, anyway. Who can remember?

It's been centuries since humanity took to the stars as they'd dreamed of for years and years. It was so long ago that very few people actually remember the "whys" of the first excursion out into the galaxies beyond the familiar Milky Way. Some say it was because Earth had become nearly uninhabitable and the exploration of the galaxy beyond was necessary for the survival of the species. Others said it was good old human curiosity that drove them ever upward and onward. Still others said that years of watching science fiction movies and playing sci-fi video games had instilled in the new generation of humanity a driving desire to travel the stars, meet new and exotic lifeforms they could scarcely imagine...and then fuck them, if they could. Because, hey, green skin girls, to quote a wise sage from a time long forgotten.

Whatever the reason, humanity took to the stars, made contact with other species and made a place for themselves in the universe as a whole. True, there were quite a few inter-species misunderstandings, a little planetary warfare and a smidgen of near-genocide in between then and the present, but nobody wants to rehash intergalactic history, now do they? No, let it just be said that, now, in the Terran year of 2925, things have settled into a somewhat mutual peace between the species and humanity found their place in the universe.

For some, that place was defending universal order as part of the Intergalactic Peacekeeping Force, the somewhat strict form of law enforcement in the universe. For others, it was taking part in universal politics, trying to make sure humanity had more influence and power among the species that inhabit the universe. Still others just lived day to day, working hard at any number of blue collar jobs to make a home on one of the many inhabited planets in the universe.

You, and many others like you, however, have found their place in the seedy underbelly of the universe, among the cutthroats, thieves, crime-lords and con-artists of the galaxies. Because what would a universe be without a little crime and dangerous characters in the shadowed places of the planets? It'd pretty damn boring, is what it would be, and who the hell wants that?

You are a tall, handsome (if you do say so yourself...and you do) sandy-haired and blue-eyed human male who goes by the name of Derrick Halloway. Captain Derrick Halloway, as you are quick to remind people when they forget to state your "hard-earned" title. You are a smuggler, thief and all around charming rogue (though you are usually the only one who adds that last bit) who has made your way in the galaxy using nothing but your sharp wits, your quick reflexes and your highly flexible morality. There was also quite a bit of luck and a few sexual favors traded to keep yourself alive along the road, but, hey, that's just part of being a irresistibly sexy, dashing starship captain. Or at least that's what you have come to believe, without the faintest hint of irony.

You've recently completed a rather straightforward delivery job, transporting a crate of unnamed cargo (your favorite type as the less you know about what you transport the better) to the junk planet S47-V463, a place that was once a small moon until it became home to most of the junked and scrapped ships of the quadrant. Now the land is more metal than ground and most junked ships have been repurposed into homes or businesses for those who reside on the planet. The Junk Moon, as it is usually called, has become something of a hideaway for those who deal in business of a less than scrupulous type as a galactic junkyard is a great place to hide shady dealings. Needless to say, you usually feel right at home here.

So, there you are, flush with UC (Universal Credits) in your account and a junk planet full of opportunity spread out before you. What is an adventurous and handsome young captain to do?