“Wait—the mortgage is paid, so we’re leaving!” Star-Envoy Varkos stammered, backing toward the metal boarding ramp of his landing craft. Cold sweat drenched the collar of his high-collared astral combat uniform.
His heavy mechanical boots slipped against the wet Kunlun permafrost. His single organic eye twitched behind his crimson visor. Around him, a thousand heavily armored shock troopers scrambled in total disarray, their plasma rifles dragging through the snow.
Chief Legal Counsel Shen Qiaoqiao stepped forward, blocking the ramp with brisk confidence.
Her dark hair fluttered in the mountain wind. She adjusted her gold-wire spectacles with a manicured finger. In her left hand, she held the glowing, six-foot-long crystal receipt just spat out by the Star-Road Payment Monolith.
“Leave?” Shen Qiaoqiao asked, her dimpled smile sharp as a razor. “I am afraid planetary departure clearance has been formally revoked.”
Varkos froze, his mechanical jaw clattering against his throat collar. “Revoked? By whose authority? We are accredited collectors of the Blood-Tax Star Chamber! The sovereign debt is discharged! Our business on this dirt rock is finished!”
“Your debt collection business is indeed finished,” Shen Qiaoqiao said calmly. She tapped her ivory gavel against the crystal receipt. “However, your municipal violation proceedings have just begun.”
