Joah Maroon 1

built their homes.  Some clusters were larger than others, as to be expected.  Our computer claimed that forty million inhabited the city with the spaceport where we would be landing.  TruPort the city had been named.  There was no record of why.  Since other highly populated areas were named SuperPort and FriendsPort, perhaps it was a marketing technique to draw more visitors.
The weapons that we would be selling them weren't for warring amongst themselves.  Or against us.  Pegillas was home to thousands of predatory beasts that continued to roam their world.  Despite the danger involved, the Peggies insisted on maintaining the natural balance of things.  They would hunt many of the animals for food, but never near the point of extinction.  Their tall homes were naturally unapproachable by the four-legged beasts that threatened their lives.  Anything that could climb or fly was typically reluctant to venture into crowded spaces.  Only the outskirts of the metropolitan areas had serious problems.  Still, there was a level of risk everywhere.
For that reason, we were encouraged to carry weapons on us.  As a merchant ship we did not have an extensive arsenal, but there were enough to keep us safe.  Three pulse rifles, three ballistic pistols, and five energy swords.  The latter were not like lightsabers, which is what I pictured when I first heard of them.  Instead, they had a thin blade of metal as if intended for fencing.  The energy that would cause any damage to an opponent attached itself to the blade and provided an orange glow.  There were buttons on the hilt to retract and deactivate the energy source.
Along with the dangerous life forms on the surface of Pegillas there were valuables to be claimed by anyone willing to take the risk.  And many humans did.  Fine metals with unique qualities, and brilliant gems that reflected light long after the source of the illumination had departed.  It was much like mining for diamonds in a lion infested African zone.
House lights.  That's what the Peggies used the remarkable gems for.  The sun charged them during the day, and they continued to glow at night.  Many colors and shades were available.  Apparently, each had a meaning.  When I first heard that I immediately wondered if red was for houses of prostitution.
Roxanne!  You don't have to put on the red light!
Unfortunately, there was no official record of what each color represented.  The Peggies still kept some aspects of their culture to themselves, though visitors had shared their conflicting theories on the matter.  We were urged to be careful before entering any building instead of making assumptions.
Our ships computer had videos along with the data.  Documentaries of the planet and the people.  There were travel guides as well with plenty of recommendations.  Good bars and restaurants in TruPort.  Fun activities and things to see.  When visiting an alien planet for the first time there was no need to find special attractions.  Everything that you encountered could be amazing since it was new and alien to you.
Then came the bad news.  Over a thousand humans died on Pegillas every year.  Many were due to the treacherous task of mining remote areas.  But a fair share were tourists and merchant crew caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Bourbon Street in New Orleans is what I pictured, only in the jungle.
All things considered, I figured that me and my women would be just fine.  We had already gone through so much together.  Death had plenty of chances on us, and we always escaped.  Of course, that couldn't be said for some of our friends along the way.
Trixie.  The trailer trash bimbo that was absolutely hilarious.  She died on the Thesphilian ship during our escape.  So did Drexel.  Later, on a real island we met Jayla.  A super fine dark-skinned woman with which I did the dirty out on the beach while Delilah watched.  She was put to death by our enemies because she didn't have the embedded disc in her arm that caused pain when our captors chose.  I had those surgically removed shortly after being rescued, as did the rest of the survivors.
The three of us, though, had fought through so much.  We battled against human opponents in the death games.  Defended ourselves against the Thesphilian guards and robots.  We survived the walking fish men on our private island, then the knobby snakes in the prison compound to rescue two of my girls.  Then there was the final escape sequence, making it aboard a human ship to flee our alien tormentors.
Life since then had become much easier.  We were celebrities for a spell, living the high life, being waited on hand and foot.  When our fame faded things were still very cushy in comparison to life in captivity.  Even life aboard a freighter was gravy versus our first few months in the future.
Before I went to war in the Middle East, I thought I knew hardship.  I didn't, but I learned really quick.  Certain essential skills had been retained the rest of my life after that.  It helped me as a security guard and bouncer, then again on our island prison.  I was convinced that it would do so on Pegillas as well.
I would assume the same of Lin and Nancy, too.  They were no longer the secretary and med student from their past lives.  They had acquired the ability to survive during a variety of challenges.  I planned to keep them close, but I wasn't too worried about them.  As long as they had weapons and didn’t get separated from each other.
Portia would be permitted to join us on excursions on the planet.  There was no android rule.  Chances were that the locals wouldn't know the difference.  Physically she was quite able to defend herself.  Socially is where she might get into trouble.  She would certainly not be easy for authorities to take down.  Additionally, I could