Garda-Villis was a large planet with surface landmasses covering only about fifteen percent of its surface.  When Django Beldt's air/raft exited the starport loaded with his newest clients there was nothing to see but the smooth arc of sulphur-tinctured water unblemished except for perhaps the clouds.

Descending to the planet's surface took roughly an hour.  By the final fifteen minutes the island-city of Korinth had peeked up over the smooth horizon.  Their vehicle was chasing the daylight but lost, so when they arrived the darkness of nighttime had just settled over the city.  Korinth was both the name of the island and the name of the city that dominated every last square inch of the triangle-shaped mountaintop that had stuck its head out of the ocean.

The bright lights started very thick in the high ground near the island's center where the majority of the taller buildings were located.  The architecture was modern Imperial rim; tall structures of shiny alloy with sweeping geometric accents and arcs that grew like mammoth blades of grass, each engaged with the other in a frozen dance of elevated pedestrian walkways and shared airspace abuzz with energy from the communications arrays.

As Django circled around the island the lights could be seen to grow gradually lower in altitude and less densely packed as one looked out towards the coasts.  The patterns of illumination delineated neighborhoods in the lack of daylight.  That patch of low-lying glints with a lot of space between was the Shway, where the city's elite built their estates.  That area over there where the lights formed tight squarish blocks was the public housing building signature of the Grist, where the have-nots built their lives.

The air-raft settled into a smooth line towards the southern coast where the Grist turned into Dun Bozzar, local parlance for "the fun land".  Oceanside resorts sat across multilevel causeways from casinos and restaurant complexes.  As the landing struts locked into place the air/raft was on course for an open vehicle lot closer to the edge of the Grist than the shiny touristy areas by the water.

The structure to which the lot belonged was three stories and trapezoid-shaped.  Nothing about it gave away its purpose, but the rope line at the main entrance with two large men in tight black shirts managing about twenty people waiting for access, the fancier nature of the ground cars assembled out front, the party-style nature of the patrons coming and going - it could only be a night club.  The name in glowing Gothic letters above the entrance was a marketing disaster despite the place's apparent popularity: Rigormortis.

Django walked onto the gangway as soon as it extended, and took in the neighborhood. The club was a short walk away, but he could already feel the baseline in his chest. It wasn't what Django called music, but he didn't judge. "Spider is probably holding court in the VIP section. Shouldn't be too hard to get you an introduction," he said over his shoulder. "How many of you are going in?"

Gunnar raised a hand while his eyes took in every detail. Clubs like this were perfect for meetings. The sheer number of people usually meant nothing untoward was likely to happen, and the volume kept eavesdropping down to a minimum. By the same token, it was that much harder to keep track of people in a club of this size, which meant mischief was still a distinct possibility. He was here for security, plain and simple, and he was going to do his job. The fact that the women here seemed fairly open-minded about how much was revealed by their outfits had nothing to do with it.

"Looks like Gunnar is in,  Eris knows why..."  Aurora said, sarcastically, eyeballing a passing party-goer who was blatantly endevouring to show off as much of her new, green, autopigmented skin as possible.  "Eyes front, soldier."  She muttered, only half-joking.

Gunnar smirked, but he still watched the green-skinned woman for several long seconds.

"Green." Teagan commented quietly as she followed Gunnar's gaze.

"I'll stay here," Keese said politely, ears flat against his bullet-shaped head. The noise was loud enough from this distance; he doubted he'd be able to hear his own thoughts inside.

"That's fine, Keese, just keep your wits about you and mind the ship."  She turned her attention back to Django, "Seriously, you know this guy, is he gonna be freaked by too many new faces?"  

"Well, we'll discover the answer to that question together. Won't we?" Django said with a laugh. 

"There." Gunnar pointed just off the main doorway. "That's probably the VIP entrance, yes?" Following his finger the others could see what he'd already spotted; some particularly fancy fun-seekers avoiding the main doors and entering in a discrete side door away from the crowds. A large man stood attentively by the door, a less-obvious and better-dressed version of those by the front door.

"Might that be the way to go?" he suggested.

"Here that, all? The boy thinks we're VIPs." Django shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Let's go talk to the gentleman."

Gunnar turned a disparaging look on Django. "Hang on. I didn't say we should all try to rush the special entrance." He made the idea sound insulting. The shooter waved a hand to encompass the whole group. "We're not going to blend in no matter what. We're not the sort who go to places like this and they'll know it." He shrugged. "Play it how you want. I'm just saying the vee-eye-pee entrance is there if we want to use it."

"Computer credentials?"  Teagan inquired.  "I can make VIP."

"Tell you what, son. I'll try the VIP entrance. Whosoever wishes to join me may do so."

Stifling a sigh at the retreating trader, Gunnar glanced around the group, eventually letting his attention land on Aurora. "Your call," he said simply.

Django made a waddling bee line for the VIP entrance, and could feel that Teagan was quietly following him, her gaze open and curious as she took in the patrons.
 
Aurora shrugged, "Lets see how this plays out, he knows the guy better than we do." She leaned in close and whispered in his ear.  "Why not check round back?  If this doesn't work, we might need to make an unscheduled appointment with this Spider-guy..."  

Gunnar sniffed and nodded. "Holler if you need me." He didn't like being separated from the others but he could see the advantage of having a secure exit. He shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way across the street toward the front door, more to separate himself from the others than anything else. He'd circle the building and see what there was to see before choosing a vantage point from which to await further developments.

Adam grinned at the exchange between Django and Gunnar.  He liked the trader more and more every minute.  The man had style. The flight in had been fun, it was exciting to fly when he wasn't worried about being blown up. With a shrug, he started to follow Django, curious to see how things would turn out.  Then he forced himself to stop and looked over at Aurora.  "Am I allowed to go in, or do I need to stay here with Keese?" he asked, hoping he wouldn't have to stay with the cranky Vargr.

"Lets see if we're getting in the easy way, and then you can tell me if you still want to come along, hun..."  Aurora replied, throwing one arm around Adam and practically dragging him towards the door, close behind where Django was negotiating with the bouncers.

Adam bounced along beside her, smiling.  At least he was being included this time, not sent to sit at the kiddy table and be quiet.  Maybe he'd have some adventure today after all.

"Good evening, son," Django said to the VIP bouncer, "Django Beldt here. I have business with Spider."

"We're with him..."  Aurora added, brightly.

"They are indeed," Django said.