Rogue Warriors of Lorr
Captured By the Alien Chapter 1

Wiping down the pub table closest to the door, Scarlett Mason could already tell that tonight was going to be a long one. Normally, working her weekday shift at Thazir's dive bar wasn't terribly eventful.

Of course, the regulars came in every night like clockwork. The rare out-of-towner drifted through and needed a cold drink to unwind. And the occasional miscreants tended to cause trouble any time they came in. Tonight was one of those nights. This time, a couple of younger-looking Xoyosan were rowdy from the moment they stumbled through the doors. She could hear them even now from all the way across the room, their loud, drunken voices drowning out the sounds of the tele-projector above the bar.

She'd turned it on to one of the games happening tonight-some sport she didn't actually understand and honestly didn't bother to try-at their request. It wasn't a shock when one of them slapped her on the a*s and told her to keep the pitchers flowing. It made her want to sigh and close up shop for the rest of the night.

Scarlett wasn't a stranger to being accosted, especially here when she dealt with Xoyosis's most intoxicated. But tonight, she was the only one on the clock, and dealing with them as well as the rest of the regulars who had trickled in was starting to get a little overwhelming.

The door in front of her chimed open, making her look up and flash a smile. "Hey, welcome to Thazir's. You can sit anywhere you'd like."

The newcomer nodded, a cloak draped over his large body with the hood pulled down over the majority of his face. It made her uneasy immediately despite him heading over to one of the corners of the dive bar and taking a seat.

She didn't want to prejudge anyone, especially if he turned out to be some kind of drifter just passing through due to business elsewhere in the galaxy. Plus, who was she to deny anyone a drink based on how sketchy they looked? Shaking her head, Scarlett tucked her rag into her apron and approached his table. "Can I get anything started for you?"

Carefully, he tugged the hood of his cloak away from his face and let it fall back onto his shoulders. She blinked in surprise at his violet-colored skin.

A Lorrian? All the way out here?

That was different.

She'd seen residents from the planet Noxxa pass through Xoyosis from time to time, most of them pleasant enough to not leave much of a mess but, for some reason, always skimping out on the tip. But a Lorrian outside of Noxxa or Lorr was rare to see. Scarlett tried not to make it obvious that she was staring at him while he grabbed the small menu off of the table and flipped it open.

He was certainly handsome with a strong jawline and a square face that gave him a bit of a roguish look. It was softened by his long lashes that framed his violet-colored eyes. His dark hair was straight and slightly messy from his hood, with a few pieces of it flicking up around his ears.

"Do you have any beers on tap?"

Scarlett bit her lip. His voice sounded exactly like she thought it would, deep and smooth, like she'd been coated in warm sugar. It made her tongue tingle.

She cleared her throat, shaking herself from the thoughts. "Yeah, I've got a few."

"I'll take your bestseller."

Scarlett nodded and stepped away from his table. "Right away."

Heading directly over to the bar, she shook her head. She could feel her skin starting to heat up and sweat beginning to collect around her brows. What the hell was wrong with her? Sure, Lorrians were known to be incredibly attractive, but to get worked up over one man sitting in her bar? Seriously, pull yourself together.

Grabbing one of the beer glasses off of the shelf behind the bar, she turned around to stick it under the tap.

"Hey, lady." One of the rowdy Xoyosans held up the empty pitcher, waving it in the air. "Can we get another one?"

Scarlett frowned. She'd just put that pitcher down right before she'd started cleaning the tables, and they were already out? Glancing over at the running tabs screen next to her, she winced at how high their bill was climbing.

It wasn't that she didn't think they had any money on them, but at the rate they were drinking, she doubted they'd have enough to cover their entire bill. Even if they split it up between all of them.

She flashed the kid a smile, though, pulling back the tap to fill the newcomer's glass. "I'll be right over."

"Hey, didn't you hear me?" The Xoyosan kid stood up, unbalanced and clearly wasted. "I said we need a refill. Now."

Scarlett frowned, letting the tap go and scraping off some of the excess foam at the top. "I heard you. Just give me a sec-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the kid scoffed and threw the pitcher onto the floor. It bounced against the tile and careened across the bar to slam into one of the other tables, knocking it and causing their drinks to fall and shatter onto the floor. It was smart of Thazir to have plastic pitchers as they were often thrown, but she had been begging the owner to switch out the glasses, too.

The table of rowdy Xoyosans laughed.

"What the fuck?" One of the patrons at the table next to them stood up, his chest puffing out. "The f**k was that for?"

Another one of the younger Xoyosans slid off his chair. "You wanna fight or something?"

Scarlett felt her eyes go wide.

Oh no... oh no, no, no, no.

If they broke out into a fight in the middle of the bar and damaged anything, Thazir was going to kill her. He was a complete cheapskate when it came to upkeep for this place, and anything broken always wound up coming out of whoever's paycheck was on that night. Suddenly, from the rear of the bar, the newcomer pushed back his chair and strode over calmly. He stepped in between the older Xoyosans and the younger ones, creating an actual shield between them with his body. "Hey, step out of the fucking way," one of the younger ones growled at him.

The newcomer snorted, putting his entire hand around the kid's face and shoving him backward. He toppled over into one of his friends, both of them crashing into the ground once they collided.

The other two glanced over at their friends before turning to the newcomer. "What the fuck is your problem?"

A fist came flying at the newcomer, aimed directly at his head. He caught it easily, yanking the kid forward and twisting his arm painfully behind his back. The kid let out a pained yelp, crumpling to his knees quickly. It made Scarlett's mouth drop open.

Finally, the newcomer lifted his eyes and looked at the remaining Xoyosan kid.

"You're going to clean up your mess. Get down on your hands and knees and pick up every last piece of glass, or I'll be breaking every single one of your loud-mouth bones. You got it?"

The kid in his grip groaned when the tension on his arm was tightened.

The other kid, the one remaining, nodded quickly.

"Good." The Lorrian man nodded back over to her. "Now go ask this nice bartender if she has a garbage can back there."

The kid swallowed and turned to her. "Um... do you..."

She was already bending over and grabbing the small waste bin that she saved for discarded receipts. He reached over the bar and took it from her before, shuffling over to the mess of shattered glass and spilled drinks. The man shoved the kid in his grip toward the mess. "You, too."

Both of them kneeled on the floor, swaying drunkenly as they did so, and started to pick up each piece of glass, one by one.

The Lorrian man turned around to face the older Xoyosans. "I'll buy your next round."

One of them clapped the man on the shoulder. "No need. We were finished anyway."

Both of them dropped a few large bills onto their table and nodded to Scarlett before heading out.

She couldn't help but blink. What the hell just happened?

The newcomer headed over toward the two kids still on the floor and loomed over them. "Pay your bill and get out." They both slowly got to their feet, shoved their hands into their pockets, and dropped a few bills onto the table. "All of it." "But we-"

"Do you want me to knock your skulls in again?"

Both of them cursed under their breath and dropped the rest of the bills in their wallets onto the table. From here, Scarlett couldn't exactly see how much they'd left her, but she hoped it was at least enough to cover most-if not all-of their tab. It took a little over twenty minutes for them to pick up all of the glass. Then one of the kids grabbed the mop she'd left out next to the restrooms and mopped up the spilled liquid.

She couldn't help but be slightly amused, watching her-well, for lack of better words-Lorrian savior supervise the cleanup before making the other two empty their pockets and then promptly shoving them all out the door like her own personal bouncer. He stayed at the door, looking out through the glass for a few minutes before finally heading back into the bar and over to her. On his way over, he swiped up all of the money left over from both tables and brought it over to her.

"I hope this covers their tab and the damages. If it doesn't, I've got cash on me."

She blinked. "You really don't have to do that. It wasn't your fault."

He grunted at her, sliding onto one of the stools. "I should've known they were trouble. As soon as I walked in, I could tell they were wasted."

She sighed. "They've been like that all night."

He blinked at her. His violet eyes looked close to supernovas under the warm glow from the lighting overhead.

"When did you open?"

"Around five."

He lifted his arm, checking his comms wristband display. "Damn. They've been here that long?"

"Mmm."

He set his arm down, noticing the drink still in her hand. "That for me?"

She looked down, wincing. She'd totally forgotten she'd been holding it this entire time. Mostly due to shock. She sometimes had rowdy guests but never anything like that before.

"Shit, sorry." She poured it down the drain. "Let me make you a new one."

He snorted. "You didn't have to. I'll drink anything."

She put his glass under the tap again, pouring him a fresh one. "Thank you, by the way."

He shrugged. "Don't mention it."

For the next two weeks, Grux Lorrz frequented Thazir's dive bar.

During the first few days, he'd managed to convince himself he was simply coming back so often because he needed to gather as much intel on Scarlett Mason as possible. The mission to retrieve her and get her back to her employers being at the top of his mind. But the more he spent time watching her and occasionally conversing with her, he couldn't help but allow that warm feeling of fondness to creep into his heart.

There was no sense in getting attached to her. The family that had contacted him and hired him to find her had been adamant that retrieval and relocation were of the utmost importance. He could understand the situation, given how much they'd paid to have her. But the longer he spent here in this shitty little bar on this shitty little planet, he couldn't help but think that maybe he'd taken on the job a little too hastily.

He did have to admit that perhaps the fat paycheck they'd slapped down onto his desk did have something to do with that decision, but he didn't want to focus too heavily on the subject.

When Scarlett made her rounds in the bar, she smiled at him when she caught his stare. Her hips swayed as she walked over to him, her short red hair had been parted to the side today with a small clip holding her bangs out of her face.

She was a petite little thing, someone who would easily be lost in a crowd, which made sense on why she'd been able to escape her employers so thoroughly.

The only problem was that Grux was resourceful. His older brother, Kozien, had taught him enough that by this point, he might as well be labeled an expert.

Scarlett stopped in front of his table and nodded to his empty glass. "You want a refill?"

He shifted it in his hand, swirling the last few drops around at the bottom. "I'm good for now. Thank you."

She tucked the rag she'd been holding into her apron. "Long day?"

Grux shrugged a shoulder. "You could say that."

"Are you here for business? Usually, Lorrians and Noxxans are only here a day or two, a pitstop as they pass through."

Grux couldn't help but flash a smile. The reputation that Lorrians never really traveled farther than Noxxa wasn't unfounded. Many of them barely even left Lorr in general. But he found it rather funny that even all the way out here, that reputation still preceded him. "Actually, I'm here on a vacation."

That had her blinking at him funny. "Vacation on... Xoyosis..."

He laughed. "What? Xoyosis is nice."

"I... I guess. I don't think I'd consider it a vacation destination."

Grux shrugged again. "Consider me an adventurous spirit, then."

She smiled, wide and beautiful. It made his heart thump in his chest. "Let me know if you need anything."

He nodded at her, watching her step away and head back up to the bar. Grux leaned back into his seat, putting his hand over his chest.

What... the hell... was that?