Pax

Satisfied with the way that the attack against the Patrol ship went, and pleased with the way his makeshift torpedo launcher made do, he slowly began his ascent to the upper decks. Along the way was sickbay, he decided to stop by and say hello to his new guests, some of which were badly wounded.

"How are the wounded doing Stitch?" Wolf asked his ship mate. She shrugged.

"The older fella is fine, but still unconscious. The girl is fine too, just a bit---out of it I'm afraid. Maybe overmedicated? There was another one who had some bad plasma burns, but I got him patched up." She said, addressing Nathan.

"How you doing fella? I figured now might be a good time to give you guys an official welcome aboard, I have no brief or speech to give, and you've already heard my rules. The only other thing that you need to hear from me is that Ceres is no place to fall asleep at. If you think Europa was rough you're in for a rude awakening. Don't trust anyone there, and keep your damn mouths shut. Organ theft and sales on the black market are up, stay away from dark alleys and be careful with what you drink and eat. When we get there I'll try to get us a sit down with our inside person, she's arranged to meet us at a joint called the Hun Tavern. Lots of ice miners like to hang out here, lots of expatriate militiamen and renegades too, the kinds of guys who used to be military but fell through the cracks of the system those types. Anyway, I'm gonna go snoop around and see what kind of changes you crazy kids did while I was down below. I heard that one of you was handy with navigation, when you're feeling up to it and aren't shy I'll meet you up at the navigation deck with that David fella."

Wolf stops by Engineering at sees the alterations that Russell made. The changes weren't too drastic, but Wolf felt like being a drama queen.

"In the name of Buddha, what the hell? Seriously. Seriously? What did you do in here? Oh man, don't quit your day job kid."

Wolf thumbed the intercom.

"And how are you doing up there David? You're not gonna crash us into any asteroids are you? Never mind, don't answer, I don't think I wanna know.

***

The ship spends a few hours to make it to the belt, and from there it's a simple enough matter of finding Ceres, the largest of all the asteroids. The aerospace ports don't seem quite as busy as the ones on Europa, traffic was virtually nonexistant. Most of the ships in the area are freighters and ore transports, the flight down to the surface is very relaxing, gravity is so slight it's virtually nill. Pappy is awake by then, he has a terrible headache and is in a very bad mood. He is embarassed at having been caught down on the job in front of the boots, but very thankful that the kids are all okay except for a few battle licks and grateful to Trin for the dashing rescue he heard she made. All of this he keeps to himself, he has alot of pride.

Outside of the aerospace port and on the colony you notice that the streets are very narrow and intimate. The majority of the settlements are built underground to escape the solar radiation and the streets are obviously built from mining tunnels made long ago. There are lots of industrial looking blue collar types with heavy stares and burdened features. There are "street pharmacists" on the streets, hookers, and curious looking individuals that look like they're up to something, you just can't tell what exactly.

"This isn't exactly the best neighborhood, I'm afraid. Just keep those weapons I gave you guys handy, you may need them again. And stay close to me." Wolf whispers to you.

After a bit of weaving through dense crowds of people Wolf spots Hun Tavern and makes his way for it, leading you along. He sits at a table and orders a drink while he waits for the contact to show up, he encourages you to do the same.

 

"Hey, TO1 Gunther ... Pappy! Is that you? What the heck are you doing here? Did'ja piss off the brass again or ..."

Dogface was cutoff mid-sentence by a sudden, sharp look from the man he was currently addressing. That IS him, right? I'd know that mug anywhere.

 

Pappy's eyes rolled and he buried his face in his hand. Of all the bars in all the rocks in all the System, it had to be Dogface, and while he was on a top secret mission too. Maybe the staff was right, Pappy's old mug was too familar for undercover work.

"Jesus Dog, I don't know what the hell you're doing on Ceres, and I don't even wanna know. Just keep your damn voice down and sit down, I'm on a mission and you're gonna blow my ever-loving cover." Pappy growled.

 

Dogface instinctively obeyed Pappy's order without question. What the hell? He's not my boss anymore. He hasn't been for over a decade. He made a mental note to be a little less subservient, but not to the point of disrespect. Pappy was one of the good ones, after all.

Adam calmed his tone in spite of his excitement. "You act like you're not happy to see my beautiful face. It's been eleven years, man. Where's my hug?" Adam extended his arms, knowing ahead of time that Pappy wouldn't embrace him.

 

"...Just keep those weapons I gave you guys handy..."

Suddenly, Nathan remembered the gun he had taken from Pappy in the fight. He jogged ahead to Pappy and noticed he was in a conversation with somebody. Pappy looked like he knew the guy, but wasn't in the mood for catching up, so Nathan stepped in. "Hi, my name's Nathan, this is my good friend Gunther. We're here on vacation, see how the mining is..." he said. God, Nathan hoped he had got the cover story right...

 

"Ineruptin' folks is a bad, bad habit, Nate. You'd do well to remember that." Dogface's expression hinted at mixed annoyance and amusement.

"And I already know Pappy. I also know that you're not here on vacation, so you can forget your cover story while talkin' to me, young blood."

 

Jesca slipped quietly into the bar and found her favorite table in the corner. Pauly Kutrov was there chatting up one of the working girls, but when he saw Jesca heading his way, hw whispered something in the girl's ear, and they hurried for the exit. Pauly glanced back as he left. Jesca ignored him.

A server appeared and set down a bottle and a glass. She keyed a generous tip into her credit band and tapped it against the server's paypad. Je nodded his thanks and started to turn away.

"Karl."

The sever turned back toward her. "Yes?"

"Who are they?" She glanced at the three men she noticed on the way in.

Karl shrugged. "No idea. Just prospectors passing thorugh, I think."

After Karl left, Jesca watched the three men without seeming to notice them. Prospectors, my sweet round ass. Two of them at least are grunts, for sure. You can take the boys out of their unis, but they never losw that soldier's stance.

A part of her mind contemplated them sans uniforms, but mostly she wondered what they were up to.

 

Jerrome entered the watering hole seperate from the others as instructed. the less we look like a large group the better. Jerrome ordered a small plate of immitation potato chips and proceded to sit down at one of the empty tables not too far from pappy and the man he assumed was his contact.

not staring at pappy was easy, he contented himself with drawing a new design for his malfunctioning shield prototype.
Nathan was already here and enganged in conversation with the new man and pappy, and although this was not a busy place, there was enough general background noise to muffle what they were saying.

 

"And how are you doing up there David? You're not gonna crash us into any asteroids are you? Never mind, don't answer, I don't think I wanna know."

"Its Carter. Not David. Never David. Caaaarteeer. Got it? Good- ****!" I lurched the ship to the left, "BRACE FOR IMPACT- hehehehe, just kidding ladies and gents. Everythings good."

*

On Ceres, I followed behind the group, stopping at stalls and shops that took my fancy. I allowed a brief moment to duck into an alley, and smear my face with dust, and ruffle my hair. I caught my reflcetion in a shop window and smiled, I looked like an off duty miner now. The others entered a sleazy looking bar, and I slunk in after them. I took a brief moment to survey the dismal place, before spotting a pretty girl, with wild brown hair sitting alone at the bar. Trying to forget the blonde on the space station, I approached the darker woman with a smile. She was a down to Earth girl, who was game for a laugh, and soon she was chatting happily with me. I ordered us both a drink with what little money I had. She gave me a sultry look, and nodded to a table in the corner of the bar.

"I like quiet, dark spots," She explained huskily.

Eagerly I followed her, and a couple more drinks later, her kisses were raining all over my face. I wrapped my arm around her neck and returned the favour.

'The things I do for a mission,' I mused to myself.

 

"And I already know Pappy. I also know that you're not here on vacation, so you can forget your cover story while talkin' to me, young blood."

Nathan looked to Pappy for confirmation who nodded in return. He looked around the bar and noticed Carter all over a girl. Knowing Pappy would kill him for this, Nathan decided to distract Pappy. "So, who is this guy?" he asked, "How do you guys know each other?"

 

Pappy sighed, deeply.

"This guy here---he used to be fleet. Used to be lots of things, one of the hardest damn men I knew, until he dispgraced himself and the Aerospace Force by going UA*. I can think of about a hundred charges they could bring against you for a Court martial. By the time they're done chopping away at you for all you done the Executioner's Axe would be dull. You gotta lot of nerve for showing yer ugly mug to me. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn your ass in."

*UA= Unauthorized Absence, or AWOL (Absent Without Leave)

 

After the events on Europa, and boarding the Baroness, Trin was spent. She collapsed on the vessel just before the crew fixed up her wounds, which had bled more and more the longer she let them go. Even if she was awake for the procedures, she really didn’t remember much due to how much she had been drugged. It was really unnecessary, and it let her mental trauma from the events culminate in her mind much more heavily.

I can’t remember rescuing him. I can remember dragging him towards the ship, but that’s it, nothing else. Where is he? Where is my father? Wait…where is…who did I rescue…who did what? The confusion was driving her slightly insane as she half slept, and as the drugs warped her usually calm mind. Trin remembered a figure coming up to her bed at this point in time.

How're ya doing there babe? We're flying first class this time it looks like.

Trin couldn’t put a face on the voice in memory; maybe she could at the time, but it was unlikely. She mumbled a few incoherent things at JJ. It came more as sounding like this. “I’m fi…who are…wait…wait…who are you?” She became quickly frustrated by this and turned over to sleep again with an “ahh **** it.” She was out till they reached Ceres.

She woke up hours later in the med-bay and quickly discovered that the team was pulling out onto the asteroid. Trin quickly moved to her quarters, undressed to ruined work clothes quickly, and put on some other she had. She put on some old work jeans, another sleeve-less white shirt, and an old flight jacket she had. The jacket was a little tight fitting since she never bothered to get a new one for so long. Then she flipped on her old baseball cap and brushed her hand past her right ear. She felt the missing bottom section of it and flinched slightly. All the memory of the event except for getting on the ship came back to her. But where the Hell is he, and what happened after? She was at a loss, but didn’t bother to ask the others.

As Trin moved out of her quarters and into the ship, she passed to weapon’s locker. She had no pistol anymore after she threw it, and was not going off ship without one again. There were larger weapons she could have chosen, or more high-tech ones, but two simple semi-auto pistols, obviously out of date, were calling her. She quickly picked them up and one holster, since her jacket had a secret one inside; the purpose of which she bought the jacket for was long since unknown. The pistol in the interior holster nearly made an imprint on the outside, but only came out as little bit of a bump. It really wasn’t noticeable unless some looked hard.

The team moved off ship onto Ceres rather cautiously this time. It was lucky that all of them made it off Europa alive, and that mistake wasn’t going to come out as well if it happened again. The asteroid was nothing but a dirty old mining colony. Trin had been here before, but never on it herself. Her father wouldn’t let her come with him to negotiate the shipping contracts, since it was apparently too dangerous for kids. She had always argued with him on this, but it was a final decision. Now that she’s back, Trin really doesn’t care to be on here anymore. It was only the fact that she couldn’t go here that made her want to as a child.

The team moved towards a bar that looked even shadier then the streets of the asteroid. She noticed Pappy heading the group and felt so much more relieved. So he is alive. Her worries about that left her, but the ones about the rock they were on came into full focus.

As soon as they entered and sat down at a table, Trin quickly and discreetly examined the surroundings. It was like any **** bar she had been in while freighting on her own as a hired worker. She have expected to have some of her old crew regulars sit down next to her and semi-surprise her. None of this happened though. Instead, a rather ugly character who apparently went by the name of Dogface sat next to them and seemed to be irritating Pappy. Trin didn’t care to hear from him at the moment and continued examining the room, while drinking from her glass. The bit of alcohol calmed her mind a little, but she knew this should be the only glass and thusly drank slow.

As she turned her eyes and looked towards the bar, she saw a woman who seemed to be asking about them and watching the team. It immediately concerned her, but she didn’t show it. Trin nearly took a slip from her glass, but tapped Gunthar’s boot with her own lightly. She continued to look off to another section of the bar, where Carter had moved off to, and whispered as clearly as possible, “Girl Bar Watching.” She took a sip from her glass then and tried to look Dogface in the eyes as if she was talking to him. Who is that woman?

 

"This guy here---he used to be fleet. Used to be lots of things...Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn your ass in."

"Yeah, I used be fleet." Dogface sardonically overemphasized the word. "That was until I learned decent folks were few an' far between in the fleet. Too many hypocrites." Dog was visibly disgusted at the memory of these people. "They teach ya about teamwork an' brotherhood, but they'll stab ya in the back if it serves their goals. That ain't the only thing, either. I'll just put it like this, the Force an me no longer saw eye t' eye." He looked pappy square in the face, "You know I wouldn'ta left without good reason, an' ya know ya wouldn't want someone who disagreed with the way s*** was done hangin' round." Dogface calmed down and donned a grin that seemed alien on his visage. "Besides, it was nothin' gainst you."

She took a sip from her glass then and tried to look Dogface in the eyes as if she was talking to him. Who is that woman?

Dogface had never actually met the woman that Pappy's friend was indicating, but he had heard some things. Most of what he'd heard was not flattering, and he didn't want it to be obvious that they were talking about her. Dog just gave Pappy's friend a look that said, I'll tell ya later.

 

Jesca saw the older grunt's change in posture, right after the short women glanced at her and whispered something.

She picked up the bottle, and poured more of the ice-blue liquor into her glass, deliberately sloshing some onto the table. She mumbled in apparent annoyance, and let er gaze wander drunkenly. There were several grimy mirrors, placed so the bar staff could watch for weapons or other bad news, so Hesca was able to watch with no possibility of being spotted again.

Jesca made a mental note not to underestimate that short woman again. She wondered how she'd be in a dust up. She looked like she could bust a head or two.

But for now, she was getting bored. She threw back the drink, and closed her eyes as the heat spread from the back of her throat down her spine.

She started looking around the bar for someone to either frak up or frak with. Either way, it was time to party.

 

"Yeah, I used be fleet. That was until I learned decent folks were few an' far between in the fleet. Too many hypocrites. They teach ya about teamwork an' brotherhood, but they'll stab ya in the back if it serves their goals. That ain't the only thing, either. I'll just put it like this, the Force an me no longer saw eye t' eye. You know I wouldn'ta left without good reason, an' ya know ya wouldn't want someone who disagreed with the way s*** was done hangin' round. Besides, it was nothin' gainst you."

Pappy was surprised by how much sense Dogface was making, and he knew he was the type to talk from the heart, if he said something then he damn sure meant it. He never lost any respect for him, Dogface had saved his butt a few times when Pappy was waist high in a fighting hole, that kind of quality makes someone shine like a diamond in a goat's ass. He was then distracted as Trin nudged his boot with hers and whispered “Girl Bar Watching.” Being as discrete as he could he tried to scope out who she was talking about, noticing some space miner type built like a toothpick but a scrapper for sure.

Damn it, Pappy didn't know who the hell he could trust in the joint and it didn't exactly strike him as the kind of place friendly to strangers of any stripe. He felt exposed. He had to talk to Wolf and find out when the hell their contact was gonna get a hold of them, or how. Could it be that the strange woman was their contact? The hotshot pilot pretty boy was in some corner playing hide the Salami with some server girl, probably a synthetic human or a mutant. Didn't anybody warn the boots about organ thieves anymore before they hit their first port? The kid was gonna end up waking up in an alley with a med-pack on his side and a kidney gone.

Leaning in to Wolf's ear he whispered, "How long are we gonna stay here, tell yer damn friend to show up already so we can get the hell outta here."

"Not my friend, and I don't know what they look like or how to contact them, be patient."

"Patience I don't have," Pappy was squeezing Wolf's arm, the non-Cyborg one. "You get up there to that bar stool, you give her the secret handshake or flash yer damn decoder ring, whatever the hell you guys do. You make her or find out what her deal is."

"That's not how it works, I might expose myself with a stunt like that, when they're ready they'll contact us. I don't know who the hell that rat is, she's probably just a nobody anyway, chill out."

Pappy frowned and addressed Dogface.

"Damn it Dogface, I don't know what the hell you're doing here but I just wanna know one thing, you want a drink? It's on me I'm buying, whadda ya say we head to the bar?" Pappy said, knowing that all bartenders in the system like to talk, especially if you slipped them some extra credits. He was sure the bar keep had something on the mystery woman, and Pappy was tired of waiting.

 

"Damn it Dogface, I don't know what the hell you're doing here but I just wanna know one thing, you want a drink? It's on me I'm buying, whadda ya say we head to the bar?"

Dog always jumped at the chance for a free drink. The fact that ol' Gunther was there to drink it with him made it all the sweeter. "Ha, I knew ya' still loved me!" He socked Pappy in the shoulder with what was probably unnecessary force. "I'll tell ya what I've been up to, and you can tell me why the hell they sent you here." Dogface made sure to watch his volume on that last bit.

 

JJ quietly laughed at Trin's confused utterances before she resigned to sleep. Stitch had really drugged her up. Instead of practicing his bedside manner, he pulled a blanket over her and left the room to go clean up. A look in the mirror showed that he had gotten some of the terrorist's blood and brain matter on his neck and right cheek.

Damn dirty bastards, hope they didn't have MutAIDS or anything skin transferable. He found a bottle of industrial cleaner that smelled like reactor sludge, but was rated to utterly destroy any blood-borne pathogens. Or so it claimed. A splash of that and a shower later, he felt like a new man. Since they were headed for Ceres, he decided to ditch the tourist getup, opting for a couple of dirty shirts and an expansive hooded jacket. He then took the bottle of reactor sludge and poured some of it on his jacket and jeans, leaving large yellow-brown stains. It had a high iodine content in addition to all of the other anti-bacterial and synthetic chemicals in it apparently.

No one would suspect that under the hooded, hobo-esque exterior was a short barreled, silenced sub-machinegun hanging from a three-point sling and a pistol holstered on the belt. JJ kept the jacket zipped up only enough to hide the straps, but low enough to easily rip down and draw the gun quickly. After being caught flat footed once this mission, I'm not going up **** creek without a paddle again. On second thought, JJ grabed his ground pounder cap and slid his arm out of his jacket sleeve, pinning the sleeve up and putting his hand on the grip of the gun. Just another stranded vet that can't afford a synthetic.

He stumbled out of the ship before the others and wandered through the port alone, headed for the bar that he'd been told to look for. Searching for an alternate route, and avoiding the other midshipmen all the while keeping a lookout from his dark hiding place, JJ filtered through the crowds of miners, criminals, freighters and prostitutes. Not such an easy task for someone who had been trained essentially to fix the toilets of battle cruisers. Eventually, he got the hang of acting like a homeless person, even sitting with a group of them begging for change, just to learn their mannerisms. And catch some of their stench. A critical eye might detect something off about him, how he was too driven in one direction, if they followed long enough. But JJ saw no face more than once.

Convinced he was in the clear, he stumbled into the bar, looking down and hiding his face until he arrived at a barstool and carefully settled into a seat. Blinking into the lights above the bar, he gazed around absently, like a man unused to bright lights and, relatively, clean tables. A seat down from him to the left was a rail thin woman throwing back a glass of alcohol, looking to get lost in the stupor JJ guessed. To his right were several others, a couple men talking quietly, another stacking up empty shot glasses, and a woman tempting another drinker with her 'wares'. Across the bar, Pappy, Star Fox, Trin and some miner were gathered, the Sarge and the ugly bum almost arm in arm, talking like old friends. JJ didn't spend much time looking at them, but left his face in the light long enough for them to who he was, before ducking down again and examining the dull and grimy metal of the bar table.

JJ waved at the bartender and asked for a bottle of cheap alcohol, "Whatever ya got that don't cost mor' thn' three creds a liter," he grumbled vaguely, waving his left arm in the air like a conductor. It fumbled with a small wad of bills he pulled out of his jacket pocket, grasping for the right amount to pay. Cheap ****, probably not enough to get him drunk, but a big enough bottle to pretend he was. It tasted horrible too.

 

As Pappy walked to the bar he leaned in to whisper in Dogface's ear.

"Alright, since you ain't buying the story the Force cooked up maybe I can tell you enough to keep your mouth shut for a bit. We're on a mission, fate of the planet type deal. Actually maybe you can help, no, nevermind---forget that I said that."

"We're just passing through here though, when we're done we'll leave you to your fine little slice of heaven here and you can get back to boring holes in rocks with your laser cannons."

Pappy hailed the bartender.

"Two Four Horsemen." He said and leaned in, waving the bartender in.

"What do you know about the strong silent type over there?" Pappy said indicating Jescah with his eyes.

"Her? She got no story."

"Awww come on, bull. Everyone's got a stroy and you hear them all. Here, I'll let my creds do the talking." Pappy said and slid some holo-chips at him.

"For that much I won't even tell you the latest political gossi---" Pappy lunged in and grabbed the bartender by his collar, reeling him in like a fisher's reel.

"I don't think you're getting the name of this game you mutt. It's called bark, and when I say so you howl your little tail off. I don't have the patience for this, I've got a real nasty headache and some self-righteous terrorist jackass' blood taste in my mouth still. I have had a very bad day, and if you don't start coughing up something good I'm gonna find a new home for this bar stool up your candy ass. Now take my damn creds and start singing, birdy." He released the bartender, who defensively reached for his neck. He motioned some big fellas over, the type with big arms and lazy eyes. Pappy knew the type.

***

Watching all this unfold, Wolf smiled and whistled to himself as the contact, Specter, walked in and gave Wolf a signal, he never even saw her. Pulling out his PDD Wolf saw that she had given them another rally point (the bar was getting too crowded) and directions on how to get there. Pappy would have been thrilled, if he wasn't getting flanked by two ogres wearing dark, torn shirts.

 

Damn it Pappy! The ornery old man hadn't changed a bit. Dog realized he needed to defuse this quickly.

"Whoa Fischer, this coot's with me." Dogface placed himself between Pappy and the two knuckle draggers. "He's recoverin' from a nasty blow t' the grape," Dogface indicated Pappy's injuries. "so he ain't exactly in the right mind. Tell ya what, I'll buy drinks for the two of ya, and we'll be on our way."

Dog hoped this strategy worked. He wasn't afraid of fighting; he'd already scrapped with Fischer before, but now just wasn't the time for a rematch.

Fischer and the nameless thug glanced at one another.

The nameless one glared back at Dogface, "I'll take a Solar Flare."

Fischer added, "Make it two."

 

Jesca saw the boss grunt wander over to the bar. A moment later he grabbed the bartender by the collar. The bartender and one of the nearest drunks glanced her way, so she knew she was the topic of discussion.

By the time the bartender gestured to the bouncers, Jesca was right behind the grunt.

"Hey stud! You want a date, you ask me." She swung the bottle up toward the back of his skull, but he easily blocked it, and the bottom half of the bottle shattered. She splashed the contents of the bottle into the eyes of the second grunt as he rushed to boss grunt's aid. He screamed and clawed at his eyes.

Meanwhile, the boss grunt smacked the side of her head with a bony fist, and ligts exploded in her vision. She slammed a cupped hand against his ear, and he staggered, off balance.

This time of night, a fight was a party, and everyone joined in. The tide of sweaty drunks separated her from the grunts, but the boss grunt was now trading blows with the larger of the two bouncers.

Jesca twisted away and ducked out through a service entrance, just before the Greys arrived to break up the fight and make arrests. She laughed as she raced to her rented apartment. She hurt all over, and tasted blood, but damn, she felt alive.

She piled into the cramped quarters, and surveyed the damage. Nothing broken, but a few bruises and a split lip. She dug a bottle of Blue Hades from her private stash, and drank until she passed out.

 

"Hey stud! You want a date, you ask me." She swung the bottle up toward the back of his skull, but he easily blocked it, and the bottom half of the bottle shattered.

The sound of a female voice, followed shortly by that of breaking glass, drew Dogface's attention away from the two brutes. He looked in the direction of the commotion to find Pappy being attacked by the bitch from the bar. He rushed in to help, which, in retrospect, was a bad idea.


She splashed the contents of the bottle into the eyes of the second grunt as he rushed to boss grunt's aid. He screamed and clawed at his eyes.

His effort was rewarded by a face full of liquid fire. "Gah, Mother ****er!"

 

I glanced over at the bar room brawl that had spilled out, and sighed.

"One moment babe," I held my hand up, stopping her kiss.

I tugged my gun free, and strode through the bar, elbowing my way past brawling thugs, "Pardon me, scuuzie, off you go, coming through."

When I reached the epicentre of the fight I casually knocked away a half drunk miner who clumsily swiped at my face. I then raised my gun to the roof, and fired twice. The thunderous bangs of the gun could be heard over the shouts and blows that rained all around.

"Ok everyone calm the hell down!" I tossed what remained of my money on the ground, "Drinks are on me. Enjoy."

I subtly waved to Pappy, before leaving the bar. In the grubby streets outside, I checked the new coordinates that Star Wolf had forwarded to all of us. I decided to wait for the others to leave the bar, so I leaned against the wall by the entrance.

 

Jerrome was only half paying attention while people scuffled, and looked up when a bottle was broken. he was concentrating far too hard on solving his current issue, matching the frequency of his pocked sized shield generator to that of an energy weapon. and for the purpose of his experimentation he was using a low powered laser pointer.

Two shots went off, and Jerrome ducked under his table for cover, then while covered tried to draw his own weapon - which was inaccessible now he was crouched.

"Ok everyone calm the hell down!" I tossed what remained of my money on the ground, "Drinks are on me. Enjoy."

Jerrome's heart was pounding in his chest and head and everywhere else with a vein. as he stood from his hiding spot he realised he had spilt all his chips on the floor and his current calculations were now soaked in the water he was drinking.

a rare surge of emotion swept through him like a tidal wave. a mixture of Anger at his loss of work, embarrassed for ducking and still a little fear from the initial shock.

"well" he thought to himself "the contact certainty isnt going to be meeting us here. and very soon there may be security to bribe"

as he moved to leave he saw wolf nip out the door and decided to catch up.

 

"Hey stud! You want a date, you ask me." The crazy old bird screamed and swung a bottle of blue rocket fuel at Pappy. He was surprised by the attack, but managed to raise his arm to block just in time. Poor old Dog got a modest splash in his eyes. Pappy heard him curse as he tried to figure out what was going on, for a second it looked like things between him and the bartender's goons had died down.

Pappy would never hit a lady, but the bitch was asking for it. He gave her a good tap, just a little something to wake her up, maybe turn the lights on upstairs. She hit him in the ear and sent air pressure up his aural tract, it felt worse then diving head first in the dead end. Pappy was sure he went deaf, he clumsily stumbled off, damn bitch was making a scene.

Everyone in the bar started throwing elbows and gut checking each other. David whipped out his gun like a damn cowboy in some western and started firing at the ceiling. Russell was throwing money on the floor, making himself a target for thieves.

It was only a matter of time before the fuzz showed up in riot gear and started dragging people away.

Pappy was embarrassed, with all that lecturing he gave the boots on low profile, he managed to incite a bar brawl in no time at all. Where the hell was Wolf? The weasel was sneaking off, the boots were tailing him.

"The fat lady's singing my tune Dog, this is where the curtain falls. I gotta go see somebody about something, you know how this stuff works. I don't know when I'll see you again so I'll say goodbye for now, remember that when I do I still owe you a drink," Pappy said and stumbled for the door walking in zigzags as wild fists flew at him, he dealt a couple of haymakers just to get past some of the brawlers.

"Hey Wolf, wait for me you squirrelly son of a---”

 

Dogface's vision finally cleared up enough to see what the hell was going on. The Blue Hades hurt like a bitch, but it wasn't as bad as police grade OC spray, something with which Dog had more experience than he cared to admit.

"The fat lady's singing my tune Dog, this is where the curtain falls. I gotta go see somebody about something, you know how this stuff works. I don't know when I'll see you again so I'll say goodbye for now, remember that when I do I still owe you a drink," Pappy said and stumbled for the door walking in zigzags as wild fists flew at him, he dealt a couple of haymakers just to get past some of the brawlers.

"Hey Wolf, wait for me you squirrelly son of a---”

Pappy waded through the mob of drunks, knocking a few on their asses as he made his way to the exit. "Woah old man, you ain't leaving me to answer for this s***! I'm comin' with ya." Dogface neutralized an overconfident barfly with a quick shovel hook to his already overstressed liver, and followed Pappy into the street.