Looking for A Knight of Goodness Part 1
31 Jul 2020Creamy Goodness III
Continued from Citi Gateway: The Docks “Calm down old boy, it is of little consequence” Creamy said to himself breathing in through the nose and out his mouth in long slow berths.
He stopped with his hand on the emergency exit at the end of the hall. Creamy looked at the camera up in the corner and gave Mannie or the current bouncer time to turn off the alarm before he opened it. In the highlights Motel someone was always watching, usually Mannie the beady-eyed pervert. Gripping the guard rail, Creamy vaulted over and pushed himself down towards the deck two floors below. Up here on the habitation ring, there was about half a Gs worth of gravity, for someone that had spent most his life on planets close to twice the pull of Earth Normal, half a G felt flaccid at best.
Creamy felt as if he was drifting like a leaf towards the ground landing with all the grace of an Olympian gymnast. He flicked his shirt-bandanna back over his shoulder and pulled someone else’s jeans up before walking towards the closest maglev station. While he walked, he looked out the great transparent steel windows trying to get a feel for what way the station was rotating. “It’s amazing” he thought to himself “One flies in and out of the damn things many times a day, and one still can’t remember if they rotate clockwise or not”
While he walked still looking out the window, Creamy imagined himself flying into Citi Gateway. He was confident he was currently facing the tail of the station, so he tried to picture himself at the controls of A Knight of Goodness coming in through the slot. Passers-by saw a tall man in ill-fitting clothes with his hands on imaginary ship controls slowly tipping his head from one side to the other, occasionally hitching up his jeans.
“With the greens on the right, I have to adjust rotation .. “ Creamy said to himself feeling his hand turn the stick left. “LEFT. The bloody thing goes anticlockwise” He informed some random person that just happened to be close to him when he opened his eyes.
“Oh, sorry old boy” said Creamy politely. At least that was part of the backup plan for getting back to his ship.
Creamy flicked his bandanna back into place and continued along his way. The station had a different feel to it then he was used to. Unfortunately Creamy had spent a few months here after being abandoned by the sisters, and he’d got a feel for the rhythms of Citi Gateway. Not a good feel as a lone Imperial was often the target of casual violence from small mined people that didn’t know any better. Even so, Creamy could tell Citi was not its usual bubbling stew of odd-balls doing their own thing. Something was making the people of the station keep quieter than usual.
Turning to enter the sublevel leading to the maglev, Creamy saw a couple of station security officers looking closely at everyone going down to the station. He decided it was best to keep walking towards the Galactic Bar rather than pause or try to hide. Glancing into the bar, Creamy saw a fair number of people keeping themselves to their respective groups. There was a man standing at the bar that looked every part an Imperial Lord and Creamy seriously considered presenting himself to the gentleman to see if he would mind being of assistance. A cordial conversation with a chap that understood courtly manners would be most welcome after the unpleasantness in the motel room. Creamy caught a reflection of himself in a window, he didn't look anything like a Lord Goodness so it would be a hard sell.
Sighing, Creamy turned back towards the maglev station. Heading into the Galactic Bar while he was wanted for questioning would not be wise anyway. That place was usually stuffed with people that would fight a chap over the price of a pint. Instead, Creamy casually walked towards the security officers and joined a small huddle of people going the same way. Hitching up someone else’s jeans, Creamy sung a song in his head to keep his mind off the officers as he walked down the ramp to the station.
There were even more officers down there so Creamy did his best to stay out of sight without looking like he was trying to stay out of sight. He was beside the subway wall partly shielded by a support when Creamy faintly heard his slate Br-Ding! Creamy checked the pockets of the jeans he had on and was rifling through the jacket when he remembered they were not his clothes and his slate was still aboard Nerys’ ship. That’s why the ding noise didn’t sound like his slate.
Creamy didn’t think about it anymore, he could feel the hum of the train approaching and he needed to think about getting into a carriage without letting the officers see him. Creamy took a step and heard a Br-Dong noise stopping him in his tracks. He stuck a finger in each ear and wiggled them in a pointless effort to improve his hearing. He took a step back, Br-Ding!
"Well this was interesting" Creamy spent a little bit of time zeroing in on the sound.
After half a minute, Creamy had found a patch on the wall that made a noise when he was close enough to it. Creamy even got the wall to Br-Ding when he pushed his hips towards the wall, and Br-Dong when he pulled back gain. He played with his discovery for a bit trying to work out what was making the noise.
Br-Ding. Br-Dong. Br-Ding Br-Dong. Br-DingBr-Dong. Br-DingBr-DongBr-DingBr-Dong.
At last Creamy worked it out, there was a little maintenance hatch here. A girl had once told Creamy a package like his could open doors for him. He never imagined he could use it as an actual key. Then it dawned on him, the big wallet of proximity tags left in the pocket that belonged to the owner of the jeans must be unlocking it.
Someone sniggered close by making Creamy, mid-Br-Ding, look up to see an older couple watching him. The man was filming Creamy on his slate grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Creamy instantly realised what he must have looked like to an observer thrusting his hips at a bit of wall. Creamy made the mistake of trying to explain.
“Oh, its not… umm you see these are not my trousers so I .. well Ha! You know I thought I had a magic..” Creamy pointed at his groin to help explain what he was alluding to. “..umm thingy don’ch know?” he finished with a bright smile doing his best not to look like a mad man. .. ..Br-Dong went the hatch.
The guy broke out in laughter, and the woman with him rolled her eyes at Creamy and shook her head.
“You men all think that” she said causing her partner to laugh even harder.
She tugged on her man’s arm and half dragged him towards the train, but the guy stretched out to Creamy for a high five. Creamys’ manners meant he couldn’t leave the man hanging.
Pulling up the jeans and swishing his bandanna back over his shoulder, Creamy blushed like Nerys, put his head down, and boarded a carriage. A different carriage from the older couple. He could still hear the man laughing at the video he had taken.