Disco Pharmacology
27 Jul 2016Kyndi the Badass Space Chick
Job well done.Fifty thousand in my account. Five more than I was anticipating. And damn it felt good to put that guy in his place.
Time to party.
That means good alcohol. Check.
And good onionhead. Also check. I'm the one who supplied it, after all.
And good dick. That might be a problem. Around here, that would be barking up the wrong... pole.
Oh well. Two out of three isn't bad. Time to get a private room. The Old-Earth Japanese one, with the giant pad and the sliding rice-paper door. Pretend to offer the standard rate for it. Listen to Dan or Monty pretend to offer it on the house. Pretend to accept and leave a generous credit chip when you check out anyway.
Everything is ready for me when I step into the room. It always is. A bottle of exotic liquor, a baggie of pure Panem leaf, and a silk kimono are all neatly arranged on the small wooden table. The attendant nods and me and closes the rice paper door, leaving me alone in the candle-lit darkness. I strip naked and put on the kimono, luxuriating in the feeling of silk against my skin.
Then, I stretch out on the thick, oversize pad. There's a joint already rolled in the baggie, along with papers and enough herb to make a few more.
Oh God, this beats the hell out of a ship's bunk. The alcohol takes the edge off from the tense conversation from earlier, paving the way for the herb to do its work. A flash of flame briefly illuminates the darkened room as the joint is lit up in my fingers.
That first, luxurious drag...
... and all my problems go floating away.
The mad, sleepless hustle to make it on time to get the bonus? Fading into the past.
The asshole client who tried to fuck me over? Schooled.
The lingering possibility that I've just burned another bridge by refusing to roll over for said asshole? Fuck it.
Another drag, and I can feel myself sinking into the pad like it was quicksand. My skin is tingling- the o-head is hitting me extra hard today...
Oh, that's right. I skipped eating today. Too focused on the job.
I can feel the silk of the kimono caress my skin as I relax ever further into the herb's soothing trance. It's electrifying and mellowing at the same time. With another quick drag, I close my eyes and once again regret that there isn't any male company around to complete the experience. A little whipped cream always did complement a baked pie...
Let it go, Kyndi Jane. This is about you and some much-needed R & R, not a quick and dirty romp.
Between the alcohol, fatigue, and soothing effects of the onionhead, sleep overcomes me like night overtaking the dusk. The joint falls from my fingers onto the hardwood floor as the darkness of the room is replaced by the darkness of my eyes closing. Not even the throbbing beats of the disco and debauchery happening outside my door are enough to keep me from sleep. It actually helps, in fact. I've been falling asleep to the thrum of a ship's reactor since-
Since forever.
When you're me, noise means a ship.
A ship is freedom.
And freedom is what makes life worth living.
Morning, Dan.
Morning, Monty.
What do you mean, "good afternoon"?
Well hell. I guess it is, isn't it? Sorry about that. Didn't sleep for almost thirty hours on the way over. Had five grand riding on an early delivery.
Yes, coffee would be amazing.
Of course I normally get up earlier than this! Hell, when I'm working with a partner, I'm always the first one up.
No, you're right. That isn't often. But I swear it's true.
Thanks. Mmmm. Cream and sugar. Just the way I like it.
What's that again?
Same as always: sniff around for a job worth doing, and do it. Always a load of merchandise needing to appear someplace it shouldn't.
Yeah, Dan. I've heard the rumors, too. Serious money in the artifact trade. But I don't like alien tech aboard my ship. The day I agree to an artifact job is the day you know I'm trouble.
But today is not that day.
