Taking a Moment to Help Part 2
20 Jan 2018MMMMMalcolm
Personal Log: Commander Kay WantzThe system was Nuen. The star port was Sladek Ring. The good news was the orbital had a population of over twelve million people and some semblance of security. The bad news was that meant personal weapons were prohibited. I couldn’t decide which was worse; walking into the lion’s den armed or being in the lion’s territory unarmed. I dismissed the thought and radioed Malcolm.
“Meet me at pad 25.”
“On my way.”
I left my boarding ramp down and moments later I heard him walking through the ship.
“I’m in my quarters,” I called out to him. I had just finished putting on a pair of tight jeans, where the leg tapers to the ankle, that covered the lower half of a black spandex one-piece. I completed my outfit with a leather jacket and a pair of athletic shoes. If we had to run, I didn’t want to run in heels or heavy boots.
He walked in also wearing a pair of athletic shoes. Added to the shoes were a pair of jeans, a fitted collarless black shirt, and his custom leather jacket. I was impressed; he wasn’t completely clueless.
“Are you carrying?” I asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“You’ll have to leave them here. Personal weapons are prohibited.” He handed me the guns and I placed them in a nearby drawer. From the same drawer I withdrew a couple of rectangular boxes that looked like pen cases. “Here, these should work better in a pinch.” I opened the boxes, revealing two sets of eight finger rings. “These are ‘Anti-Saturn Rings’.”
“Anti what?”
“Anti-Saturn Rings. Eight silicon padded, one size fits all, Osmium rings; one for each finger. Use your thumb to press the tiny top button on the index finger ring, and they electronically fuse into a set of Osmium knuckles. The middle button releases them again. The bottom button on your set primes an electric charge, so you not only break your opponent’s jaw but shock his nervous system as well.”
“What does your set do?”
“Mine deploy a set of small spikes that help to drive home whatever point I may be arguing at the time.”
“One day you’re going to tell me where you come up with all this stuff.”
“One day; just not today. C’mon let’s go before I change my mind.”
We stepped out of my hangar bay into a constant flow of activity. The Nuen system has a population of over 12 million people. It appeared the majority of them were on Sladek Ring. Malcolm took my hand as he led me through the mass of dock workers to a nearby lift. Inside the elevator, while I appreciated the peace and quiet, I noticed him looking at me with a mischievous grin.
“What, is a ration stuck in my teeth?”
“No, just taking in all the sights of the star port.”
I looked away and brushed a strand of hair out of my face. When the doors opened, the noise of the docks was replaced with the noise of the marketplace. A vast sea of people was flowing in every direction. All around them, vendors were using their best sirens calls to lure travelers toward their wares. Sprinkled amongst the throng was the occasional Station Authority. They seemed to travel in pairs and their presence eased my tension a little.
I turned to inform Malcolm, then just stopped and stared at him. How could he be so relaxed in all this madness? That same weird grin was still plastered over his face. As he held my hand he casually strolled through the chaos. Whatever he was feeling seemed to affect everyone around him because people just parted out of our way. His eyes gleamed with excitement as they danced around, ‘taking in all the sights of the star port’.
I busied myself with finding a place to eat. Everything, Malcolm, the crowd, the smells, the noise, was becoming a bit overwhelming and I just wanted to get back to my ship. A gap opened up and a Chinese restaurant appeared. Nah, I don’t want to be hungry again two hours later. A moment later another gap opened and an Italian restaurant appeared. Maybe, I’ll make a note of the location just in case. Some more time passes before a third gap opened. Scents of yams and sweet potato pie drifted through the opening. I turned my head and saw an elderly black couple greeting a tall bald muscular gentleman standing near the entrance of their restaurant. He appeared to ignore them content to stare… at us? The gap closed.
Are we being followed? I must have asked that out loud because Malcolm answered me.
“Yeah, him and four of his lackeys have been shadowing us from the docks.” I turned my head to get another look at the leader. “Don’t look!” Malcolm barked. “I don’t want them to know we’ve made them.”
He steered me away from the soul food restaurant toward a bar. The sign above the door read ‘Swamp Cooler’. I sighed and swallowed the drool building in my mouth. Some smothered pork chops, collard greens, and ice cold lemonade sure would have made this stop worthwhile.
We sat on a couple of stools in the middle of the bar. The atmosphere inside was a microcosm of the mayhem outside. All around people were talking, or laughing, or arguing. Some were watching a muted game on a giant holovid. Others were singing or dancing to music played by a local band. Barmaids, wearing tank tops with the gaping maws of gators stenciled between their breasts, darted between patrons taking orders, delivering food or drinks, or slapping wandering hands. There were two bartenders behind the bar; a guy and a girl. The girl, a red head wearing jeans and a tank top like all the other barmaids, leaned in to Malcolm. It better be so she could be heard over the music.
“Welcome to da ‘Swamp Cooler’. What can I getcha beb?”
“What’s good on the menu?” He asked. He spoke to the woman but his eyes were glued to the mirrored wall behind her. Between the many rows of alcohol, I could see five men enter the bar. The bald alpha and two lackeys took a booth near the front door. The other two lackeys took a booth close to the stage, boxing us in.
“Mais beb, Nanan makes a spicy boudin dat will flood ya eyes right out ya sockets. Or you could try da gumbo if ya envie a more milder taste. But if you really got an ahnvee, try da mashwarohn.”
I didn’t understand anything other than gumbo.
“Give us two orders of gumbo and two muddy waters.” Malcolm replied still eyeing the mirrors. “Can we get them to go?”
“Weh, for you beb, anytin.” She rose to fill our order but her hands held Malcolm’s a little too long. Is she blind? I’m sitting right here! Malcolm leaned in close to me.
“I’ll take the three by the door. You take the two near the stage.” I just nodded my understanding. Moments later our… Malcolm’s friend returned with our order all neatly packed in a bag. She stood to her full height and spread her arms with her hands on the edge of the bar.
“Can I getcha anytin else?” she asked, batting her eyes at Malcolm. I grabbed the bag as we both rose to leave.
“No thank you,” I shot back, turning my back, and dismissing the tart. Malcolm lingered just long enough to pay the bill.
Near the door, Alpha stood to block our way. He looked taller outside. He was shorter than Malcolm. Honestly, he was shorter than me, but he made up for it in width; all of it solid muscle. He wore black boots, blue jeans, and a black belt. A black short sleeved shirt struggled to hold together as it swelled around his arms under a black vest that had a red and white skull on the left lapel. The two lackeys stayed seated but looked ready to strike at any moment. All around us everyone went about their business like we weren’t even there.
“You two must be new around here.”
“Is it that obvious?” Malcolm answered. “You see honey,” he continued in my ear without losing eye contact with Alpha, “I told you we would never pass as the local idiots of this station.”
Alpha clenched his jaw and took a step toward Malcolm. “Do you know who I am?” It took all I had not to laugh because he had to look up and ask that question; his head barely rising above chin level. Malcolm let go of my hand and looked down at the guy. Even with all the noise I could hear the telltale whine of his rings fusing together.
“I don’t know little fella, but if you hurry you can catch the rest of the trick-or-treaters in your group.”
Alpha grabbed Malcolm’s jacket. Just then, two System Authority officers walked in behind him.
“Hey Lucille!” One officer called out to the red head behind the bar. “You got any craw…” He was halfway through his order before he realized we were blocking his way. “Is there a problem here fellas?”
“No officer,” Malcolm replied. “Little man here was just fixing my crooked collar. Isn’t that right little man?” Alpha angrily squeezed the jacket before releasing it and smoothing it out.
“Then get out of my way,” the officer ordered. "I’ve been waiting all week for this shift so I can get some crawdads with my beer. I don’t need you two love birds holding me up.”
Alpha sat down in his booth making room for the officers to enter. They stood over the three seated figures for a moment while we slid past and left.