A Fistful of Cliches
30 Oct 2018Kodeyne
Merbold Ring, EQ Pegasi....After selling a hold full of bauxite, Kodeyne stowed her RemLok, threw a grey hooded cloak on over comfy loose clothes and made her way to Time Away From Space - a little gem of a bar she had discovered not long after moving her base of operations in the Federation from Groombridge 34; she did not care much for the dictatorship running that system now.
"Hey, K...." Tawa, a tall, beautiful woman of African stock, and owner of the bar, greeted her as she entered. There was a general murmur of hellos and raised glasses. She had been coming here often enough to be regarded as a regular. Sure, the men amongst the stevedores and station crew who drank here might have tried it on the first few times she came here, but she had gained their respect and now they gave her the space she needed. This was one of the very few places she felt able to relax.
"Usual, dear?" asked Tawa. Kodeyne nodded, and settled into her seat at the far end of the bar.
She shook her hair out and watched as Tawa returned with a large glass of Tau Ceti Shiraz, though the grapes were of genuine South African heritage. And had the kick to match.
She paid with the implanted credit chip in her wrist and took a long swig of wine.
It was damn good wine, too. But it just wasn't the same as the first slug of whiskey, where the warmth spread through your chest.....
She sighed and bowed her head.
"What's up, lady?" asked Tawa. Kodeyne looked up into the flawless brown-skinned face, framed by cornrows with coloured beads wound into them. Tall, athletic and proud, Tawa was always cagey about her origins. But then so were half the people in this bar.
"Oh, same as always, T - just tired of being me."
She glanced around. The bar was a small one, with subtle artwork from across the bubble decorating the walls. The ceiling was almost completely filled with a beautiful stained-glass dome which filled the room with a subdued light.
Kodeyne shuddered and drained the glass. Wordlessly, Tawa refilled it for her.
She had money. She had a decent ship, a couple of decent ships. Yet now she felt without purpose and really did not know what to do with herself anymore. Forcing herself to sip the wine rather than just neck it, she drew the cloak in around herself and clenched her teeth, trying not to let tears start.
"Please girl, get help...." Ali had begged her not long after she left her old friend at an Empire starport, "There is help out there. Please do it. You've helped me, damn well help yourself!"
"I don't deserve help," Kodeyne had protested, "I'm just a worthless mess..." She had seen the pain in Ali's eyes then; she had shaken her head and enfolded Kodeyne in a hug. "But you're not! Please!"
And of course, she had not. Self-medicating with booze. Casual sex with anyone who took her fancy. Days without eating properly. A little part of her screamed that she was self-destructing, but it got shouted down by the part that just didn't care any more.
She vaguely noticed the half-dozen spacers who walked in. All in identical black jackets with the name of their ship emblazoned on the back. They ordered drinks and took a table not far away. Having glanced at them, she retreated behind the curtains of her hair and focused on her glass.
It might have been a few minutes or an hour later....she was aware of a movement of air, someone pulling a stool up next to her, right next to her. She swallowed and felt herself tense up, heartbeat suddenly increasing.
"Hey, lady...you look lonely..."
A man. Federation accent. Tall, handsome with pronounced cheekbones and black hair cut short and slicked back. One of the spacers.
Without looking up, she answered.
"I'm fine, thank you."
A pause. "Maybe I could get you a drink?"
She held up her glass and swirled the wine around. "Got one."
Another pause.
"Perhaps I can buy your next one, then?"
"Thank you, but I'm okay."
"Seems a shame that a beautiful lass like you should be drinking on her own." A gloved hand rested itself on her arm. She clenched her teeth, let go of the glass, reached across and removed the hand. Straightened up, shook her hair back and looked at him. Yes, a good-looking guy, but she could see where this was going and right now, this was the last thing she needed. Something arrogant and self-assured in the face repelled her. She sighed.
"Look. I'm flattered and all that, but please leave me alone, okay?"
He sat up, and she saw the expression change, something in the eyes.
"I'm not accustomed to being turned down, you know."
"Well, variety is the spice of life. Look on this as a new experience."
"You seem a bit uptight. We should talk about it, yes?" And an arm went around her waist. She drained the glass, thumped it down and spun away from her stool, throwing his arm off.
"Leave me alone!"
Her shout made the bar go quiet. Everyone was looking at them, the regulars and the rest of this guy's crew. Behind the bar, Tawa became very alert. She broke the tense silence.
"Leave her, brother. She's said no, okay?"
The man slid off his stool and glared at the bartender, then returned his gaze to Kodeyne.
"Seems to me you need to learn some manners, young woman."
He stepped away from the bar and raised his chin.
"Oh no," Kodeyne muttered, "great gods below, tell me this isn't happening."
Tawa came out from behind the bar.
"K, chill out, okay? And you, Mister Big Man, take your gang and leave."
The spacer - the commander, Kodeyne realised, from the emblems on his jacket, gave Tawa a dirty look and scowled.
"It's okay, Tawa. If this guy wants to try it on with me, he's welcome."
Tawa stepped back and rolled her eyes. "Okay, lady, do what you have to. But go easy on the fittings, huh?" The atmosphere in the room was electric. Everyone knew what was going to happen now. No-one was going to intervene because this was going to be good.
Kodeyne stepped up to the man in black, tilted her head and smiled insincerely. "Do us both a favour, huh? Walk away now. Please?"
He laughed, a staccato bark that made her jump. One hand reached out and stroked her hair.
"Ohh, I'm going to enjoy this, you frigid little cow."
She slapped him, hard. As she ducked away, her caught a fistful of her hair and yanked. She shrieked in pain and came to a halt a few feet away, breathing heavily. He waved the hank of blonde locks at her.
"Well, looks like I got a piece of you now."
Kodeyne raised a hand to her scalp and looked at the blood on her fingers. Something
Clicked
Inside
She raised the bloodied fingers to her lips and slowly, sensuously, licked the fluid off. There was absolute silence from everyone. The only noise was the bar machinery. Then a voice from the onlookers:
"Oh you got trouble now, ese! La chica esta loca!"
She spun and before anyone could react, one fist slammed into his face, a lip split and blood flowed.
"Not so handsome now, Captain Testosterone!"
Wiping the carmine flow away, the man slipped a hand into a pocket. It came out grasping something that was basically a knuckle duster, but with the addition of cog teeth. "Damned wench! I'll break your face!" He shifted into a fighting stance.
"Oooh upset now, are we?" Kodeyne smiled sweetly and reached to the small of her back.
"Gloves off, big hard man?"
There was a metallic sound and she held up a dagger.
"This is a Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife," she announced, "designed by two soldiers on ancient Earth...."
The knife shifted hands and they went for each other simultaneously, weapons hissing mere centimetres away from the target. Kodeyne swallowed. This was clearly an opponent used to scraps, and used to winning them. But he had knocked the top off a hidden pressure valve of frustration and rage inside her. Years of it, bottled up, always looking for an excuse to coming boiling out...
Weeks ago, she had found an Imperial army veteran, a bone-thin woman with cropped grey hair who had taught her Defendu, created by the same Fairbairn and Sykes; a hand-to-hand fighting system that was effective and quick to learn. Kodeyne had walked away with a lot of bruises and the gift of that knife.
Blows flew but never quite connected. Both were cautious of each other's weapons. The crowd shouted and gasped. But Kodeyne just wanted it to end; more because now she was scared of what she might do to this guy, no matter how much he needed to be fed some humble pie.
As he came for her, she grabbed a bar stool and slammed it down between them. He dodged around it and lashed out, his brutal weapon catching her arm. The pain was more than she had ever known - fabric and flesh tore, a spray of blood - and she half-crumpled to the floor. Fuelled with adrenaline, she bounced back up. One hand on the stool, one on the bar, lifted herself up and drove both feet into his face. He crashed down onto the floor and she landed on top of him. One knee on the arm that held the knuckle duster, the other on his chest. The F-S knife held under his jaw. Their eyes locked. Her arm throbbed.
"Had enough?" she hissed. He bared his teeth; she leaned forward ever so slightly, increasing the pressure on chest and arm. His breathing was becoming ragged.
He cried out. then, and went limp, sending the cog duster spinning away. Tawa stepped forward, put a foot on it and dragged it out of reach. Kodeyne stood up, shakily.
"Spit or swallow, big man..."
"What?" he replied weakly. There was a nervous chuckle from the crowd.
"Spit your defiance at me. Or swallow your pride and admit defeat. You're full of all the cliches, why stop now?"
He had the grace to raise his hands in a gesture of defeat. He rolled slowly, still winded. She stuck a hand out to him. He stared for a moment, then closed his eyes briefly and allowed her to help him up. They moved apart and stared at each other. She pointedly did not put the dagger away.
"Show's over, boys and girls," announced Tawa. She pointed to the door and stared hard at the spacer and his crew. "Out. And please don't come in my bar again!"
The spacer shook himself, and nodded curtly at Kodeyne. He strode out without a backward glance, his crew following him. The last one out, a woman with short dark hair, glared at Kodeyne.
"You'll pay for this, bitch!" There was a thump as Kodeyne slammed her into the edge of the door and people winced as her head cracked audibly against the frame. One arm pressing on her throat. Kodeyne sheathed the F-S and snarled at the woman,
"No, I fucking well won't. If I'd killed him, yeah, sure, but I didn't and you know fine well he was being a dick. Loyalty is a good thing but never let it blind you!" She released the woman and half-pushed her out of the door.
There was only silence as Kodeyne, ashen-faced and shaking, returned to the bar.
Tawa placed a tumbler with a generous measure of bourbon on the bar and thumped her first-aid kit down beside it.
"On the house." She came round and began to clean the ragged wound, Kodeyne gritting her teeth.
She took a slug of the whiskey.
"Kudos to you for standing up to him but please don't ever pull shit like that in here again, okay?"
In spite of the pain and adrenaline comedown, she smiled.
"Understood, milady!"