Episode 8. Part 2

Meanwhile, Nika, Arden and Mike end up in a bar and it’s not long before two of the station denizens approach Nika and proposition her. One looks to be a spacer and the other looks like a greasemonkey mechanic.

Spacer: (expansively) Welcome to Sampson’s. We’ve got a little tradition here, when we welcome people…first we’d like to buy you a drink.

Nika looks the guy up and down and raises a brow.

Nika: Mighty neighborly of you. What’s it gonna cost me?
Spacer: We’re buying you a drink, no cost.
Nika: Mm-hmm. What’s the rest of your little custom?
Spacer: (rubbing hands together) Oh, you’re gonna love it.
Nika: (here we go….) Bring it.
Spacer: Well, I’m glad you’re enthusiastic. So, whaddya drinkin’, sweetheart?
Nika: Nothing, until you tell me the rest of your custom.

The Spacer leans in and throws his arm wide, like a magician executing his final reveal.

Spacer: You get, from this entire station, any guy you want to share a bunk with. Any guy on the station, you get to pick him.

Nika’s tone drops about ten degrees.

Nika: Oh, really?

Mike steps in.

Mike: Hey, guys. Why don’t we buy you drinks…and you can pick any guy in the station?
Spacer: Hey, buddy, why’n’cha buzz off?
Mike: (trapped by the other man’s words) Well, all right, I’ll leave you guys alone and—

Mike starts to walk away. Arden takes him by the arm and gets him out of the way of the trouble brewing at that bar.

Nika: So, I got two questions for ya. What happens if I turn down your hospitality?
Spacer: Oh, you don’t want to get a reputation like that on a small station like this.
Nika: You said ‘any guy’?

Arden and Mike have taken a table off to the side and Arden leans over toward Mike.

Arden: I’m betting twenty credits on Nika.

Back at the bar, Nika grills the man.

Nika: You said any guy?
Spacer: Any guy from the station, yes.
Nika: No, that’s not what you said. You said ‘any guy on the station’.
Spacer: (handwaves) Well, you don’t wanna be with some guy who’s been out in space for God knows how many…
Nika: You said ‘any guy on the station’.
Spacer: All right. Well, if you wanna do the alternative…. that’s when you go with every guy on the station. You could do that.
Nika: You said any guy on the station.

And the Spacer and the Greasemonkey start to move in menacingly. Nika’s not impressed.

Nika: You really don’t want to try that. Not with me.
Spacer: Well…you know, your boyfriend over there seems to—

Before he can get any further, Nika draws her knife and puts its point flat against the Spacer’s gut.

Arden starts when he sees this, Mike stays put and watches.

Nika: You really wanna push this with me?

Spacer backs off, hands up, eyes big.

Spacer: Whoa. Whoa, no need for knives. Not this early in the night. (Nods toward her blade) Why don’cha sleep with that, then, and sleep well.
Nika: You’re certainly welcome to your drink. I’ll happily buy you one.

At which point the Spacer grabs an unattended drink and throws it in Nika’s face. She ducks.

Christian and Rina walk into the bar, and see the incipient bar fight brewing with their acting captain at the center of it. Oh, crap! Christian and Rina start across the floor to back Nika up.

Christian: (calling out to Nika) I can’t leave you alone for a second, can I?
Nika: Not a bit.
Christian: Although I have to say, probably better you than Rina.
Rina: (muttering to Christian) Yeah, I mean, I don’t think they’d approach me at all.
Christian: Yes, they would’ve. You have breasts. These guys have been in space for a while. They would approach you.
Rina: (B’duh!) Coveralls. (gestures at her torso) I wear them for a reason.
Christian: Yeah, but just because you look like a lesbian doesn’t mean they’re not gonna approach you.
Rina: (eyeroll) True.

By now we’re near enough to the bar to offer help if it actually does come to a fight.

Nika: Not a good plan to start a fight the first day here.
Spacer: Well, you know….they say that in prison you have to hack up the first one, the first guy you meet. Something like that….

Nika’s the sort that doesn’t suffer fools like this jerk gladly, but she’s also the sort that picks her time and place…and this is most definitely not the time—first day on a strange station—or the place. But….she did start things rolling when she drew her knife, so…..

Nika deals with the guy in front of her first. She shakes her head and says to him:

Nika: You really shouldn’t’ve messed with me….

She lashes out with a roundhouse kick to his head. The Spacer dodges easily. The Greasemonkey behind Nika, however, tries to grab Nika and misses—she’s too fast for him.

And…the bar fight is under way, with two men on Nika.

Rina comes up behind the Spacer on Nika, gripping her 10 mm combo wrench in her right fist to add a little extra weight to her blows. She says over the man’s head toward Nika :

Rina: We need to work on your people skills…

Arden is nervously watching the rest of the bar, gauging how and if the fight will spread across the room. For the most part, the other patrons are content to watch—as if the fight was arranged entertainment. For all we know, this could be the first interesting thing to happen in a week. There’s some muttering as people make bets on the outcome and money changes hands. For his part, Mike is hunkered in his chair, gripping it and not quite sitting in it—ready to peel out of it if need be. He keeps his eye on the bar crowd and waits.

Across the room we seem to have attracted the attention of another patron. He leaves his table at the far end of the bar floor, near the huge window of the obviously converted ship’s bridge, and makes his way closer to the fight. He’s short and stocky, around 5’-8”, in his late 20s/early 30s, scruff-beard on his face under unkempt hair, and wearing a dirty old Browncoat.

Arden intercepts him.

Browncoat: (Get-out-of-my-way tone) Hey, buddy.
Arden: No can do. Let them settle it out. I would suggest… she’s going to kick their ass.

Nika sees Arden and shouts:

Nika: Let him in, let’im in!

Mr. Browncoat pushes right on past Arden at Nika’s invitation. Behind the bar, the bartender is quickly pulling bottles and glasses down—no dummy, him, he’s saving his stock from certain destruction. He works with the efficiency of much practice and you have to wonder just how rowdy the bar gets on a regular basis.

Rina lines up her first punch.

Nika sees Rina move into place behind the man in front of her, and she launches a move of her own against Greasemonkey at her back. She back-elbows the man in the chest and follows up with a fist to the face.

Christian spies a couple of patrons at a nearby table getting to their feet and he moves to head them off at the pass.

Christian: Hey, you look like the sort of men who need vodka.
Men: Okay.

They sit back down.

Mr. Browncoat moves behind Greasemonkey.

Rina launches a blow to the Spacer’s back. The Spacer sees the blow coming and moves, spoiling her hit.

Spacer: Oh, no you don’t.

Mr. Browncoat hits Greasemonkey with a single punch and the man slithers boneless to the floor.

Mr. Browncoat: Finally! Somethin’ happenin’ here.

All the other bar patrons size up the situation and opt to sit the fight out. With Mr. Browncoat in the fray, suddenly the numbers aren’t looking too good in the bar patrons’ favor. The Spacer who initially propositioned Nika, however, is past caring about the math. He spins around as Rina moves in on him and swings at her.

Spacer: Stay outa this!
Rina: You picked the wrong bitch to hit on, bastard. I swear to God.

Nika takes one look at Rina’s expression and holds off mixing in. She stands at the ready, in case things go bad for her crewmate. Behind Nika, Mr. Browncoat orders a drink, thinking that the odds are more even now and besides, this is turning into some damned fine entertainment.

The Spacer lands a glancing blow on Rina. She stays on her feet and punches back, a solid blow with her fist. He goes really wobbly, but he’s still up. Nika interjects with a warning.

Nika: (to the Spacer) Do you really wanna go through to the end of this?
Spacer: (to Nika) I’ll take care’a you in a minnit, just as soon as I beat her ass! (points at Rina)

Nika holds her hands up: it’s your fight, Rina—and holds off, to cut in only if it goes bad.

Rina suffers another punch from the guy but lays him out easily, fight over.

Nika sheathes her knife.

Nika: That wasn’t as much fun as it could’ve been.
Rina: (stretching the kinks out) I could use a little less fun, thank you.
Mr. Browncoat: (leaning to the bartender, pointing at Nika) One shot on her.

From his table, Mike calls out to the bar.

Mike: Donovan?
Arden: You know him?
Mike: Yeah, I know him…I think.

Mr. Browncoat turns around.

Donovan: Carter? Is that you?
Mike: (smiling) Yes, it is.
Donovan: (To the bartender) Make that two shots on her.

Donovan takes one of the shots the bartender serves up over to Mike’s table. Over Donovan’s head, Nika catches Arden’s eye: Can Mike have a drink? Arden gauges the drink approaching and nods: Yes. Never hurts to be sure. You know, because we are in a bar where people drink. Nika and Rina follow in Donovan’s wake.

Donovan settles at the table across from Mike and Arden. The rest of us range around the space that’s left, with Rina next to Mike, and introductions are made all around.

Nika: Appreciate the assist.
Donovan: Glad to help. You, ah…a friend’a Mike’s?
Nika: Somethin’ like that. Where’re ya from?
Donovan: (eyeing everyone) There’s a whole lotta ya, aren’t there. (chuckles)
Arden: We’re shipmates.
Donovan: Mike and I go way back. (To Arden) Sorry for shoving you outa the way back there.
Arden: No problem. You’ll have to teach me how to use some of those moves, though. That’s a bit beyond my belt.
Christian: (to Arden) I suggest the first thing you need to do is put on a hundred pounds.
Nika: I could train you in that.
Arden: (to Donovan) I’ve been trained in unarmed combat. (To Christian) Don’t you have some dusting to do someplace?
Christian: No. ’Cause we’re gonna have to sell our ship to repair it.

Donovan downs his shot.

Donovan: So, Mike. Who’re your friends?
Mike: This is the crew of Summer’s Gift. This is…(gestures to Rina beside him)
Arden: (Breaking in) Rina, Christian and I’m Arden.
Donovan: Nice to meetcha all, name’s Sean.
Mike: Sean, what are you doing on this piece’a junk?
Donovan: Well, ah, you know how it goes.
Arden: Yeah, unfortunately we do.
Donovan: One day you’re bouncin’ around and other day you’re stranded on a space station…
Arden: Stranded? How do you get stranded on a space station?
Donovan: Been a long week.
Arden: Yeah, we know.
Donovan: I, uh…well, I might’a punched out one of the officers….
Arden: Officers?
Donovan: Well…First Mate.
Arden: We don’t have any officers.
Rina: (to Donovan) You’ll just fit right in.
Donovan: A ship with no one in charge?
Mike: (to Donovan) Self-control issue’s still hurtin’ ya, huh?
Nika: (to Donovan) Mostly by committee.
Donovan: (to Nika) Hmmm.
Nika: When it matters, some of us make decisions.
Mike: Sean served some very important—back in the war. He’s a very good man. Or he was.
Donovan: (looking askance at Mike) Well, ah….thanks?
Nika: Don’t mind him, he’s had a few too many today.
Mike: I’ve heard some things. The circles you’re running with are not the most…savory.
Donovan: You’re, ah, you’re a little frank right now.
Nika: (looking at both Mike and Donovan) ‘Pot/Kettle’, much?
Christian: So, what did you do during the war?
Donovan: Well, uh, I’m not sure I’m at liberty to fully divulge.
Christian: I’m fairly certain there’s no government that’s going to haul you in for treason at this point.

Donovan snorts a chuckle.

Christian: It’s true.
Nika: I wouldn’t count on that with anybody.
Christian: (reconsidering) Yeah…that’s true.
Arden: Yeah.
Christian: So Mike, what did you do during the war?
Nika: (to Mike) No!
Mike: They recruited me to—
Nika: No, nuh-uh!
Mike: (to Nika) What?
Nika: No answering questions.

She realizes how this must look to Donovan and recovers, saying:

Nika: (to Mike) Too much to drink this day.
Donovan: He doesn’t look drunk.
Mike: She tryin’ to tell me something about me?
Arden: (to Mike) She does have a point.
Nika: (continuing) You’re awfully chatty.
Arden: (continuing) Be quiet.
Donovan: Mike never got chatty when he was drunk.
Arden: He is now, though.
Mike: (to himself) I’m not drunk. I haven’t even had a drink yet…

Christian breaks in with a distraction. It’s a big one.

Christian: On a…uh….more unfair note, they want four thousand for the parts.
Nika: WHAT?!
Christian: They want four thousand for the parts. They’re willing to take the shuttle for half of it.
Nika: And what do they want—
Nika and Arden together: —for the other half?
Christian: A lien on the ship.
Arden: Yeah…
Christian: Because that’s all we have. Unless you have something worth two thousand credits.

Nika starts swearing under her breath again.

Christian: I haven’t exhausted all of my options yet, but—
Nika: (firmly) Christian, you cannot do enough work on your back on this station to make that kind of money.
Christian: Not on this station, no.
Arden: Would it be on his back?
Nika: Or his front?
Christian: We discussed that… my fees….what I would be legally allowed to charge would not cover it. But that’s not what I’d meant.
Donovan: So, uh….this ship you got, this floating sanitarium…?

Rina bristles inwardly but keeps quiet. Sanitarium, her ass.

Nika: Something like that.
Donovan: What are you guys talking about?

Nika sighs in disgust.

Nika: We ran into Reavers and the ship was damaged…
Christian: It was lots of fun.
Mike: It was a couple of months ago.
Nika: We ran into Reavers a couple of months ago and we didn’t have time, and really the cash, to put the ship entirely back together, so the gravity whozis-whatzis crapped out on the way here. So we came the last half of this trip on zero-g.
Arden: But the point is, at least we were able to get here.
Nika: There is that.
Arden: Unfortunately, the part we need is apparently very expensive.

Arden pauses.

Arden: Ahhhmmm….I know some people that I might be able to borrow some credits from.
Mike: You know, a lien isn’t necessarily the worst thing. You put a lien on the ship for a few months, pay off some interest… you’re gonna make some decent money—.
Arden: As long as you don’t—
Christian: I don’t think we’ve made two thousand credits the entire time we’ve had the ship.
Rina: (softly) Yeah.
Mike: No passengers?
Arden: We haven’t been hauling passengers.
Donovan: You guys been running cargo?
Arden: Yeah.
Nika:(off Mike’s question) We have not yet.
Christian: Not where we’re going.
Donovan: Which way’re you headed’?
Christian: We don’t know yet.
Arden: It all depends on how we fix our ship.
Rina: (to Donovan) Right now, I say we’re headed to hell in a handbasket.
Christian: (to Arden) I can’t make that money in that short a period of time, but you can.
Arden: (Uhm?) How so?
Christian: I am willing to bet that they don’t have a full MD aboard this station.
Rina: (getting it) Sweet.
Arden: Okay….
Christian: I’m gonna see you guys later. I’m gonna see what I can do about bargaining some services in exchange for some dough—.
Donovan: What? Are you gonna go inflict some injuries for him to patch? (Points to Arden)
Nika: We already did that.
Arden: I think he’s going to go find me a job.
Christian: In fact, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to make some inquiries as to whether or not specifically these two (he points out Arden and Rina) might be useful to the station. Or people on the station. And see if we can’t get you to—
Arden: (looks at Rina) You fix the mechanical parts. I fix the human parts.
Nika: I might be able to call home and get hold’a some creds. At least to help out.
Rina: How about I introduce some of the mechanical parts into the bio-parts and have you fish them out?

That gets a laugh.

Arden: I’d rather not.
Mike: If you do a few major surgeries, you can probably earn two thousand in a while—.
Christian: Anybody have appendicitis?
Mike: —but if nobody has anything major at the moment—
Rina: Can we induce it?
Mike: As a station doctor for a while, you’re not going to be making any money—
Christian: Any amount of money we make—.

And the conversation dissolves into several smaller threads as everyone explores their own ideas and themes.

Christian has already found out that the doctor at the station’s medical facility was a medic during the war.

Nika hasn’t talked to her sister, Nala, in a while, but is fairly certain she could ask how the ranch is doing, maybe pull some money out of the hat, there.

Rina’s all for setting up a crate on the docks and painting a sign saying ‘The Mechanic is In.” and seeing if there’s anything anyone needs her to repair.

Christian and Arden discuss how getting doctor’s gigs might be problematic, since most ships have some sort of medical person aboard to handle things, unless someone needs some complicated surgery, there isn’t going to be much call for Arden’s services.

Nika turns from the free-for-all at the table and asks Donovan a question.

Nika: So what are you going to do with yourself now that you’re stranded on the station?
Donovan: You’re lookin’ at it.
Nika: You’re gonna spend all your time at the bar?
Donovan: It’s the same as usual.
Nika: That ain’t so healthy.

Behind her, the conversation drifts into hospital facilities as opposed to space station ones, even as the conversation she’s in drifts into tentative negotiation.

Donovan: Not much is, in my line of work.
Nika: What do you do?
Donovan: Right now? Hang out at the bar.
Nika: Well, tell ya whatcha got: we might be able to see our way clear to offerin’ ya some passage to somewhere.
Donovan: Well, uh….I was about to ask if, uh…my worry is: where’re y’all headed?
Nika: Where do you want to go? Let’s talk about that.

Behind them, the discussion of the medical angle gets even more complicated. Christian comes up with an idea to have Arden act as an unofficial on-call doctor.

Nika: Where exactly you wanna go?
Donovan: I wanna go somewhere outa the way.
Nika: I’d say that fits this place, dudn’t it?
Donovan: Yeah, but you know, I been to all the bars in the place, oddly enough. Been here five days, n’ this is the first good fight.
Nika: Where were you headed when you got punted?
Donovan: Blue Sun. Away.

Nika just looks at him, knowing he’s holding out on her.

Donovan: Look. Just cuz Mike’s with you, I’ll level with you. You wouldn’t wanna go advertising that I’m on the ship, but uh…(starts to laugh)..if we were to, uh, if I stay out of your way and, uh, can help you with your money problem…

Now we get to it. Arden overhears the last bit and pipes up.

Arden: Any help with the money problem would be welcome. (off Nika’s look) I’ll just be quiet right over here.
Nika: What exactly would you want?
Mike: Did you find yourself in some money?
Nika: Where do you wanna go?
Donovan: I wanna go somewhere, like I said, way outa the way. Away from the Georgia system. Ideally, you know, maybe out in the Red.
Nika: Well, I’ll tell you what. I can certainly get you somewhere out of the way. I can’t promise you it’s gonna be Blue Sun, interdicted as it is.
Donovan: If that’s locked down, you know….I can live with Red instead of Blue.
Nika: I can’t promise you it won’t be Blue Sun, neither.
Donovan: Browncoat don’t look as good in Red light than in Blue light, but you know—(shrugs) Whaddya gonna do?
Nika: Give us a few days, hoping to meet up with some friends

Behind them, Christian stage whispers to the others.

Christian: Maybe they have a shuttle we can sell….
Donovan: How quickly can we get out of here?

Mike joins the conversation.

Mike: It’d take til we’re repaired, if we had the money to repair.
Christian: Well, we got a week on the docking fees.
Mike: We might leave earlier if somebody walked up with the parts, maybe take a couple of days.
Nika: Rina, how fast can you put the ship together if you had the parts?
Rina: I could get it in a couple of days.
Donovan: How long does it take to get to Georgia from here?

Nika tells him.

Donovan: Yeah, that’s cuttin’ it a little tight.
Nika: How close behind you are they?
Donovan: We could, uh, speed up departure?
Nika: Are they actively chasing you?
Donovan: Um, I hope so. Otherwise I didn’t accomplish what I set out to do.

Arden looks over at them.

Arden: I may have missed the beginning of this conversation, but who’s chasing you?
Nika: Come with us.
Donovan: (To Arden) That’s less important.

Nika downs her drink in one go.

Nika: Come with us.
Mike: If we’re gonna have this conversation on the ship, that’s not a real good place because of the zero-g.
Nika: We’ll do it in the airlock.
Donovan: If you had a shuttle with working gravity—
Nika: No, we’re not going to use the shuttle, we’re going to use airlock outside the ship.
Christian: That’s a lot of people crammed into an airlock.
Arden: Maybe we could rent a conference room.
Nika: All right, not an airlock but just someplace private and quiet. Certainly not a bar.
Mike: It’s a big station—
Rina: (to Christian) You can stay with the others, but I’m going with Nika.
Mike: —this place is a hundred thousand tons of metal, I’m sure you can find someplace suitable.
Nika: Just not the bar. Too many people.
Christian: I guess I’ll join up with the others. (to Arden) They’re going to call you if they have any medical emergencies.

We exit the bar and we find plenty of deserted cargo containers on the on-board docks. Rina takes Mike by the arm and takes him with us.


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