SYSTEM: Cuprum (Orange Dwarf)
PLANET: Calico (Arid/Mineral-Rich Frontier)
LOCATION: Oasis — Perimeter Settlement & Aquifer District
The air inside the Pressure Valve was warm and stale. A cluster of tables in the back of the cantina still wore the remnants of last night’s raucous festivities. Mattie, a middle-aged woman with a lean build and hearty blazer strapped to her hip, ran her cantina with direct politeness and obsessive efficiency. She wiped down tables while directing her hired help to start wiping down the Gallows- a walled off section towards the back of the building where the rowdier patrons drink by the gallon and pay by the fistful.
The perpetual haze of dust and twilight flitted through cracks as the doors opened. A large-framed man ducked his dark-skinned head to comfortably fit through the door. His muscle-caked frame bulged with each step.
Mattie glanced from her work to note the stranger coming in.
“Morning, not quite open yet.” She said, her voice a swirl of irritation and hospitality.
He ignored her, continued to walk in, and sat at a table.
“Guess I’ll just go hang,” an exasperated Mattie said under her breath as she walked over towards the man.
“What will it be?” she asked, annoyed.
“ProRats, Sir.” His voice was flat. Edgy.
Mattie looked at him, confused, “Sure.” She responded.
She walked back towards the kitchen, the whole walk she thought about the strange tattoos that ran down his shoulder and arm. At the top of his shoulder was a word, or a name. Kurtis. She pulled together some canned ProRats that she kept in case she ever needed them and plopped the contents onto a plate. She looked out of the kitchen at her lone customer and decided that the man didn’t really care what it looked like.
You probably don’t get to be that size by being picky- she thought as she walked back towards the man and plopped the clattering plate down in front of him.
“Thank you, Sir.” The man said and immediately started shoveling spoonfuls of the pseudo-food into his mouth.
“Huh,” she said with a shrug and started walking away.
Once again dust devils danced through the cracked door as beams of flame-colored light signaled another patron entering.
“God damn it.” she said under her breath, “hey, we’re closed. I need another hour!” She turned to the door and this time a lithe man, athletically built walked in. His dark pants and denim jacket fit his form, and his clothes and cowboy hat all look to have seen better days.
The man walked in anyway, ignoring her, and took a seat at a different table. Mattie drew in a deep breath, “stars help me for what I may have to do today,” she said in frustration. She threw her towel down and half-stomped over to the man’s table.
“What?” she asked sharply.
“You got food here?” he asked.
What kind of question is that?- She thought.
“Of course I do.”
“Fresh food? I’ve had enough pro-rats to last me a lifetime.” he responded.
“Not much ready. Like I said. I. Need. Another. Hour.” She spoke slowly and sharply, stressing her point.
“Eggs?” He asked, unphased by her demeanor.
Mattie exhaled slowly, “Yes. And what passes for toast. It’s synthbread, but it’s better than nothing.”
“3 Eggs and toast. Oh. And water, please.” he said.
“Sure.” She responded through gritted teeth.
She walked back towards the kitchen, barked some orders at the young man that was cleaning the Gallows, passed by the massive mountain of a man on her way and noticed his plate was already empty.
“Anything else?” she asked as she picked up the plate.
“No, Sir.” he responded, though he continued to sit there.
“Okay.” She said and stared blankly at him for a few seconds before moving on.
Shouts were soon heard in the kitchen followed by a loud clatter, some more shouting, then Mattie soon reappeared.
“Eggs will be out in a few.” She said.
Another creak, another blast of wind, another exasperated sigh.
“Not that you give a crank, but I’m not open yet.” Mattie said, defeated.
Four people filed through the door, three men and a woman. The first man was a middle-aged man in good shape. His attire was similar to the cowboy’s, though his clothes were less worn and his beard was well-groomed, in contrast to the cowboy’s 3 day stubble. The second man wore a crisp suit that was tailored and probably cost more than the cantina. The third man was dressed similarly to the first, though he was younger and beardless. The lady was well-built and twitchy.
The cowboy eyed them suspiciously, then his glance drifted slowly over to the mountain. He stared at the large man. The size of him was unnatural. The four newcomers walked in and took a table between the other two, taking no notice that anyone in the cantina even existed.
Mattie walked over to the table.
“What do you want?” The edge in her voice was impossible to hide at this point.
“Well. I don’t think that’s a great tone to have with paying customers. And that’s what we are. Paying customers.” The man with the suit spoke, his voice dripped with arrogance.
“You and everyone else in here. You don’t like my attitude, then walk. Find another place to get water.” She spat.
The lady’s muscles twitched at Mattie’s tone and attitude, but other than sneer at the cantina owner she didn’t respond.
“Oh,” the suit said, “That’s okay, I don’t mind. Go back and try again.” He gently shooed her with his hands, “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”
Mattie felt her blood boiling at this point. She clenched her fists at her side, sucked in a deep breath and walked away.
The middle-aged man glanced around the room, taking in his surroundings. He eyed the mountain suspiciously, his eyes lingering for a few extra seconds before moving towards the cowboy.
“Interesting,” he said with a thick accent.
“Time to pay.” Mattie said curtly. She stared at the heap of a man in front of her, watched as every muscle fiber in his body twitched and moved.
“Sir?” He said, looking up to her.
“Are you serious?!” She was fuming now, “Pay! You have to pay for your meal!”
Her voice echoed through the building, and the stress of her morning threatened to bubble over into a violent explosion. The mountain stared at her blankly, and she felt the rage pushing closer and closer to the edge.”
The cowboy appeared behind her abruptly, “I don’t think that will work. If it pleases you, I’d like my eggs and toast, I’ll cover his bill, and I’ll take care of this. Seems like you have more important things to attend to.” He gestured to the table of corpos that sat at the table speaking in hushed tones.
Mattie eyed him suspiciously, “Okay, off-worlder. I’ll get your eggs. Stiff me on two plates and I’ll gladly burn two holes through you if you ever walk through those doors again.”
The cowboy glanced down at the massive blazer pistol that hung on her hip. “Fair enough.”
“The service here is abominable,” the suit said, “so much yelling, everything takes so long. Once we buy this hellpit the first thing I will do is raze this shanty and replace it with something less rustic.” He paused to breathe, then continued, “What about these two, Alexi? Thoughts?”
The middle-aged man spoke, “That big one. He is interesting. Not what I would call natural, but odd for a man like this to be out in the middle of nowhere. Could be nothing. Could be something. But who knows?” His accent carried a thoughtful tone.
“And the cowboy?” The suit asked.
“Drifter. Off-Worlder. Hard to say. Both look like they can handle themselves.”
“Look. I know you’re not slow. So cut with the “Sir” shit.” The cowboy sat at the table across from the mountain.
“Sir?” The mountain eyed the cowboy suspiciously.
“You got a name?” The cowboy asked.
“KU-0119, Sir,” he responded.
“Well… KU….” He trailed off as he noticed the tattoos on his arm, “KU? Like. KURTIS? Kurtis? Is that your name?”
“Yes, Sir, or KU0119.” Kurtis told him.
“You don’t have to call me Sir, I’m no captain. Least… Not anymore. You can just call me Brynner.” The cowboy said.
“Brynner.” Kurtis said.
Brynner watched him as he spoke. There was something calculating behind the man’s eyes. He wasn’t as simple as he was acting, Brynner was sure of that, or the man was suffering the effects of a serious trauma.
“Well, Kurtis,” Brynner said as he stood up abruptly.
The sudden movement caught Kurtis off guard and the large man immediately tossed the table aside as if it weighed nothing. The large man’s whole body tensed briefly and he immediately struck a massive arm out at Brynner.
Can’t say I’m surprised by this reaction-Brynner thought as he managed to dodge the swing and avoid the massive strike.
The suits at the nearby table stopped everything and watched as the huge frame swung heavy fists with incredible speed and precision. Alexi watched the fight intently, noting every dodge and parry the cowboy used to avoid having his head caved in. Alexi also took note of the lightning speed both men seemed to move at, and how the velocity of the large man’s attacks shattered tables and chairs.
A few seconds of clattering and breaking furniture brought Mattie out of her kitchen.
“This is it!” She yelled angrily. Instead of reaching for the blazer on her hip she walked back into the kitchen and emerged with an ancient looking slug-thrower in her hands. An old street-sweeper that looked like it would stop a bear in its tracks. A clap of thunder filled the building as she emptied one of its double barrels into the ceiling. Both men stopped at once at the shock of the gun fire. They panted, exhausted from the frantic dodging and counterstriking.
“You two got two choices,” Mattie said in an angry heave, “You can sit your asses down and wait for the local law, or you can get shot right here, right now!”
The two men looked at each other, both of them drenched in sweat, Brynner’s hat knocked to the floor in the scuffle.
“Well?” She asked again, angrily.
Brynner grabbed a chair without speaking and took a seat. He leaned down and picked up his hat and held it on his lap. Seeing Brynner sit down, Kurtis also took a seat, his eyes never leaving the agile cowboy in front of him.
“A good choice.” Mattie said.
“Um. Ma’am.” Brynner said, pushing his sweaty hair from his face.
“WHAT!” Mattie yelled.
“Can I still have those eggs, please?” Brynner asked wryly.
“To hell with you!” Mattie exclaimed.
She went back to the kitchen, and came back out a second later without the old street sweeper. She walked back up to the suits.
“You folks figure out what it is you want yet?” She asked in the same exasperated tone as before.
The suit took in a deep breathe, “Raze it to the ground, Alexi.” he said to his companion before looking to her, “Just water. I hear its the best water on the planet.”
“Damn near the only water, I hear.” Mattie said, “Just water? No food?”
“No food. Just water. That will be all, dear.” The suit said.
Mattie stormed off and all eyes at the table leveled at the two combatants that now sat in chairs like punished toddlers.
“So. You boys locals?” The suit asked them.
“Sir?” Kurtis responded.
“Walk through an airlock.” Brynner retorted as he put his hat back on.
Alexi smiled at this, and the suit simply nodded. The younger man sat silently, watching, but the ladies muscles twitched and flexed.
“I could kill them both. Let me kill them both.” She said in a low tone.
The suit watched as she twitched and convulsed.
“No. I don’t think so. Take a walk outside. Get some air.” He turned his gaze back towards the two men.
“Alexi. This man. He has the stench of a merc, doesn’t he?” The suit asked.
His voice was cold, matter-of-fact, and still dripped with the same smug arrogance it had held since he walked in the door.
“He stinks like merc because he is merc. This is Adam Brynner, Commander of the Mercenary Lance Brynner’s Bandits.”
Brynner sighed deeply and adjusted his hat in the chair. He shifted in discomfort at the sound of his outfit’s name. The fact that Alexi knew Brenner meant that Alexi was also a Mech Warrior. It was common practice to know the who’s who of Mech Warriors, and the fact that Alexi had heard of Brynner let him know that at least he was a well-known Commander, even if he didn’t feel like a particularly good one.
“Interesting. I don’t recall seeing another dropship.” Mr. Perkins stared at Brynner as he spoke.
“Well. That’s ‘cause there isn’t one.”
Alexi laughed. A deep throaty laugh, like the last man to get a joke.
“Commander Brynner. A Commander with no Command. A Mech Warrior with no mech!”
Mattie returned with a tray full of water. She set three glasses down on the table, noticed the girl had gone, and started to pick up the third glass.
“No. No. It’s okay, she’ll return.”
Tired, Mattie then turned and gave Brynner and Kurtis a glass, “courtesy of the table over there,” she said loudly, gesturing towards the suit.
Perkins narrowed his eyes at this, but did not protest.
“Well, I figure you’re here because you want something, and if you want something, you heard I’m the person to talk to, which means you need my time. And right now these two glasses of water have bought you five minutes of it.” Mattie’s voice was as angry as it was exhausted. It had been such a busy day and the cantina hadn’t even opened yet.