Last Orders Tavern - Comorro Station
A smoky haze hangs in the air of this shadowy tavern, with chalky white walls of cartilage and tables that look like flat-topped mushrooms surrounded by cushioned metal benches.
The central bar counter is a D-shaped structure of gray-green bone and cartilage, coated in the familiar protective webbing seen elsewhere aboard Comorro.
Holovid projectors display news reports from throughout the worlds of Hiverspace, from Rigor Strand to Hekayt Prime.
Hjasne settles into a corner table, awaiting the arrival of Orion Confederacy personnel who can report to him about recent events involving the Gankri known as "Vampire."
Shok sits in a table not too far from Hjasne enjoying some food.
A small Lotorian child slips into the Tavern, weaving her way between tables without her dodgeball. Lucy heads to the bar first, to order a glass of water, before she climbs up on a stool to survey the area. the Hekayti is spotted, and once the child has her drink she heads for the corner table. "Are you Overkeeper...," the girl pauses and pulls out her PDA to look at it, "Erm... the Overkeeper? How do you zay your name?"
Hjasne looks up from his own PDA to stare at the young Lotorian. "Yaznee," he answers. "Do your parents know you spend time in this tavern?"
Newt enters a little while later and heads for the bar, only to see Lucy zoom past it. He lets out a small smile and begins to follow.
Shok looks up from his plate and over to Hjasne's table to see Lucy talking to him and is mildly curious so he watches. While watching he still keeps taking a bite from his food once in a while.
"Nize to meet you, Overkeeper Hjazne," Lucy climbs into a seat and then extends a hand to the Hekayti, "I'm Petty Offizer Luzy of the Orion Confederazy. And I don't have parentz, zo... no. My zuperiorz know, though, and I behave myzelf."
Hjasne shakes the small furry hand. "I see. Petty Officer? That seems like an excessively high rank for someone so young. How did that come about?"
Newt steps up a few moments later, in his Orion Confederacy pilots jumpsuit and stops near Lucy. "I'm Lieutenant Panderyn." With that he extends his gloved hand also. Not quite seated yet.
Shok merely keeps watching wondering why two children are highly ranked in this Confederacy. He is interested enough that now his food lay all but forgotten on the table.
"I'm a pilot," Lucy replies to the Overkeeper, "I wanted to fly the fighterz, but they made me fly the zupply zhipz inztead. I waz hired az a Lieutenant Junior Grade for that job, but then I did zomething bad and got demoted. Now I have to copilot." She points to Newt as he arrives, adding, "For him." The little girl salutes her superior, "Hello, zir."
Hjasne blinks, looking from Lucy to the newly arrived little fellow in the jumpsuit. Still, despite the puzzled look on his face, he shakes the offered hand. "Lieutenant?" He picks up the PDA, tapping data into it. "The Confederacy's senior officers seem to take a very liberal attitude toward enlistment."
Newt salutes Lucy, "Hi." and takes the seat next to her. Looking back at Hjasne he says with a smile, "They like to hire excellent pilots."
Shok makes a mental note to check with this Confederacy for a job sometime later. He keeps watching wondering what this Hekayti wants with these two officers.
"They don't let uz fight, and non-combatant rolez are typically given offizer rankz," Lucy remarks lightly" She pauses to sip at her water, before adding, "And yez - Lieutenant Panderyn and I are exzeptional pilotz. You didn't call for Confederazy perzonnel juzt to azk about who they hire, did you?"
Hjasne shakes his head. "No." He turns the PDA so that the two can see the display, which shows an image of Akamatsu pouring a drink down the gullet of a Gankri. "Do you recognize either of the individuals shown in this picture?"
Newt does his best at keeping a grin off his face and just manages to fail. Biting his lower lip and trying hard to frown he looks at the picture for a long while. Eventually he comes out with "Just Spacer Akamatsu." and leans back in his seat.
Shok can barely make out the display so has to listen to the conversation instead and wonders who this Akamatsu is.
"Yes - the human iz Zpazer Akamatzu," Lucy says, an oddly human-like frown forming on her face, "Why iz that Gankri'z head in Aka'z lap?" The little girl tilts her head, as though a different angle wil help her understand the context of the image.
Hjasne turns the PDA back so that he can clear the display. He then inquires: "How long have you known this Spacer Akamatsu? Does he socialize much with other Confederacy personnel? Does he have a social circle beyond his chain of command?"
Newt blinks, pondering. "Uh. Not very."
Shok Begins to wonder what this Hekayti is so concerned about this Akamatsu for and gets up to get a better view of the display before actually voicing any of his thoughts.
"I don't know about hiz friendz," the little girl replies, sipping her water again, "He zeemz nize, but I've only met him a couple timez. He helped me get away from a big zcaley guy who tried to carry me away - he waz worried about me. Turned out the zcaley guy wanted to hurt me." She rubs her nose as she thinks, "He'z a little ztiff, but he'z okay."
Hjasne nods slowly. "Has he expressed any specific attitudes regarding the Hekayti?"
Newt listens quietly as Lucy speaks and then replies to Hjasne, shaking his head, "Nuh-uh.
Shok after seeing what was on the display tilts his head a bit and turns to Hjasne to ask "What has this Akamatsu done to arouse so much curiousity anyway?"
"Not that I know of," Lucy replies, "He zeemz to be okay with everyone I've zeen him around?" She peers at Shok, then, and her ears perk, "Hey, yeah, why're you azking zo much about Aka?"
Hjasne swings his face around to glower at the nosy Pyracani, but returns his attention to Lucy rather than answering the outsider. "It is possible that he has ties to the terrorist who infected the Emergents on Ashkodt with a destructive computer virus." He stands, brow furrowing. "I have not yet ruled out a conspiracy backed by your Orion Confederacy, but many questions remain to be answered before I reach a final conclusion."
Newt scowls slightly, "That's nuts. He's from Earth I think, way in the past. He just got sucked into here and now. Why'd he care about all that stuff?"
Shok peers at the display again and sees Akamatsu's outfit and points out "If he is from so far in the past what on Earth could he even know about computers?"
"A conzpirazy backed by the Orionz?" Lucy peers at Hjasne with furrowed brow, flattened ears, and perked whiskers, "That wouldn't happen. Cap'n Garviel wouldn't /let/ zomething like that happen. You zhould talk to Cap'n Garviel, he'll zet the record ztraight." The little girl nods her punctuation.
"You were demoted for poor behavior, is that correct?" Hjasne asks the Lotorian girl. He then looks at Newt. "And you're both so very clever. Young and smart. Perhaps smart enough to hide a secret from your superior." A taut smile, then he says, "I will talk to your captain as soon as possible. For now, I am required to report to my own superiors about the status of this investigation. I appreciate your cooperation. It will be noted with favor in my report."
Newt sits up at that, now frowning. Moments later, a protest, "Hey! We didn't do anything wrong!"
Shok gives Hjasne a dirty look and says in a low growl. "I don't enjoy being ignored." He is still trying to be relatively unthreatening.
"Yez, I juzt told you that," Lucy replies to Hjasne, "What doez that have to do with anything?" She stands, then, "I don't lie, it'z not nize. And you're zaying really mean thingz without even knowing uz."
"Pray that I continue ignoring you in the future," Hjasne replies to the Pyracani. His gaze then returns to Lucy. "I am learning more and more about you and your Confederacy the longer that I remain on this station." He inclines his head, then stalks off toward the exit.
Newt just stares after him. After a while he says, "Wow. He was a jerk yesterday and he's a jerk today. I think he's full-time."
Shok bares his teeth and growls after Hjasne as he leaves. He then follows it up by calling him a "Joha" bnumerous times.
"You met him yezterday?" Lucy asks of her superior, before looking at Shok, "You know, you really zhouldn't lizten in on other people'z converzations, it'z rude."