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.
Akamatsu is sitting in a corner table of the bar he is drinking his sake as usual waiting for the usual evening crowd of people.
Lucy and Newt have themselves a table not too far from Aka, the former using her dodgeball as a booster seat. She has a glass of vibrantly green fruit juice, drained to about half, and an empty plate. “I ztill don’t get how you do better at thiz game than me,” she remarks to Newt absently as she pokes and prods at her PDA screen, playing said game, “I play it /all the time/!”
Porter strides casually into the tavern, hands clasped behind his back as he gives a cursory study of the surroundings. He nods to the Lotorian behind the bar, hestitantly placing his order. “Whiskey. I think.” The bartender grouses about the lack of whiskey. “Fine,” the human responds with a sigh. “Surprise me.” He then settles on a stool at the bar.
Newt shrugs, sipping something glowingly violet, and grins, replying, “I can picture what’s gonna happen really easily.”
Akamatsu notices Newt and Lucy sitting at a table not far from him and gets up to go greet his superior officers. Once there he salutes them both and says to Newt “I heard about your interrogation yesterday. Didn’t go quite as well as hoped eh?”
“I’d do better if the zcreen weren’t zo zmall,” the little Lotorian child mutters, “And if the controlz were like real.” Lucy glances up to Akamatsu briefly and offers a nod, “Hi again, Aka. I ztill don’t get why that guy thinkz you’re a terrorizt, you zeem nize to m-no, no, no!” She works the controls of her PDA game with a bit more panic, before her little ship crashes and she hefts a long sigh, “I’ll /never/ beat your high zcore…”
The Lotorian bartender twitches his whiskers as he presents a mug full of frothing pink liquid to Porter. The beverage looks like nothing so much as a cup full of overheated stomach medicine. Porter picks up the mug, sniffing at the fluid inside. He winces, then mutters “Surprise” before daring to take a sip.
Newt looks up at Aka, “Hey.” and shrugs, “Maybe he’s jealous that the Gankri was in your lap and not his?” He then looks back at Lucy and grins. “Give it another go if you want.”
Akamatsu laughs at this and takes a seat at the table. Once seated he addresses the two of them saying “You two really have no idea how annoying that Gankri was.” After taking a small sip from his jug he looks specifically to Lucy saying “He didn’t threaten you at all did he? I didn’t have much time to ask earlier.”
Lucy shakes her head. “I should ztop, my handz hurt,” she remarks to Newt lightly. The little girl looks over to the Spacer more attentively, then, “No? He zaid zome mean thingz, like how he thought we were lying, and how the Confederazy might be terroriztz, but I don’t remember him making any threatz… Why would he do that?”
“Oh, god, this crap is *nasty*,” Porter says, his face puckering up in protest over the taste of the beverage. Still, he finds himself taking another sip, albeit with one eye closed. This time, he doesn’t react quite as violently. He sets the mug down on the counter. “Kinda grows on you.”
Akamatsu sighs and says “I asked because I don’t trust that guy, tends to happen when they falsely accuse you of being a terrorist, and I know he wanted information badly. I don’t think he’d be above trying to scare some out of you even if you don’t have any to give.”
Lucy just snorts and waves a hand, whiskers twitching in amusement, “That big ol’ meanie can’t zcare me. What’z he gonna do to me, huh?” The child sips her juice and continues, “I didn’t do anything wrong, zo he can’t arrezt me. And if he triez to hurt me he’ll be zorry.” The exclamation over at the bar earns an ear’s swivel over to Porter, and immediately after the child chimes in, “Well then don’t drink it?”
Porter smiles at the advice from the young Lotorian. He has a bit of a pink moustache from the liquid. “Yeah, well, probably sage wisdom. But I haven’t had a good drink in a long time.” He shrugs. Takes another sip. There’s a momentary gag reflex, but then he manages to gulp it down.
Akamatsu raises his eyebrows at the man drinking the pink liquid and is about to offer some of his own drink when he remembers where that got him last time he did it. He then looks back to Lucy and says “You can bet he’d regret it I’d make sure of that myself if I had to. After completing this sentence he drinks from his jug with an almost grim look on his face.
Porter is sitting at a table a little ways from Aka, Lucy and Newt. Aka just finished asking Lucy if she’d been threatened during her interrogation and she answered no. Aka proceeded to agree with her that he’d regret it if he did and would do it himself in need be.
Newt takes his turn at the game as Aka interrogates Lucy, only to add “Yeah. He was just a jerk.”
Porter seems to notice the young fellow in the Confederacy pilot uniform for the first time. His eyes narrow and his head tilts, puzzled. Then he says, “No, no way.” He turns his attention back to the drink on the bar counter. He takes another sip.
Akamatsu raises his eyebrows again at the fellow with the pink drink and this time asks “No Way what exactly?” he then turns to Newt and adds “Indeed he was a jerk.”
After a long moment of thoughtful silence, Lucy drops back into reality and looks to Akamatsu. “You wouldn’t need to make him regret it,” she remarks softly, sipping her juice, “I can do that on my own.”
Newt plays the game for a little while longer, tongue sticking out slightly as the game gets tougher. Eventually he just lets it go on the table and exhales, “Man. That bit.” Looking up at Aka he asks, “No way what, what?” then follows his gaze and stops, mouth ajar. “No way!”
Porter taps a few keystrokes into his PDA, transferring credits to the bartender for the drink. Then he gets up and starts walking toward the tavern door.
Akamatsu glances at Lucy and nods then turns to Newt and says “You know him?”
“Why do people keep zaying ‘no way’?” Lucy asks, one ear flattening and the other canting up as the little girl looks between Newt and Porter, before asking the question in unison with Akamatsu, “You know him?”
Newt stares as the guy begins to walk out. One moment, two moments, three- brain kicks in, “Captain Porter?”
Porter stops just shy of the door. He turns, a smile coming back to his face. “So, it *is* you, Mr. Panderyn. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Akamatsu looks between Newt and Porter and answers his own question “I’ll take that as a yes.” He takes a drink of his sake watching this unfold.
And Lucy takes a drink of her juice, again looking between Newt and Porter. “Zo… who iz that guy?” she asks of the former, “You look really zurprized, iz zomething wrong?”
Newt grins in reply, now looking really happy, “Wow! That’s so cool. When did you get here? Like, really, really you?” He fidgets as he speaks, not really knowing what to do with his body as he speaks. As to everyone else… what everyone else?
Porter nods at Newt. “Just got here today. It’s me. Back to normal.” He smirks. “Looking for work, though. Someone misplaced my military.”
Akamatsu raises his eyebrows farther up than even he knew they could go at this and waves his hand in front of Newt’s face to get his attention. While doing this he asks again “Newt who is that?”
“Hellooo?” Lucy leans over the table and narrowly misses being hit by the hand waving in Newt’s face. She reaches around his head and snaps her fingers, “Luzy to Newt, pleaze rezpond. I repeat, pleaze rezpond: who iz that guy?”
Newt snaps out of it after a few seconds and starts batting hands away, “Stop that!” Once free he says, “That’s Captain Porter is who that is.” and then to Porter, “Unmmm… Seriously? Cool. I reckon Captain Garviel would totally give you a ship and stuff.”
“Garviel, eh?” Porter inquires. He enters the name into his PDA. “I’ll be sure to look him up.” Another smile, then he waves to Newt. “I’ll see you around, kid.” He nods to Lucy and Akamatsu, then steps out into the tradeport.
Akamatsu ceases the waving of his hand in front of Newt’s face. He proceeds to nod back to Porter as he walks out. He then asks Newt “Why were you so amazed to see him if he’s just a former captain?”
“Well duh, I heard that part,” Lucy remarks, “I mean, like, why are you zo zurprized to zee him? And what’z he talkin’ about, zomeone lozt his military?” She reseats herself on her dodgeball and waves to Porter as he departs, before finishing off her juice.
Newt blinks, uhs and waves, “See yah!” before sitting back, staring at the door. “Wow!”