Okay... HERE WE GO!
The Awakening
Hermes.
For most of the people living in the Tri System this was just a meaningless, dirty planet which was lucky enough to be at least geographically close to the metropolises Crius and Hades.
This piece of wasteland had been left years ago by industry and craftsmen; now only mercenaries, pirates, and other rather nasty subjects settled on the planet now. Dirt and waste covered nearly every street, the continuing decay of society was a smelly companion. Days here started and ended with death, either by violence or by one of the countless diseases which were present here.
Altogether, this was a place that a sensible human being should avoid.
All of this probably went through the stranger’s head, too, who as exchanged the cockpit of his ship with the asphalt of the runway mere moments ago. The air under the ship was still blazing from the heat of the engines when a man from the maintenance crew walked over to him.
“Nice bird you got there. Anything to work on?” He moved his hand towards the hangar.
“No, thanks.” The stranger pointed at the small device in the hands of the technician, obviously his time was short and he did not want to start a longer talk.
“Oh yeah, right.” The stranger confirmed his landing by fingerprint, then he walked silently in the direction of the docking locks, followed by the gaze of the technician.
“Weird guy”. With these words, he returned to his daily business and went to greet the next pilot.
At that time, the Sinner’s Inn, one of the few bigger pubs on Hermes, was almost too crowded to get in. Pouring out alcohol had been allowed again only ten years ago, and during that time, the number of drug dependants had risen higher than that of any other type of drug.
It was not that there was nothing else. But the booze was comparably cheap and most of the time, only a hangover remained on the morning after. The Sinner’s Inn had seen the best of times years ago, yet many visitors stayed faithful to the old bar.
Beer flowed freely at the Sinner’s Inn; most of the people more ore less present would not leave the pub of their own power. Apart from the high-percentage booze, there was a real lot of gambling and young ladies who would more than take the guests home for a couple of credits. The air in the pub was filled with loud music, screaming people, and the ever-continuing and nerve-wrecking sound of the gambling machines.
In short – despite all progress that humanity has seen these last years and that humanity wrote proudly on the banner of civilisation, every night you could see here that evolution could be rewound by a certain alcohol level.
Keeping a perspective in that chaos was not easy even for the owner, Joe Kane. Joe did not particularly care about the mess of his guests. All that counted in his eyes were the credits they brought in through the entrance.
But there were also a couple of guys who specialised in new faces. And they noticed the man coming in now right away. Signs were exchanged in the semidarkness of the room.
Two men blocked his way. The new guest kept a distance of about a foot and a half from them. Both eyed their victim. He did not look particularly dangerous, was not wearing visible weapons. Obviously just another privateer, an easy target, at least in their eyes.
The smaller guy started talking to him.
“Look, a new friend. You need friends, right? And the two of us are the best friends you could wish for.”
He looked at his colleague who continued. “And you know, such a friendship just isn’t for free.”
To be continued. Soon.