~11a~
As Jayman blinked in the sudden breeze of dust and dirt, a shadowy horde of fast-moving ugly-looking ruffians bumped him aside on their way to somewhere. Playing the village drunk, which wasn't too far from the truth, he let the bump knock him down, and rolled over to get a glimpse of any weapons, any unique markings, anything useful, as they entered the saloon he just left.
Finding his black cap, dusting it off, and placing it back on his bald head, he wondered whether he should go back to the saloon. But that question flew out the window, when he spotted the waitress in the flowery-red dress burst out of the side exit and run towards him.
"Uncle Jake! Uncle Jake!"
He still couldn't get used to being called "Uncle," but after all, it was Kan-chiang's illegitimate but illuminating daughter Miriam. Moreso than the Firefly-class Rose, she was Kan-chiang's other brighter jewel in his rough-and-tumble life. And with his all-too-soon death, both jewels were entrusted to Jayman's care.
"Miriam!" the captain twanged, "Whatcha doin' out 'ere? I says ya gets yer oth'r half at yer flat! Not 'ere!"
"But a gang of gorillas just came in! They're tearing the place apart!"
"So? Ain't ya takin' 'em kung-fu lessons?"
Miriam shot him an are-you-crazy look and gestured downward with her big brown eyes. "In this shiny dress?"
"Argh," the pseudo-uncle groaned. Reluctantly, he headed back to the saloon as his pseudo-niece followed.
Shuffling to one of the side windows and spinning the bill of his cap to the side, the captain peered through the horizontal slats, and focussed his bio-mechanical left eye. With a brief pattern of right-eye blinks, he zoomed double-size. But he hoped this would be quick; he couldn't chance another optical burn-out.
"Whattaya see, Uncle Jake?"
~11b~
Zacharias was fairly certain he had intimidated the fools into backing off, until the leader, still clutching his eyes, started shouting at them.
"He can't take all four of you, ya ruttin' idjits! Thinka what'll happen we go back ta Williams emptyhanded!"
That seemed to snap them back to reality as they regrouped around the man in the doorway. Zacharias took a moment to smash the leaders face into the nearest table so he couldn't rally them a second time but the damage was already done and he stood waiting for the attack.
This time, sensibly, it came at once from two directions. He sliced at an arm, drawing blood while sending a kick in the opposite direction, but the third man slipped through and swept Rubick's legs out from under him. Then the last attacker jumped on his legs to keep him down. The one with the bloodied arm stepped forward to try and pry the knife from Zacharias' trapped hand. Luckily his other hand was free and the tiny gun appeared in it just as before, allowing him to blow a hole through the man's kneecap. The one on top of him knocked the gun away, which didn't mean much since it only carried one shot anyway. The other two remaining men suffered several bruises and a cut here or there, but eventually managed to get his knife and trap both his arms. Then the one on his legs really let him have it.
~12a~
"Shun-SHENG duh gao-WAHN! (Holy testicle Tuesday!)" Jayman spat. "Ain't that Rubick? That 'oodlum I jus' left?"
Brushing the curly locks from her squinting eyes, Miriam pushed her face closer into the window. "I can't tell. You sure?"
"Sure as me left eye's flickerin'. Haha! That niou-se (cow dung) looks t' be all manner o' surrounded."
Miriam looked even closer. "Well, aren't ya gonna help him?"
"Shah muh? (What?)" the captain uttered then caught his pseudo-niece heading toward the front entrance. "Hey! Miriam! Whatcha doin'? Yer gonna get yerself hurt!"
"If you're not gonna help him, Uncle Jake, then I am!"
"Miriam! Get back 'ere!"
Bursting through the swinging doors, the nineteen-year-old kung-fu student dashed toward the three remaining goons. Charging the nearest thug on the victim's leg, Miriam yanked him back by the collar, and sent a slicing barehanded chop to his throat. Her red-patterned skirt floating as she spun around, she smashed a solid boot to the second thug and watched him hit the floor. But there was still one left.
On the other side of the window, Jayman shook his head in bewilderment.
"Run-tse duh FWO-tzoo. (Merciful buddha.)"
~12b~
Zacharias lay on the ground using the time between punches to try and reckon a way out of his current entaglement when someone suddenly dispatched one, then two of his attackers, freeing his arms. As the one on his chest looked up to see what was happening now, Zacharias took the opportunity to throw him off and get back on his feet, his eyes casting about for his knife before he saw it behind his opponent. He saw his helper, the waitress who had knocked over Jayman, as the three of them faced off in a triangle. He caught the eye of the last thug and put on his best grin. "So I believe you niao se duh doo-gway were saying something about how I couldn't beat all four of you..."
The thug, having not only lost his numbers advantage but actually had it reversed, looked rather bitter, saying only "Chur ni-duh! (Screw you!)"
~12c~
Dr. Andrew Lun-kuai roused himself from his all-to-brief nap (a skill that, once learnt in hospital emergancy departments, never goes away) to find that the smaller asian man had left, and the larger was heavily involved with a new bunch of unsavory characters. The first one's head met a table with a sickening impact, and he fell to the floor, unconscious. The other three advanced more carefully, and managed to pin down the big mercenary.
Andrew weighed up the options in his mind: Do nothing, leave an injured and outnumbered man alone. Wade in and help, knowing nothing of the situation, or wait, see if he manages to somehow extract himself, then offer to patch him up...
Fortunately, the decision was taken away from him. One of the ruffians fell away screaming, blood pooring from a knee wound. Two down. Andrew started to rise from the table, a plan froming in his mind, when the young waitress came back in, and with a series of smart moves, dispatched two more of the goons.
Feeling it might be a good time to introduce himself, the Doc waited until the fifth and final goon had beat a hasty retreat. Stepping over the still-unconscious body of the leader, he approached the trio, arms wide in the 'versally recognised gesture of 'I'm unarmed, not looking for a fight'
~13a~
As the "last goon standing" fled from the scene, Jayman spotted him through the window and rushed towards the front entrance. As the thug scrambled past the doors, the captain quickly grabbed him by his shirt lapels and dragged him around the corner against one of the side windows. Gazing closely at the ruffian with his intimidating emerald eye, he demanded through his hissing teeth, "Who sent ya? Why'd yer goons 'ttack him?"
~13b~
The goon, still rattled from his unexpected defeat, started giving up the secrets to anything he could think of, regardless of the question.
"Was legitimat! 'E try'n threaten Mist Willuhms! Mist Willuhms ordered us'n, waren't no fault our'n! We's jus' employs! Willuhms ya wan, 'es bad man... Gots slavn' stalin chittin! Willuhms ya wan, lemme go!"
~13c~
Rubick tried to gauge from her demeanor whether this waitress had any more interesting surprises in her, but he was interrupted by the approach of a well-dressed man holding up his hands to show his distinct lack of pointy objects. From the man's apparent intention to join the rather unpleasant business, he reckoned he was either a doctor, a lawman, or an idiot, but he wasn't sure which. He waved to show he could put his hands down and waited to see what the man would say.
~14a~
"...Willuhms ya wan," the thug babbled, "lemme go!"
"Williams, eh?" The Asian captain tossed the gorilla aside and watched him scurry away across the sun-dried dirt.
Quickly, Jayman spun back to the window and redirected his gaze inside. Miriam was still holding some kind of attack pose as she kept her focus on the remaining four goons on the floor. Similarly, Rubick seemed to survey the area until his attention was drawn by some other new character. A rather smallish and slender fellow nicely wrapped in a dark green coat. And there was something familiar about his sharp eyes.
As the new fellow raised his arms in a goodwill gesture, his face also happened to move into better light. Suddenly, Jayman remembered.
A few days ago, there had been a bulletin for a missing doctor. Yest'rday? Th' day b'fore? Something about missing an appointment or hearing or trial date. He clearly recalled it was a doctor, because doctors and bounties weren't often mentioned in the same breath. Was it th' local 'ospital? A Doc Lun-kuai or Lun-kuo or p'rhaps Lin-kuo? It was something like that.
Now this new character seemed out of place here. Plus, he resembled the photo-image in the broadcast vid. Especially those eyes. Now if this was truly the same fugitive, the local Alliance authorities were offering a decent 1,000 credits for his unharmed capture. A spit-shiny thou! Not bad at all.
Wanting to make sure with a closer look, the captain initiated another right-blink pattern to zoom-in triple-size. But just as the zoom stabilized, his bio-mechanical eye flickered violently... "No! Gorram gos se!" And it automatically shut down. "No! Ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng! (Frog-humping sonofabitch!)"
~15a~
The Doc moved slowly towards the waitress and the mercenary. A brief visual examination revealed that neither of them were seriously injured, but a more closer look would be required for the big mercenary, after all, he had been on the pounded on the floor for several minutes by several large men, and, despite what the cortex shows would have you believe, you didn't simply walk away from that sort of thing unhurt...
"My name is Andrew Lun-Kuai, I'm a doctor, of sorts... Are either of you hurt?"
Already anticipating injuries, he started to remove various items concealed in his coat, setting them out on one of the cleaner tables in the bar; bandages, a small hand-held scanner and a suturing kit.
Looking first to the waitress, he received a graceful "I'm ok" nod. Turning back to the mercenary, he waited for his response...
Zacharias took in the newcomers supplies and demeanor and decided the man probably wouldn't try to poison him, so he sat down in the closest chair and took his jacket off. Both his arms had some rather lovely bruises on them, some of his knuckles were bleeding on his right hand, and there was a small gash on his forehead from one of the thugs' ring. He looked back at the doc.
"Well, you're the expert but I'm gonna probably have to say yeah."
"Right, the bruises I can't do anything about, they'll heal by themselves and none of them look too serious. Those knuckles could do with some antiseptic... It might sting a bit... What's your name, by the way?"
"Rubick" the big merc replied "Zacharias Rubick, mercenary for hire"
"I figured that much. Right, lets have those knuckles
Reaching into an inner pocket, Andrew pulled out a small bottle of concentrated antiseptic. With a small piece of bandage, he carefully cleaned off the grazes, making sure that they wouldn't become infected.
"Now, your head. I'm either going to have to stitch it, or I can get some glue - quicker, hurts less, but not as strong. What would you rather?"
~16a~
Rubick listened to Lun-Kuai's prescription and nodded. He considered the question for a second then spoke.
"Whichever isn't going to be ripped open in the next fight."
The doctor shrugged as he started opening a sterile suture kit. He wiped his hands and the cut on Rubick's forehead with some more antiseptic and threaded a small, curved needle.
"Sit down, and don't move"
Rubick picked up a chair that had been knocked over in the fight, and sat down. The doc moved towards his forehead, needle in hand, and repeated his last instruction.
"Don't move, or this will be more painful than it has to be."
With Rubick sat as still as possible, Andrew started to sew. "I'm going to try to keep this one a bit neater than your other three, unless you want another scar..."
~17a~
Gos se, the captain thought to himself. The dang situation was getting out of hand pretty dang fast. As many as five things jumped out in his mind.
First, he found a decent crew prospect in the form of the large mercenary man-in-black named Rubick. With his pseudo-niece Miriam's help, he was able to snag an impromptu meeting with him. And just as quickly, he discounted him. Too contradictory. Too unsettling.
Second, this horde rolled in out of nowhere, coming to beat up on Rubick. Why? And who was this Williams who sent this gang? Was this an arrangement gone south? Did Rubick double-cross Williams? Or was Williams in the process of double-crossing Rubick?
Third, Miriam ran in and decided she wanted to help out this Rubick fellow. Why? Did she see something his biomechanical eye didn't? And how did she pick up that funky kung-fu so well? It didn't seem that long ago when she'd cry all night long in her diapers. Next thing he knew, she'd grown up and knocked out a couple of hoodlums two or three times her size. Just like her old man Kan-chiang.
Fourth, this smallish and slender character in the shiny green coat popped up like a black-eyed fish, or a slippery eel, out of filtered water. The captain couldn't be sure yet, but this little fishy could be that runaway doctor with that thousand-credit bounty. If so, why? What was he running from? What did he do?
And fifth but not least, his gorram eye just shut down. Fortunately, as the eye was designed, nobody would be able to tell from the outside that it had deactivated. But it certainly put him at a tactical disadvantage.
So yeah, this was getting really really messy. And he needed to clean it up, at least some of it, pretty dang cast. He wanted to get that bounty before anyone else figured it out. He still wanted to build up his crew, even if it meant giving Rubick another chance. But most of all, he wanted Miriam out of here safely and soundly. This was no place for a little girl, even if she could kick ass.
Shuffling to the front swinging doors, Jayman stopped just outside, to one side, stuffed two fingers between his lips, and blasted a series of short high-pitched whistles before quickly spinning away out of sight.
~~~
Recognizing Uncle Jake's funny old signal, Miriam shot her gaze toward the front entrance. Nobody there. That meant one thing.
"Gotta jet!" she said and jetted out the doors, her flowery dress fluttering as she left the saloon, found Uncle Jake, and chased after him down the dust-swept roadway.
~17b~
Rubick sat stone still as the doc worked on his forehead. He was actually rather impressed w/ the man's technique; the average doctor at this end of the 'verse was less of a physician and more of a guy w/ books and supplies, but this one might actually have had training. Which of course begged the question what in guay was he doing slinking around dark corners of backwater bars on this worthless rock? He flicked his gaze toward the entrance w/out moving his head as a strange whistle floated in, then he noticed the girl's head whip around at the sound and watched curiously as she immediately ran off at the sound.
Now what's that all about? he wondered, before turning his attention back to the man standing over him.
~18a~
"Uncle Jake!" Miriam hollered as she caught up to her dad's best friend, comrade, and confidant. "What's wrong? What's going on?"
"I tells ya what's wrong," Jayman strode as evenly as he could. "Yer 'elpin' that Rubick fella wit' yer chops an' kicks, that's what!"
"He was outnumbered!"
"So? He's off his ruttin' rock'r. He d'served it." Several more blocks and Jayman would be back onboard his beloved Rose to reinitiate and recharge his dang eye. Several more blocks and he could pay Miriam the other half of what she earned -- by spilling the drinks on him as planned -- and then send her back to her little flat where she belonged, out of trouble and out of danger.
"You don't mean that." She swept the brown curls from her warm eyes.
"I don', do I?" Jayman spat. "That ruttin' mercenary is pro'bly beatin' up on sumthin' right now, eh?"
"Rubick?" Miriam replied as pedestrians passed by, store owners swept their front steps, and parked space transports peaked over the tops of cracked roofs. "Oh no, he's getting himself patched up as we speak."
"Patch'd up?" the captain laughed out loud. "Yer twistin' me leg, right? A jumpin' big fella like Rubick takes on five o' them thugs an' then stops like a dropp'd brick t' gets 'imself patch'd up?" Another chuckle. "Now I knows he's off his ruttin' rock'r." Another deeper louder laugh. "Is he gettin' a manicure as well?"
"Uncle!" Miriam giggled. "Anyway, I'm glad the doctor was there to--"
"Wha' didya say?" The captain froze in his tracks and turned to the teenaged girl. Several blocks away, a small-sized transport rose and spun away into the atmo. "Didya say 'doctor'?"
"Yeah. Dr. Andrew Lun-Kuai. A nice little doctor."
Both of Jayman's eyes widened. "Run-tse duh FWO-tzoo. (Merciful buddha.) That li'l fishy's 'im a'right."
~18b~
Rubick sat while the doc worked on him and peered at the thugs on the ground. The original leader seemed to be stirring so he lashed his boot into the man's forehead to keep him quite a bit longer. The movement seemed to momentarily startle some of the customers who had stayed through the fight, albeit migrating to the other end of the establishment, but they quickly went back to their business. It always amused him how people tried to stay out of his way after seeing spectacles like that fight. Lun-Kuai finally pronounced him finished, so he stood up and replaced his beret before retrieving his backup gun and hunting knife. Then he walked up to the bar and got a drink before coming back to sit down at the table where the doc had worked on him.
"So what's a properly trained healer doin' out here in this little corner of guay?"
~18c~
"Well now, that's an interesting story," began the Doc, sitting down at a table. "First started out in this line of work a long time back, when folk started arriving home after being injured in the War. Battlefield medics didn't have much in the way of equipment or supplies, nor training for that matter, so most if the wounded were in pretty bad shape." He scratched at an imaginary itch on the side of nose, reminiscing.
"I found I had a kinda gift, a natural talent, you might say." He continued, "but we didn't have much more we could offer them, and without any training, I found that I was able to do less and less as the injuries got worse and worse. So the townsfolk gathered up a few savings, the mayor gave me a sending off party, and I went to Sihnon, to one of the smaller medical schools there. Nowhere near the prestige of Osiris Capitol City, but I was there to learn. That was seven years ago. The war was still going on when I left, otherwise I might have ended up fighting, but no. I qualified two years ago, and got a job in a hospital in one of the lesser core planet hospitals. Good money, and I was going to save up enough money to pay back those that sent me there.
"Anyway, enough about me for now, what about you? You're obviously a mercenary, how did you get into that line of work?"
~19a~
Both of Jayman's eyes widened. "Run-tse duh FWO-tzoo. (Merciful buddha.) That li'l fishy's 'im a'right."
"What fishy?" Miriam raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"Hold yer 'orses!" The captain uttered. "Lemme think a ruttin' sec!"
Jayman had to make a decision. But first, he had to get back to the Rose, where he could pay Miriam, tell her to go home, and then take care of his useless left eye. Only then could he worry about that slippery doctor. With a deep breath, he turned and continued down the roadway; just a couple more dusty blocks to his modified Firefly-class transport.
"Wei! (Hey!)" Miriam grasped the hem of her skirt to more easily chase after her pseudo-uncle. "Where you going?"
The captain tightened his cap over his scalp. "Back t' th' Rose so I can rightly pay yer due."
"Uncle Jake, you know I don't care about the money. This is fun!"
Jayman laughed. "Fun? Ya call this go tsao duh (dog-humped) rigmarole fun?" He turned to her. " Ya know wha's freakin' fun? Catchin' tha' slipp'ry Doc Fishy wit' a blazin' bounty on 'is 'ead."
Now it was Miriam's turn to freeze in her tracks. "Dr. Andrew?"
"Yeah!" The captain swung his arm around to sharply gesture her forward. "Now git! I can't be wastin' any more gorram time!"
The feisty teenager sighed and shot back. "Fine!" And as the duo weaved through the thickening river of pedestrians, she let fly a string of expletions cleverly concealed by the roaring engines of a nearby space transport.
~~~
"I am very disappointed." The petty crime boss shook his rather gaunt head at the defeated thug. Then, leaning back in his comfortable leather chair, the boss raised a wrinkled index finger.
Immediately, his large black-and-bald right-hand man revealed his pistol, pulled the trigger, and -- Brack! -- shot the poor thug in the chest. Meanwhile, covering his ears, the little ratlike man shivered in the corner.
The skeletal leader glanced to his guards. "Get rid of it."
Quickly, the two long-haired Asians guarding the door picked up the sorry body and lugged it out of the dark and dingy office.
As the door closed, the emaciated figure narrowed his twinkling gray eyes. "My loyal Othello, look at what I have to work with. I am truly and rapidly losing my patience with this Rubick. I need that package. And I need it now."
"Yes, Mr. Williams."
~19b~
"Anyway, enough about me for now, what about you? You're obviously a mercenary, how did you get into that line of work?"
Rubick sat still for a moment, fingering the necklace of teeth around his neck as the image of the river roared through his mind again. "You don't wanna know." He stood up and pulled some chords out of a hidden pocket, stooping to begin tying up the goons before the next batch arrived.
~19c~
"Fair enough." Andrew Lun-Kuai realised that it was quite possibly a sore point in the big mercenary's life, and let the matter pass.
He lent over, and taking one of Rubick's pieces of cord, started tying up the goon with the leg wound. After he was secured, the Doc used a second piece to fasion a rough tourniquet above the knee, limiting the blood loss and allowing him to survive until they'd left the dingy bar well behind.
"Anyway, after I took this job on some middle-class planet, but it was a pile of gos se compared to working back home. To many rules and regulations, some evil bosses who think its clever to put you down in front of the rest of the team, and tight-fisted scrouges in charge of the money. Its a sad day when you lose a patient because the hospital won't let you spend money on a simple drug...
"So eventually, I got tired of all that, quit my job and started wandering. Hitching rides on transport ships, seeing the 'verse, paying my way by offering my trade in various places. Its been quite a trip, but this has to be one of the most... interesting... places i've been to in a while..."
Gesturing around the bar at the tied-up goons, he asked "So these guys, they were after you right? What did you do to make them so ornery?"
~20a~
Lumbering up the ramp, Captain Jayman reached the door controls, keyed his multi-digit entry code, and punched the big green 'Open' button. As Miriam looked on, the inner doors slid apart with a hum-and-rumble to reveal the stark interior of the cargo bay.
"Ah," the captain smiled, "the Rose always smells as rightly sweet as 'er name. An' as tough as gorram nails."
Her eyebrows raised, the girl gasped and waved the air away from her cute nose. "Well, it sure smells like something."
Hitting the big red 'Close' button on the interior controls, Jayman shuffled up the steps, watched the inner doors slam shut, and continued up to the catwalk level. "Eith'r wait down 'ere or follow me. Yer choice." And he headed up and away.
Following him at a lazier pace, Miriam glanced around the bay. Half a dozen old crates lay against the walls. Dried leaves and branches scattered the crevices and corners. And a couple of four-wheel all-terrain bikes hitched with loading carts sat parked on either side of the rear entranceway. Again grabbing her skirt hem, the girl climbed the steps to the upper catwalk level, and noted the side entrances to the shuttles. Taking another series of steps to the front hallway, she gazed at the far end where the bridge would be located. Halfway to the bridge, she heard her uncle cursing in his cabin below.
"Gos se," he muttered. "Where'd I stick it?"
Miriam peered down the cabin ladder. "Uncle Jake?"
"Yeah-yeah. In 'ere!" her pseudo-uncle replied, and proceeded to lift his bunk mattress. "Ah, there it is!" And he pulled out a tied pouch of coins.
As the teenaged girl climbed down the ladder, Jayman held the bag before her.
"There ya go, Miriam. I 'preciates th' 'elp..."
She reluctantly took the bag.
Then taking her shoulders in his hands, the captain gazed at her with his mismatched eyes. "But now I mus' ask ya to leave. Was nice seein' ya again an' all, but this is gettin' all mann'r o' cumbersome. Too jumpin' messy, too jumpin' dangerous for li'l gals in flow'ry dresses. Dong ma?"
Glancing at the floor with the pouch in her hands, she suddenly raised her brown eyes and brown bag before him. "No. I'm staying with you."
~~~
Leaning back in his leather chair, Mr. Williams flipped the page of his motion-active paper and enjoyed the news of the day. Sipping a batch of green tea, he scratched the nagging itch behind his ear. Suddenly -- Knock! Knock! -- something disturbed his temporary peace.
"Come in," the gang boss replied.
The big, black and burly bodyguard entered the office and shut the door.
"So, Othello. Is it done, then?"
"Yes, Mr. Williams."
"Good," the leader nodded, and returned to his relaxing newspaper. "Very good."
~~~
As the yellow sun hung lower against the rugged horizon, the rifle-armed purple-armored squad surrounded the saloon in streaming formation. After a series of hand signals travelled from figure to figure, an officer stepped forward and stood at the front entrance.
"Zacharias Rubick!" he commanded. "By the authority of the Union of Allied Planets you are hereby bound by law! Come out with your hands up!"
~20b~
"So these guys, they were after you right? What did you do to make them so ornery?"
Rubick chuckled at the question. "Generally, there's not much point to finding out why people try to kill me. Some of them, I like to think, simply enjoy a challenge. These yu bun-duh hwoon-dahns were on the clock, though. Did a job for a local man. When his guy failed to deliver my full payment I sent him packing without his package."
"Zacharias Rubick! By the authority of the Union of Allied Planets you are hereby bound by law! Come out with your hands up!"
Rubick's head jerked up "Shah muh?" He edged to a window and glanced outside. "Wuh duh ma huh ta duh fung-kwong duh wai-shung doh! Come on, Doc, we'd best be leaving now."
~20c~
Sneaking a glance out of one of the virtual windows, the Doc quickly saw the problem.
"Ok Rubick, stitching was my area of expertise, I'm hoping that getting out of situations like this is yours... What do we do?"