Garrus and Lily had been there for Nathan since the start of this venture and even before it; so he needed to repay that debt, not to mention they were really the only two friends that he had. Tesla, he had only known her for all of a week and her motivation was questionable at best; at least, in his own mind. Casually striding down the street in the patchy blanket that Gilarose had thrown over him; thankful for it, as he slowed down and the frightful chill of the area settled into him. Devoid of much light and being an artificial planet, the only places on Roshire that really had heat were those that could afford to have machines do it for them.
Looking around him, Nathan realized that the area was a perfect representation of his current situation; a decrypted region run down to the lowest possible pits and left with little but the scraps from the big dog’s table. Feeling infinitely smaller than he had just a few days ago, the former janitor pulled the covering around his body, tightening it about himself as the chills of the region passed over him. Bumps ran up and down his neck, which made him pause and realize that many people were looking at him, half with pity and half with disgust. Some of the other citizens appeared to have gotten the wrong idea about his current living situation and were snubbing their noses up at him.
Great, now people think I’m a broke-ass beggar as well. What a wonderful turn of events. Freezing that thought, the captain shuffled around the corridor where he had bumped into the actual bottom of society. They were still huddled around their flames, holding their hands outward and warming themselves; with the exception of the one he had passed his jacket to. Tesla and Zephyr were no were in sight, meaning that either they took a different route or the poor aliens didn’t want to test their luck. The alien wearing Nathan’s coat waved him over and thrust the man’s hands towards the fire; which sent cascades of warmth and comfort rippling across the back of his hands.
“You know…I don’t really feel right just taking your coat. So here, let me give you a little something as thanks for what you done for me. It ain’t much, but I figure you got more use for it than I do.” Reaching down into a pile of trash bags, that looked to be the same place that he slept; the destitute simply handed a book to Nathan. Looking it over, the captain saw the title: Nineteen Eighty-Four pausing, the captain looked back up to the poor man, blowing off some of the dust and seeing that the print and most of the book was largely undamaged. Some cracks here and there remained, but aside from dust and maybe a cobweb or two, it was in perfect condition.
“I don’t think you realize what you’re giving me. This is a piece of human history, this book was written by one of the most respected human authors ever; not to mention the fact that you have a physical manuscript at all is…stupefying. Books stopped being circulated when the inter-linking of human internet with the inter-galatic net emerged; companies privatized the internet, creating censorship of it, combined with clear and draconian regulations that forbid any sort of hacking or pirating of information. When the Earth government was linked up, there were numerous jailings, executions and several riots regarding the issue. Yet, ultimately humans were forced to concede to the regulations put on by other governments. This….this shouldn’t even exist….how did you get it?” The alien just scratched its nose for a moment, rolling his shoulders before starring back up for a moment.
“It’s the last thing I got to my family name and I know that I’m going to die soon. I don’t have any kids and these streets are bad enough; I don’t know how my family came in possession of it, I just want you to have it. Kindness is a rare thing around these parts and it shouldn’t go unpaid. So thank you, now get outta here, you don’t need to be hanging around a bunch of tramps like us.” Shooing Nathan away, the alien went back to his fire; leaving the Captain to trot through the darkness alone and come back to the scene where he had found Lily and Garrus wounded. Ludma was sitting at the café, quietly drinking a cup of tea as she shivered lightly; obviously rattled from all the events that had just occurred. It seemed that everything that had happened, had just really hit her. Completely in shock, her jitters wouldn’t stop leaving Nathan to rest his hand upon her shoulder. She nearly flung her tea into his face.
“Dear God, don’t sneak up on me like that!” She cried at him, before the Captain rose his eyebrow slowly.
“I walked right in front of you for at least five minutes.”
“Oh…Christ….Nathan just….” She rubbed her face, quietly looking at him, then to the book in his hand then back towards the repair crews that were trying to fix the damage that had been caused by Zephyr’s little rampage. “Did, you get the red-headed slut back? I’m assuming no, since she’s not wrapped around your dick.”
“No, she’s coming back….we’re….going to have more guests as well.”
Ludma’s eyes would turn to slits the moments that he said more guests; her hand coming up to her face as she began to rub at it slowly. “What did you do?”
“Long story short, I helped a pimp set up shop at the inn….or at least gave him a pointer to it. Yeah, it ain’t glorious and don’t give me that look; we’re bankrupt right now. The cover I’m wearing actually came from one of his two girls, as a thanks for beating off that bastard. Sadly, that bastard is Tesla’s husband and….he’s coming too.” Ludma just stared at Nathan in further shock before standing up and inhaling deeply, then turning back around and slapping him.
“Are you FUCKING INSANE? You go to get her back and come back with four extra mouths to feed, three of them being street filth and the last one being a murdering psychopath!?” Shaking profusely, she threw up her hands, covering her eyes and then just grabbing him by the collar. “I swear to everything that is holy, if I wasn’t dependent upon you for survival, I would slit your throat where you stand.”
“Let go of me now, or I swear I will make you relive Waquil in the back-alley. I can promise you, no one here would give a shit either.” Ludma flinched for a moment, looking at Nathan like a wounded puppy as he dusted off his shirt from where she had gripped it. “Good girl, now…can you tell me where they took Garrus and Lily?”
“Th….they took them to the nearest hospital, it’s about three city blocks down from here and five floors up. The paramedics administered gauss and various healing chemical’s to Lily right away; said she would be fine after a day of rest, Garrus they weren’t so sure about. Granted, when they checked his credit account, they had this….flash in their eyes; like they were going to make a fortune.”
“Fucking greedy bastards.” Nathan commented at the end of, looking down at Ludma who flinched when he leaned forward. Getting his body closer against hers, she wanted to shrink away, but was about as low into her seat as she could go without making a major scene. That being the last thing either of them wanted. “Good work Ludma, head back to the inn; I’m sure you’ll recognize the people when they arrive. You’ll probably beat everyone, but Tesla and Zephyr, Zephyr being the crazy one that attacked us. Well…regardless, inform the inn-keeper that more guests are coming and see if we can’t get a referral deal at the least.”
“Ok….” She responded, shaking a bit before Nathan pecked her softly on the forehead, then teased her hair a little bit.
“Don’t be such a chicken, I wouldn’t actually do it.” Ludma immediately hauled out and punched Nathan in his jaw before storming off in a huff.
“You’re a fucking asshole!” Merely smiling as she wandered away, he would right his hat and begin to bundle up the shawl that Gilarose had given him. It was much warmer in the central area and he could feel the heat coming off of his body. Slipping into small pipe that was resting near the shop, Nathan fished in his pockets for some spare credits and slipped five into the machine. Once that had been done, he quietly punched in the location nearest to the hospital and felt a small throb in his head, probably a concussion. Gradually, the pod began to fill with a gel like substance; it was comprised of the same components in the atmosphere that he needed to breathed, so it wasn't a problem. What was though, was the fact that it was in a liquid state, which made it awkward to inhale. Holding still, he could feel the pod drop from beneath him, sending him hurtling through a network of transit tubes for short distance travel. It only took about ten seconds to reach the hospital; which would have snapped his neck if the fluid he was encased in hadn't been a special non-Newtonian substance that was just about to immune to intense kinetic energies. When it stopped, the fluid simply drained out, leaving Nathan slightly damp before a short wave of light passed over him, removing all traces of the fluid and dampness.
Stepping out of the pod and nearly tripping in his disorientation following this; Nathan wobbled for a moment, then managed to get his bearings and head into the hospital. Getting stopped, he was sat down in the lobby. “How can we help you today?” A floating ball of an alien asked as it wandered closer to him; it had three eyes on the top part which were swiveling around looking four clipboards that it was holding, two hands holding pencils, while the other two flipped through the lists of names. Blinking a few times at the outfitted ball of steels and yellow flesh, Nathan would say the name of his two companions; at which point, the alien said found them. “I’m sorry sir, we can’t let you see them at this time, Mr. Arkham is still in critical condition and is being operated on; Mrs. Lily meanwhile is being held for examination of her wounds. She should be out momentarily, if you would like to wait.”
A. Wait and read Nineteen Eighty-Four
B. Leave
C. Question the help further.
