| Little White Lies | |
| Summary: | The day after a particularly ugly brawl at the Rockhopper's, some of the participants make the mistake of going back. Much to their chagrin, one of the Kommissars is investigating the incident, and ends up asking some questions. The real question, though, is just how much of what he gets from them is the truth? |
| Cast: | Goldenfur, Khotek, Swiftfoot, Wiendrbac |
| Air Date: | 2006.02.20 |
| Rockhopper's Haven <Resilience: Ungstir> |
| ...........................................................................
This cavernous chamber in the natural rock of the Ungstir planetoid appears to be some kind of converted mining operation facility, with large, rusty ore grinders, separation platforms and storage silos arrayed throughout. Automated ore-hauling bots - still functional despite age - whir and clunk overhead, following tracks set into the ceiling that weave around the antiquated mining equipment. Metal-seated stools border a semicircular bar counter which is about one hundred feet long from end to end. The bartender is usually clad in mining gear - complete with hardhat and overalls - and it doesn't always appear to be just for purposes of keeping in theme. The Rockhopper's Haven has a reputation as a rough spot among rough spots, with fisticuffs and gunfights erupting on a fairly regular basis - thus keeping the civilian constabulary on their toes (when they aren't actually involved in the fights themselves). ........................................................................... |
Khotek is standing at the bar talking to the barkeep, Sven. He arches an eyebrow. "Zo vaz zhere anyzhink different about zhiz brawl? You should be uzed to zhiz kind of zhink, nyet?" He pulls the PDA from his pocket once more to take notes.
Goldenfur enters the bar looking around, he cleaning his left claw by some motive.
Swiftfoot pads into the tavern, making her way to the bar. She looks around briefly before her eyes come to rest on the barkeep and the Kommissar. The felinoid takes a seat at the counter, the end of her tail flicking patiently.
"Told you, da. second time in as man days that the same group comes in here throwing this place apart, da. Yesterday it was Ranix and two others i didnt' recognize hoopin chasing a man. Got to tell you, the four of them all looked like they'd seen better days, da. And then yesterday it was one of tose men from the day before starting a hoopin brawl by hitting one of my regulars in the head and then turning this place upside down, da." Sven replies, grabbing a bar towel.
Goldenfur enters the bar and sit down on a stoll, then he ask for water and milk, then he look to the news at the Holoviewer and exclaim aloud "Damn!!!" then he thinks a little and say "AAAAAAH!!!"
Khotek nods as he enters the information into this pad. "Zo Kaptitan Ranix knowz zomezhink about zhiz. Intereztink...Vhat about zhiz man. Can you tell me how he looked?" The kommissar pulls a barstool a little closer and takes a seat while he listens. He glances over at Goldenfur but decides not to say anything just yet.
Swiftfoot flicks her ears at the other Demarian's exclamation, then looks over that way. After a moment, she gets up from her seat and pads over to him, sitting down beside him and leaning close to murmur, "Goldenfurr, what's wrrong? And do keep yourr voice down, meh? The Kommissarr is trrying to talk to the barrkeep about last night, I think."
Sven's head turns towards Goldenfur as he sits at the bar, "There's one of them!" he says in Mierzkynovy, "Hoopin bringing two furballs in here to tear the place up." he curses then turns her attention back to Khotek, "Ranix and Wiendrbac where both here last night. Recognized them both, da. Ranix eve jumped up onto my bar top." he shakes his head, "The kid who stared it all was wearing a green jacket, human maybe, young but ol enough to know better. Lotta scars on his face."
Goldenfur his ears stand up when he hear the talk and Sven ponting at him, them he walk near Khotek and say "Hi Kommissar, wazzup?" then he look again to the Holoviewer, it seens that the last news still attract his atention.
Tek peers at Goldenfur for a moment before saying, "I vill zpeak vizh you in a zecond." He returns his attention to Sven. "Zo...Kapitan Ranix and Kapitan Wiendrbac vere here...and a young humanoid vherink a kreen jacket vizh zcarz on his faze, da?"
Goldenfur look to the Kommissar with a weird air and flick his left ear, then he turns again to the holoviewer still waiting for the milk and the water.
Swiftfoot quirks an eyeridge, and flicks her tail so that it thwaps against Goldenfur's leg, trying to get his attention. "I think you'rre going to be waiting awhile forr that orrderr, chief. What's the prroblem with the news? All I saw was a bit about a Phyrrian orr something."
"Those were some of them." Sven replies, "But i told you, hoopin lot of them tearing this place up. Few miners too, hoopin Ungstiri who should know better. This rate we'll be Tomin Kora before the day is out." he replies, drying the glass in his hand. "Hoopin men showing up dead in the gray corridor, bar fights, Phyrrians knocking on the docks...hoop. Something has to be done, da." he takes the glass in his left hand waving towards Goldenfur and suddenly catching sight of Swiftfoot, "There, that was the other hoopin Demarian, da. Clawing at people in here. You want to know everone that was here, talk to them, da. *I* sure don't hopin know them by name. But i bet you those two do, da."
Goldenfur smiles when he say Swifty and he start to swing his tail around happily "Hi Swifty, well, the RTO phyrrian was the one hunting me... But I do not want to see he dismantled... I want to see him repaired..."
Khotek nods and enters more information into his pad. "I zee, zhank you." He looks over to Swiftfoot and takes a deep breath. "You do realize zhat you and your AES friendz are involved vizh zhe majority of major brawlz zhat take place here, da? Vhat can you tell me about vhat happened?"
Swiftfoot flicks an ear towards the barkeep, and sighs, muttering under her breath. "So much forr having a quiet drrink this morrning," she laments, shaking her head in disgust. As the Kommissar draws close, she blinks owlishly up at him, one eyeridge quirked. "Actually, I think this is the firrst 'brrawl' that I've everr been in herre. You'rre perrfectly frree to check up on that, if you like. Mika and Torr, perrhaps, werre involved in a few, but they arre not herre, meh?" The felinoid shrugs, and continues. "All I know is that one of the minerrs shoved Captain Wiendrrbac, said something about getting hit in the head. I didn't see Jack hit him, though. Then Goldenfurr went overr to trry to assist the good captain in calming the man down, at which point, one of the minerr's frriends got up and took a swing at him. I do apologize forr the use of my claws, by the way, but I found myself facing a man with a brroken bottle in hand, afterr getting up to attempt to help calm the situation down myself, and felt the need to defend myself accorrdingly. I -did- do my best not to injurre him lethally, in any case, and I sincerrely hope he's okay."
Goldenfur smiles when he hear Swifty and flick his left ear, while still swing his tail.
Tek nods. "Intereztink, very intereztink. Vere you here vhen Marlan jumped onto zhe bar," he asks. "And if zo, do you know vhy?"
Goldenfur laugh a little then try to comtrol himself.
Jack walks into the bar, putting a hat on his head.
Swiftfoot flicks an ear, and nods. "Rranix climbed onto the barr in an attempt to get the attention of herr crrewmemberrs, and tell them to stand down. At that point, the fight stopped, and things went back to norrmal, such as it is." The felinoid shrugs, and offers a ghost of a smile. "Therre's nothing sinisterr going on herre, to my knowledge, but like I said, this is the firrst time I've been herre when something like this happens."
Goldenfur just swing his tail around in a random pattern hearing Swifty and the Kommissar
Sven speaks up from where he stands behidn the bar, "Well its not the first time that it happens, da. If they're not fighting over a timonae, they're chasing people in here or turning the place on its head. I've had enough of it, da. Enough of them *and* of the miners that were hoopin involved in this nonsense yesterday. This is the rocks, da. The rules need to apply to everyone."
Tek glances around for a moment as he listens to Swifty. He spots Jack and smirks slightly. "Over here Jack," he calls out when Swifty is done speaking. The kommissar glances back at Sven. "You knew zhe type of job you vere takink here. I realize zhat zheze zhinkz should not be koink on but you knew zhat it vaz pozzible." He then returns his attention to the female Demarian. "Very kood. Vhat about zhe young humanoid zhat vherez a kreen jacket. Zhe vone vizh many zcarz on hiz faze?"
Jack continues up to the bar, offering a companionable smile, obviously unaware that he might be getting discussed. "Howdy. Could I have a vodka on the rocks?" Tek hailing him gets a look, the La Terran putting on a forced smile, and holding up a finger as if to ask for a moment.
Swiftfoot eyes the barkeep briefly, then turns her gaze back to the Kommissar, her tail flicking. "Rranix was not involved in the brrawl, so therre's rreally no rreason to punish herr, meh? And frrom the look on herr face, she intended forr those involved to catch thrree differrent kinds of hell. Maybe fourr." She quirks an eyeridge, tapping one claw against the table. "I think I may have seen such a perrson, but I can't be surre. Things went south fast last night, meh?" The Demarian offers an apologetic shrug. "I'll let you know if I think of anything else, though. I still have yourr contact inforrmation frrom the last time we spoke."
Khotek nods. "Zhere iz no reazon to punish Marlon zhat I have heard. I only needed to know ekzactly how she vaz involved, da?" He presses a few more buttons on the datapad and glances back at Wiendrbac. "You have vone minute," he says. "You know zhat zhere iz too much koink on for me to be here all day."
Sven turns, eyeing Wiendrbac with a scowl, "Looking to tear this place up again?" he asks nontheless grabbing a glass from behind the bar. He turns to Khotek, "See him there Ask him aout yesterday, da. As him about a couple of weeks ago when him and the kid from yesterday went at it over some Timonae. Or about yesteray when the same hoopin kid ran in with ranix and the other two, looking like they'd just gone 10 rounds in the gray, da." Sven grabs the vodka bottle and shakes his head as he pours into the glass, "No hoopin problem with the occasional brawl, da. But when you got offworlders bringing it in here to rough it up." he shakes his head, "They don't know the way things work aroudn here, da."
Jack rolls his eyes at Sven, takes the glass, pours it down his throat in one quick motion. "Twenty seconds left, bye." Jack says, turning and walking quickly to the door. If he leaves before his minutes up, that means it's ok, right?
Swiftfoot flicks an ear and leans close to Goldenfur. "So what's that about the Phyrrian?" she murmurs to the other Demarian, but her eyes stay on Jack and the Kommissar.
"Ztop right zhere Kapitan," the Kommissar says. "I zukgezt you ket over here. Az I zaid, I do not have time for zhe kamez. Let'z juzt keep zhiz zimple and comply, da?"
Goldenfur smiles and say "RTO was the phyrrian hunting me, Zeta is a phyrrian that repair other phyrrians, I think that he called for help to repair RTO, but I hear that the overmind is going to destroy it instead of repairing it, and he is a good worker..."
Jack sighs, stopping and turning back around. "Airenei janeiU janeiU ces'Edien elei einu da'aeu aden'nar meJai ces'Edien einu Sarie'a Aroosae dharna meJai nahlieen aden'nar" The La Terran puts on a smile for the Chief. "Whatever, man. Just ask your questions so I can go."
Swiftfoot blinks at Goldenfur, shaking her head. "They'rre just machines, meh? How can a machine be a 'good worrkerr'?" She flicks an ear, and shrugs. "And don't they always dismantle defective... taskerrs, I think they'rre called? Brreak them down forr parrts orr something?" The felinoid blinks at Jack briefly, tilting her head to the side.
Goldenfur thinks a little and say "I think that you are right..."
Khotek narrows his eyes but decides to keep a few thoughts to himself. "Don't forze a zmile for me," he says before getting to business. "Zo, who vaz zhe kid zhat you and Marlan vere chazink around in here?"
"My love child, sir." Jack says, keeping the frozen smile. "He got out of my bonds in the Artemis or something while I went to go to the phone. Last time I go talk on the phones and instead of finishing my business."
"Who said anything about chasing a kid in here?" Sven asks, jumping into the conversation, "hoop. Tell 'em to send me a Kommissar thats listening, da. No hoopin wonder nothing gets done in here. The hooping offworlder was on their side, da. And HE." he points forcefully towards Wiendrbac, "Wasn't in here night before last when Ranix, the kid and the other guy came running in here afer the suit, da."
The Kommissar stops for a moment to rub his temples. "korfka erumuten nyetski kevkiev shorshk kevkiev myork yargh ugh myork erumuten ogrog ousuie erumuten kevkiev kevkiev por ogrog gorg myork nyetski erumuten korfka ogrog yargh gorg kevkiev shorshk erumuten nyetski por ogrog erumuten blug-blug nyetski yargh yargh kevkiev gorg erumuten" He takes a deep breath the returns his attention to Jack, speaking in his usual calm tone. "So what about the brawl? Did you hit or bump into the patron before he shoved you?"
Swiftfoot blinks, and fishes a PDA out of one of her pockets, looking at it. She sighs, and smiles apologetically at Goldenfur, pocketing the device. "I'd like to stay, chief, but I should get going. I've things to get rready forr tonight's worrk." She stands and heads toward the door, her tail flicking idly.
"aden'nar dharna Sarie'a Sarie'a dharna dharna Sarie'a L'lannei Airenei janeiU ces'Edien elei da'aeu Sarie'a meJai meJai janeiU" Jack responds to the torrent in the foreign language. "I didn't. He just shoved me. Said something hit him."
Goldenfur thinks a little and stay here looking to them after saying bye to Swifty.