by Sarah Noffke
Slowly Julianna turned and looked at Eddie with a strange expression on her face. “He knows mechanics?”
“Yeah, think we should hook him up with Hatch?” asked Eddie. They needed pilots, but that was a short-term goal. Mechanics were gold, especially for a covert operation like theirs. Thing was, the two roles usually didn’t cross like they did in Knox—not unless it was someone like Hatch, but that octopus was an exception to every rule. Most people specialized in only one occupation, at least in the military. It seemed that out here, where staying alive relied on one’s ability to diversify, people had no other choice but to become Jacks of All Trades.
“First things first,” continued Julianna. “We need to find a place to land so we can fix the fuel line. There’s no way we can make it back to ArchAngel, even if we jump.”
“Jumping would be unadvisable under the current circumstances,” said Pip from overhead.
“Whoa, who is that?” asked Knox, scanning the ship’s ceiling.
Eddie laughed and kept watching the radar. “Meet Pip, our AI. He shares headspace with Julianna. Luckily for you, our buddy Hatch managed to interface the ship so Pip could talk out loud.”
“Hello, Knox Gunnerson. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Pip.
“Uh. Hey. Thanks. Same, I guess,” said Knox, his chin tilted at the ceiling.
“How’s your arm?” Eddie asked him.
Knox looked down at the place where the bullet had gone through his arm. “It’s fine. I actually forgot about it.”
“We will get you stitched up when we get back to ArchAngel,” said Julianna.
Eddie stabbed his finger at a nearby planet on the radar. “That’s where we need to land.”
“Sagano?” asked Julianna. “Why there? I’ve got at least three other planets in closer range.”
“Because there’s a killer bar,” said Eddie.
Julianna rolled her eyes but continued to fly the ship steadily. “Of course.”
“The other planets are deemed mostly safe,” Pip informed them.
“But they don’t have a known place to get some R and R.” Eddie looked at Julianna with his best puppy-dog face. “Need a place to wash off all this sand before I crack, and I promise—only one beer. Nothing crazy.””
Julianna considered him for a moment before finally conceding. “Fine. You get your way, just this once.”
~~~
“Are you kidding me?” asked Julianna, trying to open the door against the vines that had fallen on them when they landed. “This is a fucking jungle planet. What were you thinking, bringing us here?”
“Yeah, about that… Might have forgotten to mention most of the planet is undeveloped,” said Eddie, scratching his head.
Julianna threw her shoulder into the hatch door, and branches broke behind it. She pushed it all the way down as vines snagged on the corners, mouth gaping.
“Teach, is this your idea of a practical joke?” asked Julianna, staring out at the dense jungle covered in moss and teeming with plants. Trees grew on top of trees like they’d run out of space and were playing ‘King of the Mountain.’
From the air Julianna had noticed the area being heavily covered in forest, but she’d had no idea it was this overgrown. The vegetation looked completely different from the ground. She even landed on a small platform, but it seemed no one had cleared the vines to prevent them from hanging over and obstructing it.
Eddie scoffed. “Oh, come on. If I was going to play a practical joke it would be way better.” He peered out of the ship, squinting against the greenish light filtering in from overhead. “We’re just a bit off the path. I was all turned around before, but I know where the bar is from here.”
How Eddie could understand where he was going when the jungle looked the same from every angle was beyond her. “What about the ship? Broken fuel lines, remember?” said Julianna, throwing her hand up.
“We’ll hit up Hatch when we get back here and see if he can talk us through the fix, but first this cowboy needs to clean up. There’s sand covering all my parts, if you know what I mean,” said Eddie, walking forward stiffly. “Come on, Knox, I’ll buy you a round.”
Knox, who was as crusty as Eddie, looked at Julianna tentatively as he passed.
Julianna had Pip cloak the ship as she disembarked. Above her head birds flew through the trees, chirping loudly. It had been a long time since she had been in a jungle, and the scent of the greenery brought back memories of early missions when she was younger and the job was still new to her.
After a few paces she noticed that her feet felt lighter, her chest swelled more fully, and the moist forest air had become easier to breathe. Maybe taking the detour to Sagano hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.
~~~
“Oh, look who the cat dragged in!” a burly man boomed as soon as Eddie had pushed through the swinging doors into the bar. The building didn’t really have walls. It was mostly surrounded by mesh curtains attached to its thatched roof. Bamboo poles supported the structure, and the floor was covered in handwoven mats and dirt from outside, making it feel as though it were part of the jungle.
Knox froze just beside Eddie, fists clenched at his sides, and behind them Julianna stared at the dozen locals gathered around the tiki bar.
The thick-chested man thrust out of his seat, making it fall back on the floor, and the three men at his table looked up with sneers on their dirty faces. They all had black hair and tanned skin, and their eyes were bloodshot from too many servings of Sagano moonshine—or Brick Walls, as the locals called it.
“Hey, you!” yelled the man in Eddie’s direction.
“Hey, you withered piece of dung!” Eddie yelled back. He straightened and took in the many faces that turned to look at him. Julianna stepped in front of Knox, placing herself between the boy and these ruffians.
“I didn’t think you’d ever show your face in here again!” As the man strode toward them it became clear that he was easily seven feet tall, and his chest was twice as wide as Eddie’s.
“Me either. Didn’t think I’d ever have the misfortune of seeing that disgusting, sorry excuse for a face ever again,” said Eddie.
Julianna tensed next to him, her hand twitching inches from her gun.
A loud laugh boomed from the man as he halted in front of Eddie. Julianna started to push him away, but corrected herself when he only leaned forward and pulled the Captain in for a hug, their chests bumping.
“You old sonofabitch,” bellowed the man, stepping back. “Where you been, Blackbeard?”
“Nowhere special,” said Eddie, tipping his head to Julianna and Knox. “Meet Sabien, you two. He owns the Hole in the Jungle.”
Julianna looked around. “I don’t know, I wouldn’t call it that. I like the open-air feel of it,” she said, stepping forward and taking Sabien’s hand. His eyes widened when Julianna shook it. He’d obviously tried another one of his strong-arm shakes, but he had underestimated the woman.
“No, the name of the bar is ‘Hole in the Jungle,’” explained Eddie.
Sabien laughed. “Remember the last time you were in here? It looked completely different then,” he said, motioning to the room, which was sprinkled with stools and a few tables.
“Yeah, I like the new design,” Eddie assured him.
Sabien looked at Julianna and Knox. “After the last time Blackbeard was here I had to have the entire place remodeled.”
“This piece of shit needed it,” said Eddie. “I just helped with the demolition, so you could fix things up.”
Sabien chuckled, waving him off. “He destroyed the entire bar in less than a minute. It took me weeks to renovate after that.”
“Those guys deserved it,” said Eddie, watching as three men got up and left via the back entrance. There were still roughly ten people in the bar.
Sabien chuckled. “Friends of Eddie’s are probably trouble, but what the hell? Saddle up to the bar. Drinks on the house for you two.” Sabien motioned to Julianna
and Knox. “I’d say the same for Blackbeard, but I’d have no stock left. I’ll buy you one drink, old friend, but that’s my limit.”
Eddie smiled widely, looking at Julianna. “Appearances might be a little deceiving if you think I’m the one you’ve got to worry about. Right, Jules?”
Sabien dismissed this and marched toward the bar. “Two Brick Walls for these folks, and a Singapore Sling for the lady,” he called to the bartender, who was a short man with shifty eyes, a round belly, and a flat nose. He was polishing glasses, but he nodded to the bar owner and went to work making the drinks.
“I’m not sure about a Brick Wall,” said Eddie. “I’ve got to keep my wits about me. I have to fly later.”
“You’re flying again, Blackbeard? That’s great,” Sabien exclaimed. A few of the men at a table nearby looked up, their attention piqued. Sabien glanced out the nearby window. “Where’s your ride?”
“We parked it over there,” said Eddie, pointing in the opposite direction of where the Q-Ship was located. Julianna caught this and narrowed her eyes as she surveyed the bar. Eddie slammed an open palm on the bar. “I’ll take a Blue Ale.”
“All we’ve got are Douglas Adams here,” the guy said.
Eddie nodded. “Fine, we’ll take two of those, as long as they’re cold.”
“So, Blackbeard,” Sabien said, “I have to know. Why do you look like absolute shit?”
Eddie ran his hand over his face and sand sprinkled away. He’d nearly forgotten he was still so filthy. “Oh, that. We got stuck in a storm. Think you can help us out?” He motioned to Knox and the bandage on his arm.
“Washroom is over there, same as before.” Sabien pointed a finger toward a side area where the mesh curtains were parted.
“All right. Let’s go, Knox,” said Eddie. “The water in the basins is full of parasites, but I think I’d prefer that over getting more sand in my eyes. We’ll just have to take an immune booster when we get home.”
“I heard that!” barked Sabien.
~~~
The bartender slid a pink drink in a tall glass in front of Julianna. It was garnished with something that looked like pineapple but had spikes on the skin.
“What’s that?” asked Julianna, looking at Sabien and pointing at the frilly drink.
“That’s a Singapore Sling, a classy drink for a classy little lady,” he said, his tone different than when he spoke to Eddie. “Don’t you worry, there’s not too much liquor in there. You won’t even taste it.”
Julianna eyed the drink like it was a slimy Trid head on a stick.
“Go on there, honey, taste it. You’ll like it. Real sweet. About like you, I’m sure,” said Sabien.
Julianna’s jaw clenched and she pushed the drink away. “Look, honey, I appreciate the drink, but if it’s all the same I’ll take one of those Brick Walls.”
Sabien chuckled dismissively and leaned casually on the bar, making it groan from his weight. “That’s funny. Those are too strong for you. We call them ‘Brick Walls’ for a reason, if you get me.” He winked at her.
“I think you’re one who doesn’t understand. I’d like to try one of those.” Julianna lifted her eyes and looked at the bartender, who was pretending to not listen to the exchange. “Thanks for this drink, but I can’t drink anything pink. It will make me break out in hives. A Brick Wall instead.”
The bartender looked at Sabien, who nodded reluctantly. “Give the lady what she wants.” He turned to Julianna. “So how do you know Blackbeard?”
Julianna was aware that everyone in the bar was pretending to not listen to them. “We work together.”
“Work together, eh? What kind of work is he doing these days? Still beating up pirates and getting himself into trouble?” Sabien scratched his stubbled chin.
The bartender slid a tumbler half-filled with an amber liquid in front of Julianna. “Thanks,” she said, not looking at the guy.
“Take it slow. Take a sniff of it, and if you can handle that you can try sipping the stuff,” said Sabien, his voice cautious.
Julianna picked up the tumbler and slung the drink back. It ran down her throat, filling her insides with warmth. It didn’t burn like she’d figured it would, but it coated her mouth and made her lips pucker.
“Whoa!” Sabien exclaimed as he straightened, his dark eyes wide. “You’re gonna feel that, honey.”
Julianna blinked and looked around the bar, not really affected by the shot. It had just made her fingers tingle. She slammed the tumbler on the bar. “I’ll take a double this time.”
Sabien shook his head, looking from the questioning bartender to Julianna. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“I thought you said it was all on the house for us? You’re not going back on that now are you, darling?” asked Julianna. The guys at the table weren’t even making a show of not paying attention now, and the ones at the bar kept looking at the exits. For fuck’s sake, Teach had known what he was doing coming to this bar, she thought. He had been looking for a drink and a bit of something else.
The bartender complied, filling her glass. “Leave the bottle,” she ordered, and the bottle hovered over the surface of the bar for a moment before he set it all the way down.
Eddie and Knox returned just as Julianna took a long sip of the drink, not throwing it back like the first. Both guys’ hair was still dripping wet, like they’d submerged their heads in buckets of water. Knox’s Mohawk was slicked back, and about the same color as Eddie’s dark hair.
“I feel better,” said Eddie, taking the freshly opened bottle of beer and sitting on the bar.
Sabien was still regarding Julianna like she was a new species. “Your lady—she’s a bit different, ain’t she?” he asked Eddie.
Julianna threw the drink back. She was a bit impatient that the liquor wasn’t even giving her a buzz, so with a steady hand she picked up the bottle and poured another.
“She’s not my lady, and you might want to watch how you talk about her if you value your life,” said Eddie, taking a sip of his beer.
Sabien shook his head of greasy black hair like he was trying to shake away a strange thought. “I don’t know how you do it, Blackbeard. You’re always—”
A loud bang erupted from the other side of the bar, and Julianna lazily looked up. A man about as big as Sabien had just pushed through the swinging doors, making them crack against the support posts.
“Blackbeard…” the man growled, chin low and black eyes smoldering. “How dare you return!”
Eddie rolled his eyes like he’d just encountered a mild inconvenience. “I dared, if you can believe it.”
“Cousin, I told you that you were only welcome here if you didn’t cause trouble.” Sabien stepped forward.
Cousin? Julianna examined the two giant men, suddenly noticing their resemblance to one another even though it wasn’t easy to spot. The one who had just entered was a great deal uglier, and had deep wrinkles around his mouth and eyes like he’d spent far too long in the sun.
The man looked past Sabien and pinned his eyes on Eddie. “And I told you, Sabien, I’d be okay as long as that maggot didn’t show back up.” Behind the man were the guys who had fled the bar earlier, their faces angry now.
Eddie took a long drink of his beer before slamming it onto the bar, and unhurriedly looked at the man. “Ink, are you still beating up on poor souls who land on Sagano and taking half of their supplies as ‘tax?’” There was a new heat in Eddie’s voice—a vengeance Julianna had seen before. It reminded her of the first time she’d met him back in the Five Trees Bar.
“What me and my boys do is none of your business. I think I told you that before,” said Ink, balling up one of his fists and punching the massive palm of his other hand.
“And I thought I taught you a lesson last time.” Eddie approached the other man but Sabien was still between them, looking at each and trying to decide what to do.
“You taught me nothing. A guy’s got to make a living, and th
at’s all we’re doing,” said Ink.
“By pillaging the innocent? Why don’t you try getting a job like your cousin?” asked Eddie, shaking his head at the brute.
Julianna took a casual sip of her drink and let her eyes drift to Knox, who was scanning the bar. If he was paying attention to the nonverbal cues, then he knew that half the bar were Ink’s supporters. The rest just wanted to get drunk and had no horse in this race. The bartender, though...he was the fucking problem, Julianna observed, watching the round man continue to polish glasses and pretend not to notice the growing disturbance.
Ink cracked his knuckles in the palm of his other hand and laughed, pasting a wide sneer on his face. “You still not okay with the Saganoans taking what belongs to us?”
“I’m not okay with you bullying everyone who lands here,” said Eddie.
“I’ve got to make a living,” said Ink.
“Sell a fucking product, like liquor.” Eddie jerked a thumb in Sabien’s direction. He’d backed off, mouth pursed and head shaking at his cousin.
“Ink, you know how I feel about what you do,” said Sabien.
“So you’re just going to sit by once again while I teach this maggot-breath a lesson?” asked Ink.
“I believe it was your head that I stuck through the bar the last time,” said Eddie, indicating the new and still-pristine bar.
“Well, things will be different this time.” The two men beside Ink stepped up, each pulling a long stick from behind his back. They were essentially batons, but had been painted black and had nails hammered through them, making them sharper and harder in places.
Julianna still hadn’t risen from her place at the bar, and now she picked up the bottle and poured another glass. Knox was vibrating with nerves, she observed. She caught his attention and as she brought the glass to her lips she mouthed the words, “No guns.”
His anxious eyes widened, but he gave a minute nod.
“Sorry, Cousin, but unless you kick these scum out I’m going to have to tear up the bar again,” said Ink to Sabien.