Ash Quillan was wiping off the spilled cheap beer on the bar counter with a rag when the door hissed open behind him.He didn't look up right away. Because he already knew who it was.
The Hounds. Same old mercenary thugs you see on every shitty planet and station in the galaxy.
Four sets of heavy boots came in.A bunch of bulky figures with thick, scavenged armor bolted straight into skin and muscle.
Despite being dull headed and treated as fodder by the elites these are some brute bastards with thick hides.
They moved like men who are used to people getting out of the way. Their leader Korv stepped in last. Well by leader, the one who can speak in few coherent sentences compared to his comrades. Guess there's No voting system among these brutes, Ash thought.
Korv slammed his hand on the table, jolting the bottles and glasses.
Old man Han Wei came out from the back room. He looks way older nowadays, with the lines deeper around his eyes.
"Korv," Han said. No warmth in his voice.
"Fee's due," Korv answered. "Eighty credits. Now.
Han paused. "We agreed on sixty."
"New rule," Korv said. "Station rates went up. You pay, or we collect from the tables. And the people sitting at them."
Han walked behind the counter, crouched down, and opened the small safe bolted under the register.
"You know, do you guys ever think about getting a decent enough job?" Ash couldn't help but rub it in, even with the risk of his head getting mashed.
"Like you, weakling?" Korv grunted and backhanded him.
"Ouch!! That hurts, fucker."
Thankfully Han took the grinning Korv's attention away by sliding a thin pouch across the metal surface.
"That's all there is," he said.Korv took the pouch but didn't open it. Just weighed it in his palm for a moment.
"Short."
"It's what I got," Han repeated.
Korv looked at Ash for a second, then back at Han Wei."Tomorrow," he said. "Rest of it. Or else."He flexed his knuckles.
A faint red-orange shimmer ran along the edges of his gauntlet then faded.
Ash saw it. Oh, and he knew exactly what it was. Its something that had haunted him for years and still does.
Pulse Surge.
He looked away.The glow was gone as quick as it came, but it left a sour taste in his throat. He know korv is only Tier 1. Its the lowest level but it's still enough to intimidate normal people. Korv laughed, a short ugly sound, knowing he'd gotten under Ash's skin.
Then he left with his henchmen.The entire bar exhaled collectively .
Han stared at the door for a long moment, then rubbed his face with both hands.
"Looks like a rough evening, huh. I mean, it's pretty normal for you guys," someone said as they slid into the chair next to Ash.
"Well, you look great as well, Rhea," Ash said, glancing at her. Despite looking like she just crawled out from under scraps, she was no pushover. At Tier 2 she's even strong enough to handle her own against the Hounds if she wanted to. But yeah, she never wanted to. Her Metal Weave is famous in the station for how efficient it is and yet how terrifying it can be.
She took a sip from her glass.
"They're getting greedy," she said quietly.
Han sighed. "Always were."
Ash leaned on the counter. "But Sixty to eighty in one week is just outrageous". "That's bold even for them."
Rhea glanced at him. "They know Han won't fight. And they know most people here can't either."
Han looked over at her. "Well young lady, then maybe you could've said something."
Rhea shrugged one shoulder. "its not worth it. I might win, but the bar would lose half its walls and furniture's. And I like this bar."
Ash smiled. "Excuses"
"Well, look at who's talking. You better put some ice on it, Ash," she said, lightly tapping his cheek. "You've got to admit even those thick headed thugs can be a force if they're in numbers."
"Anyways…"She set her glass down. "I found something worth scavenging. An old core freighter drifted inside the belt."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Worth the trip?"
"If we're quick," she said. "Before the Hounds or someone else claims it."
"let's do it tomorrow then," he said.
Rhea nodded. "Tomorrow."
Ash picked up an empty glass someone had left on the counter. As his fingers closed around it, he felt a faint warmth in his palm. For half a second he imagined the air around his hand shimmered thin, silver, almost invisible then it was gone.
He frowned.Nothing. Same as always.
He touched his cheek where Korv had backhanded him. It was already starting to swell.He grabbed a rag, wrapped a few ice cubes from the chiller in it, and pressed it to his face. The cold stung.
He sat there for a while after that, the bar slowly emptying around him. Eventually Ash set the rag down, said goodnight to nobody in particular and went to bed.He didn't sleep well that night. After turning and twisting for a while, at some point exhaustion won and he fell asleep.Then the light came. Blinding and white, pressing in from every direction at once. Not painful exactly, but smothering. Ash couldn't move nor speak.
He woke up gasping, one hand pressed against his chest. Just a dream. He checked the time and found it's morning already.
He rolled out of bed, pulled on the jacket, and stepped into the main room. Han Wei was already up.
Ash wondered, not for the first time, how the hell the old man was always up in this freezing cold. Did he even sleep? Han looked up when Ash walked in.
His mouth curved into a small grin.
"Looking good, Ash."Ash raised an eyebrow, then caught his reflection in the mirror behind the bar.
A bruise bloomed across the right side of his face, slightly swollen.
"Wow. That bastard really did me dirty."
Han grunted. "Should've kept your mouth shut."
"Yeah. I learned my lesson. I'm not gonna say anything even if he sets fire to the bar next time."Ash rubbed the bruise again. "Still stings like hell."
Han slid a mug of hot tea across the counter.
"Drink. And don't go picking fights today."Ash took the mug.
"I'd rather fight than drink this cursed tea."
"By the way, Ash, Rhea left a message for you on the comms a while ago," Han said. "You should check what it is."
"Really? And why didn't she link with me directly?"
Ash checked his wrist link. The screen was dead."Oh crap," he muttered.
Han nodded, like he expected it.
Ash sighed and clicked on the comm pad behind the counter.
It came to life with a burst of radio static, then Rhea's voice crackled through."Han, you better tell that oaf to haul his ass off the bed and be here in thirty. And for god's sake, ask him to ditch that crappy outdated wrist link. Hell, I'll even build him one for free at this point."
Static hissed, then the comm cut off.Ash winced.
"Well.. that could've gone way worse," he said.
Han gave a small shrug.
"Anyways, let me just get ready before she comes here directly to pick me up."
Ten minutes later Ash was out and on his way to the deck when Han called after him.
"Oh, and Ash, don't forget that Zhang's ship is docking today. Be there on time. You know it might take months for another shipment to arrive, and we're already running short on stock."
"Don't worry, Old Man. Have I ever missed a shipment?"
Ash grinned, then took off.