In The Mirror
Posted on Tue Jul 5th, 2011 @ 5:05am by Jan Valentine & Krall Masayaf
789 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Session 5: Rush
Location: Darkstar Bar
The Darkstar bar was a rundown dump hidden away from the hustle of the trading area, tucked away behind an atmospheric processor.
Jan knocked back another shot of booze. The bar tender claimed that it was vodka, but it's taste and clouded appearance did nothing to confirm the mystery drink's identity. This was his 17th drink of the night.
"Give me another." Jan said to the bar tender.
"Geez buddy, I ain't ever seen someone pound down drinks like you. I got something real strong back here. Don't usually give it to customers, pure, uncut Bolian fire water, and I guarantee it'll knock even you on your ass." The bartender said, pulling out a dusty, cylindrical bottle.
"Hell, I'm game! Give me a round!" Jan said, slamming down his glass.
The bar tender dusted off the bottle, and poured Jan a small amount of firewater, spilling a drop onto the counter. The counter proceeded to smoke as the fire water burned through the surface of the counter.
"To enemies long since forgotten, may they rest in pieces." Jan said, raising his glass.
Just as he was about to take a sip of what was probably certain death, Jan noticed a familiar figure appear in the mirror on the back wall of the bar. Zooming in on the reflection with his eyepiece, he enhanced the dimly lit reflection. It was an aging Cardassian, he looked around and took a seat at a table near the door.
"Shit..." Jan said lowly, setting his glass down.
"Backing out now?" The bartender said.
"Yeah, The crowd here isn't to my liking anymore." Jan said, glancing toward the door.
The bartender looked towards the front door, and noticed the arriving Cardassian.
"Ah, well that fire water would probably have been like drinking drain cleaner. Your total is 85 strips of latinum." The bartender said.
Jan paid the man using his data pad, and quietly stepped away from the counter.
Jan tried to blend in with the crowd, but with the late hour and relative obscureness of the bar, there wasn't much crowd to speak of.
As he approached the exit, Jan confirmed the identity of the Cardassian. It was of all people, Krall Masayaf, the man that chased him off of Flausten. Jan hoped the man wouldn't look over as he left, but fate wasn't on his side. Krall looked over and locked eyes with him, and a look of shock and rage appeared on his face.
"VALENTINE!" Krall shouted, knocking the table over as he stood up.
"Shit!" Jan exclaimed, whipping out a slug thrower, an automatic stechkin today, and proceeded to fire off an entire magazine, riddling the area around Krall with bullets and exploding glass, forcing him to dive for cover.
Jan tried to make a run for the exit, but the previously dull bar lit up with screams and gunfire as everyone with a gun started shooting at each other. A bolian with a disruptor pistol shot at Jan, forcing him to also dive for cover.
"VALENTINE! I'VE COME FOR YOUR HEAD!" Krall roared, firing his disruptor towards Jan's overturned table.
"SCREW YOU KRALL, YOU OLD FAT BASTARD!" Jan shouted back. He popped up from behind the table and obliterated the Bolian's face with bullet holes.
The Darkstar bar was being completely trashed as everyone and their mother was shooting at each other.
"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" Krall shouted back, taking out a frantic Ferengi businessman while trying to hit a Nausican.
"IT WAS YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT FOR COMING TO ME! YOU MUST HAVE BEEN TOO COWARDLY TO STEAL A FEDERATION SHUTTLECRAFT FOR DATA!" Jan shouted, firing blind over the table's edge, shredding part of Krall's table and striking an Andorian mercenary in the leg, who out of pain and shock fired his phaser at the bar's replicator, causing it to explode in a shower of sparks and green plasma flames.
The bar was filling with gunsmoke and the smell of blood, and the action was clearly split between both sides of the bar. As it turned out, rival gang members were at this bar, and a gangwar broke out between them. Jan decided this was the best time to make a run for it before the station police arrived.
"I'M GONNA RIP YOUR BALLS OFF, VALENTINE!" Krall shouted, jumping over the table, firing wild at Jan's position.
*Idiot* Jan thought, and tossed a flashbang over the table, which landed directly at Krall's feet.
"What the hell?!" Krall remarked, a split second before the grenade went off in his face.
The flashbang detonated, knocking back Krall in a blinding flash of light and noise.
"Later Krall, may we never meet again." Jan said, firing wild behind him to cover his escape.