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Prelude to Rising
13 years ago
"I've seen'" said Helmutt Einsbach as he studied a glass of whiskey, "things you people wouldn't believe."
The bar was quiet, at this time of night. Most of the patrons had gone home, the holoscreens had been turned off, and Benoit had reduced the music to a low rumble of white noise, meaningless and pointless. Hel, though, he had been there since happy hour, but his drink consumption had spiked upward in the last hour. He had had two drinks.
"That's a line from a movie," clarified the older man. He swished his drink around. "It's true in my case." He drained it with a gulp. "Hit me."
"I'm cutting you off," said Benny, as he tipped the bottle over. From his perspective, the holo-surface of the counter was displaying a flashing yellow around Hel. Of course, the computer was working off of the median numbers for alcohol absorption for men in Hel's age group, and Benny knew the man had a hollow leg, but it wouldn't do to have Public Health on his rear.
"Seems fair," Hel said amicably, and Benny relaxed, just a bit. He went back to nursing his drink for a while, as Benny cleaned the glasses. Then the older man burst into speech.
"They say I'm not supposed to talk about it, that it's a manner of interplanetary security." He snickered. "Buncha pencil-pushing rear echelon limp dicks. What do they know, huh? A man's supposed to keep that inside? Supposed to go home and bottle it up?" He shook his head. "No. No. It's." Tap. "Not." Tap. "Right." Tap. The drink spilled onto the counter, sending the display into a riot of color.
"Teeth. They had teeth. And claws. If you turned the light on at just the right time, you'd see their eyes shining green just before they got you." He touched a tiny, almost invisible scar on his cheek. There was only so much biofoam could do if your face was laid open to the bone.
"How'd you beat em?"
"Like another old movie said; you burn the forest down." He took a slug.
Benny's brow creased. "Wait...There was that rainforest fire on Baldur. They lost...how many acres?"
Hel gave him a level sort of look, a cold look, as if he was evaluating his options.
The music played on.
Einsbach broke into a broad grin. "No one's crazy enough to burn down a rainforest. Just a metaphor. By the way, I gotta get a new partner tomorrow." Hel made a face.
"Shame what happened to Erik."
"To Erik," the older man said, and raised his glass.
"To Erik." And there went the last of the drink.
The glass blazed like a comet as it slid along the bar.
"Well, g'night," Hel said as he stood. He was probably going to take a nap in his car's backseat as the autopilot took him home.
"Hey," said the Benny, "stay outta the driver's seat or I'll call the cops."
Hel smiled as he left.
The bar was quiet, at this time of night. Most of the patrons had gone home, the holoscreens had been turned off, and Benoit had reduced the music to a low rumble of white noise, meaningless and pointless. Hel, though, he had been there since happy hour, but his drink consumption had spiked upward in the last hour. He had had two drinks.
"That's a line from a movie," clarified the older man. He swished his drink around. "It's true in my case." He drained it with a gulp. "Hit me."
"I'm cutting you off," said Benny, as he tipped the bottle over. From his perspective, the holo-surface of the counter was displaying a flashing yellow around Hel. Of course, the computer was working off of the median numbers for alcohol absorption for men in Hel's age group, and Benny knew the man had a hollow leg, but it wouldn't do to have Public Health on his rear.
"Seems fair," Hel said amicably, and Benny relaxed, just a bit. He went back to nursing his drink for a while, as Benny cleaned the glasses. Then the older man burst into speech.
"They say I'm not supposed to talk about it, that it's a manner of interplanetary security." He snickered. "Buncha pencil-pushing rear echelon limp dicks. What do they know, huh? A man's supposed to keep that inside? Supposed to go home and bottle it up?" He shook his head. "No. No. It's." Tap. "Not." Tap. "Right." Tap. The drink spilled onto the counter, sending the display into a riot of color.
"Teeth. They had teeth. And claws. If you turned the light on at just the right time, you'd see their eyes shining green just before they got you." He touched a tiny, almost invisible scar on his cheek. There was only so much biofoam could do if your face was laid open to the bone.
"How'd you beat em?"
"Like another old movie said; you burn the forest down." He took a slug.
Benny's brow creased. "Wait...There was that rainforest fire on Baldur. They lost...how many acres?"
Hel gave him a level sort of look, a cold look, as if he was evaluating his options.
The music played on.
Einsbach broke into a broad grin. "No one's crazy enough to burn down a rainforest. Just a metaphor. By the way, I gotta get a new partner tomorrow." Hel made a face.
"Shame what happened to Erik."
"To Erik," the older man said, and raised his glass.
"To Erik." And there went the last of the drink.
The glass blazed like a comet as it slid along the bar.
"Well, g'night," Hel said as he stood. He was probably going to take a nap in his car's backseat as the autopilot took him home.
"Hey," said the Benny, "stay outta the driver's seat or I'll call the cops."
Hel smiled as he left.
