Out of Retirement

Fiction Friday. Escape pod here.

I've really struggled for a piece this week. Last Friday's, the Valentines piece, I though was one of my better pieces and it did get some great feedback. But I've been struggling to come up with a story for this for this week. Its Thursday as I write this and with an afternoon session lined up and subsequent hangover tomorrow, if I don't get something wrote now, I'm in trouble.

So given another event that happened in the last few days I've done a piece that won't mean a lot to most people, but the old DnD, SoTF, Gal Mil and Nisuwa residents hopefully will enjoy!

Out of Retirement

The door to the bar silently slid open. The man who stood behind it didn't enter, he just remained still, looking in, as if remembering. It was late and the lights in the bar were dim and the music was sedate. Several patrons were sat in the various booths and at the tables, but it was generally quiet in the bar.

The man finally entered and walked towards the bar. The room itself was expensive and classy. Wood panelling with chrome fittings. On a space station plastics and tritanium were the common construction materials. Wood was seen as an extravagance they didn't need nor could afford generally. But this was a high-level deck at the very top of the space-station, home to the elite of society. Men and women who could control vast starships with their minds. They were rich, powerful and immortal. They were the capsuleers.

The barman was busy stretching to place a bottle on the top shelf with his back to the approaching stranger. As the stranger neared the bar the barman froze for a fraction of a second, and then resumed placing the bottle in the gap on the top shelf.

"I heard you'd quit. Gone planet-side." the barman said without turning.

The stranger reached the bar and leant against it, surveying the establishment.

"I did. 15 months living a normal life." he finally replied.

The barman scoffed.

"Yeah right. You damn eggers don't have a clue what a normal life is. You probably had more money saved than the average economic output of a small planet. Normal life? Bollocks! Try living on my salary for a week."

The barman finally turned and smiled at the stranger. The stranger had aged in the 15 months since he'd been there. Even though the barman had known the capsuleer for years he'd never seen him age more than a few months at a time. Death to a capsuleer was a minor inconvenience. Their brain was scanned at their moment of death and transmitted faster-than-light to a new clone. They only aged if they wanted to.

"What in divinities edge is THAT!" ask the barman pointing to the capsuleers stomach.

"Hey! Steady! Being re-cloned constantly means you don't need to exercise. This, Mac, is 15-months of good living." he said with a laugh, patting his paunch. "Don't worry, now I'm back I'm sure I'll die and be in a new slimline clone soon enough!"

The barman nodded and picked up a wine glass and produced a bottle of fine Amarrian Red. Without asking he poured the capsuleer a glass and placed it in front of him.

"So are any of the old guys still about?" the capsuleer asked as he sipped the vintage.

"Yeah, well some never really left. S810 jr is running your old crew now, although there are not that many of them still around these parts. Most moved on in one way or another. Those with the Gallente fighting spirit are still here. Annie, Ratch, Dread. They are all flying with the QCats these days and you can find them still on station. Several of the old crew went and joined the Rooks and Kings alliance. Some even headed for null-sec to bear away. Hell, Jared even joined the fracking Goons!"

"What about the old directors?"

The barman looked thoughtful for a while.

"Not seen much of Tekitha and Sajuk. They came back for a short while, tried to help the Caldari Militia capture the system. That damn week hit my profits hard. Too much fighting, not enough drinking. Although I heard Sajuk has been spotted in local recently. S810 jr is still here as I said, as is Drackarn, he's still flying with the QCats. Actually you can find him at his usual booth, man that pod-jokey keeps my profits up with his booze and the girls! Eelis and Rashmika quit like you, but they appear to be better at it. Last I heard they had a kid and Rashmika was into horse riding of all things. Makes a change from an interceptor I guess! Star's not been seen in a long time. To be honest the old Shadows are gone. Scattered to the four corners of the cluster. Sorry, but you've been gone too long. A lot has changed."

The capsuleer gave the barman a knowing smile and took another sip of wine.

"You know Mac, for someone who serves us capsuleers all the time you don't know a lot about us."

At that moment the door to the bar opened. An Amarrian in a robe entered, the hood obscuring his features. He was followed by an Intaki man with short red hair and then a bald headed Gallente man.

"That's not....." the barman squinted in the gloom "Sajuk, Jared and... Wlady?"

"We are capsuleers Mac. We are all about the rebirth. You should know that by now. If you'll excuse me...." and with that the capsuleer left the bar and walked over to one of the booths in the corner leaving the barman to serve the newcomers.

On the table in the booth was a half empty bottle of expensive Gallente Vodka with three glasses. Sat opposite was another man with a pair of scantily clad woman sat either side of him. The man with the bar-girls looked up at the approaching capsuleer, arching an eyebrow in curiosity.

"So, you're back then?" commented Drackarn casually as he picked up and sipped on his vodka.

The two bar girls turned their attention to the new-comer that their date for the night had just addressed. The stranger just stood there, smiled and nodded his head slightly.

"Yes." replied Gallactica "I'm back."