The Shattered Planet: Stories from T'Cho

The Barkeep

"I'm begging ya Nal', just gimme a lil' more time. I'll get you the money! I just need a drink to hold me over till payday." The words coming from the waste of food rations were heavily slurred. The disheveled man wearing a worn down miner's outfit was Eddy Pine. His suit wasn't torn and frayed from over usage, but from him constantly getting into scuffles. Often with people he owed dallions to. Eddy had been a 'patron' of Nallia's for the past month or so, but every sol he had found a new excuse to not pay her the coin she was owed. She had let it go a couple of times, but only because he had promised to repay the debt. That was two weeks ago, and up until now she hadn't seen him hide nor hair of him. 

The balding mooch had snuck into her bar hoping for more booze, but mistakenly thought she wouldn't recognize him. Nallia of course recognized him immediately, as she never forgot the face of someone who owed her coin. So here they were. Nallia was behind the counter looking down a glass mug she was cleaning, while Eddy was seated on one of the numerous available barstools. Her brow furrowed, and a look of disdain grew on her face. "I'm glad you came by Eddy. I was bout to send Trey out to find you since it seems like you got lost for a few weeks. Couldn't find your way back, is that it? Tell me Eddy, do I have fool written on my forehead? Because I'm not a fool, and I'm not  someone you wanna fuck with." Sweat begins to build on Eddy's face as he puts on a nervous smile and says, "No Nal' I swear I'll get the dallion to ya, I get paid this week!" Nallia knew that was a lie. A terrible one at that, since she had other miners that drank here, and knew exactly when their payday was. She sighs, "I think I need to clarify a few things to you."    

In a single downwards motion the spry barkeep smashes the bottle onto the bum's head, causing it to shatter across the countertop and draw blood from the fresh gash. Eddy moaned as he clutched his head which now seared with excruciating pain, but Nallia wasn't finished with him. Not by a long shot. Her fingers wrapped around the hair on each side of his head, and she began slamming it into the counter. Screaming at the dazed man, "I (thud) WANT (thud) MY (thud) FUCKING (thud) DALLION." The last slam brings an audible crack, and thin lines appear in the surface of the counter top from where she'd been thrashing his face. She shoved the small man from his seat, which causes him to make a formal introduction with the barroom floor. She spits on him as he groans in pain, before motioning to her bouncers. "Take him to the stock room, shake him down, and take anything we can sell." They nod, picked Eddy up by his arms, and started dragging the barely conscious man towards the back room entrance. His nose was broken, and the resulting nosebleed had left dried blood on his lips. Several of his front teeth were now missing as well, and one of his eyes had begun to swell with a purple hue. Blood steadily streamed from the gash, which he had received from the bottle. It seemed like Eddy had decided to drop his polite façade.

"You...s-stupid...bitch." The words loosely fell from Eddy's blood stained lips, before abruptly lifting his head and spitting at Nallia. A light spray of blood touched her face, and her eyes turned to a cold fury. One of her bouncers, Will, socked Eddy in his diaphragm, knocking the wind out of him. Nallia motioned for her men to stop, wiped her face with a nearby towel, and said "Well Eddy I'm sorry you couldn't see things my way, I hope we can still be friends." Her words dripped from her lips in a way not unlike a snake before striking its' prey. "Tell you what, I'll help ya help yourself pay me back. You owe me what, a hundred and thirty dallions? Trey and Will, when you're back there with him go ahead and relieve Mr. Pine of a finger, one for every twenty dallions." Eddy's eyes widened as he began struggling against the bouncers, but it was a futile effort as Trey and Will were each easily twice his size. They lifted him up and began walking towards the back room, and he begged "No, Nallia please I'm sorry! I'm sorry! No, NO PLEASE!" His pleas fell on deaf ears as the door clicked shut behind them. 

Nallia crossed her arms and muttered a quiet curse, before she began sweeping up the broken glass, and cleaning up the blood. "Cheat me will you? Lucky I'm only taking some fingers, and ain't feeding ya to the Flora." She was thinking about how long it'd take to recoup the dallions that Eddy had owed her, and how it'd take at least a month to get a replacement shipment for all the alcohol wasted on him. Nallia was frustrated and tired, but she was at least able to finish cleaning up the mess that Mr. Pine had made. During this she could still hear Eddy's cries of pain even though he was past the stock room entrance, but eventually things began to quiet down until only muffled screams were occasionally heard. A smile crept onto her face, but quickly faded as she took a look around her bar.