The Phobos Transit Quilters Guild

Chapter 5 - Fear the Wrath of the Quilters Guild

[Val]

Sitting in the tavern, Mavis, Cassy, Kate, and I watched the news streams on nearby display panels. Every channel led with the same thing — the attempted nuclear bombing of the Ark Hope by the Mars Dawn separatists. Thus far, the media named those credited with deactivating the bomb as 'unknown persons,' which was fine by me. I don't want the attention.

But there was more — numerous bombings had occurred across Earth, primarily against governmental or military sites, some of them quite deadly. All attributed to Mars Dawn. A spokeswoman angrily denied involvement, while Earth Council representatives bloviated in righteous indignation, promising to place warships in Mars orbit. This was getting out of hand.

"Nothin' good will come of that. You don't put out a fire by pouring oil on it," Mavis huffed as she switched off the news with a hand-held remote. "And the Mars Dawn people ain't helpin' any either."

Kate, leaning back in her chair, placed her mug on the table. "Shera doubts Mars Dawn was actually involved. Which means someone is playing us."

"Maybe, but I appreciate you and Shera catching the culprit, Kate." Mavis said, then she turned to Cassy and me. "And you gals — you are the heroes of the day."

"It was mostly Cassy," I responded, then grinned as I swirled my wine glass. "She did most of the dirty work. Literally."

Cassy didn't seem to get the wordplay, nor even hear it. She sat on the edge of her seat, glancing over her shoulder at the tavern entrance while her left hand alternately cradled her bandaged right hand or grasped the chair arm. A glass of water sat untouched before her.

Mavis lifted an eyebrow. "Cassy hun, you look more nervous that a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs."

"I'm meeting Eric," Cassy replied, biting a lip as she fidgeted. "Do I look alright? I didn't have any good clothes for a date."

She wore low boots over simple black leggings with a light-green tunic top that contrasted nicely with her dark skin. And she somehow had tamed her hyper-curly black hair. "You're fine," I replied, reaching a hand over to cover hers. "Even smeared with shit, he said you were beautiful. You've got this."

"Val's right, Cassy," Kate chimed in. "Eric's a good guy. You'll like him."

"It's been so long since..." Cassy stammered. "What do we talk about?"

"Just ask him about space pong," Kate advised.

"Space pong?"

"A game he invented. It's... Believe me, Eric will tell you all about it."

"Hey, Cassy." Eric's voice made Cassy jump as he came up behind her. "You all were talking about space pong?"

Cassy turned and put on a warm smile. "Yeah, Kate said you invented it? What's it like?"

Eric's face lit up. "Only the most awesome game in the universe!" He extended a hand to Cassy. "Let me buy you that drink I promised and I'll tell you."

With Cassy on his arm, Eric led her to a table at the back. A nearby window provided a spectacular view of Mars, but Cassy only had eyes for him. Mavis caught Lilli's eye and tilted her head, directing the barmaid's attention to the couple.

Grinning, Kate said, "Well, she's set for at least an hour of conversation."

As the women chuckled, Mavis remarked, "For a gal that just defused a nuclear bomb, dating sure got her flustered."

"Speaking of flustered," I said with a coy smile directed at Kate. "I saw how you and the Captain looked at each other. Thought you were going to swoon."