Incursion Vector

003

[▲] Irwin City, Luna

Irwin City was something the locals referred to as a "suburb" of Armstrong, Luna's second largest city which straddled the near and far side and functioned as a "tourist trap" according to everyone she had spoken to. Apparently that meant that there were “motels” instead of “hotels” and none of the establishments that served alcohol were required to issue something known as a "last call." Prostitution was legal, provided the prostitute was licensed and either self-employed or working out of a similarly licensed establishment. So was gambling, provided that the place also served food, drink, and alternate forms of entertainment that didn't involve pissing one's pay away on rigged games.

Nim had learned all that from the informational packet she had picked up on the way to her shuttle off Gagarin Station. What the packet failed to point out was that Irwin City was also the favorite watering hole for the local Planetary Vanguard unit assigned to inner system patrol.

All five hundred and fifty of them, apparently. There were enough gray jumpsuited peevees wandering around the streets in varying degrees of inebriation to choke a black hole.

Beside her Karda stuffed his hands into the front pocket of his maroon hooded sweatshirt and eyed the area carefully. He had grown up in places like Irwin City and had spent most of his childhood learning how to keep off the Vanguard's radar. It was all part and parcel of the smuggler lifestyle, or so he usually said. His family had run a very profitable operation out in the Colonies until he and his uncle were caught smuggling booze to one of the prohibition settlements, so people generally took his word for it.

Rubbing the side of his face against his shoulder he mused, "Wonder if the old man knew this place was a baby navy nest."

"You can jump back on the shuttle if you want," said Nim with a shrug. "Weren't you headed dirtside to Damien's place anyway?"

"Well, yeeeaaah," answered Karda slowly. He flashed her a broad grin. "I wanted to see if my skills were still sharp."

Everyone in the wing knew exactly what Karda meant when he referred to his skills, and they had nothing to do with being in a cockpit. "If you get busted with that fake ID—“

"They're not going to drum me out for flashing FID," groaned the young man with an incredulous sneer. "You beat the cap's face in and you're still here."

"Since when are you calling Keiji 'the cap'?"

"Since I decided I hate saying Captain Yutani all the time." Karda shrugged. "It sounds cool and has fewer syllables. Good on all counts."

Nim grunted her disgust but said nothing further, pulling her computer out of her front pocket and bringing up a map of the bar where Sparrow said the Captain would meet her. She turned off the main thoroughfare and headed down a less well-lit street adorned with classical neon signs instead of the holographic projections most places used, Karda hot on her heels. Much to their surprise a familiar blond with silver half-rings beneath her eyes accompanied by an unusually tall Arabian wearing a red checkered scarf around his shoulders were the ones waiting outside their destination.

"Well Calli I can understand," said Nim, "but you don't drink, do you, Leo?"

"I also don't let my friends come to places like this alone," he replied with a shrug. He flung a hand towards the main street and scowled. "Have you seen how many PV uniforms are wandering around here?"

"Have you seen how many times our favorite Martian has kicked your butt alone on the mat?" retorted Karda with a leering sneer towards their squad's grandmaster. She returned his infantile expression with a gentile smile and a raised middle finger, causing their entire group to laugh at the contradictory sight. "Yeah, we're pretty sure Calli's escorting you."