"The Redstar Rumble"

[Kansas_Jones 0]

12.15.07

ISS Agincourt ICC-81762

“Redstar Rumble”

 

Prell docked his shuttlecraft at one of the many hatches leading into Redstar Station. He shut down the engines and computer, making sure to leave them ready to start up in mere seconds in case of an emergency. Not that he expected one, here of all places. Javin barely knew anyone who visited Redstar, and it was the perfect place to blend in. Patrons to Redstar Nightclub were of all races and corners of the quadrant, and from every era of space travel and alternate universe.

 

Yes, it was the perfect place to spend some time after his last mission. It pained him not to be able to bring Kairi, but the Council was still not quite through with her. What with all the debriefings on her encounter that that damned cat, and what she possibly knew of their counterpart-rebel Romulans, she would be busy for quite a while. He entered the club, and took a seat at the long bar, just sitting there for a bit.

 

Kbear comes out of the back room hearing the door chimes once again, and seeing her newest costumer for the day. "Welcome to Red Star. What can I do for you today?”

 

Lurking in a far corner of the bar was a golden furred feline, her green eyes very much tracking her prey as she nonchalantly sipped at an ale. The information, though sketchy, had been good - Prell indeed had been seen in this area. JoNs finished off her drink and then got up from the table, meandering toward the bar. Like most of the patrons, she was clad in civilian attire.

 

Javin looked at her, then up and down the bar to see if he knew anyone familiar. He smiled. "Hello there KBear. Been a while since I passed through here...Could I trouble you for a Warp Core Explosion? No where else does it even halfway decent as you guys do.”

 

"Not at all, and glad that you came by once more." She begins fixing his drink and asks, what’s new with you? Meeting anyone?"

 

She then sees the Caitian approaching the bar. "Need a refill my dear?"

 

"Not just yet, but I may need a good stiff drink in a bit."

 

Javin shrugged. "In my field, you meet new people everyday...such a damn shame some you never seen again," he said ominously. He smirked as he heard the voice behind him. "Then again, sometimes it is a damn shame to see some one again." He tapped his fingers on the bar. "Hello furry one. How's the shoulder?"

 

"Let me know. Here you are sir a Warp core explosion, and as always the first drink is on the house."

 

Kansas calmly moved up next to Prell at the bar, placing her paws flat; the only outward sign of her agitation was her switching tail. "The shoulder is fine. Now. No thanks to you."

 

"Well that's good to hear. Be glad you didn't torture Kassem *that* hard. She might not have been so understanding of the Council's orders had you not been so... ahh... benevolent."

 

Keeping a reign on her temper, the Caitian merely responded with, "Orders, you say?" She idly traced a pattern on the bar with her claw.

 

Prell took a sip of his WCE. "Must I explain it to you? We might just be here all of your nine lives, or however many you have left."

 

KBear hears the discussion and steps back from the 2 and begins her cleaning regiment. Listening but not listening at the same time like any bar tender would do.

 

JoNs glanced at Prell. "Humor me. You at least can do that."

 

He shrugged. "It really is very simple. You happen to not be Human. And if you haven’t noticed, much of us "rebel"-kind aren't either."

 

"Is that an offer?"

 

Javin looked at her. "Do you want it to be?"

 

"I already have a mentor. And if I joined your rebels I might as well shoot myself in the head right here, because, to be quite honest Prell, you people die young and quick. So, we have two options. I arrest you and take you in, or, you pay me off and I act like I never saw you here." The felines green eyes glowed bright with cunning.

 

The bartender grinned hearing the ultimatum. She knew which of the two she would take. She just remained where she was and continued to wash her glasses as if not hearing a thing.

 

The Caitian females’ tail lashed once. "And then again, there is always option number three." Quick as lightning, a balled up paw lanced out and clocked Prell right in the nose.

 

Javin fell backwards off the barstool, barely holding onto the bar top to right himself as he stood. He glared at Kansas. "Neither, you furball." He winced as he touched his nose, deciding it was definitely broken

 

KBear jumps as she sees the hit from the corner of her eye. She quickly moves back in front of the two, "IF you are going to fight you can take it out of my bar. I keep a clean facility here. I do not want any trouble in here. My bouncer is in the back room. I will call him if I have to but I would rather not! Do I make myself clear?!"

 

"Miss, you have no idea what you are in the middle of here." JoNs had crouched down, claws splayed and out as her eyes evilly tracked Prell. She quickly pulled out an optic identification card, flashing it at KBear. "Imperial security. Internal ships matter."

"I may not know what I'm in the middle of but I DO know that I run a clean establishment and The Federation leaves me alone. I would LIKE to keep it that way."

 

The feline ignored the business woman and dove right at Prell with a snarled yowl.

 

Seeing the card, "Oh Great!" KBear rolls her eyes thinking why my bar, and she saw the Caitian go after her costumer.

 

Prell sidestepped her, hopping onto and over the bar. He grabbed a bottle of blue liquid from the counter behind him, hoping it wasn't an over priced bottle of Romulan Ale. "Oh Well," he thought.

 

"NO!!" KBear reaches for the bottle.

 

He flung the bottle at Kansas, and bolted for the kitchen door a few feet away. He barged through the door, startling the Gorn chef inside, and made his way out a service entrance to the corridor leading to his docked shuttle.

 

"WHOS GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!! BARAN!!! AFTER HIM!!"

 

The feline easily dodged the projectile and then bolted after the rebel officer, running on all fours and easily tracking the slow Trill.

 

KBear ran after the Caitian to the back door as Baran met her. "He’s gone dangit." He then turns to Jons, Why do you folks always have to come into me lounge and run folks off. Cant you just wait for them outside?"

 

JoNs hollered over her shoulder at the bartender. "Charge any damage to the ISS Agincourt!" The gold feline could see Prell; he was only a few feet in front of her.

 

Javin could hear her right behind him, and he smiled. He had let her catch up on purpose, and he chose just this moment to drop miniature flash bang he carried in his pocket. There was nothing miniature about it, and to the unprepared soul, it was a major distraction. As the smoke filled the corridor behind him, he hightailed out of the area, having memorized his escape route.

 

A large gold furball of the snarling-type intent leapt off of an access corridor ramp onto Prell as he ran past. Kansas had zipped into the side corridor, intending to head off the Trill at the junction; the flash bang had been ineffective, other then causing several station patrons to gag in the back corridor.

 

Javin and Kansas tumbled into the corner of the corridor, him landing on top of her. He smirked as he held her paws down. "Well lookee how this ended up....I'm no Alpha Male though..."

 

JoNs shifted her weight as much as she was able and sank her fangs into a nearby hand.

 

He screamed as she bit him, but it gave him just the leverage he needed to smash his other hand into the familiar spot between her neck and shoulder, hoping to knock her out. The blow hit home, and the Imperial feline officer let go of the Trills hand, yelped and then passed out as the pain of the injury took over.

 

Javin was in too much pain to smirk or allow himself to gloat over his victory. He stood as he heard footsteps racing toward him. He grumbled. It had to be the proprietor with her bouncer. He sighed, and timed his movements to the second, tossing his last flashbang in their direction as he ran the opposite way, just a few dozen meters to his docking ring. He made it with no problem, and rolled into his shuttle. "Computer, emergency startup!" The computer chirped and instantly closed the hatch. As he slumped into a seat, the shuttle detached itself from the station's hatch.

 

Kansas regained consciousness and staggered to her hind paws, only to be put under again by the sound wave percussion of the flash grenade. She slammed into a bulkhead and then back down to the decking, a heap of disheveled fur and clothing. Baran the bouncer as well as KBear both went down as well.

 

As the shuttle sped away from the station, Javin sighed. It really was too bad... he had liked the Redstar. A damn shame he wouldn’t be able to go back now.