Shore Leave (pt. 1)

"In the end, they paid 60,000 credits for the wood, Captain Fletcher. Less my commission that comes to 48,000 credits to you."

"Excellent work. Thanks for your help."

"Not at all, Captain. You were most fortunate arriving when you did after the storm season. There's a strong demand for building products, especially such fine timber."

Nathan escorted the broker to the door of the ship, the bright, tropical light of Fist bulging into the dark interior. He was in high spirits. The wood had been incredibly lucrative. After all the expenses, he'd tripled his initial investment. The Option's first run had been in the black. And now the ship had the start of a financial cushion to fall back on if they needed it.

With the wood being offloaded at the Fist starport, there was no immediate work for the crew. Nathan returned to the bridge and made a brief announcement telling them that they were on shore leave for the next few days.

***

Sam and Jake were waiting by the cargo doors when Lloyd, the Navigator came out.

"C'mon, kid," said Sam, "let's hit the beaches!"

"Sounds like a plan," said Lloyd.

"I'm gonna have so many margaritas tonight, I won't be able to leave my chair until the next day," said Jake.

"Speak for yourself, bro. I'm in the mood to dance all night. Hey Lloyd," said Sam, "you a good dancer?"

"Think about your answer," growled Jake.

"Ah, well..." began Lloyd.

"Oh, don't worry about Jake," laughed Sam. "He's protective, but I can take care of myself. And I doubt a young guy like you can handle me."

"I'm thirty-five!" protested Lloyd.

The Hudson twins gave a short, loud laugh. "Just a baby," said Jake, "I bet I can drink you right under the table."

"It's a safer bet than trying to drink me under the table," said Sam. "Ah, remember when we were young and foolish?"

"Drinking, dancing, whatever you guys want to do, I'm game," said Sam, "but let's stop standing around on the tarmac and get to the beach."

"Ho! Looks like we'll see what the kid is made of," said Jake, "I got the car rented, let's go."

Twenty minutes later, they were skimming over the surface of the ocean, headed for the local beach resort recommended by the TAS representative at the starport. The resort was on one of the many small islands of the archipelago that made up the main landmass on Fist. The sea was a sparling blue-green and the resort itself was a series of small bungalows designed to blend in with the surrounding wilderness. They were connected via a system of underground tubes to the central hub and a number of underground entertainment facilities. It was possible to stoll in from the beach and down to a neon-lit nightclub/casino.

The trio checked into their rooms and met a short time later down on the beach. It was mid-afternoon and despite the bright sun, a fresh breeze kept things comfortable. Jake, true to his word, sat down in a lounge chair under an umbrella by the bar and a servitor was soon trundling over with his first drink.

"I'm going for a swim," said Sam, "care to join me, Lloyd?"

"Maybe in a bit," he answered, "I think your brother has the right idea here."

"Suit yourself. Just don't be too tipsy when it's time to dance, or I'll have to find someone else to play with."

She laughed and ran off into the waves. Lloyd stretched out on his chair and before he'd even gotten a few sips down, he was soon fast asleep.

He awoke to find a strange woman pressing herself against him and kissing him. He started in surprise, but then saw the fear in her eyes.

She pulled back a bit. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she whispered, "please, just keep kissing me. I can't let them find me." She pressed her lips against Lloyd who was still too stunned to do anything. His eyes darted about and down the beach and saw a couple of large men wearing rather more clothing than called for on the beach. They appeared to be wearing uniforms and Lloyd wondered if they were resort security. Still, kissing a strange woman was sort of on his list of things to do during shore leave so he could hardly complain.

"Hey, Lloyd!" shouted Sam from the surf. "I'm still counting on you as a dancing partner tonight! Don't wear yourself out!"

Lloyd looked out towards the ocean at Sam and then up the beach. The two suits had gotten closer and they'd spotted the exchange. And Lloyd and the girl. They were quickly moving in. The girl atop Lloyd saw them coming and tensed, ready to spring away from the men, but another pair were closing in from the other side. Judging from the visible wearables, they were coordinating a wide search over the beach. There was nowhere to run and Llyod was pretty sure that these guys were also armed.

"What's your name?" asked Llyod.

"Leonia," the girl answered.

"Well Leonia, I'm Lloyd and it looks like you're in a bit of a fix. There's nowhere for you to run now that they'e spotted you. It's been a lot of fun, but now you may want to tell me why all these guys are looking for you."

"Help me. Help me get away from them and I promise you'll be richly rewarded."

"That's a rather bold claim from someone who--"

"All right. That's enough you lovebirds. Get up." The suits had closed in on the two of them.

"I'm sorry," said Lloyd, "and you gentlemen are?"

"We're security. We work for the casino here at the resort. You two are coming with us to answer a few questions."

"I don't understand," said Lloyd, "what are we accused of?"

"Don't get smart with me," snapped the guard. "You're coming with us. We have full jurisdiction on the island and are authorized to pull in anyone at anytime."

"So just question me here. It's a nice day and I'm happy to answer your questions."

"You'll be much more comfortable inside."

"I'm pretty comfortable right now."

The guard pulled aside his jacket to reveal a very compact SMG. "You're about to be a lot less comfortable if you keep giving us lip. So why don't the two of you just get up and come with us."

"I can hardly refuse such a charming offer," said Lloyd dryly. "Come on," he said to Leonia.

"They'll kill us!" she hissed.

"They don't seem too fussy about that," said Lloyd nodding towards the holster. "So we may as well enjoy a last stroll on the beach. Who knows, maybe it's a stunt by the casino and we're lucky winners or something."

"I'm afraid your luck has completely run out, pal," sneered the guard. "Let's go."

The pair went off with the guards. The entire time, Sam had been keeping an eye on the minor confrontation. She'd realized, too late, that the woman draped over Lloyd was the object of a great dael of interest. She was tempted to intervene in the conversation, but those suits meant business. She was rather alarmed when the group went off to one of the resort entrances and sprinted back up the beach to the bar where Jake was nursing the latest in a long line of drinks.

"Jake," said Sam, "the new guy just got himself into a world of hurt."

"Yeah, I saw," said Jake, "dumb rookie has no clue how to do shore leave properly. First you relax a little bit and then you get into a bar fight."

"Well, there was the girl."

"I saw that too! What, my sister isn't good enough for the guy?"

"Come one, we've got to go after them."

"We've got a little time yet. They want to question them."

"We don't know where they're going!"

"They said they were casino security. That's probably right. If they were going to take them off the island, they would've come back up this way to head to the landing pads."

"Wait. How do you know all this stuff? You're drunk off your ass."

Jake nodded to the small duffel bag he'd brought with him. "Got a camera in there hooked up to my wearables. Recorded the whole thing on zoom."

"You were spying on him!?"

"Wanted to make sure he didn't try to take advantage of my sister."

"You jerk!"

"Oh I don't know what you're complaining about. I had to take these stim pills and kill my lovely buzz," said Jake. Sam noticed that his stupor was rapidly disappearing.

"I'm so sorry to spoil your drunken voyeurism," said Sam. "Now, can we go bail out our navigator."

"Sure, I'll pad after them, you go back to the room and get our things together. I'll give you a call and let you know what's up when I find out a bit more. Be careful, they might have tied us to Lloyd and they could be coming after us next."

"You be careful too."

"I will," said Jake. He laughed, "First leg on a new ship and we're already saving the new guy's ass. Hell of a maiden voyage."