Dating : A Sight to See

A hush swept the bar, and all eyes were on the windows that spanned the long curving length of the room, and gave panoramic views of the cargo port outside and beyond into the endless immensity of space. The port had cleared for the Borste and the gangways had been withdrawn but for one gangway jutting crookedly into space. A tiny service ship buzzed past. There was a crowd in the port bar, and a fever in the air. The noise grew with excitement, and their eyes were wide and bright. Now the hull of the Borste drifted upward into view and their breath was taken. And it drifted upwards, and it filled the windows — until space was held from view.

There were two figures at one end of the bar, who did not watch the approaching ship. One was upright and elongated and green, and the other was broad and thick and he wore a hard suit with round shoulders and a round helmet with the visor pulled up. The Big One looked pensively into his drink. The Green One lifted a glass to his lips, and gulped down his drink. He placed the glass back on the bar, and he looked at the bartender who was staring out the windows with his mouth hanging open.

“What d’ yer gotta drive a galaxy cruiser to get a drink around here?” said the Green One.

The Big One shot his drink in one swift action, and he brought the glass and his fist down, and the other glass leaped off the bar and spun in place. The bartender jumped and turned vaguely in their direction, his eyes squinting, his lower lip hanging apishly. The Big One sent his glass skating across the bar. “Hey,” he said. The voice was barely a whisper, yet it snapped the bartender to attention and his mouth snapped shut. The glass slid right past the bartender, whose eyes locked with the dark embers that burned within the big round helmet at the end of the bar.

“Another,” The Big One growled.

The glass skated down the bar, and slowed. It clinked against a tall glass and wobbled and came to rest. The patron of the tall glass picked it up and took a drink. And at the far end of the bar The Big One saw the patron, and he noticed the patron. His big helmet tilted from one side to the other, the muscles around his eyes slackened, and now his mouth was open. He nudged the Green One.

The Borste fired its stabilizers, and the station began to rumble and shake. Glassware danced on the bar and cheer rose in the crowd.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” said the Big One.

The Green One looked over, his eyes narrowed and his head leaned over as his companions did. “He’s supposed to be dead,” said the Green One.

The Big One sat forward and his visor came down. “Yeah,” he said. “He is.”