A Rude Awakening

Two weeks slip by as a blur of booze and warm bodies, time almost as meaningless as the sex. I think there were a few more hot blondes, possibly two at once or was that the blurred vision? I was waking up in bars almost as often as my own or someone else's bed, dragging myself into the next place to try and satisfy my hungers of either sex or alcohol.

If I wasn't paying for sex, I was paying for alcohol, my credit balance getting fucked as much as I was in those two weeks. By the end of the second weeks I was easily down thousands, eagerly seeking a few last playthings to share some blissful hours with before leaving port and idling in the middle of space. Sinking into a familiar and unwelcome drunken depression that often follows a bender like this, before reactivating the ship and finding something to distract myself.

Little did I know at the time, I'd soon be hyper-focused on Claire* , but I'm getting ahead of myself, because I haven't yet got to the rude awakening that'd snap me out of this two week self pity party.

“Want to close out your tab?” The gorgeous bar tender asks, leaning forward, exposing her glistening cleavage.

“Want to go home with me tonight?” I retort

“I’m closing your tab,” she smiles “you don’t need anymore tonight.”

She hands me the $800 tab. I close one of my eyes, trying to focus on the numbers.

“How did this happen? I’ve only had like…” I look up to the ceiling for an answer.

“Baby… I’ve lost count and that usually never happens. But hey, you’ve been here since last night,” she says, waving the small illuminated hologram in my face.

“What time is it?” I ask. I look down at my watch. 22:32. “Shit,” I say, pressing my watch to the hologram to complete the payment.

“Thanks baby,” she says, wiping down the bar.

I try and recap the last few hours which leads me to trying to figure out where the past 12 days have gone. Wishing I knew why alcohol was so toxic to my mental and way of living. Wishing I knew more about my family. Wishing I had more guidance and advice in my life. Wishing I had someone to care about me… I did though… but I shut him off. I felt tears coming to my eyes. Just as I raise a hand to get the bar tenders attention I feel a hand on my back.

“Captain Clark?” A deep voice asks. I turn around to be greet with bright yellow cat eye.

“Clark?” I say with a hiccup.

“Oh! My apologies! These old eyes aren’t what they used to be. Your flight suit was the same color as his,” he says, a sharpen fingernail pointing to his eye.

“You recognized my uniform? So you knew my dad?” I ask, feeling a weird wave of familiarity about him.

"I did. May I sit?" He asks, gesturing to the empty bar stool next to me.

I shrug, turning back toward the bar. I was too drunk to care about being rude. Yet still in my drunken state I wanted to know more about this man.

“What galaxy are you from?” I ask as he takes his seat.

“Hymir VII. The first several fell into black holes” he teases, trying to wave down the bar tender. As he does this, I try and think of better questions to ask him. My drunken mind drowning in exclusive thoughts of Pleasure Bars. These bars didn’t open for a few more minutes though.

“Her name is Feri,” I say. Her sharp elf like ears quickly picking up her name from down the bar and rushing to the new customers attention. Once a drink was in his hand, he turned to me. His dark red skin covered in various bright purple markings. His long black hair slicked back with product. The slightest touch of age lingering on his face. This meant absolutely nothing though considering the improving technology. He could be well into his 300s.

“You seem to come here a lot,” he says. I turn to face him as well, leaning an elbow on the bar. His white incisors sharp with length.

“Is your planet a carnivorous one?” I ask, my drunk feelings turning into buzzed ones.

“Indeed. Your dad visited me there frequently. He was supposed to have been my friend,” he smiles. “You don’t remember him do you?” A strange tone surrounding his words.

“I’m glad I don’t,” I say, a strange feeling of danger tugging at my brain.

He squints his eyes an evil smile creeping across his face. “You’re just fucking like him,” he hisses slowly. The comforting and familiar feeling melting away from him. My heart rate picks up.

“I knew your dead beat alcoholic dad because he’d come to my planet looking for girls to screw in the ass and leave. He impregnated many women, including my wife,” he growls slowly. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to receive the sweet satisfaction of revenge when I found out your father got an illness he refused to treat. Around the same time he got this illness he had a 3 year old daughter from a woman “he actually loved.” Sad.”

Anger began burning a hole in my chest, lighting my lungs on fire. I placed the palm of my hand over my gun holster and paused, waiting for him to continue.

“Your father was so pathetic. Your mother was the only bitch that would put up with him. She was a whore too,” he laughs “once he got sick she dipped… leaving you with some restaurant owner in some random galaxy,” he says, pressing his lips to his drink.

The inebriated feelings of my whiskey high had all but dissipated into raw rage. I grasped onto the grip of gun.

“He left his ship to you. His ship with the finest technology. The technology that has protected you for so long. Keeping your location a secret. He knew I’d be after him. It’s funny… I had just given up hope when suddenly Trota V popped up on my navigation map. 23 years of trying to find his next of kin and you were stupid enough to turn off your ship and port for two weeks in the same place.” He takes another long drink.

My jaw clenched tight as I try and control myself. “Shut the fuck up, you cannibal space gut scum. You know absolutely fucking nothing about my family,” I say through my teeth.

He chuckles, turning forward to face the bar again. “Family… hardly. You wouldn’t know what a family was if it hit you in the face,” he says.

“Shut the fuck up,” I growl.

“You are just like your father. A piece of shit loser with no one who cares about you but a computer as you fuck your way through the universe trying to find the love you have never gotten.”

“I SAID TO SHUT THE FUCK UP!” I quickly stand, swiftly pulling my gun from its holster and aiming it at the back of his head. “I swear to every God in this fucked up universe if you don’t shut the fuck up I will blow a laser through your God damned skull, you fucking understand?,” I say, almost too calmly.

He laughs, then with a swift motion he turns, grabs my wrist and pushes it up to the ceiling, taking the back of head and slamming my face up against the bar. Pain radiates through my nose and eyes. With my hair still in his hand, he lifts me and repeatedly punches me in the face.

As he’s doing this, I manage to get my gun pressed against his knee and before he has time to react I shoot a laser through his knee, separating his thigh from the rest of his leg. He howls in pain as he falls to the floor. My nose and mouth pouring blood.

By this time, the police have arrived and several people surround him and myself. I push them away as I try and keep my eyes on him, rage pulsing through me. Medical personnel begin running in and tend to his leg and several try to tend to my face.

He’s taken away as a police officer walks up to me. “He has several warrants for this galaxy so he’ll be locked up for a long time. Multiple eye witnesses said you acted in self defense so you’re free to go. I will recommend you get your face looked at,” the officer says, his smooth bullet proof suit reflecting the lights in the bar.

I push past him, blood still dripping from my face.