Calling at the Zodiac

Posted on Sat 4th Jul, 2020 @ 2:20am by Yuliette Marayan Dr. & Li Kainon & Radak
Edited on on Thu 16th Jul, 2020 @ 7:10am

1,320 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: The Zodiac, Brown Sector
Timeline: MD 12, 1130

The Zodiac was an occasional point of interest to Kainon, and it‎ wasn’t usually a place he went by himself. The place was usually a source of all kinds of interesting passers-by through Brown Sector. Usually the kind of passers-by that presented some trouble. Kainon found it wise to keep tabs on who was new there.

Radak was one of his oldest friends and current deputies. He’d arrived on a freighter when they were both teenagers after being picked up from an escape pod off of an Orion pirate ship. He was a quarter Vulcan, and nearly as big as a house. Wherever Radak went, he got attention, which was why Kainon usually brought him to the Zodiac. If anything happened, Radak was a fierce brawler, and he had enough Vulcan strength to end most conflicts before they gained much steam. He wore dark lenses over his eyes, a rudimentary visual assistance device that was given to him by the Orion’s after he was blinded in the attack that killed his family.

Kainon has a standing agreement with old Tam’s grandson, Ryvan, to point out any newcomers whenever they came along, in exchange for a slip or a new toy or something interesting. He found the Flaxian boy near the lobby of the apartments. “Hey, Ry,” Kainon said.

“Sheriff!” The boy said. “You got something for me?”

Ryvan was always a hustler. “I got something for you? That’s how you say hello?”

“Ah,” Ryvan squinted up at Kainon. “You got?”

“I got, I got.” Kainon tossed Ryvan a carved piece of wood, polished to a shine. Carved on the face was a Klingon, locked in fierce battle with a group of targhs. “Looks pretty mean, right?”

“Yeah!” Ryvan turned the carved hunk of wood around. “You can see the targh’s guts! There’s a girl. She’s new. Half-Cardie.”

“She have a business here? Room?”

Ryvan shrugged. “Room. Dunno what else. She there,” he pointed at a room flight up.

Kainon nodded and punched Ryvan on the shoulder lightly before taking the stairs up to go see her. Radak followed along. “You think you should be giving the kid Klingon stuff? That’s kinda violent.”

“It’s a carving of a dead targh,” Kainon replied. “We saw way worse stuff when we were his age.”

“And we’re both the picture of mental well-being?”

“I get by,” Kainon said. “Excuse me,” he called to the woman. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

The sound of vigorous scrubbing and scraping was coming from the other side of the triple locked door. At the sound of Kainon's voice it stopped. Everything inside suddenly was very quiet.

The guys loitering shuffled back into their apartments when they saw the sheriff and his deputy filling up the hall.

Radak and Kainon stood near the door. “Miss? My name’s Li Kainon. I’d just like a minute of your time.”

“Maybe tell her you’re not dangerous. That’s always reassuring.”

“Shut up.”

The door they stood at remained silent, but next door, a Grazerite woman maneuvering a walker with her empty bags for food shopping was making a clamorous effort to first get through and then swing herself around again to draw her own door closed. Her arthritic three fingered hands took a while to work the latches and then she looked up, squinting. "What? Who's this?" After a while her poor eyesight registered them more by association with one another overall than any distinct features which she could barely make out. "Hello Sheriff. Mr. Radak," She licked her dry lips with her broad tongue. '"Mr Radak, you are in the way again, child. Always always, in the way."

“Sorry,” Radak said. He stepped aside and pressed his bulk against the wall. “Don’t mean to get in the way, Mrs. Pano.”

“It just comes naturally to him,” Kainon agreed.

Radak frowned at Kainon as Mrs. Pano shuffled by. “You’re always making jokes.”

“Who else will keep you in line, big man?”

The latches on the door in front of them twisted and popped and the door opened a crack. Through the narrow space the half-Cardassisn woman made a scan of the men at the door after listening to their banter and her neighbor berating them. She had a hand in a rubber cleaning glove still on the bottom latch. There was a strong smell of cleaning chemicals that came through the gap. "What is it?"

“Hi,” Kainon said. “I’m Kainon. This is my associate Radak.”

The big man waved at her. “Hi.”

“We were hoping to get the chance to speak with you. You’re new around here, right?”
‎
"Yes. That's right." She answered Kainon but her one eye was awe transfixed on the hulk behind the Bajoran talker. "You're the welcoming committee?"

“Basically,” Kainon replied.

“We didn’t bring any cookies,” Radak said, turning towards her.

“That’s true.” Whenever the fleeters came to visit, he never used his title. It was better if they didn’t know they had their own government building here. But this woman didn’t seem to be anything other than what she was, another refugee either passing through or making a home. “The people around here elected me sheriff. It’s my job to check in with folks, make sure everything’s all right and everybody's happy.”

"I'm happy." She didn't sound convincing.

“Are you planning to stay long?” Radak asked, curious.

Fairly sure they weren't about to try to knock it in, she gave the stuck door a little jog with her elbow so she could get a better view of Radak. She had a scrutinizing expression. Was he wearing sunglasses indoors? "I don't know. What's long?"

“Around here?” Radak shrugged. “Depends on how lucky you consider yourself. Do you consider yourself a lucky person?”

"Heh." She used the back of her forearm just beyond the gloves to wipe her forehead where a film of sweat was built up from her cleaning efforts. "Luck changes abruptly, turns out."

“Then you’ll probably be here for awhile,” Radak replied.

Kainon looked back at Radak, then at Yuliette. “I’m not gonna ask what brought you here. Everybody has their own reasons and most of us don’t want to talk about it. If you have trouble, you can come to me.”

“Us,” Radak said.

“Us,” Kainon said, looking back at Radak again. “Yeah. He’s like my deputy. You can call us.”

They weren't intent on quizzing her? Her shoulders relaxed. "He's 'like' your deputy? Is it try-outs or something? I think you should give him the part."

“Thanks,” Radak replied, sounding genuinely appreciative.

“I keep him on his toes.“ Kainon said. “He does a better job that way. Listen, however long you decide to stay, just keep your eyes open. This might be a Starbase, but the fleet doesn’t have much to say down here. We’re on our own. That includes you.”

"I got that impression. But thanks. Thanks for stopping by." She pulled at the stuck door. It didn't budge the first time so she blushed and then gave it some muscle. It slammed shut.

“Don’t forget to lock up,” Radak offered through the door.

Kainon looked back at his friend. “Who rang your bell today?”

“I don’t know what that means.”

In series, the row of locks snapped back into place.

Kainon looked at the door, then back at Radak. “You’re the strong, silent type,” he said as they headed back for the stairs. “What happened to that?”

“You think I talked too much?”

“Do you think you talked too much?”

Radak said nothing for a moment. “Do you think she thought I talk too much?”

“What?”

“We never asked her name,” Radak said, struck by the sudden realization.

“Sounds like you have homework,” Kainon replied.

 

RSS Feed

Comments (2)