Out of Pod Experience

Cass enters the bar and takes a seat next to Alice.
"Hello "daughter". How's the coffee?"
"...slurrp slurrrpp mnnlliicious slurrrp..."

Cass smiles and orders the same after she snaps her fingers, indicating the two young Kaltanas to glomprush Alice.....

Her Eyes are Shut and she is waving her body back and forth in the chair listening to her Music.
The Song Finishes and she opens her Eyes too See Cass sitting Beside her.
Alice Pulls the headphones off

- Cass!!

Launches Forward and Hugs Cass
Sits back down again.

- How Are you! I Haven't Seen you for ages!!

- Wait what are you doing?

She Says as Cass Orders over the Younger girls
Alice Assume the Fetal position in her chair as two young Kaltanas to glomprush Alice

BOOM!
CRASH!
The Chair Breaks Sending everyone to the floor on top of Alice

- Ow Ow Owieeeeee

*smirks and giggles madly*
That was epic timing...am I good? Yes? Yes.

Succus comes to the table with a steel-reinforced chair and quickly places it under Alice's butt as she attempts to seat on another ordinary chair. Then Succus takes the remnants of the glomped chair and hands them to Twinkle, and says to Alice:

- In the future, try to not break our furniture, miss.

Monica and Maria take their chance and kiss both his cheeks as Succus leaves, and Alice mumbles:

- Grmrumfum grumpy fgangrgfar, slurp, slurp.

Her Smile Disappears
Alice Ignores the Steel Chair

Mutters to herself - Does he think I'm FAT?! Grrrr I got jumped on by two Kaltanas.

Alice is now Pouting and staring at her feet.

*Meanwhile at Jufvitte, Roden Shipyards station*

- A-a-augh!

Ishtanchuk Fazmarai wakes up with a intense nausea and rushes to the toilet, struggling to recall how the concealed door could be opened at Gallentean CQs. She barely makes it to the toilet before her stomach decides that it has had enough of whatever she ate/drink... when? Yesterday? And how did she end at the couch? Relieved but humiliated, Ishtanchuk Fazmarai takes a shower, struggling with her memory, but she can't recall anyhting after commentign with the Kaltanas how much would she enjoy leaving Jufvitte. After the shower ends the drying cycle (barely, as one of the air jets is not working), Ishtanchuk Fazmarai drops her clothes into a travel bag and walks towards the pod. Then her pad buzzes an alarm and she picks it back from the bag; the alarm is a text message and it says:

>>From: Zoe Kaltana

Heya Ish! I hope you're awake already! Tonight we had some fun, as four thugs tried to shot us. You were inconscious, they had put something on our drinks. But those punks didn't knew that capsuleers have our brain chemicals so messed up that it's hard to foretell how will we react to hipnotics. Anyway Chloe made short work of them and we left before the police arrived, and then we hacked the security cams so it will take a while before they can identify us. I suggest you to leave ASAP before CONCORD unlocks the CQ records to the local pigs. Call us if you think you'll need escort for that hippy Arby of yours!>>

Ish re-reads the message again, shocked. Then she browses the local stations news and finds a headline:

>>Four local gangsters dead in shooting; female capsuleers involved

Four members of the Gros Cochon gang were killed tonight in a shooting at the Cow's Inn. According to eyewitness, the gang members would had started shooting on a group of three female capsuleers, one of which was unconscious. Then the capsuleers returned fire, with deadly consequences to the gangsters.

The gang men, identified as F.d.R, G.N., T.G. and L.P., were known suspects of other violent assaults and (...) >>

- I absolutely HATE this place! -says Ish. Then, she throws the pad into the travel bag and rushes to the pod, not minding that one of the shielding screens is broken and her nudity is potentially exposed to the cavernous docking section. After reaching the pod, Ishtanchuk throws the travel bag into its compartment and quickly starts the fill sequence. A few minutes later, her Arbitrator type cruiser leaves the station and warps to the first gate in her travel back home. As the gate activates, Ish thinks to herself:

- F*** you Jufvitte and farewell! Civilization, there I go!

Brooooorl... POW-JAH!, goes the gate, and as the pod interface resynchronizes to the new system, Ish thinks: "Minus 17 and counting". It will be a long travel home, and even longer as she retrieves some of the stuff that's been left scattered around since she started running missions away from her headquarters, but she feels happy in space for the first time in two weeks.

That was a real quick fight!

Draw.

- Mmm... Ish?
- Yes?
- Do you mind that I call you gipsy?

Ishtanchuk Fazmarai looks at Onzo, then answers:

- No, why? It's just a nickname, baldie.
- Well, I just... wouldn't want to offend you.
- Are you OK?
- Yes, yes, I'm fine...

Ish puts on her heels and straps them, then tests that they're tight as she's been noticing that the left strap haves a tendency to loose. After some tests, she looks back at Onzo.

- No hard feelings, OK?
- Well... I was wondering... maybe there will be...?
- Was a one time deal, right? I told you. Don't make it complicated.

Ishtanchuk Fazmarai grabs her jacket and zips it, then takes her purse and looks around for any stray items.

- I must be leaving now, that stupid agent keeps offering me jobs in low security space and probably i'll be out from here in a day or two.
- Nice... I, errr, I will go back to mining some more...
- That's good.

Ish walks to the door, then she stops and tuns around.

- Did you used an agent?
- Huh?
- A locator agent?
- Well, I... in a way... I asked someone to use it -Onzo looked embarrased.
- I already figured, was too much a coincidence that we met on your birthday.
- He he... you caught me...
- But you did it right. Everything, from start to end. Just telling you, in case that you wondered... -Ish smiled and winked, and then she left the room. Onzo tracked her with his eyes, not missing a detail of her figure until the door shut behind her, then he mumbled:
- Holy sheesh... why is she so difficult? Supposedly it's me who had her... but, I feel used instead?

Outside at the corridors, Ishtanchuk Fazmarai walked slowly towards her CQ. She was more confused emotionally than she wished to admit, but anyway she felt like now she would be rid of the recurring dreams about the Greater Fool Bar, Albert and having sex during a disaster. The incident about the four slain thugs just had made the dreams worse, or maybe it was the hipnotic in her drink... Deep inside of her, a twisted shadow of the moral teachings fom childhood made her feel guilty about what could be considered using a friend. But then, another voice, stern and mercyless, answered that Onzo just had got all he bargained for when he set up the "casual" encounter with a friend with the intent to go beyond friendship.

"I bet he's got a damn happy birthday", thought Ish, and she smirked in a way that made a passer-by smile back at her.

Indahmawar Fazmarai stretched her arms delicatey in front of her, and asked Succus:

- Do you know where is Ishtanchuk?
- Mistress Fazmarai left a while ago, and she told me that she would be at the Kaltana Roman Baths, Miss Fazmarai.
- Thank you, i'll go there too, then.

Indahmawar walked to the Roman Baths and checked the user' lsit while she udnressed; according tot he baths' records, Ish was at the caldarium, and so Indahmawar wrapped herself with a towel and followed the corridor to the hot room. Inside the dim lighting, she noticed a white bulk at the bottom of the hall, by the bathtub, and as she closed in and her eyes adapted, she could see Ish's body laying down on the banks. She was asleep, breathing quietly as sweat slowly dripped from her neck and shoulders, and grayish spots could be seen on her towel where sweat had soaked the cloth. Indahmawar thought that she should be really sleepy to withstand the heat, and tapped on her shoulder to awake her. Ishtanchuk turned her head and looked at Indah, and she was startled to see Ish's face. She was emaciated, with large bags under her eyes and her lips and cheeks were pale even in the heat of the room.

- Ishtanchuk! Are you okey?
- Ehh...? Indah, it's you? -slurred Ish.
- Yes... are you OK? Get out of here, you've been too long under this heat!
- I... I fell asleep... maybe...?

Indahmawar helped Ish to stand up and walk to the door, unsteadily. Outside of the caldarium, Indah leaded Ishtanchuk to the dressing rooms before the frigidarium, and albeit Ish was already reviving, Ish pushed her under one of the showers and removed the towel covering her before turning the tap. As the cold water sprinkled on Ishtanchuk, Indah noticed that she had lost weight.

- Ishtanchuk, what's happening? You even are slimmer!
- I am having some issues... to sleep well. i... oh, can't we talk later? At the frigidarium?

Indahmawar showered herself and picked a bikini, while keeping an eye on Ish as she dressed with a swimsuit and a bathing cap. She moved normally and looked better, but nonetheless her cheeks still were pale and contrasted horribly with the dark bags under her eyes.

The cousins walked to the cold pool and Ish dropped herself in it without hesitation, swimming quickly across the witdth of the pool and back. Indah sat on the poolside with her feet in the water and Ishtanchuk loaned on the poolside, still in the water.

- I'm sorry to have frightened you, Indah. I am very sleepy because I can't sleep well... and I am having some strange dreams which wake me up and then I can't sleep again. i've been losing lots of sleeping hours...

Then Ishtanchuk quickly summarized her recurring dreams about meeting acquitances in bizarre situations and inviting her to "come withus, you willhave fun", then meeting Indah as she had sex with Albert Kuvai and how he would move on Ish as a disaster (explosions, decompressions, falling into wormholes, fires...) destroyed the station around them. Ish explained how she wuouldn't be able to sleep after the dream ended and how that had be been depriving her of rest.

- And it's wearing on my nerves, too -said Ish, speaking softly.
- Have you checked it with someone?
- Yes, kind of did it. I had a neural remap and suggested to double test my slot 5 plug and the implant on it. Everyhting was normal and the technician didn't asked, nor i tried to ask for a doctor. I don't want...
- But Ishtanchuk, maybe there's something wrong with your implant!
- Or my brain... or my mind. You know, there's quite few civilian literature on psychology of capsuleers. I guess that most psychlogists choose to stay away of "rogue" capsuleers... but there are military reports, just I still haven't accessed them. The Ashtantan don't have any previous intel and currently they aren't well connected in the military so it may take a while, but then...
- You think that you may suffer a mental issue? -asked Indahmawar, her heart rushing in fear and concern.
- Wouldn't be impossible, would it? We capsuleers expose our brains to all kind of unnatural stress and efforts... I... i even thought that maybe it was some kind of... sexual appetite... but that didn't worked. The only improvement was when I arrived at the Bar, three days ago. The dream took longer to happen the first two nights, but tonight I just slept three hours. I am exhausted...

Ishtanchuk dived slowly into the pool and Indah followed her, then both cousins swimmed in silence for a while.

- And you, indahmawar? -asked ishtanchuk-. How are you doing?
- Well, i've been working on that project you mentioned...
- Oh, that prototype? And how has been?
- Well, interesting, yes, but don't know wether will be profitable... they are not really testing it already, just are doing preliminary runs...
- And how's that like?
- They use a dry connection, like with VR. I think it's one of those cold pods they used to use for VR, actually.
- And they allow you to wear undies?
- Yes, it's a dry connection... but I think they plan to move on wet connections, because you're standing, it's not like the VR pods which keep you horizontal...
- The idea is interesting, and they were having issues to find volunteers.
- Yes, they are very happy with us three. Are a funny bunch, commoners but... informal. They are too nerdy to be intimidated by having three capsuleers around. Probably it distresses them more that we are girls, than anything else - Indahmawar laughed, and Ish pictured her surrounded by crazy neckbeard scientists in dirty white coats and focusing on their pads rather than look at the partially naked volunteers clinging on the straps of their crazy machine. The image made her laugh.
- Do we play some monkeyheads, Indah?
- Of course... I'll take the first round.
- As you wish.

When Monica and Maria came later with some drinks, the Fazmarais still were playing and having fun, all their worries being ignored for a while...

Seats by Alice, turns on TV and stealthily pours some of her Irn-Bru into Alice's coffee.