In A Starship's Wake

Chapter 43: To New Challenges

A small starmans' bar a few corridors back from the new ore hauler's berth was the place Tyrone and Justine selected to say their farewells to Joseph and his crew. Once they moved Joseph's boxes aboard Tyrone led the group there. He didn't notice the name of the place as he stepped inside but it had the atmosphere typical of a starmans' bar: cheerful, easily overheard boasting on a backdrop of slightly dated but catchy music. The name didn't matter, chances were they would never be back.

"Over there." Justine pointed out a round table with exactly the right number of chairs, a couple rows back from the bar.

"Good eye." Tyrone started toward it, the others trailing after him.

"I wanted a round table. It helps keep everyone engaged in one conversation, as long as you're still able to hear the person opposite you. This place doesn't seem too noisy for that."

Crowds weren't large at this time of day, but there were enough patrons that they were inconspicuous. The peculiar nature of starmans' bars played a role in that. They hosted crews from all over the Teton Sector and foreign nations as well, and the "expected" style of dress had a large range. The only person to take any notice of them was the server, who came to greet them as they took their seats.

"Welcome," she said as she passed out menus. "Will you want anything from the kitchen or just drinks?"

"Just drinks," Tyrone answered, "and please bring the bill to me."

She returned soon after to jot their orders on a notescreen, and within a few minutes everyone sipped in comfort. Tyrone and Justine stuck to non-alcoholic beverages since they would fly out soon after leaving, but Joseph and his crew ordered a variety of beer, wine and whiskey. Great Mandan Laker wasn't scheduled to leave her bay until tomorrow.

Joseph arranged to get her under way quickly by most standards, of which Tyrone was glad. Planned purchase though it was, the balance in their business accounts afterward alarmed him. The ship and equipment nearly emptied their coffers, and he'd feel better when she started to bring and income.

"Some of you are too new to know it," Tyrone began, "but we've been working toward this for quite a few years. I hope you're all excited, because Joseph, Justine and I are about as excited as we can be to get our second ship in space."

"Others of us know full well how excited you are," Charlie laughed. "You'd barely gotten Garden Variety Animal operational when you started talking about this ship. Well, one of you anyway."

"What was that like?" Gordon grinned and glanced sideways at Joseph. "I think you're the only one who met all three before they even had one ship."

"Well, mostly they tried my patience." The rest of the table laughed. "Tyrone and Joseph are completely irrepressible, as Samuel and Rebecca will soon learn, and Joseph is the worse of them. I thought when they bought the Animal I'd get some peace and quiet, but it wasn't two months before Joseph came along again asking if I knew anything about ore haulers. On no day before or since has it been such a misfortune to me that I am an honest man. Once he knew I'd sailed on one before he couldn't stop coming up with more questions!" Charlie lifted his hands theatrically, careful not to hit anyone in the head.

The others tried to muffle their laughter, but for a moment theirs was the loudest table in the bar.

"I think you're exaggerating," Nathan said.

"Well yes, I am."

"Not by all that much," Joseph admitted. "I made quite a pest of myself. There was a lot to learn."

Tyrone swallowed his coffee too quickly trying to clear his mouth, and his words came out in a raspy gasp. "Joseph managed to learn plenty too." He rubbed his throat in hopes of eliminating the sting. "By the time he mentioned it to me he could already counter most of the objections I could raise."