Opalina Outpost

Chapter 16: Starmesa

Ravi stood at the head of the muster room table, waiting for the crew to roll in. Bonanza had gone better than he'd hoped. It had been a haze of sprinting from event to event, but overnight the whirlwind of the day crystallized into glowing memories. He sifted through them again, marveling.

Orvaska thrashing the top-trained recruits from Enforcer units. Yorune, Onfenka and Rosareen stunning all of the people who had scoffed at their robot in the Build round with their performance in the Application round. Jossen blubbering praise at everyone during the raucous train ride home. Aziri exiting the pits with a top score and being pounced on by what Ravi was fairly sure were scouts for the cryptics intelligence branch of the All-Territories Rangers. Teres beaming in spite of her split knuckles and bruised shins. Duhar spinning in the center of a wild sim machine as he flipped it upside-down. Lio, pushing through that obstacle course, undaunted by how ridiculous he looked. And then spitting icicles with a smile, right in Gadsen's face. He probably shouldn't feel quite so gleeful about that last one.

Jossen plowed through the muster room door with a plate in hand. "I made pancakes to celebrate this morning," he said, and held the plate out to Ravi. "Saved you some."

Ravi grinned as he accepted the offering. He wouldn't have guessed that this Jossen was hiding somewhere beneath the sour exterior he'd first met at Opalina. But everything about this place turned out to be a surprise.

The crew, loud and buoyant, took their seats. Ravi rapped the table for their attention. "Morning."

A loud, incomprehensible choir of responses swamped the muster room. The high from yesterday had definitely not faded for any of them. He inclined his head. "Congratulations again, for an awesome performance. We were one of the top five crews at Bonanza. That alone is a major addition to your resumes, but—" He held up a hand to forestall the table-smacking and hooting. "I'm also happy to tell you that this crew earned eight commendations—"

They really cheered then, pounding fists on the table, stomping their feet, and this time Ravi didn't wait for them to quiet. He just shouted over the noise. "Which means you all now have ten commendations on your resume." He grinned. "Which also means you've earned a day off.

"Yes!" Duhar rocketed up from his chair. Teres let out a screech, while Onfenka and Rosareen high-fived across the table. Even Aziri and Orvaska applauded.

"Here's the deal," Ravi continued, "I'm happy to give you all a free day and everyone just does whatever. Or, we could all head into town for the day and hang out, or...I dunno, picnic at the Amphitheater or something. Whatever you want."

"I vote town," Rosareen said instantly.

"We could go to Ferdi's!" Duhar added.

Accosted by the memory of the last time he'd been at Ferdi's, Ravi kept his gaze on the table and his mouth shut, hoping no one noticed the way his cheeks warmed.

"I have an alternative proposition." Lio raised one finger. His eyes gleamed as he leaned forward and looked around at the crew. "It's Neon Night at Starmesa."

Clubbing was not his gig. And most of the crew were still on the service years stipend, which wasn't exactly a lot of credits for the kind of entertainment Lio was likely used to. Ravi arched a warning eyebrow. "Starmesa isn't cheap, Lio."

"There're always more people there than they actually let in," Teres added. "We could end up standing in a line outside all night."

"No, no, I'll get us in. Trust me," Lio said. "And the cover credits are on me."

"Will it be very loud?" Onfenka said.

"Not all of it! There are seven different bars in there, cozy little nooks, there's a whole art gallery, and the roof—" He flattened himself across the table, arms outstretched. "Come on, people, it's so amazing, and you can't do your service years out here without ever once setting foot in Starmesa!"