The Girl and the Unicorn

The Girl And The ɖʀǟɢօռ

"... Kiki! You said that I could see the jewels! And you said you would get one for me if I liked them!"

The whining didn't seem to phase the man. Unperturbed by the irritated woman, he sat at the bar, relaxed, enjoying his shot of strong Everdark.

"... Why is it that we always end up in this kind of dumps! I look awful in this light. Kiki!"
The whining was rapidly growing, reaching a point where it started climbing high the screeching scale.

"...They don't even know Everdark is to be served on ice! Kiki! We leave now!"

The man, still seemingly unmoved by his hysterical companion continued to enjoy his tepid beverage as he surveilled the darkness of the taproom. Two miners were sharing a pitcher of clear, stale ale. The absence of ice was not an issue for them, they looked as well oiled as the machines they worked on day in and day out.

Turning slightly his gaze on the left, he could see a group of tipsy workers entering the bar as a couple of drunker ones were ready to leave. In a quick glance, he continued to look at his surroundings. This bar was a real hole-in-the-wall. How did they end up there, he pondered, taking another sip of the disgustful beverage.

On the other side of the bar, he let his eyes linger a longer moment. There was a tall figure clouded in darkness. This was probably another man drinking his paycheck as fast as he could, he thought not too nicely.

From his vantage point on the back of the bar, hidden in the shadows, the large man kept his eyes to the strange couple who had arrived some twenty minutes ago. As soon as they entered, the woman screamed her distaste of the place. She sounded like a banshee on the prowl.
They shall be married since long enough, he thought, for the man was not reacting to her screeches.
What were they doing in this rat-hole?

The two greenhorns did not risk much, seeing as the population on Psyche was strictly monitored by the Consortium. Here, all was recorded on the security system, and any deviation to the rules of conduct would reduce the pittance those men received for their hard work on the metal-extraction fields.

Most of the population on the asteroid were miners, an expendable resource in the Asteroid Belt. Many drifters ended up on Psyche, the metallic rock. The underground was rich in rare and indispensable ore for the Consortium.

Those men and women extracting the precious metals were coming en masse from the Kuiper Belt mining fields. Sure, the paycheck was better at the edge of the Solar System, but the living conditions did not appeal to many. Adding to this that the mine shafts started to be automated, not many places remained for miners to go to. Europa was already at full capacity, and Deimos and Phobos opened only to specially skilled manpower.

Those two tourists did not fit the profile, the man in the shadows thought. He was getting more curious as he observed them.

Waiting in this dump and looking at the local fauna like he would do when visiting a human zoo was getting on his nerves. The tall man was not patient.

On a spur, he decided that a bit of sport, taunting the tenderfoot and making the woman screech some more, maybe...

"Is there anything I can help with?" The mystery man looked at the couple, flashing his best can-I-help smile.

The wailed complaint stopped net, the woman surprised and intrigued by the tall man standing now beside them.
"Kiki?" Looking at the newcomer, she called her companion with a trembling, uncertain voice.

"Well... not really...," the man deposed gently his glass on the zinc top and turned his face up with a surprisingly refreshing openness in his eyes. "We are just enjoying a break in our day, friend. I'm Mike, by the way. Or Kiki, if you'd like to call me that," he added with a sideways smile.