Mars Attacks - Part I

Posted on Thu Jul 30th, 2026 @ 8:21pm by Lieutenant Katya Davi & Commander Rhupert Tyree
Edited on on Fri Jul 31st, 2026 @ 3:47am

1,295 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Shore Leave: Earth
Location: Bars on Mars
Timeline: First couple of days into shore leave.

Rhu looked over the deceptively landscaped area on Mars. The Rust Quarter was a well-known haunt for those who enjoyed an on-the-edge night life in Sol System. Catering to the FMC marines, as well as those who got tired of Earth's We are the shining example of all that's good and pure in the Federation.

He'd been there of course. The whole area, as well as visitor housing was built within and around a northern spur of the Valles Marineris canyon. In the lower regions especially, it was dusk or night about twenty hours out of its day cycle. The Vacuum Vent was a notorious bar in a notorious section. And a street down and two levels up was the Zero-G Zero-Fraks. People visiting there had on more than one occasion tried to take a walk out of the bars third story window to test the grab net.

Sometimes they got caught. Sometimes they didn't.

Dressed in dark, nondescript clothing, he looked at Kat and said, "Well, here we are. One of the infamous districts Sol system and the Fleet doesn't like to admit exists. Grinning he gestured with a thumb, "Or, there's Lila's Drop Zone...burlesque and brothel with shows every hour, with all sorts of activities. The whole area is off limits to anyone in the Academy. They're not even supposed to know about this place till you make J.G."

"It looks like the perfect place to find trouble." Not the brothel. Kat wasn't sure she wanted that kind of trouble. She, too, was dressed in black, but she'd chosen a one-piece outfit with interior pockets so there would be less material to grab. Apart from that, there wasn't anything notable about them. She combined it with a pair of ankle boots with narrow heels. She'd considered stiletto heels, but they would be as much a hindrance as a help. Her hair was wound around her head in a braid to keep someone from grabbing it.

"Might be for best," Rhu commented as he led her along a narrow street, the crowd grew denser as they reached the more active part of the walk. "Tzara was a bit upset last time I passed this way. Time and wounds, that kind of thing." They reached a crosswalk and he gestured toward where loud music came from down the block and neon lights lit up the moisture rich slightly foggy atmosphere that was being projected.

Changing the subject, he said, "The lore is they wanted to project a 1800's old Earth London Vibe. Including the theater to some aspect and the red light districts."

"That first part sounds fascinating. But the red light district reminds me of Jack the Ripper." And not somewhere she wanted to hang out. Even though they were here to get into trouble, she was glad Rhu was with her.

"Nothing to fear there," Rhu said reassuringly as they threaded slowly through the crowd. "Anyone gets overly dumb will have about eighty marines on a bug hunt faster than you can say whoops. But they have incorporated some aspects of creepy to cater to those that want that kind of thrill. No where in Sol system is a real backwater." A crowd of marines erupted from what looked like a piano bar and he took her by the forearm briefly, halting their progress so as not to get swept along.

The marines were singing and more or less on a course for the Vacuum Vent.

One of them, a six foot tall redheaded human paused as he caught sight of the two and he smiled broadly as his eyes fell on Kat. "Heyya. We're heading for some fun. Wanna join?"

She looked him over. "Tempting as that sounds, I've already found my fun for the evening." She nodded her head to Rhu as she gave the marine an apologetic smile. "I prefer my men one at a time."

Rhu kept back. They were hear for training after all and he was the last one to leave opportunity knocking. He could feel the marines...lust?? for Kat. As good looking as she was, the marine was at If it's breathing, why not? level. He could feel the rawness of the alcohol in the marines’ systems and the lusty desire that had been working up for a few hours and through more than a few glasses of full alcoholized booze.

So, to be helpful he reached out with his senses and prodded the impulses. Just as the original marine hesitated, another stepped up who was somewhat more drunk than his friend who looked Kat over, elbowed the first marine and said, "Heyyyy. Hey. Hey," it did take a second and Rhu said, "Hey what, bub...come on. You can get it..." The Valiant's captain kept his face straight as he looked over the crowd and even raised his voice a little to draw more attention.

They didn't need to be in a bar to cause a bar fight after all.

"Heyyyy," the second marine said, finally getting around to where his mind was trying to go, dodging good sense and impulse control all together. "Heyyy," he repeated then said, "You wanna get some pizza and have sex." The marine nearly batted his eyes and staggered slightly as he lined up with his five fellows for a response, the others chortling and elbowing each other.

Kat raised an eyebrow at Rhu. She wasn't sure what he did, but she felt him do something. Then she turned back to the six, who looked like one push would send them falling over like bowling pins. She gave each a slow once-over. "Well now, it looks like I'm going home alone tonight. I think you're too drunk to know what to do if I stripped naked and danced in front of you. So, you'll just have to settle for that pizza...if you can still find it."

Biting off a grin, Rhu just looked non-plussed at the marines as he, very-very briefly, sent a suggestion out that would make all the marines think that Kat was actually starting to remove clothing and dance. They, and any marines within about ten meters found their own brains encouraging private images from their own brains. All he had to do was subtly nudge the hypothalamus, which helped tune up their base drives, and funnel a sensory load into the amygdala. Then it was mere nano-seconds for raw emotion to flood sensory input to their brains. Hormones began flooding the majority of the marines whose personal persuasion could be plucked like a one stringed guitar.

Glancing at Kat in feigned surprise, Rhu said, "Really. Here and now? You're going to put on a show? Didn't we have enough trouble the last time at Down-Unders on Clementine?"
Down-Unders was a very well-known den of iniquity, known for naked Ostrich jousting, among other things. The tea house especially catered to passing Federation Marines.

His words pulsed with subtle, more psychic triggers; his words, letting the marines' own imagination run rampant with their own hidden fantasies which surfaced like bubbles.

All of them with Kat as the star.

Rhu also picked up a couple of stray thoughts coming his way that were directed at him and he glanced slightly at Kat to ghost a wink at her.

The marine who had been doing most of the talking so far wolf whistled and said, "Now that's what I'm talking about girlie. Take it off!!!" The marines all shuffled closer and one Bolian wearing corporal's stripes reached out to help Kat with her tunic.

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Katya Davi
Chief Operations Officer
USS Valiant

Commander Rhupert. Tyree
Master and Commander
USS Valiant

 

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