Mars Attacks - Part V
Posted on Sat Oct 31st, 2026 @ 1:04pm by Lieutenant Katya Davi & Commander Rhupert Tyree
1,256 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Shore Leave: Earth
Location: The Drop Zone, Mars.
Timeline: Minutes after Part IV
Kat turned her attention back to the two guards. "Since this is my first time, what do you recommend?" She was curious if they would actually recommend something or just tell her both were good. And maybe she wanted the Marines to wait just a bit longer...
Twitch pulled his sun glasses down over his nose and looked her over, eyed Rhu then pushed the shades back up and considered. Straightening his tie he and said, "Right. A vir.."
Rhu coughed slightly and shook his head at the guard.
Twitch grinned and shrugged.
Kat wanted to know what that was about, but decided it was better to steer clear of anything that might hint of more trouble. Well, maybe not trouble, exactly. She didn't mind that. But in this place, it depended on the kind of trouble. And with whom.
"More or less the same," the guard informed her. "But since you ask, take the booth." He pulled down the sunglasses he was wearing, winked at Kat, then waggled his eyes at Rhu. Then he pushed the shades back up on his face and said, "Booths are cozier. The one at the center is reserved."
Kat pressed against Rhu's arm and smiled at Twitch. "I like cozy. Yeah. We'll take the booth." She gently nudged the thoughts of the Marines to check their mood and attitude so she'd know if they might cause trouble. After her last encounter, she was going to be wary of Marines on Mars. Especially those who were drunk...which was most of them if they were on a weekend pass.
Rhu nodded and smiled. Twitch made updates to his seating charts, Bogo beckoned and led them into the diner. The skaters, done with their routine began darting about, gliding back to tending customers as he and Kat were led to the centermost booth in the diner which allowed them to see everything. "Someone will be with you shortly," Bogo rumbled even as he was turning back for the outside.
Plucking two paper menus from a stand, Rhu gestured toward the small box on the table that altered pale blue and bright yellows with brightly colored vinyl disks. "Individual music machines, though with theme appropriate music from something called the Rock and Roll era." He said as he slid a menu to her. "Sometimes I think Lila dived too deep into old Earth history."
"I happen to like old Earth history--especially the music," Kat replied with a smile. "It's great music to dance to."
"I suppose," Rhu said as he glanced through the menu. "I think they have dance contests at some point for the tourist crowd. Which is a hard kinda thing to do when you have..." he gestured upwards without looking, though there was a grin pulling at his mouth. "Though if you want to audition..."
"I like dance competitions where it's about the dance, not the nudity." Then she couldn't help it, she looked up...and wished she hadn't. It was worse than she imagined. The servers/dancers were in full view. She could see everything. She changed her mental voice to a deep Texas drawl and sent an anonymous mental message to each dancer and said, "Darlin', I'd see a doctor about that rash if I were you. That can't be good for business."
Snorting as he picked up her channeled thought, Rhu covered it with the menu as he said aloud, "I'd look up but I'd worry the next comment would be about the glass being damaged."
Kat grinned. "It's no fun having a contest of wits with an unarmed opponent. I doubt they even know what a sense of humor is. And I'd just counter that if the floor's dirty, they should bathe more often." She shook her head and picked up a menu. "So, since the entertainment is a bust, do they have anything good on the menu?" If she kept this up, Kat would be asking for trouble.
"You can see them from here?" Rhu asked, amusement in his voice as he looked up finally and considered. "Oh yeah. Mid way through the routine. There go the tops."
Then he looked at the menu and said, "Most everything is pretty good. I usually get a double cheeseburger with fries and malt. They have salads though under the pole dancing specials."
"They don't need to know what I can and can't see," she countered with a grin. Then she paused as she contemplated food. "You know, a double cheese sandwich with bacon sounds good. So do fries and a malt."
Rhu touched his menu, highlighting their choices and then settled his back into the holder. Within seconds a youngish human male on roller skates skidded to a stop in front of them dressed in black pants, white button up long sleeved shirt with a bow tie and a paper hat and smiled. "Welcome, to the Drop Zone. I'm Bobby and will be taking care of you. I see a double grilled cheese sandwich, fries and a malt on this side," Bobby said, gesturing to Kat. "Cook's using sourdough or Rye tonight with three kinds of cheddar and provolone. You want that skirted or no skirt?"
"Sourdough, all the cheeses, skirted." She smiled, glad he was better dressed than most. "Thanks."
Bobby nodded and looked at Rhu. "Double double, top heavy with no skirt? Chili cheese fries with onions and a thick malt?"
"Got it in one, Bobby. Thanks," Rhu said as he put the menu back.
Bobby bowed, caught his hat as it threatened to fly away, then skated off calling, "Be back shortly."
Rhu shook his head and said, "I'd kill myself on those."
"I think I'll stick to dancing in shoes. I can imagine a dozen ways I'd have a spectacular fail if I tried that." None of them would be particularly pleasant. And if the terrain was uneven, she'd end up flat on her back with a concussion. It wouldn't be pretty. "So, you come here often?"
He caught part of her thought trail and chuckled. "No. Here and there. It's refreshingly un-Earth. Which can be a poster child for emotional constipation, for all its idyllic setting and desire to be the glowing jewel of perfection and harmony." Rhu shrugged. "Fine for most but not my preferences. And then you run into the politicians and bureaucracy at Fleet and I always feel like I need a shower when we leave."
"And that's why I love operations. I don't have to deal with bureaucrats--unless I'm transporting them somewhere else, or passing on a call. And most of the time, I'm fixing something, so I don't even do that." She didn't have to really deal with any of the higher-ups. Not like Rhu did. So, she couldn't blame him for preferring to hang out here. "Still, some of those we've met here make me want to take a shower just to feel clean." She had to grin as she added, "And if I'm honest, I kinda brought some of that on myself by starting trouble."
She caught sight of one of the Marines they cut in front of and waved.
Rhu didn't bother to look over.
Or up.
A joint post by:
Commander Rhupert Tyree
Master and Commander
USS Valiant.
Lieutenant Katya Davi
Chief Operations Officer
USS Valiant
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