Sometime in the Future

by Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Kiko Nao Rhys, currently of the ZEPHYR, sat quietly, sipping at her drink. She glanced around the half full bar every now and then, looking for anyone interesting and had already been approached several times. Mostly by the lower class barflies wearing ancient, stained white polyester suits. 'Don't they know Disco is dead?' she wondered. The one interested female that had wondered over had talked a few minutes, then smiled and turned away. One thing the mouse wasn't interested in at the moment was a woman. Sure, Low had always interested her, but that wasn't the kind of itch she needed scratched at the moment. Raising her hand she attracted the waitress's attention. Slowly, deliberately, she was drinking herself into a stupor.

A shadow fell across her, looking up she saw, through alcohol blurred eyes, a rather handsome male standing beside her. 'Almost looks like Felix' she thought to herself, 'He'll do.'

"Seat taken?" the man asked politely.

"No, feel free." She barely managed not to slur the words as she spoke.

The waitress arrived and he gave his order, ordering another for the mouse. "I've pretty much finished business, thought I'd take a few days off to enjoy this station. It's a lot more spacious than the ship."

She nodded, draining the soft amber liquid from her glass. Shoving the empty container aside to join the other dozen or so, she leaned back and stretched. Quietly, Felix Denton admired the view. Offship his crew woman had doffed the lose, baggy coveralls and jumpsuits in favor of a closer fitting emerald green dress. 'Had to have picked it up on station' he decided, studying her curves as the cloth stretched, clinging to more interesting areas. "What brings you to this dive?" he asked.

"Thought I might pick up a date" she replied. "You interested? 'm cheap." The waitress arrived, setting down their drinks. Before Kiko could reach her's Felix picked it up, taking a taste. Setting it back down in front of her he took several deep breaths, waving a hand across his muzzle.

"What is that stuff, it'd pass for rocket fuel in most places."

Kiko giggled, picking up her drink and gulping a third in one mouthful. Swallowing, she sat the glass down hard. "Scotch. It's only eighty or so years old so it's not very mellow, but I can't afford the really good stuff." She took a deep breath, unconscious of her blouse stretching almost to its limit as she inhaled. "Makes you forget all those months cooped up in that time boat of mine."

"Time boat?" Felix asked. "Don't you mean tiny?"

"Yeah, tiny. That tiny little speed buggy of his. She's sweet, I'll give her that. But I'm going crazy stuck in that small cabin alone with a hunk of a Captain only a few meters away."

She gulped the rest of her drink. "Lemme tell yah, he's a grand Captain... Y'ah couldn't ask fer better. Stupidly, I fell in love with him ah long time ago but... Well, yah' don't take advantage of a man, no matter how bad the itch is. No matter how much yer heart bleeds ever time ya' look at 'im. It isn't honest. It isn't proper."

Felix suddenly realized she was so drunk she'd didn't know who she was talking to. "Yah couldn' ask fer better tho. Polite, Honorable, won't take advantage of-ah woman, even though she dreams of it. I'm to old an ugly fer such a handsome man....an that computer of his..." She suddenly stopped, squinting her eyes and staring at Felix. "Oh shit" she managed as it dawned on her who she was talking to. She stood quickly, trying to bow at the same time. All she managed was to pass out, falling flat on the table with a heavy, loose limbed crunch only the truly drunk could manage.

Security had helped Felix carry her to his rooms, once they understood she worked for him. The only real problem had been as he tried to leave the bar, when the bouncer had stopped him. All the huge jackal had done was to hand Kiko's money to the waitress, who had carefully counted it in front of Felix. Returning a few bills, some change and a receipt she smiled at the two. "Have a pleasant evening" she had said, the jackal had then let them pass. Obviously the mouse had run up quite a tab, between her dress and the drinks almost all the money he had given her was gone. 'Would have had to sleep on the ship, or the drunk tank if Arty hadn't told me where she was' he thought.

Laying the unconscious woman on his bed he studied his problem. Her dress, never meant for such rough handling had popped several buttons. The view, although nothing like what he'd seen months earlier when she'd exited the access tube, was one meant to topple even the most moral male. Sighing he pulled back the covers, sliding her body under, then preformed the delicate task of undressing a woman without looking at what he was doing.

A few hours later he laid the repaired dress on a chair next to the bed, taking up his post watching the sleeping woman. Stifling a yawn he idly pushed a waiting wastebasket around with one foot as he reviewed his life, and his encounters with women. Leia stood out as a shining beacon of all that was good in women, but her heart had been torn between Han Solo and that kid Luke, the one with the lightsaber. Felix's crush had stood about as much a chance as a lifeboat against the Deathstar. Then there had been the Imperial agent that had twisted his heart around her little finger, he'd fallen so hard for that vixen. Only to have her try to turn him over to Vader himself. He shivered when he thought of her, so sweet, so innocent, so damn good with a blaster when the showdown came. He wondered if she'd gotten off the hanger bay before Zephyr punched through the forcefield, wondered if her arm had ever healed from the saber strike. So many had tried to catch him this or that way, the mouse was the first one that had really fallen in love with him. He sighed, sitting in the chair next to his bed, crumpling the dress's delicate cloth with his weight. 'Nothing to do but wait until she wakes up' he thought, reaching over to the bed stand to play with the brushes he'd set out. 'And watch her breath.'

Kiko woke in a strange bed, barely able to think. Everything she'd said suddenly rushed back like a steamroller and she moaned. Groaning, she started to sit up only to have a wave of nausea roll over her giving her only a moment before her stomach emptied. Somehow some sort of bucket was in front of her. She grabbed it with both paws and shoved her face into it. When she could breath again she lifted her head, only to have a warm wet towel pressed against it. In minutes her face was cleaned and dried, the bucket gone. Felix Denton sat beside the bed, folding the last towel. "Feeling better now?" he asked.

"Better?" she asked. "I guess so." Sitting up she waited for her head to quit spinning, still enough under the influence that she was oblivious to her lack of clothing. "I'll get my gear immediately Captain Denton" she half whispered, fighting the pounding headache that came after every drunk. "If you'll credit the station any remaining back pay I'll be out of your life in about half an hour, worst case. It shouldn't be hard to find a job on a station this big." Taking a deep breath she tried to stand, only to sit down again as the universe faded away. "You better make that an hour."

"What makes you think I want you to leave" he asked, gently combing her hair with a soft brush. "What have you done that would make me want you off the ship."

Kiko bit her lip, looking away. Suddenly realizing her state of undress she grabbed the sheet, backing away as she pulled it up to cover herself. "Sorry" she mumbled, "Didn't mean to try an seduce you." She pressed the sheet flat against herself, rubbing it nervously. "I... I let you know how I feel" she whispered. "You can't run a ship with a lovesick old woman on your crew, not now that you know. And you did say you didn't need any crew." She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, focusing on that pain she used it to keep herself from crying. She was fighting a fast losing battle with her emotions. "Everything is fine on the ship right now, Arty will confirm that. I finished the last repair before taking leave. I've no place with you anymore, neither one of you need me now." She shivered, looking up into Felix's eyes as her self control shattered, her own eyes brimming with tears. "I could get neutered, it wouldn't take long and they can even sew...."

Felix grabbed her chin, stopping her words. Looking into the tear filled eyes he grimaced, 'She's got it bad' he thought. "Tell you what" he finally said. "We'll spend the next week or two at this station. If we can't find some better way to resolve the problem by then... Well, then I'll leave you here like you asked, no strings, no hard feelings and a good letter of recommendation." He picked up the bucket, a plastic trashcan, and stood. "And no neutering, cutting or sewing or whatever. Now you get dressed while I clean this up, then we'll go out for some fresh air."

Opening the 'fresher door a few minutes later he stared at the woman carefully buttoning her blouse. Unlike her shipboard clothing, this dress had been made to accentuate her body, not hide it. Remembering a few of her comments to Arty for an instant, in his mind he saw her in a leather outfit he'd seen in the Broadway. True, she was no beauty, not unless you liked middle-aged and muscular women. He'd counted five or ten grey hairs on her pelt as she slept, not counting the large white patch on her head where she'd been shot so long ago. He knew there had to be more and she was right. The probability of anyone in this galaxy giving him a child was remote, not unless he found a genetics expert somehow. Still, in the soft bedroom light she shone like a jewel for a moment.

Shaking the mood he smiled, suddenly stepping aside from the door. There was no way he was going to get involved in a shipboard romance, not another one. If they couldn't work it out, well... She was right, he really didn't need a full time crewmember and good mechanics were a dime a dozen on this station. "Ah-hem" he coughed, getting her attention. "I guess you might need to use this yourself. Afterwards we'll go out and get a bite. Maybe some nice hot greasy eggs and bacon, followed by a thick cold eggnog and butter cookies."

"You bastard" Kiko cursed as she dove through the door, her hand over her mouth as his laughter followed her.