Fiction Friday: Old Times 2.5

Previously:
0.1
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3

2.4
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The Capsuleer deck on the outpost was not as lavish as one would find in a larger station in the empires but it was still very upscale. Durable nano carpet , indirect lighting, faux wood panels, real plants and trees all combined to make one aware of the importance of the guest staying here.AS if the 100K ISK clothes the people walking by wore wasn't enough of an indication. I wore a sharp Caldari slate grey suit that looked form fitting but actually had some spots where weapons could hide comfortably and were easily accessible. I wasn't expecting too much trouble yet but if the Guristas were after Jax right this moment I wanted to be prepared.

I had looked him up in the station directory before getting here and saw he had not rented a more comfortable and long term room in the centre of the outpost but was staying in the small short term "captain's quarters" where a pilot's capsule awaited for embarking and disembarking. All stations with capsuleer facilities (which was all major stations in the cluster) had them; the ones in Gallente space are the most comfortable while the ones in most of Minmatar space are barely functional. On an outpost like the Stone the quality of the quarters fell in the middle. Serviceable for a short stay, but I wouldn't want to live there. 

Jax had been living out of his for a month. 

I turned down a major thoroughfare and over a pavilion of small shops to enter into increasingly smaller corridors as I moved from the centre of the station towards the outside where the ship docking facilities were. Finally I entered the outer corridor where the captain's quarters were and headed down the hall to Jax's, number 2174, and I buzzed the door.

A few seconds passed and then the door lock flipped to green. I waited, but no one opened it. I pressed the "Open" button and cautiously entered the dim lit room. My augmented ocular implants immediately adjusted for the levels so I could see in the dimness as if I had been standing in the dark for hours, and it was a good thing too as out of the corner of my right eye I saw a figure move forward and swing a bar at my head.

I pivoted and ducked and the wild swing whooshed past my head. I stepped forward with my left hand reaching for the nearest arm that went by with the club while my right hand slapped forward to the attacker's head and jarred his skull in an disorienting strike. As my right hand descended from the head strike to grab the left shoulder, my left hand grabbed the assailant's left wrist and from there it was an easy sweep to take out his left leg and circle him to the floor at my feet.

I placed my right foot on the side of his neck while pulling up on the left wrist I still had in my hand, effectively pinning him into place. I could see that the club he was using was a piece broken off a chair, heavy durable plastic that would have left a nice dent in my head had it landed. I stepped down a little harder and he grunted under my foot.

I reached out and activated the lights and looked down to see who I had pinned.

"Dammit Jax, you just about got yourself killed," I said.