Wild Cards part 5

After sitting and watching Scott and Jessie eat I ordered another two bowls of stew, bread, another soda , glass of milk, and as I did this my stomach growled and I decided to add a third bowl of stew for myself. I blushed as Jessie giggled at me. Scott tried to object to me trying to feed them more but fell silent when I raised a hand to silence him. "I can afford to make sure my crew is taken care of." I told him. I liked these two, a lot. There were many out there that wouldn't even blink an eye at living off of another person or taking advantage of their generosity. These two just wanted a fair shot at a good life, and I was happy that I could give them a shot at it.

We sat and chatted about ourselves as we waited. I learned that Scott and Jessie had met a little under six months ago on one of the space stations out on the boarder. Jessie had explained, as she hugged Scotts arm and smiled up at him, how he had come into the bar that she had been forced to take a job at as a dancer working an off hour shift. She explained how she could barely make enough after paying her split to the bar, to pay for something to eat, drink,and an eco-tube to sleep in. And when bad days came along she had to choose between eating and staying awake or going to sleep hungry.

I felt sorry for her, yes it wasn't the worst existance anyone could have but it was bad. Life on a station was tough if you didn't have a regular job. You were stuck there. You couldn't just walk out of town as you can on planet. You either saved up enough to buy passage on a ship, hired on as crew, stowed away, or paid for your passage another way.

Till then you had to survive. Food and water were a must. But everyone had to sleep sometime and again unlike on planet you couldn't just lay down somewhere. Any place that was out of sight to sleep in was a place you didnt want to be caught in alone, as a male and deffinately not as a female. So when you were poor and living day to day your only real option, if your boss didn't let you crash in a back room, was an eco-tube.

Picture dozens of coffin size tubes built into it a wall like hunney combs. Each with a thin matress, small light in the roof, maybe a cortex viewer that might work, and a spot at the far end to push a bag and use it like a pillow. The best part was they had a door that could be swung closed and latched from the inside. This is what made them worth the credits you paid for an eight hour period of use. The safety you got while inside them.

Jessie went on to explained how this handsome young man came in one night and bought her a drink. How he had teased her about how she had asked for a glass of water instead of alcohol and how he had played a guessing game with her for a chance to take her out to dinner.

Scott blushed the entire time andJessie was just eating it up. She told how he guessed things about her, how he had figured out she was really a mechanic and then told her that she might be able to make a few extra credits fixing the engines on 'his' ship.

Scott defended himself by saying that it was 'his' ship. He had been the pilot of it and he was crewing it, so that made it 'his' ship. But he said all this turning redder and redder.

Scott had introduced Jessie to the captain of his ship and convinced him to give her a chance at fixing their engines,that the current mechanic had said would take a week to fix, which threatened to keep them docked and cost them the job they had lined up.

Scott cut in and explained how Jessie had bounced around the engine room for an hour with every male staring at her in her little shorts till the captain kicked them out except for him, since Jessie swore up and down that she needed his help. But that she really only wanted to flirt with him and stare into his eyes every chance she got.

Jessie slapped his shoulder and denied it all saying she had just not wanted to be left alone with the captain or any of the other crew she didn't know.

I pointed out that she hadn't really known Scott at that time either and she just smiled at me and said "I knew he wasn't going to try to take advantage of me cause if he had planned that he would have tried to take me back to his bunk not his engine room. Plus look at these blue eyes-" she said staring into his eyes as she touched his face. "You can so see the man he is in them."

Scott turned even redder as Jessie kissed him.

"I wouldn't know, I haven't stared into his eyes." I joked and this sent Jessie into a giggling fit.

About then the waitress came over and set our order down and as she stepped away an elderly man stepped up to the table and placed a hand on the back of one of the chairs "Names Edward Diaz, but everyone calls me Paps. Mind if I sit and talk to you about work?" He asked leaning on the back of the chair as he lifted one leg and tapped out an old fashion wood tobacco pipe on the heel of his boot.

I motioned for him to sit and offered him a glass of beer. "Sure, I will take one." He said setting his pipe on the table and fishing in his pocket for something. "So your hiring?" He asked looking to me "Where abouts you heading?" He asked pulling out a small tobacco pouch and dipping the pipe into it.

"Out to the rim. Hit a couple of of the moons then a run out to one of the farming colonies.". That was all the information that I was going to give out. It was always wise to never give out exact information about you route or job. Kept pirates and those hard up on work from getting any ideas about catching you enroute.

I poured him a beer and set it out, "So what you got to offer?" I asked.

Edward looked up as he packed the bowl of his pipe full of tobacco from a small pouch that he had pulled from his pocket, "Not much of a pilot, and really can't fix anything. But I am deadly with a hogleg and I aint affraid of a fight. Plus I can cook." He stated out right as he tucked the tip of pipe stim in his mouth and flicked a lighter open and lit the tobacco with short quick puffs.

Now most would have sent the old man packing with a free beer but anyone that had ever pulled a run or two from the core all the way out to the rim enough times could tell you there were three things that could drive a person crazy out in the black, bordom, lonelyness, and protein rations day in and day out. A crew could fix the lonelyness. A deck of cards could keep of the bordom. But only someone that could cook could fix the last one. "So how good of a cook are you?" I asked interested.

He smiled and used the stem of his pipe to point at the nearly empty bowls of soup infront of us, "I cooked the stew your eatin'."

"If you have work why you looking to leave it?" Scott asked looking from his spoon to Paps.

"Tired of the locals. Can't stand the color purple. Worken eighteen out of twenty four hours a day for three squares and a cot in the store room isn't how I want to spend my twilight years.". He took a drag on the pipe and let the smoke roll out of his mouth slowly then looked right at me with a distant gazem. He might have been looking at me but he was thinking of somewhere else. "Those are all truths enough for you. All though not the main reason." His attention fell on me with a blink. "My grandsons and their families live out on one of the rim worlds."

"And your wanting to go live with your family? That's sweet." Jessie inquired then awed as she looked at Paps with those eyes.

Paps shook his head 'NO' pursing his lips at the thought, "There is no way I would go and nake myself a burdon on my kin. No I just want to go and see them again before I find myself to old to do that." He said takingseveral quick puffs on his pipe.

Jessie and Scotts looks must have shown their confusion to him also cause he wet his throut with a swig of beer them continued, "I am getting on in years and I know I don't have what it takes to work a farm out on the rim. At one time when I was your ages, hell even when I was yours TD's I could have. But years have crept up on me and I know not any more. I would just be another mouth to feed that would only give back less and less each year. No I just want to go see them. Drop of a few things I always swore I would then be on my way.". His eyes fell on me for understanding and hope.

Charity had always been a flaw of mine that I had never been able to get past. I looked him in the eyes and nodded as I told myself it wasn't charity. He served a place in the crew. Even if it was only as cook.

Paps didn't say thank you. To do so would have been him saying he didn't deserve the job or that he had gotten on so far on in years that he could only survive on charity. Which would probably be the death of a man like him. He simply nodded back and went back to smoking his pipe.