Under the Sundowner Part 02
Under the Sundowner: Part 2
by Prowl-Ar Nightiger
Daniel walked into the common room on the bottom floor of the Sundowner Cantina. It was furnished with three chairs in light gray, dingy yellow, and dark green. All of them had the ends of the arms torn up with dirty white stuffing falling out. A brown couch piled with mismatched cushions and bricks holding up one side, sat in the corner. In the center of the room was a table held up with packing crates. The walls were decorated with an assortment of warning signs, graffiti, and posters ranging from pin-ups to holo-drama advertisements.
"It isn't the palace, but at least is has that homey lived in feeling." Daniel said as he flopped down on the couch. A cloud of dust billowed into the air followed by a fit of coughing.
Alec and Duo looked at each other and then started laughing.
"Oh yeah, it definitely has that quaint fixer upper feeling to it. Did you look at the table?" Alec asked as he tilted the table up so that Daniel could read it.
This mine is the property of the Great Kindra D'mize. Trespassers will be tortured before execution.
"Wow, that has to be ancient. You know we might be able to sell that for a bit of spending money."
Alec flipped the sign over.
Property of Meonii Shadowrunner, stolen while Kindra was in the mine. Beat that if you can Mr. Fireshadow.
"You've got to be kidding!"
Duo shook his head and tossed a video pad to Daniel. "This was in one of the crates."
It contained a video log of a space racer flying along the surface of a ship and buzzing the command deck. "Damn, she wasn't there, I guess that just means I'll have to do it again when she's on the command deck. You're not winning this one." A second video of the same ship began to play. "The next few seconds are likely to be my last but I'm hoping that this recording won't be destroyed. Meonii our game is at an end so this one is for you as well. I'm returning your killer to his master." As the racer approached the bridge a projectile shot forward. The video showed a figure in red diving into the crew pit as protective shielding slid into place protecting her. "I missed. I failed. Holy crap! I'm alive!" Dare's voiced echoed through the room as the video ended.
"So I guess that mean's we won't be selling the sign then."
"I should hope not. I can think of a lot of people who would be very upset if you even tried." A young man with bright red hair said, as he stepped off the lift and into the room.
"Are you room service? Because I could really go for something to eat." Duo said as Daniel returned the video pad to its crate.
"Yeah, my name is Tye, and I'm here to make sure you settle into your new surroundings. From the look of things a lot has settled. So I'm thinking you three have a lot of cleaning to do." Tye said as he dropped into the gray chair.
"Okay, so you're not room service. So who are you?" Alec asked
"I told you, I'm Tye, and I'm here to make sure you get settled in. I suppose that isn't enough? Fine, Dare asked me to come down and check on you while Dawna is reading him the riot act for taking an untested scout ship into a restricted system for its test flight."
"Test flight? You're kidding. Please tell me you're kidding." Duo said as he stood up and started pacing.
"I'm not kidding. I guess you could say that Dare lives a charmed life. He can get away with almost as much as Prowler can. Though, to tell you the truth I'm glad I'm down here at the moment. Da-Dawna is on edge at the moment because Prowler hasn't checked in for a few days now. So I'm not sure just how he's going to get out of this jam."
"You realize that I'm here because I believed these two madmen had already made arrangements with Lord Lightstripe. It wasn't until we landed that Alec informed me that he had planned on defecting, but he didn't know how we'd be received. Then he told me that the only contact he's had is a single transmission from this Dare person. Now you tell me that Dare is in trouble with Lady Lightstripe. Oh God, what was I thinking following these two?" Duo ranted as he continued to pace.
"Alright, just calm down, there's no need to get upset. I promise that Lord and Lady Lightstripe won't hold Dare's actions against you."
"How can you be so sure?" Duo yelled as he shifted and sank his claws into the back of the green chair.
"I wonder how many rooms the gang actually found?" Tye said as he stood up.
"What!"
"Well, I figured while I was here I'd help you clean." Tye said as he pulled a small metal device out of his pocket and turned toward a wall with "Dare to Dare" scrawled across it in orange paint.
"Don't change the subject!" Duo yelled as the lunged toward Tye.
Tye sidestepped and Duo hit the floor. Tye shifted and was on him in a flash. He rolled the panda over and sank is claws into the thick fur around Duo's neck. A small trickle of blood stained the white fur red. "You should have taken the hint and let the subject drop. We may look about the same age, but I've had more training than you could even imagine."
"I should have known. You're a spy for the Dacat Clan." Alec yelled as he started to stand.
"Don't either of you even think of moving. This is between the two of us." Tye said, as he leaned down next to Duo's ear and whispered, "I'm not a spy for the Dacat Clan. I'm a member of the Accordia Defense League. The last time I was on Shendria was over two thousand years ago, and the only tiger shifters at that time were the Lightstripes and the Dawncallers. I've been in hyper sleep since then. So in a way, I'm partially responsible for the Dacat Clan finding Shendria, but that's my only connection. Now do you have any questions?"
Duo carefully shook his head no.
"Good, now I'm going to let you go. However, if you ever attack me again, I'll kill you. You also have my word that Lord Lightstripe will make sure your Clan knows that you died without honor. Is that understood?"
"Yes." Duo gasped.
"Then we can be friends again." Tye said, as he withdrew his claws and helped Duo to his feet.
"So you're a member of the Dawncaller Clan?" Daniel asked as he slowly stood up.
"You have good hearing."
"Yeah, well I've had a lot of practice at listening in on whispered conversations. That's how I learned that Lord Lightstripe was here in the Vesuvian system." Daniel said as Duo returned to his seat. It's also how I found out Alec was planning on coming here to find him."
"So now that you know who I am how about introducing yourselves?"
"Sorry about that, I'm Alec Brushfighter." Alec said as he shifted to his median form and held out his hand.
"An elk? This is a surprise. The last time I was on Shendria both the Brushfighter and the Mysticwarrior Clans weren't required to serve outside the Shendrian system. Due primarily to the rarity of members who experience First Shift."
"Yeah well, what with the complete personnel change at Gateway, that unwritten rule disappeared. My name is Duo, by the way." Duo said, as he shifted back to human form and began to wipe the blood away from the punctures on his neck.
"I suppose that you're going to tell me that your friend hiding over there on the couch is a Desertsentinel."
"No, he's a Da-"
"Daniel Dawncaller." Daniel quickly interrupted Alec, as he stood up to shake Tye's hand. "Though my close friends call me Stripes."
"Daniel, don't be rude, you know when greeting a fellow shifter in private you should shift." Alec said glaring at Daniel.
"Sorry, I don't mean any offense, but I don't feel like it right now." Daniel said as he stalked back to the couch.
"Listen, we're not on Shendria and Tye isn't a Dacat; he isn't going to be like everybody else. Don't mind him he's just embarrassed to shift because . . ."
"Alec! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"
"I haven't said anything yet, but if you don't tell him then I will. It isn't that big a deal."
"Fine, if you think he really needs to know then I'll tell him. Though I'm still not going to shift. The reason I'm called Stripes is because I haven't got any." Daniel said, as he turned his back and buried his head under a cushion in order to hide from the laughter that he knew was coming.
"What is he talking about?" Duo asked staring at Daniel. "I saw his stripes when we met in the pilot's locker room."
"He dyes his fur and then remains in his median form so that no one knows. When he landed probably had to shift to his human form in order to keep a low profile. Now if he shifts back he'll have to re-dye his fur."
Tye shook his head and walked over to the couch. He sat on an arm and lifted the cushion. "So you want to come out? I promise I won't laugh."
"Yeah right."
"Hey, you've seen my fur, do you really think bright yellow with red stripes is natural?"
"It could be."
"Sure it is now, but only after a minor bit of genetic manipulation."
"You mean I could have stripes?" Daniel asked, as he sat up.
"Of course, and you can have them in any color you want."
"You know, if I was the one in your situation I wouldn't bother getting stripes. I'd go for black fur leaving the stripes white. That'd put everyone who thought there was something wrong with you in their place." Duo said, as he winked at Tye.
"That would be one option. I suggest you talk to Lord Lightstripe and see what he thinks before you decide something like that, though. So, now that we've all gotten to know each other how about we get to work cleaning this place up a bit?" Tye asked, as he walked over and picked up the device he'd dropped when Duo attacked him.
Several musical notes trilled through the air and then a loud click as a hidden door opened.
Tye frowned and pushed the door shut. "Damn, I thought that was the one for the broom closet but I guess it was for the kitchen."
The three pilots jumped up and headed toward the door.
"You do realize you can't get in without the proper code? Even if you did, there wouldn't be anything to eat in there until someone goes out and buys some supplies. So tell you what, if you three get this place cleaned up I'll go and do a bit of shopping." Tye said, as he tried another button. A different tune sounded and another door opened. He glanced inside just to be sure it was the broom closet before heading toward the lift.
Daniel, Alec, and Duo nearly stumbled over each other in their rush to get to the cleaning supplies.
Tye smiled as the lift doors closed. "The old bait and switch works every time."
* * *
Tye gently placed a large duffel bag on the couch and then returned to the lift. He returned with a hover cart containing a large black packing crate. The only difference he could see in the room was that the floor had been vacuumed. The room was empty so he figured the guys had gotten tired of waiting for him and went out to find something to eat. He dropped into the gray chair again and was pleasantly surprised to find that it had been thoroughly cleaned as well.
"Since they cleaned, I guess I'd better get the kitchen set up for them." He sighed, stood up, and unzipped a side compartment of the duffel bag. He pulled out two door handles and then zipped the bag back up before pulling the door activation unit out of his pocket. He hit the button and the musical tone sounded once again opening the kitchen door. He walked over to the door and pushed the locking mechanism. Small panels slid open on both sides of the door and Tye carefully lined up the two handles before pressing them into place on each side. A loud click echoed though the two rooms as the connections locked into place.
"That should make things easier." He said, as he swung the door back and forth several times to make sure the connection was secure and the lock was disabled. He nodded to himself as he walked back to the couch to get the hover cart.
As he entered the kitchen his jaw dropped. The room was spotless even the top of the refrigeration unit had been washed. "Obviously those three found a way in here." He muttered, as he increased the hover carts lift so that the bottom rose to chest level. He quickly punched a code into the crates control panel. The sound of latches disengaging with loud clanks and the hiss of air rushing into the vacuum in the case filled the room.
He left the hover cart floating above the table and walked over to the matter generation unit. After a minute studying the unit he frowned and walked back out into the living area. He opened the broom closet door and rummaged around inside until he found a tool kit. Then he returned to the kitchen and wedged a metal crow bar into the small space between the generation unit and the wall.
"I've heard of people going the extra distance to clean but that's just ridiculous."
Tye jumped at the sound of the voice and dropped the crowbar into the small space behind the unit. "Shards!" He swore, as he turned toward the person that had entered the kitchen. "Arlen, this is not what it looks like."
"It looks like you're trying to slip more illegal technology past me. It wasn't enough that you installed those damned sonic doors? This floor is likely twice the size it used to be. You're as bad as your father with all the secret rooms. I'm still pretty sure I haven't found all of them yet. Though I haven't found it yet, I also know you've installed a complete virtual reality chamber extending the depth of the cantina by another two floors! Now you've run out of room so you're prying out the matter generator."
"I-I'm just trying to replace the old unit. This new one is much better." Tye stammered as he stared at his feet.
"Right, I suppose one of you geniuses figured out a way to make the food from one of those things taste good." Arlen said as he walked over to the unit pushing Tye out of his way. He bent down and ran his index finger along the bottom edge of the unit until he found a button, which he promptly pushed. The matter generator rose slightly and Arlen pulled it away from the wall. He then reached behind it and unhooked the power cable. "There, that's all you had to do."
"Thanks." Tye said as he pushed the unit out into the living room. When he returned he found Arlen picking up the crow bar.
"I know I've already said this but you really do take after your father. I swear, if anyone can come up with the hard or stupid way to do something he can." Arlen said, shaking his head.
Tye just shrugged as he hid a smile. He lowered the hover cart and removed the top and sides of the crate. The new matter generation unit looked almost identical to the one he had just removed. Though on the top, just below the controls, the familiar diamond and slant Z insignia of the Shadow Runners was stamped into the metal. Also a large flame logo of the Fyretech Corporation was painted across the front. He activated the antigravity unit and slid the new matter generator into the bay where the old one had been.
"And here I thought you were the technical genius." Arlen said as he motioned Tye to pull the unit way from the wall. He reached behind it and plugged it in.
Tye turned bright red as he slid the unit back into place and shut down the antigravity field. "Actually, Trace is the one that is good with the physical aspects of technology. I'm better at working with programming and figuring out why things aren't working the way he wants them to."
"So what did you two do to make this unit better than the old one?"
"Nothing, that is, Trace and I didn't do anything. Dare borrowed one of the generator units off the Final Voyage, you know, that prisoner ship we rescued from the Terran Confederation of Human Worlds? Anyway, their unit was much more advanced then the one's we've been using." Tye said, as he activated the unit's control screen and started the initiation program.
"Listen Kid, you're going to have to prove that statement. No matter how good the unit might be you can't create synthesized food that isn't flat and tasteless. And don't try to sell me on the idea that the food tastes that way just because it comes from another galaxy. I know better then that."
Tye smiled. He knew he had Arlen hooked.
"Even if they have improved the technology, which I highly doubt, it still won't taste as good as the real thing." Arlen continued, as he leaned against the counter top.
"I'm telling you, this thing is great. After Dare demonstrated the unit Dad ordered that every unit on the Shadow Runner be replaced and a complete food list be copied from the Final Voyage's main computer. Of course, as it stands now, I've got to file an official report on one unit being destroyed during installation." The program finished and the clock came up flashing to be set.
"You mean you didn't get authorization to bring that down here?"
"No, and that's why this unit won't have a complete food list until I can upload a copy to your main . . ." Tye trailed off as he realized what he had just admitted.
"I knew it!" Arlen said smugly. "You're installing more illegal technology."
Tye hunched his shoulders and stared at the control screen. "So, what do you want to try first?"
"Since it's already installed I might as well try it out. I think I'll go with pizza, considering where the unit came from that should be in there, and it should be better than a lot of the other foods. Even if it isn't as good as the real thing."
"Right, you're going to have to be more specific. This pizza thing must be really popular because there are a lot of options: deep dish, thin crust, thick crust, cheese in crust, breakfast, dessert, Italian, Mindabar, Tescenta . . ."
"Tescenta?" Arlen asked, cocking his eyebrow.
"Tay." Tye replied, as he looked at the list that option opened. "I'm getting a warning that the unit is incapable of synthesizing live greebles. Do you want to continue without them?"
"Damn, better make it a thin crust instead. It just isn't right without the greebles." Arlen shook his head, I wonder what galaxy that version originated? More importantly I wonder what a greeble is? He thought as he missed Tye's next question. "What was that again?"
"Soft or crispy crust?"
Arlen grimaced. This was going to take forever. "I want a crispy crust Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza with extra cheese."
Tye quickly made the selections and then turned back to Arlen.
"You've got to be kidding? That isn't enough information? What now?" Arlen grumbled.
"You didn't specify what size you wanted."
"Oh. We had better start with the smallest size since we're just testing it."
Tye finished entering the information and then stepped away from the unit. As the pizza took shape Tye moved closer to the door. If the pizza didn't turn out right he wanted a clear escape path. This wasn't the first time he had made improvements to the Sundowner. So far all the modifications had worked out, eventually. It was during those times when it wasn't quite perfect that Arlen really got irritated. It was also during those times that Tye found other places to be until Arlen could cool off.
"Hey, what's cooking?"
Tye jumped at the voice and nearly toppled over Alec as he turned to run.
"Pizza." Arlen replied, as the unit dinged. He opened the door and slid the small pizza onto a plate.
"Never heard of it." Daniel said, as he entered the kitchen. He ran his hands over the handles that Tye had installed. "Do you have any more of these? They'll be better then trying to remember and play the proper notes on that flute we found wedged in the couch."
Arlen pulled a knife out of one of the drawers and cut the pizza into five slices.
"Not much there." Duo added, as he also entered the kitchen.
"That's because we're testing the abilities of the new generation unit." Tye said, as he quickly tried to compose himself.
Arlen passed the plate around the room, before biting into his own slice. "Oh God that's good." He mumbled through the hot cheese. "It's been so long since I've had pizza, so I can't be sure this is as good as the real thing, but I can tell you that it is close enough." He said, as he gobbled down the rest. "I'm going to have to order several dozen of these things and start a restaurant." He turned back to the unit and began to scroll down through the food lists. "And you said that this isn't the complete list?"
"Yeah, the unit doesn't have enough memory for a complete list. For that you'll have to connect it to a larger computer core."
"Like the one you installed down here for your video games?"
"Uh, yeah, the virtual reality chamber's master computer has plenty of room for something as small as the food list." Tye shook his head. He still couldn't believe that Arlen thought of the VR chamber as a video game.
"What are these yellow things?" Alec asked as he stared at the slice of pizza.
"Pineapple." Arlen replied.
The three of them stared at the pizza and then at each other daring someone to go first.
"Ouch!"
They turned toward Tye who was sucking on his finger. "Careful the runny stuff is really hot."
"It's cheese. Just try it already. Trust me, you'll . . . Oh my God! I've died and gone to heaven!" Arlen yelled as he started making selections on the touch screen.
Tye shrugged and took a bite. "Wow, this is good."
"Hurry up and finish your pizza before these melt." Arlen said as he sat four bowls of a brown substance covered in dark brown syrup on the table.
"What is that?" Duo asked as he inched toward the door.
"It looks like . . . well, it looks really bad." Alec said, as he tasted his own slice of pizza. "But if it tastes as good as this then I'm not going to complain."
"This is chocolate ice cream with hot fudge syrup. And if the rest of you don't want it that's fine, it just means more for me." Arlen said as he shoveled a large spoon full into his mouth.