Chapter36 (Zack Allan)
After Zack finished abusing the Minbari prisoner, he left his quarters to stretch his legs. One of his favorite stops was a place called the Privilege bar. It had a homey atmosphere, which often made him forget he was on a lump of rock floating in space. He enjoyed visiting this establishment after a long day's work.
He figured his pleasure time, back at his flat, constituted a day's work and he decided to have a drink and savor the sweet young Minbari he had penetrated. He loved playing with that woman but he needed to perform some house keeping to look after her. The only place he could gather some Minbari food was from his friendly bar tender, who often kept a stock of exotic foods and drugs.
He could not help but feel attached to the Minbari. For some reason, as the days passed he'd been more interested in her than normal, even sleeping with her on the same bed all through the night. Normally he would keep her locked up in the closet, but something had begun to change inside him. Of course, Zack was not stupid enough to leave her unchained to the bed. He would be a fool to think she would not escape, or worse, murder him. But as time went on and Zack felt his attachment to her growing, he knew he had to get away from Shaan because he was starting to sympathize with her too much. He felt some kind of attachment growing and this was a big no no. She was a Minbari after all and Zack knew all too well the effects of sympathy towards a prisoner. A simple lack of concentration could jeopardize his role as a security officer, and Zack did not want anything to happen.
No. To limit that kind of risk, Zack decided to leave his quarters—after tying his prisoner—and to stop by the bar he liked so much.
The time was 23:45 and the area was still abustle with activity. People from all walks of life slithered in and out of establishments, trading in food and exotic materials. The Minbari war cruiser, which was nearly gutted to its support beams, had provided a lot of raw material and much of the foreign materials were sold on the black market as trinkets for people to buy. Zack recognized several items on the stools and even took the opportunity to examine some of them to see if they would prove useful.
He watched as one man played with some rings and then appeared completely stoned, as if he'd taken a dose of some kind of exotic drug. The effect rippled throughout the crowd and they began to fight over the objects. Zack ignored the spectacle and went on his way.
The Privilege bar was down the passageway and around the corner. The prominent black and neon-lit sign had the words 'Privilege' written in capital letters, as if the words themselves heightened the importance of this place. Sure, there were other bars that boasted the same atmosphere and fights that might spring up at any moment, but it allseemed to draw in the crowd. However, this one had his favorite bartender who could get him the supplies he needed.
But as he approached the establishment he noticed a shallow disturbance inside. He pushed the double doors to one side and went in, eager to find out what was going on.
Surely there can't be a fight already? I haven't even entered the bar yet.
He looked towards the front of the crowd and noticed a greasy, well-built woman and a smaller, younger individual at the bar. This prompted Zack to take the nearest stool as he ordered his favorite drink. He kept one eye on the crowd as he began to recognize the beginnings of a fight.
"So, do you have the supplies I requested?" Zack asked the bartender, who approached him immediately.
The man tilted his neck and Zack heard a click, then he began wiping the glass he was holding. "Yeah, I got the supplies you asked for. Pretty rare stuff if you ask me."
Zack caught a spit of laughter that sneaked up on him. "I could imagine, veryrare, since we had a Minbari cruiser parked outside the facility for several days."
He saw that his sarcastic comment did not go unnoticed and he could only imagine the price the bartender would add for something so common. He wished he had pinched the items when he searched the vessel for survivors. But he had not anticipated having a prisoner to look after.
"Business is business, Zack. Now do you want the stuff or not?" The bartender placed the glass under the metallic bar and placed both hands on the counter, waiting for a reply.
Zack reluctantly pulled out his payment card and was instantly interrupted by the ruckus that developed. He handed over his card. "What's up with that?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the developing ruckus.
"Looks like some new visitors to this complex decided to rest in the wrong place. The locals are teaching them a lesson. You shouldn't worry about it, Zack. After all, you're off duty, yes?" Zack heard a mischievous tone in the bartenders comment. He knew what this man wanted; no trouble with the law and wanted confirmation that he was off duty.
Zack placed the glass of alcohol to his lips, smiled, and nodded. It was all the bartender needed and he took his time in collecting his supplies. Still, the commotion was the only entertainment in the whole bar and Zack decided to move to the front and find out what was really going on. He jostled some of the crowd to one side and slithered towards the front.
Zack watched some of the local thugs run out of the bar as soon as they spotted him. Others knew he was off duty and watched from a distance. The cloud of smoke seeping from the filtration system dimmed the lights and made the metallic room—cluttered with patches of asteroid rock—appear smaller than it actually was. That did not include the horde of people already in the room. He stood and watched the incident take hold and clearly noticed the idle hum of all the thugs created as they circled around the two innocent individuals, like it was some crazed gladiator show in the old Roman era.
The dirty individual moved his hands in to tear open the woman's blouse and expose her breasts. The tearing sound of the fabric reminded Zack of his own involvement with the Minbari, but then the hum of the crowd fell into a terrible silence.
The burly man stared at the woman, eyes blazing. His hand trembled and his skin turned a sickly pale color. Sweat began to bubble around his face and his breathing increased.
Interested in what had spooked the man so much, Zack followed the man's ghostly stare to an emblem that was hanging around the woman's neck. It only took a second to register, but the common symbol of two humans holding an old Earth sextant was a clear indication this person was a Vanguard. The sudden uproar of a few people confirmed his worst suspicions.
"Y-Y-You Idiot… W-W-hat have you done…" the man's colleague stuttered. His hand covered part of his mouth, muffling his words, but Zack could still hear. "Y-Y-You attacked a Vanguard!"
Another man yelled from across the bar. "Did you just say Vanguard?"
Zack heard the sound of glasses dropping to the floor and the frantic movements of feet. He looked around and saw even more people dash into the establishment after hearing about the attack of a Vanguard.
"My god, man! What have you done?" another individual within the crowd shouted.
Zack began to lose track of the lightning fast murmurs that spread throughout the crowd. From behind someone else spoke. "Attacking a Vanguard is unacceptable. Do you know how important those people are…"
Zack looked around. People began to stare at him as if he should rectify this whole situation. Zack knew something must be done. The offender must be arrested and the vanguards treated for the injuries they had received. But he did not have to fight or wrestle with the criminal. In the time it took Zack to plan his next move, the culprit knelt down beside him and begged to be arrested. It was a sight he'd never seen before. Criminals normally fled, but no one had ever even thought about attacking a Vanguard.
Another call erupted from behind. "L-Look at her rank…the b-b-band is green… She's still a basic trainee…"
"G-Green band… You-" Another crowd member stuttered from his left. His voice almost boomed throughout the establishment, "This person is still a trainee, she's learning… Do you know what this means… She'll remember everything you did to her. You…"
"Oh my God! This is her partner… He's a Vanguard too…" cried the tall greasy woman. "This one's the same…"
Zack watched as the thug released the gold object, as if the object itself cursed the person's very existence. She stood up, wobbled on her feet and fell back into the crowd. "Please…forgive me…I didn't know!"
But the male Vanguard stared right back. Zack knew that he was burning the woman's image in his mind. It might take days or years, but his memory of that woman would come back to haunt her. All he needed was to wait and find the right time to…Escort her, or come to her rescue, then leave her floating in hyperspace. It had happened before and it would happen again. This was the fear everyone had and it only added to the respect of the Vanguards. But the bottom line was this; no one would even dream of laying a hand on them, they were more sacred than priests.
"Please…arrest me. I've…I didn't know… please forgive me." The greasy man begged at Zack's feet, then Zack watched him grovel at the feet of the young woman. He thought it was a little excessive but Zack couldn't stand around and do nothing.
As if fate knew what he wanted, teams of security personnel raced into the establishment and disbanded the crowd. It took a few minutes to clear up the mess, but Zack instantly took charge and restored order.
The guilty groups were led away in handcuffs. It turned out to be the easiest arrest Zack had done in a long time. His next duty was to attend to the injured Vanguards. This was a sensitive matter and one he had no idea how to deal with. Zack had never dealt with something so complex as a Vanguard attack. He would be treading on very thin ice.
He shelved his doubts and acted the professional. "The group will be taken away to the holding cells and charged for this crime. I can't stress how sorry we are and hope that the rest of your stay is uneventful."
There, that was the best he could come up with. Zack was sure that his comment should calm any ill will the two Vanguards had. Now with protocol leading the way, Zack continued. "I will need to take a report from you about what had happened here and then we can prosecute the culprits involved. Can I take your names?"
"I'm Alice Jones and this is my partner Samuel." Alice looked shy and timid. She held onto her broken blouse and attempted to cover her white bra that was partly showing through. Zack saw the embarrassing moment and decided to take action.
"If you want, we can do this later back at the security office. My officers will be happy to help you back to your quarters so you can change. If you send me the damage cost, I will see to it personally." Zack made sure to behave like a gentleman, almost like a king's servant. But he also made sure not to make his over-enthusiastic gestures too obvious.
She responded with a light nod and went with the officers to the security deck. The culprits were all lined up and registered. Unfortunately this incident would have to be reported to Elvis. Zack wondered what kind of action that man would take on the poor culprits. He wouldn't want to be in their shoes. But then again, Zack knew the men deserved everything they got, attacking a Vanguard was damn right outrageous.