Water splashed onto my head, soaking my shoulders and face and tumbling me out of my stupor, bringing me round to be greeted with a splitting headache and a cotton-dry mouth. A hand slapped the side of my face.
"Come on, wake up."
I opened my eyes, and as they began to focus, I saw I was in a dark room with grey breeze block walls. A single, cobweb covered light bulb hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room in a pale yellow glow and casting shadows across the floor. In front of me stood three figures in a row, the leftmost being a tall, dark furred canine wearing typical spacer attire, the second a short, chubby lupine dressed similarly, and the last the barman, a smug look on his face as he dropped a tin bucket. It clanged on the concrete floor for a second before rolling onto one of its sides.
"So. I guess you think you're pretty hot shit, do you?" the chubby one said.
"Maybe I do... who the fuck are you?" I replied, the beginnings of a cheeky smile curling the corners of my mouth. That landed me a smack across my cheek.
"We're asking the questions around here. Your little firefight on Katina lost us some of our best guys, and then you had the bad luck to wind up in this port. You got an ace up your sleeve to get you out of this?" he said, a cocky grin on his face.
"So you're PRF? If those guys were some of your best, you're in a shit state... You guys really think you've got a chance, don't you?" I asked. The bulb in the ceiling flickered for a second as the taller one spoke, slowly and deliberately.
"Rudy... go get me a razor blade. We can have some fun with this one." From there, I knew I was in trouble. Tied to a chair in a seedy backwater spaceport, with the prospect of being carved up like a joint of meat seeming very, very real, I'll admit I was scared. The chubby one, presumably Rudy, walked out of the room with a backwards glance at me. I leant back and closed my eyes, listening to the hum of the bulb as I contemplated the situation. The door opened and closed again, and Rudy slid a razor blade onto a small table.
"Hey Jan, did you leave the bar door open?" he asked the taller one, who shook his head.
"Not if I remember right. You closed it again, right?"
"Right." The one called Jan picked up the blade between his fingertips, examining it with feigned interest. He smirked and approached me.
"Open wide, sunshine." he sneered and grabbed my jaws, forcing his fingers between them in an effort to open my mouth. I grit my teeth as he squeezed tighter, forcing my cheeks into my teeth. I could taste the warm, coppery taste of blood already, my teeth opening up cuts in my cheeks as I grit my teeth harder and harder.
"Come on, you greasy little fuck." he muttered, letting go for a second if only to backhand me. If he was trying to open my mouth, he succeeded; my lips slipped open for a fraction of a second, and before I knew it there was cold steel in my mouth, the sharp edges cutting into my cheeks and tongue. I could taste blood, warm and raw and primal, as pain blossomed out of the cuts in my mouth. Jan smiled, a grim, warmthless smile as he bought his fist back. Smack. He caught me on my right cheek, forcing the razor into my tongue. More blood. I groaned, just before the back of his left fist sent my head whipping around into my left shoulder. I spat blood and shook my head, feeling cuts opening in my mouth as the razor moved. He wound his fist back as far as he could, twisting his upper body as he prepared for the strike. I winced and pushed myself back into the seat, getting ready for the blow of the fist and the pain of the razor cutting into my mouth. It never came. I heard a crash, and just as I opened my eyes, I saw the door swing open and a figure holding a pistol moved in. I kicked myself to the floor, landing on my wrists; there was nothing I could do but wait until the smoke cleared and see who was still standing. More shots rang out like a series of kicks assaulting my eardrums, ten, eleven, twelve shots and a voice all swirled into one. I yelled as someone fell on top of me, warm sticky blood coursing onto my chest as their life drained out of them.
"Koch? Koch?" I heard a voice shout.
"Here!" I shouted. "Get this stiff off me!" footsteps converged on me, and the body was lifted away, blood still dripping from the wound. I opened my eyes and saw Grim, a still smoking pistol in his right hand and a folded knife in his left. He flipped the chair over onto its side, smashing me into the floor, and cut the ropes holding my wrists to the chair. I felt a hand pulling me to my feet and caught my balance, staggering for a second or two as I righted myself.
"You alright, Koch?" he asked, thrusting a revolver into my hand. I nodded.
"Seen better, but I'm good. Now let's get the fuck out of here." I replied. Grim smirked.
"Sounds good. Let's move." He moved towards the door, and I was about to follow before I heard something scrape on the floor. Looking down, I saw the barman clutching his guts as he rolled in agony, trying to stem the flow of blood from a wound in his stomach. I raised the revolver and pulled the trigger, putting an end to his life as the gunsmoke curled up from the barrel. We walked back out of the bar and onto the street, the artificial lights at the top of the dome telling me it was now daytime, or what passed for it on this station. I must have been out for at least three hours; where was Grim in that time?
"What took you so long, you old bastard?" I asked as we stepped into the road.
"The reception on these rocks is appalling, you know how it is." He said. I nodded.
"Certainly do. Bit of a shit time to have your reception fuck up, eh?" I joked.
"Heh, yeah. What even got you into that mess, anyway?" Grim asked as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out and lit up without even offering one to me, the tight bastard. I grinned.
"You know, the usual banter. Couple of guys came in, gave me some grief, I responded. Just my shit luck they were PRF." I said. Grim grinned.
"Amen right there. Anyway, we better head back to the hangar; Unflinching's all fuelled up and ready to go." He said, and we walked off into the artificial sunlight.