Friday, July 12th, 2261, 17:00. Tau Ceti System. Easter Station, Commercial Wing
John’s first stop off of the ship was to get checked into the Ritz-Carlton and drop off his backpack in his room. He had settled on a ‘common’ suite for his stay. Nothing overly ostentatious, just the right size for himself. The hotel was kind enough to upgrade him to a private apartment at no cost. If they were insisting, who was he to say no? His trip into his room was a single step, just enough to have the door open so he could chuck his backpack onto a chair.
Most of the crew could stay on the vessel, though meals would not be served until they were underway once more. The crew could go to the barracks on station and get free meals there. It was however frowned upon to get temporary accommodations to stay there though.
As John was walking through the hotel he was playing with his keycard. When he was halfway down a stairwell, he heard a recognizable female voice call out to him. He sighed as he looked up and saw the resident Psi-Corp agent staring him down.
“How can I help Lieutenant Linton?”
“Walk with me. We need to have a conversation,” Rebecca said as she hurried down the stairs.
John stood there with a puzzled look, “Technically we’re on leave. You can’t really order me to do a damn thing. Plus, I’m hungry.”
“Fine, my treat then.”
“You know I’m married, right?” John said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Rebecca stopped, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose, “I’m not hitting on you.”
“Ok, just so we’re clear on that. Because I am like seriously married.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes as she continued to walk down the stairs. She gave off a deep sigh as she walked by John. He simply smiled and spun around and began walking down the stairs, following her.
“Do you make everything so damned difficult?”
John grinned, “Sure do. Especially when I don’t know what it is I’m being asked to do.”
“You know damn well what I want to talk about,” Rebecca hissed quietly.
The pair of officers reached the bottom of the stairwell and walked out the door and into the lobby of the busy hotel. John looked around uneasily. After a couple of steps, he spoke up.
“You sure talking about all that in a public environment is smart?”
Rebecca looked back at him, “Then we’ll need to eat somewhere that has some privacy.”
“What difference does it make? I can’t really help you or anyone else do anything.”
“It does to me,” Rebecca was almost pouting.
They walked out of the hotel and headed toward an informational board. John stood around looking clueless but observing his surroundings. Rebecca was focused on scanning what restaurants were near them and specifically which ones offered a more intimate seating arrangement.
John’s gaze had focused on a small alleyway across the walkway from them. It had more people in it than should normally be there including three crewmembers of the Des Moines. It had to be enlisted members; they were playing an age-old game of chance with several shady characters. Generally, officers didn’t get into shenanigans like that, their issues were generally much bigger and more costly from a legal standpoint. Rebecca was mumbling about something when john slapped her shoulder lightly with the back of his hand.
“Hey, you can run a quick light scan from a few hundred feet away, right?”
“Yes, but I’m sure you are clearly aware that we aren’t legally allowed to do that.”
“Uh-huh. So anyway, do that to the guy in the red hat,” John pointed across the way to the game, “See if knows that he’s cheating those crewmen?”
“I can’t…”
“They aren’t going to know. And even if they do, do you really think shysters like them will say anything? Besides, how will they trace it back to you?”
“There are rules…”
“Look, I don’t want our people scammed on bullshit. If I’m wrong, then dinner is my treat.”
Rebecca didn’t feel good about what she started to do. What she was about to do was clearly, and expressly, forbidden. They don’t scan people’s minds on hunches. That’s drilled into the agents from the first day of training. Yet here she was, reaching out into some punk’s mind.
“Son of a bitch.”
“Yay, I was right. Let’s go help,” John said as he was almost skipping toward the scam.
Rebecca was clear to note how cheerful and happy John appeared to be. That wasn’t at all normal. Most people didn’t like conflict, but it was almost like John was eager or looking forward to the coming conflict. She would have loved to get a real reading on him but try as she might every time, she looked at John she was repulsed.
John was smiling when he walked behind, and startled, the man running the game, “Woah there bud. Not here to harm you.”
“The fuck you want holmes, you in my personal space,” the man hissed.
“What I want is simple. Give their money back and we’ll be good.”
One of the gang members slapped another’s chest and started to laugh, “Did I hear that right?”
John’s expression didn’t change a bit, “The marked card is in your right sleeve. The three cards on the box aren’t the ones you showed them. You are cheating. If it was truly a game of chance, then gambling is on them. When you don’t give them a fair shot then I am going to get involved.”
One of the enlisted crew grew red in the face, “You saying…”
John silenced the man with a single finger.
“You ain’t right in the head friend. This money is ours,” another one of the gang members said.
The leader smirked, “You think you take down the four of us?”
“Well, yeah if it was just me, I could handle you a lot fairly easily. But it’s not just me, is it? Look at them, you just managed to piss off three of my crew. They rock power armor during boarding missions. If you think they aren’t afraid to throw down you’ve got another thing coming.”
John stopped talking and shot a glance to the fifth gang member that was off to his right and spoke sarcastically, “Holmes, think very carefully about drawing that knife. I won’t bat an eyelash slicing you up and watching you bleed out.”
The leader poked John’s chest, “This money is ours…”
“When I’m done counting down, I’m going to knock your ass out and then take out the big guy,” John said calmly.
“Five…”
The big guy laughed, “Some tough guy we have here.”
“Four…”
The enlisted trio tensed up. The two gang members nearest them noticed that and turned to face them. The man to John’s right didn’t seem nearly as confident as he once was.
“Three…”
Rebecca looked on in horror, she knew that the gang members were itching for a fight. They were broadcasting their intentions to fight. In truth, John was itching for a fight far more than the gang members were.
“Two…”
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“One…”
The gang member in front of John smiled. Then his eyes rolled up in their sockets and the man crumpled backward. John had landed a right uppercut seemingly out of nowhere. He turned to the stunned crowd and smashed the fat gang member’s balls with a hard upward right kick. The man vomited and dropped to the ground.
“Stand down now,” John hissed as he pointed at the two men that were about to attack the crew.
The man to his right threw his hands up. The other two followed suit. The fat man on the ground writhed on in pain. Rebecca looked on stunned at the violence that unfolded before them. She was even more stunned when John reached in the knocked-out man’s pockets and grabbed the credit chits they had acquired from the crewmen.
“You three, be smarter with your money. I’m not going to help you again,” John said calmly to his shipmates, “I’m staying at the Ritz-Carlton for the next week. Make sure your gang avoids the commercial wing until the Des Moines departs. Capiche?”
The two gang members behind John nodded and began helping up their portly friend. The other one walked over to their unconscious leader and awkwardly tried to him up. John turned and walked over to Rebecca and was smiling.
“So, where we eatin’?”
Rebecca had no answer for him. It was hard for her to not be utterly repulsed at the casual violence that was exhibited. Here he was smiling as if nothing happened. She couldn’t read his mind, but she was absolutely certain John gave the gang members the same respect he’d give an ant. None at all.
Rebecca sighed, “Le Quartier Francais. It’s up a level and down the wing a bit.”
“Lead the way,” John said happily.
17:35 Le Quartier Francais
John and Rebecca were seated, and their drink orders were taken. She had initially ordered a cheaper pinot noir, but John told her that despite winning the bet it was still his treat so go all out. It took her three attempts before John recommended a vintage wine for her. He ordered a twenty-six-year-old single-barrel Ardbeg scotch that was bottled independently.
John’s smile could hardly be contained when their server came back with the drinks and their menus, “Man I love these. You never know what you’re going to get but each one takes you on a trip.”
John took a sip and let the spirit slosh around his mouth before he drank it. Rebecca was shocked at the wine John forced on her. She was about to say something when their server spoke up.
“Good evening. I’m Sara and I’ll be your server this evening. Our menu tonight is a five-course meal. You’ll be receiving an appetizer, zesty salad, and a fish course, followed by a red meat course and ending with a fine dessert. In front of you is the appetizer dish.”
John looked down and asked, “What is the chef recommending this evening?”
Rebecca looked and saw that there were only three options. It was her idea to come here, but she had neglected to look at the prices. The five-course menu was several hundred credits. Her hands began to tremble when she caught the price of the wine she was drinking.
The server smiled and answered John’s question, “The single scallop served with green onions and a lemon crème fresh. I would recommend the langoustine with green beans and hazelnuts. It’s absolutely delightful.”
Rebecca quietly asked, “How is the rockfish dish?”
“It’s really good and the saffron stock has a wonderfully rich flavor. But in my opinion, the other two dishes are a leg up over it.”
John nodded, “I’ll go with the langoustine dish.”
“Chef’s choice for me,” Rebecca said nervously as she took another drink of wine.
The waitress smiled and walked away after getting their order. Rebecca’s uneasiness had grown. This man in front of her had a shocking propensity for violence yet here he was in an upscale and opulent fine-dining restaurant. And he looked as if he fit in perfectly and was at peace here.
John noticed the confusion on his senior’s face and chuckled which broke Rebecca out of her trance, “I can’t read your mind, but your face tells a story.”
She shook her head, “What is it saying?”
“What the hell is going on here? It’s as if I’m a chameleon. I can make myself fit in anywhere.”
“You’re not far off. How can you do that?”
“It was part of the game. I had to learn how to play the part of a poor beggar or be a rich snob. I had to convince people I was whatever the mission needed me to be. And I had to be utterly ruthless in executing the mission. The rich shit got a hell of a lot easier when I had more money myself. Became even easier when I married my wife,” John paused and laughed, “Her family’s rich as fuck.”
“There it is, completely back to an average Joe,” Rebecca paused, “Look, I can pay for my own meal. I…”
John laughed, “You picked the place without looking at the cost, didn’t you?”
She sheepishly nodded as she took another drink.
“Don’t worry about it. And I’m still married by the way.”
Rebecca set her wine glass down and rolled her eyes, “Good god. I’m not interested in you at all. Honestly, I find you to be pretty repulsive to me.”
“Sweet. So, ask away.”
“What was your actual rating before the incident?”
John shrugged, “I was always stronger than the proctors, or choir of proctors, so I was able to choose my grade. I would presume someone of your level could adequately understand the difficulty in doing that.”
Rebecca sat back in her chair and crossed her arms across her chest, “How could a child do that?”
“They didn’t catch me until I had learned a few tricks. The first test came when I was six or seven, I think. Maybe it was seven. In any case, that’s two years later than normal and nearly four years after I developed my abilities. They thought I was over a five based on my defenses, but my probing abilities were weak.”
“There’s no way a six or seven your old could block a high-level proctor. That doesn’t happen.”
“Sure doesn’t. The thing was my probing capabilities were in their infancy. See, the way I learned how to quieten the background noise and close my mind from others stunted the development of my probing capabilities.”
Rebecca gasped, “You learned to quieten the noise before reaching first?”
“Yup, I learned things ass-backward. Because of that, they knew I was defensively as good or better than anyone else at my presumed grade level. But they never knew the true depth of my defense. Because I was so much better than everyone based on how my talents came about. It wasn’t until I was ten or so that my probing capabilities exploded.”
Rebecca leaned in and whispered, “And what of telekinetic abilities?”
John shook his head, “Oh I did the tests with a coin or washers. Never was able to move the damn things. Holy hell, I hated those tests the most. Having a choir of proctors in your head sucked. Even with my defenses, it was problematic. Couldn’t keep them out forever,” John said as he took a drink.
That last answer and statement were clear lies. But Rebecca bought it hook line and sinker. Even if he didn’t have those abilities anymore, he wasn’t about to expose his secrets to anyone else.
Their first course was delivered which cut this line of questioning short. They changed to how he had adapted to military life, goals, and experiences. The appetizer course was finished quickly, and second courses were then ordered. They both chose a lobster dish.
Rebecca wasted no time to change the conversation back to her original focus, “So what really happened on Manchester?”
“You’ve heard of psychic boosters we can use with power armor, right?”
Rebecca nodded but said nothing.
“I had a prototype amplifier and channeler. I was able to weave in some psychic circuits in the gauntlets. Under normal load, it increased my capabilities by fifty to eighty percent. If I removed the safeties, it probably tripled them.”
“Amplifier safeties can’t be overridden.”
John laughed, “Oh they can if you rebuild one yourself. The onboard VI fucking hated it when I fucked with the safety settings. For good reason too I might add. Those things can fry someone in minutes. I ran it over max level for over an hour.”
Rebecca almost dropped her glass of wine, “How are you still alive? You should be dead or drooling in some care facility.”
“Have to thank my unique genes on that one. Thanks to that I’m still kicking, but the damage was done,” John took another drink and really savored it, “Based on my estimates, my capabilities were largely lost after twenty minutes. The dumbest thing was I could have turned it off and on for brief bursts of fighting. Five minutes here, five minutes there…”
John trailed off. Regret could be both heard and felt in the words. Rebecca had many more questions, but her intellectual curiosity had at the very least been sated. People didn’t just lose their psychic capabilities. Despite the advances in medical science, there were scant ways to accomplish that. That John was a functional adult after losing his abilities was nothing short of miraculous.
Her introspective thoughts were interrupted by their second course arriving. John ordered a tuna tartare for his third course. He smiled when he saw that as an option, that was far better a choice than some rabbit food. Though the rabbit food was exactly what Rebecca chose. Both courses were excellent, though the appetizer was still the highlight of the meal in John’s very humble opinion.
Rebecca wanted to know more about John’s relationship with Alice. She was fascinated at how nonchalantly she had accepted John in her life and how his abilities didn’t seem to impact her negatively. That was a fact that Rebecca shared with herself. Telepaths found it very difficult to find partners accepting of their talents, and the lack of privacy was hard to accept for many.
The conversation was interrupted once more when their red meat courses were delivered. A pair of plates containing wagyu tenderloins and a garlic-potato puree was placed in front of them. It tasted even better than it looked. John dipped a couple of pieces of his steak into the puree, which seemed to make things even better.
Their meal was finished with a chocolate concoction of some sort. John wasn’t all that impressed, but Rebecca shared a much different opinion. She looked like she was in heaven. That look changed when she took a peek at the bill that was dropped off.
“Fucking hell,” Rebecca stared at the receipt, “Twenty-two hundred credits?”
John pulled out a credit chit and checked its balance. He chuckled to himself when he saw that its balance was just over two hundred thousand credits. The chit was set down on the platter and he motioned to their waitress.
“Good thing I married a rich chick,” John grinned, “Next time it’s on you though. Have a good week, I’m going to go find something to occupy myself with.”
Rebecca gave John an odd look. This was very clearly a one-off meal. In any case, the two officers wound down their conversation as John waited for the waitress to come back. He added a tip of three hundred credits. He slid the chit back into his pocket and stood up.
“Before you go,” Rebecca said as John was pushing his chair back in, “And please answer this honestly. Do you enjoy fighting or killing people like that?”
John shook his head, “I’ve only ever enjoyed or relished two kills. I won’t get into the specifics, but I will say there are only two more people that I will savor in their ending. As for that fight, yeah, I rather enjoyed helping our crew out and putting those punks down. But to call it a fight is a bit much, they had no chance against me.”
John smiled then turned around and headed out into the commercial wing. He killed some time by going to a jewelry store. Inside he bought earrings for Alice. Since he was there, he looked at the watches that were there. But left empty-handed for himself as nothing really spoke to him. Plus, the Richard Mille on his wrist outshone everything in the store.
After an hour he headed back to the hotel to turn in. It had been a long work day before they arrived at the station. One early night wasn’t going to hurt him any. There’d be plenty of time to relax and have fun.