Iain

He had her cornered. Iain smiled as his opponent stood with her back against the wall, helpless.

He raised his laser and pointed it at her, the guide aimed directly at her heart. He offered a snarl of a smile as she dropped her own weapon and raised her hands in surrender.

The lights flickered. What? Not another power outage!

While Cygnus had insisted Skipper would identify the Transient Void had a damaged engine and would head to the nearest repair facility to fix the fatigue caused when it accelerated too fast for the ships starboard engines could handle, some time had passed, making Iain wonder if she hadn’t just been yanking his chain again. Exactly how many times had she lied to him? He had grown a bit suspicious and was seriously thinking about confronting her about what she’d told him.

But now she was just being silly.

They were playing a game of laser tag, a suggestion of a game to Arc and Arl which they might be more suited playing, rather than games that required actual intelligence. Skipper had surprisingly approved, to the point of allowing the creations of guns which had lasers that were powerful enough to cause pain and some damage.

They had been cool looking in a classic sci-fi sort of way but...

“Not the point,” he complained after getting hit a few times with heat rays hot enough to raise blisters. “This is supposed to be fun, not painful!”

It took another five tries to get a design that did the proper job, as he got into arguments repeatedly over the issue with the other passengers as well as Skipper who insisted pain should be the point, otherwise, what was there to be learned?

In the middle of a game which pitted everyone vs. him as a reaction to his complaints, where he was winning. Arc and Arl were slow learners at everything and had been knocked out early. Cygnus seemed more interested in playing a helpless damsel – treating it like a sex game, a POV he was having trouble arguing with her about.

“Please don’t shoot me,” Cygnus was saying, back against a wall, arms up. “I’m too young to die. Isn’t there anything I can offer you to spare my life? I'll do anything!”

That last line was moving towards throaty sexiness.

Yeah, she wasn’t didn’t seem to get what actual game was about, but Iain ultimately decided he could go either way. He was about to suggest some options when then they were interrupted by the lights strobing and then going down almost completely while his gun depowered itself.

I have ship-wide announcement, so everyone stop what you are doing or there will be consequences.

“What is it, Skipper,” Iain asked, a bit worried at what was going on with the lights, but also a little alarmed whenever Skipper mentioned ‘consequences’.

Due to a minor phase misalignment in the Transient Void’s sublight drive systems we will be shortly putting into a nearby facility for minor repairs. Do not be concerned in either case, the Verindika Asteroid Hive is an accepted facility and has an excellent review in this ship’s maintenance records. It will be able to provide the repairs needed so we can be again on our way quickly and safely.

Cygnet raised an eyebrow and offered a smirk. Had she known how suspicious he was getting she had just been pulling his leg about the ship's engine fatigue? He responded with a silent expression of, ‘OK, you were right all along’.

“How long do you expect the repairs to take,” Iain wondered aloud, still keeping his weapon pointed at his prisoner, who giggled a bit at his persistence, and then took in a sharp breath of mock terror when he raised his gun back up.

Repairs are estimated to take between 50 and 80 hours, Skipper told him. During this period the passengers may disembark and enjoy all of the entertainments and pleasures the asteroid hive is able to offer with credit provided by your passenger account. I will warn you, however, the Transient Void is on a schedule and will not wait after repairs have been completed before disembarking. So make sure whatever activities any passenger engages in does not prevent you from returning before departure or you will be left behind.

Ian glanced back at Cygnus.

“Have you ever heard of the Verindika Asteroid Hive?” he asked.

The interruption seemed to leave her a little annoyed now, based on her roll of the eyes. But she humored him, even offered put upon sigh.

“Let me think for a moment,” she said then added a moment later. “Sounds harmless. Maybe a little interesting.”

“What’s interesting about it?” he asked, still annoyed his ‘Zos weren’t offering him what everyone else got from them.

“Well, you know these ports in the middle of nowhere tend to be a little bit sleazy,” she told him. “My ’Zos are offering general warnings that it’s glitzy on approach, but actually is just a prettied-up hole in space on the inside. They recommended what happens in the Verindika Asteroid Hive should stay in the Verindika Asteroid Hive.”

“So it’s Space Vegas?” Iain asked.

“Whatever that might be, I suppose,” she offered unimpressed at his suggestion. “But I’m sure we’ll have fun, all of us, maybe.”

And then Cygnus suddenly grabbed the laser tag gun from his hand, turning it on him.

“All right,” she told him. “You are my prisoner now and have to do everything I demand! Now show me what you’re hiding in your pants. That’s right. Let me see what that bulge is! Ahah!