The Deep Shrine

[The Banger Grim]

'All hands lost. All hands lost. All hands lost.'

These are the words repeating on a loop in the Banger Grimm's head as he brushes past the Brunswick Dockmaster without a word. He already knows the way to the Shrine, and station security silently allow his passage. Once inside, (and alone) he moves to the bar and pours himself a drink. Then another, and another, and another.

'All hands lost. All hands lost. All hands lost.'

...and when the bottle had nothing left to offer him, he threw it across the room, utterly destroying it against a wall, while letting out a primal scream of pain and rage.

'Not good enough. All hands lost. Should have been there. Slow old man. Failure. All hands lost.'

He lunges for another bottle behind the counter, and pours another, and another.

Matthew never noticed Nivek Erieth enter the room.

Without a word, Erieth, clad in his new Pope robes, calmly takes the bottle away from his grandfather and becomes the bartender. There, he lines up three shots of the finest tequila the Brunswick has on hand. One for Matt, one for himself, and one for the dead.

Together, they perform a traditional Gaian mourning ritual with salt, lime and fire.

Nivek squeezes the juice of a slice of lime into the glass for the dead, and sets it aflame. Then, both men lick the area between the their thumb and index finger of their left hands, allowing the salt to stick, and each, now armed with a lime slice of their own, propose a solemn toast to the lost. They raise their glasses, and speak in unison as the flame burns between them:

"The Dead are covered with lime.
The Dead know only one thing:
It's better to be alive."

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An hour passes. Matthew is calm now, but he's been crying, and he feels broken.

"I should have been there. I should have flown my medical ship to 29. If I hadn't taken that damn shuttle, I could have done something in time.

"You don't know that." Nivek said sympathetically. "You're much more a bar manager than a fighter."

"I know, but when I was younger, closer to the age you are now, I..."

He inhaled sharply and refused to continue. Instead, he closed the subject simply by saying: "...I fly The 'SpitalFields for the MFE now, because I have alot to make up for in my life."

Another hour passes as the conversation continues between the old and the young.

"...you remember Bryan and Sarah from Deep Ellum Station?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah. They both worked in fiber optics. They had the coolest dog."

"Aye...Well, I was invited to be one of the groomsmen at their wedding next month, and by the time that slow-ass shuttle made it to Holman, we were delayed there because of the attack in 29. After we received clearance to proceed, and slowed to docking speed at Freeport 6, the carnage floating outside was...disturbing."

Banger took another sharp breath before continuing. "A pair of arms holding hands bumped against my window. it was them, Bryan and Sarah. I recognized the engagement rings."

Nivek deflated. "I didn't know they were recruited to work for the TAZ."



"...Neither did I, until a couple of hours ago."

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