Barrier Gate Station West Wing Pub, The Lone Drunkard

[Marrone]

Reggie laughed, looking away for just a moment, then spat in his cup before looking back at her, "Yeah, I worked m'way into it. Real bad, too, reckon I have a knack fer' it. It's not like I ever wanted t'upset anyone, I jus' came across bad luck, is all. When I done some things people din' like, I wasn't really aware 'er anythin', it was just somethin' I did at the time jus' because. Like, fer' the Outcasts, I was gettin' real friendly with them. Got me'self a girl with'em, really got into helpin' out smugglin', but when they got me smugglin' it t'was a whole other story, y'see? They packed tha' cardamine in there a ton, an' somethin' just really made me want to try it, an' in the heat of th' moment I jettisoned it all so I could save m'self. Who would know tha'd make them so upset? I went to go hit the hay at some Freeport, and next day Outcasts sent some assassins, feckin' dumb luck I 'ad me blaster under m'pillow, else they woulda' got me fer' sure. So, I dragged m'girl with me an' we stole th' assassins ship-- 'cuz I reckoned they rigged mine with 'splosives-- hit space. Unfortunately fer' me, they didn'€™t like 'ow I killed ther' friend so I 'ad to deal with a whole lot of them in space. So, since ther'€™ was so much of '€˜em, I couldn'€™t quite handle it in a ship I'€™ve never been used to '€˜fore; wer'€™ damn lucky tha'€™ it didn'€™t '€˜splode on us, '€˜cuz it didn'€™t even '€˜ave a pod, instead we jus'€™ crash landed on th'€™ nearest planet."


He spat again into his glass and looked down into it, a bit disheartened. He then proceeded with his story, not allowing the girl next to him to speak until he was done; "Girly didn'€™t make it, bless '€˜er soul, but I crawled from tha'€™ wreckage. Ye'€™, I remember tha'€™ planet real well. . .An'€™ then, y'€™see, as I was travelin'€™ '€˜cross the land I came to this encampment full '€˜uh Outcasts. They were doin'€™ a routine run with'€™er terror tactics'€”y'€™know, slashin'€™ across '€˜uh hostages mouth to ears an'€™ also where they cut ther'€™ throat vertically an'€™ pull the tongue out, down towards th'€™ sternum? So, I blasted my through ther'€™ an picked up whoever was alive, wish'€™ was some Bretonian explorer, old fellow. '€˜E gave me a lift t'€™the nearest Freeport, an'€™ actually wanted me t'€™work for some House corporation '€˜er somethin'€™, but I figured it'€™d be safer if'€™n I go work fer'€™ the Corsairs'€”An'€™ thas'€™ how I pissed th'€™ Outcasts off, lass. Whattay'€™sayin'€™ about territory now, though, if y'€™don'€™t mind me pryin'€™?'€

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