Raygun Heights

7

Jilly's was a cross between a diner and a tavern. It had a touch of class that was higher than a pure drinking dive, but was unsophisticated in its look and menu. The name 'Jilly' referred to a Human colonist named Jillian who had lived on Commodus around the time the Tigrans had begun to settle the planet. Achim had heard she had various schemes going on that supported the Tigrans against the Saurians when the latter's Star Empire had invaded the Longlegs system. Jilly never cared for Saurians and often gave the scalies, even the black scaled natives, a narrowed sideways glance when they walked in.

The diner was located on a corner with its four portrait windows, two one one side, another two set perpendicular. The glass had a bluish tint, but it was not always dark enough to obscure the customers who were eating in their booths. Jilly had controls behind the bar that could change the opacity of the window, she left it only partially obscured and most people did not mind the fact they could be seen from the streets.

The floors at Jilly's were checkered black-and-white with sets of booths that bordered the windows as well as a set of stools that hugged the bar. The stools were round, swivel style seats with no back and a single polished chrome leg that was attached to the floor. Each table was lined with chrome, but lacked the same shine as the base of the stools. At each table as a terminal where orders could be placed. Those sitting at the counter used a datapad that was given to them by the bartender. A porcine Hochar with dark red fur and a dull gray nose was named Kartok. He had sleeves rolled up to show how big his arms were and how hard they'd strike if he had had to throw someone out.

Hochar in general were a race of xenos from the Hourglass sector, outside of the Longlegs region. They were taller than Humans, taller than almost any biped with the heavy girth to back it up. Their colors could range from shades of red to browns or grays. Kartok was actually two-toned from lighter shades of ox-blood on his extremities to a woody brown at the center of his chest. Hochar were also known for a set of tusks jutting from their mouths that could be long and sharp enough to be used in combat as goring weapons. The noses at the end of their snouts were soft and a touch moist.

Mohr and Lono nodded their heads and made their way down the aisle towards a booth closest to the men's room, Achim brought up the rear and looked at nothing in particular. The ambiance of the diner was the usual: the din of conversations from each of the tables, the clatter of plates, the occasional crash of utensils or reinforced dishware that hit the floors in both the dining area, or in the prep area but with a more muted sound. Achim rolled his shoulders before sliding into the booth across from the other two.

"Enjoying yourself, kid?" Mohr asked.

"I do what I can to pass the time," Achim said. He waited for the mobile terminal, Lono took the first grab at it. Sometimes it was Lono, other times it was Mohr, it was Achim who got to order first.

"How do you think Tangiers and Jenkins are doing?" Lono asked as his thick fingers tapped on the various food items that appeared on screen. Everything Lono looked over made Achim's stomach drop with how greasy and thick it looked.

"Screwing around for all I care," Mohr said, "Timon says if they can't get the money from some deadbeat Saurian, we're the next ones to collect. How hard do you think it would be to get money from a spaceport worker who hauls around junk?" Mohr asked.

"They'd find a way to screw it up," Lono grinned, "If they had my vote, I would have said no to that cat and his pet human."

Achim had heard it before since he joined the Syndicate. How it began, the feud between Mohr and Lono on one side, Tangiers and Karl on the other, no one could recall either which side that started it, or the catalyst event that set the two crews against each other. At some point, Mohr and Lono disliked Tangiers and Karl. Achim would have guessed it was pure rivalry, coupled with a verbal venom that Mohor liked to invoke when talking about Tigrans.