Marishka had been on OP42 for several hours before she made her way to the bar. She knew it had had several names in the past but none of them registered with her at that moment. She had learned, through her network, that an associate had been running it for the last few weeks so she thought she might stop in and remind Cyden that he still owed her a favor and, even though she wasn’t here to collect it just now, he should probably be nice and offer her a free drink. She couldn’t shake the feeling that now might be the time to remain inconspicuous.

Stepping into the dimly lit bar, she glanced around and saw the usual variety of species milling about and several that had probably travelled quite far to be one with those bar stools. Still, her defenses were up more than they should be.

Catching the proprietor’s eye, she simply slid into a seat at the bar and pointed at a random bottle on the top shelf.

“Long time.” she said casually.

• Marishka