Schmalcoholic P1

<Schmalcoholic Part 1>

<snip>“Your privileges have been revoked” she glared back at him, her green eyes flashing angrily “Access to locations and equipment has been restricted; until, that is, you can adequately demonstrate that you’re not an untrustworthy, alcoholic dick”</snip>

Angry, sore and ashamed after the confrontation, Alex stormed back to his quarters, almost sending Plisken spinning up the corridor on the way. Once inside, he tore off his coveralls, dressed in some old camo gear and a bandana, grabbed his bulging rucksack and set off to commandeer a Starbug, much as he’d done during his nightmarish hallucination. He didn’t have to stay around here for this shit.
Like a seasonal bun, he was hot, and cross. No tears of sorrow this time, only impatience to recover Bedge, and the burning irritation at his crewmates – going off fishing and coming back all grumpy with him indeed. Cheeky smegs. And what had they been wheeling past on that grav-sled, anyway? A giant fish? Showoffs. As for Cass, he was more smegged off with her than he’d ever been.

Alcoholic my ass.

His mood worsened tenfold when he’d called the Xpress lift and walked straight into the closed door. “OW.”
What the smeg? The normally fast-sliding door hadn’t opened.
He tried calling it again. Nothing.
And again. Still nothing.
“HOLLY!!!!!!!”
“All right, all right, keep yer bandana on. Wot?”
“Why won't the DOOR OPEN?” His pot of rage was near to boiling over, he suspected he already knew the answer.
“Cassandra revoked your privileges, Alex” Holly calmly reminded him “access to locations and equipment has been restricted” he quoted “until, that is, you can-“
“Yes, yes, I remember the next part clearly, thank you” Solvay spat. “Smeg. I can’t even leave the habitation decks?”
Well, that put a serious crimp in his Bedge rescuing plan.
“That is correct. You are restricted to habitation levels… That is until-“
Alex jabbed an angry I-said-don’t-quote-that-bit finger, and Holly left ‘until’ alone. Too enraged to speak further, Solvay spun on his heel and stalked back the way he’d come.

----

Medi Bay, a little later.

“I NEED my access back, Cassandra” he growled, unconsciously using Cass’s full name in his annoyance.
She didn’t even look up from her handheld. “Nope. Not gonna happen.”
He closed his eyes and clicked his neck, anger simmering just beneath his skin. A few deep breaths…
“You don’t understand how important-“ he tried.
“Solvay. No.” She waved a hand, indicating Phi through the office windows, working around Jay and Jade. “Now if you don’t mind, we’re a bit smegging busy.”
Gods she was so annoying today. Like an irritating know-it-all little sister, who for some bloody reason had the power to ground you.
“FUCKSAKE!” He slammed his hand down on the desk, unintentionally making her jump. She narrowed her eyes.
“Shit, sorry.” He softened his voice. “Look, maybe if I explained why I nee-“
He was cut off by Phi poking her head in, she’d heard Alex's yell. “Everything all right?” She enquired.
“Not especially” sighed Cass, as she swiped through something else on her pad.
“Yes thank you” said Alex and moved to shut the door. With a yelp worthy of Winston Whiskers, Phi shifted rather over-dramatically out of his way, gave him a worried glance, and shuffled back over to the patients.
Alex’s frustration was temporarily ousted by puzzlement. “Er… What was all that about?”
For the first time Cass lifted her gaze properly from the screen and stared at him. It was uncomfortable, something was obviously unsaid, something aside from her current distaste for him. “What?” He asked, a worried stir disturbing his gut. But she didn’t say anything, just considered him a while longer.
What the f*ck?
Frowning at her, he re-opened the door, and stalked towards Phi. “Solvay…” Cass warned behind him.

“Phi.” She had her back to him, making notes next to a sleeping Jade. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Uh! What?” She span, saw him, and backed away.
Odd behaviour, she wasn’t normally this neurotic. He was baffled, and his face demonstrated as much. Hers, on the other hand, showed only barely contained panic.
“Phi what’s going on? Why are you acting all scared of me?”
He noticed her eyes flick behind him, and turned to see that Cass had emerged from the office. She gave Phi a nod, as if okaying something. It was all very strange.
He returned his puzzled gaze to Phi. “Uh, hello? Can someone tell me what I’m missin’ here?”
She swallowed. “I’m just a bit nervous after you… You know...”
“No… What?”
“Hit Jade.”
Alex almost laughed. “What?”
But her expression was serious. His body turned suddenly cold, as the words sunk in. “No. I’d never…”
He turned to Cass, his gaze questioning.
She nodded. “When you were unwell.”
Horrified, he recalled the footage of him flailing madly against his bonds, violently delirious. Maybe it was true. He looked down at the sleeping Jade, lying peaceful and perfect, like a doll - neatly formed. And easy to damage.

He moved suddenly away, as if worried just being near her would break her.
No.
“I may be a lot of things” he told the two girls, his voice cracking “but I am not a woman-hitter…”

----

Whiskers’s.

Anger entirely dispersed, Solvay sat in an isolated corner of Whiskers’s bar, pale faced, rocking slightly and gazing into nothingness. Winston Whiskers frowned and wiped the table around him, the human was even less responsive than usual today and hadn’t even seemed to notice his presence at the table. Suited Whiskers.

Alex was actually aware that Winston was there, bumbling about, but he was thinking.
Phi was scared of him - that explained why he’d not seen her while the others were away - she’d been avoiding him! He hadn’t even known she’d been there till Cass had mentioned it, earlier. Is that why the others were being funny with him? Christ, did they all think he was a girl-beater?

“No wonder I was restrained.”

Whiskers nearly leapt out of his skin.
“Pardon?” R-restrained? W-why was he restrained!?
“There’s something wrong with me.”
No pellet, Furlock. “Oh?” Winston’s years as a barkeep meant he had plenty of training when it came to keeping a calm front. “What’s that, then?”
“My… fr-. My work-mate is stranded on a planet. I just..." He waved a hand "... left him there. And the other humans are angry with me. 'Bout something else.”
He looked the rodent in the eye, his cold blue glare making Whiskers want to wither away into the sawdust underfoot.
“I would never. Hit. A girl.” The man continued, flopping his head down onto his arms, meaning his long hair splayed unhygienically onto the table.
Winston swallowed. What about a rodent? “Well, I’m sure you can sort it out…” He made to pat the man on the arm but thought better of it and retracted his paw “… It just sounds like a big old misunderstanding.”
“Maybe” came the man’s muffled, doubt-filled voice. “But it’s not just that.”
Darn. “No?”
“No. I miss my kids. I even miss my wife, who hates me.”
This guy has a wife? Kids!? “Can’t you talk to them, sort whatever it is out?”
“No.” The human lifted his head, and Whiskers was more than a little taken aback to see his eyes were brimming with tears – he’d had no idea that humans even cried, let alone the weird scary ones like this guy.
“Uhm. Why not?”
“Because they live three million years ago.”
With a sob, the man rose, grabbed his bottle off the table and wandered away, wiping at his eyes and issuing a further series of sobs which faded to quiet whimpers as he walked away.
“Poor messed up animal.” Whiskers’s wife, who had emerged from behind the bar, gave her disturbed husband’s paw a reassuring rub.
“Hmmm.” Whiskers watched the man’s retreating back. “I want you to stay away from him, Nibole.”

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<Continued in Part 2, Next ->>