Last Night on Novgorod: Drifting

Novgorod Station > Passenger Shuttle

Dr. Billy Adama was sitting in a shuttle chair as he was dreaming of a an exotic dancer he hooked up long ago. She was beautiful and fun to be around, but she was not the kind of woman you would bring home to meet the parents. She was wild and loved to live a posh life while being supported by her 'fans' and lovers. So Billy had his moment of fun before he used 'work' to move on.

After he woke up, he wiped the drool off his chin. It had been a long time since he had thought about her. It was over fifty years ago and she was either a grandma or dead by now. He was stumped as he could not remember her name, for some reason. It was then that he realized he had woken up to the sound of the ship's captain telling the passengers they were getting ready to land and to make sure they were buckled in.

Billy was already buckled up and adjusted his chair to the upright position as he used his data pad as a mirror. He wanted to look good in case he met another one night stand along the way. Then Billy turned on his data pad to see his destination. After pushing a few buttons he read the info listed before him.

Novgorod Station (ICC registration: 1709556) is a 40,000-ton transfer station that orbits the star Alpha Fornacis. Around 560–600 personnel crew this lonely interstellar outpost which serves as a way station for mid/long-distance freighters and survey ships as well as supporting in-system mining operations. The star system is dominated by a debris disc made up of millions of mineral-rich asteroids and planetoids. Scattered mining outposts search for deposits of tungsten and trimonite. Novgorod is typical of a mid-sized station design currently available, perfectly suited to medium-traffic regions and moderately priced to tow in and out again as the situation demands.

From what he saw as he was reading, he was going to land on F Deck– LOWER TOWER that contained the shuttle bays, fuel processor and station admin center. Then from there he would take the Transit Tubes to the E Deck – HAB BLOCK that contained standard accommodation cabins, with cafés and stores. E Deck was quadruple height, with stairs and elevators leading to several levels of crew cabins. The Drifters bar and grill took up two levels.

Since he was checking in electronically, his employers could find him easily.

Drifters Bar was a popular establishment on Novgorod space station for the staff, corpos, and crews. No travelers.

- Interior - Ground Floor -

After checking into his room, Billy arrived at the Drifter's Bar. He looked around and smiled as he listened to the live music that echoed in his ears. It was his kind of place and filled with similar people like him. The ground floor featured a polished wooden bar with a wide selection of beverages served by two humans and another smaller bar for beer-service only, served by an efficient robotic bartender.

After looking around, Billy found a place to sit at a small circular table for two and placed his order on the data pad. He ordered a tall beer and some breaded chicken strips with fries -- granted, he knew it was synthetic food, but he was not going to get to splurge like this for a while.

Billy then ate in silence as he basked in the positive energy of the music and entertainment. He wanted to enjoy these precious moments since they could easily be his last. He had a lot of close calls in the past and knew his life and job could end in the blink of an eye.