Chapter 28

Sunday passed with little interruption, but much movement around the premises of the Pegasus Club. The entire morning was spent teaching Mika the rudementary of bar-keeping and the various drinks and cocktails available. In this, Mika excelled - her ability to memorise made a drink's name and composition an easy thing to remember. Around midday, Thallin took her out to a few clothing stores and outfitted her with basic acoutrements. Then it was back to the Pegasus Club for further teachings. 

"Bloody Mary," asked Thallin. No sooner had he finished speaking than Mika sprang into action. A few moments later, a red drink was placed in front of him. Thallin sipped it carefully. "Not bad," he remarked. 

"Thank you I," replied Mika. While her knowledge of English had grown immensely over the last day, her grammatical mistakes stilla betrayed her. 

Thallin shrugged. <It's not like we don't have a ship-full of non-native English speakers, is it. So long as she sticks to pig-English, she can probably pass off as French or German.> "Grasshopper, please." 

"Please, what does 'Kamikaze' mean," asked Mika, a puzzled tone to her voice. 

"It means 'Wind of God' in Japanese." 

She paused for a moment, considering. "So why drink named after non-corporeal entity?" 

"Well," answered Thallin, nursing his drink, "the base of the drink is sake. And the effect of one, if you're not careful, can be very bad for your health." 

It was obvious from her face that she did not comprehend. "And people drink, knowing it bad for health?" 

"Yes." 

Mika snorted. "Dekalchuun.(1)" 

"Maybe, but some feel the deliterious effects are worth the uplift from the alcoholic buzz. And anyway, if you think it's so bad, why do you keep on serving me drink, huh?" Thallin smirked. 

"If alcohol dangerous, only fitting drink for Dielmelkesta," Mika replied with a serious look on her face. 

<'Dangerous drinks for a dangerous man', is that it?> "Mika, what is 'Dielmelkesta'?" 

She blinked in surprise. "You are, Thallin Dielmelkesta." 

"And what, exactly, am I?" 

"Nous-Gran'Diel, the finest amongst the best," she replied without hesitation. Thallin could almost detect a tinge of pride in her voice, as well as envy. 

<Nous-Gran'Diel,> he mused. <Infiltrator and assassin rolled into one. I guess I fit the bill, all right.> "How did you know what I was, Mika? How could you tell?" 

"Nous-Gran'Diel not move like normal people. Always look like T'heraht when hunting." Mika poured herself some Vodka and sipped it. Her nose wrinkled at the taste. "Ethanol." 

Thallin laughed. "Not quite. But they have the same effect." He looked at Mika long and hard before asking his next question. "Mika, what were you doing on Mars?" 

"What is 'Mars'?" 

"The planet we are currently orbiting." 

"Transport crashed over peaks. Pilot killed. Mika would be dead if Thallin Dielmelkesta not come along." 

His fist clenching, Thallin asked again. "So what were you doing on Mars?" 

"Mika sent to activate computers in base. Needed to set trap." 

<The Captain was right, we were duped all along. Pilots led to their deaths like sailors shipwrecked by Lorelei's song.> Tears began to flow under his closed eyelids. "And why do your people want this ship?" he asked through clenched teeth. 

"I not know. Fleet Commander might, but I too low in command-chain." She looked at Thallin for a moment before continuing. "Thallin Dielmelkesta... You hurt?" Mika asked shyly. 

"No, it's nothing," replied Thallin as he wiped away the tears. "Just some bad memories." 

[Reality Check - Sunday, Feb. 14 2010, 1758 hours, Pegasus Club] 

The waiters and the cooks stood at the ready as Thallin looked upon his staff one last time. "Remember, this is our first day of operation so things will go wrong. It's only to be expected. If it happens and it will inconvenience the customer, inform him or her of it and that we will give them a discount to make up for it." Thallin eyed the old sweep-clock placed prominently over the bar and took a deep breath. "Alright, people, We're on." With a nod of his head, Thallin told Mika to open the doors. 

[Reality Check - Sunday, Feb. 14 2010, 1936 hours, Pegasus Club] 

The crowd had come in, drawn by the lure of the Opening and of the club's curious facade. Outside, passer-bys looked upon the Pegasus' lightly-glowing red eyes and remembered the club. Even if they did not walk in, they could be counted on to talk to their friends about it - word of mouth meant a lot to the new business, there being no radio or television stations to advertise on. 

Not surprisingly, the majority of clients were Military; off-duty personel on their way home, or simply looking for somewhere to relax and take their minds off the fighting. Thallin looked at them from his office window and wondered if the Macross would ever make it back to Earth, if they had even a glimmer of hope of making it through. 

Beside him, a printer made some noise and spat out a security card. <I thought I'd turned it off,> wondered Thallin. <I'm getting forgetful.> He leant over and switched off the card duplicator, picked up the card and looked at it. <Major Imaguchi. I wonder what is going through your mind at the moment.> Thallin searched through the crowds for the card's owner and found him seated in a stall, a girl under each arm. <I guess the same thing as every soldier in every war...> The duplicate card vanished into the disposal unit and flashed into cinders. 

Thallin sat back into his swivel-chair and picked up the novel he had put down. It was Tolkien's 'The Simarillion' and he had always had trouble keeping the characters straight in his mind. For some reason, he simply could not remember who was who. With a sigh, Thallin returned to his reading. 

A knock on the door interrupted him during a long-winded descriptive paragraph. Not knowing whether to be annoyed at having to stop or relieved for the chance to take a break, Thallin looked up and said "Enter." 

The door opened, revealing Mika standing in the corridor. She entered the room and closed the door behind her, then came to stand next to Thallin. "Thallin Dielmelkesta?" 

"Yes, Mika, what is it?" 

Mika twisted Thallin's chair around until he faced her. Without a sound, without a second's hesitation, she struck out her hand, her face an impassive mask. Thallin felt a sharp pain in his sternum and looked down to see Mika's right arm imbedded into his chest. He looked at her in pain and shock. 

"Whu.. wha.." 

She pulled her hand out, and with it came part of Thallin's heart and left lung. "Now I be Dielmelkesta." She smiled at him as he tried to breathe. 

Thallin stared at his heart, feeling the blood draining out of his body through the hole in his chest. He felt light-headed and a little dizzy, he had lost all feelings in his legs. Around him, the room began to darken. Opening his mouth, Thallin tried to call for help, but could not find the strength to shout. As he fell forward onto the floor, all he could manage was "oh... bo-" 

1), Disgusting. (Lit., "not/against imperative") 

Back to Chapter 27. 

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