Vesta Station

[WritesNaughtyStories]

Jan thumbed open the hatch to the micro slot he and Siobhan shared. The Belter lounged at what looked like an uncomfortable angle, but the station's low gravity was far more normal for her than it was him. He gave her a weak smile - he'd been poor before but not poor in the belt. Poor on Mars meant something different. Here you could feel yourself being a commodity.

Siobhan's eyes twinkled as she looked up. "Not long - I'm sure we'll find a can out of here any day now."

Jan shrugged, "We better - I made shit today and there's hardly any kibble left."

She flicked a notice to his handheld. "Fights tonight."

Jan looked down at the announcement. "I dunno - in this gravity, I', not sure I could take you."

Siobhan laughed. "You can't take me in any gravity, Jan."

The Martian shrugged. She wasn't exactly wrong. "So - you fight?"

"Everyone knows me." She pushed off the corner and bounced over to jab him playfully in the side, "It's good you're cute."

Jan gave a bitter chuckle. Since leaving Ruby of Karur Jan had felt fairly useless. He barely spoke lang belta and was having a hard time lining up work on the docks. He was as good as any of them, better than most, frankly, but his Martian accent cost him far more jobs than his strength won him. "Doesn't do much good with most beltalowda."

"Nope." She agreed in English then grinned broadly and added, "Im does na, mi dear. Amash im does mean kowmang wants fo beat to ass."

Jan chugged through the creole slowly and, as he figured it out, shot a glance a Siobhan. "Great - so take a fight that I probably can't win, just because everyone wants to see me get my ass kicked. And what, you bet on them to win."

Siobhan looked guilty for a long second before she looked up, "Not at first?" She asked sheepishly.

Edited October 30 by WritesNaughtyStories