"Now don't ya tell me ya don't know what to do here. Ya saved me brudder, and me today, so I think ya earned a little reward, eh? So don't disappoint me and stick that tool of yers in here." Tanya said, reaching through the hole for him.

  "Tanya, Stop!" John said and took a step back away from her reaching hand, then put his dick back in his pants.

  "Whadda ya doing?" Tanya said, looking confused at his refusal.

  "That is my question for you! Listen, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the offer, but I don't really do casual sex." John said, wondering if he was turning in his man card by turning down the offer for some release. He still remembered the st time he tried to release himself in this world and didn't want a repeat of a whole lot of nothing.

  "Lucky for you, neither do I. This isn't sex, it's just a reward fer our hero." She replied, still kneeling on the other side of the hole.

  "No... I mean, I think you're cute and all, but unless you want to have an actual retionship with me, a serious one, I don't really want to fool around. It's just how I am." He said, then put his hand on the dispenser. "Let's just head-"

  "I'm not against that!" She called out quickly, realising he was about to close the opening. "Ya just need to learn a bunch of Dwarf customs first... and convince me father, that yer a suitable 'usband fer me."

  John just blinked. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently. She continued when she realised he wasn't closing the opening immediately.

  "Seriously, ya know 'ow there is a deficit of men. Well us Dwarves were hit 'ard, harder than most. They ravaged many of our worlds, and once we halted their advance, we didn't stop sending men to fight the Javarians at the other incursion points in the empire. Now, it's closer ta fifteen to one fer us. A man who owns his own capital ship, well, that is a few points in yer favour in his eyes. Just go kill a few bugs and yer golden."

  "That is all well and good, Tanya, but can we slow this down a bit. We basically just met, and you're throwing yourself at me. Let's hang out a bit, join me on a job or two, maybe. Then we can talk about something more." He finally replied, "Now, let me close this, and I'll meet you back at the table, okay?"

  "John...this is really embarrassing. I followed ya here ta give ya a reward, but you won't let me do it... ya know, not repaying debts is a major strike on a dwarf's honour, don't cha?" She replied, looking dejected.

  No, I don't actually. Jesus, what am I supposed to do in a situation like this?

  John reached through the opening and caressed her cheek. "Tanya. I appreciate the gesture, really. Instead of this, how about sometime you show me around the station a bit. I am still pretty new here, and have only seen a few pces in the Atrium. I would love to see some other pces to shop, maybe some good food and entertainment."

  She looked at him with her bright green eyes, a small smile forming on her lips. "Sure, that's all ya want? A tour guide?"

  "Well, it's a start. Maybe we will get some food and find something exciting to do, too." He said, smiling back.

  "Okay. Well... let's get outta here then. No need to stay in a stinky bathroom if ya don't want to let me py with ya for a bit."

  "Hah, it’s not that I don't want to. I would just rather we got to know each othe-"

  "Ya, ya. I know... c'mon, next rounds on me!" She said, cutting him off and getting up.

  The two of them left the bathroom and returned to the table. Ash and Chris were there, chatting about the repairs Ash's ship needed. She appeared to be defending herself for how she was piloting the ship, while Chris was attacking the Elf for being reckless. It all actually seemed good-natured, so John just ignored them and sipped on his beer.

  Greg showed up a few minutes ter, done singing on the stage. He asked John if he wanted to have a turn, but John turned him down, not knowing any of the songs from this world.

  "Maybe next time?" He replied.

  "I'll hold ya to that!" Greg said, then downed another tankard of beer.

  He stayed there another hour, chatting with the four of them. It reminded him a lot of the Meritoni adventures guild, just a bunch of people who were destressing after work. The only real difference was that there were guns on most people's hips instead of swords and axes, though there was still the odd sword in the room, including his.

  "You guys are really pounding back the drinks." He murmured, not speaking to anyone in particur.

  "Yeah, they do this nearly every night," Ash replied, her ears apparently able to hear him despite the din in the room.

  "Their poor livers."

  "Nothing a quick jump in a medical pod can't fix." She said, sipping lightly on her drink. She was definitely pacing herself compared to how she was the other night when they met.

  "Really? Just like that?"

  "Just like that. You know, most medical issues have been solved for over a thousand years now. It's just a matter if you can afford it or not. It's mostly very reasonably priced if it is something common like a broken bone or lightly damaged organs. It only gets crazy expensive when you are getting impnts." She said, tapping her skull.

  "Impnts? What do you mean by impnts?" He asked. That word jarred something from his memories, but he couldn't quite remember where he heard it in this world before.

  "Hun? Impnts are impnts. Like the nguage impnt that everybody gets for free when they are born. Goes in your head and automatically transtes everything for you." She said, looking confused for a moment, then remembered he 'Lost his memories'

  "Wait? Everyone is speaking a different nguage?" He said, confused.

  "Yeah? Didn't you notice that not everyone's lips line up correctly when they are speaking before?"

  "No..."

  "Well, most don't. Your impnt is automatically transting everything for you."

  "That is amazing... and slightly disconcerting."

  "Yeah. There are all kinds of impnts, but typically only the nobles, or the rich, can afford them. Some mercs and merchants get them too, but it's quite an expensive investment that most avoid in favour of upgrading or purchasing a new ship instead. So, the fact that you can understand me means you have one as well."

  "Really? I thought everyone was speaking... English." He said, confused.

  "English? Never heard of it." She replied, now also looking confused.

  This pce is getting weirder and weirder.

  She continued. "You should get yourself checked out at some point at a proper medical facility. They might be able to help figure out this amnesia you're having. At the very least, they can tell you what is plugged into your head.

  "I'll get around to it... eventually." He said, then turned to the rest of the group. "I think I will head out for the night. I don't know what Katrina and the INP want me to do tomorrow, but I bet I will hear from her first thing in the morning."

  "Alright, man! Have a good night, and remember, we are singing next time something is happening here!" Greg said enthusiastically.

  "Right. Tanya, I'll call you tomorrow. Chris, Ash, have a good night." John said, then stood up. Tanya blushed a little bit at that, reminding her of her failed seduction in the bathroom, but otherwise, everyone wished him well.

  "Detoxify," John said, curing himself of any drunkenness. He didn't want to get lost on his way back, and he really didn't want to be drunk and lost.

  After John left, the others all turned to Tanya.

  "Why would he call you tomorrow?" Greg asked, looking at his sister, confused. She had never shown any interest in guys since they left home fifteen years ago.

  "I am going to give him a tour of the station." She replied.

  "What? When did you get close to him?" Ash asked, looking surprised.

  "Well, you refused to take the next step and ask to become part of his crew, so I thought I would take the chance and do it instead. You're not the only one who needs a taxi to the more lucrative jobs." She replied smugly. It wasn't exactly what went down, but Ash didn't need to know that.

  "Why, you little!" Ash growled and then sprang at the short dwarf, the impromptu wrestling match causing a bit of ughter from Greg and Chris.

  Tanya liked John, but she knew that Ash liked him too. If she could make her a little jealous, maybe she would finally woman up and ask the man to be part of his crew. Then the pair of them would have no reason to return home in a decade or so.

  Hell, now I need to talk with my siblings about joining his crew too. Ahh, what I do for my best friend.

  She smiled, holding Ash in an elbow lock as she struggled in vain to escape her clutches.

  In the rabbit warren of back passageways...

  Despite his best efforts, John was lost... again. He was trying to follow the holographic map that was dispyed on his link, but it seemed like it was missing some information.

  "This Link is both simple and difficult to use... There should be a passage here, but it is just a wall... but there is another passage down further... hun?" He said to himself, then stopped when he heard some voices coming from yet another passage further down.

  "Get Back!" He heard a feminine voice call out, then ughter from a couple of men. He made his way to the corner and peered around.

  About twenty feet down the passage, Niki was on the ground, surrounded by three men. One had a pair of handcuffs out, ready to catch the young catgirl.

  "Finally caught ya, ya damn alleycat! You're coming with us. The boss wants ya." The man with the cuffs said.

  "Yeah, he took a shine to ya the other day. Apparently, he knew your parents and wanted to pay them back for getting him stuck here in the third ring. But since they are dead, he is gonna take it out on your sweet little pussy instead." Another one said, this one holding a pistol at his side.

  "Yeah, right! Ya know he is going to shove it in her ass dry right?" The third one said crudely. He was holding some sort of baton that was arcing electric sparks in the air.

  "Shhh, that was part of the surprise." The second one said, smiling at the cruel joke his buddy said.

  "Enough banter, let's go, kitty!" The first said, reaching down to cuff her.

  "NO!" She cried out, closing her eyes and trying to kick at the man in vain.

  John didn't hesitate, pulling his pistol out and aiming at the gangsters. Time seemed to slow down for him then, literally.

  Hun? Why is... not the time!

  He pulled the trigger, adjusted his aim, and pulled again, and again. Three shots rang out loudly. Three bodies were now on the ground, dead. He marvelled at his gun for a moment.

  Wow... there was zero kick to that... I need to bring some of these with me when I leave this world. Though why did time seem to slow down?

  "Huh?!?" Niki said, opening her eyes.

  "Are you okay, Niki?" He asked, putting aside the thought, holstering his pistol and offering her a hand up.

  "Ahh... Y...It's you!" She said, jumping to her feet and hugging him. She began to cry. "Thank you! Thank you sooo much!"

  "Shhh... It’s going to be okay." He said, hugging her back and rubbing the top of her head.

  She cried for a few minutes, then passed out leaning on him, the small woman obviously exhausted.

  "Umm... hello? Niki?" He said, but didn't get a response.

  The situation hit him then. He just killed three people. They were assaulting her, and about to kidnap her...and worse. He didn't know what the w was for killing gang members, but he sure as shit wasn't going to hang out here to find out.

  He scooped the small woman up in his arms and started to make his way back to the Phoenix Hawk. He would deal with the fallout of his actions from there.

  It is just being safe. There might have been more of them. Right?