The Strip was familiar enough to Sayeeda that she felt at home immediately. Like every major port in human history Beckett's Node was served by a plethora of places for spacers to dispose of their recently gotten gains. The long street was lined with taverns, gambling houses and brothels and every combination of the three. The Hard Drive, The Nebula and the Hammered Cock were a few of the highlights screamed in neon of a dozen eye watering shade. The street was set into a long corridor at least fifty meters wide and twenty high. Enterprising artisans had splashed the roof with ultra violet receptive paint and turned black lights on it, giving the celing the impression of twinkling stars to the casual glance. Music of a dozen different styles melded into a thrumbing cacophny that didn't quite provide a base line. At least most of the whoring was going on behind closed doors or outdoor partitions, though a few enterprising freelancers were making a go of it in public. Men, women and aliens stumbled around in general good fellowship, curses shouted and as quickly forgotten.

Junebug drew a tabacco stick from the pack she had purchased and placed it between her lips. With practiced ease she tapped a rythmic pattern against the cigarettes silvery endcap and the small charge of phospor-laced zirconium blazed for a moment while she drew back, sparking to life and filling her mouth with smooth smoke with a slightly sour cherry aftertaste. She let the smoke rush from her nostrils in a pleased sigh before lifting a bottle of liquor to her lips and drinking deep. The concoction differed only slightly from a xalop brandy she had been fond of before she joined the armored, although the alcohol content, judging by the bottle and the tingle it left in her mouth, was significantly higher. 

It had been a frustrating morning, at least she imagined it as morning - the station did not appear to keep a day night cycle, but a productive one. With the help of the stations directory they had managed to liquidate most of the artifact that a grateful Quetzalli had lavished upon them. Gold and jewels were not in and off themselves tremendously valuable, space faring civilizations could extract ore from asteroids fairly easily, but the craftsman ship and the strange provenance gave them value. By agreement Junebug and Neil had refused to reveal the origin of the pieces, lest other, less well intentioned 'Starmen' return and exploit the place, but even so the pieces were of significant value to collectors. The total value of the cargo looked like it would cover the repairs they needed and the docking fees and go a ways towards re stocking the ship with rations but those expenses would leave the coffers pretty bare.

"Stars! you would think it was their last night of life!" Taya exclaimed, simultaneously looking everywhere and no where. Junebug thought she was trying to avoid gawking at two rough looking men hiking up the dress of a slightly frumpy looking whore in the beer garden of one of the taverns. The girl laughed a jaded professional laugh before burying one of the mens faces between her doubtlessly augment bosoms. 

"It might be," Junebug said, feeling warm and expansive as she strolled along. With the careful precision of the slightly drunk she made a gesture with her bottle, careful not to spill any of the precious spirit, indicating the surrounding men and women. Pausing to take another draw on her ciggareete before continuing:

"Most of these men are spacers, scrounging a living on the little asteroid hoppers they have here, nothing between them and the great beyond except a space suit that hasn't been repaired in the Goddess alone knows how long," she explained.

"These others," she gestured at a knot of tough looking men, scarred and with slightly sallow saggy skin engaged in a very loud card game of some sort, "Gather fungus on the moons. The primary here kick of a ton of rads and the suits they get arent really up to it. Thats before you get to the geyzers of red hot gas and the spores the damn things kick off." The morning had at least been instructive as to what life was like on Beckett's node, even if it hadn't exactly been profitable. Fungus and ore for refining seemed to be the wealth of the station. The alien vegetation grew prolifically on several of the moons and was edible once properly processed. Some of the rarer types were valuable as raw material for certain drugs as well she had heard.

"When your in that kind of danger you live while you can, believe me. Besides I thought all you aristos were supposed to be hyper decadent, no pleasure forbidden types," she said, her lips curling into a smile of gentle mockery. Her eyes tracked unbidden to a sign above a brothel that was advertising services so exotic that even Junebug was intrigued.

"Pretty sure those wen't extinct..." she started before Taya called out Neil's name. Looking up she saw the pilot coming down the artificial street towards them. Junebug lifted the bottle in salute and took a long pull, feeling the burn in the back of her throat as she swallowed down.

"How did you make out?" she called jovially.

[@POOHEAD189]