Chewing Rocks (5 page)

Johnson and Spanky laughed through the whole vid.
They laughed even harder at Sno’s horrified reaction. “That’s not right.” Sno said.

“Not right?” Johnson said stifling a laugh. “That was mild.
It was just a little Sno flurry, not even a Sno storm.”

“Or a Sno blizzard
,” Spanky chimed in.

Sno shook her head, “That is not what I meant
, you rock bound floozies. What I meant was, is my butt really that small and flat?”

Johnson said, “
Not touching that subject. I haven’t been slapped around all week and I plan on keeping it that way. Oh, change of subject, or rather back to the other one.”

Sno asked, “What other one?”

“Single men.” Johnson and Spanky said together.

Johnson continued, “Have you seen the new guy around town?
Prentiss Chalmers? Tall, wavy hair and a tight butt with pectorals chiseled from deck plating.”

Spanky said, “Yep, Prints i
s a new ship captain over at General Division Mining.”

“Prin
ce? You mean like in royalty type?” Sno said.

Johnson
shook her head, “No. As in writing. Prints. Said that was what we should call him. Prints is short for Prentiss, I guess. Ex-Ranger from the word around town; rumor is he has made two long jumps out of the solar system. You know, those exploratory trips they have been doing looking for new habitable planets.”

Spanky added, “He was in buying beers for some of
the General Division warehouse lumpers a couple of days ago.”

Johnson laughed, “Yeah, and ol’
Stinkybutt here leeched on to him like a…a...doggit, like a leech.”

Spanky laughed
and pointed at Johnson, “That was smooth metaphor. Is that the best you got, Miss Skankoid Johnson? Anyway, Prints didn’t mind. Real gentleman though. I got so drunk he could have humped me on the bar and I wouldn’t have minded.”

Sno snorted, “Come on, Spanky, you wouldn’t have minded if you were stone cold sober.”

“True enough, but even when I leaned the twins here right up against him,” Spanky pointed her fingers at her ample breasts, “the man still didn’t go for a cheap feel.”

Johnson laughed, “Cheap or free, what’s the difference with you?”

Spanky shrugged, “Not a thing. Howsomever, I’ve got time to work on the man. He said he came to AZ City looking for work a tad bit more stable than jumping around the galaxy. He said Earth Gov cut the Ranger’s budget in half and put a lot of them out of work. So, he should be around awhile. And you,” she pointed a finger at Sno, “keep away from him. Maybe he likes skinny redheads, but I need time to convince him that voluptuous brunettes are the key to his happiness.”

Sno said, “He is all yours. I am not going to be in town any longer than it takes to
get restocked and do some upgrades on Sedona’s apps and core. Then I’ve got a hot date with a cold rock. Now, where is that brother of yours, Johnson?” Her voice rose to a bellow. “I need a beer and I want it now.”

The three women turned just in time to see Norm
trip over an obviously and deliberately outstretched foot. All four men at the table had the look of earthers. They were shorter than the average Ceres native or space born and they were more muscular. This batch was wearing the uniform shirts of Queene Mining warehouse lumpers. They were men with little more in the way of attributes than a strong back. All four men laughed riotously as Norm started his fall.

Norm was a Cere
s native. He had been born and raised in a ten percent gravity field. What the men at the table failed to remember is that cafeteria pranks do not work the same on Ceres as they would have in elementary school on Earth.

Norm leisurely twisted sideways, balancing the tray in one hand. His other hand shot down, the palm slapping the floor
with enough force to push him back upright. A slight push from his toes adjusted his forward movement to bring his feet back under his center of gravity. It would have been the performance of a master dancer on Earth, but in minimal gravity it was a simple matter of how everyone caught their balance when they tripped. However, no matter what the gravity, Norm was still a typical gawky fourteen year old boy who could not have pulled off a smooth move on his best day.

The beers slid from the tray, tumbling from their tumblers, tracing a slow, amber
, helical arc through the dim lighting. Anyone used to light gravity could have easily pushed themselves out of the way with a minimal amount of effort. Unfortunately, the table of lumpers reacted with Earth conditioned reflexes sending them sprawling every which way into other tables. Two of the men, so over-muscled the move they ended up pushing themselves through the upturned beer flow, drenching themselves and changing the course of the beer arc. That arc now threatened to splatter other tables.

Most people laughed and easily
dodged the wildly tumbling men and leisurely slowing beer spill. Mario’s was just the type of place where people applauded and laughed at other diners, and Mario’s oft played pranks. The earthmen bellowed, cursing in rage and embarrassment. One of the men grabbed at Norm, swinging a mighty fist at the boy. Mario’s was also the type of place where people who worked hard, would come to play hard.

Norm
dodged out of the man’s grasp with ease, skipping away.

When the man righted himself he rasped, “You little
dip. I am going to kick your skinny, little rear end.”

Before the man could move, Sno stepped between him and Norm. She waved Mario back to the kitchen
as the owner had been braced to vault over the bar and into the fray.

“N
ot now, Mario. Go back to work.” Sno said. “I think these gentlemen will realize they started this mess, and they will quietly sit back down. Then we can all enjoy a quiet beer or two.”

One of the men
leaned forward and stretched upward, his face inches from Sno’s face. “I will sit when I want to and I don’t want to. Not until that freaking brat gets what is coming to him.” His bad breath washed over Sno.

Sno shook her head and smiled, “Don’t think so,
earther. You will be polite and sit down. And then take a mint, would you?”

The man
grunted, “Ha. Are you going to stop me? And my boys, too? There isn’t a decent set of muscles in this place. Of course, you got a cute backside, so maybe we can tap into that after I kick skinny boy’s butt.”

Sno
watched as the man’s three friends stepped behind him, moving into a phalanx facing her. A very well muscled bald man was to her right, a fat man to her left and a very short man to her far left. It was four to one. She knew a dozen people in the place would jump in quickly if she let them, not out of friendship, just for the joy of a good tussle. Johnson and Spanky were not much good in a bar fight and Norman was just a kid. Besides they were not that kind of friends.

She took her eyes of
f Mr. Bad Breath to glance around the restaurant. Mario had not retreated into the kitchen yet. She gave a quick shake of her head, calling him off. That should suffice for other patrons.

She said, “The damages are on their tab, Mario.”

The others in the restaurant quickly moved out of the path of whatever might be coming, taking their meals and drinks with them. She chanced a quick look behind her, flicking her hands at Johnson and Spanky.

Johnson shrugged
. She grabbed Norm and Spanky pulling them away from the center of the room. Spanky laughed, snagged an abandoned beer, and perched atop the back of a chair on the far side of the room, her feet on the seat. Johnson had to grab Norm with both hands and literally sit on the boy to keep him from leaping up to Sno’s aid.

Bad Breath wheezed, “Looks like every one in here is smart enough to back off,
girlie. It’s just you and me, then.”

Sno smiled, “You mean, just y
ou and me and your three clown friends.”

Baldy laughed, “You think you can take all four of us, Red?”

Sno laughed back, “Friendly warning, and your last warning from me. Yes I can. But, let’s make it interesting, shall we? Since Mister Bad Breath here likes the shape of my backside, if I can’t take all four of you in a fight, fair or not, then I will take all four of you at the same time, backside and all; if you get my drift.”

Baldy laughed, “I get your drift. I normally don’t go for skinny
skanks. I would rather do your dark-haired friend, but I guess I’ll take it where I can get it.”

Bad Breath snorted at Baldy, “After me maybe. I get firsties. You can take sloppy seconds.”

Fatty leered at Sno, raking his look up and down her body. Shorty had a glazed look as if he had gulped down a few too many drinks and was not really following the conversation.

Sno smiled, “No need to fight about it, gentlemen.
It can be all four at once or one at a time. It is your call. But, on your end, if I do by some chance, beat all four of you senseless and then you pay Mario for any damage, plus a round of drinks and a sub for everyone in the place. And I mean everyone. Deal?”

Bad Breath and Baldy looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Sno said, “I will take that as a yes. What about you, Fatty?”

“Go to hell,
bitch,” Fatty spat back.

Sno replied, “I live there,
Fatty. Be careful or I will take you home to meet my daddy. You in, or do I just get to beat you senseless just for the fun of it?”

Ba
d Breath said, “He’s in. We’re all in. Now and later, sweet cheeks.” The man reared back, cocked his right arm, telegraphing what normally would have been a mighty right hook. But, in the light gravity his own weight threw him off balance.

Sno stepped forward, planting both feet in a widespread stance, placed an open palm
on the man’s chest. She shoved just as Bad Breath was teetering on the brink of catching his balance.

Surprise showed on the man’s face as his feet left the ground and he
soared into Baldy. Both men tumbled, ungracefully but slowly, arms wind-milling to catch their balance and legs akimbo as if searching for a toehold. They tangled with a couple of chairs and crashed into a pile under a table.

Sno flexed her feet just enough to push her up and forward beginning a slow, spinning kick at Fatty’s chest.
The spin started slow, but without gravity it seemed to pick up speed. Still, it was slow enough the man easily ducked below her foot. She had not meant to kick him with her outstretched foot. She had planned on his inexperience with lower gravity. As he ducked, she whipped her trailing leg around making contact with his face. A cracking noise was heard all the way across the noisy room.

The man was off balance from his own movement
. The force of her blow sent him spinning rapidly into Shorty to her far left. Both men collapsed into a heap, no one in the place expected either man to get up. Shorty looked content to pass out under Fatty’s bulk. Fatty began to scream in pain, holding his face in both hands. From the cracking sound of Sno’s kick, no one doubted something had broken and everyone knew it wasn’t Sno’s foot.

Everyone
in the place knew the fight was lost. That was everyone except Bad Breath and Baldy. The two men finally untangled themselves from overturned chairs and table legs. Their curses gave way to bellows as they threw the offending chairs out of the way. Both men launched themselves at Sno, their arms outstretched, planning on encircling her and using their momentum to scoop her up and push her up against the bar.

It appeared
to be such a coordinated move, Sno felt sure they had been in other fights together. It also appeared they had still not accounted for the gravity, or rather the significant lack thereof.

Sno pushed against the floor and shot quickly to the ceiling. Both men sailed underneath her. She flexed her
arms and recoiled off the ceiling to drop back to the floor behind Bad Breath. She grabbed him by the shoulders as he bounced off the bar. A quick twist sent him spinning in place. Sno managed to slap a foot to the floor, correcting her own spin, twisting the opposite direction of Bad Breath. She let an elbow fly, catching the man in the nose, with a jarring crunch that stopped both their momentum.

Baldy recoiled off the bar and twisted just enough to face Sno. He braced his legs wide apart to counter any spin or horizontal movement. He reached out
, with just enough length to grab a handful of her t-shirt.

Sno snap
-kicked forward; driving her shin into Baldy’s crotch with enough force it lifted his body off the floor in a horizontal trajectory. When his body was stretched out parallel to the floor, she peeled his hand off her shirt. He did not resist her effort; his facial contortions easily showed he was well and truly out of the fight.

Bad Breath was bellowing with rage. He was on
his knees with one hand braced on the floor. He was holding his nose with his other hand, blood seeping out between his fingers.

Sno stepped up to the man. She was close enough
to the bar she hooked her left foot under the brass railing. She stomped her right foot, bringing her heel down across the man’s hand as it braced on the floor. She felt bones give way as Bad Breath’s raging bellow turned to little girl screams. Sno drew back her right foot, preparing to lash out at the side of his head.