Last Night on Novgorod: Reunion

Novgorod - Orbital Space Station
E Deck > Drifters Bar & Grill

Povel, who had finished three fourths of his meal up to now and downed two glasses of water, was not currently situationally aware of his surroundings. It was obvious he was lost in thought about something; daydreaming with a slight melancholy fog in his eyes. He was about to address the intrusion of his personal space when he heard a familiar voice. Shocked, the lost look evaporated and his attention fixated on a welcomed face.

It was Dusty. He looked different. Povel looked different as well. It had been seven years since they had seen each other in person and five years since they had seen each other over a vid-screen. Last time they saw each other, Povel was clean shaven and buzz cut, and he didn’t have a prosthetic left arm. Now, he too had hair on his head and face, styled well but simple and short. He looked more mature, not really older, but there seemed to be a different temporal pace to him then his plucky and daring greenhorn days.

“Dusty?!?” (the medic’s nickname from back during their time together) Povel recognized him immediately. He rose to give the old friend a strong hug. “This is a surprise. What are you doing way out here?” Povel shifted to make room and provide his undivided attention.

Dusty smiled and awkwardly hugged back, not that he did not like the hug, more like not accustomed to it.

"You know me. Got to find new places to start trouble. If I read this report right..." he held a data pad in his hand. "I will be your team Doc." said Russ with a sly grin. "Yes, you're all in for it when we get on the ship," said Russ with a wink. Russ would not let out too much info right now not that he knew that much anyway.

Debug looked mortified and acted as if panic stricken. “Wait?! YOU are the doc for the Nomad mission?” He threw his right hand up in the air. “That’s it, I request a transfer. I don’t suppose getting jettisoned out into space is still a fallback position?” Povel jested in good fun. He would stake his life on Russ’s skills. In fact, he had on numerous occasions.

Povel laughed, which felt like it was rusty and unused in a while. Regardless it felt genuinely good to laugh. “All kidding aside man, I am thrilled you are going to be on the Nomad.” He raised his glass of water. “Makes me feel better already for the risks and peril to come. So how did you swing this job? Whatcha been up to these last three years?” The two questions glossed over the fact that for the last three years they had not communicated much at all, most of which had been Povel’s fault.

Russ Chuckled at Povel's jettisoned-out-into-space joke. "Not sure how I got on this mission. I was told my name came up several times. ...I owe the company one too. Let's just say they pulled me back together after my last Marine mission," explained Russ. He did not want to go into details here. Russ would explain more later, he thought he owed Povel that much.

"The last few years? Well, traveling to exotic places and meeting exotic people. Then killing them," said Russ jokingly. "I was assigned to a station hospital for a while. They thought it best I took it slow for a time. Trained in medicine some more. Now qualified to do a lot more." he said recounted. "There is one thing... You can be the only person to know." Russ looked around and then back at Povel. "What do you know about the mission?" asked Russ wondering what Povel knew.