Learning to Dance

thickening crowd. Up rubbed his face in his hands,
suddenly wishing he was back on the Cazadora, watching
the Karate Kid, maybe taking a bubble bath. Anywhere but
here.
It wasn’t very long before there came a particularly loud
smashing sound and a series of shouts from across the bar.
He could see a number of Ranger uniforms among the
gathering crowd, so Up approached, a sinking feeling in his
stomach.
“Fight, fight, fight, fight!”
“Dead goddammit,” said Up, coming up beside Pedro as
Taz sent her larger, alien opponent flying into a card table.
Glass and game pieces flew everywhere. “Why is Taz
brawling with one of the locals?”
“It’s Taz,” Pedro shrugged, though admiration shone
stupidly in his eyes. “He probably just looked at her the
wrong way.”
Two of the alien’s buddies approached her, cracking
knuckles. She slipped beneath their reach and kicked at
their legs, sending them sprawling to the floor. She wasn’t
as quick to get up as usual, and staggered a little as she
rose.
The locals were starting to look angry. Up stepped into
the middle of the circle.
“LIEUTENANT!” he roared. Taz looked startled, and
her eyes attempted to focus on him.
“That is enough,” he said harshly. “We are guests on this
planet. You are drunk, and acting irresponsibly, and you are
an embarrassment to this team. Get yourself back to the
ship before you cause any more trouble.”
Taz, for a moment, looked abashed, but then she reached
out and swept her arm across an array of empty bottles on
the nearest table, sending them all shattering to the floor at
his feet. A challenge.