Thimbleful Thursday - Mad in Atter, a story of Foedus Planaterum

[aldersprig]

This belongs to the Foedus Planetarum setting and the Tod’cxeckz’ri Paper Story.

Previous in Story


"I suppose we could try my father," Yira Trembane had suggested. They needed an acceptable relation to void their contract, and visiting Yira's mother had turned out messily-at-best. "It's just... he lives on Korsakoff. I don't think he's going to be much help."

"I visited Korsakoff once." Jahnan wince. "It was..."

"Memorable?" Yira's teasing come out rough-voiced.

"Ouch. Yeah. Something like that." She leaned back in the seat of the Maru and closed her eyes. "I landed..."

Nehanani Jahnan set down her little star-bouncer on the neglected landing field of Atter, Korsakoff's largest city. There were only two other ships in the field - a Foedus bureaucracy ship, probably census or taxes, and her quarry. There was dust over her quarry's ship, but Korsakoff was known for its heavy dust that coated everything - he could have been here a day or a week.

She fitted a filtered mask over her face. Korsakoff's air wasn't exactly poisonous - but it wasn't any fun, either. Not if you wanted to leave anytime soon. Chances were, her target was just down the road. Unless he'd thought to mask, hoping she'd - ha - forget.

She found Fess Entiror in a bar, just inside the city limits of Atter. The bartender aimed a desultory wave her way, and passed her a drink. Jahnan paid and headed for the table where Fess Entiror was already talking.

"...and so I headed into New Malibu..."


And there, in the middle of the town, there was this statute, this giant thing, larger than life, of a naked woman, with her hand... well, there's ladies present. And there, sitting at the base of the statue, with his hand... sorry, ladies, well, there was my target.

And the moral of the story is, never go into New Malibu drunk, or you're just going to end up a sitting duck for whoever's hunting you."


There was no point in talking to him; he had the glazed eyes and rambling speech patterns of someone already suffering from Korsakoff Syndrome. Jahnan couldn't resist, anyway, as she slapped the cuffs on him.

"And the moral of the story is, never go to Korsakoff when you're on the run from the law, or you're going to end up mad-ass in Atter, waiting for whoever's hunting you."

Yira coughed. "Or, well. Maybe we could just visit my stepfather, the first one."
~

To January 8th's Thimbleful Thursday prompt, approx. 400 words

Comments

[thnidu]

So why did they name a planet after a real condition? ... Never mind.
Is it something in the dust? (Of course you cough.)
Any relation to "mad as a hatter", hmm?

• "I suppose we could try my father." Yira Trembane had suggested.
→ my father," Yira
> Make that period a comma.

• Yira's teasing come out rough-voiced."
> Take that quotation mark at the end of the line...¹

• "And the moral of the story is, never go to Korsakoff when you're on the run for the law,
→ from the law

• or you're going to end up mad-ass in Atter, waiting for whoever's hunting you.
> ¹... and stick it on the end of this one.

[aldersprig]

One assumes they forgot why they named it that soon after naming it that?

And yes, exactly that relation.

[thnidu]

:-)

[aldersprig]

:-D The AUTHOR named it that way on purpose, 'cause the Thimbleful prompt was "mad as a Hatter" and that's what Wikipedia suggested. ;-D

[clare_dragonfly]

Fun! I love the names :D

[aldersprig]

yay!

[kissofjudas]

Womp womp. Smart people wear masks when you ever want to leave. Proof positive that criminals are dumb. XD

[aldersprig]

:-D