The woman replied simply, “Wodka. Straight, no ice.”
         Jack smiled. “You’re my kind of woman.” he said.
         He snapped his fingers at the bartender.
         “One vodka,” he said, “No ice.” He sat down and faced the Togarmian woman. “So, what’s your name, sugar?”
         “My name ees Anastasiya Burkov.” she said, “But you can call me Nastya.”
         “Nastya.” said Jack, “That’s a very pretty name. For a very pretty woman. My name is Fisher. Captain Jack Fisher.”
         He extended his hand for a shake. Nastya hesitated for a moment then shook his hand and said, “So you are captain. Like everyone else on dees station.”
         Jack shrugged. “It’s a job.” he said, “What is it you do for a living?”
         “I am chief engineer on de reactors on dees station.”
         “Ah,” said Jack, “Let me see. What is it you’re running? One point twenty-one gigawatt Tokamak nuclear fusion reactor. Am I right? That’s an old style, but reliable.”
         Nastya looked impressed and turned in her chair to face Jack directly and smiled.
         “Dees ees correct. You know your equipment.”
         Jack made a sly grin and faced away while taking another sip on his drink.
         “Well, I’ve been around for a while. I’ve learned a thing or two.”
         Nastya smile and looked away. After a short silence, Jack spoke up.
         “Well,” he said, “Whattaya think about splittin’ this place?”
         “I sought you vould never ask.” said Nastya, “Your place or mine?”
         “Well, I got drinks in my hotel room on the fourth level. How does that work for ya?”
         “Dees ees fine.” said Nastya.
         “Alright,” said Jack. And without taking his eyes off Nastya, he slipped a twenty on the bar.
         “Keep the change.” he said, and the two of them left the nightclub.
         When they arrived at the hotel room, no sooner had Jack shut the door then the room’s private telephone rang.
         “Help yourself to a drink.” he said to Nastya, “The bar is over there. I have to take this.”
         And he picked up the reciever to answer the call. “Hello?... Oh, Hey Bob! What’s the good news?... Oh yeah?... Ok, go on... No way... uh huh... Alright... No, I don’t think so... Yeah, I’ll give you a call in a week or two and let you know where I’m at... Alright... Thanks Bob... Bye.” He hung up the phone.
         “SON OF A BITCH!!” he shouted.
         “Vat ees eet?” asked Nastya, walking over with the drinks. Jack sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
         “It’s nothing.” he said softly, “There was an explosion in the ship yards on Aegle. The rockets I chartered were damaged in the blast. I guess some damn greenhorn tried to open the outer hatch of an airlock without closing the inner hatch first. The entire hangar depressurised in a matter of seconds. Blew the place sky high.”
         “Oh my god.” said Nastya with her hand over mouth, “Ees evervon alright?”
         “No.” said Jack, clutching his drink, “The greenhorn and two other yard workers were killed instantly and two others are reported missing. Probably buried in the rubble.”
         “Dees ees awful.” said Nastya.
         “I know,” said Jack, “And with the investigation and everything, they say they won’t even be able to look at my rockets for at least a month!”
         He sighed and shook his head. Nastya meekly smiled. Jack turned on some soft music. Then he took the drink out of Nastya’s hand and set it gently down on the table and put his arms around her waist.
         “But we don’t need to worry about this.” he said, “How ‘bout we just enjoy ourselves tonight?”