{"id":891,"date":"2026-11-03T19:35:30","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T19:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/?p=891"},"modified":"2026-11-04T05:42:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T05:42:27","slug":"excerpt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/?p=891","title":{"rendered":"excerpt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’ve decided to post here an excerpt from overkill<\/em>. It’s the saloon scene. Now, I’m not much a fan of saloons. When it comes to alcohol, I prefer it at an agreeable price, and I avoid drinking at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I am a fan of is listening to conversations between normal people. Whether I’m rewarded by overhearing some ragged woman talking loudly about wishing to separate from her partner to get back into a casual situationship<\/em> with an ex because ‘it’s just more fun’ (good luck with that), or some, well, I wouldn’t call him a man, talking loudly about how he’s waiting until the custody battle’s over to get back on the bags, I always hear something<\/em> worth writing down. Here’s to being a loud cunt. You’re truly an inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more here: https:\/\/www.royalroad.com\/fiction\/195327\/overkill<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He flew over the lower flat, where it seemed like things were returning to some semblance of normal. Nobody was trying to raid any more of the stores. Nobody was wailing in the Hollow. Nobody was panicking, which was good, but they were still afraid. Stationfolk were gathering in huddled groups that kept their heads down and tried not to turn them towards the sky. They kept busy. There was work to be done on the station. It was no use staring into nothing. Shopkeepers were out checking that their structures were sound, that their equipment was working, and that nothing in the landing had damaged any delicate instrument they needed to perform their duties. Panesmen were down in the work-house, coordinating future repairs.
\u2003Many panesmen were already filtering out towards their duties at the prism interior. Overhead the Obels turned, their passage through the air making their whooshing thumps a familiar rhythm. Forces were at work to keep the stationfolk settled, and Arran was one of them.
\u2003From the looks he was getting, many of them, in their superstition, blamed their predicament solely upon him. None said anything for fear of reprisal from the peacekeeper who\u2019d had his hand returned. The peacekeeper who, as far as they knew, still had the full support of the Mayor\u2019s office.
\u2003There it is, he thought. There\u2019s the reason.
\u2003The Mayor needed to keep control over the stationfolk, and Arran was how he did it.
\u2003\u2018Arran you fool,\u2019 he said, and sighed.
\u2003He landed down on the wide lower deck around the saloon, hitting with a solid thud. A small crowd of familiar faces was already there, drinking their woes away at the senselessness of it all. By one consideration he couldn\u2019t blame them. By another consideration he knew they would be drinking regardless. One or two who saw him land gave Arran sidelong looks. At once they finished their drinks and departed. They knew Arran wasn\u2019t a fan of the saloon at the best of times. The smell of piss and existential disappointment was often overwhelming.
\u2003Arran ignored them and pushed through the creaking batwing doors. What merriment existed in the room was sucked out of it by his entrance. Inside, across the panelled floor, folks were gambling to keep themselves occupied, lest their duties about the station interfere with their distraction. One gambler was about to lay down his cards. He spared a glance at Arran and drew a sharp breath, and when he lay them down the table gave no reaction. Their attention was diverted to the peacekeeper.
\u2003Arran went to the bar. The bartender was occupied shifting a dirty mop-bucket. \u2018Hello Dath,\u2019 he said. \u2018Amber mezcal, and for all that is holy make it a double.\u2019 The less time he spent returning for drinks, the better.
\u2003\u2018Right you are,\u2019 Dath said, a strained edge to his voice. He turned his back to grab the bottle from the rack on the wall. He kept his demeanour professional, but Arran could tell he was concerned. His movements were stiffer than usual and as he returned with the bottle his gaze carried a reproachful weight. \u2018You\u2019re not here on business, are you?\u2019 He loosened the cap.
\u2003Arran shook his head. \u2018I didn\u2019t come to see your pretty face,\u2019 he said. \u2018I\u2019ve got an announcement to make.\u2019
\u2003Dath winced. \u2018Here?\u2019 He poured a clean double and set the bottle down.
\u2003Arran took the glass. \u2018Why not?\u2019
\u2003Dath reached to polish a fresh glass. \u2018Bad enough day as it is.\u2019
\u2003\u2018It\u2019ll get better.\u2019 Arran drank the glass down in one gulp, set it down, and faced the small crowd.
\u2003Arran clapped his hands. \u2018Alright, listen up.\u2019
\u2003The gambler looked over his shoulder. The rest of the crowd was already paying close attention. Some shuffled in their seats, making wooden creaks that scratched over the quiet. A female voice came spitting at him from aside. \u2018Why should we listen to you? Where\u2019s your badge?\u2019 Arran looked over. The woman stared him down, whisky fueling her sharp gaze. A woman who\u2019d graduated from bar-maid here to mother and bar-regular, she\u2019d kept the bottle at her side throughout it all. Arran often wondered how she, and others, continued to find the same scene entertaining. It was a small prism, he\u2019d supposed. Not a lot of opportunities, and time dragged on. Many found their way into the trap of drink and loose conversation, even if it did have a tendency to repeat into dullness.
\u2003\u2019I don\u2019t know, Meggin, where\u2019s your daughter?\u2019
\u2003She left.
\u2003Arran watched her storm out the doors, as those around her cast their gaze at their feet. Arran assumed the school was still operating, which, by his clock, would be getting out for the day. She was muttering something to herself. Arran cared not to switch on his augmented hearing to listen. Perhaps she would go accompany her daughter home, for once. Given the crisis, he was not sure why she was here at all. Arran sighed and looked over at the rest of the crowd. \u2018I\u2019ve spoken to the flight team. They\u2019ve confirmed my suspicions. We have been swallowed by something.\u2019
\u2003The gambler interrupted. \u2018By what?\u2019
\u2003Another voice spoke up. \u2019By the dark beast of the shadow Equinox laid upon us by this hell-sent peacekeeper!\u2019
\u2003Margarey Kim\u2019s gossip had spread here first, as he\u2019d expected. So he\u2019d come here to control that, if he could.
\u2003Arran raised a hand to settle their protest. \u2018Please, let me finish. It is some kind of creature, something impossibly large. It ate our sun and devoured Huon too, as we all saw. But I say to you that it is just a creature. Don\u2019t let your imaginations run wild, we don\u2019t need a riot. What we need is to stay calm.\u2019 He felt the alcohol working through him and leaned his elbow back on the bar. \u2018Be cool, folks.\u2019
\u2003It didn\u2019t help.
\u2003\u2018Huon just\u2026 collapsed\u2026\u2019 someone said.
\u2003\u2018Why couldn\u2019t we fly away?\u2019
\u2003\u2018It ate our sun?\u2019
\u2003'The Gods have forsaken us!'
\u2003\u2018Please, please,\u2019 he said, trying to settle the rabble. \u2018I have a plan.\u2019
\u2003Someone snorted. Arran looked over. He recognised the face. His nose was swollen and purpled, his cheeks threaded with burst veins, a face that had been marinating in spirits since before Arran had arrived on the station. The man let out a burp and said, \u2018You put us here, lawman. Now you plan to get us out?\u2019
\u2003\u2018I did not put us here, Serge Herbetson. I did nothing of the sort.\u2019
\u2003Someone shook a fist. \u2018You killed Odelford! I did work for that man. He was a good man! You invited this\u2026 this death to us! Only the Gods can rescue us!\u2019
\u2003Arran didn\u2019t even know where to begin to address that accusation. He could only remember the great malevolence he\u2019d sensed at the flight facility. His hesitation was enough to set a few back in their seats in disagreeable consideration.
\u2003\u2018We aren\u2019t dead,\u2019 Arran said, finally. \u2018Doggett got us out of that. It was by his skill that we are alive and weren\u2019t sucked in after the sun, or struck by it. It\u2019s not by any God\u2019s kindness that we\u2019re still alive, and it won\u2019t be by their mercy that we are saved. It\u2019ll be us. It\u2019ll be me.\u2019
\u2003The shaken fist belonged to a drunk panesman who shouldered his way out of his group. \u2018How do we know? This place might as well be the last stop in the whole fucking universe! The church has shut its doors and refuses to open up! We are dead!\u2019
\u2003\u2018We aren\u2019t dead because I can kill this creature, and I fucking will! I\u2019ll fucking kill it, I can kill anything!\u2019 There was the liquor in his own voice. Arran shoved off the counter and stared down the drunk. By his approach it looked like the situation was about to spill over into violence.
\u2003The man who had shaken his fist stood back, stunned and more than a little afraid. Arran\u2019s aggression worked better than his attempt to reassure them. Judging by the looks he was getting they thought he was crazy. Maybe Jensen was right, and he was gone crazy like him.
\u2003A voice piped up from the back of the room. It spoke with a tiredness to it. \u2018Just don\u2019t kill all of us while you\u2019re at it, peacekeeper.\u2019
\u2003Arran said, \u2018Not the first time I\u2019ve heard that today,\u2019 and decided now was time to leave.
\u2003Baleful looks followed Arran towards the doors. His footsteps were the only sound in the room. He couldn\u2019t reassure them. He could only do his best. He brushed through the doors. Dath cleared his glass. As it went clinking upside-down onto a rack Arran\u2019s spell on the room broke and some normalcy returned. The gamblers resumed playing. A few others resumed drinking. Seats turned back to face their tables. Someone struck up a chord on the piano.
\u2003Arran stood out on the deck and looked over at the church. A gathering of people were praying at its doors. He decided against going over there to try and reassure them. He just wasn\u2019t very good at it. Too much in him wanted to shout at them. Maybe he\u2019d leave the churchgoers be.
\u2003He was, again, doing it for the widow Graney. That was enough of a reason, he supposed.
\u2003Arran looked around and was glad it was dark. It would be easier to sneak a skiff out, and he supposed he was almost ready to go.
\u2003It was time to return by John\u2019s store. He\u2019d need to be able to breathe out there.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ve decided to post here an excerpt from overkill. It’s the saloon scene. Now, I’m not much a fan of saloons. When it comes to alcohol, I prefer it at an agreeable price, and I avoid drinking at home. What I am a fan of is listening to conversations between normal people. Whether I’m rewarded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=891"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":921,"href":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891\/revisions\/921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akickintheteeth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}