Wee prequel to the
Star Trek/Magnificent Seven AU prompt ‘fic that
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lazaefair wrote for me. (And yes, I do have more of this sketched out… <.< )
The first time Goodnight Robicheaux set eyes on Billy Rocks, there was a bar fight in progress.
Ordinarily, the brawl wouldn’t have bothered Goodnight one bit. Hell, one of the perks of shore leave on a non-Federation station was that the odds of seeing actual excitement went up considerably. But on this particular occasion, he had been looking for a dark corner in which to nurse both a stiff drink and a bruised heart in peace. The dull smack of bare-knuckle punches landing and the accompanying encouragement of the other bar patrons drew his unwilling attention away from tending his small garden of miseries…
And he found himself watching as the most striking man he’d ever set eyes on held his ground against three Orions, all of which were at least a head taller and half a foot broader than their target. Those were long odds, and taking a second look at the human at the center of the trouble shook the hearts out of Goodnight’s eyes right quick. The man was so thin that his cheekbones looked ready to cut through his skin. His long, dark hair matted, his clothing torn, and there was some kind of mottled discoloration along his bare arms - livid bruising, maybe burns. The restraint marks at his wrists, though, those were unmistakable. And so was the desperation on his face - this wasn’t a simple bar brawl, this man was going to die before he yielded.
Goodnight’s sidearm was on board the
Reeves, but he didn’t need a phaser to make himself handy in a fight. He didn’t ask permission to cut in to this particular dance, just ducked in from the side and let his fist connect with a green-skinned face.
The Orions were down and groaning seconds later, but the stranger wasn’t paying them any mind now. His eyes were fixed on Goodnight’s red Starfleet tunic. He finally met Goodnight’s eyes, a drowning man who’d just glimpsed a liferaft.
“My name is Billy Yi,” he managed. He was speaking Fed standard, but it sounded rusty as hell, as if he wasn’t sure he was fitting the words together right. “I don’t belong to them. My parents were Federation citizens.”
There was a whole story in those few words, and if they’d been on a Federation station, Goodnight would have escorted this Billy Yi to the nearest security office to get it untangled that much quicker. But they were out of their jurisdiction, and the Orion Syndicate had a long reach and deep influence out here. In the time it took to get Federation law involved in this mess, Yi could easily be back the hands of the people who’d brutalized him.
(And anyone who actually believed that crap about the Orions being a neutral presence in the sector could see him about buying swampland on Vulcan.)
Goodnight nodded. “Goodnight’s my name. I can help, if you’ll trust me.”
A bitter shred of a smile caught on Billy’s bloodied lips. “I don’t think I’ll get a better offer today.”
