ENTRY 141: Gagarin’s Rest
On the icy moon of Pandora stands the massive Gateway
complex. Through the maze of corridors and tunnels to the chamber of the
Pandora Gate itself, it is a humming hive of transhuman activity. But just
outside the gate room, there is a door marked by a skull; and through that door
is the gatecrasher’s bar—Gagarin’s Rest. The last stop most gatecrashers take
before they go through to their pre-gatecrash checks, and the first stop after
debriefing coming back.
The story goes that Gagarin’s Rest started out as an
emergency exit leading to a canyon-like alley out of the complex, where the
first gatecrashers would come out for a quick pull before going on what might
be their final journeys, and eventually some squatter made it permanent. It’s cozy
rather than cramped and a couple degrees colder than comfortable for most
unmodified humans, with recessed lighting and only ten seats at the bar—a stretch
of laser-cut Pandora with a couple thousand scratches in it to give it
character—and booths along the wall, with a couple tables in back next to the
bathrooms. A flat named Dukovitch pours the straight beers and the wine, while
his lifemate, a case called Illiov, handles the mixed drinks and hookahs. The
ceiling is made from slabs of transparent aluminum, so that customers can stare
up and see the stars—or, as Dukovitch says, so they can stare down on them.
The walls are covered with tokens of travel: bits of stone
from a dozen exoplanets, pictures of gatecrashers that didn’t make it etched in
synthetic diamond raising their final a glass, pieces of old spacejunk, and of
course Gagarin’s skull right over the mantle, staring down at everyone that
comes in. It’s probably not the real thing, though Dukovitch swears it is…and
if anyone who’s scanned it has found otherwise, they’ve never posted it to the
Mesh. The one morph stupid enough to try to steal it was found in six pieces on
six different exoplanets.
There are traditions at Gagarin’s Rest, and parties when
missions go well, and wakes when they do not. A standing rule is that any
gatecrasher heading out to a new destination for the first time, Illiov will
pour them a free drink; if they come back, most buy a bottle of something and
give it to Illiov in return. Otherwise, the bar trades on @-rep and a little
kroner, and if Illiov and Dukovitch don’t have something they’ll fetch
something else—“Try, you like.” Dukovitch will say with a crooked smile,
gold-on-steel teeth gleaming.
Using Gagarin’s Rest
There’s a gatecrasher’s bar at every gate, but there is only
one Gagarin’s Rest. Located so close to the gate itself, the bar is a good
place to do business or just socialize and pick up a few rumors. There are more
mysteries lining its walls than can be counted, more practical gatecrashing
experience bellied up to the bar for a quick tote of oxygen or a touch of hash
oil in a shot of grain alcohol than player characters are likely to find
anywhere else. Dukovitch and Illiov operate mainly on trust and good will, and
they have a lot of it to spare—with their @-rep, few would deny the men
anything they asked for, but they ask for very little. Good friends to have,
but considerate enemies. Their clientele tends to be less forgiving.
