Jupiter Three

I wandered the ship today. I’m not sure why, but I just walked the deck, checked out the view. It’s been, what, almost a month now since we left home? You can still see Mar’s of course, though it’s on the “day” side of the ship. Jupiter looks like a bright star when you can see it. Far off, alien.

Perhaps that’s what the first colonists felt heading to Mars. Ships were slower then; it took longer to get from Earth to Mars then it will take us to get to Jupiter. Accelerator gates didn’t come until much later, so for them it was a one way trip. Sink or swim, for the earliest of them hope was in the ice. The ice held H2O as well as the trapped elements for a rudimentary atmosphere. It would be a century before humans could walk outside without a full suit, and even now a breathing augmenter is necessary for any extended activity outside the domes.

An atmosphere is not even an option of us. The radiation from the giant gas planet is too high even if the moons could maintain an atmosphere, which they can’t. Our life will be confined to the domes, behind shields; or to stations set up in orbit around the moons. There will always be constant reminders that we are alien.

At least we get to go back if we want, once the gates are up and functioning, and the first frigates start arriving. The trip back will be weeks instead of months. But that’s not why we sign up for this is it? Especially those of us who “won” our chance at going on this trip – we all have our own reasons for leaving home.

But enough of this. It’s pizza night at the Messa Mesa. Always a favorite.

When I arrived at my quarters this morning, there was something waiting for me. It was a playing card. The Deuce of Moons to be exact. Written on the card was a time and a place, nothing more. I had been invited to “The Game”.

I told you before that card playing was one of the few entertainments on board. “The Game” was the biggest Poker game on the ship. It was high stakes, very exclusive, invitation only. In fact, the best way to get banned from the game was to ask to be invited to the game.

“The Game” was rumored to be run by Sri Kapadia, a water management specialist in the hydroponics facility. It wasn’t a particularly glamorous position, but “The Game” had given him a measure of respect outside of his job. It had started as a small game that had grown in popularity due to the quality of players it drew, until the game had to go underground to avoid the crowds.

I am still wondering how I got the invite. It was supposed to be a great sign of respect, but I was a middlin player at best. Buy in is 1000 credits.

The game is two nights from now. I will need to get Manny to cover my shift that night.

Life is good!

“You know you suck at cards, right?” Carl could be so supportive when he wanted to be.

I was able to get Manny to cover for me tomorrow night, and Carl and Lisa were helping me to hone my skills, which apparently Carl at least thought little of.

“Come one, I’m not the best, but I can hold my own. ”

“Why don’t we just split the 1000 credits; that way you’ll only lose half,” he continued.

I had just lost with a pair of jacks to his full moon. This time I was holding a King and an Ace and there were two Kings on the table. This hand was mine to lose.

We were playing a game called Hold’em, which I heard got started on Earth a few hundred years ago. Each player got two cards, then five were played to the table,3,1,1. Anyone could play the table cards, and the idea was to get best hand; or to make the other players THINK you had the best hand. I threw a few more credits into the pot.

“I shouldn’t say anything, but you’ve got a tell,” Lisa said as she folded.

“What did you tell him for,” Carl whined as he slapped down his cards. “Do you know how much money I won off him the last week?”

“Tell? I don’t have a tell,” I whined back defensively. Like many players, I had fooled myself into thinking I was solid as a rock when it came to bluffing. I pulled the pot towards my side of the table, and threw my cards on for Carl to shuffle.

“We’re supposed to be helping him Carl,” Lisa replied, turning her attention back to me. “You touch your fingers to your lips when you’ve got a good hand. Like your trying to figure whether to play it strong or subtle.”

I was embarrassed. I WAS trying to decide whether to play strong or subtle. I good hand meant trying to get the others to stay until the last minute, build up the pot. It could be tricky, and I was never sure what to do.

“She’s right,” Carl added, ” you gotta either do it all the time, which would be annoying, or keep your hands down. Stop sorting your cards over and over again too – your practically telling us what you got by doing that. The game is part luck and part attitude.”

“It’s not like you don’t have attitude,” Lisa threw in. “use it when you play.”

“Just don’t over do it.” they both said in unison.

I was starting to realize that keeping my credits was a long shot; the real challenge was going to be not looking like a fool.

I met with the doctor again today. Did I mention she was hot? She did a couple of scans, said my ribs were healing fine, but that they were leaching minerals I needed for the rest of my bones during the gravity increase , so she gave me some supplements to take for the next couple of weeks. I’m supposed to go back for a followup in about a week. I told you she was hot, right?

I left the exam room and walked to the location written on the playing card, just to check it out. It was half way around the wheel, a pretty good walk, and it turned out to be a storage room. It’s still pretty early in the mission, so most of the storage rooms are pretty full. I wondered where they were going to put everything to fit eight plus of us in there tonight. After checking it out, I went back to my quarters and practiced shuffling a deck of cards a few hundred times, just trying to relax before I went to sleep.

I know I have to play it cool tonight; relax, enjoy the game, stop acting like a rookie. Wish me luck.

The first person I saw when I walked into the converted storage room was Sri. He took his role as the Poker Master seriously; hair greased back, shirt sleeves rolled up; he even had one of those crazy hats without a top. A pair of sun glasses finished off the effect.

To his right was a guy I had never seen before. Sri introduced him as Bruce. Bruce was a big guy, with short cropped red hair and a two day growth. Next to Bruce was a woman who worked on level two as a lab technician – Marie. Marie had some interesting…features…and those features were positioned to provide maximum distraction. On Marie’s right was “Rice and Beans” from the Messa Mesa. His real name was Jerry and he was an engineer.

The only other person I recognized was Julia. I suspect that explained how I got on Sri’s radar at least. Interesting. She was looking good, very much in her element. Like Sri, she was wearing shades, and I started wishing I had a pair to hide any other “tells” that might develop.

I made six, as Sri indicated a seat directly across from him.

“Buy in is 1000 credits,” Sri stated. I handed over the credits in exchange for a stack of chips. “We are waiting for two more. You want anything to drink?” he waved at a table behind him that had an assortment of “interesting” beverages.

I stood and fixed myself something simple. Julia joined me at the table.

“Hey cowboy,” she said, leaning her back against the table of drinks.

“Hey geek. Wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Yeah, Sri and I go way back. I’ve been in since the beginning.”

“I appreciate the invite. I assume it was your doing?”

She looked straight ahead. “Yeah, well, I had fun before, thought you might find it interesting.”

“Oh, I will. Should I just hand Sri all my chips now, or stay and play a few hands?”

“Oh, Sri is not the real competition. Bruce plays better than he looks, and we both play better than Sri. The one to watch though is Donald. We call him ‘The Don’. He’s walking in right now.”

I glanced towards the door and watched a short, bald, middle aged man enter the storage room. He had a very unassuming demeanor. I raised my eyebrows at Julia, but she just shrugged.

The last to arrive was a skinny guy from communications, Bob. No really, that was his name. He was the only player from level one. Bob made eight.

After everyone got a drink, bought in, and took their seats, the fun began.

I lost a third of my chips in the first hour. Usually that’s when people are playing carefully, trying to learn their opponents weaknesses. Apparently the others learned mine fast.

There were other lessons being learned. Marie learned that her distractions couldn’t beat Aces over fours; Bob learned that small losses added up. Bruce didn’t learn to pay attention to his cards instead of Marie.

I started playing better and won back a few of my chips before losing them again to Julia and Don. Julia was right about Sri; he was holding his own, but I don’t think he is any better a player than I am.

By midnight Jerry had taken out Marie before losing to “the Don”, and Bruce lost in a head to head with Sri. Bob basically twittered away his chips in small bets until he couldn’t hold his own. That left me, Sri, Julia, and Don, with the majority of the chips in front of Don. It was time for a break.

“You made it to the endgame, cowboy.” Julia had followed me to the drink table during the break.

“Yeah, imagine that,” I replied. “You were right about ‘the Don’, by the way; tough customer.”

Julia just smiled, then said “Just wait.”

It was just before 2AM, and I was wide awake. I watched as Sri dealt the new hand, noticing how comfortably he was sliding the cards across the felt covered table. If I play with any consistency, in this game I mean, I am going to have to become a little smoother in my deal.

Sri was out within the next hour. He had gone all in on Deuces and Jacks; unfortunately for him I had a pair of eights in the hole, and there was an eight on the table. He stayed to play permanent dealer while the rest of us traded chips for a while.

At about 4AM I got pocket Aces. The first deal to the table was all low cards, so I went in heavy, betting about a quarter of my chips. Julie matched without hesitation, while Don took a minute to think before pushing in the same count. The fourth card was low as well, and there were no pairs on the table. When the fifth card was dealt, and it was an Ace, I went all in without hesitation. Both of my opponents paused, trying to determine if I was bluffing. Don decided I must be, and matched my bet. When Julia did the same, I knew the game was mine.

I flipped my Aces, and started for the chips. Then Don flipped his and revealed what I had missed: he had two diamonds, and three of the cards on the table were diamonds. He reached eagerly for the pile, until Julia flipped her cards up. She also had two diamonds, including the fourth Ace. She just grinned,not saying anything.

I was out.

I stuck around for a while, watching Julia whittle away at Don’s chips until he finally surrendered. I took some satisfaction in realizing I had not made a fool of myself.

Disappointing? Such are the minor pleasures one takes advantage of on a long voyage to no where.

It seemed like I had just fallen asleep when there was a pounding at my door. Ah Shit, not again, I thought. I rolled out of bed and opened the door, surprised to find Julia on the other side.

“Hey cowboy.” She pushed me back into the room and slammed the door. She had me pinned to the wall before I figured out what was going on. I think it was when she ripped off her shirt that I got a clue.

Later that night, much later, “Hello.”

“I’ve been wanting to do that since the ‘trade’,” Julia said, “before things went sour.”

“Well patience has its rewards, I guess,” I replied with a smile.

“Just don’t get crazy on me.”

“Oh, I think your crazy enough for both of us.”

I awoke just in time for this evening’s shift. She was gone and I was still tired. If you come by the Mesa tonight, please keep it simple.