He looked up from his table at the clock on the wall. The barkeeper claimed the clock came all the way from Osiris, but he'd gotten a closer look once, and it was clearly marked "Made on Grillion's World." Not that being made in that polluted stinkhole made it less of a clock; and anyway, it claimed the time was 11am.

He looked back down at the letter he was writing. "Dear Mother." He'd been working on it for nearly an hour, and that was all it said.

"I've never been very good with words, though," he said to himself, and looked around the bar. It was still morning, but there was a fair crowd already. Word of the fight had spread quickly; this stinking town was in the crapheel end of the 'Verse, and they didn't seem to get much excitement.

"Dear Mother," he said, and began writing. "I am writing to you from a moon called Marion. I have not yet found work, but when I do, I will send you some credits like I done said."

There! His mom would like that.

"I still have enough clothes, as I have made some credits from doing odd jobs. It is warm on this planet, so I have not got the cough or anything like that there."

"Now, I don't want to worry you..." his writing trailed off.

"Idiot! She will worry if she reads that," he said. He crossed it out.

"I am doing fine." There, that was better. "I just got me thinking that I missed you, mama, and so I am writing this letter to you." Yep, she always liked hearing that he missed her. Which he did; so, okay, then.

He looked around the bar once again. The clock had advanced considerably since the last time he'd looked, and there were more people around. He looked out the window, and saw even more people on the street outside. He was becoming a little afraid that the show they were going to see would end up with him lying face up in the middle of the ruttin' street! The other man was fast; he seen that in the saloon, back when he'd first arrived in town.

"I had to get drunk," he said to himself. After the insult, a challenge quickly followed, and he'd been just drunk enoug