"Okay, how many QuarrixColas did you buy before you realised they weren't fizzy enough for you?" you ask.

"THREE!" replies the booming voice in the darkness.

"Three? Really?! Well, I can give you a refund on those right away!" you declare excitedly. "The seasonally adjusted RRP for the Outset Colonies is E0.30 per can, so that's E0.90. I've got a E1.00 coin in my pocket right here. You can keep the change."

"UNACCEPTABLE!" responds the voice, nearly shattering your eardrums.

"I don't understand," you state miserably.

"MONETARY ISSUES ARE NO CONCERN TO US. THE PROMISE ON THE SIDE OF THE CAN CLEARLY STATES THAT THIS IS THE FIZZIEST BEVERAGE THIS SIDE OF PANAGRA VII. IT IS WRONG!"

"Oh," you conclude. "Do you have any suggestions for how we can make amends?"

"YOU WILL RETURN THE TIME YOU HAVE STOLEN FROM US. YOU WILL MAKE US NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. YOU WILL CHANGE THE FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE SO THAT PROMISES WERE NEVER MADE THAT WOULD THEN BE BROKEN."

"I can't do that!" you whine desperately.

"THEN YOU WILL BE FORFEIT."

"I had a feeling you were going to say something like that," you sob.

You await your grizzly fate.

But it never comes. You feel the hand of the vole-man on your shoulder, leading you back out of the room.

"What's going to happen?" you ask him.

"They kill QuarrixCo," chirps the alien. "They no blame you for what corporation do. They just wipe out QuarrixCo from existence."

"But... that's terrible?" you say, not entirely sure of yourself.

"Yes. Many thousands die. Antimatter bomb, very nasty. But you safe, here."

"Thousands die?! Just because a drink isn't fizzy?" you ask, aghast.

"But you safe here," repeats the vole.

And that's that. The news channels are broadcast stationwide when it happens. QuarrixCo is obliterated, along with all their offices, outposts and factories, including everyone that worked there. You're free, but you're stranded here, with nothing to return to and no way of leaving if you did. And you have to live with the knowledge that maybe, just maybe, you made the wrong decision somewhere.

But that's just how it is sometimes.


You didn't lose, but your new life as a station transient isn't glamourous. Perhaps you should have remembered your briefing a little more clearly? Turn to page 1 if you want to give that a shot, or anything else for that matter.