He ignored the startled security officers and made a straight line for the maitre d'. "I need some food and drink, for one, to go." As he stopped at the podium, the security man to his right stepped forward aggressively but stopped in his tracks as he saw the shoulder holstered gauss pistol, when the overcoat flapped open. John was so tired he was forgetting his new place in the world, where he was no longer authorized to act with impunity. John met the man's eyes levelly, his fingertips tingled in eager anticipation, until the other man took a step back.
Raising his right hand a silver coin cascaded down and up and back down the outside of John's fingers, clearly it was an Imperial Thousand Credit coin. The startled restaurateur questioned, "What will you have sir?"
Looking left and
