Tevun-Krus #46 - The Same Effing Story

Dreams and Hunters (Same Effing Story) - by @RoshelleD

Dreams and Hunters

The drum solo that kicked off Van Halen's 'Hot for Teacher,' came over the tinny speakers and Armitage Shanks found his feet involuntarily tapping upon the metallic floor.

He lit a cigarette and broke out the air drums, a musical instrument of which he was an absolute master, and pounded them harder than the hooker he'd picked up at the last fuel stop.

It seemed so long ago, but then again when one was flying solo on a cargo vessel several years into deep space, a monotonous run broken only by the infrequent privately owned space stations and refuelling rigs, everything seemed so long ago and very, very far away.

"Oi!" he shouted out, annoyed that the vessel's computer system had taken it upon itself to stop the track just before it was halfway through. That annoyance dissipated quickly though, when Armitage realised the reason for the abrupt halt to one of his favourite pieces of classical music, was a sounding alarm.

"Ah," he said, quietly, pausing only to puff heavily upon the cigarette. "Bugger."

***

Although a spark of anger surged through him, Armitage continued to run. All around him, the siren continued to wail louder than a rabid fan at a Guns N Roses concert. He valued his privacy, yet wished he wasn't the one who had to be called on to check every damn thing on here. Other than that, this post was pretty much perfect.

That air drum solo had to wait.

He heard the ship before he saw it. Its sparkling, blue hull had been what set off his proximity sensors. Probably some bloke who'd fallen asleep at his post. Par for the course when it came to those bounty hunter outfits. Armitage shook his head while he pushed a button which sent the ship further starboard.

******

"Well don't that shit beat all?"

"Where the hell are we going?" Bumper yelled from the back.

Not toward the ship. He'd been right there. They'd had it on good intel that the man they were after had stowed away on a cargo ship. Dunglow checked the screen again, the tiny dot blinking in the upper left.

"You sure that's it?" Dunglow turned to his partner.

"We won't know till we're in." Bumper glowered at him before folding his beefy arms across his chest.

"Of course." Dunglow looked at the dot again.

They needed to see their target, but didn't have a way to get close to him. For the past two months, the bounties had been dwindling, but Dunglow was starting to come around to the real reason. He scowled out the window as Bumper's snores reached him from the hold.

Dead weight.

People had mentioned it to him, but Bumper had been like a father to him. He and Uncle Armitage had raised him to be the man he was today. And now here he was caught up in some decades old family feud. Dunglow looked out at the stars, wondering where his Uncle was at today. The last he'd heard from him had been five years ago. And that had been to argue. According to Uncle A, this lifestyle was meant for those who had lost their way. People who had nothing better to do than ruin others' lives. If people were running, it was for a good reason. Cashing in on people's misfortune was bad manners and more importantly, brought even worse on you.

Dunglow looked at the screen. Given their recent history, Uncle A was proving to be right. The dot moved diagonally until it was in the lower right of the screen. Should he pursue the ship like Bumper insisted or should they follow a more credible course of action. It was a simple matter of profits versus personal vendettas. He'd been faithfully following Bumper from one bad spot to the next.

This time he was following his own instincts.

******

Dunglow pushed the two gray buttons and two red lasers landed solidly on the hull of the green ship. It quickly returned fire, landing a shot that hit them on their left wing. Before Dunglow could aim another shot, a third ship joined in.

With the push of the black button, he fired a shot that went right past it.

"Damn!" He swerved just in time to avoid the blue laser.

Dunglow checked his arsenal. He should've stopped at the lost weapons station. He was down to four lasers and three quick missiles. It would've been enough to take out one ship. But two was pushing him to his limit. The only reason he'd taken on this fight had been the precious cargo. Two men worth one million.

At least if he had some thindy lining his pockets, he might make a better case to his uncle. That was if he was still out there. Dunglow looked down at the controls. This was no way to think. Uncle A was out there somewhere and he would find him.

Dunglow looked up to find another ship coming his way. This one looked just like the cargo ship they'd tried to take out before.

"What the hell?"

This day was turning from bad to worse.

******

As the ships traded laser shots in front of him, Armitage inhaled another drag of his cigarette and watched. He could never understand what compelled these people to chase others for money. The man went over to the other side of the console and pushed a button. The synthesizer blared and when the drums started, Armitage resisted the urge to break out his favorite instrument again.

Armitage blew the smoke out of his mouth while the words from Van Halen's "Dreams" came through the speaker. He saw a blue laser hit one of the ships. Its wingspan tripled. Spreading wings. Another ship dodged a set of lasers before it lifted itself above the others. We'll get higher and higher.

He might not understand why they did it, but he did understand the thrill of a chase. He'd chosen solitude on this cargo ship because he'd grown tired of it. He'd take air drums and alarms anytime over worrying about whether he'd make it through the day. The bounty hunters had their way of doing things and he had his. Armitage briefly thought of his nephew. He'd been on his mind far too frequently these days. Armitage would bide his time. Whenever he found him, his nephew would be ready to accept his message. He secretly hoped Dun would be ready to leave that life behind for good, but knew better than to force the issue.

Everyone had their pleasures. For him it was hookers, for the bounty hunters it was money. Each one had its place here. Besides, it was everything together that made this star system what it was. Stronger. Somewhere everybody could eventually find their way. The dreams they chased, no matter how bad or good, were what they had no choice but to depend on. Armitage laughed to himself as the ships continued to battle.

At this point, two things were clear.

The bounty hunters, no matter what he thought of them, put on one hell of a show.

And when it came to music, Van Halen was the shit.