Post by contributor on Sept 30, 2013 18:00:31 GMT -5
Brother Dervin stared calmly at the needle gun being pointed at his face by the Rychart bounty hunter. "This is quite a pickle we're in." He said. "You blow me away and you lose your bounty. What's more, you're outnumbered and the only thing keeping my mercenaries from slaughtering your remaining men is that you’ve got their captain cornered. For my part, I have no intention of going with you to rot in some Cadar jail, and I'm quite prepared to die to see that doesn't happen. So, what do you propose we do?"
"You've got a hell of a poker face, I'll give you that," said the other captain. "But I'm not buying it. Nobody, especially no murderer, is ready to find out what's on the other side so easily. It’s a good line a talk, but it aint gonna save your skin."
In an instant Captain Dervin's hand caught the bounty hunter's hand which was holding the gun. "Let's find out." With his thumb he began putting pressure on the other's trigger finger, the barrel still squarely between his own eyes.
"What the hell’s wrong with you?" said the Rychart man. With his other hand he reached up, hit his safety and jerked the gun away from the Steel Song captain. There were still enough guns trained on his target and it wasn't like he was trying to escape.
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with me," said Brother Dervin. "It's just that, unlike you, I'm not afraid to die. Surely you know that all of this has happened before. Stop for a minute and think about all that you know about the quadrant. When did you learn all of that? How many times have you flown in to a new planet, but recognized everything on it? No, my dear captain, death is not the end and the Zendu had only begun..."
"Shut the frack up and give me a minute to think." Said the other captain, again raising his weapon and pressing it into his captive’s head. “Wallace, get Ŋɔmi on the line and tell her to contact that Templar Cutter we passed yesterday. I’m well within Shalun law on this one and they’re going to sort this out. If they won’t come, tell them we’ve found artifacts on board.” His military officer said “yes sir” and then muttered something else, to which the captain’s response was “then loan them some of ours!”
“Bringing in the righteous Templar, are we,” Captain Dervin began again. “That’s a double edged sword. You know, we in Steel Song have much in common with the Templar. We’ve both spent a lot of time in the far reaches of the quadrant, studying, fighting, fighting aliens, collecting trinkets. The only difference is that we’re getting stronger by the day. Have you seen the shipyards on Xenox? They’re going so far as to talk about a “New Founding.” While you in Rychart have been running around collecting little secrets, we’ve been quietly going after the big ones. And a day is coming…” Dervin’s eyes were positively shining.
“Blah, blah, blah, you think I give a damn about what you freaks are up to on all the planets that nobody else wanted.” The Rychart man was clearly starting to feel the strain. “All I really want to do is lance that growth protruding from your shoulders, but it’s not in my best interests at the moment. Wallace, tell Ŋɔmi to see if there are any Cadar ships that can be here sooner rather than later, preferably a bounty hunter. At this point I’m willing to split the pay to have this bastard off my hands.”
“Oh by the Maker, don’t get a Cadar ship involved in this. I was taking a great deal of comfort in the fact that if I die now it wouldn’t be at the hands of one of those fatheaded bastards, like so many flies buzzing around our collective ass. But I don’t think you’ll find many of them anyways. If you trace our flight path backwards you’ll find the wreckage of one of their military outfits and a particularly nasty pirate, who, lucky for you, managed to soften us up a bit. But, what’s it going to be captain, either we both die here and now, or we find some way for everyone that’s standing to walk out of here in one piece. Either way I think the odds of us seeing each other again are pretty high.”
“Enough with the philosophising,” said captain Holvast. I’ve read your dossier and, if it’s true that there’s is justice in the grave, it’s you that has the most to lose, it’s time you move with me.”
“Justice, hah. There is no justice, there are only the illusions of suffering and of power, the illusion of power to inflict suffering and end life. But there is the real power to find life again, once it has been lost and this means there is also freedom. Freedom to be, to try, to fail and to be again, to grow and die and grow again and find…”
The Rychart bounty hunter and his retinue suddenly pulled on their respirators. He gave a quick nod to his military officer who had been busy at one of the consoles. Looking again at the Steel Song Captain he said “Thank you Brother Dervin, you’ve given me a lot to think about. I’ll be seeing you again soon.”
"You've got a hell of a poker face, I'll give you that," said the other captain. "But I'm not buying it. Nobody, especially no murderer, is ready to find out what's on the other side so easily. It’s a good line a talk, but it aint gonna save your skin."
In an instant Captain Dervin's hand caught the bounty hunter's hand which was holding the gun. "Let's find out." With his thumb he began putting pressure on the other's trigger finger, the barrel still squarely between his own eyes.
"What the hell’s wrong with you?" said the Rychart man. With his other hand he reached up, hit his safety and jerked the gun away from the Steel Song captain. There were still enough guns trained on his target and it wasn't like he was trying to escape.
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with me," said Brother Dervin. "It's just that, unlike you, I'm not afraid to die. Surely you know that all of this has happened before. Stop for a minute and think about all that you know about the quadrant. When did you learn all of that? How many times have you flown in to a new planet, but recognized everything on it? No, my dear captain, death is not the end and the Zendu had only begun..."
"Shut the frack up and give me a minute to think." Said the other captain, again raising his weapon and pressing it into his captive’s head. “Wallace, get Ŋɔmi on the line and tell her to contact that Templar Cutter we passed yesterday. I’m well within Shalun law on this one and they’re going to sort this out. If they won’t come, tell them we’ve found artifacts on board.” His military officer said “yes sir” and then muttered something else, to which the captain’s response was “then loan them some of ours!”
“Bringing in the righteous Templar, are we,” Captain Dervin began again. “That’s a double edged sword. You know, we in Steel Song have much in common with the Templar. We’ve both spent a lot of time in the far reaches of the quadrant, studying, fighting, fighting aliens, collecting trinkets. The only difference is that we’re getting stronger by the day. Have you seen the shipyards on Xenox? They’re going so far as to talk about a “New Founding.” While you in Rychart have been running around collecting little secrets, we’ve been quietly going after the big ones. And a day is coming…” Dervin’s eyes were positively shining.
“Blah, blah, blah, you think I give a damn about what you freaks are up to on all the planets that nobody else wanted.” The Rychart man was clearly starting to feel the strain. “All I really want to do is lance that growth protruding from your shoulders, but it’s not in my best interests at the moment. Wallace, tell Ŋɔmi to see if there are any Cadar ships that can be here sooner rather than later, preferably a bounty hunter. At this point I’m willing to split the pay to have this bastard off my hands.”
“Oh by the Maker, don’t get a Cadar ship involved in this. I was taking a great deal of comfort in the fact that if I die now it wouldn’t be at the hands of one of those fatheaded bastards, like so many flies buzzing around our collective ass. But I don’t think you’ll find many of them anyways. If you trace our flight path backwards you’ll find the wreckage of one of their military outfits and a particularly nasty pirate, who, lucky for you, managed to soften us up a bit. But, what’s it going to be captain, either we both die here and now, or we find some way for everyone that’s standing to walk out of here in one piece. Either way I think the odds of us seeing each other again are pretty high.”
“Enough with the philosophising,” said captain Holvast. I’ve read your dossier and, if it’s true that there’s is justice in the grave, it’s you that has the most to lose, it’s time you move with me.”
“Justice, hah. There is no justice, there are only the illusions of suffering and of power, the illusion of power to inflict suffering and end life. But there is the real power to find life again, once it has been lost and this means there is also freedom. Freedom to be, to try, to fail and to be again, to grow and die and grow again and find…”
The Rychart bounty hunter and his retinue suddenly pulled on their respirators. He gave a quick nod to his military officer who had been busy at one of the consoles. Looking again at the Steel Song Captain he said “Thank you Brother Dervin, you’ve given me a lot to think about. I’ll be seeing you again soon.”
