SATUS ARC PART IV: Betting on a better tomorrow

“I want to be a hero.”

He’d never said it out loud, it was almost embarrassing to say but also uplifting at the same time.

“A hero?” Astra asked, “Like with a cape and a mask?”

“Mask and cape? Really?” Hoshi’s query mocked her.

“I guess?” Greaves responded, not quite sure it really matched his ideal. “I wanna be the nobody at the bar when the bad guy comes in lookin’ for trouble, the nobody that sips his drink then kicks out the bad guy and sends him runnin’ for the hills.”

His gaze wandered to the lights above. “I wanna be the best gun in the galaxy, bringin’ relief to the good, and fear to the bad. So much so even the name’ll catch on the wind.”

“And you wanna do all that working at a chop shop?”

“It’s a start. Life ain’t as short as people like to think. You get so used to rushin’ around like a headless chicken you stop to smell the flowers.” He had regained his smile, a pep in his step as he wandered to the range again. “I’m still young. Got all the time I need!” Bullets flew, firing without him even looking and still hitting every target perfectly.

Passing by Astra then Hoshi who were both still aghast, he holstered his firearm and tipped his hat. “Get all the practice you can, cause if we meet in the finals, you’ll need it.”

*-*-*

Night drew in and the competition another day closer. Just on the edges of the deserts the cold night air hastened their shots. Another round, Hoshi promised, one more go at the targets as Astra covered up in as many layers as she could trouble Greaves for.

They set a fire for the time being, it became a sanctuary as Hoshi reloaded, the metal like ice itself stealing his warmth.

6 shots done, much quicker than before, and he bolted for the warming glow, dropping the gun at his side and landing in the sands. Astra noticed quickly and clicked her tongue as she pulled it from the ground with a dainty finger and thumb grip. “Oi, take care of this, you need it for the comp!”

“So cold…” his voice wavering as he shivered with his hands close to the flame.

One disapproving scowl later and he took the gun back and holstered it, “sorry…” a little nasally thanks to the cold.

“We are going to win this, right?” She asked, knowing their judgement day was closing in.

Hoshi was chomping down on some of the rabbit she had hunted down and brought back while the boys were shooting. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Greaves is confident… ah, hot… besides, you got me”

“How reassuring.”

“Oi. You’re welcome to take part yourself, you’ve got as much riding on this as I do.”

“That’s why I’m worried. We only have Austin’s word for his skill, you barely have any experience and I’m worse than you.” She explained. “Look, if this doesn’t work, it’s not like we don’t have options.”

“And they would be what exactly?”

“Well, it’s not like Ghrian can search the ENTIRE planet, I doubt he even knows we’re here. If we run, get far away and keep a low profile for long enough, maybe they’ll leave.”

“No.” His response sharp like a thorn, nipping her in the bud.

“No?!” She fired back.

“We aren’t running, Astra. Not anymore.”

“And what exactly do you call this?” Venom in her words. Hoshi stood in a huff, reloading his gun one round at a time clumsily, the clacking loud and obnoxious. “Is what Ghrian said true? Did he kill your father?”

“We aren’t talking about this.” He responded, readying his aim.

“Why not? I think we’re a bit far gone for secrecy now, Hoshi.” He didn’t take the bite and instead focused on the task ahead, ignoring her words the best he could. “If this is all just a winding road for you to get revenge, I need to know. You got me this far but I won’t be pulled into your half assed show. I’m here because of you, because you said you could get me home, so was it a lie?”

“What do you want me to say, Astra? I spent all that time thinking things would work out and that I’d live the way I wanted to. It didn’t work so I ran.” His voice was laced with his irritation, to him it felt like he’d explained it all before and was being asked once more.

But Astra could hear more of the pain in it, they weren’t friends, that much was still true… but even still he had helped her get this far. “Running away isn’t cowardly, Hoshi.” She said, hoping the words would soothe his ache. “Being scared isn’t cowardly. You loved your father, that much is clear, but if you go back there and you die trying to be something you aren’t, you aren’t honouring his memory, you are going against everything he died for.”

But the former Vagrant wasn’t having it. Quick as a whip he swung around to face her. “What the fuck would you know?!” He’d had enough, finally finished loading his pistol and stormed back to the range. How could she say such a thing, he thought, it’s my revenge, my story to put to an end.

As he readied himself for another volley, his hands aching from the recoil and the cold, he was surprised Astra was so quiet. When he glanced he saw she had no anger. To her, this was no more than a partnership… she simply arose and went to go back to the shop. Just, leaving with a last word, “When the story ends, do you want it to be an adventure, or a tragedy?”

*-*-*

The lights were still on in the shop, Yuri liked to work late with big projects and Greaves knew it was best to leave him to it. He took the back room, turning on the light in the centre, not powerful enough to illuminate more than just the table just below it. It was quiet here, only the distant sound of Yuri hitting metal against metal rhythmically broke through the noise of the outside, it made him calm. Taking a seat, he placed his gun on the table, examining it all around and then unloading the bullets. There was an old bottle next to it half full of a waxy looking liquid, and a rag placed atop of it. He soaked the rag and cleaned the barrel with it, diligently washing away the build up in silence.

Each tink in the back like a bell toll that he loved the sound of. It was these moments that he could think, these moments where he could reflect. But also with each hit, an image of the past came forth.

The Iris and all its passengers. The capsules they slept in, a hundred years went by so quickly…

The dazzling world they reached, silicate rained here once, he remembered. Everyone that arrived after the successful terraforming wore them like they’d captured starlight. His mother had gemstones on her neck, held in place by native metals that changed colour in the sunlight… how she loved that necklace.

The next strike and that necklace was gone, ripped from her neck by cutthroats on Prota when their wealth had dried and they had to leave the planet of gemstones. The next strike was his parents fighting, their once pristine clothes tattered and their figures a lot slimmer. He remembered the hunger…

The next made him drop his gun… the missed shot that changed everything. Strikes died as he watched the blood drop. Yuri had finished his work and came in, wiping away the metal shavings from his hands with a dusty cloth and palming at the sweat above his eyes. Their eyes met for a second, but Yuri ignored it and moved to the cupboards, reaching for a small treat in a foil wrapper.

“Done with work?” Greaves asked him, trying to hide his distress. “What was it you’re doing this time?”

“Fusion core.” The old man answered as he placed his snack in a microwave looking device. One button press later and his snack was a full sized pizza, toppings and all. He plucked out a slice and wolfed it down, burning his mouth ever so slightly. “Where’s the others?”

The smell was dizzying, a long day without food left him weak at the knees but he knew not to steal a slice, last time he tried that Yuri had him working on broken exhausts for a week and they tended to blow out blinding soot every few minutes. No, best not he decided as he held his arm back.

“They’re still practicing.” He answered to take his mind from the food. ”Gonna need all the help they can get.”

Still finishing slice by slice, Yuri had pulled a glass access panel from the side. It was digital, bringing forth documents, off the glass and into the air like a hologram. He thumbed through a few with his spare time, reading up on current orders and parts lists as his apprentice spoke. “And you?” He asked, seemingly off the cuff.

“Me?” Greaves chucked. “I’m in top shape. Best get used to working late old man, my fans’ll be swarmin’ this place from dawn til dusk.”

“It’ll be tough with you gone but I’ll manage.”

“Gone?” Greaves was taken aback by his boss’ reply.

“Our agreement with the vagrant runaway was that I’d fit a warp drive to their ship and you’d go with them. I’ve found one that fits their ship model…”

“Wait.” Greaves interrupted him, and for a moment his boss looked away from his orders. “You were serious about that?”

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”

“Why? Don’t you need me?” His eyes scanned the old man. Dark bags under his eyes with new wrinkles forming everyday. His hands shaking from years of hard work and age catching up to him. “You aren’t getting any younger…”

“That’s life. It comes for us all, Austin. You as well.” He put the sheets down, the loss of light from it drowning the room in darkness again. “Time to strike it out on your own, prove you are who you claim to be.”

He’d finished his meal, picked up his panel and was heading back to work. “What does that mean?” Greaves’ question stopped him. “I am the best shooter in these stars, bring any challenger, I’ll send them home cryin’. You know that!”

“Then why haven’t you won?”

The wind blew stronger against the metal, an audience to the scene as Greaves stared down the man he thought his friend. “I…”

“Tell you what kid.” Yuri spoke, placing a hand on Greaves’ shoulder. “Let’s bet on it, same as I have with those two… if you win I’ll sort their drive for free and you stay. But if you lose…”

“…you go and never come back.”