1.75 - A Little Longer
We made it through the asteroid belt and headed straight towards another space station. We’re still in the area where Revrell and Draconian territory overlap, but this area is obviously more Revrell. The ship had some serious damage but we did manage to evade the bounty hunters. Others have gone off to explore, but I chose to stick with Edan and the ship. I’m hoping it brings less trouble to me than any time I tried to explore Tortuga. It took a few days for us to finally get a mechanic, but I’m grateful for the moment of peace to think and recover. After seeing Tortuga, I doubt any space station will ever excite me as much. My wrist comp notifies me that there’s been a transaction done on my bank account. I’m hoping there’s not any fraudulent charges being made.
I’m left speechless when I view my account, there’s got to be some kind of error. There’s enough to buy the farm and have a little left over. Edan said the payment for the warehouse job would be coming soon but I didn’t expect this much. This has to be some kind of mistake. This needs to be split with everyone.
“Hey, is this right,” I ask Edan as he sits on the bench next to me. I hold out my wrist comp for him to view the transfer.
“Yeah, that’s your cut,” he smiles.
“Are you rich,” the question leaves my mouth without passing through my brain.
“No,” Edan burst into laughter. “Most jobs don’t pay that well but you wanted to take everything they had. Some of it was pretty valuable. You’ve turned me into a real space pirate. Nobody says it when you start but the best crews get a big pay day and lay low for a while living a modest life. You take time to hone your skills, maybe learn a trade. Everyone doesn’t do the run and gun every week thing,” Edan stares up above us.
There’s no artificial sky here; it’s an older station that leaves no misunderstandings about what it is. You could be born, live your entire life on Tortuga, die there and be completely happy. This station is a place to repair ships and sleep between destinations. Sure, there are stores and people live here; but they all long to escape. Each time I talk to someone, it’s as if they just know you’re a traveler. They ask about planets we’ve been to; what we do for a living and stories of the adventures they assume we all have. They all want more out of life, and it’s contagious. I have no doubt that Edan would happily allow me to work with him until the end of time and I would enjoy it for a while. But in the end, I would grow to hate it. Like all of these people I would want more. This is Edan’s dream not mine. I wanted to go from planet to planet helping people, maybe having a few glorious battle moments and this is not it. Working for Creed and wondering if every mission would be my last wasn’t it either.
“You should move to Nyame,” Edan says bluntly.
“Can’t live without your big brother,” I joke.
“No, I can absolutely live without you. That doesn’t mean I have to or even want to. You can keep working on that farm and I’ll stay in the city. We’ll make sure to see each other when I’m home,” Edan pauses, looking from the cieling to me. “I know we didn’t get along right after Evan’s death, but you’re still my big brother. As much as you ran away from the family, you were pushed away. We all pushed each other away. You were just strong enough to leave first. I felt like it broke the family. Dad was never great, but he started drinking more than ever. Mom just pretended nothing bad was going on and you got out of there as fast as you could. As much as I claimed to hate you I took off right after. Do you know why,” I simultaneously love and hate how open Edan is with emotions.
“No, I couldn’t tell you,” I look above us again as I answer.
“Get out of here as soon as you can, don’t let it drag you down like Evan,” the words leave Edan’s mouth now, but they’re my own. They were mine once, a long time ago.”
“Sorry about that, I was a jerk,” I start to apologize but Edan cuts me off.
“We were all jerks, but you didn’t lie. I guess part of me was glad you didn’t think I was ruined, that someone believed I still had a chance. That’s when I forgave you, because in that moment I looked up to you more than I ever had. I even stalked you online and went to your academy graduation. I just couldn’t bring myself to speak to you because I had become a whole criminal already. I didn’t want to embarass or upset you.”
I punch Edan in the arm, “you idiot. Criminal or not, I’m still proud of you. You had the guts to do what I never could and that was follow a dream and see it all the way through without getting distracted or thrown off course. All that time we missed together; I wish I could have it back.”
Edan laughs, “gross. Don’t go all after school special on me.”
“Don’t laugh at me. You know I’m right. Besides, you’re the one trying to get me to move to the place you called a cesspool for crime.”
“Well, you’re a criminal now. You’ll have a mugshot in no time,” he jokes but stops laughing when he sees I’m not laughing with him. “You’re going back aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m going back.”
“I knew you were going back to the military,” Edan’s tone shifts, not disappointment, but a unique sadness. “I knew this wouldn’t last forever; I just didn’t know it’d end so soon.”
“Yeah, you told me when we first started this little adventure that I would end up back there.”
“Are you going to work with that Creed guy again? He sounds like the type to hold grudges.”
“Probably for a while, but I’m hoping for a different division. Something that lets me have my own crew and ship. Something where I can choose my own missions and have real time off,” I take a deep breath. “I envy you and your crew. You’ve all been welcoming to me, even Nastas in his own weird way. But it’s your ship and your crew that you’ve built. As great as you’ve all been, I want my own.”
“I get it, you don’t have to explain. I get it,” he nods.
“Good because you’re really open with emotions, and I’m not. That was hard for me to say. I’ve been rehearsing in my head for days,“ I exxagerate a sigh of relief causing Edan to chuckle.
“Let’s make the best of what we have left then. We never got to go to an amusement park,” Edan jokes.
“We should because I’ll probably be going to prison when we get back to Nyame.”
“Still want to do it?”
“I need to make things right.”
“Well, don’t be afraid to take a plea deal. Only plea to things you actually did, take any other charges to trial. A jury trial, not a bench trial. Keep to yourself and use the time to learn something new.”
“I forgot you’ve been to prison.”
“No, I’ve been to jail. Big difference. Jail is short term. I can go home from jail. Prison, that’s a little more permanent. Be strong, do your time, don’t let your time do you. Your body is in prison but not your mind, and all that,” the two of us stare at each other for a moment with serious faces before bursting out in laughter. I’m going to a military jail, probably soon, and that’s a good reason to laugh with my little brother.
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