A wind had whipped up and the surf had grown fierce. The foamy white crests slapped against the view screen of the ship, and it rocked slightly. “Do you think we’ll ever be able to go back?” Clancy asked.
Badger’s face grew hard. “I don’t know.”
Clancy had little to go back to. Her parents had abandoned her. Her friends had all married. The crew down at The Dusty Mug? Lots of small town drama and big time drinking, but she couldn’t call any of them friends. If she left, she didn’t know if they’d even notice.
The area outside the port teemed with tropical jungle, mostly wild. Moving above the trees, they could see a dirt path here or there, snaking within the jungle, as well as a wider dirt road that wound through the forest to the edge of an open field. Looking down, Clancy marvelled as an immense flock of Barrons rose from the jungle and pinioned to the south. “There must be thousands,” she said.
“What?”
“Barrons,” She pointed, Badger paused the flight, letting the ship hover as he shifted over to take a look over Clancy’s shoulder. The Barron flock moved in a fluid triangular formation.
“I’ve never seen so many.”
“They’re beautiful.”
Badger gave her shoulder a squeeze. He got back in the pilot’s seat.
They reached the field and settled the ship down. Clancy looked over the facility, such as it was. An open field. A couple small craft on the edges, grass growing up among the landing gear. A ramshackle tower built from scrap metal with an anti-aircraft gun mounted on the top. “Will it be safe to leave the ship here?”
“Of course.”
A shabby old man came half walking, half dancing out of a ramshackle hut built out of scrap from abandoned spacecraft. Beneath a mostly gray beard streaked with black that hung down to his belly, he wore a tattered robe of many colors and a tall hat festooned with blinking lights. Dirt caked to his clumpy feet.
“You sure?” Clancy put a hand on Badger’s back. “He has a certain essence of crazy.”
“I noticed,” Badger said. “Isn’t it great? Let’s go.”
Despite his bravado, Badger remained tense and ready for trouble. “Stay behind me.”
The old man scanned the ship, his eyes distant, lost in the past. He walked along the perimeter, his steps growing more rapid, his eyes coming to life as he saw the name of the ship painted on the side. “It’s her.” The man stood there, then, stock still.
.Badger and Clancy had followed him at a distance. They waited. Badger took a step forward. “Sir?”
“Mister?” Clancy tried.
“Clattersall,” the old man whispered. “After all these years.” He wandered forward as if sleep walking, his steps uncertain, eyes fixated on the ship, then reached up and patted the hull like a man might pat the neck of a beloved horse.
He snapped his attention to Badger and Clancy. “And the snow fell on them all, the living and the dead. Ghosts. Phantoms. Or something else.” He took a short hop forward.
Badger and Clancy instantly dropped into defensive postures. “Dude.” Badger raised his fists. “Not acceptable.”
“You even sound like him,” the old man said. Come on.” He spun on one heel and marched back toward his hut. “You can call me Gigadeets, by the way.”
Neither Badger nor Clancy moved.
The old man looked back and laughed. “Well, come on,” he said. “This is the part where the wise old man helps you on your quest.” He stopped, mumbling, then shook his head. “Maybe not wise. Certainly old.”
The pair still hesitated. Badger looked at Clancy, who shrugged. “We wanted adventure.”
“He seemed like he recognized the ship.”
“I picked up on that, too, when he said he recognized the ship.”
“If he’s dangerous, you can kill him with sarcasm.”
With the sun setting, painting the sky orange and blue, the temperature plunged. The breeze off the ocean gave them chills. A friendly plume of smoke rose from the twisty chimney and filled the air with a cinnamon scent.
They followed the old man. Clutter on clutter filled the space, including numerous robot parts and an array of ancient suits of armor. A fire blazed in the hearth, a cast iron pot dangling above the flames. “Sit… sit…” Deets said. “Oh, wait.” He began to toss books and quilts and pillows and scrolls from a surface, gradually revealing a couch in front of the fire. “I wasn’t expecting visitors.”
They sat, grateful for the warmth of the fire. “Orline tea?” Gigadeets asked, moving over to an old, rusty stove and turning on the fire.
Badger and Clancy looked at each other. Badger mouthed “yes, but don’t drink it.” Clancy nodded. “We’d love some.”
As the kettle warmed, Deets came back around and sat on a cushioned chair kitty corner to the couch. “So, wow, the memories are just–my head is a tumultuous sea.” He slapped his thighs and laughed. “There was this time- I was out prospecting on the Preenian Ridge– Varse– and along came this, well, to this day I don’t know what it was…”
Badger interrupted. “You recognized my ship.”
“Clattersall,” Deets said, amused. “Young people. Always in such a rush and yet you have so much time.” He harumphed. “Yes, Well, I have not seen that ship in a very long time, and unless I am much mistaken, it belonged to your father.”
“My father?”
“If your father was Dartainian Blue, then, yes. Your father.”
Clancy took hold of Badger’s arm and gave it a squeeze. Badger spoke, but in a disembodied voice. He’d long ago walled off all the emotions and feelings associated with his father. “I don’t remember him,” he said. “Only some pictures.” His eyes hardened. “He left me when I was just a little kid. He and my mom both left me. Fuck him. Fuck them both.”
“Left you? No,” Deet’s voice grew hushed. He could see the rage in Badger’s eyes. “Your father didn’t leave you. Your mother didn’t leave you.”
The kettle on the stove pierced the air with its steaming whistle.
“This is all bullshit,” Badger said, standing, clenching his fists.
“Badge,’ Clancy said.
“My father left a note. “We can’t deal with the pressure blah… blah… blah. Clem showed it to me. Who the fuck are you? What game are you playing?”
“No game,” Deets said. He stood and faced Badger. “You’ve been living in a cave, believing the shadows are the truth.”
The whistling of the kettle grew louder and louder as it began to shake and rattle on the stovetop.
Badger raised a fist. “I should beat the hell out of you right now.”
“You feel pain. You feel threat. The story you’ve been told, the one you’ve told yourself, it isn’t true.” Deets raised a palm. “Lower your fists. Let me set you free.”
Badger shook his head and walked out. Clancy followed. Deets sighed, went to the stove and turned off the flame. He took three mugs from the cabinet and arrayed them on the counter.
Outside, Badger punched the wall of Deet’s house. “None of that’s true. None of it.”
“Okay. Fine,” Clancy said. “Fine.” She waited while Badger regained control. When he seemed a little more calm, she said, “there’s something you should see.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
She led Badger back to the ship. Opened the stairs to the hold. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now– see for yourself.”
Badger followed her down. He looked at the sealed crate, saw the manifest. Saw the name Dartainian Blue listed as the person of responsibility for the delivery. The unfulfilled delivery.
“I can’t– my uncle wouldn’t have lied to me.”
“We both saw how he reacted when he saw Clattersall,” Clancy said. “I think he might know something– about your parents.”
“I don’t want to care about them again. Do you know how long it took me to stop caring?”
“Yes,” Clancy said. “Actually, I do.”
Clancy went first, Badger trailing behind. “Um, Mr. Deets?”
“Ah,” Deets said. He picked up two of the mugs of steaming tea and handed them to Clancy and Badger. “Please. Sit. I have much to tell you.” He picked up a third cup of tea and sipped, closing his eyes in pure bliss.
“So, I did want to apologize for threatening to smash your face in.”
“I would have reacted the same way.” Deets said. “Now, just to help you accept my credibility, let me start by showing you a picture of myself and your father.” They all three sat. A projector on the table lit up and an image of a much younger Deets standing next to a couple flickered to life.
Badger and Clancy had seen pictures of his parents, and these were them, but their attention was drawn more to the distinctive leathers they wore. “Rovers?” Clancy said.
“All three of us. Rovers. Looters. Outlaws.” The pictures continued to cycle. “I grew tired of the life, cashed out my shares and bought my little slice of paradise.” He gestured to the room. “Here’s the last message I received from them.”
The moving image now flickered to life. Badger’s parents in the cockpit of Clattersall. “They’re onto us,” Dad said. “We’re going to lay low. Put the ship on ice. I can’t be too specific on anything in case they find this, but we got the box. The one that will change it all.” Mom then pushed more fully into the picture. “The loot to end all loot. Keeping it safe is more important than anything.”
They laughed. They seemed proud. Giddy. The image faded. On the screen now appeared an arrest warrant showing both of their faces. Under their images flickered the word “STASIS.”
“That was acquired by a Rover hacker. Your parents have been held in cryostasis for the last 16 years.” Deets said.
“This could all be faked,” Badger said, still struggling to accept that everything he’d ever believed about his parents had been a lie. “Anyone could make this crap.”
“You’ll struggle to accept all this. Any person would. It’s completely normal. I can only offer you one more proof. But, I do have a question for you. The answer is very important.”
Badger shrugged.
Deets learned forward. His eyes grew dark, his amused manner gone. “Did you find it? The box. Was it on the ship?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Badger kept his face blank. His voice flat.
Clancy sat back and shook her head. “A box?”
Deets sat back. Sighed. “It was too much to hope for. Let me offer you my last piece of proof.” He got up and started rummaging around. “I know I have it here somewhere.”
While Deets searched, Badger leaned in to examine the arrest warrant, looking for any flaws, any tell-tale mistakes. Clancy activated her HCOMM and snapped a picture. “Trazen,” Badger whispered, noting the name of the facility where they were supposedly held, feeling a sudden sense of elation. “It’s been closed for years.”
“So they want you to think.” Deets said with a chuckle. “Ah.” He picked up an ornate wooden box inlaid with black onyx. “Here it is.”
Returning to the table, he set the box down. “Open it. It’s yours.”
Badger and Clancy exchanged a glance. Badger reached out and opened the wooden lid. “I’ve seen this before,” he said, his mind reeling as something he’d only seen in a picture now appeared before him in real life. Reaching into the box, he lifted out an antique blaster.
“Why are you helping us?” Clancy said.
Deets paused. “I don’t know that I am. What I’ve told you? It could lead to great danger. It could lead to your untimely deaths.” He took a sip of his tea. “If I really wanted to help you, perhaps I should have told you to go home, sell that old hulk, go back to your old lives and forget about all this.”
Badger smiled, the electronic sight of the blaster appeared, blue and black. He looked down the sight and squinted one eye. “We wouldn’t have listened.”
“You really are just like your father.”
Deets agreed to give the pair a ride into town. They climbed into his short box transport and rattled their way down the dusty jungle road. As they drove, Deets turned on his music player. Neither Badger nor Clancy had ever heard music like what they were hearing. “What is that?” Badger asked.”That sound?”
“That is what is known as a fiddle,” Deets answered. “It’s an old earth instrument. An actual instrument that people played with their hands.”
“Like at the museum?”
“Like at the museum, except there was a time people would gather on their porches and play and sing for fun. This song is from that time.”
What sounded like a group of people, men, women, children sang in a very imperfect harmony:
Ramblin’. Wanderin’ Drifting from town to town
Don wanna set down no roots gotta keep movin’ around
The voices had a mournful, ghostlike quality. Like the words were being wrenched from the souls of the singers
Everything I ever loved left me in the end
Even my old hound Percival ran off with my best friend
“You said they sang these songs for fun?” Badger asked.
The mournful singing reached Clancy, shook her and forced her to finally ask the question that had been burning inside her ever since the old man had revealed he knew Badger’s parents. “What about my mother? Was she a rover?”
Deets raised his bushy eyebrows. He glanced at Clancy. “What’s her name?”
“Daring,” Clancy said. “Persian Daring. My last name is Daring, too.”
Deets shook his head. “I don’t think I ever knew her.”
Clancy felt a punch in the gut. She’d wanted to believe that her mother hadn’t just abandoned her, that there was some grand explanation, but no. Of course not. She’d been little. She didn’t even remember how little, but small. Her raging mother throwing pillows off the couch, slamming cabinet doors open. “I know I had some somewhere… I know I did I know I did…”
Glassy eyes, rat’s nest hair, face haggard. Her mother had begun screaming, tearing at her hair, making noises like a dying animal.
Clancy had gone to her room and found her piggy bank. She brought it back to her mother and held it out to her. “For the smokies.”
Her mother’s lips pulled back to reveal yellowed teeth. She’d grabbed the piggy bank and headed right for the door. “I’ll be back,” she said. “There’s leftovers in the fridge.” She yanked open the door, a blinding wedge of sunlight pouring into the room, and as she disappeared into the light Clancy had heard her chuckling.
She’d never come back.
Badger sensed Clancy’s sorrow. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her head against his chest.