Chapter Four
Parker heavily moved from the cockpit into the cabin, his awkward little steps matched by Ambria’s long elegant stride. He regarded Deka and Nela with sympathetic eyes. Barely off the last step, he was suddenly set back by Nela rushing forward, embracing his lower body in a swift hug, her short little arms barely reaching past Parker’s considerable gut. A look of shock and confusion ran over his face, but was quickly replaced by a small uncomfortable smile. She squeezed tightly against him, practically indenting her face in the fat of his body. Deka walked over and placed his strange alien hand flat on Parker’s chest. An unpronounceable sequence of chirps and shrieks poured out of his long fearsome maw.
Parker looked over his shoulder at Ambria who had moved down the steps to his left.
“He says he owes you a great debt, he says he won’t forget what you have done for his daughter” She quickly translated, an approving smile on her muzzle. Parker looked back at Deka and uncomfortably nodded and smiled.
“It’s no trouble” he whimpered, grossly underplaying everything he had done. Deka let go of his chest and reached down, pulling his daughter away from the vice like grip. Parker moved further into the cabin, surveying the damage for the first time. His main computer was hopelessly smashed, lights burnt out and electrical scorches decorated the walls. He sighed heavily placing his hands on his waist.
“So what do we do now?” Ambria exclaimed, moving to Parker’s side. “We can’t stay in this nebula forever, and once we leave they’ll just attack us again. There relentless” Parker just stood there for a moment, his bandage wrapped hand drifting up to his thick chin, stubby fingers rubbing it.
“Tan Hauser ends almost directly on top of the Nobel system; from there it’s a short run to the Cytek jump lane. If we make a break for it we can be there in less than 3 hours”
“Yes but that ship will be on top of us before then!” Ambria’s voice was urgent. Parker simply looked over and down at her with a wry knowing smile.
“Yeah, but there’s only one of them, and there’s four of us” His voice contained a slight chuckle, a devilish tone with an air of mischief. Ambria’s ears tucked back and her eyes narrowed in confusion. Parker just continued to smile that smile.
After a few hours of restoring his ships systems as best he could, and cleaning the broken glass and plastic off the cabin’s floor the four passengers of the Explorer 10 prepared themselves mentally for a journey through the rest of that fire storm called Tan Hauser.
Parker and Ambria secured themselves in the cockpit seats, Deka and Nela holding on tightly in the back.
“Ok, time to go” Parker whispered, glancing quickly over to his co-pilot and then back out the window. With a push he forced the helm into a turn, his foot moving over the pedals controlling vertical and horizontal thrust. The engines on the side roared to life once again and pushed the craft past the clouds.
Parker took his time navigating past the large volatile pillars and discharges of energy. He felt like he knew everything about his ship now, he had taken it to its limit and he knew just how far it could go. He and his Explorer 10 were now closer than ever. The tiny gold ship continued to slalom past the pillars, flying fast and steady. After a short white knuckle ride they were quickly coming upon the nebula’s frontier, once they breached it that large ship would detect there power signature and head right for them, but Parker had something up his sleeve.
They came upon the edge of cloud, bursting through it into the blackness of space.
“Now!” he commanded, Ambria turning her head and repeating his command in Deka’s language. Deka was in the back, crouched over an open panel in the floor, a large pump protruding from it. He growled and snarled as he forced it down into the floor.
The Explorer 10’s bottom split open once again, the three silver Sputniks spilling out and shooting off into the darkness on their own course. Inside Parker’s hand danced down to his control panel, taking a quick reading of the probes.
“It’s working, there power signature matches ours perfectly” he was right before, they did out number that monster of a ship four to one. He chuckled at his own genius, Ambria smiling brightly beside him. “Ok, next stop Dispatch”
*
Parker flew the ship hard, travelling the most direct route to the Cytek jump lane. Faster than light travel was a tricky thing, especially when you had tens of thousands of ships doing it. Jump lanes were the answer to this mess. Long stretches of space carefully monitored and coordinated by stations along the way. The lanes were constantly cleared of any debris or obstructions. Going to FTA speeds outside of a lane was a practical death sentence, as ones ship could fly into an asteroid or moon or star at speeds in excess of a hundred thousand kilometers a second without any warning.
The explorer ten approached the Cytek jump station, a large sky scraper in space that was responsible for looking over that particular stretch of lane.
“Cartography vessel registration XTC-21735-80 as requested we have secured a route for your jump, the appropriate navigational information will be uploaded to your ship momentarily” The voice echoed over Parker’s communication system. He looked over at Ambria, and then behind at Deka and Nela, who were standing over them.
“I copy that” he responded, a happy smile on his face. The information quickly began to flood into his computer, a chart detailing his designated route inside the lane flashed across the window. He slowly moved into the lane, perfectly following the entry route for fear of colliding with another ship traveling at immense speeds. Once the ship sat at the start of its designated route Parker began to fire up the Jump engine. With a wry little smile he looked over at Ambria.
“This is my favorite part” he chucked, hand dancing down and illuminating the jump command.
There was a sudden and sharp climax of energy, a hard hum that built to a massive blast. The front end of the ship began to stretch out in front of them, narrowing as if it were being stretched like some kind of rubber clump. Parker watched as his fingers shot out into the distance, followed by his hands, his arms, until all he could see was a tunnel of light and energy. It was a motionless stream, a sensory overload that dazzled, danced like some kind of gorgeous living tapestry. There was no control, no sound, no shapes, just a flow of color. He was held in a moment, no longer possessing a body, simply just a cloud of heightened senses.
It seemed as if it was just an instant, a small second easily passed over on any clock, but living at light speed was a different kind of time. In the seconds of time it took the small gold ship was flung across a vast stretch of space, a distance that at any other speed would take lifetimes to travel.
The ship began to pull back, the dash and window emerging from the distance and flowing back into view. Even Parker’s arms came back into view, followed swiftly by his hands and fingers. The wash of energy broke around the ship and stars returned very different stars. As soon as the ship broke from faster than light speeds Parker pulled it up and away from the lane, following the perfectly plotted course provided to him by the massive Lane Station in the distance. Once he had cleared it he received quick conformation of his successful jump from the Station. Redundant as if the jump had not been successful Parker would have never known.
He let out a happy gasp and a nervous chuckle. Looking over to Ambria he could see the wide eyed grin she was possessing. She slowly looked over at him, her face frozen in a rush of adrenalin.
“That was… that” she stammered
“I know pretty fun init” Parker smiled, looking back over his shoulder at the two greatly stunned black aliens, their eyes locked to the space ahead of them. Parker turned back to his helm, calmly flying in the general direction he knew Dispatch to be.
“We should be at Dispatch by the end of the day” he proclaimed, Ambria looked over at him, her eyes narrowed.
“You keep talking like this…”Dispatch” is going to solve all our problems. What is it, an organization?” she queried, her voice hinting at skepticism. Parker shook his head and looked back over at her.
“No Dispatch is a ship, specifically a massive ship. It’s the commercial hub of humanity. Operating out of it is thousands of businesses, contractors, traders, pretty much every major human industry flows through Dispatch. From it thousands of ships are sent out each day, some cartographers like me, others mining operations or salvagers or negotiators. It’s a city unto it’s self. I don’t know, I guess you just have to see it to understand what I mean”
“I guess” Ambria quipped back, her eyes drifting back towards the moving field of stars outside the window. She could feel that ball of anxiety rising in her throat again. It seemed like every time she thought she found a place where she and the others could be safe those monsters came back and destroyed everything she loved, but maybe this time would be different. Maybe this time she had finally found some were to be safe. Slowly her black eyes drifted back over to Parker, his still straight ahead concentrating on the flight path.
Maybe, she thought maybe she would finally not have to be in fear anymore. Could it be that after she had spent most of her life running she had finally found someone who could help her stop? Her eyes danced over Parker, silently regarding him. It was odd, that off all the species she had encountered, that it would be a human that she would feel so connected to. Humans were strange creatures, not well liked by the rest of the Galaxy. They were often referred to as “Psychotic Apes” and “Xenophobic Insects huddled pathetically in the gutter of the Galaxy”. She couldn’t have felt more wrong, and she realized that now.
Humans, this human had shown her a level of bravery and heroism no other had. She could feel it when they touched, like his internal chaos calmed her own. She first saw it in his eyes after they had first escaped that monster, in that gorgeous storm. She lamented that their journey was coming to an end. Maybe that’s what that ball of anxiety was this time, not fear of the dark but a deeper fear. A fear of losing that feeling when they touched.
Parker noticed her long stare out of the corner of his eyes. He slowly turned his head, giving her a funny little look.
“You ok?” he asked with a sense of oblivious confusion. His words snapped Ambria out of her deep thought, causing her head to jerk nervously forward, eyes quickly moving away from his.
“Oh.. um nothing… erm I mean I’m fine” her voice trembled, deeply embarrassed. She was cursing herself in her head, feeling like she was a child again. Parker awkwardly smiled and looked back to his helm. Ambria nervously shuffled and then climbed out of her seat. “I’m just gonna go check on... the back” she exclaimed, moving quickly from the cockpit into the cabin.
“Ok” Parker was more than a little confused; he turned around in his chair and watched her leave, his eyes drifting down. He hadn’t noticed it before but she had a nice ass… a really nice ass. He found himself staring at it a little too long and quickly jolted his eyes up, finding Deka looking down at him with what could only be described as a disapproving scowl. Parker’s face contorted in a worried expression and he quickly pulled eyes back forward, trying pretending he was focused on the path ahead. Deka huffed and placed his claw on Nela’s shoulder, leading her back into the cabin.
Parker continued to pilot his ship for a few more hours, a clam relaxing flight that came as a welcome respite from all the recent white knuckle hurtling through space he had recently done. The tension and anxiety flowed from his body with each passing kilometer. To him Dispatch was the light at the end of the tunnel, an untouchable oasis in a desert of death and blackness. No one could get them there, it was too big, too strong, a fortress in the stars.
Three hours had passed since the others had moved into the back. His mind kept thinking about them. All that they had been through, he felt strongly connected to them now. This was new; Parker had never felt connected to anyone. People were always just things that moved in and out of his life, leaving him perpetually alone. Normally he preferred that, being alone was his way. It was familiar, it was safe, this time was different though. Deka and Nela had strangely grown on him. He sympathized with their plight and now felt as responsible for their lives as he imagined Ambria did.
And Ambria… Ambria was something else entirely. Parker had always had so much trouble when it came to women. He always thought that they saw him as something hideous, disgusting, but really that was just how he saw himself. Now here was Ambria, someone who was just as full of fear and self hatred as himself, even more so. There connection was odd; a trust had built between two creatures so damaged.
All of a sudden Dispatch didn’t seem like such a haven anymore. He began to realize that just like everyone else in his life she would leave, go her own ways. Parker began to feel afraid… afraid of being alone, alone again.
His eyes drifted down, letting go of the helm he looked deep into his open palms, examining the bandages that Ambria had carefully and tenderly wrapped. His thoughts drifted back to that moment, in the storm when they had held each other. He wished he could go back and live in that moment, the same way that you would live at light speed. Time though had a cruel way of soldering on without you, and Dispatch was fast approaching.
“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable” - Sydney J. Harris
Chapter Five
Closer
The small Explorer 10 passed close to the large moon, its surface a mess of craters and mountains. Sharp ridges and spikes of rocks covering its landscape like an ancient representation of hell. Below storms raged, blanketing large areas with swirling vicious clouds. It filled the window. Parker could feel its gravity tugging at him like some kind of siren of myth. He compensated and flew on, rounding the untamed ball and catching his first glimpse of Dispatch.
The ship was beyond compare, a massive hub of activity suspended in the black. It had contours similar to Parker’s Explorer 10, but on a grander scale. A huge rounded vessel so large the ships moving around it seemed like wasps around an island sized hive. The front was flat, a massive bay open and exposing the perpetually active interior. The top curved in an elegant flow, moving up then down in a smooth arc. That arc ended in a sudden vertical climb, a massive forward swept tower that reached higher than the tallest structure on earth. Two massive engines hung off the side of Dispatch, there power more than enough to pull this huge craft through space.
Parker flew closer to it, watching it enlarge with each passing kilometer. He saw Ambria’s reflection appear in the window. Quickly he peaked back over his shoulder with an “I told you so” look, his attention then sharply drawn back to the approaching titan.
“You human’s don’t really like to do anything small do you” She chuckled, Parker quickly shaking his head in agreement. He was now close enough to have to compensate for the many other vessels flying around him. Ships like Parker’s own, some flashier, some dirtier, all containing pilots with the same goal, to do business. Navigational information began to flood into Parker’s system, proper instructions helpfully provided by the army of traffic coordinators onboard Dispatch.
A proper route was quickly provided, Parker pulling his ship into the right curve. The closer he came to the massive open bay the thicker the traffic became. Slowly he pulled into one of the massive line ups of ships all heading inside. Above and below him bumper to bumper vessels all slowly making their way, a traffic jam of epic proportions. Steadily his ship crossed the atmospheric bubble, a seal that separated the large open inside from the silent space outside. His ship lurched and jumped, quickly falling victim to the air pressure and gravity provided by Dispatch’s embrace. Below four small thrusters began to fire, quickly holding the Explorer 10 suspended in the air.
“Cartography vessel registration XTC-21735-80 you are to proceed to lot 46235-A” An authoritarian voice demanded over his speakers. Parker quickly reached forward and confirmed the order. He arced slowly over. Below a massive parking lot of ships, each assigned their own spot. Endless rows of other crafts, black ants of people moving back and forth between them. Above was a large steel ceiling, beams and supports bracing it, holding it upward.
Parker’s lot was quickly approaching, the navigation chart flashing its location across his window. Steadily the Explorer 10 began to arc down, the ships and people below him growing larger. Rows of exotic human crafts, people set between them. Clotheslines and tables and containers crammed in the spaces between. Children ran around, screaming and playing with each other while their parents attended to whatever tasks preoccupied them. The long endless stream of undistinguishable chatter grew louder, like a thousand geese all calling out to the other.
Parker paused and hovered over the lot below, an empty space of floor with ships encircling it. Slowly the Explorer dropped, four long slender silver legs sliding out from the gold bottom. They softly touched the ground, there joints flexing and bending under the weight of the small round ship. Inside Parker quickly moved his hands over the controls, powering down his engines bringing the ship to rest. He pulled up from his seat, turning around and facing Ambria, who was still studying the busy world outside the window.
“Well, were here” He chuckled, trying to hide the foreboding pain growing in his stomach. Ambria drew her attention away from the window and into Parker’s eyes. There was a small awkward moment of silence between them, as if both were looking for something to say but were afraid to say anything. Parker cleared his throat and nervously rubbed the back of his neck; Ambria chucked slightly and pulled her eyes over and down. There was a lot being left unsaid.
“I’ll just go open the back” finally something to break the silence. Parker calmly moved past her, feeling the brush of her body against his causing that same shutter he felt when she had first touched him. Slowly he moved through the cabin, casually regarding Deka and Nela who were standing with a strange anticipation. He gave them both a small smile, Deka nodding slightly. Moving past he came to the back of the ship. Reaching up he opened a small panel, a twist lock behind it. Pulling it out, he turned it clockwise. There was a sharp hiss and a seal around the edge of the wall broke open. The entire wall began pull away from the ship, moving downward forming it’s self into a large open ramp.
A sudden push and pull of air as the two atmospheres mixed and then an instant rush of noise. Chatter and commotion filled the air. The three aliens moved behind him, looking past into the busy metropolis of parked space ships. Deka and Nela slowly walked out, trotting down the steps with their odd inhuman walk, knees bent backwards and sharp clawed feet clicking against the steel floor. They both stopped at the edge of the ramp, taking in the huge open space before them. Ambria moved to Parker’s side, standing close to him, both staring out into the crowded world.
“So what do we do now?” She asked reluctantly, dreading Parker’s answer. She fully expected him to tell her to get lost, to just go her own separate way so Parker could return to his normal life. She deserved to be told that, with everything she had done to him she expected it.
“Well…” Parker turned his head, once more looking into her deep black eyes. “I have to get my charts to my contract rep, while I’m there I’ll see if I can get you guys some help” His words gave a small lift inside Ambria, but she still felt uneasy. Parker reached into his pocket, pulling out a small metallic stick; it was wrapped in a rubber mesh, the bottom a black plastic.
“Take this; it’s linked to my bank account. Take them and go get some food, clothing, anything you want. There’s enough there” He pressed it into her hands, a look of pleasant shock on her face. “You can stay on my ship as long as you want… but I understand if you want to use the money to get a room” His voice was regretful, accepting with a hint of sadness. Ambria reached up, placing her palm lightly on the upper corner of his chest.
“We’ll be back” she whispered. They held a long look and then she moved away, striding down the ramp and placing her hands on Deka and Nela. Parker watched as the three moved away, rounding a corner and disappearing behind one of the other ships. Parker quietly moved back into the cabin, walking over to his smashed computer.
He awkwardly knelt down, reaching under the remaining shards of screen. With a heave he pulled a small panel off the wall, behind it a large suitcase sized hard drive. A handle popped out and Parker quickly yanked the entire thing out of the wall. Picking it up, he moved out of the ship, leaving its large rear ramp open. Theft had become almost unheard of on a vessel were everything was for sale, and everybody made good money.
Carefully he navigated his way past the rows of ships, bumping past groups of travelers like himself. Above a large clear screen hung from the ceiling, its size greater then Parker’s own Explorer. On it a constant stream of commercials and adverts.
“Test Fly the new Explorer 20” a beautiful women proclaimed, her ruby red lips flowing a constant stream of innuendo and enticements. “With soft leather captain’s chairs and the new powerful mark 5 entertainment system your guaranteed never to have a boring moment in this ship” Her voice breathy and seductive, flowing over images of the fancy new ship’s impressive wood and leather interior. “The New Explorer 20, the brightest star in the sky”
Parker ignored the giant gorgeous model and her flashy new product and continued to push past ship after ship. A group of children rushed past his legs, laughing and screaming in delight, followed hurriedly by a concerned parent shouting for them not run.
Thousands of people moved back and forth, a wave of bodies. Parker finally made his way to one of the massive lifts, his large hard drive clutched in his bandage wrapped hands. The lift was wide, dozens of people cramming into it. Parker pushed his way inside, feeling incredibly uncomfortable, being surround by other men and women. An older lady looked over at him, giving him a sharp scowl. There was no doubt to Parker that she was thinking that this disgustingly fat man was responsible for the uncomfortably close quarters inside the lift. Parker just ignored her.
A small jostle and the Lift began to rise into the air, his perspective of the endless ship lot growing larger and larger until it suddenly vanished behind a smooth silver tube. The lift passed through deck after deck, stopping occasionally to let a few passengers off and some on. The number of people inside never seemed to thin, always a constant tight mass. Finally the lift arrived at Parker’s deck, the location of the offices of Margret Inuki, Cartography Contract Representative.
Parker pushed his large body off the lift, the space previously occupied by him quickly becoming filled with 2 new passengers. He moved his way down the long brightly lit hallway. It was flawlessly white, blue and green veins of light running across the floor. On the walls hung clear image panels, each displaying a commercial or television program or public service announcement, occasionally broken up by an office door. After a short shuffle Parker finally came upon Margret’s office.
He moved forward, the door sliding open quickly revealing a waiting room filled with four other cartographers, patiently sitting with their respective hard drives in their laps. Parker moved inside and took a seat. The room was decorated with a vaguely Asian motif, bright red walls and strange oriental plants sitting in the corner.
Parker sat staring ahead, occasionally glancing over to another of the room’s occupants and then awkwardly looking away. A faint music played in the background, too soft to really make out any of the words. He felt a sharp pain in his mouth, another one of his broken teeth hitting an exposed nerve. He quietly made a promise to go see a dentist after his meeting.
After about 20 minutes of waiting, watching the others in front of him get called in and then leave it was finally his turn. He stood up, pulling his hard drive to one side and heading into the small office.
Sitting behind the simple metal desk was an older Asian woman, her face wrinkled, a small pair of round glasses carefully perched on her tiny nose. She wore a shiny new business suit and tapped her short fingernails against the desk.
“Parker, always a pleasure” Her voice held no accent, she gestured to the large open slot on the wall. Parker smiled and walked over; pushing the large suitcase sized hard drive into it. It clicked and began to power up. Margret tapped at the command keys built into her desk, a small screen to her left began displaying Parker’s charts.
“Parker I’m surprised. You’re normally so thorough!” she exclaimed, pushing her glasses back up to her small droopy eyes.
“Yeah I’m sorry about that, I ran into some trouble and I had to cut myself short. You should still have enough there though” Parker moved over, taking a seat in the small uncomfortable chair across from her. She paused for a moment, silently examining his charts. Her eyes floated over to him, noticing his bandaged hands and than his nervous face.
“Trouble huh?” she exclaimed, moving her small old body away from the screen and addressing him. “Well you’ve always gone above and beyond before. I see no reason not to pay you the full contracted amount this time. Just don’t let your level of work drop any further, you’re the best Cartographer I have” Her voice was happy but stern. Parker nodded quickly. He paused for a moment, eyes moving in hesitancy. He leaned forward in his seat slightly, fingers resting on the desk in front of him.
“Umm, can I ask you a favor?” His voice was reluctant. Margret pulled the small glasses off her withered face and she regarded him with a look of curiosity. Her hand gestured for him to continue. “Well, umm I was wondering if you could see about arranging a transport to earth for three friends of mine”
“Friends?” She interrupted, her voice full of disbelief. Parker nodded and continued.
“Yes, they need to get to earth”
“Well that shouldn’t be a problem, as long as they have their residency papers” Parker shook his head.
“You see that’s the problem… there not human” Margaret leaned sharply back in her leather chair, hands clasping at her jaw and then moving up to rub her old tired eyes.
“Parker Parker Parker, you know as well as I do that these days Earth has a strict anti-alien policy. Getting one on the planet is next to impossible. And even if you did, what kind of life could they have?” Her voice was full of concern. Parker knew exactly what she was saying but he had to push her harder.
“Well what about one of the other planets. Mars, IO, hell even the moon. Just some were inside the SOL defense perimeter” there was a desperate almost begging tone in him. He leaned forward further. Margret closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. She held like this for a moment and then pulled her glasses back onto her face.
“Tell you what, just because it’s you. I’ll make some inquiries; maybe call in a favor or two. Now you know I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll do my best” Parker felt something lift inside him, he smiled brightly and stood up.
“Thank you, Thank you so much” He joyfully exclaimed. Margret nodded and smiled, her hands gesturing for him to leave. Parker quickly collected his large hard drive from the slot in the wall. Thanking her one last time he left the office. As he was coming out into the waiting room he heard a deep familiar voice bellow at him.
“Parker you fucker, I thought I saw that antique you call a ship on my sensors” He quickly turned his head, seeing the bright excited face of someone who had always made it a point to force his way into Parker’s life.
“Hello Dwayne” his voice containing a tired flat tone.
“Is that how you greet your best friend these days” He exclaimed, jovial and playful. Dwayne was about half Parker’s size. Short sharp black hair and a clean pretty boy face. He was everything Parker was not, strong, confidant, self assured. His clothes were neat and tailored and his body was trim and cut. He moved closer to Parker, reaching out for a firm handshake. Parker obliged.
“How are you Dwayne?”
“Me oh my usual perfect self, hey why don’t we head down to the Howler on deck 38 and get good and liquored!” He pushed into Parker’s personal space, causing Parker to back up a few steps. Dwayne always had a way of crossing those simple boundaries that Parker held. Parker’s mind stopped and dwelled on what Dwayne had just said, like a bullet it shot back to the last time Dwayne had convinced him to go for a drink at the Howler.
It started out simple enough, a pitcher of beer, then just one shot, then a boiler. Things got very blurry after that. A strange incoherent mess of drink, shot, cigarette, shot, drink, shot, shot. Finally Parker remembered leaning up against the bulkhead and vomiting epically onto the boots of very small minded member of Dispatch security. Not something he was eager to repeat.
“You know I don’t drink” Parker flatly refused. Dwayne shrugged and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his faded leather jacket.
“Ok, I can get liquored and you can watch me” He chuckled, impressed with his own wit. Parker quickly shook his head.
“No I really need to be getting back to my ship, I need to do a lot of repairs, order in some new equipment” he tried to push past Dwayne, but a hand quickly shot up and grabbed his shoulder.
“Yeah Jesus Man! I saw that myself. What the hell did you do, fly through a plasma storm!?” Parker stopped and turned back to Dwayne, who quickly looked down and noticed his bandaged hands. “And what the fuck happened there” he exclaimed gesturing to Parker’s hands. Parker paused and set his hard drive down on the floor.
“I ran into some trouble”
“That’s an understatement!” Dwayne quickly and sharply interrupted. “You gonna tell me what the fuck happened” his voice was demanding but concerned. He really and truly considered Parker to be his best friend, even if that was a feeling not always returned. Parker sighed and looked down at the floor. He paused for a moment and then looked back up at Dwayne.
“Well you know Tan Hauser” Dwayne nodded, moving a cigarette from his pack to his lips. “Well I kinda flew through it” Dwayne was stunned, his face motionless. A small smile was on Parker’s face, proud that he had evoked that kind of a response.
“My god man… you should have been ripped apart!” Dwayne was full of shock and disbelief. “You actually made it all the way through, my sweet fuck man. You are some kind of god to me now” he chuckled. Parker blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. Not exactly the response he was expecting, but one that made him feel good about himself.
“Why would you ever take such a massive risk? I mean no offense but you are the last person I would ever expect to do such a crazy thing!” Parker looked up at Dwayne, unsure of how much to tell this man. He knew Dwayne to be reckless, a celebrated drinker and someone who treated Cartography as a quick meal ticket. Dwayne was the last person Parker ever expected to draw the worship of, but even before today Dwayne had always held an inexplicable reverence for him.
“I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you. Listen I really need to get a lot of things sorted out. Why don’t you come by my ship later and we can have a beer or something” Dwayne nodded and smiled, pulling a light to his cigarette. Another occupant in the room cut him a sharp look and pointed to the no smoking sign. He finished lighting the smoke and without even looking at her promptly raised his middle finger.
“Sounds cool, I got to get these charts to the old lady anyway” he chuckled, tapping his hand against the hard drive on the floor and taking a long pull on his smoke. Parker smiled and turned away, heading back out into the hallway.