The bar went quiet as the man held up what must’ve been a cannon made with a pistol grip. Its sides glowed from five blue bars and the hum it gave was bone-chilling. It felt like a weapon made for a ship was being charged. It was pointed at the ceiling, but with the ease it was held, it felt like the entire bar was in danger. Even the supposedly indestructible oggy seemed unsettled. Only Louis stood his ground.

“How do you kill a ghost?” asked Ravi. He leaned forward, his face illuminated by his weapon. He was a tan skinned man with black hair and a thick mustache. Like Louis, he was thin and fit, but somehow bigger than every man Sadie had ever met. He had teeth too clean for a place like this. His body looked young, but his eyes were old, haunted. They were brown, full of liquor and regret.

“You can’t,” replied Louis.

“Normally I’d agree with you, but this is a really big gun.” Ravi eyed it before returning to Louis. “Then again I think I’ve hit you with a railgun before and you keep coming back. So what do I know?” He chuckled, rubbing the cannon against the side of his head.

“All we truly know is who we are.” Louis held up his left hand, facing the tattoo toward Ravi. One of the gray circles began to fill with golden light before feeding in a thick line to the next, before filling a second line to the third. A golden, broken triangle, shined for the whole room to see. Slowly, the same light began to emanate from Ravi’s hand. He slowly lowered the cannon onto the table and rose, staring at his hand, then Louis’s. It was as if the light was burning away whatever poison the man had been ingesting.

“Am I dreaming?”

“No.”

The light dimmed, but the golden triangle remained on their hands. Ravi stepped forward and Louis met him with open arms. The two held the embrace, laughing, crying, and mumbling to each other. The number of pats on the back seemed to be endless. The room went back to its usual business and Sadie waited uncomfortably nearby. They finally separated and Ravi waved him to a seat.

“Two Gamilsmiths, Snotling!” Ravi shouted to the bartender. The bartender, for what it was worth, wore a full jumpsuit with multiple layers, gloves, and a thick towel around his thick head. Their drinks would likely be clear of excretions.

“This isn’t going to melt our brains, is it?” asked Louis. “I don’t need you pointing a gauss cannon at me again.”

“If it did, you wouldn’t feel getting shot. Gamilsmiths are easy, probably close to a porter back home.”

“I’d kill for a cold beer.”

“What haven’t you killed for?”

“I’m working on a strain of hops now, trying to regrow something clean.”

“If you can set up a real brewery I’d come and work for you anytime. I’d do it just to have something real to drink again.” Ravi’s smile never wavered, but his eyes drifted to Sadie. He stood again and held out his hand. “My apologies. Ravi.”

“Sadie.” She took his hand. His grip was firm but welcoming. The accent she’d assumed had come from the alcohol appeared to stay despite his sudden sobriety.

“Join us. Are you a friend of Louis’s?” Sadie paused to make sure the seat was clean and when she saw it was, sat down. It was so big she almost fell back into it. Looking at Louis, she responded.

“I’m not sure.”

“Picked her up at a reservation as insurance.”

Ravi palmed his face. “Tell me you didn’t abduct this poor girl just in case I wasn’t here.”

“It’s the price they paid.” Amused and annoyed at his friend’s groaning, Louis pointed a finger at him. “Hey, I had to stop a hive invasion to get information on you.”

“And you went all guns blazing like an American cowboy.”

“Don’t be mean.” Louis gave him a lopsided grin. “I went in like a proper Brit. I told them their land belonged to me and responded appropriately when the natives got restless.”

“Ouch.” The oggy Ravi called Snotling approached and put two freezing mugs down filled with a brown liquid. Ravi raised one and Louis tapped his glass to Ravi’s. “Here’s to the good old days.”

“To the good old days.” Ravi took a long drink and Louis sipped his before coughing. “Told you it was good.”

“Jesus, Ravi. You can’t run my brewery because you forgot what beer tastes like. This is like a sour mixed with a bucket of sugar.”

“That’d make it a cider I suppose. Oggy don’t taste too well so their stuff is kind of strong.”

“Fair enough.” Louis took another drink and looked at Sadie. “Sorry, this stuff would probably kill you.”

“It’s safe for human consumption, I checked. I just didn’t realize you had a date.” Ravi yelled for another. “But seriously, please tell me you’re taking this poor girl home.”

“To where? She’s from a mining reservation, a shit hole.” Louis waved his drink toward her. “No offense.” Sadie wasn’t sure if it was offensive or not and stayed quiet. “I could leave her here.”

“In my hell hole? Certainly not.”

“What are you doing here?” asked Louis. “Do you know how long it has been since I’ve heard from any of us?”

“Most of us are laying low, living normal lives.” They shared a look that said most of them were dead. “Not all of us want to fly around the galaxy looking for the next guy to beat up.”

“You’ll have to see my ship. It’s the best home away from home.”

Sadie took the offered drink by Snotling. It was almost too cold to touch and she had to swap hands until it warmed up. Like an idiot, she first bumped the mug into her rebreather. Realizing she’d have to take it off, she debated how badly she wanted the drink. Seeing as she was now at the mercy of two mythical beings and didn’t want to offend the one person who was pleading her case, it was time to take the plunge. The rebreather popped off and the smell slapped her in the face like a flank of wet rotted meat. An oily smell was there in the background, but it paled in comparison to an oggy’s stench. It was like her nose was stuck in a wound, the smell of pus and maggots in every breath. She took a deep drink, almost submerging her nose in the sweet smelling substance. It was potent and after her first gulp, it washed away the taste of the room. She was halfway done with the drink before she knew it. Once she was done, she pulled the mask back on as fast as she could, drink dripping from her nose. Neither of the men seemed to notice.

“There’s something I need to get off my chest.” Ravi finished his drink and waved for another. “I thought you were dead.”

“Same.” Louis swirled his drink. “My heart stopped when they said your name.”

“Yeah well…” Ravi looked up in shame. “I thought I killed you.” Louis paused mid drink.

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“What?”

“During the Rain of Stars.”

“How?”

“You were on the ground during the Ash River, right? I saw Virgil come down.”

Memories burned in Louis’s mind. With all the ships disabled or burning in space, the assault turned into one of the largest ground battles in history. Between artillery, tanks, and fifteen-meter mechs, there were thousands of tonnes of ordinance flying every minute. Every second was a blessing and every future second a nightmare. And in the middle of it was him and his mech designed by the Masters themselves, Virgil.

“Yeah. Yeah, I was there.”

“I ordered the orbital strike.”

Louis saw the battlefield again. Then he saw the battlefield filled with fire. Railgun impactors strafing the ground for a hundred kilometers, with enough force to permanently alter the planet and kill everything within a radius of a hundred thousand kilometers. The greatest land forces in the greatest battle, wiped out in a matter of seconds.

“How? All the ships in system were dead. It was a Singularity ship on backup that fired on us.”

“No. It was the Babel.” Ravi spoke with the finality of a man correcting history, and ready for any conclusion it brought forth. “We’d lost containment, hull integrity, and 90% of the crew was gone. I was still there, trying to keep the ship alive. I managed to rig it to fire one last time to wipe out the machines.” Even if it wiped out everyone, he seemed to want to say. “I knew you were down there. I’m sorry.”

Ravi’s eyes burned with much needed penance. No tears fell from those watery eyes. A man responsible for so many deaths, no matter the righteous cause, lost the ability to cry. But they still held the pain. Ravi’s unfocused eyes said each day he remembered pressing the button, making the lone decision to personally end the war through mass genocide.

“Well that makes what I have to say a little easier.” Louis looked unfazed by his friend’s confession. He finished his drink and waved for another. Ravi looked confused, maybe even upset. He had just spilled his darkest secret and Louis didn’t even seem angry. “I thought I killed you first.”

“What? You were on the ground. How the bloody hell did you think you killed me?”

“Because I caused the Rain of Stars.” Ravi stared at him dumbfounded.

“What? No you didn’t.”

“Yeah.” Louis’s voice fell to a broken whisper. “I did.”

“The Rain of Stars was a natural phenomenon. Nobody knows what caused it, not even the Singularity. Trust me, if they could repeat that event, they would. Unless you’re carrying a weapon even the Masters failed to tell me about.”

“It was me.”

“How?”

“It was an accident.”

Louis leaned forward and put his drink down. Ravi did the same. Then Louis spoke so low Sadie wasn’t even sure he was speaking. It didn’t even sound like English. Ravi seemed to be listening intently. He sat back, his eyes wide.

“That’s not possible. I refuse to believe you survived that.”

“It didn’t work how I thought it would. I should’ve died.” Ravi still looked skeptical. “Did you ever wonder how I suddenly appeared in system?”

“And appeared as if kissed by the sun,” Ravi spoke those last words as if reading from a poem. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah.” Louis raised his mug. “Sorry I almost burned you alive.” Ravi raised his mug, looking completely shell shocked.

“Sorry for death by orbital bombardment.”

The two finished their drinks in stunned silence. Sadie took the time to finish her drink and when Ravi waved for a new round, three drinks came back. For a long time, nobody spoke. They sipped their drinks and didn’t look at each other. Sadie did not know it was possible for ancient beings of incomprehensible power to be so shocked. The reunion had come to a grinding halt.

“Of course, there was that other time you shot me down,” said Louis quietly. His eyes flicked up and a slight grin formed at the edges of his mouth.

“No. No!” shouted Ravi. “You were flying in an active battle zone. Those turrets were targeting incoming missiles, not you.”

“Not that time, the other time.”

“Ohhhh, you mean that time you tried to fly a stealth mission past the fleet and refused to answer our calls, so we shot your stupid ass.”

“What part of top secret didn’t you understand?”

“None because none of us knew about the top secret mission!”

“You forced me to do an orbital insertion in a space suit designed very much not to do that!” countered Louis.

“Bah. You used that mission to up your hiring price. I did you a favor.”

“No, I did you a favor when I drew the Purvai fleet out into the open.”

“This complete dumbass,” laughed Ravi, nudging Sadie to get her attention, “wanted us to take out this rival fleet. Problem was they were in a good position, static defenses, and we have no way to outmaneuver them. I tell him, not going to happen. So he flies out there in a single fighter craft and just dive bombs this command ship. Tears up as much as he can and before we know it, he’s running toward us being trailed by at least five hundred fighters, with the fleet behind him. And do you know what he’s screaming at us?” Louis smiled and took another drink, not answering Sadie’s questioning stare. Ravi continued. “There he is, badass Louis, just screaming, ‘going to die. Definitely going to die. Angry French litany.’ He just keeps going and going, shrieking like a scared lad.”

“That is the only time I told you to shoot at me.”

“And I did. No idea how you managed to survive that mess.”

“So what happened?” asked Sadie.

“We decimated that fleet and sent the survivors running out of the system. As for Louis? His ship fell apart and he flew out into space. Took me almost a full day to recover him.”

“But it worked,” argued Louis.

“Story of your life. Do something stupid, it works, and therefore, it’s not stupid.”

The two inhuman monsters continued to drink like it was tap water. Sadie finished her third and was beginning to feel heavy. Worse, her bladder was beginning to feel heavy too. Ravi instantly became her new best friend when he handed her a keycard that opened a private human bathroom. He’d had it specifically installed as a part of his ongoing contract, and since he was the only human, it stayed clean. Sadie might have stumbled back to the ship to avoid seeing what an oggy bathroom looked like.

“Want to see something great?” asked Ravi. Louis waved a hand in acceptance. Ravi stood and lifted his glass to the room.

“God save the Queen!”

“God save the Queen!” chortled the oggys, slamming back their drinks and cheering.

“Took me forever to get them to do that,” said Ravi with a childish grin.

“What am I supposed to do with that?” asked Louis. “Bless the Eiffel Tower?”

“Your country it’s probably the guillotine, but given your namesake, maybe you shouldn’t cheers that.”

“Decapitating our rulers is a time honored tradition.”

“Do you have a place to stay tonight?”

“My freighter is in orbit. You should join us.”

“Like hell I’m getting aboard your ship after drinking. I’ll wake up in a new star system, in a dropship, with you asking if I’ve got my gun.”

“You do have your gun,” pointed out Louis.

“I have four, but that’s not the point. You two can stay at my place. The air is purified and the showers clean.”

“Good, because otherwise the girl might vomit on your floor.”

“She might anyways.” Sadie lowered her fourth mug. With enough to drink, she didn’t feel like she needed the rebreather.

“You do need to see the ship. I have some things I know you’ll love to see.”

“Like the greenhouse,” blurted our Sadie.

“You have a greenhouse?” asked Ravi.

“An untainted greenhouse. I told you I was growing hops.”

“As I live and breathe.” Ravi held his mug up in appreciation. “That would be a sight to see. But if you try and kidnap me too, I’ll have to put a hole in your engine.”

After an unknown amount of time passed, Sadie found herself being carried by Louis as they left. There was some warning that if she puked in her rebreather she would drown. She should have felt comforted by their care for her, but they were singing something they called a sea shanty, and overall ignoring her.

They didn’t take one of the trolleys, which was good because Sadie didn’t know if her stomach could handle speed. Eventually, they stopped in a doorway that turned into an airlock. She sputtered and twitched as they were sprayed from harsh vents, leaving them all a little moist, before immediately being blasted by hot air. It cleansed the majority of the smells before releasing them into a large room. Originally designed for oggy executives, it was large for a human. Sadie particularly appreciated the couch that was bigger than most beds she had slept in and the heavy blanket draped over her. She didn’t even realize the two were still talking. She must’ve napped for a short time, but the bladder prodded her to the bathroom once more.

“Wait until you see the work I’m doing here,” said Ravi. “It’s actually been a lot of fun.”

“Running a gas station?”

“You have no idea the intricacies of the system and how much work I’ve done to keep it running smoothly.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Ravi, you really need to see my ship. We could get out of here, start something new. It doesn’t have to be bounty hunting or mercenary work. We could have adventures like we used to.”

“But I like my work here.”

“Is it worth living for?” Ravi spotted Sadie going back to the couch and trying to get comfy again.

“What do you think Sadie? Would you rather stay here or go on adventures with Louis?”

“Are you asking if I want to work on a station with living snot monsters or trust my survival to a man who likes suicide missions?”

“When you put it like that…”

“Take me back to my shit hole.”

The two men laughed so hard that they ended up crying.