The Rest Is Silence

Will you tell the folks back home I nearly made it,
Had offers but don't know which one to take,
Please don't tell 'em how you found me,
Don't tell 'em how you found me,
Gimme a break, give me a break.
Albert Hammond - It Never Rains In Southern California

Angel Creo-Mining Station - Gusandall

"Richard?" The pitch of the voice was high, but soft. The sound of the rushing water almost drowned out the voice. The two men were up to their waists in water. The first tapped the other on the shoulder again.

"What do ya want Barney?" The man turned around and looked down at the man following him.

"I was just thinking," Barney spoke over the water, "Maybe we could get out of here?"

"Oh yeah, they're just going to let us go," Richard turned around and started struggling to turn the valve again, "Give me a hand will ya?"

Barney stepped forward and grabbed the uppermost part of the lever, and the two of them slowly turned it. The water stopped flowing, and except for the drips from them and the pipe, the room was silent again.

"I wasn't talking about them letting us go Rich, I was talking about leaving,"

"So you were talking stupid. Glad we cleared that up," Richard began to trudge through the water towards the ladder.

"Rich, you and me got alot of freedom here. We could steal a ship and never look back."

"And you want me to give that up Barn? You'll get us both killed. Or worse. Now shut up and lets go," Richard started to climb the ladder and stopped before opening the hatch to look back down at Barney, "Look, you're my friend so trust me when I say this. I've seen better men than us try it and fail," Richard looked Barney in the eyes and pointed at him with one hand as he continued, "You said it. We've got alot of freedom here. We get caught running, we're stuck for good. Give it time, and maybe, just maybe we'll find an opening. Until then, stop talking about it,"

"Rich, this isn't where I want to be,"

"It ain't where any of us want to be, even them," Rich looked down at Barney and motioned him towards the ladder, "Come on,"

_______________________

"Barney!" The woman who yelled his name was clad in a miniskirt and a blouse that showed her bellybutton. He looked over and she ran to his table.

"Hey Trixie. How you been?"

"Pretty good now baby," She sat down in his lap and ran her hands through his hair.

"Heh, Good,"

The girl looked him in the eyes, "What'd you do today?"

"We had to lock down a water pipe on level fifty six," He grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing it softly before looking back up at her, "This place is falling apart,"

Her expression turned stern for a moment, "This is my home as much as yours,"

"Yeah,"

"Oh god, not this again," She leaned back and rolled her eyes.

"Yes that again. I have a degree in molecular physics and they've got me working on pipes,"

"You're working on pipes because that's the best job they could find for you,"

"I'm working on pipes because the Cartel and Serpentis have no use for anyone that doesn't know drugs,"

"You know, you might want to lay off the 'woe is me' bullshit while you're talking to the doxy,"

"I'm sorry Trix,"

"So am I," She turned her head as someone walked into the bar, "Look babe, I gotta go to work, I'll meet you after. Your place this time," He nodded and she jumped up.

Barney looked into his drink before he cradled his face into his hands.

_______________________

Evati VII - Moon 1 Kaalakiota Corporation Warehouse - The 'By Jove' Bar and Restaurant

"What?" Hallan was looking over his maps again from his back office. His recently acquired bar gave him a bit of solace to conduct his business away from The Hub.

"We let them build it. They're working for us," Alfroren Karsteinn was talking to him from Balginia over comms.

"Why?"

"Because the only ones who can run a mining outpost in Minmatar low-sec space is the Cartel,"

"Look, whatever. I just need the coordinates,"

"Yeah. I'm uploading them now. What're ya going to do?"

"I'm gonna steal some shit, then run like I stole something,"

"Very, logical," Alfroren laughed and looked down at his keypad, "It's done man," He looked back up at Hallan, "Try not to kill anyone,"

"I always try," Hallan clicked off the comms before standing up and walking over to the wall of his office. He grabbed a pistol and held it up to the light. He'd recently come into a huge cache of Guristas firearms. They all bore the mark of Fatal and the Rabbit. He put the gun into his holster and hefted a huge rifle from the wall, "Never seem to manage it though,"

_______________________

Eight Years Ago - New Caldari Prime - Prime City - Mindclash Arena

"I can do this!" Barney was chuckling as he concentrated on the vision in front of him.

Hallan was taken aback for a moment and the zombies on his side of the field began to degrade. He steadied himself and closed his eyes. Suddenly in the middle of the field gravestones began to rise. From underneath them numerous zombies began to crawl out and onto the field. They advanced past Barney's tentacled monster defenders as he stood stunned and reached forward to grab him.

"Enough!" Came a computerized voice as the crowd that had gathered cheered.

The two participants climbed down from the playing field and met on a walkway along the arena.

"Thanks for the match," Hallan said reaching out his hand, "You put up one hell of a fight,"

"Hal, we both knew what was going to happen before we started. I'm glad you agreed to a match though," Barney reached out and shook Hallan's hand, "I'm going out for a meal. You wanna come? It's my treat,"

Hallan nodded and they walked off, with Barney patting Hallan on the back.

_______________________

"So you're going into Molecular Physics?" Hallan asked with a mouth full of food.

"Yeah," Barney said, sipping his Quafe, "I figure I'll do a nice six year stint with the Academy, then head out and find a job,"

"Head out?"

"Yeah, NCP is a horrible place to find a job in any kind of research,"

"Where ya going to go?" Hallan looked out the window and into the street, which was, as it always was, locked with traffic.

"Probably Alliance space, the Capsuleer corps pay very generously,"

"You sure that's safe?"

"Of course it's safe,"

Hallan grabbed his bookbag and stood up from the booth, "I appreciate the meal Barney, If ya want to go another round, you know my number,"

"No problem Hal,"

_______________________

Now - Angel Creo-Mining Station - Gusandall

The alarms outside the room made it hard to hear anything but the beat of his own heart. Barney looked dumbfounded at the commander as he spoke.

"Just do it!" The commander was screaming at Barney now. He hated it when the commander screamed. He put up his hands to protect his face as the man hit him between the shoulders with the butt of the rifle, "Get to docking bay five and shoot that fucker,"

Barney fell to the floor as the commander threw the rifle down beside him. He reached over and picked it up. He stood up and looked at the commander. The commander stopped and they looked at each other.

"Just go," The commander started, "The guards outside will come in at even the--"

Barney fired the rifle twice into the Commanders chest. He let out a wheeze and slumped onto his desk. Barney stepped against the wall beside the door just as it slid open and both guards rushed in. Barney kicked the second guard that came in into the first, and unloaded a clip into both of them before he ran out the door. He loaded another clip into his rifle and began to run down the halls.

The alarms already blared loudly as he sprinted through the deserted halls. He made his way to the fourth level, where his own quarters resided. The door wouldn't open. He banged his rifle against it but it wouldn't open. He wondered silently if Trixie was alright, but right now he had to get himself safe.

He turned around and saw a familiar face.

"Hallan?" Barney's eyes lit up with suprise.

"Barney Mullen?" Hallan raised his eyebrow.

"We have to find some kind of way out of here," Barney said banging on the door again.

"I gotta go," Hallan turned around.

"Wait," Barney called after him, "How'd they get you too?"

"They didn't, Man. I just stole something valuable and now I gotta leave. If you wanna come with me, I suggest you hurry," Hallan broke into a sprint as Barney followed after him.

Docking bay five had twenty or so guards stationed to guard the ship he'd brought in. As Hallan ran around the corner, half of them turned around to look in his direction. His assault rifle came alive and the men fell jittering to the floor.

He ran past their bodies and keyed a code into the door. It opened with a hiss and Barney came from around the corner. Hallan looked behind him and smiled for a moment before gunfire erupted behind Barney, and he fell to the ground.

Hallan quickly jumped inside the ship airlock as his old friend crawled in his direction leaving a bloody trail as he did so. Hallan keyed another code into the door and it hissed shut. He turned to his ship's door, put in another code and as it opened he hopped inside. He hit the pad on the other side and that door closed too.

Hallan looked through the two windows, sighed and ran to his pod. He hopped in, jacked in, engaged his engines and broke away from the docking clamps which had him locked down. The airlock and part of the docking bay stayed attached to his ship as he engaged warp to the Republic Justice Tribunal station. He turned his cameras behind him once to see the bodies flailing in the darkness before looking back out into the stars.