An Offer

by Pyrodox 

   An obscure, seedy bar on an obscure seedy planet. Far away from more stringent definitions of Civilization in both distance and principle. Outside this ramshackle wooden structure, aside from the canyon it overlooked in which the mist was rendered blood red by the giant sun, was a congregation of private spaceships of varying degrees of dilapidation. Its owners were bounty hunters, criminals, smugglers, and various other lowlifes.

    One such lowlife bent over his drink with an apparent exhaustion with life. The skunk's unkempt hair and unwashed clothes could not fully mask the handsome features which suggested a better life now gone. As much as he tried to focus on the formless euphoria of alcohol, he could not help but reflect up this past. 

    Alvaro Munez, you’ve done it now. 

    That mantra he had once facetiously repeated to himself so many times during the most exciting moments of his life now reflected despair and ambiguous regret. 

     I did what I had to.

     But what he had to had cost him his will to live. He had blown his chance at a better life, and resignation to his old days of crime held no more allure to him. Life was no longer an option, only death or mere existence.

      He barely noticed the creak of the door and the slight lull in conversation. He glanced to see the reason for the crowd's nervousness: a large, particularly fat dragon in a heavy black leather trench coat. It was an unsurprising reaction, but he did not care enough to participate in it.

      The newcomer leaned over the table, ominously close to Alvaro, and ordered an Ouzo.

      “We have Sambuca.”

      “It’s the same thing.”

       Alvaro avoided looking in the dragon’s direction in a way that made it clear there was some effort.

       “I like the word Ouzo better,” said the dragon, this time to Alvaro, giggling like a fool making small talk.

       Alvaro was no fool.

       “Don’t waste your time. You’re here to kill me, aren’t you? Or capture me? I guess my scent won't deter your tastes.” The dragon twitched at that.

       “Kings generally want those who wrong them to stand trial.”

       Alvaro sighed. That was not the option he preferred.

       “You know, it’s funny,” the dragon said, turning around and leaning against the bar with his prodigious stomach dominating the space up to the wall. “I went through a lot of trouble tracking you down here. I mean, the first time around you made it look just challenging enough to trick an untrained eye into thinking one deserved the handsome finder’s fee (thank you for that, by the way), but this current business? So much less to lose, and yet, so much harder to find…”

      “Maybe I learn from my mistakes.” Alvaro eyed the dragon suspiciously.

      “Oh no, no. You’re Alvaro Munez. You’ve spent many years learning from your mistakes. Long enough to make better mistakes than the ones you made with me.” The Dragon glared at him piercingly, his false grin now gone. “You wanted us to find her. Didn’t you?”

      Alvaro hesitated for a few seconds before giving his antagonist a sarcastic grin. “I’m sure the King and his Court found no end of amusement from the irony of a dragon’s rescuing a princess.”

       “Yes, we all had a big laugh over that,” the dragon deadpanned while looking away absently. He turned his eyes back toward Alvaro and squinted. “Except for her.”

        Alvaro grew more tense and peered more intensely into his glass.

        “She was obviously heartbroken. Betrayed by the one man she thought she could trust, one she assumed would respect her. But she’s still being strong. Trying to balance her grief and principles. I can see the appeal.”

        “I loved her so much,” Alvaro sniffed. He could no longer pretend.

        “I know. That’s why you did what you did. Princess Amua, the royal who fell in love with a scoundrel. The scoundrel who learned to turn away from his life of gentleman-thievery. All based on hard-earned mutual respect. Happily ever after…until the princess’ father decided to marry her off to some other royal’s son.

        “One could only imagine the princess’ struggle. Torn between the man she loves and her duty to her people. A way to end the war (Seen it so many times among the Rathi, they should find a better mode of governance). Further complicated by the new guy’s being a perfect gentleman himself, just some poor guy in the same boat as she. And our gentleman thief hated to see her like this….so you simplified the equation for her.

       “You had to prove you did not respect her, saw her as property. Snuck into her room, used a control drug (nice touch by the way, very impressive sell), and spirited her off to some hellish planet just so she could be yours. 

       “And the gallant knight came with riding on a dragon and rescued her. And they lived happily ever after.”

        At this point, Avaro was sobbing silently. The dragon gave him a genuinely supportive pat on the back. “That’s okay, let it out. That’s what the bar’s for. If it makes you feel better, I’m not going to take you in.”

        “You’re not really a bounty hunter, are you?”

        “No, in fact,” the dragon leaned closer to his face. “I’m going to make you an offer.”

        Alvaro winced at theunholy mix of licorice, frankincense, and spoiled milk that was the dragon's breath. “What do you mean?”

        “Well, this latest episode has convinced my associates and I that you would be quite a good fit for our organization. You proved yourself cunning, adaptable, and persistent. But most of all…you displayed selflessness, a willingness to put the common good over your own feelings and comfort, even it meant society’s seeing you as a villain. And after all, my organization feeds off its own image problem.” The dragon patted his enormous belly, whose rumblings thwarted potential eavesdroppers. Alvaro was beginning to expect that the skull at the end of the overtaxed belt was not just there for the edgy aesthetic dragons are known for.

        “The Church,” he whispered.

        “Yes, the Church,” the dragon whispered back, “There’s a whole world you don’t even know about. A world that could pique your curiosity and fulfill your need for adventure. But most of all, a world that would give you purpose. An opportunity to bring order to a broken galaxy, to do good.”

         “I’ve heard of you. Pyrodox. I’ve never known the connection was true.” 

         “Well, the secret is going to be harder to keep as things get going. You want to find out the truth, about...everything? Well, you’re soon getting the opportunity, because you’re coming with me. Lead the way.”

         Alvaro rose headed toward the door, nervous but daring to hope for the first time in at least a month.

         “Sorry to rob you of a good customer,” Pyrodox winked as he flipped a generous tip to the bartender.