Mohammad-Sadiq had his Zoner Borderworld Transport securely stationed in Barrier Nebula of Omega 49. It was time to rid the space between ship's hulls of the vermin. If radiation of Neutron star in Omega 41 did anything good it was for the growth of Kurile polyps.
He was almost done burning them off his ship, with the flame throwers attached to his work-pod, when the latent voice of ships Central Computer (he called her Sissy) came through his helmet's speekers:
''Unknown vessel approaching. Ship type - Bounty Hunter Bomber. ETA approximately 10 minutes''
Mohammad-Sadiq was sure that there was no bounty on his head. His lifestyle and personal philosophy lead him to very few hostile encounters in his journeys through border worlds. Yet, he knew that anything was possible in Sirius as it was today, so he decided to take all necessary precautions. His defenseless ship called ZonerStoner could be destroyed easily even by a single bomber.
"Sissy" he responded " establish an comm link and prepare decompression chamber. I'm coming back on board''
It usually took a while for chamber to prepare for secured opening, so he slowly took his work-pod towards the hatch. Pulling the grappling hook cord was the only exercise he was getting lately. He didn't trust pod thrusters since he saw too many malfunctioning causing their users to drift away into the void, or even die if they were captured by the gravity of nearby celestial bodies.
Computer voice came again: ''Comm link established. Secured channel opened''
Mohammad-Sadiq spoke softly the words he always used at the beginning of the conversations: ''May the be peace be upon you. This is ZonerStoner captain Mohammad-Sadiq Al Noori, kindly identify yourself''.
The voice that came in response made him feel like the protection of his pod disappeared somehow and he felt cold of the open space penetrating his suit and body all the way to the bones. The voice slowly pronounced: "Moussa...it's me''.
The dizziness provoked by hearing of his childhood nickname took over the feeling of cold in Mohammad-Sadiq's body. He could hear his own voice coming from distance as he replied with tremor:
Half an hour later they both sat quietly in ZonerStoner's captain's quarters. Mohammad-Sadiq studied carefully his younger brother's face.
Story of an hard, struggling life of a Bounty Hunter was written all over it. Those scars and wrinkles spoke more then any words. Although three years younger, Fateh looked like an old man in comparison to Mohammad-Sadiq. His clear forehead, bright eyes and smooth, tanned skin of his face, gray highlights on side of his head, it all just emphasized the impression of nobility and wisdom of his appearance.
''Mint tea?'' he asked, in order to brake awkward silence.
''Like the one our father used to make?'' replied Fateh, with an bitter grin. ''I would prefer something stronger please''.
''I'm afraid I have nothing else and I have no biodoms to grow real herbs here. This is just an aromatic infusion. Water is real thou...'' Mohammad was already pouring steaming liquid into their cups.
''To what do I owe this sudden pleasure?'' Mohammad-Sadiq avoided small talk whenever he could. He was not impatient, just believed that life was to short to be spent on meaningless conversation, who's only purpose was to hide people's real intentions.
''I need your help Moussa. You are the only family I have and only person I care for in this godforsaken space.'' Fateh's voice was trembling and it looked like he's about to brake into cry any moment now.''Several nights ago our father came to me in dream. He told me something he taught us long time ago. 'Only thing worse then killing people for no reason is killing them for money' old man said. 'There is no way your life has to take but one you chose for yourself.' It seemed so real...''. Fateh's eyes were filling with tears.
Mohammad-Sadiq knew what that dream meant. Their family came aboard Hispania sleeper ship, long time ago. For generations they managed to avoid piracy as a way of life that was imposed on Corsairs and Outcasts by the harshness of the systems they lived in. Their father was a Zoner trader who got shot down by an mad Corsair. That was the point in which his (then) 17-year old brother first joined BAF only to become Bounty Hunter later on.
''So, you're telling me that al it took was a dream for your life to take a different course brother?'' Mohammad could not hide sarcasm in his question, for he knew that this was not the case. From their early childhood Fateh was the one who was stubborn, always ready to attack anyone who threatened him or his brother. ''Forgive my curiosity but I know there must be more'' he said when he saw his brother's face turning red, from anger or a shame, that he didn't know.
''Of course not, Moussa. It only made me reflect on the past years of my life. Something I never did before'', one could tell he was calm now, ''It made me realize that something had to be changed.''
Mohammad sat next to him and placed his hand on brother's shoulder. This was the moment he knew that would come one day and he wanted to show to his brother that he could rely on him.
''Carry on'' he said.
''I became alcohol and anger driven head hunter Moussa. I begun killing pirates in revenge for what happened to our father and ended up doing it for the sake of the killing itself, if not for plain, sick pleasure.''
His hand was trembling as he sipped already cooled tea from his cup - ''My life needs an purpose, I need an purpose in this world Moussa and I failed to find one...'' He then reached for a upper left pocket of his jacket, took out an flask and drank one long sip from it.
"Hmmm, I think I see where all this need for help comes from" said Mohammad while his brother was still drinking from his flask, like he was dying from thirst "Your thirst cannot be quenched easily. You need to realize that the thirst for that poison comes from an thirst for life. And the lust for life can be satisfied only with living not with things that eventually kill you. Slow suicide is not a way to go..."
Fateh looked at his older brother with unexplainable rage: "Oh you seem so proud and self-content in all your wisdom. It is easy to talk that way looking down on your foolish little brother, it was easy for you to judge me, wasn't it?" Corners of his mouth started to get white from the saliva gathering there as his voice raised with every word he uttered:''Mohammad is the smart one, Mohammad is the nice one, Mohammad avoids conflicts whenever he can, Mohammad was always the better one!!!" His anger was almost instantly replaced with sadness as he lowered his voice and mumbled:''Only significant thing I ever did was killing our mother the very day she gave birth to me."
Mohammad-Sadiq waited patiently for this storm to pass. He gave an long, penetrating look into his brother's clouded eyes. He knew that all those insults were a result of an long alcohol addiction and that something had to be done about it. He took one deep breath and spoke: "If you want my help you'll have to do dall that I say to you. Got that?"
"What do you have in mind" Fateh asked, his voice had an normal tone, like that tide of emotions didn't happen just moments before.
"Tomorrow I'm taking shipment of human organs for an clinic in Cortez system, planet Curacao. You'll come with me and stay there. I think they will know how to take care of your body. I will be in charge of the rest, later on. But first thing's first. Lets sell that killing machine of yours and buy some decent cloths and pack you for an longer stay. Go to sleep now, we'll continue our talk tomorrow"