Blindy woke up, still lying on his captain’s bunk.
His head buzzed, his body ached,
his brain was trying to figure out what exactly got knocked out of it—
time, health, or his evolutionary status.
He sat up.
Blinked.
And saw the aquarium.
Inside, moving in smooth S-shaped waves,
like a confused time traveler,
Pikaia was swimming.
Blindy got up, walked closer, and tapped the glass.
“Slimy Grandpa Pete…”
Pikaia released a tiny bubble,
twitched its narrow body,
and drifted past the glass with a short, wavy
why-do-I-even-exist motion.
Blindy smiled:
“Yeah… that’s your name now.”
He stood there, studying his “ancestor”:
a flexible rod along its back,
a row of tiny sharp gill slits behind the head,
and a beautifully expanded tail fin—
cutting through the water with style,
like it was silently saying: Yeah, I’m ancient. So what. Bite me.
Blindy leaned in closer.
“So… Slimy Grandpa Pete…
what the hell do you even eat?
Feeding you a Burger-Queen™ stuff…
that’s probably the same as killing you, right?”
Phoenix’s voice responded.
“You are thinking correctly, Captain.”
Most likely it feeds on plankton. Exact data is uncertain… damn,
I should have studied it while we were there… but I assume Pikaia, like an eel, consumes plankton, algae, and small crustaceans.”
Phoenix’s tone suddenly brightened:
“Do not worry, Captain. If you allow it, I will take proper care of your Slimy Grandpa Pete. He will live a healthy life—possibly even better than in his native era. I cannot guarantee he will evolve into… well… you, but a peaceful old age is assured.”
Blindy snorted, stretched, yawned, and asked half-asleep:
“Where are we, Rusty?”
Phoenix answered calmly:
“Home, Captain.
We are in Mülldeponie.”
Blindy headed toward the cabin exit.
“What did I miss?”
“Not much, Captain,” Phoenix said. “Zeros took over navigation.
Fairly. I still need to learn how to handle his core.”
Phoenix paused, then continued:
“In short… after several temporal jumps—unsuccessful,
but still within spatial bounds— we finally returned to our time… as if we had never left.
We landed on Terra, delivered the cargo… and immediately came back here—while you were sleeping, Captain.”
Blindy stepped outside—
and saw no one.
“Huh… where’s the dick-droid?”
Phoenix replied instantly, businesslike:
“Zeros took his bike and left the moment we touched the spaceport hangar. Said: ‘Do not interfere.’ Elapsed time: seven hours.
I am… technically with him. But I am not interfering.”
Blindy took a calm breath, pushed his scooter goggles up onto his head, and muttered with quiet satisfaction:
“Guess it’s time I take my bike out too.”
He made his way down to the cargo bay, where his space-scooter—RUSTFANG—was waiting.
Blindy slowed as he approached, running his hand along the smooth, streamlined body, like he still wasn’t entirely sure it was real.
“Damn… still can’t believe this beauty’s mine.”
He glanced up at the ceiling.
“You know, Rusty…
life ain’t that shitty after all.
Got myself a new friend I can talk to.
Hell—just imagine—folks would lose their damn minds
if they knew I got the ancestor of all Terran life sittin’ in my cabin.”
A grin spread across his face.
“HOW FUCKING COOL IS THAT?!”
He slapped the side of the scooter.
“And RUSTFANG… man… this thing’s badass as hell.”
Blindy jumped onto the seat with pure, unfiltered enthusiasm.
The machine growled beneath him, lights flaring as it lifted half a foot off the floor.
Phoenix’s voice rolled in—smooth, satisfied, almost proud:
“Affirmative, Captain. I am pleased you appreciate it.
I am certain you will enjoy it.
And I will remain with you as long as you are near the scooter.”
The bay doors slid open, and bright spaceport light flooded in.
“ENJOY IT TO THE FULLEST, CAPTAIN!”
“YEE-HAW!” Blindy screamed. “Let’s ride, brother—show me what you got!”
RUSTFANG lunged forward—roared, lifted its nose—and shot out of the bay like a plasma bolt, nearly throwing Blindy clean off the seat.
Across the hangar, Helaris and servitors scattered in panic.
Blindy zig-zagged like a man possessed—clipped two fuel tanks, slammed a container into the wall, and blasted through the hangar gates straight into Dumsta.
People jumped aside, shouting things that sounded extremely offended.
Blindy barely managed to scream back:
“S-S-SORRYYYYYY!”