Dusty Road Trip (Otherwise Untitled)
#42 of Short Stories
A skunk wanders the blasted landscape looking for something.
~ The skunk's motorcycle kept up its loud croon of a rumble as he made progress along what was left of the main roadway across the region. All in all, the trip had been going well so far. Though his saddle bags were nearly emptied of the nutri-bars, medicines, and novels he'd brought out for barter, the concealed hollow in the fuel tank contained a chunk of the processing core out of one of those drones that went down some months earlier.
~ He occupied his mind with a recollection of the rest station he'd most recently stopped at, "...if the birds call that stuff coffee, no wonder they lost the war..."
~ Spotting the rusted out hulk of a landmark he'd been advised of, Nathan consulted his watch and nav-stat in turn as his expression settled into a calm smile. He'd make the salvage settlement where he hoped for a lead on another drone's memory core before nightfall easily. The motorcycle seemed to rumble a bit more calmly as he let off the throttle and settled into a more relaxed pace.