So I went a bit over 500 words, but I tried to keep it contained. Long live the banana fish!

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Hunt Down the Bananafish

by @theironfelix

Boots clamor with the machinery humming. Iron walkways, under stomping feet, ache despite losing the senses a while ago. Grunts echo and bounce off the marble-walls and iron-ceiling. The grunting marchers ache for purpose, as they can stand no more of their shoulders’ acidity caused by hauling a crate so long.

"Hush, we near the Colonel-"

"Bob, we’ve been on the USSS Milky Way for how long? It’s pronounced ker-nel - not co-lo-nol."

"Keep your peace, Jerry. Anyways."

Raised arms, Bob’s hands knocked three knocks, every knock so polite yet firm. His legs, being precautious, retreated; doors squeaking due to leaving their closed state, the Colonel with a pipe and cocked hat steps out. Steadying the shades, the pipe soon found itself hugging the floor.

"Master-Sergeant Bob, how’d you... oh He would be very proud, yet let’s not yammer on about that."

"Indeed, and we tracked the coordinates-"

"Coordinates! I’ll patch you in sonny. Please yank that box in now. Tell me, how’d you got this potassium-skin?"

"I’ll take this one Bob, go input the coordinates. Colonel, the details matter not, but our white gloves are still white. Anyways, coordinates should be in now. Say, when does that bounty expire?"

"I still cannot believe it, we’ll be rich! We’ll have the Bananafish finally in our hands and the bounty just renewed and quadrupled its payout!"

Frothing came racing out and spreading about the Colonel’s mouth, Master-Sergeant Bob’s and Jerry’s eyes picked up on the bubble-infection. Bob’s hands signaled to Jerry if now was the time to act, but that time to act was inappropriate as Jerry’s hands signed. Bob’s ears, hearing the awkwardness, compelled the voice-box to utter.

"Would you like to do the honours of telling the other ships?"

"Ah, sorry. Anyways, the coordinates are already sent - now just an announcement... Ahem... Attention crew, this is the Colonel speaking. Right now coordinates have been uploaded and you may have a question. My answer: we found the Bananafish and we’re going to hunt! I repeat, we’re hunting down the Bananafish... I muted my mic, but do you hear that Master-Sergeant?"

"Ecstasy."

"And a hero, for that’s what you and your platoon are. When we’re back, I’ll make sure you get your due honours."

Bob’s and Jerry’s eyes deadlock together on the other, lips arching high and their minds ridding of any misdeeds. Turning their heads to the ship’s front view, the image of starry seas became interrupted as the view warps to a tunnel of passing light spires that raced with the ship. However, the moment was fleeting and the armada of spacecraft found themselves floating above the Bananafish’s home.

"Master-Sergeant’s Platoon, come ‘ere. You’ll be my personal convoy ‘til the mission is over. So sit in your own Orbital Drop Pods and await blastoff."

Sat they were, their armour covered with more weapons than plating and a soldiery hoorah echoing. The clock ticked, yet they were ejected soon and all saw the Nature below.

The hunt has begun.

***
My Ending

The armada swooned towards the silver planet. Potasius, so named for the abundance of the purified mineral throughout its surface. It was uninhabitable due to its heat. As it’s star’s rays hit the surface, they reflected off the silvery deposits and caused blinding heat to rise. Add into this the constant, violent eruptions from water seeping to the surface from subterranean rivers. Potasius was a nightmarish planet, and only the most vile and barbaric lifeforms could survive there.

And only the most haunting of all creatures could thrive there. The banana fish, hardly as cute as its name would imply. The creature was capable of flight, as its internal bladders were filled with helium. Carnivorous, it consumed anything and everything in its path, from frog-like amphibious creatures of the ponds to plains-runners. But at its core, nestled inside the banana fish’s liver was a substance worth a hundred times its weight in Galactic Credits. Rouge. From that crystalline powder came red dust, or rust as it was called by the Republic’s higher classes. It caused an intense hallucinogenic experience, capable of lasting for an entire month.

And so the Colonel’s ships descended onto Potasius. But Bob and Jerry, whose real names were Arkanisus Loretti and Juvinum Hoth, were ready to stop it all. They were members of the Potasius Liberation Front, an anti-hunting organization that focused on sabotage and direct action to prevent the impending extinction of banana fish. The colonel kicked them out of the room, thanking them for their delivery of the crate full of Tash, his favorite pipe tobacco. They had laced it with poison, and already the bubble infection had taken ahold of the old bastard. Soon he’d be on the ground, frothing at the mouth as his lungs ruptured from excess air pressure. That the old man wouldn’t feel a thing due to the anesthetic properties of the poison, left Arkanisus and Juvinum with a sense of regret. The old bastard had hunted tens of banana fishes. He was getting it better than he deserved.

As Ark and Juv made their way to the engine room, the Colonel’s stolen seal in hand, they signed their way with the seal and set to work. Ark called for the engineer, explaining that they had orders from the colonel to run over some checks on the engine. Juv, now forgotten, hid the C4 inside a compartment. They left quickly and made their way to the escape pods.

The PLF had infiltrated the entirety of the armada, and each team should have followed the same path by now.

“Team six, reporting in,” Ark said through his mic. “Cat’s in the bag.”

“Team four,” his comrade said from another ship. “Cat’s in the bag.”

The other teams reported in. Except three.

“Team three, what’s your status?” Ark asked again. Juv activated their escape pod. They needed to jump ship before hitting atmosphere of Potasius.

“Team three? Report!”

The emergency alarms flared. Soldiers stormed the room. Juv and Ark exchanged a glance, silently communicating a life’s worth of emotion.

“Long live the banana fish!” Ark said, detonating the bomb.