Ep 4: All In

Present Day – 5 Years Later

Cowboy Penguin stood solemnly by the window of his dusty office, staring out into the vast desert. A single tear rolled down beneath his cowboy hat brim.

“Intern 1… your sacrifice will never be forgotten,” he whispered. “So brave. You stayed behind so I could live. That’s why I’ll never forget you.”

Intern 27 blinked. “Huh? Are you serious?”

Cowboy Penguin spun around dramatically. “What! Not convinced this is a dangerous job?!”

He pointed a flipper straight at Intern 27’s chest. “You must be a brave soul.” He nodded to himself with his eyes closed, then opened them again in a squint. “I see. I see.”

Intern 27 raised a hand to object.

“Then let me tell you the tale of Intern 2!”

4 Years and 11 Months Ago – Planet Sulfar

Cowboy Penguin bolted out the front doors of a saloon, dodging plasma blasts. Behind him, an angry voice shouted:

“GET BACK HERE, BISCUIT!”

Back in the office, Cowboy Penguin cleared his throat and avoided eye contact. “You know what... we don’t need to talk about Intern 2.”

Intern 27 narrowed his eyes. “Wait, what just happened?”

“Right!” Biscuit clapped his flippers together. “Let me tell you the real tale… of Intern 3!”

4 Years and 10 Months Ago – Town of Rustbrick

Five figures stood in a tense standoff in the middle of a dusty street, blasters drawn. A tumbleweed rolled by like it had a death wish.

“Well, well, well,” Biscuit said, puffing on a cigar with all the confidence in the world. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a polar bear standoff. Only thing is… you boys don’t look very polar bear to me.”

He cracked his neck and turned to his companion. “Intern 3, what do you think we should do with these fellas?”

Intern 3, a burly lizard alien with one horn and a leather vest, spit on the ground. “You know, boss...”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!” shouted a three-eyed green alien. “THIS IS YOUR FAULT!”

30 Minutes Earlier – Same Saloon

Biscuit grinned, laying down his cards with a confident smirk. “I’m all in, baby.”

Until next time…