ONE
I gazed down on the dull, drab planet in an unknown sector.
“We’re here,” Calliope my cyborg co-pilot informed me as we entered orbit. She leaned over her instrument panel. “Wherever here is.”
“Looks like we’re squarely in the middle of nowhere,” I said, checking the interstellar maps. “You sure you have the right place?”
I was looking at a desolate planet in the middle of nowhere on the fringes of the current sector. It was about as remote as we could get in this part of space.
“As right as I could get it,” she said. “Go down, have a look, don’t get shot, and let me know.”
I shook my head.
“Bella, where exactly are we?” I asked. “Do you have a fix on our location?”
“This is uncharted space,” Bella answered. She was the sentintelligence program that was the heart and soul of Belladonna, my ship. “What part of the concept—uncharted—are you having trouble with? Calliope informed you this place is in the middle of nowhere.”
“Don’t sass me,” I said. “I was getting a second opinion.”
“I don’t think you want to hear my first opinion in response to that question,” Bella said. “Calliope is accurate: this planet is a forgotten lonely rock, in an empty sector, far from any kind of civilization. An ideal home for murderous criminals and the deranged Hunters who pursue them.”
I narrowed my eyes as I looked up at the main sensor on the bridge of the ship. Bella was theoretically everywhere on the ship, but she used sensors situated throughout the interior of Belladonna to interface with us.
“I’m noticing you’re not volunteering to join me,” I said, ignoring Bella and glancing at Cal. “Don’t want to visit with the natives?”
“Does it look like I’m wearing a redshirt?” Cal asked with half a grin. “I don’t volunteer for away teams on planets I don’t know when you’re chasing unknowns. Good luck.”
“Engage the transmat,” I said. “Chicken.”
Cal laughed in response, then grew serious.
“Don’t get dead.”
A few moments later, I stood outside one of the few buildings in what passed for a town on this desolate dustball of a planet.
It was nightfall.
A cluster of small LED lights illuminated the exterior of the building. The place looked like a bar of some kind. I looked up at the sign over the entrance. It read: Randall’s Rump. What kind of a name was Randall’s Rump?
I wondered if Randall owned the place and would his rump be on display, as I stepped inside and immediately regretted listening to my informant, Ryder.
“This place is a dump,” I said, speaking into my subdermal comms under my breath. I found an empty table in the back and tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible. “If Ryder was gassing me, I’m going to stab him somewhere unpleasant.”
“There are pleasant places to be stabbed?” Cal’s voice came across in my comms. “Learn something new everyday.”
“There is no such thing as a safe, non-lethal, or pleasant place to be stabbed in the human body,” Bella shared, taking things literal as usual. “I strongly advise against being a recipient in any kind of stabbing.”
I heard Cal’s laugh in my comms.
“Figure of speech, Bella,” I said. “I don’t intend to get stabbed in this place.”
“You never intend to get stabbed, or shot, or mangled, or blasted,” Bella answered. “But who has to tend to your broken body when your intentions meet with reality? Me, that’s who.”
“Cal, check near orbits and see if Darius’ ship is in the vicinity,” I said, ignoring Bella. Her concern was in the right place, but she could be a colossal pain in my ass when she wanted to be. “This is supposed to be one of his stomping grounds.”
“Do you see them?” Cal asked. “Ryder said they would be there. The targets are affiliated with Darius and his Blades.”
I looked around the interior of the bar. It was populated mostly by off-worlders. People who wanted to be left alone or disappear.
Usually both.
There would be no friendly questioning of the locals here. I got some looks, none of them welcoming, most of them deadly.
The targets I was looking for were a few tables away.
“Found them,” I said, keeping my gaze soft to give no indication I had noticed them. “I’m sure they’ll introduce themselves soon enough.”
“Try not to kill them before you get the information on Darius,” Cal said. “Think you can manage that this time?”
“You make it sound like I have impulse control issues.”
“You don’t?” she asked. “They’re little fish. Remember, we’re here for the big fish, Darius. Did you read the file?”
“They’re criminals, murderous criminals,” I said. “Do I need to know more than that?”
She sighed.
“Get Darius’ location first, then drop them,” Cal stressed. “The order is: info then violence.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Sure you will,” Cal said. “Information before the bodycount would be nice, for once.”
“Working on it,” I said. “Monitor the channels. I’m going silent.”
It wouldn’t take long for them to make me.
I didn’t exactly scream IA, but my clothes were cleaner than most in this dumpster fire of an establishment, and try as I might, I didn’t exactly blend in with the natives.
Couldn’t be helped.
I should’ve known better.
Every instinct was screaming at me to evac this place.
Turn around and walk away—that was the smart play, the safe play. Getting into it here and now, alone, was asking for more than I could handle.
I was never one for playing it safe.
The three men pulled up chairs and joined me, grins on two of their faces. The third one, the dangerous one, kept his face impassive as he stared me down.
I placed my hands lightly on the table, resting my fingertips on the cuts and grooves in the wood surface. I took a deep breath and let it out slow, keeping my body relaxed.
They were here to let me know what a mistake I had made.
This was the usual intimidation tactic.
One lone IA Hunter on assignment and three dangerous criminals looking to make a name for themselves.
It never ended well…for them.
I could smell it in the air. The killing would start…soon.
First, some questions.
I would actually make an effort to get the information I needed.
“Hello, gentlemen,” I said, keeping my voice light as I assessed the threat levels. “I’m looking for someone. Maybe one of you can assist me?”
“She’s IA scum,” the one on my left said. That escalated quickly. I never bothered to get their names. Their pertinent information would be in the file on Belladonna. I probably should’ve read it thoroughly, but it wouldn’t have made a difference. They were coming with me. The only variable would be dead or alive. “Shoot her and get it over with. We’ve got a meeting with Darius and he doesn’t like to wait.”
That was the reason I was here.
These three could lead me to Darius and his Bloody Blades, a ruthless mercenary group I had been tracking for months.
I’d have to deal with Darius and his Bloody Blades later. Right now, this trio of aspiring crimes against humanity needed my immediate attention.
“What’s it going to be, Hunter?” the one on my right asked. He was the one with the twitchy finger. He would make the first move…if I let him. The one I was focused on was the third member of this group—the quiet one. It was always the quiet ones that made my life hell. “How do you want to die?”
“I don’t,” I said, my voice low as I kept my eyes on the quiet one. “If I can help it. Interplanetary Authority wants you brought in on criminal charges. Five counts of kidnapping and murder of settlers on the Sigma Six colony in New Theti.”
I strangled the rage that threatened to break free, keeping my expression impassive.
Reducing this place to a smoking crater wouldn’t look good on my after action report. Did they deserve it? Absolutely. Could I justify taking that kind of scorched earth option? Probably not. I was supposed to be the law, even in a place as lawless as this.
These three had kidnapped and killed an entire family in cold blood: two parents and three children, snuffed out by these animals masquerading as men.
The rage howled to be let free.
They had taken advantage of the remoteness of the new colony to commit their crimes, thinking they were beyond any law or justice.
I had tracked them to this den of lawlessness.
They thought they were untouchable.
They thought wrong.
“New Theti?” the first one mocked. “Never heard of it.”
Apparently this was a hilarious revelation, causing many of the patrons in the establishment to break out in laughter.
“Doesn’t matter much to me,” I said, leaning back in my chair slightly. “The orders are DOA. It’s your call.”
The laughter died down and the room took on a hard silence.
The kind of silence that ushered in the killing.
“They only sent you?” the quiet one asked. “Alone?”
I knew what he was thinking.
Three of us, one of her.
“Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” I answered, keeping my voice calm, but unsheathing the steel underneath. “Why would IA send one Hunter to bring in three dangerous criminals?”
“Maybe they don’t like you?” the one on the right answered to another round of laughter. His voice was nervous, unsure. “Maybe…maybe they want you dead?”
The quiet one didn’t join in the laughter.
He kept his eyes locked with mine.
He knew why IA would send me alone, he didn’t care. He thought he was good, no, he thought he was better than good. He thought he had what it took to retire me.
He didn’t.
With a flick of my wrist, I materialized my blade—a stiletto, and buried it in the neck of the twitchy one. He was dead before he realized what happened. His life spilled out onto the table in dark red.
The one on my left joined his friend as I focused a blast of concussive energy through my hand into his chest, crushing his ribs and turning his heart into a useless assortment of muscle and gore.
He exhaled once—his last breath, before slumping forward lifeless onto the table. The quiet one hadn’t moved. It was entirely possible that he had reconsidered, that he had seen the suddenness with which his friends had left this life and was contemplating surrendering.
It was also possible I would be a merciful Hunter and extend this murderer some grace.
Except, I never did grasp the concept of grace.
I sensed the attack from behind as it was on its way. They were smart using a blade. It sliced the air on its way to remove my head from the rest of me.
That’s when the quiet one moved.
As plans went, it was simple and effective, if not overly ambitious. The rear attack would either connect, which would have mortally wounded me, or cause a distraction, giving the quiet one an opening.
They didn’t count on the third option.
I let the blade bounce off my personal shield as the quiet one drew his blaster, aiming at my chest. Smart, always aim for center mass.
Minimize the odds of missing.
I kicked the table forward, causing his shot to go wide as I sent another stiletto his way. It buried itself in his chest. My rear attacker was determined to complete his attack.
I rolled to the side and released an energy blast which melted his blade, along with most of his arm. The blast was so fast and so hot he didn’t even have time to scream.
He stumbled back, stunned, groaning in pain as the realization that he single-handedly botched his ambush dawned on him. From the pale expression on his face, I could tell he no longer was willing to risk his life for three dead men.
“Targets neutralized,” I said into my comms, keeping my voice low. I used my corneal scanner on the three criminals. Their bioidents would be stored in the Belladonna’s database and on its way to IA archives in seconds. “I’m heading back. Transmat the bodies into the hold.”
“Any sign of Darius?” Cal asked. “Or any of his men? Did you get his location?”
I scanned the interior as I stood.
“No,” I said. “But he has to be close. They were going to meet with him before they decided life wasn’t worth living.”
“You mean before you killed them?”
“I gave them an opportunity to turn from the path they were on,” I said. “They opted to remain on their path…It led to a dead-end.”
“Transmat active,” Cal said in my ear. “Stay alert. If they were going to meet Darius, he or his men might be in proximity. I have nothing on scan.”
“I’m going to scan the perimeter,” I said. “They could be cloaked outside.”
The three dead bodies disappeared as they were transported to the Belladonna. I turned, backing out to the exit.
That’s when everything went sideways.
I barely sensed the mini-rocket propelled grenade that transformed the front of the bar into an inferno.
Instinct and luck saved my rear.
I was still wearing my personal shield and it had picked up on the energy signature of the RPG, giving me half a second to react.
It was enough time to reflexively change the angle of my body, deflecting the brunt of the explosion to one side.
That was the instinct.
The luck was that whoever had fired it was a horrible shot. The blast sent me flying to one side of the building.
I landed hard and rolled for several feet.
“I think I found Darius.”
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