A frantic scratching came from the door. Bart stood confused for a moment, before heading to the airlock and opening the door. Hiron stood there, out of breath. As soon as the door was open, he scurried into the ship, scanned the room and ran straight to Chuck. “They’re coming!” He spoke frantically.
Bart shouted at Hiron, surprised. “Who are you, and what are you doing on my ship?”
Hiron glared at him. “There is no time for this, the Hunters are nearly here!”
Bart went pale…er. He ran to the cockpit and looked at the local scanners. “We’re too late. They would certainly capture us if we leave now.” He spoke grimly. “Our best bet is to hide and pretend this ship is empty.” He moved quickly to set the ship’s systems to idle.
Chuck noticed the apparent agitation. “Oh, right. Bart, this here is Hiron, he’s the one you sent me to.” His eyes narrowed on Bart. “Did you know?”
Bart hissed in a whisper. “Know what?”
Chuck carefully studied Bart and Hiron, looking for signs that they were conspiring against him. All Chuck saw in both Bart and Hiron was pure terror. Either they were really good at covering their treachery, or… suddenly Chuck felt some of the others’ fear.
Chuck hastily crafted a response. “That the Hunters were on their way.”
Bart blurted frantically. “No, I did not, do you honestly believe that we would still be here if I knew of incoming Hunters?”
Chuck’s mind began to race. He had to quickly end this conversation, without exposing himself. “Hi-tech universe, fancy toys, something like that.” Good enough, now to more pressing matters. “Who are these Hunters, and what do we need to do to prepare for them?”
“Prepare?! They… they capture and eat sapient life!” sputtered Bart. “If there are coming here… they’ll stop, capture or eat most of the population, then leave. They eat their… prey… alive if they can.”
Chuck was mortified. “I had no idea they were that bad. I mean, I assumed the worst from what little you told me thus far…” He shook his head disbelievingly. “It seems I have a poor imagination when it comes to depravity.” He resolutely stood and walked over to his pack and begun slotting weapons, holsters and tools into his clothing. By the time he was done he was wearing nearly half of the Wolf: Wilderness Explorer gear he had with him. He arranged three machetes on his back, a tomahawk under each arm, and a surprising number of knives on his belt and in his pockets. He dug into the bottom of his back and grabbed the fusion blade given to him by Zilroy.
“Where did you get that?” Bart asked in a concerned and disbelieving voice.
“Zilroy gave it to me.” Chuck awaited Bart’s response.
“I… forgot to close the door.” Bart said in a hushed voice.
Huh, that was not the response he was expecting. He spent another second lost in thought before snapping back as he noticed visceral reactions from Bart and Hiron. Both aliens flinched in horror just before someone punched Chuck in the back.
Chuck spun on his feet. Before him stood an abomination. A giant ugly white slug with legs, arms and bits of metal poking out everywhere. Grafted to his arm was a weapon, pointed at him. Chuck was punched again, this time in the chest. He staggered briefly, then he felt a rage boiling within him. He rushed forward and grabbed the monster by its neck, then punched as hard as he could into the center of its seven eyes. He punched all the way to the back of its skull.
The three of them stood in stunned silence.
Bart was the first to speak. “So this is what Krrkktnkk saw.”
Chuck wondered aloud, “What kind of weapons do these guys have?”
Bart replied. “They have those pulse rifles. I have not heard reports of Hunters carrying other weapons to their hunts.”
Hiron commented as well. “Some of them also wield fusion blades. Though, from stories I’ve heard, they only use those for execution.”
Chuck flipped on his fusion blade and gave it a few practice swings. It felt too light in his hands. He set it aside and unsheathed a machete. “I’m going after them. I have to. If I don’t, too many will die.”
Bart cowered. “Why are you doing this? You don’t owe us anything.”
Chuck narrowed his eyes. “I will fight, because I can. And because I can, I must. I may not be a churchgoing man, but there are some crimes that cannot go unanswered. It seems I alone have the power to stop this madness.” He turned to head out the airlock.
“Wait!” Hiron interrupted him and pulled a small harness out of his overalls. “At least take this. It’s a shield emitter, it’ll block a pulse shot or two.”
Chuck thanked him and struggled to put the harness on. It did not fit well, but at least it wasn’t going to fall off. He had just started heading out of the airlock when Hiron interrupted him again. “I’m coming with you.”
Chuck tilted his head. “I thought those things could kill you.”
Hiron duck-nodded solemnly. “They can, but my duty to… Gao demands that I protect our asse… allies.” He pulled a pulse pistol and his own harness out.
Chuck straightened and nodded. He pulled out another tomahawk from his pack and handed it to Hiron.
Hiron asked. “Why do you have so many weapons?”
“I was in the process of testing these when I was abducted. More details can wait.”
Hiron nodded and gave the tomahawk a few practice swings. “Would you lend me the fusion blade?” Hiron took the offered blade and tomahawk and stashed them in his pockets.
“I’m coming with too!” Bart exclaimed suddenly.
Chuck paused, looking back at him. “Why would you go out there where the Hunters can get you?”
“Because out there, I’ll have a human to protect me. In here I just have thin plate metal.”
Chuck could find no fault with that argument and dug into his pack again. “Knife?” Bart accepted the weapon, then he, too gave it a few unbalanced practice swings. At least it was better than nothing.
“Alright,” demanded Chuck. “Let’s do this.”
A few minutes later
Halls of the Desolate Oasis
Chuck
Chuck tore his way through the halls of the trade station, with Hiron close behind. Bart followed at a distance, running from cover to cover, only peeking his head out to move when Chuck began to leave his sight.
Chuck approached a corner as two Hunters crossed in front of him from left to right, carrying a barely conscious blue Rrrrtk thing between them. Chuck swung his machete into the left one while readying the tomahawk in his left hand. The left one fell, sundered into several gelatinous pieces, each thrown aside by the momentum of the blow. The Hunter on the right fell as Chuck pivoted a complete 360 to the left, driving the tomahawk through the right Hunter’s neck along the way. He almost overbalanced as the Hunter offered none of the resistance he expected. He stopped just past a full circle and cried out. He didn’t notice a 3rd Hunter behind the other two. Chuck did not have time to react. But, as the Hunter raised its pulse arm to fire, a burst of energy hit the Hunter courtesy of Hiron’s pistol, distracting it for just long enough for a swift upswing with his right hand blade to end the threat.
Chuck took a moment to catch his breath. “Thanks.”
Hiron nodded and smiled slightly.
They left the blue Rrrrtk behind. Chuck had no idea how to help it, and Hiron was either in the same boat, or just didn’t care. It was tough to say which.
A few more patrols were dealt with using similarly brutal efficiency. The Hunters were not prepared for a fight.
“Where did you learn to fight like that?” Hiron asked as they maneuvered down another empty hall.
“I had a katana when I was a kid. I swung that thing around as if I knew what I was doing.” Chuck shook his head. “Never thought I’d actually use that knowledge.” He fell lost in thought for a moment. “How the hell is this working? These attacks I’m doing are terrible! I should be losing every fight!”
Hiron spoke. “Do you not realize how much faster you are than the Hunters? That alone gives you a significant edge, technique be damned.” Hiron then turned to a Hunter that had been trying to sneak up on them from the left, and raked his claws across its throat, taking a shot from its pulse cannon in the process. Hiron’s shield took the hit.
Chuck shook his head. “You have both. What do you need me here for?”
Bart spoke from a wall behind them. “If I may, remember how I said we are fragile? That includes the Gaoians.”
Hiron stiffened at that, but soon conceded. “He’s not wrong.” He sighed. “You’ve been shot twice, and it didn’t do anything to you. I can’t take that kind of punishment.”
Chuck winced. “Didn’t do anything? That frikken hurt.”
Hiron spoke again. “Yet you survive.”
Chuck grunted and they continued on.
A few minutes later
Halls of the Desolate Oasis
Chuck
Bart spoke to Chuck again as they moved through the docks, still keeping himself out of sight. “I don’t understand how he can match you in combat.”
Hiron replied tersely. “‘He’ is standing right here. Besides, isn’t it obvious? He is untrained.” Hiron pointed to Chuck. “While I am not.” He paused. “And you, Brrtklklk, are you not tired from shuffling all this distance?”
Bart took a moment to answer. “Very, but there are Hunters out there, so I will do what I must… There is the Hunter ship!”
They turned a corner and saw an insectoid ship, one that looked unlike any other he saw as he had walked through the station earlier. A pair of Hunters were bringing their gruesome spoils back into the ship.
After a moment, Chuck steeled himself and hustled over to the Hunter ship. He positioned himself to the side of the door, back to the wall of the ship, crouching with his tomahawk ready. As he listened, he surveyed the nearby area. There were a few dead Hunters around the ship, surrounded by dozens of slaughtered aliens.
Hiron had positioned himself behind an upturned bench, just barely out of line of sight. Bart was nowhere to be seen.
Eventually, a Hunter moved out of the ship. Just as it came into view, Chuck swung his tomahawk towards the monster in a brutal upward strike. He cut through several ribs before the swing finally stopped at one of the Hunter’s shoulders. A quick slash to the chest finished it off. Chuck sheathed his machete, the halls of the ship would likely be too tight to swing properly. He elected to wield twin tomahawks. Slowly, he advanced to the next room.
A few minutes later
Hunter’s ship bridge
Alpha of the Brood of Crushing Maw
+<Shock, agony>+ …
With that final message, he lost contact with the last of his brood. One by one, his subservents had fallen to prey. Prey. This was unacceptable. What had he done to deserve such incompetent underlings? No matter. This prey would not leave here alive. The underling just killed was on this ship, which meant the prey was on the ship as well. He moved the ship a short distance from the station to cut its retreat path. A lesser Hunter would rush through the ship to seek out the prey, but the Alpha was too clever for that. Doing so would allow the prey to cower and hide, to sneak about unobserved and eventually reach the bridge and possibly escape. No, the only way to defeat the prey was to ensure he blocked the only way out. He sat behind a console, heavy cannon pointed at the door, and waited.
Meanwhile
Hunter’s ship
Chuck Byse
There had actually not been many hunters aboard the ship. After the one at the door, he had only encountered two others. Most of them must have been gathering their meat.
Chuck shivered at that word. One of the rooms he had cleared had contained the fresh carcasses of dozens of aliens, including several he was sure he had seen in the halls yesterday. It was not a sight he would soon forget.
Now, he stood before the final door in the halls of this ship. He had seen no controls for the ship in any of the other rooms he had been in, so this final room must be the bridge. Chuck opened the door and entered. Inside, the lone Hunter present fired a pulse shot, striking Chuck’s shield just as he walked in. The shield fizzled with a burning smell. A Hunter crouched behind a command console, readying another shot, but Chuck was faster. He chucked his tomahawks at the Hunter, then vaulted over the console, and immediately tripped over it. The kick he had aimed at the Hunter’s chest turned into a flailing arm slap. No matter, the momentary stun was enough for Chuck to pull out a knife and jump to his feet. The Hunter steadied itself, and managed to engage its fusion blades. If it had been just slightly faster, the blades may have mattered. Chuck’s knife finished the job.
Chuck walked back to the airlock, verifying along the way that the rest of the rooms were clear… That’s odd he thought as he approached the door; He was sure it had been left open. He opened the door, startled to see the blackness of open space stretch before him. Chuck pulled out his datapad and called Hiron. “Hey Hiron, I’m alone on this Hunter ship… and it seems to have drifted off the platform. What do I do now?” There was an obvious pause. Chuck liked to imagine there was a jaw drop. Hiron cleared his throat before speaking. “Uh… Hold position. I’ll be up there soon.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier for me to bring this ship back to the docks?” Chuck inquired.
“What? No! Bring a hunter ship back here? Just… I… we’ll be there soon.” Hiron calmed down. “Give me a few minutes, I’ve got someone I can call.”
“Alright, Don’t keep me waiting too long.” Chuck wandered throughout the ship, picking up his discarded weapons. It was a pity that all the Hunters’ own weapons were grafted in, some of those would have been nice to have, not that he’d know what to do with them…
His wistful imaginings of being a space-arms dealer –he chuckled at the wordplay– were interrupted by Hiron’s call. “Chuck, I’m going to need you to get back to the bridge then enter a few commands.” He told Chuck how to disable the cloaking device. “Alright, I’ve got you on our scanners. Come on back to the airlock, let’s get you out of that ship.”
When Chuck got there, he saw the Silver Sailor drifting next to the Hunter ship’s airlock.
Hiron jumped across the gap in a space suit, then looked around the Hunter ship.
“Where did you get that suit from?” Chuck asked.
“I had it stashed away in case of emergency.” Hiron chittered grimy. “I think this counts.” He then walked past Chuck.
Chuck called after him. “Where are you going?”
Hiron angrily shushed him. “I need to ensure that no Hunters remain.”
“I already checked! We’re alone in here!”
Hiron sighed. “I don’t doubt that, but I want to be sure!”
Bart spoke over the datapad. “So this is one of the Hunter’s infamous vessels.”
Chuck had no response, but responded anyways. “I guess so.”
Hiron’s voice sounded from Chuck’s datapad. “I think we’re clear, why don’t you come join me in the bridge!”
“I think I’ll wait here” Bart responded. There was silence for the next few minutes as Chuck made his way to the bridge.
“What now?” Chuck asked Hiron as he arrived. He pulled out his datapad and contacted Bart via videophone.
Hiron had been inspecting the bridge. “I’m turning this ship over to Whitecrest.” Chuck narrowed his eyes. Was Hiron trying to claim this ship for himself? Now that its former occupants are dead, who did own the ship? He would have to research salvage law.
“As all the ship’s former occupants are dead, this ship is now salvage. We are in possession, so it is ours. Brrtklklk here can’t stop me from taking it, so unless you want to stop me, I’m bringing this ship to our labs.”
After seeing the looks of concern and betrayal on both Chuck and Brrtklklk, Hiron relented. “This ship is of no use to you. A Hunter ship is not welcome in any port. Come back with me to Gao and I’ll make sure you get something better than Brrtklklk’s piece of junk. Even with the extra layover, It will still be a shorter trip to the Crimson Hamlet. I can get some something that can move.” Hiron grinned mischievously.
Chuck looked at the datapad, expecting Bart to be outraged, but instead Bart was nodding. “Are you going to let him insult your ship like that?”
Bart missed Chuck’s point. “Why would I object? He is correct.”
Chuck relented with a sigh. “Alright, I don’t know what I’d do with this ship anyways.”
Hiron nodded. “Let me make a few calls, I’ll make sure we get something built for you. Let see what we can do about getting these ships moving.”
After a few calls to Hiron’s tech team, and a few queries on Whitenet, the trio had managed to dock the two ships together, allowing them to pull the Silver Sailor though the Hunter ship’s warp bubble. They even managed to link the docking points of the two ships by carefully re-orienting the Silver Sailor’s force fields. Hiron assured him that the field was stable, but Chuck could not help but be nervous while crossing the gap between the ships. After Chuck was safely across, Hiron engaged the Hunter’s FTL drive remotely.
“Hiron, why is your own ship not with us?” Brrtklklk asked.
“I… do not have one. Even if I did, the shop has limited space, and I have nowhere to put one. I hitched a ride to the Desolate Oasis.” Hiron replied.
Brrtklklk sat still for a few minutes before continuing. “Why have you taken possession of the Hunter ship. What good can come of that?”
Hiron pondered a moment. “There are plenty of salvageable components, there should be good money in it.”
“But before you said that you were bringing it to ‘our labs’.”
Hiron stopped, mouth open. He closed it, then folded his ears back, embarrassed. “I sometimes work with Whitecrest. They pay good money for… unique salvage.”
“… I see.” Brrtklklk contemplated.
No one spoke for several minutes. Chuck stood in the cockpit of the Silver Sailor, inspecting the captured vessel. “How far are we from Gao?”
Hiron replied. “About a week.”
Chuck nodded in response. “I think it’s time to call it a night. It has been a long day.”
They retired for the night.
The next morning
The Silver Sailor
Chuck
I’m going to have to learn how to cook thought Chuck, as he bit into another nutrition sphere. It seems that none of the three of them wanted to cook so soon after what they had seen. So they sat, eating nutrition spheres for breakfast in silence.
“Chuck, where exactly did you get that fusion blade from?” Bart asked in a worried voice.
“Zilroy handed it to me when you left his ship to return to your own.” Chuck shrugged. “Like I said earlier, I can read these people, he was pushing past the sale, telling me about how he wanted to do business in the future.” Chuck used air quotes to emphasize his point.
Bart pondered the situation. “How does that work? What sale was he pushing?”
“He was trying to convince me I was already sold on the ‘not murdering his ass’ sale, and pushed the conversation to negotiating a business deal. But, he seemed completely uninterested in the business deal at all. If he was, he would not have pushed it to some arbitrary date in the future.” Perhaps, Chuck added unspoken, his business could make use of Zilroy in the future, but now was not the time for that sort of thinking.
Bart was bewildered. “But Zilroy and I had completed the deal…”
Hiron interrupted. “I think it would be best if you told me exactly what happened.”
Chuck told Hiron his story, carefully omitting the details of Bart’s deal with Zilroy.
Hiron shook his head. “Short answer, he believes you to now be in his debt. In his mind–he owns you. Your initial deal was done, settled. Anything he said to you after the deal was complete was a new deal. The question now is exactly what kind of Corti you were dealing with. May I see that blade?”
“You never gave it back.”
Hiron dropped his ears in embarrassment. “Oh, right.” He retrieved the blade. He stared at it for some time, trying to hold a passive face. “This is most unusual. A Corti with this kind of equipment is either a special operations soldier, or” Hiron paused, apparently considering alternatives. “Someone incredibly powerful. Either way, giving a fusion blade… Corti do not give gifts. They just don’t. Loan, maybe, if it would save their life. But to give this… It’s too valuable an item to discard on a whim, and yet players on a larger scale tend to would generally consider this to be merely a tool, and not a form of currency.”
Chuck sheepishly replied. “Uh… he may have said something else as well. He said something like ‘Remember me when you show your account’s balance to Bart.’”
Bart fumbled a gesture at Chuck. “Go on, pull out your datapad. Put your finger there… Perfect, hand it over.” He said as Chuck complied.
Bart was running out of color in his face. “We had agreed on 5,000 Dominion Credits. Even taking into account the Refugee Relocation Credits, you have an extra 200,000 credits in your account!” He paused. “What exactly did you agree to?”
“Nothing. He just said ‘I’m sure we’ll do great things together in the future’.”
Bart relaxed slightly. “Alright. It could be worse. But you may at least ‘stay in the frying pan to avoid the fire.’” He winked.
Chuck blinked while trying to figure out what Bart meant. Oh, right. The past day had been rough, but now that things were calming down… It was good to have Bart back.
Hiron spoke again. “This does confirm that Zilroy has exceptional access to…something. He made a verbal informal contract. He feels that you owe him, and that he has the means not only to ensure that you pay, but also that he can set the terms whenever he wants. The good news is that this means he will not likely ruin you. He needs you to be of value for when he intends to collect. I have no idea what he wants from you, however.”
Chuck spoke. “I have a few ideas. I’m guessing that this is not a loan?”
“Highly unlikely.”
“And, I’m guessing I can’t just give it back?”
“No… Corti may not give gifts freely, but they are still willing to accept them. He would likely consider it tribute, and not repayment.” Hiron sighed. “At this point you should probably keep it, it is far too late to back out of the deal now.”
Chuck sighed and shook his head. “I should have been more careful.” He muttered, internally questioning the intentions of every alien he had met. Had anyone he’d met been honorable? Had everyone simply been exploiting his naivety? It would take some time to consider the ramifications of this conundrum.
“You are used to dealing with your own kind. ‘Bob’s your parent’s sibling’ if I daresay I understand you better than most others in the galaxy” said Bart, winking again. “I’m certain that you will find some way of resolving that interaction.”
Intentional or not, Bart’s fumbling certainly had improved his mood. “You may want to wait a bit longer before playing around with idioms.” Chuck chuckled.
Bart looked heartbroken. Chuck stopped to reassure him. “I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it.”
“…Will you help?” Bart asked
“I’ll do what I can. I never really was much of a teach…” He paused, repeating Bart’s words in his head. It was as if his blinders had been removed. From a human perspective, there is nothing unusual about such a request. But when dealing the a non-human… Bart had asked for help without offering anything in exchange. This request simply could not logically exist in a universe devoid of camaraderie. This conclusion came as a relief. He would have a hell of a time trying to live out here if he could trust no one. “…Yes, I will help.”
Hiron sat back in his chair, shaking his head. “Chuck, be careful with what you promise, and of what you do for others. Sooner or later, you will run out of things to give.”
Chuck looked questioningly at Hiron. “Then I’ll build more.”
Hiron wavered slightly. It was clear that he had just now had a revelation. A moment later, Hiron’s ears perked up slightly as he chittered softly. “Of that, I have little doubt.” The conversation broke up soon after.
A few seconds later
The Silver Sailor
Hiron
Everything had suddenly fallen into place. Chuck risked his life to save beings that he did not know, and now here he was, all but promising to help anyone who needed it. Hiron was rather disappointed in his inability to notice this obvious facet of Chuck’s personality earlier. It was clear that he had much more to study before he was truly ready to consider himself a member of Whitecrest.
Chuck’s response to Hiron’s warning had been most enlightening, even if the content of his advice appeared to go unheeded. If Hiron could show Chuck an act of charity, one that was of seemingly no benefit to himself, it should help cement his trust. Obviously, it would be of no use to bribe Chuck directly, as he would appear to benefit directly from any such action. But Brrtklklk… Brrtklklk could provide nothing to Whitecrest. If Hiron gifted… something to Brrtklklk, Chuck should see it as a selfless act of goodwill.
And his response; ‘then I’ll build more’, it was meaningless… yet perfect. There were plenty of easily replaceable items that Whitecrest had in abundance. Several of the obsolete ships in his team’s fleet easily outclassed Brrtklklk’s vessel. Requisitioning one should not prove difficult.
Would it be worth it? Such an important question to consider. He really should have considered this before rushing ahead with his planning. As he mulled it over in his head, he realized he could not answer that question. There was no way to know how valuable Chuck would be to Whitecrest, any investment would be a gamble.
Chuck had shown blind trust in him. He had been willing to return to Gao with Hiron, to a place where he would have no power, no true means of control. The level of trust needed to allow himself into this position was staggering… If Chuck could put that level of trust into him, it was only fair that he should take that gamble.
He began to compose a message to his advisor, Brother Thalias. It would not be sent until the ships were within range of Gao’s FTL comms relay, but that should still give enough time for Thalias to prepare. After Hiron completed his message, he set it to transmit as soon as the signal was strong enough to do so.
Hiron sat down to rest. He softly chittered, amused at the situation he had gotten himself into. He was in an old worn out ship, moving faster then it had ever moved before due to a Hunter vessel pulling it along. He was returning to Gao weeks before he expected to, with a human in tow. On top of that he was now planning on freely giving away Whitecrest property that he no authority to touch. The coming meeting should prove most interesting.