In the year 2525, humanity has spread across the stars. The Federated Union of Planets vies with the Terran Empire for power, but beyond the control of these duelling titans lies a smattering of lawless star systems. To keep order, these systems employ Stalkers, wandering bounty hunters who stand between the innocent and the forces of evil.
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Varni’s starship shuddered as it passed through the lower stratosphere of Hoolaan VII. Turbulence. She gripped the control stick tighter and eased her angle of descent. After a brief interlude, the shaking ceased as the auto-stabilisers activated.
Her ship punched through the carpet of white cloud, and the main spaceport of the planet appeared before her. Golden light reflected from steel and glass as ships of varying sizes flitted about like birds in an aviary.
The console chirped. Varni’s eyes flicked to see a message from the Spaceport Authority appear upon the screen. A dock had been allocated to her on level fourteen. Varni exhaled in relief. It seemed her forged identification had passed the Spaceport Authority’s inspection. The thought occurred to her that it might have been a trick, that they might have realised her credentials were false and were luring her into a trap. But if they suspected the true purpose of their visit, they would have blown her to pieces before she’d ever entered the exosphere.
Varni guided her starship along the path her navigation system had charted for her, ducking under large pleasure cruisers and weaving between sleek corvettes. The face of the Spaceport loomed before her, resembling a beehive. She engaged the forward thrusters to slow her momentum as she eased her ship into dock twelve, level fourteen. The sturdy landing gear groaned as it took the weight of the ship, bending under the strain.
Varni switched off the engine. She disengaged her seat from the cockpit, waited for it to reel back, then pushed herself free of it. She manoeuvred through the tight interior of her ship, retrieving her tool belt from a storage cabinet. It looked no different to a belt a labourer or mechanic might use, constructed of a lightweight carbide alloy. In one lead-lined pouch, she had sequestered her blaster. Varni opened the pouch and inspected her blaster, checking it was not empty.
She wound the belt around her waist, clipped the forged keycard to it, then pushed the button to open the ship’s entrance. Pressurised air hissed as the ramp lowered and struck the floor of the dock with a metallic clang.
Varni descended, taking her first breath of fresh air since she’d left Novum Novum Eboracum. She almost wished she hadn’t. The spaceport of Hoolaan VII tasted like burnt ozone, engine oil and stale tobacco. Everything she’d read had described the planet as little more than an industrial hellhole, a machine where raw materials became cheap goods.
A drone approached her as her ship’s ramp rose. Both sides of its head bore the insignia of the planet. It came to a stop before her, hovering in place.
“Greetings and welcome to Hoolaan VII,” the drone said. “May I scan your identification?”
Varni retrieved the forged keycard from her belt and held it out. A red laser scanned the card. The drone remained silent, and Varni began to wonder if her cover had been broken. A bead of sweat trailed down the back of her neck as her free hand crept toward where her blaster was hidden.
Then the drone chirped. “Everything is in order. Enjoy your time upon Hoolaan VII, Miss Neekee.”
The drone flew off toward its next task. Varni clipped the keycard back to her belt. She sent a mental thanks to her lucky stars. Keene had worked his magic yet again. Worth every one of the credits she’d paid him.
She made her way through the labyrinth of the spaceport, following signs labelled in both Terran Standard and Unilan. The spaceport opened onto the main settlement, a confusing maze of buildings stacked atop buildings. Varni wove through the crowds, stopping once to ask directions to her destination. In a little less than a Standard Hour, she found herself standing before a colossal building marked by a neon sign which read Hoolaan Cantina. Varni resisted the urge to touch her blaster and entered the cantina.
Inside smelled just as terrible as outside, if not worse. Varni wrinkled her nose at the scent of stale tobacco, ethanol and sweat, offset by the bitter tang of orange which only served to accentuate the foul odours, rather than mask them. Harbrulean fusion wafted from speakers set into the walls and ceilings, fighting against the cacophony emitted by the cantina patrons.
Varni wormed through the crowd, doing her best to remain inconspicuous. The fear someone might recognise her presented itself, and she kept one hand close to the pouch which held her blaster.
She found her target on the third level, surrounded by a half dozen sycophantic androids. As he finished his anecdote the androids laughed, the way they’d been programmed to.
Varni took a moment to observe the man, noting how little he resembled his holograph. Thick jowls which shook with each laugh, a pair of recessed, beady eyes, a glistening sheen of sweat upon his protruding forehead. There was, Varni thought, a vague porcine resemblance about him. She recalled tales of a biotech corporation which had, decades prior, engaged in genetic alteration. Merging human DNA with that of animals in an attempt to create a more efficient being. The program had been scrapped, and most of the experiments destroyed, but she wondered if her target had been one of those who’d managed to survive, fleeing into the wider universe.
The fat man’s eyes flickered to Varni, and she knew she could not afford to tarry any longer. She opened the pouch which held her blaster as she strode forth, her fingers curling around its handle.
“Identify yourself,” said the fat man as Varni reached his table.
She drew her blaster and aimed at his enlarged chest. “There’s an eighty thousand credit bounty upon your head, Rikk. One I intend to collect.”
“Oh. A Stalker,” said the Porcine man. “I wondered when one of you would show up.”
“It makes no difference to me whether I bring you in alive or dead. The reward is the same either way. Put your hands up and come with me. You can spend the rest of your life in a Union prison.”
A smile spread across the fat man’s porcine features. “No, child.”
At his words, the androids stood. Their arms shifted as machinery moved, revealing blasters which had been sheathed within. As one they turned, training their blasters on Varni.
The fat man smirked. “It is you whose life is over, Stalker.”