The hanging lanterns illuminated the bar dimly, providing an atmosphere more suited to cowardly assassins than soldiers. I understood in part the allure of assassination, the tracking of the target, the excitement of pursuit. But to stab someone in the back and run, or poison his drink hours before he consumes it, such is a coward's battle tactics. No Sontaran I knew would stoop so low. Battle was done honorably, face to face with the enemy.
I lifted the mug with my three fingers, downing the last half of the drink. I set the mug on the bar counter with the sharp ring of metal on metal, then caught the bartender's eye and tapped the container. He walked over to refill it.
After he left I glanced around the dim room, scanning the variety of aliens at the counter and at the scattered tables. A total of three made eye contact, but broke it off almost immediately. No one wants to anger a Sontaran.
My name is Gard the Hunter. I am a Sontaran. I was born in a batch of millions of other clones, but now I fight alone. Well, almost alone. I am a bounty hunter; I hunt down criminals and return them to justice, and am well paid for my work.
Sudden motion to my left. I had my hand halfway over my shoulder to a blade before I recognized Westine. The young girl hopped over the stool beside me and landed sitting.
Her sneakiness unnerved me, her ability to creep within close proximity without my notice.
"He's in the back room," she declared cheerily. "He's got friends with him." Her knee-length brown hair, streaked with bright blue, shifted around her as she leaned onto the counter.
Having hair of such length seemed to me a severe tactical disadvantage, but she refused to let me shorten it with a sword. Her purple dress and soft purple shoes were marked with swirling black script, a style traditional of the Surinese people but not very well suited as armor.
I looked past her to a plain metal door set in the wall.
"How many are with him?" I asked.
"I don't know." She shrugged.
"This is vital battle information!" The bartender glanced at me warily. I lowered my voice. "Remember what I taught you. Notice everything. It is foolhardy to charge into battle unprepared. To do so may cost you your life."
Her mouth twisted as she thought. "Six."
"What, girl?"
"He's got six friends with him. Maybe seven."
I grunted. "Are they armed?"
"They've got guns."
I thought, then nodded my large head once. "I will go capture him."
"Can I come?" she asked, her bright eyes eager for action.
"No, child, you are not yet ready for battle." I inspected my Sontaran armor for defects one last time before battle. It was painted entirely black, the same color as the dual swords crossed on my back. "Order something nutritious to eat. I will return soon." I drew my pistol and checked it. Satisfied, I replaced it, took my hemispherical helmet from the counter, and set it over my head, completing the suit of armor.
The bartender eased forward and reached slowly under the counter, all the while watching me from the side of his vision.
"Do not be alarmed, sir," I told him. "I am only here to capture a wanted criminal. I will take precautions to ensure that the battle does not leave the back room. I will pay for any damage."
Turning, I strode toward the door leading to the room where the criminal ringleader Wraith the Terrible now relaxed with six or seven of his henchmen. The alien had set up a small base on the barren planet of Keth. I'd tracked him there two weeks ago, but he'd gone. Finally, I'd located him here.
Wraith the Terrible was wanted on at least four planets, which I knew specifically. I intended to capture him and return him to the planet paying the highest price. The diplomats could decide amongst themselves which people would pay him his due punishment, if there was any disagreement on that matter.
At the metal door I paused, reached over my head with both arms and drew my two black swords. Then I pushed the door open, marched into the room of startled aliens, and stated:
"My name is Gard the Hunter, Sontaran bounty hunter! I demand the immediate surrender of Wraith the Terrible and his forces!"
Wraith, a humanoid with grey skin and large, yellow reptilian eyes, barely moved from his reclined position behind one round metal table. Two henchmen sat around the same table, one of similar biology and one a larger alien with some sort of shell. They turned back to look at me, their table directly ahead.
Two tables flanked the door, one on each side of me, with two henchmen to my left and three to my right. Most appeared to be the same species as Wraith the Terrible, except for one with greenish skin. There were eight men total, and seven henchmen. Westine had estimated correctly. I felt a surge of pride but crushed it immediately. Pride could easily cloud one's judgment in battle, and no advantage should be so carelessly discarded.
Wraith the Terrible sat up in his chair and leaned forward onto the table. A small smile formed on his grey lips. "I think you place too much faith in yourself, Sontaran. There are many more of us than of you, although the weight difference between our sides is not too much."
I forced myself to ignore his cheap insult. I almost suggested he might change his mind when I smashed him into the wall, but checked myself. Besides, I needed him alive.
"Do you intend to best all of us with two swords?" Wraith looked thoroughly amused and his followers chuckled at the joke.
"Surrender or I will capture you by force!" I declared, taking a step forward and raising my blades.
Every henchman leaped to his feet and pointed a handheld laser gun at my head. I glanced from side to side to verify this fact.
Wraith the Terrible still leaned comfortably on the table. "Perhaps if you leave now," he said. "I'll let you live."
As the last word left his mouth I flung my swords to the sides, one at each side table like a javelin. I charged forward as soldiers shouted and dove for cover. Bursts of laser gunfire soared wild. I hit the two henchmen at the far table, knocking away a raised firearm. I threw the shelled alien back with a full-on punch, then grabbed the smaller man with both hands and swung him around, casting him through the air. He fell into three of his comrades.
Wraith drew a laser gun. I drew my own pistol and shot his from his grasp. I turned, stepped, and leaped onto the other side table. I came right back off the other side, with two simultaneous strikes knocking both henchmen there to the floor. Grasping my embedded black sword, I grunted as I pulled it from the wall. With two slices those two soldiers would never move again.
Laser sizzled past my face. The bigger alien stood near Wraith, firing on me. I sidestepped, simultaneously taking my own pistol and returning fire, aiming for his eyes. I hit one and a terrible noise screeched from him. He dropped his gun, clutching at his face.
Four on the other side of the room. My first thought was to throw a grenade from my belt, but such an act would be foolhardy in this small space.
"Taste grenade!" I yelled anyway, hurling my pistol at them.
They cried out and scrambled away from the table. By the time they looked for me again I was upon them, slashing and thrusting with my sword. They were dead within a few seconds. I walked around to Wraith and held my sword to his throat. His pistol lie nearby smoldering.
"Wraith the Terrible, I, Gard the Hunter, now place you under arrest for crimes committed within the Rhumos system. You will return with me to face trial for these actions."
Wraith the Terrible seethed, his eyes glowing gold, but he allowed he to escort him from the room. On the way out I retrieved my pistol and other black sword, both of which I sheathed.
I marched him across the bar, ignoring stares. I stopped our progression beside Westine. She paused from devouring an oddly-shaped sandwich to gaze at Wraith the Terrible and at me.
"Come along," I told her. I reached into a pouch on my belt and withdrew a slip of paper currency. "This is for cleaning up," I told the bartender, setting the bill on the table. "Count any extra toward your inconvenience. Thank you, sir."
I prodded Wraith and we left the bar. Westine hurried along behind me, still consuming her half-eaten sandwich.
"How did it go?" she questioned me as we walked along the street, all but abandoned at this hour of the planet's night. Moonlight was all that lit the way under the night sky.
"All is well. I shall have to clean my swords of the stains of battle, but I received no injuries. This way, Wraith," I used my sword to turn him onto a different street.
"You will not get away," he threatened. "My men will come for you and rescue me! You will wish you had never-"
"I grow tired of your words!" I barked. "Be silent!"
The night grew quiet. Our footsteps sounded on the street. I heard Westine swallow from behind.
Wraith looked over his shoulder. "I just hope that-"
I stepped forward.
Thunk. Thud.
I sheathed my second sword over my shoulder and bent down, picking up Wraith the Terrible's unconscious form.
"Are we almost there?" Westine moved forward and began to skip beside me, matching my steady pace.
"Yes. The ship is behind a building farther along this street. You must work on remembering where we park the ship, Westine. If I had needed some equipment from it, or if the battle had not gone favorably for me, you would need to find the way back to the ship by yourself."
She looked suddenly uneasy. I often noticed this emotion in her when I mentioned the possibility of me being compromised or killed in battle. I suspected she feared death.
"This way." I turned into an alleyway, still carrying Wraith.
Behind the building, on a section of grass, stood a thick tree stump taller than my height.
I stopped near the tree stump. "Unlock the door, girl."
Westine moved ahead of me, grasping a key attached by a ribbon around her neck. She felt along the tree's bark, then uttered a sound and ran around to the back of it.
"Very good, girl. You remembered how we landed." I nodded in approval.
She found the keyhole at a place close to eye-level, inserted the key and opened the door. I rounded the ship and entered after her.
The space was exponentially greater than one would guess from the outside. The light within the ship contrasted with the night's darkness, shining from various places about the room and reflecting off the sharp blue ceiling, walls, and floor.
"Shut the door, girl-" I started as the door whizzed shut.
Westine stood at the console in the middle of the room, grinning. Her hand rested on the sphere-topped lever that controlled the door.
"Very good, girl." I smiled. "Now let us bind this man here. Then I will set a course for Rhumon Prime."
"I'll get some rope!" Westine ran through a door on the far side of the console room.
I carried Wraith the Terrible over to a side wall with multiple solid loops set into it. I lowered him to the floor and he flopped down onto it like a lifeless doll.
Westine returned with a coiled rope. I bound the criminal's hands together, then to one of the loops in the wall. I quickly frisked him, removing a hidden knife from a strap near his shoulder. Satisfied that he was unarmed, I stood. Taking off my black helmet, I set it by the wall near the door and then moved to the console.
"Setting course for Rhumon Prime," I stated, although no one answered. I hadn't expected anyone to. I pushed a few buttons and flipped two switches.
The engine engaged. Vwooorrp. Vwooorrp. Vwooorrp.
The cylinder in the center of the console rose and fell and pulsed purple light, all in rhythm with the sound of the engine. I watched some dials.
"Dematerialisation complete!" I declared.
The ship seemed so quiet. Westine hummed a tune to herself from the other side of the console, a bit of sandwich in one hand, but compared to a Sontaran ship the noise was negligible. No commander marched around barking orders and making sure everything worked together efficiently. No low speech from the soldiers on the bridge as they communicated to ensure correct flight. No constant footsteps as warriors moved here and there, on duty or relaxing in preparation for battle.
Here, in my own ship, I could hear my every inhale, my every exhale. I could hear the light tapping of Westine's foot against the floor in rhythm to her quiet humming. The engine brought little noise to the ship, a soft, constant sound that was easy to forget completely.
I would never hear that cacophony again, except in my memories. I would never again set foot on a Sontaran ship headed for glorious battle. I never could.
I sighed, and it sounded loud to my ears.
"What's the matter, Gard?" Westine perked up and eyed me, her eyes bright and questioning.
For a moment I almost told her, just to tell someone. But it would only lie heavy on her heart. No, the burden was mine to bear, at least for now.
"Don't worry yourself, girl," I told her, forcing a smile.
My name is Gard the Hunter. I am a Sontaran and a bounty hunter; I hunt down criminals and return them to justice, and am well paid for my work. I was born in a batch of millions of other clones, but now I fight alone.
I looked across the console to Westine, and she smiled back.
Well, almost alone.