A/N: Cross-posted from AO3! Hey, fellow Starbounders! Thanks for checking this out! Like most other game fanfics, this story is based on my personal gameplay, specifically when I found out not all of those baddies that NPCs hire you to get rid of are stupid. Really hope you enjoy this little ficlet. :)

"That's all I've got for now," Captain Persephone told the Glitch merchant, sliding the various weaponry across the top of the wooden crate over to his side. The merchant scanned each piece and counted a number of pixels appropriate of their worth from his register into a sack. He then gave it to her with a nod.

"Pleased. Thank you for your business," he buzzed. Persephone grinned and was about to continue deeper into the small Glitch village when a staticky sort of sigh halted her. She glanced at the merchant again. He had his head propped up on two hands, elbows slouched on top of the crate. The long feather in his floppy red hat had drooped over his face, partly obscuring an anxious expression.

"Something wrong?" she asked him.

The merchant glanced up at her. "Worried. It's just that business hasn't been as prosperous lately as it once was. Bitter. There's a rogue illegal arms-dealer buying out the market, stealing from proper merchants' stock and selling it as his own. In fact, he paid me a visit last night; I caught him pillaging my supply cart, and he knocked me over the head with one of my own rifles!"

"He's on this planet?" Persephone said with raised brows.

"Disgruntled. As of last night he was, most definitely; he might still be," the merchant grumbled. "Why, I'd give anything for the assurance that that scoundrel won't make trouble for me or anyone else ever again!" With that declaration, he peered closer at the Felin before him, taking in her lean, rugged form and eying with particular interest the long scabbard that hung at her belt. She followed his gaze and her brows raised even higher. They then made eye contact.

After a minute she said, slowly, "Would you happen to have any idea where he might be if still on this planet?"

The merchant beamed.

The sky was pink with dusk when Persephone reached the crest of a hill that overlooked the rogue's supposed hideout. She lowered herself onto her belly, glad of the tall wild grass that obscured her from view. The crumbling, roofless ruins of a stone structure, its purpose long forgotten, lay before her. She had passed through it earlier on her way to the village and had seen no sign of life besides a few roosting sparrows on the edges of the structure. She narrowed her eyes. Either he was a master of blending into the shadows and masking his scent, or he had arrived only shortly after she had left. Pride left her in belief of the latter scenario.

When the sun had dipped little more than halfway behind the horizon, she spotted him, ducking her head a bit lower. She watched as the rogue – "Shadowshot", as he was apparently called – calmly walked into view from around the back corner of the ruins, seemingly doing a sort of perimeter check and watching the darkening sky. As soon as he was within throwing distance, she got to her feet.

He immediately stopped short and stared at her, the whites around his eyes visible and shining in the dim moonlight.

For a while there was silence, stillness.

Until she curled her lips in a sharp-toothed mockery of a grin.

He sprinted back inside the ruins while she sprinted down the hill towards him, determination and years of training keeping her from losing her balance on the slope. Just as she reached the stretch of flat ground before the ruins, he emerged from within wielding a ferozium pistol in one hand and a familiar yellow pod in the other. He activated the pod, releasing a Voltip in a red flash, before discarding it in favor of another pistol. He took aim, his target clear before him.

Within seconds of releasing fire it became apparent that this would not be an easy battle. The rogue tried to keep his aim trained on the sporadic figure, reluctant awe on his features as Persephone would shoot into the sky, arching and twisting in the air, before landing expertly on her feet in all of a half second. Between leaps she zig-zagged towards him, closing the distance between them, a lightning bolt through the grass. She was rapidly gaining ground by repeating this method, his pet Voltip's electric attacks about as successful as his erratic bullets, and all too soon she was just within close-combat range. He grimaced and quickly threw a pistol down to unsheathe a long dagger, still firing at her.

She danced among the spray of bullets and in one swipe of her multicolored blade cleanly sliced his Voltip in half. A shower of sparks erupted from its electrical insides, briefly illuminating the fighters' faces.

Persephone easily dodged the intended pistol whip and nearly cut the rogue's hand clean off in disarming him of the gun. He slashed at her with his knife but it merely snagged at the fabric of her tunic; she caught his wrist and squeezed hard, digging claws into the thin skin. He gasped, the knife dropping from his hand as blood began to run down his arm. His other hand went for her throat but he was forced stumbling back when she rammed the crown of her head into his face.

He nearly tripped over a chunk of ruin, but managed to keep on his feet. The black bandana that was covering the lower half of his face had now slipped down to his neck, revealing the blood that was now pouring profusely from his broken nose. He resumed a fighting stance, although his hands were shaking slightly, a dazed look in his eyes.

Persephone could tell he knew he wouldn't win this.

When she stepped towards him he didn't back down, instead raising his fists in the trained position of the defensive. She almost smirked before ducking and swiping her leg across his, bringing him to the ground on his back. Just before she could drag him back up again, he'd caught her ankle between his legs and twisted to the side, slamming her into the dirt so quickly she'd barely been able to yelp. Then he was up on his feet, turned to run, but the effects of the concussion she'd given him had clearly begun to grab hold. He swayed, a hand to his head, and a groan escaped him.

At this point it wasn't fun anymore, merely a job to be done. Persephone stood, grabbed his shoulder, turned him to face her, and then socked him right in the mouth. This time when he fell, he didn't even attempt to move.

She sighed before pulling out her own pistol, aiming directly at the rogue's head. A second before pulling the trigger, he moved, but not to draw another weapon or try to get up.

He raised his hands, staring directly, pleadingly into her eyes, and rasped, "S-surrender! I surrender! Please, don't shoot!"

She couldn't help her jaw from dropping a bit. It was the first time a nuisance she'd been hired to eliminate waved the white flag, so to speak. Rogues especially were notorious for fighting till the bitter end, their egos too swelled to ever plead for mercy even when they came to the realization that they weren't going to survive the battle otherwise.

"P-put your – nngh - weapon away, please…I give up." The young human gingerly turned his head to the side just enough to spit out a mouthful of blood, his features twisted in pain.

Persephone gnawed at her lip, finding herself lowering her gun slightly. She began to rationalize – it wasn't as though he were in any condition to cause trouble anymore, at least not for several days, and the merchant never said he wanted the rogue killed, per se. Technically none of her employers ever did; she acted upon the heavy implication behind their civil words, the not-so-subtle bloodlust in their eyes. The types of people she was sent after were all scoundrels, murderers, and thieves, who greeted her with blades and bullets before they even knew her intentions. And they never, ever surrendered.

This man was different. She didn't need to kill him, and she wouldn't. She sheathed her gun, but kept her hand hovered above the holster, tense in anticipation of the rogue's next move.

Which apparently was to flash a weak, bloody smile right before passing out.

She smirked.

"Behind you!"

Captain Persephone whipped round, slashing at the bandit that had come too close to plunging a dagger between her shoulder blades. She threw a grateful nod at her protector. Sten had gone back to being a mere blur in the fray, moving back and forth from one enemy to the other, landing rapid-fire blows. In seconds he was the only one standing in the once imposing group of adversaries that had surrounded him.

There was just the lead bandit left before them now. He had his shaking gun trained on Persephone, eyes darting nervously between her and her first mate as Sten sauntered over to stand by her side.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Sten offered leisurely.

"Nah, I did it last time. He's all yours," Persephone replied, gaze never wavering from their target.

"Truly your magnanimity is among your best qualities, Captain." He gave her a crooked, teasing grin. It morphed into something much darker as he studied the bandit leader. "Now let's get creative!"

Almost immediately the bandit dropped to his knees, the gun on the ground beside him as he raised his hands. "No! I s-surrender, please!" he cried.

Sten frowned and glanced at his Captain, who was blinking in obvious surprise at their quarry. It'd been some time and several assignments since the last time she was in this situation, and she was nearly as startled as she was the first time it'd happened.

"Put away your weapons, I surrender!" the bandit implored them.

Persephone shook herself from her shock and began to sheath her saber, more sure of her actions now. Sten, however, didn't so much as twitch, weapons firmly in his grip and all too ready for use. She nudged him.

"At ease," she ordered pointedly. Sten gave her a quick look of disbelief before resuming his close watch on the quaking bandit.

"With all due respect, Captain," he said lowly, "no."

"No?"

"Yep. No."

"…Would you like to expand on that, Chief Officer?" Her tone was a warning.

"Gladly. I know it's absolute insanity on my part, but I just don't trust this thief. You know, 'cause he's a thief, who up until thirty seconds ago was ready to decorate the landscaping with your brains." He shrugged a shoulder. "And what better way to follow through with those lovely intentions than by begging us to unarm ourselves first."

The bandit interjected timidly, "Well, yes, but –"

"You, shut up," Persephone snapped at him before turning on Sten. "And you, have got some nerve. May I remind you that if I had shared that same suspicion when you were the one begging me to put away my weapon, you wouldn't be here – or anywhere, for that matter. I gave you a second chance, mister ex-illegal-arms-dealer, and now you're here telling me I shouldn't do the same for this guy?"

"I would've advised you not to trust illegal-arms-dealer me, either, if I were on your crew at that time."

"So you're telling me that if you weren't beaten within an inch of your life before surrendering, you would've tried something?"

"First of all, I was not beaten within an inch of my life."

Persephone cocked an eyebrow.

"…Within a few yards, maybe. And yes, there is a high possibility that I might've considered trying something, had my head not felt like it'd been filled with gasoline and then lit on fire. This guy, on the other hand, has only got a few little scrapes here and there. Perks of human shields, huh, buddy?" Sten said a bit louder to the bandit, gesturing to the bodies of the rest of the gang.

The bandit glanced away but gave a little shrug in agreement.

Persephone sighed. "Look, Sten. As much as I enjoy taking on these assignments and bringing these guys down, I'm not a killer. I mean – I am, but it's not something I take particular pleasure in, you know? And especially ever since I spared you, and brought you into the crew…ever since I started thanking all the stars in the universe every time I look at you that I didn't put a bullet in your head…I also started hoping so badly every time we got a new target that they would surrender, like you were smart enough to do." She looked at the bandit leader. "Like he was smart enough to do."

Sten stared at her.

"So please. Let me give him this chance." She put a hand on his and lowered it down to his side; he let her. With a reluctant purse of his lips, he sheathed the gun. She gave him a small smile before turning back to the reformed bandit.

"Alright, so here's how this is going to work. You can either swear against the criminal life forever and leave this planet for good, or I can offer you a position on our crew and you work for me, judgment-free. Thoughts?"

The bandit slowly got to his feet, letting his hands fall back to his sides. "You know, I kinda like your little boyfriend's idea."

"He's not my – what are you –?"

"Get down!"

Next thing she knew her face was pressed against the mushy alien dirt, the harsh sounds of gunfire splitting the air around them. A rough curse in her ear before the weight pressing on her was removed and Sten flicked a throwing knife at the traitorous bandit. Persephone leaped to her feet just in time to see the blade hit its fatal mark. The bandit fell.

Sten was coughing harshly, his hands on his knees as he fought for breath. Persephone rushed to check him for injury. She was utterly unable to control the trembles that made her hands unsteady, fear and fury and relief coursing through her. She came across the dents in Sten's armor where the bullets had hit and those emotions doubled.

"Are you alright, can you breathe?" she asked him, swiping his hair out of his down-turned face.

He nodded, still heaving between strained coughs. She knew it took a little bit to get the air back in the lungs after having it forced out of them. The armor she and her crew donned was tough, but it unfortunately didn't negate the pain of getting shot multiple times. She glared poisonously at the bandit's corpse; the filthy liar received a far quicker death than he deserved.

A tap on her arm drew her attention back to Sten, who then beckoned her closer. Persephone quickly obliged, leaning towards him to hear what he was trying to say.

"What is it, are you hurt elsewhere?" she asked with deep concern, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Between gasps for breath, Sten finally managed to rasp, "I told…you so…"

Persephone had zero qualms over smacking her now laughing ex-illegal-arms-dealer first mate.

A/N: So I think it's obvious I took some creative liberties with the mechanics of the game, but it just made for a better story that way. ;) Thank you so much for reading, and happy Starbounding!