I'm on a ship, and there are warning sirens going off. Rushing over to some sort of stasis chamber I press in a code and the bottom of the floor opens up and it sinks in. I do this to four other ones before rushing to one more. Inside I can see the blurry face of someone, they aren't fully asleep yet. They look up at me, and though it's hard to see, I can feel their fear like it's mine.

In my mind I get visions of me from the other side of the glass. How strange. With it comes a nervous trust. My head nods and I pat the glass, sending back an image of a person that I can't seem to put a face to, but the feelings I send with it are like conviction. We will meet again. Promises. I punch in the code, and the chamber sinks into the ground.

Running across the room I go to an empty one. I put in a code and a timer starts counting down. I have one minute to be inside. The blaring siren's become muted as I climb in, pressing different codes into the inside console. Doors closing over me, I feel my own chamber begin to lower. The last thing I remember, putting the breathing tube into my mouth, is the same thought over and over. My vision goes black, there is no noise, I fall into stasis.

I will find them, even if it takes forever.

I awake in a cold sweat, body and sheets soaked. Frowning, I try to remember the strange dream. The odd feeling of needing to search for someone. My mind brings forward the image of someone inside a stasis chamber that I can't see. I'm only able to see it for a few seconds before my mind lets it slip, and I can't remember it anymore. All that's left behind is that strange longing feeling, but it too dissipates after a few moments.

Shaking my head, wiping my face, I throw my legs over the side of my bed. I try one last time to bring forth the images from my dream, but all that's left is the feeling that it was so real. Sighing, I stand from the bed and walk over to the window. Pressing my fingers against it, I swipe and the black out screen disappears, letting the muted sunlight in.

The city of Helvatic, on the planet Bastarien. The permanently clouded, stormy skies barely let any of the burning star's light through, leaving the city in a twilight for most of its day. This city is a fucking killer. I've been stationed here for the last four years, and it's been hell. Hunting down criminals in a city of criminals is not what I was wanting when I asked for a way off my last planet.

I suppose criminals is a very loose term that doesn't always fit right with the people I hunt down. I'm a bounty hunter. Sometimes that means going after actual criminals, and sometimes I just get paid very well for hunting down a rich person's runaway kid. You'd be surprised how often those kinds of gigs come through. I'd rather be hunting down a murderer than some annoying rich prick.

The city, even in the nicest parts, is just one giant slum. It's filled with fighting pits, underground mod markets, and entertainment galore. Everything you could ever want can be found here. From the mods that are illegal and invasive, to all amount of drugs and sexual pleasure. In a galaxy of hundreds of alien races, this is where you go to live out your fantasies. I hate it here.

Listen, it's not that I don't think people should be able to do what they want. I just so happen to have to hunt down some really fucked up people, and it really makes you not able to enjoy the things you normally would with how some of the people in this city will twist it into something unnatural and weird. I once had to hunt down a woman, who when I arrived, was letting a sentient plant do things to her I never want to imagine again. I'll never look at a pumpkin the same way. I used to love pumpkin pie.

My ear starts to ring and I press under my ear to answer the call. "Yes."

"Jungkook. We've got a new contract for you."

Sigh. "How much."

"Ten million credits per live capture."

My eyes widen, heart racing at the amount of money. I could finally take a fucking break, and get a decent clone or two. "Per capture? How many?"

"The client says there are anywhere between five and seven."

"Seventy million."

She laughs. "I'm assuming you're taking it?"

My eyes narrow. "It wasn't offered to Yarrow?" He was their 'best'.

"They need these ones alive, no exception."

That's why I'm being offered it. He wasn't well known for his patience with targets. "I'll be there in an hour."

The line goes dead and I breathe in deeply. That amount of money could set me for a few lifetimes. I could stop doing this fucking job. I'm good at it, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it. It kind of wears you down, always dealing with shitty people.

Heading off toward the bathroom, I jump in the shower, daydreams of a new life in my mind. When I get out I stare in the mirror, shaking my head, still feeling like I'm imagining all this. I run my hands through my hair, looking over my tattoos that hide some of the modifications I have. Running a finger down a vein on my forearm, my vision goes infrared for a moment before I swipe it away. Sometimes you have to check the eye mods, they can be a bit finicky, no matter how legit they are.

Moving through my apartment after I'm clothed, I pick up my different weapons. Guns, knives, and different canisters with all kinds of gasses get put away into secret compartments. The only visible one is the blaster on my hip. It's basic. You don't want people to know what you've got, or they'll plan for it, but you also don't want people thinking you aren't prepared to fight. The last thing I grab are a pair of black sunglasses. These help with tracking. The eye mods for this sort of thing just doesn't suit my fancy, so I have a set of glasses that do the same things. Too many stories of fellow hunters losing their own eyes and having to pay for new ones, which is insanely expensive. The downside to the glasses is that they're easy to lose in a fight.

Leaving my apartment, I lock the door behind me with a wave of my hand over a sensor. I turn and smile as an elderly hobbles over to me, having been watching from her door. "Miss Janice, how are the faeries today?" Faeries are what the natives call the winged cats that habitat this planet.

Her thick goggles that make her eyes look huge are slightly fogged over are perched precariously on her tiny nose. Her toothless smile falls and she rolls her eyes, placing liver spotted hands on her hips. "Those fuckers ate one of my birds again. I'm off to buy more bullets. I'm not as good a shot as I used to be."

Chuckling, I pat her on the shoulder. "I think you should keep trying. You'll get them eventually."

"Thanks dear." She hobbles off towards the elevator and I head in the opposite direction, towards the stairs.

When I reach the top I head off toward the roost, the place where hover vehicles are stored. Finding mine, I climb in, use an eye scan to activate it, and head off into the sky. I put in the location of my work and the car's system takes over, driving for me. Pulling up my messages on the car's main screen, I'm unsurprised to find it empty. I don't have many friends. The colleagues I might get drinks with sometimes don't really count as friends, do they?

Eventually the vehicle parks itself in a roost on a small building. Well, small compared to the rest of the city. I exit the vehicle and head off into the dimly lit corridors. Passing by people that pretend I exist, me acting the same, I head toward the office of the woman from the phone.

Seram is leaning back in her chair, smiling. She's happy because she'll get a cut of my contract. "My darling Jungkook."

I roll my eyes, smiling as I sit in the chair across from her. "Let's see it."

Nodding, she turns a holographic screen around and on the screen is the contract. There are multiple copies in other languages, some I know and others I don't. "Unfortunately, this client is choosing to stay anonymous. Which normally we would be fine with, but with this amount of money, it makes me nervous. So I've put in a clause, and he's paid up a solid mil to start the contract. Six hundred will be wired to you in a few hours."

That's still a lot of money, so I just nod. "Are there pictures for who I'm hunting down?"

She nods. Swiping on the screen, seven pictures pop up. Well, two pictures and five sketches. "The first two are those that he got photographic evidence of. Two men by the names of V and Namjoon. Apparently these are monicers and not their actual names."

The faces make my brain itch. The smile of the older looking figure, barely looking in his thirties. There's something more familiar about the thinner, slightly younger looking man. The way his face seems severe, serious. His curly hair slightly covers his eyes. Why do these two seem familiar? The photos are of them together, at some kind of space station leaving a commercial ship. It might be Helvatic, but I can't really tell.

The other sketches are poorly done. The names of two are there; Jin, and Hoseok. Strange names. The last three don't have names, and the sketches are of basic human looking faces. "These other ones don't give much to go off of. Not even a name?"

She shakes her head, seeming equally annoyed. "Apparently, the client is under the impression that the first two will be able to lead you to the others. Either by tracking and following them or by other means." She means torture. That's usually the last thing on my list.

"Do we have a recent location?"

Another swipe and the front image of a nightclub pops up. "They've been seen at The Gig multiple nights in the last couple weeks according to him."

I frown. "The client has figured all this out? Why go through us? It seems he's got his own people."

Sighing deeply, she purses her lips. "They say these people are incredibly dangerous. I don't know their reasoning, but neither of us is gonna turn down this money."

Barking out a laugh, I motion toward the screen. "I'll sign. Is there a timeframe?"

She pulls up the multiple contracts and I begin the retinal scan for each. "No, so take your time and do this the way you're good at. Time for you to make some friends."

Smiling, I finish the last one in human english. "Let's hope they lead me to their friends quickly. I'd like to retire at the end of the year."

An eye roll from her. "I think you'll miss us."

Chuckling, I rise from the chair. "Seram, I won't even miss you."

Smiling, she rises as well and pulls out a small slip of paper, signing it. "Take whatever you need from Svenner."

Surprised, I take the slip. "Thank you." I pause a moment. "Yarrow will be mad that you gave me this contract."

"Only you and I know. Let's keep it that way. This is too much money for a shit head like him to fuck it up over petty jealousy." Her eyes harden, and I just give a curt nod.

"I'll keep you updated." I head out the door and head down toward the basement.

Svenner is an android with four arms and what looks like an archaic viewing device on his head, like a big box with a glass screen where images appear. The image of a smiley face pops up on the screen and his static voice comes through some speakers I don't see. "Kook. A new contract today?"

Though not a friend, I do enjoy this android's company. He's funny in the way he gets confused over the way we fleshed beings act sometimes. "Svenner, I need a new communication card and I'd like to upgrade what I got." I hold out the slip and the smiley face turns wide eyed.

"Full access. You must be making Seram a lot of money with this one."

I shrug. "I just want to upgrade what I got, don't need anything fancy."

Dipping his big box head, he moves off as I pile my guns and other items on the table. He comes back with a couple new guns, cannisters, a thick armband that is a retractable blade, and some other small things to hide on my body. "Are you sure you don't want any new mods?" His screen goes to an excited face and one of his hands gets switched out with a saw blade.

"Absolutely not. Thank you, Svenner." He dips his head once again, and I leave the room. That android would happily cut up anyone willing just to experiment with his mods. I let him do my infrared mod and when I woke I couldn't see for a month. Never again.

Leaving the building like a ghost, I dip back into my car. As I leave the roost I pull up the pictures of the two men again. Once again that strange feeling of familiarity rises slightly. The one called V keeps drawing my eyes. I mean, he is quite handsome even though he doesn't exactly look friendly. Biting my lip, I swipe the pictures aside and pull up the location of the nightclub. It's in the blue district, which is a positive. That's all party there. Drugs, sex, and all kinds of pleasure. It's a relatively safe place.

I return home, spending the day going over the contract and rereading the descriptions. There's nothing here saying why I'm hunting them down. Usually when someone wants someone alive it's because of debt or business. There would be an item description if they stole something, so it's not theft. With how much this client is offering I doubt it's about debt. I'm kind of at a loss. I'm sure it'll come clear when I meet them. You can usually pick up what a target has done just by speaking with them for a bit.

Waiting until midnight, I put on my clubbing outfit. It's basically just nicer looking body armor. Not many people go out in this city without some kind of protection. Whether it is a blaster or body armor. Some people have crazy mods that make their body their weapon. Fixing up my hair, flexing a bit, I try to hype myself up. I've got to play the part or a clubber. Make friends and flirt, that's the easy way in.

Calling a taxi, I head toward the club. The ride takes a half hour to get across the city to the blue district. The sound of chaos rises into the air from the hundreds of buildings blaring music. When the door opens, there's a soft drone of thousands of people talking as I merge into the crowded street, heading for the fluorescent sign of The Gig.

All kinds of different beings flood around me. The lizard-like Lebans, mucus covered blobs called Bevinar. The horned, almost human looking Shinelings, the glowing of their gazelle-like horns brightening the streets. A dozen other species blend here, all looking for their own taste of pleasure. A clawed hand reaches out for my arm as a tall fully furred female Grindeer smiles with pointed teeth. I shake my head with a smile, and dip inside the club.

The place is packed. This is one of the more normal clubs. There's a live band of Lebans playing on a platform hung from the center of the ceiling. The strobe lights barely give you enough light to see the faces of people in the large open space. It's one huge room, with a bar in every corner and a large circular bar just under the band. This is definitely a club for dance, as the only places to sit are the few stools that are at the bars.

Heading to the center bar, expertly making my way through the crowded space, I lean against an open part of the bar. A beautiful Shineling steps forward, smiling with her goat like eyes looking me over. "Hey gorgeous, what can I get for you?"

I slide my card over, underneath is a printed out picture of the two targets. "I need info and just a glass of normal whiskey please."

Eyes relaxing, she slides the card and picture off the table and turns her back to the rest of the room. I watch as she expertly makes a drink, taking her time to see the picture, without other people seeing it. When she returns to me with it, she slides it over with the drink. She also pushes a flat screen over to me, showing the option for a tip. I put in a decent amount, having received that six hundred grand.

Looking happy at the tip I leave, she leans forward. She reaches out a hand and trails a finger along my arm. Pretending to flirt back, I smile and lean forward. Her voice is almost hard to hear as she whispers. "They have been here maybe once or twice a week for the past few weeks. They've been here for the last two though. They usually don't come consecutively."

I laugh, and lean forward more, grabbing her hand. "What do they do when they're here?"

She responds with a playful slap on my shoulder. "They drink and dance, but they do seem to be looking for someone. I see them always on the lookout for someone. Their eyes are always roaming."

"Have they ever asked questions?"

She leans back, biting her lips in a seductive way, pulling her hand away and shaking her head. "Another time, darling." Getting the hint that that is all she knows, I wink and raise the drink to her.

I roam the room for over an hour, speaking to people and dancing, when I finally get a glimpse of short curly black hair. He's more handsome in person. The man named V is at a corner bar, sitting on a stool and drinking a fresh drink as he scans the crowd. There's no sign of the other man, Namjoon. I keep dancing, slowly making my way over to that corner, and as if looking for me, our eyes connect and he smiles.

The feeling of familiarity is stronger, and I narrow my eyes a bit, brow furrowing. He frowns back at me, but it's playful. So flirting instead of friends. At least he's pretty. I smile at him and he motions his hand toward an open chair, which is only open after he whispers in the person's ear.

Relaxing into my body, making sure my body language doesn't give anything away, I start moving toward him. I was told they were dangerous, and in my line of work, dangerous means smart. A raging Grindeer is not as scary as an intelligent human who isn't afraid to play dirty. When I reach the chair, I slide onto it, putting my cup on the table.

"Can I get a refill of whiskey, and whatever this man is drinking."

His eyes shine, and I take this time to look him over. V isn't wearing any armor or showing any signs of having weapons. He's wearing a skin tight black sleeveless shirt, arms bare and pale in this light. Similarly, his pants are just as tight and when my eyes travel back up he's giving me a slightly confused smirk. "Like what you see?" His voice is just loud enough for me to hear.

I laugh, taking the drink that is set beside me. "I will admit, you look amazing in these pants."

Picking up his own drink, he takes a sip. His eyes are shifting around the room, seeming to either be looking for someone, or keeping watch. "You haven't been here before. Why did you take so long to come find us?"

My eyes widen a bit, but I catch myself and fix a smile on my face. "Well, I needed to get the courage first." I must not have been as good at hiding my looks as I normally am.

This makes him laugh, and he looks back at me. "Right. Since when do you feel nervous about anything?"

I frown at him, taken aback. Wait, does he know me? I've never met this person before. My stomach twists. Shit. Has my cover already been blown? But how would they know anything about me if I was just hired today?

He cocks his head at me, a confused look taking over his smile. "What's with the look?"

I tentatively relax my face. "Do we know each other?"

Chuckling, he shakes his head. "Why are you being like this? Namjoon will be here soon and we can continue on." He looks me over. "You got tattoos. How old is this body?"

Now my face is openly confused. "How do we know each other?"

His smile starts to drop as he looks into my eyes. They start to turn sad, and he leans forward looking even more intensely. "You don't know who I am? I can't read you."

My mouth drops open softly and I wrack my brain, trying to see if I can find any memory of this person. This situation is so strange, and I'm starting to feel uncomfortable by how close his face is. The familiarity of me in his eyes makes my stomach curl just a little bit.

It gets stranger as the tall man named Namjoon appears between us. His smile is genuine and seems almost like relief. "Eighty-seven, you've found us. Took you long enough, we've been sending out signals for weeks and you never returned them."

My face contorts more as the confusion makes me unable to think. V lays a hand on Namjoons arm, face somber but relaxed. "He doesn't know who we are, that's why we can barely feel him."

The elder sighs heavily, leaning down and lying what seems intended to be a comforting hand on my shoulder. He leans down, staring intently into my eyes as if he can find something there. "I was afraid this would happen to one of us. That's okay though, we can figure out what's blocking them and clear that up."

Finally shaking myself free of my confusion, I push off his hand. "Who the fuck are you guys and why are you acting like you know me?"

Sighing deeply, the elder gives V a calm look. "It's very possible, with billions of humans and possible genes, he just looks like eighty-seven. What do you go by?" He turns back to me.

I debate telling them my real name. Who is eighty-seven? He might be one of the two people without a name or picture. The thought of a doppelganger also doesn't bode well for my line of work. "Jungkook."

Nodding, he bows to me. "I want to apologize for the odd questions, you just look a lot like a friend of ours. Can I ask you, how old is your body?"

Frowning, I shake my head. "It's my first body, I was born in it."

V scoffs. "So it could be him, we're just fucking screwed."

Namjoon nods. "He could have gotten lost and his soul found its way into a maternity ward."

Maternity ward is another name for a place where people who can't have children go to either take on a cloned child or, for those with money and separate species, to get a specially made child through gene splicing and cloning.

My mind feels like it's going to explode and I try to remember what I was even doing here. Right, the contract. After a second a terrible idea comes into my mind. I need to get all seven of these people, and these two seem to think they might know me. If I play along in whatever way I can, they could lead me to the others. Fuck. At least the money will be worth it.

"I was adopted, but I didn't come from a maternity ward as far as I know." All true. Just like the old fashion way, I was left on a doorstep and my mother took me in. "I was left as a baby on a doorstep."

V snorts. "So you still could've, you just don't know."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Okay, then how exactly do I look like your friend if I came from a maternity ward? It's not like they had his DNA right?"

Namjoon is looking me in the eye, arms crossed. I can't read his facial expression, but I can tell his mind is racing through something. "I don't want to pluck you from your life, but I can't leave you behind knowing you could be him. Our souls are strong, they affect the body we're in."

V stands, not looking at me. "We should stop talking about this. His loyalties don't lie with us."

Eyebrows furrowed, the elder bites his lip, thinking. "Well, we can continue searching for the others and come back here for him later."

The other nods. "I don't want to waste anymore time here." He gives me a sad look and suddenly an image of a blurred face through a stasis chamber pops into my mind.

I stand, grabbing his arm, imploring. "I have dreams." The contract is still there in my mind, but suddenly my own interests come to the surface.

Moving forward to stand beside him, Namjoon cocks his head at me. "What kind of dreams?"

Letting go of his arm, I look around, though no one seems to be noticing. "I'm on a ship, punching in codes to stasis chambers. There's seven, including my own. There are sirens going off and I feel panicked that I must find them."

They both seem to relax, V looking to his elder who gives me a warm smile. "So it is you."

My heart races, because I believe this person. There's something about him that makes me trust that what he says is his truth. I'm good at picking out lies, and so far they've both seemed truthful. "That's the only thing I've got. I didn't see any faces in the dream."

He nods. "That's okay. Now I must ask you, will you come with us? We won't force you, but you don't really understand what it means for you to be with us. We're trying to get our family back together, and though it sounds strange, you might be a part of that."

I take a moment to think, to gather all the info my brain is swirling around. There's seven of them, seven in my dream, seven in the contract. If what they're saying is true, I'm one of the nameless ones. I might be hunting myself down without realizing it. All that money could make me a new life, but this isn't the first story in the universe of someone figuring out they weren't who they thought they were. Fuck. Play both fields. Getting information will help me and the contract, and if eventually I need to betray them or the client to save myself, I'll do what I must.

Family? My mind reels back to that word. "Fine. I'll come with you." This is going to be such a mess.

V's eyes narrow. "That easy, huh?"

Why's he suddenly so hostile? "There's something here that includes me in some way. I want to know what it is. If my memories have been fucked with, even if you're wrong, I have a right to know."

Resting a hand on his shoulder, Namjoon nods. "We'll have to learn new things about each other, and get your memories back somehow. I'm sure they're in there somewhere."

I stare back at V, more in a confused way at how his easy going demeanor has turned sour. "What is your problem?"

He just shakes his head, turning to his elder. "Let's get out of here. We've already wasted so much time." V turns back to me. "Stay close, and keep your mouth shut."

The punk has already turned away before I can even make a face, and he starts leading us through the crowd. This isn't the worst thing I've done for information. One time I traveled on a pirate ship for two months just to figure out where an item was. In this job you learn to meld your personality with the people you're hunting. This time though, besides leaving out why I found them, I might need to be more honest. My life, or at least the person who looks like me is intertwined with them even before the contract, and self preservation is far more important to me than money.

I try to tampen down the noxious anxiety rising in my stomach.