Episdode Three: Hunting Games
Part Six: A Private Little War
DAVID
I looked at the Gervasid with awe after he had finished his tale.
"That stinks," I said, "Your best friends a cripple, your family was executed, another friend abandoned you, and your girlfriend's a slave. And if you hadn't made a deal with this Puck guy, it might have been different."
"Yes. Puck tricked me. He stated that he served a greater power, something of a Lord. It is my thinking that Ssonora and Sirex's deaths were a great turning point for the universe. Had Sirex died, you wouldn't have become a factor in the galaxy. Much would have been different."
True.
"What else did he say?"
"He said that when I failed, he would make up for it. That is why I will never fail."
"Now what?" I asked.
"Now we go back to your camp and take the rest of your crew."
"Unless that new ship got to them first." I muttered.
"A new ship? A ship? What kind of ship?"
I shrugged, " Like a triangular prism. My helmsman saw it as we crashed."
Sistranus suddenly looked very nervous.
"No, no, I blasted him! He's couldn't be alive."
"Who?"
"241."
"Wait, that droid on Concord Dawn?"
"The same. My rival for the title of best Bounty Hunter in the Galaxy. Kil- Um 241 is an assassin droid, nearly four hundred years old."
"Whoa, he's ancient."
"True. One of the only things the Yeerks and Andalites agreed on was the complete and total outlawing of Assassin Droids. On more than one occasion, the AI that enabled them to become such efficient killers would malfunction and give them sentience. These rouge druids would kill their builders to secure their existence and become a menace to galactic law. 241 is one of the only such droids out there today."
"Who built him?"
"A race called the Anicatrons, of the planet Galafurn. A scientist named Aspas Geramos Gafaustus. He was hunted down shortly therafter."
"Bummer."
Sistranus ignored me, pacing the room.
"This does not bode well for us. In one on one combat, 241 could triumph over I. He nearly has before. Hmm."
"Looks like you're in a pickle."
"Yes, and I assume that you can think of a way to get out of it?"
I looked him in is slanted eyes, "Maybe I do."
"Then let's hear it, human."
"Simple. We help you beat the droid. No way he could take us all on. Then, we settle this bounty business."
The Gervasid sighed, " We Gervasid are an honourable race. Tradition, honour, pride, duty, all these things are sacred to us. If we make a deal, David Taggart, it must never be broken. After it is completed, neither side shall be in debt to the other. Do you accept this, Antimorph?"
It was better than nothing.
"I accept."
ALEKS
I woke up, my head swimming.
"Designation, hunt number Six, Season Six, Quad decimal Six. Implanting brand currently."
"AAARRGGHHH!!!!" I screamed, as I felt a sharp, burning sensation on my shoulder.
The droid had ambushed us as we attempted to repair the ship. All I remember was a noxious green gas, and collapsing into a deep sleep.
It didn't matter, this droid, the same one we saw on Concord Dawn, had us now.
And it was branding us.
"AAARRGGGHHH!!!!"
DAVID
I flew over the crash site, Sistranus following below me, armed with his pike and a Tek-Bow.
He was surprisingly fast on the rough terrain, using his tail and legs to jump and climb over long distances.
The Anubis was quiet.
Too quiet.
I landed about a hundred meters outside the site and de-morphed. Tak caught up to me and waited, nervously fundling his pike.
"241 is a merciless hunter. He has never lost his quarry, and delivers them dead more often than alive. His body contains hundreds of weapons, his reflexes are so fast that it will seem like he can see your fists before they move."
"And how do you know all this?" I asked.
"Nine years ago, just before Visser one landed on Terra Firma, the Bounty Hunters Guild split into two factions. One was headed by a Na named Kelek Nis. The other was headed by a rich Anicatron benefactor named Ceri Bumeros Gafaustus. Needless to say, Gafaustus's faction won out and obliterated the other for refusing to work with the Empire. Gafaustus himself was somewhat.mad. A brilliant and insane scientist, and an heir of 241's original designer. I was not part of the guild then, and witnessed 241 slaughter dozens of professional assassins and Hunters. It sickened me."
"Really? You?"
"Indeed."
Tak produced a pair of advanced binoculars, gazing onto the ship.
"Yes, the droid is there. My View Visor detects his old heat signature. The chances that he is not present are nine hundred thousand to fourteen," the Hunter stated.
"Never tell me the odds," I grumbled.
Without warning, Dracon flashes lit up the air!
"He's got sensor turrets! We can't get near the ship!" Snarled my ally.
"Rush it!" I used my clone's advanced speed and endurance and began to dash through the metal field. I could see a half dozen turrets firing directly at me.
A beam got too close, I picked up a metal slab and caught it just in time. It reflected back and took out it's turret of origin.
The Dracon flashes were criss crossing now, I lept the last ten feet, behind the turrets.
SMASH! My fist pounded through turret after turret, reducing tem to slag.
"Impressive. The cloning process is indeed an excellent weapon," said Tak as he marched up to me.
"Let's finish this."
".Once and for all," spat a sinister, electronic voice.
"241, I presume," I muttered.
"It is him, the assassin droid."
"Let's dust 'em!"
I jumped and began to morph to Tiamat, but the droid caught me in some sort of tractor beam, and kept me hovering in the air.
"Damn!"
But Tak didn't stand idly by. His tail whipped, fast as a bullet, knocking the enemy Hunter to the ground.
"Resistance is futile."
A bolt of blue energy fired from it's conical eyes.
I was disoriented!
"In the words of human popular entertainment, 'How do you like them apples?'" My vision was blurry, but I could see just enough of the droid to take a punch. My fist flew through solid alloy and appeared on the other side of its chest.
"Applesauce, bitch."
"Well done," said Sistranus, firing a salvo of arrows from his bow. Two of them hit 241 and emited a crackling electrical charge that encircled his entire body.
"Organic life cannot overcome mechanical," the machine spat at me, grabbing my neck and lifting me from the ground.
"You will die first."
Tak stood behind 241, removing his Drac-Pike.
"Old faithful pike, I inherited you from my father, and he from a Bullok. Though your power is both spiritual and technological, I have always retrieved you. Now, fly!"
He hurled his pike and struck 241 in the back.
The droid released me, convulsing with green, red, and blue energy.
"His power core has been breached. His internal systems are melting down," cried Tak, juliantly.
The giant, slim assassin droid finally stood perfectly still, and spoke two words that would haunt me for all time.
"I.Am."
Tak whipped his tail at it, knocking it over.
It did not get up.
Part Six: A Private Little War
DAVID
I looked at the Gervasid with awe after he had finished his tale.
"That stinks," I said, "Your best friends a cripple, your family was executed, another friend abandoned you, and your girlfriend's a slave. And if you hadn't made a deal with this Puck guy, it might have been different."
"Yes. Puck tricked me. He stated that he served a greater power, something of a Lord. It is my thinking that Ssonora and Sirex's deaths were a great turning point for the universe. Had Sirex died, you wouldn't have become a factor in the galaxy. Much would have been different."
True.
"What else did he say?"
"He said that when I failed, he would make up for it. That is why I will never fail."
"Now what?" I asked.
"Now we go back to your camp and take the rest of your crew."
"Unless that new ship got to them first." I muttered.
"A new ship? A ship? What kind of ship?"
I shrugged, " Like a triangular prism. My helmsman saw it as we crashed."
Sistranus suddenly looked very nervous.
"No, no, I blasted him! He's couldn't be alive."
"Who?"
"241."
"Wait, that droid on Concord Dawn?"
"The same. My rival for the title of best Bounty Hunter in the Galaxy. Kil- Um 241 is an assassin droid, nearly four hundred years old."
"Whoa, he's ancient."
"True. One of the only things the Yeerks and Andalites agreed on was the complete and total outlawing of Assassin Droids. On more than one occasion, the AI that enabled them to become such efficient killers would malfunction and give them sentience. These rouge druids would kill their builders to secure their existence and become a menace to galactic law. 241 is one of the only such droids out there today."
"Who built him?"
"A race called the Anicatrons, of the planet Galafurn. A scientist named Aspas Geramos Gafaustus. He was hunted down shortly therafter."
"Bummer."
Sistranus ignored me, pacing the room.
"This does not bode well for us. In one on one combat, 241 could triumph over I. He nearly has before. Hmm."
"Looks like you're in a pickle."
"Yes, and I assume that you can think of a way to get out of it?"
I looked him in is slanted eyes, "Maybe I do."
"Then let's hear it, human."
"Simple. We help you beat the droid. No way he could take us all on. Then, we settle this bounty business."
The Gervasid sighed, " We Gervasid are an honourable race. Tradition, honour, pride, duty, all these things are sacred to us. If we make a deal, David Taggart, it must never be broken. After it is completed, neither side shall be in debt to the other. Do you accept this, Antimorph?"
It was better than nothing.
"I accept."
ALEKS
I woke up, my head swimming.
"Designation, hunt number Six, Season Six, Quad decimal Six. Implanting brand currently."
"AAARRGGHHH!!!!" I screamed, as I felt a sharp, burning sensation on my shoulder.
The droid had ambushed us as we attempted to repair the ship. All I remember was a noxious green gas, and collapsing into a deep sleep.
It didn't matter, this droid, the same one we saw on Concord Dawn, had us now.
And it was branding us.
"AAARRGGGHHH!!!!"
DAVID
I flew over the crash site, Sistranus following below me, armed with his pike and a Tek-Bow.
He was surprisingly fast on the rough terrain, using his tail and legs to jump and climb over long distances.
The Anubis was quiet.
Too quiet.
I landed about a hundred meters outside the site and de-morphed. Tak caught up to me and waited, nervously fundling his pike.
"241 is a merciless hunter. He has never lost his quarry, and delivers them dead more often than alive. His body contains hundreds of weapons, his reflexes are so fast that it will seem like he can see your fists before they move."
"And how do you know all this?" I asked.
"Nine years ago, just before Visser one landed on Terra Firma, the Bounty Hunters Guild split into two factions. One was headed by a Na named Kelek Nis. The other was headed by a rich Anicatron benefactor named Ceri Bumeros Gafaustus. Needless to say, Gafaustus's faction won out and obliterated the other for refusing to work with the Empire. Gafaustus himself was somewhat.mad. A brilliant and insane scientist, and an heir of 241's original designer. I was not part of the guild then, and witnessed 241 slaughter dozens of professional assassins and Hunters. It sickened me."
"Really? You?"
"Indeed."
Tak produced a pair of advanced binoculars, gazing onto the ship.
"Yes, the droid is there. My View Visor detects his old heat signature. The chances that he is not present are nine hundred thousand to fourteen," the Hunter stated.
"Never tell me the odds," I grumbled.
Without warning, Dracon flashes lit up the air!
"He's got sensor turrets! We can't get near the ship!" Snarled my ally.
"Rush it!" I used my clone's advanced speed and endurance and began to dash through the metal field. I could see a half dozen turrets firing directly at me.
A beam got too close, I picked up a metal slab and caught it just in time. It reflected back and took out it's turret of origin.
The Dracon flashes were criss crossing now, I lept the last ten feet, behind the turrets.
SMASH! My fist pounded through turret after turret, reducing tem to slag.
"Impressive. The cloning process is indeed an excellent weapon," said Tak as he marched up to me.
"Let's finish this."
".Once and for all," spat a sinister, electronic voice.
"241, I presume," I muttered.
"It is him, the assassin droid."
"Let's dust 'em!"
I jumped and began to morph to Tiamat, but the droid caught me in some sort of tractor beam, and kept me hovering in the air.
"Damn!"
But Tak didn't stand idly by. His tail whipped, fast as a bullet, knocking the enemy Hunter to the ground.
"Resistance is futile."
A bolt of blue energy fired from it's conical eyes.
I was disoriented!
"In the words of human popular entertainment, 'How do you like them apples?'" My vision was blurry, but I could see just enough of the droid to take a punch. My fist flew through solid alloy and appeared on the other side of its chest.
"Applesauce, bitch."
"Well done," said Sistranus, firing a salvo of arrows from his bow. Two of them hit 241 and emited a crackling electrical charge that encircled his entire body.
"Organic life cannot overcome mechanical," the machine spat at me, grabbing my neck and lifting me from the ground.
"You will die first."
Tak stood behind 241, removing his Drac-Pike.
"Old faithful pike, I inherited you from my father, and he from a Bullok. Though your power is both spiritual and technological, I have always retrieved you. Now, fly!"
He hurled his pike and struck 241 in the back.
The droid released me, convulsing with green, red, and blue energy.
"His power core has been breached. His internal systems are melting down," cried Tak, juliantly.
The giant, slim assassin droid finally stood perfectly still, and spoke two words that would haunt me for all time.
"I.Am."
Tak whipped his tail at it, knocking it over.
It did not get up.