Metal Sand~

~Chapter 1: Reported Lust

I had no idea I'd end up with his vacuum cleaner. The custom parts for the hybrid rifle were the prized contents inside the old dust filled bag. Smuggled across the border as a normal vacuum cleaner. He had pulled it off. The cold metal of its scattered pieces gave a sense of power to my eager hands. The video screen on the desk popped up and shone a light in the tent. A list of current bounties came up but I didn't care, the bounties had to be put aside, I had what I needed and I this rifle needed to be completed. Using parts from older creations and weapons, I forged the rifle together. Bright red and stoked with a side handle bar. The rifle was about as long as a little over half my length so a good 3.3 feet. The wind outside blew rapidly and the sand pelted against the canopy walls of the tent. The video screen the only source of light and once again displaying a new set of bounties. This time I was ready, I glanced over the names briefly and took a rest.

When the sandstorm finally subsided, I took out one of my small grenades and bathed the tent with a rain of fire, destroying any trace of my being there. Packing up my small back of things and strapping the new rifle on my back I headed into the desert going to where ever the wind takes me. A small building appeared over the horizon, so I headed towards it.

It ended up being a small pub. The people there stared at me, my black robe acting like a snake attracting all their attention. Chattering went on but I didn't hear any of it. I had all the sounds blocked off except those of the ones who needed to be hunted. Some call it a weird sense I have, but I think it's just an obvious sound emitted by those who are nervous while trying to hide who they really are. I do not look at someone from the outside to determine then; I look at the finer details no one seems to notice. The details that determine if a person can be trusted or not. The details of a possible bounty. A load person started talking in an over-excited voice and that clearly caught my attention. I walked over to him, and he glared at me as if he didn't know who I was, but I knew he knew. I closed my eyes and pictured the screen I had seen in the dark tent. I searched the mental picture as if it was right in front of me. And sure enough, he was on it. The small balding man with small ears and a large nose. Then smoke arose and he was gone. Destroyed by my new rifle. The rifle had handled well and was great. The crowd of people stared for a second in amazement then went on to what they were doing.



Then the unexpected happened. Something so terrible it made a stone man such as myself get stricken with a tad of fear. The video screen had updated again and this time on the screen in the pub, where everyone could see. My picture showed up and it was for a bounty. A bounty hunter with a bounty placed on him. Once again everyone in the building glared at me and I began to feel, which I hardly ever do, uncomfortable. Was this how all my bounties felt? Was I really the bad guy the whole time? Questions ran through my head, and almost all of them were ones which I could not answer. Completely dazed in my own thoughts I was awoken by a sound I had so much become used to. The sound of a bullet. A man with a pistol was standing, barely missing me as he was trying to be secretive about it. In defense I lifted and used my own rifle again. Then I had to retreat and get away from the people.



I walked alone in the sunset on the sandy path thinking to myself. In the middle of a vast desert, I walked until one thing caught my attention. There was a shiny metal piece lying on the floor. I brushed aside the sand and found out it was a droid that was low on power. This was an ancient model of a droid that I have never seen before. With some time to figure him out, I finally got him to start working. He beeped and started to float. This little robot hovered about 5 feet in the air. A jumpy little thing. I looked in his data pad and found something that almost shocked me. It was a code, but this code could be the answer to my bounty. It had a code to get into the BHN (Bounty Hunter Network) and be able to take my bounty off the list. I sat in the sand for awhile and reprogrammed the droid to follow my commands. He even had a small video screen so I could see what he was saying.



Vortegon! That was his name. So the next place to go would be the BHN main building. This should take care of my bounty. So then he traveled in the distance.