Star Raiders, Overrun
Chapter 1: The Star Raiders
It was a dark night on Ragol, even with the stars shining and the moon in full, very little light got to the brief and far-between open spaces between the cave complexes. The sounds of the machinery of yet unknown purposes, the pneumatic hammers that catch many an unaware hunter and other devices, provided a strangely comforting sound in the bleak darkness.
This area, called informally caves three by the hunters on pioneer two, is a favourite meeting place for smugglers. And assassins.
Louie crouched in the shadows, balanced for action, sword at the ready but first he had to wait, and listen.
Two people entered the area, Louie stayed calm and relaxed, most people would have gone tense at the sight of the target, but Louie kept loose, any good force would have detected any tenseness in the atmosphere and known of his presence. He didn't know if one of them was a force but it didn't matter, better safe than dead, you learnt that quickly as a hunter.
After a brief check of the area the figures started conversing. Louie turned on the micro-recorder that had a direct link to Sirtom, or 909 as they referred to him in public.
'Target spotted, waiting for permission to intercept.' He didn't need to actually speak, the microphone on his throat detected the movements in his voice box and converted them to sound.
'Wait for it Louie, we need to know what they are talking about first, it could help us plan our next move.' The reply came directly to his inner ear with a planted transmitter so no sound got out.
Louie turned the receiving volume of the micro-recorder's second microphone up so Sirtom could hear clearly.
'You came alone?' That was the first figure. He had a slightly high-pitched and slimy voice, but was certainly male.
'Of course, do you have it?' The second. A deeper voice, also male.
'It wasn't easy, he put up a strong fight, i'm demanding extra.'
Louie heard the unmistakable sound of a teleporter as the second figure aimed a gun at the first, looked from here to be a Ruby Bullet, probably stolen, but in this light he couldn't be sure what the weapon was.
'I think we can settle for the original demand, or you may end up losing on this deal.'
'You will meet my price or I wont summon the weapon down from Pioneer two. You should think about things like that and i'm adding another fifty percent to the fee.'
The second figure made a sound somewhere between rage and submission as he teleported his weapon back up to the ship and threw some mesata to the floor in front of the first figure. Suddenly Sirtom spoke again over the communications link.
'Its just a normal smuggler transaction, no doubt another hunter killed for his weapons, probably black paper again.' The leader of Star Raiders sounded sad at the thought of hunters killing each other but continued. 'I shall check the member files to make sure it wasn't one of ours, you may proceed with the intervention.'
Louie knew what to do, in one fluid motion he got up to a half-crouch and sneaked around the clearing, careful to avoid the pools of water, until he was just out of the beam of light from the locking indicator of the armoured door, where the two smugglers stood, unaware of his presence. In another swift movement he had stabbed his word through the first figure and with a slice to the neck, had decapitated the other.
'This is Louie to Sirtom, smugglers dead, waiting for next plan of action to stop Black Paper.'
'Negative Louie, get back here, there's been an emergency and it could spell the end of Pioneer two, I need every Star Raider on this.'