Chapter 1: The Client
Bob checked the orders again to make sure he had read them right, it was exactly the job he wanted. He was being transferred to the Karma to protect the vice-president of the Tedan Tippedai Corporation, a man named Puttubayh.
Bob worked for Ghomvak Security and Investigations and was considered one of the best agents currently employed. Ghomvak Security handled all major bounty cases that cropped up within the Administration. It also handled registration of new bounty hunters and was the most respected division in the crime fighting world.
Bob was tall and physically fit. He preferred light combat armor for flexibility and a medium length topknot for style. At his side was a small firearm that he was fairly accurate with but only used in the most extreme cases. He liked hand-to-hand combat much better and was very skilled in many of the martial arts.
This would be the deciding mission to find out if Bob had what it took to manage other bounty hunters. If he failed to protect Vice-President Puttubayh during the Karma's maiden voyage, then it could be years before he had another shot at a high level ranking within Ghomvak Security. While Bob hadn't taken as many top priority cases that he would've liked, he was no less skilled than any other hunter. He enjoyed the thrill of the hunt but liked the challenge of preparing beforehand. Every case was different and required unique equipment and weapons to complete successfully.
Bob had heard that a lot of the other bounty hunters had avoided this job not only because of the sensitive material, but because of the disturbing rumors that Puttubayh was creating some sort of bio-weapon. There was also gossip spreading that Puttubayh had been targeted by a terrorist organization to be assassinated. In other words, no one thought the job was worth the trouble of keeping a man like that alive - not at the price being offered anyway. However, Bob had a different way of looking at it. If he could complete this mission, it would show his superiors that there was nothing he couldn't handle and potentially open the way towards the promotion he had been working for.
All he had to do was escort Puttubayh to his final destination. In spite of the outside complications, it was a simple enough objective. That was really the only benefit to taking the job. Something was bound to make things more complicated, but Bob was always prepared. He knew that the easy jobs were usually the ones that got complicated...
The beeping of his comlink intruded upon Bob's thoughts. No more time to overthink things. He sighed before responding, "This is Hunter Bob, I assume I'm getting a call about my transport."
The voice over the comlink sounded bored. "Correct, it's waiting for you in gate A-2. Don't be late." The message ended abruptly with a soft click as the traffic controller left Bob to find A-2 on his own.
"The first thing that I'm going to do when I get a higher ranking," thought Bob sternly, "will be to get some courteous traffic controllers."
With that, Bob made his way down to gate A-2, bringing with him only his weapons and his hopes.
The Karma was still being loaded when Bob transited to his destination, so he took it upon himself to find Puttubayh and officially start his job.
It didn't take him long to spot the man.
Puttubayh was surrounded by a ring of guards that all wore Tedan Tippedai security uniforms. The guards looked edgy and willing to shoot at anything that seemed like trouble. Bob approached cautiously, not wanting to be cut down by a trigger-happy guard. He could just barely make out Puttubayh in the center talking to someone over a comlink, oblivious to any other distractions.
Bob didn't get too far before a guard trained his weapon on him. The guard narrowed his eyes and growled out a phrase: "Who are you!? No one is allowed to approach the Vice-President without authorization!"
"My name is Bob," he said and slowly pulled out his orders from Ghomvak Security. "I've been hired to escort Vice-President Puttubayh."
The guard glowered at Bob and roughly grabbed the orders out of his hand for inspection. After a few minutes of looking through them he made his way towards Puttubayh.
Bob could spot the guard talking to Puttubayh and pointing towards Bob. Puttubayh looked over the orders himself and finally made his way outside of the ring of guards towards Bob.
Puttubayh wasn't very tall, his head wouldn't even reach Bob's shoulders, but the way he carried himself made him seem more intimidating. Bob had worked with clients like this before, self-centered and egotistical; he could already tell that this was going to be a long trip. However, if dealing with Puttubayh's ego was the worst thing that happened on this trip, he would consider himself lucky.
Puttubayh wore the uniform of a high-ranking Tedan Tippedai official and sported a long, thin, mustache that reached down past his chin. When Puttubayh noticed that Bob was watching him he smirked contemptuously. "You come highly recommended, Hunter Bob. I hope that you'll live up to your reputation," Puttubayh said through the smirk. He then turned to his guards. "You may leave. Hunter Bob will be taking over the guard duty."
The guards nodded and started to disperse.
Puttubayh, done with the guards, made his way towards the Karma's main entrance. "I had better not be making a mistake, Hunter Bob. You can be sure that if you fail this job your career will be over."
"I'm still not sure why you hired the help of Ghomvak Security at all," Bob said with a neutral voice. "It seems like you have more then enough guards."
Puttubayh dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand. "Oh, some of my people think that there might be terrorists hidden among my guards. They felt it would be safer to enlist the outside help of someone like you instead."
"I see."
"I certainly hope so, so many of your mercenary kind can be remarkably obtuse and difficult to deal with."
Bob knew that Puttubayh was baiting him and refused to give him the satisfaction of falling for it. Instead he followed behind and looked around for potential threats. Bob noticed, uneasily, that there were a large number of crates with a bio-hazard icon stamped on them.
"I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me what's in those crates," Bob asked Puttubayh, pointing in the direction of the dangerous containers.
"Nothing that should concern you," Puttubayh responded, without sparing a look. "It's merely for research, if that's of any comfort."
"Right," Bob said, not comforted in the least. "Research." He was starting to get a really bad feeling about the entire situation and that was never a good sign so early on a job.
As they entered the Karma's main passenger deck, Bob's uneasy feeling began to grow. He looked behind him and suddenly found his answer, a guard was still following them. It could just mean that Puttubayh was being cautious, testing Bob's certifications. Or it could be a more sinister reason.
"Are you aware that one of your guards is still following us?" Bob asked in a low whisper.
Puttubayh turned and spotted the errant guard. "I told them to leave! It's like dealing with children," he growled before marching over towards the guard before Bob could stop him.
"Wait a minute!" Bob protested as he hurried to catch up with Puttubayh. "It could be a-"
Ignoring Bob, Puttubayh confronted the guard. "I want your name and registration number!"
In response the guard lifted his weapon and pointed it squarely at Puttubayh and Bob. The gun was the same model used by the Administration army, a portable machine gun with a large shell on top to hold ammo. It was a simple weapon, but effective. Fairly lightweight, durable, and it could be fired for extended periods without a cooldown depending on how much ammo was in the shell.
"-trap." Bob finished, before letting out a disgusted sigh.
"My name is Samon," the man said. "Keep moving and don't make a scene or I give your chest some extra ventilation! I don't want to shoot civilians, but I will if you force me to."
Puttubayh's arrogant façade melted away immediately, leaving a pitiful look on his face. "Please don't hurt me! I'll pay you whatever you want!"
The job had barely started and already Bob was getting a headache. "Sir," he said, addressing Puttubayh. "I think we better do what Mr. Samon says." Much as he wanted to subdue the rogue guard, Bob couldn't risk having Samon's gun go off in public. If they moved to an area without innocent bystanders around, then perhaps he could grab the weapon without undue trouble. He just had to look for the right opportunity...
Samon nodded in appreciation. "Your friend's pretty smart. If you do what I say, there's a good chance I won't have to kill either of you."
Puttubayh readily agreed, willing to take any chance to save his precious life.
Samon herded the pair away from the employees and cargo workers milling around the main hold of the Karma and towards an empty corridor. Bob tensed, getting ready for action. He would need to be fast in order to avoid Samon's potential gunfire.
As soon as the door closed behind them in the small corridor Bob made his move. He dropped to the floor and kicked Samon at the knees, forcing the guard to fall against his will.
Samon fired at Bob with his weapon, gouging chunks out of the walls and floor as he traced a line towards his attacker. One of the bullets hit a light panel and showered the trio in a flash of sparks. Bob knew he had to end this fight quickly or Puttubayh could get hurt or killed. Thinking fast, Bob gave a swift kick to Samon's hand which knocked the gun away before the guard could complete his tracer line. At same time he delivered a blow to Samon's neck with his other foot with a spin, bringing a quick end to the guard's life.
The entire skirmish was over in about thirty seconds.
Bob stood up and surveyed the scene. Puttubayh had crouched as low as he could to the ground in an effort to avoid the gunfire. "You can get up now," Bob said to the cowering official.
Puttubayh looked around quickly and then straightened out and brushed himself off. "I thought I was paying you to make sure I didn't get shot at," he said, pointing to the dead Samon.
It took a lot of effort, but Bob managed to restrain himself from making a snide comment. Instead he managed to utter a barely audible comment: "You're lucky Samon didn't have better aim."
Puttubayh looked sharply in his direction. "What was that you said!?"
Bob cleared his throat. "Nothing, just reflecting on why Samon would want to kill you. It wouldn't have anything to do with those bio-hazard crates, would it?"
Puttubayh shrugged indifferently. "How should I know? I'm a wealthy person, he was probably after my money."
A loud hum suddenly broke off any comment that Bob was about to make. The Karma was finally leaving for its next destination.
"Come on, Mr. Vice-President, let's get you to your room where it's safe," Bob suggested. "I'll put in a call to Ghomvak to take care of the body. The investigators might be able to find out more about him."
Puttubayh looked like he was about to argue, but another look at Samon's corpse changed his mind. "It hardly matters now that he's dead, but very well. At least I know I'll be safe in my room."
Together, the two made their way towards the residential block inside the ship. Bob silently promised himself that once Puttubayh was safely in his room he would get to the bottom of this mess.
