THIS TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE PROLOGUE AND MISSION 1
I'm a bookkeeper's son
I don't want to shoot no one
Well I crossed my old man back in Oregon
Don't take me alive
Steely Dan - Don't Take Me Alive
>ON!
"So you're a bounty hunter." Luca asked one of the newest additions as he stayed downstairs in Karl's firing range over at the Threepenny Bullets. He'd turned paper targets into miniature works of art by means of perforation, and he'd arranged the fallen casings into pyramids out of boredom. "Feel like swapping some stories as you test your new piece out?"
"Well, I don't consider a SiZi 30 really a target gun. I think I'll use my Peashooter," he cleared his throat and continued after placing three rounds in the dead centre of the target, "As for stories, sure I've got a few. I'm sure you're aware of the blatant scar on my right cheek, yes?" Luca nodded in reply, looking at the scar, "Well, that was probably my sixth bounty after leaving the service. A dear old enemy of mine who I had hated since childhood showed up in the 'wanted ads'. Hell, I treated this job like a joke and it almost cost me. He was a strapping six-foot-ten brute with multiple implants and big guns. In fact, this HHG is his," Makari indicated his left holster.
He proceeded to make a smiley face on the next target. "Anyways, I let him know I was comin' after him. I mean hell, he needed all the help he could get. Unfortunately for me, he jumped me in the bar with about six of his minions about half an hour later. He got the first good swing with a broken bottle to my face and it was on. In the end, I bashed his head in with a barstool. Good times."
He paused before continuing, "I collected a hell of a bounty on the seven of them. I mean sure, it put me in the hospital for a few weeks, but hey, what's the point of living if you're not having fun?" He finished the circle around the smiley face before putting up a new target.
"Not bad. Not bad," Luca admitted, raising his shoulders lightly. "Seven people, one of which you have some connection with. Tell me though," He leaned over at his booth and looked at Makari's handiwork. "How did it feel knowing that you were smashing the face in of someone who you knew?" Was there a release of tension? That feeling when something finally rolls off your chest and into the abyss? "Did it feel wrong to feel good?"
"Hmm. In the heat of the scuffle I didn't even know I had killed him. I mean, I was just trying to get him off and away from me so that I wouldn't get killed, or worse maimed so I couldn't continue bounty hunting. At least, that's how I felt a the time. But afterwards, yeah...I felt good. Essentially, an arch-enemy gone for good. But," Makari paused and collected his thoughts before firing his Peashoter at the target's centre.
He continued, "I had time to think it all over while being confined to the damn hospital. In the end, I regretted killing him even if it was by accident. I mean sure, I hated the guy but I didn't hate him enough to kill him. Plus, his folks were good people. I guess you could say it was more of a rivalry. In the end, I learned not to make my bounties personal. It helped keep the 'work' and 'play' separate." He holstered his Peashooter into his right holster and drew his Standard General Assault Rifle. It needed some love.
Luca picked up the Origin 'Raygun' that was given to him by Ellen and loaded a magazine into it. There were subtle differences between this and the Raygun, aesthetics aside. Just the way you held it was different. "Well then, have I got a story for you. I haven't told you about my dad, have I?" Makari shook his head.
"He used to be in the same line as work as me, and it seems to run in the family. I might even have a few illegitimate brothers and sisters somewhere in the universe." He sighed before continuing; "See, when he was younger he had some friends - one of which I killed myself after he tried to target me."
If he were Nepleslian, he would've lit a cigarette. Instead, he drew a lollipop from his right breast pocket and unwrapped it, popping the treat in his mouth. "I believe he was my dad's doctor - responsible for giving him a replacement arm after his got destroyed - don't know how. He went around the bend and tried to unleash a massive plague upon planets Neplesla and Yamatai."
"It felt strange, somewhat surreal - it must've been the remoteness compound and the smell of chemicals that made it so strange and dream like. To say that I just killed him for putting the world at risk and forcing my hand specifically whilst I was under the knife from bounty hunters was an understatement."
He then looked at Makari. "Which leads me to my next question: Why didn't you try and go after my bounty while it was up?" The bounty in question slowly increased from 50,000 to a staggering 1,000,000 KS, month by month like a creeping until the Delsauria incident saw it erased permanently out of fear. "You could've bought a skyscraper penthouse and more girls to squander than you could imagine with it." He then grinned with a wolfish predation, "If you could kill me."
Makari returned the grin and tipped his hat. "Oh yes, I considered it for a while. But you see, I don't have a starship and to be quite honest, at the time I wasn't really a fan of starships for a while after my military career. But excuses aside, your reputation proceeded you. I might be ballsy and overconfident but I'm not suicidal." Luca chuckled at that and smiled, "Hell, I had multiple offers to join 'teams' to go after you. But I knew those men well enough to know that if we had bested you the leader would have just killed us off and taken the bounty for himself. Again, I'm not suicidal."
"Smart boy, then!" Luca praised the bounty hunter.
"When I got your message, I had completely forgotten who you were. I mean, some sources reported you dead, some missing. So I simply...forgot. Then as I was climbing stair after stair up to your apartment - too many stairs by the way - I slowly remembered who you were. About three quarters of the way up I considered - albeit briefly - to try to collect on the expired bounty. I mean, I was sure there were people still willing to pay. Yet, I got to the doorway, peered inside and saw you on what used to be a nice looking couch with a messed up eye. Hell, you looked like someone had just tried to attack you," he cleared his throat again and fired off a few rounds from his Standard General Assault Rifle.
"Dozens of people tried to collect the bounty too - thinking that I was an easy target since I was backed into a corner emotionally and made the message so public and emotional." He then chuckled. "Joke was on them - nothing they could muster matched what happened on Delsauria. It was pure madness. Gave me some permanent scars." He pointed to the orange eye, and the scarring around it. Of course, he wasn't referring to the mental scars either - those would probably cover his whole body.
Makari nodded in recognition and continued, "I can imagine it did. Like I said, most thought you dead, as I'm sure you're aware. I'm not one for unfair fights - at least one-on-one - and I'm not a fan of collecting an existing bounty on someone who isn't in top shape. But most of all, I thought back to the message and realised that I wanted something new and more exciting than the day in, day out regularities of bounty hunting. I guess you could say boredom and some screwed up form of honor stopped me."
He shrugged and finished the magazine of the Standard General Assault Rifle into the target in the shape of the Nepleslian Flag. "Though I wouldn't worry about me trying to collect. Bounty Hunting bores me now. Not to mention that gal of yours, hell, those two gals of yours would not be people I would like to cross." He was referring to Zeta and Vitalia.
"My daughter wouldn't appreciate it at all." Luca replied solemnly, crossing his arms.
Makari chuckled in response and continued, "plus, I don't think that event with the barstool went over well with 'em. I sure if the big lizard guy wanted me dead, I'd be dead. On the bright side, I'm loyal to a fault with my teammates regardless of how much I enjoy their company." He grinning again and slung his rifle back into its back holster. "I guess I've got one thing left from the military."
"You know, you talk a lot." Luca observed. "Interspersed with, uh," Luca motioned to his paper target artwork. "Yeah. Ever considered getting someone to follow you around with a voice recorder to record a book or something?" He was half joking, and half serious.
Makari's smile grew even larger. "Well, my mouth has gotten me in loads of trouble. It's one of my greatest abilities to piss off my targets. And no, I think I shall. Maybe I can make some easy money that way and impress the ladies," he chuckled and gave Luca a wink. "Anything else you need from me before I go hang my target flag above my bed?" Luca shook his head in reply as he pocketed his empty magazines and holstered his pistol.
>OFF!
I'm a bookkeeper's son
I don't want to shoot no one
Well I crossed my old man back in Oregon
Don't take me alive
Steely Dan - Don't Take Me Alive
>ON!
"So you're a bounty hunter." Luca asked one of the newest additions as he stayed downstairs in Karl's firing range over at the Threepenny Bullets. He'd turned paper targets into miniature works of art by means of perforation, and he'd arranged the fallen casings into pyramids out of boredom. "Feel like swapping some stories as you test your new piece out?"
"Well, I don't consider a SiZi 30 really a target gun. I think I'll use my Peashooter," he cleared his throat and continued after placing three rounds in the dead centre of the target, "As for stories, sure I've got a few. I'm sure you're aware of the blatant scar on my right cheek, yes?" Luca nodded in reply, looking at the scar, "Well, that was probably my sixth bounty after leaving the service. A dear old enemy of mine who I had hated since childhood showed up in the 'wanted ads'. Hell, I treated this job like a joke and it almost cost me. He was a strapping six-foot-ten brute with multiple implants and big guns. In fact, this HHG is his," Makari indicated his left holster.
He proceeded to make a smiley face on the next target. "Anyways, I let him know I was comin' after him. I mean hell, he needed all the help he could get. Unfortunately for me, he jumped me in the bar with about six of his minions about half an hour later. He got the first good swing with a broken bottle to my face and it was on. In the end, I bashed his head in with a barstool. Good times."
He paused before continuing, "I collected a hell of a bounty on the seven of them. I mean sure, it put me in the hospital for a few weeks, but hey, what's the point of living if you're not having fun?" He finished the circle around the smiley face before putting up a new target.
"Not bad. Not bad," Luca admitted, raising his shoulders lightly. "Seven people, one of which you have some connection with. Tell me though," He leaned over at his booth and looked at Makari's handiwork. "How did it feel knowing that you were smashing the face in of someone who you knew?" Was there a release of tension? That feeling when something finally rolls off your chest and into the abyss? "Did it feel wrong to feel good?"
"Hmm. In the heat of the scuffle I didn't even know I had killed him. I mean, I was just trying to get him off and away from me so that I wouldn't get killed, or worse maimed so I couldn't continue bounty hunting. At least, that's how I felt a the time. But afterwards, yeah...I felt good. Essentially, an arch-enemy gone for good. But," Makari paused and collected his thoughts before firing his Peashoter at the target's centre.
He continued, "I had time to think it all over while being confined to the damn hospital. In the end, I regretted killing him even if it was by accident. I mean sure, I hated the guy but I didn't hate him enough to kill him. Plus, his folks were good people. I guess you could say it was more of a rivalry. In the end, I learned not to make my bounties personal. It helped keep the 'work' and 'play' separate." He holstered his Peashooter into his right holster and drew his Standard General Assault Rifle. It needed some love.
Luca picked up the Origin 'Raygun' that was given to him by Ellen and loaded a magazine into it. There were subtle differences between this and the Raygun, aesthetics aside. Just the way you held it was different. "Well then, have I got a story for you. I haven't told you about my dad, have I?" Makari shook his head.
"He used to be in the same line as work as me, and it seems to run in the family. I might even have a few illegitimate brothers and sisters somewhere in the universe." He sighed before continuing; "See, when he was younger he had some friends - one of which I killed myself after he tried to target me."
If he were Nepleslian, he would've lit a cigarette. Instead, he drew a lollipop from his right breast pocket and unwrapped it, popping the treat in his mouth. "I believe he was my dad's doctor - responsible for giving him a replacement arm after his got destroyed - don't know how. He went around the bend and tried to unleash a massive plague upon planets Neplesla and Yamatai."
"It felt strange, somewhat surreal - it must've been the remoteness compound and the smell of chemicals that made it so strange and dream like. To say that I just killed him for putting the world at risk and forcing my hand specifically whilst I was under the knife from bounty hunters was an understatement."
He then looked at Makari. "Which leads me to my next question: Why didn't you try and go after my bounty while it was up?" The bounty in question slowly increased from 50,000 to a staggering 1,000,000 KS, month by month like a creeping until the Delsauria incident saw it erased permanently out of fear. "You could've bought a skyscraper penthouse and more girls to squander than you could imagine with it." He then grinned with a wolfish predation, "If you could kill me."
Makari returned the grin and tipped his hat. "Oh yes, I considered it for a while. But you see, I don't have a starship and to be quite honest, at the time I wasn't really a fan of starships for a while after my military career. But excuses aside, your reputation proceeded you. I might be ballsy and overconfident but I'm not suicidal." Luca chuckled at that and smiled, "Hell, I had multiple offers to join 'teams' to go after you. But I knew those men well enough to know that if we had bested you the leader would have just killed us off and taken the bounty for himself. Again, I'm not suicidal."
"Smart boy, then!" Luca praised the bounty hunter.
"When I got your message, I had completely forgotten who you were. I mean, some sources reported you dead, some missing. So I simply...forgot. Then as I was climbing stair after stair up to your apartment - too many stairs by the way - I slowly remembered who you were. About three quarters of the way up I considered - albeit briefly - to try to collect on the expired bounty. I mean, I was sure there were people still willing to pay. Yet, I got to the doorway, peered inside and saw you on what used to be a nice looking couch with a messed up eye. Hell, you looked like someone had just tried to attack you," he cleared his throat again and fired off a few rounds from his Standard General Assault Rifle.
"Dozens of people tried to collect the bounty too - thinking that I was an easy target since I was backed into a corner emotionally and made the message so public and emotional." He then chuckled. "Joke was on them - nothing they could muster matched what happened on Delsauria. It was pure madness. Gave me some permanent scars." He pointed to the orange eye, and the scarring around it. Of course, he wasn't referring to the mental scars either - those would probably cover his whole body.
Makari nodded in recognition and continued, "I can imagine it did. Like I said, most thought you dead, as I'm sure you're aware. I'm not one for unfair fights - at least one-on-one - and I'm not a fan of collecting an existing bounty on someone who isn't in top shape. But most of all, I thought back to the message and realised that I wanted something new and more exciting than the day in, day out regularities of bounty hunting. I guess you could say boredom and some screwed up form of honor stopped me."
He shrugged and finished the magazine of the Standard General Assault Rifle into the target in the shape of the Nepleslian Flag. "Though I wouldn't worry about me trying to collect. Bounty Hunting bores me now. Not to mention that gal of yours, hell, those two gals of yours would not be people I would like to cross." He was referring to Zeta and Vitalia.
"My daughter wouldn't appreciate it at all." Luca replied solemnly, crossing his arms.
Makari chuckled in response and continued, "plus, I don't think that event with the barstool went over well with 'em. I sure if the big lizard guy wanted me dead, I'd be dead. On the bright side, I'm loyal to a fault with my teammates regardless of how much I enjoy their company." He grinning again and slung his rifle back into its back holster. "I guess I've got one thing left from the military."
"You know, you talk a lot." Luca observed. "Interspersed with, uh," Luca motioned to his paper target artwork. "Yeah. Ever considered getting someone to follow you around with a voice recorder to record a book or something?" He was half joking, and half serious.
Makari's smile grew even larger. "Well, my mouth has gotten me in loads of trouble. It's one of my greatest abilities to piss off my targets. And no, I think I shall. Maybe I can make some easy money that way and impress the ladies," he chuckled and gave Luca a wink. "Anything else you need from me before I go hang my target flag above my bed?" Luca shook his head in reply as he pocketed his empty magazines and holstered his pistol.
>OFF!
