Better Alive than Dead Ch. 001

Chapter 1 - A night at the Thrill

Jack adjusted the grip on his plasma rifle and changed its setting to stun on his gauntlets interface, that the rifle was digitally hooked up to. It complied with a beep and the color of the barrel changed from orange to blue, to indicate the shots were no longer lethal. He didn't exactly need to capture his prey alive, but there was a nice bonus for not blasting it full of holes. Jack had been pursuing his prey for hours now in a sealed-off mine shaft and judging by the sheer number of blood smears and torn off limbs, he was getting very close.

Entering what could only be an old mess hall, Jack was met with the sight of at least ten slaughtered individuals. Some of them were dressed in protective armor like himself, but whatever had killed them had opened them up like cans and now their guts were spilling out. Guess I am not the first trying to claim this bounty.

Jack crouched down beside one of the corpses to inspect the wounds. The corpse was a human female whose stomach had been slashed open by something very sharp. Her ribcage had been pulled apart, and the organs removed, leaving her torso and stomach little more than an open crater. It was an unusual kill. His prey, a male Krayag, was not known to disembowel their victims. A small beep and a warning vibration from his gauntlet alerted him of movement in the back of the mess hall. Jack readied his rifle and slowly made his way to the other end of the hall, keeping close to the walls and making sure to check every corner and blind spot. After a short while, he reached the end. Clear. Strange.

Again, his gauntlet vibrated, this time more forcefully. Jack turned around, rifle ready. Somehow his targeting system had difficulty pinpointing the exact location of the movement.

A strange alien noise sounded, and the interface on his gauntlet lighted up confirming its origin was Krayag.

Then suddenly a huge centipede-like creature emerged from the ventilation shaft. The long black creature fell to the ground and with its insectile movement, it straightened to its full length, towering above him and opening its large toothy-maw in a loud screech. Damn. That's not a male.

Female Krayags were far more dangerous as they were the hunters and defenders of the Krayag nests, while the males were gatherers and caretakers of the eggs.

Not only were the females bigger, but where the males tended to have six or eight writhing tentacles as limbs, the females usually had ultra-sharp scythe-like blades at the end of theirs. And this massive bitch was no different. She had no less than eight limbs with scything blades at the end, and she was angry. Very angry.

Jack fired his rifle while backing up, as the massive creature came towards him. Her many chitinous legs clacked against the metal floor, and her scything blades cut the air, eager for its prey.

The blasts from the plasma rifle hit the Krayag squarely in the head, but the massive creature barely slowed down, smashing aside metal tables as if they were made of paper. Fucking useless.

Jack quickly turned his rifle back to lethal, and it beeped in compliance. Then he took aim, and fired shots in rapid succession, while almost running backward, the servo-joints in his armor humming slightly. The plasma blasts hit their mark, momentarily turning the Krayags chitinous plating dull red from the thermal heat. Smoke emerged from the flesh underneath the plates, but the shots seemed to do little more than enrage the massive insectoid.

Then, before Jack had a chance to get out of the way, the Krayag rammed into him, smashing him against the wall and lifting him with her massive maw in one fluid motion. Jack had no choice but to drop his rifle and grab hold of her powerful mandibles. The exoskeleton and servo-joints in his armored suit hummed with strain as he wrenched them to the side. The Krayag screeched with its toothy maw alarmingly close to his head. With a loud whirring, Jack pushed his exoskeleton into overdrive and managed to rip off one mandible and wrench the other into a crooked unusable position. The Krayag screeched in pain, covering the visor of his helmet in saliva.

Fuck this. Jack ejected an enhanced verithium knife concealed in the bracer of his left arm. Catching it, he punched its serrated blade into the soft flesh under a chitin plate by her compound eye. She screeched in pain and Jack twisted and turned the blade, trying to pry a chitin plate loose.

She forcefully tossed him to the ground. His exoskeleton made a last weak humming sound before shutting down. Fucking hell.

Screeching, the monstrous insectoid attacked him with her bladed limbs. With extraordinary instinct and reflexes, Jack rolled to the side as three heavy scything blades struck down. He evaded two blades and blocked another with the gauntlet on his right forearm. Thankfully, Jack had fashioned his gauntlet from nearly impenetrable verithium, but he couldn't help but wince as the interface on the gauntlet fractured, and his weapon systems went into disarray, sending flaring error codes to the bionic lenses in his eyes.

The Krayag attacked with her other side of scythed limbs, and this time Jack evaded them all, as the ultra- sharp blades cut through the metal floor. The heavy killing machine of an insect tried to extract the blades, but they were at a weird angle and not easy to jerk free.

Jack did not hesitate. While prone he ejected his Mark XIX Desert Eagle from its compartment by his thigh. An old weapon to be sure, but sometimes you needed old reliable Terran technology to solve your bug problems. Quickly taking aim, Jack fired off shots with deadly precision. Five shots tore into the soft tissue under the loosened chitin plate, and two others burst through the Krayags compound eye. Finally, the massive insectoid jerked free and came at him with murderous purpose.

Breathing steadily Jack took aim, wanting to make the last two shots count. As the Krayag towered over him, with her bladed limps poised and ready to end his miserable existence, Jack fired off the last two shots. The bullets tore directly into the gaping wound in her head and burst out the back in a spray of blackish blood. She screeched loudly and wobbled momentarily, before toppling over. Jack crossed his arms in front of his head as the bladed limbs tore down. The blades pierced the metal floor just inches from his head and torso, only a single blade grazed his shoulder, cutting through armor and flesh like it was nothing.

Jack waited until his heart had settled before using his elbows to push himself up. Thanks to the bladed limbs that were stuck in the floor, the heavy body of the Krayag remained slightly elevated. With a little twisting and turning, Jack managed to pull himself out from under his downed prey.

As he stood up, he looked down at the great cadaver of his fallen enemy.

"Rest in peace big girl" he whispered, as he placed the Desert Eagle back in its compartment.

Jack felt the weight of his armor now when the exoskeleton had powered down, so he sat down on a metal chair nearby. After tinkering with the fractured interface of his gauntlet for a while, he managed to send a message and his coordinates to the client, requesting retrieval of the cadaver.

An hour went by before Jack was picked up by two of his clients' henchmen in their Charon Industries hovercraft. The two henchmen were Kintos. A species of unintelligent reptilians with a propensity for violence. Many who operated on the outskirts of the law appreciated the Kinto for this, as well as for their unflinching loyalty and apparent lack of ambition. This confirmed Jacks belief that he was dealing with a criminal, who probably had been well aware of the fact that the Krayag he had put a bounty on was not a male. Jack should have known better than to trust the client's word. He had never done business with this particular client before, and it was no surprise that someone operating this far from the core worlds with the need of a bounty hunter off-the-books were disreputable. Most likely, a black-market trader and they were always trouble. Jack didn't mind working for criminals. Heck, some of his best friends were criminals. However, he did mind being lied to, sent against a monstrous female Krayag under false pretenses, and not getting paid enough for the hassle.

Jack needed to have a serious conversation with this client, and while the hovercraft made its way through the abandoned mining tunnels, Jack made sure what was left of his weapons systems were loaded and ready.

After about an hour, the hovercraft flew into the mining station, which was sprawling with life, as this was the last station still operational on the nearly depleted asteroid. The hovercraft hummed as it flew above and between old buildings and advertisements. As they passed a large holographic advertisement from Bradberton Beverages of an attractive Terran woman drinking a BB-cola and winking, one of the Kintos pointed to a raised platform right below.

At the platform stood the client, clearly discernable by his slight conical bald head and his flamboyant robe. Around the client stood four Kintos in light battlesuits and armed with laser rifles. Against six Kintos at once, and with an unstable weapon system, Jacks odds of surviving a potential shoot-out had decreased significantly. They were not exactly critical, Jack would just prefer not getting shot. Even with the impact reducing mesh inside his armor, it still hurt like a bitch.

As the hovercraft pulled in and stopped next to the platform, the two Kintos helped move Jacks Takeda Industries Agitator-class motorcycle from the craft, and onto the platform. It was an older model, and therefore was heavier and looked less sleek than the newer models you saw on the core worlds. But what it lacked in jet speed and flashiness, it made up for with durability and raw power. Jack had named it The Beast, and he could drive it through a concrete wall, with only a minimal loss of momentum.

The client came forward, and when he saw the Krayag cadaver - clearly visible on the hovercraft - the Akarian spread his arms out wide and smiled with his very broad mouth, accentuated by long scars on his cheeks, and revealing a set of large pointy teeth.

"Magnificent Mr. DeWitt! Your somewhat unpropitious reputation does you scarce justice"

Jack didn't answer but strode past the two Kintos pushing his bike, to get face to face with his client, Jzor-Thal. Two of the Kinto bodyguards stepped hesitantly forward to intercept him, unsure of his intentions, but Jzor-Thal just waved them away and continued smiling.

"You told me it was a male, you Kroq hound! I almost got lacerated by that bitch. This mark is worth thrice the bounty you offered"

The Akarian nodded his elongated coned head. He was bald, and his skin had a sickly tone, making him paler than ordinary Akarians. One of his eyes was amber - normal for his species - while the other was pitch black, like a dark orb in a sea of pale flesh. He was by every Akarian standard, one ugly bastard.

With their elongated heads, strange eyes and pointed teeth, most humanoids found the Akarian males to be repulsive. The females were significantly prettier with less elongated heads and only a few pointed teeth. Jack had known an Akarian firecracker back in the day, who could take most individuals breath away, with her shameless personality, toned dancers body and lascivious tongue that could push most humanoids to ecstasy within minutes. However, this rim-trash was the definition of ugly, and as he kept smiling, Jack felt a growing urge to put his fist through his client's head.

"As far as I recall, you were the one who did not want the bounty to go through any of the Bounty Hunter Associations." Jzor-Thal said, making a clicking sound with his forked tongue and added: "Their fees are also absolutely scandalous these days". His eyes glinted mockingly.

Jack cursed himself for his greed. If the contract had been through the Bounty Hunters Association he would have had to pay fifteen points to them, but with the high price for Krayag females, he would still have earned at least twice as much. There was no way he was going to get that now.

"You will pay a hazard fee, or you and I are going to have a problem, and no deadbeat Kinto is gonna stop me from popping your head open like a Krayag egg".

A nearby Kinto with a scar across its scaly face snarled angrily, revealing strong teeth. The threat was equal parts real and bluff. With his weapon system in disorder and flanked on all sides by tough Kintos, Jack was not completely sure how much his threat was worth. But honestly. He did not give a fuck.

"Alas, Mr. DeWitt, had I just been aware of the sex before, I would not have sent you on this venture, as I would not have had the means of which to pay you." Jzor-Thal looked sincerely apologetic and he put a six-fingered hand on Jacks' shoulder "You are not the only one barely scraping by in this devoid part of the galaxy"

There existed a sad story about how the Akarian home-world had been destroyed in the Second Dromorian War, and how the intergalactic community subsequently had failed to provide for them, allowing the Akarian species to decline into poverty and crime. As a result, the Akarians were the one species most universally associated with crime and squalor. But that hardly gave them carte blanche to be assholes, and Jack felt the urge to rid the galaxy of one more Akarian.

It was as if Jzor-Thal read his mind, and with a click of his forked tongue and a spark of humor crossing his amber colored eye, he added: "I will give you another three thousand as hazard pay for your exemplary service."

"Five," said Jack sternly, giving a clear impression that he was not willing to haggle further.

The Akarian smiled again broadly, no doubt pleased he was only paying half the usual rate for a precious Krayag female.

Jzor-Thal ran an elongated finger across the interface of his gauntlet and confirmation of the transaction was sent to Jacks own fractured gauntlet, and to his bionic lenses;

Successful transaction:

+15.000,- φ - Jzor Inc. (Transaction ID: zyrx12x67399201)

"Jzor Inc.?"

The Akarian smiled and declared "I am expanding!"

He then made a gesture with his right hand, and he and the Kintos began boarding the hovercraft.

"Soon, my name will be known from here to Mulmasa, you just wait and see Mr. DeWitt. This Krayag was just to settle old debts".

There was a strange underlying menace in the way Jzor-Thal said that, but still his smile was as broad as before.

The hovercrafts engines roared to life, and before departing, Jzor yelled out "A pleasure doing business with you, I advise you to go to The Thrill in the entertainment district, and enjoy yourself a little, cherish your life, and the fact that of the three hunters I sent on this endeavor, only you survived!"

With that, the hovercraft took off, leaving Jack alone with his motorcycle on the platform. Jack sighed. He had a strange nagging feeling that he had not seen the last of this eccentric Akarian.

Jack had originally planned to return directly to his ship at the docking bay, but Jzors remark about the brothel had piqued his interest. It had been some time since Jack had a decent release, and it would be a long and lonely trip back to the core worlds. So, instead of going to the docking bay, Jack found his way into the entertainment area.

It was not much, as to be expected of a nearly-depleted asteroid that was only home to about eighteen thousand, but it did have a fair number of bars and it seemed like the liveliest place on the old mining station.

Jack drove his motorcycle through the narrow streets of concrete and metal, between walls covered with graffiti. Mostly Terran in origin, with writing like "Out with the Dromor" and "Free Archibald Zorn", but also alien graffiti of Akarian and Dravv origin, which was evident due to the high prevalence of xeno skull designs and strange symbols.

It was another sign that the mining station would soon be decommissioned. When the workers moved out, Akarian criminals and Dravv scavengers moved in, sucking out the last drops of life and profit.

When Jack reached the Thrill, he parked his motorcycle next to a bar named Miner's Quarry, which had a fair share of patrons of different species. Their eyes followed him greedily as he stashed his plasma rifle, Desert Eagle, and two TRI11-Frag grenades in the holding-compartment of the motorcycle. Then he disabled what was left of his weapons systems on the broken interface of his gauntlet. He still kept his veritium knife and a small Akryd Industries laserpistol concealed within his armor. Then he pressed the interface on his motorcycle, locking it, and activating its anti-theft systems. The machine complied with a sharp whirring as it changed into lock mode, followed by an ominous electrical crackling sound as the anti-theft system activated. Anyone tinkering with it would enjoy 150 milliamps of electric shock. Enough to electrocute most humanoids.

Content, Jack walked to the entrance of the establishment, which, like most of the other buildings here was covered in graffiti. Above the blast door was a neon holographic sign reading "Thrill".

Jack scanned his hand on the doors OCR device and entered as the door slid open. Inside he was met with another blast door, with a digital advertisement showing skimpy dressed individuals of different species, all whispering seductively and beckoning him forward. After a quick scan from the optical device in the ceiling, the other blast door slid open and Jack was met with an ambient lounge room, with low electronic music beating from concealed speakers in the ceiling.

The place was scarcely populated, with just a few customers sitting in the soft oversized sofas, enjoying their drinks and most likely recuperating between sessions. There were two Kintos playing Lorcacc, a simplified version of connect four, by the bar. Most likely bodyguards for one of the wealthier patrons of the establishment. Maybe the station's mayor or a corporate manager for the mining companies.

Jack walked across the lounge, nodding to the bartender as he passed the bar. The robot bartender nodded back, and Jack could almost feel the robot scanning him for weapons. Unless the robot's scanners were top military-grade - which would be extremely unlikely out here in the fringe - the weapons concealed within his armor would remain undetected.

Crossing the lounge, Jack reached three private terminals, allowing customers to choose which courtesan they wanted to spend their credits on. Jack stepped into the middle booth and chose the category "Humanoids". The screen lit up, showing a holovid of the first available girl in the establishment>

Name: Ferunia

Species: Akarian

Specialties: Domination, Bondage, Neurovascular stimulation

Hourly Rate: 100 φ

Preferred Clientele: Tsar-Kara, Any

The first woman was an Akarian, dressed in a provocative black outfit and with a facial tattoo, which was not uncommon among Akarians. She had a very stern look, and her black eyes looked menacingly back from the screen. Not surprisingly the Tsar-Kara was on the preferred clientele list. They always were.

Jack swiped with his hand and another girl appeared on the screen>

Name: Amy

Species: Terran

Specialties: Fellatio, Massage