Fluke Episode 4: Race To the Ends of the Sol The bar was rowdy as the bartenders handed thirsty patrons their cheap liquor. Among the wary travelers were the bounty hunters, who struck shady deals in the dark corners. Servers of different desirable shapes happily served a wealthy gentlemen and his party. More questionable figures conversed rather loudly, their topics ranged from the norm to the down right weird and strange. Caravans, explorers, miners, and even the occasional loner; they were all piled into the large floating station. Music filled the airwaves with talk of good vibes and happy times, but the lyrics were seen as flat out lies in the ears of the certain buzz cut barbarian. Darian chugged his flat drink and moaned, his disapproval with his last mission was enough justification for a couple beers. After protecting some precious cargo and battling his way through hoards of rigorous enemies, he and his other fellow warriors decided to rest while their ship was being refueled. Alton nor Melody wanted any part of the assignment, but Darian happily agreed to take it on and stand as a representative for his fireteam. However, he did wished that they were here with him since his other teammates were very dry individuals. The music drowned his blues as he finished his second drink, he didn't notice the figure standing impatiently behind him. Turning around, he came into contact with a younger woman in a dark hooded cloak. Her hood was down, exposing her short red hair and emerald eyes. She stared at him with a great fear that started to encompass him. He could smell the bad news coming from a mile away. "You! You are a guardian, yes?" her voice was stern and a strong accent add to the tension. "Yeah, what's it tooo-" Darian was thrown off guard when the woman pulled him off of the bar stool and dragged him out of the space bar. Bar patrons snickered at them as they passed by. He struggled to break free, but her grip was extremely strong. "Let go, lady. I gotta get back to Earth!" "No time. Please, I need your services." she said. They walked into her ship and sat down at the cockpit. As she flip the many switches on the control panel, Darian tried to make a break for it. The second he blinked, the barrel of a hand cannon pointed right at him. "I'm sorry." she regretfully said before whipping him with the pistol. Darain blacked out and slipped down in the co pilot's seat. _______________________________________ He woke up immediately, slurred speech from hours of sleep failed to form proper sentences. His mind came too once the room he was in began to violently shake as though he was caught in the middle of an earthquake. The room was dark and musty, the damping moisture and odor of various cleaning agents ruffled his eyes until he blew his way out of the room. He landed on his chin just as another explosion shook the ship; the pain vibrated through his body, but that did not stop him from racing to the cockpit. He blasted through the door and held his ground as the woman from earlier struggled to pilot the ship. Grabbing the rim of her chair and turning her around, Darian stared the panic woman down. "You got some explaining to do!" Darian's attitude rocked the ship, causing the woman to sink a little bit lower in her chair. "Look. If you help get rid this guys, I'll tell you everything. Ok?" Darian had a hard time believing her, since she pistol whipped him and threw him in a closet. The ship again rocked back and forth, they were out of options. "Ok, ok. What do you need me to do?" Darian quickly agreed. "In the back of the ship, there's a room labeled 'Turret'. Go and shoot down as many ship as you can!" she commanded. The room was even smaller than the closet, but the buttons were pretty neat. As he adjusted the controls of the turret, Darian watched as the many cruisers gained in speed. They ranged in size and color, some of them were made for easy target practice while others would prove to be a real challenge for him. Taking aim, he unloaded upon the larger ships in the back, a couple went down easily as the turret sprayed a stronge volly of accelerated projectiles. As the guns cooled down, Darian noticed shooting between the fighters. Explosions rang out and different vessel were blown to shreds like mini supernovas. He relaxed in his seat for awhile until a true threat emerged from a cloud of smoke. Their shots were like guided missiles, and they were aiming right for the ship's thrusters. Darain frantically shot the incoming projectiles, but only manage to destroy two of them before a third one struck the ship hard. Rattling back and forth, the ship slowed down as the enemy ships zipped past them. Darian quickly left the turret and met up with his mystrious captor. "I tried." was all that slipped out. "It's fine. Sit, we will be at our destination soon. I'll....answer those questions now." she sounded gloom, but she took it lightly as she looked into Darian's eye. "Who are you and why have you dragged my tired self to...where are we?" "Edge of the Sol, past Pluto." she said. "You gotta be kidding. Just tell me what's going on." She sighed heavily and prepeared her answer in mere seconds, like she had been planing this for awhile. "My name is Riley Deardren and I'm am a seasoned bounty hunter. A few days ago, my brother contacted me with a issue of grave improtance. He had been kidnapped by Carter Slosser, one of the most notorious bounter hunters in the Sol System. Now unless I save him, he'll be killed." "And those other ships?" "Other bounty hunters. My brother...." she stopped, allowing for a small tear to stream down her face, "... is an important person who a lot of hunters would kill to murder. Those guys are after him as well as Carter, since he has a bounty of over 95,000 glimmer." "Hehe. Your playing around with some serious glimmer." Darian commented. She glare at him, warning him that this was no time for jokes. "Sorry, why do you need [i]my[/i] help?" "You are a guardian and your job is help those who need it, right? I couldn't trust anyone else in that bar to help me, they would probably end up killing me for the money. I saw you and decided that I need your asistance." A faint silence fell between the two of them as they drifted closer to a large asteroid. "I'll help you, but I want a cut of the profits." "I guess I do own you that much. Quater?" "Half." "Either you go with a quater or I'll leave you on that empty rock without a ride home. A quater and a free ride back to Earth, take it or leave it." "Fine, whatever. Let's just get to bashing heads and cracking skulls." Darian cofidently exclaimed. Riley nodded, a small smile exposed itself. The ship manage to somehow land on the space rock even in it's crummy state. After grabbing a couple of useful weapons, Darian and Riley walked onto the chilled surface. A few meters ahead of them lied a large base like fortress, nearby were a couple of the ships that had been chasing them previously. Flashes and twinkles brighten up the place as hunters and assassins clashed with each other to claim their awaiting prize. Watching from afar, Darian laughed to himself as those men and women threw themselves to their deaths. They began the short sprint to the front gate, which had been blasted open. There stood a bloody courtyard filled with bodies of the fallen and weapons that feasted for more action. Pillars alined the sides, allowing for tight passage ways. A rock monument was securely stapled in the middle of the yard, around it sat four corners of synthetic grass with a distinctive puke green color. They walked in and followed to the trail of dusty footprints to a sealed door. "Something's amiss." Riley commented. "Seems the fightin' move to another location." Dariam said, noting the sounds coming from behind the door. "Dead wrong!" a voice yelled loudly and a figure appeared from behind, a rifle was cradled in his arms. "Die!" "Look out!" Darian grab Riley and dove down to the ground, just barely dodging the spray of bullets. The hunter's shots were way off target because they actually struck another hunter on the opposite side of the yard. Suddenly, groups of hunters from all over began shooting at one another while Darian shielded Riley. Seeing her chance, Riley ran out from under Darian and sprinted towards the closest side with her hand cannon. The weapon launched shots of crackling fire and great power, her enemies never had chance. Joining her by hiding behind the monument, Darian unloaded his machine gun and took down a couple unsuspecting hunters in a matter of seconds. The fighting went on like this for awhile until some stragglers were left to fend for themselves. Rushing out of cover, Darian used his special powers to increase his strength and began sprinting towards the enemy at full force. "Here comes the Tank!" he shouted as he barreled through the remaining men, his punchs and kicks caused them to create craters in the walls. A final uppercut sealed the deal, launching the guy straight up into the roof of the yard and out into space, never to return again. "Score one for Darian, nada for the Baddies!" [b]Continues Below[/b]