by R. E. Graham
“Rhonda!” he shouted as he spun around and saw her lying on the floor.
In fear for her life, he rolled over the desk and crawled the rest of the way to her. There wasn’t much blood, as the bolt cauterized most of the injury. However, it had gone all the way through, and she writhed in pain.
He glanced up and for the first time saw that Thomas had been in the room as well. His lifeless body made his blood boil so hot that his hands shook.
“Medic!”
Hearing the gunfight had gotten Hernando's attention and along with Jole had quickly sprinted for the pirate lord's office. They saw Thomas half lying outside the door, and the security team knew that their fellow bodyguard was dead the moment they got closer.
“Lord, are you injured?” Hern said as loud as he could.
“No, I’m fine. Get a medic, Rhonda’s been shot!”
Hern felt like he was in a dream as he heard those words. Jole used a radio to call for aid while Hern sounded the alarm.
Loud wales blasted throughout the warehouse and outside on the grounds. Daena and Iso heard the alarm and dashed for their WarMechs.
Very carefully, Hern ducked down and waddled over Thomas' body, and he got to Rhonda and Mikhail. He felt a deep pain at the sight of the Duchess fighting back screaming.
Mikhail looked up at his security officer with fury filled eyes. “I want whoever did this kept alive. Do not kill him. I want to do it.”
"Yes, Lord," Hern said as he ran out of the room with Jole close behind him as Dirk arrived at the office.
“Stay with the Lord!” the head bodyguard shouted to Dirk as he bolted down the hallway.
It took several more minutes for a medical team to arrive, but Mikhail remained right by Rhonda’s side the whole time. He cupped her left hand in his.
“I swear to you Rhonda, I will make him pay for what he has done to you. I swear it.”
Carlo Hint was a man unlike many others. He had personally been hired by many different crime bosses, warlords, and mercenaries to bring about one thing, death to their enemies. Redbeard had helped him out of a tight spot. On his last assignment, he had gotten himself caught by some Praetorian guards accidentally. In fact, it was a miracle they didn't blast him on sight.
After spending over a cycle in jail awaiting trial to send his sorry butt to Ash, he was released mysteriously. Redbeard had sent an emissary to communicate directly to Carlo, whose street name was "Claw," to inform him the reason for the release. Being a man that followed the bounty Hunters code to the extreme, he was more than happy to follow up his rescue in exchange for hunting down Mikhail Tarvus.
The drive into the Onyx complex wasn't all that difficult. Only one guard had been stationed at the gate, and he quickly was able to lie his way past the dreary man. Once within the chain-link fence, he merely drove to his destination, disembarked, and placed his helmet on to complete his armor that was hidden beneath his oversized mechanic's uniform.
With the intel he had been given by Redbeard's informant that worked within Onyx he knew precisely where Mikhail would be. The bounty Hunter had been given a communicator that would signal him when Lord Onyx was in his office.
He rounded a building and walked straight in front of the window and was happy to see that Mikhail Tarvus was not only in the office, but he was standing directly in front of the window.
“Easy day,” he remarked to himself as he raised his rifle and aimed.
Mikhail must have recognized the rifle as he dove for cover. “Poosh!” the bounty Hunter exclaimed as he missed and hit a woman that had been directly behind his target.
His instructions had been very clear. Kill Mikhail Tarvus at all costs but try to limit further casualties. He also was not permitted to board the Midnight under any circumstances.
The pirate lord had found a gun from somewhere and began firing back at Carlo. He ducked for cover himself behind a parked vehicle and fired two more shots, which subsequently impaled another person in the office.
"It really isn't my day. I guess I need to practice!" Carlo said aloud as he ready to fire again.
Mikhail popped back up and fired once more, and things were getting worse. His helmet brought to his attention that other people were closing in on him. Not wanting to be shot in the back, the bounty Hunter activated his jump pack and flew up to the top of the warehouse to try and conceal his movement.
It won’t be long before they are swarming everywhere looking for me. Time to leave. I’ll have to try again some other time.
Alarms began to wail, and he ran as fast as he could along the roof heading for his parked truck. His plan had been straightforward, ambush Mikhail then book it before anyone really realizes what had happened. Things were apparently not going to plan, and he really didn't feel like getting captured today by a bunch of pissed off pirates.
He used his jump pack again to launch himself from the roof down to the stonecrete ground below. Just as his feet touched down, he felt the steady whumpf, whumpf of WarMech steps.
Uh oh!
The bounty Hunter ran then slid to get cover. He came to a stop behind a parked car and rolled to the side to better lower his visible profile. Two mechs stepped out of the hangar not too far from his location. One Sierra and one Sentry. Both had enough firepower to turn him into a blood streak on the pavement, and there was no payday if he died here.
The Sierra broke off and went right while the other WarMech moved left. His truck was to the right and was a good distance away.
I could probably disable the Sierra, but then I’m going to be hard-pressed to deal with that Sentry if it finds me.
He began to place his rifle onto his back, and it transformed into a smaller shape as it magnetically connected to his jump pack. As he stood up, he yanked a cylinder from his waist and gripped it tightly in his gloved hand. After smacking the top of it, he ran as fast as his legs would carry him straight at the unsuspecting WarMech.
The artificial intelligence in Iso’s Sierra alerted him of the advancing enemy. He spun to face his opponent just as the bounty Hunter tossed the disabler grenade at his WarMech. The device latched onto the deadly Sierra’s torso and emitted a strong counter electrical surge that interfered with machine’s optics and stabilizing systems.
A WarMech was designed to withstand heavy combat situations. As they continued to make further advancements in the technology, WarMechs were later advanced to resist disabler type weaponry such as EMP grenades. Systems such as the engine and life support for the pilot operated differently than the other systems and were not affected by electro weapons but to insulate a mech totally was incredibly expensive. The Sierra was a frontline grunt unit and it simply wasn’t feasible to protect every single system within the machine.
“Ah, dammit!” Iso growled as he fought with his controls to try and maintain balance.
His mech stumbled forward a few steps and crushed a light pole beneath its heavy foot. Carlo rolled into a somersault and avoided the crashing pole just in time.
Daena in her Sentry happened to notice the flickering icon for Iso’s mech on her radar and twisted her mech to him. She saw the Sierra fighting to remain upright and knew something was wrong. Her HUD identified the escaping target and she darted forward.
"Halt intruder!" she thundered through her external speakers. "I will open fire."
The bounty Hunter didn’t doubt her threat, he just knew surrendering was a worse idea.
The Major triggered a burst from her mech’s large repeater laser cannons for arms and laser bolts peppered the area. Carlo dove for cover but knew that he was missed on purpose. He looked to his left and saw his vehicle was so close but felt like it was miles away.
"Surrender!" Daena growled.
She stomped her WarMech closer and closer to the bounty Hunter, who knew he had little chance of success.
“Guess it’s all or nothing,” he said as he launched himself up into the air.
The Major tracked his trajectory with her crosshair,
and as he landed on top of the parked truck, she opened fire again and lanced the vehicle apart. Carlo tumbled to the ground as several teams of armed pirates closed in. He gripped the laser rifle on his back and pulled it free. It locked into fire mode just as he brought it up to shoot.
Hern had snuck in on his right and shot him in the shoulder with his own gun. While the bullet didn't break through his protective suit, it did knock him forward and threw off his aim. The assassin stood and was able to get several shots off that skewered one pirate in the leg and stomach. He screamed in pain as he fell backward.
Several of the others lit up the bounty Hunter. One round bounced off his chest plate while another hit him in the knee pad. Jole popped up from cover and fired his laser rifle which luckily lanced through Carlo's own gun, entirely disabling it.
“Frag!” the bounty Hunter exclaimed as he tossed the rifle down and drew a pistol and fired twice into another pirate that got too close.
Using his free left hand, he yanked a grenade free from his belt and tossed it over his head into the encroaching crowd. The explosion sent two men through the air. Hern switched his pistol to automatic and darted forward. He fired a burst from his handgun which barraged the assassin. Carlo saw the man that was heading straight for him and went to raise his pistol to shoot when Jole fired his laser rifle again. The bolt hit between the armor protecting the hand and forearm, burning a hole into his wrist.
“Ah!” Carlo howled as his hand went limp and he dropped his last gun.
Hern finally ran up punted the bounty Hunter square in the helmet, knocking him to the ground. The impact of his brain bouncing around in his head from the force of hitting the stonecrete and knocked him unconscious.
The pirates still standing closed in and gathered around. Some of the men called out all sorts of things as they were angered by the attack.
“Let’s kill ‘im.”
“Gonna gut you boy!”
“String him up on the hooks.”
Hern kept his pistol aimed at the attacker as Jole moved up the rest of the way. He motioned with his head, and the lord's bodyguard slung his rifle onto his back and pulled out some binders.
“Yo,” a man said to Hernando. “We should beat him to a bloody pulp!”
“Lord Mikhail will deal with him. Don’t you worry, there will be plenty of blood.”
Chapter 11
Cycle: 434 Month: 3 Day: 26
Outer Rim Colonial Alliance Space
Planet: Ko’Bac
Location: Onyx Headquarters
After the assassin had been detained the alarms were silenced, but Mikhail felt as though they were still blaring in his ears. While most of the pirates went back to their duties or assisted in cleaning up the area, the medical staff worked hard to tend to the injured. Hernando took it upon himself to interrogate the prisoner but had sent Jole and Dirk to watch the pirate lord closely.
Mikhail paced back and forth outside of the operating room while his two security guards were positioned at either end of the hall.
I…I can’t lose Rhonda too. What will I do if she doesn’t make it? Ooooooh, I’m gonna tear that guy apart for this.
Suddenly a voice seemed to whisper directly into his ear.
“I told you this was coming.”
The pirate lord immediately spun around and looked for the speaker. Jole stood too far away for it to be him, and Dirk was even farther down the hallway in the opposite direction. His heart pounded in his chest as he knew deep down who it had been, but he couldn’t see it anywhere.
He continued looking down the hallway when one of the medical staff came up behind him.
“Lord.”
Mikhail nearly jumped out of his skin at the mention of his name. “Oh, hey Doc,” he said when he finally saw the other man that he hadn’t heard sneak up on him.
“I wanted to speak with you about Rhonda.”
The color in the pirate lord’s face drained as he feared for the worst.
"None of her injuries was life-threatening, however, the laser did do some serious damage to her internally. She will need to spend several weeks in treatment, and I can't say for certain if she will fully recover."
“Wha…what does that mean?” Mikhail asked trying to understand clearly. “I have heard of men getting entirely new lungs before.”
The doctor nodded. "Well, yes, that has happened plenty of times in the Republic. But in the Colonial Alliance, we don't have access to the same medical equipment and technology."
“So, if she were to receive care in the Republic she could be fully cared for?”
“In a sense, yes,” the doctor said feeling cruddy for having to admit the fact.
“Can I see her?”
“Yes. She should be awake now, but she could fall asleep again from the medications.”
"Thanks, Doc," Mikhail said as he walked around him and went inside the medical wing of the compound.
The small room the Duchess had been placed in was a strange sickly white and smelled like the typical medical area. Wires and sensors reached from the injured woman up to the monitoring devices that sat by her bedside.
Mikhail could see the bandages that wrapped her right shoulder and felt a sincere pain in his gut. Rhonda happened to hear him shuffling up to her bed and opened her eyes.
“Oh hey,” she said meekly.
“Hey,” the man replied.
Despite trying to wake up from being sedated the Duchess could see the worried look on Mikhail’s face. She reached up with her left hand and could feel her puffy hair was a mess. As she attempted to sit up straighter, she felt a sharp pain shoot up her right side. She winced and decided it was best to just relax where she was.
The pirate lord looked at the woman in such rough shape and shook his head. “This is my fault.”
“What?” she asked a full four seconds after he spoke as her brain processed his statement. “How could this be your fault? You didn’t hire the assassin to shoot me, did you?” A half smile spread on her lips, but Mikhail still felt like trash.
“The um…Doc says that you should be fine, but that uh…you may not fully recover.”
Rhonda carefully looked down at the bandage that covered the burned skin tissue and winced again. “At least I’m not dead.” She looked back up at Mikhail and noticed that his eyes started to tear up.
“What’s the matter Mik?”
“Uh…nothing,” he said before sniffing deeply.
“So, um, did you catch the guy?” Rhonda asked as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
The pirate lord nodded emphatically to try and cover up the betrayal of emotions on his face. “Yeah. Hern is talkin’ to him right now. We’ll get answers and we’ll be payin’ back the people who did this.”
“Hey,” the woman said as she slowly reached out her left hand. “I want to tell you somethin’.”
Mikhail took a step closer and hesitated for a second before he reached out his own hand. “What is it?”
“For a very long time, I have loved you.”
It felt like the pirate lord had been gut punched. Emotional thoughts swirled through his mind, and he wasn't really sure what to say.
Thankfully for him, the Duchess was pretty heavily drugged and wasn’t picking up on his awkward signals.
"Yeah…actually, I've felt that way for a loooong time. But you were with Leesa…and I wanted you to be happy."
She looked up to the man with her weary eyes. Her eyelids were very heavy, and she started to mumble her words some. Mikhail's breathing accelerated as he listened carefully to every syllable.
“I am so sorry about her dyin’,” Rhonda said referencing Mikhail’s wife. “I would trade places with her if I could.”
The pirate lord instantly was fighting back full on crying as his emotions mixed with everything that had happened in his life recently. “Wh…why would you say that?”
"Because…she made you happy. I haven't seen you happy since…since that…." Her hand's grip loo
sened as she passed back off to sleep from the medicine.
Mikhail stood in the white hospital room with the hum of the machine beside Rhonda. He placed his other hand on to of hers. His finger twitched slightly as he felt her skin. There was no clear path before him that he could find. An immense sense of guilt washed over him as he admitted to himself that he indeed did have feelings for this woman.
Leesa hasn't been dead for long and at all, and I'm already movin' on? What the frag is wrong with me? I'm such a terrible person…
He looked down at the slumbering Duchess and wiped his eye with the back of his hand. Carefully he placed her hand on the bed then leaned in to tenderly kiss the top of her head.
“I…love you too,” he whispered before standing up and leaving the room.
Jole and Dirk were still waiting in the hall for the pirate lord. As Mikhail went right down the hall, Jole caught up and matched his walking speed.
Dirk stood to the side to allow Lord Onyx to pass unobstructed then fell in line with the other bodyguard.
Mikhail’s thoughts began to turn darker as he imagined what life would be like if Rhonda had died.
I don’t know what I would do without her. I have to find out why that bounty Hunter tried to kill me. Whoever is responsible is going to pay. I swear it!
Hernando Troy took what enjoyment out of torture that anyone could get. Feeling like a fool that the attacked happened on his watch he was bent on getting any piece of information out of the assassin that he could. Even if it meant crossing over into darker strategies.
Carlo's head leaned forward as he sat in the old wooden chair. His arms were bound behind him, and his chest armor had been stripped off. Blood trailed out of his busted lip, and his mind felt like he was in a fog from the number of poundings his head had already suffered.
Grasping what bit of hair the bounty Hunter had left from his natural balding, Hern yanked the prisoner’s head back and stared into his face.
“Why did you attack the Lord?”
“I already…told you,” Carlo said with a whimper of a voice.
