《Splinter》


 A Little Galactic History

    Throughout all of human history, there have always been limits, and new frontiers to be explored. For the longest of times, the sky was the limit and the earth the new frontier. Then humanity progressed to the point where there was no longer a place on Earth to explore, so they turned their gazes upwards, looking to break the limits that had so long confined them. The Wright brothers broke that limit and the sky became a collection of air planes, a reminder of their ability to surpass the limits.


    Humanity continued progress. Step by step, they strode forward into the future. While those steps were admirable, they were all outclassed by the massive leap forward brought about by the discovery of the Lynes, matter accelerator devices that would allow the ships of humanity to traverse the galaxy nearly instantaneous. That was when humanity was not alone in the galaxy, not by far. The universe became that much brighter on that day.


    Humanity flourished under the guidance of the Counselors, a race of AIs specifically designed to acclimatize new civilizations into galactic politics. These Counselors had been around for as long as any race could remember, the legacy of an ancient civilization, the same as the Lynes. They expanded across the galaxies and nebulas. Across the mountain and valleys of new planets. The pinnacle of humanity was when they finally gained a substantial standing in the High House, the central galactic governmental body located in Core space.


    Humanity continued to push back the frontiers, searching deeper and deeper into the cold, cruel fringes of dark space, inspiring other races to follow with their heroism. As they went, they reclaimed Line stations that had been lost in time. Thus, humanity, alongside the various races in the galaxy started to bring the light of discovery out into the dark unknown. This period is known as the Adventuring Age, a time when human and other races were filled with the desire to go out and explore the unknown.


    Without known Lyne stations, these explorations are generations long, and the planets in their wake are colonized and used as way points for the weary traveler to rest and possible reproduce, passing down their exploratory ways to their children. These way points are not anything like the civilizations in Core Space. They were rowdy, barely held together societies that ran largely upon coercion and extortion. Simply said, it was the dark side of the righteous Explorers. The systems around the Lyne stations were much more civilized due to the constant flow of new explorers from Core space.


    The economies of the galaxy flourished as new and abundant resources were discovered, and this only inspired more explorers to journey out into the deep cold dark of space. It came to the point that of the galaxies 30 trillion residents, a little less than a third were on the borders pushing into unexplored space. They had explored so far, and the newly discovered and colonized space became known as the Explorer¡¯s Ring, which encompassed the galaxy.


    It was the best of times for the galaxy, but it soon took a turn for the worse.


    In 984 A.L.D. (After Lyne¡¯s Discovery), the event that would precede the greatest disaster the galaxy had ever known occurred. The Lyne stations that bordered the Explorer¡¯s Ring reacted negatively to the probing diagnostics of a curious human engineering team and enacted what is now known as the Solitude Protocol. The Lynes erected energy barriers which reached out and connected with the other energy barriers.


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    Not only were the Lynes unusable, they had shut off communication and access to the space beyond Explorer¡¯s Ring. Hundreds of lives were lost before it was widely known that these Lyne stations could no longer be accessed. For a full decade, the Lyne stations continued the Solitude Protocol. Not a whisper was heard from the unfortunate explorers who were caught on the other side. No one was worried however, they expected the explorer¡¯s to be fine due to the fact they had ample supplies to last decades. The economies suffered minimal damage, and instead, the resources that were originally used for sending out new expeditions were used to reinforce the economies of the Explorer¡¯s Ring and make it more civilized. This decade, from 984-994, was one of much economic progress. During this time, the majority of the galaxy was united under a single currency, the Kule. This became the language that every sufficiently intelligent and sentient life form understood, money.


    While the galaxy inside the Solitude Protocol the galaxy experienced a economic resurgence, approximately 1 trillion lives were lost in the war of the Solitude Protocol. And as soon as the Solitude Protocol was deactivated, the whole of the galaxy was exposed to a new race. A terrible threat.


    They swept in like a storm, darkening the skies of numerous systems, wantonly destroying as lightning does. The amount of biological weapons that rained down upon the systems was comparable to the number of raindrops in a hurricane. In the first years of its reign


    History is written by the victors, and that is why the race that once threatened the galaxy is simply known as Fiend.


    There is only a single race of Fiend known, but that singular type, the Fiend Hive-Mind, threatened galactic security.s


    To put it briefly, many lives were lost in the effort to put down the Fiend Hivemind. Nearly 2.5 trillion lives were lost over the century it took to push it back to its home-world.


    While the amount of life that was lost was horrific, war is the mother of innovation. Just as the war brought about the computer, the Fiend Century brought about new technological innovations. The century following was one of reconstruction


    Thus, our story takes place in 1094 ALD, on the ruins of a planet in the Fergus Nebula, a galaxy in the Explorer¡¯s Ring. The planet was shattered during the Fiend Century, however, the floating debris was connected with tubes that contained transportation. They were connected to form a loose, hollow sphere, and became a flourishing shipyard during the Fiend Century. It became a key military base due to the fact that the whole nexus of debris was a huge assembly line. This single shipyard was responsible for building a full 25% of the Galactic Naval force that crushed the Fiend Hive-Mind. This shipyard is known as the Stone Nexus, or the Rock Brain by the residents.


    This very place is home to Zatch, a normal human at first glance. Of course, assassins have to look normal at first glance.

 Chapter 1: Turned Down

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    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mr. Grissom, we called you in today with less than happy news. We at Dextra Labs have decided to choose the other candidate for the job position. We just do not have any more job openings.¡±


    Said the pudgy man as he leaned back in his Forrel recliner chair. It was quite and expensive chair with massage pads built into the back, based off the hands of the Greturian species, a race that had very maneuverable digits. Sleek in design, and equipped with anti-grav technology, it was the sign of a well off person. Quite honestly, the pudgy man, whose name was Dr. Kulm, did not look the least bit sorry. His face was plastered with an expression of extreme boredom. He wiggled his obese body in the chair so that his beady little eyes could see the screen over his massive girth. He didn¡¯t even give a look to the fidgeting man sitting on the other side of the desk in the uncomfortable, rigid, and oversized chair, who he was addressing.


    The man couldn¡¯t sit still and was fidgeting with what looked like a shotgun shell. He had a bad case of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) since he was a small child. This basically meant he was really smart, couldn¡¯t sit still, and would go absolutely crazy if he was bored. So to alleviate this, he was playing with a PC 1.43 Shotgun shell.


    (Background: The PC stands for plasma coated. The 1.43 is an indicator of how many pieces of plasma coated death would come out. The 1 in front of the decimal point indicates how many shots would come out of the barrel. The 43 after the decimal point indicates how many pieces it will split into after it has exited the barrel. The larger the first number meant the larger the spread of the blast. The smaller the first number, the more concentrated the blast. This system of identification was made by Bofffle Arms Inc, an arms company that once was responsible for building 75% of the galaxies shotguns and 54% of their corresponding ammunition. The company had decreased and faltered after the end of the Fiend Century as there was no more need for the brutal stopping power that they manufactured; however, their identification system for shotgun ammunition remained. To put it bluntly, the 1.43 PC shotgun shell would shred at point blank range).


    This man was Zatch Grissom. Around 6 feet tall, possessing deep brown eyes, short dark brown hair, whiter skin with hints of Asian Heritage, and a terrible case of ADHD.


    ¡°So Ms. Verran obtained the position instead?¡±


    ¡°Yes. She was chosen for the¡­ large assets that she put on the table. Literally¡­¡±


    Zatch could see the lecherous light flicker across the so called Doctor¡¯s eyes. Two voices battled in his mind after the ¡°good¡± doctor¡¯s statement.


    ¡®*Snicker* He had the audacity to *giggle* say that *chuckle* to our face! Just rip his head straight off. The only thing attaching his head to his body is *giggle* an amazing amount of fat. I could do it. Let me do i-- Oooo. Look at that holograph picture! Let me touch it!¡¯


    ¡®¡­ Two fingers straight to the neck. It would take minimal effort to push through the fat and crush the cartilage rings for his wind pipe. The obese lecher wouldn¡¯t have time to react. He would suffocate slowly¡­¡±


    Instead, Zatch stood up with a kind smile and gave an appreciative nod.


    ¡°I understand. Thank you very much Dr. Kulm for considering me for the position in the first place. I appreciate it. Should I see myself out?¡±


    Dr. Kulm gave a dismissive wave with his arm, causing the fat lining his appendage to sway slowly in the air. Zatch gave a slight bow and turned and left the spacious office of the lecherous Dr. Kulm.


    Zatch strolled out, and hunched his shoulders, the posture befitting of someone who was turned down for a job. He hung his head low as the door whooshed open and he walked out into the hallway. His hair hung over his face, obscuring his eyes. Two human security guards came to his side and escorted him down the hallway, to the elevator that would take him up to the ground floor. They were in the lowest level of the lab, which was an unusual place for a job applicant to be, and could only be attributed to the lecherous doctor¡¯s lazy nature. He just didn¡¯t want to move from his office. As he walked past, his eyes darted quickly from place to place, observing and making note of where the security cameras were.


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    They were passing the door that read ¡°Experimental Subject Containment: Bloc 2¡± when Zatch suddenly stumbled. He put his hand on the door¡¯s lock panel to steady himself.


    ¡°You okay there?¡± Asked one of the guard¡¯s derisively.


    ¡°Yes of course,¡± Zatch responded with a friendly smile as he righted himself and the guards escorted him all the way out of Dextra Labs.


    Where the front door would be on an Earth corporation building was an airlock. The Stone Nexus did not have an atmosphere to retain the gasses necessary to support the various races that lived upon the Stone Nexus. Zatch simply activated the common environment suit he was wearing, bid the guards farewell with a sad smile, and exited the air lock into the cold outdoors of the Stone Nexus. As he walked to the nearest tube transportation center, the voices in his head just kept on.


    ¡®*Snicker* Only 16 guards on the main routes. *Giggle* And only 3 inch thick steel doors? Oh, this will be a piece of cake. Are we going to the gym today? OOOO look at that rock! Let me touch it!¡¯


    ¡®¡­Only Jourden security locks on the door. Security cameras will be a problem though. We will be wearing a mask¡­¡¯


    Zatch listened quietly to the residents in his head as he scanned his TTS card and passed through the turnstile. He got on one of the tube cars. These tube-cars float inside the tubes that they travel along using magnetic repulsion to keep themselves in the air. This means there is no friction, and allows the tube cars to travel at speed which make the journey times between stations tolerable.


    Zatch sat down in the tube car and absentmindedly watched an advertisement screen, one of many that were in all Tube cars. Scattered at random intervals was the same message.


    ¡°Citizens of the Stone Nexus, be on the lookout for the following persons. Do not approach them under any circumstances. Instead, notify the nearest SN Peace Keeping officer or mech. Thank you.¡±


    This was followed by a robotic voice.


    ¡°No legal name known. Identification given by SNPK: Giggles.¡± This was accompanied by a photo displaying an image of a man dressed in a black skin suit with flexible armor plating on the chest, arms, and legs and holding a gun. The figure was wearing a black mask, through which one could only see the bright red eyes with the reptilian sclera.  ¡°Mental state: Extremely unstable and dangerous. Preferred weapon: Vertian M-13 shotgun and Tsuder . Preferred Ammunition type: PC 1.43 round. A note to the general public, if you are walking late at night, and you hear the sound of a man giggling happily, run and notify the nearest SN Peace Keeping officer.¡±


    Next a picture came up of a figure, wearing a black skin suit with the same armor plating, almost the exact same except for startling electric blue eyes and the significantly longer and thinner gun in his hands.


    ¡°No legal name known. Identification given by SNPK: Silence. Mental state: Rationally homicidal. Preferred weapon: Unknown. Preferred ammunition type: EC-20 Shard. Note to the general public, this individual is extremely dangerous and our psyche evaluations have declared this individual a homicidal sociopath.¡±


    An inexplicable smile stretched across Zatch¡¯s face while he continued to play with the PC 1.43 shel.


    "What interesting names *giggle*"


    "...Idiots....What lame names....."


    ''I kinda like them. But they certainly got them wrong. We are-''


    Splinter

 Chapter 2: Herva District

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    Zatch sat back and continued to listen as the advertisements finished playing and the news came on.


    ¡°In recent news, Bofffle Arms Inc. branch in the Stone Nexus has come under yet another lawsuit. The origin of the lawsuit was the use of a PC 1.43 shell in the murder of Gordon Slyx, a vendor of labor resources in the Herva District. Apparently, Mr. Slyx was one of the four head vendors in the Herva District. Last year, he attended three fundraisers and¡­¡± The Jourden reporter droned on in a monotone voice. The Jourden, a humanoid race, are known for their technical prowess, and also possess a voice that is said to always be monotone, no matter how great the emotion was. They are very prone to infection, thus, they usually wear body suits and environmental masks, which usually completely block their faces along with their facial expressions. They make the best players at games which require bluffing.


    ¡°*giggle* They are hilariously suited for giving the bad news. Oh here¡¯s our stop!¡±


    ¡°¡­Do not forget what we came here for now¡­¡±


    ¡®Yeah yeah yeah, I¡¯m not about to forget what I came with 500 Kule to buy.¡¯ Zatch thought as he exited the tube car onto the station platform. He strolled along until he reached the stair and proceeded through another air lock. Air flooded in and Zatch was able to breath. Thus, he stepped out into the artificially created atmosphere of the Herva District. The air held a metallic scent to it, much unlike that of a natural atmosphere. The Herva District was one of the three main districts in the Stone Nexus. Together, the three districts housed around 95% of the population, and the rest of the debris was dedicated to the numerous factories and labs that had made the Stone Nexus the great shipyard it was. The Herva District, a spherical piece of debris about 8 miles in diameter, was the central vending location in the Stone Nexus. In this district, they sold everything from Vitameals to Cruiser class weapons.


    The tube car station was near the center of the Herva District. Many of the legitimate vendors sold their goods near the central plaza of the Herva District while many vendors sold lucrative, if a little illegitimate goods on the outskirts of the Herva District. Zatch walked through the station with a carefree attitude. He even stopped to buy a Vitameal. It was a synthetically created meal due to the fact that there wasn¡¯t enough land with a suitable atmosphere to grow the necessary amount of food to feed the people of the Stone Nexus. A company, seeing the opportunity to make money monopolized the food market with their synthetically created Vitameals.


    ¡®Mmmmm, still tastes like Ramen.¡¯ Thought Zatch to himself as he strolled through the plaza, breathing in the metallic air. The air was full of vendor¡¯s shouting out their wares. It was the battlefront of money making, and boy were the combatants vicious. Using dirty tactics and scantily clad poster girls, they did their utmost to push their wares upon the passengers who exited the station. Zatch just strolled on carefree, this was not the place he was going. For 2 miles, the vendors bombarded him with promises of discounts for things he didn¡¯t need.


    As he continued on, the voices of the vendors faded into the distance and the atmosphere began to become increasingly quiet. This was the Thiefs¡¯ Ring, a ring of about a mile in thickness. This was the dividers between the legitimate vendors and the illegitimate. In this region resided the lawless. The lazy. The desperate. This was Zatch¡¯s favorite part of the Herva District.


    ¡°¡­ Someone¡¯s following us¡­.¡±


    ¡°*excited giggle* It is time for fun then?! YESSS.¡±


    ¡®Quiet you two. We aren¡¯t here to make a scene.


    It the mysterious person who was tailing him was quite good at hiding their presence, however, not well enough. He or she had been following him ever since he bought his Ramen. Zatch disappeared around the corner and continued on his journey.


    The person followed quietly to gather information. The operation to kill the seemingly innocent Zatch would commence later that day.


    Mercenary Captain PoV


    At the TCS (Tube Car Station), a muscular man with a scarred face followed by three other men of his build exited the vehicle. Each of them carried a large duffel bag as they strode confidently through the Herva Plaza. Ignoring the vendors, they walked with a purpose, a cold determination in their eyes. The determination of killers. The three followers split up and dispersed among the crowd while the scarred man walked in a straight line. He walked in the most efficient route to the edge of the legitimate district and to the border of the Thieves¡¯ Ring, an action that denoted a familiarity with the area. He waited at the border and checked his Gronium black watch.


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    A person emerged from the dark, dressed in rags, but still careful enough to hide her face. The scarred man looked at her with a large amount of disdain.


    ¡°Well thief? What¡¯s the location of the target and the whereabouts for the last 5 hours or so?¡±


    ¡°He passed through the Thieves¡¯ Ring quite quickly and immediately headed for the outskirts. He attended a silent slave auction and bought a wolf demi-human family consisting of an old father and mother, a young good looking daughter and a small son.¡±


    A flash of disdain flashed across the mans face. Demi-humans originated from the Fiend Century. The Fiends relied heavily upon biological warfare not because they were limited to it, but because they were GOOD at it. One of the viruses they released was specifically tailored to humans. The virus was airborne, foodborne, waterborne, and sexually infectious and nearly unstoppable. The virus had a 75% fatality rate and most of the scientists examining the virus to find a cure were killed. The amount of destruction and death it potentially could cause was comparable to the Bubonic Plague which wiped out approximately 75% of Europe¡¯s population and destroyed society as they knew it. Without a way to successfully make a cure, the scientists turned their attention to boosting the immune system. Thus, instead of allowing that to happen, the Demi-Human program was enacted and the majority of humanity were fused with the DNA from different domestic animals. The new DNA changed the humans to where they would no longer be affected by the virus, but still retain their humanity. Through generations of reproduction, the animalistic features reduced dramatically, and the only indicators were usually a tail and ears for the corresponding species.


    ¡°He then led the family to a warehouse on the south edge of the Thieves¡¯ Ring. I couldn¡¯t get closer than that without being discovered. I have someone watching the warehouse and they have not reported any activity or exiting of people.¡±


    The man showed a smile and put his hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°Good work. Now for your payment¡­ hold on.¡±


    He reached into his hand towards his back pocket, but instead of pulling out anything of monetary value, his hand streaked out with a knife. It plunged into the girl¡¯s stomach and she fell over, clutching her abdomen.


    ¡°Sorry about that. Loose ends and all. Unfortunately I don¡¯t have time to watch you bleed out. So enjoy your last moments. That knife should be suitable compensation though, it¡¯s quite expensive.¡± The man smiled and walked off to get changed into his work clothesm leaving the girl to bleed out.


    30 Minutes later


    The men met in front of the aforementioned warehouse I their work clothes. Black environmental suits with extensive amounts of inflexible armor plating. They had the corresponding helmets that had visor which would adjust quickly according to the luminescence of their environment, allowing them to see in any conditions. Each was armed with a G-7 EC Auto Rifle, a standard weapon among the mercenaries of the galaxy. It was capable of firing thirty separate charges that could range between harmless stun to lethal force. The burly scarred man in the front listened carefully to the door, and liked what he heard.


    There were loud sensuous female moans intermingled with the groans of a man.


    A smile danced across his face.


    He made a simple hand gesture and muttered


    ¡°Begin the Operation¡± into the suits comms.


    The smile remained upon his face as he thought to himself


    ¡®Caught the bugger with his pants down huh? This is easy money.¡¯


    How wrong he was¡­

 Chapter 3: Ashne-gah

    Enjoy this chapter, the start of the display of our protagonists abilities. And to MR. Sam Xin Moran, the chapters will get longer. Enjoy and comment


    Two of the merc captain¡¯s underlings opened the door in a silent manner unbefitting of their burly build. The doors opened into and they immediately proceeded in, their boots clicking quietly upon the tile floor of the old warehouse. As they proceeded into the warehouse, the luminescence visors quickly adjusted, giving a sickly green sheen to everything in sight.


    ¡°Jacob, Butowsky, you¡¯re on the east and west side. Rookie, you¡¯re with me.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Said the new rookie


    ¡°You¡¯re too uptight Jack.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, lighten up. This is easy money. A regular defenseless citizen and we¡¯ve caught him with his pants down to boot.¡± Said the two more seasoned mercenaries. They split off from the merc captain and treaded to their respective sides.


    They treaded carefully through the dark warehouse. There was a bit of a rumble under their feet and their luminescence visors flickered from light and dark.


    ¡°Solar Flares¡­¡± The merc captain muttered under his breath along with some more colorful words.


    The rookie, a man of a slightly lesser build than the others finally voiced the question that had been bothering him this whole time.


    ¡°Sir? Something¡¯s been bothering me for a while now. Why in the world would someone hire you, a member of the upper echelons of the SN Mercenary Coalition, to kill an ordinary citizen? I¡¯ve read the target¡¯s profile. A Zatch Jacob Grissom. An ordinary citizen as far as I could tell. He isn¡¯t high up in any organizations, nor does he have any exposure to any important information. Nothing that would make him a target, much less a target for you, Jack Crow. And then¡ª¡°


    The merc captain, Jack Crow, suddenly turned around and pushed the rookie up against the wall.


    ¡°Alright, I know you¡¯re new to this and all, but I do not appreciate the constant stream of crap that seems to be flowing from your mouth. We don¡¯t ask questions. We do our job, and make sure it isn¡¯t traced back to our clients. Got it?¡± He said with a dangerous edge to his voice. Before he could continue his lecture, he received a call over the comms.


    ¡°Hey boss. We moved through the warehouse as told to do. West and east sides are clear. We¡¯ll meet each other in the middle and then move to the north side. He won¡¯t be able to escape through the north side either, Butowsky rigged it with explosives prior to our entrance.¡±


    ¡°Noted. Be thorough. The ¡°good¡± doctor was very specific about how he wanted the job done.¡± Voiced Jack over the comms as he proceeded to the center of the warehouse. The sensual moans grew louder and louder as they continued their approach.


    ¡°Whoa¡­ Boss, we¡¯ve got a code black and blue. You¡¯ll want to come see this for yourself.¡±


    Jack¡¯s face darkened as he hurried his pace, the red dot dancing across the walls as he ran.


    ¡°Code black and blue? What is that supposed to mean.¡±


    ¡°Means that the target is already dead and there are other corpses with him.¡±


    They rounded a corner and came to the approximate center of the warehouse. There were cargo crates stacked high making a square enclosure. The rookie turned his head away from the sight.


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s impressive¡± Said Jack with a low whistle.


    On each of the four sides of the enclosure was a body. A wolf demi-human body to be exact. Each of the bodies were slumped up against the cargo crates. Above them was painted one long streak flanked by two shorter uniform streaks in something that looked suspiciously like blood. In the center of the enclosure was the most shocking sight of all. Suspended by a rope swung the target, Zatch Grissom. His eyes were closed and a happy expression floated upon his face. Below the hanging body was what looked like a recording device: Both the sensual groans and moans were originating from the machine.


    ¡°Seriously, how could the bastard have such a smug look on his face when he¡¯s been hung?¡± asked Butowsky.


    ¡°Maybe he killed them all and then hung himself? Who knows? Maybe Dr. Kulm saw him as a threat to society and wanted us to take care of it.¡± Said Jacob


    ¡°Idiot, we¡¯re not supposed say the name in the vicinity of the target.¡±


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    ¡°Oh who cares! He¡¯s dead anyway, and so are all the slaves. The light on the slave collar is dark, but there is still traces of light, so the bastard must have killed them pretty quickly.¡±


    While the two mercenaries bickered, Jack was doing vital checks on all of the wolf demi-humans. As much as he hated these impure humans, if there was a chance to gain information, he¡¯d take it. As he was running vital checks on the demi-humans he perked his head up after getting a reading on the small demi-human boy.


    ¡°Oi, get over here, we have a live one.¡±


    The three other mercenaries gathered around the small boy quickly knelt down.


    The small boy began to stir, his wolf ears twitching slowly as his eyes opened slowly, showing brilliant green irises that contrasted with his naturally grey hair. As soon as his eyes opened they scanned his surroundings. His eyes widened in fright at something behind him.


    ¡°Ashne-gah! Ashne-gah! Ty Ashne-gah ohk Vorsne!¡± Screamed the small child in terror as he scrabbled backwards, trying to escape from whatever it is he saw.


    ¡°What is the brat sayin?¡± Jacob asked brusquely.


    Under the helmet, Jack made a curious expression


    ¡°He¡¯s speaking in Qettish. It roughly translates to ¡®Hell Gone! Hell Gone! He has gone to hell and returned.¡¯ The last sentence was more on a name than anything. It¡¯s a name for a demon in the common mythology among the civilizations of the Explorer¡¯s Ring. It¡¯s another name for the Fiends.¡± Jack said.


    He turned around and looked at the hanging Zatch Grissom, the place where the boy¡¯s eyes were looking in terror. The earth beneath their feet started to tremble and the luminescence visors flickered and then went completely black, throwing everything into the darkness. The sensual moans and the groans also cut off completely.


    ¡°Dammit, solar flare fried our visors and the speaker, switch to the shielded flashlights.¡± Jack said as he looked around. The whimpering of the small boy continued through the dark.


    Their flashlights attached to their guns flickered to light, piercing into the veil of darkness. Their thin beams of light illuminated the boxed in area of cargo crates.


    ¡°Umm¡­ Where¡¯s the body?¡± Muttered Butowsky.


    His flashlight shone a beam upon the now empty noose as it swung slowly in the air.


    ¡°AAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG gggggggg Help ME! HELP ME! Help M--*loud crackling static*¡± This was followed by 5 shots from the G-7 EC Auto Rifle in rapid succession outside of the enclosure.


    Butowsky and Jacob looked at each other and in a single moment of realization.


    ¡°The rookie!¡± they said as they both rushed out.


    Jack just sighed and ran out with them.


    At the entrance lay the rookies G-7 EC, the barrel still slightly smoking from its recent discharge. They could hear a dragging sound as something receded into the darkness.


    ¡°Jacob, Butowsky, fan out. Coral whatever the hell that things is to the north side. We¡¯ll get it, or the explosives will.¡±


    Both of them split up and Jack went back inside to see if he could recover the kid. Instead, he was met with a frightening sight. The wolf demi-humans were no longer there. They were gone, but those strange blood marks were still upon the wall, and a new one was on the floor, right below the now occupied noose.


    Swinging slowly from the noose was the rookie. A knife was planted firmly in between his ribs.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that my knife?¡± Jack approached the body quietly.


    ¡°Jacob, Butowsky, what did you guys find?¡±


    The only thing that answered him was cold, emotionless static.


    Then, the static cleared up suddenly, and an eerie giggle came through the comms.


    ¡°*giggle* NO Communication. But don¡¯t worry. They¡¯re still alive. I¡¯m a bit more generous than you are with your targets. So I¡¯ll give you a chance. Walk away and don¡¯t come back.¡± Said the voice, light hearted at the beginning, but carrying a dangerous edge at the end.


    ¡°No way in hell Mr. Grissom. I¡¯m coming to kill you and mount your head on my f*cking Wall!¡±


    ¡°*giggle* Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, Language Mr. Mercenary. You are now on my kill list for that.¡±

 Chapter 4: A Real Demon

    Running quickly, Butowsky was running after Jacob through the East side of the decrepit warehouse. The stacks of old containers, each around 2 by 2 by 5 hurms*, towered a good 5 hurms above him, blending into the darkness.


    (Hurms: A unit of measurement for distance or length in the GVS {Galactic Value System}. One hurm is about 1.65 meters. A Kilohurm, is equal to about 1650 meters approximately.)


    One foot after the next, their boot soles crunched upon the dilapidated and broken tiles, the sound echoing in the vast warehouse. Butowsky¡¯s gun with its flashlight attachment was trained in front of him. The beam from the flashlight was not very powerful at all, and only dimly revealed what was 3 hurms in front of him. However, he was able to clearly see the outline of Jacob¡¯s back as they ran through the rows of old containers.


    ¡°What the hell do you think he is? The target I mean.¡± Asked Butowsky as they rounded a corner and continued following the sound of fleeing footsteps.


    ¡°What makes you think I know any more than you? We joined at the same time after the old man kicked the bucket.¡± Jacob answered quietly. ¡°Whatever it is, I highly doubt it will be able to survive a detonation of a 2 kilolanc of N8. Given that you wired it correctly.¡±


    {Lanc: A lanc is also a unit of measurement from the GVS, except this is a measurement of mass. One lanc is equal to approximately .5 grams.}


    ¡°And given that we coral the bastard to the north side. Looks more like we will have to put it down. Hey, you know what this reminds me of? That time on Kel¡ª¡°


    ¡°Don¡¯t you even start But-head. I never want to remember that night. That woman was effing insane.¡±


    This retort silenced Butowsky as he quietly chuckled. As they ran, Butowsky started to become more and more focused on just following his brother¡¯s back, and his mind began to wander. He began to mentally recount that night at the club on Kelton. His brother was hitting up a smoking beauty across the bar and he had been watching amused. His brother had never had any luck with women, so he found it quite surprising when he was taken back to her apartment. Butowsky had followed his brother. No, he was not a brocon, he was just concerned about his brother. Turned out that the woman was a host for a crazed symbiote.


    His brain began to recount the funny little details from that night. The green cocktail dress. The beaded doorway. The cheesecake. Her wildly flailing boobs. The gunshot. The cheesecake. The blood. Running through the alley to leave. The cheesecake. He really loved that cheesecake.


    He was so lost in his thoughts that he completely missed the giggling shadow descending from above.


    His brother, did not.


    Turning suddenly, Jacob pivoted upon one of his feet and tackled a surprised Butowsky.


    As they fell, Butowsky saw his brother¡¯s face contort in pain. Butowsky hit the ground hard, and Jacob¡¯s fall was cushioned.


    Struggling under the weight of his brother, Butowsky could only watch the giggling shadow slowly stand up and then turn its head. Butowsky¡¯s gun flashlight illuminated the right half of ¡®Zatch Grissom¡¯s¡¯ devilishly smiling face. The ends of his lips were turned upwards in an insane grin and his lips were pulled back to show his white teeth, that contrasted with his irregular right eye. The eye no longer just contained a pupil and a chocolate brown iris.


    The pupil was replaced with a vertical predatory sclera and the iris and the white of the eye was replaced with a glowing scarlet.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡®Zatch¡¯ took a spastic step forward as a soft giggle leaked from his lips. Butowsky struggled under the weight of his brother as he tried to reach for his gun. He suddenly stopped when he heard his brother whisper something into his ear.


    ¡°*gasping* He got me good¡­Ha¡­hah¡­Count of three¡­ I¡¯ll roll over¡­ Get up and run¡­¡± Jacob said with pain in his voice.


    ¡°Like hell I¡¯m going to leave you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m code black. Bastard hit an artery¡­ Get up and get the captain out¡­¡±


    ¡°Jac-¡°


    ¡°One.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave you¡­ The heck you thinking!¡±


    ¡°Two¡­¡±


    Butowsky looked into his brother¡¯s eyes and saw something he hadn¡¯t seen for a very long time. Determination. His brother had kind of been a pushover, that¡¯s why he never had any luck with women. But now, his eyes held a cold steely determination. Butowsky quietly nodded as his brother whispered into his ear


    ¡°Three¡­¡±


    In that instant, the brothers moved as one. Jacob rolled over onto his back and balanced his auto rifle in between his legs and opened fire. Butowsky flipped his body over into a sprinters position and ran, grabbing his gun as he ran, leaving his brother behind.


    Jacob could vaguely hear his brother¡¯s boot soles crunching on the tiles as he ran. Jacob had a sad smile on his face as he fired energy rounds at the frantically dodging target.


    ¡®Damn¡­ even though I was unlucky with women¡­ I wanted to marry a good girl someday¡­ have a kid¡­Butowsky would have made a good uncle I think¡­ yeah¡­.A responsible uncle¡­¡¯ He thought as his brain became delirious from the extreme bloodloss. His aim became worse and worse, to the point that he wasn¡¯t even close to hitting the approaching demon. The single luminous sclera was approaching until it stood over him, still faintly giggling.


    ¡®Zatch¡¯ sat down upon Jacob¡¯s weakly heaving chest and bent over so Jacob and he were face to face.


    ¡°*Giggle* Any last words? *chuckle*¡±


    Suddenly, ¡®Zatch¡¯ felt a cold metal barrel press against his thin environmental suit. Looking down, it was an old projectile pistol. One that fired actual bullets.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ go¡­ back¡­ to¡­hell¡­¡± Jacob said with a thin line of blood trickled out of his smiling mouth. This was the last will of a ¡°low born¡± Explorer Ring orphan. To save his brother. Before he could pull the trigger, ¡®Zatch¡¯s¡¯ hand had already grabbed the barrel and forced it up below Jacob¡¯s jaw. Slowly, his hand made its way from the barrel to the handle, always keeping the barrel right under Jacob¡¯s jaw. His pinky wrapped around


    ¡°*Giggle* Well then¡­ I¡¯ll send you on ahead!¡±


    Jacob¡¯s last thoughts were as follows.


    ¡®This guy is even worse than a fiend¡­¡¯


    Thus, the sound of three gunshots echoed throughout the old abandoned warehouse as Jacob¡¯s brain matter coated ¡®Zatch¡¯s¡¯ face.


    Running as fast as he could, Butowsky was cursing himself for his carelessness. He had lost his only family and the shock had hit him hard. He was just formulating a plan to carry out his brother¡¯s wish. His last wish. He was so absorbed he did not notice he walked past a package with a glowing red light. A fatal mistake that was.


    ¡®Zatch¡¯ sat up and relished the warm feeling on his face, as he heard a loud explosion.\


    ¡°Looks like the other got caught in his own explosive¡­ There was one more wasn¡¯t theeeeeerrrrrreeee *chuckle*¡±