Rotten to the Core

[Implosion]

Chapter 1: The Outlaw/Prologue
815 A.S.

-Jack! Jack! Please help me out man, don’t let me die out here! - Cried out Harvey - Please dog, tractor the damned pod in! I didn’t meant anything by it man...I….I… they paid me two millions for your head Jack!Plea….
Daniels didn’t even blink when he released the Nuclear mine from his Raven’s Talon. The device gently zig-zagged its way towards the crippled sabre and went off with a blinding flash. Blood crystals and debris from the suit and body of Harvey bombarded the ship’s canopy. But Daniels knew he wasn’t out of the woods yet. Once a mercenary working for the good guys, he had made the mistake to take a contract from a Rogue, going by the stage name “The Gangster”. The job was simple and it paid well. Jack had to escort traders and take very specific routes. Of course, they led straight to an ambush. The Rogues would board the freighters, assault the crew and plunder everything in sight. Daniels would get his half a million and merrily sail away. Considering he didn’t had to fire a single shot, the job was good at the time. It paid the bills. He still had to return more than thirty millions to the guy on Rochester. That’s excluding interest.
-You had to go and cross me, Harv… my one and only friend and you had to bloody sell my ass for two lousy millions. You frakkin’ moron…

“Your brought this on yourself, if only you listened to Katherine and ran like the coward you are. Or maybe she was right? Maybe deep down you’re truly the monster you always suspected? You’re going to die an ugly death, Danny boy. She’ll remain a Holden and she’ll never have your name, nor your children!”

He quickly dismissed that dark voice in his head. He had the bad habit of overthinking even the smallest of things. Good or bad. This was no different than any of the other messes he had gotten himself into.But Jack had a plan. A list of problems to deal with. A contigency... what if the rogue had sent people for his head as well? What if the girl he rescued and eventually fell in love with, Katherine Holden, would sell him out? What if the LPI caught wind of their scheme and decided to dispatch the SWAT teams? He could easily take out a LPI eagle or guardian, he had done so in the past. Other mercenaries were a problem, but Jack had not seen anyone capable of bringing him to justice in Liberty, not yet anyways. The big boys were up in the Omicrons and Sigmas, gunning for the NovaPG, 101st, the Brotherhood and even the Harvesters, those demonic A.I.s. Corporate escorts were also a joke, they couldn’t even protect their own lives. No way any of the big three would send them for him. Jack realized he hadn’t paid his last instalment to Big Jimmy. That meant one more blighter wanted him dead. The odds were rapidly stacking against the merc and that meant only one thing. Sooner or later, the Bounty Hunters would get involved. Most of them were living legends. They would appear out of nowhere and quickly fuck up their target. No mercy, no pity, no warning. Daniels knew what he had to do. His enemies had to do die, one by one. The sooner they kicked the bucket, the better.

-It’s time- said the man while opening a comm channel - Gangster, you asshole, I’m coming for your head. You and your boys done ef'd up now. You sold me out, you piece of shit. You double-crossing bastard. I swear on my life, I will k….

He couldn’t finish his sentence. A paralyzer missile overloaded his shields and a razor cut through his hull. The blast ripped off his broadside engine and the Talon was left limping. Moments after, a heavily armed Manta roared a few inches from his cockpit, turned sharply and unleashed another devastating mass of overheated death. It all went dark, Daniels could only hear the ring in his ears as he blacked out.

-Wake up sunshine, you’ve overslept! - Said the white shadow above his head -There’s someone who needs to talk to your sorry ass!
Jack was staring at her, but to no avail, he could only see oily shadows and blurred lights. His hearing was not impaired, however, which gave him at least a drop of hope. He could hear the ventilation cycling air and nothing else. They were on a space station, most likely Sugarland. An LPI prison in the Texas system, primarily filled with Rogues, Xenos and Junkers who happened to get caught in the act.

“You’ve done goofed now, Danny boy. A place filled with the people you hunt. Pardon, used to hunt, before you bent the knee and started working for them. You put some of them in here. The others would be as bad, if not worse. You’re screwed Danny boy, I hope you brought vaseline!”


That damned voice in his head was getting more annoying with every passing second, but sadly, it was right. Sugarland would mean Jack has entered a new, painful epoch of his life.

-Jack? - His theories were shattered when the second voice spoke. - Jack, are you okay? - It was Katherine. Somehow, Katherine was there? But why? Could she really
have betrayed him?

“She sold you out, Danny boy. Your beloved Kat snitched you to the cops! You complete loser! You were always a sucker for a nice ass!”

He tried to speak, but nothing came out, his body was still in shock. Lights began to blur even more and he passed out.
Hours later or maybe even days, Jack woke up and had no idea for how long he was out. He found himself in a functional room, if nothing else. The interior was poorly decorated with a few trinkets and a large bench with various tools scattered on it. Parts of different guns were also carelessly left around the place.
-Kat? KAT!?! - He screamed, but no one was there.
-Damn it, what have I gotten myself into?- He got up and tried to leave the room, but the door was locked. He sat on the bed and looked around for anything of use. An old pistol, mostly intact, was on the bench. He quickly put it together and tucked it in his belt. Or he would have if he was wearing any pants. He looked down and was surprised to see a pair of brand new underpants. The lack of any holes indicated they did not belong to him.

“Cheers, princess, somebody has bought you as their wife! Ha! Moron!

-ARGH! Would you shut the hell up?!
-But I haven’t said a thing yet, cowboy. -In his blind rage, he had failed to see the woman who walked into the room and was now leaning against the wall, smirking at him.
-Hey, sorry I... Wait, I’m not sorry, who the hell are you?! - He aimed his new gun at her and flicked the safety off. -Speak or you’ll have a few extra breathing holes, lady!
-Listen up, cowboy. Better put that thing down before you hurt yourself. Do you even know how to use it? This ain't no pleasuring stick, mate. I’d hate to tell Kat you shot yourself in the balls. - She grinned at him and continued. -I’m Jessica, Jessica Scarlet. A friend of Kats. She hired me to make sure you were dead. Or well, at least on paper. You’re lucky Mr. Price is a professional and his aim is much better than your life choices. I mean, did you really thought it’s good idea to work for pirates?! PIRATES? Man, you’re almost as dumb as you look.
-I want to talk to her.- Said the man, still keeping Scarlet in his sights. - Please.
-Go ahead, cowboy, pull the trigger. Come on, you take me out, there’s no one left to smuggle you out of Rochester. That’s right, the moment that loan shark sees your sorry ass, you’re done for.
-I’ll take my damned chances!- He pulled the trigger and naturally, the gun went up in smoke. It had done way more damage to his hand than anything else. But that was not the end of it. He felt a sharp pain in his chin. Scarlet had landed a very precise uppercut and he struggled to keep upright.
-Now then, after we had our fun, let me tell you how things will go. - She leaned against the wall again and continued her speech as if nothing had happened. - After you pulled Kat out of the fire, a wise decision if I may say so myself, she had to falsify her reports. She told her superiors that in fact, it was her who took out the pirates and saved that freighter. In turn, that landed her a promotion and she’s now Detective Katherine Holden, proud badge wearing crime fighter! Glorious, no? Thing is, if you’re linked to her in any way, the lies come to light. She gets arrested and you get arrested and I get arrested. We all become a happy jailbird family. -She paused for a moment to make sure Daniels was still listening. - And we certainly don’t want that to happen, don’t we? Now, personally, I wouldn’t help you, but Kat asked nicely. She also helped lift my ban from leaving New York. I’m heading for the Omegas tomorrow, to explore old alien stuff and find expensive trinkets. That’s all the hype as of late. Anyways, I digress. I’m going to drop you off on Sheffield Station in Bretonia. You’re not wanted there. You will sign up as a Bounty Hunter and you will find a way to murder both that illustrious “Gangster” fella and the Big Jimmy. That’s right, Jimmy’s in on it too and I happen to owe him a lot of cash too. But don’t be worried, they’re both very bad people. Gangsta you know, but Jimmy’s been moving a lot of cardamine around. He has a whole smuggling ring and the price his head will fetch would be enough for you to disappear.
Do we understand each other, Jack?

She didn’t wait for an answer, she just tossed a bag in his feet and left the room. As Jack was pulling the spacesuit out of it he knew he had no choice. If he stayed, his enemies would most likely destroy him. They would hurt Kat too. At the very least, they would expose her lies and ruin her career or maybe even abduct and torture her in order to catch him. But now, everyone thought he was dead. There was still a chance for Daniels to redeem himself.

“Come on you moron, put the space suit on already. We need to sort this mess before it’s too late.”

For the first time in many years, he agreed with the darkest part of his mind. He had to set things right. He quickly slipped into the flightsuit and really appreciated the hoodie that Jessica had brought him. That would hide his face. Elsewhere, people would become suspicious of him, but on Rochester, the last thing you wanted to do is to stare at somebody. People have been shot for less in this backwater dump. Hours later they were already zeroing in on Sheffield station and Jack had one last thing to do before starting his new life.

-Hey, I’m sorry I shot at you. -He mumbled. - For whatever it’s worth, thank you for doing this for me. Maybe we’ll meet again in the future and I’ll make sure to return the favor.
-Don’t sweat it, cowboy, I’m not doing this for you. -She smiled and continued- But it would be good to be owed a favor. Ah, there it is.
The CSV touched down in the docking bay and Daniels felt that old feeling in his gut. The feeling of uncertainty mixed with a pinch of fear. When the stepped off the ramp he heard Scarlet yelling at him:
-Hey cowboy, don’t get killed, okay? You’re the last person whose funeral I’d want to attend. - She winked at him and shut the sealed the cargo bay.

A new part of his life had began and he had no idea where that would take him. One thing was for sure. Jim and the Gangster had to die.

“That’s a frakking lame name for a pirate. The Gangster. Why not Mr. Gangsta or Gangster Man. Loosers. Absolutely morons. Let’s get to work, Danny boy, a whole lot of people to disintegrate and never enough time.

-You’re goddamn’ right.

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