Rogue Huntress

[Tenacity]

<... Location: Barrier Gate Station, Coronado System, 0846 Hours ...>

Aki walked down the dank corridor back to the Bastet's mooring airlock with Mathews and her security detail in tow. It had taken half an hour to exchange supplies with the shopkeeper, but they now had three tons of MOX and enough food to last a month.

A bright flash lit the hall and one of her guards screamed in pain as he fell to the floor with a thud. The rest spun around, taking up defensive positions in the alcoves along the walls of the corridor, bringing weapons to bear on their attackers.

Aki stuck her back to the wall and pulled her pistol from it's holster, peeking out to see who was firing at them. Roughly a dozen men were at the end of the hallway, firing laser and plasma blasts at them. One of the men hold up his hand and called for a cease fire, "Kimura! This is Jardo Fayde, come along peacibly and I wont have to slaughter your men today, capiche?"

Mathews lifted an eyebrow at her, and Aki yelled back down the hallway, "Jardo Fayde? Am I supposed to know who that is?"

The man's voice turned cold, like she had insulted him, "Babe, I'm the best bounty hunter this side of Sirius, dont tell me ya never heard of the legendary Fayde!"

Aki sighed and chuckled at the same time, "Every bounty hunter think's he's hot stuff, Fayde, but in the end you all go out the same way, crying for mommy!"

She had dealt with bounty hunters before, attacking their ego and discounting their claim to fame was the quickest way to make them lose control. Surely enough, only seconds later Fayde roared in a rage and started taking potshots at the alcove Aki was hiding in. "Guess I'm gonna have to take you in dead, shame that... they would've payed triple for you alive. Probably just to hear you squeal while they torture you to death!"

Aki motioned to the guard taking cover across the hall from her, he nodded and pulled a concussion grenade from his vest, depressing the charge button and tossing it down the hall. The bounty hunters were so caught up in their shooting that they didnt notice the little metal ball rolling to their feet.

A bright flash lit the hallway as the grenade exploded, blinding and stunning the bounty hunters. Her guards moved out from cover and lit their weapons up, mowing down the attackers. Aki held her hand up, ordering a cease fire, as she approached Fayde. He was lying on his back, several shots taken to the legs, writhing in pain and blinking his eyes to try and wear off the flash of the grenade.

Aki put a foot on his chest and looked down at him, "Nobody hunts me, Fayde." She lifted her pistol and squeezed the trigger, sending a bolt of light through his skull.

Turning back towards the Bastet's airlock, she motioned at the guards to pick up their downed soldier, he was shot twice in the back but if they got him to the medical center quickly enough he might survive. She turned to Mathews, "Get up to the bridge, I want us out of this system five minutes ago."

He nodded with an aye-aye and took off at a breakneck run for the ship's Bridge.

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