Shane’s Hunt

Shane pushed himself forward through the bright green brush, his weapon’s barrel the first to go through its leaves.

Guide Hark’s voice came through Shane’s Communications Platform to ask, “How is everything?”

Shane replied, “This suit’s horrible,” making Hark’s voice laugh through the platform.

“No, it’s just new. Once you get used to it, it’ll be the same as the last.” Shane couldn’t argue with that. He remembered saying the same thing about the Scales V.1 on another system’s desolate desert. The Flesh Z5, though, was advertised to be a much better utility suit. Shane didn’t trust the adverts, but Hark did, especially if Glin was wearing it. Hark hadn’t let go of that fatherly instinct, never mind the fact his son was a grown man with a greying beard. Shane knew it wouldn’t go away for him either. He had to bring his mind back to his eyes. Another mile had been walked and no signs of the thing were anywhere.

Shane asked quietly through the CP, “You got anything, Glin?”

An almost whisper came back through the CP, “Negative.” More and more miles would be marched, probably leaving the Preservation Crew with nothing for the day. Shane scanned to his left of the exotic jungle. Through a sea of vibrant pastel plants with their ripe fruits, Shane saw a dozen trunks of massive youthful trees. As he started turning back, he suddenly froze himself in place. Just at the corner of his eye, he saw the glint of a strange green. It was lighter than the rest of the leaves, and its pattern didn’t match the landscape. What the pattern was, Shane did not know. All his peripheral could tell was it wasn’t part of the flora.

He remained motionless as he whispered, “It’s on me. Just on my right.”

Glin’s full voice asked, “Can you move?”

Shane replied, “No, it’s only forty feet from me. It’ll reach me.” A fast pace was running through Shane’s heart, but it wasn’t abnormally so. This wasn’t the first time in his career Shane had been pressed into this situation. He knew how it would go; he just wasn’t a fan of it. Glin was no doubt sprinting towards Shane’s position. Perhaps he could get the shot from behind, avoiding the pain.

That hope suddenly faded when Hark ordered, “Get your Comatic ready when you get there.” Shane remembered their orders were to take the thing alive for examination, since this was a Commissions contract. He could see in his display that Glin was closing into Shane’s location. A few deep breaths got Shane ready as he felt the eyes of the creature holding a strong gaze, one that put a physical weight against Shane’s chest. The creature was waiting for the opening to pounce.

It soon got it as Glin said, “In position.” Shane had to be thrashed by the Lizard for two minutes before Glin could get an angle for the Comatic. It would leave a massive bruise wherever the Lizard put its saber teeth, but nothing would be broken. A bottle of any stiff drink would make it tolerable. Didn’t mean Shane had to like it.

He took another deep breath before he counted down, “Three… two… one.” At the one, Shane threw his hand into his display, activating the Z5. Soon sacs of a strange gelatinous liquid filled the suit's pores, so when the Saber’s teeth clamped down on Shane’s torso, the nine thousand psi would be redistributed through the suit. Shane still screamed when he felt the pressure, though. His breath shortened as ribs suddenly became snug with one another. Then suddenly, he was thrown off his feet as the Lizard thrashed him around. The momentum whipped his skull in every direction it could, but his hands still had a firm hold on his weapon. As the trees all became one massive wave of green, he felt all of that momentum crash him into the ground as the pressure against his chest lessened. The trees had suddenly become separated again, and Shane’s ribs grew apart to their original state. His eyes had gone up to the bright blue sky surrounded by thick treetops. Glin’s mask rushed over to Shane as he laid in the Saber Lizard’s mouth.

“You alright?” he asked.

Enough air came up from Shane’s chest to say, “Fantastic,” but it wasn’t enough to remove Glin’s concern. He grabbed Shane’s arm and back to help him up. As Shane stood, a sharp pain shot all the way up and down his side. He slowly hobbled over to a nearby tree and pressed his back against it to slide down to the ground.

He said as he sat in the thick moss of one of the tree’s roots, “That’s a broken rib. This is all you.”

Glin said, “Shit,” aloud as he examined the Lizard. Shane watched its chest rise and fall while its tongue was sprawled across the grass. Based on the moist gel coating the tips of its teeth, if Shane had been a moment slower, one of those blades would’ve punctured something. Shane looked down at the Z5 suit of armor and knocked his gauntlet against the hardened gel. It was wavy with that small amount of pressure, but once Shane tried to punch it, he felt the gauntlet hit a stone. No wonder the Lizard thrashed. A stone had formed around its teeth, probably felt like they were being ripped out of its skull. Shane almost felt sorry for the thing. Powerful engines suddenly filled the air. Glin was too busy reorienting the creature to look. The tree, though, gave Shane a wonderfully shaded view of the small cargo ship hovering over the treetops. Glin finally looked up to see a cable bring down the set of mag-restraints. The four small ones were shackled just above the Lizard’s claws while the large one went around its neck. The Steelen family was the first group of people to put the collar around the creature’s neck. Shane didn’t know if it was for the thing’s comfort or if it was simply easier to haul it up to the ship, but he quickly found he preferred it for the creature’s benefit. Most Preservation Crews were brutes about procedure, but they didn’t get paid as much as the Steelen’s. Shane watched how quickly the magnetic hauler brought the lizard up to the open deck of the ship. Once the comatose beast was locked in, Glin came over and grabbed Shane.

As Shane laid on the small medical table the Steelen’s had, his one fellow none Steelen, Fio, approached. He had a grin on his face.

“Shut up,” Shane said, trying to hide his own grin as a wince. Fio saw right through it, though.

“Last crew and this crew, there’s a pattern there, Shane, you can’t deny it.” Shane did, in fact, see a pattern. He had been told a while ago that he had a heavy footstep.

Unable to argue, Shane just simply shrugged and said, “Next crew, I’ll tell them my special skills are being bait. Everyone needs bait.” Fio chuckled.

“I suppose so,” Fio let some silence linger before he asked, “Seriously, you alright?” Shane took a moment to examine himself. He’d heal, yes, but without some suppressant or liquor, he’d be cranky for a bit.

Shane gave the answer, “I will be,” to calm Fio’s mind. They quickly grew together when they realized they’d been employed by a family. Neither Fio nor Shane had deciphered the family’s second language, but it was one that wasn’t too foreign to them. All crews had inside jokes, hand signals, and lingo that was unique to them. With them being a family, the lingo was deeper, more entrenched. The hand signals had just become instinct, and the inside jokes were extremely guarded. Fio and Shane had worked together on a previous crew, but it was such a large organization that they never interacted. Shane found himself very early on trusting Fio, who hadn’t failed him yet. As Shane stood from the table, Fio was ready to catch him, but Stella’s resetting of the rib removed a lot of pain. Instead, Shane just patted his friend on the back as he left the med bay.

He came immediately into the common area, which had no one inside. Shane took it as an opportunity to sit down on the nice orange couch in the center of the room. The dark wood bar, with orange neon lining it, made a deep regret fall into Shane’s chest.

Luckily, when he began to stand, Fio gently pushed him back down and asked, “Your usual?” Shane let a wide smile go across his face as he let out a sigh.

“Yes, thank you, my friend.” He then settled down and grabbed a nearby glass display and swiped so a hundred-inch piece of glass slowly descended from the ceiling. “Perhaps there’s a race today.” He pressed the display so the entertainment complex would start. Shane immediately changed the stream to the Sports and saw two teams of three playing Tetra-Ball, a game he couldn’t care less about. “Damnit,” he sighed out.

Fio looked at the complex and raised an eyebrow as he said, “It’s Tetra-Ball. A female… game of… Tetra-Ball.” Shane looked over to Fio’s eyes, which were becoming entranced by the powerful bodies on the screen.

“It’s not even in season. Seeding games are too reserved. Nothing gets done, male or female.” He glanced back again and still saw Fio’s eyes locked on the screen. A smile crawled across Shane’s face as he brought the glass display up. He swiped and watched as Fio's eyes went wide.

“Hey! What are you-” Shane laughed as he looked back at the complex and finally saw something worth a watch. It was “Across Provinces” a series dedicated to examining ships and stations in the galaxy. The one episode in particular was on Wave Station.

“Fio, come on, look at that view.” His friend came over and looked at the complex.

“I preferred the last one.” Shane grinned at the humor, but then felt himself entranced in a more awesome sense.

Wave Station was also known as Raiken Station. It was created by the powerful Raiken family, one of the many families in vehicle manufacturing. Their CR-11s were almost masterpieces, but way outside of Shane’s price range-hopefully not for long. To Shane, though, their greatest creation was Wave Station. It sat in the orbit of a gaseous system called Vexsis. The atmosphere of elements created a gorgeous mix of wintery blue, a simple grey, and an almost fluorescent green. As a child, Shane had been so obsessed with the system, he memorized every element that made those colors. His work had forced that knowledge out, leaving only his admiration.

The host of the series said with a calm luxurious tone, “The cost range of a penthouse on Raiken station starts as low fifty million in Veerian Currency all the way to three hundred million. That three hundred million going to the crown jewel of Raiken Station: Embrace Penthouse.” Immediately, a set of doors slid opposite one another into their respective walls and showed the penthouse. Passed the dark polished wood floors and furred couches, Shane saw the thousands of kilometers wide storm that blended the blue, grey, and green into a beautiful chaos. The windows of the penthouse were tall and wide, so there was little to no obstruction of the view.

“Fio, come on! Look at that.” Fio nodded.

“Yeah, I can’t deny that.”

“Exactly,” Shane said. He loved Vexsis, especially being so far into his career. Habitat Preservation turned lush green systems into a sight of work. A gas system meant nothing at all. There was no life for a gas system to hold so there was nothing to preserve. Just a masterpiece of the Light for Shane to stare at. It was a wonderful thing, but it was quickly over as Hark entered the room.

“Oh, that’s gorgeous,” he said, then he quickly transitioned, “We already got another contract. It’s an Assembly one.”

Shane stood up slowly as he said, “Means someone let their ego get too big, I bet.” Hark nodded as he started stepping back into the corridor.

“I suspect the same. Wants to meet in person. Don’t do that unless you don’t want a record.”

Fio was quick to say, “Puts the leverage on our side for negotiations.” Hark smiled at the statement.

He then looked over at Shane and said, “He’s getting it.” Shane nodded.

“Yes, he is.” Shane followed after Hark with Fio into the guide room. A massive table sat in the middle of the room that had a glass pane sitting inside its frame. There, sitting at a desk twenty feet away, snugged inside an observation cubby, was Stella with Lora, her ten-year-old daughter. Her skin glowed as she sat and watched Lora listen for her baby brother’s little dances. Usually, Lora sat quietly and played with some benign tool when she was done listening.

This time, she came running up to Shane and asked, “Are you okay??”

Shane replied, “I’ll survive. Takes more than a lizard to take me down.” Lara grew a big smile on her face before she hugged him. It put a smile on his face, one that filled him with a joy and warmth he hadn’t felt in a while.

Lara then stepped away and asked, “Could I come with you on one?” Shane looked up and saw Stella’s face. He knew from their conversations that both Stella and Glin wanted their girl to be a girl, a safe girl. Any indulgence of adventure near a Preservation Crew meant she’d want to join one in the future. Shane didn’t understand the desire. He only ever used his intelligence, will, and reflexes on contracts. Too much currency had been put into Preservation for there to still be a need for pure raw strength. He even looked down at his rib and realized Z5s were quite an investment.

Shane replied, “I think that’s a question for your father,” to avoid the whole thing.

Glin suddenly appeared from behind and said, “Oh, glad to see the Light guided you out of that one.” Shane let a grin grow over his face as Stella stood from her desk.

“I don’t think anything went dark at any point, but yes,” Shane said.

Stella came over with her pregnant belly and said, “You were at risk all the same.” Shane thought he saw her eyes suddenly look down at Lora, but he wasn’t sure. If Stella was trying to signal Shane to say something for Lora’s benefit, the Steelens should’ve learned a long time ago that Shane didn’t do such things.

Lora instead asked, “Can I go with you on another one?” Stella this time shot a glance at Glin.

After a few seconds of staring, Glin told his daughter, “How about the next time I set up the ground camp, you come with me. A distant observation of what we do.” Shane let another massive smile grow over his face as he watched Lara do a quiet little celebratory dance before kissing her father on the cheek and scurrying off into the ship.

Shane saw Stella send a glare at Glin. Something that was none of his business was about to unfold, but everything had been avoided when Hark said, “Well,” bringing everyone’s attention back to the center table of the room. “The Assembly wants us to meet their representative in Misan.”

Fio was quick to say, “Little luxurious for a back-alley deal.” Hark simply shrugged as his son and daughter-in-law prepared the ship.

“I won’t lie and say I found it strange, but so is meeting in person for a contract. Yet here we are.” Hark suddenly threw his hand out. Both he and Fio had forgotten about the Lightway’s light jolt. Shane was already holding onto to something, of course. His chest demanded it.

Misan was only half a day’s journey across the Lightway. Shane spent most of that time on the orange couch, taking the time to study his body. The ostepropellants were doing well. Shane’s rib wouldn’t be fully healed by the end of the jump, but most likely, before they started the contract. He did want to get used to the pain quickly, though. That’s why when Hark asked for someone to come with, Shane was quick to volunteer, which automatically added Fio to the group.

“Doesn’t hurt to have extra muscle,” were Hark’s exact words. Shane threw on a thin black dress shirt and closed the magnetic seam. He quickly checked the mirror and saw the medical wrappings were done properly. No blood had come out onto his shirt. With that, he followed Fio into the Steelan’s Carter-Dixon.

With a quick reverse out of the cargo bay that once held a Saber Lizard, Hark drove the vehicle out of Misan’s council seat. The rays of the province above gave a wonderful warmth to them. When Shane looked to his right, he could see Hark was driving them along a coastline. One Shane could tell was manufactured. The sand was too fine, the water too blue. Misan, as a system, was not made by any Habitat Engineering team. All of it reeked of leisure companies and appraisal firms. Families and young couples were in the water, playing around as people do, while the other vehicles on the street were filled with families intent on doing a shopping spree. The buildings caught Shane’s eye, though. Massive towers of glass had entire gardens and boutique villages some forty stories above. Glass walkways continued to shift and cascade the province’s light over the Carter Dixon as Hark drove underneath them. Shane had gone to a similar system many years ago. Some species of fluffy creature had bred so quickly that the genetically manipulated luscious jungle the corporation had made was being devoured at a rate of an acre a day. Shane didn’t like how they finished that job and pushed it out of his mind. Luckily, the vehicle’s gentle stop made it easier.

“The representative says he’s on the fiftieth floor. A restaurant named Provincial Kiss,” Hark said. Shane and Fio both nodded as they quickly stepped out of the Dixon. All three of them watched as the floor of the building began lowering it into the ground. Once Hark got the notification on his wrist display and saw he was charged, the three of them went inside the compound. As they walked across the polished granite floors, Fio pointed up at something above Shane.

“They’d let you land anywhere in that thing.” Shane followed Fio’s finger to a K.A.X. Omen-3. It was the bachelor’s ship. Any young man with enough money could find themselves flying to anywhere. And Fio was right, an Omen rarely got rejected by towers. It was floating in mid-air, all eighty feet of its wingspan, suspended by a magnetic scaffolding hidden somewhere in the building’s architecture. It was thin, almost like a blade, with a long tail behind its back. The cockpit was integrated into the body of it, so it was a completely streamlined craft. 

“Sexy is a universal language, isn’t it?” Shane said, putting both a grin on his and Fio’s face as they followed Hark into the chamber.

“How about you Hark? Planning on retiring?” Fio asked as the floors of metal and glass flashed in front of them.

Hark replied, “Yes,” then turned around and pointed at the coastline view behind them all, “Right there.”

Shane's eyes went wide for a moment before he said, “Thought you would have been doing this until your heart stopped.” A small, but obvious, frown went over Hark’s face.

“It hasn’t been that much fun without Pelia around.” Shane felt his own heart get heavy at the name, enough that it made him forget his rib. Last time Shane heard it, Lora had tears in her eyes. Hark’s wife had died two years before he joined the Steelans. He knew nothing of her, just that her death wasn’t horrid or anything along those lines. The kingdoms and A.R.M.S. all made laws that obligated Preservation Crews to give a list of all deaths during contract. The Steelans had no names appear on their data, so she must have died naturally somehow. Shane would never tell them that from his experience, that was a good thing to celebrate. She clearly left a hole in them all, one that Shane knew drove Fio mad. Many times, he tried to change how something was done during a contract but heard Pelia’s name in the counter. Shane wondered if that’s why Fio’s eye was so quick to find the Omen. He suspected Fio wouldn’t be on the crew much longer.

Suddenly, the chamber doors opened and Hark stepped forward onto the fiftieth floor. It was another massive space. This time, luxurious vehicles were sitting on slowly spinning podiums, catching the province’s rays just right across their driver doors. A sudden flick of movement in Shane’s peripherals helped him find the Provincial Kiss over on his left. The sign above the door was a water display. An amber sphere of water floated in a glass frame before it suddenly flicked into a sharp cursive that spelled the name of the restaurant. When Shane followed Hark inside, he immediately noticed how most of the place was glass. Usually, Shane saw a habitat take up a whole wall with creatures swimming around to match the place’s aesthetic, that, or some projections on a metal wall. Here everything was some kind of prism. It reminded him of Brodil’s engineering. The man Hark was suddenly sitting across from had the province at his left side, so Shane could only see half of his face.

He was good looking in the average sense. The man had no chance of being a model for something, but the ring on his hand wasn’t strange for him to have at such a young age. Shane’s eyes quickly went to his attire after that. The man was so scrawny that even in his custom dress attire, everything looked too large. Still, he gave Hark what looked like a strong handshake. For a man who wanted to meet on a system like Misan, he was rather pale. Shane shook his hand and found it to be an average strength. Once he sat down, close enough that his eyes could adjust to the province’s light, Shane took another look at him. His eyes were brown, with the same color head of hair to match, that was stick straight, and he had a hooked nose with the dark shadow of a beard running across his cleft chin. The man’s cheeks were quite defined, but Shane knew that was from his weight. 

“Mister Steelan, who are these gentlemen?” His eyes darted between Shane and Fio.

Hark replied, “That one’s Shane, the other is Fio. Whatever the contract is, they’ll be on it.”

The man nodded and said, “Very good,” as a server placed a plate of food on his gel placemat. He looked up and said, “Thank you, sir,” before he began eating. Shane took the opportunity to look at the staff. All of them had on dress attire vests with a tight high collar. They also kept a stick straight regal posture. When Shane watched the man’s server turn around, he saw the back of the collar go all the way to the middle of the man’s skull. The place was owned by someone from the Cendorian Kingdom, Shane had no doubts about that. Only the Cendorian culture forced manners into the attire and, based on the almost fluid motion of the servers, they were Cendorian as well. It was strange to have a place like Provincial Kiss on an Edge Kingdom’s system, but so was meeting a man for a contract.

Hark waited as the man finished a few bites of his food, then asked, “Could I ask why all the espionage, mister…”

The man quickly replied, “It’s not espionage, Mister Steelan. The Assembly simply wants to keep this in their hands before they have to make a public report. I can’t imagine many spymasters meet in restaurants with the province setting.” The man then turned to his left, into the light of the province, and looked out his nearby window. “Oh, look at that sight.” Shane didn’t disagree. Even though the province was nowhere near the horizon, it already was spitting out florescent pinks and fiery amber oranges. Shane quickly followed the rays pouring inside the restaurant. Somehow, the glass architecture was storing the amber glow in each table and the four prisms in the corners lit the whole room evenly in an amber blanket. Shane could have sat there all day, but when he turned back, he saw another detail about the man that made him forget it all.

He had a prosthetic, one he didn’t try to hide or show off. Shane knew little about them other than the Designist debate. For such a dangerous job, Shane had managed to keep himself intact. This man’s right arm, the one that shook Shane’s, was a dark steel, but it was very anatomical. The sheet of metal that acted as his skin was thin enough that Shane could see whatever cables that acted as tendons move in his hand as he held his knife.

“Anyway,” the man said, “Would you gentlemen like to eat or get to it?” Hark’s finger suddenly tapped the table, then hopped over an inch.

Before Hark could answer with words, the man had already translated that reflexive gesture as, “The latter. I understand.” He then said, “They made it clear you’re one who wants to know particulars. Context is a Habitat Engineer by the name of High Fellow Jaren Brosh was caught conducting experiments outside of his duties.”

Fio was quick to say, “Duties. So not contracted.”

The man pointed at Fio and said, “Correct,” then clarified, “Duties for the crown of a certain kingdom we are sitting in now,” before he continued, “He sent his complete customary report and sought out permission to create the Seeding Pod with the data. It was granted, but he did not give the regular update to the catalogue. Now, since the Assembly is simply a sentinel of reputation, not a recognized authority, they advised His Majesty, and expected nothing else from it. Within thirty hours, they were granted full authority from the Crown to investigate. What they found was what you are to investigate.” Hark chuckled.

“Investigate, since when did I become Crown Guard?” The man waved his hand down, hoping to settle Hark.

“You’re right. That was a poor word choice. What they found is what you will be hunting.”

Shane finally spoke to say, “Shoot to kill. Not even an attempt to capture.” The man nodded.

“I’ve been told that is not possible. That’s why,” the man reached into his attire jacket pocket, which both Shane and Fio’s hands on their weapons. He waved them down and pulled out a small silver square that fit in his palm. A quiet slide across the table placed it in Hark’s hands. “You’ll be given half now and half later.” Shane knew it was a currency marker. How much it represented, he didn’t know, he did know only men he found suspect, to say the least, used them.

“I’ll need more than a marker and a vague story.” The man nodded and pulled out another piece of silver. It was an inch thick disk, a data drive most likely.

“That will have all the information the Assembly’s acquired for the hunt. I was told you’d understand the word Abnormal.” Shane knew it well. Abnormal was a status given to creatures, environments, or processes that had either gone awry or were not approved for creation by the Assembly. Not approved made up about forty percent of Abnormal statuses. Shane looked over and saw Fio’s jaw clench.

Once he made eye contact with Shane, who gave him a nod, he asked, “Did they give you a classification?” The man had stopped chewing the moment he heard the question.

He swallowed whatever was inside his mouth, then replied, “Yes… D3.” Shane immediately chuckled.

“That’s some deep lizard shit mystery man.” The man shrugged.

“I can’t say I disagree. I’ve worked with enough fellows to know what that means. But I’ve been told you’ve faced a fair share of D3s before.” There was some silence over the table as the province continued to set. The man broke it to state, “If you won’t take the job, then I’ll need the marker back.” Hark sighed and then glanced at both Fio and Shane. Neither man gave a reaction, putting it all down to Hark. They sat in the amber glow, letting Hark think in silence. Shane saw him twirling the marker. He had been with the Steelans long enough to know if that much thought had been given, Hark was taking the contract. The thinking was how he was going to sell it to Glin and Stella, maybe Stella more than Glin. He finally looked up at the man and gave him a nod. Suddenly, the man’s hands were back in his jacket as he pulled out a palm sized glass cube. He gently placed it on the table and Shane watched the whole table glow blood red. The man swiped at the table and brought out two sets of blank digital documents to be displayed on the glass of the table. “Displayed here are two data drafts. I’m here to serve as the transmitter of the contract between your crew and the Assembly. The background data you see in the small frame over here is a transcript of our discussion. My S.I., as you can see, is creating a contract between you and the Assembly, and the Assembly to you.”

Fio stated, “Double voucher seems overkill.” The man grinned.

“The double voucher is my group’s standard policy.” A word popped into Shane’s mind.

“Solicitor,” he said, “You work for the Solicitor General.” The man nodded. Again, Shane knew little about the Solicitor General or any of his Solicitors. He just knew that on one contract, the presence of one made his Head Guide uneasy. And that one from many years ago had the same well done black attire and clandestine behavior. Fio’s sudden lack of color in his face told Shane he knew more about them. If he remembered to care, Shane would ask, but he knew himself well enough to know he wouldn’t.

The man spoke again and asked, “So, is everything good enough for your signature, or would you like to read over them?”

Hark replied, “I’d like to send these to a friend of mine if that’s alright. He was a former contract advocate.” The man nodded.

“Yes, the Assembly told me you would ask. He’s expecting the documents. Once both parties agree to terms, I’ll begin a signing.” That was enough for Hark to stand and shake the man’s hand again.

“We’ll be waiting. Enjoy your meal.” The man gave a nod and then shook Shane's and Fio’s hands before sitting back down to his meal. As they left the restaurant, Shane made sure to take another look at the man as he sat in the dying light of the setting province.

Shane sat on the orange couch again, watching the glass display. His rib had fully connected, but the bone wouldn’t solidify for a while. A discussion was underway somewhere on the ship about the contract details. Since it had been over an hour of silence on the ship, Shane figured someone would come out soon. He’d stay still until they arrived and let the bone harden a little more. Eventually, Glin stepped out of the nearby corridor, trying to hide some anger. Shane didn’t really care; the dynamics would be stable again within the hour. Hark stepped into the common room, bringing Shane’s eyes back to the corridor entrance.

“It’s all set. We’re officially on contract to hunt a D3.” Shane nodded as stood up from the couch.

“How much was the marker?” Hark held it up and showed it to Shane before tossing it to him.

As Shane caught it and held it in his palm, Hark replied, “Five million Cendorian.” Shane felt all the blood rush out of his face. ‘Half now, half later’ had reappeared in Shane’s mind. A total of ten million in Cendorian currency was in their future. It wouldn’t get Shane on Wave Station, but it was a good start. Shane looked down at the marker again and felt his stomach drop. He knew Fio would quit the moment he got his cut of the prize. Shane wondered what he would do. Hark said, “We’ll have the briefing soon. I haven’t looked at the thing myself, so we’ll see if it’s worth all the chatter.” Shane gave a nod and watched as Hark followed Glin.

Ten minutes passed before everyone was inside the guide room. Hark got a nod from everyone before placing down the disk the man had given. Once it was down, all the data was displayed by the hologram. Quickly, in the center of the projections, was the Abnormality. It was a white-skinned beast with four legs. When Shane looked closer, he saw that the skin was composed of small smooth scales. His eyes traced the creature up its long, slender neck to the head. Its eyes were a solid blood red, while its mouth held the same teeth of a Saber Lizard. Two saber teeth guarded each side of the open mouth. Along the jaw line was a single dense row of sharp, smaller teeth. It also had an eel like frill running down both sides of its neck. A tail sat at its end and each of its legs carried a set of three short but thick talons. Of course, short being relative to its size. Shane looked at the data scrolling around the creature and saw an image. A claw print was made in the soil. The engineers had measured it at three foot three inches. Its length was estimated between fourteen to twenty feet. Even standing on all four of its legs, the creature was nine feet tall.

Hark explained all of its genetics. All Shane remembered was that it was a hybrid of thirty different sets of genetic fabric. No more context of Fellow Brosh’s motives was given. All that remained was where the creature was. A moon orbiting a massive gaseous system named Solon. If the system was named, then many other moons in its orbit were settled. The one selected was clearly underway to becoming such a place once the abnormality was removed. Lush vegetation, fertile soil, good healthy rains, it would be an agricultural system. Most likely, an agricultural system that would do most of its exporting to the orbiting Solon systems. Shane had heard more Barons and Dukes were interested in ‘Isolated Provinces’. If the Crown had commissioned the construction of one, it must have been his own claim. That was irrelevant to the contract though. Shane just finally understood why the secrecy and ‘espionage’ as Hark put it.

The Steelan crew sent the ship towards Solon and spent three days on the Lightway before finally arriving in the province. Once the ship’s Veil was pulled back, Shane found himself in another state of awe.

Solon was massive, most likely double the size of Vexsis. Whatever gases made it created a series of warm tans and browns along with massive streaks of grey. Its entire equator was just a band of thousands of storms raging in and out of one another. Already, with only having just entered the province, Shane could see a few dozen small specks he knew were Solon’s moons. The province of Solon, Pilix, was a large orange beast that kept a steady anchor to the area. Within a minute, the Steelans were entering Solon’s orbit, putting that beast’s light in an orange ring around the system’s atmosphere. Shane felt a joy flood over him as he watched the storms move, but it was short-lived. Soon, the ship was engulfed in flame as Hark sent it through the atmosphere of the moon. Once they got through, Shane saw Solon towering through the haze of the blue sky, and then he was ordered to get his gear.

He got on the Flesh Z5, his knife, and, since it was a hunt, he grabbed the Steelan’s HLR-M3. It was a rifle made by Meldor Manufacturing, specially designed for Preservation Crews. It was an energy weapon that launched the laser bolt straight at a target. One of its energy cartridges had thirty ‘expulsions’ to fire. Shane hated the term. It was a weapon like any other, so in his mind, the thing had thirty rounds. The one issue Shane had was the Abnormality had four inch thick skin. The M3 had been made for fauna with less bulk than that. Shane looked over at Fio and saw him grab the harpoon gun.

“Why are you going with that?” Shane asked.

Fio planted his helmet onto his Z5 suit and said through the communications platform, “Figured I’d poison the bastard if that doesn’t work.” He pointed directly at Shane’s M3. It was a proper strategy. The abnormality was powerful, but it was still flesh. No matter what fabric was inside the creature, it wasn’t resistant to Scythe Spit. It was an extremely valuable thing that preservation crews often found themselves getting for free. Scythes were the most common nuisance crews had to deal with. Most Scythes were usually killed by entire industrial hunting expeditions, but some either got big, or were ‘rogue’ as the Observers put it. Shane had killed at least a dozen ‘rogue’ Scythes throughout his career. And every time, the Guide was willing to lose a cut of currency if they were willing to give the spit for free. If done properly, a crew would walk away from a Scythe with a gallon of its spit. Whether dry or wet, Scythe Spit was toxic. Even if the gland in a Scythe itself burst, the creature was dead within a minute. And since the Steelans had no plans to eat the creature, there was no problem delivering the poison. Shane was glad Fio took it upon himself to use the Spit. Even if the thing was an Abnormality, it was still alive. It would feel a burn, but it would be dead before it could cry. It was the best they could with such a beast.

Fio was already walking down the entry ramp of the cargo bay. The ship’s engines were muted by the suit, but still hurt Shane’s ears. He did a light jog, then hopped down the three feet and watched as the ship took off.

Finally, Hark’s voice came through the platform, “Glin’s getting himself ready right now. You two get the data from the Seeding Pod while he sets up a camp at the thing’s last known.”

Shane chuckled as he said, “Ah, give your boy the cushy jobs.”

Hark replied, “Oh no, Lara gave him the easy job. Wouldn’t let him forget his promise. I just wasn’t willing to fight on her on it.”

“Surprising,” Fio said, which made Hark laugh. Shane, though, noticed a hint of bitterness in his saying of it. Luckily, once the ship left, there could be no communication between them and the ship since the camp wasn’t built yet.

Shane took the opportunity and said, “Fio, be honest with me. Are you staying with this crew long?” as they walked through the thick forest.

Fio kept his eyes forward, looking for anything dangerous, as he replied, “I don’t know. I don’t like this kind of dynamic, Shane. We’re down here because the thing’s a D3 and yet Glin isn’t part of this team because Tara wants to go on an adventure. And yes, I know that’s not really why. Stella doesn’t want to watch her husband get eaten. My main problem is you can’t argue because you’d do the same if it was your family.”

Shane countered, “Industrial crews were much different in terms of expendability.” Fio still kept looking ahead.

“But that one you could argue, and something would actually change. If two people were friends or more than friends and started making different calls because of it, then they were separated or one was taken off the crew. It’s an easy fix. Glin took my spot last time because he knew I was getting sick of it, but still nothing’s going to change.”

Shane let a silence linger before he asked, “Wouldn’t you feel bad leaving them? They’re decent people and the brothers aren’t coming back it seems.” Fio simply shrugged as they continued forward. It was all completely reasonable, and things Shane had thought himself. Still, they were the best crew he’s been with, that made leaving for anything other than retirement a mistake. Retirement though, was a possibility in Shane’s mind with this currency. With such a high end and exotic crew like the Steelans, Shane’s allowance had grown quite well. Ten million currency for the whole crew meant Shane was getting at least a few hundred thousand. Most of the bulk share went into the Steelans operation, which made sense of course. Shane didn’t like that their personal fees were excluded in that cut, but he never argued. The rest was given to Shane and Fio. After the Abnormality, both men would have more than a million waiting for them. Shane realized his mind had wandered too much. He still had to finish the hunt before he could see the currency.

He brought his eyes back forward and kept a diligent watch for half an hour, bending, slicing, and climbing through the forest, until both him and Fio had reached the seeding pod. It had been a while since he had to retrieve data from one, but it was exactly the same as the last. Since it was the source of the once desolate moon’s life, the metal pod was covered in a foot thick shell of vines, roots, flowers. Hundreds of little creatures were scurrying around it, mostly pollinators. The surrounding flowers were the oldest and the healthiest so it was an easy choice. Shane had read a whole informant article about how entire hives had grown to become bulky just to compete for the pod. The Z5 wouldn’t let the creatures through, so Shane drew his knife and began cutting away at the green hill in front of him. After only a few minutes and some unconventional uses of his M3, Shane got through to the pod.

The metal had fully begun to rust, which wasn’t an issue. In fact, when Shane could just simply punch through a patch of rust and reach the data bay, he appreciated the flaw. With a light rip, Shane had the data bay in his hand. It was a black metal cylinder that had been completely untouched by the elements, except for the one slithering creature coiled at its center. After it tried and failed to bite Shane, the creature slithered into the long thick grass and disappeared among the trees. Shane handed it to Fio and scanned around the forest to see if he saw anything. Amongst the hundred-foot-tall trees were creatures flying, jumping, and buzzing about. Whole carpets of flower went along the forest floor while moss saturated every trunk of every tree, but there was no threat. The Abnormal must have left a long time ago. Fio tapped Shane’s shoulder, and they were walking back to the creature’s last known location.

As they walked, Glin’s voice had come through their communications, “How are we gentleman?”

Shane quickly replied, “We have the data bay,” as they continued forward.

“Very good, very good. I’m only a hundred feet from you guys. Bring it up and I’ll go through it.”

“Seems rather pointless, doesn’t it? Assembly gave us all the data we needed on the thing.”

After some silence Glin came back through and said, “One of the small details in the contract was that the Assembly wanted Fellow Brosh’s work. Nice bonus for that.” Shane felt his stomach twist at that. For all the work to kill the creature like it was an abomination, the Assembly wanted its data like it was some masterpiece. Shane didn’t care to think along that path any further. Once his foot stepped out into a large clearing, Shane just put his mind back to the hunt. He approached and handed Glin the bay as he continued scanning the forest. That’s when he suddenly noticed Lora playing with a flower only five feet from Glin’s camp.

Shane walked over and asked, “How you doing kid?” She replied by holding up a massive pink flower.

“Look at how pretty this is!” Shane agreed. The pink of the flower was the same kind found in the deep setting of a province, and it was spread across ten thick petals.

“Beautiful.” Shane took it from her and then popped it in her hair, just behind her ear. “But now it’s prettier.” Immediately after that, Lora gave Shane a big hug.

“You’re a good friend, Shane.” The man felt a sudden stab in his heart at the statement. All those thoughts of leaving put a heavy guilt on him. Somehow, in one moment, the man decided to stay with the Steelans for as long as he could.

“You make it easy Lora.” That put a tighter squeeze on Shane, one that he couldn’t feel at all because of the Z5. Yet it still gave him great joy. Glin came over and stood beside Lora as she let go of Shane.

“That’s beautiful, my love.” Lora immediately turned around with a big smile.

“Can we take some with us?” Glin shrugged and let a grin slip onto his face.

“I don’t see why not.” The girl did her quick little dance before she started picking more. It put a smile on Shane’s face. Then Glin poked the glass of his helmet and said, “I’ll stay with her you and Fio can check the bay, see if there’s anything else about the thing you can know.” Shane gave a nod and met Fio on the small metal platform with a complex on it. Fio was staring into the display, almost completely still as he examined the data.

“Find anything?” Shane asked. Fio shrugged.

“No not really. Big dangerous thing. I watched it get out of its egg, which means the Fellow had it for quite some time before he added it to the pod. Little thing scurried straight away into a storm and that’s all that exists in the visual archive. A few unidentified roars occurred throughout the year. Other than that, nothing. It’s definitely here though.” Shane nodded and then turned back to the forest surrounding them. Lora and Glin were still playing in the flowers as the rest of the clearing was empty. Shane’s heart suddenly froze for a moment when he began scanning the actual trees.

He didn’t know why until he scanned back to his left for a few feet and then he saw something. Two ovals of red were sixty yards from him, sitting unbelievably still in the thick brush beneath the massive trees. After some time, the green that surrounded them turned out to be out of place. Bushes were suddenly cutoff, and a tree trunk had completely disappeared behind a wall of green.

“Glin grab Lara and hold still,” Shane said as he slowly raised his M3 up. Fio was about to move, but Shane stuck his hand out and grabbed him, “Don’t move.” The man listened and stayed staring at the display as Shane kept his eyes on the red dots. A chill suddenly shot down his spine as he looked directly at the red. There was no doubt in his mind that he was staring down the Abnormal. He checked his peripherals and saw Lora and Glin holding still. The sound of sniffles were being made. Shane whispered into the communications, “Glin, she can’t start crying.” Glin slowly got low and crouched so he could hug Lara tighter. “Hark, you need to bring the ship and get this thing.”

The man replied, “I’m ten minutes out,” as Shane started slowly stepping forward, off the metal platform. In his peripheral, Shane could see Fio’s harpoon lying in the grass. Slowly, Shane switched out his M3 for it and brought it up to his eye. The sight of it was a Hive Vision.

Shane whispered, “Fio slowly reach for your wrist and switch this to conduction.” Shane knew from the data that the creature was cold-blooded so any thermal would be useless. The thing would still create an electric field. After a few seconds, Shane watched the scope go from a glass to a deep blue, with a massive white creature outlined, still looking directly into his eyes.

Shane’s adrenaline had flooded into his blood. His heart was practically sprinting out of his chest and sweat started covering every inch of his body. This was nothing like he felt before. He knew the harpoon well. Being sixty yards from the creature was too far. It only had a reliable range of forty. Every ounce of him wanted him to just stay still and wait for Hark, but that all changed when he watched one of the legs outlined on the conduction display take one step forward. The Abnormal was about to charge. Shane had to get it before it tried hurting anyone. With a deep breath in and another deep breath out, Shane mimicked the creature and took a step forward. As he did, he watched the thing lower its head down low, still keeping its eyes on him. Shane slowly reached over to his display and swiped so the Z5 was ready for the thing’s pounce. Whether it would survive was unknown to Shane. Such a creature didn’t even exist on any database when the suit was invented, but there was nothing he could change about it.

He took another step and watched a set of muscles in the creature change position. It was only a few seconds from charging. Shane stopped, took one massive breath as he prepared himself for whatever came next, and rushed at the creature. His sprint of ten yards, sent the thing into a thumping twenty-yard sprint straight at him. Each step sent a shockwave into the ground that forced Shane to hold still as he lined up the harpoon. He watched it open its mouth as he pulled the harpoon’s trigger, then a massive pain slapped him on his right side as a roar filled the forest. The suit had deployed and became almost a hundred pounds heavier as Shane fell to the ground. Before he could even try to recover, another pain went across his back which had removed a chunk of weight from his suit at the same time. After that, his whole chest became engulfed in pain as the creature clamped its jaw down on him. That loss of weight must have been a layer of the suit’s rock chipped off because the pressure from the bite was breaking Shane. He roared out in pain as the creature bit down harder, each second adding more and more pressure, until eventually, he heard and felt four of his ribs snap in half. The howl grew even louder until his throat started filling with blood and drowned him out.

Suddenly, a big thump brought Shane and the beast down to the ground. The Spit had finally stopped the creature’s heart, but Shane was still trapped, and his breath was shortening. Fio had sprinted over and pulled him out, sending flourishes of pain throughout his chest. More and more blood was filling his throat as Fio ripped off the man’s helmet. Glin ran over to help, shouting for his father to land the ship as he did.

The last thing Shane saw was Lora’s face full of tears. Then, his eyes shut with Shane’s mind wondering if they’d ever open again.