A Hunt Hindered

Author: spillb2

Original Post: link

Hunter Zerod, Holder of the Crimson Seal and Honored Bounty Hunter for Syndicate Rychart, captain of the Blood Seeker, studied the display in his ready room. His stance was tall, firm and unworried, as was expected of him by his status and his crew, but invisible behind the helmet that had become his face he was frowning. He should be pleased: he had finally run his prey: Valencia Faen, to ground. She had made it difficult, attempting to hide upon a Star Trader vessel to evade the Retributive Justice that was her due as a convicted murderer under Shalun’s Law, but he had tracked far more difficult prey. He knew where the Eternal Song, under the charter of Captain Lorn Forrest, was located and had set an ambush just outside the system.

An ambush they were bumbling towards without apparent worry or care.

This set Zerod ill at ease: Captain Forrest had proven himself to be a capable Star Trader; he had already evaded two ambushes set by Zerod’s associates. True, they were not as sly as Zerod himself, but it was still strange that the Captain seemed so unaware of what was about to transpire: this was a clear point of vulnerability for his ship: he should have taken some precautions.

Unless he had, and it was Zerod, rather than Captain Forrest, who was unaware.

It shouldn’t matter: Zerod’s allies had been able to obtain a relatively recent blueprint of the Eternal Song: as a merchant vessel it had only two light torpedo silos to the Blood Seeker’s four, and no other weapons. Its marines, while likely talented, were surely no match for Zerod’s battle-hardened warriors. Even the news that Valencia Faen herself was a master of the blade would be of no help: one warrior did not an army make. However, Zerod had not gotten to his position by assuming that his prey was incompetent: better to prepare for any scheme they were able to launch so as not to be caught unaware.

“Captain,” the voice of Dajni Andato, Zerod’s first officer, said from her position on the bridge. Zerod trusted the woman completely, and he knew she was a better ship combat officer than he. No, his place would be at the fore-front of the boarding party: able to end this battle before too much blood was lost to the cold void of space. “We will be in range to engage the Eternal Song in forty minutes.”

“Begin combat maneuvering and send my message,” Zerod said. “Give them the chance to surrender.” He hoped that Captain Forrest would not take it. He did not wish death upon the man, but Valencia Faen was a woman of status: prey though she was she deserved a capable and courageous champion rather than a coward who would sell her out to save himself.

Minutes passed as Zerod’s message winged its way across the void at the speed of light: without the dangerous and banned FTL communications of the xeno and the Guild, even relatively short distance communications still took time. Zerod could wait: the Eternal Song had started clumsy maneuvering, befitting its merchant origin, and besides the two ships were still not in optimal torpedo range, when the battle would begin.

Zerod’s frown deepened: according to his reports the Eternal Song should be more maneuverable than this. And something about its signatures…

“Sir?” it was Randall Tye, his chief Electronics Tech on the bridge with Dajni. “I’ve run the enemy vessel’s credentials, and they’re not right. This says is the Wayfaring Wholesaler.”

Could this be the trick? Could Captain Forrest have deceived or even turned Zerod’s agents and sent him on the wrong track? Was the Eternal Song even now bearing its passenger to a different system?

“Run them again,” Zerod said coolly, studying the display himself. He was a Hunter: he had seen many men attempt to fudge their signatures. If this was indeed Captain Forrest, he would have left a trace, made a mistake, they always did…

“There’s a return message, Captain,” Dajni said.

“Play it,” Zerod said, not looking up from his display.

A moment later, a voice played over the speaker: audio only, no image. Zerod’s lips curled: Captain Forrest might as well have just admitted he had something to hide.

“Hunter Zerod, I’m afraid there’s been some mistake,” the voice said. “I’ve heard of this Duel of Assassins, but I’m not fool enough to get involved. We are simple merchants, nothing more, and all we want is to be left in peace.”

Zerod pondered for a second: he would not fire upon a civilian vessel that was not between him and his prey, such a thing was dishonorable, but he would not simply allow them to fly away, either. Tapping a button to record a new message, including an image to show how serious he was, he spoke. “Captain, I have reason to believe that you are lying to me. If you speak truth, then still your Void Engine and allow my warriors and myself to board and inspect your vessel. If you do not carry my prey, then you have my oath that you and your crew will not be harmed and will be allowed to carry on with my apologies. However, if you attempt to deny me, then I will be forced to assume that you are hiding Valencia Faen from me, and I will use whatever means necessary to carry out my Edict.” He sent the message up to Dajni, who sent it on his way, as he continued to study the baffling signatures. While they seemed perfectly innocent, his instincts were screaming that there was something off about them, something that rang hollow…

Then, he saw it.

According to the credentials, the Wayfaring Wholesaler was armed with only a light railgun for asteroid defense. However, the Blood Seeker’s powerful scanners had detected the faint traces of radiation that could only be found on ships sporting advanced torpedoes. They were faint, almost invisible even to his trained eye, but it was there. He had his evidence, this was in fact the Eternal Song.

“How do I know you’re not just some pirate?” Captain Forrest’s voice snapped (he still hadn’t included his image, as if Zerod needed any more evidence.) “You could be trying to get us to-”

“Dajni, fire a warning volley,” Zerod said lazily, not bothering to listen to the rest of Captain Forrest’s lies. He was cunning, that was for certain, but he was still a merchant at heart: he did not know the weapons of war that he carried nearly well enough.

It was time to educate him.

The lights flickered as the Blood Seeker’s Void Engine was drawn upon to launch its torpedo volley: they were still well out of effective range, but Zerod simply wanted to send a message. A few minutes later, the light of a ripple of explosions kilometers in front of the Eternal Song reached him, and he couldn’t help but be impressed as the Galtak continued on its course without flinching.

Two minutes after that, Dajni spoke up again. “We’re receiving a video message, sending it too you now.” Zerod smiled, it seems he’d made an impression on Captain Forrest.

The image that appeared was of a non-descript man, one that Zerod had studied extensively when he had heard that his ship carried Valencia Faen. He looked grim. “Hunter Zerod,” Captain Forrest said formally. “It seems you won’t be dissuaded. However, you’re wasting your time, Val jumped ship a while ago. Since I don’t want to get my ship blown up, I’ll tell you where that was if you let us go unharmed.”

Zerod rolled his eyes behind his helmet: just how stupid did Captain Forrest think he was. “Or I could simply pull the information from your ship’s data banks, if it is indeed true. This is your final warning: still your Void Engines, or prepare for battle.” Sending the message, he addressed his crew. “Engage combat acceleration, all crews attend your stations, for battle is nigh.” Turning he marched out of his ready room and began boarding his personal assault shuttle, part of the daring long-range attack that none but a Bounty Hunter would dare attempt.

As he finished strapping himself in, however, his helmet comm pinged. “Sir, we have another message from Captain Forrest, he says it’s for your eyes only.”

Wondering what new excuse the captain will have come up with, Zerod set the message to play in his helmet.

Captain Forrest’s face, surprisingly, was now split into a grin. “It seems you’re not the type who gives up easily,” he said. “However, it’s still too late.” He gestured to the console in front of him.

“I had hoped to be able to throw you off with the fake credentials I created, but I figured it’d be good to have a backup plan, so I had Navigator Kinsei prep the Hyperwarp for an emergency jump. As I’m sure you know, not just any Navigator is capable of such a feat, but I assure you Kinsei is. However, even she would need time to do this, so I knew I had to keep you busy for a while.” The grin widened. “Which I did.”

It was true. Had Captain Forrest not caused Zerod to hesitate with his trick, worried that he might fire upon an innocent vessel, he would have been in engagement range before this new stratagem could be put into play. His own sense of honor had denied him his prize today.

“However,” Captain Forrest continued. “While engaging this option will allow me to escape your trap, it will also likely cause damage to my ship that will be painful and expensive to repair. I’d rather avoid that, so I give you another option: stop your advance, let us go and do not follow, and I’ll transfer quite the sum of money to you for your troubles. That way, we both win.”

Zerod’s thoughts raced: honor dictated that he attack, no matter the likely outcome, but he had to admit that it was likely a futile act. He was still six minutes from engagement range; by that time the Eternal Song would almost certainly be gone. He would then have to guess where he would flee, but there were too many systems that would be suitable to make that a safe guess. And even if he did track him down again… he’d just do the same thing.

No, Zerod would have to come up with a new plan to bypass this new capability of Captain Forrest’s, and until then… “Cease acceleration and withdraw to let them pass,” he called. Ignoring Dajni’s questions, he unstrapping himself from the shuttle and marching back to his ready room. When he reached it, he hit the record button. “Well played, Captain Forrest, well played,” he said. “I accept your offer: pay your money and you may go without playing your ace this day.” He leaned forward towards the camera. “And now, I speak directly to Valencia Faen: the hunt is not over. Your Captain may have saved your life today, but so long as you live, so long as this Duel continues, I will not stop hunting you, and in the end, I will succeed.”

See also: The Choice