Futuristic The Bounty {FaddedFox and Lucyfer}

[FaddedFox]

Naomi frowned when someone called out to them and turned to face the stranger. Who was this guy? They didn't usually have anyone in the guild come up to them randomly in the hallway. Was this person even from the guild? Her eyes wandered over the stranger. He just seemed a regular traveler. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but if he was another bounty hunter or something, he'd know how to disguise things as necessary. Just because she didn't see a weapon didn't mean he wasn't armed. And dangerous. She'd never seen him before.

Todd squirmed a little in her arms and she looked down at the fox. He seemed just as curious as she was. Then again, the fox hadn't met anyone outside of the crew yet so this was a new experience. The fox stretched as far as he could go to get a better visual of the stranger. Was he scanning him like an x-ray machine? That could be helpful in locating weapons on people in the future, if that was something the AI had decided to pick up on. She'd have to investigate it later. For now, she just kept a good hold on the AI so it didn't get out of her arms. She would not be happy if he got lost or destroyed by something.

It seemed 'Larandus' was looking for Ancasta. That information made her feel uneasy. An-an? Ancasta never mentioned this person. She was closed off, but if there was something important they needed to know, she'd tell them, wouldn't she? Like who this stranger was? Was this man actually a friend or was he looking for Ancasta for other reasons? She didn't trust him. It seemed the more cynical crew was beginning to rub off on her. And Hayate appeared to agree with that vibe as he lied about Ancasta's whereabouts. She said nothing during the exchange and watched the stranger walk away warily. She had a bad feeling about this.

Naomi looked to Hayate once the man was finally gone. "No. I have never seen him before and I don't remember Ancasta ever mentioning him. We for sure need to tell her about this though, let her decide if she actually trusts that guy." She turned her attention to Todd then. "Hey Todd, were you scanning him?"

"Yes." Todd paused a moment and wagged his tail. "Not sick!" he beamed proudly.

Naomi blinked at him confused a moment before she laughed. "Looks like he scanned vitals. I got to be careful now! If you focus on all that medical stuff, Arien might steal you away from me!" she mused.

"Steal away?" Todd asked and tilted his head to the side.

"Ah, I was trying to joke. A joke is something said to be funny, to make people laugh." Oh boy, she forgot how much she'd have to explain with every new concept. "Arien is a doctor and the information you gathered is helpful to what he does. He wouldn't actually steal you. Stealing means he'd take you away without permission. You don't have to worry about that. No one will take you away from me," she promised and hugged the fox close. The AI wagged his tail and tried to mimic the gesture.

"What's laugh? Why laugh?" the fox countered.

Made sense that the AI would focus on the concept completely alien to it. Joking, laughing, joy, all of that would be something the AI wouldn't really grasp or understand. She could try and explain it in simple terms but there was so much context to something emotional. "Laughing makes people happy. Joy is something... it makes people feel good. It releases chemicals in the body to make people happy and can bring people closer. It is a large concept, just like other emotions. That is something we'll have to take a lot of time to really delve into and for you to study personally. It is not something simple, though sometimes it sounds like it. It's a good and nice thing."

Todd tilted his head from side to side as it internalized her words and made a new compartment with the information. Naomi was sure the fox would investigate it on its own as its mind developed and experiences increased.

Naomi turned her attention back to Hayate then. "Might as well go the board then, get that over with. Then we can send the info to Ancosta, along with the note about this rando looking for her."

 

[Lucyfer]

Naomi didn't know anything, either. Hayate’s frown deepened, before the expression was broken by Todd’s interjection. Hayate did laugh at this Larandus not being sick, before shaking his head a bit as Naomi explained several concepts to Todd.

He started to walk as Naomi explained emotions, and he did wonder to himself how difficult that might be to grasp. They assumed AI couldn't feel, but weren't electrical pathways similar to nerves? Could various reactions amongst those cause an emotion? Hayate kept his musings to himself, but nodded as Naomi seemed to understand the track he was on.

“Yeah, I'd like to not stress about that,” Hayate agreed as they left the docking area to head to the central hub near the gate, showing his credentials to get access for himself and Naomi. He spoke once in, "Oh and Todd? Laughter is that sound Naomi and I made earlier. The, uh, hahaha one," he didn't quite laugh as he had before.

The hub was circular, and expanded out with spoking paths; from above, it was a bit like a crescent. It wasn't quite a wheel since the docks cut down the evenness a bit. The hub wasn't dead center – the guild HQ was, but not everyone wanted to go there.

The board was to grab jobs and go.

And there were always several.

Ancasta only forbade jobs in the Milky Way, which Hayate had no troubles with. He wasn't trying to return that way.

He touched the screen to sort the jobs by price as no one was looking at them currently. The top one wasn't new, and he passed it over without a glance, looking at newer ones, and downloading the details for a few of them, commenting, “I think Boura is an icy planet,” actually a resort planet. Interesting to see a job there. He wouldn't get his hopes up.

“Anywhere you want to visit? I can always add it,” that wasn't really how they were meant to hunt but sometimes they could.

He scrolled the list to the bottom, eyes catching on an old name.

Nana Sune.

Perhaps it was just because Larandus called Ancasta, An-An. The letters were all there, so he did a double take before ignoring it. Nana Sune was an old mark, at least ten years, if not more. There were no updates in all that time. Besides, it was a Milky Way hunt and not even with the fuel to bother with it.

If he'd looked at it that day, he might have noticed Nana was wanted for destroying Laranda Station.

 

[FaddedFox]

Naomi's eyes scanned over the board of bounties. She didn't usually look at it since it wasn't her expertise. Ancasta came here herself or with Hayate. She and Arien usually bee-lined for the restaurant bar. There were so many bounties. People were wanted all over the galaxies and from various planets. It always fascinated her what a network this had become. Any planet could use a bounty board and there was no race lines or separation. It was all just there. Though there was a plethora of choices, she was still surprised at the quantity. She would have thought there were even more. Then again, she supposed some planets utilized this and others chose not to. She wondered what made certain places reach out like this and others did not.

"Hmm? Place I want to visit? Well I like any planet in general, see their tech and how they set up their cities and what not. I know we aren't going really to sight see, so.... whatever is fine I suppose. I do kind of want to see NetGama. It's a AI based station. I figured it would be a good place to get materials for the ship and Todd." She didn't think there were any bounties there though. It was a smaller station and almost everyone there was AI. It was an experimental tech slum essentially. "Maybe another time. I know Ancasta will be antsy to get a steady flow of work going." Ancasta was a busy body.

"Boura? Oooh. That could be really fun. I haven't seen snow and stuff in ages. I think that would be a lot of fun. Skiing, ice skating on a frozen lake," she chuckled. She personally loved the cold and there was just something magical about the snow and snowflakes falling. She wondered how the others would fare with it. Todd wouldn't be bothered with the cold, though she'd have to be careful of his oil freezing in his joints. Arien probably wouldn't venture out too much. She didn't think he'd care for it. Did the petals around his head get super cold? What kind of covering would he even be able to wear that wouldn't damage the petals? What did they do in winter on his planet? So many questions. Ancasta would just keep going and not care and Hayate seemed like he'd enjoy it.

"Ready?" she asked when Hayate seemed to have gathered up the bounties that he would share with Ancasta. "Let's head to Skylier then. Get some food, drinks, catch up on some news or something," she mused. "It's not too far from here. I am starving." Naomi led the way then towards their usual haunt.

The bar, as usual, was filled with people. Most of them were part of the guild and stopping in for a hot meal before moving on again. Others were merchants and traders that would be selling goods to the guild. Weapons, accessories, rare toxins and new tech, you name it, it was here. Most operated under legal license, but here were a few people here in the black market or did double dealings behind their legitimate business. It really was a crucible of races and trades. Even still, she could see more humans than 'aliens'. Lots of humans took up bounty hunting in places like this since they were all so scattered and didn't have an Earth to go back to. There was a constant hum of noise as people talked. A jovial tune was playing in the background but Naomi couldn't quite identify what the song was, though it seemed to have a nice steady beat.

Before she could mention sitting at the bar and ordering, they were intercepted.

"Naomi! Hayate!" came a shout in a musical lilting fashion. Next thing Naomi knew, an arm rested on her shoulders and Hayate's. In between them, a man had taken up residence and gave them a hug, nearly pulling the two of them into a headbutt. The scent of cinnamon, mint, thyme, and disinfectant assaulted her nose. It was enough to make her choke a moment. They were always so strong, but it made the man unmistakable.

"Captain Megari!" Naomi managed to get out with a grin of her own. They'd all interacted with the pirate merchant on various occasions. He always had a story, a joke, goods, or secrets to share. Arien got most of his supplies from the captain.

Naomi struggled a moment to get out of his hug so she could actually look up at the man, probably in his early to mid thirties. He was handsome of face with defined features and a head full of rich dark strands. There was a softness to his lips, and they were always smiling or smirking. There was a twinkle of mirth in his deep blue eyes like he knew a joke he was just dying to tell. He always seemed a good natured sort though it was hard to tell what was really going on in his mind. As always, Megari wore clothes that made him look like he'd stepped out of a time machine from the Golden Age of piracy, complete with boots with various buckles, random straps and clasps and an old style pistol harness. The outfit itself was dark and form fitted with gold trimmings. When they'd first met, Naomi thought he was a some kind of steampunk cosplayer . Maybe he was living the fantasy. Megari was a pirate through and through, and Naomi was sure that wasn't even his real name. From what Naomi understood, most of his inventory was medical ointments, salves, herbs, and treatments from various planets. Most were legal. Some, were not. He had a bit of a reputation of being strange and unpredictable. Most said he was kind but others had darker stories of him raiding their ships. He didn't take prisoners and he didn't kill unnecessarily seemed the consensus all the same.

Megari pulled back and gave his signature lopsided grin and tipped his feathered cap to the both of them, finally releasing them both. "Indeed. Fancy seeing you lot here. But where is Captain Ancasta? The good doctor? Usually the whole of you wander in."

"They're in the ship. Captain Ancasta will be wandering about soon enough," Naomi answered. She wasn't too keen on spreading the word that they were sick. Weakness was not something to advertise.

"Ah, I see, I see. Tell Dr. Hak'eri, I have a new shipment of medical salves and equipment for him to look at if he is interested."

"Will do, Captain," Naomi nodded. "And how are you doing? It has been a while."

"Ah, just fine. I have plenty of stories, should you both want a bit of entertainment," he offered and motioned for a table he had reserved in the back. "Ah, and who is this little fella?" He asked and bent over a bit to look at Todd.

Naomi smiled and patted the little fox. "This is Todd. I made him and this is his first outing off the ship. He has a lot of learning to do."

"Ah, how very interesting. Hello Todd. I'm Captain Megari." The man extended his hand to the creature then.

Todd blinked at the human, scanning him a moment. "Hello," he answered and pressed his paw on top of Megari's. Megari chuckled softly and shook the paw a moment before returning his attention to Naomi and Hayate. "Come, come! Sit!" he said as he started to pull them towards the table without really waiting for a response.

 

[Lucyfer]

NetGama was very unlikely as an option, and Hayate did skim for it, but he didn’t see it crop up as offering any bounties. “Maybe we can get somewhere near it one day and take a trip,” though he wasn’t immediately sure what planets or systems were near NetGama. It was something he could bring up with Ancasta, though, especially now that they had Todd on the crew. Todd deserved to be around other AIs, too!

Although the ship parts might work better for convincing Ancasta to go anywhere.

He sent the details of their options off to Ancasta, without a lead on a way to NetGama right then, and followed Naomi to Skylier, nodding, “Sounds good to me,” it was where he expected to go, now that he’d settled the business portion. They could eat a bit, hear what was going on, and maybe that would lead him to some other job thoughts – or nix one he had in mind. Boura really did seem too good to be true.

The bar was as it always was – busy with a vibrant crowd. Hayate recognized a few faces, Larandus included, though that feeling of not-quite belonging came to strike him with a vengeance. He was distracted from it far quicker than usual when an arm flew around his shoulders. He leaned forward a bit before looking back to see the out-of-time pirate.

Not the best friend to have, really.

Hayate didn’t…really like pirates. He’d hunted too many, and knew the crimes they committed, to really trust them. Even one who seemed to fit right in among bounty hunters.

But he didn’t dislike Megari, either. It was the way Megari behaved, really; he was almost too ridiculous to take seriously, although he hadn’t forgotten how Ancasta noted that made him more dangerous than most pirates.

He never could figure Ancasta’s opinion on Megari. There seemed to be a respectful caution with him.

Hayate went along with Naomi’s vague answer, and hummed with promise to tell Arien about the salves. ‘He might send us with a list.’ Depending on how badly the illness took hold of Arien. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too rough, though.

Todd seemed to figure his responses out faster, at any rate, and Hayate chuckled at the way he placed his paw on Megari’s hand, before rolling his eyes a bit and following the pirate over to his place, “I’m definitely interested in any stories you have, Captain,” Hayate still spoke with the respectful title as he slid into a seat, knowing they’d eventually be interrupted to place orders, “or any tips you have on the jobs on the board. The one on Boura seems too good to be true.”

There was always a chance that Megari heard rumors.

Or a reason it hadn’t been snapped up yet that the Guild itself was talking about.

From the looks of it, though, it was a hunt for a trafficker who was operating on Boura, which made sense. Resort planets meant people away from home, and possibly, on their own, too. But Boura was a rich one, in more ways than one. The security there would usually be enough to ID the trafficker immediately and handle it themselves.

Well, unless it was one of the shape-changing species, of course.

~***~

A message pinged through and Ancasta, with nothing better to do, pulled up the message from Hayate which had a list of potential hunts – and a far more interesting message attached.

There’s a Larandus that wants to talk to you?
​

Hayate was hoping to get a response with that question mark, but Ancasta ignored it, mind and vision drifting far off as she knew exactly who he meant by Larandus. An image of black hair and dark eyes passed through her mind.

‘Cas Janssen.’

The cosmos only knew what name he was actually going by now, and the dark hair was long gone, but it sure as hell wasn’t Larandus. That was used to grab her attention, which meant he needed something enough to be threatening blackmail.

A dangerous game for him; Ancasta could kill him. She didn’t have the ability to threaten him any longer, but she had become very adept at killing.

“Fuck,” she exhaled the curse, burying her face in her hand as she let the tablet slip from her grip.

His jobs were usually…troublesome. He knew how adept she’d become at killing, too, after all. If he needed something this bad…well, that was never a good sign. She lowered her hand, picked up the tablet, and set it back on the end table near her bed, before laying back down and pulling the blankets up to cover her head.

It would wait until tomorrow.

 

[FaddedFox]

"I'd be happy to share some information," Captain Megari said with a nod of his head.

He sat down, his back pressed against the wall of his booth. A woman dressed in all black with long braids and a stern expression sat not too far away. Naomi had seen her before. If she remembered rightly, she was Captain Megari's second mate. She was a fierce woman. She looked far more like a cut throat pirate than the Captain did, that was for sure. She had no fancy aged tech on her person. Naomi was sure she had several weapons hidden on her person. She was not a person to trifle with or question. Naomi wondered how many people here were actually part of Megari's crew that she just didn't see or recognize.

Naomi sat down as directed with Todd in her lap. The AI was quite curious about the Captain and kept trying to get over to him. Naomi assumed part of that curiosity was the fact that he was just someone new and they were taking more than a brief moment to talk to him. Still, she didn't want to be rude and an AI all up in someone's face wasn't exactly friendly or nice. She wasn't sure how the eccentric pirate would react to a probing AI. She didn't really want to get on Captain Megari's bad side. She didn't want to be a reason they ended up pointing crosshairs at each other. Captain Megari was a known name, even if his reputation was all over the place. He had quite the team behind him and connections all over.

"Todd, stop," she whispered when the AI tried to get over to the pirate again.

Captain Megari glanced over at her and chuckled softly. "He's fine. I think I know what he is so intrigued of," he mused. He gave a little click with his tongue and a little creature slid out of its hiding place. A little dragon. Was it a dragon? It was strange. It was black as night with a velvety purple underbelly. Her claws were as sharp as a hawk's. Dark ridges outlined her spine much like a thorny vine. Deep purple petals framed its snake like face and the tip of its tail. It reminded her a lot of Arien's petals. Though serpentine, the creature looked almost feline line the way it arched it's back and hissed at Todd in warning. She rubbed up against the captain's arm and gave a little thrumming purr. It was fascinating.

"Whoa, what is that?" she asked and let Todd get up on the table. The AI approached slowly and reached a paw out the way Megari had reached his hand out but the creature made no move to reciprocate.

"Isn't she beautiful? She's a Hellebore Dragon. They are rare creatures. A long time ago, they came into market for their healing abilities and their toxins. But, people are greedy. They started chopping off tails for the flower extract which killed these dragons. During one of my trades, I found this little gem and I just had to save her and bring her with me. She comes with me wherever we go," he mused. He smiled as the dragon and Todd began to paw at each other. It was kind of sweet. "I am sure Arien would be pleased," the Captain added with a chuckle. "I believe these creatures are actually native to his planet. Would make sense considering... well, you know." Captain Megari motioned around his head to indicate the plant life that was as integral to Arien and his people. Made sense that some of the native animals of the planet would have similar foliage.

"May I take your orders?" a new voice interrupted. A waitress with feline features had come up to their table, a hologram slide in hand to jot down notes on their orders.

"Ah, I'll take a Ice sin," the captain nodded. He was a hard liquor kind of man. Whisky didn't seem all that surprising.

"Just tea and a burger please, medium," Naomi added.

The waitress looked to Hayate for his order before she hurried away for the next table. The captain remained quiet then until their food and drink arrived.

Captain Megari downed his whisky shot before he leaned forward, closer to Hayate. There was a new spark of fire in his eyes. "So. You are going after the trafficker, eh? In Boura? I have been tracking that one myself actually." If there was one thing constant about Captain Megari, it was the fact that he absolutely loathed and despised any kind of human-alien trafficking. He tended to go out of his way to go after them himself or let slip information to bounty hunters, as he was doing now. "That's my contract," he said then. "I'll be thrilled if you take it."

"You're the hire? But I didn't see your name," Naomi mused as she pulled Todd back into her arms and began to eat her food.

The captain laughed and tipped his hat towards her. "I'm a pirate, my girl. You think I'd leave my name on a contract like this? It'd be bad for business. I do lots of dealings with Boura and their select... markets," he mused. "I can't move openly, but I am happy to share my information with you and your Captain. I'll pay handsomely and throw in some extra on the side. A bit of 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours'. I'd consider it a personal favor. The head of this nasty business is a Chameleon and hard to catch. She's a bit of a thorn in my side. I'd share more, if you do indeed wish to take up the contract."

 

[Lucyfer]

Hayate couldn’t help but lean forward himself when Megari revealed a tiny hellebore dragon up his sleeve. He wondered a bit how Todd knew – did he have enhanced smell, like an actual fox? He didn’t know all the fun features that Naomi had put into him, and he did glance at her with the silent question, but didn’t voice it as he looked back at the dragon, and then forced himself to lean back so he wasn’t too obvious in his own childish fascination with the cute thing.

“Yeah – you’ll have to show Arien later!” Hayate agreed, before letting the interruption take him and placing his own order, “Ah – yeah – iced white tea and,” he wracked his mind for old favorites, as he hadn’t glanced at a menu, “pinkgill filet, please,” he ordered.

Some silence took over until the food came, and then, Megari revealed himself as the owner of the hunt. That definitely surprised Hayate – Megari had the means to act himself, didn’t he? Seemed strange he’d want to throw credits at a bounty hunter, but Hayate wouldn’t complain. He’d question it, and Ancasta would likely have a lot more questions, but that was for her to ask.

Not that he wouldn’t ask some of his own questions.

“Sadly, it’s not my place to take it up,” Hayate probably would have in a heartbeat, partially to see the world, but also as someone who’d been kidnapped enough times to have an immense dislike of anyone involved in that sort of business. “But I know Ancasta has some experience with Chameleons, and I’ve been needing to learn, so I think she’ll be interested in it. Especially if it leads to favors,” Hayate chuckled. “She should be around tomorrow, so the turn around will be quick.”

He was all but agreeing; he wanted this, and he’d push for it, that much was obvious. “If you can offer a bit more, I can see what I can do to soften her up to it before she comes to get the details,” he suggested, knowing that the Captain was unlikely to give everything until the job was locked in.

Not that Megari needed to worry overmuch – they certainly weren’t going to try and tip the Chameleon off.

 

[FaddedFox]

Megari smiled, a spark visible in his eyes as he leaned back. "Aye, I'll be here," he promised. "We'll be in port for several days before making our next scheduled drop. Upon completion - if you take up the job of course - you just need to send word and either I or my first mate Izana will be be happy to meet you back here for the payment," he said. "As for further information, well my friend, you'll just have to wait, won't you," he mused and gave him a playful little wink. The pirate didn't like to give unnecessary information to anyone. The less people know about him and what he wanted or didn't want, the better. It was how he maintained his mystery. He liked when people underestimated him. Megari didn't believe Ancasta or her crew would blast any information, but he didn't get to where he was by sharing. This was a cut throat business, literally. If the price was right, most would talk. Naomi and her AI didn't need to hear it, nor did he want a recording of the conversation. If Ancosta wasn't interested, fine. But if she was, then she would come as Hayate said and then they could talk business, captain to captain.

Megari stretched then and folded his hands behind his head as he relaxed in his seat. "As for other news, I don't have much on that front. Just been hearing whispers about the conflict between Zalenthi and the Aks'shaka. I am sure everyone has at this point. It's been blasted all over the broadcast channels. It interfered with my trade route too," he said with a little pout. "Made me go alllll around the planet and everything. I wasn't even allowed to land to deliver goods."

In an instant, Megari's playfulness vanished. He leaned forward once more, the action so swift and direct it reminded Naomi of a striking cobra. Megari's eyes were an intense storm and hard on Hayate and Naomi. The sudden switch had Naomi stiffening where she sat. She'd been mostly quiet since she had nothing to do with the bounty business. She swallowed hard and pressed back against her seat. "There is something..." the pirate said then, quiet. He'd been following the conflict closely. He did not trade with the Aks'shaka. There was something about them that raised all the hairs on the back of his neck. They were dangerous. Give them one inch and they'd take the mile. As a man who traveled far into space, he'd seen some of the planets that had dealt with the Aks'shaka before. He didn't like what he saw. He didn't know what the Aks'shaka were doing or what they were trying to accomplish with Zalenthi, but it wasn't going to be good. Perhaps they already knew because of Arien. No doubt a native Le'ak would know more than he did, but even so. Megari found it very suspicious that communications were cut off from the Zalenthi perspective and that the planet was surrounded with such heavy guard. The fact that he wasn't allowed to land and provide the ordered medical supplies also made him uneasy. He didn't believe a damn word the news said. Megari wanted to share his information and his concern, but not here in the open, and not with an AI capable of recording the conversation.

"I say this as a friend. Something is coming, and it's not benevolent."

Megari pulled back then and was back to his bright and broad smile. "So! I have some fun wares if you are interesting in a gander! Do you like cinnamon? Who cooks on your ship? I have spices that may be of interest! I have some rare spices from Ulg'al'ikilreil! Try saying that three times fast," he laughed, completely derailing the conversation.

Naomi was a bit taken aback by the switch of personality and just stared at the Captain a moment. She gave a soft chuckle and called Todd back into her lap. It was a good thing too. The little dragon was getting a bit angry with Todd's insistent desire to boke it. Captain Megari scooped up the dragon and helped it settle on his shoulders where she curled up and eyed Todd with indignation. "But otherwise, the marks all seem pretty straight forward! If I do hear any rumors, I'll be sure to share," Megari tacked on and rubbed the dragon's head.