Asterians

Chapter 1 - The nightly life of an assassin

I had my feet float across the vast field of lavender shaded grass to not harm whatever precious life form this planet has. The atmosphere was an alluring color, the horizon a rusty color transitioning slowly to a dandelion yellow. The clouds were a lightly colored tan, nearly blending in with the sky around it. The trees were magenta colored, with the trunks being a rusty brown. It was just a beautiful sight to behold. The fauna was even more breathtaking, with the leaves dancing slowly with the wind brushing against them. The wind slowly carried them from off the stem, letting the magenta leaves dance in its embrace carelessly, then letting it gently onto the floor. 

The species on this planet were not sentient, but they were just as majestic as the rest of planet. My favorite creature the planet has provided is a four legged creature with a flat head, with small horns attached to its face with the tips glowing fuchsia. The eyes were reflective, glassy and were a navy blue. The skin was cyan, complementing the whole design. For a creature like that, there was no hooves but small paws and scaly soft wings, with the tips a pale gold. The one I was currently staring at was an offspring, and it was staring right back. It attempted to come closer, and I realized the adolescent was a male Tufted Machin. 

There was another species that were similar from a distance called the Tufted Lillians. Contrary to their name, they were violent, aggressive creatures that thirsted for the blood of their prey. The only difference between the two species was the aggression portrayed and slightly different body shapes. The wings were just a foot shorter than the Machins, but it made up for it in the horns. The horns would be extremely sharp, easily cutting through a person in seconds. With the Machin's horns, theirs were softer, duller at the points but much brighter and colorful to attract mates. 

The Machin species was quite adept at flying, and once they reach adulthood, they can fly into space. The Lillians couldn't go into space, but made up for it through the ability of blending in with its surroundings so well that would could be staring at it but you wouldn't be able to notice it was there until it moved. Machins were treasured for their wings and horns, so they were hunted to near extinction. The adolescent walked up to me, and I noticed its eyes were a peachy color rather than the normal navy blue. Maybe it was a sign of evolution for the species? Perhaps it was, but I could not study it as the offspring had to get back to its parents, so I shooed it away. It seemed to not want to leave, but with me trying again it trotted back towards its mother. It glanced again at me, seeming to want to come with me. 

The mother looked at me with threatening eyes, if I made a move to walk away I would be killed within an instant. Her eyes were not the peachy color that her son's were, but there seemed to be flecks across her eyes seeming to indicate that it was from her gene pool. Seeming to know that her calf was safe, she opened her cyan-violet wings and flew off, with the peachy-eyed offspring trailing behind her. I sighed, even for one who couldn't feel emotions as myself, I could feel the awe of inspiration from the landscape and creatures provided by the planet around me.

Sadly, the sight wouldn't last as someone -a local who didn't trust outsiders- ran up quickly behind be with a short knife that couldn't penetrate my heart unless he dug a little. I turned around quickly, irritated from the Boss and the local, and got into position to strike. I didn't feel that I would need Tizona for this fight, so I kept her in her sheath for the time being. The man came up on my right, so I quickly weaved out of the way with a side step to the left. The man missed, leaning forward due to the momentum from the previous attack, leaving me with an opening to knock him out. With the grace of a falling petal, I struck him from behind with my elbow in the back of the neck, efficiently silencing him for now. "I'm coming now Boss. I'll be there within the next hour due to distance." I could hear the mutterings of a curse coming from the Boss. "Well, alright. I will see to you be on time for once, 4869?"

I nodded silently to the Boss, even though he could not see the action. He never gave me a name other than those numbers, but I treasured them with every beat of my heart. I never felt bothered to give myself a name, though it was mostly because if you had a name, everything you had would be at risk. Where you came from could be deduced from your name, by the way you spelt it, even your handwriting was unique to your species. I never knew what species I was from, never knew my true gender either. 

I've never met someone else like me, a species that can shift what you are and who you are in an instant. I may of met someone while they altered their physical appearance for one of their missions. No one else is registered underneath the Boss that is like me, however there are other assassin organizations other than us. We're just higher up on the food chain than those below us. The organizations we call factions, and underneath each faction there is a leader. The leader is responsible for getting hold of assignments, receiving over 60% of the payout on each mission. It may sound bad, but that's just how it works around here.

It makes for being the perfect assassin, as you can never be figured out that you aren't the person that you transformed into until you show otherwise. Only little hints that you are the person as your speech. You only get a glimpse of how that person speaks with their pitiless screams to figure out how they talk. Even then, you don't know how they act or walk. That could blow the whole mission and that would lead you to go to the Doctor. I have never been figured out as most people think that assassins come from the shadows. Sure, that's true, but let's face it. Not every assassin follows the code, like me. 

The Boss gives me an assignment, and I follow it to a T, usually. If it comes to infiltrating a party and getting the victim in a secluded area, it comes down to personal preference. Do you want to take the long route of waiting until everyone leaves the party and risk the guards noticing you, or do you disguise yourself in the party and gain their attention? Then do you lead them away from the party and slit their throat, fleeing the crazed mob of people?

I walked back to the ship, silently wishing I could stay on the elegant planet for a moment longer. However, duty calls when you must be an assassin. I had to be debriefed and maybe for once in my 13 years of training I may get a day off. I've seen other assassins get those beautiful days off, where they get to do whatever they want for that day. For me, I've never gotten that luxury and worked day in and day out for a living. Most of my earnings went straight to the boss, but I have saved up over the years to get a new set of gear. 

I entered the ship, going through the tight corridors and into the cockpit. I turned the corner and quickly got into the pilot's seat. I turned on the ship, the systems slowly rebooting. I heard a creaking noise across the port side of the ship, but I took no notice to it. After all, the Boss never bothered to get me a new ship, so I have to use an old, rundown version of the latest model. The Boss thought it would suit me just fine while I work to gain more money to get a newer ship. 

The ship would creak all the time, no need to have a panic attack and get flustered for nothing if there is nothing in the first place to freak out about. The system turned on, the light flooding the cockpit from the overheads. The ship slowly raised itself up, doing the usual cloaking that would need repairing when I got back to base. I set it into auto-pilot with the coordinates of the base, and then I dimmed the lights. Thinking about the new set of gear that I will be able to gain, with wheels on the bottom that are silent and would help you move quickly on assignments. I slowly moved the seat back, and fell asleep for the next hour.