Hud: Pardos
Hud wiped the sweat out of his eyes as he gazed at the distant ship, half buried in the dust and badly damaged. He looked down at the wreck from a large nearby dune.
This is where his target would be, or at least this is where the scanner said the stolen Rhaa technology was.
Somewhere in there.
He had finally made it to the little planet Gnumus. His newly acquired Rapiki cargo ship had dealt with some odd difficulties as he approached this destination, but he had made it here alive regardless.
Hud sighed and wiped his brow again. Sadly he couldn't just blow the whole rust bucket up. He would have to search the ship to find and kill his target, the Circuit, then return the undamaged technology to the Rhaa. It was a large ship. This was bound to take several hot and sweaty hours.
Natilliea hummed in anticipation as he held her. Hud shuffled his feet slightly in the thick dust and mentally prepared for his decent on the wreck.
Suddenly a movement near the ship caught his eye. He squinted in the relentless sunlight.
Yes, there was something there. A being. No, multiple beings. Three. All of them staggered out of the ship. At this distance they were nothing more than three little black dots.
Hud quickly dropped to the sandy ground, laying flat.
Thankfully, he was far enough away that they hadn't seen him, or the plume of dust he sent up when he hit the ground. He pulled Natilliea off of his shoulder and she unfolded into a sniper rifle-like weapon, equipped with both a scope and silencer. She always knew exactly what he needed.
Once the dust had mostly settled, he studied the beings though the scope. Their attire was unmistakable: matching uniforms and badges.
Officers.
Hud was very familiar with that look. It was the PPF, the Pentaverse Police force.
Can't have them poking around Hud thought. He waited until they were a little closer together. They were marching through the dust slowly and it wasn't hard for Hud to get a good aim on them.
He pulled the trigger.
Natilliea shot off with a quiet pff and the third officer in the line went down. Hud quickly switched aim to the second and pulled the trigger again.
Second officer fell to the dust like a ragdoll.
The last one noticed his dead comrades behind him. The officer panicked and started racing back towards the broken ship for cover.
He didn't get too far. Hud took aim and shot him down only after a couple of steps.
He waited to see if there would be any other PPF agents leaving the wreck and wondered if it had been a mistake to shoot the first three down so quickly. The last thing he wanted to do was fight his way though the wreckage. He looked up from his scope at the half buried ship.
Then he saw another group of beings leave the wreck. Three again. Damn it, were they officers too? They staggered out just like the first group, and were followed by two larger beings that also appeared from the wreckage. The two in the back seemed to be carrying something heavy. Five targets in total.
He watched the black dots as the three in front quickly saw the dead PPF agents and called for the two in back. Those two dropped the bulky object they were carrying and ran over to examine the dead bodies with the first three.
They couldn't be officers.
Hud frowned and looked through Natilliea's scope at them. Just as he suspected, they weren't Police Force agents like the first three. If they were from the PPF, they wouldn't have been so stupid as to run out to inspect the bodies. They would have ran the other way.
They were of little concern to him now. He quickly turned the scope in curiosity to get a look at the large object the two had dropped.
It was the Rhaa technology. He focused in on it and could faintly see the trademark shards of woven metal as they gleamed in the sunlight.
Hud grinned. This mission just got really easy. He wouldn't even have to step foot in the ship.
He continued his examination. The technology seemed to be some sort of encasing mechanical suit, and there was definitely a being inside of it.
He knew he was looking for some type of robot. A Circuit. He wasn't very familiar with the Circuit species, but he knew they were robotic. The thing that was shelled in the technology was definitely mechanical from what he could tell through the scope.
The best news of all was that the target seemed somehow incapacitated. We wouldn't even have to chase the thing down!
He zoomed out and turned the scope until he found the five beings again. They had finished inspecting the dead officers and had hurriedly turned back to retrieve the target. They were moving with a slight panic, struggling to make their way through the dust.
"More casualties." Sighed Hud quietly as he zoomed in on them. They would all have to die.
He studied the group, trying to decide who would be the best option to get first. There was a large lizard creature, probably a Quibeek; a pink transparent crystal creature whose species Hud didn't recognize; a little blue Terilli; a Kelpar from his own universe and—
Hud froze.
It was Natilliea.
Hud pulled his face away from the scope and squinted at the group with his own eyes. Was the heat of the dust getting to him? Maybe that hit on the head in the Rapiki hangar did more damage than he thought.
Hesitantly, he looked again through the scope, focusing back on the female Human with the golden hair.
It was Natilliea.
He quickly pulled away again.
That was impossible. Natilliea was in his hands, purring away in the form of a sniper rifle.
But there she was, picking up and helping to carry away the thing he was supposed to kill.
Hud quickly jumped to his feet, grabbing Natilliea. She swiftly folded back into her pipe form and he swung her over his arm so she lay across his chest.
Hud needed to see her for himself.
He raced down the filmy sand, almost tripping through patches of shin deep dust as he cut his way to the group.
He kept his eyes on her.
It couldn't really be her though.
All Humans generally looked alike. Hell, basically all species look the same as the others of their kind.
But this Human was so much like her; too much like her.
The group of aliens saw him coming and Hud could see them begin to panic. Hud raised his arms in as a sign of peace while he ran to them.
"I'm unarmed!" He shouted. He was so used to telling that lie. "I'm unarmed." He fell to a stop next to them panting from the sprint through the dust.
The Quibeek gasped and turned towards the Human. "He's even bigger than Jirabi!" She whispered, grinning.
Hud pretended like he hadn't heard that.
"Who are you?" Asked the large purple Kelpar threateningly.
Hud ignored him and looked up at the Human. Her eyes met with his and she quickly looked away, stepping back.
There was no doubt. It was her.
"...Natilliea?" Hud said quietly through gasps for air.
The Human glanced at him again, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.
The large Quibeek looked around at the others. "What did he just say?"
Hud shook his head. This was ludicrous. Natilliea was gone, her soul preserved in the hollow tube he had strapped to his chest. He had business to do.
"I need to take that being." He breathed heavily, pointing at the robotic creature in the Rhaa suit.
"What do you need him for?" Asked the crystal being hesitantly.
"I'm here to kill him." Admitted Hud honestly. "He broke an agreement with the Rhaa."
"The Rhaa?!" Gasped the Quibeek in alarm.
The crystal ignored the Quibeek's exclamation. "We can't let you do that, Pardos. The Conservation of Species Committee needs him for questioning."
The purple Kelpar glanced at the crystal being nervously. "Captain, the Rhaa are a very powerful faction... it is very likely that they have political power exceeding that of the CSC's."
The Quibeek nodded. "The Rhaa are not a species anybody should mess with. Those thugs don't fool around."
Hud suppressed a smile. He liked being on the powerful side, the side that beings feared. He just wished he wasn't afraid of the Rhaa himself.
Captain crystal nodded slowly. "I know the Rhaa. They are always willing to making a deal with a stable organization. Consider this, Pardos; we will take the Circuit for our purposes, and when we are done we will give him to you. The CSC would be willing to compensate the Rhaa. Handsomely."
Hud frowned. Making deals with the Rhaa is what gets people into trouble.
"...Or maybe," continued the captain, "a strong incentive straight into your pocket to find the Circuit another day?"
Bribery. Hud liked that better, and would have taken it under different circumstances. But he had something else on his mind. "No." He said after a moment of thought. "I'll let you take him. But only with collateral."
"Collateral?" Said the captain, astounded. "What do you mean? What do you want us to give you in exchange?"
Hud pointed a finger at the female Human in the group. The other Natilliea. "Her." He said, dropping his arm tiredly.
The crystal looked shocked and glanced back at the girl.
"Tyler?" Said the Quibeek in surprise.
So that was her name.
See? Hud thought, cursing himself. It's not Natilliea.
"That is outrageous!" Frowned the captain. "If you think we will allow you to take one of our team members, endangering her to your unknown whims, then there is no deal. You can take the money, Pardos. No more."
"...You can take me!" Quietly squeaked the lizard Quibeek, shyly raising one of her hands into the air.
Hud shook his head. "Only the Human."
"No." Said the crystal being. "I will not allow it. No one will go."
"Byralnus, it's okay." Said the Human hesitantly. "I will go. I'll be fine." She held up what looked like a handgun. "...If I can keep this, just in case he tries anything." She glanced at Hud, waiting for his reaction.
Hud shrugged. "I don't care."
"Jacobs." Said the captain steadily. "You need to start listening to me."
"No, Byralnus. I know I made a mistake back there, but that should have proven that I can also take care of myself. Take Short and figure out what you can from him. Let me do what I can for the team."
The crystal looked like he was about to object, but he hesitated and sighed. "Fine." He glared up at Hud with a look of distaste. "But Malba will go with you."
"I can't fit your whole crew on my ship." Growled Hud.
"We can't trust you with our teammate!" Snarled Jirabi, stepping forward.
Tyler shot the handgun into the air.
The group fell silent as the projectile ripped through the air above them, the roar of its discharge echoed off the ruddy dunes.
"Don't waste your ammunition, Jacobs." Frowned the captain.
"Captain Byralnus, Jirabi," stated Tyler as she lowered her arm. "I am a big girl. I can handle myself."
The group remained in silence.
"Fine Jacobs. You can go alone." Sighed the captain. "Malba, please reload her gun completely. Pardos, I request that you allow us to track you for the duration of our deal. After two cycles we will meet up again. Once Tyler Jacobs is returned UNHARMED, only then we will hand over the Circuit. I swear on Ruolten that I will not accept anything else. Do we have a deal?"
Hud thought for a moment. A cycle wasn't too long, about the equivalent of two of his planet's days.
Two cycles would be okay—the Rhaa would think he was still out on the hunt for that time, but any longer than that would probably be pushing it.
Hud nodded. "I will be tracking your ship as well. At the end of the two cycles I will come to you to exchange passengers."
The crystal being nodded. "We have a deal. If anything strays from this plan, or she is hurt in any way, I will personally make sure the PPF put a hard bounty on your head." There was calmed fury in his eyes as he threatened Hud.
Hud smiled. There weren't many beings that he had met that would stand up to a Pardos. This old crystal was tough. Hud liked that. "You have yourself a deal, captain. We will meet again in two cycles."
Hud stole another glance at the Natilliea look alike. Again he caught her eyes for a moment. She held her gaze strongly at first, but then looked away uncomfortably.
The similarities were unnerving.
"My ship is in this direction, Human." Hud grunted, turning away from the team.
Tyler stepped away from the group, still holding the handgun tightly.
The aliens were silent and solemn as the Pardos trudged away, Tyler following slowly behind.
"Please be safe, Tyler!" Gasped Bai, her voice hinted at the shock she felt at the situation.
"Please be wise, Jacobs." Muttered the crystal solemnly.
*************************************
"Belnag" muttered Byralnus, staring off into the distance where Tyler had left with the green Pardos.
The little blue ball looked up at him.
Byralnus took a deep breath. "What can you tell me about the Pardos species that will make me feel better about this situation?"
Heva looked back off into the distance and thought for a moment.
Jirabi and Bai studied the blue Tirilli as they waited for her response.
Heva shrugged her small shoulders. "There is some good news. Though in general the Pardos male is larger and appears to be more dominant than the female, the Pardos female is almost always more sexually aggressive."
Jirabi gave a quick nervous laugh.
"Hm." Frowned Byralnus. "Yes, thank you Belnag."
Heva shrugged again. "I thought it was good news."