Starbourne, page 37
“Listen, you’ve got it wrong. I’m being set up. I never hurt anybody in that heist.” Jaeden said, his voice cracking as he spoke.
“Oh and I suppose you also didn’t beat the crap out of those three goons back there either?” Layne laughed.
“Well… that was unrelated,” Jaeden replied.
“Uh-huh, sure,” Layne remarked with a sarcastic tone.
“I don’t feel so good,” Jaeden said, his head collapsing down.
“Yeah, that’s the dart,” Layne said, looking down another corridor for his dock number. “Makes you feel real icky, don’t it.”
“Can you just, forget you saw me?” Jaeden asked.
It was fairly common for the prisoners to beg for their freedom or try to convince Layne that there was a mistake. What they didn’t know was that in most cases Layne even believed them, but at the end of the day, he didn’t care. He wasn’t a lawman or some altruistic champion; he was a bounty hunter. Someone wanted this man caught, and they were willing to pay for it. That’s all Layne cared about.
“Listen, kid, I don’t really care what your story is,” Layne said, peering around the corner of the corridor. Layne smiled as he read the sign marked ‘Dock E-Seven’. “Save us both the headache and just shut up.”
Layne and Jaeden entered the dock where the Oro had been parked. The large dock was devoid of any personnel. Layne glanced around the station. It was very odd that there weren’t even any attendants here. This very dock was bustling with activity when he arrived not that long ago.
The hangar he had parked his ship in was large enough for three other ships, and yet only his was here. A few crates and containers were strewn about, but no workers or droids. Some of the materials even looked to have been left in a hurry.
Layne scanned the surrounding area and noted nothing out of place, other than a transport truck that had been parked and seemingly abandoned. Still, he hadn’t come this far to fall into a trap. Layne flipped open his coat and put a hand on his holstered pistol. Moving cautiously, he quickened his pace. He just needed to get onto the Oro, then he could–
“Hey, brown-coat, whatcha’ got there?” A woman’s voice called out, somewhere to the side of Layne.
The slur “brown-coat” had immediately triggered something in Layne. The term was coined as an inner rim derogatory name for anyone that originated in the frontier. Long coats with cotton linings were the favored choice on the planets outside of the asteroid belt due to the cooler temperatures so far away from the Sun.
Whirling around, Layne saw a woman in black athletic gear, ahead of a pack of nearly two dozen mercenaries by the west entrance. The size of the group behind her took Layne by surprise; he surveyed them with just the slightest level of anxiety.
Layne cursed for allowing himself to think this job would be as easy as it seemed. Naturally, for such a large bounty, it would have drawn the attention of others. What he now faced; Layne surmised as a group from a local bondsman agency looking to cash in on the bounty.
While Layne himself was also a bondsman, there was very little good faith between the different branches. If anything, there was more competition than cooperation when it came to the opposing agencies. Layne figured the group was more likely to kill him out right and take Jaeden for their own.
“Just a piece of trash I picked up. Returning it to the dump, where it belongs.” Layne said, manoeuvring the prisoner pod behind him, and closer to his ship.
“If it’s just a piece of rubbish, you won’t mind if we take it off your hands, right?” The woman replied. She and her group slowly moved in towards Layne.
Walking backwards, in the direction of his ship, Layne steered the prisoner pod to follow suite. “That’s alright, I’ll handle it myself. No trouble at all.”
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Another voice called out in the distance. “You look like you’ve got a full que. Maybe we can take that kid off your hands.”
Layne cursed again, turning to look towards the newcomers. “Yeah, yeah, they already beat you to that offer.”
Grimacing deeply, Layne watched as another group of new figures entered the shipyard by the east entrance. These ones were all dressed in dark business suits and held drawn pistols and rifles. The leader stood ahead of the group, sneering at Layne.
“Oh, shaz…” Jaeden let out under his breath as he turned his head to look at who had approached.
“More friends of yours?” Layne asked, eyeing the newest addition to the crowd in the port.
“Technically,” Jaeden said. “We robbed them a little bit ago. And my friend, well she kind of stabbed the shaz out of that dude’s hand. He’s been pretty pissed off about that, I guess.”
“Oh, that’s just great,” Layne said, shaking his head and contemplating his next move.
The single group of bondsmen were going to be enough of an issue, but now adding in these geared-out gangsters… Layne really didn’t like the odds. He adjusted his route and avoided placing himself directly in the middle of the two groups. Still, he had a few options left to navigate through this, if he could get the two groups to fight amongst themselves for a moment.
“Hey, pal, you seem to be in quite the dilemma.” The leader of the gangsters called out, presumably to Jaeden. “Let me give you a hand.” The man lifted his arm and exposed a crude mechanical appendage, flexing the fingers rigidly.
“How’s the hand Freddy?” Jaeden shouted, his head flipping to the side.
“It’s Eddy!” The leader corrected, “Eddy the Elder.”
Jaeden scoffed, “Whatever Ted… Eddy. Whatever.”
“Would you shut up already?” Layne spat, “You’re just making this worse.”
“Don’t you worry about it, kid,” Eddy called out. “We’ll carve my name into your chest to help you remember! I’ll hand-le it myself.”
“I guess he ended up losing the hand. I honestly wouldn’t have expected that guy to embrace his situation to the point of making puns about it.” Jaeden laughed, firmly restrained in his pod.
“Shut up, you moron,” Layne said, continuing backwards. “Is there anybody on this planet that doesn’t want you dead?”
Layne then heard a low rumble in the distance, quiet at first but growing louder and louder. Years in the military taught Layne what that sound was. He sighed as a heavy armored vehicle came whirling around a corner and into the spaceport from the north entrance. It was an armored Armament Securities troop carrier, red and blue lights flashing and all.
“Attention all violators.” A voice echoed through a loudspeaker.
Jaeden let out a half-crazed cackle, looking towards Layne. “This just keeps getting better.”
“This is Officer John Long with Armament Securities, contracted security for New Parora. This is private corporate property; you are all hereby commanded to stand down. We are here to apprehend Jaeden Starbourne. All others are to disperse immediately.”
Layne looked down at Jaeden in dismay. “What the hades have you done? Why are so many people trying to get you?”
“It’s a long story,” Jaeden said, followed by a heavy sigh. “But it’s a bit flattering to be this important.”
“No, it’s not,” Layne said, clenching his jaw and looking around the shipyard of the port.
Their situation just turned from a walk in the park, to a dire circumstance where neither of them might survive. Continuing to back up slowly, each of the three groups closed in tighter. Layne assessed the options and the players involved.
To the west were the local broker agents, led by the female bondsman agent. She had nearly two dozen men with her, easily commanding the largest force in the dock. Each one of her men were lightly armoured, and most carried small calibre pistols. The threat offered from her group was the sheer quantity of people.
To the east were the gangsters led by Eddy the Elder. There weren’t too many of them, six by Layne’s count, but they carried some serious firepower with them. The bounty hunter scanned over each of the men and saw high-powered rifles, capable of cutting through any personal shields that anyone here, including Layne, may have had equipped.
Finally, to the north were the security forces, which had driven in with an armored vehicle. A dozen security officers in heavy armor and shields spilled from the vehicle and took up a superior position on all the others in the dock. The security forces also had the added benefit of being able to call in reinforcements, which were likely already on their way.
“That’s far enough!” Officer John Long commanded over the loudspeaker.
The order put everyone in the port on edge, and Layne could feel that this was the beginning to the showdown. He stopped in his tracks and poised his hand on the pistol in his holster. He stretched out his free hand in front of him. He could see that everyone else took similar ready stances, with each person in the port taking aim at one another.
The room fell deathly silent as each soon-to-be combatant held their breath. It was the deep breath before the plunge, and everyone waited for the first thing that would set it off. Layne formulated a temporary solution to his predicament of being the only party standing out in the open. From the corner of his eye, he could see a steam pipe overhead that he could use to his advantage. Rather than wait for someone else to set off the shoot out, Layne looked to act first.
He withdrew his heavy pistol from its holster and aimed at the steam pipe that ran above his head. Firing a bullet into the pipe, a jet stream of smoke burst free and enveloped the bounty hunter and his prize. The smoke gave Layne the opportunity he needed to position both himself and Jaeden out of the direct line of fire. The chaos also triggered the battle to erupt between the three conflicting forces assembled in the shipyard.
As Layne fell back to cover, he kicked the prisoner pod and sent Jaeden spinning backwards towards the parked transport truck. The sounds of utter warfare broke out inside of the enclosed spaceport dock. Small arms fire, as well as rifles, shotguns, and laser weaponry resounded in the distance, accompanied with labored screams and commands from all around the parked truck.
“Woah, woah woah!” Jaeden screamed from his spinning prisoner pod.
“Shut up you idiot, they’ll hear you!” Layne growled.
The bounty hunter moved to a ready position, anticipating someone to make a dash for the truck and seize their prize. Sure enough, two of the men associated with Eddy the Elder rushed into view from the east.
Layne took aim and opened fire, striking one of the men in the shoulder. Without a barrier to protect him the bullets hit him cleanly. The wounded man fell and dragged himself behind cover of his own, while his comrade continued charging forward.
“Let me help you!” Jaeden called out to Layne.
Ignoring Jaeden’s offer, Layne ejected his spent magazine and inserted a new one. Leaning out from his cover to get a better vantage on the rushing gangster, he opened fire again. The shots struck the second thug several times but sizzled in an orange blaze. Recognizing the small arms barrier protecting the thug, Layne cursed to himself and fell behind his cover.
The sounds of war continued to rage on, with a few occasional explosions cutting through the sounds of gunfire and shouts. Holstering his sidearm, Layne withdrew his shotgun from his back and racked it. With a deep breath, Layne took a step out from his position and took aim at the rushing figure.
The gangster was nearly upon him, and the two fired at each other simultaneously. The gangster shot from a laser pistol, which struck Layne firmly in the chest. The bounty hunter was relieved when his own barrier shield withstood the blast and harmlessly dispersed the shot.
Layne’s own shot from his shotgun, however, was not absorbed by the man’s shield. The blast pierced right through the shimmering shield and peppered the man with pellets. The man dropped to the ground mid stride after a single blast, his triumphant charge put to an end.
“Look out!” Jaeden called out from behind Layne.
Layne turned to see that the female agent leading the bondsmen had snuck up on their position. Layne raised his shotgun to fire, but the woman closed the distance and effortlessly kicked the gun free from his hands. She raised her own pistol and took aim. Layne lunged forward and shoved her against the side of the truck. As they connected with the vehicle, the gun dropped free from her hands and clattered to the ground.
Now face to face with the woman, Layne tried to overpower her. She shoved him back and, with a smirk, produced a wicked-looking blade. The two circled around each other for a moment, sizing one another up. Each looking for an opportunity to strike.
Layne’s advantage; his size and strength. The agent’s advantage; her agility and speed. The woman flourished the blade in her hand and took a step forward. Layne stepped back on his heel, and rather than engaging in a fist fight, withdrew his pistol and shot the agent several times.
Her barrier shield activated, and although the bullets didn’t entirely pass through, the force of the impact sent her stumbling backwards. She hit the ground hard, her head colliding with the cold concrete ground with a thud. Layne stood motionless with his pistol still trained on her for a moment, but when she made no move to get up, he quickly holstered his weapon.
“Nice, that was pretty sneaky,” Jaeden said from his floating pod.
“Shut up,” Layne growled.
Layne looked back at his prisoner to see how he was faring and saw that his pod was still rotating in an isolated circular motion from when he kicked the chair to send him back behind cover. The two men locked eyes as Layne picked up his shotgun, until the rotation of Jaeden’s cart broke their line of sight. Jaeden rotated helplessly to the side.
“Y’know, I could actually help you with this situation. We both might even survive,” Jaeden said, his back turned to Layne. “But that would mean letting me out of this voxxing cart!”
“Thanks for the offer,” Layne started, “but I think—”
His response was cut off as he was shoved down by someone behind him. Layne connected with the surface face first, his forehead smashing against the ground. As he lifted his head, he saw a smear of red blood staining the concrete from where his face had connected with the ground. The bounty hunter turned his back to see a security officer in heavy armor, fumbling with a pair of ion handcuffs.
“You think what?” Jaeden said, his seat still spinning in its spot. From his position, Jaeden clearly didn’t see Layne struggling with a new assailant.
While prone, Layne kicked at one of the officer’s legs fiercely, catching the man by surprise. The officer toppled over and fell directly onto Layne. The two struggled on the ground, both men vying for control of the other’s arms. The officer’s heavy armor made his defence difficult, and Layne was finding advantage in controlling his opponent.
“Where the hades did you go?” Jaeden asked, his chair now facing towards the parked transport truck, but his neck’s immobility not allowing him to witness the struggle.
During the grapple on the ground, Layne managed to knock the security officer’s helmet off as the two rolled on top of each other. The bounty hunter positioned himself behind the officer and wrapped his arms around the man’s neck. Locking him in a chokehold, Layne squeezed with all his strength to try and cut off the man’s breathing to knock him unconscious.
“I hear you. Don’t think you’re fooling me.” Jaeden said.
The heavy armor impeded the officer’s ability to fight against the chokehold, and after a moment, his protests subsided. Feeling that the officer had lost consciousness, Layne released the chokehold and shoved the heavy man off him. He allowed himself a moment to regain his breath before rising to his feet. As he stood, he caught Jaeden’s eye, who seemed surprised to see the bounty hunter rising from the ground.
“What were you doing down there?” Jaeden asked.
“Never mind, just shut up already,” Layne responded as he picked up his shotgun and racked it for the next wave of attackers.
“This has gone on long enough.” John Long echoed through the loudspeaker. “Bring out Little Suzy!”
Layne quickly dropped down to one knee. He noticed that the sounds of battle behind the truck began to quiet down. Clearly there were those in both the bondsman group and the gangsters that knew what the threat meant as well.
“Do you think ‘Little Suzy’ is like an ironic nickname, and she’s actually some gigantic hulking lady who can crush people with one hand?” Jaeden said, his chair’s rotation finally slowing down and facing Layne.
“It’s not a woman; it’s a gatling gun,” Layne said, trying to look through the smoke in the shipyard port to see what was happening. “We used them a lot during the war; they’re devastating.”
“Why would a security team have a gatling gun?” Jaeden exclaimed, trying in vain to move his body.
“Who’s going to riot in the streets if the local authorities can mow down anyone in its way like a scythe in a wheat field?” Layne responded. Peering through the smoke, he saw the weapon being offloaded from the armored vehicle.
Layne looked to the east and west and saw that both the bondsman group and the gangsters had began their retreat, acknowledging they had little to offer to compete against the weapon.
“Is it bad?” Jaeden asked solemnly.
“Well, it ain’t good,” Layne responded, looking back towards his ship. He contemplated making a run for it, but even if they got to the ship, the Little Suzy would rip through the softer parts of the Oro’s hull and make spaceflight impossible.
“Then let me loose!” Jaeden pleaded. “We’ll have a better chance of leaving together!”
“I’m not cutting you loose! Especially after all of this!” Layne snapped back.
“Listen, I’m saying I’ll go with you. I want off of this planet too!” Jaeden argued.
Layne looked back at the man, paralyzed in the prisoner wagon, floating in place. His head was limply leaning to the side, but his eyes were determined.
“How would you even help?” Layne asked as he weighed the options.
“We could fire on them from opposite sides. They know you’re alone; they wouldn’t expect a second shooter.” Jaeden offered.
