The message sent out had given the instructions to go to a nearby space station, so I took a transport up there. When I asked for the name given on the message, I was directed to a nearby computer terminal. When I turned it on, a shadowy figure appeared, covered by a robe, and congratulates me on my work. He then tells me to place my bank card in a nearby slot so he could transfer the reward money to my account. I did so, and a few seconds later, he told me that the transfer was complete. A brief check on my account confirms this. We then said our goodbyes, and he said that he hopes to work with me again soon.
As I flew back down to Gerko, the news of the recent assassination was spreading like wildfire. The Immortal Father, and the council on Ovnorak are giving out bribes for anyone who has information on the assassin, meaning that I have to keep a low profile for the time being. When the ship landed, I had to keep my head down all the way through the checkpoint. Once I was through, I headed downtown to celebrate my earnings in Deoxmatis’s bar, where I was a known frequent customer, and they were unlikely to turn me in.
The bar was already busy as I entered. A fight had broken out in the north-east corner, and multiple people were cheering them on. Choosing to ignore that mess, I turned to the bar’s owner. Deoxmatis was an Araket, one of only a few out of that species which new, and spoke English regularly. As I entered, he looked up warmly at me. “Tragnor!” He shouted excitedly. “My friend! Are you back from you’re hunts?” I nodded, with a smile on my face. “You know me well.” I took my seat by the edge of the bar counter. With a smile on his face he reached for my fave route, a bottle of redgar, and pouring it into a cup, before sliding it over too me.
As I took a sip, the bar fight began to quiet down, and Deoxmatis turned on the bar’s holoscreen to distract everyone. As he flips through the channels, he lands on the Federation news network which was playing news about the assassination. I rose my drink in celebration, and a few did too, but Dexmagis looked unimpressed. “A time of tensions, and you embark on an act of war?” He questioned me. I shrugged, without changing my expression. “It’s just part of the job.” I took another sip from my drink. “The job?!” He responded incredulously. “What are you talking about? You don’t need to take any bounties. You’ve made enough money to last yourself for years!” He took my now empty glass, and refilled it. “Come on, have you seen the Bounty they set out for him? If I didn’t get him someone else would’ve.” He looked at me sternly. “As you wish.” He said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
After a few hours of this, I left the bar stumbling through my steps. The last thing I remembered in the news before I left was another annoucement from the regime, stating that they would be pursuing justice against the perpetrators of these recent killings aggressively. I stumbled back into my apartment, and fell asleep almost instantly, ignoring a growing number of messages popping up on my tablet. As morning came, I ate a small breakfast while reading any messages left over from last night.
As I scrolled through all the messages, one in particular caught my attention. The message was tilted “urgent!” And it came from an unknown number. The message basically congratulated me for my work the previous night, and warned that the regime will start sending other bounty hunters in my direction, although the federation was trying its best to stop then, and that I should stay out of the public consciousness for the time being, and not take any more bounties. I sent a return message agreeing with the content, but questioning who he was. I was already making plans to leave to another system, until this all blows over, so I didn’t have much time to wait.
As I reached the nearest spaceport, I still hadn’t gotten a return message. I paid for my ticket quickly, and let them scan my bag, before they let me through. I got onto the small transport, consisting of space for 30 people and aliens, and the pilot’s cabin. The trip was set to take about 30 minutes, even while going through lightspeed. As I settled down for the ride, I got a message back on my tablet saying that I would know who he was soon. Now annoyed by this lack of clarity, I messaged back telling him to not message me, unless he had something important to tell me. This was the last message I sent before setting off.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
