Mercenary. Scrapper. Part 2

Chapter 4. SS Lyssandra

“Scanning inconclusive.” the AI reported for the hundredth time. “I’m sorry, I cannot find Captain Serena.”

Ever since the sandstorm started, they were unable to find any signs of Serena anywhere within the vicinity. Hunter felt helpless and enraged to be stuck on a ship without any knowledge about what happened to the woman.

The man forced down the urge to kick something and jumped to his feet, grasping his hair.

“Damn it!” he growled.

“You are sleep deprived, Hunter. You should get some rest.” Lyssa said. “I’ll continue searching.”

“How can I sleep, when I don’t even know if Serena is alive or not?!”

“You should trust her more. She’s a strong and capable woman.”

“I know that! And I also know that something must have happened! Otherwise she would have checked in already.”

“You should get some rest, Hunter. The stress you are experiencing is affecting your ability to reason.”

“I’ll go have something to eat, if that will make you shut up about it.” Hunter headed out of the bridge.

“Sleep would be preferable, but you hadn’t eaten in two days, so that is also a valid form of recuperation.” the AI replied.

“Any news from the Growler?”

“Negative.”

“Let me know when they check in.”

“Of course.”

Hunter sighed heavily, understanding that the situation they were in was a harsh one. The sandstorm prevented them from finding Serena in the first few days when she disappeared, and the lack of communication ever since made it even more unbearable.

As soon as the sandstorm began dying down, Cipher offered to get to one of their informants to see if Serena contacted them. The SS Growler left the very same day, heading to the town, leaving Hunter on the location they’ve set up as a rendezvous point before Serena left for her reconnaissance mission to search for any traces of the Red Lanyards – the renegade mercenary gang that terrorised the area.

Hunter cursed himself for letting her go on her own and staying on the ship to scan and monitor for any mentions of the gang mentioned through the local net of audio frequencies. Over the days he had found nothing of the sort, scanning through radio communications – when it was possible – between cities and the few trading caravans that carried goods between them. But as soon as the storm hit, all communications seized.

The man walked into the dining area and stopped in front of the processor, wondering if he was hungry or not. Lyssa offered him a tray with some thick soup, a couple of pieces of freshly baked bread and a cup of herbal tea.

“Thank you, Lyssa.” Hunter took the tray and sat down at the table in the empty and lonely room.

“Always ready to help, Hunter.” the AI said.

The man ate without appetite, lost in his troubling thoughts about Serena. He didn’t know what else to do – other than the constant scanning and hailing, there was nothing he could really do. If he were to leave the rendezvous point, Serena might come back with no one to greet her.

He kept trying to calm himself that the reason they have lost communication was due to the heavy sandstorms that continued to whirl around. Perhaps, Serena was staying somewhere to wait out the storms?

“Hunter.” Lyssa’s voice sounded, making the man jump to his feet.

“Serena?”

“No. SS Growler is approaching. Hailing failed due to the interferences in the atmosphere.”

Hunter gritted his teeth, forcing down his anger at the whole situation.

“How close are they?” he ruffled his hair, trying to calm down again.

“Landing in fifteen seconds.”

“Why didn’t you notify me earlier?”

“I couldn’t detect a clear signal through the storm.”

“Great. Just great!” Hunter headed towards the cargo bay, where, as he thought, his friends would want to enter Lyssa to debrief.

He saw Cipher and Pher approaching the bay door just as he stepped up, opening it. The wind roared – though, not as hard as the previous days – and threw red sand inside the cargo bay. Cipher and Pher hurried up into the ship, patting themselves from the sand.

“Any news?” Cipher coughed, spitting to the floor from all the sand that he caught while running from his ship to Serena’s.

“None.” Hunter grimaced. “You?”

“Our informant hadn’t heard anything yet. But he promised to keep his eyes peeled.”

Hunter couldn’t contain his anger anymore and kicked a box with provisions:

“Fuck!”

“Look, we’ve done what we can for the moment. Right now the best thing is to sit out the storm. Perhaps, as soon as it calms, Serena would be able to send word.” Pher slapped his friend on the shoulder. “Let’s have a drink and rest a while?”

“A drink…” Hunter growled. “A fucking drink…”

He turned and walked off, heading towards the dining area and thinking how much alcohol would be able to knock him out – just for him to stop thinking about Serena’s disappearance.

Chapter 5. Truth

Serena felt herself better with each passing day, though the worry she felt for her friends was greater than her sense of self-preservation. She found out that Wolfin smashed the earpiece she had when he found her, so there was no way to contact her ship or her friends, unless they will find the remnants of her hover bike. She did understand that her hover bike could have been buried by the sandstorm. Or grabbed by wandering scrappers for spare parts, as she didn’t dare hope that it was intact after the terrible crash she experienced.

Finally, the aching in her body began to feel bearable and Serena got out of bed, still irritated at Wolfin for having her stay for so long.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the man saw her heading to the exit.

“I need to contact my friends.” Serena approached the boulder Wolfin used to close the passage and grasped at the edges, straining to try and move it away.

Though, recovered from most of her injuries, she was nowhere as strong as the man, so she failed to even make the rock budge. She froze, breathing heavily and feeling herself trapped, and heard Wolfin approaching.

“It’s still night out there. Too dangerous for you to be stumbling in search of your friends.” he said. “Let’s eat. If you’re so keen on finding them, I’ll help you first thing in the morning. But you have to do something for me.”

Serena pressed her forehead to the rock and sighed:

“What?”

“Take a bath, alright? You stink like a weefer.” he gestured to the water basin.

“What the fuck is a weefer?” Serena growled, straightening.

“It’s a creature that hunts every night. They’re stinky. And dangerous.”

Serena glanced at the basin and thought for a moment, before agreeing that she really could use a bath, since she spent so many days recovering from her wounds.

“Fine.” the woman headed to the basin, still feeling the aching in her ribs and knee that were injured worse than everything else.

Wolfin followed her with his eyes and shook his head, returning to the kitchen to finish up preparing some meat. When he heard her throwing off her clothes, he didn’t even look, but as soon as she submerged herself in the water and a faint groan escaped her throat, he glanced her way, seeing her massaging her shoulder.

“Serena?” Wolfin turned to face her, noticing how lean and beautiful her body was.

“What?” the woman opened her eyes and met the man’s gaze.

“You still hadn’t told me who you were looking for around here. And how you got to where I found you.”

Serena looked at the water, gathering her thoughts, and noticed the faint streaks of dirt and blood that was washing off her skin being carried by a slow current, which meant there was an underground creek, leaving the cavern.

“I was… scouting out one of the campsites I’ve found.” she said a few long moments later. “When I saw Ellax, a creature jumped at me, and this made the Red Lanyards uncover my position.”

The woman heard Wolfin drop something.

“You’re after the Red Lanyards…” he gritted his teeth. “Figures.”

“You know them?” she glanced his way and saw him approaching with a bowl, where two steaming steaks lay, sprinkled by some herbs.

“We’ve ran into each other before.” he put the bowl next to Serena. “Mind if I join you?”

“I’m in your…” Serena glanced around. “Home? Do as you wish.”

The man smirked and undressed, walking into the basin as well to clean himself from whatever sand and grime he could have collected through the past few days. He tore a piece of meat off one of the steaks and took a bite, studying Serena with a very strange expression.

“Why are you after them?” the man asked, licking his fingers.

“My team was contacted by one of the mayors and we were offered a reward if we would take care of the gang.”

“And… how big is your team?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does.”

Serena pressed her lips together. She was weary of giving him all the information, since she hadn’t known the man for many years and he pretty much threatened her when she first woke up at his cavern. She glanced at the box he threw before her then – now all the pins collected and the box returned to the stack.

Wolfin noticed this and moved closer to her, meeting her eyes with a slight frown:

“I had my reasons to kill those Veluthians, Serena. They came for me. They came to kill me.”

“Why?” she wasn’t hoping to get an answer, as he didn’t reply to similar questions before.

This time, however, the man took a very deep breath and exhaled, before saying:

“After the massacre…” he gritted his teeth. “When your family died, taking with them all of the Bima-Liss traitors… I was one of those investigating this mess. The evidence I found, and the questions I’ve been asking made some of the allies to the Bima-Liss grow weary of my persistence. And while I was able to capture most of those who sent assassins my way, trying to silence me… others framed me for something I hadn’t done. I escaped Velutha only by chance. For years I was trying to fix the damage those traitors caused to my reputation. But my attempts weren’t as good as the influence of powerful families, who gained a lot from the death of Thara-Lyss and Bima-Liss families.”

“Who framed you? And for what?”

Wolfin looked away:

“I was framed for the murder of my wife and son.”

Serena’s eyes widened. The man stayed silent for a while, as if thinking about the times that passed.

“Wolfin?” Serena called him, seeing him flinch at the sound of his name. “Who framed you?”

“Salaar Dorn Kalun.” the man said, throwing a handful of water into his face. “The pieces of armour I showed you belong to the assassins that came after me time after time. At his orders. The last ones I killed two months ago, right here…”

Wolfin pointed at the bloodied rock with chains.

Serena felt something stirring in her memories, and decided to distract herself by taking a bite to eat. Thinking over something that bothered her, she caught Wolfin looking at her with a strange expression on his face again.

“What?” she tilted her head, noticing his eyes studying not only her face, but her body as well. “Got something to say? Say it.”

The man smirked:

“Who knew a scrawny little kid could grow up so strong and beautiful?” he saw her eyes squinting and cackled. “Relax, Scorpi. You’re my ward, not a woman I’d want in my bed.”

Serena forced down an irritated grimace from appearing on her face:

“Thanks, I guess.”

“I didn’t ask…” Wolfin squinted at her, watching her reaction. “How did you survive? I saw the recoding that was shown all over Velutha, but… no one could find you. I assumed, just like all the others, that you died… either by the hands of the traitors or by the assassins that might have been sent after you.”

“How much do you know?” Serena felt her teeth gritting against her will. “About that day?”

“We found your blood, lots of it, on the site. And the short recording came to the communication web a bit later. That’s it. No trace, no hint that you were alive after that.”

The woman looked at her left arm.

“Tekkern caught me by surprise.” she said. “He shot me, blowing off my left arm, almost up to the shoulder. I managed to grab my gun, but my father ran into the fight, shoving me away and ordering me to run.”

Wolfin saw her eyes becoming angry.

“Then what?” he encouraged her to continue the story.

“I followed the order. I fled.” Serena grasped her left wrist, clenching the limb hard. “I got to my ship and didn’t look back. Tekkern followed me, vaporising my right leg as the ship was taking off. He toyed with me.”

She finally raised her eyes, meeting Wolfin’s gaze with a very dark expression shining in her eyes.

“I shot his head off.” she growled. “And had to crawl to the medical bay. Lyssa found out that we were all poisoned by some complex toxin, which inhibited regeneration. So when I was suspended, the ship’s AI had to crack the toxin to help me regain my regeneration. It took a number of years for her to do that, since she couldn’t use the Veluthian servers to analyse the compound.”

Serena shook off her tension and grabbed the whole steak, taking a big bite.

“And I thought you were dead…” Wolfin sighed.

“About that…” Serena squinted her eyes at the man, her gaze becoming suspicious. “How? Why were you so sure I was dead?”

Wolfin silently raised his left wrist, showing her a familiar design of a bracelet – a thin wavy dark metal with a single small stone on it. Though, her own bracelet had the stone glimmering.

“This wasn’t a simple gift, Scorpi. I left something to keep an eye on you. It was supposed to let me know if you were alive or not.” Wolfin said. “If the stone was lit, it meant you were alright.”

Serena realised that when Tekkern shot her arm off, the bracelet was destroyed with it, showing Wolfin the dire news.

“You kept an eye on me?” the woman asked, trying to grasp at the concept of her past mentor watching out for her without even showing his face.

“I did. Every now and again I would inquire how you were doing in the academy and how well you were progressing in your studies.”

“Then why not face me? Why do all that and… not even know what I look like?”

The man smiled sadly:

“It was enough for me to know you were alright. Everything else didn’t matter. I didn’t want to ruin your life, so…”

“Ruin my life? The fuck you’re talking about?” Serena suddenly bared her teeth in anger.

“What did your father tell you, when I was transferred?” Wolfin remained calm, even though the woman looked like she was about to strike him.

“He said I was getting too attached to you.”

“He was afraid that if I’ll be with you while you’ll be growing up, you’ll end up seeking my company more than just that of a mentor.”

Serena was taken aback by these words, confused at the sheer assumption of her father being so short-sighted.

“The fuck?” was all she could say.

Wolfin smirked:

“Your father feared that eventually we’ll end up in bed. He didn’t want a no name like me ending up with his precious daughter. And he promised me that if he ever sees me again near you, he will do everything in his power to destroy me. He also promised me that he’ll ruin your reputation as well, so that you won’t have a future anywhere, but in outer space, being a mercenary without a home.”

Serena felt waves of shock washing over her, making her body tremble. She now understood the sheer disdain her father looked at her with, and all the times he had shown her how little he thought of her.

“That Old Fart wasn’t happy seeing me being a better father to you than he ever was.” Wolfin said, seeing the woman obviously distressed.

The man washed his face once more and got out of the basin, grabbing one of the towels he left there the day before, when he thought about offering Serena a bath. Drying himself, he didn’t look at Serena, who still sat frozen in the water, incapable of saying anything.

Once he dressed up, Wolfin threw the towel aside and glanced at the woman, seeing her frozen in thought.

“Scorpi.” the man called out and she raised her head just as he kneeled next to her.

“What?” she barked, angry at everything she found out about her father.

Wolfin grabbed a block of soap and offered it to her. The woman took it, frowning, and the man chuckled, suddenly pushing her head under the water. When Serena managed to free herself from his hand and take a breath, she saw him walking off with the empty bowl, cackling.

“Wash your hair, Scorpi.” he laughed.

The woman wiped her face, irritated at his stunt, but decided that she really should wash out all the dirt and blood from her hair.

“You asshole.” she growled at the man.

Chapter 6. Dalilah

“Got any spare clothes I can use?” Serena’s voice sounded through the sound of water dripping down onto the rocks.

Wolfin turned to her and saw her pressing out her hair, surprising him with a long mane, pure silver in colour.

“Holy seven hells of Polonnas!” the man breathed out. “Where have you been hiding all that length? And since when are you carrying long hair?”

Serena froze, meeting his gaze and ignoring the fact she stood there completely naked in front of him:

“Since a man I looked up to said to me that only the strongest can grow their hair out.” she said. “I took an oath to cut my hair only when I will be defeated in a duel or on the battlefield.”

Wolfin blinked, surprised to hear this:

“And when was the last time you cut your hair?”

“A week before turning seven.” Serena smirked.

“Any longer, and you’ll have as long of a braid as Artemis Serdana herself!” Wolfin shook his head, walking over to his supplies to look for some fresh clothes. “How many duels have you had?”

“Uh…” Serena fell silent, obviously counting. “Shit… Don’t know. I used to have about seventeen duels…”

Wolfin chuckled, choosing for her a fresh set of pants and a shirt.

“Seventeen a week…” Serena continued, making the man freeze from shock. “For five years in the academy… then about thirteen each week while under commander…”

“Wait!” Wolfin turned to her, frowning. “And you’ve never lost?”

Serena walked up, taking the clothes from him:

“Not once.” she said with a smirk.

“But why do you hide all that hair in such intricate braids then?”

“There’s time to show off one’s strength, and times to conceal it from prying eyes, Wolfin.” Serena began to put on the pants. “You taught me that, remember?”

“You remember…”

“I remember everything you’ve taught me, Woofy.” the woman finally got the new shirt on, which was obviously too big for her. “Especially the tales of Artemis Serdana. And all those cautionary tales of never trusting men…”

“Is that what you think those were?”

“Weren’t they? She was killed by her own husband.” Serena began braiding her wet hair again.

“It not a tale of caution to never trust men, Scorpi. It’s a tale of how vulnerable we can be, putting our trust in the wrong people.”

He watched her collect her hair and make it seem like it’s no longer than her shoulders.

“Look, I know that you were telling me those stories, because you wanted me to know how dangerous it can be finding a man…” she said, tilting her head.

“Why do I get the feeling those stories made you deny all suitors?”

“Not all of them.” Serena’s face turned sour. “I was attacked at my own engagement party, remember?”

“I meant… before that. How many suitors have you denied?”

“Enough to make a very long list of duels that I’ve won.” the woman looked at the boulder, blocking the entrance. “How long is it until the sun is up?”

Wolfin took a moment to think, then sighed:

“Grab your things. Time for you to meet Dalilah.”

Serena frowned in surprise, not knowing that there was someone else around the caverns.

As soon as she was ready to leave, Wolfin set the boulder aside, freeing the dark passage leading out.

“How much do you trust me?” he suddenly asked Serena, who was looking into the dark with a frown.

“That’s a tricky question… Still hadn’t decided on that. Why?” Serena tilted her head, meeting Wolfin’s gaze.

The man chuckled and took a few steps back, entering the thick darkness that surrounded the tunnel. Serena saw his eyes turn from pitch black to very faint shimmering gold and lavender and remembered how she loved seeing those eyes checking in on her every night when she was little.

“Right…” the woman gritted her teeth in a moment’s hesitation. “One of the reasons you were my bodyguard was your unique mutation.”

“So… how much do you trust me?”

“Depends on what you are about to do.”

The man stepped back into the light and showed at the leather straps on his back that were part of an intricate set of belts and straps to hold all his various weapons that he carried.

“You grab onto the strap and follow me. I don’t want to take a torch for many reasons, one of them being Dalilah. She’s got a temper when it comes to fire.” he said.

“And the lights here?” Serena nodded to the torches.

“I’ll put them out, if you are ready to trust me in the dark.”

Serena took a few deep breaths, before nodding silently. Wolfin went over the cavern, putting out the torches and sconces one by one, until there was only one left – next to the exit. As he put it out, he was looking at Serena. The woman couldn’t help but close her eyes for a few seconds, forcing down he irrational fear that crawled into her soul in the pitch darkness that surrounded her.

“Still afraid of the dark, little Scorpi?” she heard Wolfin chuckle.

“No.” she replied, trying to hide her true thoughts. “I was waiting for you to attack me. Easier to hear the opponent, than try and see through the dark.”

When she opened her eyes again, she saw the two glowing eyes of her past mentor right in front of her.

“Don’t sting.” the man chuckled, carefully taking her hand and turning his back to her, placing her palm on his shoulder. “Grab on.”

As he let her hand go, she traced the strap to the middle of his back and clasped her fingers around the leather, realising the extremely vulnerable position she was placing herself in.

“Ready.” she said, hearing her voice crack just a little and hoping Wolfin didn’t notice.

The man silently made a step forward and she followed him, quickly adjusting her steps to his pace. He walked calmly, slowly, without stopping, and she felt him turn from time to time, understanding that either he really was taking her out of the underground maze of the tunnels, or… he could be making her disoriented.

However, she soon felt a whiff of fresh air coming from ahead and this made her relax just a little bit. They walked on, and Serena felt herself becoming uncomfortable with the faint sounds of the caves surrounding them. Each drop from afar, and each quiet screech from some tiny creature under her feet made her tense up every time.

And then, she heard the sudden growling rumble, seemingly coming from right beside her. She darted back and to the side, immediately arming herself – a gun in her right palm and a blade in the other. Pressed with her back to the rocky wall of the tunnel, the woman gritted her teeth, waiting for the growl to repeat to know where to shoot, but instead she suddenly saw the two glowing eyes looking at her through the pitch dark.

“Lower your weapons, Serena.” Wolfin said very quietly. “Ignore the growl.”

Feeling her teeth gritting, she didn’t lower her weapons, still trying very hard to see a single sign of the danger she sensed in the dark. A minute passed, and she heard a heavy sigh and a warm palm lay on her wrist, gently pushing the hands down.

“Lower your gun.” the man repeated.

“But…” Serena fell silent, seeing the glowing eyes looking at her calmly.

“Please. Trust me.”

Serena felt conflicted, though slowly allowing him to lower her hands.

“What the fuck is that thing?” she hissed, hiding her sudden anxiousness behind anger.

“You’ll see soon enough. She’s quite friendly.” Wolfin smirked.

“She?!”

“Come on.” Wolfin slightly squeezed her wrist. “Sheath your weapons. We’re almost out.”

Serena knew that he saw the total wreck that she was at the moment – panicked and tense. He must have seen it – after all, his eyes could see in the dark. She forced down her comment and calmed her breathing, sheathing her blade and then, with a few seconds of thought, the gun.

“Good.” Wolfin seemed to be happy she listened to him.

Serena felt his hand on hers again, putting her palm on his shoulder once more. Gritting her teeth, the woman traced the lining of the straps to the one on his back once more. This time her grip was harder.

“I feel you trembling…” Wolfin’s tone seemed teasing. “Are you afraid?”

“Shut up!” Serena hissed at the man as he continued his way.

Soon she saw the darkness parting, giving way to the dim light coming from the outside, and, finally, released the leather strap on Wolfin’s back, feeling more confident. She glanced behind her, but found no indication of anyone being there. Still, she increased her pace, pushing through Wolfin and walking out into the dim rays of the sun that was only rising on the horizon.

She felt the suffocating sensation of the caverns dissipating, and calmed her nerves, finally seeing the outside. Stopping a few steps from the entrance to the tunnels, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Wolfin leaning down to pick up a stone that fit perfectly in his fist. The woman slowly turned to face him, understanding that he could be plotting to knock her out with it, throwing it at her, but the man looked at her, smiled and leaned over the rock wall next to the entrance with his back, knocking three times with the stone on the wall next to him.

Serena tilted her head, not understanding what he was doing, when suddenly a sound of someone – something – moving came from within the dark tunnels. The woman frowned, not understanding the strange mix of shuffling and scratching that came from inside. The sound grew louder with each second, until Serena saw a gigantic creature bursting from the dark.

The smooth, crème-coloured chitin body, consisting of a multitude of sections, dozens of thick legs, moving fast and allowing the creature to grasp at the smallest holds in the coarse rocks around it, this titan of a centipede jolted out and onto Serena in a blink of an eye – which the creature had six.

As the head of the creature darted towards her, Serena managed to catch the spiky mandibles and, as the creature screeched, pulling her up from the ground, pushed at the neck of the thing with her legs, not allowing the monster to shred her body with the sharp ends of its legs.

“Dalilah! Down!” Wolfin shouted.

Serena felt the creature freeze, and saw the back pair of its eyes slowly look behind it, while the other four eyes were fixated on the woman.

A low, rumbling growl emanated from the throat of this immense creature, and the centipede lowered down, her smaller mandibles clicking against each other. Serena shot a quick glance at her holster, and the creature hissed, ramming the woman’s back into the ground.

“Dalilah!” Wolfin’s voice sounded closer and more stern. “Let her go, now!”

Serena felt her legs shaking under the pressure of the gigantic body, but the centipede slowly leaned back, watching the woman closely.

“Serena, let go.” the man approached, running his palm on the side of the centipede.

The woman glanced at him and saw him nod. Returning her eyes to the foul muzzle of the rumbling creature, Serena slowly let go of the mandibles, still holding her hands up to catch them again if the creature attacks her once more.

“Good girl…” Wolfin scratched the centipede on its forehead.

The creature rumbled – this time it was softer – and leaned into the man, allowing him to pet it.

“See?” the man chuckled. “She’s friendly.”

Serena allowed herself to fall back to the ground, relaxing her muscles and catching her breath.

“Friendly… you fucker!” she exhaled.