Bounty - Part 2

The asteroid belt looked beautiful from this angle. It was a dangerous to approach the planet Ottori at such a shallow vector, but there was so little time for beauty in the bounty hunting trade. So moments like this were to be savoured and cherished. It was said the sparkling amongst the asteroids were vicious and hardy creatures that lived among them, but he chose to believe it was simply starship debri from those foolish enough to run the gauntlet.

The console began to beep and flash red, any moment the Ottori space traffic control would be aware of him and that would make life very difficult. A second later the console cover was off and his arm was buried deep inside and reaching for that all important lever. It was a shame to have to hide such brilliant technology but cloaking devices were illegal in nearly every system.

As the external sensors began to shroud the hull of The Precious he took one last look out the viewscreen. It had been thousands of years since the Ottori moon had disintegrated and slowly dissolved into the galaxy's most beautiful asteroid belt. It was such a shame that the beauricrate planet below was so xenophobic and fired upon any visitors. Surely the latinum-ore mined from the moon was not worth this level of security?

That was not his concern. His job was to land at the prearranged coordinates as arranged and on time. He would be pleased to rid himself if the bounty currently in the hold, it was a shame to have to sedate prey but this one proved to be most troublesome.

He didn't mind his prey putting up a good fight, it fact he rebelled in it a bit too much. Hand to hand combat kept him sharp and on top of his game. But this mark had a foul temper and would not stop shouting and screaming at him. He could never understand why his captives could never accept the certainty of their situation - they had been found, caught and imprisoned aboard his ship - until the handover they were not going anywhere and verbal abuse such as that would never change that.

Besides, the next stage of the plan was to dispose of his bounty collect his reward and be gone within the hour. He was contemplating returning to Nar Shudda and that flesh bar on the lower east level. He figured the only way to rid his mind of the Orion slave girl would be to see the show again from beginning to end.

At that moment the vibration of passing through the atmosphere shook him again from this dangerous train of thought. It would take all of his skill to silently pass the listening posts, just because he had done it before didn't mean it was easy.

It was all about the breathing. Breath in and out calmly and evenly, and your body can react instinctively on the controls. Coming in low and fast was the order if the day. Skimming past the guard towers and hugging the cliff faces ensured that if anyone did see or hear something he would be long gone before the thought was even finished.

Just as the sun began to reach over the horizon he was setting the Precious down on the landing pad. A few light touches on the manoeuvring thrusters and she was down, nestled neatly in a cravase barely a metre wider than the ship. He was good, and his current employers knew this or else they wouldn't have chosen this spot.

He powered down the cloak and set the engines into a quick self diagnostic pattern, that way a quick lift off could be just that. Activating the ships solar panels he donned his helmet and slipped on his double blaster belt. He decided to forego his usual blaster, those Corellian weapons would create a echo waking every official on the island.

Standing at the foot off the ramp he waiting for his employers to appear, and he didn't have long to wait. They were on time, and if there was one thing a good bounty hunter can appreciate it's punctuality.

After a few steps the recognition software in his helmet activated and immediately synced with the belly gun on board the precious. A small light flashed and he knew the gun was now permanently trained on the possible target. This allowed him to remove his hands from his gun belt and activate the remote for the holding section.

His employers reached him just as the cell settled on the dusty ground. His bounty stirred but didn't wake. Good, this meant they would see he wasn't dead and would save him having to prove it. Avoiding any pleasantries he held out his left hand gesturing for his payment.

The Ottoris glanced at each other before handing over the data pad. He didn't like species that communicated telepathically, it made him nervous. But they respected this and spoke. "You will find it is the amount agreed" said his helmet's translation program. The Ottori spoke in guttural grunts and whistles, very difficult for any non native to understand. The amount was indeed correct, as he expected.

He took one step backwards, about to return up the ramp. He never turned his back on anyone, friend or foe. "Wait" one of the short pale creatures said. "Check the last page" His heart started a fraction quicker, this was unexpected and unknowingly his right hand went to his right blaster pistol. "We have a new job for you"

For a good ten seconds he stood motionless, the cold dark view strip of his visor staring blankly at the two Ottori. In reality his eyes were busy darting across all the data now flowing in front of him. He flicked his left eyelid at the stand by icon and the ships weapons systems began to scan the environment and the pre-flight ignition also fired into life.

The little Ottori picked up on this and also took a step back. They pointed at his former bounty now lying at their feet. "Please. We have one more criminal for you to find" He wouldn't respond verbally, he never did. Instead he showed his distrust by flicking off the safety on his blaster now out of it's holster.

Now clearly nervous they both began to jabber. "This one had another partner. One working undercover on Nar Shadda whom we didn't realise was still alive. She was his contact to the Hutts"

She. He didn't like where this was headed. He wasn't one of those hypocrite bounty hunters who didn't go after 'women and children'. A mark was a mark. But a line female in a gang of criminals was always a recipe for disaster.

"She is the last one, we promise you. Then you will hear no more from us. Will you agree?" they asked. He held up his left hand and clenched all but two fingers. "For double your usual fee" said the Ottori and immediately turned and began to walk away, dragging their new prisoner behind them.

With his next step the ramp began to close. On the second step the ramp was closed and by the time he reached the cockpit both the landing gear and recharging panels were retracted. Removing his helmet and sitting in his seat he looked at the ships ascent plan. Damn, he'd trained his ship well. All he had to do was activate the cloak and sit back and wait, in seconds he would be back in the safety and comfort of deep space hurtling through hyperspace back towards the Hutt's home system.

He realised he hadn't even checked the data pad's extra page. Sloppy, very sloppy work he cursed at himself. First thing's first, memorise the target's face. If all else is forgotten or lost at least the mission could continue if he recognised the face.

The pad flashed back into life and he flicked to the last page. What he saw caused him to freeze in His seat. For what felt like a lifetime he didn't take a breath. The face on the data pad stared up at him, eating away inside him working it's way through and into his loins.

It was her. The Orion slave girl who winked at him mid orgasm. This was going to be one hell of a job.