James set back as the ship quickly took off and reached space. He punched a few buttons on the dashboard and a small blue map popped up on the windshield. It showed that he was headed to a tiny planet labeled "uninhabitable", far out away from any other systems. It would take him a little less than an hour to arrive at the small planet. He wasn't sure what he would find there, but he figured he could get some good information. Worst case, he got a nice ship out of the deal.
James spun around in his chair and walked back to the only other room in the ship. It was a small cargo hold/living area. There was a small cot in the corner and crates strewn throughout. He opened the lid on one of the crates and examined its contents. It was full of laser pistols and rifles. Not much use to him. While he knew how to use current technology, James usually stuck to low-tech when it came to bounty hunting. Sure a laser weapon was light and accurate, but it was something about the heft and sound that a good old fashioned gun made. It had saved his life on a few occasions as well. Most people aren't used to a gun with any real kickback anymore. So when someone else tried to fire his weapons, they usually ended up with a pistol smacking them in the face. usually breaking a nose.
He examined the other crates. Some instant meals that he pocketed and varying types of ammo for the weapons. The only one he took interest in was the tracer rounds. Small cartridges that coated the target in a homing beacon. He grabbed a clip, a laser pistol and a side holster. He put the clip in the laser pistol and holstered it to his left side under his duster. He went back up into the cockpit and flopped down into the chair. He had no idea what he was flying into, so he readied himself for anything. As he drew closer to the planet he pulled out his tablet and looked through Stacey's bounty information again. "Pretty little thing." James muttered as he read. He couldn't understand how the bounty on her was so high. Theft never seemed to warrant a decent bounty. Suddenly his brow furrowed in confusion. "Assassination?" He thought, very confused. He could believe the many counts of theft, but her picture and basic info didn't seem to fit the model of a murderer. He wasn't going to take any chances though.
Soon the planet loomed up ahead. It was a small yellowish planet. Suddenly James' heart quickened. How was he going to land? Surely, if this was a hub to sell stolen goods they would have some type of security. What if they blew his ship out of the sky? "Dammit!" He swore under his breath. Before he could decide what to do, a voice came over the speakers.
"Ty. Glad you could make it. I suppose you have that...order you promised?"
James froze. He didn't know if he should respond or not. Clearly they thought he was the kid this ship belonged to.
"Oh, dammit Ty, are you wasted again?" The voice crackled through. James silently thanked the kid for not having a video screen. "Oh, for the love of, I'll just put you down in docking bay four and come wake your lazy self up. You better be glad you're a good customer." The voice chastised him. James sighed. He would land, take this guy hostage, and go from there.
As he flew towards the planet, he saw a small opening appear int he ground. He was going underground. Slowly the ship descended into the planet into a small docking bay. There was just enough room for maybe five or six ships at a time. As the hatch above him closed, the entire bay was illuminated by overhead lighting. He took a quick look around. He saw only one other ship. "Ok. Grab the guy. Walk into the place. Take whoever is in there into custody. Question the owner. Collect the bounty. Then head after Stacey." James thought to himself. "Simple."
The ship landed gently and James saw a door on the other end of the bay open. A small, angry looking man with a mop plodded towards the ship. James unholstered the laser pistol and waited. Once the man was within a few feet James popped open the cockpit and lept out. The man's eyes went wide as he dropped the mop and went to grab something, probably a gun, from his pocket. Before the man could do anything James shot him with the tracer round. It hit the man in the chest with a loud THUNK, and sent him flying backwards.
James sprinted to the man as he fired a tracer round into the other ship that was docked. James reached the man just as he was sitting up. He grabbed the man by the collar, hoisted him up and put the gun directly under his chin.
"How many are in there?" James growled.
"I...um...I...don't know." The man gulped.
James dug the barrel of the gun deeper into the man's flabby chin. "This goes two ways." James growled again. "You tell me. We go in there. You and your boss stay alive and I leave." James then turned the man so he could look into his eyes. "The other way is that everyone dies and the bandits come in here to pick everything clean." James smiled evilly.
The man whimpered softly. "Alright." He said defeated. "Just two."
With that James hoisted the man up by his collar and spun him around to face the door. James pushed the gun into the back of his neck and urged him forward, keeping a tight grip on his collar. As they walked deliberately towards to door, James though about switching to his gun, but decided against it. He wasn't ready to kill anyone, he just wanted information. They approached the door and James slung the man forward. "Open it." James grunted.
The man slowly entered the code, his hands trembling. James moved out of the line of sight of the door as it began to open. As the door slid open the man began to wave his hands and started to scream. James quickly kicked him down and stepped into the doorway. He fired a round off quickly at the man standing in the middle of the room and sent him falling to the ground. He turned to the other person, whom he recognized as the bounty he had been looking for and fired directly at her.
