In Love With the Manhunter

I exited hyperspace to a planet that was surrounded by spires. Rather those are watch towers, or those are a planetary defense mechanism. Or they could be both. I thought activating my ships jammers, and cloaking devices. When I made orbit of the planet and entered the atmosphere it was night the two moons in the center of the sky. "Good that makes this job a whole lot easier". Suddenly my radar was detecting a ship heading directly toward me. I grabbed control, and dodged a ship that bulleted past mine. I opened up a damage report to see that the rogue ship clipped my radar sensor leaving me blind in long range sight and being able to detect invisible targets. Better just land somewhere rather than risking detection. I thought taking my ship in a clearing in the forest that surrounded the kingdom that I was suppose to enter to get this golden princess. The ship landed with dull thud, and a release of steam. Now let’s dress light and check how far the damage extent is I thought walking up to a wall hitting it. The wall dropped away to reveal a door as it slid open. "Alright lets get changed". I stepped into the space. Mechanical arms shot out taking off my armor with puffs of steam shooting out. All that remained was a jet black fighter suit. A holographic list.
A female voice spoke seeming annoyed, “All armors ready, and all undamaged. What is it now a new job for your work?”
“We’ve already gone over this Zero.” I responded to the voice.
A pink ball with a red glow, and violet mist appeared. The red glow intensifying as each word was spoke mocking me with my job title, “Yes your 'mercenary' work.”
“You don’t need to worry. I’ve blasted away from Gridlock prison with all but a rail pistol, Blow up the mech Andros, and suckered punched the eater of worlds into a black hole. There is nothing else that can even scratch my shields! I had a titan drop on me sending me into a 70 billion meter fall, and survived it with all but a few cuts.”
“I know.” she said tailing off, “What armor shall it be?”
I pondered the question and started to list things I would need, “Something light, with big tight pockets, with a wrist grapple launcher, and with an invisible ability.”
“There are three armors you have that mostly fit that list…. Here they are.”
The hologram popped up again, but only three on the list. I opened the list up viewing the three side by side. “Marksmen is light, but there is not even a thought o being remotely silent. Dragon is silent and it’s agility can not be matched , but weapon space is little to nonexistent also there is no invisibility,” The two I named dropped away, and only one remanded, “Masked night… Hmm. Very light, agility is even, checklist is met, and it’s silence is only by my movement. Yea this is the one.”
“Very well.”
The metal arms shot out again. They suited me with black light armor, and all that was left was a grey duster, and a black mask on an outstretched arm waiting for me to put it on. I grabbed them throwing it on,
“This is different. Never felt this light before…” I trailed off grabbing guns to fill up the duster’s pockets, “Time to knock some heads together.”
“Your approach is not going to be you silently clearing the castle. You're going to have to try to get in undetected, without killing any guards, and also take the princess out with anyone knowing she's gone before you are light years away.”
I coughed cracking my knuckles together, “This…. I uh- Is not going to be…. easy.”
“I’m going with you so that-”
I cut he off, “Absolutely not Zero!”
She rejected, “I am going with you and that is final.”
“Zero… I- I know I’m not going to do this job without a hitch. I need you to say here to prep the ship for immediate escape or… or to make sure at least one of us make it out alive.”
“If- I don’t want to lose you Shadow. I was barely able to not go insane when you went to war, and got that message that you had perished. From those traitorous dogs. You were abandoned, and set up to die. What if this is another one of the New Tranquilities’ plan for you to be killed?”
“You can’t keep on using that for an excuse to keep me from my job. I- we knew what bounty hunting entailed. But it was my only choice.”
“I know.” Zero sighed transforming from a ball to a women in an officer’s uniform. She stood on my shoulder as she was on a inch tall.
I took her off my shoulder, and stepped out of the armory chamber. She sat in my hand with her head in her knees. The door to the outside. A wind blew making my coat float in the breeze, “I shall come back don’t worry.” I put her down on a table walking out into the dark forest. The door closed behind me. Then the ship turned invisible leaving only a the grass and the trees, “At least I’ll try.”
I got to the edge of the forest on a bluff overlooking the castle. I pulled down the binoculars. I zoomed on the main gate, and saw a sight that I did not like. Two groups of seventeen guards patrolled the perimeter, and seven scout with spot lights patrolled the air. Then to make it worse was that two droids with rifles guarded the gate, and they both had alarms next to them. This is seriously going to be a hard job. Why do Nobles always have the biggest security, but have so many weak points to exploit? Now when the One group goes around the corner the second group will not arrive until I’m safe climbing the wall.... No but then the gate guards will spot me before I can even put a finger on that wall. But if I could shoot them. No that wouldn’t work because then that second group will see me and hear the gun shots. But then a solution came right too me. I started to hear hissing from behind me. I lifted off the binoculars, and turned around to see a acklay staring at me. It’s spider like figure in the shadows of the tree’s canopies. It’s head came into the moons light showing a sliver body and pristine white teeth, and eight legs. I just laid there I slowly moved my hand to my left wrist. It raised a leg to impale, but I was able to turn invisible confusing the acklay. “I have an idea.” I whispered to myself earning a glare from the acklay trying to find me. I snuck up behind it, and jumped on it. The thing was terrified when I jumped on it. I dashed straight toward the castle. When the arklay and I broke from the clearing all eyes were on us. A siren blared as the ship’s spot lights hit us. I grabbed the arklay’s crown, “You're going straight for that patrol.” I said thrusting it’s head to the left making it scramble toward the patrol.
One of the guards drew his rifle and spoke, “What’s wrong with the Silver Princess’ arklay?”
One of my eye brows raised under my mask as I studied the arklay. “Usually arklays are green not silver.” I whispered to myself. Then the words of the women from that call, “The princess’ are twins that apparel are gold and silver! This must be that silver one’s pet or something.”
Another one of the guards yelled grabbing the other guards gun pointing the barrel to the ground, “Don’t shoot! Hold your fire men! Something’s wrong with the arklay!”
That’s my queue to leave. I said hitting the arkla in the back to make sure it continued to distract the guards. I ran to the wall shooting the grapple to the closest window ledge. I jumped shooting up to the ledge as the grapple reeled me to the ledge. I hosted myself on to the ledge aiming for another ledge. I was on the 34th floor when the guards were able to tie down the arklay, and go back to their original cycle. Now that’s my queue to get inside, and away from those spot lights. I thought opening up a window silently, and snuck in nearly getting caught by one of the scout ships.
When I dropped into the room it was pitch black. I brought down the binoculars again, but removed the reflective lenses and turned on the night vision illuminating the room to see rows of bunks, and two men armed with cleavers trying to see through the darkness. I could see that they were not guards they were wearing chef's apparel. I snuck up behind one of them, and hit one of them on the neck knocking them out. But then a loud ting erupted from the knife hitting the floor. I cursed under my breath I rushed the other guy.
“John are you-”
He was cut off when I grabbed the knife whacking him in the head with the knife hilt, and uppercut the man knocking him right to the floor. I better put these two on a bed to make it look like they passed out or something. I suggested to myself picking them up, and dropping them into the closest empty beds. I exited the room closing the door silently. I walked down the hall and up a flight of stairs to the room that I was suppose to be to get this golden princess. I turned the diamond handle to find a bed that had a lump in it indicating the package was here, “Bingo!” I whispered creeping to the bed. Then I heard footsteps. I brought up a radar to see life forms. Two people were walking outside the door, but then I noticed something odd. The bed had no life in it. I walked over to it and ripped the covers away to see pillows aligned to look like a person was occupying the bed. I clenched my fists in frustration, and then I turned to the wall to see a finial seam I approached the wall trying to feel a hidden switch in the wall. Found you I thought as I pushed in the tile earning a hiss as the wall flipped revealing an empty armor rack built into the wall. “So, This golden princess as a dark secret to hide.” I thought aloud closing the armor rack. The my radar beeped alarming me to a presence watching me. I whipped around drawing my pistols two lasers resting on my little snoop. A women about I say in very late teens or very early twenties with silver hair stood there with her hands over her mouth. I motioned for her to come to me, but of course she backed away. I bolted for her catching her off guard, and throwing a gloved hand over her mouth. She tried to scream, but her screams were muffled. Then she bit me. I grunted as she had drawn blood from my palm. Why do they always bite, and have such sharp teeth?! I thought trying to keep hold of her as she held down her bite, and was trying to get out of my grasp. Each time she squirmed it was like she was twisting the knife. The I held a pistol to her head, and that stopped her dead in her tracks. “You're going to get me out of here, and you're not going to make a sound. Savvy?” she nodded releasing her teeth from my glove, and held her hands up. We walked to the door, and there stood a maid with a tray walking the the room we just exited I again cursed under my breath as she spotted us. Also what added insult to injury it was five-thirty in the morning, so the castle was up and awake as three silver guards walked down my escape hallway. The two enemies stare at me
The maid dropped the tray and screamed, “He has the Silver princess! Get Help!”
I bolted back into the room shutting the door as the three guards shoved the laser swords through the door, “Only one way out now.” I said shooting out a stain glass window running to it.
The princess screamed in rejection, “No! No! I’m not jumping down a thirty-five story drop!” I didn’t listen just picking her up and jumping out the window. She screamed clutching to my neck. I shot off my grappling hook catching one of the airships swinging across to the forest.
I landed on the ground bolting to my ship, “I’m so happy that ship was there or I would have been a new stain on that ground!” I said relieved opening a com link, “Zero get the ship primed, and ready for emergency take off!”
The silver princess asked a question that I knew she was going to ask, “Who are you talking to? You're not some sort of psycho right?”
“Who’s that?!” Zero asked seeming very surprised
“It doesn’t matter!” I shouted directing my out burst to the both of them.
Then a something bad happened that I dreaded, “Shadow we got a major problem!”
“No! What’s wrong?” I asked in a bit of distress as a laser got me in the back, “Agh! Your so lucky I can’t shoot back!”
“I can’t start the ship! That rogue ship that hit us damaged my control to the ship. You're going to have to do it manually.”
I ran trying to get away from the guards that were pursuing me, but the two scout ship flew overhead, “How can this get any worse?!” I shouted taking out a pistol, and took a couple of un-aimed shots at the ships, and guards behind me. I heard only one scream of pain and a accusing scream from the princess, “You- you just kill that guard!”
“Honey, they shot at me first that was strictly self-defense! Also that what happens when you shoot at a bounty hunter!”
I reached my ship I put down the cargo that I should have been carrying. Then I bolted for my ship, “Zero!”
“Yes shadow! Oh it’s so-”
I cut her off bolting from the cockpit, “Get those turrets up, and keeping those scout ships, and guards at a far distance!”
“On it Shadow!” Zero said as she disappeared from my wrist.
I jumped into the driver's seat turning on all engines. I brought up the shield just in time before three rockets hit. “That was too close!” Zero said appearing in the A.I. stand. I blasted off into orbit, “Shadow I just detected a major energy spike in space directly around the planet. I cleared the atmosphere to see a shield building up around the planet.
“Their trying to close us in!” Zero and I said in at the same time. I punched the hyper drive
“Rather the hyper-drive jump is going to kill us, or it is going to be our greatest savior!” I said punching in coordinate to the closest safe space from authorities, “Hang on!”
The ship blasted off nearly hitting the shield. I slouched back into my seat my hands on my mask. Zero was laying on the pedestals floor. Zero sighed in her hands, “That was the most riskiest, and most insane move we have ever pulled off.”
“I think I’ve earned all of the drinks, and money in the world.” I said ripping off my mask, and dropping it to the floor.
“Shadow.” Zero asked sitting up with a worry plastered on her face
I stopped slouching. “What’s wrong?”
“We got someone on the ship.”