Ryan flew through the air, the jetpack uncomfortably warm on his back. This planet had humid air and the sweat on his back, neck, and legs wouldn’t evaporate, no matter how fast he flew. The dark navy and purple native trees passed below, with occasional swatches of bright green from the farms that grew human food for consumption.

“Looks like you're only about five minutes out.” Queistece said in his ear from the earpiece.

“Perfect.” Ryan said, slowing his speed and checking his altitude on the wrist watch. He could see the city in the distance, buildings of pale green and pink from the natural stones glinting in the sunlight. He lifted himself higher as a precaution, cresting some low hanging clouds and flew in.

“Looks like she is a little behind schedule. As always.” Tiberus’s smooth voice filled his ear. “Go in through the south, you have two tall buildings to hide behind until she gets into position.”

“Got it.” Ryan said. He hovered between the massive structures. The buildings were some of the tallest he had ever seen. The people down below, cheering and waving, were barely visible through the low hanging clouds. His hand thumped against his thigh. One more job. Do this right, and he could be free. He took a few steadying breaths as he waited.

He didn’t have to wait long. Quistece’s voice was harsh in his ear. “Go time! Target in position!”

The jetpack kicked him forward as he banked to the right and swung around and down. “You are sixty meters away!” Queistece warned him. “We will end all communication now and wipe the watch and headgear clean. Good luck and happy hunting!”

“Thank you” Tiberus said also. “I will wire the money as soon as she is pronounced dead!”

“Stars be with you all.” Ryan replied automatically. He was already focused on the hunt, their voices only a background noise. His attention was focused and his breathing steady and even. Gone was the trepidation from a few minutes earlier. He was in his element and it was now or never.

Senator Talmiate was at an intersection. Ryan could see her waving to the crowd, even kissing an infants head. Her bodyguards were arranged all around her, their bulky bodies dwarfing her tiny elfin frame, on the alert and heads swiveling all around. A large hazy shield covered them, semi opaque, and made of mesh and carbon fibers, meant to stop a direct arial assault.

That didn’t matter. Ryan would simply get under it. He could have shot through it but it distorted the figures underneath and he didn’t want to hit the wrong person. Once he was level with the shield, Ryan couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate her beauty as he descended lower, gun primed and ready in his hand. She had brains too according to his reports. Which was why it had to be destroyed. One of the most brilliant women of her time, popular and a natural leader. “A waste of potential and beauty killing her”, he personally thought. But money was money.

As soon as he hit fifty yards in he quickly circled, looking for an opening. The timer on his watched beeped every thirty seconds. Time, he was losing time. Tick tock. A minute passed.

The guards below knew something was up. Another minute passed and a few looked about, suspicious as they lifted their watches to their faces. The shield above was carefully lowered down but it didn’t matter. Ryan had seen his opening. Two and a half minutes.

Two guards had parted, only for a moment, to glance out from under the shield into the crowd. Ryan was only ten yards away, flying low enough to reach down and smack a civilian in the head if he wished it. His time was up but he had an opening. As soon as he saw guards part, he lifted the gun, sighted, and fired without hesistation.

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Several things happened at once. Senator Talmiate froze, shock on her face, as another guard to her left lifted a small gun and fired directly at Ryan. For a second, heat engulfed Ryan, making him panic as he banked harshly to the left. And then Talmiate’s head exploded in a dazzling display of red and white, showering her guards and the people around her with blood and skull fragments. Behind her, three more guards and a civilian that had been standing directly behind her also went down in a spray of blood and bone.

Ryan wasted no time in shooting upright as quick as the jet pack allowed. He had been seen, and possibly hit? He didn’t feel any pain but he was panicking too much to leave the body. A rookie mistake, lingering. He should have left as soon as the time was up. Ryan knew he had felt something, and his body knew something was wrong. Too much adrenaline flooded his system, grounding him. He worked to get his nerves under control so he could leave. “I’m alive. I’m fine.” he chanted over and over. He was almost calm when he felt the kick.

A kick on an Astro-Projectionist was rarely done. There were consequences to using it. Calling a soul back instantly used up vital energy, leaving an Astro weak, and unable to travel for months. It was only used if an Astro did not make it back before a certain time. This was handy if they had been imprisoned or kidnapped on another planet, or for some reason was in a high stress mental state that stopped them from leaving their current body. It could also be done naturally, such as if the Astro’s body suffered a heart attack or stroke while vacant.

Ryan felt that familiar tug. A yank really. And then the sensation of falling. He didn’t even remember leaving the body. Just nothing as his soul was snatched away from it’s current position and back to his body.

Ryan awoke to chaos. Thomas screamed in his ear in panic and confusion as the Doctor yelled instructions and screamed back. Ryan tried to open his eyes and sit up, but a wave of pain unlike any other froze him.

“Holy fucking stars above! What the fuck happened? What is this?” Thomas screamed in absolute terror.

“I can’t get him stabilized! Take this! Press there!”

A jolt of electricity set Ryan’s muscles dancing on the table as he tried to shout. Only a low groan came out. He opened his eyes to his brothers panicked face.

“Ryan? Ryan! What the fuck man! What the helios is happening?” Thomas was crying now and Ryan felt a flicker of deathly fear. He tried to think, but even that process seemed to hurt.

“I’ve got a stable heart rate! Quick! Get those bags of blood! I’m going to administer a cocktail of drugs to keep him pumping!”

Something warm slapped against Ryan’s arm. He looked at Thomas who stood next to him, attaching a blood bag to a pole as tears streamed down his face.

“We need to call emergency personal. This isn’t good. He could go at any minute. I do not have the equipment to fix such a wound.” The Doctor said quietly, trying not to alarm Ryan.

“If we call emergency personal, everything is done for! They are going to want to know what happened! You can’t fix it?” Thomas begged the Doctor.

“He needs more blood, a whole new lung, and ribs need to be welded back together! I do not have that sort of equipment!” The Doctor calmly stated as he squirted a cloudy liquid into the IV of Ryans arm.

The liquid burned, but Ryan felt more alert and less pained almost instantly. He was suddenly grateful for the annoying breathing tube in him that he normally abhorred. He didn’t think he had to strength to draw his own breath. Unable to resist the curiosity though, he summoned the strength he had and looked down at his mangled body.

The Doctor wasn’t lying. There was a large hole right through his chest where the guard had shot him. Blood soaked the mattress beneath him and pooled on the floor. Ryan didn’t have the energy to wonder how such a thing was possible. He looked instead into Thomas eyes as Thomas looked back at him.

“If we don’t call emergency, what are his chances.” Thomas asked quietly.

“His chances? Not good at all!” The doctor said in disbelief. “Maybe fifty. If that! We have blood, and I might be able to get that lung working again, but who knows what other organs have been harmed and where he is bleeding from!”

“You can look and evaluate him though right? Maybe repair them?”

“Some organs, yes! But not all! Some he might have to repair on his own if he lives.”

Thomas stared down, his eyes awash in pools of tears, his dark hair hanging in his face. “It’s your call brother.” He said to Ryan. “You were always the one who wanted a free life. Is a free life still worth it? Or will you choose any life, even one in servitude to survive?”

Ryan blinked his answer, an unspoken language between them. Thomas knew what he meant. It was worth the price of his soul.