As she looked at her fellow Hunter, Dalila tried to keep calm. After that mix-up, she couldn’t believe that she was still breathing. “So, just to be sure. We both want something from Bradford?”

“Yeah,” Vivian said as she finally got done laughing. “Oh, I’m gonna get so many drinks for this story at the Guild Halls! We both are!” Vivian finally croaked out.

Dalila looked at her fellow Hunter and chuckled, getting up and shaking her head. “Yeah, but we need to talk. What data do you want?”

Vivian looked up at Dalila as she was helped up with a blank face. “That’s my target. What about yours?”

“I want some data about a party a month after the last Founding Day. Tracking down an unknown target. And I need him to confirm an alibi. If I can confirm that Bradford didn’t see that person there, then I’ve got them!” Dalila said with a grin. She was proud of her work, she had been on this hunt for the last three months. But the payoff at the end was going to be so beyond normal. With all that money, she could buy an undeveloped moon. And still, had enough left over to develop it however she wanted! And if she wanted to, she could cut Vivian in a piece of the cut, maybe enough for her own FTL ship. “How about a deal, I’ll give you a cut of my bounty, and a copy of all the data but his sight memories. That fair?”

“I…… yeah. I’m not after any of that anyway,” Vivian said as she held out her hand.

Dalila only grinned and laughed. “Two united, and nothing can stop us!”

As Vivian grinned back, Dalila wondered just what her new partner was after. The kind of data that was in a person’s nanites. Records of where they had been, data from other nanites, and all kinds of other things. There was no telling and no way to know what she wanted. But she wasn’t after Bradford’s memories, and that was enough.

With a nod, Dalila put a hand on the keypad and undead her lock, destroying all traces that she had been there. As the door opened, they heard the sounds of people demanding answers near the front.

With a concerned look shared between them, the two nodded and ran off. As soon as they reached the main chamber, they looked around and saw a mob of passengers around Bradford. Bradford looked like he was trying to calm them down, but having no luck.

With a look that spoke volumes, Dalila grinned at Vivian and gestured at Bradford with her hand before making a claw. Vivian looked back and then grinned, and then they both moved through the crowd towards their target. Without saying a thing, they agreed that Dalila would make the steal once they were closer.

But before they could make it there, a screech was heard. Everyone turned to see Duncan hobble out of his office.

He looked around and sighed, shaking his head. “So what is the problem this time?”

“Master Duncan! Good, I’m sorry sir, but I couldn’t keep them calm!” Bradford said, sorrow in his voice.

Duncan only sighed before he looked over them. Dalila tried to keep from flinching. Hunters might have a lot of power and legal status but in this situation? Duncan held all the power and she knew he would use it.

“Well, then will one of you tell me the problem?” Duncan asked with a soft voice.

One of the passengers stepped forward. He was a tall man with bluish-tinted skin and short purple hair. He was wearing a tuxedo that was starting to show signs of wear and tear. Dalila couldn’t see his head, as she was right behind him. But the hair let her know who this was, and she hoped that she was wrong. If he had been on this Capsule without her knowing, then she knew this was going to be stupid.

“Sir, I am Leonator Vos Flortrlis! We were just told that your minions killed an unquiet evolutionary wonder up there!” Leonator said with a hard edge to his voice.

Dalila only winced and shook her head. So it was him, and here she was hoping he had died on the ship. Leonator was a self-proclaimed master of Biology. He was an opinionated scientist who hated the military. One the Spirit, he had been the speaker at a few parties she had used to try and get close to Bradford. What she had found out about Leonator was he was always convinced that he was right. This was going to be so stupid.

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“Yes, they did. The creature in question tried to kill them first after all,” Duncan said softly.

Dalila could hear the spark of anger in his voice, and that was something that gave her hope. Hope that finally, finally Leonator would get put in his place.

“That was pure murder! This place might have been part of its territory! It must have seen them and they had to have scared it!” Leonator said, rage in his voice. “That beautiful creation was a hybrid of plant and animal! If we could have captured it, who knows what we could have learned!”

Duncan sighed before a voice came from behind him.

“Sir, that thing struck first!” The speaker was a tall human man in a crew’s jumpsuit. He had tanned skin and white hair. The man was looking at Leonator with anger in his voice. “It had already been attacking the shield! If it had kept it up, it would have caused the shield to fall! Then everything out there could have come in and killed us all!”

“You don’t know that! It had to be scared! Anything that was part plant had to able to draw nutrients like plants!” Leonator countered and the crew member only stared at him.

“The plant part was just vines growing out of its back!” The crew member said with anger in his voice.

<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>

Bob glared at Leonator. He had dealt with so many others like this one. Scum who only thought that they were the ones who knew the proper way forward. They always talked down to the people who did things they hated. And once again, he was standing across from one of those thugs.

“And it had to have hunted us to eat us!” Bob snarled and the purple-haired passenger snorted. He glared at Bob with red eyes, his lips set in a snarl.

“You don’t know that!” Leonator snarled back as he clenched his fists. “Just another life destroyed by those who let power go to their heads! How can people like you even live with yourselves? Do you just pat yourselves on the back for killing such a wonder!?”

Bob looked at Leonator, and he barely kept from striking the fool. He felt hotter than normal, and he wondered if that was because of his rage. H had never let loose ever, but tonight might be the perfect place to find out what it was like

“Enough!” Duncan barked and stepped between the two of them.

He looked around the room and took a deep breath. Finally, he glared at Leonator. “What happened was the people up there defended themselves. No more, no less!”

“But that creature was probably just scared!” Leonator said, his arms wide.

Bob only looked at Leonator and shook his head. This fool was still talking like they could have captured it!

“Fine, it was scared. Scared it would starve! But we have to live. And that’s the priority,” Bob said with a scowl as he looked at Leonator.

Before Leonator could say anything, Duncan snapped.

“Enough! We need to survive, this matter is closed!” Duncan snarled and looked at Leonator with a glare. “You shut up now. So help me, if you cause me any problems I will treat you as one. So keep thinking about what I said. And you, Bob? Get out there and make sure everything is okay……. Fine. Take a sample jar with you. Get a piece of the corpse for Mister Leonator.”

“I can’t use those things. I wouldn’t know how,” Bob admitted.

“I can sir!” A voice caused Bob to blink and see two women in crew jumpsuits pushing their way out of the crowd.

“Ms. Dalila, Ms. Vivian. One of you can use that?” Duncan asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

“Yeah. I helped a medic once during the war. Something about a possible bio-weapon from the enemy. Just an allergy that slipped by. Funny story,” Dalila said bluntly.

“Fine, then they will help Bob get you a sample. You can gene-sequence it once you get a lab or something,” Duncan said as he looked at Leonator with a glare on his face.

Leonator looked like going to say something when Bradford stepped in.

“That will be perfectly fine. Won’t it!” Bradford said with a scowl as he looked at Leonator.

For a few seconds, Leonator said nothing. Then he nodded.

Ten minutes later, Bob helped Vivian up the slope as she and Dalila climbed up. As they all looked around, Vivian whistled.

“This is amazing. I mean the lights alone are perfectly placed. And this is all solar-powered? Nice!” Vivian said with a smile. Then she found the vine-beast’s head and she stared. “And that was what you killed? How?”

“Got it to the shield’s line, then used the shield to cut off the head. It was quick at least,” Bob said bluntly.

Not that he cared about the monster. It was trying to kill them all, and it was trying to break in. That alone told him all that he needed to know. And if it was sentient, that that thing deserved to die in pain.

“Well, that’s good. And the head is the perfect source material. I just need a few moments to grab a cell sample for him. And that head is perfect for what that fool wants,” Dalila said as she looked at the remains.

“Good luck,” Bob said as he noticed Terra and Jessie ten feet away. With a nod to the girls, he let them go. Waving at Terra, she nodded and gestured for Jessie to follow her.

As they walked toward each other, Bob watched the two volunteers walk toward the remains.

“Bob! Everything okay down there?” Terra asked with a raised eyebrow as Bob just sighed. “That bad?”

“The civilians found out about what we killed. And he said it was just scared. So to placate him, they went up here. To get a sample,” Bob said bluntly.

“Who? Those two? Who are they?” Terra asked as she looked at Dalila and Vivian.

Bob just shrugged. “Two old vets from the War. One was in codes. They volunteered to help get into the ship. The old airlock plan.”

Jessie looked at them and whistled. “They could still be useful. If I can open the hull, they could splice into that thing’s system. It might let us know what it is.”

Bob looked down and saw a purple plate. Looking up at Jessie, he only stared at him. “You can get into that? But it’s hull plates!”

Jessie only laughed a little and removed his rifle, activating an energy bayonet. Even from a few feet away, Bob could feel the heat from it.

He whistled and shook his head. “Okay, I stand corrected. It can cut into that. But where’d you get that rifle? No, why was it in the supplies the company set up?”

Jessie only looked at Bob and then he laughed for a half minute. “Modified it myself! Pretty easy once you know how to do it!”

“What?” Bob asked.

Terra only laughed and shook her head. “My old friend is full of surprises. But he’s a bit private about a few things. So don’t ask how he knows what he does.”

“How long to cut in?” Bob asked as he looked down.

Jessie grinned, all teeth as he said a single word. “Five minutes at most!”