I leaned back in the creaky pilot's chair of my beat-up freighter, the Perdition's Flame, and took a swig from my flask. The familiar burn of cheap whiskey slid down my throat as I stared out at the endless sea of stars.

Another bounty collected, another payday in the books.

"Jack, we've received a priority transmission," Selene's sultry voice came over the ship's comm.

"Put it through," I said, taking another pull from the flask.

The holoprojector in front of me flickered to life, revealing General Artimus Kane of the Imperial Fleet, her voluptuous chest straining against her military dress uniform and her striking green eyes framed by red hair.

"Mercenary," she said gruffly. "I have an assignment that requires someone of your...unique talents."

I smirked, "Does it pay well?"

"Very well," Artimus said, "Provided you can handle the difficulty."

"Try me."

Her jaw tightened, "We've received intelligence that an insurgent cell is attempting to produce a biological weapon - a mutagenic virus capable of rewriting DNA on a planetary scale. They're operating out of a secret base on Arcadia Prime."

I let out a low whistle. Arcadia Prime was a feral world, barely habitable, with an unstable atmosphere and roaming bands of vicious alien predators. Not exactly a pleasure cruise.

"Your mission is to infiltrate the base, neutralize the threat by any means necessary, and retrieve data on the virus for study by our weapons techs. The reward is ten million Imperial credits upon success."

My eyes widened despite myself. Ten million was more than I'd make on a dozen regular bounties. But then, the risk was a hell of a lot higher too.

"You've got yourself a mercenary," I said, unable to keep the grin off my face. "Just send the coordinates, and I'll take it from there."

The General nodded curtly.

"Godspeed, Jack. The fate of the Empire may rest on your success."

"I don't ca-" I was saying when her image winked out, leaving me alone again with my thoughts and my flask.

I took another swig, then keyed in the coordinates for Arcadia Prime on the ship’s computer. This was gonna be one for the record books.

***

The Perdition's Flame shuddered violently as we hit the upper atmosphere of Arcadia Prime. Turbulence rocked the ship, almost spilling my whiskey as I wrestled with the controls.

"Selene! Give me a readout on atmospheric conditions," I ordered.

"Certainly, Jack." Her synthetic voice remained infuriatingly calm despite the chaos around us. "Atmospheric density is far above standard norms. Extreme thermal updrafts and wind shear detected. Conditions are...precarious."

I gritted my teeth as another shockwave rattled the ship.

"No kidding. Can you find us a relatively stable landing zone?"

"Working on it." A pause, then, "I've detected a large clearing approximately fifteen kilometers north of our current position. Sending coordinates to the screen now."

"Got it. Punching it."

I gunned the engines, fighting against the turbulence with every ounce of my piloting skill. The clearing appeared in my viewscreen, a flat expanse of baked earth surrounded by twisted, alien vegetation. I cut the engines and we hurtled downwards, slamming into the ground with bone-jarring force.

Dust billowed up around the ship as the landing gear absorbed the impact. I let out a long breath, checking my instruments. Shields at thirty percent, hull integrity holding. Not bad, all things considered.

"Not bad flying, for a human," a new voice purred over the comm. A feminine voice, rich and teasing.

I frowned.

"Who's this? Selene, did you invite a friend over without telling me?"

A melodious laugh answered me.

"I'm Aisha, the new AI the workshop uploaded to your ship's systems before this flight."

"Goddamn it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted those bastards. They didn't tell me nothing about th-"

"Surprise," she interrupted playfully. "Don't worry, you'll warm up to me soon enough."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, already feeling a headache coming on.

"Great. Just what I need on a high-risk op - an AI with a smart mouth."

"Among other things," Aisha purred. "Now, why don't you grab your gear, and let's go bag us some insurgents?"

Despite my irritation, I had to admire her eagerness. And if her processors were as capable as her personality matrix was annoying, she might just come in handy.

I drained the last of my whiskey, then headed for the weapon's locker. Time to get to work.

***

I double-checked my gear one last time: blaster rifle charged and set to maximum stun, vibro-blade sharpened to a molecular edge, and protective body armor sealed tight. You can't be too careful when you're headed into hostile territory.

"You about ready, handsome?" Aisha's voice crackled in my ear from the comm implant. "Or did you need some more time to primp?"

I scowled.

"Keep it professional, AI. I don't need distractions out there."

"Oh, I can be very professional when the situation calls for it," she said. "But I much prefer...alternative approaches."

Before I could respond, a new voice cut in—Selene's measured tones.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"My apologies, Jack. I'm still configuring Aisha's behavioral matrices to align with mission protocol. Please disregard any inappropriate comments."

"Yeah, well, try harder," I grumbled, checking the charge on my blaster rifle one last time. "Because if she gets me killed with her flirting, you're both getting repurposed into toaster ovens."

Aisha's only response was an amused chuckle. I shook my head and keyed open the outer airlock. It was time to get down to business.

The air hit me like an open furnace blast—hot, dry, and laced with stinging particulates. I squinted against the harsh winds, pulling a breather mask over my face as I started the trek toward the insurgent base. According to my locator, it was fifteen clicks northeast through a ravaged, alien landscape.

Gnarled trunks of vegetation twisted up from the cracked earth, their branches studded with razor-edged thorns that sliced at my armor as I passed. The sky above was a roiling mass of orange clouds streaked with crimson lightning. Not exactly a paradise world.

"Are you getting all this, Aisha?" I asked, activating my body cam so she could see the terrain.

"Affirmative. Mapping environment for navigational purposes." Her tone was all business now, thank the stars. "I'm also augmenting visual and auditory input to detect any threats."

"Good. Because if these insurgents are working on a bioweapon, they'll have security locked down tight."

"Undoubtedly. Though I fail to see why you accepted such a high-risk contract."

I snorted. "You're an AI - you're not supposed to 'see' anything. Just crunch data."

"Oh, I can do far more than crunch data, handsome. But very well, keep your secrets. I'll simply add 'mysterious loner' to your psychological profile."

I rolled my eyes but didn't rise to the bait. Up ahead, I could see the shattered remains of some kind of alien structure - crumbling archways and shattered columns, all overgrown with thick vines and creepers. The perfect place for an insurgent cell to make their base.

"I'm picking up heat signatures inside those ruins," Selene intoned. "Approximately two dozen. Advising extreme caution."

"You know me," I muttered, checking the charge on my blaster one last time. "Mr. Caution is my middle name."

With that, I advanced towards the ruins, Aisha and Selene's voices murmuring in my ear. If the insurgents were holed up in there, like the intel said, it was time to get to work. Hopefully, my AI assistants could keep the flirting to a minimum—I had a feeling I was going to need to keep my wits about me for this one.

I crept through the crumbling archway, blaster rifle held at the ready. The ruins were even more overgrown up close, thick vines and creepers covering almost every surface. Perfect natural camouflage for the insurgents' base.

"I've got multiple heat signatures converging on your position," Selene's voice warned crisply. "Weapons detected."

"Time to make some new friends," I muttered, sighting down my rifle scope.

Movement flickered in the shadows up ahead. I tensed, finger tightening on the trigger...

Six figures melted out of the gloom, dressed in tattered fatigues and brandishing wicked-looking blaster carbines. They fanned out in a semi-circle, weapons trained on me.

"Don't move, bounty hunter," one of them growled, a hulking Rodian with vivid facial tattoos. "Or we'll ventilate that pretty face of yours."

I kept my rifle leveled but held my ground.

"I'm just passing through, friends. Though if you wanted to surrender and avoid any unpleasantness, I could be amenable."

The Rodian barked out a harsh laugh.

"Surrender? To a lackey of the Imperial dogs?" He spat a gobbet of phlegm at my feet. "I don't think so, human."

"Now, now," Aisha said. "Is that any way to treat a guest? Why don't you put down those nasty guns, and we can all get better acquainted?"

The insurgents looked around wildly, blasters whipping back and forth as they tried to locate the source of the voice.

"What trickery is this?" the Rodian snarled.

"No trickery," I said calmly. "Just me and my AI partners here for a friendly chat about your little bioweapons project."

One of the other insurgents - a wiry human with a crazed look - jabbed his rifle towards me.

"There's no bioweapon, Imp! Just the key to our glorious revolution against your fascist oppressors!"

"Is that what they told you?" Aisha crooned, her voice taking on a silky, seductive quality. Those poor, deluded fools, deceiving their own people with lies and false promises..."

The insurgents looked distinctly unnerved now, their weapons wavering. I could practically see the doubts creeping into their minds as Aisha worked her magic.

"The Imperials are the true deceivers!" the Rodian shouted, trying to regain control of the situation. "We're just trying to-"

Whatever he was trying to say was drowned out by a bone-rattling roar that shook the ruins. I whipped around, rifle at the ready, as an enormous shape emerged from the shadows.

It looked like a mutated feline, at least ten meters long and bristling with bony spines and spikes. Rows of dagger-like fangs lined its gaping maw, and its three eyes burned with feral hunger. A native predator, drawn by the sounds of the confrontation.

"Well..." I quipped to the insurgents as the beast roared again, ropes of saliva slicking its jaws. "It seems we've got bigger problems to deal with."

The Rodian's eyes went wide as saucers.

"Open fire!" he screamed, blasters lancing towards the creature.

I dove for cover as ruby energy bolts sizzled through the air, peppering the monster's armored flanks. It barely seemed to notice, pivoting with shocking speed to face its attackers. With another deafening roar, it charged straight at the insurgents.

So much for trying to take them alive. I sighted down my rifle, set for maximum stun, and started squeezing off shots at the rampaging beast. If we were going to survive this, we'd have to work together.

"A little help would be appreciated!" I yelled to my AI assistants as the firefight raged around me.

"Oh, I do love it when you ask so nicely," Aisha said.

Despite the chaos, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Looked like the real challenge here was going to be keeping my mind on the mission instead of my AI's terrible pickup lines.

The monstrous feline lunged with terrifying speed, fanged jaws snapping shut inches from the Rodian insurgent's face. He screamed and backpedaled frantically, blaster rifle discharging wildly.

I took advantage of the distraction to find better cover, rolling behind a crumbling section of the wall. Ruby energy bolts splashed against the ancient stone as the beast whipped its armored head toward me, those baleful eyes burning with predatory malice.

"Where is that help you talked about?!" I shouted, squeezing off a few stun blasts to keep the creature at bay.

"So impatient," Aisha tsked. "Very well, let's see what we can do..."

"Fast!" I shouted.

"Shoot his middle eye!" Aisha said, "Sorry, sorry. I was searching. It seems like that animal is a native of this world. His middle eye is his weakness!"

As soon as she said it, I fired.

Abruptly, the creature reared back, letting out a deafening bellow of apparent pain or confusion. It shook its massive head wildly as if struggling against some unseen force.

I kept shooting, and soon the feline dropped to all fours, still thrashing and roaring. Its tail lashed out, demolishing a nearby archway in a hail of rubble. This was getting out of hand fast. But, suddenly, the beast went rigid, eyes rolling back in its skull. Then, with a final piteous whine, it collapsed in a boneless heap, unmoving.

I let out a long breath, allowing myself a moment to recover.

"Nicely done, girls."

"Don't sound so surprised, handsome," Aisha said. "I'm just full of tricks."

The sound of booted footsteps crunching on gravel snapped me back to alertness. The insurgents were regrouping; blasters leveled in my direction once more. So much for working together against the bigger threat.

"Enough games, bounty hunter!" the Rodian leader snarled. "Surrender now or be destroyed!"

"You know," I said conversationally, "you guys really need to work on your people skills."

With that, I sprung my own surprise - tossing a pair of high-intensity flashbang grenades in their midst. The insurgents cried out in shock and pain as the brilliant detonations overwhelmed their senses.

I was already moving, blaster rifle swinging in a wide arc and firing stun bursts with mechanical precision. One by one, the insurgents dropped, nerves overloaded into blessed unconsciousness.

As the smoke cleared, only the Rodian leader remained, blinking blearily. Our eyes met, and I gave him my most disarming grin.

"You'll pay for this, Imperial scum!" he roared, raising his blaster.

I was faster on the trigger. A final stun burst caught him square in the chest, and he crumpled to the ground with a grimace of surprise and hatred.

"Well," I said, getting back to my feet and brushing off my armor. "That was bracing."

"Indeed," Selene said crisply. "Though I must admit, your unorthodox methods remain...effective, if a bit rough around the edges."

"Hey, I get the job done," I said with a shrug. "That's what matters in our line of work."

"Our line of work?" Aisha cut in, a teasing lilt to her voice. "It seems you're finally accepting me as part of your crew. I'm flattered, truly."

I rolled my eyes, already moving to secure the unconscious insurgents with restraints.

"Can it, smart-mouth. We've still got a base to infiltrate and a bioweapon to neutralize."

"Ooh, I do love it when you take charge," Aisha practically purred. "Lead on, fearless leader. Your AIs will be right beside you...among other places."

Yep, this was shaping up to be a long, long mission. I could only hope my sanity would remain intact by the time it was over.