Continued From Part 1

“Just a minute Mr. Sluurm. You have two dead employees in there. Didn't you say the area was clear before we moved in? What happened?” Siyel demanded.

The infuriating little man idly scratched his scaled head and replied “I guess it wasn't as clear as I thought. I released a memo to my employees to stay out of the depot tonight. It's not my fault that these two didn't listen to instructions.” he said before trying to turn away again.

This time Balinski grabbed the small man’s shoulder in his powerful grip. “Oi, where do you think you're going. These men are dead, good hardworking men. Their deaths could have been avoided if you had let us start this operation on time, if you hadn't delayed it out as long as possible for whatever dick measuring you wanted to participate in. Yes you are in charge of the docks, but your actions led directly to the deaths of those men. The way I see it, you are culpable.” he finished with a grim look.

The Slaaveth man shrugged his shoulders and said “Not how I see it, I'll send their families compensation for their unfortunate deaths.” Balinski tightened his grip at the sarcasm dripping off the man's words. Sluurm gurgled in pain and hunched as Balinski pressed down on him till the man’s face was level with his knees.

Siyel looked like she wanted to do the same but instead gritted her teeth and said “As much as I agree with you Balinski, I am going to have to ask you to let him go.”

He snarled silently and released the man who immediately grabbed his shoulder and glared at him. “Commander, this is assault, I would like to press charges…” he began before she cut him off.

“Shut your trap Sluurm. You and I both know that you are responsible for those men as they were your employees. I understand that you released a notice saying to ignore the area, but tragedy struck anyways. Now you will compensate those families, and I want you to meet with them personally to tell them just how sorry you are. Understood?” she finished. As she had been talking, the Slaaveth man had slunk down and looked about ready to disappear into himself.

Sluurm nodded, his black eyes wide as she waved him away. Without another sound the thoroughly chastised man scurried away with a speed that would have been considered impressive by normal standards for his overweight form.

Balinski huffed and said “Asshole.”

Siyel chuckled as she watched Caesar start chewing on a metal pipe she had picked up from somewhere. The screeching of metal made Balinski wince slightly and he glared down at her. She pointedly ignored him and shuffled to look the other direction. Siyel looked back at him and pointed towards the group as she asked “You know who to talk to about compensation right?”

He nodded and replied “Yes I do. I only fired two shots though so it won't be much. Then there’s the pay for the job finished, but that will come later.”

"Speaking of jobs, how did your last one go?" She asked him sweetly.

He chuckled and answered "I made a killing."

She giggled for a moment before sobering and mentioning "Well, we are combing the area for details about the shipment. It's a good thing we caught it, can you imagine if this much psilocybin got out onto the streets? That would have been tragic, we have enough OD cases each week as it is. Lords…" she trailed off suddenly.

Balinski nodded his head, he knew just what psilocybin did to people, hallucinations and fever. Incredibly addictive, it was effectively like cocaine for her people. He would have done this part of the job for free, just to keep the stuff away from the juveniles and children.

"Do we have any idea where it was getting shipped?" He asked her. She shook her head and he said "I can shake the streets, see what scurries if you would like. Nothing implicitly illegal." He added as she gave him a sideways look.

He watched her as she continued to stare at him for a moment before she nodded and sighed. "I swear, this job gets harder and harder every year." She slumped slightly.

He patted her shoulder as Caesar stood and shuffled over to butt her head against Siyel's leg. Siyel laughed and scritched Caesar's head for another moment.

Balinski smiled and gestured towards the group with a raised eyebrow. "Shall we continue?" He asked as she stood and nodded.

"Yes, we should. They might have turned up something." Siyel stated. They began walking back to the group, side by side. He gave her another glance as they walked, she was a strong woman, but she was aloof. He had thought about asking her out for a drink a time or two, but did not want to risk upsetting such a powerful woman. Siyel could make his life hell if she wanted to, and he wasn't sure if he had won enough of her respect to ask her for such a favor. They walked in relative silence, Caesar bringing up the rear behind them.

As they reached the group of other officers she broke away from him with a smile and went to talk to some of her underlings. Balinski was left alone near the edge of the group, several of the officers gave him wary looks as he and his blood splattered hound stood to the side. He reached down and patted Caesar’s head as he thought about the job. Siyel had asked him to help her on this one personally after his latest few exploits had gone well. He hadn't thought he would end up as a bounty hunter when he was a child. He had always wanted to go on adventures and had thought the military was the best way to do that. He had signed up at the start of the rebellion and had fought for several years, quickly climbing the ranks till he landed in the prestigious Ground Pounders branch. The Ground Pounders were an elite group of the already elite shock troops equipped with powered armour and impressive weapons. It was the powered armour he had been wearing that had saved his life. The explosion that had killed his team had devastated his body, but he had survived.

He closed his eyes, he tried not to think of his time as a POW but failed. He began to shudder slightly but felt Caesar lean against his legs, she whined softly as she sensed his distress. Balinski knelt and hugged her close to his chest, she licked his face with her tongue, which wasn't cybernetic. He held her for another moment till the shudders stopped and he let out a sigh. The doctors at the hospital he had recovered in had told him he would get better, but the memories still snuck up on him sometimes.

He heard a noise and looked up, an officer he didn't know was standing in front of him nervously. He stood and asked gruffly "Yes, what's the news?"

The young woman nodded and told him "Ah, the commander wanted to tell you that you are free to leave anytime now. She will contact you if we find anything." She finished quickly while looking at Caesar wide eyed.

He nodded and motioned for Caesar to follow beside him, they walked towards one of the dock workers nearby and asked them where they might find the nearest bathroom.

Thanking the man, Balinski walked towards the indicated structure. As they neared Caesar growled and glared at him. He just smiled and said "What? You know you need a bath now. I'm not going to take no for an answer, you have blood all over you, you are going to start to stink soon, well stink more." He teased her. She let out a huff and trotted ahead of him.

She reached the building and tried to push the door open but it was latched. As he neared he saw it had a panel next to the door, likely to see which of the dock crew where using it and for how long. Raising his boot he kicked the door hard, breaking its latch and forcing it open.

Looking at Caesar he smiled "Whoops, my bad. I guess Sluurm is going to have to pay someone to fix this then." He chuckled.

Walking into the bathroom he located a shower near the rear of the building and called out to Caesar "Alrighty, bath time, no. Get over here you big crybaby." He said exasperated as she dropped to her belly and started to crawl towards him slowly.

"If you go any slower I might die of old age before you arrive." He said sarcastically.

Caesar whined again and stopped just before the edge of the shower stall. He rolled his eyes and grabbed the detachable spray head and hose. Pointing it at her he switched it on and laughed as she yelped and jumped. She glared at him and slunk into the stall as he continued to spray her down with the warm water. Grabbing a small bottle of special shampoo from his coat pocket, he sprayed some on her and started to wash the blood and dirt off her face and neck. Caesar grumbled but stayed still as he cleaned her, he hummed a relaxing tune as he lathered her head and body.

After just a few minutes she was all cleaned off and he turned off the water before asking her “Now that wasn't so bad was it?” he closed his eyes and turned away as she woofed and shook herself spraying him with dog water in the process. “AAckckk! My mouth was open and everything!” he said, spitting.

Caesar just huffed in satisfaction and moved out of the shower towards one of the wall mounted hand air dryers. She jumped up and pressed the button to activate the blower before lying on the ground under it contentedly.

Balinski sighed as she settled down, while he could physically pick her up and drag her out of the bathroom, he knew from experience that it would be more trouble than it was worth. So instead he just smiled and said to her “Alright then, I'll be outside then. Don't take too long drying off, we have dinner waiting for us back home.” Caesar blinked at him and he left the bathroom.

Standing outside his thoughts once more turned to his past. Trying to put the dark memories out of mind, he was unsuccessful and the same familiar sounds and sights came rushing back in his mind's eye.

It was dark, he was walking through the woods toward a compound with his seven other squad mates. They had received intelligence that the site was being used by an illegal arms dealer, a rotten industrialist who had been caught selling to both sides and fled. Their information claimed that the dealer was hiding out in the complex and it was his squad's stated mission to bring them in, preferably alive. He had no qualms that this would be a brutal mission, you never moved on an arms dealer expecting it to be easy, they always kept the best weapons for themselves.

His platoon lead stopped, waving for them to be still. They complied immediately, working less as a group and more as a single body made of separate parts. They had trained for situations just like this on hundreds of occasions. There would be no mistakes because mistakes could mean death, and they were Ground Pounders. Equipped with the best armour and superior weapons, they didn't make mistakes, they got the job done the right way. Balinski looked to his right, seeing the suited figure of his best friend since childhood, Freddy Myers. Freddy saw him looking and gave a thumbs up before they were given the order to move out.

Balinski knew what was coming next, he tried to shout at his squad to stop, that it was a trap. But they kept moving regardless, he found himself unable to move away either, his body moving mechanically towards his doom. As he reached the perimeter and was told to watch their rear, the rest of them moved into the complex itself. He screamed as they disappeared from view, he couldn't see this again, he would rather die. But he once more watched in horror as the sky overhead grew bright like the noonday sun and everything vanished in light and searing heat.

Balinski came too lying flat on his back with a strange pressure on his chest. He started to panic as the thought of being strapped down to a table entered his mind but was brought back to the present by a warmth on his face. Focussing his eyes he saw the concerned eyes of Caesar peering into his own. She was half lying on him, holding him still as he had most likely been thrashing around. His breathing slowed and his racing heart calmed as he came back to his senses.

“Caesar?” he managed to croak while lifting his arm to her furred head. She gave his face another lick and he smiled while wiping the drool off. “Bahh, thanks girl. I, I saw it again. The same vision as before.” he grunted as she thumped his chest with her paw and he scooted upright dismounting her from his chest to his lap. She laid back down and he stroked her head as he talked about the vision briefly. He knew she wouldn't understand everything, she was smart, but she was still an animal. She wouldn't understand the concept of war or betrayal. But she could understand the loss of family and the pain of an injury. She knew he was distressed and went out of her way to calm him down, he didn't know where he would be without her. ‘I would probably have ended it by now.’ He thought to himself grimly.

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Groaning and pushing her off gently, he stood on his feet with the faint whirr of cybernetic servos and looked around. They were alone, no one had been there to witness his moment of weakness, that was good. He couldn't afford to let the image of him senseless on the ground get out. What would that do to the reputation he was so carefully cultivating? He wanted to be feared by the unhanded of the city. He wanted them to flee at the mention of his name, to fall senseless with fear at the sight of him coming. It would make his job a hell of a lot easier if that was the case.

He motioned for Caesar to follow and started off toward the transport park near the main entrance of the spaceport. As they approached, he started to make out the flashing lights of emergency vehicles and the sound of people yelling. Ah, good old CPD, Cheenha’s finest defenders. They didn't always play by the rules, but they got the job done the majority of the time. And Siyel seemed like a genuinely good person, if a bit intimidating. He smiled as he thought of the tall woman. Damn, but she was as close as he had ever come to having a girl as a friend. He had always been a bit of a lone wolf as a child and even in the military he had preferred to maintain his distance from most others.

He entered the massive sprawling parking area and looked around. The great grey expanse of duracrete parking spots was unusually busy. While mostly deserted at this time of the night, it was a frantic scene as first responders and law enforcement vehicles alike cluttered the area. He knew that the two security guards were dead and likely being examined now, being stretchered to the bright white and red forms of the medical transports. He nodded at one of the paramedics as he walked by and looked over the other transports. The law enforcement vehicles were a different sight entirely. Dark and imposing with their armour plates and turret mounted riot suppression systems, they cut imposing figures next to the bright hopeful medical transports. He shook his head and waved to a group of officers nearby. They mostly gave him suspicious looks back but he just smiled. They knew who he was and what he was capable of, and that was enough for him.

Caesar gave a small huff at the lack of attention being directed towards her and he chuckled saying “I'm sure they can see how bright and clean you are, they are just too busy to come over and compliment you on your beauty at the moment.” she just raised her head at the compliment and strutted a bit more.

Balinski loved her little acts, she was always doing something that made him smile. She reminded him a bit of his mother in that regard. A flashy and intimidating woman, she nevertheless had loved him dearly. He frowned as he thought about her. She had died in a train accident when he was still a teenager, he had cried for days but eventually came to realise that she would have wanted him to move on, to be strong. The accident was ruled as operator error and the man responsible was sentenced to life imprisonment, but that had never sat quite right with him. He had read the reports himself and had come to realise that the guilty party had really been the manufacturing company behind the engine of the train itself. They had used their power and money to pin the blame on the poor engine operator and had gotten away scott free. It was then that he had decided to join the military, to defend the weak and punish the guilty.

He stopped as he reached his transport. While many modern vehicles used magnetic repulsorlift technology or omniballs to move along the ground, he had always had an affinity for the rustic. As such, his old style wheeled transport often garnered odd looks from those around him, but he didnt care. He opened the door for Caesar as she jumped in excitedly and then sat down in the operator's chair of his dark blue truck and initiated the drive assembly. The electrical engine purred to life and the heavy duty wheels spun as he accelerated out of the parking area.

It took only a few minutes of high speed driving down the mainstreets for him to reach the small ship park where his voidship was. He pulled into the flat landing zone and right up alongside the small auxiliary ramp that led to a locked bulkhead door on the side of his Star Eagle gunship. He had named it The Vengeance and it was almost fifty meters long in total, the outside hull a dark gunmetal gray. It looked almost like an atmospheric plane as it was designed primarily for high speed atmospheric reentry. It had been a troop transport dropship in its former life before he had purchased it and made it his own. As he exited his truck and walked up the ramp he once more blessed lady luck that she had seen fit to give him the opportunity to purchase such a grand vessel. It was equipped with a class seven warp drive and living quarters. He had retrofitted the large crew transport area with several cryopods and a small cell block to transport any bounties he captured. The violent or injured ones he could put into cryostasis and the calmer ones could be placed in the cell blocks. That way he had no need to babysit them for the long interstellar voyages as a class seven warp drive was considered a bit archaic by modern standards. It got the job done, if a bit slowly however.

He opened the door and entered his home, he walked down the dimly lit corridor and into the main hull where the prisoner bloc was located. He continued onwards until he reached another heavy door, this one part of an airlock. Passing through the airlock into his main living area he stopped and sighed. It was good to be home. Walking through the hall-like space to his bedroom, he stripped out of his dirty clothing and replaced it with clean clothing. His legs ended at his knees and his arms ended at his shoulders, but the cybernetics that replaced them were top of the line, paid for by the military in response to his rescue. He had asked why he was deserving of such treatment at the time and had been told that he was being treated no differently than any other soldier. They gave of themselves for the defense of the Union, so it was the least the Union could do for them to give them the highest quality replacements. His hands could feel heat and cold, the sensation of touch and even the movement of air as they had tiny microfilament hairs along the tops of his hand and back of his arms. They were almost like his real arms, except for the pain. The doctors had told him that it was something called phantom limb pain, and that it would eventually fade away, but it was inconsistent. Some days it would be so mild that he scarcely noticed it, and others it would feel as though he had dipped his arms in scalding oil.

He had some medication for it that was supposed to block the pain, but he hated it. He would rather be in pain and clear headed than feel numb in body and mind. Moving from his bedroom to the small kitchen he had across from it he opened the fridge and pulled out various ingredients. Pickled Jarfigs, smoked Ranx steak slices, and muenster cheese. He paired these ingredients with whole wheat bread and a little bit of Finge egg Mayo to create what was in his opinion, the best sandwich ever. He reached into a top shelf cabinet and grabbed a surprise treat for Caesar while he was there.

He plated his dinner and walked down the small hall a bit to his relaxation room, he smiled as he saw the worn couch and holoscreen. Flopping down on the couch and putting his feet on the small worn coffee table, he used his assistant to turn on the Holoscreen. Its ghostly image manifested in the air in front of him before gaining definition and growing solid. It could be used to play news, games, movies, almost anything he liked.

Switching to a popular nature documentary channel he smiled as the familiar voice of Druth Felman came on. Dead and gone for hundreds of years, Druth was still a well known figure in the exploration and documentation field. He had discovered dozens of inhabitable planets and thousands of new species, some cute, others terrifying. He had been a big supporter of the SCU's non contact policy and was listed as one of the reasons the historical law passed. The law stated that any alien species sufficiently advanced to have their own culture and tool use was not to be interfered with until such a time as they were ready for the stars.

Caesar jumped up onto the couch and laid down next to him. He looked at her and said "Ah, I can't hide anything from you can I?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small treat she had likely smelled. Holding it up he said "Okay, now do a trick." He laughed as she just raised a single paw and thumped him on the chest a few times. "Close enough. Here." He tossed her the small treat which she snapped up with a happy grumble before standing. "Now go eat your dinner, it's in the cabinet by the fridge. And this time put away the container please." He said to her back as she retreated to the kitchen.

Shaking his head he turned his attention back to the screen. He watched in fascination as it showed old footage from Druth Felman's exploration of the planet Prismasis. The planet had originally been discovered by the legendary crew of the Leif Erikson back before the creation of the SCU. Through some quirk of fate or luck, the entire planet was an enormous inside out geode with massive crystal formations the size of skyscrapers all across its surface. Druth had been one of the first explorers to set foot on the planet's surface, and the first to accurately map out some of its subsurface crystal caverns.

After a while Caesar wandered back in and laid back down on the couch. This time with her head in his lap. Petting her while watching nature documentaries was something that had always helped him, even as a young man before the service. She was about eleven now, he still remembered the day he had gotten home and his mother had presented him with the tiny fluff ball. He had named her Caesar before he knew she was a female but by the time he had figured it out her name had stuck.

Sitting in his favorite spot with the documentary playing, Caesar laying on his lap, he felt comfortable. His eyes began to droop and soon he fell asleep, his deep calming breaths letting Caesar know he was not having nightmares.

Balinski awoke feeling a little sore. He stretched and yawned, his arms hurt a little and he grumbled. Caesar stirred awake as he moved and then stood and stretched as well. Opening her metal jaws wide she let out a huge yawn and smacked her lips, her cybernetic jaws clinking together. He smiled and stood on the carpeted floor before moving across the hall to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

After some time spent freshening up and eating a simple breakfast, he dressed in his usual attire. Dark trench coat over ballistic vest and dark pants, and as the finishing touch, his wide brimmed hat. He liked the hat, it reminded him of the badass characters in the movies he liked to watch as a child. He had no need for shoes as his cybernetic legs ended in metal feet, but he liked to wear heavy boots to cover up his injuries and to add to his imposing look.

As he finished getting suited up and walked off of his ship, his assistant alerted him to an incoming message. He checked it and smiled, it was Siyel letting him know they were out of leads but to continue the investigation himself while they kept digging.

He strode over to his truck with Caesar in tow, after opening the door for her he climbed inside and settled himself. Reaching over to the center console he lifted the hatch covering the small storage space and pulled out a worn notebook. Balinski thumbed through it for a minute before he stopped and opened the book wide. He smiled as he read the notes, it was time to pay a visit to an unwilling friend. Checking his information one last time he powerded up the vehicle and sped off towards an older section of the city.

Cheenha was the largest city on the planet Jureillo, a megacity in all but name. With a population well in excess of forty five million, it was expansive with many different sub cities and boroughs throughout its massive area. While not a hotbed for criminal activity like some of the larger megacities in the core, it was still inevitable that less than legal activities would pop up. It was his experience that there was always some asshole willing to bend the rules and hurt others for their own material gain. He hated that, he would have wished for nothing more than to be a musician or engineer or something similar, but unfortunately he was built for violence, and the violence of the city's villainous called to him.

He and Caesar stopped at a local corner market and parked the truck after they crossed into the old city. It was called the old city because of the age of the structures in the zone, some dating back multiple centuries with their cracked and pitted surfaces. A lot of the old city was newer, refurbished, but it was still possible to see some of the ancient buildings dotted here and there. The streets had been repaired and relaid so many times it was hard to distinguish them from the sidewalks in places. This area, as run down and shabby as it looked, was a hot spot for business and trade, just not all of it legal.

Balinski began to walk down the side of the road towards the location of his contact. He was a massive hulking man and drew many stares and sideways glances as he and his trusty cyberhound plodded towards the darker parts of the old city. He had opted to walk to his contacts location in order to give himself time to think, he had questions he needed answered. And with any luck his unlucky friend would be able to give him the answers he needed.

He looked around and took in the sights as they walked. The buildings here were tall, but not monterously so like those in the newer parts of the city. Some of the older buildings might have topped out at forty or fifty floors while some of the new structures on the city's edges could spear into the heavens more than a kilometer in height. The people on the streets looked rough and worn, they gave him distrusting looks and stayed far to the edges of the walkway when he passed. He knew he stood out here, but he did so on purpose. One look at him told people all they needed to know, that he was not someone to mess with, and to try was to invite disaster.

As he rounded a corner a beggar called out to him “Hey, big guy, do you have any credits to spare? Please friend, I haven't eaten in ages.”

Caesar looked at the man and then to him, she seemed to feel for the man's plight and whined softly. “Oh all right, but not for free.” he told her.

As he approached the ragged figure, he noticed with interest that they were Atraxses. Not a common sight in the warm climate of Jureillo and even less common as a street beggar. Caesar however did not give a damn about the man’s species and instead ran right up to them and crouched down in front of the man playfully.

The man pulled back his hood and gave a wide smile as he said “Oh look at that? You have a name?” he asked, reaching out to scratch her head.

“It's Caesar, and careful, she’s a sucker for flattery and might not leave you alone if you preen her ego too much.” Balinski warned as he reached the man. The beggar just chuckled and reached out with his other hand proffering a credit transfer card.

“Anything would help, I was working at the spice market till last week when I got laid off, lost my apartment the next day as I couldn't afford it and…” but Balinski cut the man off and looked over his shoulder.

Looking back at the man he crouched down to better see his face and asked “Which spice market, the one down on 44th?” the beggar nodded and flicked his eyes between Caesar and his face.

Nodding to himself he grabbed the transfer card from the man and said “I am looking to buy some information, and I'll pay handsomely for it. But if it's known that you were the one to give it you could be in danger. Do you want to proceed?”

The Atraxses pulled his cloak tighter and shuffled to a more straight posture before asking “How handsomely?”

Continued in Part 3