Inside the medical bay he found a wealth of things that he sorely needed. First off was a proper splint, made from two extendo-staffs, and auto adjusting laces. Next, he found antiseptics, which he used to clean the many puncture and contusion wounds he carried as a reminder of his tussle with a five-foot-tall alien arachnid with stabby legs. Disappointingly, the ship had not been equipped with any nanomedicine, or he might have been able to heal his wounds in mere hours.
The next thing he did was perform a self-scan with the scanner he had found, and then transmitted the data into the medical bay computer systems.
“Foreign life form detected.” Came a warning over the speakers in the same female voice as in the flight deck.
What? That was not good. He set to work on the console unit to get a more detailed readout. At first, he had horrible visions of eggs being laid inside of his body from one of the insects he had eaten, but after some more analysis, he discovered that the real danger had come from the moss. It appeared that it had contained some type of spores that were now beginning to grow inside of him. He did several more spectral analysis tests to determine the best way to get rid of it. It would take some time to quantum compute the volumes of new data these scanners were receiving from an alien biome.
The Titan went back to the flight deck after spending a few hours in the med bay. Something was gnawing at him as he walked back through the ghostly empty chambers. It dawned on him suddenly what seemed off about the entire scene. And that was the absence of any bodies. If everyone else had died like he assumed, then where were the remains? Surely even if the landing had pulverized them each and all, there should still be evidence of that. Body parts, blood splatter, something to indicate there had been Titans aboard. But there was nothing that he could find.
Another thought came to him as he entered the flight deck and sat down in the pilot’s captain chair. If the ship still had a functioning fabricator, then he would be able to use it to stay alive for a long time. Even though so much of the environment seemed hostile and toxic to Titanians, he could still use the fabricator to break down those molecules into a fabricator recipe and turn them into edible food. He brought up the ship’s interface again and ran a search to see where the fabricator may be located.
“Error. Fabricator not located.” The ship’s computer informed him.
Not located? That could not be right. Surely a ship of this size and crew on this long of a journey into the very reaches of civilized space would have at least one fabricator aboard, if not more. There simply was no other alternative besides bringing along a cargo bay full of freeze-dried foodstuffs. And the last he checked the only cargo they had been carrying was prisoners. He typed in another question for the computer’s AI.
“Where were the onboard fabricators located before the crash?”
Two lights came on within the floating diagnostic hologram of the Triumph showing their positions. The Titan got up and hobbled that direction. His body was protesting the movement and was begging to sit still and heal for a while, but that was simply not in his nature. He made his way through the ship and found a rec-room or a lounge off to the side.
Upon entering the rec-room he searched around for a time, until he finally found what he was looking for. The place on the wall that was clearly designed for a fabricator to plug into was empty. It could only mean one thing, he decided at last. He was not the only survivor. Someone else must have survived the crash and had kept enough wits about them to take the fabricator with them as they headed out to explore the planet.
But that left the door open to more questions as well. Where did this person hope to plug the device into? He had traveled a fairly good radius around the crash site so far and had not come across anything resembling Titanian civilization. There was no electricity out there. This was a completely unexplored planet. Unless the others knew something that he did not. Could it be possible that there was in fact an outpost somewhere on the planet?
There were many more questions that needed to be answered now. He traveled back to the flight deck once more and took a seat. He brought up the inquest panel and immediately began quizzing the ship’s AI.
“Are there any Titan outposts on this planet?”
“Negative.”
Come to think of it…”What planet are we on?”
“The planet’s official designation is DC-444, although it is classified as unexplored.”
The Titan then brought up a map of their current star chart. Being no stranger to civilized space, the Titan’s eyes went wide when he saw the map. They were leagues away from anything he recognized. In fact, he realized as he zoomed out to get a better vantage point at the 3D display, they were even out past the section labeled “The Abyss”. The Abyss was the furthest section of space that he was aware of, and it was weeks away from the last trans-warp gate in Titanian space. They would have to now be months further out than that.
This was shocking. Why on Titan would anyone travel this far out into space? And why would they be taking a cargo hold full of dangerous and violent prisoners? None of it made any sense.
“What was the primary directive for the Triumph’s final mission?”
“That information is classified.”
“Classified by who?”
“This ship and all of its employees are property of the Zenith Corporation, and all details of the mission were held strictly confidential to only the Captain.”
Well then, this certainly put a new perspective on things. Not that any of it would matter much now anyway. They were even further out than he had originally imagined, and he was now positive that rescue was out of the question. There would be no random ship traffic this far out. Even if the Triumph had sent an automated distress signal back to its manufacturer, most communication would not pass through The Abyss. And even if it somehow miraculously did, it would take several months by his best estimation to reach Titan, and several more for any help to return here.
The Titan brought up the view screen and watched the nocturnal scenery. His thoughts began to wander back into his past as he gazed at the screen, trying to decide what his next move should be.
If there were survivors out there somewhere, then his instincts told him that he should try to find them. Their chances for survival were greater working together. But then again, the Zenith soldiers may be out there too, and he did not like his chances of remaining free if they found him again. He would not be going back into a container. Even if he died alone on a backwater planet at the edge of space, he would not go back into captivity.
Then another thought came to him. The Titan realized that he has not been alone in his captivity. There were several other dangerous Titan aboard as well, and if their bodies were not here, that meant that the soldiers still had them. There were a few of them that he had known before his capture, and from what little he knew of them, the galaxy would be a better place without them.
The Titan’s mind began to wander far into his past adventures as his eyes unfocused watching the view screen.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
* * * *
“Boss, I got some serious news.”
“What is it now? Can’t you see I’m busy?”
The large Titan Canid was playing a card game of skull doggery at a round table in the middle of the unadorned room. He was surrounded by many other criminals and outlaws who looked almost as rough and tumble as he was. He was the boss of the Hatchet Grinder Cartel, a criminal organization that was spreading its roots far across the galactic neighborhood. The other members at the table were all either prospective members, or in the case of Fandango Frenk and Too-Tall Tum, other gang lords. They were all Canids, as Hatchet Dungan, the leader of the HGC, believed in Canid superiority.
The member of his gang who had interrupted the card game was not Canid however, he was a short Rodentia, but one that was loyal to his gang despite their racist ideology.
“I wouldn’t have interrupted if it wasn’t important boss. I just have to show you something.”
“Make it quick, I’m bout to win this ‘ere hand.” Hatchet Dungan laughed at the others at the table, many of whom frowned back at him.
The Rodentia stepped up to the table by his boss’s side and began typing away commands on his old Witness 300 AI wrist gauntlet. A moment later and the older model Net-Comm monocle beamed a crude 3d display to the side of the table. These old Witness AI models displayed everything in an unappealing green color, but what was being displayed drew the Boss’s attention.
“Is that…?”
“Yep.” The Rodentia nodded grimly.
The display showed an armored Titan with a mirrored helmet that made it impossible to see any distinguishing characteristics. The display was obviously from a security camera, and it showed the figure walking through what looked like a casino. He was only on screen for a second before walking off-screen, but it was enough to bring the card game to a sudden halt. The Rodentia tapped a few more buttons and followed another feed.
This security feed looked to be an office, with a portly Rodentia Beaver sitting at a table. The outdated green holo-display was hard to make out clear details, but he appeared to be working on some type of paperwork. Then suddenly the door swung open, and the armored Titan filled the room with his fearsome presence. The Beaver adjusted his glasses and nearly fainted, but the Titan was upon him before he could do anything, The feed had no sound, but the Beaver was clearly spilling his guts out about something and trembling with fear.
A few minutes went by before the armored Titan let loose his grip on the Rodentia. As he turned to leave, the mirrored visor of the helmet turned towards the camera and regarded it curiously for a moment, before walking out the door and back out of the frame. Both members of the Hatchet Grinder gang were chilled as the vision looked into the camera and by proxy, directly at them.
“This is bad. He got to the bookkeeper.” The Rodentia said nervously.
Boss Dungun stared at the table for a moment, long after the Rodentia had turned off the holo-display. He rubbed his whiskers thoughtfully and a few of the guests began to grow uncomfortable. Finally, one spoke up.
“What in the name of the sun’s blazes is it?” A tough looking Canid with scars across his face growled from the other end of the table.
“That was three days ago.” The Rodentia ignored the other criminal and pointed these words at his boss.
“Three days ago? Well…well if he left Io three days ago then he could be…” Boss Dungan began thinking aloud.
The Rodentia nodded pointedly.
“Who on Green Titan is that?” The other Canid demanded, standing from his seat to add menace to his question, obviously not one for being ignored twice.
“That is the infamous Lupis.” The Rodentia answered for his boss, who seemed lost to his thoughts.
“Lupis?” The Canid scoffed. “The Lupis? He’s not real, that’s just a myth.”
“Did that look like a myth?” Boss Dungan finally snapped out of his stupor.
“It was a Titan in combat armor. Anyone with enough credits can buy armor like that, in fact, a few of my top lieutenants have some.” The boss of the Hellriders, Too-Tall Tum thumbed in the direction of the armored bodyguards behind him standing in the back of the room.
“Yeah, and I have some too, but no matter how tough those lieutenants are, they ain’t Lupis. They say he’s immortal. A cyborg with dozens of martial fighting techniques downloaded into his processor. They say he invented a teleportation unit or stole one, and can get into the most heavily fortified areas.”
“Hmmph.” The scar-faced Canid crossed his thick arms. “Enough bullets will kill even a cyborg. So why do you care about this Lupis character so much anyway, even if he were real?”
“Because you idiot. I have a bounty on my head from the Zenith Corporation.” Boss Dungan looked around the table. “As do most of the Titans in this room, as well as our gangs.”
“And Lupis is the top bounty hunter in the galaxy.” The Rodentia added for emphasis. “He must have been questioning our booker on Io, and from the looks of it, he spilled our location.”
“So why do I care about any of this?” The Canid growled.
“Because he could be on his way here.” Dungan replied quickly while standing from his seat. “It’s a two-day ride from Io to Geon.”
The sounds of gunfire erupted outside, drawing everyone’s attention. Boss Dungan began barking orders, telling everyone within the room to arm themselves while he pulled out a large caliber Etcher and did the same. Someone outside the door screamed in agony, sending a shiver up the spines of those listening.
“We all have guards outside, and in here.” Too-Tall Tum flipped on a E-pistol and pointed it towards the only door into the empty room. “Even if this bloody git really can teleport, I’d like to see him get through everyone outside and come through that door in one piece.”
Now it seemed as though everyone was facing the door, fifteen guns total, all waiting for someone or something to come through. They began to grow even more nervous when the gunfire and screaming died down. The anticipation was palpable as Dungan looked around the room at the gathering of Canids.
“Wait just a minute.” He said while keeping his attention and aim squarely on the door. “As a bounty hunter, he has to bring us in alive, right? He’s gonna have a hard time of it if he’s gonna walk right through there.”
“The bounty was dead or alive.” Came the robotized voice of one of the armored bodyguards from the back of the room.
Before any of them could react, the bodyguard sprang into motion, a Roland model P28 machine pistol in hand spraying the air with hot lead. Some of the gathering was able to turn around to see what was going on before being riddled with bullets. The other armored bodyguards did nothing to move or intercept the attacker. They had been, in fact, dead for nearly an hour by this time, and had simply been propped up by their armor’s servo motors.
The armored assailant leaped onto the gambling table with blinding speed, and before anyone could react, an energy sword extended from his other hand and was whipping around cutting everyone within range. The attacker’s arms and aim worked independently of each other and was able to aim the pistol and fire accurately while his attention was in the other direction, nearly cutting one of the Canids in half with the energy sword.
Two of the Canids furthest away, and closest to the door managed to turn and fire their weapons. The armored bodyguard leaped and twisted through the air, like a gymnast Titan half its size, and came down swinging the sword. In a blink of an eye both barrels of their pistols were cleaved off, and both of their faces were then sheared gruesomely off.
Too-Tall, who got the nickname for good and obvious reasons, was the only Titan in the room that was taller than this attacker, who they began to realize was in fact the fearsome bounty hunter in question. Within moments most of the assembly had been decimated with what appeared to be little effort on the part of the bounty hunter. Too-Tall fired one round from his E-pistol which bounced harmlessly off the Titan’s armor and then dropped it in favor of getting his strong hands on the attacker.
Lupis was fast enough to sheath his gun into a leg compartment that automatically closed and latched and still had enough time to block the advancing monster of a Canid with his one free hand. The only two left alive in the room were Boss Dungan and his Rodentia sidekick, both of which could not get a clear shot off through the massive Titan gang boss.
The two mighty Titans grappled for position for a few moments, Lupis successfully avoided two double leg takedowns before seeming to grow bored with the contest. He twirled around his opponent and the energy blade shot out through Too-Tall’s chest.
Just then, the angry scarred Canid got to his knees, wounded from a gunshot but not fatally, and began firing wildly in rage. Lupis calmly used the gang boss as a shield, and as soon as the bullets stopped firing, he flung the body aside. The armor was splattered with blood, but it did not seem to impair his vision or abilities any. The compartment on the leg of his armor opened and the pistol was back in his hand in the blink of the eye. As he stalked towards the remaining pair of Titans, he casually put a bullet through the scarred Canid’s head without even looking or aiming.
Both Dungan and his Rodentia buddy dropped their weapons and held their hands in the air, trembling with fear. The bounty hunter kept his pistol trained on them for a long moment, both of them fearing that death would come at any moment. But then he lowered the weapon and slid it back into the holster, which closed in on itself. As he did the same with the energy sword, he jerked his helmeted head in the direction of the door.
Both criminals nodded and obeyed without a single word, heading towards the door, knowing they were lucky to be alive. Not many were fortunate enough to be able to make that claim after coming face to face with the elusive Lupis the bounty hunter.