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PROLOGUE:
Dlix pushed through the crowds of people. He looked from side to side at the grungy buildings that stood on either side of the street. It was the main street of Mez Alvin, the only city on the wasteland of the planet Dennen. The planet was small, and the town more like an outpost, with blowing sand almost always in the air and a generally poor community. He looked from side to side, then saw the building he was looking for. Easily the fanciest on the street, entirely made of clear steel, a recent breakthrough. He pushed through the twin doors.
Dlix walked in, letting the doors slam behind him. He stopped and fixed his long, dusty blonde hair. Then he brushed the sand off the dark brown jacket he wore over a dark green t-shirt, fixing the collar and pulling down the zipper so it didn't cover his face. He bent over and dusted off his black pants, then stamped some dust from the black shoes he wore. He did a quick check of his supplies. His one-handed rifle still rested on his back, and a knife still hung at his side. You had to be careful in this town.
A lady sitting at a wooden desk looked up at him. He looked around, admiring the wooden look of everything. It was certainly vintage, such looks were popular on Earth, a planet that had been overpopulated and overpolluted. But that was far in the past. He walked over to her. "I've been called in by the director?" She looked at him, a puzzled look. "He's first door on th-"
"I know where he is." He walked into a hallway on the left, then went up a flight of stairs. He opened the first door he saw. Same wooden looks as the rest of the building.
A somewhat large man sat behind it in a dark blue pinstripe suit, also extremely vintage. He ran a hand through his black hair, which was obviously dyed, partially explained by the grey stubble on his chin. He spoke in a deep, but welcoming voice. "Ah, Dlix, I've been expecting you. Please, sit down." Dlix sat in a mesh chair, comfortable but very out of place in the decor, as was the various technology sitting on the desk. The man spoke again, "I must say, you are by far one of our best mercenaries. We've received a new request from an unknown client to eliminate someone."
"What, someone get his communicator stolen?"
"Quite on the contrary, Dlix. It's Alquar, the ruler of Hydrala." Dlix caught his breath, and his heart skipped a beat. "You want me to eliminate the ruler of the strongest planet in our system!"
"Exactly. The pay will be phenomenal, probably enough to last you for a good ten years. You could buy a space somewhere, settle down for a while." It was true. Since leaving his family, Dlix had been jumping from place to place for quite some time now, accepting these missions when he needed the money. The director plugged a small drive into a holographic reader. Text and diagrams appeared on the screen, including maps and ships. "As you can see, you will also be supplied with a ship, weapons, and equipment. He's also assigned you a team to assist you."
"No thanks. I work alone."
"Think, Dlix. This isn't one of those drive-by shootings. This is a full-scale assassination. You can't do this alone, and you'd die trying." Dlix thought carefully. The director was right, he wouldn't survive alone. "Alright, I'll take it. Where do I meet this team?"
"At the spaceport. Take this, you'll need it for the briefing. And this will identify you." He handed Dlix the same drive he had shown him mere seconds before, as well as a small card. Dlix nodded and walked out to the street, then down to where he had parked his bike.
The bike was old, still using the wheels many called 'primitive.' He started it, and drove over to the spaceport. He dismounted, locked the engine, and walked into the hanger. The hanger was massive, with large star cruisers and smaller star ships parked everywhere, with people milling about and workers performing maintenance. He pulled out the identification card, looked at a picture of a ship, then walked over to it when he found it.
It was a medium sized ship, probably containing a cockpit, engine room, sleeping quarters for 4 or 6, and weapon storage. Three people were near it. One, a woman wearing mostly black with clothes similar to Dlix's, was leaning against the landing gear. She had black hair that came to her shoulders in a braid. Two men were talking when Dlix walked up, wearing dark green jackets and pants and white shirts. They both had light brown hair. He walked up to them. "So, are you my team or something?" The woman was the first to react. "Listen, alright? We're not your team, we're a team. You're not the leader." One of the men turned to him, smiled and offered his hand. "Names Mirl. Ignore Lia, she hates new people." Dlix shook his hand. The other man waved to him. "I'm Lev. As you can see, we're twins," he gestured to the two of them, "and we're the 'mechanical experts.' Lia's apparently quite the strategist." Dlix acknowledged him, then saw a walkway extended down from the ship. He pointed to it. "Shall we take this inside?"
Once they were all in the ship, Lev closed the walkway. It contracted a bit and then melded with the floor. They were in a main corridor, with two rooms for three on either side. At the end was a weapons room and through that, the engine room. The ship was operated by three engines on the back and four at the corners on the bottom. It had a rounded appearance, each component almost melding into the other. They walked forward to the cockpit. Lev and Mirl assumed their seats. "Shall we be off?" Dlix nodded, then hesitated. He found a plug, then inserted the drive the director had given him. "This should show you where we're going. You know why, right?" Lia answered from a chair she had taken over a computer monitor. "Kill the leader of Hydrala, like I haven't heard that enough." Dlix shrugged, then sat in another chair with a monitor. "Let's go." Mirl tapped some buttons, then a portion of the roof slid open. They lifted off, then sped into space.
Soon, they were over Hydrala. Dlix turned to the crew. "You guys ready? There'll probably be resistance." The group nodded, save Lia, who stayed silent. Lev adjusted some levers, and they sped towards the planet.
Dlix pushed through the crowds of people. He looked from side to side at the grungy buildings that stood on either side of the street. It was the main street of Mez Alvin, the only city on the wasteland of the planet Dennen. The planet was small, and the town more like an outpost, with blowing sand almost always in the air and a generally poor community. He looked from side to side, then saw the building he was looking for. Easily the fanciest on the street, entirely made of clear steel, a recent breakthrough. He pushed through the twin doors.
Dlix walked in, letting the doors slam behind him. He stopped and fixed his long, dusty blonde hair. Then he brushed the sand off the dark brown jacket he wore over a dark green t-shirt, fixing the collar and pulling down the zipper so it didn't cover his face. He bent over and dusted off his black pants, then stamped some dust from the black shoes he wore. He did a quick check of his supplies. His one-handed rifle still rested on his back, and a knife still hung at his side. You had to be careful in this town.
A lady sitting at a wooden desk looked up at him. He looked around, admiring the wooden look of everything. It was certainly vintage, such looks were popular on Earth, a planet that had been overpopulated and overpolluted. But that was far in the past. He walked over to her. "I've been called in by the director?" She looked at him, a puzzled look. "He's first door on th-"
"I know where he is." He walked into a hallway on the left, then went up a flight of stairs. He opened the first door he saw. Same wooden looks as the rest of the building.
A somewhat large man sat behind it in a dark blue pinstripe suit, also extremely vintage. He ran a hand through his black hair, which was obviously dyed, partially explained by the grey stubble on his chin. He spoke in a deep, but welcoming voice. "Ah, Dlix, I've been expecting you. Please, sit down." Dlix sat in a mesh chair, comfortable but very out of place in the decor, as was the various technology sitting on the desk. The man spoke again, "I must say, you are by far one of our best mercenaries. We've received a new request from an unknown client to eliminate someone."
"What, someone get his communicator stolen?"
"Quite on the contrary, Dlix. It's Alquar, the ruler of Hydrala." Dlix caught his breath, and his heart skipped a beat. "You want me to eliminate the ruler of the strongest planet in our system!"
"Exactly. The pay will be phenomenal, probably enough to last you for a good ten years. You could buy a space somewhere, settle down for a while." It was true. Since leaving his family, Dlix had been jumping from place to place for quite some time now, accepting these missions when he needed the money. The director plugged a small drive into a holographic reader. Text and diagrams appeared on the screen, including maps and ships. "As you can see, you will also be supplied with a ship, weapons, and equipment. He's also assigned you a team to assist you."
"No thanks. I work alone."
"Think, Dlix. This isn't one of those drive-by shootings. This is a full-scale assassination. You can't do this alone, and you'd die trying." Dlix thought carefully. The director was right, he wouldn't survive alone. "Alright, I'll take it. Where do I meet this team?"
"At the spaceport. Take this, you'll need it for the briefing. And this will identify you." He handed Dlix the same drive he had shown him mere seconds before, as well as a small card. Dlix nodded and walked out to the street, then down to where he had parked his bike.
The bike was old, still using the wheels many called 'primitive.' He started it, and drove over to the spaceport. He dismounted, locked the engine, and walked into the hanger. The hanger was massive, with large star cruisers and smaller star ships parked everywhere, with people milling about and workers performing maintenance. He pulled out the identification card, looked at a picture of a ship, then walked over to it when he found it.
It was a medium sized ship, probably containing a cockpit, engine room, sleeping quarters for 4 or 6, and weapon storage. Three people were near it. One, a woman wearing mostly black with clothes similar to Dlix's, was leaning against the landing gear. She had black hair that came to her shoulders in a braid. Two men were talking when Dlix walked up, wearing dark green jackets and pants and white shirts. They both had light brown hair. He walked up to them. "So, are you my team or something?" The woman was the first to react. "Listen, alright? We're not your team, we're a team. You're not the leader." One of the men turned to him, smiled and offered his hand. "Names Mirl. Ignore Lia, she hates new people." Dlix shook his hand. The other man waved to him. "I'm Lev. As you can see, we're twins," he gestured to the two of them, "and we're the 'mechanical experts.' Lia's apparently quite the strategist." Dlix acknowledged him, then saw a walkway extended down from the ship. He pointed to it. "Shall we take this inside?"
Once they were all in the ship, Lev closed the walkway. It contracted a bit and then melded with the floor. They were in a main corridor, with two rooms for three on either side. At the end was a weapons room and through that, the engine room. The ship was operated by three engines on the back and four at the corners on the bottom. It had a rounded appearance, each component almost melding into the other. They walked forward to the cockpit. Lev and Mirl assumed their seats. "Shall we be off?" Dlix nodded, then hesitated. He found a plug, then inserted the drive the director had given him. "This should show you where we're going. You know why, right?" Lia answered from a chair she had taken over a computer monitor. "Kill the leader of Hydrala, like I haven't heard that enough." Dlix shrugged, then sat in another chair with a monitor. "Let's go." Mirl tapped some buttons, then a portion of the roof slid open. They lifted off, then sped into space.
Soon, they were over Hydrala. Dlix turned to the crew. "You guys ready? There'll probably be resistance." The group nodded, save Lia, who stayed silent. Lev adjusted some levers, and they sped towards the planet.
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