Planet Veyron wore its beauty like a mask. Gilded towers, spotless transit lines, and perfectly regulated air made it look like paradise. But the deeper you went, the more the illusion cracked. Down in the underbelly—the real Veyron—it was rust, rot, and desperation. That's what made it a fringe world, no matter how pretty the skyline looked.
The bounty mission was clear: a rogue pirate crew hiding in the lower tiers of Veyron's industrial sector. Not exactly a glamorous gig, but it paid well—and for Kaela and Alenya, credits meant weapons, armor, and survival.
They arrived at the location just before dusk, an abandoned warehouse half-sunken into a rusted canal, bathed in the glow of flickering neon and oil-slick puddles. Kaela stood at the entrance, her twin pistols spinning in her hands. Alenya, arms crossed, surveyed the place with sharp eyes.
"Place smells like stale piss and broken promises," Kaela muttered.
Alenya smirked. "So, pirates live here. Got it."
Inside, the air was thick—grease, smoke, and the scent of sweat. The crew lounged in makeshift thrones made of scrap and bone. Most of them weren't worth writing home about—grunts, mostly. But two figures stood out.
The first was massive: a Komodo Varyx, his body armored in obsidian-like scales. He cracked his neck and stepped forward, dragging a spiked maul behind him.
"Look what the dog dragged in," he rumbled. "You bounty chasers got guts. Shame we'll spill 'em."
Next to him was the vice-captain: a Scorvant, his carapace slick and barbed, tail curling lazily in the air like a scorpion ready to strike.
"Get the runt," the insectoid hissed, eyeing Kaela. "She smells like scared meat."
Kaela cracked her neck, raised her pistols.
"That's rich coming from a low level grunt," she said, then fired.
She moved like a storm: twin pistols barking in rhythmic bursts, her body weaving between crates and falling enemies. One pirate swung a serrated blade—she ducked, pivoted, and slammed an elbow into his throat, finishing him with a clean shot to the chest.
A second rushed her with a rusted spear.
She slid low, swept his legs out, and rolled backward to her feet, unloading both barrels into his back before he could rise.
"Where is she?!" someone shouted.
Then the room ignited.
A torrent of flame blasted through the east entrance, melting metal and turning air into fire. Pirates dove for cover as Alenya stepped in—glowing with internal heat, her fire-veined skin pulsing with light.
A flick of her wrist—boom!—sent a pillar of fire arcing through the rafters.
Screams echoed as the weaker mercs scattered, some ignited, others cut down in panic.
From the far side, two figures stepped into the open.
The Komodo Varyx, towering, plated in rocky scales that cracked as he rolled his neck. In one hand, he wielded a war club etched with sigils that glowed with earthen Qi. His eyes gleamed like polished garnets.
Beside him, the Scorvant hissed—a nightmare of black chitin and twitching limbs, poison dripping from the curved stinger over his shoulder. His eyes blinked in strange rhythms, mouthparts clicking.
"You came to die," the Varyx growled. His voice rumbled through the ground like a quake.
"My bounty's only worth it if you bleed."
Alenya stepped forward, unbothered. "You're in my way. I want your head, lizard. Don't make this poetic."
The pirates surged forward again—low-level grunts trying to overwhelm Kaela. She dropped her pistols into magnetic holsters, drew her daggers, and darted forward with beastlike precision.
One came at her with an axe—she spun under it, slashed across his thigh, then flipped behind another attacker and sank a dagger into his back. She moved in tight arcs, always behind, always ahead.
One brute tried to tackle her.
She caught his arm, used his momentum, and flipped him overhead—slamming him through a crate with a crunch.
Her claws hissed out, slashing clean through another's ribcage.
But she didn't have time to breathe.
The Scorvant lunged—fast.
His poison tail struck like a spear, forcing Kaela to dive back. The tip cracked the floor behind her, leaving a melting, sizzling hole in the concrete.
"Cute tricks," Kaela spat, panting. "That all?"
The Scorvant hissed and struck again—this time with rapid-fire jabs.
Kaela deflected one, rolled, dodged two more—but the third clipped her shoulder, burning like acid.
She gritted her teeth, barely managing a slash in return.
He recoiled. Not injured—just annoyed.
"You'll die slower now," he crooned. "That's my gift."
Kaela coughed, sweat beading at her temple. Her blood felt like it was boiling. Every move took effort now.
Still—she smiled.
"Then I'd better die killing you."
Meanwhile…
The Varyx charged at Alenya.
Each of his footsteps cracked the ground, his war club dragging a trail of crumbling earth behind it. With a roar, he brought it down.
Alenya raised a single palm. A shield of flame burst from her fingers, intercepting the blow—WHAM!
The impact split the floor, but she held firm.
The Varyx raised a wall of stone from the ground to block it, the fire slamming into the barrier and lighting the room in gold.
Alenya vanished.
She reappeared behind him mid-air, fist wreathed in fire.
"Cinder Breaker!"
She punched the back of his neck—flames surging into his body. The Varyx bellowed in pain as molten cracks spread through his stone-like skin. He tried to grab her—missed.
Alenya landed, spinning low, and unleashed a sweeping wave of heat that sent debris flying. The Varyx was panting now. Slower.
He tried to lift his club again—
Too late.
She stepped in and blasted him point-blank in the chest with Starflame Pulse. The beam cored through his shoulder, sending him crashing into a pillar with a snarl.
Kaela was flagging—vision blurred, poison numbing her limbs. The Scorvant's tail came again, too fast to dodge.
Then—fire.
A streak of flame crashed into the Scorvant's side, knocking him off Kaela. Alenya landed beside her, steam rising off her arms.
"You're welcome," she said.
Kaela coughed. "Took you long enough."
"You were doing fine."
Together, they turned toward the injured Scorvant, who was now struggling to rise—his chitin cracked, poison leaking from his side.
Kaela flicked her pistols back out, now superheated from Alenya's residual flame.
She aimed.
"My turn."
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
Each shot tore into the Scorvant's joints. He screamed—until the fourth hit blew through his face.
Silence returned to the warehouse.
The bodies smoked. The air stank of plasma and burned toxins.
Kaela exhaled and slumped against a crate.
"Tell me we're getting a bonus for that."
Alenya smirked. "Only if you survive long enough to spend it."
Alenya offered a hand. "Come on. Let's collect that bounty before someone else claims it."
Kaela took it.
"Next time, I pick the job."
"No promises."
They limped out of the warehouse as fire flickered behind them. Just another day in the outer systems. Just another job.
But Kaela's instincts buzzed. The streets were getting louder. Whispers of cults. Vanishings. And something old waking up in the dark.
She didn't like it.
But for now—she had weapons to buy and wounds to mend.