The air in the hangar of the Wrecking Ball grew heavy and cold. The manic joy of the salvage evaporated, replaced by a tense, grim silence. Jett's crew of salvagers, who had been celebrating moments before, instinctively backed away, their survival instincts overriding their greed. They might not have known what a Hunter was, but they could feel the fear emanating from Kael, and that was enough.
Jett was no longer smiling. He looked at the dossier on the screen, then at the two couriers, his expression suddenly serious and calculating.
"A Hunter," Jett said, his voice low, his manic persona completely gone. "The Syndicate doesn't send their ghosts for small matters. What did you two do to piss off the hive that badly?"
It was Kael who answered, his voice devoid of its usual arrogance, replaced by a somber gravity. "We didn't piss off the hive. We stole their honey and showed everyone where it was hidden." He looked at Leo, and for the first time, Leo saw something in his eyes that wasn't contempt or rivalry: it was the fear of a professional who knew exactly the danger they faced.
"What's a Hunter?" Leo asked, his voice sounding strangely calm in the silent hangar.
"They aren't soldiers," Kael explained, his attention fully focused, as if giving a mission briefing. "They aren't enforcers. They're an anomaly within the Syndicate's own structure. They operate alone. They don't follow the same protocols. Their sole objective is the silent eradication of existential threats."
He paused, his ice-blue eyes locking onto Leo. "They don't find you; they're already waiting for you. They don't breach a base; they convince the base to self-destruct. They don't leave bodies; they just leave... silence. When the Syndicate sends a Hunter, it's not to capture a target. It's to erase the target, their associates, their history, and even the memory of their existence from all relevant timelines."
A wave of cold washed over Leo. This was far worse than recycling. This was oblivion.
"So, what do we do?" Leo asked. "Do we stick to the plan? Go after the Hermit?"
"No," Kael said firmly. "The plan has changed. Going after the Hermit now is suicide. The Hunter will know our objective. It will be waiting for us in the Crossroads. Our only option is to disappear. Find an uncharted reality, a 'blind spot' with enough interference to hide us, and wait for the trail to go cold. It could take years."
The logic was flawless. It was the move of a trained agent. Survival above all else.
"No," Leo said, his own voice surprising him with its firmness.
Kael turned to him, his expression a mixture of shock and irritation. "No? Amateur, you don't understand. You can't fight a Hunter. You can't outsmart a Hunter. The only way to survive is not to play the game."
"What if it's already playing?" Leo retorted. "You said it yourself. It's already waiting for us. Hiding just delays the inevitable. It will find us. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But it will." He looked at Kael, his chaotic mind seeing a different path, one Kael's logic couldn't process. "Our only chance isn't to run. It's to be faster. It's to get to the Regulator before it can catch us."
Jett, who had been listening in silence, chimed in. "I like the kid's guts, but my business is profit, not glorious suicide. My end of the deal was a ride and a salvage. I didn't sign up to be erased from existence by a Syndicate ghost." He looked at Leo, his decision already made. "I'll take you to any neutral port of your choosing. Drop you off with your shiny new scooter. And our business is concluded. Fair is fair."
It was a reasonable offer. But it was also a death sentence. Alone, they wouldn't last a day.
"Jett," Leo said, his voice calm. "What's the biggest score you've ever salvaged?"
Jett blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Probably the core from an Old Republic Star Destroyer. Sold it to a collector for a small fortune."
"What if I told you I know where there's a treasure that would make that core look like a paperweight?" Leo continued. "A treasure that would make you a legend in the Bazaar. The kind of score that only comes around once in a lifetime."
Interest glinted in Jett's eyes. "I'm listening."
"The Regulator," Leo said. "The heart of the entire Syndicate system. The control hub for thousands of portals, powered by technology no one else possesses. Imagine what the tech inside that thing would be worth. Imagine the price of the secrets it holds." He leaned forward. "We're going there anyway. With or without your help. But with the Wrecking Ball and your crew, we don't just have a chance of getting there... we have a chance of walking away with our pockets full."
He was appealing to the one thing he trusted in Jett: his insatiable greed.
Jett was silent, his gaze flickering between the promise of unimaginable wealth and the very real danger of total annihilation.
It was Kael who, surprisingly, broke the stalemate.
"He's right," Kael said, his voice low. His pride was at war with his logic, but logic was winning. "Hiding is a slow death. Attacking is a fast death with a small probability of success. But it is a probability. The amateur's chaotic logic... it's our best tactical option."
He looked at Jett. "And the technology in the Regulator... it would make your Star Destroyer look like a child's toy. We're going to need firepower to get there. And you, Jett, have the only firepower we can afford."
The combination of Kael's cold logic and Leo's greedy gamble was enough. Jett's manic grin slowly returned to his face, more predatory than ever.
"The biggest score in history..." he murmured, savoring the words. "Hunted by the scariest ghost in the Syndicate..." He let out a sharp laugh. "Alright, you suicidal idiots! You've convinced me! The crew of the Wrecking Ball is in!"
He turned to his crew. "Fire up the engines! Prep the weapons! And somebody get me my map to hell!"
The atmosphere in the hangar shifted from fear to a feverish excitement. They had a plan. They had a team.
Leo and Kael climbed onto the newly repaired 'Phantom', now docked in the Wrecking Ball's hangar. The scooter hummed with a quiet power, its new form a testament to their journey.
"This changes nothing between us, amateur," Kael said, his voice back to its usual cold tone.
"I know," Leo replied. "But for now... we're the prey that hunts back."
As the Wrecking Ball and its pirate fleet prepared to jump into the unknown, Leo activated the Pathfinder. The shimmering line of light appeared, pointing towards the heart of the darkness. The hunt was on.