Epilogue
The noise of the bar overwhelmed the young woman as she entered through the door. She prayed that the man she was looking for would be here, otherwise the five days long trip to this desolate and forsaken backwater world would be for nothing. She was running out of leads on the legendary killer, and her death was quickly catching up to her. The stench was almost unbearable, stale beer and vomit. Even the floor was dirt, making the woman regret the high credit white leather boots she wore. But then she forgot all about her boots as she spotted the man she had been looking for. Anyone in this Galaxy knew him on sight. He was a Legend that the Epics were made of. Starting his life on Romulus Prime of the Romulus System, growing up on the constantly warring planet forged a man of cold steel so sharp that the entire galaxy knew his name. He survived the three major wars before the end of the planets life by way of supernova. He won no matter the cost, earning his place in the ranks of the Old Roman Assassins Guild, the oldest and most powerful group of assassins the galaxy knew. He became the most feared Assassin, never leaving his target alive and never being seen while performing the contract. Then one day he disappeared, leaving no trace and a panicking Guild searching for him. The woman had heard the rumors of his return and had used her vast resources and connections to find him. She had trekked through every hole in the wall world that held even a whisper of him. And now after months of searching he sat right in front of her. He was over six feet tall with broad shoulders and nothing but lean muscle and scars. The right side of his face was striking, almost beautiful, the left a mass of scars so thick that it looked inhuman. His eyes were two colors as well, the right a brilliant green and the left an icy blue. He wore a loose shirt and trousers that were so dirty and stained so bad that she would expect a homeless man to burn them. She walked up to him, and noticed a large knife half the length of her arm imbedded into the bar beside him within easy reach. Before she could walk towards him, the door behind her splintered as it was kicked in by a large soldier. She threw herself to the floor as the soldier opened fire with his compression rifle, turning the people in the room into a pile of bodies. All except two that is, the woman watched in fascinated horror as Stern, the man of Legends grabbed the knife and moved towards the soldier so fast he seemed to teleport. Before the soldier could react his neck was opened up to the bone, and the knife was buried in his heart. The man stood for a moment until his death registered to his brain and he collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Stern calmly reached down and pulled the knife from the soldier’s chest, wiping the blood on the dead man’s shirt. The woman stood up and started to tremble as the adrenaline and terror of what just happened hit her. Stern grabbed a bottle of brown liquor and poured some into the woman’s mouth. The fierce burn snapped her out of her stupor and Stern sat on a stool in front of her.
He spoke for the first time, “who are you and why are professional soldiers trying to kill you? And more importantly, why are you looking for me?”
