Journeys of the Shepherd

Chapter 6: Four Years

The man ran as fast he could, trying to flee from the pirates. But it was of no use, they showed no mercy. Luke pulled the trigger and shot the man in the back of his head, and his body smacked on the dirt road.

It had been four years since Luke and Marshall were picked up by the Space Shepherd, and became part of her crew.

At first the cruel ways of the pirates disturbed him, but as time passed by, he had grown accustomed to the atrocities that were part of his new life. Not only that, he didn't care anymore if making money meant killing someone that might be innocent.

Luke never thought about what he had become, it happened gradually, over time. He didn't know any better anymore.

Ash came running up to him, his hands tightly wrapped around his carbine. ''Good shot.'' He said. ''Now come on, we've got to get to the bank!'' Luke nodded, and followed him. 

They were raiding a small planet that morning, after they got word alot of money was stashed away in a local bank. Luke and Ash were the crewmembers that were hold in the highest regard by the captain, and they got the special objective to rob the bank. 

The Space Shepherd was hovering less than forty meters above a town on the planet, and the rest of the pirates were sliding down from ropes, landing on the streets and roofs. The townspeople were running and screaming, they never saw it coming. There was an Anti-Aircraft gun just outside of town, but it was useless against the gigantic and heavily armoured pirate ship.

Ash kicked down the door of the bank, and they stepped inside. The peope inside gasped, and stumbled back at the sight of two armed men entering the building. A security guard reached for his weapon, but he was gunned down by Ash.

''Everyone get down!'' Luke roared, his voice was so loud it could be heard in the entire building. ''You guys behind the counter, hands up!''

They stepped over the people that were laying on the ground with their hands on their head. ''If even one of you tries to escape, or decides play a little game, we'll kill everyone in this building!'' Ash warned, and some of the people began to cry. They didn't doubt his words for a second, they had heard about these pirates, how cruel they could be.

Luke jumped over the counter, pushed a bank clerk out of the way, and reached for the safe. ''I need someone to open this! Now!'' Luke shouted. ''I can do that, sir.'' One of the clerks said, and Luke nodded. The man carefully walked to him, and Luke kept his gun aimed at him the whole time. The banker typed in the code on the locking mechanism, and put his thumb on a fingerprint scanner. A beep sounded, and the red light turned to green. After the safe unlocked, Luke ordered the clerk to step back, and he put his gun back in his holster. While Ash was guarding the hostages, Luke put the money in two duffel bags. He tossed one of the bags to Ash, and they left the bank after making it very clear that anyone who fled the bank, would be shot.

When they got outside, they saw the chaos the pirates caused. There was the sounds of gunshots, and they could see dead bodies laying on the ground, some of them women and children. In the air there was the smell of something burning, and they noticed that the crew torched the city hall and police departement, but the fire also spread to a few houses and other buildings.

The pirates ran over the town in just fifteen minutes, and there was no one to help its inhabitants. Just like when they raided ships in space, they took everything they got their hands on. They looted money, food, weapons, ammo and even furniture from the homes of the townspeople.

The pirates loaded their bounty on the ship, by hauling it up to the storage hold with the same ropes they used to quickly raid the town. After most of the cargo was loaded in, the crew was pulled up. Luke tightly gripped his arms around one of the duffel bags, and grapped the rope. As he got higher, he stared at the burning town below, with its people left for dead.