Bond of Hatred

Chapter 1- The Killoran Space Hunter

Ruko sat in the cold, damp grass in the jungle of Caras of the planet Xeroneon. He carefully eyed his target, a bronkero, a beast with an ape like physique and monstrous teeth, green acid-like eyes, horns over three feet high and large brown fur that covered every inch of its body. It was truly a beast that would kill anyone in its path when agitated. It was calmly munching the grass, and was unaware of Ruko's presence while he awaited further instructions from Marian, the Solidarian prodigy.

Marian carefully tracked the progress of his team on their spaceship, the Franklin. The name was given by their human teammate and friend Kouda Peterson, the African-British man from Earth. The ship was hidden by a cloaking device, which was activated by Marian, and it expertly blended with the surroundings.

"Be careful Ruko. A bronkero can be easily provoked. Since we aren't supposed to kill this one it's going to be very difficult. We have to make sure that it doesn't have any friends nearby. I'll tell you when I get the signal from Kouda that the traps are ready."

"Got it."

Kouda silently went from tree to tree to set up the traps to capture the bronkero. He was counting on Ruko to save his hide in case things spun out of control. He kept looking back to see if the bronkero was still there. He silently nodded whenever he saw it, and hoped that it didn't change its position. The three of them had been on the planet for nearly five hours and were starting to get restless. This was a dangerous mission. Kouda was getting agitated. He had set up nerve traps to weaken the bronkero so that it would fall and become easier to carry back to the Franklin.

When Kouda set up the final nerve trap he sent a message to Marian using his headgear.

"It's done Marian."

"Good job Kouda. Ruko, is your nerve resistance gear on?"

"Yeah, it's on."

"Go for it."

Ruko set his Grear at lock and heat to transform it into a grappling hook. His Grear was one of the most valuable weapons in the Andromeda system. He loved the click the weapon made whenever he prepped it for use. He aimed at the bronkero and fired at its back. A bronkero's skin can only be pierced with the toughest of steels, so this wouldn't completely pierce its body. When the beast was hit it screamed loudly. Ruko silently thanked Marian for giving him the earplugs before leaving as he launched himself towards the beast and landed on its back. He was confident that if he didn't have those earplugs he would have become deaf at the end of this mission.

The sound was so loud that the tress in the vicinity started shaking. Kouda had to hug the tree tightly so that he wouldn't fall down. When the tress stopped shaking, he knew that he had to run back to the ship.

Unlike Kouda, Ruko was having the time of his life riding the back of a bronkero. He kept turning it using the horns so that it ran through the traps. Ruko felt the bronkero's skin tremble when it passed through each nerve trap.

Ruko and the beast were getting closer towards the ship and Kouda kept counting the number of traps it went through. When it passed the final trap Kouda shouted, "Now Ruko! Flip it now!"

As soon as Ruko heard him, he flipped the bronkero with all his might using its horns as cowboys did to capture cattle back in the wild west on Earth. As soon as the bronkero was down he took out the injection that Marian gave and tranquilized the beast. It struggled for a while but eventually fell asleep. Ruko retracted his Grear and fell on the floor tired after the ride and started laughing. Marian and Kouda breathed a sigh of relief.

After they put the bronkero in the specially made cage to contain it on the Franklin, they went to the tribe Karota, who had requested them to capture the beast. When they arrived they placed the bronkero in the tent that the Karota had made for it. The beast kept screaming but was unable to escape, due to the electrical fence placed around it.