Dead Men Have No Legacies: Stories of a Seasoned Bounty Hunter

Chapter 3

(the next day...)

I would've left for Rykos sooner, but Boreas forced me to stay on Erastus because I "didn't understand the meaning of chilling the fuck out." Thankfully, we contacted our latest client and got paid for taking down Mr. Penticon yesterday, so I at least have some more credits in my account. Just when I thought I could leave this morning, my partner told me with an all-too-gleeful smile that he wanted to work on my arm. Of course, he forced me to keep my helmet off while he worked.

The old piece of tech was created back when cybernetic prosthetics were still a blossoming idea. The dark metal was scuffed and dented, but it's served me through thick and thin. The artificial appendage was attached to my humerus, so at least half of my left arm was still flesh and bone.

"Damn man," Boreas breathed as we both sat in his small workshop located in our house, "You need to take better care of this thing."

I sighed, only to involuntarily cringe when my partner started tinkering on the inner workings of my prosthetic. "It's hard to remember when I have bounties to fulfill."

"Well, stop taking bounties back-to-back and actually take care of yourself for a change," Boreas snapped, looking up from his work to pin me under his purple gaze.

He was right-he was always right. I need to stop and take care of myself, but I never will. This life I chose to pursue doesn't allow rest. If I stop, I'll either lose myself or my partner. I've lost too much in my lifetime, and I'm not in the mood to lose anyone else.

Boreas' gaze softened when he saw the melancholic expression on my face. "Hey mate, cheer up would ya? I didn't mean to bust your balls. I just want to make sure you're not going to break down on me."

I sighed and leaned back in the chair I was sitting in. "Remind me again how we became friends?"

I could hear the smirk on his face as he responded: "Oh, I dunno...you got me out of a shit job, and I saved your ass. I didn't have anywhere else to go, and you couldn't shake me off."

I chuckled as I recalled the bounty my friend brought up. About seven years ago, I took on a bounty to eliminate a corrupt CEO who was profiting off the misery of others. I had to travel to the industrious city-planet known as Du'vuna to achieve my goal, and the bounty went smoothly for the most part. My target was located in a towering skyscraper in a populated section of the planet, but I was still able to break in with little hassle. However, the security system was more advanced than I had originally thought. Before I knew it, I was backed into a corner where I could barely set foot into a room before security drones were on me. Right when I thought I was done for, they powered off without warning.

Enter Boreas, a disgruntled tech head who was tired of working at a dead end job. He was apparently the head of the security division at this company since he managed to take down every security system for me on one premise—he was allowed to accompany me back to my ship after I killed his boss.

The poor bastard's death was fairly anticlimactic: All I had to do was push him through a window, and he stumbled to his death fifty stories down. I still remember peering out the shattered window pane as my target continued to fall, only to jump when Boreas popped up out of nowhere.

"Wow, you showed that bastard who's boss!" I remember hearing him chirp. "And here I thought you weren't going to be able to kill him!"

I had groaned then, thinking to myself that this clean-shaven spaz of a human being was going to drive me insane. Oh, how daft I was back then. Since that faithful day, Boreas has served as my eyes and ears when I've taken on higher-stakes bounties. As far as I can tell, he can hack into anything as long as it has a terminal attached to it.

Back to today, I fell silent as Boreas continued working on my arm. Thirty minutes later, he wrapped up his work and patted me on the back.

"There, now you can leave for Rykos." Boreas stated, grinning from ear to ear. "Maybe now, your prosthetic fingers won't lock up this time."

I groaned. "That happened one time..."

He snickered. "Yeah, when you tried to grab your gun with your left arm. If you didn't throw one of your knives when you did, you'd be dead."

"Yeah...you're right." I grumbled when Boreas had replaced all the panels in my arm.

"Your bounty's waitin' for ya, so get moving." he replied. "I'm gonna clean up in here, then I'll hop on my computer and give you intel on your target."

I nodded as I put my helmet on and stood up. "Alright. See you, Boreas."

"Bon Voyage, my friend!"

I chuckled and took one last look at Boreas' workshop before leaving. The small room was on the second floor of our base, and it was usually locked up tighter than a crime lord's stash of drugs. Honestly, I couldn't blame my friend for his secrecy: most of my weapons were designed and built by the whacky hacker. From my pistol to a twin set of knives to even certain parts of my helmet, Boreas has made my life as a bounty hunter so much easier.

As for the room itself, it was a mess. Schematics and scribbled notes covered a desk that sat in one of the corners while an array of weapon components littered a work table that dominated the center of the room. Several shelves full of weapons and components alike also lined the walls, and I couldn't help but realize how talented my partner in crime was.

After getting a good look at his workshop, I left the room and made my way to the landing pad where I had left my ship.

"Couldn't help but look over my handiwork one last time, eh?" Boreas prompted me as I boarded the Ravager.

"I recalled you promising me you'd upgrade my knives a few days ago," I replied, "I was looking around to see if you forgot to install the electricity modules again."

A drawn out sigh answered me. "I'm soooorry I forgot to do it before your last bounty. I was busy working on a little present I'm sure you won't regret having. And for your information, I did install the electricity modules into your knives. Just press the little red button on the hilts of your weapons, and your enemies will think twice about attacking you."

I rose an eyebrow and walked into the cargo hold of my ship. It mostly contained spare ammo, food, water, and other resources that'd keep me alive when I'm not on Erastus. However, I spotted something hidden under a tarp that sat on a nearby wooden crate.

"What type of present are we talking about..." I breathed, only to pause when I heard the faint whining of rotors. Suddenly, the tarp flew off as a small drone took to the skies.

"Bam!" Boreas exclaimed through the drone. "I built this little baby to accompany you when I can't provide support through hacking into a mainframe."

I nodded to myself. "Hmm...What exactly can this drone of yours do?"

"Oh, I'm so glad you asked! Through Boreas.EXE, I can scout out an area for you, point out potential hazards, and even provide backup fire power." In that moment a pair of twin rotary cannons deployed on the underside of the drone. "They may not be weapons of mass destruction, but it's better than nothing!"

"You're not wrong." I murmured, leaving the cargo hold and making my way to the cockpit of my ship. "Thanks for the backup."

"Anytime, Cylus." Boreas replied. "Have a safe flight to Rykos."

I allowed a faint grin to appear on my face. "I will."