The Last of the Time Lords: Tales of a Bounty Hunter Book 1

The Deal

Chapter 1

Thelleirilia was an orphan planet since the beginning of time. Covered in large deserts and high tower-like stones, it was no wonder it remained uninhabited while other planets blossomed in living creatures. It was after the Great War that Thelleirilia was discovered. The species that made that discovery was a nomadic group, the Gypsies. The Great War between the Syndicate of the Five Planets and the Time Lords had caused the destruction of many solar systems in the galaxy. Unfortunately, the planet the Gypsies originated from was caught in the crossfire forcing them to flee their world in search of a new home.

Gypsies were a trader species. They soon realized that traveling from planet to planet and exchanging valuables was much safer and profitable than being restricted by the resources of one planet. They liked traveling to new worlds and experiencing new civilizations and cultures. But no matter where they went in the universe, they always returned to Thelleirilia.

Over the centuries, Thelleirilia blossomed and became the center of all tradings. More so, it became the biggest market in the universe. Aliens from across the galaxies traveled there and always found what they were looking for no matter what that was. And so, Thelleirilia, the orphan planet, became the most popular planet in the universe.

It was there that Noemi, a Bounty Hunter, usually closed her deals. Noemi had never known where she was from, but it had been a long time since she stopped caring for an answer. She was found as a baby by a family of Bounty Hunters and was raised as one of them. Her family didn't know their origins either. Their own race had been wiped out in the Great War too, generations ago, and the knowledge had been lost along with them.

"Can you hear me?" she asked discretely trying to not draw attention to herself.

"Loud and clear." Grav, her tech assistant cheered immediately in her ear. "And dare I say, you look lovely today." he flirted.

Noemi rolled her eyes. Grav was a major flirt. If there was someone with walking legs -and sometimes even without- he would be going after them. Grav did not care about gender or species. He was a firm believer that love was for everyone and should be shared with everyone. Noemi, when she first met him and learned about this, forbid him from ever inviting her to one of his mature parties. Not that it stopped him from doing so anyway. The broken fingers he had for the next month, though, passed the point across.

Noemi heard Grav chuckle as if he could see the look on her face. She knew for a fact that he could not see her, just hear from the microscopic microphone embedded in her earpiece. Grav may be a mayor, terrible, flirt and he might get on her nerves most of the time, but he was the best tech guy in the solar system. It was one of the few reasons why she made him her partner.

They met under not-great circumstances. She had just finished a job that paid more than the last three ones she did combined and was enjoying her spoils at a relaxation spa here in Thelleirilia when he tried to rob her. It didn't work out so well for him. When she was done with him, he had a black eye, two out of his four arms broken, and a few more cracked bones. She only took pity on him when she saw how skinny he was. She took him to a medical center where he admitted to her that he was forced to steal to survive. Perhaps it was because she knew what that was like, or perhaps it was how pathetic he looked, but she decided to take him under her wing for a while, just until he could stand on his own feet. And then he kind of stayed with her. They had worked together for so long, Noemi didn't want him to leave. They made a good team and in the long run, she had come to care for him as a little brother.

"My sensors are detecting a movement near you," Grav warned her.

She had just enough time to prepare herself before a hooded figure pushed aside the heavy curtain and entered the privacy it provided them from the rest of the inn. He was holding two drinks, she observed. From the blue color, she could tell it was the juice from the Cassapian berries she had instructed him to bring. It was a custom, she closed all her deals by drinking Cassapian berries juice. Her soon-to-be customer set the drinks on the round table and took a seat opposite her on the cushions.