Thousands of years after Earth became uninhabitable, humanity colonized other planets and moons around the solar system. Amid rising crime rate, the Galactic Space Force (GSF) set up a legal contract where registered bounty hunters (known as Coyotes...
Space News:It will be a thousand years since the formation of The Universal Authority. The Chief, Syla War, sent out an invite earlier this month to all inner-planetary and outer-planetary leaders and celebrities. The Chief has promised that this will be the biggest ceremony the organization has ever seen; bigger than the five hundred years celebration.
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Wolf and Galactic Veronica stood outside the Director's office. In front of them was a metallic door wide enough to fit six people her size. She pressed the green button on the door.
"Who is it?" the Director's croaky voice came from the speaker above the door.
Wolf knew she was messing around. She could see them through the cameras above the door, on the ceiling, and on the wall behind them.
"It's Galactic Veronica," the woman replied, either not aware of the cameras or going along with the Director's game. Probably the latter.
"Did you find him?"
"Yes, he's here with me."
Couldn't the Director see Wolf as he had presumed? But he was right there beside the galactic.
The metallic door groaned and clanked before moving to the side with a hiss. It was an old door in an old battlecraft. Replacing it seemed not to be in the GSF's immediate plans.
Wolf entered first before the door closed behind Galactic Veronica, who passed him and stood next to the Director's desk. He stood in front of the door with his hands behind his back.
The office was huge for one person, showing power and control to those who didn't know better, and also intimidated her enemies.
Large gold curtains draped over the ceiling-to-floor bomb-proof windows. The last time he was there, it was daytime and the Director stood before the window, staring outside while she spoke. Her office was at the top of the tower—the highest point in the battlecraft—and she seemed to enjoy looking down and observing people.
It made sense why the Director questioned Veronica before they entered. It wasn't because she loved playing games. Rather, she wasn't there to see for herself and had to rely on the word of her subordinate.
Galactic Veronica stood behind a wall covered with portraits of former GSF directors. At the center was a painting of King Selena, the founder of the organization. She wore a gold uniform with platinum stars pinned across the shoulders and down to the sleeves. The stoic look on her face captured the kind of woman she was: fearless, tenacious, and insane. Through her ninety-nine years of life, she had fifteen husbands and thirty-four children. And not once had she taken time off work.
She was found dead in the office: a heart attack from her old age, having refused to become a cyborg.
Gold trophies, medals, and certificates that weren't there the last time Wolf was in the office stood below the portraits on a wide shelf. The recent additions could've been another act by the Director to show her prowess.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in," a voice said to his left.
Wolf turned and spotted Unicorn leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, acknowledging his presence with a sneer.
There were five other people in the room, but Unicorn was the only one standing. Hell Rooster was there too, sitting on a sofa, smoking a cigarette while two packs sat on the glass table in front of him. The man gave him a single glance before leaning back and blowing smoke in the air.
Wolf didn't recognize the other four: two women—one large and muscular, and the other slim and modelish—and a man sitting on a black couch, and a little girl no older than twelve slouched on the floor.
"Let me help you with identifying them," Wednesday said. Their personal information popped up on his retina display. "The muscular woman is T-Rex, ranked 105. She has a crew called Dead Dinos, and they just completed their second three-star red zone bounty in two days."
The dark-skinned woman stared at Wolf with a cold gaze. It wasn't the kind that showed intent on wanting to harm him as the one Unicorn had. This was more her trying to figure out who he was. He knew the look because he did the same with strangers, and was currently giving it to them.
"The thin woman and the good-looking man next to T-Rex are Devil Crow and Baby Raven. Twins. They are ranked 111 and 112, respectively."
Wolf looked at Devil Crow, and the brown-skinned woman waved at him with a large smile on her face. She wore a red hoodie and denim shorts, and had her legs crossed. Baby Raven put his arm around her shoulder, pulled her close, and kissed her cheek before glaring at Wolf, who detected jealousy as fast as light.
Some societies championed incest; especially the pure-blood fanatics.
The little girl beside Baby Raven focused on her handheld console, while the sound of gunshots and people screaming filled the office.
"I don't know who the girl is," Wednesday said. "I have searched every database and there's no trace of her. Only the Director knows."
The office's door opened, and the Director walked in, taking a seat behind her desk. "Welcome, everyone," she said with a straight face, the fine lines on her face visible. Her name was Beatrice Ernest, but she liked to be called Director Bea. Wolf referred to her as Director because he didn't want to be like the others. "I hope you had time to get to know each other."
She pressed a button under her desk and a holo-screen materialized on top. She swiped the images on the screen as fast as she could until she found what she was looking for. Then she pressed the display window twice. A copy of it appeared on the glass table in front of Hell Rooster before it started playing.
Everyone's focus shifted to the holo-screen. Even Unicorn, who was focused on his nails, looked at it.
The video started, showing a brown-skinned woman with long dark hair tied into a ponytail. Her lopsided smile sent shivers down Wolf's spine and made the hair on his arms and legs rise. She had thick eyebrows, pink plump lips, and bright green eyes that rivaled nature, complementing her sharp face and chiseled jawline.
She took Wolf's breath away.
Wednesday could have told Wolf about the woman the moment she appeared on the screen. But they had agreed she would only do that when he wasn't about to gain information on someone—like with the other coyotes.
With her hands behind her back and her head held high, the woman said, "Before you know my name, I want you to know what I have done. Today, at exactly 8 a.m. Jupiter time, I bombed The Council."
The video showed the dark orange battlecraft which housed The Council's headquarters in space. Comprising resources from the three factions—The Federation, The League, and The Kingdom—it shouldn't have been possible to bomb it, since it had the best security in the system.
Silver dust-like particles appeared above The Council's headquarters. Wolf's heartbeat quickened, and his breaths shortened. He put a hand on his tightened chest and gripped his shirt. No one had noticed or sensed his change in mood; they were glued to the video.
"Nano-bugs," Wednesday said.
Wolf gulped.
The camera zoomed out, showing the whole battlecraft. The swarm of nano-bugs enveloped it like a blanket and disintegrated the craft within a few seconds.
A chilling silence held the room by its throat, enabling Wolf to hear his heartbeat and heavy breathing. If someone had something to say, they chose not to until when they were sure there was no more footage.
The brown-skinned woman reappeared on the screen with the same lopsided smile. "My name is Cleopatra Matuidi, and I am the leader of REPAH."
