Nolun looked out at the golden beam that was shooting out of the ship, and thought back on what exactly had made him think that this entire quest to find the Pieces was going to be so easy. He had only found two of the Pieces so far, and already he had been threatened with guns several times, been in a few dangerous dogfights, and had nearly been cut in half. But, this did indeed come with the field, he supposed. The stars in front of him stretched out endlessly, the golden beam seeming to pierce the blackness. He always remembered the first time he had heard about the legend of the Dorado Pieces whenever he looked out into deep space. It reminded him of the window he would look out of at the orphanage where he grew up...whenever it was night, Nolun would always wake up and stare at the endless expanse of stars, glittering in the sky like shattered pieces of diamond. He had longed for several years to travel through space on his own, explore new planets, become a treasure hunter, or a pirate, like the Inferno. Nolun chuckled lightly to himself. I guess is true what they say. You should never meet your idols. "You done staring off into the black, doe-eyes?" Nolun spun and saw Elicia leaning on the door to the small room that Nolun had been given to stay in. He was a bit confused as to what she was doing here, but he regained his composure. "How long have you been standing there?" Elicia shrugged. "Not long. You really are in love with that whole dusty relic thing, aren't you?" Nolun sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. "I don't know...it's so weird to finally be on the journey that I've been looking to start for years now..." Elicia sat down next to him. "Well, I for one am quite enjoying almost dying around every corner. It's a hell of a lot more interesting than just sitting around on a moldy old planet like Rykkak. It gives me time to enjoy...the little things." She pulled out an entire bottle of Crylass Vodka from behind her back and raised an eyebrow. Nolun was confused. "Where'd you get that?" Elicia shrugged. "It's amazing how easy it is to pick locks here. So, since we could die at any minute," She leaned in close to Nolun and twisted the cap off. "What say we live a little?"
Koil walked off the bridge of the Dreadnought, after making sure everything was in place. Andress's crew was scattered around the ship, seeing as how they had nothing better to do while the ship headed towards the location of the next Piece. Koil wanted to finally have a one-on-one talk with Andress, as they had some catching up to do. He hadn't seen her in years since she had deserted the GDF alongside him. He had considered it the best decision of his life, but though he had gone to fight for the other side, and his strategic info on the GDF had earned him the rank of Commander, Andress had decided to take a different path. Looking at her bio, she had been put on the Slingers list, and had become an efficient Runner along with Bunker. He walked along the corridors of the Dreadnought, and saw the windows looking out into space. The suns of nearby planets shining even through the tinted windows. The brightness flashed behind his eyes, causing him to squint slightly, raising his hand...
5 years ago...
The sun was in his eyes, making him raise his hand slightly, then after adjusting to it, he looked out over the fields. Bunker was just coming back from the rations station, and tossed him the usual nutrient bars and water. Koil took a swig of water and smirked at Bunker. "You're sweating, big man. You scared?" Bunker looked at him, frowning and taking a bite out of the nutrient bar. "Shut up. If I weren't here, you be wetting yourself with fear right now." Koil gave a little chuckle and sat on top of the large white and chrome tank. He was a turret gunner, but he had seen combat before. He had fought in the Vytruwan Sieges, and fought on his own, until he got assigned to the Valkyrie. The tank was reliable, and had been with them ever since he had been deployed with the new squadron. That's where he met Bunker and Melinda, along with her younger sister, Andress. Melinda was a hard and tough leader, but could have fun and be part of the group when she wanted. Bunker seemed like a brute and tough guy to make friends with, but on the inside, he was cuddly like a teddy bear. Everyone got along with him. Andress was a bit less social than her sister, but she still got along with the group well. Everyone kind of thought of her as their little sister. Speaking of the Lovecraft sisters, Koil saw them come up the hill. Melinda yelled out over at the squad. "Move out!" Koil nodded and got in the top layer of the tank, arming the minigun and rocket launchers. After a bit, Bunker stepped on the gas and the Valkyrie lurched forwards. They drove through the grassy plains, Koil didn't seem to spot any enemies on radar or physical view. "Got nothing on scopes, boss." Koil said to Melinda, who was on the main cannon. Melinda radioed to the squad. "Alright boys, keep it tight. Should be smooth sailing from-" There was a large boom, and the entire tank shredded in half, fire blazing through the main cabin. Koil threw his arms up to protect himself. He was thrown from his perch and felt several pieces of metal debris land around him. He felt a sharp pain, then he was knocked unconscious. When he came to, he felt strange. His lower half hurt, and he could seem to sit up as well. In his disoriented state, he slowly pushed himself up, and looked down, and saw the reason why. A large jagged piece of metal had landed just below his hips, slicing off both of his legs at the knees.
Koil lowered his hands, pushing the memory from his mind. As he walked down the halls, he felt the cybernetic prosthetics in his legs move with every step. The doctors had managed to fix him up, and he could walk and run, even though it took a long, long time to get used to. In fact, he could run faster than any other man in his squad. The pain still remained, however. In a way, it had never left. He went up to the hangar and saw the Renegade parked, with the cargo bay open. He heard sobbing coming from inside, and saw Andress sitting in the cabin, her head in her hands. "Andress?" He said quietly, and she sat up, her face red from the crying she had been doing. "K-Koil..." She cleared her throat, then walked up to him. At first, she seemed to be keeping herself steady, but then she ran into his arms, hugging him tight. Koil was slightly surprised, but then held her back. The two kept on embracing until an announcement came over the intercom. "All crew members of the Renegade to the main deck." The two broke off, and looked at each other. "So...um..." "We should..." "Later?" "Later." They nodded, and walked down the hall back towards the bridge, then stopped to knock on Nolun's door. They heard noises coming from inside. "Nolun? We're wanted on the bridge." Andress opened the door, and the two of them saw Nolun along with the blonde girl of the Wavery twins lying back on the bed, laughing loudly, Nolun holding a bottle of vodka, and the girl with her arms wrapped around his neck. Andress looked slightly upset, Koil noticed, which was never a good thing. She cleared her throat loudly. Both of them looked up, and Nolun's eyes widened. He sat up, knocking the girl to the floor. "Andress! Wait, it's not what it looks like! I can explain-!" Andress rolled her eyes and sighed, walking off.
YOU ARE READING
Slingers (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 1)
Science Fiction(Highest Ranking: 37 in Science Fiction) In the 24th century, mankind has moved away from Earth, and spread to new planets. But, after uncovering a map to an ancient treasure, promising power and riches, humanity is now on the hunt. Now, an archeolo...
