Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R'

Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Printable Version

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Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Tenacity - 03-30-2009

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CHAPTER 1

... 11 years ago, 806 A.S., Planet Los Angeles - California System ...

Kyra Leon - the twelve-year old daughter of Vaquero Leon, an accomplished bounty hunter of Corsair descent - followed closely in her father's footsteps as he moved quickly through the alley, crouching low behind old garbage bins and waste canisters. Kyra, despite being a child, knew exactly where to place every step so as not to make a sound; her father had taught her the way of the hunt from the time she could crawl. Dodge the leaf here, step over the can there, avoid the scrap metal and roll your feet side to side or heel to toe as you walk... these subtle actions had made her a silent ghost following her father's shadow as he tracked down his prey.

Vaquero stopped suddenly behind a garbage bin, motioning silently for Kyra to hide on the other side of the alley. The mark - a cardamine dealer known to support the Liberty Rogues, was in the middle of a transaction just on the other side of the garbage container, oblivious to the presence of the predator and his daughter. Vaquero slowly drew his stun gun from it's holster at his hip, and motioned to Kyra with a closed fist; she knew the signal well, it meant he wanted her to toss a flash grenade to distract the mark.

Kyra slid her backpack off of her shoulder and fished out the flashbang, slowly pulling the pin to avoid the sharp ting sound the spring made when released, and lobbed the device just over the container she was hiding behind. It hit the ground and bounced several times, attracting the attention of the dealer and his client before exploding in a bright flash, blinding both of them for several seconds. Vaquero knew not to waste a second, some cardamine addicts could shake off the flash quicker than an average human; he jumped out from behind the garbage bin and let off two rounds, knocking both the dealer and his customer out cold.

Kyra ran forward, fishing two pairs of restraints out of her backpack and handing one to her father. They worked flawlessly as a team, cuffing the targets and dragging them out of the alley towards Vaquero's ship. Taking two captives in at once was a bit difficult, as the aged Pirahna fighter barely had room for a single escape pod in it's cargo hold. The marks would not be comfortable, but it wasnt much worse than the prison they would be sent to for cardamine trafficking and abuse.

After loading up the prisoners and sealing the cargo bay, Kyra followed her father up the ladder on the side of the craft and sat in the makeshift bed she had made just behind the pilot's seat. It would take them several hours to travel from Los Angeles back to Sugarland to turn in their catch...

Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Tenacity - 03-30-2009

... Present Day, 817 A.S., Sheffield Station - Manchester System ...

Kyra groaned and stumbled out of her bunk as the shift alarm went off throughout the station. She slid out of the warm covers and cringed as her bare feet hid cold steel. Her roomate, Matt winston, eyed her suggestively, "Kyra Kyra, you should really stop sleeping naked"

Kyra grinned at him, "Why's that? I've got nothing to be ashamed of... I can see why you're concerned though, you've got smaller balls than I do Matt! Now get the hell up, I've got a mark to hunt down today and I need a wingman to soak up the hostile fire for me." She pulled the curtain closed between the two bunks and started to pull on her clothes.

Matt mumbled a complaint as he sat up out of bed, cringing at the cold air. "Christ, why the hell cant they put a decent heater in this place, it aint like we arent making the guild enough money, pulling in two dozen hits a day."

Kyra chuckled, "It's to keep you on your toes, Matt. People are more alert when they're cold, not that it seems to be working on you much."

"Ha Ha Ha, very funny Kyra, I'll keep that in mind when I'm pulling your escape pod out of the ice field today." He replied sarcastically, pulling the curtain back out of the way. "Damn, dressed already?" He smirked.

"Matt, there isnt a chance in hell you'd get in my pants, best end your fantasies before you find yourself dissapointed. Get dressed and meet me in the hangar, we launch in thirty minutes." Kyra finished buckling her pistol holster and bumped Matt out of the way as she left the room.

Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Tenacity - 03-30-2009

... 30 minutes later, Sheffield Launch Bay #2 ...

Kyra flipped the row of switches across the top of her flight control panel up, lighting the interior of the cockpit and bringing the floodlights at the front of the ship online. As the shipboard computer powered up, she entered her launch code into the Manta's keypad, causing the engine to slowly rumble to a start and light the interior of the docking bay with a red, hellish glow.

She looked at the picture of her father she had taped to the panel, as she did every time she launched her ship. Technology had come a long way since her father had died in 807 A.S. His old Pirahna was a ship of the past, outdated and outperformed by newer vessels. When he was killed on the job by a Rogue ambush, Kyra had asked the guild to 'bury' him with his ship in the Barrier Nebula... he always loved that cloud; quiet and peaceful for the most part, other than the occasional Lane Hacker, most of them ran at the sight of a hunter though - they were programmers, not pilots.

Kyra put on her helmet and hooked up the headset line with her ship's onboard computer. The Manta's robotic, yet somewhat feminine, voice echoed in her ear, "Hunter Sierra 1-1 Online, welcome back Kyra Leon, uploading mission objectives into navcom." Kyra tapped her foot impatiently as the small navigation display at the center of the ship's flight console downloaded mission data from Sheffield's database.

An image display came up with the mug shot of her target and known information, while simultaneously a recorded voicelog played in her headset, "Good Morning Kyra. Your target today is Isaac Cristemas, a member of the Gaians terrorist group. According to intercepted communications, he should be passing through the Birmingham Ice Field in one hour - intel reports that he is travelling to Cortez to meet with Green Front lobbyists for an assault on Luxury Liner Bermuda, an Orbital Spa and Cruise vessel just leaving planet Curacao. The Bretonian Police Authority dont care if he comes in living or dead, but we'd prefer you capture him alive - interrogation may reveal future target operations, and the Authority is paying twice as much if we capture him unharmed. You're cleared for launch, good luck out there..."

Kyra flipped her comm channel over to Matt's ship, a Sea Serpent light fighter, "Matt, you catch the brief?" The radio clicked with a second of static and his response came through, "Affirmative, more tree huggers, lets go burn the forest down baby!"

Kyra turned off the comm and sighed at his remark. She had a bit of a weak spot for the Gaians, they did have a good cause afterall - fighting for nature, defending plants and animals that cant defend themselves... still, that didnt give them the right to go blowing up tourists who just want to see the fuzzy animals from a starship viewport. Besides, she needed the money... a relaxing weekend onboard one of those luxury liners, full of massages and every kind of pampering in Sirius, sounded pretty good right about now.

As the docking bay airlock opened up, releasing a blast of atmosphere out into space, she flipped a switch to detach the station's holding arms from her ship and hit the thrust, rocketing out into the red, blue, and purple sky of the Manchester system. She pulled the flightstick back and made a vertical loop around the station, waiting for Matt to launch and join formation before entering the tradelane to Planet Wight.

Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Tenacity - 03-30-2009

... 57 minutes later, Birmingham Ice Field, Manchester System ...

As they approached the edge of the ice field, Kyra whispered to her wingman over the comm, "Matt, exercise radio silence and run cold, I dont want them picking us up on sensors until we're within weapon range."

"Roger that, Sierra 1-2 maintaining radio silence." He replied, just before the comm went dead. Kyra looked out the window to make sure he had flipped off his lights and cut his engine to low power, then did the same. They drifted silently through the ice field at fifteen meters per second, and she scanned the field in front of her for any visual signs of the Gaian flight.

Travelling through a dense ice field with minimal power to engines and thrusters, no internal or external lighting, and no active sensors was a dangerous and nerve-wracking task. There would be no proximity alerts if she drifted too close to a chunk of ice or rock, and most of the smaller pieces in the field were nearly invisible, only glittering when they caught the distant sun's light just right.

Kyra caught a sparkle out of the corner of her eye; just to her right was faint outline of an Eagle, escorted by two Startrackers powering along at full cruise. They were still roughly two kilometers out, not yet close enough for an ambush... she motioned at Matt with her hand, pointing to a large chunk of ice just in front of them. Taking the queue, he slowly manuvered his ship up behind the asteroid, while Kyra stayed put, sheltered by another smaller ice crystal to her right. They both cut engine power so as to completely drop off of sensors.

Kyra watched as the Gaian ships came ever closer, counting in her head to estimate their direction and speed. When they were within roughly seven hundred meters, Kyra lit up her ship and turned on the comm, "Matt! Break silence and engage!". Her Manta shot out from behind it's cover and she flipped a switch at the top of her flight stick, firing off a disruptor at the Gaian formation and knocking them out of cruise speed. Her guns lit up as she plowed through the center of the flight, ripping one of the Startrackers clear in half. She heard the pilot's bloody screams as his cockpit decompressed, her shots had torn the center of the ship wide open and the pilot had no time to eject.

Matt came shooting around the other side of the asteroid at the second Startracker, but not before they had caught on, it dodged his fire and broke formation, splitting away from the eagle and taking evasive action to avoid the hailstorm of weapons fire raining down from Matt's fighter. The Eagle, containing her target, broke the other direction and was on Kyra's tail before she could come back around from her initial assault. She stomped on one of the strafe pedals, sending her ship sideways and narrowly avoiding the Eagle's initial salvo of laser fire. Kyra ducked and dodged between the ice crystals trying to avoid fire; her Manta had plenty of firepower and a good bit of armor, but it wasnt a match for the manuverability of an Eagle.

"Matt! hurry up and get this jerk off me!" She yelled into the comm.

"Bit busy love, this bloody gnat sure knows how to dodge!" He replied.

Kyra dodged behind another rock and saw it evaporate to weapons fire as she banked hard right. Another volley shot past her, grazing her shield; the ship's computer lit up and she heard that robotic voice again in her headset, "Shields at fifty percent capacity, recommend evasive action to avoid further damage."

"No, really? I was just gonna sit here and get shot at all day you dumb piece of scrap!" Kyra yelled as she dodged another volley of laser blasts. "Alright, that's enough," She grumbled as she pulled back hard on the flight stick while hitting her thrusters, sending the Manta into an upward arc. She dropped a pair of mines and killed her engine, finishing her backward spin and coming about to face the Eagle. It had to cease fire momentarily to avoid the mines she had let loose, and she took the opportunity to return some punishment of her own. The Manta's Buckshot barrels lit up, firing off an unrelenting volley of particles that ripped clear through the Eagle's shield, tearing it's right wing off and shorting out the engine.

Kyra hit the thruster again, closing distance on her crippled prey that was now tumbling through space without control. "Come on you bastard, eject before you smash into one of these rocks!" she yelled. The mark, "Isaac" something or other, was either unconcious or had a death wish, his ship continued to barrel through the field, bouncing off every chunk of ice it hit. Kyra grumbled, locked onto the Eagle, and fired a Sidewinder Missile... bingo, the pilot ejected from the eagle just before the projectile hit his ship and blew it to peices. Apparently dying by missile is scarier than colliding with an asteroid, but a little intimidation goes a long way.

Kyra swooped her Manta in, opening up the cargo bay doors and swallowing the escape pod whole. "Matt, you done with that one yet?" She asked over comms, turning back around to her wingman's sensor signature. She received no reply, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw Matt's Sea Serpent imbedded into the face of a large Ice asteroid. No escape pod showed up on scanners, only the remains of the Startracker he had been engaged with, damage scans revealed it had taken a hit from a mine.

She whispered into her headset, "Matt..." There was still no reply. She searched for the Serpent's blackbox on scanners and uploaded it's data records before engaging cruise and heading back to base. The Manta's computerized voice spoke up once more, "Sierra 1-2 flight records show that a shockwave from a mine explosion disabled manuvering thrusters and propelled the craft into a solar object. Transmitting flight records to Guild Chapter, Sheffield Station."

Kyra sighed and switched on autopilot as she sat back in her seat. Matt was the fourth wingman she had lost in the past six months... most people just werent cut out for this line of work. She had learned not to grow attached, not to form relationships... but even that detachment could not make one feel any worse losing a friend you had flown with for weeks on end...

Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Tenacity - 04-04-2009

... Back at Sheffield Station ...

Kyra's Manta groaned to a halt as she shut the engine down after hooking up with the grappling arm in the Sheffield docking bay. The cockpit lifted upward on hydraulic pistons, and she swung around out of the seat to climb down the ladder that had been moved up aside the ship. Several armed guards trotted into the hangar and trained guns on the front of the Manta as it's cargo bay opened and Isaac's escape pod tumbled out onto the floor.

Kyra kneeled down next to the pod and drew her pistol before slapping the hatch release, causing it to split apart. Isaac fell out of the pod and without a moment's hesitation tried to tackle Kyra, lunging forward with all his weight. Kyra deftly leaned sideways, causing Isaac to stumble across the hangar bay as he was thrown off balance by his own attack. She trained the pistol on him, "Tsk Tsk, you shouldnt throw all your weight into an attack, leaves you vulnerable to falling on your ass. Now, bounty aside, give me one reason I shouldnt shoot you for killing my partner out there?"

Isaac stood up, brushing himself off and maintaining an aggressive stance, despite the four guards and Kyra all having weapons pointed at him. He spit on the floor, "I hope he suffered, dont forget you killed two of my men, wench!"

Kyra grinned, "Lucky me, the bounty still pays in full even if you're injured..." She pointed the pistol at his foot and pulled the trigger, sending a bolt of plasma clean through it. Isaac screamed in pain and fell over packwards, grabbing at the smoldering wound in his foot. Kyra turned to the guards, "Bag him boys, let's see how long he lasts in Newgate with a gimpy leg."

She turned away from Isaac and let the grin drop from her face as she walked away. Matt was the seventh wingman she had lost this year, enough was enough. None of these recruits could handle themselves in combat, and she couldnt look after them well enough to keep them alive. It was time to fly solo, and despite the danger it was a risk she was willing to take to avoid the pain of losing more friends in the field.

Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Tenacity - 04-04-2009

... Recreation Lounge, Sheffield Station ...

Kyra sat alone at a table in the Sheffield bar, staring out into space as she slammed back another drink. The aptly named 'engine degreaser' seared her throat clear down to her stomach, but the pain was quickly set aside by numbness from the alchohol.

She caught a figure out of the corner of her eye as it came up to the table and pulled up a seat beside her. She turned to look at the intruder, it was director Dawson, the 'man-in-charge' of Sheffield's current bounty operations. Kyra tried to shake off the haze of drunkenness and appear a bit more formal, but was hardly successful, she spoke in a slur, "Graves, sir... sorry I lost another one of your pilots..."

Dawson patted her on the shoulder, "Kyra, you're a good hunter, it isnt your fault the rookies cant keep up. This isnt a job for the weak of heart or mind, and it only shows how strong you are for staying alive this long."

Kyra tried to force a smile, "Still doesnt make it feel any better when I get someone else killed, sir... I'm tired of losing wingmen and friends."

Dawson sighed, "So, you want to fly alone?" Kyra nodded silently, "Alright Kyra... I'd hate for you to wind up dead just because you find yourself outnumbered, but it's your decision. Here, your payment for the bounty on Isaac, two hundred thousand as we agreed." He handed a thin electronic chip, glowing blue and silver, to Kyra; a standard Sirius credit card.

Kyra took the card and pocketed it, then tried to stand up, barely catching herself on the table as she almost fell from wobbly, drunken legs. Dawson stood and steadied her, "Bit much to drink?" He chuckled, "Kyra, it looks like you could use a vacation... and I've got the perfect thing in mind."

She steadied herself and looked at Dawson questioningly, "Sir?"

Dawson pulled a datapad from his suit pocket and handed it to her, "Kusari... best place in Sirius to take a break and live in relative luxury. There's a bounty that needs taking up at Deshima station in Shikoku right now, a mark that's gotten almost a dozen other hunters put out of action. I think you're the one for the job, and while you're up there you can relax a bit. Your Manta will be prepped tomorrow morning, get some rest and study the job. We're gonna miss you around here Kyra, make sure you visit once in a while after striking it rich up there."

Dawson left the bar, and Kyra looked down at the datapad for a moment, curious as to the details of the bounty set before her. "A vacation sure would be nice..." she mumbled to herself as she stumbled out of the bar and headed up to her quarters.

Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Tenacity - 04-13-2009

CHAPTER 2

... Deshima Station, Shikoku System ...

Kyra climbed out of her Manta into the Deshima docking bay. The trip to Kusari had taken two days, with a stop in Colorado to rest and refuel. Dockworkers rushed into the bay and began hooking up fueling hoses and repairing scratches in the Manta's hull as Kyra left towards the Deshima lounge.

Walking through the corridors of the station, she gazed out intermittent windows at the clouds and nebulas of Kusari. This was the first time she had been past the Kepler system, culture here was strange but oddly romantic. Native kusari bounty hunters bowed at one another in the hallways of the station as they passed, yet they all looked at Kyra with a slight taint of disdain, and she heard the term "Gaijin" whispered her direction quite often... she didnt know what it meant, but it certainly did not sound friendly.

In fact, other than the beauty of the Shikoku system, Kyra had experienced nothing but aggression towards here from the locals. The police patrols she passed after jumping into the system were on the verge of being all out hostile, and she got the distinct feeling that one slip up here would have the entire station rioting against her.

The bulkhead door swished open as Kyra entered the station lounge. Dozens of bounty hunters, corporation officials, civilians, and police pilots were scattered around the bar, each forming into their own cliques and throwing defensive gazes at the others. She spotted a more friendly face behind the bar... bartenders were friends to anyone with enough money to buy drinks.

Kyra approached the bar and the man behind nodded at her in acknowledgement, "What can I get fer ya ma'am?" He asked in a decidedly Libertonian accent.

She smiled and slipped a few credits across the bar, "Cretan Rum, and a bit of information..."

The bartender turned and pulled an aged bottle off the shelves, "Havent had anyone ask for this in months, dont get too many..." he lowered his voice a bit, "corsairs... around here." He finished filling a mug and handed it to her.

Kyra chuckled slightly, "Dont worry, I'm no corsair, just a hunter of hispania descent. Now... I'm looking for leads on where I can find a certain 'Hiro Kitamura', any ideas?"

The bartender's expression immediately turned serious, "That's a dangerous man you're after, the guild has lost a lot of pilots trying to bring him down." He pulled a datapad out from under the bar counter and handed it to Kyra, "Everything you need to know is there, dont let anyone know you're after Hiro, he has eyes and ears all over kusari. Enjoy your drink, ma'am, my shift is over."

The bartender left and was replaced by another as Kyra turned away and headed back to her ship, reading the datapad as she made her way down the corridors to the docking bay.

<<<Guild Database>>>
...Accessing criminal profile: Hiro Kitamura...
_One Entry Found: pilot debriefing #036, 816 A.S._
"I'm quitting this hunt, the guild wants me to go after someone impossible to catch, screw the pay. I'm leaving this data entry behind for anyone that wants to take up where I left off."
"Hiro is a monster, he's a crimelord among the Hogosha Crime Syndicate; but where most of them have some inkling of honor, Hiro lacks any sign of morality. He primarily deals in slave trade, most of his victims are Golden Chrysanthemums captured in battle, or Kusari youths snagged off the streets of New Tokyo. He gets them addicted to cardamine, loads them up with so much of it they dont know who they are, and then deprives them of the drug for weeks on end until the only thing they can feel is pain from the withdrawals. He sells the slaves as sex objects to other hogosha, the farmer's alliance, sometimes even Kusari government officials."
"Worse yet, many of these girls arent even proper age for how they're being used, they're just kids for god's sake! Any of them he cant break and enslave, he butchers and feeds to the others. I've caught dozens of criminals in my time as a hunter but this man is beyond mad, he's a sadistic psychopath."
"If you're going to hunt him, be warned, he has agents all over kusari, even within the bounty hunter's guild itself. The only way I found to get to him was through his right-hand man, I dont know his real name but he goes by the callsign Nikuya, I think it means butcher..."
"You can find Nikuya on Luxury Liner Hawaii, I think it's in the Sigma 19 system. He sells some of Hiro's slave girls to the Corsairs and into Rheinland from a suite on the liner."
<<<End of Entry>>>

Kyra was shocked at the entry, at what this pig of a man had done to otherwise innocent girls... sure, the chrysanthemums were criminals too, but they were at least fighting for a legitimate cause. She could feel her blood boiling in anger at the thought of this "Hiro" grabbing women off the streets and selling them into slavery.

"Time to pay this 'Nikuya' a visit..." she growled under her breath as she climbed into the cockpit of the manta. She was not going to waste any time resting aboard Deshima, lest her only lead get away before she could find him.

Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Tenacity - 04-13-2009

... Luxury Liner Hawaii, Sigma 19 System ...

Kyra flipped a switch on her flight panel as she closed in on the Hawaii, slowly orbiting some immense gas giant she'd never heard of. "Liner Hawaii, this is Bounty Hunters Sierra one dash one, requesting permission to dock"

After a short pause and some static, a reply came through, "Roger that Sierra one dash one, you're cleared to land. Proceed to dock two."

Kyra flew in underneath the liner as two massive doors on it's underside opened up, revealing the docking bay. She pulled up, lifting her Manta into the bay and strafing to the right until the docking arms grabbed her ship and pulled her into the cove of dock 2.

A smaller, internal airlock door closed, sealing off bay 2 and allowing atmosphere to rush in from the vents. As Kyra climbed out of the cockpit, she was greeted by four men in Orbital Spa and Cruise uniform, three of them training sidearms on her.

The unarmed man spoke first, "What's your business here, hunter? We dont want anyone causing trouble on our ship."

Apparently, bounty hunters werent welcome here. Kyra got the feeling there were a lot of illicit dealings onboard the Hawaii... "I dont mean to cause trouble, sir, just resting for the night before I make the last leg of my trip into the Omicrons."

The men holstered their weapons and the leader spoke again, "Very well, you'll be assigned a suite on the upper level, I hope you can afford first class, we dont have anything else to accomodate you at the moment. Otherwise you can sleep here in the docking bay."

Kyra smiled, she had just gotten paid only a few days ago for her bounty on Cristemas. "Dont worry, I can afford it."

The man nodded and pointed to one of his armed henchmen, "Merrick here will take you to your quarters." The other three left while 'Merrick' stayed behind to help Kyra with her luggage.

She pulled a pack out of the back of the Manta's cockpit, and as she climbed back down the ladder Merrick stopped her, "Ma'am, I'm sorry but there are strict regulations against passengers carrying firearms onboard," He eyed the pistol holstered on her belt, "I'm going to have to ask that you leave your weapon here."

Kyra nodded and tossed her gun into the Manta's cockpit before following Merrick to her room.

Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Tenacity - 04-13-2009

... Luxury Liner Hawaii, Sigma 19 System ...

Luxurious was less than suitable when describing the first class rooms aboard the Hawaii. They had everything... a personal spa, a bed that could sleep a dozen people comfortably, a huge window giving view of the gas giant... Kyra even had her own wait staff to attend to her every need. Sure, the room had cost her almost the entire payment from her bounty on Cristemas for just a night's stay, but it was well worth it.

Kyra relaxed, laying face first on a silk covered table as a young Kusari girl by the name of Mia gave her a massage. The normal rumbling of ship engines was completely nullified by the sound barriers OSC had set up onboard the Hawaii, other than the sound of relaxing Kusari music playing from a speaker in the corner, there was complete silence.

She sighed in content as Mia worked the stress out of her shoulders and back, the young girl knew her trade well. However, Kyra had a job to do, and all this relaxing was getting in the way.

"So, Mia, are there any reputable people onboard? This is my first time on a luxury liner." Kyra asked.

Mia continued working, but replied in a quiet voice, "Many people, Ma'am. There is an ambassador from the Benitez Corsair family, officials of the Gas Miner's Guild, a Rheinland Military officer on leave, and the usual Hogosha traders."

When she mentioned the Hogosha, Mia's voice shook a bit. Kyra pressed the matter, "Hogosha? I've never met one... do you know any of their names? Perhaps I could talk to them later..."

Mia stopped her massage for a moment, obviously nervous, "N...Nikuya-San... he is their leader here" She went back to work, "but you dont want to meet him, ma'am, he probably wont have time for you anyhow..."

"Well, everyone listens to money, I'm sure I could buy a few minutes of his time. What room is he in?" Kyra said before letting out another sigh of content.

"He is three rooms up the hall, Suite 19, but there are always guards there, they threaten to shoot anyone who comes close to the door." Mia stuttered.

Kyra thought for a moment, "When I came here, the OSC guards told me not to start trouble, why do they let these guards threaten people onboard the ship?"

Mia sighed, "I do not know, ma'am, maybe they are afraid of dealing with the Hogosha, they're very dangerous. I had to give Nikuya-San a massage once, and he tried to rape me, but the captain would not do anything about it after I told him. I stay away from that room now..."

Kyra felt her blood boiling again, "That's enough for now, Mia, thank you for the massage. I think I will go pay Mr. Nikuya a visit."

Mia nodded nervously and packed up her things, leaving Kyra alone in the suite. Kyra walked over to her bed and opened her bag, drawing out a large, stone knife. The knife was made of a dense stone found on Crete, it was her father's, and his father's, passed down through the Leon family for generations. It was the only weapon that she had been able to get through the liner's security scanners, but it would be more than suitable for dealing with Nikuya...

Thrill of the Hunt - Rated 'R' - Tenacity - 04-13-2009

... Luxury Liner Hawaii, Sigma 19 System ...

Kyra approached the two door guards to Suite 19, with her knife strapped to her back underneath her jacket to keep it concealed. The guards raised their guns, "What's your business here?"

Kyra masked her hatred for these men, and kept expressionless, it was vital that they not realize she was here to start a fight. She addressed them in a confident tone, "Dont you fools recognize a Corsair when you see one? I'm here on behalf of Anciano Vasquez, more slaves are needed at Tripoli, now get out of my way, my business is with Nikuya, not his thugs!"

The two men looked at each other nervously, unsure if they should let this stranger pass. After a moment they stepped aside and opened the door, "Watch yourself, corsair, Nikuya-San is not having a good day."

Kyra growled slightly as she passed the two guards and the door closed behind her. What she saw inside the room nearly made her sick... there were blood stains spattered across the walls, a pile of artifacts lay in one corner of the room and a pile of dead bodies in the other, the stench was unbearable. She could hear screaming coming from the back room, and she rushed towards it.

As the door to the rear of the suite opened, Kyra saw Nikuya's fat, hairy, sweaty back, with two tiny legs sticking out from the side. The man quickly turned from the slave girl he was raping towards Kyra, "What the hell are you doing in here, Gaijin!" Kyra reached back and pulled the knife from her jacket, gazing at the girl that he had been raping... she only looked thirteen or fourteen at most. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a half dozen other slave girls chained to the wall, whimpering in fear.

Kyra spun the stone knife in her hand, it was perfectly balanced. Nikuya's face was contorted with rage, "You bitch! Cant you see I'm busy here? Get the hell out before I have you slaughtered!"

Kyra walked forward with a stone cold expression on her face. As she approached, Nikuya tried to back up, his rage suddenly turning to fear as he realized she was wielding a knife and he was naked an unarmed. Kyra brought her foot up and planted it in Nikuya's face, breaking his nose in a sickening crunch. She drew back and swung another kick at his groin, sending the man doubling over in pain.

She grabbed Nikuya's greasy, unkempt hair and jerked his head backwards as she knelt behind him, bringing the stone blade to his throat, "Nikuya, you're going to tell me exactly where I can find Hiro Kitamura, or I'm going to splay your throat open and let these girls beat the last breath out of you."

Nikuya looked up at her and tried to spit in her face, "You dont scare me, whore! You're just like them, weak! Even if you do kill me, Hiro will hunt you down and gut you like a fish!"

Kyra paused for a moment, then moved the blade from Nikuya's throat down to his groin, pressing the blade against his manhood just hard enough to draw blood. "Perhaps I'll let you live as a eunich, then?"

Fear filled Nikuya's eyes as he tried to squirm away from the knife, "Alright! Alright! I'll tell you where Hiro is!" Kyra pressed the blade harder, cutting deeper into the man's groin, "Speak up then you filthy pig!"

Nikuya screamed in pain, "Honshu! He's on planet Honshu! At the black market there! He's going to be there for another week, picking out more girls from the school near the starport!"

Kyra jerked his head back further, "You squeal like a pig too... you dont deserve to live after what you've done to these girls." She flicked her wrist, pulling the sharp knife blade clean through Nikuya's groin and sending it tumbling to the floor as he screamed again. He was spilling blood across the floor, and Kyra estimated he would only live for another minute or two.

She turned to the girls in the corner and unhooked their shackles, "Come on, I'm getting you out of here." It took a minute for them to even move, they were paralyzed in fear from what Nikuya had done to them, but after a moment they stood and followed.

Kyra walked back into the main room with the seven girls in tow. The door opened and the two guards looked back at her questioningly, "Bought all seven of the whores, did you? I didnt expect Nikuya-San to give them all up..."

Kyra swung her right arm out, backhanding one of the guards in the face before pulling the knife across his throat. She spun around and moved the suffocating man in front of her as the other guard opened fire, using him as a shield as the Hogosha unloaded a full magazine of ammunition into his partner's chest. When his weapon clicked as it ran out of ammo, Kyra flikked the knife up and threw it at him, lodging the blade in his chest.

She pulled the two guards into the room and locked the door behind her before leading the slave girls back to her Suite. She pressed a button on the control panel by the door to request room service, and a staticy voice greeted her, "Room service, what can we get you Ms. Leon?"

Kyra took a few deep breaths to calm herself and settle down the adrenaline pumping through her veins, "Please send Mia, the massage girl, to my room." There was static for another moment before the voice returned, "Certainly, Mia will be on her way."