The Hunter's Serenade

The sound of rapid footsteps echoed in Serina's ears as she sprinted down a catwalk just outside a massive towering space elevator on the planet Tribute—a Coalition colony nestled in the frontier territories.

Serina tried to maintain her focus on the catwalk, deliberately averting her gaze from the steep drop-off to her left. "Don't look down, don't look down," she anxiously repeated to herself. The catwalk hung high above the clouds, and the wind, brisk and forceful, tugged at her form.

Feeling a sudden, powerful gust of wind rattle the catwalk beneath her feet, she abruptly halted, gripping the rails tightly. "Augh! Dammit! Holy shit! Please don't fall, please don't fall," she cursed. Glancing below, her amber eyes widened beneath the visor of her helmet as she observed the sea of puffy clouds and the deep blue ocean far beneath her.

Tilting her head back and closing her eyes, Serina acknowledged that it wasn't a fear of heights per se. Yet, being several thousand feet above the ground on what felt like a somewhat precarious metal walkway naturally induced a significant amount of uneasiness.

"Kira, how much further until I reach the emergency hatch? I don't want to be on this goddamn catwalk any longer!" Serina urgently exclaimed to her AI companion.

"You're almost there, Serina. Just a few more hundred feet,"

Kira answered. Letting out a frustrated snarl, Serina took a deep breath and began to run again.

As she sprinted, she received a transmission from Sev.

"Serina, I'm currently facing more resistance than I anticipated,"

he said, the sound of weapon fire audible in the background.

"It's up to you to get Jax. He's making a break for the idle tether climber. Hurry up and get on it before he escapes."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there. I'm just about to reach the emergency hatch. I should be on his tail in a few moments," Serina replied, her breath heavy from the exertion. "So, do you still want this guy dead or alive?"

There were a few moments of silence from Sev. Serina heard his railgun firing a few times over the comms before he finally answered,

"Honestly, I don't even care anymore. This guy has been a pain. If you can get him alive, great. If you decide to flatline him, better. It's all the same to me."

His voice carried a palpable undercurrent of frustration.

"Understood. I'll get it done," Serina assured.

"Alright, good luck. I'll catch up to you when I can,"

Sev replied, cutting off his transmission.

Reaching the emergency hatch, Serina grabbed the latch and turned it. Tugging the heavy door open, she was immediately met with a couple of laser bolts whizzing past her. She quickly took cover around the corner of the emergency hatch.

"Just give it up! Let me walk out here, and we can all just forget what happened!" Jax, the fugitive Sev and Serina were hunting, demanded. However, his voice trembled with uneasiness.

"You're in no position to be making demands! You should have come quietly when you had the chance!" Serina shouted, unsheathing one of her kunai from a belt on her leg. Cocking her submachine gun, she carefully inched closer to the corner.

When she attempted to peek around, though, she was met by another barrage of laser bolts that came flying at her. Quickly pulling her head back, Serina shook it and removed a flashbang from the utility belt around her waist. "This is your last chance, bud. Put your damn weapon down so I can take you in alive, or else," she yelled, giving one last warning.

"Screw you! You Valkorian pieces of shit can go to hell!" Jax hissed. Serina chuckled a bit under her helmet. There was no holding back now. Activating her flashbang, she quickly tossed it around the corner, creating a loud bang. "Gah! Dammit!" Jax roared in anguish.

Taking her chance, Serina turned the corner and threw her kunai with speed and precision: it hit its mark perfectly, burying itself in one of the buff red alien's legs. He wailed in pain, grabbing at the injured leg. Still blinded, he managed to fire a few more shots from his rifle, forcing Serina to duck and move back into cover.

As she prepared to fire back, she snarled in annoyance at seeing Jax now stumbling up a set of metal stairs that zig-zagged up and down the inside of the space elevator.

Making haste, she chased after him, tracking the trail of his blue blood littering the stairs. Despite his injured state, he moved surprisingly fast. Catching up to him just above her, she fired her SMG at the flight of stairs. The loud crackling of her weapon and of the cascade of bullet casings rang through the interior of the space elevator.

Jax roared in pain once more. Though most of her bullets had hit the railing, she had managed to tag him on an arm. "AUGH! You bitch! Why won't you give up already?!" he snarled in annoyance. He fired a few shots back at her but, given his impaired state, he missed horribly.

The two continued to trade shots as the chase intensified. Serina grew increasingly frustrated at the fugitive's persistence. Despite the kunai lodged firmly in his leg, Jax pressed on, trudging upward.

"Serina, he's about to make it to the tether climber. You might want to catch up to him before he locks you out and escapes!"

Kira exclaimed.

"I got it, Kira. You don't need to remind me," Serina replied, sounding a bit irritated. She knew the AI was right and, at this rate, she wasn't going to catch up. Thinking quickly, Serina engaged the grapple hook stowed in the gauntlet on her right wrist and hopped onto the railing.

Glancing momentarily down, her eyes widened at the abyss of winding stairs below her. Shaking her head back into focus, she fired her grapple upward. Feeling it latch onto the railing above, she quickly reeled herself up to it.

Having reached the level Jax was on, Serina swiftly vaulted over the railing to see Jax just about to enter the tether climber. She bolted straight for him, unsheathing three more kunai. As Jax stumbled toward the controls, his four eyes widened at the sight of the Valkorian woman clad in intimidating black and gold armor sprinting toward him. He slammed the button to close the doors, but it was too late. Serina slipped through just as the metal doors slid shut.

"Gah!" Jax whimpered in fear.

"I guess you're trapped here with me now," Serina quipped. As she aimed her weapon at him, ready to pull the trigger, he let out a devious grin.

"Hah! Better hold on tight then!" he shouted. Confused, Serina tilted her head. Instantly realizing he was gripping the console tightly, however, her eyes widened. Jax then slammed a button, and the tether climber went into free fall.

"Augh! Shit!" Serina cursed as she felt her body momentarily lift off the ground. Seizing the opportunity, Jax fired at her, managing to hit her a few times. Fortunately, her Hyperium armor absorbed the laser bolts.

"Augh! Son of a bitch!" Serina winced. Although her armor diffused the shots, she still felt their impact. Taking aim again, she was ready to fire but Jax pressed another button, causing the tether climber to halt suddenly. Serina's body slammed against the ground and she groaned in pain.

As Serina tried to rise to her feet, Kira suddenly chimed in.

"Sev wants to know how things are going."

Serina snarled in annoyance.

"Not the best time, Kira!" she hissed. As she again took aim, Jax returned the tether climber to free-fall mode. Serina was getting extremely irritated at being flung around inside the climber's cab. The constant motion was making her queasy.

Taking a kunai, she flung it at the console. "Augh!" Jax roared as the console sparked and malfunctioned, halting the climber again. Serina slammed against the ground once more. Wincing, she quickly got up and threw her remaining kunai at each of Jax's arms. With surgical precision, she severed major tendons in his arms, causing them to go limp.

Shaking her helmeted head, Serina let out a sigh of relief, seeing that her target was effectively disabled. As she slowly strode toward Jax, the musclebound alien began to beg.

"Wait, wait! Hold on now! I think we can work something out! I have credits! Spice! Anything! Please! Spare my life!"

"Shut it," Serina scoffed. Unsheathing another kunai, she flung it into his other leg, causing him to fall to the ground in agony. Planting her booted foot on his chest, she pressed down hard, causing him to wheeze in pain. Bending down, she grabbed the collar of his coat and hit his face with the back of her gun. He winced and groaned as blue blood poured from his nose.

Serina then prodded the barrel of her weapon against his lips. "Open your mouth," she ordered. He only groaned and whined. "Open your fucking mouth, or so help me God," she reiterated. He whimpered in fear and did as he was told. He gagged as he felt the hot metal barrel stuffed down his mouth.

"Look at me," she sternly commanded. Jax's four eyes watered as he stared at her ominous golden visor. He groaned as if he was trying to say something. "As much as I would love to kill you right now, today is your lucky day. You are wanted alive. So be a good boy and don't cause me any more trouble," Serina said in a threatening voice. He rapidly nodded.

Removing her gun from his mouth, Serina lifted her foot from his chest. Jax sighed weakly in relief as he lay limp on the floor. Heading over to the console, Serina pressed a few buttons to see if she could get the climber to work but, to her dismay, the console was completely fried.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, she dislodged her kunai from the console and returned it to its sheath strapped on her leg.

"Serina, status,"

Sev spoke over their comms.

"Hey, I managed to catch Jax," she replied, as she kept fiddling with the controls.

"Good. Dead or alive?"

he inquired. Serina turned her head around to check their fugitive, still lying on the floor, groaning and wincing in pain.

"Alive... But does it matter if he's in one piece?" she cautiously said. Serina heard Sev chuckle quietly.

"No, just as long as he's breathing,"

he assured her. Serina nodded.

"Um, could you send Kira back my way? I might need her help to get this tether climber back down. I may have... broken something..." Serina asked uneasily.

"Hm, got it,"

Sev obliged. An uplink quickly appeared on the HUD display on Serina's visor, and Kira began to speak.

"What do you need help with?"

Kira inquired.

"I might have fried the console... Can you help me figure out how to get this thing down?" Serina answered, fruitlessly flipping a few switches.

"Of course, let me link into the climber's system,"

Kira dutifully replied. While she was linking into the controls, Serina turned her attention to Jax lying on the floor.

"You still alive?" she called out to him. Jax just groaned quietly in response.

Leaning over the console, Serina observed her captive closely as Kira worked her magic. Curious about Sev's whereabouts, she asked Kira about his well-being.

"Kira, how is Sev doing? Is he alright?" Serina inquired with concern in her voice.

"Hm, he's currently dealing with a few stragglers in the docking bay below. But he's fine. I mean, he's always fine. Shouldn't you know that better than anyone?"

Kira hummed as she accessed the tether climber's systems.

Serina rolled her amber eyes under her helmet. "Of course, but it doesn't hurt to ask. You know..." she replied. Kira let out a mischievous giggle. Serina tilted her head in curiosity. "What's so funny?" Serina questioned.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just think it's cute how caring you are for Sev,"

Kira retorted. Serina blushed.

"Augh, shut it!" Serina hissed. "Why wouldn't I care about him? I'm his first wife for Pete's sake. I'm not a lifeless artificial intelligence like you!" Her words were sharp, causing the usually jovial AI to go silent for a few moments.

"That wasn't very nice, Serina,"

Kira quietly replied, sadness evident in her artificial voice. Realizing how uncharitably she had sounded, Serina felt a twinge of guilt about her comments.

"I've been with Sev since long before he met you. Ever since my activation, I've been his sidekick and trusty companion, helping him navigate through thick and thin. I care about him just as much as you do, maybe even more!"

Kira snapped back, a mixture of jealousy and pent-up anger evident in her voice.

Serina's words caught in her throat as she was taken aback by Kira's uncharacteristic outburst. It seemed as if Kira had been holding back these sentiments for a long time.

"You know what else? We were doing just fine before you ever showed up! It was just me and him. Sev never needed anyone but me! Ugh, why, why did you have to appear out of nowhere and cast your evil spell on him?"

the AI vented, her jealousy and anger growing more apparent with every word she uttered.

Recognizing that she had shared too much, Kira fell abruptly silent. Serina fell silent as well while she attempted to process this revelation. She had certainly been well aware of the bond between Sev and Kira, but the depth of emotion revealed by Kira's outburst hinted at something more profound. Serina found herself contemplating the AI's behavior. Even in light of the complexity of an AI's emotion matrix, Kira was undeniably a peculiar anomaly.

"I'm sorry, Kira... I didn't mean what I said... I understand that you care about Sev as much as I do. What I said was ignorant," Serina apologized, her tone conveying deep sincerity.

Kira remained silent for a few moments before responding,

"No... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's not your fault. It's just that Sev and I have been together for so long... I guess I'm still getting used to the change of having you around more often."

Serina smiled at their heartfelt moment. The two usually had this strange, tense relationship. They didn't hate each other, but they didn't like each other a whole lot either. They were more like work acquaintances. However, this was certainly a positive step forward in their bond.

"I understand how much you mean to Sev. I should thank you because he has never been happier. Well, it's hard to tell that he is, given his usual stoic self. But he's happy; I can feel it,"

Kira continued. Serina could sense that it hurt Kira to admit that. Still, she chuckled at their shared understanding of Sev's stoic nature.

"Hm, thanks, Kira. That means a lot coming from you. I'm glad to have your stamp of approval," Serina said with a light-hearted tone.

"Hm, you're welcome,"

Kira warmly replied. Then, as if on cue, the tether climber began to descend.

As the climber reached the bottom of the towering space elevator, she emerged from the doors, slowly dragging Jax's heavy body. As she got a better view of the docking bay, her eyes widened to see that the place looked like the aftermath of a warzone. Laser burn marks and bullet holes littered almost every surrounding crate and piece of equipment. The number of bodies of Jax's crewmates scattered about was almost horrifying.

In the midst of the tumult, Serina witnessed her lover and partner, Sev, leisurely approaching one of Jax's underlings, who was desperately crawling away. Sev, with a nonchalant demeanor, brandished his unmistakable railgun, directing it at the alien's head. The barrel emitted a blue glow as it powered up for a shot. The ensuing trigger pull resulted in a resounding, thunderous clap. The noise reverberated throughout the entire docking area, an aural accompaniment to the dispersal of the unfortunate individual's head, which had been annihilated into a myriad of fragments.

As Sev turned toward her, Serina involuntarily flinched; she inadvertently dropped Jax to the ground, eliciting a groan from the injured fugitive. Sev's gold visored helmet projected a menacing presence. Even those his eyes were invisible, that menace seemed to penetrate into her very being. For a brief moment, she almost forgot they were together. The imposing aura he exuded almost triggered her to instinctively draw her weapon to meet the threat. It was a sensation she could never truly get accustomed to. Despite knowing that Sev would give his life to protect her, there was just something about him that instilled a sense of fear within her.

As he approached her, Sev placed a hand on her shoulder and affectionately rested the forehead of his helmet against hers. Serina hummed happily, reveling in the presence of her Valkorian lover. After their brief shared moment, Sev tilted his head far enough that he could see past her to where their recaptured quarry lay, quietly wheezing in pain.

Walking over to Jax, he kneeled down beside him and just stared at the crippled alien. "Gah, heh, your reputation precedes you... But please, Sev. We can work something out. Augh!" Jax attempted to speak, but the pain from Sev twisting the kunai lodged in his leg caused him to groan in agony. "ARGH! You son of a bitch!" Jax cursed.

Sev maintained a stoic silence as he tormented his captive. "I'd watch your tongue, bug..." he threatened in a low voice. "Your sole obligation is to lie here and refrain from causing me any further issues. Count yourself fortunate that your head holds greater value intact, or I would already have it mounted on a pike," Sev declared in a cold and detached tone. Jax nodded out of absolute terror as the black and gold armored bounty hunter slowly stood back up.

Grabbing Jax's collar, he began to drag him with relative ease. "Come on, Serina. Let's turn this guy over and be done with it," Sev commanded, a frustrated tone in his voice. Nodding, Serina followed him out of the space elevator.

As they strolled past the expansive entrance to the space elevator, several Coalition dropships landed in front of them. As the platforms descended, organized groups of soldiers streamed out, swiftly moving past them to secure the space elevator.

Among those emerging from one of the ships were a female officer and a pair of soldiers. This trio approached the two bounty hunters. "Ah, you must be Sev," the woman surmised in greeting. Turning to Serina, she added, "And you, I presume, are Serina." The two Valkorians in matching black and gold armor simply nodded.

Glancing beyond them, the woman noticed Jax lying on the ground. "Hm, well done. We can take this pirate scum off your hands." Snapping her fingers, the two soldiers behind her marched over to the captive and dragged him toward one of the dropships.

"Were there any other survivors?" the officer inquired. Sev shook his head in response.

"No, there were no survivors," Serina chimed in, offering the information for Sev after witnessing his thorough work.

"Hm, commendable work. You'll find the credits wired to your accounts, and the bonus for bringing him in alive will follow," the woman expressed in a satisfied tone. "You've rendered a great service to the Coalition today. We trust you'll consider continuing to take contracts with us in the foreseeable future." With that, the officer walked on past the two into the space elevator.

Strolling back to their ship, Serina's eyes were caught be the pauldron that armored Sev's right upper arm, noticing lingering burn marks from laser shots. She delicately brushed away the smoking remnants. "You had quite the task on your hands. I didn't anticipate there would be so many," Serina remarked, her gloved hand working to scrub away the scorch marks.

"Yeah, it was a bit ...rougher than I expected, but the payoff is worth it. We should consider taking more of these Coalition contracts," he remarked, satisfaction evident in his voice. Serina tilted her head. While she relished the thrill of combat, this had felt more like a military operation than the execution of a bounty contract, and it had turned out to be a bit too demanding for her taste.