Slingers (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 1)

Chapter 2

Nolun drove the transport up to the outskirts of Miranda City, and didn't breathe out a sigh of relief until he had finally entered the city limits. He could barely believe he had made it out of the caves alive, much less find the actual thing he had been looking for. He looked around and saw a tavern up ahead, the flickering neon sign reading "The Iron Bull". That looked as good of a place as any to take a rest, and hopefully find a way to secure a ship ride off this planet. He pulled the transport up ahead to the side of the building and stepped out. He saw a flash of clean white against the dingy and dirty brown and grey. His heart skipped a beat. Up ahead of him were two GDF soldiers, their gleaming armour standing out in the crowd. They had their black and white assault rifles cradled in their arms, and their mirrored black visors were scanning the crowd. Nolun cursed inside his head. Of course, this had to be the day that the GDF decided to send their away team to scout the planet before they established their rule over it. Calm down, Nolun thought to himself. As long as you don't draw attention to yourself, you'll be fine. Nolun slung his bag containing the piece around his shoulders, and walked very slowly into the bar, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

As soon as Nolun stepped inside, the musty smell of chemo-drink and human musk hit his face like a tidal wave. There was the usual collection of characters inside and seated. Humans, a few Resistance fighters, gang members, mutants, (the people who had been changed by the new radiation given off by the technology that they had most likely been building for the GDF) and the occasional cyborg. In this case, a burly-looking man with a mechanical arm seated at the bar. Cyborgs had become more and more common as the years progressed, with the advancements in cybernetic technology making robotic enhancements more of a necessity than a pipe dream. Although some did it for the look and intimidation value, it was more intended as a process to better the lives of those who used it. But that didn't stop people from using it as a rite of passage. Most gangs require you to have at least one cybernetic enhancement to join. Nolun made a mental note to stay clear of the one from the bar. Borgs had a history of going berserk due to defects in their neural processors.

Nolun sat down at a table and selected the usual drinks from the touchscreen menu. Almost immediately, a service bot rushed over to the table on it's one wheel with Nolun's prepared drink. Nolun took a swig of his Sylarius Screwdriver, the green liquid hitting his throat, making him cringe at first, but left him with a good enough buzz to relax. He just needed to find a way off the planet without alerting the soldiers from the GDF. He was just about to ask where the nearest spaceport was, before a hand reached down and gripped his shoulder tightly. Nolun turned around, and his heart dropped. The man looking at him was a member of Torucco's crew. His right-hand man, Kuopo. "Hey Nolun. Didn't expect you back so soon." Nolun looked at the other men behind him, who certainly didn't look happy. "Kuopo! Hey man, how's it going! I was just about to head over to you guy's place-" Kuopo tightened his grip and stared him straight in the eyes. "Where's Torucco?" Nolun stared back and shrugged. "Y'know, he wished he could have been here, but he said he had some important business to take care of back at the spaceport, but he told me to tell you that you guys are doing a hell of a job." He smiled his trademark grin. "Now, if you'll excuse me-" Nolun started to get up, but Kuopo pushed him back down in his seat. "What about the treasure, Metreo?" "Oh the treasure! Sorry, didn't find anything there. Must have been a dud. Sorry about that." One of Kuopo's men started to look through Nolun's bag. "Hey! That's my stuff!" Kuopo pointed his pistol at Nolun's head. "Boss, look!" The man who had been looking through Nolun's bag gasped when he pulled out the golden sphere. Kuopo's eyes widened. "That's a Dorado Piece!" Kuopo's voice echoed through the tavern, causing the room to fall dead silent, and everyone to turn to the table. The eyes of everyone inside fell on the glowing golden sphere. Nolun fingered his repeater under the table. He had enough bullets to take out Kuopo and the men around him, but the people at the bar were going to be trouble and- "Step away from him."

Nolun's train of thought was interrupted by a deep voice from the corner of the tavern. Everyone raised their heads and turned to the source of the voice. It was a man hidden in the shadows of the corner, sitting at the table with his feet up. He was wearing a long black coat with a turned-up collar, and two large sheathes attached to the hip. His face was covered by a hat with the right side of the brim turned up. Kuopo and his men regarded the new stranger with a sense of curiosity at first, and then annoyance. "This don't concern you, compadro. Beat it." A creaking could be heard as the man pushed his chair back and began to walk towards the collection of men surrounding Nolun. "I said, step away from him." Kuopo looked at the man with a sneer. "Fine, you want to be nosy, idiotao? Your funeral." Kuopo moved the gun pointing at Nolun's head towards the man in the black coat...or at least he would have if he ever got the chance. Before Kuopo's gun could even stop moving, there was a flash of something shiny from the man in black's coat, and the gun had been cut in half, along with Kuopo's first two fingers. Kuopo screamed in pain, and the men behind him drew their guns too. Before some of them even got their weapons out of their holsters, there were more flashes, and cuts appeared randomly across their bodies, ranging from long slashes across their chests to deep gashes on their hands. They were all dead before Kuopo had even hit the ground.

Nolun staggered back in surprise as he stared in awe at the bloodbath in front of him. As the man in black finally stopped moving, he could notice what the flashing was. In his hand was a glimmering sword, made of black and silver chrome, with a crossguard and a sleek indented grip on the handle. He had been moving so fast, it seemed just like a flash of lightning, Nolun thought to himself. The man in black then looked up at him, his piercing eyes looking right into Nolun's. The hat was decorated with a flame symbol on the front that Nolun instantly recognized with a shock. That was the symbol of the pirate known as the Inferno. This was him?! Nolun thought. What the hell is he doing on Miranda? The Inferno stared down at Nolun's bag and picked it up. He looked back at Nolun. "Come with me. Now." Before Nolun could answer, the two GDF soldiers came in through the door, probably due to the brawl. They instantly spotted Nolun and the Inferno, as well as the golden sphere in Nolun's bag. "Hey, freeze!" The soldiers raised their weapons, but before they could fire, the patrons at the bar shot first, taking out one while the other took cover behind a table. The tavern erupted in gunfire. Nolun reached for his pistol, but then Inferno grabbed him first and jumped through the window. As Nolun felt the glass breaking around him, he knew it was going to be a long day.

*compadro-FedSpeak for friend

*idiotao-FedSpeak for idiot