Kyle's Backstory - The Pickup

Posted on Thu Sep 24th, 2009 @ 12:31am by Kyle Bowman

1,220 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Session One - Jailhouse Rock
Location: Trentan IX
Timeline: 2 years ago

The Bolian was late.

Kyle stood behind some packing crates at the aerodrome, counting the minuets under his breath, looking out over the worn landing surface, standing watch against any inquisitive locals.

His leather jacket flapped in the breeze from beyond the landing field, the trees of the planet Trentan IX swaying, silver-green leaves constantly in motion on this windswept, mountain less world

The captain and First mate stood at the meeting spot a few meters further on, waiting for the dealer to arrive so they could begin. The Shuttle was on the other side of some nearby hangers, out of site to ignore suspicion.

They had come to Trentan on the promise of more work, with many profitable markets folding or being taken over by large competitors. The resulting downturn in work had driven many traders to the darker edges of the market.

Kyle spotted their contact, the Bolian in slightly shabby clothing, walking from behind a group of hanger buildings. Kyle squinted, the sun glaring into his eyes from its low position in the sky.

“Captain, he’s here” Kyle said, lowering his voice to barely a whisper, although the open com allowed the Captain to hear it perfectly.

“Good, we can finally get this started.” The captain said, his low grumble only showing a hint of nervousness. Of the three, only Kyle had any experience with shady deals, Captain Gask had been a reputable merchant until the downturn left him bankrupt. This job was designed to earn the ship enough money to pay off their debts to a rather devious lender known as Mastrick, rumoured to be tied to the Orion syndicate.

The Bolian walked past Kyle, ignoring him and concentrating on the captain. Gask held out his hand in greeting, the Bolian did not. He was not a typical example of his species, looking dower and irritable, a possible narcotic addict.

“You Captain Gask?” he asked, a gravely wheeze in his voice.

The captain nodded “Yes, and this is my first mate Jonas. You saw my pilot, Mr Bowman, over there.” He gestured “Now, you were meant to have a package for me, where is it?” Kyle winced at this, knowing the abrupt approach wouldn’t get them anywhere.

Something else caught his eye, movement on the roof of the hangers opposite. He would be able to see but for the damn sun in his eyes. A person maybe, holding something long, although it could just be an odd bird for all he could see.

He turned just to see the Bolian pull out a compact Phaser, Showily drawing it and pointing it at the captain “This is from Mastrick, he sends his regards.

The captain was stunned, but Jonas acted, throwing himself in front of the beam, the shot punching through the first mates chest and hitting Captain Gask square in the shoulder.

Kyle reacted; his years around weapons letting him act without hesitation. He pulled an old disruptor from its holster and firing from the hip, killing the Bolian before he could even turn to address Kyle.

Kyle dashed towards the fallen captain, but jumped behind a crate as a high power Phaser shot blasted the hard pan beside him with a cracking fizz. The Hanger roof. The Bolian must have backup, gods damn the bloody sun.

Kyle jump-rolled out of his cover behind another crate where the captain had dragged himself. Kyle still held the disruptor, but could not get a pinpoint on the shooter with the sun glare.

“Can you run?” He asked Gask, noting the cauterised but bloody hole in the captain’s arm. The stricken man shook his head; his teeth gritted in pain “Twisted my ankle” Same side as his damaged shoulder.

Kyle cursed, then said “Ok this may be hard”, and grabbed the captain by his damaged arm, hauling it over his shoulder, evoking a cry of pain from the captain.

Standing from cover, they both ran towards the shuttle, the sniper firing towards them, and Kyle shooting back with the disruptor. He hadn’t a hope in hell of hitting; he just knew he needed the sniper to keep his head down.

The limp run was hard work for both men, and they ran behind some crates for a brief stop for cover. However the crates were brittle, the sniper was blasting his way through them quickly. “Leave me” Gask gasped, holding his shoulder in an attempt to diminish the pain.

Kyle shook his head “You still owe me far too much latinum for me to do that” he said, breathing heavily.

The captain gave a grim smile before they both set off again, Kyle blasting away.

The fight was causing quite a bit of smoke, and it would not be long before the authorities arrived, but it would be too long for Kyle and Gask.

As they approached the shuttle Kyle noticed another man by the shuttle, trying to get in. Kyle shot him in the back, but sniper still hadn’t let up, redoubling their efforts to stop Kyle and the captain escaping.

However, luck was on their side, and the Sniper was still missing them when they reached the shuttle, the hatch recognizing their bio signatures and popping open just long enough for them to hobble through.

The Hatch closed, and they were safe, the shots from the sniper fizzing on the hardened hull of the shuttle. However, Kyle knew it was only a matter of tinme before the sniper hit something vital or brought out something heavier.

Dumping the groaning Captain on the floor, Kyle jumped in the pilot’s seat. His hands flew over the controls, quickly bringing the shuttle up into the air. However, he wasn’t finished. The shuttle wasn’t armed, but it was fast, and weighed about 4 tonnes.

Kyle swung it around, gunning at the hanger. The sniper, who had stopped to stare, realised the danger he was in, and ran towards the stairwell, but the shuttle was faster. Skimming the roof with inches to spare, Kyle smiled as the shuttle smacked into the fleeing figure, as he looked back on the rear cam he saw the broken body fall 60 feet, landing in a pile of broken bones and meat.

The captain was climbing up from the floor, an empty hypospray held in one hand, the look of pain lessened somewhat from his face.

He sat next to Kyle, looking to him appreciatively, “I’ll have to start paying you more, impressive.”

“Don’t thank me yet” Kyle interjected. He spotted the police shuttle approaching ahead. Spinning the Shuttle on its axis, he blasted off across the planet, climbing to escape orbit. As the Blue-green sky reseeded, giving way to the blackness of space, the stars pricking the view, Kyle relaxed. They had made it out of the trap.

The captain turned to celebrate when Kyle suddenly held up his hand, a look of horror on his face. Their ship was gone. All that remained was cooling metal fragments and a small debits field. The ship had been large, so the firepower used to waste this ship was mind blowing, something akin to a federation built warship. The ship had held over 40 crew, all doubtlessly aboard at the time.

Only one thought came to Kyle’s mind “Mastrick.”

 

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