For Hate's Sake

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**Year: -5 NAC**

A stolen colony

A team of bounty hunters

Secrets revealed

## Part 1: Group Effort

When Jin Cloros touched down in the enormous freighter’s docking bay, she was surprised to see she wasn’t the first to arrive. She guided her jumpboat to the end of the bay and set down lightly, opening the hatch the second the small ship touched solid ground. Jin stepped from the ship and into the sterile, artificial atmosphere of the freighter. The ship was evidently taken care of. The walls and floor were polished so thoroughly she could make out her reflection in them a dozen times over. Jumpsuited workers busied themselves tending to her ship and several others, the ocean wave logo of Padwar Settlement Solutions adorning their backs.

It was those ships that intrigued Jin. Four other ships sat waiting, all different shapes and sizes. Such a wide variety, evidently drawn from all over the galaxy. Their presence could only mean one thing; more bounty hunters. She’d be among her own kind.

Jin Cloros had always wanted to be a dancer. When she dreamed about touring the galaxy, she hadn’t meant to do so as a bounty hunter. Still, she found she had a knack for it and the career stuck, especially after the takedown of Amley Gorn. That particular hunt had catapulted her name into bounty hunting stardom. She’d been swamped with potential clients for months on end; more work than she knew what to do with. Perhaps that was why her new client, Padwar Settlement Solutions, had been so keen to hire her. For days they had bombarded her comm with messages, asking about her availability and what kind of payment she would take. It seemed almost rude to turn them down, and that had led her to this battered old freighter, somewhere out by the rimward Karian border.

“Over here!”

The high-pitched voice caught Jin’s attention, and she observed it belonged to an Aoshanti in a neatly-pressed suit. The Aoshanti’s feathers were vibrant orange, and she possessed a great crest on her head that resembled a forward-sweeping mohawk. Jin approached the Aoshanti, who bowed as she approached.

“You must be Jin Cloros,” the Aoshanti observed. “I’m Kayed Skereil, representative for Padwar Settlement Solutions. I’ve been awaiting your arrival.”

“Are you expecting more?” Jin wondered, looking back over her shoulder at the collection of ships.

“Only one more,” Skereil replied. “He should be with us soon. In the meantime, allow me to escort you to the wardroom. Everyone else is gathered there.”

Jin frowned, confused. The contract hadn’t mentioned this was going to be a group operation.

“There are other bounty hunters here?” she asked at last.

“Well, of course,” Skereil said, surprised that she would even ask such a question. “This is a big job, after all. Too big for only one hunter.”

Before, the job had piqued Jin’s interest, but now it had her undivided attention. If a job was so big that more hunters were needed to see it through, then it had to be a job that paid well. She loved those kinds of jobs. They were the kind she could brag about to clients and other hunters alike. It was the sort of job where real bounty hunting legends were born.

“Here we are,” Skereil announced as she paused in front of a set of handsome, and expensive-looking, wooden doors. Skereil pushed the doors open and gestured for Jin to enter ahead of her. The bounty hunter tentatively stepped across the threshold, and the sight of the room beyond took her breath away.

The wardroom was decorated much more lavishly than Jin had anticipated. The four walls were paneled with the same dark wood as the door, and plush grey carpet lined the floor. Elaborate armchairs made of deep chestnut leather surrounded a glass table, through which Jin could see an aged carpet stitched with an elaborate wavy design of oceans and ships.

“My friends,” Skereil said, clapping her hands together and smiling, “this is Jin Cloros, another member of our group.” It sounded like she was a schoolteacher introducing a shy student.

The room was not, Jin noticed, unoccupied. Four other figures sat in plush armchairs, their choice of garb - various types of combat armour and weapons slung over shoulders or holstered - clashing violently with the elegant wardroom. Two of the figures were Human, both male and sporting identical crops of ashen grey hair and ugly scars on their cheeks. Another bounty hunter was a Drodo, like her, who was pale and so thin that Jin wondered how he was able to wear such heavy armour without collapsing. The last of them was something she didn’t quite recognise. She had faintly blue skin and large pointed ears. Jin suspected she was one of the Phero Ecumene’s Human offshoots. All of them held large glasses of liquor. One of the Humans caught sight of Jin and looked her up and down appraisingly.

“Is that everyone, Skereil?” he asked in a voice so husky it was almost a whisper.

“Not yet,” Skereil shook her head. “Our last member’s on his…” She paused, and reached a hand to her head, where Jin could make out a comlink attached to her ear.

“He’s just arrived,” she said at last. “If you’ll excuse me. Help yourself to a drink, Ms. Cloros. We’ve got just about every sort of liquor you can think of.” With that parting remark, she hurried from the room, and silence fell over them once again.

Jin walked to the liquor cabinet and extracted a bottle of deep crimson liquid, pouring its contents into a waiting glass.

“Going for the Aratacian wine?” the other Drodo asked curiously. “You’ve got good taste, Cloros.”

Jin smiled and sipped the wine. “It’s the best kind, um…” She paused, realising that she hadn’t discovered any of their names.

“Fabius Cawleyl, at your service,” the pale Drodo raised his glass in greeting. “Those two are the Qresh brothers, Barten and Ludon. I forget which is which.” He indicated the identical Humans, who met Jin’s nods of greeting in kind.

“And she’s Ivonna Dedish,” Cawleyl continued, pointing out the blue-skinned woman. Dedish gave Jin a friendly, disarming smile.

Now that she knew their names, Jin recognised some of the group. The Qresh brothers were two of the few hunters she knew of who liked to work with others, and actually used that teamwork to take down their marks. Dedish, meanwhile, had famously hunted a criminal across eight systems, and he’d never noticed she was working aboard his ship the entire time.

Cawleyl, on the other hand, was unknown to her, but if he was here and in such illustrious company, Jin reckoned he had to have done something impressive. She would have inquired, but at that moment, the doors swung open again, revealing an elated Skereil and a figure standing behind her.

“Here’s our last one!” Skereil called, stepping aside and letting the last bounty hunter through.

He was powerfully built, even underneath all that armour. Jin couldn’t see past the visor of his helmet, which seemed to glow with a bright amber light. He stood a good deal taller than the rest of them. A rifle was slung over his back, and two pistols were holstered at his sides.

“This,” Skereil announced, indicating the new arrival, “is Tarhin Lenscroft, the last of our team.”

So, Jin wondered silently, this was the hunter who took down Tariq Al-Sharad, greatest swordsman in the criminal underworld, with a single shot.

“Welcome, friend,” Cawleyl said, raising his glass. “Sit, grab a drink.”

“Thank you,” Tarhin Lenscroft said, inclining his head stiffly, “but I don’t drink.” Jin noted his voice was oddly clear for someone wearing armour. It had a distinct mechanical hum to it, but there were no muffled mumblings coming from him. Tarhin moved further into the room and took the only unoccupied armchair next to Jin. She noticed he sat awkwardly, as though he wasn’t entirely comfortable in his suit.

Skereil clapped her hands and smiled.

“Now, since we’re all here,” she began, approaching the table and placing a palm-sized silver disc in the centre. The disc began to glow around the edges and a holographic image sprang to life above the hunters’ heads. It was a planet, encircled by a pair of thick rings and a lone moon orbiting its northern hemisphere.

“This is our destination,” Skereil announced, “Ursten, the only inhabitable planet in its system. It suffers regular groundquakes, there are active volcanoes every square mile, and most of the surface is volcanic rock. Despite the environmental setbacks, P.S.S. were hired to help set up a mining colony on the planet. Everything was going according to plan until three months ago, when our new colony was attacked by pirates under the command of this man.” She snapped her fingers, and the image of the planet disappeared, replaced by a rotating mugshot of a large Human with a thick, curly moustache, a completely bald pate and a cybernetic eye that seemed to dominate a quarter of his face.

“Raucus Pauling, self-styled pirate king of the Concourse frontier,” Skereil explained. “He and his men occupied our colony and are holding both the colonists and our employees hostage. Our attempts to negotiate for their release have been ignored, so we’re now taking a direct approach. That’s where you come in,” She indicated the group. “You’re going to land on the planet, rescue the hostage and take down Pauling and anyone under his command. Our people and the colonists need to make it out alive, but you have the blessing of P.S.S. to kill any pirate that stands between you and that goal. Do this, and you’ll earn the 6 quintillion cubit reward. Any questions?”

## Part 2: Camaraderie

The bounty hunters left the lounge and filed down a winding corridor, Skereil leading the way. Cawleyl had suggested, if not outright demanded, that they have a plan ready for when they landed, and insisted everyone come to the briefing room so they could come up with one. Skereil had volunteered the use of the briefing room.

“It’s supposed to be reserved for the senior officers,” she explained, “but I don’t think they’ll mind on this occasion.”

Jin walked a short distance behind the rest of the group, listening for snippets of conversation between the others. Cawleyl was deep in discussion with Skereil, and it sounded rather important, but she was so far away from them she couldn’t really hear it. The Qresh brothers, who seemed to be inseparable, conversed quietly, the sound of their heavy boots masking their discussion. Dedish, on the other hand, seemed to want everyone to hear her.

“Yes, the old Vishap T-5 model was advanced for its day,” she said to Tarhin, who was either not listening or being extraordinarily magnanimous, Jin couldn’t tell, “but it’s worth upgrading to the X-61 Skolos now. My sister was telling me over dinner - this was when I went to visit Senator Mortilen, by the by - that it was high time the Empire stopped dithering on replacing the navigation arrays when several better models exist these days. It’s all well and good wanting to honour the greatest computer manufacturers in the Concourse, but if you ask me, they’re starting to lose their touch. I mean, when was the last time they put out a truly great product? Are you much interested in technology, Lenscroft?”

“In some ways, yes,” Tarhin said plainly.

“Good,” Dedish replied heartily. “My sister reckons it’s good to keep track of new developments, especially in our line of work. You never know when someone might invent something really useful.”

Jin didn’t know whether or not to pity the armoured man.

The room itself was well-lit, but sparsely decorated. The emblem of P.S.S., an black arrowhead behind an orange planet, was splashed onto every wall. Above the white polished table, a set of holoprojectors hung from the ceiling. Plain cylindrical glasses filled with water waited in front of each place at the table.

The hunters took random seats. The Qresh brothers sat together, muttering inaudibly to each other. Jin could barely hear them as she took a seat across from Dedich. Cawleyl took a seat on her left, while Tarhin Lenscroft sat on her right. He looked ridiculously out of place in all that armour. He hadn’t even removed his helmet.

Once they were all seated and helped themselves to the water, Cawleyl nodded to Skereil, who activated the holoprojectors. The image of a square piece of land flickered into view, floating just above the table. Jin guessed that this was a snippet of the surface of Ursten. It was just as desolate as Skereil had promised them. No sign of greenery anywhere, a river of glowing lava cutting a neat line down the middle, and a single ugly mountain rising from the rock. Only a madman or someone desperate to hide would call such a place home.

“This,” Cawleyl announced as he pointed at the holoprojection, “is where Pauling’s supposed to have set up his hideout, if P.S.S.’s intel is correct.”

“It is,” Skereil interjected snippily.

“It’s only two kliks out from the mining colony, so I have good reason to believe it,” Cawleyl continued, apparently unfazed by the interruption. “We’re going to land over here,” he pointed to a spot at the very corner of the projection, “out of sensor range, and we’ll walk to this point here.” He indicated a second spot, closer to the lava river.

“Why walk?” asked Dedish.

“A vehicle might be detected,” Cawleyl explained. “I don’t want to take chances and let Pauling get away.”

“What do we know about Pauling’s defences?” one of the Qresh brothers spoke up.

“Pauling’s been building his defences ever since he landed on Ursten,” Skereil replied. “According to our sources, he’s got a small army at his back. He’s never seen without a guard of about five of his best men when he goes into the mining colony. Beyond manpower, he’s converted an ore refining outpost into his own personal fortress. We believe he’s been stockpiling weapons and supplies in there ever since he arrived.”

“But,” Cawleyl continued, “I think I have a way inside. To start, we’ll need a distraction. Something big enough to draw most of the pirates away. That’s where the two of you come in.” He pointed at Jin and Tarhin.

“You’ll head to the colony. Intel indicates Pauling keeps a bunch of his men there to keep everyone in line. You’ll take them out and free P.S.S.’s people. Think you can handle that, you two?”

Tarhin nodded, but Jin was confused. She wasn’t entirely certain what had prompted Cawleyl to make this decision, but he must have been mad to do so. She was no front-line fighter. Her specialty lay in surprise attacks. If anything, she’d expected to be part of the infiltration effort.

“I don’t think forward assault is one of my strengths,” she said slowly.

“Your record disagrees,” Cawleyl replied, “and so do I. If all goes to plan, Pauling’s private army will be confused and spread themselves thin looking for all of us. That brings me to you two.” He indicated the Qresh brothers, both of whom focused their attention on him. “You’ll approach from the west.” Cawleyl traced a line from their position on the map to the slope of the volcano. “P.S.S. intel reckons Pauling keeps a landing pad here, with an escape craft if he needs to make a quick getaway. When Cloros and Lenscroft begin their distraction, you’ll gain access to the landing pad, plant bombs on any vehicle you can find and destroy them, cutting off Pauling’s escape route. Dedish,” he continued, “you’re on computer duty. Cut off camera feeds, shut down alarms, cut off their comms, do whatever you can to cripple them.”

“And what’s your role in all this?” Tarhin asked.

“I’ll infiltrate the main compound and apprehend Pauling myself,” Cawleyl replied.

“That’s suicide,” Jin pointed out. “That place could be swarming with pirates.”

“Don’t worry,” Cawleyl said, somewhat smugly, “I don’t think they’ll want to kill me. Not when I have this.” He reached up to his armour’s breastplate and pulled away a panel, revealing a rectangular device wedged into a socket. The device was pulsing with dim purple light.

“Is that what I think it is?” Dedish asked, audibly impressed.

“What do you think it is?” Jin asked.

“It’s a virconium transponder,” Cawleyl explained, “kindly donated by our friends at P.S.S. It’s wired up to my heartbeat. If it goes off, it’ll send a signal to this ship, and they’ll send in...reinforcements, let’s say.”

“So they’ll just let you walk out with their leader?” Dedish wondered.

“If they’re smart,” Cawleyl replied. “We pull this off, we’ll walk away very rich. Any questions?”

There was a moment of silence, then Cawleyl nodded once. “Good. Gear up and report to the docking bay in one hour.”

The hunters filed out of the room one by one, Cawleyl hanging behind to talk in hushed tones with Skereil. Jin was the last to leave the conference room, giving Cawleyl a curious, near suspicious, look. Why had he volunteered her for hostage rescue, an area that was not exactly her greatest strength?

She was so caught up with the thought, she didn’t look where she was going and almost walked into the back of Tarhin. The other hunter turned and looked down at her. Jin looked back at him, unable to see past that amber visor. She truly didn’t know what he was thinking, if anything.

“So, we’re going to be working together,” she said, clearing her throat. “I look forward to seeing what you can do.”

“You have reservations,” Tarhin observed bluntly, catching Jin off-guard.

“You could say that,” she nodded, quickly glancing back at the conference room door. “I don’t exactly trust our leader or our client.”

Tarhin folded his arms and followed her gaze.

“Neither do I,” he said, and for the first time since she’d met him, Jin thought she heard emotion in his voice.