Mercenary. Scrapper. Part 2. Damantha Makarova

creature rumbled – this time it was softer – and leaned into the man, allowing him to pet it.

      “See?” the man chuckled. “She’s friendly.”

      Serena allowed herself to fall back to the ground, relaxing her muscles and catching her breath.

      “Friendly… you fucker!” she exhaled.

      Chapter 7. SS Axathaal

      “Hunter, we are being hailed.” Lyssa’s voice threw the man out of bed in a matter of a split second.

      “Put it through!” Hunter saw the screen coming to life and walked over to it, seeing the face of a man he would rather not have seen ever again.

      “Hunter!” Lindon Dorn Gray-Linn greeted the man with a nod.

      “Lindon.” Hunter returned the polite nod, feeling his teeth gritting.

      “Your ship notified me that your captain is… not aboard?”

      “We’re on a job, Lindon. She’s out.”

      “Perhaps, we can be of help to each other then. I have a job here as well.” Lindon tilted his head to the side. “Let’s meet man to man and have a conversation like civilized people?”

      Hunter felt his hand turning to a fist.

      “Fine.” he said, not really wanting for Lindon to get involved.

      “Your ship or mine?”

      “Don’t care.”

      “Yours it is then. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Lindon nodded again and the screen turned off.

      “Lyssa!” Hunter grabbed his shirt from the seat in front of the office table, where the screen stood.

      “I have run the scanners again, Hunter. Still no sign of Serena anywhere in our vicinity.”

      “Any thoughts?” the man dressed up, making himself presentable for the Veluthian captain who was about to visit.

      “I suspect she might have lost her communication device.” the AI sounded calm. “However, there is a possibility that the sandstorms might have impacted the communication between the ship and her earpiece.”

      “Fuck!” Hunter felt anger rising once again and forced it down. “Keep trying!”

      “Of course.”

      The man walked off, leaving the captain’s quarters, and heading towards the back of the ship to meet Lindon. His earpiece came to life and Cipher’s voice came through:

      “Hunter? Is everything alright?”

      “No. Serena’s still nowhere to be found and this Veluthian fucker wants to talk.” Hunter felt frustrated. “It’s been six days! Tell me that you have good news for me?”

      “I’ve spoken to our informant and he said Serena hadn’t contacted him yet.”

      “Shit!”

      “You think something might have happened?”

      “Cipher!”

      “I know, I know. We’ll keep trying… Keep me updated to what the fucker says, alright?”

      Hunter switched off without replying, walking up to the airlock door and already seeing Lindon waiting on the other side. As soon as the door slid open, Lindon bowed politely and smiled:

      “Hunter. A pleasure to see you, good man.”

      “Likewise, Lindon. What brings you to this distant planet?”

      “Business. I’ve been sent to investigate a certain number of disappearances of Veluthian men and women around these parts.”

      Hunter felt a wave of fear grasping his back with a shockwave:

      “What?”

      “Imagine my surprise seeing two Veluthian ships right here…” Lindon tilted his head. “You look disturbed. Is everything alright? When will Serena be back? I would like to speak to her.”

      Hunter didn’t know how to reply, suddenly feeling anxious about the fact she hadn’t contacted them yet.

      “I…” the man exhaled, gathering his thought. “Serena said she’ll be back, but she is absent longer than we anticipated.”

      “Where is she?”

      “She was out on a scouting mission. She ordered us to gather information with the locals while she scouts the surrounding canyons in search of our targets. She was supposed to check in every evening.”

      “But she hadn’t?” Lindon’s eyes squinted in anger.

      “We lost communication during the sandstorm.” Hunter saw no reason to withhold information.

      Lindon looked away, falling into thought, and a few moments stayed silent, before saying:

      “When was the last time you’ve received an update from her?”

      “Six days ago. Just before the sandstorm hit. She reported she had found the main camp of our targets, but when she was about to send us the coordinates, the communication cut off.” Hunter gritted his teeth.

      “Did Lyssa get her position?”

      “Negative.” the AI replied. “Scanning was inconclusive due to the beginning sandstorm.”

      “How inconclusive?” Lindon’s voice sounded harsh.

      “When attempting to scan for her position, the electromagnetic interference in the atmosphere has made it impossible for my systems to locate her precise position. I have managed to calculate the approximate location where she could have been, however, there are hundreds of kilometres of sands all around with vast number of cave systems underground, and due to the remnant electromagnetic fields after the storm, I am unable to get a deep scan of that set of locations to find Serena.”

      “What about the emergency beacon on her hover bike?”

      “No signals have been sent, commander Lindon.” the AI replied.

      The man took a few more seconds to think, then met Hunter’s gaze:

      “Alright. Here’s what we’re going to do…” he saw Hunter’s eyes growing dark. “I have fifteen men at my disposal. We can leave Cipher and Pher here to keep an eye for Serena to return; meanwhile you and I will take our ships and scan the surrounding locations in search for her.”

      “And what about your business?”

      “Here’s the thing, Hunter… If my assumptions are correct, Serena may have been caught by the same person or persons who are killing all the Veluthians around these places.”

      Hunter felt his face becoming pale:

      “You think she could be dead?”

      “I think that Serena is a much more dangerous opponent than those these people have encountered in the past. I do not doubt that even if she got caught in their sight, she may as well be hiding from sight just to get away from the pursuit.” Lindon suddenly stepped up and slapped Hunter on the shoulder. “Have a little faith in Serena. She’s not that easy to take down.”

      “And the lack of communication?” Hunter felt anger taking over.

      “This may be caused by her cutting the line in order for her not to be found.” Lindon glanced up. “Lyssa!”

      “Yes, commander Lindon?” the AI replied.

      “Arrange a secure line of communication between out three ships and all the crewmembers. Protocol Dead Silence. If we are to find Serena, we need to stay under the radar.”

      “Yes, commander.”

      Chapter 8. Sands

      It