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[Relin Yanek]

The two suns bore down on the green sand with a fierce intensity. Heat Haze mirrored the horizon with a thousand lakes of nothing but dust and death. A single dark shadow defied the light. A massive hulk lay, half buried in malachite earth. A Catapult class Heavy mech. One missile pod blown clean off, another dented and burned. The once graceful nose broken and twist to the side. Smoke slowly bled out of her engine racks, testimony to her death. Except for a lone figure moving slowly about the wreckage, nothing else dared the suns. The figure limped on one leg, crimsoned with blood. He opened the aft access port and looked in. The core was still good, but the sinks were fried. Melted into a black blob. Jaken sighed.
The snap of a boot crunching on the brittle sands made him freeze.

“Lift your hands, slowly.”

Jaken heard the whine of a bolter. Who would use such an ancient weapon? There was only one person. But he lifted his hands. No time to make enemies. Well, not more than he already had. Sweat rolled down his face, tickled his neck, and suicide down his back. It must be close to fifty degrees out here.

“Now turn. Slowly.”

Jaken shuffled his feet and turned. Standing about ten meters from him was a merc. Probably the one who had blown Ruby to ****. He was tall, at least six foot three. Well you’d have to be to run a damned Atlas class. His black armour must have some kind of enviro component, otherwise he’d be boiled by now. His face was hidden by a black dark visor. And his voice was voxed, so it must be sealed.

“Step away. Slow-“

“Slowly. I get it.” Jaken snapped. He was hot, and didn’t like being treated like an *****. If the merc was gonna kill him, he would should just get it over with. All this ‘slowly’ nonsense was grating. Jaken moved aside. Quickly the merc went to the access port. He rummaged around inside Ruby. ****** her guts, as well as killing her pilot. That’s class Jaken thought. Low class. The merc seemed to reach a conclusion.

“Remove the core.”

Jaken looked at him. Then the smoking core. It had to be at five hundred degrees! He couldn’t touch it, let alone remove it. He hesitated.

“Remove the core. Now.”

“You know it’s like a thousand degrees in there? My hands will fry off. My suits not rated over a hundred.” He lied. His suit could handle up to six hundred, for about two or three seconds. But he wasn’t gonna help the merc. And why did he want the core?

The merc lifted the bolter, a mean black firearm, and pointed at Jaken’s head.

“Ok!” Jaken said and he moved over to the core. Slowly he lowered his hand into the chassis. It was hot. It was ******* hot. He pulled out, more sweat pouring down his face. He shook his head. The Merc lifted the gun. He jerked it towards the core. The message was clear – he didn’t care what happened to Jaken. Jaken looked back into the core. It’s blue green energy pulsed within its containment. Ruby wasn’t truly dead. Not yet. Once he’d removed the core, she would be though. Just scrap for the Scav’s to find.

“I’ll burn my hands off. And it will still be stuck in there.”

The merc twitched the gun. Jaken didn’t move. Better to get shot now than burn his hands off. He closed his eyes. The sweat stung. After a second he realized he was holding his breath. He heard the sound of fabric sliding. Gingerly he opened a single eyelid. The merc was removing his gloves. His bolter was under his arm. Jaken launched. Master Ishi-Koda had taught him the basics. And sure, the master had told his father that Jaken was the worst fighter he’d ever tried to teach.

Jaken sailed through the air, palm raised. The merc leaned to the left, and punched Jaken in the stomach as he flew past. It was a quick, small movement. Jaken crashed into the ground, winded. As he gulped like a Tarkalian guppy out of water, the merc causally dropped his gloves onto the ground.

“Get the core.”

Jaken gasped some more.

“I think you broke my … ribs. I can’t move…” He lied.

The merc stopped. Turned. Nealt down next to Jaken. Jaken planned his next move carefully. A quick snake snap strike to the neck should incapacitate the merc. Or was it a flying crane claw? Ishi-Koda had lamented a great many things when Jaken was given over to him for instruction. Before the death cobra lunge could be enacted, the merc stuck a finger into the hole in Jakens leg. Jaken screamed out and rolled away, clutching at his wound.
“Not broken.” The merc said casually.

Jaken felt a little like a child again, being chastised for lying. Yet again. He bent down and picked up the gloves.

“It still hurts.” He said. And regretted it. The merc had probably suffered far greater and lived. That’s how he had the bolter, and Jaken the gloves. And they were good gloves. Real Federation special issue. They were a bit big for him, but as he reached into the core he could barely feel the heat. He griped the release clamp and turned it left. Then he flipped open the manual release catch. He looked at the merc. He had the damned bolter pointed directly at Jaken.

“You know if you hit the core with that thing, we’re both dead.”

The merc lowered the bolter. It now pointed at Jaken’s leg. Jaken nodded. Of course. Wise arse. He wrapped his fingers around the handle and pulled. The core slid out. As it did, indicated lights slowly flickered off. As the core rose from its tomb, lights died. Jaken paused, one light left. Poor Ruby. He could feel the merc watching. Bye Ruby. He pulled the core the last bit and watched the blue light dim, and then fade. Ruby was gone.
“Bring it.”

Jaken turned, and nearly toppled as the weight of the core on his injured leg threatened to overwhelm him.

“What?”

The merc waved the bolter, and then pointed south. In the far distance Jaken could make out a mound… or something. Was he serious? Carry a thirty kilogram core all that way? In this heat? With his injured leg?

“No way man. No ******* way. I’d rather die. Just shoot me now and get it over with.”

The blast from the bolter glassed the sand next to his good foot. Jaken gripped the core. It wasn’t really that far when you looked at it, and hey, being alive had the advantage of well, being alive, whilst being dead suddenly seemed less appealing. The core was heavy. And the suns didn’t help. Slowly Jaken began walking towards the distant shape. The merc stopped. Pulled a small silver sphere from his backpack. Pressed an activator and tossed it casually into the open Access hatch.

“Wait! There’s still active fuel in there!” Jaken shouted. The merc nodded and began to run.

“Oh man. You’re insane!” Jaken shouted as he clutched the core and tried to run.

“Ow, ow, ow.” Echoed around the valley. And then a gigantic explosion ripped across the green sands, blasting shards of malachite in all directions.