Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Having rounded up the final two bounties, Gaan found himself back in the ships cargo hold. Living cargo, held in a stasis sleep. The first of the two were placed in their pod. The tubes came to life and found their marks no different than the Triskani beside them; their leader.
The human watched in horror and struggled against his binds. His face dropped when he realised that his strength failed him. His injuries worked against him, too. He knew he was helpless.
"Wait, wait. G'tancca is the one you want. He's worth plenty alone. Please, let's cut a deal." The Human pleaded.
Gaan ignored his words and coldly inspected each of the habited pods. Humans, Triskani, Mulas, Gnosian, and even a Beskin. Most were violent, but the Beskin found themselves in Gaan sight due to fraud. Funnily enough, he was worth slightly more than the Triskani. Countless deaths under his belt clearly weren't considered worse than skimming tokens. It was no secret that money was worth more than life.
"Bounty Hunter, please, what do you want? Money, do you do what you do to bring people to justice? Blind loyalty to law? Law written and bestowed upon you by people who have never, and will never care about you." The Human continued to attempt to bargain for his own freedom.
"I've been offered more than you can imagine by desperate people." Gaan stated distantly. He was distracted by his thoughts, which came through in his tone.
"I can offer you more than any of them!" He sounded as though he would continue speaking, but Gaan cut him off by grabbing him by the scruff and lifting him off his knees. "Tokens! I know where there are tokens hidden!"
"Look around this room," Gaan replied as he led the Humans face across the pods. The cargo was worth far more than the human could offer.
"You know, it might be worth seeing if they can offer more than their bounty." Klennu said.
Gaan stopped for a moment and dropped the human, who fell to his knees. Arms and legs are still bound.
"G'tancca always kept a stash of tokens. His getaway fund."
"Where?"
"Inside the compound. I'll show you, and I'll use it to buy my freedom? How does that sound, Hunter?"
Gaan looked down at them. They barely met his eyes. Mostly, they stared at the floor or kept their eyes closed.
"Okay," Gaan broke through the silence and sniveling. "Show me."
The human remained still, apart from a flinch at the end. Soon, he excitedly howled. Clearly, Gaans words took a moment to register.
"Thank you, thank you! You won't regret your decision!"
Gaan lifted him back to his feet and gave him a shove to start walking and stop talking. He didn't want to stay on Scoosha longer than he had to and the incessant drivel of this waste of air was the last thing he wanted to hear.
The compound interior was far more dirty than he remembered. The original mess had now been coated in a thick layer of dust, it done little to make it any less appealing than it had previously been.
"I thought I heard an explosions." The Human said when they entered the room at the end of the hall.
Lights still flickered, some stayed solid. The place was well lit and all could be seen now without the heavy fog that was here before Gaan left.
"This place will get eaten by the desert again, until some other group decides to set up shop, that is." The Human continued to speak as they carefully made their way through the breach as fast as their bound legs could carry them. "Here, he always kept it down here." They spoke while rummaging. "You know, I could do this faster if-"
"Keep searching, and cut the noise." Gaan replied, cutting them off before they could finish their sentence. He knew they were about to ask to be released, and that wasn't going to happen.
"Ahh, here it is!" They exclaimed while picking up a small container. "See."
The Human through the container over to Gaan, who caught it instinctively. There was a clear rattle from within, the sound of tokens in golden form. It was heavy. As heavy as a few thousand tokens could be. Waving a hand over it, prepared to open the container Gaan looked up at the target, who was smiling uncontrollably.
"You open it," Gaan replied, as he through the container back at them.
The target through him a curious look, as the container fell at his feet. He squatted down with a chuckle and released the catch. "You're paranoid." They said, laughing. "Why would I set off a trap here, I'd be killed too."
Opening the container and allowing the lid to drop revealed the tokens, shining bright, more than what the Human was worth by a lot.
He waved a hand and presented it. "See, now is that enough to secure my freedom?" They moved it with the side of their food, sliding it toward Gaan.
Gaan closed the lid over and picked it up, now the container under one arm he gestured with the other to follow him. Now outside, Gaan stood staring at his ship as the repetitive hobble of his prisoner grew louder behind him.
"I'd say it's more than fair, my bounty can't be worth all that much anyway." They said.
"Not all that much, but it's worth enough." Gaan replied.
At first the prisoner smiled, until his face contorted. "No, we had a deal!"
Gaan grabbed him by the scuff of his neck, and dragged him toward the ship. They resisted, but it was a futile effort as he was forced to keep up with Gaans pace.
With him in the pod, Gaan walked to a blank wall of the cargo hold, flicked a panel, a small machine was revealed and he input a code. The familiar clunk of the lock disengaging as another panel slowly opened. He through his container inside, along with the rest of his gold minted tokens and shut it.
"To Jex?" Klennu asked.
"To Jex." Gaan replied. "Chart the course and get us in a jump lane, when the ship goes into auto I'll clean out your tank."
