BASTARDS by Nate Machado

Just as the blast left the muzzle of the gun and had barely reached Krel, it was sent careening towards the ceiling. Impacting, it left a large smoldering hole in the rickety roof top. Tom stood there stunned, not knowing what to do next.

Krel and his men all stood silently looking at one another. Then they all let a large boisterous laugh out as they pointed to the hole above. Tom became scared; very, very, very scared.

"I told you to take the money," Krel said still laughing with his men. "But you didn't. Oh well." And the laughter had now begun to die.

Staring straight into Tom's eyes, Krel was now ready to end this farce. "Well Deputy: it's time for you to go. When you get to hell, say hello to all the other men I've sent there. I'm sure you'll all have a lot to talk about." Krel motioned to a small devise on his belt. "Oh, and in case you're wondering...personalized force field. I never leave home without it. Ta- ta and thanks for the new sky light.

Drawing his pistol quicker than light, Krel fired a blinding red bolt of energy into Tom's chest. Death was instantaneous and Tom fell lifelessly to the dirty floor below. His guts poured out of him and stained the floor blood red.

The moment over, Krel and his men returned to their recreational activities. taking his place once again at the poker table, Krel uttered to his men. "they never learn, do they? They all have to die before they realize we are untouchable. Un-f'in touchable!" And high- five's were given all around as everyone celebrated their invincibility.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," came a mysterious, gravely voice from the far end of the bar.

Krel and his men peered down toward the end of the bar to glimpse at the individual who had spoken those words of defiance. But, with all the swirling smoke and dust and the fact that the bar was poorly lit, Krel could see nothing.

"Who the frig said that? Show yourself," and Krel strained his body upward over his men to try and get a look.

Suddenly Krel could hear a grinding thump coming his way. It was the sound of the heavy boots coming towards him. Krel ordered his men to make way for whoever it was and they cleared an area out around his table so the unknown man could step through. Pushing his way through the log jam of men, the stranger made his way into the clearing made for him. Stopping just short of Deputy Peyer's dead body, he was now openly exposed to Krel.

Krel, like the predator he was, sized up the man now in front of him. he stood six foot on and weighed somewhere in the range of one hundred and eighty pounds. He was attired in jet black boots, pants and shirt; all of which were permeated with dirt and blood, making him seem all the more menacing and merciless. his hair was long and colored dirty blonde, held back in a pony tail to keep it out of his eyes. but what caught Krel's attention the most was the cybernetic implant on his face. Beginning his with left eye, which was completely artificial, the metallic skin ran down his forehead over his cheek and ended at the base of his chin. It was a most imposing sight, even to a man like Krel who had seen such things before, often with men he hired. Standing there burning his red artificial eye into his skull, Krel decided it was time to get this new bit of business over with so he could get back to playing poker for the rest of the day.

"Alright. Who the hell are you?" Before the mystery man could answer, one of Krel's men spoke up.

"Don't worry about him, boss," said the Omian named Hess. "His name is Harvey Twist. Hails from Jocana VI. Said he was lookin' to hook up with a bad ass group, so I hired him on two weeks ago."

Casting a glance back at the stranger, Krel asked: "Is this true?"

Without a moment of hesitation, the man shook his head, indicating this was not the case. Krel looked back at Hess, clearly disappointed by his failure to maintain security. Without a second thought, Krel drew his gun and shot Hess dead on the spot. "I can't abide stupidity." then Krel turned his attention back to the mystery man.

"Well then, if your name's not Harvey, then what is it?"

Silence dangled in the air as everyone waited for a response. After a few more seconds, it came in a grated, deep and jagged voice. "Jixx."

Krel sat there, tossing the name around in his head, wondering what to do with it. "Jixx, huh? Well, that doesn't sound like a person's name. Sounds more like somethin' you'd name a cat or a cute little puppy." And Krel and his men all laughed hysterically at his witty little joke.

Their laughter having now died down, Krel posed another question to his new found "friend".

"So tell me, Mr. Jixx, what is it you really do for a livin'?"

"I'm a bounty hunter" Jixx replied.

"Really?" Krel replied, and he motioned for one of his Acturian lieutenants to maneuver into place. Dealing with a dim witted deputy himself was one thing, especially when sending a message. but bounty hunters were a whole different story. Also, this is what Krel paid his men to do: serve and protect. And right now,. that was what Krel was expecting.

Trying to keep Jixx off-guard for the moment, Krel kept him talking; giving his man time to position himself. "So I guess it's safe to assume that you're here for me." "You got that right," Jixx said. "You've got quite a nice price tag on your head." "I'm sure I do. Quality such as mine is so very rare these days. Wouldn't you agree?" Jixx said nothing. But it didn't matter. Krel's man was in position. And now Krel gave him the signal and he was in motion. Leaping high above the crowd of men, the Acturian's powerful legs guided him to the waiting target below. The plan was to land on top of Jixx and then for the Acturian to crush him in his powerful arms; a plan that had worked well in the past for Krel when he wanted to dispose of unwelcome trespassers. but such was not to be the case.

Turning around, as if guided by animal instinct, Jixx caught the Acturian in mid-air. Holding him by the throat, Jixx eyed him for a split second and then threw him through the bar's south wall. This intense display of strength beguiled Jixx's moderate frame. In turn, it made Krel nervous...for the first time in a very long time. returning his attention to Krel, Jixx turned to face him once again. At the same time, Krel tried to play off the failed assassination as nothing more than a little prank. "Well, most impressive. I don't suppose you'd care to show me how you did that?" No response came from Jixx. he just stared at Krel, waiting for the next move to come. Tired of the silence, Krel decided it was time to find out what really brought Jixx here after his hide. "So tell me, what bounty are you after? Tel Ho's bounty? The Ectorians? Who put a price on my head so high you're willing to throw your life away to get it?"

Up until now, Jixx had just sneered at Krel. Now a tiny little smile crept across his lips. "You don't know do you? You're completely in the dark. Krel just folded his hands and waited for Jixx to finish. "Three months ago, when you robbed that luxury Star Cruiser, the StarBright, you killed several people."

Cutting Jixx off, Krel thought he knew the ending to this story. "Yes, the authorities put a 10,000 credit bounty on my head-alive. Krel smiled, thinking he was right.

"That's true," Jixx continued. "However, one of the people you killed was named Amy Tress, daughter of Robert Tress, the owner and operator of that cruiser. He's put a 50,000 credit bounty on your head-DEAD." And this time, Jixx returned Krel's smile. Krel had had it. he now knew that Jixx was dangerous and very well motivated. Up until now, all the bounties on his head had been small and based upon his being brought in alive. Now the stakes had just been upped and he was not about to lose the advantage he had in hand. "Ya know, I've seen mean and nasty before, in fact: a lot more mean and nasty than you. They're all tried to take me down and they've all failed. What makes you think you can take me down where others, like porky here, have come up short?"

"Because I'm a mean mother f*ckin' man. Cold as stone and twice as sharp. For a brief second, everyone in the bar, including Krel, believed it. Krel stood up and threw his chair back. he stared at Jixx for but a second and then the order came: "Get him!" All twenty odd men moved toward Jixx. A tidal wave of arms swarmed over him and it seemed as though Jixx was about to go the way of all Krel's enemies. But, just before they reached him, Jixx activated a button on his right wrist gauntlet. A blinding flash of blue energy covered the room and all twenty odd men fell to the floor unconscious.

Krel couldn't believe it. What the hell had just happened? Krel almost panicked but, like the cool cucumber he was, he stayed calm. After all, he still had the upper-hand. "What'd you hit 'em with?" he asked. Jixx stepped over the lifeless bodies heading toward Krel. Stopping roughly ten feet in front of him, Jixx threw back his long, weather-beaten leather coat to reveal the holster on his right leg. "Stun field. Set it around the bar over the last two weeks. Powerful enough to incapacitate a herd of bull elephants."

"Pretty god damned impressive," Krel replied. "I'll have to get me one once I get out of here. However, you've still left me with the upper-hand, my friend. I'm afraid it's time for you to die like all the rest."

A big grin filled Krel's face and he began to reach for his pistol. But, before he could, Jixx waved him off, wanting to tell him one more thing. "Before you go and draw that big nasty gun of yours, I think you should know something. The ton in Jixx' voice was even more gravely than before, almost signifying some kind of deep perverse happiness.

"Fifteen seconds after the stun field shuts down a programmed E.M.P. blast was emitted around this structure, rendering any unshielded power sources inert." Krel looked about and noticed the lights. "Now, my pistol's shielded. can the same be said for your force field emitter?"

Beads of sweat built up on Krel's forehead. "He has to be bluffing, " he thought. "Nobody's that good. Besides, I'm Krel. Nobody can touch me. nobody." Once again Krel's hand reached for his pistol. As before, he moved quicker than light and he drew a bead on Jixx. Too bad he was already dead. In the time it had taken Krel to reach for his gun, Jixx had shot him three times over and re-holstered his pistol. While Krel was faster than light, Jixx was twice as fast. Standing over Krel's body, Jixx looked down at his 50,000 credits; pleased with himself. Not quite dead yet, Krel gurgled out one last bloody question. "Who the hell are you?"

Looking straight into his dying eyes, he crouched over him and repeated himself to Krel for the last time. "The name's Jixx. Remember it in hell. Now, come on you bastard: time to pay the price."

Jixx slung his prize over his shoulder, blood dripping over his jacket and boots. He proceeded to walk out into the hot, dry desert. Another successful kill.

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