Crosshairs

The bounty came through a private MercNet channel, encrypted and flagged high-priority. Kael read the contract twice before accepting it.

Target: Joryn Kess

Affiliation: Black Sun – Logistics Oversight

Location: Serroco Fringe, Outpost 117

Bounty: 18,000 credits (Alive), 10,000 (Dead)

Contract Type: Silent Extraction

Client: Anonymous

Notes: Armed. Former Republic spec-ops. Likely hostile.

Kael leaned back in the Specter of Light's command chair and stared at the slowly rotating holoprofile of Kess. The man had the face of a professional — cool, surgical, dangerous. The type who didn't run when trouble came; he made it run from him.

"He's no small-time thug," Kael muttered.

Cortana's voice answered calmly. "No. But he's isolated. Light guard rotation. No backup on site. And the payout would replenish our stockpile and pay for upgrades to the Specter's weapons grid."

Kael nodded. "Let's plan for a clean grab. Quiet in, quiet out."

Aris entered the bridge, her light armor half-latched. "Who are we grabbing this time?"

Kael flicked the bounty hologram to her.

Aris's brow furrowed. "Black Sun? That's a big name."

"Big name, small outpost," Kael replied. "No one's coming to save him."

Outpost 117 was buried in a jagged canyon on a scorched trade moon orbiting a pale gas giant. From above, it looked like nothing more than rock and ruin. But Cortana's scans revealed a functioning communications relay, a shielded control core, and a dozen heat signatures.

Kael, Aris, and Voro geared up aboard a stealth-modified drop shuttle. Vox remained behind to monitor the Specter's orbit.

As they approached the canyon wall, Cortana activated the signal-scrambling suite. "I've looped their sensors for seventy seconds. Entry path Alpha is your best bet."

Kael moved first, descending the narrow rock path like a shadow. Voro followed, Aris close behind. At the hatch, Kael used a MercNet skeleton key to trigger the override.

They slipped inside unnoticed.

Outpost corridors were narrow, dimly lit, and marked with peeling Black Sun glyphs. No guards in sight. Just the low hum of systems, the hiss of steam pipes, and the distant clatter of industrial gear.

Kael moved through the halls like he'd lived there.

They reached Joryn Kess's office in under five minutes.

Kael motioned to Aris and Voro to hold position outside. He opened the door.

Joryn looked up from his console, reaching for the blaster under his desk.

Kael stepped in with his saber unlit but visible.

"You move, you lose a leg."

Kess froze.

His hand hovered over the hidden switch. "You're him."

"Who?"

"The one who hit the Arcanum vault. Took down the Skirr pirates. You're the ghost with no file."

Kael stepped closer. "I don't need a file."

"You've made powerful enemies, friend."

Kael gestured toward the hallway. "You'll get a chance to warn them. If you behave."

Kess smiled grimly. "You really think you're off the radar? People are watching you. Not because they know who you are — but because they don't. That makes people nervous."

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"You talk too much."

He pulled a pair of stunbinders from his belt and moved forward. Kess made a last-second lunge for the panic button — but Kael was faster. He twisted the man's arm, slammed him against the wall, and cuffed him with a practiced motion.

Outside, Aris whispered over comms, "We've got movement. Four guards heading toward the office."

Kael cursed softly. "We're blown. Time to go."

The outpost exploded into motion. Red lights flashed. Alarm klaxons blared.

Kael and Aris moved fast, Kess dragged between them. Voro lobbed a shock charge down a hallway, frying three camera nodes and one guard's comms unit. Kael deflected a stun bolt with a flick of his saber, knocking it into a wall panel that erupted in sparks.

"Evac!" Kael barked.

Outside, the Specter descended low over the canyon edge, rear ramp opening mid-air. Vox's voice came through comms: "Bringing her in. You've got thirty seconds!"

They sprinted for the evac point. Blaster fire lanced from the outpost's northern watchtower — Aris deflected it with her saber, angling her body between Kael and the barrage.

They reached the shuttle's rear ramp just as it hovered a meter above the canyon floor.

Voro vaulted up, Kael tossed Kess in next, and Aris followed with a leap and a roll.

The Specter peeled off, rising hard and fast. Behind them, the outpost vanished in a cloud of smoke and confusion.

In the ship's holding cell, Kess leaned against the wall, blood at the corner of his lip.

"You don't understand what you've stepped into."

Kael locked the cell with a simple nod. "Don't need to."

Kess smiled grimly. "Someone's going to come looking for me. And when they find out you're the one who took me—"

Kael interrupted, "They'll send someone else. And I'll deal with them."

He stepped back. Kess shouted after him.

"People are afraid of ghosts, bounty hunter. They start hunting them."

Back in the command deck, Cortana floated above the nav console.

"Delivery complete. Payment received. Signal log burned. We're clean."

Aris looked back toward the brig. "He talked like someone who knew more than he was letting on."

Kael shrugged. "Let them watch. As long as they don't know how I'm doing what I do, they can guess all they want."

Cortana nodded. "And thanks to the Specter's passive masking protocols, we left nothing traceable behind. If anyone's watching, they're watching shadows."

Kael looked out into hyperspace.

And smiled.

[ Mission Complete: Crosshairs ]

Target: Joryn Kess — Captured (Alive)

Reward Received: 18,000 Credits

Kael XP: +850 | Aris XP: +400 | Voro XP: +300

System Alert: Reputation Noticed — Kael's MercNet Shadow Tag Upgraded to "Specter-Class Operative"

Note: No system signature detected. Status: Hidden

Companion Trust: Strengthened

Far away, aboard an obsidian-hulled listening station beyond Hutt space, a cloaked figure adjusted a receiver.

"Still no origin trace?"

Another figure replied, "None. Whoever they are… they're not working for the usual syndicates. They leave no trace, no pattern, no digital footprint."

"And yet," the first murmured, "they keep winning."

A long silence.

Then: "Keep watching."