Shifting restlessly on my feet, I glanced at my First Hunt rivals as we waited to board the transport shuttles. All the big names had come out to play. No wonder, considering the more-than-generous prizes on the line. While a badass hunter myself, I held no illusions I could win the grand prize. At five million credits, that purse verged on the obscene. However, unlike most other hunts, this one guaranteed everyone would come out a winner based on their performance. Therefore, participation had been by-invitation-only, sent out to well-established hunters with the Galactic Hunters Federation.
Twenty shuttles filled the massive hangar of the Federation’s base camp—one of the few non-native buildings on Trangor. None of us had ever set foot on this ‘primitive’ planet. Until recently, we’d all believed it to be a savage world, solely populated by wild beasts. But just like Earth, a single sentient species dominated the food chain—snake-like people called the Ordosians. We didn’t know much about them. They didn’t care to mingle with off-worlders and especially didn’t want us traipsing around their world. That the Federation had managed to secure their permission to hold this hunt was a miracle.
A chime resonated in the large hall, silencing the chatter among the hunters. Bron Kflen, the Federation Master Hunter, stood on a small pedestal to address us one last time before boarding. The Edocit male—a dryad species—had been a legend in his prime.
“Hunters, welcome to the First Hunt of Trangor,” Bron said in a booming voice. “You are here because you are the best of the best. We want an efficient hunt, with clean, merciful kills, and as little damage as possible to your targets’ organs as they are to be used for vital medical research. Therefore, on top of the flat fee for each kill, we will award a credit bonus for clean kills, earning you additional points to win the grand prize. So, make sure to claim your kills with the beacons provided so our extraction teams can recover them swiftly.”
An excited buzz coursed through the crowd. These types of hunts were few and far between. While some hunters swam in credits up to their eyeballs, others barely made enough to make a living, maintain and upgrade their gear, and pay the entrance fee of most of the general events. This would provide a good padding for those with shallow pockets. I didn’t come even close to qualifying as rich, but I didn’t struggle to make ends meet. This would beef up my comfortable nest egg.
“We have loaded your speeders or gliders into the shuttles that will take you to the sector you have selected to hunt,” Bron continued. “Remember that you are to exclusively hunt Flayers. Nothing else! The Ordosian only allowed this to control their population.”
Apparently, those creatures reproduced at a ridiculously high rate. Every year, during the birthing season, any adult Flayer that was unmated, sick, or old was cast out of their territory to make room for the newborns. Those outcasts would rampage through the land, wreaking havoc among the vulnerable species they encountered. Our job was to eradicate that roaming threat.
“Before your departure, please check again that your map has been properly synced and that it clearly displays the authorized hunting areas. Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT trespass outside the authorized boundaries. The Ordosians consider those other areas as holy grounds. They will execute you if you are caught in the forbidden areas.”
Like me, most of the nearly 100 hunters in the room double-checked that the map integrated in our bracers functioned properly.
“A tracker will warn you if you get too close to the border, and even more so if you cross it. Should that happen, turn back immediately, and pray you weren’t seen,” Bron said sternly. “If you are caught trespassing or gratuitously harming the local fauna or flora, we will not lift a finger if the Ordosians retaliate. It has taken us a long time to secure this event with the locals. See that you don’t ruin it for everyone. And play nicely with each other. If any of you are caught deliberately endangering your competitors, be it by luring or any other underhanded method, you will be banned and forfeit whatever earnings you might have acquired.”
A smirk stretched my lips as a few hunters cringed. In this highly competitive world, some showed few scruples when it came to getting the upper hand.
“But enough with the speeches and warnings. In a few seconds, the number of your shuttle will be communicated to your bracer. Good luck, and good hunt!” Bron concluded.
Enthusiastic cheers rose throughout the room, accompanied by discreet notification sounds as everyone received their number. Lucky number thirteen for me. I picked up my backpack sitting on the floor at my feet, shouldered it, and made my way to my assigned transport along with four males. Although only a fifth of the hunters in attendance were female, our numbers were steadily increasing every season.
My heart sank upon recognizing a familiar face boarding ahead of me. Baron—real name Bayrohnziyiek—was a bonafide asshole. Of course, the Zamorian male had to head in the same sector I had chosen. He was as tall and massive as he was brutal and ruthless, not to mention prone to cheating and hurting his rivals. Like all the people of his species, he vaguely resembled a grey-skinned orc with four arms, four eyes, and a long, straight mane held in a single braid. I couldn’t believe he’d been invited to an event that sought to be clean and ethical. Apparently, his high hunter ranking had convinced the selection committee to turn a blind eye.
I needed to steer clear of that jerk. Anyway, he would be gunning for the biggest prey: mature male Flayers. They were harder to kill but worth more credits and points. I’d set my focus on the medium-sized ones. I could kill them faster and with less risk of serious injury. For me, this hunt wasn’t about trying to strike it rich. I only wanted to pad my bank account, take part in this unique experience against a brand-new beast, and explore a world on which few people could boast of having ever set foot.
As soon as we settled into the passenger seats of the shuttle, it took off heading northeast. The broad windows gave me my first breathtaking view of Trangor. The clear blue sky had a light greenish tinge to it. Below, dense forests made of strange, prehistoric-looking trees, spread as far as the eye could see. Some vaguely resembled dragon trees, others monkey puzzle trees, and others could have been baobabs whose trunks had been carefully wrapped in braided bark.
After a relatively brief journey, the shuttle landed in a vast clearing. Based on the scanner readings provided by the Federation, while this area had some good pockets of rampaging Flayers, their numbers wouldn’t be too overwhelming for a single human hunter. Most of my rivals had headed southwest and northwest where throngs of beasts were swarming. I had expected Baron to go that route for a chance at more kills.
After wishing good luck to my competition , I took my speeder out of the hold and double-checked that my few survival supplies were still securely stashed in the storage space under my seat. Giddy with excitement, I took off, heading north, while the others scattered in a different direction. Firing up my long-range scanner, I went on the prowl.
To my delight, it took less than ten minutes for the first dots to appear on my scanner revealing nearby Flayers. I made a beeline for one that seemed to be somewhat isolated from the others. Lucky for me, although decent-sized, the beast wasn’t one of the massive mature males that could tear you to shreds before you had time to blink. It would be a good warmup before I started gunning for more challenging prey.
Flayers were truly ugly beasts. The lower half of their bodies look like that of a short centipede with only four legs on each side. Attached to it was a long torso that could have belonged to a chubby human. It possessed a pair of insect-like limbs with scythe-like appendages that could slice a person in half in a single swipe. Its neck, almost a meter long, ended in a round head that was one huge mouth filled with dagger teeth. All around that mouth and along the sides of its neck were at least two dozen eyes that gave it a 360-degree view of its surroundings.
Thankfully, it had poor hearing, and its vision had a fairly short range. However, it was very sensitive to vibrations on the ground and in the air around it. I stopped my speeder at a safe enough distance from the beast and activated my stealth shield. Facing off against one of these creatures would be suicidal. Not only were they extremely fast, but once they had you in their sights, they became relentless until you sat inside their bellies. And right now, my target was on the prowl for something to snack on.
Aside from the Flayer’s occasional rattling growl and the wind whistling in the leaves, the eerie silence surrounding us confirmed the rest of the fauna—even the birds—had taken cover during the stampede. Granted, it was far from a stampede in this area, which was why I’d chosen it. But out west, large herds of Flayers were rampaging through the region, devouring everything in their path like a swarm of locust. Apparently, this occurred once a year on Trangor, hence the need to thin the herd to keep them from exterminating weaker species.
The trick was to basically knock them off their feet. Then they became as helpless as a turtle on its back. Lucky for me, the wind blew northeast, driving my scent away from my quarry. What they lacked in sight and hearing, Flayers made up for with the sensitivity of their noses. I removed my crossbow and loaded it with bolts. The state-of-the-art weapon with aim assist allowed me to pre-lock the targets, a very tiny spot below the protective scale that covered the knees of its front legs. Once I fired, I would have a very small window in which to perform a clean kill. Failing that, things could get messier.
Heart pounding, adrenaline pumping through my veins, I quietly closed the distance with my prey. Stopping a little over ten meters away, I took in a deep breath, focused, then let my bolts fly. Even as they shot forward within a split second from each other, I took aim at the creature’s face, blocking everything around me but my target. Time seemed to slow as my bolts found their marks, burying themselves in the soft tissue below the knee shells of the Flayer. Its two front legs folded, and the beast pitched forward. While its torso bowed down, it stretched its neck forward to shriek, opening wide its tooth-filled maw.
In the critical few seconds I had to react, I zoomed in and aimed at the spot right above the purple protrusion at the back of its throat—the equivalent of a human’s uvula—and fired. I cursed under my breath even as the bolt left my crossbolt, knowing I had missed the shot when the creature tilted its head to the side. Without blinking, I adjusted and fired again, breaking into a run even as my arrow left my weapon. The loud cracking sound that reached me as I rushed the beast confirmed my second shot had hit its mark.
I shouted in victory while the creature’s upper body thrashed on the ground and its back legs scrambled backwards in a blind attempt to flee the source of pain. Without slowing down from my run, I jumped onto the creature’s back while drawing my dagger. Sitting on its long neck, feeling like a cowgirl in a rodeo as it tried to buck me off in its agony, I grabbed the end of my bolt protruding through the back of its skull where it had breached its unique weak spot. Lifting it up, I stabbed my dagger downward, severing its spine and all blood flow to the brain. A violent tremor shook the creature, and then it went still.
I pulled out the dagger and hopped off the creature. Wasting no time, I retrieved my beacon gun and shot a single disc in the opening at the back of the Flayer’s skull. A bluish shimmer spread around the beast as the beacon began to pulsate with a faint, luminous glow. On top of confirming this as my kill for both score and payment, the beacon sent a signal to the extraction team. Furthermore, the shimmering dome it created kept the kill in a form of stasis so the organs wouldn’t spoil before recovery. It also acted as a repellent against any roaming wildlife that thought to enjoy a free meal.
Stoked by this promising start, I cleaned my dagger and returned to my speeder to search for my next prey. For the next few hours, I continued my efforts, exterminating a far greater number of beasts than I had expected. Granted, I faced a few close calls, but what was a hunt without some hair-raising moments?
As the sun lowered on the horizon, I decided to camp instead of returning to the base. I was far too deep in the north to justify that trip back. With the Saroyan mountains a short distance from here, I would likely find a cave or some sort of overhang that would provide a half decent shelter for the night. I decided to move northeast, closer to the Ordosian territories. They would be safer with a lot fewer roaming creatures as the locals would be steadfast in clearing them.
Sure enough, I found a nice little natural cave in the middle of nowhere. Still, I placed a series of motion detectors in a wide radius around the cave in case something came lurking while I slept. I retrieved the inflatable mattress from my speeder. While I could rough it out with the best of them, I enjoyed my creature comforts whenever possible. This clever design allowed the mattress to compact into what resembled a thick book. But when unfolded, it inflated to a twin-size mattress. It wasn’t fancy, but it sure beat sleeping on hard stones and rocks.
I settled for eating some of my energy bars and washed them down with some water. As was my wont when on the trail, I rarely bothered with proper meals. Lighting a fire and cooking a catch had a way of attracting the wrong kind of attention. Once the hunt was over though, I would pamper myself with a five-star meal in a luxurious restaurant on my way home. As I settled for the night, I pulled up the scoring results for today’s round on my datapad. To my surprise, I had ranked 22nd, much higher than I had expected considering the caliber of my rivals.
My jaw dropped when I saw Baron not only in first place, but incredibly far ahead of everyone else. There was no way a single person could have achieved such a score by themselves. And yet, there was no way to cheat. You could only score by tagging a kill. How the heck was he killing so many mature male Flayers, so damn fast? I didn’t doubt for a minute that he had found a way to game the system. It just pissed me off that he would win the grand prize when I knew in my gut that he did not deserve it.
Shrugging it off, I turned in for the night.
