A New Type of Luck

[Pontius]

Chapter One

Hope's End was one of the worst places in the galaxy to be. The tavern was a hot and humid place, with jungle breezes coming through the open porticoes and door frames. This, combined with the thick, borderline toxic drinks served at the bar, made it an appalling place to be.

Hope's End was fitting name for the run-down building. It was situated on the edge of a small town, Hope, on the harsh jungle world of Griia IV. Over the years it had become a hot-spot for all manner of criminals, as well as every other fringe element of society. Most people who went into Hope's End didn't do so by choice and rarely left because of this. Some would call it the last stop on the road to hell; others would say it was hell itself.

Despite all of this, Dante Hart sat in Hope's End entirely by choice, and had already consumed far too many of the bar's “special” drinks. He was nursing a nearly empty glass, carefully raising the glass for a short sip every few moments trying to slow his pace and mask the amount of alcohol in his system. Unfortunately, a place like Hope's End was full of people who knew the effect of alcohol far too well, and could easily spot a drunk when they saw one.

As if adhering to some schedule that only he knew, Dante took one final gulp of his liquor and abruptly stood up. In his haste, he had knocked his stool backwards, drawing the attention of the few patrons in the bar at this early hour. Dante, however, gave no outward sign of caring about the attention.

With a drunk gait, Dante walked over to a table in the back corner of Hope's End. There three men sat drinking, the only group in the building. After a few silent moments, Dante finally stopping moving behind the only vacant chair at the table. He slowly pulled the chair out from beneath the table, dumped himself into it, and gently placed his head against the flat surface of the wooden table.

The entire bar was gripped in silence at Dante's actions. He had not chosen any group within Hope's End to interrupt, but rather Sci "Scourge" Lithers' table. Scourge was not a nickname the man had earned lightly, and he had a terrifying reputation as being one of the most violent and brutal criminals on Griia. He was a rather large man himself, thick with corded muscles, black tattoos, and a rugged beard. The two men sitting next to Scourge were far, far bulkier, almost to the point of being comically large. It was if someone had placed vat-grown muscles on a slender frame, which was undoubtedly the case. Scourge was a man who didn't take his hired muscle lightly. Everyone in Hope knew it was a bad idea to get in the way of Scourge, and it was an quick way to lose an eye, tongue, or worse.

A few men near the door decided they were not in the mood for the coming violence, and made for the exit. A couple nearby Scourge's table decided it was best if they left as well. Everyone who remained either tightened their grip on a hidden blade, or found something particularly interesting about the table where they sat. The tension in the bar was becoming palpable.

The silent action within the tavern was brought to an abrupt halt as Dante raised his head in a rush and yawned loudly. Scourge didn't take note of Dante's actions, and instead turned to his men and slowly nodded. The pair returned the nod with a smile and stood up from their chairs.

Dante slowly panned his head between the two hired thugs, and offered a wide smile before speaking as slowly as possible, as if exaggerating his inebriated state. "Did you know that your boss over there" Dante waved his hand in the general direction of Scourge, "has a considerable bounty on his head?"

The two thugs looked at each other for a few seconds before laughing at Dante's abrupt, yet futile comment. One of the bruisers balled his hand into a fist and smacked it into his open palm.

"I bet it isn't nice to have a bounty on your head." Uncaring of the bruiser's actions, Dante mused to no one in particular. "I hate to be the idiot who tries to take you people out. I mean, just look at how huge your muscles are."

This caused the two thugs to pause in their steps, their faces contorted in confusion, as if wondering if Dante's words were a compliment or an insult. Dante strained as he kept from laughing under his breath.

Dante once again started to think aloud with the same tone as before. "Maybe I'll take a nap. I feel so safe with you guys around." And with that, Dante returned his head back to the table.

A thick, toothy grin spread across each of the thugs. One looked at the other and spoke in a strange sunken voice, as if his muscles were suffocating him. "I love it when the idiots make it easy."

Scourge spoke for the first time. "I don't pay you two to talk. Ruff the drunk up and chuck him out of the bar. I don't think the barkeeper wants this good man's service anymore." It was a thinly veiled threat at the barkeeper, but the bartender said nothing, and went back to cleaning the glasses behind the bar. The man had been around long enough to know when to get involved and when to let idiots get beat up.

The two thugs seemed happy to oblige their boss, and cracked their knuckles as they made a final approach toward the slouched Dante. One came from behind him and reached out to grab his collar from the back, and brought his other fist up. The thug didn't get any further, as Dante jumped up from his seat, pushing the thug's meaty hands up and into the man's jaw. Dante heard a crack as the jaw broke.

After a few confusing moments, the thug's companion finally understood what had happened, and charged. Dante made another quick movement, this time toward the ground as he let his feet give out from under him. He hit the ground with a gasp of pain, and the thugs blow continued on and connected with his fellow bruiser. The first bruiser, who at the time was nursing a throbbing pain in his jaw, did not notice the blow heading straight for him until it was far too late to evade. The blow connected, sending the first bruiser backwards, instantly unconscious.

The remaining thug bellowed at Dante and spun to renew his assault. However, his prey wasn't on the ground anymore, rather he was standing off to the side, yawning in boredom. The bounty hunter slowly produced a thirty-centimeter blade from his back and casually let it hang at his side. The man's loose grip revealed the golden dragon embroidered on the hilt.

A audible gasp swept through the bar as Dante fell upon the enraged minion, embedding his heavy blade into the man's shoulder. The thug let out a thundering scream as blood began to pool around the wound. Dante brought up his other hand and pushed off the bruiser, as if recovering from a stumble. A thick spray of arterial fluid flew into the air as the man shrieked once more.

“Sorry bout that. I must have tripped.” Dante said mockingly.

Rage boiling across his face, the thug brought up his own, far shorter blade in a wide arc. However, Dante dodged the wide arc of the swing, and stepped inside the man's guard. In another surprisingly agile movement, Dante brought his own blade into the thug's exposed gut. This time Dante didn't quickly pull the blade out. Rather, he slipped forward, dragging the long blade across the man's gut. The bruiser groaned in pain, before collapsing backward.

Moving as if nothing had happened, Dante spun in place, and threw his blade at Scourge's leg as he made a break for the bar's exit. The blade connected with bone with a thump, and Scourge crashed headlong into the floor of the tavern. Dante made his way too the fallen criminal, taking the time to brush the blood on his hands on the side of his pant leg. He sighed in disgust as he knew the blood would be a pain to remove from his white shirt, but at least the black color of his pants could mask the unmistakable red smear.

With a grunt, Dante retrieved his blade from Scourge's leg, and moved to sit in front of the felon. Scourge's eyes bulged wide in pain and shock. He opened his mouth to say something but Dante waved his hand and silenced him.

"Don't worry, you'll live." Dante took a few moments to eye his prize. "At least, until they hang you. This town really hates its petty thugs."

Sighing, Dante got up from his seat and moved to dry off his blade on the cloths of Scourge. From behind, Dante hear a slight gurgling sound, and he turned to face the Scourge's face.

A short rasp cut through the silence that had settled in Dante's brief, but violent, action. "What the hell are you?"

Dante considered this for a few moments, before responding. "A bloody idiot."

[Pontius]

Chapter Two

Hope, unlike the tavern's name, was an ironic title. Being an outskirt town on a fringe world, it was no surprise that it was also overwhelmingly destitute. The streets were clogged with the poor, the starving, and the homeless. Begging and prostitution were the most common vocations, and Dante knew that a place like Hope could easily change a man for the worse. With no intention of letting that happen to him, he knew he had to get off world before the town could sink its teeth into him.

Hope's meager security force were stunned beyond belief when the seemingly ordinary Dante brought Scourge in. Being taxed to near collapse, they were eager to pay off the bounty on Scourge's head, knowing that one less criminal prowled the streets at night. Dante was also glad to finally have money once again, to pay off rising bills and repair costs. Some people would be concerned about the morality of bounty hunting, but Dante was unmoved by his conscience. Receiving payment for catching criminals was simply the way of life, as far as he was concerned.

So concerned about getting back to his ship as fast as possible, Dante collided with someone on the street. The blow caught the bounty hunter unawares, and nearly sent him plummeting to the ground. After regaining his balance, he looked around to see who he hit.

It was a woman, roughly thirty years standard by appearance, with ragged clothing caked with filth and small cuts in the fabric. Her bare feet were bare and calloused, her face was covered in thick layer grime, and her eyes spoke to years of suffering. Dante could also make out her thin frame from beneath her clothing, clearly caused by a lifetime of starvation. The woman's hair was clumped into thick strands with dried mud running throughout. On top of this, she had the aroma of someone who hadn't bathed in years, and Dante found her to be a pathetic, yet heart-wrenching, sight.

Without second though, Dante bent down and gently eased the girl upright with a sturdy hand. When he grasped her wrists, he could feel the bones beneath her skin, supporting his initial assumption.

Dante began to apologize to the woman. "Don't feel sorry, I'm the idiot here. I should have been looking where I was going. I was in a rush." After no response from the woman, he reached down and raised her head to face his own.

After meeting Dante's stare with a clenched jaw, she finally decided to speak and said, "I am really sorry, sir, I should pay-." Her voice trailed off as she saw Dante stifle a soft laugh.

“It has been a very long time since anyone has called me sir.”

The woman turned to open her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it, turned around and began to walk away.

Dante, startled by her actions, began to look around for a cause, when it finally dawned on him. The blood stains. "Oh don't worry, its not mine! I swear!" Dante called out at the woman's back. "Oh come on. Let me make it up to you. I'll treat you to a nice meal, since god knows you need it."

The woman stopped at the notion of food and turned to him. She nodded with a cautious, if eager, smile.

[Pontius]

Chapter Three

The meal was far simpler than Dante had envisioned, but it was a feast to the mysterious woman. He was eating his share of the meal, but his companion, on the other hand, was choking down mouthful after mouthful.

Dante frowned for a moment after a few moments of the woman's gluttonous behavior. "You know, you should eat slower, otherwise you'll regret it."

She looked up at him, then thankfully nodded. She placed her utensils on the table and gave her stomach a few moments rest.

"With that out of the way," Dante spoke, "I think I should get to know the name of the girl I'm buying dinner for."

She looked at him blankly for a few moments before speaking, "Terra."

"Terra? Just Terra? That it?"

Terra sighed, and said, "Winters. I am Terra Winters. And I'm not a girl. I'm twenty standard – twenty one in a few months."

Dante was surprised by this, as Terra looked far older at a casual assessment. It was just a sign of how harsh her life was, Dante mused to himself. "So Terra Winters, is that your real name or just something you made up to placate me?"

Terra paused for a moment, but didn't say anything.

“Ahh, so that's how its going to be. Either way, I'm Dante Hart."

Terra looked up at him and said, "Is that your real name?"

Dante smiled. Terra may have had a harsh life, but she was not as dim as most beggars ended up being. She also had a wit about her that Dante really couldn't explain. "Wouldn't you like to know." Dante said with a smile.

Terra cleared her throat of food. “I don't think you're clever enough to give me a false name,” she replied flatly.

“Aren't you pretentious.”

After that, the meal continued on for a few silent moments before Dante once again tried to strike up a conversation. "So how long have you been in Hope?"

"My whole life. I was born in the gutters of this awful town and I'll eventually die in them."

Dante was startled by the forthrightness of her comment, but upon thinking of his comment, he shrugged as he realized he couldn't have expected anything better. "Oh." Dante finally said; it had be a very long time since he had a civil conversation.

"What about you? You don't feel local."

"Oh, I'm a.. err... traveler. I go where the work takes me."

"So that means your a bounty hunter? It would explain the blood."

Once again, Dante was taken by how quick the girl was, and said, "On some days. I can be other things too, you know. I run a small transport ship here and there."

"So you're also a smuggler."

There was no question in Terra's comment, she spoke as if it was a fact. Dante looked down and gave a soft chuckle before speaking, "You know, for someone who has been in the 'gutter' for her entire life, you're pretty sharp. Perhaps I should stop being so open about what I do for a living.” Dante paused for a moment before continuing. “Although, it isn't wise to be so condemning of the man whose buying you a meal."

She offered a fake, half-hearted smile, but said nothing.

Their conversation was cut short as a waitress from the establishment came over to Dante to collect the bill she had given them earlier. Dante made a few flirtatious comments with her as he reached into his pants to retrieve his wallet.

He was startled when he felt nothing in his pant's pocket. Panicking, he checked his other pockets and noticed that they, too, were empty. All that he had on him was his knife, blaster pistol, and his cloths. Anger flushed his face as he looked across the table at Terra, except she wasn't there anymore. Neither was her plate of food.

"Spawn of a whore!" Dante screamed as he realized he had been scammed.

[Pontius]

Chapter Four

Dante pouted as he walked down the streets of Hope toward his ship, the Luckless, parked in the town's only harbor. The ship was voiced locked, so he had not last that at least. Nevertheless, he was furious at his loss of the bounty. It had been a long time since he had gotten paid, and he needed that cash for some repairs on the ship.

He figured that the money was long gone by now, and he would just have to find a job somewhere else on this dead-end planet. That is, until he crashed headlong into a person on the street for the second time that day.

This time, both people in the crash fell backwards. After collecting himself, he got up and started to brush the dirt that had gotten on his clothes. "You should really look where-." Dante's voice died in his throat as he saw who he had collided into. It was Terra Winters, with parts of the meal she stole still visible on the edge of her mouth.

"Of all the people." Terra said to herself.

She quickly leapt to her feet and started to run off away from Dante, however he would have nothing of that and started to chase after her. Dante was a healthy man at the relative peak of his physical performance, and Terra was slowed by her lifetime of malnourishment and improper living conditions. He was able to catch up with her in a few heartbeats, and dived into her back, driving them both into the ground. Terra gave a gasp in pain as the air was forced from her chest.

"Get off of me, you scum!"

Dante was startled by her condescending remark. He got up on his knees, but still held Terra to the ground with his hands. "Scumbag? Me? If I recall correctly I'm not the one who is the pickpocket."

"Oh don't give me that righteous bullshit. I know what you are, just a hapless criminal wandering the stars to see whose life you can mess up!"

"At least I do it to their faces!" Dante's voice was louder than he had anticipated, and regretted saying it almost at once. He collected himself for a few seconds before speaking. "And the last I checked, I'm the one who bought you dinner. I don't recall that 'messing' up your life."

Terra gave a huff of disgust but said nothing.

"As terse as ever. Now kindly hand back that money you stole from me."

Terra paused for a second, before responding. "And if I don't?"

"I won't think very kindly of you. Oh, and I may have my way with you or something."

"May have your 'way' with me? You may be a scumbag, but you aren't a demented sicko."

Dante laughed for a moment then said, "I guess I can't help but show you my true colors. Now hand over the money, otherwise my knife will have to cut into this conversation."

Terra stopped moving underneath for a moment and paused for a few seconds. "Cut in? That is awful."

"I know." Dante said with a grin.

After a few last bouts of struggling, Terra slowly became still. "Fine, but I don't have it on me."

"What?" Dante felt his heart sank. Had she cashed in the money that fast? That shouldn't be possible, he had only just left the restaurant.

"I buried it in case something like this happened, just didn't expect it'd be you. And don't think that you can go and find it, there's a lot of dirt in Hope."

"So, where is it? Oh, and spare us both and don't do anything stupid." Dante pushed Terra onto her back and grabbed both her hands with one of his and used the other one to pat her down for any sign of the cash. After a few moments he decided that she was right, at least on some level; his wallet and cash were no where in person.

"I'll do it under one condition." Terra said with a sly grin.

"And that is?"

"You take me with you."

"What?" Dante was once again surprised by this mysterious woman. "Do you think I'm some sort of hopeless romantic, cruising the stars for the woman of my dreams? And plus, shouldn't I be the bold one?"

"Don't be so melodramatic. I just want off this hellhole. That's what I was going to use the money for anyway. You can keep the difference. Take me somewhere else and you can forget about me."

Dante thought to himself for a few seconds, but Terra caught him off once again. "Also, you don't have a flying chance with me, scumbag."

Dante laughed at her toying smile and said, "Fine."

[Pontius]

Chapter Five

Terra and Dante approached the hanger door that held the Luckless at a casual pace. It had been a quiet trip through Hope to where Terra had buried the money, but it was still there, along with the rest of Dante's wallet.

They paused for a moment next to the door. Dante placed his hand on the control panel and smiled when he said, "Without further adieu, I give you the Luckless."

Terra frowned at the name, but said nothing. The hanger door swung open revealing Dante's faithful old ship. It was a far cry from elegance, and in fact was otherwise unremarkable except for a few scorch makes along the side of the ship. It was a bit large for a single man's craft, but it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. A pair could live comfortable on the ship, entertaining a few guests here and there. On the side of the Luckless, the name of the vessel was painted in smooth black letters.

"Its pretty ugly," Terra said after a few moments of silence as she took in the vessel.

"Ugly? That's pretty ironic from someone like you."

Terra made a face at Dante's remark but said nothing further.

The pair made their way to the ramp that lead into the ship. Inside the vessel, the accommodations were sparse, but not entirely unwelcoming. There was a simple engine room, a messy cockpit, an even dirtier common room, a spare, but vast, storage area, and a few secondary rooms and bedrooms. Dante gave Terra a quick tour of the ship, but she remained quiet throughout the circuit on the vessel. Her face seemed to be awash with pain, but Dante didn't notice or didn't care.

"You're going to have to clean yourself up. I have a few spare clothes from travelers who... left some of their belongings. Feel free to browse through it. I don't want your... um stench to become synonymous with the Luckless." Terra frowned at the remark, but understood the reasoning behind it. Dante continued speaking, disregarding Terra's face. "Besides that, I'll have a meal made every day at nine, twelve, and five ship time, give or take. There are clocks in most areas."

"You cook?" Terra said as if in shock.

"I get by. Also,” Dante quickly redirected the conversation, “you're not allowed in the engine room or my room at any time. You can only be in the cockpit under my supervision. That clear?"

Terra gave a slight nod.

"You're room is B. Its above the door. I'm in A. I'm going to be in the cockpit and get us off this rock while you go and clean up. We'll discuss where we're going from here at dinner." Dante paused and noticed the pain that was becoming more and more visible on Terra's worn face. "Stomach?" He said after a few moments.

Terra looked perplexed at first, but quickly processed the question and nodded at him.

Dante smiled and said, "Told you shouldn't have eaten so fast. We'll take it slower with the meals on the trip." With that, Dante spun in place and started walking toward the cockpit.

"You know," Terra called out to Dante's back, "for a scumbag, you're actually not that bad." Dante smiled at the remark, but said nothing. "Also," Terra once again called out before heading to her new accommodations, "Luckless is a terrible name."

[Pontius]

Chapter Six

Dante stood alone in the common room aboard the Luckless, slowly cooking up a meal for him, and Terra, should she ever reappear. She had been in her room for several hours now, and it didn't bother Dante in the slightest. It gave him some precious alone time, to collect his thoughts about where he'd go next. Plus, he also figured, it would be time-consuming to clean off a lifetime's worth of dirt and filth.

It had taken him a while to decide on a meal, just in case Terra did eventually show up. He wanted to offer her something special as a sort of welcoming, and show that he forgave her about robbing him. He too had been through a few rough spells in his life, and he knew all too well how desperate it can get. But, he also didn't want to over tax her stomach. Eventually, he settled on a simple meal of salted ham, a block of aged cheese, a roll, and some other condiments. He also went into a small compartment below the cooking area of the common room and retrieved one of the bottles of wine he had. I have to celebrate in some way, Dante thought to himself.

When Dante climbed back into the common room, he was surprised to see Terra standing before the cooking table. Her appearance had changed remarkably since the last time he had seen her. Gone was all the dirt, the torn clothing, and disheveled hair. Instead, she wore a plain dark blue, short-sleeved blouse and simple black pants. Even upon a cursory glance, Dante could tell that the clothes were very loose upon her, and he was startled when he saw exactly how anorexic her frame was. Her cheekbones were highly pronounced in her emaciated state, which seemed to accentuate her frail look. Her hair, now clearly auburn in color, was tied back in a small ponytail despite looking quite thin in spots. He could make out a thin layer of make-up on her face, perhaps too little. Despite how much she had cleaned, she couldn't change her eyes, and how they spoke volumes of what Terra had gone through.

He looked at her for a few moments, which caused her to fidget slightly under his gaze, smiled, then went back to his meal preparation.

"Hey, asshole, aren't you going to say something? Do know how long I was in that damn shower? How long it took me figure out how to put on this damn make-up!" Her voice was raspy, and she was nearly screeching when she had finished speaking, clearly upset about something.

Dante paused in the middle of filling one of the wine glasses he had pulled out. He looked up at her once again and smiled as he said, "I think you look beautiful."

Dante's words froze Terra's heart for the briefest moment. Tears began to well up at the edge of her eyes, but she quickly brushed them aside. After a few sniffles, she stretched her face out into a weak smile and spoke in a half-hearted tone. “Perhaps you a helpless romantic after all."

Dante laughed, and spoke. "I mentioned it for a reason, you know. You'd be surprised how many hopeless romantics get the girl."

Terra laughed softly under her breadth at Dante's remark, and spoke as she approached the table where Dante was preparing the meal. "Don't get your hopes up. I still think you're a scumbag, remember?"

Dante shrugged and said, "Yeah, yeah, thats what they all say to me." And went back to finishing the meal for a few moments before continuing. “Its nice to see a smile on your face.”

Terra paused for the briefest moment, but ultimately moved to change the topc."So whats on the menu tonight?"

Sighing at a lack of a response, Dante responded. "Well, I thought we'd start simple with that stomach of yours. So, I made a simple dish of meats, cheeses, breads, and other things."

"And the wine?"

"Just let the hopeless romantic be romantic." Dante said with a smile. "Also, think of it is as a welcoming gift."

"Gift? Why the hell are you giving me a gift? Have you been drinking and forgot that I stole from you?"

Dante shrug before he said anything further. "I don't really blame you. A chump like me with a full pocket of cash in a town like Hope? I was asking for it."

Terra looked down at the plate before her with a slight frown on her face, as if she felt rejected by Dante's comments.

"Oh don't pout, I got it back, and as an added bonus, I get a chance to woo the girl."

The smile returned to Terra's face, and she pushed Dante lightly on the shoulder across the table. "Remember, this is just a transport. I want off, you know."

"Oh, I know. But I still get to have some fun while I shuttle you around."

Terra laughed at the remark, and began to eat the food arrayed before her, although this time far slower. The meal progressed for a few moments, in silence, until Terra spoke up and said: "So back in town, I saw that you had a knife on your belt with an ornate sheath. Where's it from?"

Dante smiled as he was chewing a bite of his meal. He reached down to his side, and retrieved the knife in question, and slammed it blade first into a loaf of bread between the pair. It was a long, straight, double-edged knife etched with strange markings that seemed to flow across the flat surface of blade. The hilt was the far more interesting part of the blade, however, as at the top of the hilt was a golden dragon's face. The dragon's mouth was wide open and from it flowed the blade itself. Once past the head, the rest of the dragon became a thin serpent that coiled along the length of the black leather hilt. At the base of the hilt, the end of the dragon formed a perfect circle with the last edges of the tail blending into bottom of the grip. The circle that the tail formed was large and formed a now-empty socket on either side of the hilt. There seemed to be a thin layer of grim on the hilt and the dragon itself, which was strange due to the otherwise immaculate appearance of the blade.

"Its a thirty centimeter blade. Perfectly balanced, and pretty awesome to look at. I'm not sure where it came from, or what its made from, but its sharp as hell and pretty durable. I call it 'Dragon Tooth'," Dante said with a grin.

Terra inspected the blade for a few moments, then said, "You have a terrible sense with names, you know that right?"

Dante could only shrug. Terra continued on and said, "Whats with the writing?"

"Not really sure. I picked it up off one of my kills. He wasn't really forthcoming about where it came from."

"Oh... Well what are the two sockets on the end? Looks like there was something supposed to be there."

Dante shook his head and retrieved the blade from the loaf of bread. "Oh, don't worry about that."

Terra remained silent for a few seconds before speaking up again, "Um, you did remember to wash that blade after you used it today, didn't you?"

Dante looked perplexed for a brief instant, and said, "Washed it? No..."

"Then I think you just ruined perfectly good bread."

Dante bent over the loaf of bread, and sure enough, he saw traces of dried blood on the inside of the loaf. He straightened out and rubbed the back of his head when he spoke with a mischievous grin. "Well I guess we could eat around it?"

"I have no idea how you survive out here," was all Terra could manage. The pair erupted into laughter, which lasted a several moments.

Once they had calmed down, Dante spoke up. "So, have you given any thought were you would want to go?"

"Oh," Terra said, clearly startled by Dante's forthrightness, "I don't really know. I've never been off that world before, and I don't have the faintest idea about whats nearby."

Dante thought to himself for a few moments, "Well, there are a few worlds I can think of, but one stands out. Its called Scythia, a small world a few days out. The climate isn't so harsh, and there's plenty of work to be had there, lots of farms that need all the help they can get. Wouldn't be an easy life by any stretch, but it'd be a lot better than the one you had in Hope. A job, food, and eventually a home. People are pretty open to strangers as well. I spent a few months there a couple years back."

"That sounds fine."

"I'll forward a database of planets to the computer in your room, which will let you browse them all on your own and pick which one you want."

Terra simply nodded and went back to her meal.

[Pontius]

Chapter Seven

Dante walked alone aboard the ship, taking his time to do a final check on security before he went to bed. Luckless was on a general drifting course through the void, having not jumped to hyperspace to preserve fuel while Terra made up her mind on where to go. Overall, everything was pretty quiet aboard the ship. Dante didn't really expect anything, but one last check before sleep was hardwired into his brain by this point. It was an old habit he picked up during his time in the military, and it had just became second nature. He shut off the lights, which had dimmed slightly to give the feeling of a night and day cycle, as he made his way through the ship.

He was surprised to see Terra's door open, with a thin beam of light spreading out into the dark hallway. Slowly, Dante edged himself toward the door in the darkness, and strained to hear anything from within. He didn't like the idea of spying on Terra, but he still wanted to be sure she was alright. He was surprised when he heard soft sobs coming from within. Hoping for the best, Dante slowly pushed open the door to the room, and peered inside.

"Terra, I heard someone crying, is everything-." Dante's words were cut short when he saw Terra. Her hair was hanging loosely around her face, and he could clearly see how thin her hair actually was. As she looked up, Dante could see that her eyes were bloodshot, and her cheeks were flushed.

"No, I don't want you to see me like this. Get out." Her voice was weak, and came in short bursts in between tears. Vainly she tried to brush the tears away and wave Dante away, but instead of leaving, he stepped firmly towards Terra. He sat next to her on the bed, and let her head lay against his shoulder. He placed an arm around her softly as she began to sob once again.

"Why are you doing this?" Terra finally managed.

"Would it make you feel better if I said I got off on damsels in distress?" Dante said with a smile.

Terra paused in the middle of her tears and hit him on the side. "You're sick."

Dante laughed, startled at how much force she put behind the blow, but didn't dare let Terra know how much it stung. "Now that's the girl that stole my wallet."

Terra's brief moment of happiness quickly passed and she drifted once again into tears. Dante decided it wouldn't be wise for another poor jest in humor, so he decided to simply remain still, giving Terra work through it herself.

After a few minutes of painful tears, Terra spoke in a raspy whisper. "I don't get you at all."

"I don't get me half the time either, if it makes you feel any better."

"It doesn't. How can you possibly stand me? I'm blackmailing you, and you give me food and wine? You comfort a stranger who pushes you away? How did I get to be so lucky?"

Sighing, he replied, "Perhaps after such a bad life, something out there decided it was time for a change. You certainly deserve it after what you went through, even if you won't admit it."

"There were people,” Terra said softly, “out on the streets, that were worse off than I was. I was still young enough to scrounge up meals here and there. Not everyone was that lucky in Hope. Plus,” Terra's voice slowly trailed off, “I've done things, unforgivable things in my past. Why me? Why not someone else?"

Dante reached up and pulled Terra back from his shoulder, and spun his body to face her. He stared directly into Terra's eyes when he said, "Everything can be forgotten though. I for one, am a living example of that. I have an impressive body count under my belt, you know."

Terra gave a weak smile and shook her head. "You really know how to kill a mood, don't you?"

Dante smiled as he eased her head onto his lap. "Its a curse, really. Although, it actually is quite useful from time to time. There was once there was this massive-" Dante paused for a brief moment, "Actually, I'll just shut up now. Get some rest, Terra."

A warm smile passed across her head and she said, "Thanks."

Dante could feel her slowly drift off to sleep on his lap. He reached down and brushed the edges of her hair back behind her ear. He softly touched her face and smiled.

[Pontius]

Chapter Eight - Part One

Terra gently awoke to the rhythmic buzz of the alarm in her room. She stretched out in her bed before slowly sitting upright. She was surprised by the fact that Dante was no where to be found in her room, and that the door was sealed. Part of her wondered if the whole thing was a dream last night, although most of her was worried that it wasn't. She knew all too well the type of person that followed Dante's profession, and was deathly afraid what would happen now that he had seen her at such a weak moment. Resolving that she could remain locked up in her room forever, reached down and put on her old clothes, and set out to the ship's common room.

Terra was surprised to see Dante in the common room, huddled over one of the few computer terminals and holding a steaming mug. He was wearing the same black pants he wore yesterday, although his white shirt was no where to be seen.

He looked back when he heard Terra come into the room, and said, "Good morning, Sleepy. You missed breakfast, but I can make an exception if you're hungry."

"I'm fine.” Shaking her head as she responded groggily. “Although I could use something to drink."

Dante turned back to the computer screen in front of him and took a long sip from his drink. After his was finished, he spoke. "Help yourself. If you want something cold, check the chilling unit, I think I have some water there. If you want something stronger, I can brew up another cup of my special stuff."

"What's your 'special stuff'?"

"Its a hot, caffeinated liquid that's fairly bitter.” He said with a cough, as if emphasizing his brew's potency. “It'll put hair on your chest!" Although, after considering his words, he quickly spoke again. "Not that... you want hair on your chest or anything. Well, I mean if you want, you can have some, but you don't look like-"

"Stop right there." Terra interjected. "Just stop. Water will be fine."

Terra moved behind the island in the cooking area and opened the chilling unit, which was marked with a crudely written sign that said 'Cold Stuff.' She smiled to herself as she was greeted with a cold blast of air, which felt strangely refreshing in her slumberous state. Retrieving the pitcher and a nearby glass, she poured out a full serving. Once she was finished, she returned the pitcher and turned to the island, and was surprised to see Dante on the other side, still holding his mug with a childish grin.

She could clearly make out small scars that crisscrossed all over his chest and down his arms, although one large scar sliced across his chest and abdomen. All of the scars were faded, but each looked painful nonetheless. Terra could only imagine the kind of horror that he had been through. Instinctively, she winced at the scars, as if sharing a lifetime of pain with Dante.

When Dante saw her face, frowning as he said, "Sorry. Not used to having company." Reaching down to the table, he quickly recovered his stained shirt and pulled it on.

Terra glared down at the glass of water beneath her and said, “So about last night...”

Dante quickly waved his hand, silencing her. “Don't worry about it.” He took another long sip from his mug, and said, “Did you get a chance to pick a new home?"

Looking up from her glass, Terra slowly shook her head and said, "Not really, but that Scythia place you were talking about last night seemed fine."

Dante smiled while he spoke. "Thought so. It'll be a bit until we reach it, probably about five days or-"

Dante's conversation was cut short by a sharp alarm sound coming from the cockpit of Luckless. Returning his mug to the island's surface, Dante dash off towards the bridge, with Terra following closely behind.

***

"What is it?" Terra asked cautiously.

"A derelict, I think." Dante said as he looked at some of the sensor reports on the bridge's primary console. "Why its out this far is beyond me. We've only been drifting to spare fuel. Guess some unlucky person's engines crashed and they dropped out of hyperspace early."

"Does that happen often?" Terra said with an edge of concern in her voice.

"Only to the unlucky ones."

"Great." Terra responded sarcastically.

Dante quickly flicked through various consoles before speaking once more. "She's dead in the water and I'm not picking up any life-signs. Looks like life support went out a long time ago. And the energy signature I'm picking up shouldn't be enough for stasis."

"Stasis? And shouldn't be?"

"Cyro-Stasis. Its a last ditch effort to stay alive if all else fails. If can't get to trans-light speeds, and have nothing to live off of, you basically have to wait until someone comes by. Only problem is that could take a very long time, hence stasis. Stasis pods are pretty standard - in fact I've got a few aboard Luckless. The only downside is that they usually take a lot of juice to run, so once your engines die off, you eventually thaw out and suffocate."

"Heart-warming." Terra replied.

"Don't worry. Never had to use 'um." Dante reached over to the sensor console once more and sighed. "Her class of vessel is not in my database, which is surprising, since that looks really old."

Not waiting for a response from Terra, Dante reached down to the control stick for ship and started to maneuver Luckless towards the derelict.

Once Terra saw what he was doing, she questioned him. "What are you doing?"

"Well, the ship's dead, so might as well check to see if there are some valuables still on-board. Don't worry, it'll only take a second."

"So now, you're also a thief?"

"Its more like looting now, since you can't really own something while you're dead."

Terra rolled her eyes at Dante. "You really are a scumbag, aren't you?"

"You'd think I would have gotten used to that by now, but it stings the same every time."

Uncaring of Dante's remark, Terra pressed, "Are you going to least notify someone? I'm sure the people that were on that ship had families or something."

"Suddenly the caring one, aren't you, Terra? But either way, yeah I will, just as soon as I'm done with it."

Terra sighed, and remained silent as Dante move Luckless. After a few tense minutes, they could clearly make out the strange vessel. It was larger than the Luckless, although not by much. Its shape was bulkier, and large weapon systems were present. Terra shivered involuntary as she saw the name etched on the side of the ship, Hatred and Brutality.

"Well that's a welcoming name if I ever saw it," Dante said, breaking the silence that had descended upon the pair.

There was a loud clanking noise as the two vessels connected, along with a slight chirp from one of the control consoles, signaling that the two ships were now locked.

"So what now?" Terra asked Dante.

Dante looked around the console once more and turned to Terra. "I go aboard. You're going to stay here." Terra moved to respond, but Dante silenced her with a finger on her mouth. "I need you to monitor this console." Dante pointed at one of them, and Terra nodded. "If you see any changes, I want you to notify me immediately."

Dante reached down and retrieved a pistol that was lying on one of the consoles, and handed it to Terra. "Ever use one of these?"

"No, but-"

"Aim the pointy side at the baddies and pull the trigger. Watch the recoil." Dante interjected.

Terra rolled her eyes at him, and said, "I'm not an idiot. I know how these work."

Shrugging, Dante got up from his seat. "I'll be going across. Now, if something happens to me, I'll need you to do something." Terra nodded and waited for the order. "Take that pistol I just gave you, get a suit in the cargo bay, come across to that ship, and save my ass."

[Pontius]

Chapter Eight - Part Two

Dante raced down the ship to the cargo bay. Approaching an featureless wall, he pulled out a console that rotated out from wall. There, he punched in a few commands and several racks of armor and weapons slid out of the side of the cargo bay.

The bounty hunter quickly reached out and pulled on a thin, jet-black breastplate and a pair of thick, equally dark arm guards. Both had been prizes off of kills in his long life in the galaxy, and each had saved his life an innumerable amount of times. Not missing a stride, he then retrieved a air-tight space suit made out of a thin, but durable fabric. It fit loosely on Dante's frame, giving him a full range of motion.

Satisfied that the rest of his armor was in place, Dante moved to another rack, this one filled with weapons. After a quick inspection, the thief pulled on a belt made out of the same fabric as the suit he wore. The belt was covered in pouches that contained ammo, basic rations, first aid supplies, and anything else he might need. He slid a pistol into a holster in his side, Dragon's tooth opposite that, and topped everything off with a few extra blades in a holster in the small of his back. Activating the weapon as he picked it up, Dante picked up a blaster rifle to finish off his armaments, slinging the rifle's strap around his shoulder.

Feeling that he was ready as he'd ever be to cross into the Hatred and Brutality, Dante took a visor from behind him. It was a simple helmet, with the same lightweight fabric and a large glass panel covering his face. Placing it over his head, he heard the distinctive hiss as the suit's air-tight seal activated.

"Can you read me?" Called out, activating the suit's communication unit. He was greeted in silence for a few minutes before he said, "You have to press the red button with 'comm' on it to speak."

After a few moments, Terra's voice crackled in his headpiece. "Oh, sorry. Read you now."

"Ok, moving to the airlock. I'll be moving across soon."

"Got it." Terra's voice was laced with concern, but she didn't elaborate. Dante fully expected a 'be careful' or a 'don't hurt yourself,' but he didn't let it bother him.

Dante moved to the of the cargo bay, and activated the first door of the airlock. Dante sat down as the air within the airlock slowly drained out, so he could move onto Hatred and Brutality, wondering to himself what would happen next. After a few brief heartbeats, a green light appeared on the exterior door, signaling an equalization of the air. Sighing, Dante pulled back the door, and drifted into the zero-gravity environment of the ship.

[Pontius]

Chapter Nine - Part One

Dante drifted through the long, bleak corridors of the Hatred and Brutality, sighing as he went. Everywhere he went he was greeted with the same disappointment; the ship was completely devoid of life. It wasn't just the fact that there was no one around, it was that there was no sign of life at all. It was as if the crew had never existed.

The bounty hunter felt his body shiver, despite the thick insulation that the suit provided. In his gut he could feel his stomach churn, as if in fear. It was the notion of being alone in an unknown vessel that unsettled Dante, but rather it was the very notion that something was unsettling him that scared him so.

Dante's communication unit suddenly roared in to life, shattering the silence that had descended upon the bounty hunter, nearly causing him to drop his rifle. “See anything yet?”

Instinctively, the man gasped in fear before responding. “By the void! Don't do that! I nearly had a damn heart-attack.”

There was a strange, cracking noise over the communication system which confused Dante for the briefest moment before he realized that Terra was laughing. “So the big bad thief is startled by his own shadow?”

“More like every shadow...” His voice quickly drifted off into static.

Terra quickly responded, a trace of concern in her voice. “What was that? I think I lost you there for a second.”

“Oh... nothing. It's nothing. This ship is just giving me the creeps. Going to check the bridge, then we're going to leave this thing to rot.”

***

Dante entered the bridge of Hatred and Brutality and was unsurprised, yet remarkably unsettled, to see it empty. He could make out a light arcing in from the Luckless across the wide view port on the bridge, creating an eerie half-lit room that only accentuated his own tension.

The command deck itself was a wide circular room with consoles and data screens along the interior wall. At the center of the room was a raised dais and what appeared to be a large, black chair on top. The space had all the markings of a bridge of a military vessel.

Suppressing a shudder, Dante approached the chair in the center of the bridge. It was made out of a smooth leather, or leather like substance, with a command console on each armrest. The fabric of the chair was cold to the touch, even with his gloves on. With a sigh, the bounty hunter lowered himself into the chair, and tried to boot the ship's computer, but nothing responded.

That is when he noticed the artifact. It was a smooth crystal pyramid set directly into the console of the chair. Strange markings were inscribed into the surface of the gem, which were runes and symbols Dante had never seen in his long, multifaceted journey through the galaxy. Not thinking of any potential consequences, Dante reached down and attempted to pry the strange gemstone from the socket. At first, it refused to move, but slowly and sure, the thief was able dislodge the pyramid.

A bloodcurdling screech filled the bridge, and Dante was forced to reach up and disable his external audio sensor near his right ear. As he began to recover from the noise, he noticed that a turquoise light activated in the small setting that held the pyramid. He could feel the chair beneath him beginning to activate as a slight warmth passed through his legs, coming from the cushion beneath him. More archaic symbols passed along the screen on one of the consoles, which bore uncanny similarity to the markings on the crystal.

"Uhh, what the hell did you do?" Terra's voice crackled in his ear. It startled Dante once again, and he nearly dropped the pyramid.

"What do you mean, what did I do? Why do you assume that I did something wrong?" Dante responded.

"Well, did you?" Terra's voice showed no sign of backing down.

"Maybe." Dante eventually agreed.

"Either way," Terra went on to say, "I'm picking up a lot of weird action on the ship."

"What kind of weird action?"

"I don't know, just getting spikes of some kind and color fluctuations."

"Could you be more specific?"

"How should I know? Or did you already forget that I haven't been on a ship before, let alone how to read a sensor!"

"Oh, right." Dante thought to himself quickly. Something was going on and he had no idea of knowing what exactly. He decided he had better get back to the Luckless as soon as possible. A small voice in the back of his mind protested at lack of finding anything on board the Hatred. That voice, however, was overwhelmed by the strange, unsettling feeling he had first come aboard the mysterious warship. He quickly placed the pyramid into one of the pouches of his belt and set off away from the bridge.

[Pontius]

Chapter Nine - Part Two

He made it half way down to the Hatred's cargo bay, when he felt a strong vibration emanating from the darkness ahead. Righting himself onto the ground, he brought up his rifle, panning around the darkness with a flashlight, scanning for any potential threats. He was greeted with the same, featureless gray walls that he had been staring at since coming aboard. Cautiously, Dante kicked off and began to move forward once again.

A heavy force collided onto Dante's back, sending him crashing into the ground. He grasped in pain as he collided with the smooth surface of the ship's floor, and he lost his grip on the rifle, which caused it to float away from him in the zero-gravity environment. Not caring about the rifle, Dante rolled to his side as soon as he felt the pressure on his back release. Doing so saved his life, as a large blade sliced into the deck of the ship directly where he had been. Dante looked up at his attacker, and saw a man covered in polished silver body armor, holding a curved sword.

As the strange warrior struggled to retrieve his sword from the deck, Dante reached down to his side, recovered Dragon's Tooth and leapt up the man. The long blade impaled the man through the gut, and Dante could feel warm blood trickle down the steel and onto his gloved hand. The bounty hunter reached out and pulled out the knife to the side, cutting the trooper's suit wide open. Air began to flowing out of the man's suit, and Dante could see the armored man struggle in vain for a few breathless moments, before he eventually went rigid. With a firm kick, he sent the armored man floating away in the corridor. Turning quickly, Dante made his way toward cargo bay once more.

As he made his final approach towards the cargo bay, the bounty hunter turned a corner, and saw two more silver men drifting down the hall with strange rifles in their hands. One waved his hand at his partner when he saw the intruder, and the pair fired at him. By instinct, Dante jumped back behind the corner to give him some cover. He was able to avoid their first rounds unscathed, but he knew he wouldn't be so lucky in the future. After a few heartbeats, Dante pulled out the pistol from his side and kicked off a nearby wall. In one fluid motion he raised the pistol as he flew through the air and fired at one of the silver men. The energy round connected at the soft point in his armor near the neck. Dante could hear a scream as the first man fell backwards into air.

Landing heavily on a nearby wall, Dante quickly kicked off changing his trajectory. The remaining soldier, however, was not distracted by the death of his partner, and had plenty of time to track his opponent's movements. As Dante brought his pistol to his remaining target, a energy bolt struck him in the chest. Pain thundered through his body as he slowly steadied his hand, and fired his pistol at the second silver man. The man fell backwards, and Dante screamed as the pain in his chest slowly died away. Luckily for him, the energy bolt struck the hardest part of his armor beneath his environmental-suit. It hurt like hell, but he'd live.

That is, until he heard the hiss sound of air escaping from his suit. Startled, Dante looked down and saw a small, but distinctive slit in the skin of his space suit. A wave of vertigo passed over the bounty hunter as he could feel the air drifting away from. Dante was barely able to suppress the urge to scream, which he knew would waste his now precious air. Grasping the suit tight, desperately trying to impede the loss of air, Dante rushed down the corridor and into the cargo bay.

Painfully, he made his way across the large room towards the air lock. The edge of Dante's vision begin to blur, and he could begin to feel a chill pass over his body, threatening to cut off his circulation. With unconsciousness on the edge of overwhelming him, Dante crashed into the airlock door. Using the last of his energy, he raised his hand and grasped the lock on the door. A spike of agony shot down his arm, which quickly was replaced by a throbbing, ice-cold pain. He cried out as he was finally able to force the lever down, which caused the airlock to open silently.

Dante fell forward, giving way to the unbearable cold and pain that was now coursing through his body. The last thing he saw before the inky blackness of unconsciousness consumed him was the airlock door sealing behind him.

***

“Are you there!” Terra's voice was unsteady as she screamed into the communication console on the deck. “Please respond!”

Tears began to fill her eyes as the strange lights in the sensor screen began to dim away to nothing.

“Please,” she could barely speak as desperation started to consume her, “respond. Please, I don't want to be alone again...” Her voice trailed away to nothing. “Dante...”

With a cry, she retrieved the pistol lying on the command module, and made for the cargo bay.

[Pontius]

Chapter Ten

Dante lay motionless across the ground of the airlock. In an explosive gasp, he returned to life. Slowly recovering from oxygen deprivation, the bounty hunter pulled off his helmet and chucked it off to the side, readily drinking in gulps of air while doing so. His muscle felt sore and stiff, as if from overuse, but the feeling slowly dissipated. Finally feeling strong enough to get up, Dante stretched out and opened Luckless' airlock door. He stumbled back into his ship, locked the door behind him and slowly crawled his way out of his damage space suit.

After recovering for a few moments, he retrieved his belt and knives off the suit. Looking down, he could vaguely make out a new scorch mark on his breastplate, but decided to leave it in place. He needed to get away from the Hatred and Brutality as soon as possible. With a grunt, he slowly walked out of the cargo bay recovering his strength as he went.

Dante stopped dead in his tracks as he entered the common room. Near the table in the wide room, one of the silver soldiers stood, however instead of the featureless steel visor, the man's mask was a stylized skull. He held a large katana in his hand, and the point was pressured against Terra's throat, who was lying on her back against the table.

"Let her go!" Dante cried out in reflex.

Instead of speaking, the man grasped Terra's arms and pulled her up next to him. He quickly spun his sword around so that the sharp edge was against his captor's neck. Dante could make out the blade closing tight across her throat. A thin streak of blood began to drip down her neck as the blade cut her skin. Tears were in Terra's eyes and she strained to say something, but the skull-faced man had a hand firmly placed across her mouth. Dante could easily feel the terror in her eyes.

With his mind racing, Dante retrieved the pyramid in his pouch. He held it out for the man to see. "Is this what you want?”

The skull nodded ever-so-slightly.

“Good,” Dante said with a grin spreading across his lips, “take it.” Pulling back his arm, the bounty hunter threw the strange gemstone with all his strength. The man let Terra go as he moved to catch the pyramid. Her honed survival instincts kicked in, and she darted away from her captor as soon as the blade left her throat. Whether by accident or purpose, while fleeing, she kicked the mans legs backward. There wasn't much strength behind the blow, but the attack was aimed straight to the knee, which caused the swordsman to fall backwards. Without the man to catch the pyramid, it sailed through the air and crashed into one of the walls, before falling to the floor intact.

With Terra safely away, Dante reached to his side and slid Dragon's Tooth out of its sheathe. Screaming as he charged, Dante leveled his blade at the recovering soldier. His powerful backhand slice came up short as the skull-faced soldier's own blade parried Dante's. He could make out the thin layer of Terra's blood that still coated it. His ears were filled grating sound as the blades strained against each other.

Dante felt a boot kick him backwards from the blade lock, which sent him back a few steps. Using his opening wisely, the skull-faced warrior stood up and wiped the blood off on his sleeve. Bellowing with more rage than he thought he had, Dante rushed once again.

Dante would try again and again to step into his opponent's guard, where he could use his shorter blade to his advantage, but he was stopped every time by the soldier's lightning fast steel. Dante knew he was faster than his opponent, but he didn't have the protection of a full suit of armor. He was forced to fight defensively, parrying more times then he could strike. The bounty hunter had been in enough fights to know that he was outmatched and was going to lose sooner rather than later.

Terra could barely keep up as she tight clenched her throat, trying to stem the loss of blood. The man's cut wasn't deep, but it still stung her badly. She fiercely wished to intervene, but the combatants were so mind-numbingly fast, that she was worried about hitting Dante rather than the enemy. All she could do was to stay in the corner and hope for the best.

The battle continued on for what felt like an eternity for Dante. He could feel his muscles slowing each time he raised his knife to parry his attacker's blade. Horrifyingly, his opponent seemed to be unaffected by exhaustion, and fought with the same speed and strength he had from the onset. The bounty hunter knew he was running out of time.

Desperate for a respite, Dante came up close to the man's guard and smashed his free hand into his assailant's gut. This caused the man to stumble backwards, and agony to surge through Dante's hand. It was a potentially crippling move, but it gave him time to recoup.

"Who the hell are you people?" Dante cried out at the strange man, trying to buy more time.

The man stood motionlessly for a few moments before speaking, "I will never tell you, thief."

"What is with people calling me a thief?" Dante said, putting as much effort into a grin as he could spare.

The man, however, ignored his efforts. "Know this. You have stolen from me, and I will hunt you until my last breathe. Even if you can manage to escape now, you will never find rest. A thousand lifetimes would not even begin to dim my wrath."

Dante charged at the man once more and screamed, "Get in line!"

The brawl exploded into existence once again and quickly died away as the blades grinded against each other for a second time. Not wanting this to continue any further, the silver soldier quickly pulled back his blade and grasped Dante's wrist firmly with a free hand. Capitalizing on his advantage, the soldier brought his blade smashing down against his adversary. With only one maddening thought remaining, Dante reached up and grasped the blade with his free hand. The pain was excruciating, but the blow had been stopped. He could feel his own blood flow down his wrist as the blade bit into his flesh, while he struggled against the soldier's formidable strength.

"Know this," the strange man called out over Dante's gasps of pain, "for a thief, you fight well."

"Thanks." And with that, Dante took his knee and drove it into his opponent's groin. The man gasped in pain and fell back a few steps, dropping his sword as he went. Using his underhanded blow to his advantage, Dante rushed in and jammed blade into the man's chest, using all the strength he had left.

The man looked surprised by the attack, and he fell forward to his knees; the blade still protruding from his body. Slowly, the man looked up at Dante and spoke with pure vehemence. "Coward."

Dante only grunted as he pressed his cut hand firmly against his paints to stem the flow of the ruby liquid. He reached down with his free hand and pulled Dragon's Tooth free, causing blood to pour out onto the deck. "You're the one who called me a thief," Dante said as the man's body slowly fell forward.

Dropping the knife, Dante rushed over to Terra, who was still sitting in the corner of the room. "Please tell you are fine."

Terra looked up at him, concern etched into her face. "Your hand..."

Dante shook his head slowly as he pulled out a bandage from his belt placed it on the cut. The organic substance that the dressing was made out of fused into the skin, quickly sealing the wound.

“Oh...” Terra finally responded. “Glad to see you're fine, then.” She paused for the briefest moment before a weak smile cross her face, “Nice to see you fight with such honor.”

Dante laughed, and said, "Anything to win a fair fight." Inspecting his hand once more, Dante was satisfied that the bandage had taken. He pulled out another dressing from his kit and offered it to his companion. "Quick, put this on that wound. Don't want to see you bleed out from a cut. You're still not all that healthy, and I don't want to take any chances." Terra nodded at Dante's comment, but didn't say anything. From there, he got up and started to race towards the cockpit.

"Where are you going?" Terra cried out, feeling uneasy about being left alone again.

"Getting us the hell away from that ship." Dante called out as walked away.

[Pontius]

Chapter Eleven

Dante's hands flew across various command consoles as he took control of the Luckless. Breathing a sigh of relief, Dante detached his vessel from Hatred and Brutality, and upon a quick glance, saw that there were no more hostiles aboard the Luckless. He began to pull away from the vessel when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

Startled, he looked back and saw Terra standing behind him, with a fresh, if sloppily applied, bandage across her neck. There was concern on her face, but she said nothing. Deciding against sending her away, Dante returned back the controls of the ship.

Terra finally broke the silence that had settled when she said, "So where did those people come from? I thought you said that there wasn't anyone aboard the ship."

Dante responded, "I'm not sure. Must have been in cyro-stasis. Could have been awoke when I took that gem of theirs."

"I thought you also said that there wasn't enough power for that?"

Dante shrugged and replied, "I was wrong. It happens."

Terra wanted to question him further, but her words died in her throat as another chilling alarm sounded in the small cockpit. Dante sighed as he turned to figure out what was causing it.

"Whats going on?" Terra asked cautiously.

"Damn it all. That ship is coming alive." Dante respond, frustration filling his voice.

"Whats that mean?"

Dante didn't have time to respond, as the Luckless shook violently, sending Terra backwards. More sirens began to wail.

"Whores of the Void! They've got weapon locks on us." Dante punched in a few desperate commands and turned to Terra. He grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her to face one of the consoles.

"When you see this light," Dante pointed to a small part on the console, "you pull this lever." He pointed at one nearby the light. "Not a moment sooner. The computer is randomizing a trans-light vector so we don't rematerialize in the middle of a sun. Until then, grab the control stick and just do anything to move the ship!"

Terra nodded and took Dante's seat as he got up. "Where are you going?" Terra called out as Dante began to move away as another violent spasm took control of the Luckless.

"There is a fire in the damn cargo-bay. I have to point it out." Dante rushed off, and he screamed one last thing before disappearing. "Remember! Green light!"

Terra sat alone for a few painful minutes, desperately trying to shake the other ship off them, but she had no training. All she could do was pull the control stick in whatever erratic motion felt best, and hoped that it'd work. Repeatedly the ship would shake as each blast from Hatred and Brutality connected with Luckless. One such blast caused a console near Terra to explode, sending her flying out of the chair. After a few frantic moments, her vision began to return to her. She reached up to her forehead and her hand came away thick with blood. Startled, she brushed away the warm liquid that was threatening to fall into her eyes, and returned back to the console.

Remarkably, the light had turned green. Pushing away the pain, Terra reached up and pulled the lever, before falling backwards unconscious. The world outside the view port blurred and the Luckless was hurled into hyperspace.

***

Terra awoke a few minutes later on the ground. Slowly, she looked up and saw that the view port was still a blur of trans-light movement, and as far as she could tell, the ship was safe. Slowly, Terra was able to collect herself and sit up.

She made her way back through the ship towards the cargo bay. The entirety of the ship was a mess, with food and other materials spread throughout the common room and down the halls. Parts of bulkheads littered the ground in the corridors.

Eventually, Terra made it to the cargo bay. There were fresh scorch marks in the rear of the vast room, and Dante laid motionless against one of the walls. Terra called out to him, but when he didn't respond, she felt a wave of nausea pass over her as she rushed to his side.

Terra nearly cried out when she saw what had happened to Dante. One of the broken bulkheads had pierced through his left shoulder, causing a thick layer of blood to cover his armor and knocking him unconscious. Sighing in relief, she noticed his chest rising and falling slightly.

Dante began to stir as he heard Terra moving around him, looking in vain for something to help heal the wound.

"So you made it too." Dante said in a weak voice.

"Made it better than you." Dante winced as he tried to laugh at Terra's comment. She looked at him disapprovingly while speaking. "You're hurt pretty badly in the shoulder, so don't try anything like that. You'll waste your energy.” She paused briefly before continuing with tears forming in her eyes, “I don't know what to do! I've never had to treat someone like this.."

Dante coughed softly as he tried to speak. "Three pouches left of center on the belt." His voice was broken as blood began to come up his throat. "There is a canister of bio-foam. It'll close the wound." Dante paused as he pushed away some of the pain. "Lift me up and fill the wound with it. Once its done, I'll be safe."

Terra nodded, and reached into Dante's belt, retrieving the canister of bio-foam. She looked over to Dante, who could only nod softly in response. She reached over and tried to lift Dante off the spike, but found him impossible to move in her current state. Dante tried to say something, but he drifted off into unconsciousness before he could manage to say anything.

Unwilling to give up, Terra grasped her arms underneath Dante's, and prepared to roll backwards, hoping that the momentum would be enough to free him. With a grunt, she fell backwards, bringing Dante with her.

His eyes snapped open as he was forced awake by the pain of taking out the spike, and he began to scream wildly as he fell forward. Terra fell heavily on the deck behind her, with Dante now sprawled over her body. She could feel his warm sanguine fluid flow onto her shoulder. She tried to shift Dante onto his back, so she could spray the wound with the bio-foam, but the bounty hunter's weight was too much for her. Panicking, her mind began to race. She had to act quickly before Dante bled out entirely.

A idea passed through her mind that was borderline insanity, but she had no other options. After fidgeting as much as she could underneath Dante's weight, she was able to extract her hand near the wound. Cringing at what was to come next, Terra balled her hand into a fist and punched the wound with as much strength as she could muster.

She could feel her hand piece into the wound, drenching her slender hand with a thick layer of Dante's ruby life-force. His eyes snapped open in mind-crushing agony, which bulged as he saw Terra lying under him. Instinctively, Dante rolled off her before once again falling into unconsciousness.

Terra, now freed, looked around for the canister. Luckily, it hadn't moved far in the turmoil and she reached down to pick it up. Her right hand was awash with blood and she could see it trembling in the dim light. Hoping that it wasn't too late, she pressed the canister up against the wound and let the bio-foam fully cover the gaping hole in her shipmate's shoulder. Once her deed was finished, she fell backwards, dropping the canister as she moved, and she began to cry as the day's horrible events caught up with her.

[Pontius]

Epilogue

Dante rested against the railings of Ranke's harbor. It had been a small town on a fairly backward world called Astria. Following the battle with Hatred and Brutality, Luckless had been in desperate need of repairs, so Dante had come to the small world with what little money he had. Thankfully for him, the people of Ranke were a simple bunch, not used to seeing outsiders come to their humble world, and were eager not only to fix Dante's ship, but also heal body. It was a relaxing time, using the money he had earned off Scourge to the fullest. He was now going onto his third week on Astria, and while most of him appreciated the good the rest and relaxation was doing, he desperately wanted to get back into space. To no longer be shackled to any one location, and be free to fly across the stars.

"I thought I'd find you here." Dante was so consumed by the setting sun before him that he didn't notice Terra come up from behind. As he turned to face her, he smiled at the sight. She had certainly filled out since Dante had first scene her in the streets of Hope. The bones on her arms and ribs were no longer visible, her hair seemed fuller, and best of all, her hard emotional edge had begun to wear away. Dante wasn't sure if she'd ever recover from her past life, but he had a sliver of hope, if only for the amount of progress she had made thus far.

"What can I say," Dante said, "I have a thing for sunsets I guess."

Terra moved next to the rail beside Dante as she spoke. "Your shoulder feeling any better?"

Dante tried to shrug, but the movement was cut short by a stabbing pain near his wound. He was forced to wince as a result, which caused Terra to stifle a slight laugh. "Clearly getting better if you can laugh about it." Dante said with a sarcastic tone.

"That's good."

The pair stood in silence for a few minutes, before Dante cut in. "Back on the ship you called me Dante."

Terra paused, and swallowed hard before responding. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“I was losing consciousness, but I definitely heard you call me Dante.”

Biting her lip, she tried to cover up her nervousness. “So what if I did?”

“That would be the first time you called me by my name, and not use some derogatory comment like 'scumbag,' 'scum,' 'thief,' or something else of that caliber.”

She looked into the rough waters below the pair, remaining silent to Dante's comment.

Sighing, he continued. “Ahh... Guess I should have seen that coming.” He desperately wished she would speak, but again he was greeted in silence. With another loud sigh, he tried a new tactic for opening her up. “Did you at least get a buyer for that gem we nearly lost our lives over?”

Thankfully, Terra shook her head. "No, not really. I think it is too valuable for this type of world. However, it isn't all bad news." Terra reached down into her pants and retrieved the small gem. "Apparently, some old man in town saw one of these before, on a world called Raeon."

"Raeon, eh?"

"I checked Luckless' logs. Its surprisingly close, you know."

Dante sighed, and finally said, "I'll drop you off at Scythia first."

Terra paused at what Dante said, quickly falling silent once again.

He sighed, and gently grasped her hands. “What is it Terra.”

Despite her best efforts, he could see a tear forming in her eyes. “It's nothing.”

“I maybe a scumbag, a thief, a bounty hunter, and even a louse, but I do know when someone is upset about something.”

“Its...” Her voice quickly died away to nothing as she strained for the words she was looking for. “Dante, why did you let me on board your ship?”

The bounty hunter paused slightly before he spoke. “I needed the money.”

“You could have easily forced it off me. I had already stolen from you, and no one would have cared if you beaten some street urchin.”

“Not in my blood I guess,” he finally admitted.

“You killed several people yesterday alone. I can barely comprehend how many you've killed in your lifetime.”

“They all deserved it.” He said with clear determination. “They were all criminals, thugs, and other low-lifes. It was always in a fair fight,” Dante quickly thought to himself before continuing, “or at least it was fair from my perspective.”

Secretly, he had hoped the joke would stir Terra, but it clearly didn't work. Instead she remained silent for a few minute as she collected her thoughts. “What if I said I'm just as bad as all those other men you've killed.”

“I'd say you were wrong.”

“But-” Terra began, but was cut off by Dante's firm hand placed against her lips.

“I don't want to hear it.” He eventually said, taking away his hand.

“Why are you like this, Dante?” Terra finally managed as she brushed away some tears.

“I don't know what you mean.”

“How can you push away my past without a care! You come into my life, rescue me from a lifetime of pain without asking anything in return!”

“That's presumptuous.” He responded flatly. “I want something in return.”

“What could you possibly want?”

“You to be happy,” he said firmly.

Terra could barely look into his warm eyes. No longer able to hold back her tears, she fell into Dante's warm embrace. “I don't want to be alone anymore,” she managed inbetween the sobs.

“You don't have to be.”