Chapter 2: Shenzu
Nevertheless, Silas couldn't care about that in the slightest. His bloodshot eyes were filled with a great level of coldness.
He hurriedly scoured the ship before reaching the storage unit, which he unlocked. The doors creaked before giving way. Inside was a container; the energy barrier surrounding it had already lost its luster, vanishing moments before his arrival.
"Megacorp bastards!"
"Abandoning me over mere suspicions?!"
"The blood of my men spilled and wasted!"
"I'd like to see you get your hands on this thing now." Silas snarled before grabbing the container. Without hesitation, he carried it in his hands and headed directly for the weapons unit, where he grabbed all he could carry on his person: plasma pistols, plasma grenades, pulse grenades, and the like. So long as he was able to carry it, he didn't hesitate to do so. Last but not least, he also carried the most powerful weapon on the ship, which had miraculously survived the crash: a plasma sniper, which he strapped to his back.
Once done, he found an exploration suit, which he wore. Luckily for him, it was fully charged and functional. The black exterior, as well as the golden visor for a facial covering, was a nice design from the point of an observer. Coupled with the weapons he had on hand, he looked quite intimidating for a mere cadet captain.
While the air on this planet might be breathable, he had no idea whether prolonged exposure to its atmosphere might prove dangerous in the long run.
Having put on the suit, he then exited the spaceship that looked on the verge of exploding for good. He paused, glanced towards the sky, then lowered his head and fled.
He knew that it wouldn't be long before those nasty space urchins arrived.
Shortly after he left, the air trembled as several ships began to descend from the sky, each one about 15 meters in length with slim designs.
These specific spaceship designs were most preferred amongst space pirates due to their innate speed-granted design and maneuverability.
Without landing directly on the ground, each of the 10 spaceships sent a beam towards the ground, from which several tens of pirates emerged on the surface of the planet, around the wreckage of what was once Silas's ship.
Amongst the beamed individuals were aliens of various races. Some resembled insectoids, others armor-plated creatures, and some bore tentacled appendages.
After searching the wreckage, the entire crew's expressions turned unsightly. One of them, a humanoid insect creature with mantis-like features, transmitted their findings through a communication comm on his wrist.
"Forgive me, Captain, but it would appear that the target survived the crash and somehow got away with the item."
"Damnit! Are you kidding me?!" A vexed feminine voice came from the other end of the transmission.
"Just how persistent is that wretched human!" grumbled the pirate group's captain.
The next moment, one of the hovering ships beamed down a figure onto the surface of the planet.
A creature with purple-colored skin and a human-like physique, as well as a pair of horns and a flexible tail, emerged the moment the beaming light diminished. While she had an appearance similar to an alluring vixen, none of the other pirates dared to look at her with carnal desires. In fact, there was a look of worry on their faces, as if seeing her in a bad mood was something they were fearful of.
Her face still retained her level of frustration from the transmission just now. Her sharp eyes scanned the entire area before glancing off into the distance, as if she had already discovered the direction Silas had run off in.
"That bastard couldn't have gotten far." She cursed beneath her breath before glancing at her men with an impatient glare. "Well, what are you lug nuts waiting for?! After him."
"The client specifically asked for the item to be delivered within a set period of time. If we can't pull it off, you can all kiss the reward money goodbye." While they were pirates, after receiving a request from an unknown individual, the band of pirates, who were known to be cautious, had thrown all caution to the wind in an attempt to complete the task assigned to them, even going as far as offending Megacorp.
The pirate captain, whose name was Shenzu, knew the risks involved, but with the reward money, she believed there would be more than enough for her and her crew to spend for the rest of their lives.
'With all that money, I can finally quit this shitty job! There's no way I'm letting this annoying human male ruin my plans!'
"But Captain, what about Megacorp..." One of her men suddenly spoke up, a man resembling a walking humanoid covered with exoskeleton, his voice filled with uncertainty.
"I'm sure that bastard must've already requested help. Won't we end up crossing paths with those bastards if we stay here for too long?" He added.
"You're right, but can we really just give up like this?" She retorted back, her words resonating with quite a few of them. "We're so close to it all. Do you all really want to stop now after coming so far?" She added.
"I understand the risks involved, but those Megacorp cunts won't be arriving for a good while. So instead of yapping, why don't the lot of you go and find that bloody bastard before they do come here?!"
"Alright, Captain!"
"Leave it to us, Captain!" One by one, the pirates voiced their agreement. Under their captain's orders, they all quickly headed in the direction Silas had run off in.
Though not all of them left, they still needed some to act as lookouts in case the so-called reinforcements arrived.
Shenzu stood there with her hands crossed in front of her chest, gazing off into the distance with furrowed brows.
Eventually, she couldn't stand it anymore and called over one of her subordinates, the same praying mantis-like insectoid from earlier, who also happened to be her right hand.
"I'll be joining the others. Until I get back, you're in charge, alright!"