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Large corporations now run Earth and its colonies throughout the galaxy. Governments and dictatorships replaced by the rich. Local law enforcement, still handled by local police forces, remain in place. The galaxy is large, though. Notorious criminals find refuge in its far corners. This requires a different kind of force to deal with them. An entity known as the Library provides that force. Bounty Hunter services that keep the corporations interests safe. But who keeps the citizens interests safe from the corporations?

Ellery tracks down and captures his latest target. However, his target’s actions leave questions about his intentions. Leaving a tracker on the targets abandoned ship, Ellery takes him in.
The Corporation who hired Ellery through the Library have their own reservations. They bank role him to investigate further, believing billions of peoples lives were at stake.
What could threaten the lives of billions of people? Why does TorMaxter want Ellery to investigate without the Library knowing? The investigation uncovers a new material. The abuse of which leads to unethical practices. It also leads Ellery to push his mind to places it has never gone to before.

Chapter 1

   In my experience Greelions never leave survivors. They were trained from early on to remove all evidence that would lead to their capture.
   These trained mercenaries lack a code of ethics. Completely different to my own profession. Although, there are, unfortunately, exceptions amongst Bounty Hunters.
   The survivors in this case, I believed, were left as a warning.
   Their tongues, hands and feet were removed making communication difficult. But I was given this assignment because of my unique skill.
   I was on a world in an almost desolate system that lacked any modern medical technology and so the rebuilding of the two men's tongues and extremities was impossible. As it was, they were heavily sedated and their stumps were bound.
   "Can you do anything while they are in this state?" asked a disembodied voice.
   It was the holographic figure of Parah Nile from the Library, my employers.
   I looked over at the shimmering figure.
   "I can, but you know it's forbidden without consent," I replied.
   I then looked at the two men's carers. They were frail and ashen faced. A product of their poor diet, forced upon them by their sect and the poor light from the distant sun.
The man on the left shuffled uncomfortably. His grey gown moved as one as if made of cardboard.
   "If it will help you find whoever did this and prevent something like this happening again, I give consent," said the man on the right. He was dressed identically to his companion.
   "I am their keeper. They are…were under my protection."
   He stood at a similar height to me, but my muscular frame was twice the size of his emaciated body.
   The voice was weak with guilt. I nodded acknowledgement and turned back to one of the men laying down on the straw beds.
   As I closed my eyes I let my mind partially free itself from my body. The restrictions of my physical body quickly evaporated and the sense of total freedom took hold.
   I entered the man’s own mind after carefully breaching the threshold of the physical and mental realms. It was calm, an effect of the sedation, but images were playing around like silent holograms acting out a story.
   They are mainly of other sect members going about their daily chores in the fields and in the workshops.
   There were women running around naked. This must have been from a time before the sect as this world held only men.
   There was nothing there to help me. The sedative was too effective. I had to manipulate the neurons and synapsis to activate the memories of the attack.
   I transitioned back to the physical brain and manipulate the memory area creating a fantastic light show of electricity.
   The return to the mental realm was tricky as I could feel the man reacting to the refreshed memories. I had to be careful otherwise I could leave a permanent mark on his mind.
   The picture show drastically changed when I entered. Gone was the feeling of a flat memory show to be replaced by a violent, immersive action arena. The pictures were accompanied by a sense of pain, anguish, fear. A whole raft of emotions mixed together to form the moments of the attack. These moments, I had come to expect, will stay with me for the rest of my life. A consequence of my ability.
   I saw images of a figure dressed in the standard Greelion mercenary outfit. Studded shoulder, arm and thigh pads covering a black body suit. The laser sword in his hand didn't look standard issue. The weapon strapped to his chest, also, non standard issue. This was no Greelion mercenary.
   There was no clear picture of the attackers face other than blurry images. A full beard and long dark hair could be made out, but that was all.
   I returned to my body with the familiar shiver down my spine. I experienced the same blurry images in the second man. Before I left both men’s minds I returned them to their calmed state.
   "I am now more certain than ever this was not the work of a Greelion mercenary," I said as I stood. My sidearm freed itself from digging into my side and the nagging uncomfortable feeling disappeared.
   "But who would do such a thing?" said Parah. "They are disliked as it is. Two more murders added to their tally won't make that any worse."
   "My guess," I replied. "Is to cover up something else."
I turned to the man who gave the consent.
   "Do you have any information on the history of these two men before they joined your sect?"
   He shook his head.
   "We accept men into the sect without judgement so have no need of their history. These two joined us after their first regeneration. Presumably to leave their past behind and start afresh."
   "Or to escape something from that past," I added.
   I turned back to Parah.
   "I need all of the records on these men from their previous life. There'll be something in there that will give us a clue as to why this has happened."
   "It will be uploaded to your ships computer within the hour."
   I had no doubt that would happen. The Library's access to information was extensive and I sometimes wondered if it was legal.
   "I'll head off planet and see if I can pick up any ship signature trail from the attackers visit. Hopefully give me a clue to where he will be headed to next."
   "Keep me informed, Ellery."
   The holographic image disappeared leaving us in the dull light of the two lanterns that hung over the beds.
   Before I left I offered medical help, but it was refused. It went against the sect's rules. They relied on the body to repair itself without modern technology’s help.
   I couldn't wait to leave the place. I despised the confinements of such groups.

Chapter 2

   The signature trail was hard to pick up. It's degradation was almost too severe, but I was able to piece together a direction to follow.
   I spun my craft around and set course for…nowhere close unfortunately. There was nothing for at least five days travel at full speed.
   What trail I did pick up pointed to a similar sized craft so unless they were meeting up with a larger craft with Hyperspace capabilities, they would be stopping off at Harpa 6.
   I checked my mid range sensors and found no signs of any other craft. This was the worst part of my job. On longer journeys I hitched a ride on Hyperspace classed ships. They had entertainment that would occupy my time. But on journeys such as this, my simple transporter had no such luxuries. I passed my time reading or training my body and my mind occasionally using the basic Alternate Reality system I recently had installed.
   The first day ended as it always did when I began these trips. I stared back at myself in the mirror and mentally prepared myself. My short blonde hair framed the top of my head and my square chin was beginning to show signs of a small beard.
   On the second day Parah, from the Library, contacted me with the information I requested. It was...unusual.
   "Ellery. I'm not sure what to make of this. While gathering the information you requested, flags were raised. Sensitive flags that even the Library has to be wary of."
   "It's happened before, Parah. They get smoothed out eventually."
   I saw the concern on his holographic face. I waited for the bombshell to drop.
   "Yes, but this time there's a conflict of interest. The flags of concern were raised by the client we are working for on this assignment."
   Now that I wasn't expecting.
   "Then I look forward to finding out what they were so concerned about. If we're going to solve their problem then we must follow where the leads take us."
   The concern on the holographic face increased.
   "Ellery! Don't do anything stupid. These are powerful people. Just get what you need, find the man responsible for the sabotages around the system and bring him in. We're not paid to do anything else."
   "My thoughts exactly," I said as I turned and began to view the information in the computer.
   There was an awkward silence and I could tell Parah wanted to say something more.
   "Well then… Keep me informed of what you find."
   And with that the image disappeared.
   Over the next few days I found the information extensive. Everything from before their first regeneration including all known associates, family members, associates of family members. Work history, likes, dislikes. The list seemed never ending and I lost myself in their lives.
   The signature trail left by the ship of my target was monitored by my navigation system. It was one of the more valuable tools of my trade and was an enhancement to the one that came as standard.
   My mind was…aware of its findings and I get alerted to any changes without the need to check any instrumentation. Another quirk of my minds natural ability.
   The hours turned into days and before I knew it I was hours from Harpa 6.
   My findings from all of the information on Michael and Harmon Tanner was mostly fruitless, but one little nugget jumped out. Both worked for TorMaxter, the client who had employed my services. It seemed their shady entanglements all started from there.
   They were released from the company in a mutual agreement and there was no other information on them right up until my encounter with them. Not even a recorded event of their regeneration, which I wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t have spoken to their keeper.
   Generally there are only two reasons to hide your regeneration. Both amounting to the same thing. To keep yourself from being found. Looks like that didn't work out too well for them.
   I left the information. Now I had absorbed it I needed to let my subconscious sit on it for a while and see if it could pick out any other helpful bits. My attention was now needed for my target.
   The ships signature trail led to an area on the far side of the planet. I had never had the inclination to visit Harpa 6 before. From its description and its inhabitants it wasn’t somewhere I would have wanted to vacation.
   Sitting closer to the systems star than the previous planet it was much more amenable to life. However, the original settlers, farmers and livestock breeders, Humans that wanted to recreate the way of life from a thousand years ago soon found themselves sharing the planet with one of the big mining corporations when a rare munitions material was found on the opposite side of the planet to where they had settled.
   Their coexistence was unusual to say the least.
   Any recreation of Human existence from history was only marginally preferable to me than a mining town. Both were towards the bottom of my list of places to spend time in.
   Unfortunately it was the mining town I was heading for.
   Along with the mining company a weapons manufacturer was also set up on the same continent. I guess with the material that was found the two operations go hand in hand.
   My experience with weapons manufacturers and the people it attracts was not favourable and I kept my distance as much as possible. I've crossed paths with them twice in my time as a hunter and their security practices boarder on breaking all Human rights laws.
   The signature trail led me to the mining section, much to my relief. There should be less obstacles in my official capacity as a hunter.
   I brought my ship into the main docking hub. As I came in low I could see the ship that I had been chasing. There were headless droids loading up containers. An unusual request for someone who was on the run. Even if they didn't know they were being hunted, in my experience, killers usually retreat to their employer, a safe haven or head as far away from their crime as possible.
   This new information joined my subconscious mind.
   I switched over to auto pilot and the computer exchanged instructions with the birth I had been allocated and I was safely on firm ground within a minute.
I contacted the Library once landed and Parah’s dark face appeared in front of me in its holographic form. A perfect representation.
   "Ellery. You have some information for me?" the timid voice came through the speaker.
   "I've arrived at a planet called Harpa 6 and found the ship that was on Dronan. I'm about to apprehend the target."
   The expression changed on the see through face to one of mild confusion.
   "You don't usually contact me when you are about to apprehend someone. What's going on?"
   "There's been an unusual development. There are containers being loaded on to the targets ship."
   Parah’s eyes widened.
   "So!"
   "These are not the actions of a paid killer who has completed their job. It looks like there might be something more to this than the sabotages and two murders."
   "No, no, no, Ellery! We are paid to capture the target and bring him to stand trial. That's all! Don't do anything more than that. We don't get paid for anything more than that."
   "And if the target is not working alone?"
   "Then we will get paid to hunt them down. We're not giving our services away for free."
   "My services," I corrected.
   "Yes, yes. Your services. Suffice to say just do what you're getting paid for."
   I paused for a short while before replying,
   "I'll be in touch when I have the target on-board."
   I ended the communication and the hologram disappeared.
   I had been dressed in my casual wear for the majority of the flight. A light cotton, two piece outfit. I liked the soft touch of the material on my skin. It allowed a relaxation that I had found with no other material.
   It was time for me to change in to one of my familiar Bounty Hunter suits.
   I favoured dark colours and my choice was the charcoal collared shirt with sleeves that ended at my elbows. The magnetic strip sealed the front to make it look like a continuous piece of material wrapped around my body and my badge was secured at the centre of my chest. Pocket-less charcoal coloured trousers and a light pair of boots completed the bottom half. The short jacket finished my non standard uniform.
   When I exited my ship a greetings droid was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. It scanned my badge.
   "Welcome, bounty hunter Holt," it said in a soft female voice. "We hope you've had a pleasant trip here."
   "I have, thank you." I replied.
   "How may Titan Mining Corporation help you in your official capacity today?"
   I suddenly realised it was the first time I had seen natural daylight in over two weeks, not counting the sorry excuse for daylight on Dronan. It was amazing how quickly I now became accustomed to space flight and the artificial lighting on board that felt like the new natural.
   "First I would like to view the contents of the crates that are being loaded on to the Class C transporter over there."
   The droid was quick with its response.
   "Your authority does not allow for such an action in a mining colony," it replied in exactly the same tone as its welcome message.
   With my badge came a certain amount of privileges not afforded to the local law enforcements on all colonised worlds. Unfortunately this did not extend to company owned worlds or colonies. I was testing to see if those rules were known this far out.
   "Then I would like to view the ship from the outside. There are no laws here against looking, I take it?"
   This time there was a pause from the droid. No doubt someone was listening from a control centre somewhere desperately trying to think of a reason to prevent me. The response told me they had failed.
   "Of course. Follow me, bounty hunter Holt."
   The droid floated off on its magnetic cushion and I followed closely behind. The area was devoid of Humans, as are most docking hubs, manned solely by machines, but I had an eery feeling that I was being watched.
   As I walked I gently scanned the area with my mind searching for any sign of organic life. Sure enough, there were two men behind a motionless crane just in front of the ship I was about to view. Had they been expecting me?
   It was too difficult to tell if they were armed. Any deeper probes to their minds from this distance would have alerted them to my scan. I would have to wait until I was closer.
   The droid tried to make small talk along the way and I idly replied, but my attention was elsewhere.
   The walk took us passed five docked ships on that side of the hub. They sat quietly, hunched in their settled positions. It was as though they were watching my every move like guard dogs protecting their home.
   We arrived at the target ship and my immediate scan told me the men were unarmed telling me they were here to just monitor. I relaxed a little.
   "Obviously I cannot let you aboard, bounty hunter Holt," emphasised the droid.
   "Obviously," I smiled back immediately realising the pointlessness of my action.
   The last crate was being loaded as we got there and the cargo hold lifted and sealed into position soon after. That was either good timing or there had been instructions to stop the loading to prevent me from seeing inside. Either way the headless droids retreated from the ship and disappeared from sight down the ramp they originally emerged from.
   I wandered around the vessel feigning interest. I stopped at one of the rear landing legs and crouched down, leaning against its structure with my right hand. Again I pretended it was of interest to me and when I pulled away from the leg the tracking device was left in place.
   "I think I've seen all I need to see," I say. "Now, please take me to your manifesto."

Chapter 3

   The manifesto had the information I required, but how accurate that information was couldn't be assessed. Criminals are not known for their honesty.
   The name that was listed was Manuel De Jent. The purpose of business was stated as courier. Manuel's contact on this planet was Jonathan Drake.
   The one statement I was confident in being true was the contact. This would have been verified by the hub security.
   The room I had been taken to, to view the manifesto, looked over the whole of the hub. It was bare with just the computer and a monitoring station. It was one place that was usually manned by Human security, but it seemed their choice was not to be in the presence of a bounty hunter today. I've been in this situation many times before. The droid remained in its place though.
   "Send me the address of Jonathan Drake," I said. "I would like to meet him."
   "It is done," replied the droid almost immediately.
   "I don't suppose there is any way you would ground that transporter out there?"
   "Bounty hunter Holt, your authority does not extend to such a request."
   Ignoring the expected reply I said,
   "Arrange transport for me. To take me to Jonathan Drakes address. I'll see if he'll be as accommodating as you have been."
   Droids are unable to detect sarcasm and the response back was expected.
   "Your transport will be waiting for you at the street level exit of the hub. If you follow the signs for the blue exit they will guide you to it. Is there anything else I can assist you with today? Acquiring accommodation perhaps?"
   "No. I'm OK, thank you."
   "Then if there is nothing else I can help you with I will return to my duties. I hope your stay here on Harpa 6 is a pleasant one."
   "So do I," I replied in a low voice as the droid disappeared through the doorway.
   The screen in front of me flickered and went blank as the information I had been reading through in the manifesto was removed from view. Looked like I had outstayed my welcome. I quickly followed the droid out of the door and searched for the blue exit signs.
   It was late in the day and although it was still bright with the sun lighting up the streets, the dark material the buildings were made from absorbed the rays which made for a grey, depressing scene. Very much reminiscent of streets from the industrial revolution time we learnt about in our early education.
   What possessed people to want to live in this kind of environment I never understood. Mining settlements were pretty much like this all over the system.
   There was one hold up along the way. At first I thought this was going to be the moment Manuel was going to make a move against me, but a quick psychic scan outside of the transporter confirmed what the computer reported as the problem. Soon after that we arrived at the residence of Jonathan Drake.
   Jonathan Drake, I found out from the Library during my ride, was a wealthy individual. Divorced with one kid who lived with his mother on an estate Jonathan owned. He was currently living with a Mandy Solomon, the daughter of one of the smaller Corporation owners Jonathan dealt with.
   On the surface he was a businessman dealing with the Corporations at the board level. When you dug a little deeper he was what was known in the corporate world as a Fixer. Any sticky deals that found themselves stalling, he fixed it for those deals to become lubricated.
   He had no allegiances to any one Corporation, but for the sake of his own business I would be surprised he would get mixed up in any corporate sabotage. Let alone murder.
   "I hope you enjoyed your ride today with KTM. We look forward to your company again in the future," came the soothing sound of the artificial voice.
   The door disappeared and I jumped out. The heat hit me straight away. It was a few degrees warmer this side of the city and after being in an air-conditioned environment the temperature difference was quite noticeable.
   The smell, too, was different. Gone was the greasy, oily odour. Instead a pungent smell of flowers filled the air. I was never a fan of flowers. Not so much the visual aspect. Just their smell. It stuck in my throat and I found myself constantly swallowing.
   I had been dropped off in a quiet cul-de-sac. There were six buildings arranged in a circle. In the centre was a large fountain surrounded by the blooming flowers that were the source of my discomfort.
   The style of the buildings had changed from the streets I had just travelled through. Clearly a different clientele resided here. The facades had ornate features that lifted them from the basic block features of the other buildings. It was still made from the same material as the other buildings, but character was built into them.
   I skimmed the area with my mind and found armed guards throughout Jonathan Drakes residence. Unusual for a bone fide businessman, but I guess he's not a bone fide businessman.
   Iron railings ran around the detached property and the wrought iron gates that towered over me had two droid sentries either side of them. One of them ran a scan over me as I stood on the kerb.
   "Bounty hunter Holt," it said. "You are expected."
   The voice was different to the previous two droids I had encountered. It was male and more authoritative with a menacing air about it. A testament to how far synthesized voice technology had come.
   The gate swung open and I walked through looking up at the imposing building. It had to be at least three floors high, although it was hard to tell with the shape of it.
   As I walked up the short flight of steps the front door opened and another droid greeted me. A more welcoming figure than the guards at the gate.
   "Welcome, bounty hunter Holt, to the residence of Jonathan Drake. He is just tied up at the moment as this was an out of the blue request for a meeting. As you can imagine, Mr Drake is a very busy man, but he is always happy to help out the Library any way he can. He will be available in the next ten minutes. If you would like to follow me I will take you to a room where you can have some refreshments while you wait."
   "Thank you," I replied.
   Again the synthesized voice had changed back to a soothing, more welcoming, female voice.
   I followed it through the brightly decorated hall to a high ceilinged room where refreshments were already waiting for me.
   "We have many caffeinated drinks imported from around the galaxy with a selection of fruit juices as an alternative."
   I looked at the selection which filled up half of the medium sized table that sat up against the window.
   "Just a cold water for me, please," I said.
   "I will need to retrieve that from the kitchen area. Please, take a seat. I shall return shortly."
   The droid left me in the silence of the large room. I found a softly furnished chair and sat down facing the door. My side arm was harder to get to when sitting down, but my first line of attack and defence was my mind anyway.
   Artwork adorned all of the walls in this room. I'm not an aficionado of art, but even I recognised one of the pieces.
   The paintings on the walls were interspersed by busts of people. Most I didn't recognise, but two I did.
   Miriam Wellman, the person attributed to bringing peace to the outer colonies. Her tireless diplomacy brought about a resolution to a conflict that had been raging for nearly two centuries.
   Dargen Ho Min, a medical pioneer in the regeneration field. These two people are required reading for our early education.
   I get the sense that this room contained pieces worth more than I could make in ten regenerations as a bounty hunter. I'm obviously in the wrong line of business.
   The droid returned and handed me the water.
   "I've been informed Mr Drake is free to see you now. If you would like to bring your glass and follow me."
   I downed the cool water and left the glass on the table. The less baggage I had the better.