by Jack Archer
Firehawk
Rystar and the LASSOs: Book One
Jack Archer
Copyright © 2021 by Jack Archer
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Rystar Umara: FDDS, Montgomery Alabama, Earth
Chapter 2
Na’gya Vasilev: Ledgorod, Bufefu, Tyurba System
Chapter 3
Rystar Umara : Tavantis, Chantakor, Lalande System
Chapter 4
Shea Hendi : Tavantis, Chantakor, Lalande System
Chapter 5
Rystar Umara: Cliamond, Chantakor, Lalande System
Chapter 6
Na’gya Vasilev : Bufefu, Tyurba System
Chapter 7
Shea Hendi: Terran High Security Prison, New America, Bufefu
Prologue
In the year 2120, humanity has become a spacefaring race thanks to technology passed along by the most prominent space research company on Earth. With the creation of the Land, Air, Space, and Sea Operates, or LASSOs, humans were able to reach the furthest parts of the solar system. They explored Europa, Titan, Pluto, and most importantly, the outer reaches just beyond the edges of the solar system.
There, humans stumbled upon a large, circular structure later deemed a border gate. It took several years to learn how to operate, but once it was operational, the LASSOs could cross long distances through space in a matter of minutes.
The first race they met was the Horoths in 2031, giant winged humanoids fighting for centuries before the humans found them. Half the Horoths chose to accept the help the humans offered them in the form of faster than light space travel, while the other half kept to their roots, sewing more discontent between the two sides.
The Space Force Guardians, humans sworn to protect Earth from space faring threats, sided with the Horoths that accepted their help. In doing so, the second LASSO War was launched, lasting for eight years, until 2040. During that time, the humans and Horoths struck deals and became more friendly towards each other.
This is how the Ya’ados were born.
Typically well above average human height, with spindly appendages, and large wings growing from their shoulder blades, the Ya’ados were the offspring of the humans and Horoths. Neither race wanted anything to do with them after a while. Shunned by society on both sides, the Ya’ados made their home in the Tyurba system, a system full of garden worlds colonized and populated by both humans and Horoth.
Small pockets of resistance have begun to crop up, not only in the Tyurba system but everywhere the Ya’ados populate. The Horoths have attempted to quell these rebellions and, to this day, have done so successfully.
Can the actions of a single human save an entire alien race? Or will she be doomed to fail, leaving only destruction in her wake?
Chapter 1
Rystar Umara: FDDS, Montgomery Alabama, Earth
Maddening were the ways of bureaucracy.
Red tape, invisible lines that divided the different departments, the way no one liked each other and nothing got done.
Rystar Umara sat in the old, dusty chair in front of her boss’s desk with her head in her hand, scuffing at the worn carpet with her foot. Jorge Lewis, her grumpy boss, was currently shuffling through papers on his desk like they had personally offended him. Behind him, the windows showed a dreary world of dust and clouds, forever swirling.
Earth had died many years ago, and Rystar and her people were some of the last idiots still there. It wasn’t like she wanted to be there, but her choices were few and expensive. Staying in Montgomery was the only viable option, so she put up with the dust clouds and terrifying heat waves and tried her very best to enjoy the job she was lucky to have.
“Are you listening?” Jorge snapped.
“Absolutely,” Rystar said with a nod, leaning forward in her chair, “but just for giggles, repeat what you said.”
“You’re a disgrace, Umara,” Jorge chuckled and set his papers down, jiggling the mouse to his ancient computer to turn it back on. “I was saying, we might have something big for you and that new partner of yours soon.”
“I keep telling you, I don’t have a partner,” Rystar grumbled and picked at a spot on her khakis.
“What do you call Shea, then?” Jorge tossed back at her, clicking around on his computer.
“Some kid you keep trying to set me up with,” Rystar huffed.
“You need a partner,” Jorge said and pointed a finger warningly at her. “The power of being a lone wolf is going to your head.”
“How?” Rystar protested, sitting forward in her seat. “The last three bounties I’ve done, you’ve sent the kid with me.”
“And how about the other eight you’ve done by yourself when you thought I wasn’t paying attention?” Jorge cocked his head to fix her with a stern gaze. Rystar rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, flicking a stray clump of hair from her face.
“Don’t see you complaining about extra income flowing in,” she muttered.
“It’s going to take a lot more income to keep these systems online and our agency afloat, as you are well aware,” Jorge said, lifting his hand from his mouse and turning to face her fully. His wavy, grey hair crowned the top of his head, and deep, blue eyes focused on her. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead as he furrowed his brow and scratched a day-old beard on his old chin. “But you’re still doing a good job. I don’t mean to imply you’re not.”
“I’m sorry, Jorge,” Rystar held up a hand and sat up straight. “It’s hard working with someone after…”
She trailed off, and Jorge nodded, scratching an eyebrow with a thumb before clearing his throat and setting his palms on the table. “I hear you, Rystar, I do. But you need to start taking Shea with you on all of your bounties. He’s got to learn somehow, and we don’t have people breaking down our door to be bounty hunters anymore.”
She hated it, she really did, but Jorge had a point. Shea Hendi was one of three bounty hunters at the Federal Department of Defence Services, including himself. The 25-year-old greenhorn still held his gun to the side when they were on missions.
She sighed and stood from her chair, straightening her jacket as she did. “So, what do you have for me?”
“What makes you think I have something for you?” Jorge asked, his eyes going wide.
“I doubt you called me in here to tell me to get a damn partner,” Rystar said and folded her arms, sticking her hip out in defiance.
“Fine,” Jorge huffed, rooting around in his papers for a sheet and handing it to Rystar. “This came in last night. Looks like someone forgot to pay their yearly maintenance fee to the feds. Go get them, tiger.”
“Oh, come on, can’t you send Shea for that?” Rystar grumbled, dropping her hands to her sides and reaching across the desk to snatch the paper from Jorge. She read through it and became increasingly upset by the audacity of a maintenance fee bounty.
“The kid needs you,” Jorge pleaded and stood up from his desk. “He doesn’t have his own LASSO, and he needs someone to show him how we do things around here.”
“You’re not paying me to be a babysitter,” Rystar said, throwing her hands to her sides.
“And I won’t pay you at all if you don’t do your job,” Jorge said and pointed a finger at her.
Rystar finally huffed and turned on a heel before heading out of her boss’s office and into th
e bull pen outside. People sat in desks all clumped together, noses buried in their communications tablets that hooked them up to the outside world through email, news feeds, and of course, the regular vid feed. Most everyone was scrolling through the vid feed now, looking at goofy videos of cats, gifs of video games, and whatever the meme of the day was.
Except for Shea.
Rystar had to hand it to him. The guy knew how to work when it was time to work. And work when it was time to play. He didn’t seem to have an off switch.
“Hey,” she greeted as she approached him. Shea put his comms tablet down and looked up at her, deep brown eyes boring into hers and twinkling with the anticipation of another bounty. He was so eager and excited to do anything he could with Rystar that she was starting to think he had a crush on her. Her eyes moved down to his tablet, and she saw he was researching different LASSOs. Maybe he just had a crush on her LASSO.
“Hey Mx. Umara,” he returned, standing up out of his seat when she reached his desk. She pulled a face and waved at him to sit down again.
“Call me Rystar, please,” she implored and sat down in the chair next to him, passing him the slip of paper. He picked it up immediately and read through it with care.
“Maintenance fee bounty?” he asked, skimming through the last lines, and Rystar nodded.
“Quick and simple, little town in Texas called Odessa,” Rystar explained. “Should be in and out in a few hours.”
“Sure, let me get my coat,” Shea said, his eyes lighting up as he bolted from his chair and towards the door. He looked back as he reached the doors and held up a hand. “I’ll meet you at the LASSO!”
Rystar grumbled and watched him leave, pulling out her comms tablet and punching in the information they needed to retrieve the bounty. Eventually, she stood up from the chair, groaning as she stretched, and made her way to the doors. Outside was a hallway with a rough carpet leading to double doors that opened into a large hangar area where several LASSOs and vehicles lived.
Most of the workers had their own vehicles, but only a handful had LASSOs. Rystar’s was by far the oldest. The newer models of Mach III Pumas and Cougars glistened in the low light of the hangar, towering above all the other vehicles around them. Rystar’s was near the end, smaller than the others, and beat up around the edges.
It was just over a hundred feet long and sixteen feet high, its legs holding it up while parked. It was sleek for its time, all black and gold paint, now chipping, its name painted in matte gold on the stern: Gloriosum. Enormous jet engines that hadn’t been folded away yet stuck to the back in pairs, and the tiny windshield up front was cracked at the top.
She took a moment to study Shea in his white shirt and blue jeans with a tan duster. A classic look that still looked good in 2120. She had seen pictures of her mother and grandfather in similar clothes from a hundred years ago. His dark hair fell in his face every so often, and he would flick it back, playing with his lip ring as he did so. Rystar tried to not be enamored by him but failed.
“Nine or ten-hour drive in this thing,” she said, hoisting herself up the ladder and into the LASSO before turning left into the cockpit where Shea was already getting comfortable.
“We’re not driving, are we?” Shea asked, leaning forward in his seat to gaze at her.
“Absolutely not, I told you we were flying,” she said, turning a key. The engine rumbled and roared to life. As it powered on, lights illuminated the dashboard and flickered on around them.
She waited for the LASSO to stop shuddering before turning on the rear camera and punching a button. “Ground Control, this is Gloriosum, requesting permission to exit hangar in Air mode.”
“Ground Control to Gloriosum, please begin your departure from the hangar and proceed to runway 4,” came the static reply on the dashboard comms. Rystar pushed the button again and pulled on the throttle, feeling a tiny lurch as they moved backward out of the hangar.
Using the back camera, Rystar maneuvered her way out of the hangar and into the blistering sun outside, dust storms kicking up around them. She switched to her instruments and threw the LASSO in drive before heading towards runway 4.
“Ground control to Gloriosum, you are clear to proceed,” the voice on the comms came through. She thanked them before hitting a button and pushing the throttle forward, sending them over 100mph down the runway and pushing the button set for Air mode. The ship shuddered around them and let its giant wings unfold, sending them into the air with ease.
“Exactly 1000 miles,” Rystar said, punching a button and turning on the super cruise so she could let off the throttle enough to steer. “Be there and back in a few hours.”
Shea nodded and brought out his tablet, opening it up and swiping through his feed.
After thirty minutes, Shea set down his tablet and looked over at Rystar, fiddling with his lip ring again before speaking. “Is it that you don’t want a partner at all, or you don’t want me to be your partner?”
Rystar took in a deep breath and rubbed her temple before responding. “It’s not you, so please don’t think that. Out of all the idiots there in the bullpen, you’re the one I wouldn’t mind getting stuck with.”
“So, you just don’t want a partner at all, then?” he concluded, and Rystar let her head roll to fix him with a glare. “Just asking. Got to get to know my partner, don’t I?”
“We don’t have to be best friends,” she groaned. “We just have to work well together.”
“Friends usually work well together,” Shea pointed out.
“Here’s a question,” she began. “Why do you care so much if we’re friends or not?”
Shea shrugged, turning back to his tablet, and Rystar sighed, knowing she was probably snapping a lot more than she needed to. However, she didn’t feel bad enough to apologize and continued the trip in silence until they reached the edge of Odessa.
The rest of the trip passed in silence, and eventually the edge of Odessa came into view. Rystar punched the comms console button and spoke into the receiver. “Gloriosum to Odessa ground control, please allow us to land.”
“Gloriosum, stand by for clearance,” the voice came back. A few moments passed and the voice spoke again. “Gloriosum, you are clear to land, please proceed to runway 2.”
“Ooh, they have two runways here,” Shea said with a small laugh. Rystar couldn’t help but snort.
“Two hours and thirty-five minutes,” she announced as they landed on the runway and slowed to a crawl. “I think that must be a record of some kind.”
“In this thing?” Shea chuckled. “I don’t think so.”
“No need to be rude,” Rystar muttered.
They made it to the hangar and she powered down the engines, climbing from her seat to the tiny locker room. She dug around in a locker and pulled out her jacket as well as a holster that wrapped around her waist.
“Do I get a gun?” Shea asked, bouncing on his toes.
Rystar grumbled, thrusting her own gun in its holster before digging around again and pulling out a spare pistol. “Don’t shoot it all in one place.”
“We won’t need it, right?” Shea asked, taking the gun from her and staring down at it before putting it in the back of his pants.
“We’ll see,” Rystar said, shrugging. “People out in Texas are wild.”
She flashed him a pair of crazy eyes and exited the LASSO, willing him to follow her.
The dust storms in Alabama were bad, but the ones they encountered in Texas put them to shame. Trekking the last part on foot, Rystar and Shea donned eye protection as well as face coverings on their way out of the LASSO.
“So, what do you think about Texas so far?” Rystar asked.
“It’s pretty decent so far,” Shea answered.
“Really?” Rystar scoffed and gestured to the dust storm in full swing.
“I’ve seen worse in Alabama,” Shea said with a shrug, and Rystar shook her head.
“You’re too goddamn nice,” she muttered. “We’
ll have to snuff that out of you if you want to be any kind of decent bounty hunter.”
“I’ll work on it,” Shea grumbled and followed her out into the storm, immediately having to wipe his goggles from the dust. He had to yell over the storm now and pushed in closer to Rystar when he spoke again. “How far is this guy, anyway?”
“Just a couple miles east of here,” Rystar called back. “Shouldn’t take us too long to get there and back.”
It was a simple mission, and simple usually meant boring, which meant Rystar wasn’t paying as much attention as she ought to have been when she knocked on the door of the house their target lived in.
An enormous hole erupted in the door they were standing in front of, and a blast flung Rystar back into the dirt. Shea rushed to her side, pulling back her clothes to see the buckshot embedded in her bulletproof vest.
“I’m fine,” she coughed, holding up a hand to wave at him. She groaned and sat up, rubbing her ribs as Shea bolted after the man through the house. “Wait, what the hell are you doing? Get back here!”
Against her better judgment, Rystar jumped up, wincing as she did so, and let out a growl as she chased Shea through the house and out of the back door. She ran through the backyard and had grabbed the fence to hop it when another bang resounded through the air. Shea cried out from somewhere ahead of her, and she hoisted herself over the fence to see Shea pushing the man’s face into the ground, the gigantic shotgun lying somewhere to their left.
“You’re bleeding,” Rystar announced as she pulled a pair of handcuffs from a side pocket and handed them to Shea. He fixed them around the man’s wrists, who continued to struggle as he did so. Shea pushed himself up off the ground and looked at his shoulder, watching the tiny streams of blood run down the arm of his jacket.
“So I am.” He tilted his head at Rystar. “I got the guy.”