Jack the Reaper's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Jack the Reaper crouched on a rocky ridge above the transit hub, his obsidian armor catching the dawn light. Red seams glowed along his joints. Below, the glass spaceport gleamed like a trap waiting to spring. Somewhere inside was a ticket off this rock and another step closer to the warlord who had butchered his squad. He pulled a small holo-disc from his belt. The image of a shimmering panther flickered to life, scales shifting through every color. It was the bounty mark. His face. His armor. A price big enough to turn every traveler into a hunter. Jack stuffed the disc away and started down. He kept his helmet sealed and his shoulders low. Inside the hub, travelers moved in bright streams. He felt eyes track him at every turn. A vendor's smile lingered too long. A guard whispered into a collar mic. Then he saw it across the plaza — a black spire of metal wedged between the docking gates. Orange light burned at its core like a furnace. The warlord's watchtower. It scanned every face that passed through the gates. His helmet pinged red. He had been seen. Alarms shrieked. Travelers scattered. Three armed crews closed in from different halls, weapons raised, all chasing the same payday. Jack drew his sidearm and triggered the jetpack. Thrust slammed him upward through a shattering skylight. He broke into open sky and spotted a winged reptile circling a distant cliff — wild, fast, and far from any registry. He aimed for it. The hub was burned. Every public route was burned. From here on, Jack would travel where no scanner could follow.