It was a small village. Humans, human-likes, and aliens lived together. The immigrants here had a past—they had escaped their worlds and come here for a second chance in life, living peacefully.
But these wastelands were harsh. Life here was valueless. Dangerous creatures, pirates, thieves, and murderers of every kind roamed the land.
On the mountaintop, mud and thatches filled the village's canopy. Transport ships visited only once every few weeks.
Eve sat silently inside a stable of mule-like creatures. A poor human-like named Razkai had given her refuge until the next carrier arrived. She searched her backpack for food—there was none.
Some twenty meters away from the stable, Razkai was unloading fodder from a cart when screams echoed through the air.
He looked up. A pirate ship hovered above, men and cyborgs descending on cables. He recognized the flag—Dermants. They were ruthless murderers who kept people as livestock and slaves, involved in civilian trafficking.
Razkai ran inside to get his gun. When he came out, people were fleeing in chaos as the pirates fired blindly. Dermant rabid dogs tore at villagers. A brute stood near the cart, holding a woman by the hair, with a dozen men at his flank.
Razkai aimed his gun. "Let go of my wife!"
The brute pressed his pistol against her skull. "She'll make a nice whore!"
Just then, his chest erupted as a sword pierced through him. The pistol dropped from his hand, and the woman ran to Razkai, embracing him.
The pirates turned. A young woman wrapped in an old piece of clothing around her waist and chest came running toward them.
The battle began. Eve dived through the air, flying over the men, landing near the cart. She pulled her blade from the dead pirate's back and circled around, her long bluish-white hair whipping in the wind, electric blue eyes narrowing at the assailants.
They drew their guns and swords. A blur of motion—gunfire, steel clashing against steel and flesh. A minute later, sliced bodies and shattered metal lay on the ground.
Razkai watched, stunned. Then he yelled, "Look out!"
Three rabid dogs leapt at Eve. She ducked, picked up a rifle, shot them, and aimed at other pirates rushing toward her.
She used their own guns against them. Her sword cut through flesh and metallic cyborgs as easily as apple pies. An explosive shell screamed past her; she ducked, and it tore through the barn wall.
The villagers found courage and fought back. Fifteen minutes later, the surviving pirates were running into the cold desert as their ship departed.
Eve returned to Razkai. "I'm sorry for your barn and animals," she said, glancing at the bullet holes.
"Cheap pirates. And we haven't seen the last of them. But we'll survive."
The villagers looted clothes and weapons from the dead criminals, dragging cyborgs to their huts. Some tended to the injured, others wept over their dead.
"I used to be a good fighter in my prime, but you… you are a phenomenal warrior," Razkai said.
"I just learned to survive."
"If you want, you can stick around here."
"The hunters chase me. There are always mercs on my head—far worse than these. The village is safer without me. Besides, this is my life. I'm a wanderer."
"You're too young to be on your own."
"I can take care of myself."
"I meant… being alone. I don't doubt your skills."
"I'm used to it."
"Let me offer you a decent set of clothes," Razkai's wife said, eyeing the fabrics that barely covered Eve's frame.
"I don't need them, but I'm hungry."
"Wait here, I'll get some food." She went into the hut.
"I'll try to fix up the barn," Eve said, leaving.
Razkai called after her, "You can stay with us."
"I prefer the barn."
Eve fitted fresh wooden panels as Razkai and some villagers helped her. She wore a cloth mask to hide her face.
Night fell. Razkai and his wife entered the barn with food. She ate as she told her story.
"It's been decades now," she said, biting into Rhyne-beast steak. "I just wander different worlds, trying not to stick my neck out too much."
Razkai told her she was a great fighter and suggested a way to improve her lifestyle.
"Bounty hunters also live on the move. You could keep living as you do, but a little money wouldn't hurt."
He told her about Sal Parlos Orbital Station and gave her the address of a friend.
"I used to be one, until I met my wife and said goodbye to my old life. We settled here to find peace and solitude."
Eve said she'd think about it.
Two days later, a ship arrived. Razkai paid for her ticket, and she ventured off to her next unknown destination.