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An Afternoon Drink

Oracle hated the medical droids. The small, beeping machines got on her nerves, especially when they were scanning her body for injuries like one was now. She resisted the urge to flick it across the room as it flew in front of her face, beeping as it scanned her head and shoulders.

"XG-636," said the medic, appearing from one of the other rooms.

The droid flew over to the medic like an obedient puppy when it heard its designation, hovering above his shoulder.

There is only one injury to report, the droid said, its voice slightly staticky, a stab wound to the back of the shoulder, right arm. The muscle can be fully repaired.
"Thank you, XG-636." He said, nodding to the droid. "Can you retrieve my equipment please?"

The droid beeped once and flew off to retrieve what the medic needed, leaving them in peace. The medic called over a droid to remove the shoulder piece of her armor as he went over the file XG-739 had sent him on his data pad. When the droid had the shoulder piece off Oracle slipped her arm out of the bodysuit. Oracle winced slightly as the medic numbed the area around the wound, cleaning the blood from around the gash.

She held as still as possible as the medic repaired the damage that had been done. They now had medical technology that allowed medics to seamlessly repair damaged skin, muscle, tissues and tendons with only a scar left behind.

Life threatening injuries weren't as dangerous as they once were. She would be able to return to her job with only a little stiffness in the repaired muscle.

When the medic was finished he had the droid put her armor back on and told her to give it time to rest before her next mission. She nodded and walked out into the hallway, making her way to the Landing Pad Crimson Shadows was on. Oracle powered up the ship, flying high above the city. The trip only took about ten minutes, she lived on the same side of the city as Necron's headquarters were.

Her home wasn't large, it wasn't meant to be. She spent most of her money on weapons and upgrades to her armor. Most of the time she wasn't home anyway, she was out hunting targets or spending her time at the nearest bar after a long day.

Oracle took off her helmet and looked at the scanner which beeped once as the sleek door slid open. She then entered it and went straight to the door that led to the basement, inputting the code.

She then got up and got dressed, eating quickly before going down to the armory. Oracle stretched the shoulder that had been injured, getting the stiffness out of it and letting the subtle aching pain subside.
She waited patiently as the droid put all of the armor on, starting with her feet and going up until it handed her her helmet which she put on herself, ready for the day.

Oracle grabbed a fresh combat blade, her pistol and sniper rifle. She put the sidearm in the holster on her leg and slung the sniper over her shoulder, grabbing extra ammo. The Bounty Hunter then walked out into the bright sunlight.

Oracle checked the time in the corner of her HUD. According to it it was 11:30.

She had enough time to get to Reclaimer's office for her next assignment and start a little early, which meant getting home earlier for more hours of sleep.
Oracle boarded her ship and took off, flying high over Hyperion, the city lit with the glow of the afternoon sun. She landed the ship out in front this time and went in through the front doors, blending in with the Bounty Hunters around her. The elevator ride up felt like it only took seconds, and into time Oracle was in the Reclaimer's office.

"Ah, there you are." said Reclaimer as she walked. "A few moments early."

"This is an easy, quick mission. I need you to kill a man named Sebastian Baldwyn. He has quite the influence in politics."

Oracle's eyes flicked to her HUD as the file appeared and she opened it.

Name: Sebastian Baldwyn
Description: 5'8", 27, brown hair, amber eyes, pale skin. Carries a sidearm with him.
Reason for Bounty: Is selling political secrets to a group called Crimson Dawn.
Method: Is to be brought in dead using any means necessary.
Last Known Location: The Solar Flare in Western Hyperion
Notes: Is one of Vargo's candidates for Senator, has six armed guards with him.

Oracle nodded, pulling up a map of the city on HUD, and placing a marker where the bar was.

"How much time do I have?"

"Two hours," said Reclaimer.

"I'll have him to you in one." She said, turning and walking out of the room.

Oracle looked at where the bar was and decided not to take her ship, but to walk instead. It would provide her the cover she needed to remain unnoticed. As she stood in the elevator she made sure to check that she had her combat knives and her side arm before stepping out into the hallway.

Even when she was in the hallway the space around her emptied, fellow Bounty Hunters avoiding her. She never got away from the fear that followed her like a shadow, it stayed with her like an old friend.

She didn't mind it, truthfully she preferred the silence it granted. She much preferred to work alone, especially after what had happened the last time she dared to get close to someone. Oracle pushed these thoughts down as she walked down the sidewalk, blending into the streets teeming with people.

She listened to the talk of the people around her, regular talk that didn't include talk of targets or payment. Normal things she had never gotten to talk about. Her life had been anything but normal ever since the War.

When she saw the Solar Flare come into view she crossed the road, entering the bar. She scanned the room as she walked towards the bar, the low hum of the bar obscuring the words being spoken.

Oracle sat at the bar, ordering a drink from one of the bartenders. She glanced sideways at her target, catching him looking in her direction.

He most likely knew who she was, whether or not he knew she was here for him specifically remained an unanswered question.

She looked away from him as the bartender handed her her drink, nodding slightly to her as she took it. Oracle slid off her helmet, setting it beside her as she took the Icemoon the bartender had set before her, swirling the blue liquid in the glass before taking a drink. Oracle savored the cool, minty flavor of the drink, trying to remember the last time she had had something fancier than a beer.

She rarely indulged herself, choosing only to get a fancier drink every now then. She was in the Solar Flare, an upper class bar, why not do it here?
Oracle watched out of the corner of her eye as Sebastian excused himself from the table, one of his guards saying something in a hushed voice as he did so.

The guard looked over at her with a glance
that wasn't as secretive as he had intended.
Sebastian said something back that she couldn't hear and walked over to the bar. He leaned against the counter next to her, flagging down one of the bartenders to refill his drink.

"What brings a Hunter of your renown here today?" He asked without looking at her.

Oracle sensed the quiet arrogance in his words, noticed in the way he held himself, the way he talked to her without looking at her. He thought himself to be above her, above everyone here because of his status.

A mistake.

"I wanted to drink," she said simply, taking another sip from her glass, "as most people who come to a bar want to."

She heard the senator quietly scoff, thanking the bartender as he handed him his drink.

"You don't come to these places just to drink," he said, finally looking at her, "you're hunting someone."

"You would be right," she said, tracing her finger along the edge of her glass.

"I don't envy the poor bastard," said Sebastian, taking a long drink from his glass.

"I never said it wasn't you."

Oracle watched as Sebastian's bearing changed, arrogance replaced by fear. She watched his amber eyes darken as he froze, tensing, trying to process what she had just said. She looked up at him, letting a slight, cold smile twist her lips.

Got you.

"Cheers," she said quietly, raising her glass and nodding slightly before draining it.

She took her helmet as she stood, leaving Sebastian to think about what she had said. As she slipped on her helmet she felt Sebastian's eyes on her. Oracle hoped she had scared him enough to panic, make a mistake. He had already let her into his mind.

Oracle went out into the street, finding a way up to the rooftop of the buildings next to the bar. There she waited, watching silently. What seemed like hours later she saw Sebastian and his guards come out of the bar. Oracle watched as they did exactly what she wanted them to do, turning into an alleyway between the two buildings in an attempt to lose her.

She followed silently, jumping a gap between two roofs, the bustle of the city streets fading behind her. When everything was almost silent she got out a combat blade, wanting to make as little noise as possible.
She dropped from the roof and landed on top of one of the guards, using the force of the fall to drive the blade through the back of the guard's neck. She felt a bullet ping off her shoulder plate and turned, throwing the combat blade at the guard. The blade caught him in the throat and the guard collapsed, clawing at his neck before going still.

She went after the third man, digging her fingers into his eyes. The guard screamed in agony as blood dripped down his face, all that was left two holes where his eyes had once been.

A bullet hit the wall behind her and she shoved the blinded guard to the concrete, seeing the guard that stood behind her. She acted in a split second, grabbing the combat blade from out of the guard's throat. She slashed it across one gaurd's throat as he tried to retrain her, using his body as a shield as the other shot at her.

She kicked the dead guard at the other man and killed him quickly as he tried to move out of the way. She then dispatched the other guard that stood in her way, slicing a bloody red horizon across the blinded guard's neck.

She turned to see Sebastian with a gun pointed at her faceplate, his hand shaking. Sebastian stared at her with the eyes of a rabbit that had seen a wolf, desperately trying to find a way out.

"Your status means nothing down here," she said, her voice carrying a cold bite, "down here anything goes. Down here your precious rules don't matter."

She took a step closer to him and he stepped back, suddenly seeming more like a child than a man who had power.

"I have more guards on the way," said Sebastian, "you won't get away with your life."

The arrogant confidence in those words faltered as she laughed a cold, mirthless laugh. Sebastian shifted on his feet, his fear nearly palatable.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked, staring him down.

She watched him nod ever so slightly, taking another step back.

"Then you should know I never fail a mission."

With those words she drew her handgun and shot. For a moment time seemed to stop as blood slid down Sebastian's forehead in red rivulets. Then his body slumped to the ground, lifeless eyes staring at the sky above.

Oracle knelt and closed his eyes, doing him a simple honor. She left the guards for the police force to deal with, taking her target with her in a body bag.

She took the route through the Backstreet, a place where no one questioned anything. Upon arrival at the Headquarters she went to where the guards would identify the body.

They did and she got the approval to be paid for a job done. As she entered the elevator, Reclaimer's voice filtering through her helmet.

"I need you up here now."

"I'm on my way." She answered him.

When she got to his office she found the door already slightly open.

She entered, standing silently by the wall until Reclaimer looked up.

"I have an assignment for you, one that is highly important." He said, sliding a folder over to her.
She picked it up off of his desk, wary. None of her assignments had ever come in folders like this, they always appeared on her Heads Up Display as a file she could open. This meant the target she had been assigned was highly confidential.

Oracle opened it and read through it, but stopped stared when she reached the name. Her heart leapt into her throat. She knew that name.

Her target was once a Bounty Hunter.

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Goin back and editing chapters, let me know how this one flows!

~Nightfury107

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