Unit 212, Taurus Squad - En Route to Verdara
The command center of the transport ship looked less like a military operation and more like a daycare on fire.
"I'm telling you, we should jump NOW!" A rooster-like alien squawked, feathers puffed up in agitation. His crest flared bright red as he jabbed a taloned finger at the navigation console. "By the time we get clearance from the boss, all the fun's gonna be over!"
"Tengo-Pi, sit your feathered ass down," a human woman shot back, arms crossed. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. "We don't move without Unit Head authorization. That's protocol."
"Protocol is for cowards, Mara!" Tengo-Pi flapped his wings dramatically. "There's a Code Red on Verdara! You know what that means? Action! Glory! Actual combat instead of patrolling empty sectors!"
"Glory's not worth a court martial."
"Court martial schmort martial!"
Another unit member, a yellow-skinned alien with four arms, groaned from his station. "Can you two shut up for five seconds? I'm trying to run diagnostics."
"Stay out of this, Kelvin!"
"BOTH of you stay out of this!"
The door to the bathroom hissed open.
Unit Head Ruskovitz emerged, adjusting his uniform.
He was a towering figure, easily seven feet tall with deer-like antlers that added another foot to his height. His face was a patchwork of scars, intimidating and battle-worn. His skin was split between stark black and white in a natural pattern that made him look like a walking art piece.
"Sorry about that," he said casually, buckling his belt. "Ate some spicy curry last night. Thought my intestines were gonna stage a coup."
The entire command center went dead silent.
Tengo-Pi immediately snapped to attention, wings folding neatly. "Sir! I was just about to find you to report the Code Red situation on Verdara!"
Ruskovitz raised an eyebrow. "Were you now?"
"Absolutely, sir! Top priority!"
Mara coughed something that sounded suspiciously like "liar."
Ruskovitz walked to the main console, his black and purple Taurus uniform catching the light. The squad emblem sat proudly on his chest, a stylized bull wreathed in smoke.
Each member's uniform had personal adjustments. Tengo-Pi wore his with the sleeves torn off. Mara had added extra holsters. Ruskovitz himself had modified the collar into something more formal, almost ceremonial.
He pulled up the distress message, reading quickly. His expression shifted from casual to deadly serious in an instant.
"Code Red. Solo Raider. Five hundred million bounty." He looked up. "All of you suit up. We leave in two minutes. No delays."
"YES SIR!" the crew shouted in unison.
"Kelvin, set course for Planet Verdara. Maximum speed."
"On it, boss!"
The ship's engines roared to life, and Unit 212 shot toward the jungle planet like a bullet.
...
Safe Zone
"Please?" Tessa asked sweetly, holding out a small bag. "I have snacks?"
The guard stared at her. "You're trying to bribe me with snacks?"
"They're really good snacks?"
"No."
Kade stepped forward, grin wide. "Look, officer, there's been a huge misunderstanding. We're actually supposed to be conducting a perimeter check. Instructor Vela specifically requested our team."
"Instructor Vela's currently engaged in combat," the guard said flatly.
"Exactly! That's why she needs us for backup!"
"Nice try, cadet."
Pam walked up, arms crossed. "We're leaving. Now."
"You threatening me?"
"Stating a fact."
"Then I'm stating a fact too. You're staying put."
Pam's eye twitched.
Kade tried scaling the wall. A guard pulled him down by his tail.
Tessa attempted crawling through a ventilation shaft. She got stuck after three feet.
Pam tried reasoning, then threats, then cold logic. Nothing worked.
"This is impossible!" Kade slammed his fist against the door again. "We're supposed to be a team and Juli's out there fighting a monster!"
The guards didn't budge.
...
The Jungle
Juli and Ragnar stood ten feet apart.
The size difference was absurd. Juli barely reached five foot four. Ragnar towered over seven feet, muscles like carved stone, presence like a living weapon.
David and Goliath didn't begin to cover it.
Juli's eyes swept across the clearing. Bodies everywhere. Blood pooling in the dirt. Limbs scattered like broken toys. Instructor Vela barely breathing behind him.
His hands clenched into fists so tight his knuckles went white.
The rage inside him wasn't hot. It was cold. Arctic. The kind that froze everything else out.
Ragnar tilted his head, studying the boy with genuine curiosity. "Remarkable. Truly remarkable."
He rolled his neck where Juli's kick had landed on the back of his skull. "Your lower body strength is exceptional. That strike to my cranium actually staggered me. I haven't felt impact like that in years." His smile widened. "You possess something rare, child. Potential that transcends mere training."
Juli said nothing.
"Most would have fled," Ragnar continued, circling slowly. "Survival instinct would override courage. Yet here you stand, a cadet who should by all logical measure be cowering in your safe zone, instead positioning yourself between predator and prey."
He stopped, eyes gleaming. "You interest me."
Still silence.
Vela's eyes widened as Ragnar's next words emerged.
"Become my apprentice!"
The jungle seemed to hold its breath.
"Together, we could reshape the galaxy's power structure. I would teach you to refine that raw strength into something transcendent. We would carve our names across the stars themselves, unconstrained by the pathetic moral frameworks your institutions impose."
Ragnar extended a massive hand. "What do you say, child? Shall we rule together?"
Juli's red eyes locked onto Ragnar's golden ones.
Then he spoke.
"Go fuck yourself, furball!"
Ragnar's smile didn't falter. If anything, it grew wider.
"I got here too late," Juli continued, voice shaking with barely controlled fury. "I couldn't save them. Couldn't stop you from killing innocent people." He looked down at his hands. "What kind of pathetic hero am I? What kind of hero lets people die?"
His head snapped back up, eyes blazing.
"But I can still do one thing." He pointed at Ragnar. "I can kick your head in so hard you'll taste boot leather for the rest of your miserable life."
Ragnar actually laughed. A deep, genuine sound of delight. He looked at Juli not with contempt, but with something almost like fondness.
"Magnificent."
Juli glanced back at Vela. "I'll make you a deal. Spare the instructor. Let her live. In exchange..." He turned back to Ragnar, cracking his knuckles. "You get me. One on one. No tricks. No backup. Just you and me."
Ragnar's eyes gleamed with something primal. Excitement.
"A duel. Mano a mano." He spread his arms wide. "How could I refuse such a classical proposition?! There is profound beauty in single combat. Two warriors, their fates intertwined for one glorious moment where only strength, skill, and will determine the outcome. No interference. No mercy. Only the pure dialectic of violence!"
He dropped into a stance, claws extending fully.
"I accept your terms, young hero."
Juli shifted his weight, muscles coiling. His breathing steadied. The fear vanished, burned away by purpose.
They moved simultaneously.
Juli's leg swept up in a devastating arc. Ragnar's claw slashed downward. They met in the center, boot against talon, the impact creating a shockwave that shook leaves from nearby trees.
Neither gave an inch.
Their eyes locked. Red against gold. Determination against experience. The knucklehead cadet against the legendary Solo Raider.
The jungle watched as the impossible fight began.