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CHAPTER 4 — THE HUNTERS IN THE DUNES
The cloaked ship shimmered faintly like a heat mirage when Kario approached it. Astrin's auto-cloak was still active, but up close, the distortions in light made its shape visible: a sleek, compact star-runner with gravity stabilizers, a quantum core thruster, and tool stations more advanced than anything Kario had ever imagined.
For a scrap-world orphan, it was like stepping into a dream.
Astrin opened a side panel, and the entire ship hummed with a sound so smooth and precise that Kario's heart fluttered.
"These tools are… incredible," Kario whispered.
"This interface—this is quantum-cascade tech. You can repair a hull breach just by scanning molecular patterns. This is—this is years ahead of PWSP tech!"
Astrin blinked at him. "You can read all that from one glance?"
Kario nodded. "Yeah. It's like… obvious."
Astrin exchanged a quiet look with Sen and Juno.
Vexa smirked proudly. "Told you he's a genius."
The Repair Begins
Kario got to work, his hands flying across the holo-tools with a confidence even he didn't fully understand.
He recalibrated plating.
Repaired the gravitational stabilizer.
Fixed microfractures in the engine coils.
Astrin watched, impressed.
"You work like someone trained in astro-engineering."
"I'm not," Kario said. "I just… know machines."
The repairs should've taken hours.
Kario cut that time in half.
But then—
The wind shifted.
A faint tremor moved through the dunes.
Sen's expression tightened. "Something's wrong."
The Locals Change
Figures appeared at the horizon—slow at first, then gathering like shadows drifting closer.
Not PWSP soldiers.
Not drones.
Not pirates.
Locals.
Scavengers.
People of Virel-9.
But they were… different.
They moved with purpose.
Armed.
Organized.
As if something had unified them into hunters.
Kario froze.
"Why are they coming all the way out here? No one crosses into deep dunes. No one."
Astrin's eyes narrowed.
"They aren't acting on their own will. PWSP must've sent out a planetary bounty alert."
Juno cursed under his breath. "They weaponized the locals."
Astrin nodded grimly.
"With credits, or fear, or promises. PWSP knows I can't leave the planet without repairing my ship. They've mobilized every desperate fighter on Virel-9."
Sen tensed suddenly.
"I know that guy."
He pointed at a massive figure in plated armor, standing like a mountain among the approaching hunters.
"That's Crovan Thresk. A bounty hunter. A really famous one. I used to see his kill counts on the local updates."
Astrin's face drained of color.
"He's here for me."
The Decision
Astrin moved quickly.
"We can't finish repairs now. We have to retreat. Hide until nightfall, then return."
"No," Kario said immediately.
Astrin turned sharply. "Yes. We leave."
Kario shook his head, steady and firm.
"You all go. I can finish the repair alone."
"Kario—" Vexa started.
"As long as the cloak stays active, no one will see the ship," Kario continued.
"And I move fast. Faster than any of you with this tech. I can do it."
Astrin stiffened.
"If the cloak drops—"
"It won't," Kario said.
Astrin hesitated, conflict flashing in his eyes.
Then Vexa stepped forward.
"I'm not leaving him."
Astrin looked at her. "Vexa—"
"No."
Her voice was sharp and unwavering.
"You guys go back to the shelter. Kario and I will finish this."
Kario's eyes widened. "Vexa, you don't have to—"
She glared.
"Oh, shut up. I'm not letting you fix an entire invisible spaceship alone while half the planet forms a kill squad."
Sen frowned, torn. "You sure?"
Juno bit her lip. "You two can handle it?"
Vexa crossed her arms.
"If anyone gets near us, I'll slice their legs off. So yes."
Kario smiled despite the situation.
"Yeah. We've got this."
Astrin studied the two teens—Kario's steady determination, Vexa's fierce loyalty.
Finally, he nodded.
"All right. But if anything happens—anything—you retreat immediately."
Vexa smirked. "We'll be fine."
Sen placed a hand on Kario's shoulder.
"Don't die."
Juno tapped Vexa's arm.
"Hit me up on comms if you need a distraction."
Astrin glanced at the horizon, the hunters creeping closer.
"We move. Now."
The three of them slipped away across the dunes, leaving Kario and Vexa alone beside the cloaked star-runner.
The wind howled.
The hunters grew nearer.
And Kario turned back to the ship.
"Let's finish this," he said.
Vexa cracked her knuckles.
"Let them try to stop us."
The most dangerous night of their lives was about to begin.