The Myce Ruby: Humdingers- Bob's Karma

This story and all of its contents are a work of fiction. It has not been officially approved by the owners and therefore should not be counted as such. That being the case, enjoy this work of fan fiction based upon the events of the Iria: Zeiram OAV. It should be noted that this story takes place before the first episode.

I got the idea from a line in the first episode, when Bob mentions the fact that the Karma’s computer is an old friend. I always thought that it would be neat to explore that relationship and give more meaning to Bob’s reaction when he finds out that the computer is destroyed by Zeiram.

Also, I should warn everyone that some of the scenes are a bit graphic in nature. If you have problems dealing with violence then I suggest that you pass this fanfic up and try something dealing with Pokemon or My Neighbor Totoro.

Written and thought up by the Confetti Yeti. Email any comments you have about this story to: Iria4ever@scifianime.com.

Bob checked the orders again to make sure he had read them right, it was exactly the job he wanted. He was being transferred to the Karma to protect the vice-president of the Tedan Tippedai Corporation, a man named Puttubayh.

Bob worked for Ghomvak Security and Investigations and was considered one of the best agents currently employed. Ghomvak Security handled all major bounty cases that cropped up within the Administration. It also handled registration of new bounty hunters and was the most respected division in the crime fighting world.

While Bob hadn’t taken as many top priority cases that he would’ve liked, he was no less skilled than any other hunter. He enjoyed the thrill of the hunt but liked the challenge of preparing beforehand. Every case was different and required unique equipment and weapons to complete successfully.

Bob was tall and physically fit. He preferred light combat armor for flexibility and a medium length topknot for style. At his side was a small firearm that he was fairly accurate with but only used in the most extreme cases. He liked hand-to-hand combat much better and was very skilled in many of the martial arts.

This would be the deciding mission to find out if Bob had what it took to manage other bounty hunters. If he failed to protect Vice-President Puttubayh during the Karma’s maiden voyage, then it could be years before he had another shot at a high level ranking within Ghomvak Security.

Bob had heard that a lot of the other bounty hunters had avoided this case not only because of the sensitive material, but because of the disturbing rumors that Puttubayh was creating some sort of bio-weapon. There was also gossip spreading that Puttubayh had been targeted by a terrorist organization to be assassinated.

All he had to do was escort Puttubayh to his final destination. It sounded easy enough to do. However, Bob was experienced enough to know that easy jobs usually ended up becoming complex in a hurry.

The beeping of his comlink intruded upon Bob’s thoughts and with a sigh he responded. “This is Hunter Bob, I assume I’m getting a call about my transport.”

The voice over the comlink sounded bored. “Correct, it’s waiting for you in gate A-2. Don’t be late.” Then, with a soft click, the traffic controller left Bob to find A-2 on his own.

“The first thing that I’m going to do when I get a higher ranking,” thought Bob sternly. “Will be to get some courteous traffic controllers.”

With that, Bob made his way down to gate A-2, bringing with him only his weapons and his hopes.

***
The Karma was still being loaded when Bob transited to his destination, so he took it upon himself to find Puttubayh and officially start his job. It didn’t take him long to spot the man.

Puttubayh was surrounded by a ring of guards that all wore Tedan Tippedai security uniforms. The guards looked edgy and willing to shoot at anything that seemed like trouble.

Bob approached cautiously, not wanting to be cut down by a trigger-happy guard. He could just locate Puttubayh in the center talking to someone over a comlink, oblivious to any other distractions.

Bob didn’t get too far before a guard trained his weapon on him. The guard narrowed his eyes and growled out a phrase. “Who are you? No one is allowed to approach the Vice-President without authorization!”

“My name is Bob,” he said and slowly pulled out his orders from Ghomvak Security. “I’ve been hired to protect Vice-President Puttubayh.”

The guard glowered at Bob and grabbed the orders out of his hand for inspection. After a few minutes of looking through them he made his way towards Puttubayh.

Bob could spot the guard talking to Puttubayh and pointing towards Bob. Puttubayh looked over the orders himself and finally made his way outside of the ring of guards towards Bob.

Puttubayh wasn’t very tall, his head didn’t even reach Bob’s shoulders, but the way he carried himself made him seem more intimidating. Bob had worked with clients like this before, self-centered and egotistical. He could already tell that this was going to be a long trip.

Puttubayh wore the uniform of a high-ranking Tedan Tippedai official and sported a long, thin, mustache that reached down past his chin. When he noticed that Bob was watching him he smirked contemptuously.

“You come highly recommended, Hunter Bob. I hope that you’ll live up to your reputation,” Puttubayh said. He turned to his guards. “You may leave. Hunter Bob will be taking over the guard duty.”

The guards nodded and started to disperse. Puttubayh, done with the guards, made his way towards the Karma’s main entrance. “I had better not be making a mistake, Hunter Bob. You can be sure that if you fail this job your career will be over.”

“I’m still not sure why you hired the help of Ghomvak Security at all,” Bob said with a neutral voice. “It seems like you have more then enough guards.”

Puttubayh dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand. “Oh, some of my people think that there might be terrorists among my guards. They felt it would be safer to enlist the help of someone like you instead.”

“I see.”

“I certainly hope so, so many of your kind can be remarkably obtuse and difficult to deal with.”

Bob knew that Puttubayh was baiting him and refused to be tricked. Instead he followed behind and looked around for potential threats. Bob noticed, uneasily, that there were a large number of crates with a bio-hazard icon stamped on them.

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to tell me what’s in those crates,” Bob asked Puttubayh, pointing in the direction of the dangerous containers.

“Nothing that should concern you,” Puttubayh responded, without sparing a look. “It’s merely for research, if that’s of any comfort.”

“Right,” Bob said, not comforted in the least. “Research.” He was starting to get a really bad feeling about the entire situation and that was never a good sign so early on a job.

As they entered the Karma’s main passenger deck, Bob’s uneasy feeling began to grow. He looked behind him and suddenly found his answer, a guard was still following them. It could just mean that Puttubayh was being cautious, testing Bob’s certifications. Or it could be a more sinister reason.

“Are you aware that one of your guards is still following us?” Bob asked in a low whisper.

Puttubayh turned and spotted the errant guard. “I told them to leave! It’s like dealing with children,” he growled. The executive marched over towards the guard before Bob could stop him.

“Wait a minute!” Bob protested as he hurried to catch up with Puttubayh. “It could be a-”

Ignoring Bob, Puttubayh confronted the guard. “I want your name and registration number!”

In response the guard lifted his weapon and pointed it squarely at Puttubayh and Bob. The gun was the same model used by the Administration army, a portable machine gun with a large shell on top to hold ammo. It was rumored that a person could fire it non-stop for fifteen minutes before it would finally run out.

“-trap.” Bob finished, before letting out a disgusted sigh.

“My name is Samon,” the man said. “Keep moving and don’t make a scene or I give your chest some extra ventilation! I don’t want to shoot civilians, but I will if you force me to.”

Puttubayh’s arrogant façade melted away immediately, leaving a pitiful look on his face. “Please don’t hurt me! I’ll pay you whatever you want!”

The job had barely started and already Bob was getting a headache. “Sir,” he said, addressing Puttubayh. “I think we better do what Mr. Samon says.” Much as he wanted to subdue the rogue guard, Bob couldn’t risk having Samon’s gun go off in public.

Samon nodded in appreciation. “Your friend’s pretty smart. If you do what I say, there’s a good chance I won’t have to kill either of you.”

Puttubayh readily agreed, willing to take any chance to save his precious life.

Samon herded the pair away from the employees and cargo workers milling around the main hold of the Karma and towards an empty corridor. Bob tensed, getting ready for action. He would need to be fast in order to avoid Samon’s gunfire.

As soon as the door closed behind them in the small corridor Bob made his move. He dropped to the floor and kicked Samon at the knees, forcing the guard to fall against his will.

Samon fired at Bob with his weapon, gouging chunks out of the walls and floor as he traced a line towards Bob. One of the bullets hit a light panel and showered the trio in a flash of sparks.

Bob knew he had to end this fight quickly or Puttubayh could get hurt or killed. Thinking fast, Bob gave a swift kick to Samon’s hand which knocked the gun away before the guard could complete his tracer line. At same time he delivered a blow to Samon’s neck with his other foot, bringing a quick end to the guard’s life.

The entire skirmish was over in about thirty seconds.

Bob stood up and surveyed the scene. Puttubayh had crouched as low as he could to the ground in an effort to avoid the gunfire. “You can get up now,” Bob said to the cowering official.

Puttubayh looked around quickly and then straightened out and brushed himself off. “I thought I was paying you to make sure I didn’t get shot at,” he said, pointing to the dead Samon.

It took a lot of effort, but Bob managed to restrain himself from making a snide comment. Instead he managed to utter a barely audible comment, “Too bad Samon didn’t have better aim.”

Puttubayh looked sharply in his direction. “What was that you said!?”

Bob cleared his throat. “Nothing, just reflecting on why Samon would want to kill you. It wouldn’t have anything to do with those bio-hazard crates, would it?”

Puttubayh shrugged indifferently. “How should I know? I’m a wealthy person, he was probably after my money.”

A loud hum suddenly broke off any comment that Bob was about to make. The Karma was finally leaving for its next destination.

“Come on, Mr. Vice-President, let’s get you to your room where it’s safe.” Bob suggested.

Puttubayh looked like he was about to argue, but another look at Samon’s corpse changed his mind. “Very well, at least there I won’t have to watch my back.”

Together, the two made their way towards the residential block. Bob silently promised himself that once Puttubayh was safely in his room he would get to the bottom of this mess.

***
It had taken some persuasive arguing on his part, but Bob had managed to keep Puttubayh in his room. The argument that had finally persuaded the egotistical aristocrat had been one that Bob had thought up on the spot. While Puttubayh was in his room, Bob would be ‘searching’ the Karma for any other terrorists.

Of course, that wasn’t what Bob actually intended to do. First, he had to find out what was in those crates and the best way to do that was to access the Karma’s main computer directly.

Bob was very good with computers, he knew all the tricks to bypass security systems and reroute subroutines. But, every system was different and that meant Bob had no idea how long it would take him to break into Puttubayh’s encrypted files.

He entered a small room that was off the beaten path from the main hallway. Inside was an inconspicuous data terminal that was usually meant for private calls. For Bob’s purposes, it would become his hacking tool.

To his mild surprise, the terminal was already logged directly into the ship’s computer. On the screen was a typed message.

Greetings Hunter Bob. I am Karma, how can I help you?

Bob looked around as casually as he could to make sure this wasn’t some sort of trick. He spotted nobody, and with a mental shrug, typed in a request for access to Puttubayh’s private files.

Another line of text appeared to replace the first message.

Certainly, the materials within those containers are too dangerous to be carried safely. I hope you’ll do something about them.

A second later, a listing of all the cargo that Puttubayh had transferred to the Karma appeared. Bob scrolled down the list and mentally winced at the dangerous chemicals listed. Then he came across one called ‘Zeiram’.

The only reference of Zeiram he’d ever heard of had been from old legends and myths about an evil creature of unimaginable power. The reasons of why someone would want to kill Puttubayh were becoming a bit clearer now.

“I’m liking this job less and less,” Bob murmured to himself.

I don’t like the situation either.

Bob jumped in surprise. He had heard that voice inside his head. Quickly he tried a little test. “Hello? Karma?”

Again he heard the voice in his head. How can I help, Hunter Bob?

“You can talk inside my head?” Bob asked cautiously.

Of course I can. It’s merely a simple matter of matching up electromagnetic waves and putting them in sync.

“You must be one of those new systems I’ve been hearing about.”

You are correct. The Karma is relatively new to the Tedan Tippedai fleet and therefore supports a newer system.

That confirmed what Bob had been guessing. “I don’t understand why you would be helping me out. If I get caught, I can kiss my career goodbye.”

I’m helping you because I strongly believe that whatever this ‘Zeiram’ is will eventually lead to my destruction. Obviously, I don’t want that to happen.

Bob clasped his hands together happily with this unexpected turn of events. “Well then, let’s see files on the Zeiram unit.”

A moment latter a listing of documents and video clips scrolled down his screen. Bob looked over them and came to a decision. “Karma, would you play the video file listed ‘Zeiram-vid-file #001’ for me?”

In response, his screen changed to show a small elderly man standing in front of the camera. It began to play at once, Bob appreciated the fact that Karma kept the volume level low.

“Greetings, Mr. Puttubayh. I am Dr. Touka, senior research member in charge of the Zeiram Project. Behind me is the specimen known as Zeiram.” Touka moved out of the way and Bob got his first look at something out of myth.

Zeiram towered over the diminutive doctor, locked away behind shields. The monster was almost completely black except for a glowing red slit at the top of it’s trunk like neck. The head flattened out so that it looked similar to a helmet, on the front was a smaller childlike head that was powder white.

The creature seemed to be in hibernation because it wasn’t moving. It didn’t even stir as Touka moved closer to the cell.

“So far, the creature has proven to be virtually immune to weapons fire,” Touka said as he pressed a small red button. Instantly, Zeiram started to move but was engulfed in flame. Touka let the flames go on for about a minute before he shut them off.

Zeiram didn’t even have a singe on him.

Touka pressed a second button and small machine guns started to pepper Zeiram. The monster didn’t flinch as the bullets ricocheted off it’s tough skin.

After another minute, Touka shut those off as well. “So far, the only thing we’ve found to be effective against Zeiram are freezing him and transiting him away with transsemblers.”

Before the video could go on, an alarm klaxon pierced the air.

Bob was almost grateful for the interruption, it was unnerving to think that something that horrible was on the ship with him. “What’s going on, Karma?” he queried.

It seems some madman is threatening to blow me up with a plunchit.

“Great,” Bob growled. “The surprises never seem to stop on this trip. Can you give me his location?”

The central hold, and please hurry.

Without further comment, Bob rushed towards the madman. He could just make out Dr. Touka’s last words before Karma shut down the video.

“Zeiram is an unstable monster, despite intensive study we still have no idea what it will do next. It is in my professional opinion that Zeiram should be considered a class ‘A’ threat.”

***
Bob rounded a corner and spotted the terrorist immediately. The man looked half-crazed. In his hand he held a large pink sphere, the plunchit. Frightened Tedan Tippedai employees watched him with wide-eyed terror, many too afraid to run for an exit.

Bob knew from his extensive knowledge of weapons, that when a plunchit is activated it releases three smaller spheres that automatically fly away from each other.

Upon landing, they deliver a highly flammable gas which is ignited after a short period of time. plunchits were known to create nuclear chain reactions within large ships because one of the small spheres was programmed to find the highest source of energy, usually the engine room.

“We tried to do this without harming anyone!” The man yelled. “But Tedan Tippedai wouldn’t listen! Now all of you will have to suffer because of your refusal to destroy Zeiram!”

Bob had entered the central hold through one of the top levels, at this vantage he had a good view of the terrorist and the scared Tedan Tippedai employees who had been trapped on the lower levels.

Very slowly, so as not to draw the attention of the terrorist, Bob drew his gun and tried to get a good bead on the man. It was a tricky shot because if he didn’t kill the terrorist the first time around, the plunchit would be activated, dooming everybody.

“I want to see Puttubayh right now!” the terrorist demanded. “Otherwise, everybody dies!”

Right before Bob was about to squeeze off a shot he was interrupted by Karma. Bob! Terrible news, I was checking the cargo through the use of security cameras and I noticed that Zeiram has broken loose!

Bob retreated down a hallway so his voice wouldn’t be heard. “How in the world did he get out? Can you find him?”

Yes, he’s somewhere below the central hold. I can’t get an exact fix on him. It seems that the freezing unit that kept him in stasis malfunctioned.

Bob’s bad feeling grew even worse. “Perfect!” he complained. “Just perfect, that monster is right below a trigger-happy terrorist and innocent civilians. This job is getting better and better!”

Thinking quickly, Bob reassumed his sniper position and mentally crossed his fingers. He’d have to take out the terrorist quickly before Zeiram showed up and made things worse. Bob lined up the small targeting pin on the barrel of his gun with the terrorist’s head and prepared to fire.

He never got the chance.

The ground below the terrorist burst open as two large black arms grabbed the man from underneath. In his panic, the terrorist dropped the plunchit which bounced three times before it settled against a corner in the room. Bob held his breath but the powerful grenade didn’t activate.

The terrified employees screamed and ran for any exit they could find. In an instant, the apprehensive mood in the central hold had been changed to absolute chaos. Fortunately, the workers seemed to have enough presence of mind to make their way through the doors in an efficient manner.

Meanwhile the terrorist was struggling, unsuccessfully, to free himself from Zeiram’s grasp. The man grabbed his sidearm and started to fire nonstop at the nightmarish beast, the blasts seemed to be slowing Zeiram down but not by much.

Bob grabbed the nearest power-lift to get to the ground floor, his worst fear had been realized. Zeiram was on the loose.

When he reached the ground floor the room was already emptied and abandoned. Wasting no time, Bob rushed towards the doomed terrorist in an effort to save him. He wasn’t fast enough, Zeiram finally pulled the terrorist down to his level and silenced him forever.

Then the monster pulled himself out of the hole he created in the floor. Bob skidded to a halt in awe as he watched Zeiram tower to his full height.

“How in the world am I going to beat that thing?” Bob wondered aloud.

Somehow, you need to refreeze him.

Bob snapped his fingers. “You’re right, Dr. Touka’s video! Do you have any freezing equipment on board?”

Yes. There’s a room next to the main cargo area.

“Karma, you’re a lifesaver!”

Bob wasn’t sure but he thought he heard modesty in Karma’s voice.

I try.

Zeiram turned his attention towards Bob and lifted an arm towards the hunter. Bob instantly knew that it contained a weapon, probably taken off of the dead terrorist. He dodged just in time to avoid the weapon’s blast.

Bob’s years of being a bounty hunter let him return fire without even taking time to think about it. Unfortunately, his ammo just bounced off the seemingly impenetrable hide of Zeiram. “Where is Gren’s borobdin when I need it?” he asked himself.

I’ve started up the freezing equipment, all you need to do is lure Zeiram into one of the chambers.

“That’s easier said then done,” Bob quipped. “Any suggestions?”

Zeiram seems to be interested in you, I think he’ll follow you to the chamber.

Bob leaped out of the way from another blast and hid behind a nearby support beam, trying to think of how this job could get any worse. It wasn’t long before he got his answer.

The main doors to the central hold opened and Bob peeked his head around the support beam to see what was happening. Three men in cargo uniforms were carrying heavy assault weapons pointed directly at Zeiram, and behind them stood Puttubayh.

Bob almost bit his tongue as he saw the arrogant executive looking grimly at Zeiram. He should’ve known better then to trust Puttubayh to follow his advice, now there was the very real threat that Puttubayh would be killed by Zeiram.

Zeiram too noticed the entrance of Puttubayh and turned around to lock eyes with the man. For a moment the central hold was deathly quiet as the two engaged in a silent battle of wills. Then, without warning, Zeiram gave a malicious laugh and walked towards the small group.

That’s when Puttubayh gave the order to fire.

The first man kneeled on the ground and fired a pointy capsule that broke apart over Zeiram’s body. Inside the capsule was a net which landed on the creature and instantly started to send electrical shots into the savage ogre.

The other two men moved in on either side of Zeiram and opened fire, literally, with two flame-throwers. The small inferno enveloped Zeiram as the blaze licked hungrily at him.

Zeiram endured it all and hissed with amusement before he ripped apart the net and casually snapped the neck of one of the men holding a flame-thrower. The other man kept pumping fire at Zeiram which seemed to wash right over the monster. Zeiram calmly pointed his arm and shot the man through the chest.

The man who had fired the electrical net gaped with an open mouth at the fates of his comrades and then turned to run. Zeiram hissed angrily and held his palm open, black strings of his own flesh hurled towards the frightened man and engulfed him.

Zeiram withdrew his skin quickly and grabbed onto the man with his two muscular arms. The monster then smiled and in a lightning fast move, the small child-like head darted out on a muscular tendril and sank it’s teeth into the man’s neck. The man cried out before his neck exploded in a bloody fountain.

Bob, who was used to dealing with grisly scenes, cringed a bit at the gruesome way the man had to die.

Zeiram kept his teeth in the man a for a few more seconds before it withdrew it’s white head and dropped the lifeless body. The beast stared back at Puttubayh who still hadn’t moved from his spot.

Zeiram grinned again and in that instant Bob knew he had to make a move. He rushed out from behind the support beam and plowed into the creature’s back. Despite Zeiram’s weight, Bob managed to gain enough momentum to topple Zeiram.

Bob then used his remaining force to flip back onto his feet and run towards Puttubayh. Without stopping he grabbed the vice-president gruffly and tugged him around a corner. As if reading his thoughts, Karma closed the central hold doors and sealed them, separating Zeiram from his quarry.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Bob yelled, for a moment too angry to care if he offended Puttubayh. “I’m trying to guard your life and you have to waltz right up to the most dangerous lifeform in the galaxy!”

“Zeiram is Tedan Tippedai’s key to gaining an edge over its competitors,” Puttubayh said, sounding a bit miffed. “I’ve dealt with the creature before, it’s been conditioned to obey me.”

A loud pounding on the central hold doors interrupted the conversation and Bob peeked around the corner to see the doors gradually caving in. “It looks like your conditioning has failed, Zeiram means to kill both of us.”

All of the ego drained out of Puttubayh and his face turned white. “What do we do?”

Bob set his mouth into a grim line. “I need to get Zeiram into the freezing chamber next to the main cargo hold. Which means that I need to bait him in that direction. I need you to get as far away as possible, like the main control room. Think you can do that?”

Puttubayh took a deep breath and some of the ego returned. “Yes, I think I can handle it. Just see that you do your job properly.”

The doors finally gave way with the terrible screeching of torn metal. Zeiram burst his way through and roared a challenge. His heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway as he took each step slowly, probably a sadistic way to increase the fear in his victims. Despite himself, Bob had to admit that it was working.

Giving himself a three-count, Bob leaped out behind the corner as Puttubayh made his way towards the main control room. Zeiram reared back in surprise but quickly recovered and swiped at Bob with his claw-like hands.

Bob ducked and fired a shot at Zeiram point-blank in his white face. He knew that the projectiles wouldn’t work against Zeiram, but there was a chance that Bob could blind the beast with the impacts.

Zeiram made another swipe at Bob and this time he was more successful. It was a glancing blow to Bob’s gun hand, sending his weapon flying out of reach. The swipe also tore through his shirt, striking flesh and drawing blood.

Bob bit back a cry of pain and held onto the wound with a tightly clamped hand.

Before Zeiram had another chance to attack, Bob sprinted down the hallway towards the cargo area. If Bob had looked back, he would’ve seen Zeiram smiling cruelly before charging after the hunter.

***
Zeiram is approaching, Bob. I wish you luck and would like to take this opportunity to say that I’ve found your company enjoyable.

Bob smiled. “I like you too, Karma.”

Bob was standing in the freezing room, in a loose combat stance. His only hope at freezing Zeiram lay in the chance that he could force the monster into one of the compartments long enough for Karma to complete the operation. He would need all his experience as a hunter to accomplish the task.

He had managed to patch up his injury with by tearing off the ragged edge of his shirt and creating a make-shift bandage. It seemed to be holding for now, but there was no telling if Zeiram carried any deadly viruses or bacteria within his skin.

The door to the freezing room abruptly crumpled inward as Zeiram stomped his way inside. The two stared at each other, predator and hunter.

Bob mentally crossed his fingers and prepared to try out his gambit. “If you want to fight me, monster, do it without the gun.”

Zeiram held out his arm and Bob gulped, preparing himself for the end. The gun that Zeiram had taken from the terrorist seemed to slip through the monster’s skin and then drop to the floor with a clatter.

Bob adopted a more useful position and prepared for Zeiram’s first move, it wasn’t long in coming.

Zeiram’s head shot out towards Bob’s neck, but Bob was ready. Moving with a speed that seemed to be out of proportion to his size, Bob reached out and caught the tendril that the head was connected to with both hands. Zeiram tried to withdraw, but the hunter held it tight.

Bob grinned viscously at the monster before he started to squeeze. The eyes on the white head bulged out in pain. “You’re finally getting what’s coming to you Zeiram, you’re going to pay for all those lives you’ve destroyed!”

Zeiram tried to swipe at Bob, but the effort was half-hearted and the hunter dodged it easily. Bob squeezed even harder and was gratified to see Zeiram actually cry out in pain.

Zeiram lifted his arm as if to strike at Bob again, but instead fired a length of flesh full into the hunter’s face. Bob staggered back and let go involuntarily, Zeiram instantly retracted his head back and threw Bob against a wall.

Bob sank to the ground in pain and disbelief, it seemed like nothing would be able to stop Zeiram. He had to do something though, or it would all be over. Bob stubbornly rose to his feet, wiped the black material of Zeiram off his person, and fashioned another combat stance.

Zeiram, recovered now, cackled madly and strode towards Bob, more than eager to fight.

The hunter rushed in with a series of kicks and sharp punches that would have incapacitated a normal man. Zeiram blocked them easily and whatever damage did get past the creature’s defenses was minimal.

The fight was taking its toll on Bob, who was soon forced to start blocking Zeiram’s much more powerful blows. Every impact, dulled Bob’s response time and it became a struggle to keep up with the tireless monster. Then, in a lightning fast move on Zeiram’s part, Bob was grabbed again and thrown out of the freezing room.

“That beast is dragging this out,” Bob realized. “He wants me to suffer before I die.”

Bob looked around, desperate for anything that could potentially save him. That’s when he spotted it, the gun of the dead terrorist. The shots wouldn’t affect Zeiram, but if he set the gun to overload, it just might blow Zeiram into one of the freezing chambers.

Making an effort to ignore his aching muscles, Bob fought back to his feet again. Determinedly, the hunter staggered over to the gun and picked it up. Bob noticed that Zeiram didn’t make a move to stop him.

“He is definitely dragging this out,” Bob thought to himself as he set the overload for three seconds and closed the distance between him and the monster. Bob circled around Zeiram, trying to line him up with a freezing chamber. Zeiram, for his part, let Bob circle like this was some twisted game of cat-and-mouse.

Finally, Bob stopped at what he felt was the most likely position to freeze Zeiram. Bob smirked and hit the trigger. “Catch!” he said as he lobbed the gun at Zeiram. The monster caught it with one hand right before it went off.

The explosion wasn’t massive, but it was powerful enough to do the job. Zeiram and Bob were thrown off of their feet in different directions. Bob struggled to keep conscious as he slammed into another wall, he got just a glimpse of Zeiram landing inside a freezing chamber.

A glimpse was all he needed.

“Karma! Activate the chambers now!” Bob shouted.

Every chamber in the room sprang to life, instantly freezing everything that was unfortunate enough to be inside them. Protective shields covered every opening, ensuring that the freezing material wouldn’t affect the surrounding area outside the chambers.

Before Bob knew it, the battle was over. Zeiram was caught and helpless to do anything to escape. Grunting with pain, Bob again lifted himself up and walked out of the room without sparing a glance at the monster.

***
Two days later, Bob was healed and the Karma was pulling into its final destination. Nothing else had happened and the events onboard the starship would soon be nothing more than a bad memory.

Bob looked at the pink sphere that he held in his hands, the plunchit. He had taken the liberty of procuring the weapon after his bout with Zeiram. He wasn’t too interested in grenades himself, but he knew that Gren had been looking for plunchits for some time. Frankly, Bob trusted it in the hands of his friend more than the Tedan Tippedai clean-up crew.

It seemed like ages since Bob had seen his fellow bounty hunter. He wanted to check on Gren and see how Iria’s training was going. Maybe even take some time off to relax and treat himself to a vacation, Taowajan was supposed to be nice this time of year.

“Yes,” Bob reflected as he looked out a viewport. “It would be good to take a little breather.”

Bob heard a clearing of the throat and looked to find Puttubayh staring at him. “Zeiram is secured, I oversaw the arrangements myself. Now that the Karma is pulling in, your job is done.”

“What about the terrorists?” Bob asked. “Aren’t you still worried about them?”

“Not particularly,” Puttubayh said smugly. “My men discovered their secret base of operations about an hour ago. I’ll just say that they won’t be a threat anymore.”

Bob nodded. “Then I trust that I preformed my duties to your satisfaction.”

Puttubayh smirked. “I’d say that you lived up to your reputation, in fact I’m even willing to make sure that you get that new position within Ghomvak Security. All I ask is that you do something for me.”

“What?”

“I’ll be honest, I was impressed with the way you handled that situation with Zeiram. I want you to use your new position to make sure that you only send the best hunters when it comes to bounty jobs involving Tedan Tippedai.”

Bob turned back to look out of the window. “I’ll only do it on the condition that you destroy Zeiram and end this project of yours.”

“It’s a deal,” Puttubayh agreed, a little too fast for Bob to completely trust him. Then again, Puttubayh had almost been killed by Zeiram. It was possible that the executive was eager to end it as much as Bob. “Meet me in the corporate offices in two hours and we’ll form a contract.”

Puttubayh then left before Bob could utter a word.

I don’t like him.

“You’re not the only one, Karma.” Bob replied.

I suppose that you will be leaving soon. I have to admit that I don’t look forward to your departure.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Bob advised. “A man like Puttubayh won’t stay out of trouble for long. Since you are the most advanced ship in Tedan Tippedai’s fleet, I have a feeling that Puttubayh will be using you again.”

That will probably be the case.

“Which means,” Bob continued. “That I’ll be back.”

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