Strike It Rich

“You got the credits, we got the crystal.” Shou-Yin said calmly. "Just give us the amount promised and all of us can go home without incident. He was the only one who's blaster wasn't drawn. His criminal syndicate the 108 Immortals were staring down their employers the Mars Triads inside of the narrow deck of their spacecraft. In Shou-Yin's hands was a red crystal the size of his fist.

Qi Hi-Luo, the lead enforcer and the face for the Mars Triads remained stoic, unmoved by Shou-Yin's attempt at diplomacy.

"Save your words for when you meet your ancestors, Shou-Yin." He snarled. "We are keeping the money and the crystal."

And that was when the firefight started. Shou-Yin (unsurprisingly) was the first to drop, as the blaster fire ripped his body into chunks. His corpse fell to the floor with a wet thud.

Keva Hewett was looking at the carnage from afar as she laid among the Martian dunes. The shootout could be clearly seen from the starship window. She set aside her binoculars and looked to Captain Sabine, her higher up in the Red Wolves mercenary group.

"Sir, they finally decided to have at each other." She said to him.

"Perfect..." He said, picking up a giant assault cannon nearly two meters i length. "Today we are gonna strike it rich!"

"Captain Sabine, do I have permission to speak freely?"

"Yes you do, Private." Sabine responded as he loaded several shells into the assault cannon.

"What is that crystal and why do we want it so badly?"

"Normally I'd say that's a need-to-know basis, Private. But because I am grooming you to take my place one day... " He beckoned her to come closer. Keva did just that, curious about her superior's discretion.

"On the planet Titchen," He whispered in her ear. "Grows a type of crystal that scientists believe can power galaxy with their current technology. Just one can power a Milky Way sized galaxy for centuries!"

"Anyone who has it in their possession would be set for life!"

"Titchen's atmosphere is so toxic it is considered to one hundred times worse than sulfur. Breathing it in will instantly kill you. But those 108 Immortals managed to get one. And now we are gonna steal it from them!"

Captain Sabine cocked his assault cannon and aimed it at the hull of the 108 Immortals' spacecraft.

"Now be a dear and gather the rest of the troops. We got a crystal to steal."

The fighting inside of the ship was becoming more intense as one of the Mars Triads bought out a portable Gatling gun and opened fire on the 108 Immortals. Those on the front lines were soon obliterated into a red mist as they were pulverized by machine gun fire.

And then there was a deafening explosion that threw everyone out of balance. The machine gunner's weapon swung out of control, taking out both Mars Triad and 108 Immortals alike.

The Red Wolves breached through the busted hull of the ship, opening fire indiscriminately on both sides.

"Immortals! Retreat now!" Ru-Jia, Shou-Yin's number two, cried. She snatched the crystal from Shou-Yin's disembodied arm and retreated from the firefight, laying down retreat fire as they sprinted away.

"After them, Private Hewett!" Captain Sabine cried as he fired two shotgun akimbo style. "Make sure you get the crystal! Take no prisoners!"

"Yes, sir!" She cried as she began to chase down Ru-jia's posse.

"Like hell you are!" Hi-Luo said as he aimed his blaster at Keva. As he went to open fire, Hi-Luo's arm was blasted off. Pain triggered a second later. Captain Sabine grinned as the next three shots buried themselves into Hi-Luo's skull.

Ru-Jia and the remaining Immortals ducked into a small armory. She opened up a safe and threw the crystal inside, slamming the door tightly.

"Everyone check you weapons and ammo." She said. "This is our last stand and we will avenge Shou-Yin!" Just then, something was tossed into the armory. Before they realized that it was a flashbang, it went off, blinding and deafening the Immortals. Before Ru-Jia could recover, her head was slammed against the metal gating of the armory. When she came to her senses, a heavy pistol was pressing down on her head. She could see that her fellow Immortals were gunned down.

"Where is the crystal?" Keva growled.

"Right here, bitch." Ru-Jia responded. A retractable blade popped out of Ru-Jia's sleeve and buried itself into Keva's stomach. As Keva went to clench her wicked looking wound, Ru-Jia drove her retractable blade into her throat. Blood poured down on from her throat like a broken faucet. Ru-Jia tosses Keva's still bleeding corpse aside, she reopened the safe where the crystal was stored and palmed it in her hand.

She stumbled out of the armory and was soon greeted by the rest of the Red Wolves. Captain Sabine looked at the bloodied Ru-Jia and then at the carnage behind her.

"Three out of four." Captain Sabine said with a cool nod. "Not bad."

He pulled out a cigar and lit it with a cheap looking lighter. Putting the cigar in his mouth, he let out a few puffs and said "Wolves, open fire."

All of them unloaded their weapons at Ru-Jia. One of the Wolves shot of her hand and sound akin to glass breaking echoed over the sound of gunfire.

"Hold your fire!" Captain Sabine cried. As the last of the gunfire died, Captain Sabine inspected the bloody, porous corpse of Ru-Jia. Around where her left hand would have been was shards of a crystal-like substance.

"Damn it to hell!" He roared. "The crystal is broken! This ambush was a bust! Let's move out now, Wolves!"

The mercenary group left with haste and for the first time since the shootout started, all was silent.

Ru-Jia's body twitched and a crimson colored crystal fell out of her sleeve.