Wolves
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Hot, drywind rolled over the lifeless plateau. The sunlight beat down fromthe sky, only ever interrupted by passing clouds.

A herdof cattle stampeded through the desolate plain, their hooves trompingthe cracked, dusty ground. From the rear of the herd came a speeder,mounted by a masked man. The trails of his ragged cloak flutteredbehind him as he zipped around the flank of the herd, the heftyengines of his vehicle rattling with a multitude of neglectedmechanical flaws.

Allowingthe cattle to pass him, he stopped and pulled out a pair ofbinoculars from his leather satchel and scanned the horizon. In thedistance he could see three dark vehicles approaching, spewingexhaust in their wake. Twisting the knobs, he magnified the visionand saw the pirate markings on the hulls. “Third time this month,”he muttered, then slipped the binoculars back into his satchel. Herevved the motor on his speeder and boosted to the front of the herd,then cycled round to stop the herd from advancing any further. Thenhe waited.

Twominutes later, the three pirate ships pulled up in front of him andhis cattle, who were more than happy to mull about in the generalarea. Hydraulic pipes lifting, the hatches on the three ships slowlyturned open, unleashing a small mob of pirates. The man on thespeeder dismounted, then stepped up a few paces to face the brigands.One of the pirates, evidently the leader, stepped forth, thedecorative chains on his rough attire clinking with every step. Hetapped the side of his head, near his temple, and a visor flipped upfrom a small mechanism, revealing his sharp, blue eyes. “I seenwhat you done to my men, Traw. I don't like it. Seven dead men andthree totaled speeders. You know how much that's gonna cost me?Twelve hundred thousand Kaoris, plus the trouble of replaceing some newrecruits. You done made me angry.”

Trawpulled off his face mask and lifted up his goggles, resting them inhis dust-infested brown hair. He answered, keeping his distance, “Ifsome band of pirates is attacking my homestead and goin' after mydaughter, I replace myself inclined to put a bullet in each of theirheads. Or two per bastard. Just to be thorough.”

Thepirate leader snarled, whipping out his pistol. It whirred and thesix chambers began spinning. “You got a smart mouth, Traw,” heyelled. “Y'know, I was just gonna take some cattle and be on myway. But now that you went and said that, I might take 'em all, thenpay your family a visit...maybe bring your dead body along for theride.”

Withoutmissing a beat, pulled out a rifle from his cloak, fired off twofatal shots at the captain, then dove behind his speeder. Needless tosay, there was a swarm of shots from the rest of the pirates, many ofwhich hit his speeder. Traw pulled open a flap on the side of hisspeeder, revealing a small screen. He pressed several buttons on thescreen with his glove-clad hands, then took a moment to check thecondition of his gun. It had a hole punched through it, wiressparking and mechanisms fried. Must have been one of the shotswhen I dove over. I'm getting too old for this, hethought.

Ashe commanded into the touchscreen, a small humanoid drone unfoldedflawlessly from a compartment on the back of the speeder and rushedtoward the pirates. They fired several direct hits at the drone, butit sustained them without hindrance. With its poorly oiled metaljoints, the stocky drone plowed through the crowd and threw itself atone of the pirate ships. It sealed itself magnetically to the hulland began beeping. Few of the pirates still interested in Traw or hislivestock, he mounted onto his speeder and zipped away, kicking uporange desert dust in his wake. My cattle will make it backto the homestead. I'm sure of it, hethought.

Amidst the clamor and mob of panicking raiders, the drone remainedlatched onto the hull of the middle ship, the magnetic seal toostrong for any man to pry it off. Finally, the beeping stopped,though no one noticed. A short second afterward, the drone explodedinto a thousand pieces, igniting the ship with it.

Traw pulled on the handle of his speeder, stopping it short. Hisgoggles and mask on, he watched from afar as the spewing flames fromthe middle vehicle burst onto the other two, igniting their fueltanks. Raiders ran in all directions, an unfortunate few scramblingamongst the wreckage to salvage one or two of their personalbelongings, only to be engulfed in roaring flame. Traw's cattlestampeded in his direction, ultimately fleeing back to the ranch.

Without a last remark, Traw revved his engines again and sped home,knowing his livestock would eventually join him. They always foundtheir way home.

He stepped through the rickety front door of his homestead, settinghis keys, mask and goggles in a small bowl on a pedestal by theentrance. Traw pulled off his dusty coat and hung it on a rack, thenwalked into the small living space beside the entrance. Stretchinghis neck out, he pressed a button on a small remote, turning on aslim screen mounted to the wall across the room. The news was hectic,as usual. He laid his head back against the torn cushion and closedhis eyes, listening to the female anchor's urgent voice.

She said, accompanied by the sounds of laser fire and crushingmetal, “As you can see, the Nektro fleet has broken through thedefensive blockade at Golgoix. They appear to be stronger than welast saw them, three weeks ago. Our sources at the Galactic ArmoredMarines headquarters have told us that the Nektro fleet is likely ona course for the planet Sino. To the Sinoans, you are advised tobegin stocking up on canned goods and weapons for the next 48 hours,and then make your way to the closest military shelter and remainthere. Do not try to fight the Nektro ground forces. I repeat, do nottry to fight the Nektro ground forces. This may be your lasttransmission from the Galactic Informers' Guild, as the Nektro willbegin jamming interplanetary transmissions soon. Stay strong. For allof us.”

“Nothing?” a different voice interrupted, after the screenturned off. Traw looked up, blinking. His wife, clad in a modestdress and an apron was standing on the staircase, holding anotherscreen remote. Her lips were tight.

“Sorry, darlin',” Traw apologized, rising slowly. “I didn'tknow if you were home, or if you were out in the town shoppin'.”

“You know I never go shoppin',” she corrected, descending thestairs to meet him. Her voice was less terse. “I know you justwanted to hear that pretty news gal's voice again.”

“Nah. You're the prettiest gal this planet's ever seen,” Trawtold her, taking her in his arms. They kissed. It was not thepassionate kiss of youth; it was the kiss of rugged, tough lovers. Itwas the kiss of two who were beyond lovers, more like old friends. “Ilove you, Louise.”

“Why so romantic and all that?” Louise asked, withdrawing herhead so she could meet his gaze. “I mean, not that I don't like it,but it's just...y'know, new. The great Sebastian Traw, a farmer,father and lover. So what happened out there?”

“Ran in with some raiders again,” Sebastian muttered, droppinghis arms from her back, and they retreated smoothly from theirembrace. “Apparently the boss wasn't all that thrilled about meputtin' laser holes in seven of his boys last week.”

“And what happened?” Louise inquired, walking into the kitchento prepare supper.

“Lit up the bastards with one of those explosive drones Carl gaveme for my birthday a few years back. It's a shame, really. That wasthe last one I had left. Maybe if I can scrounge up the Kaoris fromour crop profit, I can pick me up one or two after harvest season.”

“What about the cattle?”

“They should be here in the next twenty minutes or so. They knowtheir way home. I guarantee it.”

“Well, they better be. That's a lot of money we're losin' if theyget lost. Oh, and Luella's at Mary-Anne's house again. Her parentssaid she'd bring Luella home around eight tonight.”

“Alright. Kripes, it seems like that girl's spending more time ather friend's house than our own. I get home after a long day, andshe's gone again. Hey, babe, I'm gonna go and drop somethin' off atMike's house. I'll be back before dusk, I promise.”

“You'd better be.”

After a twenty minute ride on the open, unkempt road,Traw pulledinto a driveway, illuminated by a single street lamp standing at theend of it. He dismounted his speeder, and, brushing the dust off hiscloak, walked up the driveway. After knocking on the shabby screendoor, Mike came to the door, in a food-stained tanktop and a pair ofoveralls. “Good old Sebastian Traw,” Mike greeted, stepping ontohis porch and shutting the screen door behind him with a bang. “Goodto see ya again. Ya got what I lent ya?”

“Yeah, here you go,” Sebastian replied, pulling a rifle out frombeneath his cloak. “All fixed up. Is there a reason you called meup last night for it?”

“Haven't you heard?” Mike asked, dumbfounded as he took therifle. “The invasion?”

“Oh, yeah, I might've heard somethin' like that on the news...”

“I'm packin' all my valuables an' food, then hoofin' it to themmountains first thing tomorrow mornin'. I ain't gonna get bombed inmy house by some alien snots. That's crap. If you wanna join us, meand some of the town boys are gonna set up a shelter and hold outthere.”

“Kripes, man, get a grip. This whole alien invasion ain't all it'scracked up to be. Just watch. We ain't never gonna see any action outhere. There might be some space fightin' outside the planet, butthere won't be none of them dogs down here.”

“Do what you're gonna do, Sebastian. I'm outta here.”

Mike rushed back into the house to pack and shut the door behindhim. Sebastian remained on the porch a minute, looking at the flooras his thoughts collected. He made his way back to his speeder, butbefore he left, he looked to the sky. It was like a fiery blaze, butmore serene. Though it wasn't the color of the sky he was thinkingabout. It was what could be beyond it.