Jane’s lips pulled back in a grin that looked as much a grimace as she squinted against the sun. The report of her rifle cracked across the rolling desert scrub. It’s flat, far reaches scratching against the blue horizon. The final guard on the transport slumped over and grew still. They hadn’t even spotted her, tucked away in the rocks and brush.

What a damn mess this had been. Who guarded such a small, unarmored vehicle with six men? Originally, she’d hoped they were transporting food. Now, there was the undeniable sense that it was something more valuable.

She only had the patience to wait a moment or two before chancing an approach. It was a dangerous business, robbing these transports alone. Her last partner had attempted to skip out on her. Would’ve robbed her blind had she not woken up and caught him.

Small, spiky, tan lizards had come out to lap at the rapidly drying blood. They quickly scattered as Jane circled the truck. The back of the vehicle was locked when she tried it. Brushing her fingers over a keypad attached to it, she considered the situation. From the extra solar panels on the roof, it seemed there was likely something that required cooling in there.

Given that this was transport from the city-state of Agiad, any sort of hedonistic commodity was a possibility. Turning away from the truck, she began digging through the pockets of the nearby fallen guards. It didn’t take long before she produced a small black book. Flipping it open, she scanned through. What she was looking for was on the last page- a sequence of letters and numbers. A smug grin spread across her face.

Not waiting another second, she input the code. Laughing excitedly as the door hissed, and popped open. The sound died in her throat and she froze. It wasn’t wall-to-wall boxes of expensive food. It was a person.

“Uh- who’re- Hey.” Her hand hovered over her pistol, but she didn’t draw yet.

Jane couldn’t figure out if she’d just saved their hide or ruined their day. Granted, the two of them couldn’t just hang around there much longer. Coydogs and worse would be making their way over soon, following the sounds of the gunshots. If she left them? They were a goner for sure.

Who knew if they even had survival experience. They could be some soft corporate drone. Or maybe a servant to some upper-class SSU manager. Even worse, what if they were Agiad elite? She didn't know what she'd do if they were.

“Okay, why don’t ya step out nice and slow? Alright?” Finally, her fingers slid around her pistol and slowly pulled it from its holster. Better safe than dead, she figured.

“C’mon, get up, and let’s get the fuck outta here.” There were a few decent hideouts in the nearby ruins. Once she had this stranger safe and secured, she could try to suss out what was going on.