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The data stick that the security system virus could handle was lost. Despite my intensive search, I hadn’t found it and maybe someone had beaten me to it. The thing could be anywhere else, there was no point in continuing the search. But the idea of having software that could bypass security systems without any problems wouldn’t let me go. Maybe something with AI would be a solution. However, the use of AI was forbidden in the UEE. So it was difficult to get hold of something like that. Unless you knew someone who came from outside the UEE systems, someone to whom UEE law did not apply.

That’s why I was back in the Stanton system. I had been tipped off that a Banu had settled in Stanton to do some bartering. The Banu race were known for their business acumen, they were traders through and through. And maybe he had alien technology or AI technology that he was trading. And I had been tipped off that the Banu would offer me more business if I brought him a gift. Something to eat and drink and horns from Tundra Kopions were high on his list.

The tundra of Microtech slid under the White Rabbit. It was a vast grassy landscape, interspersed with individual trees. I was on the hunt for Tundra Kopions. The snow-capped mountains towered majestically in the distance. Although it was a beautiful wilderness, it seemed civilized to me. The wild, untamed charm of the borderlands in Pyro was missing here. I already missed the desert of Monox.

Stanton’s star was already low over the horizon, bathing the tundra in a warm, yellowish light. So far I hadn’t found any tundra kopions, only quasi-grazers were plentiful. I had to yawn deeply and extensively. The long journey from Pyro was still in my bones. It was time to take a break and get some sleep.

*

A few hours later, I woke up again. The night was over and a new day had dawned. With a loud roar, the White Rabbit rose from its grass bed and led me further across the tundra on the hunt for copions.

After a short flight, I noticed some structures that were not of natural origin. Then I thundered low over the remains of an old abandoned settlement. I pulled the White Rabbit into a steep left turn and took a closer look. There was indeed an old, abandoned and dilapidated settlement in the plain below me. I was reminded of the settlements of Stanton’s first settlers that I had explored with Alaska. We had almost always found interesting and sometimes valuable objects in the settlements. My scavenger heart beat faster. Maybe there was something down there that I could trade with the Banu. But there was a problem. The ruined settlements were almost all occupied by Nine Tails.

I did another lap, but couldn’t see anyone. Then I touched down. The engines stopped, the rear ramp opened and I dared to take a look through the sniper rifle. My gaze slowly swept over the dilapidated buildings. The only movement I could make out was cloth flapping in the wind.

I walked briskly down the ramp and towards the structures closest to me. I quickly approached a wall that gave me privacy. When I reached it, I peered cautiously around the corner. The grass was moving in the wind, old rusty metal plates were creaking, the remains of walls and shelves were lying around. There was nothing else. The old settlement was as deserted as it had looked from the air.

I climbed onto the remains of a roof, from where I had a better view. But even from up here, everything looked deserted. However, I did find a box. It contained rare and particularly unusual helmets. Just what I had been looking for. The hunt for barter items was successful. Now I just had to find the Tundra Kopions.

After what felt like endless minutes of flying over the tundra, I finally found a group of four Tundra Kopions. I landed the White Rabbit some distance away, opened the tail ramp and thought about how to proceed. I knew that the Kopions were extremely aggressive and dangerous. They could tear a man to pieces without any problem. From the cargo hold, I had a clear view of the group. They were standing peacefully in the grass some distance away.

Then I took the sniper rifle, got down on my knees and took aim. The Kopions were very close to me through the scope. They had white fur with gray spots, spines on their backs and four blue eyes. They sat unsuspectingly in the grass, scratching their necks and enjoying the sun. If they had known that they were about to be struck by lightning out of the blue, they would probably have run. But not away, they would have run towards the danger and attacked it. But they didn’t know what fate was about to befall them.

A loud shot echoed through the tundra and a copion fell to the ground. The others jumped up, looking around with wild eyes. A second shot cut through the peaceful grassland. Another copion fell. The echo had not yet faded when a third and fourth shot rang out. All four kopions lay in the grass. They were no longer a threat.

I put the rifle to one side and stood up. I breathed in and out deeply and made my way to the carcasses on foot. When I reached them, I knelt down next to one of the Kopions and stroked its fur. Its blue eyes were still open, but there was no fire in them, no sparkle of life. A deep sadness came over me. I had taken a life just so that someone could receive a gift. After cutting off the Kopions’ horns, I left the carcasses in the grass and returned to the White Rabbit with an oppressive feeling. The hunt had taken on a bitter taste.

During the ascent to orbit, I couldn’t let go of what I had done. A guilty conscience plagued me. Was it fair that an animal died so that someone else could get something? Then I remembered that Rayari had also called for tundra copion horns. They needed the horns for research to find a solution to the rain crisis. Was that all right?

The White Rabbit flew a tight loop and bumped back to the planet’s surface. A few minutes later, I found myself face to face with an administrator in a Rayari outpost.

“Why do you need the Kopions’ horns? Do you think it’s okay that the animals have to die for research? Do you have any chance of success?” I asked the administrator caustically.

“Our research is going in different directions,” he replied in a calm tone. “In addition to horns, we are also researching other biological substances and minerals. The broader we are positioned, the greater the chances of success. And the substances will not be part of the final solution, but are an aid to understanding the problem with regeneration. We have to simulate and test regeneration; we can’t use humans for this. We need alternative biological substances. They can help us. Here is a list of the things we need. The more and faster they provide us with it, the faster we get closer to the solution and the copions no longer have to die for our research and the safety of humans.”

Perplexed, I stood in front of the counter and looked at the administrator open-mouthed. My Mobiglas beeped. It had received the list. Silently, I turned around and left the outpost. I was conflicted and didn’t really know how to deal with the situation. I had no arguments that I could hurl at the administrator.

I left the planet Microtech and set off to deliver the horns as a bloody gift. At least you Kopions shouldn’t have died in vain.

Half an hour later I reached the Banu’s residence. His name was Wikelo and he had a space station in an asteroid. Towers with strange curved shapes, the likes of which were not familiar from the UEE or other human territories, protruded from the asteroid. The feeling of being in an alien world far away from human territories gripped me. A longing for long journeys to unknown places spread through me.

I requested a landing permit. There was a hiss on the radio, one of my screens flickered. First a rush of images appeared, then Wikelo’s face. Goosebumps ran over my body. It was the first time I had ever seen a Banu. He greeted me kindly in broken human language and gave me permission to land. I descended into a hangar where a huge hologram of the Banu glowed.

The hangar was comfortably furnished. Palm trees, carpets and lots of signs advertising Wikelo’s barter deals. A staircase led to an exhibition room where he had displayed all sorts of things from many different worlds. Fascinated, I stopped in front of the skull of a Vanduul. A cold shiver ran down my spine.

Wikelo was a hunter-gatherer of the highest order. In fact, he was a trader and let others hunt and gather. It was impressive what he displayed. He didn’t have an AI or any other hacking software. He offered ships, components, weapons and armor or customizations to weapons and armor. An armor for hot deserts that was supposed to make you invisible caught my attention. But I had nothing to offer him in exchange. He had very specific ideas about what he wanted in return. The helmets I had found were not one of them. He wanted the teeth of young Valakkaren. If I wanted the armor, I would have to go hunting again.

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