Vigilante in Stetson

"ACROSS SPACE & TIME TOWARDS DISTANT WORLDS"

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This article takes place in the 26th century of Distant Worlds.

This page is under construction.

Article Contributors: TheStellarExplorer

"Before you get your revenge, dig two graves"

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Aboriya system description has sufficiently changed since the release of article about Cass in Aboriya.

Crimson Horror

“No one knew his name, just some boy from a town on a barren planet who burned down an entire crime syndicate after they invaded his home and killed his people.” – Chapter from Galactic Journal Weekly

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New Garedonia, an isolated town on the barren planet "Tumbleweed" in the Aboriya star system, seemed at first glance insignificant. Surrounded by sweeping, grand canyons, it was home to Cass Nova, a teenage boy with an unusual background: raised by a blacksmith father and a military officer mother, he developed a keen interest in weaponry. Cass would often accompany his parents into the wilderness on weekends, practicing range shooting with an old United Sol Command bolt-action rifle in the canyon’s solitude.

Cass attended the local educational center where he took engineering courses, though he kept mostly to himself, save for a close friendship with another teen, Vorde Vega. Many afternoons, Cass and Vorde would sit on the canyon’s edge, overlooking the settlement they called home.

On an ordinary day, Cass asked Vorde to go with him to explore a remote oasis he’d heard about, but Vorde declined, as his partner had invited him out instead. Disappointed but undeterred, Cass set off alone, hopping onto his desert vehicle—an odd fusion of a snowbike and standard cycle, with an audio synthesizer imitating a revving engine. The wind tore past him as he sped toward the oasis under the pale, hazy sky of Tumbleweed.

Arriving, Cass marveled at the still waters reflecting jagged cliffs, but his attention was snapped away by the sudden, crackling hum of a ship’s engine overhead. Turning, he saw a black vulture-class craft zooming past the canyons, marked unmistakably with the Crimson Crew insignia—a notorious mercenary gang. Sensing the threat, Cass’s instincts kicked in, and he immediately turned back, racing towards New Garedonia.

By the time he arrived, the damage was done. The town was already leveled, nothing but smoking rubble in the wake of the Crimson Crew, hired hands for a powerful criminal syndicate. Only a few mercenaries remained, boarding their shuttle on the outskirts. As Cass neared his home, one mercenary, with a cold, dead-eyed gaze, spotted him and took aim, sending a warning shot that pierced his bike’s battery. Cass leapt from the crippled vehicle, heart pounding, and scrambled behind his house, barely avoiding the second shot.

He slipped into his home through a shattered window, his chest tightening at the dark bloodstains streaking the floor. But the real horror awaited him inside. He stumbled to the ground, his father lying lifeless against the wall, a bullet wound through his head, his cherished Stetson hat slumped beside him. The awful silence was shattered only by Cass’s own shallow breathing, his eyes locked on a Vishap Cigar that had rolled out from beneath the hat—a final, haunting image of his father.

His mother was nowhere to be seen, though he knew that as an officer, she’d kept a USC-issued pistol hidden in the house.

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Left alone in his shattered home, Cass clutched the pistol in one hand, his father’s Stetson in the other. Suddenly, a loud bang echoed from the street. He crouched below the window to peer out, spotting a mercenary from the Crimson Crew's remaining ship pacing through the bodies on the street, clearly looking for something—or someone. Cass took a deep breath, flicked the safety off, and steadied his aim, ready to gamble on a shot.

Just then, a figure emerged from behind a nearby wall. It was Vorde, Cass’s old friend, gripping a marksman rifle. In a single, swift motion, Vorde pulled the trigger, hitting the mercenary square in the head. The remaining two mercenaries leapt from the shuttle, weapons drawn. Cornered but defiant, Vorde took aim. Seeing his friend in danger, Cass placed the Stetson firmly on his head, kicked open the door, and burst into the street, unleashing a hail of bullets to draw attention away from Vorde.

Cass moved like a natural gunslinger, every shot precise, while Vorde, trained by Cass himself, matched the mercenaries move for move. Together, they dispatched their foes with cold efficiency, leaving the street in silence once more.

Cass knelt, still holding his aim as he looked over at Vorde. “Where’d you learn to shoot like that?”

Vorde gave a faint smile. “You taught me.”

They approached the fallen mercenaries, and Cass nudged one still-breathing figure over with his boot, intending to interrogate him. But Vorde strode forward, shaking his head. “Don’t bother.” Without hesitation, he fired a final shot, ending the mercenary’s life.

“Really?” Cass muttered, annoyed as he rose to his feet.

“Don’t lose your hat, Cowboy.” Vorde placed the Stetson back on Cass’s head with a wry grin. “Take the magnetic key off his belt, reprogram the ship’s hull displays, and get yourself to Aboriya Station.”

Cass raised a brow. “And what about you?”

Vorde’s expression darkened, a rare seriousness overtaking his face. “I’m going to bury the dead. Let them rest. They won’t come back here anymore.”

Cass, unsettled by this unfamiliar side of his friend, took the magnetic key from the mercenary’s belt, giving Vorde one last look before turning toward the ship.