"Pirates??"
"Are those a fantasy thing??"
"Why would real pirates exist??"
Without a doubt, every single person complaining or crying was a regular civilian. The problem was the WMRs were scattered on the edge. It'd be much harder to protect them, not that they needed protecting. On average, 1/10 of a plane's entire manifesto died every 5 trips. Who to protect was obvious. What looked bad was even more obvious. Taxpayers, of which WMRs were one but far less numerous, paid the government, by which the WMRs got paid, to keep them safe. WMRs could keep their own hides safe but civilians lacked combat ability.
Some participated in competitive sports but that wasn't the same thing. Their life wasn't on the line. What was practiced was technique and not lethality. Skyfang saw no need to protect ordinary civilians. Maybe it would change if it was someone close to him. That's how humans were. He only closed his eyes and continued to listen to the commotion.
Dawn pulled out her gun and aimed at likely entry spots. There were none. She continued to look for disturbances.
"They might come in with a blowtorch. Slow and if they know the flight has WMRs, wouldn't be stupid. Better choice is to use a claymore"
Everyone looked at the lady. Obviously, Dawn was a stunner. Men couldn't take their eyes off her and women couldn't get the men to refocus.
"Lady. Protect us. I'll pay you well"
"No. Protect me. I'll pay you more then what he could afford plus a good job"
"What the fuck? You have a death wish?"
"No, but you look like a bum"
"Do you believe I can bankrupt you with a word?"
"You can try, but I doubt you'd make it home"
The man hesitated, then backed down. A life threat compared to a financial threat? He knew when to mind his tongue.
"Anyways. Do your job properly and you'll have a good future"
But no one responded to him, which made him frown. He looked again and saw a bunch of intimidating people looking at him.
"So you're all WMRs? Do your job then"
He wasn't intimidated by the fact that they were soldiers"
"You got special forces on the payroll?"
"So what if I do? You're nothing special"
"Private Military Contractor"
Dawn whispered to Skyfang who merely nodded in response.
Then the explosions came and ripped off a good portion of the hull. Air pressure immediately dropped as the planet started its decline.
"Camoflauge! I saw the visual anomaly"
Several civilians were killed on the spot while the WMRs fired back. The Private Military Contract Boss was one of the hostages.
"An idiot who opens his mouth too freely. Maybe next time let them do their jobs properly instead of acting impressive"
"Even if I spoke up, so what. You think I haven't been in this situation? They usually all end up dead. And they usually say 'not me'"
The pirates laughed after a second.
"Good man. So you know how this works. Either I get the money or you die. Which is more important?"
"Get past these WMRs first"
"A bunch of green horns. Usually always are. I don't need to worry"
Except he was wrong, at least this time. They had the unfortunate luck of meeting Dawn and Skyfang. With a quick shot, the 'leader' was killed instantly. But it wasn't from a bullet. It was a napkin that went clean through the skull and brain.
"It was a napkin. I saw it was stiff then it fell flat"
It could only be a Rogue who had that level of eyesight.
"What ability or trait accomplishes that?"
Another WMR asked.
"I don't know"
"Who did it then?"
"I actually… didn't see. Only noticed the exit wound"
"Shut the fuck up!!!! Whoever did that, show yourself!"
Another pirate immediately put an end to the conversation. He began to step forward but dropped the next second. Another napkin.
"I didn't see it that time either, but the exit wound came out at a different angle"
"How much force do you need to do that. How could you not see it?"
"If the person doesn't show any tells, I couldn't see"
"Why are you afraid of our mysterious benefactor?"
"What mysterious benefactor??? Just some kid playing hero!! Show yourself or I'll immediately shoot a hostage???"
The gun immediately fell in two halves. A napkin wrapped itself gracefully around one end. The smoothness of the cut was impossible.
"Hey. They only give us 3. Can you give me some more?"
Everyone looked over and saw a young man pestering the girl from before. Dawn looked at him speechlessly. Didn't he just basically admit he was the killer? Wasn't he trying to avoid detection?
The Genius didn't care either way. The Gambler bet on whether it would be more interesting to continue staying hidden or to cause some action. The bet paid off and said chaos was the right bet.
"Boy. Who the hell are you? Why did you kill our men?"
Skyfang looked at the pirate like he was an idiot.
"You killed some people. I don't know any rule where you can kill but others don't have the right to protect themselves"
"Stop fucking speaking!!! Only answer what I ask"
"I gave you an answer. If you don't like it, that's your problem"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP"
A bullet was fired and charged at him, but he took a napkin from Dawn and sliced the bullet with it. Wrapping the fine tree pulp around the severed bullet, he threw it back at the pirate who tried to kill him, instantly ending his life.
There were 8 pirates. 4 died. All by the same man using the same weapon. It couldn't even be considered a weapon. You used it to wipe your lips after you finished eating.
Every WMR shivered in fear. A soldier with versatility. Imagine if he had a real gun. They didn't even want to imagine feats, spells, and techniques.
The bullets were neatly placed on the edge of his seat rest. When everyone realized this, they hissed. They assumed the bullets killed the pirate, but the bullets never even touched him.
The remaining pirates looked at Skyfang in fear. They were all wearing hi-tech equipment on par with Nano-Suits and yet, half of the team was killed by ordinary kitchen objects. They were unable to process what was going on. The perp in question was sleeping. It was like the sequence of events did not bother him in the slightest.
"Fuck. What do we do?"
"Kill him."
"Some motherfucker did. He got killed"
"So what the fuck should we do? We can't just leave the plane. Our entry is long gone"
"Take the rest of them hostage and wait it out"
"How the fuck are we supposed to take that freak hostage?"
"So what the fuck do we do?"
"Sit calmly in the front seats"
"And you think we're just going to let you do that?"
The WMRs finally responded, engaging with the pirates. The shooting resumed but it was all concentrated at the WMRs. Almost no shot strayed to the back. The PMC Boss had always looked for a way to escape. The 4 pirates who had been killed were coincidentally not the one holding him. As a civilian, he had inherited countless fortunes. He relied on that to command some level of respect among the special forces he hired. However, he had never encountered anyone like that kid. He was like a walking gold mine and he intended to strike a connection with him. The only problem was that he was uncaring of everything around him. Almost like he engaged depending on whether he was interested in the unfolding events. Such a soldier was eccentric to hire. Normal methods wouldn't work. The boss would need… contacts in high positions in order to entice the boy.
Finally, the boss saw the golden opportunity and threw his captor over the shoulders. The WMRs immediately fired and killed the 6th one. There were only two left now who were backed up against the pilot's door. They were banging on it, hoping the idiot would open up and let them in. But they were disappointed. There was a camera that showed the pilot exactly what was happening. Therefore, the remaining pirates were easily restrained. When they were interrogated, it was revealed that they had a boss who told them that this plane was easy pickings. There were important documents in the cargo hold about important contracts that Governments had put out on various targets. The info was classified and the rewards were upwards of 100's of millions.
The PMC boss was already gone. The WMRs understood what was happening but they didn't care. Those leads had nothing to do with them and to pursue would be equivalent to a death sentence.
The kid was still sleeping and Dawn had laid down across his chest. They had nothing left to do but interrogate the pirates some more. They suddenly got very juicy information on their phones that interrupted them.
There was a Triple-Archetype Elite on board and they needed to question her about an assignment she had taken. Clearly, they were all PMC. The description and picture of the woman matched the one who was snuggled tightly with the kid.
This was the toughest dilemma they had ever found themselves caught up in.