We Could Be Heroes

Ryuko and Sabine discuss their future while out on a job

On a red sand dune, beneath an alien, two women lay in wait, one staring through a viewfinder, the other stood beside her, looking over the dune. Ryuko’s viewfinder came into focus on two Kig-Yar, patrolling, jaws moving in a silent chatter. Ryuko just huffed, lowering the binoculars.

“Two Sentries.” She frowned, turning to her partner.

Sabine stood beside her, sword in hand her eyes staring off into the distance, as they always did. A long, piercing gaze, a focus on the horizon. Not like Ryuko’s glare. She just wanted to stare anyone and anything down, to challenge it.

“How many more at the cache?” she asked, her tone reserved.

“Another three. A good fight” Ryuko grinned, her voice matching her body language. Energetic, ready to burst. Spoiling for a fight.

“So, I’ll sweep north, draw them away. You strike the camp” Sabine ordered

Ryuko huffed “Really?~

“How would you prefer?” Sabine asked, raising an eyebrow

Ryuko turned back to her, a devilish grin on her face “Remember Barbrutus?”

“Berserker, heavy weight championship. Didn’t he take a plasma round to the head during the uprising on Doisac?” she asked, her gaze still unshifting from the camp across the valley from them

“He took a dozen spiker rounds holding the gates open into the space port. I thought you’d have remembered. He was from Themissiax’s estate.” Ryuko responded, raising an eyebrow in return.

Sabine said nothing in return, just looking onwards.

“Sabine, would you focus on me for five fucking minutes instead of the job?” she growled

She just cast a sideways glance to her “Ryuko, make your point.”

“We need to batter our way in.” Ryuko grinned, so sure of herself

Sabine gave a weary sigh “Is this always what you want to do? Just steal from bandits, collect bounties, fight for scraps?” Sabine asked her, half rhetorical

Ryuko just rolled from her prone position, onto her side, casting a terse look “Ain’t much else to do for runaway slaves. We’ve got a selective skill set. We’re good at fighting, and not much else. Nobody is going to accept two rogues like us into any army. We watch each other’s backs.”

“But we can do more.” Sabine said, her grip tightening on her sword “Think of what we can do for the people here. Slavers hit hundreds get attacked by slavers daily. We aren’t the only two affected by this!”

She just shifted up and sighed “Sabine, we’re not heroes. Let’s focus on just staying alive out here.”

“We could be. We could save lives...” Sabine said, trailing off

Ryuko sat up, shifting from the sand, pulling her Repeater to her side. “Sabine, focus. Ain’t got time for dreams. We gotta get paid first.”

She pulled her repeater to her chest, and levelled her gaze on the camp ahead. She tucked it close to her chest and gave a wave for Sabine to follow. Sabine just sighed and followed her over.

“We could be heroes.” She muttered beneath her breath