620 – Starhunter Redux – Rivals

Travis just isn’t scratching Callie’s itch, so she’s off with another band of plucky corporate bounty hunters. Will Travis find his scratcher in time? Kenneth and Eugene discuss Rivals. Episode Synopsis Callie is having a bad day.  Not only are the rolling blackouts and malfunctions of the Trans-utopian getting her down, but she’s got a troublesome prisoner that’s managed to steal her key – unbeknownst to her, of course. There are no solutions to their overall problems anytime soon.  They’re not making enough money to keep the ship fully powered on, nor to perform needed repairs.  As Callie tries to spill her soul to an unlistening Travis, word that the prisoner has escaped has reached them.  They need to take him alive to collect their bounty, and rather than logically applying a stun gun at the first opportunity, instead, Callie roundhouse kicks him into electrical equipment, nearly killing the prisoner and completely disabling the Trans-Utopian just as a giant asteroid bears down on them. They are rescued when Capt. Christoper Judson of the ship Seattle blasts the asteroid into millions of even tinier, more dangerous pieces. But let’s ignore that. The Seattle is a slick ship owned by the Fugitive Containment Systems Corporation, it’s a Martian military design and well-equipped and crewed.  They’re the future of bounty hunting, and Capt. Judson likes the cut of Callie’s jib, and since Travis isn’t doing anything for her jib, she’s sorely tempted by what she sees.  When she tries to bring up her jib with Travis, he seems oblivious that we’re talking about jibs [wink wink nudge nudge say no more!].  Travis fumes as only Travis can. A pre-emptive bounty comes in.  That’s a high-priced bounty to arrest someone before they commit a crime.  There are a couple of minor complications – the target is a highly-trained, ex-military assassin.  He’s committed multiple successful assassinations.  He’s escaped multiple high-security prisons.  Nobody knows what he looks like, and they have no clue whom he plans to kill. The Seattle makes way, covering their tracks so the Trans-Utopian won’t follow them. Via encrypted transmission, Capt. Judson offers Callie a job, and when she finds out Travis and Rudolfo tracked the transmission in hopes of getting intel on the Seattle’s destination, she decides enough is enough and accepts their offer of a commission. After some setbacks, the Trans-Utopian tracked the Seattle to Clark Station, and they also go in search of the assassin.  The Seattle get to the fugitive first, or so they think.  Callie warns that something is wrong, but they ignore the junior recruit.  They should have listened, their entire team is terminated in a trap, save for Callie, who was guarding the hallway. She warns Travis that the target is extremely dangerous, plus, you know, she just likes the sound of his voice, and she’s mad at Capt. Judson for filling out the paperwork on his dead crew before getting into the action himself. As things unfold, it is Capt. Judson that is the actual intended victim, and Callie and Travis save him and kill the assassin, bringing in a hefty bounty for Team Trans-Utopian, and returning Callie to the fold; however, jibs have not been resolved.