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Rexx lifted the Hoth branded binoculars to his eyes, being careful not to graze the perfectly tilted white cowboy hat atop his head. It wouldn't do to look anything but perfect, especially when his persewers finally catch up with him. He had to give them a show. Thinking of them he scanned the horizon, he knew the crew of the Rhapsody wouldn't be too far behind him.
The monotonous white landscape lent itself to scouting and it wasn't long before his eyes caught what he had been looking for.
A flash of sunset hair amongst the brilliant white snow was stunning. For a second he lingered on that hair as the wind whipped it around the handsome and stoic elvish face. Rexx exhaled and focused the reticule, pulling out to survey the entire scene. Snowballs flew in every direction, most thrown by the large penguins the group had encountered, although a few of the crew were getting in on the fun.
The clown, Buckles or something like that, was of course the most into the fun and games. Why they had a literal clown on their crew was baffling but as he watched several snowballs explode into colorful confetti Rex had to admit he was entertaining.
The entertainment of the scene only got better as he noticed the sand smuggler Kavir running away from the large friendly birds. He was obviously scared for his life as he tried to fend off the playful fowl.
Rexx chuckled to himself, the whole scenario was so ridiculous. The bounty hunters coming after him, Rexx Maximum, had stopped to play in the snow.
He tried to watch every member of the crew, his enemies but his gaze continually was drawn back to one face in particular. The frigid wind blew Pyke’s sunset hair around wildly. The beautiful colors were striking amidst the white landscape, hypnotizing even as they swirled around the solar elf’s sour expression.
Good old Pyke, never in the mood for fun and games.
Rexx smirked to himself as he watched Pyke toss a snowball disinterestedly at a nearby penguin.
Slowly, over the minutes he observed the crew of the Rhapsody playing with the local life forms Rexx began to notice a subtle shift in Pyke’s stance. His body relaxed, moving more fluidly and with an ease and calm that Rex hadn’t seen in years.
Without realizing it his constant arrogant smirk softened into a gentle, genuine smile. With no other life forms around him, there was no need to keep up appearances, he was free to enjoy the moment just like Pyke was.
All of a sudden Pyke flashed a radiant grin, giving new meaning to the name solar elf. Memories of that smile struck Rexx like a cold snowball to the face. But something was wrong. Pyke wasn’t looking at him, wasn’t smiling at him. In a flash he zoomed out, following Pyke’s eyeline to a hulking figure.
The binoculars outer shell cracked with the force Rexx gripped them with. The chill that had filled him instantly burst into white hot anger. Rett. Visceral hatred boiled up like acid in his throat, catching Rexx by surprise. Woah, he made a deliberate effort to calm down, lowering the binoculars to center himself where he was. Can’t be losing my cool like that. He’d let himself relax too much, the careful control he kept on his emotions and image had slipped.
Of course it was that pile of scrap metal that had made me lose my cool. The anger flared but Rexx ruthlessly tamped it down, smothering it under a mountain of smug charisma. After reclaiming his normal bravado Rexx adjusted his hat and tried to laugh it off. It sounded a bit forced, especially to his pointed ears. I’ll have to work on that before he sees me again.
He focused back in on the crew of the Rhapsody. This time however his eye was drawn to the largest silhouette against the snow. The aether dwarf looked much the same as Rexx remembered. The mechanical arms that sprouted unnaturally from his back held a menacing looking gravity canon. They moved with seemingly no input from the body they were attached to. It almost looked like they were scanning the horizon for any hostile movement. Meanwhile the man himself was intensely focused on something he held in his hand. Curious, Rexx pushed a button and the image sharpened.
Rexx would have laughed if the sight of Rett didn’t fill him with anger. One broad purple hand was clutching a perfectly round snowball while the other gingerly measured it with some sort of tool. His mechanical eye was telescoped out, presumably to magnify his work as he scraped nano specs of snow off the ball. Apparently the snowball wasn’t perfectly round enough for the neurotic dwarf.
Rexx’s blood boiled as he swiveled back to watch Pyke. The normally surly solar elf was grinning as he tossed a soft ball of snow directly at his oblivious friend. The snowball flew true, smacking into the back of Rett’s neck, sending cold icicles down his back. Both men then burst out… laughing? Were they laughing? Rexx’s recently contained rage threatened to boil over again but he pushed it back aggressively. There’d be time for revenge later, once they caught up to him.
He focused again on Rett, watching his movements, gaging his weaknesses. It had been that hunk of scraps who had made him lose his temper in the first place… and ultimately lose his Pyke. It had been many years but that loss still stung Rexx’s pride. How could Pyke have chosen that disgusting cyborg over Rexx Maximum! What did he see in the clumsy, borish oaf that made him better than the brilliant, dexterous and handsome solar elf? He and Pyke had been perfectly suited, a matched set! They had practically danced across a battlefield. An unstoppable duet of death.
Rexx had been so lost in the past that by the time he focused back in, things had changed. His scouter registered movement and he dialed in to see the sled of the Rhapsody moving through the snow, lead by the penguins. They were heading directly to him. Good. Rexx kicked his bike into gear and stored his binoculars in an inner jacket pocket, pulling out an already lit cigarette from the same pocket. The Everlit™ cigarettes were spendy but so worth it on planets like this one where any normal one couldn’t stay lit to save your life.
By his estimation he’d have enough time to start his work before they even found the ruin. He could easily get the job done while they blundered around looking for him. Rexx grinned to himself, even if they did catch up to him it would be a welcome face to face interaction. Pyke would finally be looking at him again… he’d just have to settle for a glare rather than a grin.