The wicked flee when none pursueth
~ Proverbs 28:1
A (mis) interpretation:
Name : Flint Westwood.
Alias : The Blind Cowboy; The Blind Gunslinger.
Age : Unknown.
Affiliation: Retinue, Order of the Ecclesiarchy of Mars (former), The Adventure Kartel; Independent.
Std. armaments : "The Seven Guns of Perdition" - customised .45 Colt Dragoon supernatural revolver x 7.
Abilities : Enhanced hearing, smell, taste, touch, awareness; supernatural marksmanship; supernatural reflexes; semi-immortality.
2001. Noctis Labyrinthus, Mars. The self styled Quadruplets of Apocalypse - Billy Bob, Bobby Joe, Jim Rob and Joe Roe - AWOL Martian sloggers now nefarious outlaws, responsible for un-calculable number of crimes and atrocities across the Red Planet, and have evaded the Arbites of Mars for five years. They are hiding out at one of the non-descript caves on the Central Plains after one of their recent murderous spree and looting. The brothers are notorious sociopaths with zero empathy, practises cannibalism and take particular joy in inflicting all manner of grotesque and gruesome torture upon their victims before dispatching them. In their temporary hideout, the four fiendish outlaws are dividing their loots and eating one of their latest victims - a six month pregnant woman. They are gloating and amusing themselves over the horrific acts of brutality they have just committed - attacking a farm, killing the owner and his entire family. A dusty red wind suddenly gushes and whirls around. The flames of the pit flutters eerily. The four of them instinctively stop eating and reach for their weapons. Someone or something is approaching the entrance. Like a mirage, shadow or silhouette, it slowly takes form in the dusty darkness of the cold Martian night - it's a rider on a horse. 'Who goes there?! Show yerself!', Jim shouts while the others take their stand. 'Death', replies the rider. 'Death?! Lookit 'im guys. This ain't no barn party with juicy belle to go ballin' with!', roared Jim as he draws his blaster with intention to kill. BOOM! BOOM! Two shots ring out and echo throughout the cave like righteous thunder. Jim stands there without expression as both of his arms are shot clean off before his brain could even register the pain. A lightning quick succession of two more shots ring out. BOOM! BOOM! Bobby is hit square in the chest, lifts by the momentum of the shots a good five feet off the ground and flies ten feet away from he is standing. Billy is blown into half. He could still sees his lower torso, upside down view, as his head hits the ground. Joe manages to shoot his Lasgun at the rider. The latter nonchalantly tilts to the left while the shot passes his right. 'Slow,' the rider said as he simultaneously shoots at Billy. BOOM! Billy's body bounces and hit the cave wall five feet away, bones shatter and internal organs turn into pulps. 'Whas tha...oh...shit..mah arm! Tha..that hurrrt!!!', Jim screams in pain. 'Shut up. Youse hurtin mah ears,' as the rider dismounts and walks toward him. Jim could see the stranger clearly now. A man, a cowboy, like from one of those cheesy western spaghetti flicks he watched starring Clint E. and J. Wayne when he was at a Schola Progenium, hundreds of orphanages run by the Ecclesiarchy as part of the breeding program. The man is wearing a typical cowboy setup, and has a hanky wraps around his eyes. 'Youse f***in blind?!', Jim blabbers deliriously. 'Please...take whatever you want...just...urgh...let me...liveeee!!!' BOOM! A round goes off at Jim's left leg. 'Momma!!!!', he screams, echoing into the dusty night. The man drags Jim to the flaming heath. He heats up one of the machetes lying around. The man seems to be bristled with anger as he sights the cannibalised body. He is feeling the pain and terrible death at the hands of the four hicks. The Blind Cowboy cauterise the open wounds on Jim's arms and leg to stop the bleeding. 'Ya know. Of all the hunted, ya' all tops it. Ah had been standing there listening to youse louse for an hour. Youse insects. Ah would wanna do somethin much, much more nastier than just shooting ya' all. But ah wouldn't wanna stoop to yer level,' the man says before he pistol whips Jim into unconsciousness. The Blind Cowboy ties up Jim, set him upon the Ghost Horse, and makes his way back to the Martian underground capital at Olympus Mons. 'Abashed the Devil stood...And felt how awful goodness is...and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely...saw, and pined His loss,' Jim laments in tears. 'Youse know Milton? Goodness gracious. What an inglorious basterd. Indeed though, do take comfort in the fact that even in your death, you would have enough moments to reflect your crime, in Hell, for all eternity. Which me think is enough time. Maybe after a little tit for tat of what youse done up 'ere, youse would be given parole and come back,' said the Blind Cowboy. 'And if youse still have a grudge with me then, do look me up. Coz' I'll be waitin' for yer sorry ass for the second time 'round and kick it back down there.'
All murderers, heathens and heretics of Mars are usually sentenced to one of the Nine Circles, the capital penitentiary but seeing the severity and atrociousness of the crimes Jim Bob and his three late brothers had committed, he is sentenced to atmospheric immolation instead.
As the Great War grinds on, the Ecclesiarchy begins to recruit individuals on covert mission to carry out bounty hunting on heretics across Mars. Designated as a Retinue of the Inquisition, these bounty hunters have extra-judicial jurisdictions and are paid handsomely. The Ecclesiarchy allows them to be privately contracted out to the citizens of Mars but must obtain official sanctions first, and if the price is right. One of the survivors from the Quadruplets of Apocalypse, a 14 years old girl, had hired the Blind Cowboy to hunt them down to avenge her family's death. At Olympus Mons, the Inquisition gives the Blind Cowboy one of the most challenging assignments yet undertaken by him - to capture dead, not alive - a certain Javier "the Fighting JC" Chigurh, a heretic whom had escaped to Terra. The Inquisition sources have located him at New Andria, Apulia Sector in Eurasia. The Inquisition expects the Blind Cowboy to come back with him or die doing it. He has no choice - one, 90% of the total bounty collected were to be kept as insurance and gets forfeited if he failed. He wants to save up with the eventual intention to re-settle in one of the neutral Sites under the United Space Colonies Federation. Two, a Kurz Bombe has been implanted into him, a tiny bomb armed with tracking device directly fed to the Inquisition, monitoring his every movements broadcast across space.
The flight is arranged meticulously and carries out by a disguised Luna supply ship. The Blind Cowboy is given two weeks to accomplish his mission. En-route, the Blind Cowboy's thought flashes back to his pre-Retinue years.
He is known as Flint. Flint Westwood. He was one those millions upon millions of immigrants from Terra escaping the oppressive governments with hope for a better future, known as the Great Migration, to Mars during early period of the Archduchy of Mars. The Mars government is founded by the first man to land on the red planet, J. Carter (later Archduke) in the late 19th century. The promise of a new life away from the economic hardship of Terra attracted both the destitute and criminals to the Red Planet. Turned out life was harsher on the red dust ball. Planetary wide terra-forming had led to constant violent weather patterns such as storms and rains brought about by the atmospheric processing stations which turned the planet into one giant mud ball. After effect of the on-going terraforming process caused natural catastrophe such as earthquakes and mud tsunamis which claimed millions of lives each year. So were the prolong harsh Martian winters and giant dust hurricanes. Oxygen was lacking too. Most migrants were forced to take up near slave labour like jobs and reduced to near servitude social stature. Flint took up a multitude of jobs, including atmospheric stations maintenance technician, well-digger and ores miner.
Mentally and physically tired, Flint went on the run when he accidentally killed his supervisor during an argument about his pay cheque. With hardly any existing laws then, Flint was forced to earn his living by becoming a highway man, joined other roving gangs, robbing merchants and attacking supplies routes for the emerging, lucrative black markets. He was a natural sharp shooter and developed a reputation for being merciless on his victims in Western Mars. Nevertheless, Flint would never harm women nor children, a code he strictly abides by. As the planetary environment begins to stabilise, and the economic reformations take off with prosperity in sight, Flint opened his own moisture farm with the loots he has saved. Flint met a local farm girl whom managed to break through his gentler side and they married, resulting in three children. Retiring from being a smuggler, Flint settled for a more stable life. His business took off, as the Great Agrarian period begun and farm produce were traded to the populations on Terra. But the peace and prosperity were shortened the moment the Archduchy of Mars announced independence from Terra, resulting in the devastating Great War.
Following Terra victory over the Army of Archduchess Llana of Gathol, which effectively ends the Carter dukedom dynasty, Mars became a special administrative region officially called the Principality of Mars under the direct governance of Grand Duke Ulysses Paxton. Paxton administered the planet with an iron fist. Under his fascist government, Mars subsequently underwent political revolution and theocratic uprisings, primarily led by the self-proclaimed messiah, later founder of the Ecclesiarchy, Baldassare Giovanni. Citizens of Mars suffered tremendously. Anarchy and lawlessness resurfaced. When his wife and children fell seriously ill from a pandemic sweeping across Mars, Flint was on the way to get medicine when he was delayed by a group of outlaws. After ignoring Flint's plea to allow him to pass, he killed most of them but ran out of bullets and was seriously injured by the rest of the gang. By the time Flint made it back home, it was too late to save his wife and his children.
That's not the end of Flint's misery. Under a new law, all privateers on Mars were then required to pay tithe to the Ecclesiarchy government. Tithe collectors were sent after Flint, but seeing his conditions, the sadistic chief tithe collector took both Flint's eyeballs as payment in lieu of the sum owed instead. Flint, suffered from pain and blood lost, sutured both his hollowed eyes shut using dental floss. Flint then crawled about to look for a secret compartment and unlock it with a key he kept with him all the time. Beneath the hidden vault, Flint retrieved a metal box which contained one of the most fearsome supernatural weapons made by mankind. Known as the Seven Guns of Perdition, it was stolen from W. Colt during Flint days as a highwayman. There was a travelling gambling set as well where the banker would eventually win and the losers would pay their losses with their souls. Flint had since traded it off to a sharply dressed, velvet coated gentleman named Bill Zee Bub whom came a knocking one fine night. The Guns of Perdition is said to have been personally forged by Colt from the shards of a broken blade once wielded by the Angel of Death, and contained part of his furious essence. The revolvers contained supernatural features - they are capable of killing almost anything, never misses, never leave the owner's possession, and never run out of bullets. Each shot is powerful enough to pierce warbot armours, inflicting fatal injuries, regardless of the circumstances and nature of his targets - humans, warbots, daemons or other supernatural creatures - with one caveat, that is if his intended target is righteous or virtuous by nature. The revolvers wouldn't not work on these individuals. It also augmented Flint physically and physiologically to the level of a superhuman as well as giving him a supernatural, prolonged life. Flint also developed supernatural senses, particularly heightened sense of hearing, much like echolocation and smell. It is said if he were to concentrate enough, Flint could hear broadcasting frequencies, blood cells split and clouds scrapping each other. He could also pick up scents several miles away and decipher them intricately. Through an ancient incantation, Flint uses it to summon the Ghost Horse, a skeletal draft horse. The Ghost Horse can be summoned anywhere, anyplace if and when Flint needs it. It is said that the Ghost Horse real name is "Old Billy".
After retrieving the revolvers, Flint wrapped the handkerchief used to clean the body of his wife and children and soaks the seeping bloods from the wounds on his eyes. After giving his family a proper burial and mourned them for seven days, Flint, consumed by vengeance and hatred, was ready and loaded. He took two final shots of whiskey and set off. Through superhuman tracking ability, he located the tithe collectors, slaughtered them, followed by the systematic killing of the outlaws whom delayed him. He then led a living as a bounty hunter. His clienteles began to call Flint the "Blind Cowboy" and this alias became legendary after the massacre at the Oakley Corral where Flint was outnumbered one to a hundred but succeed in killing everyone to the last person standing. After the establishment of the Ecclesiarchy of Mars government, the Arbites heard of the Blind Cowboy and recruited him under the Inquisition, as a Retinue to carry out hunting of heretics and the faithless on Mars. Such was the life of the Blind Cowboy which seems a long time ago. As Terra space harbour came within his "sight", the Blind Cowboy whispers, 'New Andria, brace yerself.'
It is a scene of carnage. The entire three squads of ANKOU Police Garrison are utterly destroyed, each double tapped by the Blind Cowboy. The N.L.C.S. special force unit moves in and meets similar fate. Baron Sydow watches with concern through the Eyes of New Andria. He looks in awe, at the Blind Cowboy's 100% kill-rate. The Blind Cowboy stands among the downed security bots like a spectre of death. He is holding Tommy close, one of the revolver place upon Tommy's temple, calmly asking for JC's surrender. The Hand of Fate glowed brightly. Fighting JC stands about ten feet away, bristling with anger. He may had defeated numerous Zomb horde, Zombots and all manner of daemons monstrosities, but this time round he couldn't find a breakthrough. The Blind Cowboy instinctively recognise in JC as a blessed one, of righteous soul and thus his guns would not be able to harm nor disable him. To engage into a physical fight against JC would be suicidal. The Blind Cowboy hopes for JC's surrender. Lil Shadow arrives on the scene, and hurls a small, square ball towards the Blind Cowboy, who instinctively shoots at it. The shot caused the square ball to envelops the gunslinger within a crystalized cube. The Blind Cowboy is suddenly encased in a Polymer Cube - high steam projectile device which instantly slows anything or anyone down to 10,000 fold. It renders the Blind Cowboy motionless and static. The Baron had given his daughter the device. Later, the Kurz Bombe is extracted out but the device blown up a medic after the procedure. The Inquisition of Mars are incensed at the blind gunslinger's failure but nothing could be done further as the N.O.M. carries out their uprisings across the Red Planet.
Baron Seth Von Sydow offers the Blind Cowboy amnesty and political asylum, with a condition that he will now serves New Andria as one of the protectors, like Tommy and the Fighting JC. He also agrees to compensate the Blind Cowboy ten times the amount of the forfeited bounty he saved on Mars thus far. The blind gunslinger agrees, and is released from the polymer cube. The Blind Cowboy is instructed by the Baron to see Tommy Mission in District 12. Tommy freaks out initially but the Blind Cowboy seeks reconciliation, shelter and the job which the Baron has tasked him with. Tommy is Kool and the Gang about it and initiates the gunslinger into the AK Collective, realizing the awesome ability and guns the cowboy possesses. Could worth something, Tommy unconsciously thought. Suddenly, Tommy nearly jumps out of his skinny jeans when the Ghost Horse materialises behind him, in the record store. 'Holy Ghost Rider! You got a tele-portation device too?!', Tommy shrieks in a high pitch, girlish voice. 'Teleporta? No. Could summon Ole Billy ere anytime, anywhere ah wanna 'im to be. Ah hope youse may accept him as well. Harmless as a dead Martian raccoon', the Blind Cowboy explains. 'Well, Poncho Villa. Here's the deal. You can either double up with JC or bunk in the gym. Either that or you may have to rent a place nearby. But the Band Aid horse gotta stay out coz it smells and I got a business to run here. No offense aight?', Tommy states his terms. 'None taken, sonny. Ole Billy can come and go as I wanna 'im to. Ah am fine wit just bunking on the floor anywhere. Just gonna get mah sleepin bag,' replies the Blind Cowboy as he grabs his stuffs and with some incantations, the Ghost Horse disappears into the thin air. A long awkward silence then resumes. 'Uh, want some thing to eat? Drink?', Tommy breaks the silence over the red couch. 'No whiskey around. Only liquor fits for ladies. But ya got coffee. Black as a black hole, please,' requests the gunslinger. Tommy bypasses the kopi luwak, and reaches for the instant coffee instead. Tommy surely ain't going to serve some expensive gourmet stuffs to someone he hardly know (or anyone for the record, except Lil Shadow). 'Why would you drink some beans which had been shat by wild cats? Serves me that, I put a slug in youse,' said the Blind Cowboy as he sips the instant coffee. Tommy just smirks nervously. With a Merle Haggard record playing in the background and over coffees, they starts to get acquainted and understand each other better. From that day onward, the Blind Cowboy "rode" with the AK team. Simmering tensions could be observed between JC and him, but they respects each other, with their own unique abilities and skills complimenting each other. On trouble free days, the Blind Cowboy would just sit outside Tommy's record store and plays a harmonica or banjo. The gunslinger and the skeletal horse also serves as great tourists attraction, a curio of sort, and a hit with Eastasian tourists. Tommy begins charging them for photos taking session. Tommy never enforces Bleak's decision to have a standard AK tracky uniform (which resulted in the acrimonious departure of Fat Drown's older bro, the Drown, due to the latter insistence to wear tracksuits only). After numerous, exciting and often life threatening situation adventures with the AK, the Blind Cowboy and Ghost Horse decides to say goodbye and set off from New Andria to, in his own words, 'explore Terra on their own. But we shall be backed one day when the time comes'. JC and him shake hands silently, a mark of respect between them, before the Blind Cowboy departure. As the Blind Cowboy on the Ghost Horse departs, he could be heard whistling the tune from "A Fistful of Dollar", riding into the sunset. He undergoes numerous adventures of his own and eventually earns a passage to the Leviathan 1 at Site 7, L3 where he got involves in a series of deadly missions with Lady Sham and her army against her nefarious, immortal nemesis, the parasitic, possessed sock puppet, Samael "The Devil" Bridger. He would later return to New Andria sometime after the Robot Islands War.
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The Blind Cowboy. Simply one of the coolest 1/6th toys in hand. The horse made of polystone though, but the details outweigh the static stature of a statue, which I hate. Comes with stand alone figure or a superset like the one above. Decides to go with the superset. No regret.
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