NationStates Jolt Archive

ooc thread: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=556208

Fighting to catch his breath Sigmund wiped the sweet off his brow, it served nothing more then a reminder that he was not as young as he used to be. But that did not matter now, there were more pressing things on his mind other then his age.

He soon found himself at the stations promenade; he made a quick glance back to make sure that he was in the clear. Everything seemed ok, but he knew that he did not have too much time. However, there was little doubt in his mind that it would not take long for his pursuers to figure out that he had given them the slip, time was now his greatest enemy.

Crowds of people gathered here, some conducting their daily business, others simply passing through. He quickly scanned the crowd looking for any signs of danger, as his final destination lay just past the crowd, located at a calling booth.

Weighing the risks he pushed into the crowd pushing past people, each person served as an enormous obstacle, and with each passing moment he rushed forward just a little bit harder almost knocking the odd person over. He ignored any angry comments that they threw at him.

Finally inside the calling both he waited for a brief moment for the light to turn indicating that it was recording. He paused for a moment to catch his breath.

“Stewart, it me” he could but help realize the futility of the comment, it was a video recording, and he very much doubted that Stewart would have forgotten his appearance even after all there years. He fought to keep the panic out his voice. “I don’t know how much time that I have, I have gotten myself into something serious and you are the only person that I can trust.” Again he looked out into the crowd not sure how much more time he had. “I am after a man named…” he could not believe that he was about even speak the name he was about to give. “ Henry Kobe.... Look for a space captain named Dante, he can help you find me.”

He put in the contact card with all the required information, and then hit send. Sigmund could only hope that his message made it in time.

****

Agent Kyle Nixon glanced down at his data pad as he came up to the door confirming that he was at the correct location. The address matched that of one Stewart Trent of Clairmont. He was annoyed more then anything, this was nothing more then a waste of time, too much was going on to have him here to play chauffeur.

However, his superiors had made it very clear that this man Stewart was to assist him in locating their missing agent. Having intercepted Sigmund’s message he could understand why, from reading Stewart’s file knew that the two men had a common history. But that did not ease Nixon’s mind, he was accustom to working alone, now he had to carry this Stewart around. To make matters worse the government Steel Butterfly had also insisted on having one of their agents accompany them, as Sigmund had disappeared somewhere within in their space. He was not sure what had worried the Government of Steel Butterfly more, that a Tappee intelligence agent went missing on their soil, or the fact that he had been there in the first place. Either way in order to avoid a diplomatic incident their agent was to assist them in locating Agent Xavier. And he was due to meet the Steel Butterfly agent soon, but first he had to pick up Stewart.

Nixon was not an agent that was known for his patience, in his twenty years of service he had the reputation of being merciless in going after anything that was needed to complete his mission, and was known to work outside the legal limits of position for time to time. However, he got results and got them rather quickly, and in business that was all that mattered.

Knocking on the door he hoped that Stewart had his things ready to go, at this point he was not sure how much Stewart actually knew, if he had even received Sigmund message, if not he would quickly fill him in.

“Does Emily know?” it was clear from the toner in her voice that Jade was angry. As director of the Tappee’s intelligent service it was never a good sign to caught by total surprise. The fact that Henry Kobe could possibly alive had dropped a bomb on the agency. Jade cleared her head for a moment focusing on the task at hand. “The man died 10 years ago, there were witness” she really wasn’t talking to anyone but her self.

Her intel advisor rushed to stay beside her as she rushed down the hallway. “Well given the circumstances on how he died perhaps he was infected?” to the aid this seemed the most logical explanation

Jade would have been lying to herself if she had at least not considered the option, but there was more here, more going on she could feel it. “He died at the end of the Orion war which ended just over ten years ago, no this has nothing to do the possibility of infection, but timing. Make sure that the government of Steel Butterfly is informed, and I want any update from our agent in the field. No matter what happen I want to make sure that Emily doesn’t hear of this, understand” The implication of this event were far reaching to say the least.

Nodding in agreement the aid rushed off. Jade began to think of her friend Emily, something like would crush her.

*Tagged, post coming later today. Seems very interesting :) *

Stewart opened the door swiftly after making sure that the person on the other side was the one he had been expecting. He hadn't really known who the Tappee Government would send to come knocking on his doorstep, but after he had received Sigmund's message he had been dead certain that someone would be coming. Truth to be told, he wasn't all thrilled about the fact that he had been ordered not to go find Sigmund on his own. Having foreigners, even if they were allies, in his team would inevitably restrict the measures he could take during the course of his investigation.

"You must be the spook from Tappee. Good, now we can finally get going." He said as he made eye contact with the Agent. He allowed the man to come inside.

In the spacious living room five people in addition to Stewart were seated on couches, all wearing civilian clothing. It had only been three days since the five had been hunting down insurgent leaders on the border colony of Anhur. The three male and two female Special Warfare Operatives greeted the Tappee agent warily. Intel had ultimately decided that it would be best if they sent people who could be inconspicuous while helping Stewart to find Sigmund. Stewart grumpily had agreed, that a squad of Drop Commando's in Battle Armor really weren't the best kind of search party when it was necessary to attract little attention.

"Our Government has already given the ok for a search operation of Sigmund Xavier. I received his message and started prepping immediately. Our equipment is waiting at the space port and we will be taking a NavSpecWar Stealth Boat to carry us to the Orion Sector. Unless you have any objections?" Stewart spoke quickly and clearly. He hoped that the Tappee agent would just go along with the program, Stewart was pissed off enough as it was by the time that had been wasted.

Moving his head Kyle looked passed Stewart at the others waiting in the room. He frowned for moment before looking back at Stewart. He had not anticipated bring such a large group. Yes they would be able to cover more ground quickly, but they would also have a harder time blending in. However, this was the hand that he had been dealt, and there was no point in getting upset.

“That should be fine” commenting on Stewart question about using their ship. “As long as it fast. I am sure that Steel Butterfly agent might be getting upset that we are running late. If you have any question I would suggest that you ask them once we arrive.” Kyle honestly did no feel like repeating himself twice so he would update everyone once they were all together.

****

Tara examined the vial of serum as he slid it into the injector making sure that if was free of bubbles, the last thing that she wanted to do was to kill her patient. Sure that everything was in order she put the injector to the woman neck who was restrained to the table, there was a brief hiss as the serum passed from the injector to the woman’s blood stream.

“Tara, how long will this take?” asked man from somewhere in the room.

“I’m not sure even if this work” she replied back as she opened the woman’s eyelids, they had almost rolled to the back of her head. For the first time she thought that this might actually work. Her patient was restrained to the table, “Efira can you hear me?” the woman on the table gently nodded.

“Good” answered Tara, quietly “I want to talk you about the vision that you have the girl, can we talk about?” again her question got a nod back in response. “Where are?”

“I am not sure.” Muttered Efira groggily “I believe that I might be in school, but their clothes seem so strange to me. However, there is this girl, she is so young, but there is something different about her. She seems afraid in pain, there is someone chasing after her.”

“Do you see anything that might tell us who see is” asked Tara keeping with her gentle tone “Efira it is important, she is in danger, and only we can help her, we need your help.”

Efira struggled for a moment, but her restraints held her in place. “I… Think that there is a name on her uniform… Emma Greison”

There was a slam as closed shut, Tara and Efira now stood alone in the room. A brief smile came over her face; it had worked despite her reservation. “Thank you, have done well.”

****

Taking a seat in desk Emma let out sigh, and didn’t try to hide it from anyone, she hated history class especially now that they had this new substitute teacher. She had some of the other kids in class talking about how much they love this new teacher and how she seemed to bring the subject matter to life while teaching, she just scoffed.

As Miss Wisner came into the room Emma thought that she looked like a tightly wound Liberian, that mostly like had never had a boy friend in her life. Her Hair was held back in tight ponytail, she wore a gray shirt under a black blazer and black skirt finished off the out fit.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned to find Carla her best friend leaning in to talk to her. “Are you coming to Geoff’s party tonight?”

“I can’t, my mom wouldn’t let Me.” She quietly answered.

She did not want to incur Miss Wisner’s wrath. But a “Excuse me Miss Greison, do you have something more important then your studies?” only served to further that fear.

Emma quickly spun around her seat to find Miss Wisner staring down at her. “I was just saying to Carla that I don’t see the relevance of studying the Orion war, it ended over 300 years ago, I don’t see what has anything to do with us today?” She never liked to be a victim, and had decided to try to turn Miss Wisner’s attention away from the fact that she had been misbehaving.

“It has everything do with us here today.” Answered Miss Wisner coldly. “The decision that was made way back then ripped through time, and ultimately defined everything that we have here today. We are here today because of the decision that our ancestor made, what if your great grand parents never made the choice to have children, you would not be here today, would you miss Greison. This class is teach you what it was like for them and allow you to understand why they made the choice that they did in the times that they lived. Miss Greison I would like you to write a 2000 word essay on how Orion War acted as a catalyst for other events, and I want it for end of the week.”

Dropping her shoulder Emma realized that her little trick had not worked. “Alright” she groaned.


****
ooc: I this bad RP’ing but I want to move this along

ic:

Kyle sat back in his chair as the shuttle entered the shuttle bay. He had made a point of not saying a word the entire trip, and was sure that it was a choice that had not made him new friend, but he was ok with that. They had a job to do, and the sooner that they met up with the Steel Butterfly agent the sooner that they could get started.

The Stealth Boat left Birhat system under total emissions control procedures. The vessels had been specifically designed to accommodate the needs of Freehold's Special Warfare units. Massing barely twenty-five thousand tons, they were just slightly large enough to mount their own hyperlight engines. Despite their small size however, the ships represented the technological cutting edge of Clairmont's spacecraft design. The hull was a combination of alloy and composites designed to make the ship disappear from sensors over ranges anything over point blank. Inside the vessel was crammed to the limit with electronic warfare equipment, aimed at deceiving and evading hostile tracking systems. Ofcourse, the stealth boat's weren't completely unarmed. Carrying two dozen Tenix Defense Industries Spaceborne Combat Maces and a pair of light Hellbores, the ship could take care of itself in a fight.

The trip out of Birhat was uneventful. The Stealth Boat Falkenberg transited out of the system on a vector not used by merchant shipping or regular military traffic. It's absence went unnoticed to all except the diligent crew of System Defense Command, who had been pointedly told by people whose names they didn't need to know, that the Falkenberg was none of their concern.


The stealth boat's crew kept mostly to themselves during the trip. Staying at the tiny command deck and engineering departments while the passenger's strolled between their quarters, the briefing room and the equipment storage room's. Despite there being only a contignent of six from the Freehold aboard the boat, several tons of equipment had been stowed aboard. Everything from small arms and combat rations to electronic surveillance and combat gear. Stewart personally hadn't asked for it all, it just seemed that Special Warfare really did believe in preparing for every possible contignency. Somehow though, he figured that if the situation got bad enough that the team would need a Class-Two Light Demolitions Device, he might as well brought a platoon of Drop Commando's. When you started blowing nukes on a covert op, you tended to be fucked.

After two hours in hyperspace, the team had assembled in the briefing room. It was spacious enough for a platoon of Special Warfare operatives, but the lack of any disposable space could be observed from the build of the room. Only the essentials had been provided with little space being wasted for the unnecessary.

Stewart cleared his throat and spoke clearly enough to be heard by everyone in the room, addressing his words primarily to Agent Nixon.

"Now that we are underway, I believe all of us would very much like to hear any additional information you might have Agent Nixon regarding the mission we are about to undertake. You know very well that Agent Xavier had apparently little time to present any real details except for the name of the person we need to find and the name Henry Kobe. That's not much to start from and we need to know EVERYTHING if we are to find Sigmund and avoid running around like chickens with our heads cut off." He said, his tone of voice was colder than he would have preferred. But Stewart couldn't avoid it. He owed Sigmund a lot, and he would go to hell and back to help the Tappee Agent who had become like a second father to him during the War. He didn't have the interest to listen to bullshit.

He wished for a short moment that Karen could have been on this mission with him. During the years they had been married after the War, Karen DeVries had had an immensely stabilizing effect on Stewart's life. She had succeeded in getting an emotionally wrecked soldier who had witnessed far too much violence for his years to find new purpose in his life. Unfortunately, Karen had been deployed two weeks back and Stewart hadn't heard from her since. He hadn't been brought in on the details which suggested a black op. He was glad for the ability to concentrate on his job though. His mind was distantly aware that the night they spent together before his wife went away could have been their last, but somehow he always knew she would be okay. Just like she knew where-ever she was that her husband would survive. Stewart brushed the thoughts away, realizing that they were distracting him from the job and brought his full attention on Kyle Nixon.

Across the stars…

Joseph Frost felt the air rush back into his lungs. It was always refreshing, coming out of subspace. He sighed. It was such a small gift, breathing.

Not a gift that those around him were presently sharing in. The lowest level of the Imperial vaults was the Mausoleum of Lords. Scattered throughout were royalty across the ages, incased in marble stacks from floor to ceiling. Joseph came here to think, mostly because no one else did. Also, besides the new addition from time to time, the room seemed to stand still throughout time.

Joseph Satin’s plaque was above Kyou Graav’s and below Alexander Nemerov’s. Satin’s 7-month reign was perhaps the most peculiar of any Emperor. After Graav’s death at the hand of nuclear terrorists in the Empire’s one-time colony on Earth, Satin claimed the throne with no legal or noble right. Soon after, Nemerov, supported by the nobility and military, staged a coup, outing Satin from power rather effortlessly.

The whole ordeal left historians rather puzzled. Satin was a corrupt man, quite power hungry and with quite a temper. However, he was also ineffective at best, and almost drove the entire Empire to ruin. How he became Emperor in the wake of a nation mourning one of their greatest leaders had frustrated modern intellectuals for countless sleepless nights.

Joseph Frost smiled at the plaque. Only two people knew of the real reason for Satin. Only two people were allowed to. More than that would have been dangerous. As miserable a leader as the man was, had he not been given the reigns to the Emperor, he would have proven a traitor, and Orion would have been invaded in Graav’s wake. The Temporal Guard gave him his post, just long enough to find a real leader in Nemerov.

“Funny how history works, hmm Joseph?” a voice called through the mausoleum. Frost froze, reaching down inside his jacket for his pistol. The voice, however, continued, mocking from afar. “You change history, change the universe, to put Nemerov in power. Look how that turned out.”

“Time…time is never certain,” Frost stammered, aiming his gun down every row yet seeing no one. “It’s more an art than a science. You can never be sure.”

“You fucks were commissioned to protect the Empire from…well…people like you,” the voice said. “People who would change time to alter history, to ruin the path of truth.”

“How do you…” Frost asked. “How do you know?”

“Because,” the voice announced. “I kill you for it. I kill you for all of it.”

“But now I know?” Frost said, defiant. “Now I’ll be ready.” There was no response. “NOW I’LL BE READY!” Joseph screamed, but to no avail.

James Pierce shook his head. It was the fifteenth time he had watched the recording. Joseph Frost had sat by him until seven times ago. Someone else knew. The implications of this fact were world-altering. Someone else knew. Pierce got up and left the room, finding Frost in the hall.

“When were you?” Pierce asked of the recording. Frost looked at the floor, embarrassed. “When was it?”

“The present,” Frost replied, shaking his head.

“Then we go back and we find him,” Pierce demanded.

“What about the Tappee thing?” Frost asked.

“Damnit!” Pierce roared. “When are they arriving?”

“Within the hour,” Frost replied. “They believe they’re meeting with an Agent James Reich.”

“Inform them that you’ll be working together with Agent Reich,” Frost ordered. “And then when you’re done with that, you find whomever that was and you take care of it, you hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” Frost responded, stepping into the time chamber. He held his breath. He hated this part.

Kyle paused for a moment to upload the information from his data pad to the consol that he now found himself working on. After a moment an image appeared on the main screen in the briefing room. “Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Henry Kobe, a man who for the last ten year has been dead. Here are the know player so far”

“Henry Kobe, was an agent of the First X, but more important a member of the elite Serpent team, the best of the best. He became a legend in the agency when he discovered NiMbus’ involvement in the incident at Brathmal, and was the primary contact between the our government and the Resistance at the beginning of the war, in which he served as a liaison through out the conflict. However, according to eyewitness report he was killed during the battle for Steel Moon at the hands of one Dr Ackerman. Our eyewitness sources are creditable. It was not until Sigmunds transmission to Stewart here that he even heard his name. I would like to also note that agent Xavier was Henry’s instructor at the Academy.”

“Agent Xavier was dispatched to investigate an incident at a remote mining colony. Again details are a bit sketchy, what we do know is that Agent Xavier was contacted by this woman.”

Hitting few buttons the screen changed again, now displaying a woman face. “Her name is Efira Frontus. She is a Calnuxian, and is also once was a member of the country intelligence service know as the Blood Angels. However, she left the organization ten years ago citing personal reason. Since then she has maintained a lower profile until contacting agent Xavier”

“For the most part we are completely in the dark regarding this. We have no idea as to who, if anyone that Kobe is working for. Our primary mandate is to find who he is working for and what their intention is, with Sigmund’s rescue as a secondary objective”

Stewart listened to Agent Nixon intently, absorbing every detail of his sketchy brief. Somehow he felt that there was something the man wasn't telling them. Which, was only to be expected. He had been on enough Black Ops to learn that there was always something left untold under the premises of "need to know". Stewart however could not agree with Nixon on the agent's statement that finding Sigmund was a secondary objective. To him, this Henry Kobe was the secondary objective. He didn't say so ofcourse, he would be willing to seemingly go along with Nixon's lead for the time being. However if it came to choosing between saving Sigmund and staying on Kobe's track, he would rather save the man he owed his life.

"Agent Nixon, do you have any details regarding the incident on this mining colony you mentioned. In addition, do you have any leads about the current whereabouts of Efira Frontus and what dealings she may have had with Sigmund?" Questioned Warrant Leader Pacelli, a lean built woman in her mid-twenties. She was one of the few female Operatives who had gone through the immensely tough training required to reach the shadowy ranks of Freehold's Special Warfare regiments.

Stewart silently thanked the operative for asking the questions he should have been asking. He was distracted, concentrating too much on worrying and forgetting to consider the details, that could make the difference between success and failure of the whole mission. Stewart only wished he would get his head straight before they arrived to their destination.

“Efira and Sigmund have worked on several assignments together in the past.” Quickly answered Kyle, he had hoped that they could get past this quickly. “What we can tell from agent Xaviers field reports is that he was contacted from Miss Frontus, stating that the colony was under attack. Sigmund and a sweeper team arrived at the colony only to find no survivors. However, Miss Frontus was not among the victims, and was still unaccounted for. Examining the mining log the last ship that landed was a shi called the Trackon under a man simply known as Dante, we have been able to locate a little information him.

All that we do know about him is that he deals in illegal artifacts, in short he is a grave robber, selling anything that he finds to the highest bidder. We believe that at the mining colony that he either killed everyone to pillage what he found, or he found something that someone was willing to kill for.

Waht we do know about Dante is that he is not a killer, and that Sigmund mentioned his name.”

Emma let her bag slam hard in to her locker, things were not going well for her day, not only had Wisner given her a ridiculous assignment, but she had almost failed her math examine, there was little doubt in her mind that her mother would not be please.

“Why so glum” asked Carla walking up he behind her “I know what would cheer you up, coming with me to Geoff’s party tonight.”

“I can’t” answered Emma rolling her eyes “I have this stupid project that Miss Wisner gave me, and I have no idea of what to write.”

“How could you nothing to write about” Carla reached out grabbed the text from with Emma’s arms “There is so much to write, and if you had not fallen a sleep in yesterdays class you would. It more like a movie then a history class, I mean zombies, giant space battle, lie and treachery, and even political assignations. You could write on the assignation of the Chairwoman’s husband by the resistance, or even how they had tricked the government in fighting on their side.”

“Why do you care so much about this stuff” jabbed Emma slightly confused a her friends new found love of history. “The only thing that I have from the past is this necklace that my grandmother gave, she claims that it has been the family for generations.” She put the necklace into her locker. “Are you telling that everything from the past has some a place today, I very much doubt that.”

“Tell you what.” Said Carla ignoring Emma’s sarcastic tone “We can get together after school, I will help you write with your essay on the condition that you come with me Geoff party tonight”

Emma thought to her self for a moment. “Fine, I will tell my mom that I am going over to your house, then we can sneak over to Geoff party, as long as I am not there to late. However, I have to go, I don’t want to be late for gym class.”

“You wouldn’t regret it” yelled Carla after Emma

The remainder of the journey in hyperspace passed with the crew and passengers spending most of their time to themselves. None of the actual Operations Team was too fond of the lack of details in Agent Nixon's explanation during the short brief they had held after departing Birhat. However, during the First Interstellar War, these Operatives had learned to improvise when necessary and thus make up for the lack of information with their skills of acquiring that intel during the mission. Which didn't mean that the Operatives were any happier about being kept in the dark.

Captain Kenneth Chinran went over the equipment list being displayed on his datapad with a measuring eye. Checking the manifest against what he could actually see in the storage, he wanted to make sure that none of the logistics monkeys had taken any liberties in loading up their gear. He shouldn't have worried, everything checked out perfectly and the Operative smiled thinly as he shut down the datapad and opened up one of the equipment boxes and started sorting out his gear.

When they were deployed to their respective units, servicemembers of the Freehold Military were issued all the gear they were likely to need during their time in the Military. Everyone was given a service weapon, uniforms, e-rations, ammunition, small field medical kit, comms units (type varying between services) and the rest of the issued gear varied depending on the service you were in. Chinran's personal gear had been transferred as per SOP aboard the Falkenberg and now he opened the hermetically sealed box and started picking his equipment.

Rifle, combat uniform, combat harness, commo gear, electronic lockpicks, decryption tools, hacking equipment. Ammunition, spare clips, grenades. He checked each item individually, making sure that they were undamaged and serviceable. He function checked the rifle and inspected the ammunition before starting to load up the caseless rounds to the empty clips he had sorted out in a row. It was a routine ritual, which he had performed countless times before.

One by one the rest of the Operatives also filed in to the equipment storage room and began the same procedure. Finally Major Trent also came in and nodded to each of his troops in turn. Each of the soldiers returned the nod respectfully. They all knew Stewart's service history and recognized a tough sob like them even though the Major wasn't from Special Warfare personally. All five of the Operatives trusted their assigned mission commander explicitly.

Over the sounds of veteran soldiers preparing for combat came the announcement over the ship intercom that the stealth boat would be dropping back to normal space and arriving to their target star system momentarily.

Kyle was in a foul mood as he waited for air lock to open, he had just received a mission update that they would now be working with two agents from Steel Butterfly. This was quickly annoying him, he was accustom to working alone, true that they would now be able to cover more ground quickly, but he felt that they might get caught up in the inner politics of each nation.

His thought drifted to Stewart, Kyle was worried that the young man might be a bit of a loss cannon on this mission, there was little question that he had the ability, but his relationship with Sigmund could allow him to become personally involved, something that one in this line of work could never do.

As the ramp lowered Kyle put all these thoughts out his mind, he could ill afford to allow him self to distracted by such trivial matter. Despite the size of the team they were all the best of the best of what each nation had to offer. Stepping down off the ramp he looked around to see if the Steel Butterfly agents were there, time was not on their side

“Joseph Frost, SIU,” Frost said, extending his hand. SUI stood for “Special Investigations Unit,” a cover agency for the Temporal Guard. James Reich stared down at the outstretched arm without moving.

“They’ll be arriving any minute,” Reich replied. He already knew anything and everything there was to know about Joseph Frost. It was his job to know.

“Uh huh,” Frost muttered, withdrawing his hand.

They were standing on a platform and waiting for their new teammates from Clairmont and Tappee. Both nations, like the Empire itself, had notoriously good intelligence services. Such was the result of the environment these governments existed in. War, conflict, internal strife, these were realities for the nations gathered today.

The men gathered today were the spare parts of peace. They were the extra tools who worked behind the scenes, stopping conflict before it started, solving problems before they presented themselves, and silencing critics behind drawn sheets and closed doors. Information had a greater value than life, and even that was no longer held sacred.

“And you are?” Frost asked, just to be polite.

“It’s better if you don’t know,” Reich replied. It took everything he had to avoid rolling his eyes. Frost knew very well who he was and they both understood this. Why Frost felt the need for a deeper, personal connection was quite beyond James. There was no cover in this mission, no need for false emotion.

“Fine,” Frost muttered. “Have it your way.”

The Tappee shuttle nestled down in its docking bay slowly and gracefully. During the Orion Civil War, the Orion docking ports were adapted to be interchangeable with those of Tappee. As the bay doors opened, the agents stepped out.

“I’m Agent Joseph Frost,” Joseph announced to his guests. He smiled, saying the next part loud and clear out of spite. “This is my partner for the time being, Agent James Reich.”

Reich now abandoned all hope of restrain from an eye roll. He stared up at the ceiling. This was going to be miserable.

“It is pleasure to meet you both” Kyle simply ignored the visible tension between the two. As long as the two of them could their job done he could care less about whatever issues that they may have had.

“I trust the two of you have had a chance to do all background reading.” Kyle handed both James and Joseph their own data pad. “If you didn’t everything thing there, backgrounds on anyone that we know is involved, as well as agents Xavier’s field reports. If you have any question look there, I don’t have time to hold anyone hand.” Kyle doubt that the Steel Butterfly agents were behind the curve on this, but he wanted to make sure that he had all his bases covered at the start.

“Alright everyone” said Kyle as he moved so that everyone could see him “It has been just over 27 hrs since agents Xavier’s message, and we have a lot of ground to cover. We are going to break into two teams. Stewart, I need to know how Xavier got here in the first place, check and triple check and transport record, also, and I know that this is going a long shoot but try to see if there is any record of him leaving this station. James and …” Kyle just realized that there was only to be on agent accompanying them. “… However you maybe are with me. Since this is your backyard, you know the people better, lets see if we can shake things up a bit and see what comes out to play.”

Technically he had no real authority here on this station, but that did not mean that he could not try to push his way around a bit.

****

It took Sigmund a moment of concentration to bring the world back into focus, that last shot to the head had really made its mark. He spit some blood down to the floor when he became aware of the salty taste in his mouth. A gentle tug on his restraints served as a reminder on how much trouble he actually was in.

“Henry, you are a little bit more of an asshole then the last time I saw you.” Jabbed Sigmund. His response was meet by laughter, a hand reached out pulling his scalp back forcing his face to stare up. Because of the lights he could barely make out the face that now looked down at him, but he knew it nonetheless. “What have you been up to the last ten years?”

A another hand shot out, Sigmund received the wrong end of a fierce backhand, that impact almost knocked both Sigmund as his chair on theirs side. “As I have explained to you, the Henry Kobe that you knew died on Steel Moon.” The mans voice was calm with almost no hint of any emotion. “I have all the others piece that I need, and you have that last one, you know what I want. I am giving you the chance to change history, make the world a better place, everything that you have trained to fight for.”

By now Sigmund had given trying to keep things in focus. “Right” said Sigmund spitting blood into the mans face. “No one is allowed to have the kind of power.”

“Very well” the man turned to nearby table, he picked a one of the man tools that were just sitting there. “I had hoped that this would be your answer.

Stewart quickly allowed his gaze to inspect the two waiting Steel Butterfly agents. The fact that the two didn't come along was obvious even to the blind. Stewart ignored it. He didn't really care as long as the job got done. Kenneth Chinran stood by his side, dressed in plain civilian clothing similar to those worn by merchant crews of one of Freehold's major trading cartels. Stewart had also clad himself in inconspicuous civilian clothing to avoid catching any unnecessary attention. Both him and Chinran wore limited body carbon-nanotube flexible body armor underneath with shoulder holsters for their pistols. The rest of the Operatives would be waiting in the cargo shuttle that had brought the team to the station from the Falkenberg. Bringing the Stealth Boat to the station had never been an option. It would have given away too much right the instant when anyone bothered to inspect the vessel visually. Instead, a banged up old cargo transport had been used to bring the team here while the Falkenberg waited at a distance, ready to dash in if necessary.

Stewart wasn't too thrilled about Agent Nixon putting him on the lookout for the station's transfer logs. It was a tedious and lengthy method of finding Sigmund and there were very little quarantees that it would work. He however acknowledged the assignment without complaints, content to follow Nixon's lead for now.

He listened without interrupting as Nixon and the two Orion Agent's made their introductions and Nixon said his two cents worth before speaking. Stewart didn't extend his hand, merely nodded towards both of the Steel Butterfly agents and spoke briefly.

"Major Stewart Trent, Freehold Third Drop Commando. Is it safe to be talking about our real affiliations like this on this station? I'd really prefer not to have to use my entry-team shooters before we can even start the mission." He asked coolly. He lied a bit about his desire to use the Operatives waiting in the cargo shuttle. In truth, he was a bit eager to let them loose.



As Stewart and Chinran ventured into the depths of the station, he found himself reminiscing about Junction station back in Sol system. It had been Clairmont's first deep space construct, and had served as the initial construction platform for the fledgling Clairmont space effort. Initially the station had grown at a breackneck pace, but once the reality of the station's ultimate fate of being consigned into non-critical status came apparent, Junction quickly turned into a slum in space. Center for illicit activities of all kinds and home for many who had come to space looking for new opportunities and failing to return home once they found out their hopes and dreams had been betrayed.

He snapped back from his thoughts as Chinran nodded towards a terminal embedded in one of the walls. The initial plan had been to try and take the quickest way towards acquiring the transfer logs. Find a public terminal, find out if the information was open to the public. If not, hack in and take what they needed. If that failed, Chinran would try to subtly gain the information from the station personnel. If that failed, start shooting and blowing things up. Stewart entertained the thought for a whole second before dismissing it.

They strolled indirectly towards the terminal. Taking effort to look as casual, tired merchant spacers. Chinran succeeded far better than Stewart. If Stewart hadn't known better, he wouldn't have even noticed the man from the background bustle of the station. They strolled to the terminal and Chinran started making heads and tails out of the user interface.

James nodded to Kyle. The man was pushy, possibly trying to make up for some feeling of inadequacy or desire to prove himself. Still, James cared little. More of a concern was the mission.

Heluma Station was a recluse for the morally lacking and the emotionally reprehensible. It was also, coincidentally, both Sigmund Xavier’s last location and James Reich’s most visited station. James had made a career of cleaning up the filth by directly associating with it, and if anyone were to see something out of the ordinary at Heluma it would be him. Joseph, of course, couldn’t have been more out of place. However, he had become quite good at blending in with different places and times. This was no different.

"Major Stewart Trent, Freehold Third Drop Commando. Is it safe to be talking about our real affiliations like this on this station? I'd really prefer not to have to use my entry-team shooters before we can even start the mission,” the Clairmontian major asked.

“I can assure you that given the company we’re around it’s better off,” Frost replied. Reich simply shrugged. He tended to agree with the Clairmontian. “These people don’t want anything to do with the law. They’ll stay away.”

“The problem we have here,” James explained at the groups walked from the hangar through the station. “Is that stations such as this don’t exactly keep accurate logs. You wanna find this guy, you have to ask around. And you have to ask the right people too.”

Ooc: sorry for the delay

Ic:

“The problem we have here is that stations such as this don’t exactly keep accurate logs. You wanna find this guy, you have to ask around. And you have to ask the right people too.” Explained James

Kyle very much doubted that they would find Sigmund here, if they were truly dealing with Henry Kobe, he was much smarter then that, he was much smarter then most of them. However, there should be someone here that at least might know why agent Xavier had come here.

“Well I hope that you know the right people then. We can even pay if need be.” Responded Kyle. He hated paying for information, he felt that it was only supporting criminal activity, but it did always get things moving ahead a bit faster.

Looking over a Joseph he still had not been told why an additional agent had been assigned, as an agent he did not like unanswered question. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is your interest here? It is clear that you the two of are not partners.”

Reich grinned, running his tightly gloved hand through his short, dark brown hair. Most thought it was black, but when the light hit it the right way, the true tint showed through. It was like men, Reich reasoned. Men could hide their true feelings from their families, from their employers, from their friends, but if shown in the right light, all facades faded away, leaving only truth.

“I’m under special assignment from the Emperor,” Joseph Frost lied. This was not his true light at all. He pointed to James. “He’s military,” Frost explained, this time speaking truth. “I’m not.”

“There are all sorts of branches of Imperial intel,” Reich muttered. “Lucky we only have two here.”

“Jimmy-boy!” a man from the shadows shouted, quickly approaching Reich and hugging him when he arrived. Leaning in, he whispered into Reich’s ear. “These coppers aren’t giving you any trouble are they? I still owe you for what you did last month.”

“They want to know if we’ve seen any foreigners,” Reich replied, shaking his head “no.”

“We’re all foreigners,” the grizzly man responded, half to Reich, half to the others.

“You know what I mean,” Reich said. The man seemed surprised that Reich seemed to want the truth.

“Really got you by the balls, do they Jimmy?” the man asked. Reich nodded. The man sighed. “Well Jim-bo, I tell ya, every now ‘n’ then you get those in here that stick out like a sore thumb, ya know?” He paused. “Well Jimmy you wouldn’t know. Hell you’re one of ‘em. But we know ya so we love ya anyhow. Anyhow they’re the ones who look normal, ya know? The ones who could walk down the streets of the capital and no one would think twice. Bout a month ago we had some boys come in bout your age, looked like they were runnin.’ Reminded me of you, Jimmy-boy. Just the way you talk.”

“Thanks Geoff,” Reich said, patting the man on the shoulder. He rolled his eyes back to the group of agents standing behind him. “I’ll be fine.” Geoff nodded, turning and walking back into the shadows.

“That’s it?” Joseph asked. “That’s your info?”

“Yes,” Reich replied. He was quickly beginning to hate group work. “I just confirmed that the target was here, and that he was not alone.”

“I’m pretty sure we already guessed that, James,” Joseph said, annoyed.

“But now we know,” Reich explained. “Now we’re after people…not ghosts.”

Joseph seemed frustrated. Reich’s methods were odd, his approach quite different. Reich walked past him, towards the others. As he passed, he muttered…

“People leave better trails.”

James contact had proved to be useful; it had help establish that Sigmund had been here, enough to stick out. Now the real question that they had to answer was why was he here, this station was a long ways from Tappee, and well outside Sigmund’s original mission mandate. More questions were coming then were being answered.

The three had made their way to the stations main promenade, and Kyle could see the comm. Booths. He had reviewed Sigmund last transmission enough times to have it committed to memory.

“This is where he made his call for help.” Kyle was more talking to himself then for the benefit of the others.

Quickly he made his through the crowd to booth. “What were you thinking?” he commented as he tried to put himself in Sigmund’s place. Kyle let his thoughts drift for a moment looking his surroundings trying to decide what he would have done if he had been in Sigmund place.

“Hey you!” barked a voice interrupting Kyle thoughts. “I’ve heard that you are looking for that man that went missing

Kyle turned to find a rather plump man who was accompanied but he could assume were two bodyguards walking to towards them. For a moment Kyle tensed up preparing himself the unexpected.

“Perhaps, what of it?” he retorted back.

“He owes me money, a lot of money. grunted the man. Him and his two bodyguards took a up threatening posture around the three, there was little doubt that he was trying to intimidate the three agents, it was clear that he was not fully aware of whom he was dealing with. “If I can not collect from him, then I will collect from his friends.”

“Sure, I have no problem paying his debut” answered Kyle holding his ground. “However, I have always made never to give out money unless I know what I am paying for.” Kyle could sense the mans hesitation, even here there was some honour among thieves, or he was just holding out for more money. “I can will add 15% to whatever he owed you” said Kyle flashing a large sum of money to give the man gentle push in the right direction.

“Deal” shot the man quickly as a bit of smile came over his face. “He paid a lot of money for me to smug….”

Kyle had heard the shot just moments before the fat mans head snapped to the side followed by a spray of red mist. Training took over even before Kyle had a moment to think about it, he was diving for cover. Before coming out his roll Kyle was certain that this was no accident, someone was clean up the mess that they had left behind.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the two body guards making a run for it, their was dead so they had little reason to stick around for. However, they still might have some information that he could use and he could ill afford someone getting to them before he did.

“The Two get the two guards!” Yelled Kyle to James and Joseph over the gunfire, “I’ll cover you. Make sure to get them both alive!” In a smooth motion he leant out his fire and put up covering fire so that the two Steel Butterfly Agents could make their escape.

By now at least two assailants had made their selves now and where keeping Kyle pinned down. He flipped open in comm unit “Kyle to Stewart. Taking fire in the main promenade need assistance, Steel Butterfly agents in pursuit of possible suspect.”

As Kyle shouted, Agent Reich was already in motion. Pulling his pistol from its holster simultaneously as he spun, James fired on the fly. The phased pulse raced through the air of the station, tearing through the right knee of one of the assailants, and dropping the man mid-stride.

“Restrain him!” Reich ordered Joseph, who had by now withdrawn his weapon as well.

“Make sure to get them both alive,” Kyle had said. Reich understood, sprinting after the second man. The second assassin had leaped off of the second-floor balcony of the promenade and Reich followed suit, landing as gracefully as a cat and quickly continuing his pursuit.

Joseph ran up to the downed assassin and kicked his gun out of his hands. The man’s faith writhed in pain, his knee mangled beyond natural repair. He would need a doctor, however there was far from any rush as the wound had been instantly cauterized by the hot blast of phased energy.

Reich only caught momentary glimpses of the assailant as he raced after him down twisting halls, not enough for a shot. The assassin sprinted through the station with grace rivaling that of James’ own, tactically knocking over people and objects to slow down the predator at his heals.

It was to no avail. The assassin had knocked a small planting pot off of a shelf, but James caught it in midair, and while running, whipped it back towards his prey. The pottery struck the assailant in the back of the head, instantly shattering and knocking him forward. Quickly catching up, James shot the assassin’s gun out of his hand as he lifted it against Reich.

The assailant shrieked in pain, his thumb and index finger gone forever. Reich twisted the assassin’s arms behind his back, now confident, and simultaneously impressed, that the “he” was truly a “she.” Tearing off her mask, Reich saw the fear in her eyes. He wondered if it was from the fingers she lost or the fact that she had been caught.

The firefight in the promenade however had not yet ended. Joseph ducked down behind the first assailant, using the man as a human shield against incoming fire. Shots came from his rear too, as Kyle returned fired.

“Do we have a location?” Joseph shouted. “Where the hell are they shooting from?”

Stewart and Chinran had just been finishing their fruitless search of the station's internal datanets when they heard the first shot echo over the halls and corridors. Neither of them had thought twice about how to react, both had estimated the direction of the sound and abandoned their facade of merchants while taking up on a sprint.

Kenneth Chinran could feel the edges of his vision blurring as the memorized contraction of a muscle group injected combat neuro-stimulant into his veins. He sprinted towards the direction where he had heard the first shot, trusting Major Trent to follow him closely. A pistol had already appeared in his hand and he waded through the crowds as quickly as he could, neglecting politeness in favor of speed.

Stewart bounded after Chinran under the aid of the limited biomechanics that were a part of any Drop Commando's body. They offered him brute power and the ability to keep up with the Operative running ahead of him. It quickly became apparent to him however, that whereas he had speed, Kenneth Chinran had speed and immense agility as the operative waded through the crowds.

"I got two shooters pinned down." Chinran sub-vocalized to Trent.

"Storefront, blue sign on the window. Take the left flank." Trent confirmed back to the Operative to make sure that they had spotted the same assailants while figuring out a quick and dirty plan on how to take down the hostiles quickly.

"Roger." The operative replied and sprinted from cover to cover in an attempt to flank the enemies they had spotted.

Stewart threw himself down behind cover, his pistol already in hand. He lifted the weapon briefly over the cover, the small camera mounted under the barrel relaying live video to the molycirc contact lens in his left eye. He got the approximate locations of the two hostiles and sprang up, aimed and fired half a clip of caseless anti-personnel on full auto. He dropped back behind cover before he could see the effect, if any, the burst had had.

"Bravo-Three, converge on my position and engage hostiles." He sub-vocalized over his team's own comm channel.

"Roger, bravo-three en-route." Came the short reply from Warrant Leader Pacelli, who Stewart had left in charge of the entry team. The three Operatives would already be wading through the crowds, and Stewart doubted they would have much trouble clearing a path to the scene of shooting. Usually when heavily armed people came towards you, carrying guns they seemed like they wanted to use, you really tended to keep your distance.

Stewart switched the communications channel to the general frequency shared by all of the three participating parties of the mission.

"Friendlies approaching from the rear momentarily, remember to identify your targets."

His immediate duties dealt with, he concentrated on shooting.

This was not the how Kyle had envisioned the opening part of this mission; he was forced to take cover as his position took some fire. However, since the arrival of the Clairmont team, he had been taking far less fire then before. With Stewart and Co on one side, and Kyle on the other they had trapped their attackers between them pinning them down, but they were not going to go down with out a bit of a fight.

While the attacker closet to Kyle put fire in his direction, the other assailant fire down on the Clairmont team, from judging from were the shots were landing it was clear to him that is was nothing more then an attempt to keep their heads down, then he heard it, a break in the shot. Glancing out he could see one the attacker try to make move to change their firing position, and it gave Kyle his own opportunity as well. Using the reprieve in combat Kyle bolted from his position, his gamble had paid off, the attacker too had been caught in the open, now it was only a matter of whom could bring their gun to bare on their target first.

Kyle’s smaller more maneuverable pistol gave him the advantage over the other mans more cumbersome rifle. With seer relax Kyle was able to get two rounds off even before the mans rifle was able to come around in Kyle’s general direction. The first shot hit him square in the chest, with the second one glancing off his shoulder, the attackers momentum carried him forward into a nearby railing and over the top. If Kyle’s first shot had not killed him then it was clear that the fall had.

However, Kyle could not afford to bask in the glory of small victory, there was still more to go. Kyle could now see the second attacker in clear sight, and had a shot. Before Kyle could get a shot off the man jumped out the way, and for a moment he could hear several shots, then silence.

Keeping his pistol raised and searching for a target he flip open his comm. “Nixon to team, what everyones status?”

Chinran lowered the barrel of his pistol to point towards the ground as he ascertained that there were no more enemies to put down. The two rounds he had fired from behind the third assailant had caught the man in the chest and forehead. One one hand he would have preferred to take the man alive, but once he had started to bring up the stubby submachine-gun he had held, Ken hadn't had a choice but to put the man down fast.

"Nixon to team, what everyones status?" he heard the Tappee agent ask over the comm. Ken checked his surroundings before replying.

"This is Chinran. Third hostile down, no extra's in-sight." He replied briefly. He holstered his pistol as two of the Operatives of the backup team approached his position, their compact rifles still being held at ready positions in case anything unexpected were to occur.


Stewart stood up from behind the cover he had been in and switched the clip to his pistol by sheer reflex. The whole firefight couldn't have lasted more than mere minutes, but to Stewart it felt like half an hour had passed. It was a familiar feeling and he concentrated on calming down and flushing the adrenaline from his system.

The mission really wasn't off to a good start. Already they had been forced to a fight they hadn't been expecting and they still didn't know jack shit about anything really. Stewart figured that before they could find Sigmund, dead or alive, he would be increasing his bodycount by a significant margin. Not the most rewarding way to conduct a supposedly Covert Operation.

He glanced at the single hostile Agent Reich had managed to capture alive. Hopefully if they could interrogate that single assailant, and if the guy wasn't just a plain hired thug, they could learn something worthwile to actually proceed with their objectives. He sighed, and placed the pistol back in it's shoulder holster and strode off towards Agent Nixon and the two Steel Butterfly spooks.

James Reich approached the team from the corridors. In his left hand was the rear of one of the assassin’s shirt collar. In his right, his pistol was aimed at the femme fatale. The lady’s eyes were still wide, still staring at her now three-fingered hand. She didn’t put up much of a struggle.

The man, whom Joseph Frost now had in cuffs, was a different situation entirely. He was loud, screaming even, as he clenched his thigh in his hands, his knee ruined below.

Reich however, now among the other agents, threw his female captive towards the others and focused his attention on the fallen man. Others had turned their attention too as the dust settled from the firefight. Reich now, for the first time in years, felt very unwelcome at the station.

“You cheap son of a bitch!” the man on the floor screamed, again reaching for his knee. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

Without hesitation, without emotion, Reich aimed his pistol down, placing it point blank against the fallen assassin’s skull. He stared out at the people in the promenade, and calmly pulled the trigger.

The man’s voice was silenced. The people of the station instantly turned their heads, their own business suddenly more important. Reich turned back to the various agents. The woman’s eyes were now focused directly on him. Her mind raced, fear shooting throughout her body.

“Why’d you kill him, James?” Joseph asked, rising to his feet. “I sat here. I sat here in harm’s way defending this asshole. And you just kill him like it’s nothing more than crushing a bug. We could have questioned him. We could have brought him to justice.”

Reich pointed at the dead man with his pistol. “Justice is served.” Turning to the others, Reich muttered, “He was too loud. It was drawing us the wrong kid of attention.” He swung his arm behind him, pointing to everyone on the station in one swoop. “Now they know we’re their enemy. We won’t get anything more out of them.”

“Who’s this then?” Frost asked.

“The trigger man, er, woman,” Reich replied. Frost noticed that she was missing her thumb and index finger on one hand. They had been blow off, the wounds instantly cauterized by the energy blast.

“She won’t be pulling any more triggers then,” Frost said. He reached down, holding the fearful woman by the lower jaw. He tilted her head to look her in the eyes. “Will you, deary?” The woman looked away, defeated.

“Whatever we do with her we can’t do it here,” Reich said. “The station’s been compromised, and the target is no longer here.” He looked at the leaders of the foreign teams. “I suggest we take this to someone’s ship.”

Kyle knew that Reich was right, the trail had very quickly gone cold and they would be hard pressed to find anyone one this station legitimate or not that would be willing to give them any information. Their only remaining chance was the woman that had now found herself in their possession.

“Your coming with us.” Kyle commanded as he reached down grabbing the woman by shirt and forcing her up to her feet.

“I am not going anywhere it you” she retorted as spat in Kyle face.

In a brief spit of angry Kyle quickly grabbed her injured twisting it behind her back, the woman yelled in pain, “I believe that you are” he pushed her forward. She fought for a moment but then gave in to Kyle’s will.

It was not long until the team soon found themselves coming up to the air lock where the ship had been docked. They found themselves alone, either by chance or that everyone on the station was avoiding them, either way Kyle could have cared less.

“Every one stop!” Kyle’s voice seemed cold, he closed part of the air lock behind them, they could only now move in the ship. With no hesitation he kick out the woman right knee forcing her down to the ground her knee’s, he drew his pistol and pressed it against the back of the woman head. “I am not a patient man, and at this particular moment we are in a bit of a rush.” Having watch Reich execute her associate, she knew that the meant business “You have two options, one end up like your friend. Or you can tell me everything that you know and I will simply let you walk away. But I have no intention of bring you on this ship.”

“I…” she sputtered with hesitation in her voice.

“No matter what you may think that they may to do you talking, I will do worse, do you have any idea what rapid decompression does to the human body?”

Implication of his words hit her like a ton of bricks; he was planning to leave her in the air lock when the ship left port.

Her shoulders dropped a bit as she gave in to his demands, there was little she could do and she knew it “We were all hired by a woman named Tara.”

“What do you know her?” snapped Kyle back.

“She is well connected financially” She was now letting the information just follow out her at this point as she knew that if Kyle even remotely thought that she was holding anything back it would mean her life. “When she first approached us in looked in her, she is well know in the Tormina sector for hiring mercs like us, and from what I hear they pay good, we all saw this as a way in. Thats how things go, in order to get in you have to some grunt work, but once you are in they seem to take good care of you. She gave us this assignment, we were able to track that target here, and you know the rest.”

“Why him” asked Kyle as he pushed his pistol a little bit hard into the back of her to serve as gentle reminder.

“I am not entirely sure… I discover something while I was trying to track him down.”

“And what was that” there was a slightly annoyed tone know in Kyle’s voice.

“From what I could gather, this Carl man made his living in moving contraband, and sometimes in smuggling people. His last deal had gone rather bad, and had helped someone smuggle some stuff here from the Tormina sector. Carl had to pay lots of people to smuggle the man, and his artifact here. However, the man who he had helped disappeared before payment and know a lot of people are out money.”

Kyle mind raced at this new development as he tried to connect the dots. “Do you know anything about this mystery man?”

“Only that he was a touch on the only side.”

She was talking about Xavier, Kyle could just feel it, he glanced over at Stewart. “Alright, you free go.” He pulled the gun away from her head and opened the airlock door that led back into the station. For a moment the woman hesitated at her new found freedom, but within seconds she was on her feet and starting her journey.

However, freedom did not last for to long. Casually Kyle raised his pistol pointed it her direction and fired a single round. At such a close range he did not miss, the round passed effortlessly through her heart.

She stumble for a moment as her body fought its inevitable fate, she lingered for a moment before collapsing down on the ground, and look of betrayal was eternally etched on the her. Kyle quickly closed the airlock door hiding her body from the teams view. “It would seem that our next stop in Tarmina 2. lets get going time is not on our side.” There was to hint of emotion to what he had just done.

Kenneth Chinran observed without any sign of emotion as James Reich executed one of the prisoner's they had managed to take. An utterly pointless maneuver in Chinran's opinion, even if the Agent succeeded by doing so to make the other captured assailant believe they meant business. Chinran had done more wet work during his career than he really wanted to recollect. He had done things that still made him feel violently sick when he had to remember them. However, he never lost sight of his objectivity. He would have handed over both of the prisoner's to Warrant Leader Pacelli and let her get to work on them. In fifteen minutes the would-be assailant's would have sold out their own first born's to get away from the Warrant Leader and her treatment.

He shrugged as Stewart glanced over at him when Agent Nixon shot the remaining prisoner. Atleast they had learned something useful. Even if the information they had gained was awfully vague and lacking in the detail-department. Nevertheless, information was always the key to winning engagements and they had gathered some. All that remained was to decide how to act on the intel you got and where would they go next.

Agent Nixon was quick to provide an answer to that question even before Stewart could ask it. Tormina Sector it would be then. He voiced his agreement.

"I agree with Agent Nixon's assesment. Let's follow the trail before it goes too cold to follow. However, I would point out that we cannot rule out the chance that those who we're chasing are now aware of our Operation. Therefore, we should expect trouble anywhere we go while following the clues we have been given. "

Having departed the station a few hours ago, now on their way to Tarmina 2 the team had a little bit of down time, time that Kyle was using to consider his next move. The Tarmina section was what the agency considered a political no mans land, it was essentially in international space as no government had ever laid claim to it as it held no strategic or economic value. However the lack of any sort of government presence made it ideal for the criminal world, black markets and gambling were common. Kyle had even heard rumors of death matches similar to those of ancient earth were starting to find favor among the residents of the sector. In the years following the duel wars it had become a refuge for those people who did not want to be found, he knew that it would be difficult for them to make any headway there, but it was the only real lead that they had.

Kyle desperately needed more answers, something more that he could go on then what he currently had. Feeling somewhat annoyed he went back to where it had all began. Spinning in his chair he brought up Sigmund last transmission. He played it over and over desperately looking for any thing that he had missed. A new question came to him, one that surprised him and he wondered why he had not thought of it.

Suddenly and with out explanation the ground shook violently slamming Kyle hard against the consol. There was a brief pause before it happened again; this time Kyle had braced himself.

Within moments Kyle had made his way to the ships bridge. “What is going on?” he snapped, but before anyone could say anything he had his answer.

Kyle watched as the ship took another direct, they were under attack from what looked to be a small frigate. He could see the attacking ship clearly on the their senor, and it visually appeared to have a Tappee naval designation, but he had never seen a ship of this particular class before, it looked more advanced then anything that he had ever seen. Another beam of energy just missed them as they started taking evasive maneuvers.

“Attention unknown vessel, this is Commander Kyle Nixon of the Tappee First X, you are attacking a friendly combatant, stand down!” Said Kyle as he was forced to stabilize himself as they entered into a new series of maneuvers. His word fell onto deaf ears as the attacking ship let out a punishing volley of fire in their direction.

There was little doubt in his mind that their they could stand up for to long against a vessel of this type. “I am open to any options, but we need them fast.”

Stewart braced himself against the bulkhead as the ship shook again. He had been at the armory when the attack came, which unfortunately was situated right at the aft of the stealth boat. He sprinted up another set of ladder's, bringing him to the deck where the command section of the Falkenberg was located. Shouted commands could be heard from inside the bridge as Lieutenant-Commander Townes brought the ship under his command into battle.

"Where the hell did she come from?!!" The Naval serviceman manning the sensor watch screamed as he tried to make heads or tails out of the predicament they were in.

"Our ECM seems to be having little effect on them." Another naval serviceman stated matter-of-factly from his seat as defensive sysops.

Townes cursed loudly as he assessed the situation mentally. They were against an opponent against which the stealth boat's most important advantages seemed to be useless. They had been taken by surprise and to top off the whole cake of clusterfuck, the Falkenberg most certainly wasn't a ship designed to fight in a slugging match such as this one. Townes briefly wished he'd have a Heavy Cruiser under his feet, but quickly dismissed the idea, they had no choice but to play the hand they had been dealt.

Next to the Lieutenant-Commander, Agent Nixon directed a sharp look at Townes and spoke. “I am open to any options, but we need them fast.”.

The answer was obvious. They were still five light-minutes out from the hyperlimit, the limit of how far acted as the earliest point for any Clairmontian ship where they could jump to hyperspace. The hyperlimit was the direct result of a star's mass, casting a gravity shadow into hyperspace and thus preventing entry or exit within it's area of effect into or out of the realm of faster than light travel. Thus, they had little choice but to fight back while running for the limit so they could jump.

"We fight back while we run Agent Nixon. Dial up all our electronic warfare gear to full power, try to clutter up their firing control sensors. Remove safeties on the combat maces on my authority, clear and lock-on the hellbores." Townes dictated his commands clearly and watched as weapons control came to life, missile tubes and forward gun ports opening as the Falkenberg was made ready to fight back.

More fire came from the attacking ship, a bright beam of coherent energy striking the forward battlescreen in an oblique angle and failing to penetrate. Heat sinks and generators raged as they fought to absorb the energies being thrown at the screens and simultaneously maintain the Falkenberg's defenses.

"All weapons cleared Commander." The Offensive Systems Operator reported unceremoniously, lifting the plastic shield covering the 'execute' button, that would send the command to the ship's computer's to run through the pre-laid firing plan.

"Very well weps, you may open fire."


Two sun-bright fusion bolt's were spawned into existence at the stealth boat's forward gun ports as the Hellbores fired. The two beams of energy converged towards the attacking vessel at close to 90% the speed of light. Simultaneously, six bulbous-headed missiles left their tubes at the belly of the Falkenberg, orientating themselves on their vectors and receiving the telemetry data, that would take them towards their target.

Once the combat maces reached their terminal attack range, their nose cones opened, revealing their payload. The maces released a tight cluster of football sized solid objects made of tungsten steel. Once the cluster of dozen sub-munitions had reached a pre-set range from the mace, a fusion warhead was detonated in the main missile body. The detonation of the fusion bomb superheated the tungsten steel ball's to plasma and accelerated them towards their target at an immense velocity.


Aboard the Falkenberg the occupants of the command bridge were observing the results of their first attack intently. Stewart made sure to stay well clear out of the way of the ship's own crew, knowing he was out of his area of expertise when it came to space combat. However, if he could fight the enemy on his terms...

He turned to Agent Nixon and figured that the man would consider him a full blown lunatic when he presented his idea. Truth be told, Stewart wasn't even himself certain of his own
sanity.

"What kind of shields do your ships have? Could we board them?"

Joseph Frost lived up to his namesake as the enemy vessel rocked the Falkenberg, freezing in place as ice seemed to rush through his veins. James Reich was far more proactive, hitting the floor hard before scrambling to his feet and rushing to the bridge. Shaking the fear from his limbs, Frost quickly followed.

“I am open to any options, but we need them fast.”

Reich now cursed not taking his own vessel. He always worked alone in the field, and for good reason. Now his indiscretion was getting the better of him. Now he would pay.

Joseph’s mind was decisively elsewhere. “This is it,” he thought, as the ship rumbled below his feet once more. It was the man from the mausoleum. It had to be. It was the man who had promised to kill him.

"We fight back while we run, Agent Nixon.”

The light display that erupted from the Falkenberg was tremendous, and Reich marveled at it momentarily as he checked the ship’s status from an unoccupied console. The Clairmontian controls were a bit different, but far from beyond his capabilities. The display he accessed was counting down. Four light minutes…three and a half…three…

"What kind of shields do your ships have? Could we board them?"

“We almost have it,” Reich shouted amidst the chaos. “We’re almost out!”

“Damnit!” Frost exclaimed, joining Reich at the console. He quickly pressed a view buttons. Hull integrity, shield strength, and other statistics were on display. “We’re not going to make it.”

“You just might be right,” answered Kyle to Frost’s last comment. Kyle stood there completely awe struck as the enemy ship passed seeming unscathed through the Falkenberg’s attack. “I have never seen a ship like this before, our last salvo would slowed even a destroyer.”

Through the window he watched as the enemy ship kept in step with their every move, it matched every maneuver that the Falkenberg’s made with both speed and grace. It proved to be exceptional nimble for such a large craft.

Kyle was true in saying that he had no idea about this vessel. It was much more sleek in its hull design then the current bulky frigate design, it weapons systems were not visible on it hull. It engine system appeared to be far superior that was currently being used the military, its engine core gave of a eerie blue glow. This ship was the perfect blend of beauty and function, as it hunted the Falkenberg’s like a bird staking its prey.

There was a brief pause in the fire as the enemy ship rapidly started accelerating toward the Falkenberg, the ground between the two quickly grew shorter with each passing moment. Kyle could not help but wonder if they enemy ship had the same idea as Stewart and was closing in to board the ship.

Within in moment it had closed the gap and was now almost running parallel with the Falkenberg. Just over a kilometer from the position it unleashed a punishing volley in their direction, this was far greater then any thing that it had thrown at them before, perhaps it was a response for there attack.

The ground below Kyle shock more violently then before, grasping to a nearby panel he fought to keep himself afoot. Alarms all around them began going off.

However, the enemy ship’s momentum had now carried it past the Falkenberg , and as quickly as it had appeared it now disappeared in a blast of blue energy.

Again there was a bit of shutter in ship, but this time it was due to the fact that they had entered hyperspace. Glance outside the window, then at his panel he could no longer see any signs of the enemy ship.

“Did we loss them?” asked Kyle, he was still not yet comfortable the Clairmont controls to make an accurate assessment

Lieutenant-Commander Townes cringed as the results, or lack of thereof, of their salvoes against the attacking vessel were made clear to everyone on the bridge. No damage whatsoever, they might as well have been throwing rocks at the hostile. Nevertheless, he didn't order a cessation in the return fire from the Falkenberg. He watched the time hack tick down on the navigational display, telling him how long they had to endure the constant barrage of punishment before they would enter hyper. Seconds ticked past slowly, the deck constantly vibrating under the stresses imposed against the stealth boat as the hostile ship kept firing.

As the last half a minute began counting down, the hostile ship accelerated right next to them, within spitting range in terms of interplanetary combat. It felt as if the enemy Captain knew that Townes couldn't hurt him, and decided to approach within slapping range just to play games. As the attacker pulled up alongside, it unleashed a punishing volley of fire that rocked the Falkenberg like a child's toy. Several control stations went dead as overloaded capacitors and heat sinks blew while trying to absorb the energies being thrown against the battlescreens that protected the ship. A pair of crewmen were thrown off their seats as their restraints snapped. Both of them died quickly, snapping their necks while being flown against unforgiving bulkheads.

Just as Townes began to feel that the ship would break up, the hyperlight generators spooled up. Tearing an entrance to hyperspace, the faster-than-light drive grabbed the small stealth vessel away from normal space, depositing it into the compressed dimensions of hyperspace. Instantly, the incoming fire ceased as their attacker was left behind.

“Did we loss them?” Agent Nixon asked as he realized they had jumped to hyper.

"Sensors are clear, it seems we lost them." The tactical sysops reported as he checked his screens, compensating for the detection arrays they had lost during the battle.

"However, it would seem that we took a bit more damage in the fight than first appeared. The supralight drive is fluctuating like hell, we cant jump to any higher bands of hyper and at this pace we'll only be able to stay in hyper for another five hours or so. In addition, we lost one of our hellbores, two of our launchers as well as our starboard passive defenses. I wont even bother listing the 'minor' damages at this point." The tac officer continued while glancing at the status screens signifying the state of the vessel.

"In other words gent's, in five hours we'll be stuck in the middle of goddamn nowhere." Stewart snorted.

There was nothing particularly special about this home; it was like all the countless others that were located in this area. When it had been build recreating the look of the homes of ancient earth had been all the rage, but it was of a newer style that screamed middle class, two level with the main door acting as the building focal point. Its brown paint hidden deep behind the thick vines, vine the snaked their way up from the ground almost reaching the roof. Hedges lined the front walkway, and jetted in leading up to the door. Like all the other homes it served as symbol of 300 years of peace and prosperity that Tappee had enjoyed, and tonight that peace would be shattered.

Two men moved about the rear perimeter of the home using the darkness as a veil to conceal their presence. Casually on of the men check his data padd quickly confirming that they did in fact have the correct location. For an organization as clandestine as this, make such a move was a bold statement, and the last thing that they wanted was to have something go wrong. From the lights on in the house it was clear there were people home. Sure that everything was in order he gave a gentle nod to partner.

Without hesitation the two bolted from their position make their way towards the back door, they made sure to keep the bodies as low to the ground as possible to try to be prevented from being seen as much as possible

They found little resistance with the door security locks and were inside the house within in mere seconds. Careful not to make any noise the door was gently pushed open, then quietly closed as the two assailants made their way in. Having completed the first objective, they drew theirs weapons and began.

Way down the street both Carla and Emma were the making long journey how.

“It is so late.” Commented Carla as the two rounded the corner to their block.

Emma shot Carla a brief scowl “I know.” It had never been her intention to stay so long at Geoff’s party, but thanks to Carla’s intervention it was now really late, and Emma was sure that her parents would be up waiting for her when she got home, and there would be hell to pay.

“Good night Carla, if my parents don’t kill me when I get home I will talk to you tomorrow.” She said half heartily as the two parted ways.

Back at the house the two intruders snaked through the house. The first person that they found was a lone man sitting on couch, they were fortunate in that he had his back to them, and at least for the moment seemed to be unaware of their presence. However, and threat that man on the couch posed was quickly ended by two well placed silent rounds. He was dead before he knew what happened as his bodied slumped down in the couch. A gasp in the far corner caught the intruders by surprised as they looked up in time to see a woman run into the kitchen. Quickly one of the two men launched pursuit making a mad dash in the general direction in an attempt to limit the damage.

Rounding the corner he very quickly discovered that he had walked into ambush, as leg shot out catching him square in the knee. Both the impact and his momentum carried him forcibly into the nearby cupboards.

“You can’t have her!” yelled the woman as he hit the floor, “I will kill you before I let that happen” from the knife in her hand it was clear that she serious.

She wasn’t able to push her attack forward as the intruder’s partner who was still in the living room started firing blindly into the kitchen in an attempt to stave of her attacked. With no other real options the woman in the kitchen had no real choice to retreat up the stair.

Emma now had no real place to go, and a moment she considered sleep outside to avoid her parent’s wrath, but through the window she could see her father quietly sleeping on the couch, perhaps she could sneak in. Her mind was made up, she would climb vines and into her bedroom. Almost crawling she made her way around the house, and quickly scaled the vines up to her window. She paused for a moment as she reached the window; there was a strange commotion from within the house.

Worried that it would be her mother waiting for she glance over the windowsill. She watch as her mother ran to her bedroom door, she slumped against the doors frame visible in pain before falling to the ground. Emma could see in her mother eyes that she had been seen, but there was no anger in her expression only fear.

“Run” her mother muttered.

Suddenly Emma became aware that there was someone else now there, standing in the door frame, glanced up in time to see a slight flash of light, and she saw the gun in the mans hand.

Emma knew deep down her mothers fate, but she did not want to accept in, for a moment she clung to the vines frozen with fear, then she heard it as clear is day. “She is outside on the window, go!”

"In other words gent's, in five hours we'll be stuck in the middle of goddamn nowhere." Kyle took a moment to think about what Stewart was saying, they had about five hours until they were dead in the water. With two crew members dead, they didn’t have time to give pause in the pursuit of Sigmund’s trail, to do so would mean losing any hope of finding the man alive.

Kyle quickly typed in a few commands in to a nearby consol, the screen flickered for a moment before bringing the information to the screen. “We can go here” Kyle said as he pointed to the screen for the others benefit. “Falissima Nova, it is trading station, and it is only about three hours from here. We should have no problem getting there, even in our current state. It is a friendly port of harbour, we should be able to get everything that we need there. However, I feel that our security has been compromised and I would suggest that we find an alternate form of transportation there. ” He paused to let the others speak their minds

Stewart couldn't help but agree with Agent Nixon. Obviously their adversaries knew of the team's means of transportation, not to mention the Falkenberg was in no condition to reach the trade station. The supralight drive would drop them out of hyperspace far before they reached their destination. Stewart borrowed the console of one of the less-fortunate Naval servicemen who had died during the assault. The system replied to his queries rather briskly considering the amount of damage the stealth boat had sustained during the battle.

He brought up the roster of naval vessels nearby as well as merchantmen which were believed to be within practical range to provide transportation to the team and assistance to the stealth boat. However, Stewart would have to confer with the Tappee and Steel Butterfly representatives despite his willingness to continue this operation on his own accord.

"There are three vessels of Clairmontian nationality within range to assist us and provide transportation. Two navy vessels, a destroyer and a cruiser, both within range to reach us in twenty-four hours and one merchant vessel which could reach us in thirty-six hours. Unfortunately, I dont know where the merchantman is headed." Stewart said out loud.

Lieutenant-Commander Townes cleared his throat and commented on Stewart's suggestion.
"I agree you should seek different means of transportation, quite clearly my dear ship is not in shape to continue supporting you for some time to come. However, as it appears our enemy is quite capable of finding even the Falkenberg despite the mission being top secret and my fine ship being rather capable of staying out of sight. Therefore I would suggest you seek transportation aboard a warship to guarantee you actually reach your destination."

“I don't think that would be a good idea.” quickly snapped Kyle in responce.

“I'm sorry” he quickly followed up. “Lets stop to and think about up this for a moment.” Kyle paused as he took a second to collect his thoughts before looking over directly at Stewert.

“Why did Sigmund ask you?.” he had never intended for Stewart to answer his question. “As an agent he could have had a squad of spec ops to his location sooner then getting you there. Even in Steel Butterfly he could have people there well before you go there. So why didn't ask for help from the usual sources?”

“I have reason to believe that Sigmund felt that he could trust elments of my government, or even any of yours. When he needed help he went to the one and only person that he could honestly trust, you Stewert. Not to mention the attack that just happened. We may have gotten ourselves into something that we not fully understand. Something that our government are willing to kill for.”

“If we are going to get to the bottom this we need to stay as far away from any goverment agency as possible. My intention is that once we get to Fallisima Nova to find civilian transportation, it should help us move around a bit more off the record. If anyone has any problems with that to bad.”

Stewart had already pieced together most of the reasons he figured where behind Sigmund's decision to contact him directly. This allowed him to concur with Nixon's analysis and he found himself quickly coming to agree with the man about the issue of transportation. Obviously, a warship would provide better protection for the team. However, a warship would also be as conspicious as a brick thrown through a window when it arrived to its destination. Especially so far beyond the Freehold's territory. As such, the necessity for maintaining an undercover stance was obvious for the aforementioned reasons. He allowed himself a moment of silence before answering to both Nixon and Lt.Cmdr Townes.

"I have to agree with Agent Nixon regarding our transportation Lieutenant-Commander. We have to maintain a low profile. If we start barging around in a battlecruiser, our adversaries will have ample time to relocate whenever we get close to finding them. As Agent Nixon pointed out, we can't really trust anyone outside of this boat." He said.

"Okay, I can see your point. Nonetheless, I still maintain my stance on the matter. However, it is not my decision. Regardless, we have to make a brief drop out of hyper to repair the supralight drive if we are to reach Falissima Nova. Once we get there I suggest you utilize the cargo shuttle we have onboard to get to the station. After that, you will be on your own, the Falkenberg is in no condition to continue with the mission any further than that." Townes replied, clearly unhappy with the prospect of having to leave his charges on their own devices. However he recognized the fact that his vessel was not capable of continuing to support the team and thus he refused to take a risk, that would most likely get his entire crew killed for absolutely no gain.

Stewart respected the Commander's decision and the fact how the man was unwilling to take the chance of getting his crew killed in the vain hopes of fishing for medals. Quite a few Captains would have blindly continued with the mission in the fear of facing the Admiralty's wrath or under the hopes of gaining glory.

"I understand your position Commander, and I agree with you. Once we reach Falissima Nova, I'm certain we can procure other means of transportation." Stewart replied, ending any arguments about the subject.

"Well, in that case atleast let the Navy help you that far." Townes said and focused his attention into his vessel.

*********11 hours later***********

The cargo shuttle continued steadily on its course towards the trading station as the stealth boat Falkenberg reversed it's course and began heading towards the system's hyperlimit. The repairs to the supralight drive had been completed faster than Stewart had first hoped. Apparently the chief engineer of the boat had done quite a bit of jury-rigging, that was more than a bit against the regulations. However Stewart couldn't complain, they had reached their destination far quicker than he had believed possible after the pounding they received in the brief engagement against the unknown hostile vessel.

As the cargo shuttle continued on its course, heading towards the trading station looming ahead of them, millions of kilometers away in space, the Falkenberg disappeared from normal space in a flash of bright light as it's supralight engines engaged and translated the vessel to hyperspace, leaving the cargo shuttle and the team on their own. Stewart wasn't too pleased with having been denied the support of the stealth boat, but he still stood by the reasoning he had used to convince himself, that this was the correct course of action. He gazed out of the cockpit viewport and couldn't help but wonder how quickly would their visit to Falissima Nova turn into a bloodbath.

****************
Hyperspace
Stealth Attack Cruiser FNS Sword Dancer

"Captain on the bridge!" The bosun barked as the woman dressed in the black and gold Navy uniform, wearing the collar badges of Captain, Senior Grade, stepped through the hatch and into the busy bridge of the cruiser.

"At ease. Captain has the conn." Captain Julia McHale said as she approached her command chair, while her Executive Officer rose.

"Captain has the conn, aye ma'am." Commander Thomas Sunday said as he rose up and took a standing position at the rear-right of the Captain's chair.

"Thank you." Captain McHale said and sat down. She called up the activity log on the screen protruding from the armrest of her command chair and quickly scrolled throught it, watching for anything out of the ordinary. Finding nothing, she sweeped her gaze over the bridge before speaking again.

"So, why was I woken up again?" She asked, barely suppressing a yawn. She'd had just two hours of sleep before Sunday had woken her up, and quite frankly she was more than a bit irritated by the fact. However, she had known Thomas Sunday for over a decade, and was quite well aware that the man wouldn't wake his Captain from her beauty sleep unless something required her immediate attention.

Sunday handed her a datapad with a familiar authorization and decryption screen open on it, which meant there was an encrypted, eyes-only message waiting for her attention.

"We received this about fifteen minutes ago, it was flagged priority one." Sunday said. Someone who didn't know the XO as well as McHale did could have fallen under the belief that he wasn't the least bit surprised or eager to know the contents of the message, Julia knew differently. She shrugged and entered her authorization information on the screen and waited while the message was decrypted.

=========================
Compartmentalized Information Level Omega-Nine
For Eyes of Commanding Officer FNS Sword Dancer Only.

Message Begins

Target has relocated to attached co-ordinates. The Sword
Dancer is to follow and remain covert. Observe only. Action
authorized only if target's in imminent critical danger. Be advised,
target will be leaving FNS Falkenberg and continuing mission
using means of transportation currently unknown. Falkenberg
terminating it's participation in the Operation due to mission
critical battle damage.

Message Ends
=========================

McHale erased the message from the memory of the datapad as she finished reading it. The whole operation remained as cloak & dagger as it has started. She had been ordered to these co-ordinates by an Admiral she hadn't ever even heard of. The man had simply screamed "Black Operations" to her when he had told her to come to these spatial co-ordinates and wait for further instructions. All she had really been told was that her vessel was to provide covert backup to a team of Tappee, Steel Butterfly and Clairmontian nationals onboard a NAVSPECWAR Stealth Boat. Now it appeared, that the stealth boat had been attacked before she got here. Atleast there seemed to be a good reason for her to babysit these, whoever the fuck they were, doing whatever the hell they were doing. Only a few hours into the mission and already the whole op seemed like a clusterfuck wonderfull.

Well Julia, you so wished to get some action after all those recon ops, why are you complaining now? The voice at the back of her brain nagged at her. Still, this wasn't what she had had in mind when she had voiced her wishes to the admiralty of participate in something meaningfull.

"Navigation, course change to co-ordinates being transferred from my screen. Calculate least time course and execute." She brushed her mind clear of such doubts and complaints as her command voice barked clearly and decisively to the bridge crew.

"I take it that the message wasn't about clearing away the weirdness of this op and sharing the infinite wisdom of our esteemed leadership with us?" Thomas Sunday said, a bare hint of humor detectable in his voice.

"You could say that. However as brave, courageous, ignorant and blindly loyal Officers of the Great Freehold Navy, I guess we dont need to know." She grunted unhappily and turned her attention to the holotank, that dominated the middle of the bridge. It now showed their course to their next destination, a non-descript solar system and a trading station by the name of Falissima Nova.

Emma leg buckled out from under her as she hit the ground. She had immediately regretted jumping from the second story window. However, the ground beneath the window was soft and had absorbed most of the impact. As she rose to he feet there was a sharp pain in her leg but not enough to prevent her room running. Fueled by fear her survival instinct had taken over, Emma was going with the flight instinct, of the fight.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see that she was not alone, she was being stalked by a shadowy figure. With her head down she made a hard line towards a group of nearby hedge which served as a divider between to house and the road, and at least to her a chance for escape.

With each step she pushed harder and hard as it seemed that her pursuer was gaining ground on her, and quickly. Within seconds she had reached the hedges and fought her way through a small clearing, her hope was that her attackers large size would slow him down enough to give her time to get to neighbors for help.

Clearing the hedge Emma was only able to get few steps in before she ran almost head long in to a car, the car was forces to slam on it brakes grinding to a hault. It lights light were hitting her square in the eyes, she could make a silhouette of someone getting out of the car but could tell if they were friendly or not, but this would be her only chance.

“Help Me!!” no sooner had the words left her mouth when she felt a hand grab her shoulder puller her hard back towards the hedge.

There was a loud pop as she hit the ground and the world was a blur. But as soon as it had begun, it was over. Gaining her bearings she could see her attacker laying motionless on the ground. “Are you alright?” said a familiar voice.

Emma looked as the person from behind the light stepped out, it took Emma a but but she recognized “Miss Wisner?” she asked, surprised at this strange twist of fate. Miss Wisner looked very different from she did in class. She was not wearing her glasses, and her hair was off, even her clothes seemed a bit strange. She was about to stand up when she the shine of something metallic in Miss Wisner hand, her joy quickly turned back to fear when she realized that it was a gun.

“Emma We don’t have time for this” said Miss Wisner sensing Emma fear. “I need to to trust me, the other man will be here soon. I promise that I will keep you safe, but I really need to get in the car. I will explain every thing later.”

Realizing that her option were far from varied Emma pushed her self off of the ground and made her made in the car.

Silence had filled the shuttle as the team made their way towards Falissima Nova, Everyone was preparing for their arrival in their own way. Kyle had only made sure that his pistol clip were fully replenished and that he had enough ammo to help carry him through any minor skirmishes that they might encounter, he would leave the use of anything heavier to others on the team.

For Kyle keeping a sharp mind was much more important that firepower, he could not risk over looking even the small detail, the events of the past few hours had taught him nothing less.

“So what was it like?” asked Kyle as he glanced across the shuttle at Stewart who was getting ready. “Having Sigmund following behind you during the war, did it ever get annoying for to have him there?”

Stewart smiled warmly as the Tappee Agent asked him about Sigmund. Truth to be told, there had been times when Stewart had considered Sigmund as an insufferable pest nagging behind him. But as time had gone by, the man had become like a second father to him and Stewart had learned to trust Sigmund's advice and judgement when he himself needed it. A silence hovered between Agent Nixon and Stewart for a short while before Stewart replied.

"There were times when I considered just shooting him" He said and chuckled before continuing "But, the man was and has been true to his word. He promised my father to look after me and I couldn't have asked for a better guardian." Stewart finished and smiled. The murder of his parents was something he still hadn't come to grips with fully, but with the loving support of his wife and with the help of Sigmund, Stewart had learned to deal with his demons.

He checked his carbine without really thinking about it while he talked. Having seen his first firefight as a teenager, Stewart had developed an innate tactical sense that was as much a part of him as any of his other senses. He attached the last strap of the body-armor/assault webbing combination, putting full magazines for the carbine to the pouches assigned to them while checking that all his gear was in order. He wasn't really expecting a shootout but after the clusterfuck at their last stop, he had decided to rather be prepared than get caught by possible attackers with nothing more than a peashooter of a pistol.

“I find that rather interesting” Answered Kyle back hiding any emotion behind his cold exterior. Kyle slid his pistol underneath his jacket. Sure that it securely hidden he look up at Stewart. “Agents of the First X are not particularly known for their paternal instincts, rather the opposite truth be told. We taught from a very early age to put the interests of the state above all other needs, even our own, something we agents take very seriously. To be perfectly honest, for Sigmund to watch over you, server not real purpose in the grand scheme of things. So I cannot understand what loyalty Sigmund owed either your father or yourself.

I’ve even went as far as investigating the relationship between Sigmund and your father. However, there is no mention of your father in any of Sigmund’s mission logs, and as far as I can tell, other then the night your family was killed the two had never meet before. According to Sigmund mission profile he had never conducted any operations with the Clairmont authorities.

So as you can imagine we a touch confused as way Sigmund would owe your father anything much less protect his son.”

Stewart's awareness climbed a hundred-fold as he listened to the Tappee agent talk to him about Sigmund's and his father's relationship. How was it possible, that Agent Nixon wasn't aware of the details why Sigmund had been sent to Clairmont, to investigate the far-reaching Criminal Organization called the 'Khanate'. Which had been connected to organized crime within Tappee as well. That had been the whole purpose of Sigmund's trip to Clairmont and had lead to Stewart's family being killed. So, listening to this agent tell him that Sigmund had not had any work going on with Clairmont authorities was suspicious. Stewart could come up with two options. One, Agent Nixon wasn't in the loop and the actual information pertaining to Sigmund's activities within Clairmont were classified above his level. Possible. Two, Nixon was outright lying. Again, possible but Stewart could only wonder about the why.

He checked his commo gear and realized that he had been silent for a little too long. He cleared his throat and answered. His voice colder than it had been a minute ago.

"Well, I wouldn't know how Sigmund saw the matter or how he considered to owe my father."

He glanced over his shoulder to where Kenneth Chinran's Reaction Team was gearing up as well. All of the Operatives in the Reaction Team had donned full carbon-nanomatrix body armor, their combat vests filled with ammunition and specialty gear. Each of them had opted to go for full-sized rifles instead of Carbines such as the one Stewart carried. The rifles packed more punch and stopping power, the Operatives preferred carrying all the firepower they could after the incident at the last station they had visited. Clearly, they weren't willing to take any unnecessary chances either.

“I would have only thought that you would have had some idea as to the past of your so called guardian. If you are going put your life on line for someone, it is a good idea to know why. However, I guess it is for the best that the ghosts of the past remain hidden there, in the past I mean.”

The shuttle rocked slightly as the ground beneath shock as the shuttle docked up with the station. Kyle rose to his feet as the air lock hissed.

“Everyone keep theirs eyes, and let try not leave a trail of bodies this time.”

****

Dante moved about impatiently, it was clear to everyone that there was something that was weighting heavy on his mind. He took a moment to sit down, but only for a moment before again rising be to feet, back to pacing. He and team and been docked at Falissima Nova for far to long and he was beginning to get restless

“Where is he?” Dante demanded to no one particular, as he stormed from one side of the room then back to the other.

“I am sure that Sigmund has good reason for running behind.” Answered Samantha, who was leaning against a nearby wall, watching Dante frustration. “Some time things come up, I am sure that he is only running behind schedule. Now you just have to relax, things happen for a reason.”

Her words caused Dante to stop in his tracks, his head snapped to face her. “We have been waiting at this cesspool of Station for three days, and he is long over due. Given who we are dealing I have a suspicion that he may be dead.”

Samantha allowed her self a brief sigh, she was getting tired of have the same conversation with him over and over. “Sigmund know what he is doing, we have to trust him and his judgment. For the moment we wait, beside we have no where else to go.”

Dante got feel his emotion getting the best of him, and for him it was time to get out and get some space from all this. “I’m heading out to see if I could get some information.” Giving little thought to what he was doing Dante stormed out of the room.

Chinran snorted at Agent Nixon's comment about leaving a trail of bodies. As if it had been the team's fault that they had been attacked in their previous destination. Nevertheless, the Operative checked his weapon subconsciously and made sure that the molycirc contact lenses he wore were receiving data from the aiming instrument attached to the rifle. A targeting vector came to being within his field of vision and Chinran smiled briefly at the result before shifting the rifle back to tactical carry.

Stewart glanced over to the Operative standing behind him and hoped like hell that there wouldn't be anyone willing to provide the bodies ,for the trail Agent Nixon had suggested the team avoid making, by attacking the now rather heavily armed team. Stewart cleared his throat and replied to Nixon's comment.

"Agreed, lets hope that our adversaries here agree as well with us when it comes to avoiding corpses."

Kyle sighed as he moved through the crowd. Falissima Nova was a classic example of backwater station that had become nothing more breeding ground of the Universe unwanted. It was heaven for the down and out, the unlucky few that could not find either work or a home in the rest of the dominon, it was often refered to a Tappee's version of' 'Skid Row'.

Now it was proving nothing short of a utter nightmare for the team to move through. Crowded beyond capacity, with an almost maze like design made it the perfect location for a ambush. This was a fact that was not lost on Kyle or the rest of the team as they pushed forward looking for some sort of transport so that they could continue their search for agent Xavier. If they had been followed here, they were well exposed.

Their first attempt at securing some civilian transportation not gone to well, there were not many ship captains that were willing to take on such armed passengers, not that Kyle could blame them, it usually lead to trouble. However, the last Captain that they had spoken had suggested a ship called 'Urthica', he had heard rumours that the Captain of the 'Urthica' would take on almost any jobb for right price of course.

As a matter of old habits Kyle had wanted to check the ship out in the stations database for attempting to find this ship.

“Stewart keep your eyes open while look in to this” the last thing that Kyle wanted was to get shot in the back while he was using the terminal.

Methodically he typed in a series of commands into the terminal, it was standard practice to have a full listing all ships that were docked, as well as crew listing.

It did not take him long to find which bay the ship was located in. But there was something in the listing that caused Kyle some concern was the name listed beside Captain, it read 'Dante'. In Sigmunds last transmission he had mentioned a Space Captain named 'Dante'.

“Stewart take a quick look at this” he quickly pointed out the information on the screen. Kyle was never one to believe in chance. “It says here that they are in bay 45. I need you and your people to scout on the area and then secure it. Don't move until I give the order. I have another matter to attend to first, but I will meet you there shortly.”

The Freeholder's moved through the crowd unrelentingly. Not allowing the mass of humanity to break apart the cohesion of the fire team, preventing them from supporting each other. Kenneth Chinran's eyes scanned the crowds like targeting lasers as his team moved pushed through the cluster's of people. His entire team had suited up in full tactical-assault gear, rifles and combat carbine's being held in tactical carry.

Chinran eyed Stewart who had taken the liberty of taking point with the Tappee Agent. The two were slightly ahead of Chinran's reaction team, but still within easy support distance if the shit hit the fan. He smiled thinly at his own thought's. Sometimes it felt a bit silly to worry about Major Trent. Especially when someone knew the guy's history as well as Chinran did. The man was as tough as nails, hardcore warrior as one could come across these days. Regardless however, Captain Kenneth Chinran had been given a mission and an objective. Go where ever Major Trent goes and cover his ass all the way there. Chinran had replied "Yessir" as always.

He clamped down on the runaway thoughts. Although his tactical instincts didn't really require him to fully concentrate on his surroundings every single second, absent mindedness could and did get one killed surprisingly quickly when someone decided they wanted to kill you.


Stewart followed Kyle around, checking the crowd constantly for any threats. When the Tappee Agent suddenly stopped at a terminal and told Stewart to watch his back, the Major lifted his rifle only half an inch while directing his full attention to watching the crowd milling about behind Kyle. Anyone stupid enough to try and shoot the Tappee Agent in the back would be receiving a burst of ceramic caseless straight to the brain pan.

Minutes ticked past as the Tappee agent convinced the terminal to provide the team the information they required.

“Stewart take a quick look at this”

The Major turned around to look at the terminal and the information they had sought was helpfully splashed across the screen. Sigmund had indeed mentioned a ship captain named Dante. Stewart was not someone who believed in chance either and as the possibility of finding a real clue, as to Sigmund's whereabouts, was presented to them, he wasn't even too cranky when Agent Nixon got to his head that he could simply order the Clairmontian team around. He simply took it in a stride. Although the thought of Nixon wandering around un-supported wasn't entirely pleasing. He decided to let the matter be. The agent seemed to know what he was doing.

"Will do." Stewart simply replied and motioned to the reaction team that they would be moving out.


Moving to the area, where bay 45 was located, through the bowels of a station that had seen better days and through crowds that could be full of threats, was nothing short of really annoying. Luckily, most of the people blocking the Freeholder Team's path would move away quietly when they saw the six heavily armed soldiers coming through. There had been the occasional troublemaker on the way as well. On those occasion's. someone from the team had simply put the man down, trying not to break too many bones or internal parts on the way, and snapped composite binders on their hands. Fortunately, no armed assailants as of yet.

As they came closer to the bay where Captain Dante's ship was supposed to be located. Stewart sub-vocalized instructions to Chinran and his team. Silently, the six people started fanning out, simultaneously conducting reconnaissance of the immediate vicinity of their objective and clearing anything the area of any obvious and not so obvious threats. Stewart listened on the team encrypted comms channel as the short reports came in from the Operatives. He could see their positions on the schematic of this section of the station overlaid over his normal vision by the molycirc contact lenses he wore.

As the team finished securing the area and sweeping it for any bits of useful information, they returned to Stewart, taking positions in the shadows and behind corners near the entrance to bay 45, waiting for Agent Nixon's call.

“Here you go.” said the bartender as he placed the glass in front of Dante.

Dante just stared down at the glass for a moment before he picking it up and began to swirl the glass. For a moment his undivided attention was fixed on the gin swirling in the bottom of the glass. For a man who prided himself on being a private person he was sure wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Deep down he knew the alcohol could never truly silence the ghosts that were stocking him, but it was good place to start.

“Here’s to you” he said to no one in particular as he raised his glass and quickly finished off the drink slamming back down on the counter.

Never before in all his life had Dante felt more like a failure. The unhealed cut hidden under his shirt served as the quite reminder of the events of the last few weeks. First there was his failure at the mining colony, and now this. He had lost Xavier, and any chance that he may have had at revenge. But more importunately he had failed a friend, some one whom he cared a great deal about.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught the time, he really did not need a clock to tell him that he should get back to his ship.

Raising to his feet the ground beneath him suddenly felt unsteady. Grabbing the table edge he took a moment to getting his footing under him before starting the long journey back to his ship.