8 Months Ago. April 16th, 2267. 02:47 Vosture Prime, Warehouse District

The team had made it through customs at the station, though not entirely without incident. The lack of documentation hadn’t helped, but it did help with the story they told. During the flight to Vosture Prime Elias and the team had evolved their back history. They were refugees from a rather draconic religious cult that was a bit too biblical for the religious Alliance.

Elias was now keenly aware of how wary the Confederacy was of the Alliance’s religious zeal. The Confederacy, in comparison, was fine with religion, even liked it to a certain extent, but the government itself wasn’t bound to anyone one religion or any religious doctrine. Religious cults were almost a dime a dozen in the Alliance, and it was well known that many tried to avoid the looking eyes of the government, especially those whose message ran counter to the current religion in power.

Adding insult to injury, the delay in getting through customs meant they were arriving planet side at an awkward time. No cabbies were available at the base station at this time of night. The group was forced to walk to their new home, which was something many in the group did not want to do.

Speaking of their new home, the facility they had acquired was a unique one. It was in the old, relatively speaking, industrial wing of the colony. The buildings were cheap and attractive for start-up companies with meager capital lines.

Elias was able to locate one with not one, but two built-in dormitories that could house thirty people apiece. It also had a nice kitchen, albeit one modeled after common residences and not a commercial one. There were also multiple rooms that each division could use as their headquarters. A large dining room and two living rooms, in addition to common areas in the dorms, were also in the building. In short, it was perfect for their operation.

The walk from the station to their new home took forty-five painful minutes. The enlisted members of the team were wise to keep their grumblings to themselves. The officers, especially Daphne and Ellie, were loudly complaining about having to walk for this long at this time of day. Everyone, Elias included, was in a grumpy mood, though most had the common sense to keep their opinion to themselves.

Their hopes weren’t lifted up when they arrived at their destination. The group filed into the building one by one. Emergency lighting was all that was available to them, though that provided sufficient illumination to see the sad state of the living room. The group looked around in silence until an officer spoke up first.

“This place is a fucking shithole,” Draco said as he looked around the dusty living room.

“It is, but its location and size are ideal for us. We’ll have to acquire more bunks and living gear in the morning when the stores open,” Elias said, “I’ve shared with everyone the location of the male dorm, female dorm, living room, kitchen, and then the command centers for the different groups.”

“At least we’ve found a candidate and they are receptive to working with us,” Kaius said, “It was almost too easy to get them to work with us.”

“Work for us, they are here to obey us,” Daphne corrected the second in command, “They are nothing more than a pawn for our mission.”

Ellie then shouted out from the female dorm, “This is quite the shithole. Not to mention filthy as hell.”

“Men’s dorm is no different. There’s like a quarter inch of dust here,” Draco said from the hallway.

“I am aware that the facilities are unimpressive. This building cost next to nothing. It was known variable to all of us that it was not furnished,” Elias said.

“This is true, we also didn’t expect a near fourteen-hour delay through customs either,” Constantine said, “Are there any brooms or anything we can tidy up some space?”

“Not if you want to create a hell of a mess in doing so. The electricity isn’t being turned on until 07:00, which means any dust we kick up in the air is going to linger,” Draco said, “Try to find a cleanish spot…”

“I’m going to start cleaning up the kitchen. Water appears to be running and Nemo found some cleaning supplies,” Elias said.

“I’ll volunteer my team and I to acquire furniture and bunks when the stores open,” Constantine said, “In the meantime, I’m going to try and find a cleanish place to get some shuteye.”

Daphne then added, “Ellie and I will get some household goods, cleaning supplies, and food, then scope out the local fashion scene. We’re going to need new wardrobes to blend in.”

“I’m wide awake, I’ll help with the cleaning,” Draco said.

“I’ll get working on the living room attached to the kitchen,” Nemo said, “Not like sleeping is going to make a bit of difference.”

Three groups of people were effectively formed, with two of them finding clean areas for them to fall asleep. Elias and six others dutifully worked to clean up the living room and kitchen. Their cleaning efforts were made easier by the discovery of even more supplies hidden away in another closet. And electrical services being restored to the building earlier than expected proved to be quite beneficial as well.

By the time Constantine and his group had awoken, they were surprised to see that both living rooms, the kitchen, and the male dormitory’s bathroom had been all cleaned. A proper deep cleaning with fresh cleaning supplies was still needed, but the state of the facility was dramatically different compared to when they first stepped foot in a mere five hours ago.

Elias and his team cleaned the female dormitory’s bathroom next before settling down to rest. While their accommodation was quite meager compared to what they were used to back home, the new facility would suffice. Well, it would once they were able to stock the place with food and some furniture.

12:22 Vosture Prime, Xenuian Headquarters – Elias’ Office

Daphne’s group had returned from the nearest grocery store. They had acquired a grav-skimmer to haul their goods to their headquarters. Over four dozen bags of food and supplies were loaded onto it. After the group had dropped off their newly purchased loot, they headed back out to go to another store to purchase other goods for one’s home.

Elias and the team had been busy and after a brief rest cleaned out the primary office, meeting room, and individual offices for his group. Thankfully a desk, complete with a functioning workstation, was left in his office. He was sitting at his desk skimming the Confederate extranet and sending correspondence to their candidate.

Constantine interrupted his focus when he knocked on the door, “Tribune, a word if I may?”

“Call me Elias, I’d prefer to avoid using rank here as we are in hostile territory,” Elias said firmly, “I’d prefer we avoid calling any unwanted attention to ourselves.

“Very well, Elias, we’ve purchased bunks and furniture. The boys are unloading the equipment now. We also acquired a work truck, on the cheap as they say here. Paulus said it needs some work, but he should be able to get it into tip-top shape for a few hundred credits.”

“Excellent work, how much did you spend?”

“Including the truck, we came in a few hundred credits over our budget.”

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Elias nodded, “The truck will no doubt be a great assistance to the girls. They stole a grav-skimmer this morning to transport the groceries they purchased.”

“I hope they brought…”

Elias raised his hand up, “You needn’t worry. I already told them to bring it back and to apologize to the store. They’ve done that and the store didn’t seem to either mind or even be aware that it was gone.”

Constantine nodded, “You and your team stand out like sore thumbs in public. One of my team members, Linus, observed Daphne and the other girls as they went and got groceries and supplies.”

Elias raised an eyebrow, “Sending a member to spy on your own?”

“To ensure they don’t get themselves into trouble or draw unwanted attention. It’ll be painfully clear to anyone else in this world that we’re newcomers within moments of meeting us.”

“You aren’t wrong,” Elias shrugged as he leaned back in his chair, “Perhaps we can use that naivete to our advantage.”

“That is unlikely, our behaviors are hard to ignore for the locals,” Constantine took a deep breath, “To speak bluntly, I worry about your betrothed. She is both a prideful and scornful woman; this is not the place or time to be either. We can ill afford outbursts that she is known for back home.”

“She’s rather fond of the women’s movement back home.”

“That movement is alive and well here. But it will do her and us no good if her ideology outs us. She needs to be reined in, and quickly.”

“What did she do?”

“She was herself at the store. Some poor schmuck was on the receiving end of a tirade after he offered to grab something from the shelf for her,” Constantine shook his head, “Look, there’s being proud in one’s independence and capabilities, and then there’s just being an asshole.”

“I’ll have a word with her.”

“Elias, we are in enemy territory with no backup. We cannot afford to be caught. Behavior like that is going to cause issues. Until she gets over herself, she should not be allowed to leave this facility.”

“That’s a bit drastic is it not?” Elias sighed.

“I know you to be an intelligent and career-focused man. She is neither known as intelligent nor career-focused. She’s reckless. It’s long past time for a man to deal with her with a firm hand.”

Elias chuckled, “I’m afraid anyone that’s tried to control her has failed.”

“If you fail in that regard, you may ultimately damn us all,” Constantine stood up, “She’s a loose cannon and needs to be more careful than she is being.”

“I will have a conversation with her. Unless you have other plans for him, have Paulus focus his efforts on getting the truck in tip-top share.”

Constantine nodded before leaving the room. Elias sighed loudly. Daphne was terribly headstrong, and her complete loyalty to the women’s movement back home made her argumentative in virtually all circumstances, oftentimes to the detriment of her position. The young women in their society began to chafe at the requirements to raise the family’s numerous children.

Daphne found it especially egregious that most families still had eight or nine children. The government deemed it necessary to expand their empire to have such large families, but each generation of women found it less and less desirable to have that many children. Last year, she had made it crystal clear to Elias that a large family was not going to be had with him. As time went on Elias questioned whether the two would ever have children.

Heaven forbid that be the case. He’d be considered the laughingstock of the Senate if he were to be promoted and was childless with her. Even worse, what would she do if the government came in and forced the couple, or specifically Daphne’s, hand in having children? Elias was terrified at the potential answers he would have to come up with to that question.

He looked up and saw Daphne walk into the connecting room to drop off supplies. Several coffee machines were left, and amazingly still functioning. Coffee grounds were left behind too but none were brave enough to try that. She casually chucked the two boxes of ground beans on the counter.

“Daphne my near, a word.”

“I’m busy,” Daphne retorted as she pulled out and dropped more stuff from the bag.

“Do not mistake my politeness for weakness. It wasn’t a request. A word, now,” Elias said firmly.

Daphne stomped one of her feet loudly before dropping the bag on the floor. She crossed her arms and pouted as she walked into Elias’ office. He couldn’t help but be annoyed by the adult tantrum.

“I understand you had an incident at the store.”

Daphne’s posture stiffened as her eyes glared daggers at Elias, “Who tattled…”

“Not anyone that went with you. Need I remind you that we are in enemy territory? We cannot afford to get arrested or draw unwanted attention to ourselves.”

“Look, it wasn’t that…”

“Daphne my love, you don’t get to determine that. You cannot be yourself here. Be more observant of your surroundings and above all do not draw attention to yourself,” Elias sighed as he shook his head, “You are not to leave the facility for one day.”

“You think you can stop me from leaving?” Daphne said defiantly.

“Two days.”

“Bullshit, you wouldn’t…”

“Keep talking and it’ll be more,” Elias said, “I am the commanding officer of this mission. It is of the utmost importance to our government and people to set up our foothold in this system. When we are successful, we will be laying down the foundational block in unifying humanity across the galaxy once again. This attitude of yours is not helping, stow it, focus on your work, and we will be fine.”

Daphne was taken aback. Never before had Elias talked to her in such a forceful way. She didn’t want to admit but she felt, at that moment, different about him. A loud sigh was heard before she spoke again.

“Fine, I’ll take the day suspension and work on the facilities.”

“Two days. And I thank you for this.”

Daphne was now more annoyed than attracted to her fiancé at that moment. She turned and walked to the door. But she turned around as she was in the doorway and looked back at him.

“Are you aware of the freedoms women have here? Like voting and family sizes?”

Elias shrugged, “Vaguely. They don’t necessarily apply to our political system so the right to vote doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal.”

“Everyone gets to vote here. Everyone, woman or man.”

“Most men don’t get to vote either. Service is the only way to achieve that.”

“At least that…”

Elias raised a hand to silence her, “I’m not interested in this tired debate.”

“Then you wouldn’t be interested in knowing the average family size is three children here either.”

“Across the Confederacy, that may be true, but colony worlds the birth rates are typically double that of the average,” Elias said, “Not that dissimilar to our average family size.”

“Most women birth their children here. The notion of being a birther is a bit revolting to me,” Daphne said, “That aspect I do not care for.”

“The same applies to me as well.”

“I don’t suppose you took the dorm leader’s room?”

“I did,” Elias said as he fiddled around with his console.

“Would you object to my company this evening?”

Elias looked up at her and grinned, “Are we trying to halve your punishment?”

Daphne flicked her hair over her shoulder with a hand as she grinned at him, “Would that be in the cards?”

“Perhaps it could be, but sexual favors will not accomplish that for you,” Elias said, “Now get back to work. We have a lot to do to get this dump livable.”

Daphne’s smile faded away instantly when her back was to Elias. She picked up the bag and hastily put out the rest of the items destined for the adjoining room before she walked out and headed to her next destination.

Elias smiled at the prospect of coitus that night. But deep down he knew that the only reason that was a possibility was because Daphne wanted to use him. Sex with her, while always enjoyable, was ever transactional. She would do nothing for you unless it benefited her in some way.

He would sit in his office and think if she had heard the message that he was delivering instead of focusing on the punishment. Constantine wasn’t wrong, she was a liability. Elias was reluctant to permanently confine her, but as it was her lone outburst that simply wouldn’t be fair at this time. Not yet anyway.

14:15 Outdoor Greenspace

Elias walked outside onto the small greenspace behind their building. The grass was overgrown and was in desperate need of a trimming, a need that the team had overlooked this day. The wind was properly howling between the buildings now, a storm front was moving in quickly. He was disappointed that he couldn’t enjoy some fresh air for longer. He used this brief time to appreciate the hard work he and his team had accomplished.

It had taken a day, but their headquarters was clean and livable. It was a hive of activity. Constantine and his team had been discussing plans for the rest of the week. They were going to spend more time in the colony and mapping out the city. There was also the matter of looking into the other candidates and digging up any dirt on them and their campaigns. If nothing else then to have ammunition ready to use against their enemies in the future.

There was also a need to pick up a few more consoles and terminals for the Xenuians to use. Viviana had finally finished going from room to room identifying what items were still needed. They could make do with what they had today, but it’d be more efficient if they had some additional systems. Another vehicle was also on the list along with some local forms of entertainment.

Draco and his counter-espionage team were still scouring the Confederate extra-net for any useful intelligence on their military, military equipment, and movements. Like Constantine, they were also digging into the other candidates. They were also working at undermining the communication and merchant servicing networks within the colony.

Elias had finished another round of correspondence with the candidate that they are shadow-supporting. Dale Rosberg was their chosen patsy. He was an entrepreneur, whose success was debatable, but he was a wealthy fellow. Greed was his biggest vice it seemed, which was rivaled by his intelligence and recall. His ability to recall items made him a master debater.

Elias grinned as he turned to walk back inside to avoid the warm rainfall. Little did Dale know that the money they’d pay him would be stolen from him and the other citizens of this colony. That is if things went to plan, and so far, the plan was progressing as expected.