Why they had sent me to this backwater, I had no idea. There were a few complications that made the timing critical and made this a challenge. The major issues were the Drakes. Those bastards were tricky and expensive to hide from. My handler was explicit that this was a clean op. Nothing was to point back to Judgement. I had no idea who I was doing this for, but it was not hard to guess. I hated doing work for those mutated Karass freaks. It made me feel a bit of a traitor, but my Oath and their coin eased my feelings.

It was too easy to slip past the sensors. The highest-ranked individuals were all at the supposedly secret party, and the guards, who drew the short straw and were on duty, were unaware of my presence. I could have slaughtered them all, and not one of them could have stopped me. I had to reign in my urges.

I was getting better, but I could ignore them for now. Flutters, my handler, promised to let me loose on my next assignment. It would likely be another backwater. There would be no challenge, but chaos would be enough of a stress relief.

Things were looking up, though. I was promised the next impossible job—something that I might need to break a sweat for. But not tonight. Tonight, the brief was in and out. No one was to know I was here until after. Then it would be unmistakable, but I would be long gone by then.

Looking at the guards, I wondered if I should slip up so I had an excuse to cover my tracks, leaving no survivors. No one would care if it weren't for the fools at the party. Whatever he called himself these days – Dance – of all things, would push even me. It was The Hooda who I'd be watching for. She still scared me. The threat of her Unique Skill was almost enough to make me quit and become a farmer. One day, though, she would get what she deserved. That smug, know-it-all look she gave you, the disappointment. She was such a hypocrite. I knew her before she got full of herself. When she was fun.

I had to calm myself, be professional, and keep my perfect record. Tonight, I was in and out, and no one would see me. All the important people were at the fancy party, and all the lesser people were at the fake party. That left third-rate nobodies to watch and guard. It would be unsporting if I did anything off-script tonight. I had to hurry. I had left my enforced sabbatical, and things were getting interesting.

It had cost me a small fortune to get off my break, but the Oracles and Judgement were picking up the tab for the successful completion of this mission. They needed it done without complications, and that was how I rolled most of the time. The other times, well, I only spoke about them in my therapy.

I smiled. Even if those progenitors were here, they would not see me. Skills and Training trumped most things, and I had splurged to ensure that nothing saw through my obfuscation.

The Signet of The Anonymous Crescent (Epic)

‎ When empowered with energy, mana and Karma, this ring will enshroud the wearer from all detection. Burns Karma when actively blocking mystical detection. Burns mana when passively blocking detection. Burns energy when actively blocking detection. Karma drain is permanent.

Surprisingly, no questions were asked when I requisitioned it from the stores. I was happy to spend most of my contribution points to get it. It was one of the few things that would counter the Drakes' security when it was active. Even they couldn't reliably counter Karmic skills—no one could, which is why Karmic Artifacts were so rare and valuable.

I slipped into the Legion Barracks, past the guard post. The slight karma burn was annoying but bearable. It was hard to regain Karma in my job, but I had my ways. My early mentor had shown me the secret, which went to the grave with him. Now, I was the only person who knew the system hack for near-infinite Karma.

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My innate stealth was high enough to pass the guards, but I was not taking chances. With the drain from the ring, my stealth, and my chameleon cloak, I had 18 minutes to get in and out—easy. My planning had allowed for three minutes.

I had the layout piped into my HUD and my AI navigating so I could concentrate on being silent. I made it to the core room without a hitch. That took less than 90 seconds. Phasing through walls when there was no active matrix was almost a cheat. No deaths this time. Internal security was a joke. I would have to include how I got past his wards in my report to Xarius. He was so predictable. He would be shocked if he knew about my involvement. Not quite friends, not quite enemies. I was a persistent thorn to the Legion. He would not know me by name, just by reputation. I was also one of their most requested wet work assets. Although he would definitely see me as an enemy now. But you didn't make the credits and loot I did without making some powerful frenemies.

My AI quickly took control of the security networks, shutting the First Cohort out of its own base. I was on the timer now. They would not get a ping for several hours, well and truly, after the party had finished. I would be long gone. Sixteen minutes of stealth, I'd need 60 seconds to get the core.

I deactivated the core, ensuring the Engrams were safe. The instructions I was given were perfect. It was amazing what a little illusion and some narcotics could achieve when interrogating low-tier security.

Looking at the core, it was hard to believe all the money was spent on this mission for this tiny core. Mind you, a Tier 5 core was worth a small fortune, but the engrams were priceless. I speculated that my backers wanted the engram back in its rightful place. To start a war to fight, and the princess was too much of an unknown. The damn Karass wanted a war. War was good for business.

I stopped. My Karma was burning like crazy at the moment, but I expected as much, maybe not quite this high. It was uncomfortable as I felt quite a mana burn and energy drain. I'd have to visit another Karass slave world to fix my Karma.

This room must have some crazy wards and security. I almost felt like I was being watched, but that would be impossible here. It would require at least a Mythical tier skill or artifact. Not even The Hooda could see me now; I had specific counters for her. Dance, maybe. He kept his powers so close to his chest, and he was impossible to predict.

I sent the package-acquired code to Flutters and waited for the response. This was the only time I was worried. Usually, there would be no comms out. It could be traced, but the nano-second burst would be challenging to detect, trace and decrypt.

I waited 3 seconds for the reply. It would either be scorch and burn or ghost. I flexed waiting; I didn't mind either, but the ghost option was more manageable with the Drakes in town. Scorch and burn would be fun, but not without risks. Since there had been no witness, I expected it to be ghost out.

Three seconds later, I got the ghost response. I felt a bit of relief at that. I had not been tested for a long time, and I was unsure if I was up to facing more than one of the Drakes simultaneously.

My AI warned me that the first alarms were being raised. Nothing big yet, just anomalies detected. I had seconds before it escalated.

That was fine; nothing could hide my exit method, and what had been taken was very obvious. Using an innate energy skill, I smashed a portal open and stepped through, not feeling safe until it snapped shut behind me.

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