A mirage of heat burst through the debris and the rubble. Dust, dirt and pebbles were kicked up with each waking moment as the gongs of war dropped down onto them. A young kid was running through the smog as boulders and walls collapsed on those around him...
One after another, the kid watched his family fall around him - all crushed with not a word to ever utter anymore. It was something that the young kid had gotten used to, by now, thinking back to it. But... That didn't make it all better, did it? The facts of the case, of course, not any emotional attachment. That was long gone.
Up in low orbit, a dozen or so war vessels rained hell on the planet of Máwt. Its clouds were turned to an ashen grey as a mist of blood rose from the ground. The next thing the kid saw was the burst of gas in the air... The first stage of the bombardment was over, now it was time for the Virus Bombs. His mother and brother fell first, trampled to death... Didn't make it better the fact that he abandoned them as they cried out...
His younger sister was also trampled... He thinks? No! It was his older sister, he thought. Well, doesn't really matter, since only two remained as the virus bombs started to fall. Yousef kept running, dust and soot all over his loose-fitting clothes. The suburban area where he lived was being sent to kingdom come.
Some vicious fuck tried to push him out of the way, but Yousef budged back - throwing them into the way of an incoming crowd... Perhaps a less vicious Archius would have felt bad about that, but that's not exactly right for him right now. Everything bled together as the cruisers in orbit released their payloads all over the population centres...
The countryside was next. Destruction raged around continually, as Yousef clung onto his sister, just a toddler. Course, she was balling her eyes out - yet Yousef kept running. A subway was being blocked off by the police... Apparently, only certain people were being allowed in.
Yousef didn't really know what to make of it... Probably only certain wealth classes on this trade world, but it didn't matter: the police were torn to pieces. Blood on blood, Yousef snuck through - using his relatively small size to slip through into the subway.
Turning back, Yousef saw a plume of gas outside, stretching its tendrils into the tunnel. Everyone outside was turned into flames and bones in just a matter of moments. Falling down the stairs, Yousef kept running. Another officer tried to stop him just as he reached the station...
He didn't even get enough time to get a look at which rich snobs were allowed to live before the ceiling above them all crumpled... Yousef's grip on Syara released. Everything went black... and what the rescue services torn out of that rubbled plane was... not Yousef. It was a broken and injured kid. Time flashed through Archius' eyes...
The pasty white halls of an Anagoran Training facility engulfed his vision... Strict regiments, punishments and espionage training. The other trainees hated him... He has on top of the class, so it made sense why he has one of the few to survive... The others had been... less successful. It wasn't because they were bad, or anything, simply a matter of them being... useless to the CRIS.
During training, Archius rarely saw the skyline... but it just... looked wonderful, thousands of horizon scraping buildings and floating islands... It was towering compared to his humble trade planet.
Republic Intelligence operatives led the successful teenage operatives into a control room. Archius glanced back at three others, two females and a male. They must have been what? Fourteen? Fifteen? Didn't care, didn't know, doesn't matter.
These four were given the privilege to peer into the mess hall of the other recruits. When given the option, all obliged... And all released the virus grenades onto them....
Archius watched with dead eyes at them... The green blooms of smoke didn't worry him... After all, they were merely tools, and all tools must be utilised to ensure the perfect matters of controls are engaged. The cold facility was all he had left... And one objective: to destroy Clandestine...
As always, Archius accomplished his objective; but not for the CRIS. Not for those manipulative snobs that need a good IED shoved up their asses. He did it because he wanted to... Continuing to watch his dying trainees down in the mess hall, Archius could see sparks of flames litter the room.
The flames engulfed them all, until all that was left was the freezing facility.
∗ ∗ ∗
A spark of winter tingled past Archius’ nose, a never-ending blizzard ringing past him. The Narisan winter blew snow up his nostrils. A puff of smoke left his mouth, quickly frozen from the freezing temperatures. He kept his hood down, feeling the warmth from the insulated nanobot coat. It was warm, cosy even, as he took the herbal smoke from his mouth. Flicking it away, into the breeze of the slums, he slowly stretched. A single glance showed the obscured visage of steel slums and conjoined multi-story huts that assembled the frozen wastes.
Even without any knowledge in architecture, he could tell it was all just makeshift, done with haste, built under less-than-ideal conditions.
Seering cold stung his face as the puffs of regulating warmth kept him alive. Small strands of his messy hair flicked out, flowing in the wind.
He stuck his hand into his pocket, pulling out a data-pad, before swiping through it. It had numerous notes and messages that Sato gathered for the mission, a merge of Krystalink and CRIS sources. It was generic information, the who, the what, the where. It was up to him to decide the how.
He tugged tightly on his scarf, a crocheted masterpiece with the head and tail of a fire-fox on both ends. It was an animal known for its sly and cunning, but considering how it was created for him, it seems Kazuki’s mother was quite aware of what his true nature was.
Radioactive snow sparked through the datapad, short-circuiting the device. He scoffed, chucking it behind him with a clank across steel. He glanced out towards the endless abyss of lights within the snow, lighting his earpiece uplink on.
‘Alright, I’m in position. Sato, the data-pad fried, you still got the briefing?’ Archius asked, not able to hide his thinly veiled animosity, dusting snow off his legs as he peered down the side of the slums. “I don’t want a repeat of Maritanto.”
The desolate streets below were more like alleys.
‘Oh, shut the fuck up, I have the brief, just get on with it,’ said Sato, ‘And you better get back, Amyé and Quinn aren’t too happy guarding you.’
‘Oh, them? I told them to piss off, Kaz’s just paranoid.’
Sato grumbled, but shoved the topic aside. It was true, but at least Archius could get to work now, even with the other two gone to fuck off nowhere. He’ll meet up with them later.
“Just… rally with them later,” Sato said with a strained voice.
Unlike with the Loyalists, Kazuki finally let him off the leash, probably for the best. Archius guessed that Svenn was the main reason he opposed him doing field work. But with the benefit of hindsight, it was definitely a good reason, seeing how badly fucked up Kaz got. But now that they’re doing something less intensive, the snake has full reign. Around him were the nuclear slumlands of Narisa, a winter wonderland of death… Not the best first deployment, but he’s had worse.
‘Sure, sure!’
‘Tsk.’ Sato clicked her tongue in response to Archius’ fake response.
He slowly stood up, sighing as he placed his aug-goggles on, highlighting the numerous drones passing by in the thick storm. Most of them were police drones, though others were not.
With how volatile this shit-hole was, crime was pretty normal. It’s probably more violent here than the deepest levels of Anagora. But people get by nonetheless, even if they can’t buy a ticket off this place.
‘Alright, then, let’s get things done, before Kaz decides to send me home.’ said Archius, coldly as he started to walk, his boots imprinting on the snow gathered on the roofs.
Clambering across the roofs, he sneaked through the flimsy rooftops. Across a long, narrow street, the bright neon lights of a bar came into view, through the blizzard. He stepped down onto one of the various makeshift walkways, slowly taking out his revolver. He screwed a suppressor onto it. It was small and blocky but worked well for covert-ops.
‘So, this group are a bunch of smugglers, who got mil-grade weapons from a crashed imp-cruiser. But are you sure it’s these guys?’ asked Sato, audibly flicking through a large dossier of information.
‘Yes,’ groaned Archius, stepping onto a balcony on the other side of the street as a gangster standing guard outside a small safehouse turned the corner. Before the criminal could even make a noise, Archius had filled them full of lead, their body dropping down onto the steel balcony.
He slid his pistol back into his holster, hiding it well. ‘Antigonid’s Gun Runners have ties to the Board, they have the influence and the proximity.’ Archius explained, ‘Trust me on this, m’kay?! I know it’s hard trusting the specialised spymaster, but the others are small cards in a big deck.’
‘Ugh, fine, just get on with it,’ replied Sato, going quiet, finally, some peace, Archius thought.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
The storm worsened as he crossed another flimsy bridge, as he stepped off, it collapsed, splintering across the middle. Falling, it sent fragments of wood and steel downwards, crashing into the ground as he heard commotion brew. Pressing himself against the window behind him, he looked down to see the neon lights of the bar shine down below. Aug-goggles told him that eyes were staring upwards. Seconds passed, and their glares turned away; he heaved a sigh of relief.
“That was unexpected,” he muttered to himself.
His face fell, forming into a snarl as he dropped the facade. He leaned back against the window, feeling his balance falter. A loud mechanical crunch opened behind him. Crashing backwards, Archius fell down into the room behind him… the window’s pressurisers relocking into place, sealing him in.
He was hit with a wave of warmth, it felt rather nice.
“Fuck…” Archius slowly dusted himself off, pulling his hood up as he ripped his goggles off, placing them on his forehead.
His head twisted at the single sound of rustling… gaze snapped onto a woman, older than him. She was sitting down on a makeshift chair, next to a table with a pistol. Her eyes wavered at him, signs of cuts and bruises all over her visible skin.
‘Hey, focus… what the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ asked Sato, as Archius slowly waved at the woman.
The woman wore a thick jacket, with many layers of clothes beneath that. Behind her was a small Erudian Altar on a mantlepiece, with a metal idol of Iris standing firm in the centre.
Perhaps he should just shoot her, Archius mulled over it. Yet again, he should keep things as clean as possible, and in control. It’ll be a last resort, he thought.
Archius’ face formed into a small smile as he greeted the woman. He tried standing up, faking his leg being injured as he masqueraded behind a bout of pain. “Heya, this the bar?”
She nodded as he stood up, her eyes glancing towards the door. Archius maintained a friendly expression, slowly raising his hands as he pulled his thermal beanie off. “Yes…” mumbled the woman.
“Thanks, sorry about the window.” said Archius, “I’m a parkour enthusiast, keeps my limbs warm.”
“No… worries.” She glanced towards the pistol.
“HEY! HEY! Let’s not act hastily,” said Archius, gesturing for her to lean away from the pistol. Archius looked towards it, realising it was an open-chambered revolver - old. And it had a single bullet loaded in it… Oh, interesting. “Ah.”
“Who… are you?” asked the woman, it was definitely a sane thing to ask. But Archius simply bowed, acting all friendly to avoid any misunderstandings.
“Name’s Killian, anyways, sorry to bother you. I better be going.”
Twisting his fingers to the door, he slowly walked towards it, keeping his eyes trained on the woman. His pistol was hidden, thankfully#. But as Archius slowly passed the woman, he felt a tug come to his shoulders.
In a split-second decision, he waved away from killing her. Though, his right hand was already ready to activate his pen-knife. Instead, he slowly twisted towards her, noting that the pistol remained on the table. She was close - too close for comfort, but Archius played into it.
“Something the matter?” Archius asked, tilting his head in confusion.
‘Fucking hell, Archius, don’t go full play-boy on us, you have a mission to complete!’ grumbled Sato, listening through his uplink. ‘And you better not do it, just to spite me, for the second time.’
Her grumpy nature was on full display, still focusing on the work, however. She probably must be thinking that she could have clocked out some time ago, Archius summised.
But as she finished, the woman slowly raised her other hand towards his ear, turning his uplink off. She seemed mesmerised by his peridot eyes. Alright, this was weird, he thought… But Archius stood firm. This was textbook! He slowly raised his own hand towards her, a fake smile with embracing arms.
“Please…” she trailed off, “Don’t go… like all of them. Please…”
It seemed obvious what happened, and he played along, though he couldn’t care less. She was definitely insane, or some taste of nuclear-crazy. “What’s your name?”
“Sia, please… everyone’s gone. The gunrunners gave me this apartment and job after they died… Dad, mom, my brothers… I begged Iris for someone to save me and—”
“—worry not,” lied Archius, tightening his grip. He’ll have to make this all seem like a dream. Most of his textbook manipulations took time, but he wasn’t exactly working with all the time in the galaxy here. “You’re strong. Keep it up, Sia, you’ll see it through, no matter what.”
It seems the Gunrunners here actually look out for its people. Which, for criminal organisations, is a rarity. Such a shame they picked the wrong fight.
And of course, she started to cry. She leant into his shoulder. Archius thought that this was going on for far too long… His coat will get even more damp, that was the true tragedy. He leaned in as well, with a tired expression on his face. And as she wasn’t looking, he rolled his eyes, glancing around the room for something else that was more entertaining.
“It’s alright, Sia, I’m going out to get something from the bar,” Archius said, patting her on the back as she slowly leant backwards. Her eyes were wide and red.
“No—You can’t! Just… stay with me, please…” Sia begged. But it fell on deaf ears. Archius slowly patted her arms, pretending to actually care about her.
“Can you be strong for me?” asked Archius.
“I… can?” Sia didn’t seem too sure of it herself.
“Yes.” It was good enough for him. “Good. Then be strong for me, I’ll be right back.”
She shook for a few moments, slowly prying herself away from Archius. He kept his face up, giving her a calming smile as she looked down towards the floor. Good, it seems like she’ll be much easier to convince than what he initially believed.
But then, teardrops fell. Well, at least there was no member of the seven to get angry at him here. Fuck! Did he do something wrong? She pushed herself off of him, twisting the pistol as she grabbed it. Archius’ eyes glistened as he stepped to the side, ready to draw. Fuck, he’s too slow. She aimed the muzzle towards him, eyes watering…
And a click filled their minds. It jammed, and her hands fumbled, dropping the revolver onto the ground, and running back into Archius.
She wrapped her arms around him, now outright crying. Ugh, now his coat will get even more wet, and he’ll have to get it washed later, who knows how fucked the genes of this planet’s population are? He patted her on the head, muttering, “It must be hard for you, don’t worry, get some shut-eye, I’ll always be here,” Archius lied.
She nodded, as Archius slowly took out a small injector, the size of his thumb. It was hidden well beneath his coat, yet was easy to reach. And as she wasn’t looking, he injected it into her neck, pumping fluid directly into her veins. Her grip loosened around him. And she fell asleep, dropping onto the floor, slowly. Archius’ facade faded, staring down at her in disapproval.
No one left for her… he felt like giving her mercy, but something kept his hand from using lethal. He simply took in a deep breath, sighing as he looked around.
Maybe… he understood her, beyond what his training taught him. “Good night, Sia,” said Archius.
But as the thoughts steered clear, he was filled with nothing. He shook his head in disapproval, twisting away, he has far more interesting play-things, like Kaz and Liz. But he hasn’t seen Liz since the conference. Kazuki hasn’t exactly been the most talkative since, but he knew that the sacrifice was worth it.
Between her short-term mental state for a long-term objective, the answer was obvious to him. But to others, the answer seems to be more nuanced.
Plus, Eliza was a liability! She’s no Contractor, and she might be good behind a monitor or with paperwork, she’s not ready for what this galaxy has to offer her.
Not in this line of work. Eliza simply doesn’t have the determination or the mind for it. Archius concluded that she’ll always be the one to… place her emotions in front of cold, hard logic.
Turning away, he walked towards the door, sliding the syringe back into one of his many pouches underneath the layers of his coat. Now, it was time to meet his future associate and ally, though he doesn’t know it yet. Osmond will be an interesting asset, from preliminary information.
∗ ∗ ∗
Walking down the stairs, Archius pretended that he just came from the toilets. After all, with how bad the food quality was on the planet, it was understandable why he’d need to.
Fixing his coat, he flicked on his uplink as his ICAPAD showed him information on Osmond. Archius noted that the apartments and rooms he walked by were probably filled to the brim with people, judging by the constant chatter and noise across the entire building.
‘It’s not enough…’ said Archius, flicking on his uplink.
‘Oh well fuck me, maybe you should try to collate information on every single person on a frozen wasteland?’ snapped Sato, grumbling. ‘A thank you would have been nice. And good thing I didn’t come down there with you, otherwise I’d already have punched you.’
‘Hey, it’s not that bad, all things considered, I haven’t been stabbed yet,’ Archius commented, imitating Kazuki’s dryness. He glanced at a holo-poster dating back from the war, showing a grizzly image of mass graves dug by the Imperials; it didn’t affect him all that much. There were others, ones hailing for people to fight for the Republic, for ‘their freedoms and liberty’.
Looking around, Archius scoffed at the notion. All tools of war must be discarded eventually, and these people were just that.
‘You’re not off the hook yet, Archius. You still gotta answer to Eliza.’
‘Eliza?’ asked Archius, remembering that things were still untied with her.
‘Don’t you ‘Eliza?’ me,’ Sato exclaimed, a hint of sass in her voice. Now that he thinks about it, the two did seem somewhat close, though whether it was Eliza’s assistance, her nerdiness or a sense of comradery, he couldn’t decipher, not now. ‘You think I didn’t notice you stopping Kazuki from intervening?’
‘Hey, it got things done, didn’t it?’ Archius tried to justify his actions, knowing them to be true. He leaned against the wall on the bottom floor, peering into the bar from the staircase. It was filled to the brim with people of all sorts, all unified in their hellish life. ‘Eliza is a liability to the AGENCY. I turned her, briefly, into an asset.’
‘Dammit, she’s a handler!’ Sato snapped, her voice frustrated.
Ugh, handlers… She’s an amateur at best. ‘And a liability. She’s the AGENCY’s weak underbelly. The Loyalists shot into the dark and hit, but the smugglers? They watched and learned.”
‘You know what? Fuck you,” Sato snarled.
‘Fuck you too!’ Archius snapped, continuing to slide through the documents. ‘Why are you so pressed about Eliza? She’s just the new girl.’
‘First of all, Kazuki dragged her into this fucking mess, the best you can do is give her a little respite here and there! She nearly fucking died.’
Sato wasn’t wrong, but Archius knew that Claire and Quinn wouldn’t have failed. They’re not some of Kazuki’s finest for nothing. Eliza was first and foremost: a university student. With how back and forth this job and her life is, it’s understandable why she’d not feel comfortable leaving Anagora - but it was only an hour's commute between here and there, at most. Plus, that’s with public transport, she’s getting the premium transport services that the AGENCY can offer, an armoured convoy.
‘I guess I’ll give that to you,’ said Archius. But no more dawdling. ‘Guess I’ll have to apologise sooner or later. I’m going in.’
Sato tried to talk back, but Archius slid his uplink off before she could, tucking it gently behind his hair, just long enough to cover it. As he did, he stepped forward, entering into the bar proper.