Marcus Pane: Planet Taraya, third cycle, the planetary year 2052

Marcus drank his cheap beer slowly. The taste was akin to the carbonated sour water with a characteristic alcohol sting. He looked at his mug. It was half full and truncated in a few places. Inside it, a yellow ocean of cheap brew crashed against the mug walls creating a white foam that was fading away over time. He looked up from his mug and looked around. The inn, as usual, was full of customers whose countless voices were involved in the numerous conversations. The loudest belonged to the local conspiracy theorist, who talked about rumors that contact with Nordis polis was lost. His audience was, as always, made out of the bored inn regulars. Some of them confirmed his every word, and some joked at his expense, to which he responded with his famous phrase:

I am, gentlemen, an honest man. In a world made up of liars, I would be the only one telling the truth.

Marcus refused to believe in Hunt's crazy stories and theories. But, to be fair, Hunt's current repertoire sounded convincing. Rumors have been circulating throughout the Aegis polis for a while, allegedly coming from the lips of the employees in the communication tower. They claimed they could not get in touch with the Nordis polis for quite some time.

Marcus was so focused on listening to Hunt’s monologue that he almost did not notice a voice calling his name. The voice belonged to the short man in the blue uniform. It was the garment of choice of the civil servants. Marcus raised his head and nodded in greeting to the short man. He put down his drink and then rubbed his face with his hand to ward off fatigue and the side effects of alcohol.

"Excuse me, " the man murmured, " could you be mister Marcus Pane?” the man asked again, irritated by having to repeat what he had said earlier. Marcus pushed the mug aside and leaned back in his chair. The hardwood of the back of the chair stabbed him in the back, but he decided to ignore it. He analyzed the new arrival a bit more. A cloth mask hid his face. Government officials liked to wear it when visiting the second and third habitual rings. His eyes gave off his eastern origins, as did a nameplate sewn onto his uniform that said Nakaral.

"Well, Mr. Nakaral, " Marcus responded, " what could a man of your position want from a simple water plant technician? "

Nakaral's face hardened as if he remembered something unpleasant he was reluctant to share with others. He pulled a chair, sat down, and then spoke, choosing his words carefully.

"I know you are ex-military, Mr. Pane, and we require your assistance. The bitter truth is, the situation is serious. The Nordis rumor,” he said while fidgeting a little in his chair, “ it is somewhat true. The problem with Nordis is, to put it bluntly, of a much more difficult nature than we expected.” he finished, and looked around in panic, assessing if anyone heard him. He focused on Hunt the longest, then turned to Marcus again and continued.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"We sent someone to check on Nordis, and we lost contact with the expedition team a few days ago. We think they ran into them. " Nakaral finished with a sigh and lost a bit of color on his face. Marcus shuddered. He knew what he meant. Luckily, Marcus saw them only from a distance. He knew that meeting them face-to-face would have meant certain death.

“Mr. Nakaral, to be honest, if they are involved, it is madness to send more people. As you know, only a hundred of them managed to kill the whole fourth division of Taraya’s army ” Marcus said, surprised at how bitter his voice sounded.

"Yes, but we are not alone in this now. We came in contact with a benefactor who is after the data that the observatory in Nordis collected while studying the anomaly. Also, the board of directors is after this information too. They want to know why they snuffed the whole polis out. " Nakaral replied and nodded a few times.

Marcus wiped the condensed water drops off his mug and drank the rest of his beer. He was still unaccustomed to its horrid taste. The familiar sting of alcohol came at the end but still could not overcome the sourness of the dreadful beer.

“So, the mission is to get to Nordis and do what? Marcus asked Nakaral, to which the easterner responded

“Go to the observatory data room, pick up the data carriers and bring them back for analysis. “

"What about the people in Nordis?" “

"Between you and me, " Nakaral leaned toward Marcus and whispered, "it is impossible there are survivors inside Nordis walls. “

It was no secret Marcus was a curious man. This Nordis situation was the ultimate mystery to be unveiled. When he looked at Nakaral again, he was greeted by a somewhat confused and irritated look in his eyes. He appeared even shorter when seated. His sparse black beard was sticking from under his mask. His hair was neatly combed over. He reminded Marcus of private military contractors of old. Assassins, if you will. Marcus felt like a fish swimming around a juicy worm on a hook Nakaral dangled, but his wish of getting to the bottom of Nordis problem was much stronger than his fear of ending up as an ingredient of fish soup.

"All right, you got me. “ Marcus said, to which Nakaral nodded in approval.

“Tomorrow night, come to the Dry Sea, a restaurant in the center ring. The meeting will be held to plan the expedition, and you will need to show this at the entrance. Some people will join you on this mission, like our benefactor. She is a visitor from the expanse. She offered to help us." Nakaral said and pushed a gold ring across the tabletop towards him.

“ An alien girl? Where is she hailing from?” Marcus asked while he inspected the ring. It was a simple golden ring with the coat of arms of the expeditionary corps etched in it.

“I do not know. She is human and a warrior by the looks of it. She is a real beauty. I’ll tell you that. Blonde hair and green eyes. Tiny creature, but there was something scary about her. She knows stuff too. She shared her knowledge about the expanse that made our scientists ecstatic. We can trust her, at least for now, but she may have ulterior motives. And now, if you will excuse me, I have to take my leave. I am not comfortable lingering here for much longer. My presence might draw some unwanted attention.“ he said, looked at Hunt again, stood up, and left.

Marcus stayed for a while longer looking at the ring, then put it in his pocket and signaled the waitress he was ready to pay for his drinks. Misbehaving anomalies, dead polises, those horrors in the wilderness, and now, strange alien benefactors, Marcus thought as he handed the copper coins to the waitress. Life became complicated again.