5th District, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Thirdmonth, 1634 PTS
“What do you think?” I asked, setting the conduit back down on the coffee table.
Rachel rested her index finger on her lip, as I had come to realize she usually did when deep in thought.
“It… might be feasible,” she said.
“So you think we should do it?”
She gave me a flat look.
“You already agreed to it, but we’ll have to see. I looked through the information she gave us, which is quite comprehensive. I’m curious how she gained access to it. Assuming this is correct, it should be feasible, as I told you already. Here, look at this.”
An illusion depicting what looked like the lower layers of a couple stacks appeared, floating above the conduit.
“This is roughly what the laboratory looks like from the outside. Lower levels, District 2.”
It looked fairly unobtrusive, and would pass for any other company’s office at first glance. There were two entrances, one for foot traffic and one for loading equipment in. Looking closely, I could see odd, knobby protrusions on the walls by the doors.
“What are those?” I asked, pointing at them. Rachel squinted, trying to figure out what I was referring to.
“The scanners? You see them occasionally in restricted areas. They check the biology of those who enter, comparing it to a whitelist. If you weren’t invited, it’ll send out an alarm just by entering the building.”
“Is there… ah, a way to make it not notice me?”
“To spoof it?” Rachel frowned. “Maybe, but I think I would have to gain access to their internal systems. They’re fully cut off from the station network.”
“I see.” I paused, trying to parse together her words based upon my limited understanding of computing systems. “That means…”
“It means no, unless you can smuggle something inside the compound,” said Rachel.
It wasn’t that big of a deal. It would be easier if I could sneak in, but stealth had never been a means I was suited for.
“In that case we’ll just break in. Do you know what their internal security is like?” I asked.
The illusion shifted, showing an interior view, as if I were looking at a dollhouse without a roof. This time, the various security features had small floating pointers that labeled them for my benefit, some even having descriptions to help me understand technological terms I did not know. Several layers of security were visible, though most of it seemed geared towards incapacitation rather than death. There were gas emitters, energy field generators, and a full complement of guards just in the entry rooms.
“It’s all Staiven technology, but this seems out of the means for the Venin Group. They’re a powerful corporation, but only in this system. A lot of this tech would need to be imported from Staive. I’d wager they’re being funded by someone with deep pockets,” said Rachel.
I looked at her, questioningly.
“Will that cause any additional issues?”
“Mmm… probably not for actually accomplishing the task, however doing this might anger this backer, not just the Venin themselves.”
“That’s fine, then. We already have plenty of enemies. What’s one more?”
She gave me a look.
“If it’s the government, quite a lot.”
She had a point. Was it really worth all of this effort just to kill Hidoro? I had never even met the man, after all. Perhaps we could find a different gang to target.
…No, Rachel’s plan had been meticulously well-crafted, and there was no better target for us than the Redwater Gang. Unless we could figure out a better way to kill Hidoro, this was still our best bet.
It struck me that in both the warehouse and the black market, the two times I had been in most danger in my time on Tseludia Station, I had found myself in a bad situation because I had arrived without a well-thought out plan.
In Little Celah, I had not anticipated having difficulty finding the pearl, and in District 8 I had not put enough thought into what would happen if I was found. I needed to think my actions through more, needed to look into how to escape situations before I put myself into them, and make sure that ideally, I only fought against enemies I could reasonably defeat.
For this matter, I needed to think like a thief, not a martial artist.
I closely inspected the model again, trying to piece together a plan. A hazy idea began to form in my mind, but it still lacked the substance to actually work.
“We need a way for me to steal the research without revealing my identity, yes?” I asked, turned to look at Rachel.
“It would be ideal, yes.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“I should be able to, since we’re dealing with Staiven. I can try to be discreet with my martial arts. If all goes well, I shouldn’t have to use very much of them, anyway.”
She raised an eyebrow at me.
“Did you have something in mind?”
“Back when we were making plans to attack Hidoro directly, you mentioned we could easily construct explosives. How many do you think we could build on short notice?” I asked.
“What?”
Rachel’s expression contained equal parts confusion and excitement. I smiled, motioning towards the security past the entrance.
“They’re clearly expecting intruders to enter through here and get caught in the chokepoint. I feel no need to comply.”
Rachel matched my grin, catching on.
“I’m sure we can make more than plenty.”
----------------------------------------
Canvas Town, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Thirdmonth, 1634 PTS
Walking through the halls of her mother’s palace felt like walking towards final judgment in the halls of the afterlife. Her every step felt like it slogged through mud, her back like it bore a heavy weight.
It was not a physical force, but the weight of her own failure bearing down on her.
The Hadal Clan was willing to accept almost any actions performed by its heirs. In the past, no matter what Karie did, it would be easily swept under the rug by the power of the family’s influence. This time it was different, for she had failed.
She knew that her mother wanted to recruit the Riverfiend, and had attempted to kill him. Had she succeeded, the family could have pretended to have supported the action, as he was already dead and they had no other option.
But Riverfiend had escaped, and she herself had nearly been slain by him before he was interrupted by station security. It was an utter failure, and there was nothing to redeem it. She had betrayed her mother’s wishes- the Matriarch’s wishes, and the anxiety caused by questioning what her punishment would be.
She regretted her actions, and yet she knew that she would have made the same choice if she were to have another chance. The potential benefit she could gain for killing just a single unorthodox martial artist would be truly great. Her talents were not enough to become the Clan’s successor, but perhaps fame would be.
Karie stepped past gorgeous tapestries, elegant porcelain vases, and gilded artifacts, many of which had been held by the family for generations, retrieved from the wreckage of their former abode, long destroyed in the near-forgotten days of Karie’s early childhood.
The hallway ended with a large set of double doors. They were composed of a beautiful red wood, carved with elegant designs that evoked the motion of a leaf swirling on the breeze.
On Tseludia Station, the closest comparison would be a piece of discarded trash falling slowly in the wind currents as it fell from the side of the road.
Karie slid the doors open, entering the private office of the Matriarch. She had been to her mother’s office plenty of times before, but not once had she felt nearly as much fear as she did now.
She slowly raised her eyes to see her mother comfortably lounged on a couch to the side of the room. She was meeting Karie’s gaze, her face wholly unreadable.
Karie’s mother looked much like her, but her face had more lines, marks of stress much more so than of age. Sirena Hadal had long since crossed her hundredth year, and still looked as if she were in her late thirties.
“Sit,” she ordered, motioning Karie to the seat opposite her.
Karie obliged, meekly setting herself down in the spot. Her mother’s eyes blazed into her. They were the eyes of a warrior, of the one who had slain thirty one other contenders in open combat, becoming a renowned figure across Canvas, and one of the top ten martial artists of her generation.
One who had become known by the title ‘Jade Empress of Pain’ at an age even younger than Karie’s own.
It was indicative of the core issue, in Karie’s opinion. Had she the opportunity, she was certain she could become someone, achieve something. But Tseludia Station was far smaller than Canvas, or even Sunlit Hall alone, and the older generations prevented hers from earning their own fame and glory. They were restricted from living the life of a true martial artist.
She and her mother sat there for several minutes in silence, the pressure continuing to grow on Karie, but her self discipline was enough to restrain herself. She would simply wait until her mother found that it was time to speak. Such power plays would do nothing to her.
Eventually, her mother finally spoke.
“Do you know, dear daughter, what your two mistakes were?” she asked.
Dumbstruck by the question, it took Karie several seconds to formulate her response.
“I did not follow orders,” she said, earning a nod from her mother.
“Indeed. You went directly against orders from myself. That was your first mistake, and you will be punished for it. But it was not your greatest sin, as we both know.”
“...I failed,” replied Karie, almost whispering the words. It was one thing to admit it to herself, in the chilled depths of her mind, but to say it out loud was like a stabbing pain in her chest, prickling at her ego and sense of self worth.
“Indeed,” said her mother. “Truly, incompetence is a sin. Of course, you shall be punished for this as well. Killing the man would have caused issues, but trying and failing...” She shook her head. “You’re lucky. Normally, I would have sent off you into seclusion training for half a decade, but I expect the Clan will soon have use of you. Instead, you will clean the palace complex by hand.”
Karie looked up in surprise and horror. While cleaning the palace was a physically lenient punishment, it might take entire weeks worth of labor. The palace complex took up most of an entire stack, after all.
Matriarch Sirena Hadal met her daughter’s upset gaze with a hard, level stare, and continued speaking.
“In addition, should the Riverfiend become an ally, I will have you kowtow before him and apologize for your actions.”
Karie gave a look of even more horror. To behave like that would be to throw away her own dignity. How could she kowtow before a mere unorthodox martial artist, a rogue at that. It was too far. She looked up, meeting those sharp eyes of her mother once more.
“Mother, I-”
Her mother’s eyes intensified their stare, and Karie found that her words faltered and stuck in her throat, unable to finish passing through her windpipe.
“Mother, nothing. Your punishment is the consequence of your own action, after all. Now go, begin your work.”
Karie quickly stood up and bowed, before turning to exit the room. As she was opening the door, she heard a small mutter behind her.
“And should he not become our ally… we’ll see.”
A shudder ran down Karie’s spine.
The Venin Group: [One of the most powerful corporations native to Tseludia Station, the Venin Group claims to have been founded by a trio of Staiven immigrants seeking to profit from the vast mineral wealths of the system, rather than live in Staive where the established forces controlled nearly all access to opportunity. Existing government records of its foundation are decidedly vague about the matter. Over the decades, the Venin Group have greatly expanded their business, from starship and machine repair to pharmaceutical testing and manufacturing, to food production for the many varied races of the station. They have become the number one pharmaceutical manufacturer in the entire Tseludian star system, though they still find it difficult to compete with the branches of larger, more established corporations for government contracts. The identities of the shareholders are kept private, leading to rumors that high profile figures such as the Governor, Viceroy, or even the Grand Cleric of Fulstovis himself might be among their number.]