The meeting room was quiet, characteristically so, because there was no meeting. In fact, there was no one there, except for three guys. Kazuki was silently reading a book on cybernetics.

  The same one he gave Eliza! Archius rolled his eyes, obviously. Eliza was making Kazuki take half-measures… But then again, Archius was still debating internally about Eliza’s… worth.

  Sure, she was useful, but trust is part of worth. And could Archius trust Eliza? Obviously, it was a no. Archius was here for a job, and he needed it done perfectly.

  “The only one you can trust is yourself…” Archius quietly muttered. It caught Kazuki’s eye for a moment, but he knew that it was true.

  In a galaxy like this, the only thing one can truly influence is oneself. By that, they can influence the galaxy.

  "You should leave the advanced stuff to Eliza, you read too quickly, miss one thing, and you’ll blow yourself up," Archius remarked.

  Kazuki scoffed. “I will stress this again. Archius’ life is sacrosanct,” Kazuki reiterated to the room of closely held operatives. “He’s the key to this mission. If I get news that he’s dead, your orders are this: kill yourself. Because I will not be as merciful.”

  Outside, beyond the windows of the safehouse, the neon-lit pleasantries of the Sub-Level shone endlessly, beckoning pleasures in the frozen dumps of this Republic.

  "Pah, you youngsters and your threats and guides," Hosea chuckled, the ex-Clandestine Seeker, wearing black-ops armour. He sat across the room from Kaz and Archius. "Let me tell you this, Kaz, you were lucky if you even got an automatic rifle in the war! Let alone an exoskeleton, but since we have them, don’t worry, your spymaster isn’t gonna get as much as a sewage drip on him!”

  "Good. And this is a life support system," corrected Kazuki. "Its combative enhancement is secondary compared to... keeping me alive. According to this book, at least.” Slamming the book shut, he tucked it beneath his winter coat. “Enough small talk. We’re here for a mission.”

  "Alright then, what is this?" asked Archius, sitting on the command table in the dimly lit chamber. Outsourcing the work so you can rest on your laurels?"

  Kazuki shook his head before snatching Archius’ ear. Gently, Kazuki pulled him to his feet. "No. I am a high-profile individual," he said.

  A drone passed by, handing out some pu'er tea for everyone. The letters: G.L.A.D. were painted on its hull. After serving the tea, I went to clean up Kazuki’s exospine.

  "Yeah, no shit," Hosea commented, downing the drink instantly. “Just keep your head down, we’ll deal with this.”

  Archius had to take a few sips before downing it, having to blow hard to cool the tea down. "So you want us to do something for you? What's in it for us?!" Archius shrugged and acted offended, with a light-hearted tone bouncing off his lips and green eyes.

  "You're... You're a primary shareholder of the AGENCY, Archius," Kazuki remarked before sighing. "I need you and Hosea to lead a few teams to scout ahead. The Blood Contractors. Find them. Track them. I want locations, then: I want heads.”

  "Across the entirety of the Sub-Levels?!" Hosea raised an eyebrow. "Look, I know my guys are good, but that's like... more-er than a trillion people. Maths doesn’t like that."

  "Greater," commented Kazuki. He turned to Archius. "Hit him."

  Archius twirled around to face Hosea, the grizzled veteran with pale white grey and a fuzzy beard. "Some of my eyes have been getting scoffs of our beloved Blood Contractors here and there, little noise, nothing too big. But, we’ll need leads.”

  "Courtesy of Krystalink," Kazuki added on.

  "Yes!" Archius sighed and rolled his eyes. "Courtesy of Krystalink."

  ”I draw too much attention. You lot will handle this,” Kazuki ordered.

  Hosea nodded and smiled, slamming his hands together. "Alright! I'll go rally my teams, you bring anyone, Archy-young-boy?"

  "Yeah, you'll be operating with me and a few others. I want your expertise on things without getting your guys in the way," Archius said, covering the fact that he just... didn't really like the Seekers. "Quinn, Amyé and Edain. I'll also bring that Gunrunner guy along as well, see if we can use his criminal connections. Understood?"

  "Sure," Hosea said, slapping his hands on his legs before popping up from his seat. His armour clanged together as he moved. "We start now?”

  Archius nodded. “Yes, of course! No time like the present.”

  And just like that, Hosea rushed over and wrapped an arm around Archius. Now, the safehouse was filled to the brim with people. Quinn was the obvious choice for the point man. Amyé was a good sniper when sober. Edain had medical training, which might be needed in the gutter tunnels of the Sub-Levels. It was a hodgepodge mess, but Archius worked with worse.

  After the brief, Quinn narrowed his eyes on Hosea. "So, we're working with the ex-Seekers?" he asked.

  Hosea shrugged. "So and so, Quinn, as Archius said, we'll be working on our own for the most part, pick up leads and trail them wherever they go.”

  Amyé placed a hand up, whilst the other was resting between her legs on the crate she sat on. "Will we get booze?!"

  "After the mission," Archius interjected. "But... probably on the job too, it’s the Sub-Levels, if we enter somewhere, we’ll have a drink.”

  Edain grunted, looking across the room at the Osmond. "And why are we bringing him?" he asked. "Gunrunners gunned us down months ago.”

  "Yeah, and if you want him to make up for it, you'd better allow him to do so," Archius snapped back, silencing Edain.

  Workplace politics was even more cutthroat when you added a dozen personalities, egos and bloodied mercenaries into the mix. Hosea got a quick chuckle out of that one.

  "Osmond. You know any connections that can help us?"

  Osmond was sitting in the corner, his eyes carrying a hint of fear towards Archius. He replied meekly, "Not much... The Board delisted us as legitimate, so… my connections probably aren’t that good.”

  "But you still have those connections, right?" Quinn smacked Osmond across the back. "Just use 'em! Who cares what they think!"

  Right on that one, Archius thought. "If you don’t use them, perhaps I will," Archius said, walking over and patting Osmond on the shoulder. "Kazuki gave us a blank cheque to do whatever must be done. These are rarer than you’d think, so let’s use them to the best of our abilities.”

  Typically, Kaz would assign so many… ugh: protocols and limitations to what Archius could do… Don’t torture the Senator, don’t interrogate the parents – Pah!

  "I know!" Osmond shot out. "I know... I’ll see a few contacts we can check, alright?”

  "Tch, do they have any booze for us?" asked Amyé.

  "Is booze all you fucking think?!" Edain retorted.

  "NO!" Amyé retorted. "FUCK YOU! I just want a drink!"

  "SHUT UP, you two!" Hosea shouted over them, silencing the two. "Are we children? Come on!"

  Archius snapped his fingers before giving Hosea two thumbs up. "Thank you. We'll be deploying to the Sub-Levels at zero-hundred hours. Say your prayers and warm your stomachs.”

  ? ? ?

  Ugh... Freezing... Why did Archius forget this fucking freezing landscape... fuck! Looking down at the flurry of Sub-Level markets all stacking up on platforms across an entire district plaza, Archius noted that everyone was wearing thick winter coats for the Sub-Level summer.

  Brothels, clubs, pubs and all sorts of establishments littered the platforms and levels. They blared as many lights as possible, all to attract customers. Flies to the lamp, Archius supposed, thinking little of it.

  'Be careful, it'll be hard to know if anyone here’s armoured,' Archius commented, placing binoculars to his eyes. Despite the cold warmth on full display, the Sub-Levels were roaring with life. Hell, a festival was seemingly going on.

  Well, they need something to cheer themselves up…

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Even in the pits of freezing hell, humans will be humans and make up any reason to try to ignore the fragility of their lives. Mediocre music was playing all around from a congregation of roaming musicians, all clad in thick clothes.

  Oh yeah... it was the Sub-Level's victory day? Notably different from the surface's, mainly because Imperial remnants held out for so damn long underground... Victory.

  “What a fine victory over oppression and inequality.” Archius chuckled and scoffed. The Imperials were authoritarian incompetents. The Republicans were oligarchic incompetents.

  For what it was worth, the festival... decent. Got nothing on what his home planet could do, but for the impoverished statistics it was held for, it was good.

  Watching from up above, he saw the team move into position for a meet-up. Hosea was taking the lead, alongside Osmond. Too much noise, Eyes would look elsewhere for secret dealings. This should hopefully allow the AGENCY to get… something out of this!

  Archius didn't have much optimism, but an order is an order. A mission is a mission. Amyé took up positions on one of the balconies overlooking the plaza, a concealed sniper hidden beneath her oversized coat. Quinn and Edain stood by as well. 'Do you know who we're meeting?' asked Quinn.

  Osmond replied, 'Don't worry, Quinn, he'll make himself known to us, that’s how it worked for me in the past.’

  'Well, that's not how we do things,' Edain remarked. 'Tch... Fucking smugglers.'

  Osmond frowned at the remark, but Hosea interjected before an argument could explode, ’We do things his way this time, alright? The Boss wants things done, so we’re here to get it done.’

  'Thanks...' Osmond murmured. 'Though, with eyes in the sky... we’ll probably see them before they see us, hopefully…’

  'Hey, I'm not usually a scouter,' Archius remarked. 'Old Man, you got any of your guys nearby to run perimeter?'

  Hosea glanced up at Archius. 'No. My guts tell me we’ll be fine, we’ve always been fine! Run in, gun everything and get out whilst blowing everything up!’

  'Wow... reassured already,' Edain sarcastically jeered. 'What's the plan if shooting starts?’

  Definitely, Archius thought. They were lucky, though, if they didn’t have Kazuki pedalling high-quality equipment, and a roster of experienced mercs, they’d probably still be the underdogs in all this mess…

  'Well... I'm sure they're pragmatic enough to know a deal is a deal,' Archius said. ’Osmond, what say you?’

  'I hope so...' Not convincing at all, Archius thought.

  Archius continued to scan the area, then a sudden movement. A man approached Osmond from one of the side stalls, giving a hand signal across his chest.

  'It's going down,' Osmond said, taking a stack of newspapers of sorts from beneath his cloak and thick jacket and holding it out in front of him.

  Everything seemed in order, for now at least.

  Amyé was yawning, seemingly having bought some random fried foods from one of the stalls nearby. The approaching man ACCIDENTALLY bumped into Osmond, as an exchange happened. Then, Osmond started walking, dragging the group along with him.

  'What did you give him?' Hosea asked.

  'Just... some small arms?' Osmond replied.

  Edain grumbled. 'Small arms? For fuck’s sake.'

  'Hey! We had a few stockpiles on Anagora. Well, I did. Leon wasn't really interested in diversifying our storage locations, so it was a lone venture for the most part.’

  'Tch, I'm surprised he didn't kill you for that,' Quinn snorted.

  And just as fast as the man appeared, he disappeared into the large crowds. Archius tried to track him down visually but decided that it wasn't worth it. Having Osmond as a degree of separation might be good, if these people ever become a threat… they’ll target Osmond, and not Archius.

  Imperial-era small arms weren’t worth much to begin with, so Archius was fine with this transaction.

  With the live-drop secured, the team exfiltrated.

  'Rendezvous at the District Safehouse,' Archius ordered. 'We'll go over the stuff over there. Hope your man on the inside was worth his small arms, Osmond.'

  'Hah...' Osmond let off a nervous chuckle, still probably scared of Archius. 'I'm sure it'll be fine...'

  Archius kept his eyes on Osmond, with a neutral stare through the binoculars. Better be good, Archius thought.

  The exfiltration was smooth, surprisingly so. By now, Archius would have expected at least a thousand more civilian casualties and a whole sub-district destroyed! The information was safe back at the safehouse, but… were they really ever safe?

  With the She-Wolf present, no one was. But in the depths of workplace politics, no one was safe either.

  Two separate teams were in the safehouse, both eyeing each other up. On one side were the Black-ops teams. Ex-Seekers from Clandestine, or what was left of them. These were those pragmatic enough to know they would survive if they joined up.

  The other side comprised Kazuki’s best. His first-rate men and women.

  They were his highest-paid loyalists, a mix of Heimfall and Deltastring. Archius and Hosea stood in the middle, having to patch this mess together.

  "Why the fuck are they there?" Quinn inquired, pointing to the Seekers. "I remember you lot, Seekers, you gunned down nearly half of my guys at the start of the rebellion! Didn’t give us the chance to die fighting either, mowed us like animals.”

  One of the Seekers stood up. She had velvety violet hair, done up in one large bun sitting on the top of her head. It was Persephone, a well-known nay-sayer. Her armour was thick and black, denoting their... old loyalties.

  "Yeah! Guys like us! Not us! You’re alive now, right? Time’s changed, don’t tell me you’re stuck in the past." Persephone walked up slightly to Quinn before Hosea placed a hand on his own, stopping a confrontation from breaking out instantly.

  Archius was seated, eating some food he himself bought from the market. "You're right, Amyé, this stuff's to die for," he remarked.

  Amyé nodded, but had her eyes firmly placed on the Seekers; one of her gloved hands rested upon her holster. Hell, even drunk, Archius would expect her to mark whoever she got her eyes on in the draw.

  Quinn took a step forward as well, teetering into arm’s length.

  A heavy thud landed against the seeker, crashing to the floor as the rest rushed up to join the fight. However, before even another blow could come to pass, Hosea fired a noise-bolt through the air.

  Everyone shimmied back to their sides, and even Archius grunted, placing his hands over his ears.

  Slowly, the aching ringing died down. “Was that necessary?”

  “Yes,” replied Hosea, holstering his pistol before turning to Archius.

  Archius awaited a bit longer, for these grown men and women to actually act their age. Then, if more people did that… the galaxy would be a much better place. Though putting the responsibility evenly might not be… ideal, given how most Senators acted like manchildren…

  Archius rolled his eyes. “Whatever…” he groaned.

  Archius placed his hands together and pulled up his ICAPAD. Scanning through all the information that they had, they were able to pinpoint a location.

  Archius swallowed the last sweet before walking to the centre of the safehouse chamber. "Alright, now that we got all the killing-each-other vibe out of the way. Can we finally go kill some Blood Contractors?"

  Persephone grumbled, dragged up by one of her team. "Keep your brats in line, and we’ll do a lot of killing together.”

  A subtle threat, yes, but Archius was fine with a little bit of threatening here and there.

  Archius shifted his gaze over to Quinn. "Happy about that punch?”

  Amyé patted Quinn on the shoulder. "Punching her isn’t going to bring them back, ya know."

  "Nothing does..." Osmond quietly muttered to himself.

  Archius suggested something, "We have a location, we’ll be entering incognito, but expect guns to run loud. It’ll be a joint-op, we’ll have you guys, CRIS and ENFORCERs on standby.”

  Everyone gasped or raised their eyebrows. They hate each other, so let’s bring in more people to hate, and designate the hating to the people who actually deserve it. Hosea chuckled slightly before realising Archius was dead serious.

  "Wait a minute... You want to work with the ENFORCERs? Can they even tell us a part from street thugs?!” Hosea jeered.

  "Of course!" Archius said. "Nothing beats hating each other like finding another group of people to hate in their stead, am I right?"

  No need to hide this information, and it seemed to have gone over decently.

  Some groaned. Persephone stepped forward once again, this time making sure not be within Quinn's punching range. "I'll only work with them if I'm given the respect I... we all deserve. I didn’t fight Imp Intelligence for three months straight to be punched by some child."

  Archius walked up to Quinn, grabbing him by the back and dragging him forward, whilst gesturing to Persephone. "Shake hands and put this all behind you, alright?" he ordered. “Bigger enemies, Quinn, we’ll have a lot more people to shoot, but not her.” Archius’ voice lowered to barely a whisper. “Not now, at least. Osmond might get in the crossfire, but they can help save him.”

  Quinn slowly nodded. "Fine..." he said.

  "Great! Now shake, kiss or... whatever," Archius ordered, pushing Quinn forward.

  The two adults stepped back, letting Quinn and Persephone get closer. Then, they shook.

  There wasn't any amicability in that shake, more just them not wanting to piss their superiors off, but that was that. They retreated to their respective sides of the room. Archius tapped his ICAPAD and projected all the information onto a drone projector. It hovered slightly as Archius spun it to project onto the wall.

  "Now that we're finally killing the... right people," Archius said. "This is what we have. A data farm run by a subsidiary of a shell company. Standard cover-up shit, intel shows it connected to the Blood Contractors, a dishevelled black site of sorts. Trap? Maybe, so keep your heads on a swivel before you can’t use ‘em at all.”

  The projector flicked through a few locations across the data farm. It was a mundane warehouse complex, dull and as grey as the rest of the Sub-Levels.

  But the devil was in the details. Blueprints. It showed a lot of verticality, like a whole underground section, built to store information.

  "That's a lot of verticality for a fucking warehouse," Amyé commented. “Could start a manufacturing firm down there!”

  "It is, because it's a data farm, needs a lot of space for cooling," Archius commented.

  The drone highlighted various potential entry points, as well as vantage points throughout the industrial wastes.

  "Amyé, you and a few other snipers will take up position on the towers and buildings around. You'll provide us with recon. Persephone, your team's goal is to deal with the outside, clear it out silently. Quinn, you and your guys will enter the warehouses proper. Everyone else is in reserve. Not in case, but for when the shooting goes loud.”

  "And what about you and me?" Hosea asked.

  "We'll go with the infiltration team; we don't know what we'll find down there," Archius said. "I need the best man here by my side for that.”

  Nothing works better than... stroking the ego, slightly. Hosea gulped, seemingly taking in all that extra affirmation. Jeez, manipulating Eliza’s far harder than these people, Archius realised.

  Persephone grumbled at being reduced to mere sentries but understood that it was pointless to argue. Quinn looked at the plan, then said, "Gun down a few rabid mercenaries, hmm?" he scoffed. "Well then, let's go fucking do it then."