[@Syrenrei]
Pain woke Rene into darkness.  The air was close and muggy and tinged with some acrid chemical residue. It took him a moment to realise he was laying on his back and he pushed himself up, ignoring the dull throbbing that spread across his chest. The front of his tunic was crusted with dried blood which had oozed from the punctures the needles had made. Something, probably electrical wire, bound his hands behind his back and bound his feet together. Some attempt had been made to gag him, but by working his jaw he was able to clear his mouth. The darkness was absolute enough that even Rene’s genetically enhanced vision couldn’t pierce it. There was a thumping sound somewhere nearby, unmistakabley that of a body hitting a hard surface.

“Thycon?” Rene croaked, his voice unexpectedly hoarse and raw from breathing in whatever chemical laced the air here.

“Rene?” came back Thycon’s voice, similarly cracked and croaking, “Seas, I thought he had killed you.”

“Can’t say I am feeling great but I’m still alive,” Rene said, tugging uselessly at the bonds that held his arms.

“Do you know where we are?” he asked, flexing his calves to try and pull his boots apart. While the bonds were tight, the combat boots he had wearing were dense enough to prevent the wired from digging into his flesh.

“We are in a fluorine transport container,” Thycon responded. That explained the chemical stink of the place.The containers made excellent improvised prisons, there was one exit, the main door, and they were sealed from the outside. They also had ventilation systems to prevent a build up of pressurised gas that would otherwise burst them open. At least they didn’t have to worry about suffocating. 

“Rene, or whatever your name is, I think its time you told me what is going on,” Thycon commanded, his fear beginning to transmute to anger. 

“Vitger had pictures of you and Solae, claiming you were some sort of rebels. Is that how you came to be hiding out on the island?” Thycon demanded. Rene couldn’t see him but he sensed the man had turned from his futile pounding to glare in his direction.

“We aren’t rebels,” Rene responded distractedly. He needed to get out of here. Whoever was in charge on New Concordia had obviously pulled his image from official files. That implied an impressive intelligence capability, he didn’t think he had been seen with Solae by anyone who was still alive, safe for the Shyshin whom he was sure wouldn’t have talked. They must have gone back to the Rat Trap and figured it out by process of elimination. Fear kindled in his heart, not for himself but for Solae, he couldn’t leave her out there alone. Flexing his legs he strained his muscles, pressing the soles of his feet together. Blood thundered in his temples as he heaved at the wire and, at last it parted with a twang.

“Who are you then?” Thycon pressed. Rene stood up, ignoring the sudden wave of nausea that washed over him and moved towards Thycon’s voice. Rather to his surprise Rene told him. Starting with the attack on New Concordia he told the fisherman everything that had happened, the attack at the Rat Trap and the Embassy, meeting Solae, their time with the Syshin and their arrival on Panopontus. He wasn’t precisely sure why he told the other man the truth, perhaps he felt guilty for getting him into this situation, perhaps it merely felt good to get it all out in the open. When he was done Tychon was left in stunned silence.

“So its true then, what Damaris said, she really is a princess,” Tycon said wonderingly. Rene nodded though the gesture was invisible in the darkness.

“That she is,” Rene responded. He had to get out of here, he couldn’t leave Solae out there alone with the whole planet looking for her. There was no way to know how long he had been unconcious. Suddenly he felt Thycon’s fingers on his they moved questingly up to the wire that bound his wrist and began to search for the knot that secured it.

“We work at night, you have to be able to handle a rope in the dark,” Thycon explained, “How did you get your feet free?”

“My boots,” Rene explained, “he really should have taken them off or at least bound me above them.” Thycon grunted in reply, his fingers finding something, the wire around Rene’s wrist tightened painfully as the fisherman’s tugging used up what little slack there was but he didn’t complain.

“Vitger is a real spawn of a sewer pipe,” Thycon said, cursing as he lost his grip and began the task anew.

“He is Palack’s worthless son-in-law.” Rene tried to shrug his shoulders but Tycon’s firm grip on the wire prevented the geusture.

“Palack is the man who I told you owed me,” Tychon went on, as though it had occurred to Rene to wonder. Now that he bought it up Rene recalled that Tychon said he had pulled the owners brother from the rubble. Belatedly he realised that this was Tychons way of apologizing for having gotten them caught.

“Look I’m sorry I got you into this,” he said. The wire parted with a sudden twang and blood rushed painfully back into Rene’s fingers.

“If it wasn’t for the two of you my daughter would be lost or dead,” Tychon said simply. Rene felt a lump form in his throat at the simple force of the statement. Few men would be so blase about danger or so apparently uncaring about reward, mentally he promised himself that he wouldn’t let anything happen to Tychon or his family. With his hands free Rene began to free his companions feet.

“So you were a soldier,” Tychon said after a moment, “Do you have a plan for getting out of here?” 

Rene unwound the wire and began to work on Tychon’s hands. He considered the question thinking back to his escape and evasion training. It was unlikely the door could be broken down and certainly not without attracting attention. That meant waiting for the door to open and then jumping whoever opened it. If it was Vitger alone, they had a chance, if it was a squad of Gids or police, it wasn’t going to go well. Rene figured he would try it anyway, better to be shot attempting an escape than to be taken alive.

“Not much of one,” Rene admitted, “But I’m working on it.”