[u][b]HELLAS[/b][/u] The orbital hub of any planet in the Hellas system was always busy, constant arrivals and operations keeps it almost fully staffed all the time. This was especially true for Nicosia’s lone orbital hub, grouping both cargo arrivals and passenger traffic. Kana station, as it’s known by the locals, is more of a secondary city than a cargo hub. Due to passenger demand, hotels, bars and restaurants took root on the station, both adding to the size and the need for permanent housing. This also increased the demand for cargo space, necessitating the need for bigger bays and storage. Kana station quickly turned into a void city, with a population rivaling some medium sized cities down on Nicosia. The streets of Kana station were always busy, packed with transient freighter crews and diplomats traveling between worlds. This gave the station a seedier feel as the transient nature of the clientele and black market activity attracted strip joints, brothels and all types of dive bars. If one knew what to look for, you could find it on Kana station. [u] [b]Cristos Kal Kana Station[/b][/u] Cristos stepped through the docking bridge and into the arrivals bay of the station. He squinted against the harsh glow of the lights as his eyes adjusted to their new environment, tired from his nearly four day journey from Boitia. With an almost silent grunt, he made his way through the arrivals bay, dodging tourists as he made his way towards the exit into the station. The arrivals bay felt like a different station, the decor was kept very modern and maintained. Fancy bars and a bright off white interior made it very appealing for tourists traveling to and from the surface. Tourists rarely left the bubble of the arrivals bay however, most had no idea the city that sat below them. Cristos gracefully dodging a final group of drunk tourists before reaching the exit and walking into a large elevator bay. Quickly finding an empty elevator, Cristos ducked in and hit the close door button, letting out a sigh as the door closed. He felt lighter as the elevator quickly descended, a mixture of the velocity and the switching artificial gravity fields from the arrivals bay to the station. As the elevator doors opened again, Cristos was met with a starkly different picture. The soothing off white interior had been changed to a gray dirty steel, stained by decades of use and graffiti. The polished floors had changed to a dirty concrete, pockmarked with gum, cigarettes and random unknown stains. The lighting, had also changed to a dull orange coupled with the fluorescent and neon lights of bars, clubs and restaurants. Bypassing the crowd outside of the Arrivals entrance, Cristos quickened his pace as he walked into an alley, pulling the hood up on his coat before reaching the street on the opposite side. A flashing neon sign lit the street in bright periodic flashes of purple light. A bright red “ Lucky 1’S, best girls and steaks” sign, bathed the street in a constant red glow. ‘That’s the place’ Cristos thought before making his way past the short line and into the bouncer. “ Im here for Vlad” Cristos said flatly, as he sized up the bouncer. The man could easily crush Cristos, standing nearly a foot taller than him with arms as big as his head. “ Yes, inside” the bouncer spat without even meeting his gaze, pointing towards the door with a dismissive thumb. Cristos nodded and walked inside, the door buzzer audible from the outside before being opened by a similarly sized bouncer. “ This way”, the second bouncer said in a gruff tone as he opened another door leading to a hallway. With another nod, Cristos walked through the door, making it a couple steps inside the hallway before the door abruptly shut behind him. “ Shit “, he said audibly before a door to his right was yanked open, revealing a gang of men inside. A gloved hand quickly reached out towards his chest, finding a hold on his jacket before yanking him inside with the sound of ripping fabric. Even before he fell, Cristos could feel the kicks and punches from the gang around him repeatedly hitting his ribs and back as he covered his head. “ Stop”, a voice said over the commotion, immediately stopping the beating as the gang stepped away from Cristos “ Vlad wants to know if you have it” the man said as two men from the group around him bent over to pick him up causing Cristos to wince. “ Do you have it?” The man repeated, now face to face with Cristos. “ Yes, front jacket pocket…” , Cristos said, wincing slightly as he inhaled to speak. A hand entered his jacket pocket and retrieved the small flash drive within before handing it to the gang leader. “ Let’s check it out” the leader said, before the gang dragged Cristos to an adjoining room, sitting him down in a posh leather chair. The room was obviously a conference room, with a large rectangular table in the center and a large screen at one end. The gang leader plugged the flash drive into a terminal on the table, causing the screen at the far end of the room to light up. The plans for an experimental bomb were displayed on the screen, followed by the locations of cobalt stores and enriching facilities. This was all beyond Cristos’s understanding, but he knew that he was looking at some sort of terror weapon and the means to get it. “ Good” the leader said before abruptly pulling the drive from the terminal, prompting a slight smirk from Cristos. “ Cut him loose, and pay him” the leader said before walking out of a door next to the screen. Almost before the gang leader was out of the door a large duffle bag was thrust into Cristos chest and he was pushed out a separate door to his right. The transition from a lit room to the sudden dull orange light of the station made Cristos blink slightly as he struggled to see where he was. As his eyes adjusted, he realized he was outside again, behind the club. He slowly lowered the duffle bag down from his chest and looked inside, fining a bundle of clothes. Laughing slightly, he dug further to find a hard case with a set of currency chits inside, looking pleasantly surprised as he closed the duffle bag. “ Im surprised they actually paid me”, he said under his breath ‘ Almost made the past two weeks worth it’ he thought, as he walked toward the main thoroughfare. Cristos made his way back to spaceport and into the arrivals terminal again, his slight limp going unnoticed by the guards and tourists. Walking past the normal arrival gates, Cristos walked into the private terminal and onto a waiting shuttle. He was met by a large group of people, working on small terminals and discussing documents over a large but portable screen. After what seemed like a minute or two one man looked up from his terminal and grinned. “ Cristos…you look like shit” he said with a laugh, “ Did you load the virus…” he finished looking back down towards his terminal. “ Yes…” Cristos answered flatly, nodding towards the back of the shuttle. “ I guess the boss wants to see me right” he finished, looking down towards the man who greeted him. ‘Mhmm’ the man answered, not looking up from his terminal prompting Cristos to roll his eyes before walking towards the back of the shuttle and opening the private quarters hatch. Another group of people sat inside, obviously shushing their discussion as Cristos walked in. The room was an office, a man sat at a desk towards the far end of the room, with men and women scattered around the room in chairs. Portable tablets littered the desk and the floor, followed by hand drawn plans and maps. “ Ah Cristos…come in and close the damn door” the man at the desk barked before someone sitting in a chair closed the door for him. “ You’re alive, so I guess you’re successful” he nodded, obviously proud of Cristos. “ Congratulations, you passed, welcome to the SIS” he said with a nod and a smile before his face soured into his normal scowl. “ Now find a seat, we are debriefing on the moon” he barked again before the room erupted back into its previous conversation. Cristos nodded and walked out of the hatch behind him, into the passenger area. Finding the first seat he could, Cristos threw the bag on the row of seats and laid down, just getting a chance to close his eyes before the private office hatch door swung open. “ Cristos….” A woman barked from the door, prompting him to sit up slightly on his elbows. “ What’s in the bag?” She asked flatly. “ Clothes……” Cristos answered in a matter of fact tone, staring at the woman with a slightly annoyed face. “ Alright..” She said, before abruptly closing the hatch again. Cristos laid back down again and smirked as he felt the hardcase of the payment chits against his head. [u][b]- Five days earlier - - On Boitia -[/b][/u] Cristos and another sat at a tall table in a crowded bar, hunched close to each other so they could be heard over the thumping bass. “ Everything is there, the plans, warehouse locations, everything. Now, where is my money” the man spat in almost a frantic tone, constantly looking around the bar with a worried face. “ You don’t know the Boitian intelligence service, they are ruthless man…” he finished with a wavering tone. Cristos smirked and sat back in his chair before bringing the glass to his lips “ Don’t worry about it”, he said dismissively, “ You weren’t followed, and if they were as ruthless as you say, you’d be dead already” Cristos finished with a chuckle as he pushed a flash drive over towards the man. “ The location of your payment is on this, now hand over the plans” Cristos teased, sliding the small jump driver on the table under his fingers. The man, reached into an interior coat pocket and pulled out another slightly larger flash drive before slapping it on the table “ Money first….” The man said, his voice obviously shaking as he white knuckle gripped the flash drive in his hands. With another chuckle, Cristos slid over his flash drive with the payment details and watched as the man hurriedly grabbed the jump drive and walked towards the door, leaving the flash drive with the bomb plans and warehouse locations on the table. ‘ Dont spend it in one place ’ Cristos said under his breath sarcastically, knowing full well he walked that man into an ambush. There was no payment waiting for him at that location, just a tactical team from the SIS and the business end of a pistol. Cristos rose with a cocky grin and retrieved the flash drive from the table before making his way to the bathrooms. Weaving past a couple making out, Cristos made his way into the single occupancy bathroom letting the door shut behind him before he heard an audible thud. Turning around, Cristos could see the outline of a foot in the door, “ Hey man, its occup-“ is what he got out before a figure burst into the bathroom, shoving a stun gun up under Cristos’s chin. There was a moment of blinding pain, followed by a warm soothing feeling as he quickly lost consciousness, smacking his face on the dirty toilet on his way down. Working like the true professionals they are, the Boitian agents opened the bathroom window and Cristos’s limp body was shoved outside and into a waiting van. The whole operation took less than a minute. The sudden feeling of pain mixed with extreme cold is the next thing Cristos felt, opening his eyes to the inside of a black cloth sack. Another blast of cold water hit him, causing him to yell slightly before the cloth sack was yanked off his head. The sudden sunlight blinded Cristos as he rapidly looked around to ascertain his surroundings. His legs and arms were bound as he laid on his side, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Tall blue Boitian grass grew around him, limiting his sight to just his immediate area. Behind him, Cristos could hear sobbing and the laughter of their captors as they walked around the pair. “ So……” a voice boomed over the slight commotions obviously directed at the pair. “ Why do we find ourselves in this position, this is a little more than you wanted from your Boitian tourist experience I’m sure” the voice boomed with a chuckle. The voice was clearly a mans voice, but it was….odd, disturbed almost in a gleeful psychopathic way. Cristos was warned about the Boitian security service, but the way it was worded made it sound like more of caution than a warning of danger. Thinking back to the briefing he received before leaving on this mission, Cristos remembered one sentence that concerned the Boitian intelligence service, -Take note, some of your counterparts in the BIS can be……odd-. ‘ Well….” Cristos thought to himself…’ this is certainly odd’. “ Let’s start with the Nicosian, he voice boomed again” Bringing Cristos’s attention back to the situation at hand before being yanked to a kneeling position. “ What’s your story....” The man said with a chilling barely contained giggle as a large knife pushed its way into Cristos’s field of view. From this distance, Cristos could see the serration on the blade itself and the casting marks from the forging process. If this wasn’t terrifying enough, the man quickly flicked his wrist, prompting the small serrated blades to move, quickly gaining speed to give the edge of the blade a red hue that gave off heat. Cristos’s eyes clearly widened only causing the look of glee on mans face to twist into a wide toothed smile. As the blade inched closer to Cristos’s face, he quickly blurted out in a frantic tone. “ Im from the SIS, here on a mission!!!!” He screamed, wincing against the heat of the blade that was now mere inches from his face. A chorus of laughter erupted around him as he felt the blade retreat from his face, finally getting a chance to look around at his captors. A mixture of men and woman stood around him in a variety of dress. Some wore formal suits or the political robes of Boitians politicians. Others were in tactical dress, sporting rifles and chest rigs with advanced helmet devices and armor. Much of this was beyond Cristo’s own understanding as this level of technology never really saw the inner moons. Every so often a new weapon or technological improvement will be sold by the merchants of Boitia but most of it is hoarded by the Boitian government themselves. Even the knife used the threaten Cristos was experimental. The chorus of laughter subsided for a moment before the man placed a reassuring hand on Cristos’s shoulder, “ We know….” The man said, as he trailed off to face the other man. “ Did you know you were dealing with the SIS…..” The man asked in a fake inquisitive tone, almost seeming more gleeful than before. Cristos looked worried as he turned his head to look at the man, immediately recognizing him as his criminal contact from the bar. His face was swollen and bloody, his undershirt in tatters as he was stripped down to his underwear. A mix of blood, snot and tears fell from his face at a constant rate as he failed to meet his interrogators gaze. “ N-No….” The second prisoner said meekly his face glued to the ground. “ What would your bosses think….if we give you back to him without payment, or the plans you stole from us?”, the interrogator continued as he walked behind the man, prompting his sobs to turn into full blown wails. “ Shhh, shhhh… there is no need for all that, were not cruel” the interrogator said with a chuckle “ We wouldn’t give you back to your bosses…” the man said pulling a pistol from his waistband and pointing it at the back on the mans head. “ We will just kill you” he finished before pulling the trigger -CLICK- The sound was nearly deafening as the chorus of laughter returned. “ Look at that….” The interrogator laughed as he spoke “ Can’t be careless in this position” he said before holstering the pistol. The interrogator looked back towards Cristos and walked over, squatting down on his heels to be at the same height as him. “ In this business you don’t often get to learn lessons, usually the lessons kill you” the interrogator spoke quietly, loosing all the glee in his voice. The sudden change in demeanor was disturbing as Cristos slowly turned his head to meet the interrogators gaze. “ I have a lesson for you today Cristos, something the SIS failed to teach you”, he continued in a flat emotionless tone. “ “There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent”. The interrogator quipped, “ A lesson from Sun Tzu from ancient Earth” the man finished before standing once more, making his way back towards the second sobbing prisoner. “ That is the lesson” the interrogator yelled, dismissively waving his hand towards the sobbing prisoner, “ and this is how you will remember it” he finished as one of men in tactical dress slipped a garrote over the sobbing prisoners neck, wrestling him to the ground. The ferocity of the strike shocked Cristos, who audibly gasped before another black sack was pulled over his face. Leaving him with the sound of choking and the panicked gaze of his former criminal counterpart burned into his mind. A few hours later, Cristos had been bandaged and unceremoniously kicked out on the corner by the spaceport, left with only a paper bag of fresh clothes and some instructions [b] “ Get this to Vlad’s boys, have them plug it in and we will do the rest”[/b]