[b] – Nicosia “The Vault” – [/b]
  	[img] https://slm-assets.secondlife.com/assets/7319875/view_large/Snapshot_010.jpg?1363003412 [/img]

The secure rooms of the SIS headquarters were nicknamed “ The Vault” by the staff and agents who work there. Ten meters underground, cut off and shielded from any outside connections, this was truly the dark hole within the dark hole of SIS headquarters.

Two dozen identical rooms within a maze of featureless hallways was an intentional choice by its designer. The layout is only known by a handful of people at a time and is never written down. A handful of maximum security cells also exist deep within the maze, built for housing those the Nicosian government would rather see disappeared.


“ Either my contact was compromised or I was….” Cristos said in a flat tone, while leaning back against a hard steel chair. Around him sat nearly a dozen people, taking notes and recording the meeting. Sitting directly in front of Cristos was a woman, known by the respected and feared name of The Confessor.

“ Did you do anything to make you think you were compromised?”, she asked in a disarming tone, staring into Cristos’s soul.

“ No…” Cristos answered quickly, shooting back an almost angry micro aggression before returning to his stoic demeanor.

“ Was your contact?”, She countered in the same tone.

“ I don’t know, he seemed pretty careful” Cristos answered in an inquisitive tone. “ He really did not want to be found by Boitian Intelligence, but I don’t know how he obtained the plans, or warehouse locations”.

The Confessor hummed and nodded continuing to write down notes before looking up suddenly.

“ Well, you are free to go” she said flatly, prompting the door to open up almost on demand. Cristos was urgently ushered out into the hallway before the door was abruptly shut behind him. The sudden silence of the situation was unsettling, prompting feelings of isolation as he suddenly realized that he was in a maze.

“ Over here..” An elderly man growled loudly, startling Cristos with visible jump. The man full belly laughed while waving for Cristos to follow him before the pair walked out of The Vault.




[b] – Within the offices of SIS headquarters – [/b]

“ You want me to go….where?!” Cristos almost yelled at his handler, looking around before staring at the other agent in the room. “ You look far too relaxed to understand where we are going” he finished.

The other agent laughed in an arrogant tone before his handler spoke up.
“ Argos, both Boitian intelligence and our intelligence have received tips that an extraction team is going to try and salvage the material from a crashed colony ship.” She finished in a matter of fact tone.

“ There are maps in your bag….” She continued, pointing with a knife hand towards the next room. “ Everything is pre-packed, and your escort will provide you with everything else”. She finished again.

The look on Cristos face spoke volumes, a mixture of extreme fear, confusion and anger.
“ Wh……Who is our escort..” He said incredulously, still not totally believing what he was hearing.

“ The Argan Light Infantry” she said calmly dismissing the pair with a lazy wave towards the far side of the room. 

The process of grabbing their pre-packed gear and leaving was rather……sterile. It felt like no one wanted to touch them or see them, even unsettling Cristos’s formerly arrogant partner. Cristos had been off world, he had heard stories of Argos, talked to former soldiers and even spent some time working on an orbital platform over the planet.
	Kristos knew what horrors existed in the jungles of Argos, he had seen it in the eyes and injuries of the soldiers he met. The stories sounded unreal, hordes of vicious creatures screaming through the jungle towards lines of infantry, large creatures emerging from lakes, winged beasts screaming down to grab and consume people. It all sounded like fantasy, like a fairy tale from ancient earth. It was all real though, and knowing this fact terrified Cristos. He hoped this would be an easy mission, he hoped that maybe it would be quiet or maybe the area would be clear. This only terrified Cristos more, because he knew that this was not going to be any of those things. 


[b] – On Approach to the “Citadel”, in Argan orbit – [/b]
[img] https://sites.breakingmedia.com/uploads/sites/3/2019/07/deep-space-nine-station-1024x768.jpg [/img]
The trip to Argos was short, a quick 12 hours with a commercial  shuttle. This in itself was odd, there is no tourism to Argos like there is with the other moons. Apart from the regular diplomatic mission for funds and supplies, you never see Argans. The charter itself was empty, an entire transorbital shuttle for just the two of them and the crew. It was eerie and everyone on board knew it.
	Despite his current position, Cristos did find the charter a bit humorous. This is a civilian shuttle, leaving from a civilian spaceport, this shuttle has a regular weekly schedule to and from the two moons. ‘ Who pays for this….? ‘ Cristos thought, there is no demand, either this is a very obvious transport cover for intelligence activities, or the Nicosian government subsidizes this charter for some unknown reason. The former would not surprise Cristos, while the latter sounded too fanciful to be true. The thought caused Cristos to chuckle slightly, slightly amused by the obvious simplicity. This amusement quickly faded as he could feel the shuttle begin to decelerate and the announcement of approach to the Citadel station.
	Due to the hazardous nature of the ring system, a pilot is needed to be brought onboard with the most current navigation charts. From this distance, the rings themselves were indistinguishable, a wall of rock and ice could be seen adjacent to the ship, stretching as far and high as Cristos could see.

The pilot skillfully weaved past boulders as big as the shuttle as they made their way toward the station, large chunks of rock and ice surrounded the large transorbital shuttle. Cristos was a child the last time he made this trip, but his face was glued to the window as if he was seeing it for the first time.
	The planet below reflected a green hue into the lit interior as the shuttle rotated itself for docking. The planet was lush, striking green jungle with variously sized lakes of blue water. It was beautiful, seemingly a perfect place to settle but with a deadly secret.

Unlike the single large orbital hub of Nicosia, Argos had hundreds of small orbital observation platforms. Not for observing the stars or watching for external threats, these stations were focused on observing the planet. Programmed to look for the Dru’s bio signatures and activity, these platforms act as a reconnaissance and early warning system for the Argans. As the Dru normally travel, attack and feed in hordes, they sometimes can be tracked if in large enough numbers. Under the triple canopy of the Argan jungle though, there is no guarantee, so this is augmented with surface sensors and even simple trail cameras. All of this just to get a minor edge over the savage Dru and possibly save some Argan lives. 

The Citadel was the largest orbital platform on over Argos. One part supply and munitions hub, one part barracks and one part hospital, the Citadel was a hive of activity. It was also the home for the ALI, the Argan Light Infantry, who deployed from orbit to hotspots around the planet.
	Cristos had used the time on his trip well, the SIS had pages of documents about the ALI, they were certainly an exceptional unit. For having the title of light infantry, the ALI were not light at all. They deployed with a weeks worth of supplies on their back, packs usually reached 40kg or more. Choosing to forgo advanced armors for stealth and weight, the ALI fights differently from the rest of the Argan military. They carry no heavy digging equipment for digging trenches and defenses and the ALI does not deploy with any crew served or static weapons. Due to the lack of armor, the ALI chooses to hide behind their own fire. Squad automatic weapons and grenade launchers make up a large part of combat teams. Their organization is also strange, choosing to operate in 12 man “recon teams” or “ spike teams” depending on the mission. The ALI as a whole was a little over 120 members in recon teams with almost 400 in support and transport roles. The Argan Light Infantry was the premier raid and recon force on the planet, there was no one better suited to do this mission. 

Loud metallic clangs brought Cristos back to reality as the shuttle began docking with the station. Usually the sound of people getting their belonging and companions together drowned out the company advertisement at the end, but lack of people caused Cristos to pause for a moment as the advertisement played. 

- We know you have many choices when you travel, but were glad that you chose to travel with us on Hellas Chariot, please take this time to gather your belongings and make your way out into the terminal. Cleaning crew will be arriving in 20 minutes, we thank you for your cooperation -

Cristos chuckled as he grabbed his nearly 35kg pack and walked towards the exit. For relatively short trips, there were rows of large lounging chairs, enough to accommodate up to 500 people on two levels. As he made his way towards the exit bulkhead, a man stuck his head in the door, looking at the pair leaving the shuttle. 

“ Nicosians….follow me, im your escort” he said curtly, his Argan accent almost too thick to understand. 

The man quickly left before allowing the pair to respond, choosing to wait outside of the shuttle for them to make their way out. 

“ He could at least help us with all this shit..” Cristos’s compatriot spat under his breath, prompting Cristos to shake his head as he left the shuttle.

Unlike the mass of tourists that occupied the terminals of Kana station, the Citadel was orderly, columns of soldiers marched through the large corridors, doctors and officers walked solo or in pairs looking determined. It was also quiet, only the lightest sound of conversation could be heard. The lack of loud conversation, drunken chanting and children was unsettling as the pair trailed behind their Argan escort.  The citadel was well lit and maintained, bright white light and polished floors reflected onto the gunmetal gray walls, properly illuminating the various access panels and warnings. No one seemed to look up from what they were doing, and the pair were certainly an oddity. 
	Argans walked in light tan formal uniform suits and dresses or brownish green fatigue tops and bottoms. Polished shoes or boots were the footwear of the day, drawing a striking contrast to what Cristos was wearing. Dark brown straight leg slacks with an ankle high faux boot. His casual fitting oxford shirt was half open, sporting a small patch of chest hair where his chest was exposed. This didnt go unnoticed but Argan were too disciplined to stare, despite the rarity of off worlders, particularly ones carrying survival gear.

“ In here, Colonel is waiting” the elderly man barked, tapping the door with a hard calloused knuckle 

Cristos inhaled sharply before promptly hitting the door control, fighting his apprehension with forced action. The door sharply slid open revealing a small office with a man sitting behind a lone desk. Hearing the elderly soldiers knock, the attendant was already attentive, giving a curt nod towards the pair as they walked in. 

“ The Nicosians….” the man said with a smile, as he pressed an intercom on his desk “ Colonel, the Nicosians have arrived” he said flatly before sitting back in his chair to size the pair up.

“ The stories ive heard made you people seem taller…” he said flatly with a slight chuckle and nod, “ Skinner too….” he added before the door to his left shot open, causing the attendant to shoot up to attention. 

“ In here”, a woman said , sticking her head out for a moment in order to make eye contact with Cristos before returning to the room beyond the door.

Cristos looked back at his companion and nodded towards the door before walking into the Colonel’s office. The walls of her office we adorned with medals and pictures of past commands and operations. A Dru skull on top of crossed bladed appendages also hung on the wall, adding to the pedigree of the soldier who currently sat in front of them. 

“ So, we are to escort you two to ship 6 in order to thwart or ambush a criminal extraction team seeking highly radioactive material in order to fabricate what looks like a dirty bomb…….” she paused, either waiting for an answer or taking in the absurdity of the task she was asked to do.

“ Yes maam “ Cristos responded with a nod, fighting an awkward smile as the Colonel stared through their souls. 

“ You know, the Dru make hives out of the crashed colony ships. They like to eat the wiring insulation and they are a shelter for their egg sacs. They are also drawn to the corium of these melted down reactors, you can consider these positions headquarters points.” she spoke again, continuing to stare at the pair. 

Cristos had no answer for this, simply repeating “ Yes Maam” as he nodded again, either in understanding or acknowledgment of what she just said.

“ I dont know what kind of gangs you have on Nicosia, but they must be very bad to consider this as a viable option. Not impossible, but very dangerous” she added, standing up to press a screen control terminal on the opposite wall. The formerly transparent screen lit up, revealing a map of the ship area.

“ This area is 20 miles from our current front line and is quickly becoming a salient. I have already lost a recon team in this area, and the regular army has marked this for encirclement and bombardment”. She finished, bringing a hand to her face to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration.
	
“ I hope you understand my unwillingness to send in my best recon teams into an extremely dangerous area in order to kill some criminals who might not even accomplish their mission!” she almost screamed, quickly calming herself down.

“ We have set up a cot in the adjoining room, we have tasked recon team Thermi to your mission. You leave tomorrow,” she said, almost sounding defeated “ for the record, if it was up to me, I wouldn't be sending anyone on this mission. The jungle will take care of them…………your dismissed” she finished, nodding towards the door.

The pair quickly left the office and walked into a door behind the desk in the lobby. The hallway beyond was bathed in dark red lighting with dormitory rooms on either end. They pair was pointed towards an empty room and promptly left alone. The room was neat and made up, two additional packs were laid on neatly made cots. A crate of weapons and ammo sat at the far end of the room.
	Dropping his pack on the floor next to his cot, Cristos flopped down on the bunk and closed his eyes. Tired from the journey and restless from his nerves, Cristos finally was able to will himself to sleep, or so he thought.

No more than an hour passed before a loud series of knocks could be heard at the door, immediately pulling Cristos from his deep sleep with a jump.

“ Sir, the sergeant told me to come get you” a young voice boomed through the door. “ Recon team Thermi is starting is briefing soon” 

“ Yea….one sec….” Cristos grunted more that spoke through the door as he rolled himself out of bed still fully clothed. 

“ Sir, please bring your packs and weapons” the voice added, before footsteps could be heard walking away. 

“ Hmm yea….” Cristos grunted again, turning around in a panicked motion before noticing his companion stirring in on the cot opposite to him. 

“ Get up, they want us…” Cristos said in a groggy tone, “ They want us” he finished, glancing down at the crates in front of him. The pack was simple enough and pre-packaged, all he needed to do was grab it and run. Weapons were a little more complicated however, as this level of weaponry never saw the more civilized moons.
	Some of the weapons were familiar looking, as civilian versions of these weapons existed on other moons. The main difference was the ammunition, the civilian models were electronically operated and caseless, using a solid projectile. This is ideal for civilian shooting and hunting due to the consistency and lack of heavy combusting containing structures. These weapons still used cased cartridges, and the bore was larger than their civilian counterparts. The cartridges themselves were also different, each round was tipped and much heavier than the civilian projectiles.
	Shrugging, Cristos grabbed the nearest rifle to him, a shorter version of a popular civilian rifle. It was a standard K-4 assault rifle or a 4R-1S on other moons. Easy to operate and magazine fed, the weapon was easily supported with a telescoping stock. It was light and easy to control when firing.

The halfway outside of their dorm room was awash with activity now, trading the soothing dark red light for a harsh white fluorescent glow. Still feeling and looking groggy, Cristos and his companion noticed the young soldier standing outside their room, quickly sharing a nod before the soldier led them down the hall. The man, or kid rather looked to have just reached maturity 18 or 19 revolutions around their host star. Yet, he looked to already be a hardened soldier, a single prominent scar marked his face and two chevrons adorned his sleeve.
	The soldier led the pair into a large warehouse space, large tables sat in rows in front of lockers of equipment. At the far end of the warehouse space, large parachutes hung from the rafters, tended to by workers on scaffolding, packing and inspecting the chutes for launch. The place was a hive of activity nearly 150 people were present, packing gear, conducting briefings and working on equipment. Gear and weapons lined the large tables with soldiers standing beside them, readying personal gear for the mission ahead.
	Despite being assigned to a single recon team, there were nearly 48 soldiers readying gear at the tables, almost half of the combat complement for the ALI. Cristos felt bad, all of this for a Nicosian problem, the threat of mass destruction on another moon. The political movement behind this effort must of been enormous. Or maybe this is the beginning of a more unified Hellas? Cristos did not want to speculate. 

“ Are they going down to the surface like this?” a man spoke in a gruff tone, pointing a upturned hand towards the pair. “ find them some fatigues…” the man finished in an annoyed tone. 

The whole interaction had brought Cristos back to the present, as he looked at the man turn back around and address a group of soldiers. His sleeves were bare of rank but his collar sported a pin with two crossed lines, he was an officer. Turning back around the face the pair, the officer waved a hand dismissively towards the young soldier, prompting him to leave the trio alone.

“ Your assigned to my company, I lead recon teams Thermi and Kastos ” he said matter of factly, yet in a calming tone. “ You are not to go farther than two feet from my person or the team sergeant” he said, pointing to the soldier currently conducting a briefing. 

“ If your separated, dont yell out” the officer said with a chuckle and half grin “ We will find you, yelling will just attract the Dru.” He finished glancing down at their weapons and nodding. 

“ Your team sergeant will keep you informed and safe, listen to him as your life will depend on it..” the officer finished with a curt nod before walking off to speak with more soldiers.

Despite the mass of people Cristos and his companion were finally alone, people ignored them like they weren there, simply continuing with their tasks. Cristos shrugged and nodded towards a group of chairs towards the back of the briefing area. 

“ No, im going to go back to the room” his companions said before turning to walk back through the door they came through. 

Cristos nodded his head then rolled his eyes, wondering again why they sent someone with him on this mission as he half dragged his bag towards the nearest chair. The pack itself was twice the size of the one packed by the Nicosian SIS. Opening it would reveal that the majority of the weight was water, neatly packaged in thin metal liter blocks. The rest was ammunition and a small crate labeled ‘ Rations’.
	Looking back towards the front of the room another briefing was just about to begin, stealing Cristos attention from his own thoughts. 

“ Alright, Operation SISI will commence as follows, operational time, two weeks” the team sergeant said as a large screen illuminated behind him, showing a map of the area. 
[img] https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/915437032803794947/1116364621075451924/dru.jpg?width=705&height=468 [/img]