From Darkness

[Manticore]

LISA

Lisa Jaeger and James Arland touched down at a public spaceport in one of the seediest sectors of Houston. The massive pad was jammed with ships in various states of disrepair, and it was a struggle to find space to set their fighters down.

Lisa popped the hatch of her Sabre after activating the security system, and made sure to buckle her gun belt on before climbing down. She sighted James' Eagle several ships over and started walking in his direction. She spotted the man himself, wearing a heavy coat, and even from this distance thought she recognized the bulk of the nanosuit she’d helped build for him lurking underneath.

"It's been a while since I saw you in person," he said with a smile as she approached. He towered over her, and she noticed his jet-black hair had been permitted to grow to a comfortable length, now that they were no longer in the military.

She adjusted the gun belt over her slim grey jumpsuit. "Yeah, it has. Good to be breathing a little ‘fresh’ air again." She made a face at the revolting smell of the spaceport around them.

"Fresh seems about right. Either way, respectable citizens such as ourselves should fit right in.” His voice was tinged with his trademark brand of sarcasm.

Lisa nodded. “JADE, please determine where the shipment is going from here.” JADE was Lisa’s AI companion, and was able to communicate directly with her and James through the small receivers in their ears.

"Of course," JADE replied through the receivers in both of their ears, her voice noticeably echoing with a synthetic tone. “At the moment, I can tell you that it is headed toward those warehouses to the west.”

They started walking, and Lisa pulled out a cigarette and lit it, seemingly lost in thought.

James lifted an eyebrow upon seeing the cigarette. He chuckled, cracking a half-smile. "Should I give you the spiel about your lungs and their now intimate relationship with tar and nicotine?"

Lisa shrugged, blowing a long trail of smoke into the wind. "They... help me relax, and these are pure Cambridge smokes, so they don't have nearly as many impurities. Besides, they contribute to my ‘bad girl’ persona."

"Ah, I used to smoke a bit before, actually. Dropped it when I realized the habit was growing too much on me." He paused. "You know, this place might actually have a few dangers. Probably plenty of morons who just see a pretty face and act accordingly."

Lisa nodded, but seemed unfazed by both the warning and the compliment. She was still a tiny slip of a girl, but she carried herself with a confidence that didn't waver as she walked through the seedy neighborhood. "Well, I guess that’s why I have a big strong man in battle armor to protect me.” She turned to him and grinned wickedly, cigarette clenched in the corner of her mouth.

He laughed openly at this. "Keep up that attitude and soon you’ll be the one protecting me instead. Seriously, though, have you been going to the range like I told you to?”

Lisa shrugged. "I've been when I've had the time..."

James frowned, staying silent for a long moment. “JADE, do you have a solid read on the shipment yet?”

"Yes, I do. According to the security cameras, it will be in Warehouse C, but it is about to be resold. The Junkers who purchased them from the Colonial are now selling to a group of Xenos. I have managed to confirm the identities of three of the five Xenos, and have forwarded that information to your neural net."

James withdrew what appeared to be another piece of the suit from a coat pocket, pulling it down over his face. It was a full face mask with a visor - the carbon nanotube fibers from the mask and the rest of the suit knit together intelligently to form a seamless seal. The display inside lit up and Lisa assumed James was perusing the intel.

"Hm. Savory, savory people. I read at least fifteen counts of assault and robbery on all of these fine gentlemen put together. Six counts of first-degree murder. And one count of bestiality."

"Fantastic," Lisa said, sarcastically. "When's the deal going down?"

"Based on what I'm seeing, very soon," JADE replied. "Between two and four minutes from now."

"What's our plan?" Lisa asked, looking to James.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that if I make a very unsubtle entrance, wave a gun at them and pretend to be a cop, the Junkers will run off. The Xenos will likely try and stand their ground, since they really want this shipment." He rubbed the chin area of the mask contemplatively. "Now, question is - what to do with our friends, the Xenos? I didn't bring nonlethal ammo. So what do you think?”

"I've never really been opposed to killing Xenos on principle, but they might know something useful. JADE, any help you can offer us from there?"

"The warehouse does not provide many sophisticated options. Their electronics are limited to a basic security system with cameras. I could kill the power or open the bay doors, but I do not see a way to directly incapacitate the hostiles." James calmly checked his compact Libertonian submachinegun. Fortunately, it was a model commonly used by the LPI.

"So I'll try to keep one of them still breathing. JADE, wait until you detect that the funds for the munitions go through, then cut the power. I'll blast my way through the gate with some detwire, then we'll see if my amateur psychologist theory holds up.”

He looked to Lisa. "Want to come in and wave a gun around in there with me? It'll be more convincing, and it'll be fun. I swear."

Lisa forced a grin. "Hell yes I do!" She faked a good dose of enthusiasm as she yanked her pistol free from her belt, racking a round into the chamber. "Are we trying to actually hit the Xenos or just scare them?”

James just shrugged. "Eh, we’ll see."

As they drew closer to Warehouse C, James prepared his detwire string. "Any sentries on our approach, JADE?"

"Negative. I believe this group thinks that their obscure location provides them all the privacy they need. I estimate that it will be easy to approach them."

James strolled up to the door, carefully lining it with enough detonation cord to blow out a good-sized hole. "Okay, time to see if I can feign that particular speech impediment - a Libertonian accent. Ready when you are, JADE. Sync the wire charge three seconds after the power cut for maximum effect."

"Understood," JADE said. "Five, four, three..."

Lisa readied her weapon, taking a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm her racing heart. With an effort, she managed to get her emotions partially in check, and squeezed the metal grip of her pistol as tightly as she could.

"Lights out. Charge in two, one..."

(Credit to l3wt for his character's portion of this chapter.)

---