The Price of Loyalty

[Shagohad]

The transit was uneventful for the most part. Gallia's amicable nature towards Kusari and its trade was a blessing when it came to getting towards Bretonia. Although the scans and frequent checks of passengers and cargo became more worrying the longer he was subjected to them. One of the Navy officials had run the entire trade vessel's ID's at least three times. And more than once he had to prepare a diversion to keep his bag from prying eyes.

But this being a Kishiro ship and all paperwork in order, he went unmolested in his travels. Gallia was the only loose end, the fascist Kingdom unpredictable as it was tenacious. But they were not the targets. He had a mission to focus on and deviating his thoughts would cloud his judgement and performance.

He stood on the observation deck, watching the stellar bodies as they slowly crawled past the large window that dominated the wall. It was calming to stare into infinity, to ponder and plan his mission without the interruption of the crew or passengers.

The task at hand was simple: Make his way to Newcastle once the vessel had docked using the next charter. A smuggler, another loose end, hired to get the assassin into the system and activate a high powered scanning buoy that he had been gifted with. The discharge of the device would destroy the vessel attached to it and provide near-limitless data on ship movement within the system. It was temporary, providing a feed for mere moments, but the oddities would be deemed to be Ronin ships: Vessels further away from the trade lanes and not within known pirate colonies.

It was the next few parts he had to devise. Getting aboard these vessels was the trick and he couldn't decide on playing dead for the part or a lost pilot cluelessly blundering into a rebel fleet.

"Excuse me?" His thoughts were pushed immediately to the rear, his current ruse pushed to the front of his conscious. When he located the source, he found a child, no older than eight, blinking up at him with wide eyes. She was Kusaran, but something in her angular features showed she had some strain of either Libertonian or Rheinlander in her.

"Yes?" He replied quickly, turning to face the girl.

"You come up here a lot. And..." She began fidgeting with the edge of her jumpsuit, "My daddy says the stars are pretty...but looking at them for too long can make you a little...funny..."

This made his brow arch, "You are concerned for my health?" The innocence of children in the face of tasks that couldn't be comprehended by their tiny minds was simply baffling.

"Well, you are up here every day. And you just stare." She was looking nervous, eyes going back to the door. probably to keep her own escape routes in mind. Clever girl.

"Yes, I know you've been watching me. You need to wear quieter shoes," He turned back to the window, leaving the girl to peer down at her rather scuffed and simple boots.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"You didn't bother me," He answered quickly, "And I find the black and white spots to be calming. Besides, I'm already pretty funny." When he looked back at her, he faked a smile yet made it look so genuine.

"Okay!" She seemed to buy it, going so far as to giggle and beam at him with a near-flawless smile.

"Now run along. I bet your father might be worried with you sneaking off." The girl nodded and ran off, giving a quick goodbye as she disappeared. It was when he turned around and stared back into the abyss that he felt something slam into his lower back, sending a spray of red onto the window. How could he have been so stupid?

"Your wicked ways are known, Mister Song. If that's your name," A very proper toned voice came from the shadows. Kazuko spun and immediately rolled towards a set of furniture nearby. If the bullet had punched through his armor so easily, these chairs may not be the best, but it gave him time to draw his own concealed weapon.

"Only a serpent would strike from behind," He bit back, peering over the edge of the chair to see his assailant. The lights were dim, and the shadows cast from the lights beyond the window onto the objects in the room weren't the best for vision.

"Only the dogs of the usurpers would send a man like you to deal with us." A soft pop and a zing made him duck, the bullet impacting into the wall behind him. Still no muzzle blast, but he had a better idea of direction. Executing a quick roll, he fired four tachyon blasts into the area he had calculated they came from. Something shifted in the dark, shimmering and flickering as it moved into cover of its own. A stealth suit? How could that be?

He fired after it regardless, and just as he lined the shimmers up in his sights, the whole world heaved, throwing him to the ground and bathing the room red in emergency lighting.

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"THE HULL HAS BEEN BREACHED AND THE SCIENCE IS LEAKING OUT!"