One of Three

[Toaster]

The Sichel rocketed on towards Gran Canaria, drawing ever closer to where Olivia believed her first target to be. She sat in silence, glaring out at the planet now looming before her, and recalled her contact’s words after she had finished her account.

“You are right,” the man had finally said.

"I'm right?" Had been Olivia’s surprised response..

“About this. About hunting them.”

Olivia had not answered. Why would she care about a stranger’s opinion of her purpose? And yet, she had felt herself relax. Affirmation, regardless from whom, had felt ... good.

“I guess,” the man had continued, “that you will be calling on my services again in the future.”

Olivia had given him a smile in response. “Probably.”


* * *


The Sichel shot towards the planet's southern hemisphere, the nav system plotting a descent path through the atmosphere towards a small settlement nestled between mountain ranges. It was here that the information broker had assured her she would find her mark - Dareios Galanis. As clouds whisked by outside, twisted into swirls of vapor around the ship's wingtips, Olivia brought up the dossier she had put together on the man.

One of Pedro's top three lieutenants, she had often interacted with him - Pedro himself had more often than not been too good to hand out tasks to her and the other Colors himself. So, he had sent Dareios in his stead to declare his will and point out their next targets. But just as often, Dareios had used and abused the company for his own petty plots, running down competitors in the artifact business to further his boss' or his own goals.

Thirteen. That was the number of people Olivia knew for certain she had killed on the man's behalf - not counting any she had been unable to confirm. Most of them had been criminals themselves - drug lords, smugglers, pirates - or mercenaries paid to work for their kind. But some, she knew, had been innocent men and women, dragged into the mess by sheer misfortune. She had killed them all the same.

Now, years later and following the demise of his boss, Dareios was carving out a share in the artifact business for himself, using many of Pedro's resources he had been able to abscond with. He perpetuated the crime empire that Pedro had spent decades building up. Perpetuated the terror and misery. Continued to exploit innocent people merely trying to live their lives. Tore families apart. Olivia clenched her fists. The broker had been right. She was right.

A warning tone from the cockpit's console tore Olivia's attention away from the document. Outside, the clouds parted to reveal the snowy peaks of the mountain range passing by. Closing Dareios' dossier, she glanced at her contacts screen. The sensors had picked up three signatures rapidly ascending from the settlement, a few dozen kilometers ahead. The Sichel's scanners locked on to them, despite the distance - Olivia felt a pinch of pride for having spent so much on the grey market Lane Hacker tech. It quickly revealed the contacts for what they were: three Corsair ships. Two fighters, one freighter. A moment later, it revealed their transponders.

Olivia gripped her ship's flight stick tightly. The freighter was Dareios', matching the codes she had bought off the broker. She gunned it, igniting the Sichel's afterburners, and flicked off its weapons' safety.

---

Olivia Sable