As the sun rose on the next day, the rioting in the streets of Larsen's Drift had abated for the most part. The Danilov planetary government's forces had imposed strict security to contain the population and had forced the markets closed. An eerie silence now smothered the space port where Matt and his crew resided in the Bug-out planning their next move.
A-113 sat at the computer interface in the cramped workshop where Bishop tended to the crew's gear. He sat motionless while large amounts of data poured over the screen. Matt walked in from the corridor, steam rising from the mug of coffee in his hand.
"What's the word?" Matt asked A-113.
"The analysis is almost complete. From what I've seen so far, it would appear that Galactic Composites, aka GalComp, is a shell company owned by Danilov's planetary government. They have artificially created the fuel shortage that impact's this world."
A-113 called up several documents which flashed across the screen. Most were ledgers, others were pictures of refinement facilities. The flow was interrupted by a short alert. A-113 tapped a few buttons on the console and brought up a camera feed of a mining facility out in the barren wasteland beyond Larsen's Drift.
"What is it?" Inquired Matt.
"Someone has accessed a restricted terminal at the old mining facility. It has tripped an internal system alarm." replied A-113.
The camera feed showed the backside of an individual sitting at a workstation in a rundown office. Cracks in the walls revealed the outside environment.
"Worth going in to investigate. Maybe that person has some answers." mused Matt.
A-113 nodded it's head ever so slightly in agreement. Matt then made his way back to the mess hall to notify the team.
***
Jeb, Tyris, and A-113 wandered down one of the streets in Larsen's Drift. Matt had tasked them with scoping out the near by parts of town to identify a good path to leave unnoticed and head out to the abandoned mine later that evening.
Many of the shops and storefronts had been shuttered and very few people were out and about. The planetary guard were the most common sight and for the time being, didn't seem to bother the crew while they walked down the street.
It wasn't long before they were near the brother's shop. Much like the other stores, the brother's store was shuttered and closed. Tyris was the first to notice some motion in the alley leading to the back of the shop. With a nod of his head to the others, they moved into the alley to investigate. The brothers had been very kind to them, and they would repay their kindness if someone was trying to do harm the them.
As they entered the alley, they saw the back door swing shut. They drew their weapons and pursued, not sure if someone was really looking to harm or loot the store. Tyris instructed Jeb to be on lookout, while he and A-113 prepared to breach the door.
When Jeb nodded that the area was clear, Tyris quietly opened the door and motioned A-113 to go inside. Tyris followed behind, cautiously closing the door. The area was dark, but in a flash, the lights came on automatically. Tyris and A-113 then noticed the two rifles pointing at them, but quickly relaxed as the barrels were lowered. It was the brothers guarding their door.
"Sorry for the spook!" said the older brother. "We needed to get your attention without alerting the authorities."
"How bad is it?" Tyris inquired.
"It's pretty rough." replied the younger brother. "Anyone caught operating their business will lose their license and have everything repossessed by the government."
"Someone really needs to knock this government down a peg." Said the older brother. "But no one is willing to stand up to them."
"We might be able to assist with that." said A-113.
"My brother and I were hoping you'd say that." replied the older brother. "We have something that needs to get off world, but all our channels are blocked at the moment."
The older brother nodded to the younger who disappeared further into the store room before reemerging with a small package. He handed it to A-113.
"I don't think that's what A-113 meant." Jeb started before the younger brother came over to him and handed him a device. It was a communicator in disrepair.
"It's not much," the younger brother said, "but it's the least we could do to compensate you."
Tyris spoke up. "We'll take care of this for you. But we'll also take care of the government as well."
The brothers shared a look at each other before returning their gaze to the crew. "If you think you can." the older brother started. "But no one has ever really been able to deal with the Syndicate. They have eyes and ears everywhere and seem to be one step ahead of everyone."
"People tend to disappear if they're defiant." chipped in the younger brother.
"We're on to something that might tip that balance." replied Tyris.
The brothers nodded and the trio set off back to the ship with the items tucked away.
A few blocks back towards the spaceport, the trio were stopped by one of the roaming guards in front of an office building. He asked them to come with him. Wishing to not make a scene, they followed the guard into the building. He led them to a private room off the main hall and put his hand out expectantly. Tyris placed a credit in his hand and the guard gave him a gold colored data rod. The crew were puzzled. The guard simply stated it was from a wealthy patron and that they should decided shortly if they would respond to the job offer. Tyris said they'd think about it and the guard let them go.
***
Matt and Bishop were just finishing up their equipment repairs when Tyris, Jeb, and A-113 arrived back at the ship. He nodded and noted that Linda and Sebastian should be done their training session shortly and they would then do the mission briefing.
A short while later, the crew gathered for the briefing. A holo-map of an abandoned mine rotated above the projection table. A flashing red dot noted the position of a terminal that had been recently accessed without authorization.
"Our goal is to find out who or what has accessed this terminal and if there is anything here that can help us stop the Syndicate from abusing the people of Danilov." Matt started. "We've learned from the records we took and the cypher to decrypt them that the Syndicate has been using this abandoned mine for some time for some illegal activity."
"If it's abandoned, why is someone using the console?" Jeb asked.
"At this point, they are a person of interest and we'll need to find them to ask why."
The team loaded up and Bishop stayed behind to guard the ship. He had time on his hands now that all the equipment was repaired.
***
The crew crept their way into the mining compound. Unbeknownst to them, another silent alarm had been triggered when they crossed the threshold. Hidden cameras were beginning to track their movement towards the mine entrance.
Matt and his team made their way towards what seemed like an old administrative building. Years of disrepair had parts of the walls cracked off and the inside of the building exposed to the elements. As they began to reach for the entrance to go and investigate, Matt noticed a red dot pass by his peripheral vision. Without hesitation he yelled out "Take cover!"
Everyone bolted for the nearest cover when the first shot flew out and splashed some dirt up into the air. Matt pressed his back against the wall, unholstering his plasma rifle as he tried to get a glimpse of who was attacking them.
On the far side of the mine, he could make out the dark silhouettes of what looked like a black-ops team. But he soon noticed who was leading them.
A tall figure, draped in dark robes, strode ethereally towards them. This was accentuated be the dim light cast in the glow of their glare sword.
"Matthew Charlemagne, Captain of the Bug-out! So this is what you've been up to since you left the agent life of the Union?" the figure boasted as they closed the distance.
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage." Matt called back.
"It's ok!" The figure called out. "You won't live long enough to need to know who I am."
With a nod from the figure, the Black-Ops team advanced towards where Matt and the crew had hunkered down.
Matt turned to Jeb who had come into the building with him and told him to go find the terminal and see if the person was still there. Then he turned back to address the mysterious figure.
"I think you'll find that you're on the wrong side of that equation!" Matt called out.
Powering up his plasma rifle, Matt dropped to one knee and poke out from behind the cover. A shot whizzed passed his head and he was able to get a beat on where it came from. With a quick squeeze of the trigger he let a shot loose and watched on of the shadows drop to the ground.
A-113 saw the mysterious figure moving to the left flank and opened fire with his needle rifle. The figure was quick, but not quick enough to dodge all the shots and was struck by one, stunning him for a moment.
This provided the opportunity for Linda to get a clear shot with her Shell gun. With impunity, she unloaded a bunch of explosive rounds, each finding their mark. The mysterious figure was vaporized in the process.
Witnessing their leader being eradicated, the Black-ops team pushed forwards. They lined up several shots but most missed their mark as Matt and his team stuck to the cover of the old administrative building.
Jeb came back into the lobby with an individual in tow. He called out to Matt that he'd found him huddled under the console's desk. Sebastian turned back for a moment to congratulate Jeb when a stray shot hit him in the shoulder and knocked him to the ground. Jeb rushed over and provided some cover fire, taking out the Black-Ops operative that had hit Sebastian.
There was suddenly a cry of panic from the operatives as Tyris burst out from the left flank and proceeded to use his glare sword to cut down the operatives. This drove them out into the open where the rest of the crew caught them in a cross fire and gunned them down.
Jeb began to administer some first aid to Sebastian while Matt walked over to the individual who they had come to find. They were an older looking gentlemen wearing lab gear for field work. They looked to be in good shape for their age.
"Please don't hurt me!" the old man pleaded.
"We're not here to hurt you. But could you tell us why you risked your life to come out here?" Matt replied.
The old man put a hand in his lab coat pocket and pulled out a canister of something that looked like dark ooze. He offered it to Matt.
"What is it?" Matt asked.
"It's what could solve all our problems on Danilov." the old man stated. "What you have there is a sample of Danilivium."
Matt's face squinted as he looked at the ooze as he said, "I'm not familiar with that."
The old man nodded. "It's a rare substance native to this world. It can be used to synthesize fuel, amongst other applications. The Syndicate has known this was here all along but have been selling it off-world to various cartels and banking the fortune."
A-113 stepped into the building and saw the old man standing there.
"Howard Shanks. Fancy meeting you here." A-113 said as they offered a hand to greet the old man.
"We'll I'll be!" replied Shanks as he shook A-113's hand. "It has been far too long!"
"You know this guy?" Matt asked.
"He is an old arms dealer I used to contact for certain missions. But I had thought he was retired now." A-113 replied.
"Not retired yet!" Shanks remarked. "But for you buddy, I've got a couple of fire-arms you should take a look at when you're done here. I definitely owe you and your crew for saving my bacon out here."
"Do you know what's the deal with that robed guy who knew my name?" Matt asked.
"He's the main fixer for the Syndicate. Some kinda Precursor Wanderer type that has a bit of a twisted mind." replied Shanks as he peaked out to see the falling red mist where the figure had been.
"Guess ya fixed him." Shanks said with a smirk.
***
Later that night, Matt reached out to a contact with the sector government and transmitted the information they had obtained at the mine. He received a confirmation that the intel would be acted upon and a thanks for his work.
Matt hoped that everything was going well with Lucas on his personal journey. With their current quest done, they had some time to spend on Danilov while they waited Lucas' return. Matt saw the gold colored data rod on the console that Tyris had brough in. Maybe this was the next job they would take.