The late night's quiet and peaceful ambiance is shattered with the loud roar of a gravitic engine. A dark shape turns a half mile out from the quaint agricultural village on a moon orbiting the gas giant in the Pequan system. Four dark figures leap from the edge of the transport ship when the side door slides back. A coswer lifts its head, regarding the figures as they quckly sprint past the beast of burden's pen and up the lane into a dark village lane. A greenish hued light filters through mitary grade helmets, but not enough to see who or what the dark clad figures are.

Shutters on windows close as the four move purposefully up the lane, passing many cottages, businesses, and following some map being shown on their HUD visor.

Like everyone else in Verdentia, Carl "Blackie" Duquesne wakes to the noise of the shuttle transport. Been two years since he has heard that noise. Probably some rich noble or their kin coming to see how best to reap rewards from the bumper export tallies figured this year. Carl sighs. He had warned them, many times. They--

Carl's thoughts are interrupted as a dark shadow stalks slowly past his curtained bedroom window.  It moved past and Carl jumps up from his sleeper and quickly pulls on his jumpsuit and boots. He pulls a bacpack from the closet and a sheathed sword from the corner. He moves to his open bedroom door and peers down the hall for movement. Nothing stirs. No sounds.

Carl darts into his "office" space and pulls the data crystal from the hybrid computer, stuffing it into his pocket. What is happening, he asks himself, gathering his wits.  He has lived here, among the verdentians since that horrible scenario.  Why bother me now?

A creak gives away the intruder's position. Third step down from the top of the stairs to the living quarters. Carl takes a position behind the small room's door with his sword held low to the right. A black clad figure creeps into the room, weilding a slug pistol before him. Carl moves to cut the mans arm off, but the intruder is hyper-alert and senses the movement, jerking to the side and away from the door. The blade cuts a deep gash in the arm instead. Its enough to force the intruder to drop the weapon.  They grunt and pull a knife from somewhere.

Carl darts forward, catching the man's knife arm in a hold and tries to take the intruder to the floor, but they resist and a tug of strength ensues when Carl drops the sword. They roll around, bashing bookshelves and rolling over the desk to hit the floor. The intruder loses his strength momentarily when he hits the floor. Its enough that Carl twists the man's arm around and stab him through the neck and onto his spine. Carl yanks back from the man that no longer moves. No longer sees.

Another creak and Carl is on his feet. He grabs the gun from the floor and opens the window. He is almost out it when the first shot splinters the frame above his head. He leans way out and topples to the ground below. Another two shots rang out as he fell.  Carl rolls to a stop, wills himself to move. He grabs the gun, turns to look back at the window. A man withdraws his helmeted head feom view as Carl sprays the window sill and panes with three slugs.

Were there more, he wonders looking around wildly. Shadows seem to move everywhere. Carl leaps up and takes cover as soon as possible into the shadows of the night dimly lit by the darkside of the gas giant.  Six hours till Lysen rises on the horizon. Carl leaves the village of Vertentia behind.

Lowport station is nothing more than a few businesses hoveled together around a landing platform for space faring ships two hundred tons or less and transports to highport station. One such business is an all-hours diner and beverage station. Carl knows the operator, Syntynx Tarva, a Bwap from the Gougeste system of the Jewel sector. According to the Bwap, no military transports have been around for a long time.

Carl is enjoying his Bwap cougati wrap and a fizbomb when a video stream from ION news catches his eye. The bwap watches in mild amusement at the wide-eyed reaction of the black skinned human to the vid. Syntynx turns to regard the vid, but the news switched to advertisement. She shrugs and turns back only to find the space empty where Carl had been sitting only moments ago. She looks over the counter at the floor and shrugs again with a hmmpf, then notices the credit left on the counter.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:50, Fri 23 Feb.