He strolled along the park road pretending to study the information on his datapad. What he was really doing was following up on a lead. Sitting down on a park bench, he raised his bifocals and poked around on his pad. He listened to EC news while simultaneously watching the Xnean stock market. He clicked his beak and chuckled. Stock futures were looking up. When he was finally done with his current assignment, he'd have enough capital to start his own wing. The dream of every young, able bodied Xnean, beginning one's own organization.

Chillard Swaxnea scanned Section H Park. Young and fit programmers, data analysts, and tech problem solvers jogged, hoping to maintain their cardio health on the backwater space station. An artificial breeze swept through, blowing around fallen leaves from the faux trees and paper trash that had missed the receptacle. Chillard enjoyed the way breeze ruffled his feathers. As much as he was eager to earn a commendation and the endorsement of his commanding officer, he longed to feel real atmosphere on his down once again.

In truth, Chillard was ready to leave, but his mission came first.

He minimized the Xnean Xnarn financials and hesitated over the EC newsfeed. On the screen was an old Xnean exile named Xiup Tikka. Old and out of shape, the old bird possessed similar feather patterns. Chillard saw himself. White down with sky blue bristles, and hooked beak like an old Earth eagle.

Having caught Chillard's attention, he raised the volume of the report.

... the freighter explosion is merely the latest in a string of events started six years ago with The Singapore Incident, when pirates attempted to kidnap Earth Conglomerate CEO, Angelique Farnsworth. It was only thirteen months ago today a series of explosions rocked Alpha Arietis Station while members of the board of directors were docked for repairs. Analysts believe the attacks are connected to a greater political movement-

He closed the feed and shook his head. His contact within Armada Intelligence believed the attacks were part of a shadow organization's play for power. Lacking the Xnea's talent for espionage, the human clandestine agencies were always one step behind with no idea the kind of trouble they had on the horizon.

He clicked his beak and muted the feed. It was time to go to work.

Relaxing, Chillard leaned into the bench and reached out with his senses. Emotions quickly flooded his mind. The happy couple jogging by, excited about a positive pregnancy result. The content maintenance clone, repairing environment monitoring equipment. The disgruntled tech, angry at the sudden shift change. Their emotions and surface thoughts were laid bare by Chillard's mind-work.

Amongst his fellow recruits he'd made a name for himself with his extraordinary gifts. The human's would label him an empath, but that merely brushed the surface of his abilities. His special talent made the admiralty choose him specifically for this mission. Chillard could pluck information right from his target's head and all of their electronic security and countermeasures would amount to nothing.

Chillard scanned the park for his target, Shift Leader Irena Bloch. He'd memorized her daily routine and she was due for her jog at any moment.

"Chillard? Chillard Zwilk, is that you?"

Chillard nearly forgot to react to the name. Chillard was common among Xnean living in EC space, but Zwilk was part of a false identity fabricated by the Armada's Special Diplomat Department.

Chillard turned and smiled at the man behind him, Jacob Vis. "Jake, how are you? It's been a long time."

"A standard month, I'd say." Jake sat beside Chillard and extended his hand.

The two men shook. Jake was average height with the pale skin of a man born on one of the human colonies.

"How have you been?" Chillard asked, closing his mind off from the heavy emotions rolling off of Vis. The man was ecstatic about something.

"I've been down in the dumps. Homesick, actually. My sister had her second child earlier this year and my father has become very ill... " Jake took a deep breath and looked skyward.

Far overhead were the grey on grey paneling and wires of the station. There was no sun, no sky, just the artificial lights and breezes generated by massive filters.

"Not being there for them was taking its toll on me. If I'd realized how much I'd miss my family I wouldn't have volunteered for this project." He smiled apologetically. "Don't get me wrong, I love what we do. When they took me off the analyst team I was disheartened, but my work in the Data Relay department has been nothing short of groundbreaking."

"Yeah. Your absence was felt by the entire department." Chillard hadn't thought much of Jake. He was an average analyst with an average history. No one special, but the workload increased and more than a few people blamed Jake.

Chillard didn't need to be a mind-worker to know Jake didn't want to hear that.

"If I'm being honest, even the work we're doing in Data Relay isn't enough to stop me from missing home." Jake's eyes brightened. "That's why I'm so excited. I put in for a short leave of absence and my vacation request was granted!"

"That's fantastic." Chillard grinned. Jake's excitement was so great, Chillard had to raise mental barriers to keep himself from being overwhelmed. "When do you leave?"

"Three days! I just came from my health examination. All clear for deep space travel."

Station Z11221 sat at the edge of Grid 4-Y, on the border of Earth Conglomerate and Raiel Space. It was six months from the nearest gridport at Ganymede Secondus and an equal distance from Obama Outpost and the third fleet at Valiant Anchor. There were no commercial transports and no inhabitable planets in between. A brown-zone. The inhabitants of Station Z11221 or, more commonly referred to as Station Z, were alone in the middle of nowhere.

"Just a couple of days and I'll be away from Station Z, even if only for a short while."

"I'm happy for you, Jake."

Chillard quieted a twinge of jealousy. As an Armada trained mind-worker, he knew the importance of keeping his own emotions under control. With other's thoughts and feelings swimming through one's head, it was paramount to separate your own. Chillard wouldn't have minded going home for a while as well.

"Man, I'm glad I ran into you. You've always been the agreeable sort."

The two sat for a few minutes, filling the space with small talk, before Jake excused himself. He hoped to get a bit of packing done. Jake patted Chillard on the back and left, a carefree smile on his face. Chillard watched him leave with a smile of his own plastered on his visage. The jealousy was still there, but compressed until it was the size of a pea. Fighting the urge to examine that pea, he scanned the park. Vis hadn't distracted him for very long so if Irena Bloch had arrived for her jog, he'd still be able to catch her.

As if on cue, Shift Leader Bloch jogged across the northern intersection and into the park. She was a human woman with the bronze skin of an Earther and a head of red hair tied up into a ponytail. She had the wide stride and smooth pace of a practiced runner. Chillard had watched her for weeks, recording her surface thoughts, compiling and analyzing. The information he'd gleaned had already gotten him into her personal files. He only needed a bit more data. Then he could crack the security on her secure project files.

Easing the reins on his abilities, Chillard stretched out, touching the minds of everyone in the park. The happy couple, sharing their news with a coworker. The busy clone, contemplating what would be served for lunch that day in the Maintenance mess hall. The tech, anger forgotten as the man he loved gave him a hearty embrace. Chillard ignored them, directing his mind-work towards Irena. As usual, her mind was set on her impending work review, she was brimming with confidence.

Carefully, Chillard cut through the surface layer, diving deeper into her thoughts. He had to be careful. Humans lacked the mental capabilities of the Xnean, but they were a sensitive species and could feel when they were under mental attack, He didn't want to spook her or worse, do any lingering damage that a brain scan could and would detect. It was delicate work, but Chillard had been trained by some of the best in the Combine of Galactic Governed. Known Space had no better mind-workers.

Sinking into Irena's thoughts, he searched for the passwords. She yearned for a missed romantic opportunity. Chillard could use that as an opening. He prodded those thoughts, triggering memories. A petite Canamarian. The woman and Irena had been trapped in a lift together. Four hours of the most stimulating conversation Bloch could remember. Chillard used the feel of that woman's memories to sink past Irena's natural mental blocks. Deeper-

An unfamiliar sensation insinuated itself in the field of Chillard's mind-work. He retreated from Irena's mind less he be discovered. Around him, he stretched his gift, seeking the anomaly.

The couple and their coworker, joyously discussing baby names. The sad tech, he'd forgotten his lover's birthday. The clone, pleased with himself for a job well done. All was as it should be except for a hole in his senses, a void where his mind-work detected nothing. Chillard had never sensed such a thing. Even the most well protected minds gave off something.

He searched until he found the void. Jake Vis, but something was wrong. Jake no longer felt like himself. The overflowing joy was gone and in its place was nothingness. Chillard studied the strangeness of it all as Jake approached the happy couple. Vis grabbed the waste receptacle beside the bench where the couple and their friend sat, and, swinging the bin to gain momentum, he hit the father-to-be in the face.

Chillard was hit with waves of shock, fear, pain, and confusion. But Jake wasn't finished. With mechanical efficiency, Jake bashed the man's head in while his partner screamed for help. Fear and pain, despair and bewilderment. For Chillard, it was becoming hard to stay focused. He had to close his mind off from the wild emotions.

The couple's friend attempted to stop the attack, but Jake was undaunted. When the man on the ground stopped moving Jake turned upon the woman, knocking her against the bench and pummeling her with his hands until her face was a bloody mess. Bystanders arrived and attempted to restrain him, and Jake railed against them until their numbers overpowered him. He never said a word, fighting until he could fight no longer. Then he laid still.

The entire scene was bizarre. Chillard risked easing his restraints in order to reach out. Brushing Jake's mind, Chillard was dismayed to find nothing. He approached the crowd, their feelings a chaotic bombardment. This was something no one expected.

Crime on Station Z came in two forms, theft and the occasional trespassing. Disorderly conduct was rare, but assault was grounds to be terminated from your contract. No one would risk that. Termination of any kind was a tarnish on your resume which would stay with you forever. The company didn't like blemishes. Jake had just thrown away his career and ruined any chances of future employment.

"She's dead," one of the good samaritans whispered.

"So is he..." a second confirmed.

More confusion, more fear, and more sadness, but still nothing from Jake Vis. Ten minutes earlier, he'd been excited to be going home, so happy his emotions bled onto Chillard and now he was closed off. Blank...

Chillard looked up at the sound of buzzing as drones arrived on the scene, broadcasting and recording. He backed away, slowly. A key element of his operation was anonymity. He used the park to snatch Boch's secrets because it reduced the chances of anyone placing them at the same place at the same time. Wide open space, dozens of people. He looked around, spotting the Shift Leader jogging up the path, drawn by the commotion. He had to leave. Using his datapad to hide his face, Chillard rushed down a side path.

He left Section H Park and crossed the street at the first intersection. Chillard took the long way back to his apartment complex, his mind replaying the violence he'd just witnessed. He needed to devise a new plan to get into Shift Leader Bloch's secured files. There was still a mission to complete.