"State your reason for approaching Apollihiri airspace."

Fucking hell...should've expected this to happen...

"We were hired by the administrator on Apollihiri to deal with some local insurgents," Boreas chimed in as he stood between me and Alannah, "Patching our credentials through...now."

Silence greeted us for several moments before a disinterested grunt answered us.

"Your credentials check out. You are cleared to land."

"Alright," Boreas answered before the line went dead, "Fucking hell, do these bastards patrol their systems like coked out guard dogs?"

"I guess they do," I murmured, not peeling my gaze away from the red, orange, and brown mass of rock before me that was Apollihiri, "Keep in mind this is one of a few genuine Federation strongholds left."

"Good point," he mused, "Alright, I'm heading back to let everyone know we're getting close."

I grunted in response and listened as my partner walked off.

"Well, we've at least arrived at our destination," Alannah mused, "I can tell Apollihiri's gonna be hospitable..."

"Uh-huh, sure seems like it..." I breathed, entering the planet's atmosphere to be greeted with a clear aquamarine sky and a serpentine layout of canyons, mesas, and plateaus stretching out before us. A few blue rivers could be seen, but I wasn't looking forward to the ungodly heat my crew would most likely have to contend with.

"Yeah...no, I take back my comment," Alannah continued, "Fucking hell...how did the UTF manage to turn this hellhole into a hideout for their goons?"

"Think about it: there're countless places for the Federation to hide their outposts and settlements in," I told her, "I have a feeling we'll be led to the largest one."

"Yep, our friends haven't left us yet," she pointed out, rolling her eyes in response, "How typical."

True to her word, the Federation crafts were still on either side of my ship. Interestingly enough, they appeared to be Spitfires. Typically, Dreadknights are used for patrolling systems. Hmm...Curiouser and curiouser.

Moving on, our guests flew ahead of us started a downward descent. Taking that as our cue to do the same, I dipped my ship down and watched as we flew into a wide canyon. I had to avoid outcroppings of jagged rock that jutted out from the canyon walls, but our flight was smooth sailing for the most part. 

We continued flying through the multi-colored canyon for roughly another thirty minutes before the walls around us began to widen out. Sure enough, we flew into a large valley that appeared to be the epicenter of several large rivers.

"Holy...shit..." Alannah breathed, "Seems like quite the desert jewel to me."

"No kidding," I murmured, "For such an arid planet, the UTF sure managed to find the right place to build a colony."

"How much you wanna bet they built some of these rivers?"

"I'd bet a substantial amount of money," I continued, shaking my head as I continued studying the advanced city before us, "The bastards even built a biodome so the colony wouldn't heat up too much."

"Well, that'll make our job easier," Alannah replied as we flew through the biodome. "What the hell...?"

"Don't ask me. I've only seen this tech a few times in the past, and it's more advanced than your humble settlement. From what I understand, the biodome we just flew through is...for lack of a better word, an artificial atmosphere commonly used in hostile environments."

"This sure as hell counts as hostile."

I chuckled to myself, only to notice we were steadily approaching a spaceport consisting of a sun-baked pad of steel and a large building commandeering the center of the airfield. From what I could tell, we were in the northeastern part of the city, which appeared to be dedicated to the spaceport. Before I knew it, we were touching down with a faint hiss.

"Please stay in your ship. for security reasons, we will have to board and search your ship."

I grunted in response before shutting off comms.

"Alright," I breathed, putting my helmet on and standing up, "It's showtime. Have your shivs primed, and keep your handgun close."

"Of course."

We left the cockpit and regarded the rest of our crew as they got ready.

"So...what's our plan?" Damien prompted me as he holstered a sidearm on his belt.

"First, we're going to have to eliminate our friends," I began, "They're planning on boarding my ship, so we're going to show them how we treat uninvited guests. To be honest, I'm surprised we weren't recognized right off the bat–my ship is well-acquainted with the Federation, so I'm sure a lot of people want to see it go up in flames. The first rule I'm going to establish for this bounty is that no witnesses can be left–if someone sees us get to work, they need to be dealt with properly."

"Understood," he replied, "I'll stick by Ralph and make sure no one will catch us with our pants down."

I smirked behind my helm. "Sounds like a plan to me."

When everyone was ready, my crew dispersed and hid throughout the Ravager. Naturally, Alannah and I hid together behind a few large crates.

"Hmm, see the black fog around us?" my wife inquired.

"I am merely helping. Do not mind me," Vi'karac chimed in, laughing to himself, "This ought to make it harder for your friends to find you."

"Yeah, hopefully," I breathed, drawing my handgun and making sure I had a full clip loaded into it.

Several moments later, thudding footsteps could be heard approaching us. In the drop of a dime, I popped up from my cover and loosed several rounds. The targets who weren't killed immediately hit the deck anyway.

I frowned as I approached the group of now-dead pilots.

"So...funny thing, Cylus," Vi'karac mused, "I figured out I could weaponize the gaseous form my body can assume. I cannot do much, but I was able to shoot spikes of shadows at the hostiles you failed to kill."

"Huh. That's a useful tool to have," I mused, "Alight, did anyone come your way, Boreas?"

"Nope. Looks like everyone may have paid you a visit. How many bodies are on the floor on your end?"

"Um...Four bodies. Since Federation Spitfires can only hold one pilot in them, that explains why we only had a small welcoming party."

"Good point. Alrighty then–we're starting this party off the only way we know how to."

"And how's that?" I heard Damien inquire.

"With gratuitous amounts of blood," Boreas answered with a chuckle on the side.

"Well...I'm down for that," Damien replied, "I take it we're going to leave the Ravager and start exploring?"

"Yep. Make sure you stay close–there's no telling what lows the Federation officials on this planet will stoop to."

"Well, can't argue with that," Ralph grumbled, "Here goes nothing, I guess. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Please don't say that, you prick!" Alannah snapped as we stepped toward the boarding ramp of my ship, "I'd rather not jinx our chances of surviving this bounty, so please don't give me anxiety."

Ralph huffed to himself. "My bad."

Before I knew it, my entire crew was in the main cargo hold of my ship. Before we could leave, Boreas sighed.

"Shit, give me a minute."

He disappeared, only to reappear a few moments later clothed in an immaculate lab coat. A pair of glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, and he shot a wink my way.

"Just in case," was all he gave me as he attached a badge onto the right breast of his coat.

Since pressing Boreas would get me nowhere , we left my ship and approached the large building in front of us. It took a bit of time to enter it, but we entered the spaceport nonetheless. Once we were inside, I approached one of countless counters with a scowling figure seated behind it.

"Welcome to Apollihiri," they droned, "May I see your passport?"

I threw the document onto the steel countertop and watched as the spaceport official studied it. After several minutes, the individual slowly looked up to regard me.

"Just what is your business here?"

I tossed a credit shiv onto the counter beside my passport. "Nothing that concerns you."

They took one look at the cherry-colored shiv, and all color in their face drained.

"U-Um–what..."

"This doesn't concern you," I repeated.

Hurriedly, they gave me a pass that would allow me to leave the spaceport presumably via train.

I grunted out a thanks and turned away from the shell-shocked official. I probably scared the piss out of them. Good.

Getting beyond that, we made our way through the spaceport and stopped at what appeared to be a terminal for a train. Sure enough, armed guards checked the people who meandered past them. Thankfully, it looked like they didn't care much when the passengers flashed them a pass similar to the one I was given. I led my crew over to a larger crowd, and we blended in without trouble.

When it came for my turn to flash my pass, the guard didn't even grunt in response–he merely beckoned for me to continue moving forward. When we were clear of the dirty and scuffed up soldiers, I allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief. Thank fuck...At least that's one obstacle taken care of.

After navigating our way through a dim hallway, we found ourselves boarding a train. Thankfully, it was larger than I was expecting, and my crew was able to find a compartment with seats large enough to fit three on each.

"So...we've gotten farther than I was expecting," Boreas mused as he lounged back in his seat, "Hmm, these benches aren't too shabby. I'm just glad they're arranged so we're facing each other."

"Yeah, no kidding," Alannah replied as I felt the train lurch to life, "At any rate, what will we do when we leave this train?"

"First, we blend in and remain conspicuous–if any Federation soldier tries to nose into our business, eliminate them," I began in a low voice, only to pause when someone passed by us pushing a trolley full of snacks and drinks. When they were gone, I continued speaking. "As for our target, I suggest we try to find a Federation complex and infiltrate it. Since we're going after the UTF's last hope, we'd find our answers there."

"Good point," Ralph mused, "But what if no one talks?"

"Oh, they'll talk one way or another," I promised him, "Mark my words."

Silence settled around my friends, so I decided to change the tune. "So Damien, I hear you're good with repairing ships."

A faint blush appeared on his face. "Yeah, I am. My dad taught me how to work on our old hover bike when I was six years old. By the time I met Ralph, I was dismantling and rebuilding my dad's shuttle."

"Damn. No wonder Tyr stole you from my brother," Boreas murmured, earning a dark glare from Raphael.

Damien laughed. "Nah, Tyr's cool. He knows his way around a Dreadknight, and he's taught me how to modify one. However, the mechanic has an...interesting sense of humor."

"I've known the old fucker for a long, long time. Don't worry, my guy: Tyr may tease you, but he knows your taken," Boreas assured him with a wink on the side, "Trust me, my old bud doesn't want to do something stupid and have me and Raphael coming after him."

"Well, that's a relief at least," he replied, sighing to himself, "At any rate, I appreciate you having me along for the ride. I've been wanting to tag along in the past, but I understood the...urgency of your hunts back then. It was probably easier to travel with a smaller group, so I hung back and tried to make sure all was well."

"Let me guess, you totally didn't snoop around the Sovereign-Breaker, eh?" Boreas inquired, elbowing him on the arm.

"Yeah, totally not," Damien echoed, only to laugh once again, "You called my bluff. The maintenance workers hated me at first for snooping around the engine room, but they changed their tune when I managed to repair the warp drive."

"Wait, what?" I prompted him.

"Um...you see, a few months ago, the Sovereign-Breaker's warp drive was showing signs of wear and tear–warp drives are still relatively new pieces of technology, so they're not perfect. With help, I managed to stabilize the drive before it...well..."

"Before it what?" I pressed.

"Before it exploded and scattered pieces of Jack's baby across the stars," Damien finished, brushing his dark hair to the side, "This was when you and your lot were off hunting...who was it? I think it was Muspelle. Anyway, Jackson profusely thanked me for saving his pride and joy from a most horrible fate and gave me free reign to work on whatever I wished to fix."

"Damn," I breathed, "I'm glad Jackson recruited competent individuals to his cause."

Damien chuckled while leaning back and looping an arm around Ralph's shoulders. "Tell me about it. You should see this code wizard when he gets to work. The viruses Raphael's whipped up are beautiful enough to bring a tear to my eye."

A faint blush appeared on Ralph's face. "It's not much. My brother's Bombardier virus is a force to be reckoned with."

While our conversations continued, I looked out a window beside me and studied the stunning city we were currently in. This is going to be an interesting hunt for sure...