"Huh," was all my wife could say when we finally reached the monster that was Ouro'Boron, "I now see what Jack meant when he called this place the infinite city."

"No kidding," I murmured, staring at the large ring-like shape that orbited around a vast gas giant, "It's a miracle this damn city exists in the first place."

"It obviously makes a shitton of dough harvesting energy from the gas giant," Alannah pointed out, "Rocket fuel doesn't make itself."

"No it doesn't. Still, I'd be afraid the gas giant's gravity would crush the city."

"Eh, we've seen weirder shit. Let's begin our approach–don't want our friends waiting, right?"

A half-hearted chuckle escaped me. "Right..."

Even if I had my attention on the planet before us, I could still feel Alannah's gaze lingering on me.

"Everything okay?"

"Just nervous," I murmured, "Dunno why, but something about this mission feels off. Jack said Ouro'Boron is a Federation stronghold, but I have reason to believe he left something out."

"What could he possibly withhold from you?" Ali inquired, "Barely anything gets past you."

"I know, and that's the thing: I don't know what he could've kept secret." After a beat of silence, I hissed out a sigh. "No matter. We're here now. Boreas! Get in here!"

"Coming!" he replied. A few moments later, a faint whistle could be heard, "Damn, so this is our destination? What a feat of engineering..."

"Focus on the task at hand. Do you have any info on our targets?"

"Actually, yes. And here I thought that database I yoinked from Versalio all those months ago would be useless. Turns out, there are four Federation officials who call Ouro'Boron home. From the reports I was able to find, they all worked together to keep the energy harvesters on the ring city running. I guess it costs a lot to run them, but I wouldn't know. At any rate, our targets' names are Phillip Briggs, Miles Porter, Gerald Moreno, and Natasha Lawson. Interesting thing to note here is the fact that none of these officials appear to be high-brow–not like our previous targets, at any rate."

"What are their ranks?" I prompted him.

"Hmm...they all appear to be low-rank sergeants–Lawson is a commander, so she's above her three compatriots. The only reason we'd probably want them dead is because they hold exclusive control over the energy harvesters I previously mentioned."

In that instant, the pieces clicked together. "Something tells me Jack wants this planet for the harvesters."

"Eh, I wouldn't be surprised," Boreas grumbled, "The bastard's always lookin' for shit to keep his war machine chugging along. Even if he's managed to recruit a whole bunch of people who want to see the Federation fall, it's hard to keep everything together. So naturally, Jackson looks for other outlets to get resources from."

Even if this made perfect sense, I still couldn't help but be horrified. I thought I was being sent here to eliminate targets, not help Jackson secure resources for his war effort.

Ignoring my voice of reason, I watched as we got closer to the vast city that wrapped around Ouro'Boron. As expected, we were greeted by a patrol of ships. What caught me off guard was the fact they appeared to be civilian vessels, but UTF-built.

"State your reason for coming to Ouro'Boron," one of the ships demanded through my comms system.

"We're here to help with the harvesting situation," Boreas replied in a smooth voice, "We're the security detail–can't be too careful nowadays, right?"

"R-Right. Well, as long as your credentials check out, we'll leave your vessel to land."

"Fair enough. Patching over my credentials...now."

After several moments of silence, the other pilot continued speaking. "Alright, everything appears to be in order. You're free to land in any of the hangers that are open."

"Thank you."

After the connection cut off, Boreas cleared his throat. "I'll go tell everyone else to get ready in a minute."

With that, we continued on our way as if nothing potentially horrible was going to happen.

"Your trepidation is going to get the better of you," Vi'karac began, "I suggest you get a hold of yourself before continuing onward."

I'm trying, damn it.

"Do not try, my friend. What was that phrase you Terrans use so much? Ah, yes: 'fake it till you make it.' You may not like your current situation right now, but there is not much you can do now. Just focus on your target and let everything else fade to the background."

Following my friend's advice, I closed my eyes long enough to take several deep breaths. Opening my eyes again, I allowed my resolve to harden. Alright, I'm ready. Thanks Vik.

"Anytime, Cylus. Hunt down the targets, eliminate them, and get off the planet. Just like clockwork, yes?"

"Yes," I breathed, only to raise my voice, "Try to see if you can find our targets, Boreas. I know your only source of information is an outdated database, but try to see what you can unearth. If we can find a good place to start, I'll feel better about this whole mission."

"You and me both, buddio. I'm trying to see what I can find, but I don't have much to work with in the first place. Our best bet is to land and explore Ouro'Boron."

"Right...No matter, we'll work with what we got. Always have, always will."

"Hell yeah!" At the sound of his receding footsteps, I felt myself slouch in my seat.

Thankfully, I found an open hanger for me to land in. Interestingly, the opening was built on the side of the ring city–as far as I could tell, there was a whole section of the city that served as a spaceport. I couldn't help but whistle at the sheer enormity of our surroundings.

Getting past that, I rose from my seat once the Ravager had settled down in the immaculate hanger. Turning to my wife, I watched as she stood up and flashed me a small grin. "Ready to kick some ass?"

I embraced her and chuckled to myself. "I guess I am."

"C'mon! Have a little more enthusiasm!"

With a snort, I put my helmet on while slinging Sintel across my shoulder. "I am ready to eliminate our targets and be done with this whole mess."

"Eh, I'll take it."

Together, we walked back into the cargo hold and gathered up our crew mates.

"So, what's the plan of attack?" Alexander prompted me after he had put his helmet on.

"For now, we're going to get off my ship and start exploring," I answered, "We know nothing about this place, so our first objective is to learn as much as we can before people start asking questions."

"Fair enough."

when everyone was ready, we left my ship and tried to get a sense of our surroundings.

"Huh, looks like there's a lift for us to take out," Boreas mused, "As to where it'll take us? That's anyone's guess, really."

"Well, let's go up the damn thing then," I replied, instinctively reaching for the holster of my pistol.

Since the lift appeared to be a wide platform instead of a traditional elevator, everyone was able to pile on with extra wiggle room between us. Noticing a button near the edge of the lift, I inched my way over and pressed it. Almost immediately, we started moving upward.

"What the–," Ralph began, "I...wasn't expecting that."

"I doubt any of us were," Alex grumbled, "Well, we are effectively in the side of the city right now. How else would we get out?"

"You raise a valid point..."

Silence swept over my crew as we continued to rise higher and higher through the city. we continued quietly ascending, only for me to I blink rapdly and look up when sunlight could be spotted.

"Well, I'll be damned," I murmured, "We're being taken straight to the city itself."

Sure enough, the lift stopped with a faint hiss, and we were able to study the place we had been taken to.

"Huh. Looks like we were taken to a rental place," Boreas pointed out, "Look at all the hovercrafts around us."

"Works for us. See if you can find one big enough for our crew," I muttered, "If we can get into the air, we'll attract less attention."

"Good idea," Alex chipped in, "Too many eyes down here–we'd take a huge risk moving around on the surface."

"Exactly," I whisped, "Notice anything, Boreas?"

"I'm looking," he breathed. A few minutes later, he breathed out a sigh, "Found something. Follow me."

And so I followed my partner through the thronging crowds around us, periodically making sure the rest of my team was following behind us. When we reached what Boreas had spotted, I couldn't help but whistle. "Good eye."

"It's no combat-ready troop transporter, but we can use it," Boreas replied as everyone else studied the hover bus he had stopped us before, "Lemme find the rental person and haggle a price."

Thankfully, the person in question emerged from the veil of bodies and asked if we were interested in renting the bus we were obviously interested in. True to his word, Boreas jumped on the opportunity and talked the rental agent down from ten-thousand credits a day to almost half the original price.

"Hey, I'm sorry man," Boreas replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "We're expected to help with security detail on this planet, and our budget's tight enough as it is. Hope you'll understand."

"Oh, I understand perfectly. Five-thousand creds a day is still money being put in my pocket," the agent said, tossing the keys to the hover bus at my partner, "Just make sure to return the vehicle before you leave Ouro'Boron."

"Got it. You can count on us."

With that, everyone piled onto the bus and got seated. Boreas had plopped himself down in the driver's seat, so I stood at the front and watched as he fiddled with the controls.

"Huh, thought this damn thing would've been easier to pilot," he grumbled, only to look up when I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Let me drive," I prompted him.

"Oh okay," he breathed. After we switched spots, he started tinkering with the built-in GPS while I got the hover bus to slowly rise into the air, "Lemme see...here's hoping I can hack this damn thing..."

"Please, you can hack anything in your sleep. Besides, it's a rental."

"Fair point," Boreas mused, only to yelp in surprised when an automated voice could be heard.

"Hello. Welcome to Ouro'Boron. How may I assist you?"

"For now, stay quiet boyo."

"I am afraid I do not understand–."

The AI cut off when Boreas managed to do something.

"Alright, take us to the military district of Ouro'Boron," Boreas stated in a firm voice.

"Very well. Anywhere in particular you wish to go?"

"The capital building–or anywhere Federation officials flock to."

"Very well. Rerouting...next destination: capital of Ouro'Boron."

When I felt the wheel of the hover bus turn against my grip, I let go and watched as we fell in line amongst the general traffic above the ring city.

"Dang. This city sure is beautiful," Boreas muttered, "It's a shame we're here to cause mayhem."

"What a shame indeed," I muttered, shaking my head in disbelief. Just focus on the mission at hand. Take out the targets, and leave. Just another by-the-books mission.