Even with heavy traffic flying around us, we managed to find the military district with relative ease. It was hard to miss since there was a stark difference in the architecture.

"Huh..." Boreas mused, "Didn't expect things to get even more futuristic on this planet..."

"Looks like there's a small airfield off in the distance," I pointed out, "Shit, just how wide is this fucking city?"

"You saw how big the gas giant was on our approach," Boreas reminded me, "Also, look at what we're riding on right now."

He had a point. "They didn't have to flex that hard, though."

"If we went any higher, we'd escape the artificial gravity of the city and get sucked into the gas giant," my friend shot back, "Its a bloody miracle we weren't all killed when we first arrived."

"Way to set the mood, jackass!" Alannah snapped.

"Love you too!"

I couldn't help but snort. Even when we're dealing with a mission, the mirth never ceases.

As we drew closer to a hanger in the capital building, I turned around long enough to address my crewmates. "Get your weapons ready. Since we're probably in restricted territory, we'll have Federation troops on our asses the instant this bus lands."

"Fair enough," Alexander replied, "What if our ride's damaged?"

I shrugged. "It's a rental. As long as we return it in one piece, we'll be fine."

"Hmm, I don't think 'returning it in one piece' is a very good excuse if the damn thing's one putter away from exploding."

"Trust my judgement, okay?"

"I would trust it, but then I remember doing so would probably lead to a lot of bad shit happening."

"Oh fuck off."

At this point, we were close enough to the hanger opening I could spot the Dreadknights that were landed within.

"Alright! Get ready!" I snapped. Once we touched down, I shot to my feet and had Sintel drawn. Ignoring the chattering comms of the hover bus, I slowly exited our ride and took stock of our surroundings. Sure enough, a few people were already hurrying over to us with guns drawn.

"Let's get this show on the road," I growled, aiming down the sights of my combat rifle.

With only a few pulls of the trigger, my targets were left sprawled on the floor. Ignoring the pools of crimson that began to form on the flawless metal floors, I beckoned for my crew to follow close behind me as I hurried toward a hanger door that would allow us to leave.

To my relief, the door opened with a faint hiss, meaning we didn't have to bust the damn thing open. However, my relief quickly shifted to irritation when I spotted the squadron of heavily-armored soldiers that came marching through the entrance. Their armor's in good condition too. They mean business.

Without missing a beat, I dove behind a nearby Dreadknight and prepared for a long gunfight. I watched the rest of my crew take cover, and I forced myself to loose a shuddering breath. Here goes nothing.

I popped up from behind my cover, my trigger finger shaking ever so slightly. What greeted me was...not what I was expecting.

"Ah, I see your skills with a spear are still sharp as ever," Vi'karac mused, only to jam a serrated spear into the dismembered torso of a fallen soldier.

"Please, I would kill myself if my fighting skills ever became rusty," Ki'aras retorted, "I may still be regaining my strength, but the art of war is never one that is easily lost."

"Agreed," Vik mused, only to look up and shoot me a wink, "Oh, salutations. We were bored."

"Wh-How?" I demanded, "You managed to kill an entire squad in the time it took for us to take cover?"'

"Yes."

"How?"

"We are Darka'ash," was all Vik said as he turned away from me, "We do not play by your rules. Now, we must move along. We haven't the time to waste, so please do follow me."

"...Fair enough."

Without further hesitation, I stepped out from behind the Dreadknight and beckoned for my crew to follow.

"Well then..." Alexander murmured, "I'm glad we have Vik and Kia on our sides."

"I think everyone's having that same thought," Raphael breathed, "They are a force of nature for sure..."

A subdued chuckle was shared amongst my crew members, then silence won the day. We continued to go down the hallway we had entered.

"Hmm...We'll have to find a map of this complex..." Boreas stated, "I have no idea where we're supposed to go..."

In that moment, a man garbed in a dark gray jumpsuit emerged from a door I didn't immediately see. Before anyone could move, Boreas looked up from his holo-computer, drew his handgun with a yawn, and shot our surprise visitor in the kneecap.

"Just what I needed," he mused as he approached the sobbing individual, "You work here?"

"Y-Yes. Wh-Why the fuck did you shoot me?"

"Didn't want you running off. Nothing personal," Boreas responded with a shrug on the side, "You look like a technician–I know a tech head when I see one. Would you kindly supply me with a map of your complex?"

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

In response, Boreas shot him in the thigh. While the poor guy writhed on the floor, my friend knelt beside him. "Next shot's gonna take out the twins. I won't ask kindly again."

"F-Fine. Go in my office–the door I just walked through. My holo-computer is in there. You should be able to find a layout of the capital on there."

"Thank yooou!" Boreas chirped, shooting to his feet.

"Why are you he–?"

"That's none of your business, Mr. Dead pants!" he snapped, shooting the technician in the head.

Inwardly, I cringed. Fuck...that could've been avoided, but we can't leave witnesses...God, I hate this.

"...Do your thing, Boreas," I breathed,  beckoning for him to get moving.

He entered the office the deceased technician had pointed out, and I tried to avoid putting too much thought into what we had just done. What if this guy had a family...

Hating myself more and more with every passing second, I breathed a silent sigh of relief when Boreas came back into the hall.

"Alright, got what we needed," he said, "Next order of business is to hunt down an elevator and get to the administrative wing. At the very least, we can find where our targets are located."

"Fair enough," I muttered, "Let's get moving then. If we encounter anyone else, shoot to incapacitate, not to kill."

"Cylus..."

"We already killed someone," I growled, "I am not looking for a god damn bloodbath–we are here to kill our targets, no one else."

"...Alright. You heard the man," Boreas continued, "Shoot to incapacitate, not to kill."

Everyone else muttered out their responses, and I couldn't help but deflate a little. Damn it, I need to hold myself together.

I effectively went on auto-pilot and focused on my breathing as Boreas led us through the brightly-lit hallways. Thankfully, we didn't run into other people. I guess alarms went off...or maybe they heard the gunshots. Either way, they're better off in the long run.

Getting beyond that, I felt Alannah grab my hand as we finally found an elevator.

"Hey, you okay?"

I grunted in response while we entered the brilliant elevator cabin.

"Hey, we worked past that, mister: speak with words."

"I'm fine," I managed to get out. Talk about lying through my bloody teeth.

"I know you're lying, you asshat," she grumbled, "Talk to me–what can I do to help?"

"Being here's enough," I muttered, "Don't worry about it–not like we can do anything to make matters better. Doesn't matter what I'm thinking anyway. Let's focus on the task at hand, love. I'll be fine–I promise."

She loosed a soft sigh. "...Alright."

With that, we began our ascent. The soft blaring of alarms could be heard, and I couldn't help but shiver. Looks like the element of surprise has run dry. Oh well, Time to get serious–why the fuck did I become such a softie?

Looking at my wife, I found my answer. I have something worth living for.

That one thought hardened my resolve, and I held my combat rifle at the ready with a determined scowl on my face. One last time. I'll do this one last time.

When we reached our destination, I walked beside Boreas as he led us down the halls.

"We're definitely in the admin wing," my partner mused, "Look at all the paintings. These bastards sure do take pride in their leaders."

I grunted in response, only to train my weapon forward when a loud slam could be heard.

"I don't give two shits about your opinion, Edwards! We need to get Natasha and the others off this planet. Considering we've had reports of hostiles in the capital building, we can't take any cha–."

He didn't finish his thought: once I had sighted the white-uniformed fucker, I put a bullet between his eyes. Nothing personal. Just business. Barging into the room he had emerged from, I spotted the man presumably named Edwards and shot his knee out.

"Where are your friends?" I inquired as my target tried to put distance between us.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" he snapped.

"Well, obviously Lawson and her friends are still on Ouro'Boron, so give me what I want before I lose my patience."

"You're going to kill me anyway, so why the hell should I give you anything?"

"Do you want to go out quietly, or do you want to go out screaming?"

"What difference does it make, fucker? You'll remain none the wiser."

I heard faint chatter, and a thoughtful frown adorned my face when I realized a commset laid near my target. Interesting.

Before he could do anything, I grabbed the commset and considered my options. Taking my helmet off, I put the commset on and listened. My voice at least sounds a little different when I'm not speaking through a modulator. Here's hoping this doesn't backfire.

"Jamie? Jamie, are you there? What was that about getting Natasha off the planet? Is everything alright on your end? Could've sworn I heard an argument over the line."

"Yes, everything is fine," I answered, placing one of my boots over the other man's mouth so he couldn't speak, "Don't worry, Jamie had to step out real quick. He'll be back in a moment. Where is Natasha?"

"Um...she and the other main officials are scheduled to give a speech at the main hub on Ouro-Boron. Might I ask who this is?"

"The name's Theodore–I'm one of the guards in the capital. Apparently, there were some hostiles in the capital. The situation's under control, so don't worry."

"Theodore? I don't remember seeing a Theodore in the capital..."

"I'm a newbie–just arrived today."

"Ah, well, I guess that's understandable. At any rate, thanks for the update."

"Of course," I responded, shutting off the commset. Tossing the piece of tech aside, I looked back at the man I had below my boot. God damn it...Looks like Jackson was onto something.

Swallowing the bile that stung the back of my throat, I aimed my combat rifle at Jamie Edwards. Why did I have to learn your name?

After several seconds of deliberation, I came to a decision. A quick kick to the side of his head knocked the poor bastard clean out, and I looked around for something to bind his arms with.

"Cylus...?" Boreas began.

"What."

"It'd be easier if we killed him...Can't leave witnesses, y'know?"

Looking back at my now-unconscious target, I spotted a crumpled up piece of paper in one of his pockets. Kneeling before him, I retrieved the unassuming piece of scrap and uncrumpled it. Before me was a simple picture: in it was Edwards and another woman–someone close to him, I assume. I didn't need context to know my enemy had something to live for as well.

Gently folding the abused photo up, I returned it to Edwards' pocket and hauled the unconscious Federation official to his feet. "I have standards, Boreas . Find rope–or something strong enough to bind this guy's arms together."

"Well, this 'guy' is also a member of the UTF. He's not exactly the hero in this story."

"Yeah, neither are we," I growled, "My decision stands, Octavius."

"...Fine. Make sure to gag his mouth too while we're at it–don't want him raising hell after we leave." 

Grunting in response, I stepped outside and regarded the other official I had gunned down. I'm sorry I couldn't spare you...God, I'm a fucking hypocrite...

Shaking my head in disbelief, I went back into the room I had left my crew in to find Boreas binding our target's arms behind a chair with what appeared to be wire.

"I always carry some with me," my friend explained, "Never know when it could come in handy."

I loosed a soft chuckle as I studied the room we were in: If I didn't know any better, it looked like a regular office.  

Setting that aside, I beckoned for my crew to follow suit. "Come on, we have a speech to crash. Boreas, can you find this 'hub' that was mentioned?"

"I can try. As far as I know, the hover bus we rented has a built-in GPS, so I'm sure I can force it to take us to wherever our targets are giving their speech."

I nodded in response while internally breathing a sigh of relief. Thank god...We're one step closer to being done with this abysmal job...