Prologue
During the day…the streets would be filled with bustle; Humans frequenting the various shops…including fine fabric works or over-hang sidewalk cafes. Rigelians laboring in the Beryllium mines tirelessly. Farmers going to and fro from the city to their farms.
The sounds of chatting, laughing and merriment could be heard from one end of Polar City to the other. One could not go a block without being caught up in the noise and excitement.
That is…while the hot sun shone brightly.
At night…Rigel Four was a very different place.
Two dark figures stood on the corner; their faces were covered with dark hoods.
The only light that illuminated the empty street was a flickering lamp; the pair stood in silence…the only sound were footsteps echoing in the distance.
The echoing slowly got closer; the two figures remained perfectly still.
A figure appeared around the corner; a spindly Rigelian wearing a dark cloak like their own.
He slowly made his way over…casually keeping his eyes away from the pair.
He paused in front of them…and his eyes drifted to the ground.
"You're late," one of them growled.
"I had to be careful," he said quietly…remaining still.
"At lock up…only two remain. They have a triple inter-locking security system…"
He glanced over at the pair.
"I don't know how you expect…"
"We'll handle it!"
The Rigelian stared them down for a moment…a look of apprehension in his eyes.
"Good luck," he whispered, nodding his head.
After he left…the pair remained where they were for a moment.
The figure that'd remained silent…began moving forward.
The other pressed his hand against his chest…stalling him in place.
He turned to question his companion with a glance.
"Are you sure…you're up to this?"
He nodded; his companion studied him with his eyes for a moment.
"Well…then lets get a move on,"
The guard sat at his desk…legs propped up casually on the smooth surface.
In one hand was a padd; in the other…a mug of some steaming liquid.
He was small in stature…but bulky in frame.
His face was clean-shaven…save for a tiny hint of growth.
His eyes focused on the lines carefully; he did not notice a red light flash on the monitor a few inches to his right.
Another guard arrived…and casually leaned over the edge of the desk.
"All quiet," he grunted.
His companion glanced up for a split-second…then quickly returned to his reading.
The second guard remained there for a few moments…vacantly staring off into space.
"Ughhhhh," he groaned.
He slowly moved towards the seat next to his friend…and collapsed into the chair…making a ker-plunking sound as he fell.
A look of boredom and agitation in his eyes…he sank down in his chair.
This fellow was larger than his friend; both taller and quite a bit more portly. The first guard looked to be in better shape.
The second guard glanced longingly at his friends drink.
"Any more in the pot?"
"Just a few grounds…"
The second nodded his head…smooshing his mouth to the side in irritation.
"Howard called in sick tonight…"
The second guard grunted.
"They want one of us to work a double,"
"Hah!"
The second guard's eyes began to wander; they meandered to the monitor sitting in front of him.
He slowly sat up in his chair…moving closer; his eyes focused in on the flashing red light.
"Ay,"
No response from his companion.
He started flipping through surveillance cameras.
He shoved his companion…who glanced up with irritation.
"What?!" he snapped.
The second guard pointed to the monitor.
In red lettering…it read: security system disabled.
Below it…was an image of the cloaked figures.
"Sound the alarm," the first guard ordered. "It might scare 'em off."
The pair snuck in through an empty back-lot; they moved slowly…crouched to the ground.
They came to a tall…metal, chain-link fence.
The pair nodded to each other…and the first began to climb the fence.
The second stood there for a moment…feeling his apprehension grow.
"You shouldn't be doing this…" he heard a voice say. He felt a pang of guilt with every word.
"Hey! Are you coming?" his companion whispered from the top of the fence.
He tried his best to shake away the apprehension…and began climbing.
When the pair had made their way to the other side…an alarm went off.
The pair shot each other a glance.
"I'm sure it's a false alarm,"
"Yeah…" he replied…unconvincingly.
The pair moved down a dark, empty hallway…their footsteps quietly echoing as they moved.
They turned a corner…and found themselves at the entrance to a vault.
The leading figure pulled out a kit from his cloak; he set it down next to him on the floor…and began digging through it.
"Ah!" he exclaimed quietly with success.
In his hand was a small, pen-like tool. He pressed a button…and a small blue light protruded from the point.
He began passing it over the lock of the vault…as his companion watched from the side.
As he waited…his feelings of anxiety intensified…and for a moment…he could see the face that matched the voice in his head.
A dark-skinned man with dark hair…and a dark moustache lined with gray hairs. His face was filled with disappointment.
"Aha!"
He shook away the image as the vault door opened…and another alarm went off simultaneously.
"Johnny," he shouted. "We gotta go!"
"Shhhh…David, we're already here! Let's get in and out!"
Johnny slipped inside; David stood there for a moment…sighing in regret.
"I'm sorry, Carl," he whispered, and then followed his friend inside.
"I'm not going down there," the first guard grunted…chuckling a little.
The second guard looked from his companion to the monitor…a bit of apprehension in his eyes.
"What do we do?" he asked a bit anxiously.
The first guard sighed…then set his padd down.
He shoved his companion out of the way…and was about to press a button on the keypad…when the image of a man flashed on the screen.
"Gentleman," a Hispanic voice said.
The two guards fixed their eyes on the image…slightly baffled.
"I'm Admiral Carl Velazquez…in charge of the fourth fleet. You will do exactly as I say…and will not tell a soul about what happened here."
The pair shot each other an odd glance…then shrugged their shoulders.
"Sure," the first guard replied, returning to his padd. "Whatever you say, Admiral."