Comments,
Anonymous former member of Lylat Central Intelligence.

Zoness, immediately before the war, was... to call it "turbulent" wouldn't even begin to cover the utter mess of that situation.

The government of Zoness –what little government there was, anyway– was under a great deal of pressure from the Venom Coalition to join. The world was a hugely major exporter of raw materials, with the industrial interests of Macbeth being the main trading partner. The dominant Zonessian trade tycoons were far more interested in a neutral business relationship, but with pressure from the Venom Coalition mounting, some began to support joining the coalition. This began a rift among the mercantile lords, starting with Jace Matai, the headstrong young heir to the powerful and influential Matai estate.

It started simply with strong verbal and rhetorical objections from Jace, which seemed to be ignored by his senior peers, for a while anyway. Then there seemed to be some mob activity beneath the scenes, the many black-market factions of Zoness jockeying for position, likely to undermine the Matai estate's holdings and weaken Jace's position. After further vehement public demagoguery from Jace, it wasn't long until the mere mob war escalated beyond the black market, swelling into a complete civil conflict. Militia groups started springing up all across Zoness; some backing Jace, some backing Venom, many for their own reasons. Almost all of these groups were little more than mere civilians who had guns dropped in their hands, and given an excuse to shoot.

Jace Matai demanded intervention from Corneria to resolve the conflict, but Corneria wasn't about to jump in on a planet's civil war, and left Zoness to its own devices. The feeble government of Zoness was practically powerless against the forces tearing the planet apart, with security forces behaving essentially like just another militia faction in the conflict. They could barely keep such basic services as spaceports operable, which were one of the few "neutral territories" in the Zoness civil war.

It wasn't really a war though, and it was anything but civil.

For one, there generally wasn't a whole lot of actual fighting going on, most of the time. Where there were many militia groups vying for control, like in the city of Port Seyid, it was more like an unbearable tension. Armed militia members would patrol the streets of their turf, watching, waiting, reporting any and all movement. All the while, under the cloud of the impending firefight, the unaffiliated civilians tried desperately to continue their ordinary lives. Everyone, everywhere, was on-edge.

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The First of Many


/

Captain Sasha Zura, along with her squad –Gavin Fletcher, Anton Xavier and Silas Vance, the same soldiers with whom she'd completed the Gauntlet– all exited the Port Seyid central spaceport. The four soldiers were all outfitted as mercenaries though: no uniforms, no military issue gear (nothing that wasn't available surplus anyway), nothing at all to connect them to any government. The reason for the subterfuge was in their mission, and the other person who was with them coordinating it.

This new person was Connor Griffon, a top agent for the Venom Intelligence Conglomerate. Connor was an older raptor avian, with rusty red plumage and prominent black head-feathers that swept back over his scalp. He was dressed as a somewhat wealthy civilian, in but bold enough clothing to appear as someone of prominence. A "black market arms dealer" was his cover for being here, and this justified the cadre of "mercenary bodyguards" in the tense, near-hostile Port Seyid environment.

The mission, under less dangerous circumstances, would have been relatively straightforward. Connor would approach someone he believed could be recruited into Venom Intelligence, and then offer him the chance to serve the cause. The fact that the prospective recruit had involved himself in the Zoness civil conflict, in the middle of Port Seyid no less, made protection for Connor Griffon an important consideration here. So to fulfill this need, Venom Intelligence called on Macbeth's special forces, and General Silver supplied them with Sasha Zura and her unit. It was as good a mission as any to be their first as a part of Special Forces.

Connor and the squad proceeded through the city on foot. Sasha and Gavin took lead positions up front, while Anton and Silas took up the rear, and Connor in center.

Their destination was in the nearby historical district of Port Seyid, through a series of older plazas connected by narrow streets. In peaceful times, the quaint, antique charm of the area would have been bustling with commerce, fueled mainly by tourism. Right now though, with the district heavily populated by militia fighters, it was akin to a bad urban neighborhood, but far worse than that. The militia fighters were everywhere; walking the streets, standing watch, and generally being a permeating presence, while the nervous business owners that were still around did their best to serve a smattering of equally nervous customers. Every once in a while, a gunshot would ring off nearby, and the locals would barely register it, not even so much as a twitch...

It was, in so many words, eerie.

Sasha Zura was more than a little nervous about the situation, with militia fighters everywhere she looked. One couldn't walk through one plaza or down one street without seeing at least one of them. They were all armed, openly, mostly with cheap assault weapons and sidearms, and very little else. The ragtag fighters didn't seem at all trained, didn't have any of the soldiers' habits or demeanor to them, and were lucky to have any equipment at all beyond just the firearm in their clumsy, untrained hands.

What was most troubling to Sasha though was how unpredictable the situation was. There was no telling when fighting could break out, where hostiles could come from if it did, how many would respond to a fight, or even how they would respond. There was no law here, no protocols, no patterns, just endless, ambiguous threat.

"It's just a little suggestion from me fellas, but try to relax." Connor said, glancing to the four incognito soldiers around him, "All of this hyper-alertness of yours makes the militia fighters nervous, and nervous armed civilians are trigger-happy armed civilians."

"What makes you so sure that we're in danger?" Sasha knew they were in danger, that was obvious, but she still wanted to hear what the spy had to say, what his view of the situation was.

"Look at them: they're on-edge," the rusty red avian said, glancing toward a small group across the plaza, "You see the way stare, how they chatter among themselves when they see us, fondling their weapons like their lover's– you get the point. They're worried, they're not sure who these strange new people are, if they're a threat, or maybe an opportunity..."

"Alright alright, we get it..." Gavin, cut him off with a grumbling sigh.

"Just keep your cool, loosen up your tension." Connor suggested, "Better yet, project a kind of tired 'don't screw with me' attitude, similar to how you might be in the morning before you've had coffee."

"Like 'this cheap jerkwad doesn't pay us enough'." Anton joked, adding a chuckle in his deep raspy voice, "I can do that."

A few more minutes and a few more plazas later, the group came to the target building: a quaint hotel, seamlessly tucked into the dense, antiquated cityscape. This was the place where the potential recruit was supposed to be staying at the moment. Such a nondescript location would be conducive to staying out-of-the-way, to stay hidden.

The group entered through the front door of the old hotel. The lobby –if it could even be called that– wasn't nearly as large or accommodating as modern hotels. There was barely enough room for the receptionist's desk, behind which was a mottled feline, a lynx type. He looked completely civilian, except for the armband he wore, and the shotgun resting on the desktop.

When the lynx glanced up and saw the four "mercenaries" and Connor, he immediately snatched up his shotgun and took aim at the newcomers, shouting, "Back off! This building is territory of the Zoness People's Opposition!"

Sasha and the squad snapped their weapons into firing position in response. For a few tense moments, nobody did anything, except for maybe the lynx. He was nearly trembling with nervousness, bordering on terror in the face of so many far more dangerous-seeming figures.

After the lynx had stewed in his own juices for a bit, Connor stepped forward to the reception desk, holding up his hand in a calm gesture as he glanced over his shoulder to the soldiers, calling them off.

"What's your business here?" the lynx demanded. He was still nervous, but at least he lowered his weapon a little.

"I'm a mere traveling salesman, peddling my wares." the avian spy answered in a smooth, practiced tone.

"What kind of wares, exactly?"

"You seem like a decent enough fellow, but I don't believe I need to tell you details– wouldn't to get you into trouble after all. I'm simply here to settle into the area for a while, and I'd like to have a relatively comfortable, discreet place that I may do business from." Connor reached inside his jacket, and presented a stack of credit-bills to the lynx, "Will this be enough to have such a place here?"

Between bing hopelessly out-gunned, and a healthy stack of cash that was just offered to him, it was no problem for the lynx to accept Connor's offer.

"I'll... I'll show you to your room," he said as he took the cash, then stepped out from behind the desk, "Right this way."

"Thank you."

The lynx led the group up a narrow staircase, tucked away into a corner of the space, which led to a tight, winding corridor barely large enough for two people to walk side-by-side through. The building almost certainly wasn't meant to be a hotel when it was first constructed. The hotel instead seemed to be cobbled together from different buildings jammed together in the past, and renovated into one unit. Between the winding corridors and strangely placed staircases, it would be very easy to get lost or disoriented in this place if one didn't know the layout.

Taking care to make sure the lynx militiaman wasn't paying attention, Sasha motioned back to Specialist Vance to conduct an EM signal sweep. Hopefully he'd be able to pinpoint the target's room in one pass, with minimal fuss. At Sasha's silent order, Silas Vance brought out his EM analyzer, held it low and out of the way, and conducted his scan while the group continued through.

In a few more moments, the group came to a door, one of a few along the narrow corridor. The lynx took an electronic key-card out of his pocket and swiped it over the digital lock mechanism. There was a beep, a click, and the door slid open into a modest suite. The militiaman showed the group inside, and handed the key-card to Connor before departing, leaving the group to themselves.

"So Vance, talk to me." Connor began as soon as the door was closed, "Did we find any possible matches? Do we know where his room is?"

The primate fiddled a little with his wrist-computer, then found a map of the hotel left on a table in the room, likely for the guests' convenience. "I've got a pretty good idea where his room is. There's a faint, ultrahigh-band short-range transmission, going to this room, encrypted pretty tightly." Vance pointed out one of the rooms on the hotel map, "This means he's got eyes on the outside though, active surveillance, and it's possible he's aware of us already."

"Did you get a good look?" Connor questioned, "Could you identify who the outside guy was?"

"Not really, no."

"So, what's our plan?" Sgt. Fletcher asked, nearly bouncing with eagerness, "How do we approach this guy?"

"The polite way, I think: I'll knock on the door."

There was an awkward period of silence then, with the squad eyeing Connor, not entirely sure if he was joking. After a bit, Corporal Xavier finally was the one to speak up, break the tension.

"Yes, but..." the reptile paused a moment, "What will the rest of us do while you knock on the door?"

This elicited a small chuckle from the sharp-dressed avian agent, and then he proceeded to lay out a plan, using the hotel map as a visual aid. "Zura, you're on point with me at the door. Vance, you stay right behind Zura and myself, monitoring any comm activity. Fletcher and Xavier, you two will sight down both directions along the hallway outside, watching for anyone that tries to ambush us on our flank."

"Are you expecting trouble from this guy?" Sasha asked, thinking the plan was a little on the paranoid side for a simple recruitment.

"Hopefully not, but I'm always expecting trouble nonetheless." Connor replied with a little shrug, then asked to the squad, "Anyone have any questions before we head out?"

The four soldiers answered him with silence, and stoic readiness.

"Alright then, let's go."

Connor took one last look at the map, getting his bearings straight, and the group went back into the narrow hallway outside to continue the mission.

It was a small thing, but Sasha appreciated the direct and curt manner Connor laid the plan out. Connor Griffon knew he had soldiers with him, and had the thoughtful courtesy to treat them the way they're used to: laying out a clear plan of action, with direct concise orders. It kept things simple, flexible, allowing the squad some degree of autonomy in the situation, yet with no ambiguity in the goal, the way any good commander would operate.

A few moments later, the group came to the door Specialist Vance had indicated earlier. There wasn't much of interest there, other than the "do not disturb" sign placed on the outside, a sign they would promptly disregard.

Once the four soldiers were in their positions, Connor stepped up and knocked on the door three times, good and loud. A dull thud of heavy footsteps followed on the other side, and the room intercom speakers clicked on with a dull crackle of static.

"What does the sign say?" a gruff, annoyed voice asked on the intercom.

"Rick old buddy! You in there?" Connor replied with grand friendly enthusiasm, "It's me! Connor!"

"Dammit," another, older voice cursed with a sigh, "Stand down Alastar, let them in."

The door quickly slid open after that. On the other side was a well armed schnauzer or terrier type canid mercenary. His wiry fur was in an even pattern, colored either dark brown or a very pale tan. The mercenary sported some well-used combat armor, strapped over a hodgepodge of military style fatigues. He carried himself with a precise, deliberate, practiced demeanor, similar habits that Sasha had seen in good soldiers. He was armed with an assault rifle in his hands, a handgun in a holster strapped to his thigh, and most curiously, a sword-like weapon strapped to his back. The sword may have been an odd choice, but mercs tended to have an awfully wide spread in terms of possible gear load-out. Another item he had that caught Sasha's attention was the personal shield projector, and a couple other items she didn't quite recognize...

Clearly this mercenary, named "Alastar" if she remembered correctly from the brief intercom conversation, was far more than a simple gun-for-hire. He was a fearsome, battle-hardened force to be reckoned with.

Alastar stepped aside, allowing Connor and Sasha and Vance into the hotel room. It was a lot like the one they'd been given earlier, if a little bit smaller, different configuration, and more lived-in. The only real difference was the minor clutter occupying the room; a drink or food container here or there.

Across the room, approaching the newcomers at a cautious walking pace, was another figure. He was a weary, sharp-eyed raccoon, late in his middle-age by the look of him. He was dressed in inconspicuous civilian clothes, and had a sort of wincing scowling look to his face that was both incredibly annoyed, and intensely curious. He must've been the "Rick" character Connor called out to over the intercom.

"What the hell are you doing here, Connor?" Rick asked as he came to stop. His gravely voice matched his annoyed/curious demeanor.

"Looking for you, actually," the avian answered

"What for?"

"To help each other, I hope," Connor clarified, "You and I both know that things just haven't been the same since the Agency scattered, when that Gillian Morrow bitch tore up Lylat Central Intelligence after Union Congress disbanded."

While Connor and Rick discussed their business, Sasha noticed several peculiar, nervous tendencies from Alastar. The mercenary would look intensely at Sasha, for a long time, but then snap his attention away from her the second Sasha would look directly at him. His breathing was irregular too, alternating between deep sighs and quick shallow breaths. The canid mercenary kept fidgeting with his weapon, like he didn't quite know what to do with his hands, like he was worried about something, like the situation might suddenly erupt...

"You don't have to remind me what happened, Connor." Rick continued, "I was there when the Cornerian commandos stormed HQ, and I was lucky to escape with my life..." He shot a familiar look toward Alastar then.

Alastar was utterly oblivious, not paying attention at all to Rick. What was making this Alastar character so fidgety and edgy? Was there some threat to the situation she hadn't taken into account? Were they in any immediate danger?

Sasha didn't like it.

"And just look at you now Rick! Look at what your hard-won life has been reduced to..." the avian spy exclaimed, making a broad gesture around the hotel room, "You're hiding out in Port Seyid, in the middle of what may as well be a Zonessian civil war, doing dirty work for that Jace Matai punk. He's nothing but a spoiled mob prince who wants to play at being a revolutionary, dragging the whole damned planet along with him on his joyride. The Richard Cooney I know deserves so much better than this crap."

"Matai and I simply have a business arrangement: he pays me, and I deliver." the older raccoon told Connor in a defensive tone, "I can cut ties any time I want."

"Then let me give you the opportunity to do just that." the rusty avian said with a strong confidence, "and if that's not enough, then know that when working with me, you'll get to give that Morrow bitch the rightful payback she has coming. What do you say, old friend, can I count on you?"

At this, Connor offered Rick his hand, and a look of genuine sincerity.

Alastar still looked his worried, nervous self, and it still bothered Sasha that he acted that way. She could understand a militiaman being constantly nervous like this, but not one who was well-trained like this Alastar individual. A soldier or highly professional mercenary acting nervous and edgy meant there was trouble, somewhere, somehow. If there was any threat, neither Connor nor Rick seemed to be acknowledging it, so focused they were on each other and their exchange...

The raccoon simply stood silently for a little bit, before finally shaking his head, and offered Connor a helpless shrug, "Look, Connor, I'm a little busy at the moment. You caught me at an awkward time."

"It's always an awkward time these days." the avian spy responded.

"Yeah, no arguments here." Rick replied with a little chuckle, "Seriously though, I'm about to have a meet with some of Matai's goons in a half-hour. How about you and I meet at the Pedra Torre cafe down the street, tomorrow at noon? We'll do lunch, and we can talk more about working together again."

"Sounds like a plan."

"It's... good to see you again, Connor." this time, Rick was the one who extended his hand, and offered the sincere look to his old comrade.

"Likewise." the avian gripped the other's hand, and returned the look, "Tomorrow at noon then, Pedra Torre."

"I'll see you there."

The two old friends released each others hands, and Connor led the group out of Rick's room and back toward theirs.

For the life of her, Sasha couldn't quite understand why Alastar was so on-edge during the meeting. Rick seemed accommodating enough to his guests, that should've been enough to put the canid mercenary at-ease, or at least made him a little less overtly nervous. Did he perceive them as more of a threat than Rick did, or was it something else entirely? Strange...

A few moments later had Connor and the squad regrouped in their hotel room. The older avian spy wasted no time beginning his little debriefing.

"Well, that went well enough for a first-meet I think." Connor's words took on a tone of nostalgia then, reminiscing, "Rick and I go way back in Lylat Central Intelligence, when that agency still existed. We did some good work in our older days, and it'd be nice to do some good work with him again."

"I'm not too sure about that Alastar bodyguard of his though." Sasha added, "He was nervous and fidgety all through the meeting. I think that might indicate a threat."

"Uhh... Captain Zura?" Connor interrupted, giving her a peculiar look, like she'd forgotten something.

"What?"

"Rick's mercenary helper was nervous and fidgety, but it wasn't because he perceived or represented any immediate threat, per-se." the older avian took a moment, dancing around the subject, finding the right way to say what he had to say, "It was because he's... well... he's attracted to you."

"He– Attracted– wha–?" Wait a minute. Was he really? All that restless awkwardness was just him being nervous around a woman? Around her? Sasha felt herself go flush as the embarrassment sunk in.

"I'm with Connor on this one, chief." Specialst Vance said. The primate was awfully confident in his assessment; even he could see it... "The guy's eyes were constantly drifting down, looking at your, um..." to even further clarify his point, Silas Vance traced an hourglass figure in the air with his hands: Sasha's body.

"Daaaamn, chief!" Sgt. Fletcher exclaimed, nearly bursting out laughing.

"I didn't– I mean–" Sasha stammered out, still reeling from the embarrassment of her utter obliviousness, "I actually missed that?"

"What? You can't tell when a guy is ogling you?" Corporal Xavier asked, "I would've figured a fit, shapely body like yours would've had guys' gazes all over, I mean, that you'd be more used to men staring at..." the reptile trailed off, probably because he thought maybe he was going somewhere inappropriate for a subordinate.

Truth was, Sasha wasn't at all used to having guys stare at her that way. She was into girls, she knew this: she felt flustered and nervous looking at women, like when she looks at Maya for instance. For all her adult life, Sasha had seen men as her equals, as coworkers, as fellow cadets and soldiers. Those men, being focused military professionals, never really objectified her the way they might have objectified other women.

"All jocularity aside, this is actually a very good thing." Connor said, thankfully getting the discussion back on track, "We might be able to use this little crush Alastar has on you."

"What do you mean?" Sasha asked, relieved, but still kind of getting over the humiliation.

"Rick and I have a meet set up for tomorrow. He'll no doubt bring Alastar with him, since he's Rick's protection, but Rick and I will want to be left alone when we talk business. So, here's what we do: I bring Cpt. Zura along as my protection, and when Rick and I need to be left alone, you'll be alone with Alastar, with the perfect opportunity to chat privately with him while Rick and I talk business." the avian spy turned his focus more directly to Sasha here, "You're going to use this time to talk with Alastar, get on his good side, find out more about him and his connection with Rick. The information and connection you establish may come in handy depending on how things go."

"So, you're saying you want me to have a date with him?" Sasha asked.

"Yes... sort-of." Connor confirmed, and explained further, "Alastar may have been ogling you the entire time we were there, but he didn't seem particularly thrilled to be under Rick's command either. It's possible that he could become an asset to the mission."

"You can tell all that?" the husky officer asked, somewhat skeptical of him, "From one little visit?"

The avian gave her a shrug and nonchalant nod as he gave his answer, "Mostly it's observational speculation, but that's why we need you to go on this 'date': to gather more information, so we can make better-informed decisions as things progress."

"I see..." Sasha said with a small nod. Connor's plan made sense enough, and if it'll help the mission, then she may as well go along with it, "Alright, I'll do it... for the mission."

"Hehe, all in the line-of-duty, huh chief?" Sgt Fletcher said with a little suggestive smirk.

"Do I sense a little jealousy from you, Gavin?" Xavier replied, matching his comrade's joking attitude.

"Hell yeah!" the avian soldier exclaimed with exaggerated pride, "I wouldn't mind a hot date as a part of the mission."

"I'd hardly call this Alastar guy 'hot'." Silas Vance replied, "He was actually kinda scruffy for a canid..."

Connor took Sasha aside for a moment, leaving the men to their jokes. Even if it was at Sasha's expense, blowing off a little steam like that would help with unit cohesion, build trust between them.

"I'll be honest with you," Connor began, quietly, so the others couldn't hear, "I'm very relieved to have a woman like you on the team for this, especially one as gifted in the beauty department as you are. Few other soldiers would have been willing to subject themselves to the spy-work I'm putting you through so readily."

"If it'll help the mission, I'm game for almost anything... almost." Sasha added that at the end there, "I'm no spy though."

"Maybe not, but you're smart, I can see that." The spy assured her, "I'll coach you through the basics that you'll need to know; very simple stuff, really. You'll have this under control no problem I think."

\


/

Comments,
Anonymous former member of Lylat Central Intelligence.

That was the first time I'd really seen Sasha Zura. Even in our first brief encounter, I knew immediately she was sharp: a consummate professional, if a little clumsy with personal feelings. Zura was a soldier, she could be forgiven her lack of emotional awareness in favor of more immediate tactical concerns.

She got better over time though, much better, and continued to surprise me ever since.

\


/

Author notes:

Aaaaaand the mission begins, more to come later.

Alastar, by the way, is one of the characters featured on this story's cover art, along with Sasha herself. Clever readers who've read my "Legacy" stories may recognize a certain character featured in this chapter and coming chapters.

Also, special thanks to Tobias Umbra, for allowing me to include the character "Gillian Morrow" referenced earlier in the chapter, and who may well crop up later in the story. She's a part of Tobias's stories, which you should go read immediately if at all possible.

As always, you feedback is most welcome. Take care!