《Beacon in the Dark》


 Chapter 01

    Jace run through the wide pavement in Whitestar main road,dodging people left and right holding the thick folder tightly in his chest. How did he managed having to rush at the last moment every single time like that? If he didnt made in time he would not be able to join the mining expedition this time and he would have to wait an entire 2 months till the next one.


    The loss of income that would mean could possibly put his university plans back for an entire year¡­ and just the thought of his mother eyes when he had to announce that he missed another deadline was enough to give him a shiver even as he zipped down the road towards the Consortium main offices.


    He checked the time in the edge of his visor:1:53


    Only 7 minutes left until closing time for the day! And this was the last day of them accepting petitions from new miners interested in joining.


    Dammit,dammit! He HAD to make it in time!


    He took the underpass below the transfer capsules rails and kept running. He now could see the spaceport through the panels in the dome,bustling with ships as it always was before an expedition. Any sane asteroid miner would want his ship in the best possible condition before venturing into the unforgiving coldness of space.


    And right before the spaceport ,on the inside of the dome, stood his target. The central offices of the Jellum Mining Consortium in the Horseshoe System


    He checked his visor again. 1:56. Damn this was gonna be close. He really hoped they didn''t just decide to close early today.


    He run up the wide stairs and burst through the automated door. The large entrance room was spotlessly clean but utilitarian without any striking luxuries. Asteroid miners never really cared for showy stuff so everything in here,while of good quality,had a very specific role to fill.


    Having come here before with his father to sign up for the expedition he knew exactly where to go. Jace took the left staircase and run up the stairs like an army of mutants were on his tail. He run the corridor and pushed the last door,breathing heavily.


    "Excuse i am here to put my application for the expedition" he said breathing heavily.


    The person on the other side of the table looked up surprised in the sudden entrance of the youth. He was holding a bunch of data sticks probably tidying up before closing for the day. He seemed to be around 40 years old,which could mean he was anything between 40 and 180. Since the advent of widespread use of the Cell Regeneration treatments it became near impossible to guess someone''s age with any real degree of accuracy.


    "Umm it is really late and we are about to close now cant you come tom. . "


    "Please wait! I need to put my application in today the deadline is tonight! " Jace interrupted him panicking "i know i am a little late but i lost track of time and this is my first expedition. . please i can''t miss this "He said mumbling out the last words


    The apparent clerk looked at him up and down noticing how young he was and the begging expression on his face. He smiled and waved at him to shit down at the chair opposing his workstation.


    "I think i can help you with that then son. Usually i am the one who accepts or rejects petitions but since no one else is still here i can process yours. Sit down and lets go the required paperwork together. It will do me good to remember the process myself after all"


    Jace slumped down on his chair relieved that he apparently would not have to miss up on the expedition and disappoint his family. But then as he watched the older man manipulate his workstation apparently opening up an application something he heard right before hit him.


    "Wait did you say you are the one who accepts or rejects the applications? I thought the one who had the final say for the expedition was the president himself due to how important it is" he asked


    The man looked at him over the workstation and with a lopsided smile on his face he answered "Yes that would be correct" and then noting the confused face of the youngster sitting in front of him his smile widened and he stood up offering his hand. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    "I don''t think i introduced myself" he said and as Jace automatically grabbed his hand continued, "Jason Jellum 2nd President of the Jellum mining consortium. "


    Still smiling he watched the expression on Jace''s face transform from confusion to shock realizing he was talking not just with the president of the company but the de facto owner of the entire solar system they were currently in.


    "Ahh mister. . i mean sir i mean. . . "he stammered trying to find the right word to address him while his mind was reeling from the shock.


    The older man took pity at him "Calling me mister or Mr President if you want to be more official would be perfectly acceptable young man. And you would be? "


    "Jace Vans Mr President"he said almost coming to attention as he had seen his mother doing while she was on duty.


    "Very nice to meet you Jace. " He gave him a reassuring smile,released his hand,and sat back down, returning his attention to the workstation. "Now why don''t you give me your data so we can proceed with your application? "


    Jace pulled from his folder the data stick holding his application and the required data as well as the certificate from the Mining training center in the Horseshoe Station in paper form. The center insisted that the certificate must be presented in both data and paper form to complicate any attempt at forging. It was after all ,as an instructor of the center was famous for saying to a complainer of this practice,a matter of life and death for all the miners. Asteroid mining was dangerous and often deadly and each miner had to be sure they could count on everyone to not put their life at risk with a mistake.


    Most people though were both understanding and thankful for the attention payed to even the smaller detail. Mining asteroids ,unlike mining on the surface of a planet, was a highly technical job where a single mistake from one man could often lead to the demise of others.


    Jason inserted the data stick to the station allowing it to read all data and then gave it back to Jace. He started going over the information.


    "Hm i see here you passed the training with good grades and managed to pass the final exam in the first try a by no means small feat" he said looking up to him after a while.


    Jace smilled at him encouraged by his words. But the next sentence made that smile disappear from his face.


    "Though your instructors have noted that you could have done even better if you didn''t always try to study everything at the absolute last time"


    Jace avoided his eyes looking at the ceiling. He knew that this habit of his would come back to bite him at some point.


    "Jace look at me please" the president said gently but firmly.


    Jace focused his eyes back at him.


    "The fact that you were able to do that good is indicative of your intelligence and your ability to work well under pressure, something your instructors have noted here. But leaving something so important as that or as this application is", he said with the ghost of a smile at his face , "is not a good thing. Leaving something for the absolute last time it can be done gives you no margin for error or for the inevitable appearance of that old rascal Murphy. "


    Jace nodded in agreement,his shoulders stiff from the tension he felt.


    The president finished going over his data and then leaned back and crossed his legs.


    "Your application look good though i am not really surprised by that. I saw in your file that your father is Tyrion Vans and i know of him. He is one of the most veteran miners in the company. No way he let you join the expedition without you having the necessary know how"


    Jace smiled. That meant that he could join right?


    "Unfortunately thought you came here a bit too late. All the teams that can accept rookie miners are full and i don''t have spare veteran miners to create a new one just for you. Also i cant add you to an already existing one since that would be both unfair and dangerous to that team " the president finished sounding quite sad.


    Jace¡¯s face tightened with disappointment. Why could he not come earlier to the most important day in his life? ? Why couldn''t he paid more attention to the date and gotten his stuff together earlier? If he had not come so late he could¡­


    The president was still talking though and that pulled Jace out of that train of depressing and all too familiar thoughts. He continued listening


    "There is though another solution for you. I see in your bio that you are proficient with the rifle and pistol as well as having a brown belt in Muay Thai? " The president asked.


    "I am yes si. . yes Mr President that is true. But why does that matter? ¡± Jace asked confused


    "I am betting your mother trained you in all of that right? " The president said,smiling again


    "You know my mother Mr President? " Jace exclaimed surprised,but then immediately flushed red with embarrassment.


    His mother was the third ranked officer in The Horseshoe System Patrol and captain of one of the only 4 armed custom cutters in the entire system. Of course the president of the company must have met her!


    The president confirmed his thoughts moments later " Yes i have met her on quite a few occasions. In that case Jace i have a proposition for a man of your skills. One of our assistant security personnel in one of the habitation ships had a family emergency which forced him to leave the system 2 days ago with the regular freighter. What would you say to taking over his place for this expedition? "


    Jace hesitated. That wasn''t what he had planed and he knew that the pay of the security was not at all as high as an asteroid miner could make if they used a good claimed vein much less if they actually found a new one.


    The president saw his hesitation and,guessing correctly on the reasons, pressed on


    "I should also mention that all security personnel on the Habitation Ships are also miners and are allowed to mine when off shift. "


    Seeing Jace eyes light up he continued "Frankly that is the main reason i would like you to join. If we don''t have a full security complement some people would have to pull double duty and i would have to compensate them for their lost mining time. So what do you say? Join the expedition mine up to the time limit allowed and then just make sure no fights well" ,he corrected himself quickly, "no major fights at least happen and get paid extra! " he said finishing his sale pitch with a big smile.


    Jace hesitated only for a moment.


    "I am in! Where do i sign? "

 Chapter 02

    Jace walked out of the building in a daze. On one hand he was holding the folder he had entered with containing his data for the application and on the other a new data stick ,this one containing orders for him to report to the Security bureau for a quick training highlighting the most important parts of his new job.


    He took a few steps and then stood still watching the starport through the screen acting as a window on the wall,his mind busy processing all that had happened in the last 30 minutes.


    The spaceport was a beehive of activity with every ship crawling with technicians and other ground support personnel finishing last minute repairs and checking to see if anything had been missed. The three largest ships in the system,the habitation ships , were conspicuously absent signaling to everyone who knew how the colony worked that a mining expedition was almost ready to begin.


    As Jace was watching the frantic activity he started to realize that this was it! This was his first expedition preparing to go. For the first time he would be joining a ship going to space not as a passenger or as a trainee but as an actual member of the crew.


    With a big smile on his face he walked to the nearby capsule terminal and passed his credit card through the scanner calling a capsule. As it approached on the rail he looked at it with appraising eye of an aspiring mechanic. Noticing the well secured pylons connecting it to the rails and the perfectly clean capacitor below the see-through pleximetal covering it on the top of the capsule he nodded in approval as he ducked and sat comfortably inside the single person capsule. Clearly his old buddies at the maintenance department had been taking good care of their babies.


    ¡°Destination?¡± the capsule computer asked.


    ¡°Security Bureau¡±


    The capsule took off , it¡¯s teardrop frame racing across the rails. Inside a map appeared with an eagle eye holographic projection of the city marking their progress. Above it a timmer stated ¡°Seven minutes until destination¡±.


    Looking outside the one way windows Jace noticed his reflection on them. His short brown hair stood pressed on his head after the sweat he worked up running all the way to the Consortium offices. The thing that would normally draw the most attention on his face , his nose which was bigger than average and with a hawkish look, was currently eclipsed by the shine in his brown eyes and his stupidly huge grin.


    He tried to smother his grin and only succeeded in making it bigger. Giving up on the futile effort he just sat back and enjoyed the moment. He got his first work slot in an expedition!


    And he would even be paid extra for pulling security on the habitation ships! The president even said that if he managed to do well they would turn it into a permanent position. If he managed that maybe he would even be able to afford his own house when he went to study in the core worlds in 2 years instead of staying in the college dorm!


    Sure it would be extra work but he was never really afraid of interesting work. Boredom though, that was his eternal enemy and anything that lessened it was a good thing in his book.


    He took a deep breath. First things first. He had do the security training and do well. It wasn''t like this time security job was clinging on him passing the training with flying colors but he was sure that if he wanted to keep this sudden boon he would have to give it his all and make a good impression to the rest of the security personnel.


    The capsule slowed down and stopped. Jace got out and activate his visor following the instruction to find the security bureau. When he reached he stopped and studied it.


    Unlike the headquarters of the the Consortium ,or the office of the HPF he had visited multiple times with his mother , this building did not have a large staircase leading into it. Instead it was surrounded by a three meters tall black colored wall dotted with metal spikes on top and with signs everywhere notifying anyone stupid enough not to get the message


    ¡°WARNING"


    "ELECTRIC FENCE ON TOP OF THE WALL¡¯¡¯


    The entrance was a heavy metal double door clearly designed with durability in mind and looked capable of withstanding a cannon round or five and with the words ¡°Security Bureau¡± etched on it. Attached to the wall next to the gate was small guardpost with one way windows on the 3 sides overlooking the road.


    ¡°Well this sure looks¡­ menacing¡± he murmured to himself


    ¡°Yeah that''s the idea¡± a voice suddenly said right next to him.


    Jace jumped in surprise and took two quick steps away from the unknown voice instinctively lowering his center of gravity and raising his arms , as his mother had taught him years ago , then turning to face the unknown speaker.


    In front of him less than a meter away from his original position stood a well build man with black hair falling on the sides of his face. He was dressed in plain dark clothes that failed to disguise the amount of muscle beneath them. His left cheek had a scar running through it which ,in the age of advanced cell regeneration, was either a memento or a statement. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Or both.


    The man put his hands on his waist ,chuckling, as he watched Jace falling into a combat stance.


    ¡°Sorry about that didn''t meant to scare you¡± he said. He pointed at his left arm which had a blue armband emblazoned with the letters S.B. ¡°I am with the bureau¡± he said needlessly.


    Recovering from both his surprise and his combat stance Jace stood up noting for the first time the electric button on the one side of the man''s waist as well as his pistol holster holding what was clearly a magnetic pistol on the other.


    The pistol in particular caught him by surprise. Having grown up in Whitestar city he had of course seen the Security personnel many times in his life but they always wore their uniforms ,their full uniforms, and not just the armband and never carried pistols around using dart tasers instead


    The man caught his suspicious look at his holder and said reassuringly ¡°Dont worry too much kid! Here let me show you. ¡±


    Saying that he proceeded to approach the entrance of the bureau. Picking a card from his vest he passed it thought the scanner which beeped and the door started sliding open


    A voice was heard from the guardpost external speaker.


    ¡°Hey Cap! How was the patrol¡±


    ¡°Nothing spectacular just a lot of miners and sailors getting stoned out of their minds in preparation for the expedition. The usual stuff¡± he said with a sake of his head and then turned back to look at Jace


    ¡°See you around kid ¡± he said shaking his hand at him.


    ¡°Wait¡± Jace exclaimed ¡°I have to go in as well!¡±


    The man frowned at him ¡°Only members of the bureau or people carrying orders can enter here young man. You can''t just enter to look around!¡± he said his voice rising slightly in indignation


    ¡°I have orders¡± ,Jace said quickly, ¡°Orders to report to Captain Averof for a stint in security on a habitation ship ¡±


    He stretched out his hand holding the official data stick with the orders.


    The man ,still frowning, took it and passed through the scanner


    ¡°Tom is he saying the truth?¡±


    ¡°Yes cap¡± ,the voice from the speaker answered, ¡°the order is coming straight from the president in fact. ¡±


    ¡°Curiouser and curiouser¡±,the man murmured and then turned to face Jace,


    ¡°Well it seems like you found me young man¡± he said while inclining his head at Jace''s direction ¡°Captain Andrex Averof at your service. Now come on in so we can talk without standing in the middle of the road¡±


    After saying that he passed through the gate and Jace hurried to follow him.


    As they walked into the building and down a long corridor with office doors left and right, there were a lot people passing them in both directions ,all of them looking busy.Some of them were carrying actual paper files and others pushing trolleys holding big metal boxes that Jace recognized from his training as combat equipment storages.


    Even with the chaos reigning in the corridor everyone was always finding time to incline their head and call out the captain as he walked forwards. In response captain Averof would call out their names adding a small comment sometimes


    ¡°Celena ,you and Mac, make sure to be carefull patrolling your area tonight some of the new guys may try to enter the city through there again¡±


    ¡°Sure thing Captain dont worry about it¡±


    ¡°Shiv is the armory done inspecting our equipment for the expedition¡±


    ¡°Almost done Cap,we will start loading it up tomorrow morning¡±


    Like that and with Jace struggling to follow him the captain passed through the chaos with a grace that showed that this was not an unusual occurrence for this place.


    Reaching the end of the corridor Jace and the captain entered a gravlift and started heading upwards.


    ¡°To answer the question you clearly had before¡±,Averof said looking at him , ¡°Yes security officers are not allowed to carry lethal arms generally. But an exception is made when we have to patrol the White Night district¡±


    Jace nooded his head at him hearing that explanation.


    The White Night district was an area in its own separate dome connected to the rest of the city via a strictly regulated underground tunnel. It was though accessible freely from the spaceport and it was there for a very specific reason.


    A lot of asteroid miners and freight ship sailors had a ... less than stellar relationship with the law. But while these people preferred to live in their ships they often had need for the kind of facilities only a port could provide.


    Thus places like the Whitestar district where people could find intoxicants ,booze and , for the right price, companionship of either genre while the local government could still tax them were a fact of life in every major and minor port in human space.


    While it was understood that security would patrol those areas to prevent them from falling into lawness it was also better something done districtly and without flashing the full uniform in front of every drunk sailor looking for a fight.


    And considering the total lack of import and export control in that kind of area it was also wise for the police to go there armed and in groups less they find themselves in the wrong side of an imbalanced firefight.


    ¡°Same thing with the gate and the guardhouse isn''t it?¡± Jace said thoughtfully. ¡°Intimidate them enough so you won''t have to kill them in an actual fight¡±


    ¡°Yep ,got it in one¡± Averof grunted and then looked at him ¡°What''s your name anyway. If you are gonna work for me I should stop calling you young man or kid don''t you think?¡±


    Jace flushed embarrassed and then offered his hand for a handshake ¡°Jace Vans nice to meet you¡­ Captain¡±


    Andrex grabbed his hand and squeezed it powerfully without seemingly realizing it. He then proceeded to drag him out of the lift as it stopped on the 6th floor.


    ¡°Nice to meet you as well Jace. Now come inside my office and lets see what our august President want me to do with you shall we?¡±

 Chapter 03

    Captain¡¯s Averof office was a fairly small affair barely 20 square meters all together and with the only furnitures being the desk and three chairs, two for visitors and one for himself. The walls were painted a dull grey color and were completely devoid of decorations. It was clear by the complete lack of any personal touch that the owner of the office did not spent much time in it.


    What grabbed Jace¡¯s attention thought, as he made his way to one of the visitor chairs following the captain, was the giant window offering a clear view through the center of Whitestar all the way to where the dome touched back to the earth.


    While Jace was admiring the view,the captain had sat down on his office and activated his workstation. He then proceeded to enter Jace¡¯s orders to it and go through them.


    ¡°Well well well isn''t that just perfect¡±,Averof grumbled as he inclined back to his seat having finished reading the orders, ¡°Seems like that old man Jason managed to find a way not to pay us extra after all.¡± He then looked back at Jace


    ¡°I saw you fall into a combat stance earlier and i know your mother as well.¡± He continued a smile appearing on his face, ¡°She and I have sparred quite a few time during the intercity competitions. She is one dangerous lady alright and i am guessing she is the one training you?¡±


    Jace pulled his attention away from the window and nodded at the captain confirming his assumption.


    ¡°You already have the brown belt, when are you gonna try for the black one?¡±


    ¡°I will be eligible to take the test in 2 months sir¡±, Jace answered


    ¡°Not bad not bad at all. Now the question is how well can you use that ability in an actual fight. How many fights have you taken part in Jace?¡±


    Jace hesitated and seeing that the captain laughed.


    ¡°Jace we know that often many people in Whitestar,especially younger ones. solve their differences with their fists. This is not a damn Core world and as long as no one is killed or weapons are drawn we don''t really give a damn if people blow off some steam. We have a first rate hospital after all designed to handle things far worse than anything human fists can inflict.¡±


    Jace encouraged by this took a breath and answered


    ¡°About a couple dozens ¡±


    Facing the surprised eyes of the Captain from the other side of the desk Jace felt his face going red and lowered his eyes and mumbled ¡°We had a bit of a bullying problem in my school during my last two years.¡± The memories of those times brought the rage he had felt back then on the surface again and he looked at Averof and spoke with his voice full of rage


    ¡°I hate bullies. And i don''t for a second regret beating them up¡±


    The captain looked at him with steady eyes and suddenly said looking at something in his visor.


    ¡°And yet i can see from the colony''s hospital data that you have only once entered there for treatment once and even that was just for a torn upper lip. Which would suggest to me you won most of those fights pretty cleanly.¡±


    Jace shrugged, still uncomfortable with this conversation even if it didnt seem it would cause him any trouble.


    ¡°They were bullies sir, they were not used to anyone fighting back. Plus the only way they knew to fight was to try and overwhelm their opponent with rage induced attacks. A fine tactic against scared teens not so much against a trained martial artist.¡±


    ¡°All that is true, but bullies are pack animals. From what i understood you fought them alone?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir i did¡±,Jace said but then rushed to add ¡°My friends wanted to help but none of them were trained in any kind of fighting so i didn''t let them.¡±


    The captain nodded his understanding and then stood up removing his batton and his pistol from his waist and storing them inside a drawer in his office.


    ¡°Leave the stuff you are holding here and follow me."


    Jace did as he was told and left the folder on the desk after which he stood up to follow Averof outside the office. As they walked down the corridor the captain started talking.


    ¡°You see, you are gonna join my team pulling Security duty inside the Lady Annabel one of the three habitation ships. I don''t really have a choice in the matter since it''s an order from the president. But i will make damn sure you can pull your weight and you are not gonna create any fuck ups than i will then have to clean up. ¡±


    Having said that he approached a door and pulled it open waving at Jace to enter first.


    A bit confused Jace did as he was told and entered into a big room.He noticed the special material on the floor and the mats attached on the walls and realized he was inside a training room.


    He turned around to ask the captain what he should do...just in time to see a fist heading straight for his face!


    Reacting automatically he raised his arm hitting the incoming fist and deflecting it above his head. At the same time he performed a knee strike with his right leg at his opponent.


    Or at least he tried but, in his surprised state, his reaction was too slow. The moment his right foot left the ground he felt another foot step on his left one pinning it down as an elbow hit his chest.As a result, he lost his balance and,with the foot stepping on his left withdrawing,he fell backwards and onto his back.


    Laying on the floor and trying to breath through the pain in his chest he looked at the captain,towering above him .who had just beat him so effortlessly.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°The perfect time to attack a security officer is when he has just entered a building,before he has managed to get his bearings.¡± He spoke slowly making sure Jace understood him even in his winded state. ¡°People know that we will appear when there is trouble and many will try to hit as when we are at our most vulnerable.¡±


    The captain offered him his hand to help him stand up. Jace grabbed it and pulled himself upright


    ¡°Lesson...¡±, he whizzed out, ¡°learned.¡±


    ¡°Right catch your breath and go armor up¡±,he pointed in a part of the wall where sets of armor like the ones Jace has always seen the Security walking around with where arrayed.


    ¡°And then¡±, the captain continued with a smile on his face that Jace could only describe as evil, ¡°we will go another four or five rounds so i can gauge your current level¡±


    Jace suddenly felt a sense of dread rising inside him.


    ¡°Shouldn''t we change into training clothes first?¡± he asked trying to delay the inevitable.


    ¡°Ha! Your opponent will not wait for you to change into training gear to fight him! We train in the same gear we will actually have to fight with.You don''t have a uniform yet but your current clothes are similar enough. Now wear your armor and come face me in the middle of the ring!¡±


    After saying that captain Averof walked into the room ,removing his vest and revealing his own armour undreneath and murmuring loud enough so Jace could hear he said:


    ¡°Didn''t have any chance to stretch my muscles yesterday so beating up the newbie will have to do¡±


    Jace took a deep breath and reminded himself that he needed to impress his new boss. And so determined to at least make him sweat for it went to pick his own set of armor and protection gear.


    Twenty minutes full of loud noises and painful grunts,most of which came from him, later Jace found himself on his back again for the sixth time this day but while he felt more than a dozen painful spots on his body he still had a smile on his face. He had managed to get two good hits in return and Captain Averof was most certainly sweating.


    As he was trying to catch his breath ,again, he heard the captain talking with someone on his visor com. After that he came and stood above him.


    ¡°You did pretty good. Honestly most of our own junior security members would not be able to strike me back at all. Your mother definitely trained you well. Now i called the rest of the team here so you can meet them and we can go do the next part of your training. Remove your gear and store it up in the rack¡±


    After taking off his protection gear and storing it away Jace went to stand by the captain who was busy with something in his visor.While they were waiting Jace put his own visor over his left eye again to see if anything had come up. No messages so far. After thinking about it for a bit he compiled and fired a message to his mother and father explaining his current situation and that he might be late for dinner.


    The door opened suddenly and four people ,two women and two men, wearing the security officers uniform entered the training room.


    ¡°Hey welcome¡± ,the captain said and waving at his direction continued, ¡°This is Jace he is gonna be a part of our shift in the security during the expedition¡±


    With expressions ranging from surprise to happy they all came forwards to introduce themselves


    The leading man was sporting long black hair and he was build like a wall thought it was clear that it was all muscle.He moved with a grace that seemed unfitting of his giant frame and his voice was surprisingly low when he introduced himself as Mac Walsh


    Following right beside him was the woman the captain had talked on the corridor earlier.She was called Celena Madison and had bright orange hair and a bunch of freckles on her face. Despite that and her sunny smile no one on their right mind would take her lightly when they noticed her toned 1.80 cm tall body.


    The other two introduced themselves as David Morrison,an unassuming man with brown mousey hair a thin build, and Chang Liu who,despite the clearly eastern descent of her name, had long blonde hair and piercing big blue eyes.


    ¡°Jace will be joining as at the orders of the president. And before you guys start bitching about the loss of double shift money¡±,his eyes narrowed and a couple of them quickly closed their mouths without saying anything ¡°I remind you that we can now go back to the schedule we had before Katsan had to leave. Which means no loss of mining time for anyone.¡±


    The team seemed mollified by this for a bit but then Mac asked ¡°Boss that is all well and good for the money but can he hold his own in a fight?¡±


    Averof nooded at the big man ¡°Yes Mac he can hold his own on hand to hand. He is Serena¡¯s Moore son and she has trained him herself for at least three and a half years. He holds a brown belt in Muay Thai and more importantly ¡±,he continue still seeing doubt on his team faces, ¡°he was able to hold his own against me and even got two good hits in.¡±


    They all seem surprised by that and the looks they were giving Jace changed from ones of doubt to ones holding a bit of respect.


    ¡°Now of course¡±, the captain continued, ¡°we don''t have time to teach Jace everything he needs to know for security work. The usual training time is one month and we only have two and a half days until the expedition departs. So we are gonna focus on the practical part of enforcing the law on a habitation ship.¡±


    He started walking towards a door on the side of the training room and everyone followed him ¡°That is why i called you here. I already got the ok from the chief for all of your patrol routes to be covered with members of the reserve patrol team.For the next day and a half we will enter the simulators and teach Jace everything he needs to know while learning how to best include him into our team.¡±


    All the other members nodded followed by Jace. He honestly was expecting something like that since he was a last minute addition to the group.


    And besides he would be able to enter the Security Bureau virtual reality simulators and play around in them! For someone like him who was both a lover of tech and a gamer there were few things more interesting than that!


    They entered the room which held twelve VR pods, the bathtub shaped machines arrayed in two rows of six. The captain brought them over to the first raw and told them to settle in.


    Jace went over to the last one and pulled the VR Suit from the bellow the machine. It was one of those one size fit all suit that needed to be set on the right size using cords,unlike the custom made one he had at home, but it was of good quality. On the back was a label declaring ¡°Property of the S.B.¡±


    He removed his jacket and wore the suit,adjusticing it to the right size and noticing that everyone else was just wearing the suit over their uniforms without needing to change size even Mac. It was clear that they were training here often.


    ¡°Ok Jace listen up¡±, Averof said from the other end of the row, ¡°When you enter the VR lobby don''t go anywhere and wait for my invitation OK? ¡±


    ¡°Yes sir¡±


    ¡°Also when we enter the simulation we act as we do while we are on duty. Which means no calling me sir or captain. Just call me Andrex. There is no reason to give anyone watching extra info. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes Si-, Andrex understood.¡±


    While they were talking everyone else had entered their pods and closed the lids above them,the lights on the pods changing from green to amber to signify they were now in use.


    Andrex nodded at him and closed his own pod¡¯s lid and Jace followed suit.


    Inside the familiar enclosed space he took a deep breath and then pressed the activation button.


    He felt a current travel through his head and his conscience left his body traveling to the virtual world.

 Chapter 04

    Jace arrived in a circular space floating between blue clouds. Around the edge of the disk like space stood more that twenty doors.


    He stood up and started moving around,mostly to avoid boredom.


    His virtual body,faithfully reproduced by the scanners inside the VR capsule, was just as responsive as his real one. The suit he was wearing was intercepting the messages sent from his brain synapses and redirecting them to the computer which decoded them and then moved this body accordingly.


    Even with all the advances in VR tech in the last couple centuries though the human brain could always tell that something wasn''t completl right in the virtual world.A muscle not being quite the same,a small delay in the movements of the body, something that didn''t feel quite right...the list was endless and even though every new model of every company insisted on telling how perfect their machines were, time and again they all failed to meet expectations.


    Suddenly a message popped up in front of him.The invitation that the cap- no dammit Andrex! He told you to call him Andrex here.


    He accepted the invitation and stayed still. From his perspective the cloudy world around him disintegrated and as he blinked he stood in a big hangar like space devoid of anything. Around him stood Andrex and the rest of the team.


    ¡°Here you are! Welcome to the first phase of our training Jace¡±, Andrex said. ¡°Since you are qualified with both pistols and rifles we will train here with both before passing into advance training.But before that..¡±


    Andrex manipulated a menu and a podium like the ones you see speakers use in ceremonies appeared. He stepped behind it.


    Jace looked at him confused while the rest of the team seemed amused by the action.


    ¡°We don''t have a lot of time¡±,Andrex started looking solemn and managing to ignore the giggles coming from a certain redhead, ¡°so i will be brief."


    "First rule you need to remember is that we are security not police.Our job is to break up fights. Break them up with no loss of life or property if possible, but break them up nevertheless no matter what. If you let a brawl get out of control in an enclosed space well you will not like the results believe me.¡±


    ¡° And with the combination of miners,sailors and alcohol we will have in the expedition there will be a lots of brawls¡± ,Mac said from the side while shaking his head.


    ¡°When we patrol the ship¡±, Andrex continued holding himself high and speaking solemnly while the giggles rose in volume, ¡°we always go in teams of two one senior and one junior member of the team.Every junior member will be equipped with a batton, a dart taser and the protection gear you used while sparring. Every senior member will be equipped will all that plus the firearm of his or her choice."


    A ¡°Booo¡± came from David surprising Jace who had pegged him as a quiet guy.


    ¡°That is because¡±, the speech continued, ¡°the senior members are trusted to keep their cool and not draw their guns unnecessarily. But they are also trusted to draw them when necessary.¡±


    ¡°Of course junior or senior you are still security officers¡±,Andrex continued in a darker tone. ¡°In case of an emergency you will be issued firearms so you must know how to use them as well. Now¡±,he finished while Calana had dissolved into hoots, ¡°let''s do some shooting warm up in the range¡±


    He walked down and used the menu. Suddenly in front of them a series of shooting booths appeared and on the other side of those a few automatic disk throwers.


    Everyone came over and choose a booth.Following Andrex instructions they all picked up the dart taser from the booth weapon menu and choose their preferred attachments.


    ¡°All right Jace you go first. Show us what you can do.¡± Andrex said standing behind him.


    Jace took a deep breath and pushed the button on the booth to start. A floating number counting downwards from 10 appeared in front of him.


    He raised his weapon and took aim downrange.When the counting number reached 0 a red disk flew out of the thrower into the air.


    He tracked it for half a second and then pulled the trigger. With a low "blep" a slim dart with a rounding middle was magnetically pushed forwards and met the disk at the crest of its trajectory,turning it into a shower of shards.


    Jace had no time to celebrate thought cause apparently Andrex has set up the training program so that the disks would be shot with barely one second delay between them.As the first red disk shattered another one had already left the machine.


    Jace forgot everything around him paying all attention to the disks that came thick and heavy. He didn''t have time pay attention if his shoots missed the target. All he could do was track,aim,shoot using his visor speed and turn indications as an assistance and then immediately move his attention to the next one.


    He was losing ground thought every disk he shoot was ever closer the blue,curtain like, range bounds.After the first dozen he had to give up on some disks so he could save time to hit others.


    To make matters worse the disks did not come in fixed intervals instead varying from one every second to two at once after 3.


    After what seemed like 10 minutes to him a beeping sound was heard and the word FINISH floated in front of him.


    Jace unclenched his hands from the darts taser and looked at his score: 41 out of 65.


    He clenched his teeth.True the shooting program was difficult but for someone like him who was used to a score of 90% or better when he was able to use his visor guidance it was a disappointing result.


    ¡°Hey not bad rookie¡±, said the deep low voice of Mac on his left ,¡°that¡¯s the best first time result i have seen in awhile.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Jace turned to look at Mac at his left ¡°Still not great thought.¡±


    ¡°Yeah and i bet i know why.¡± Andrex put in from behind him, ¡°You used the dart taser data already saved in your visor computer didn''t you?¡±


    Jace looked at him questioningly ¡°I mean..yeah i did. I have been trained in using a taser so there was no reason for the delay of getting the data from the gun datachip.¡±


    Shaking his head Andrex put his hand on Jace¡¯s shoulder ¡°Never ,ever try to cut corners with your equipment when you have time to do everything right. The reason many of your shots missed is because SB tasers are using darts with double the electric charge so the capacitor is bigger as well. Which means...¡±


    ¡°Which means they go slower and fall off quicker.¡± Jace completed his sentence dejected.


    ¡°Right you got it. There are times when we must cut corners to save time. But the preparation for a routine mission is not one of those times. Unless you are trying to make it a not-so-routine one. Now fix you data and¡±,turning his head to the other members of the team, ¡±the rest of you start training as well.I will put the disks in instanced mode so only you will be seeing you own.¡±


    Everyone pressed the start button and after downloading the new velocity data from the gun datachip Jace followed suit.


    His next two rounds had more successful result with his score rising all the way to 56 out of 60 in his third one.


    After the third round Andrex called them back together and put their results in a ranking. To Jace¡¯s delight he was ranked fourth only behind the senior members and even better only 2% behind Mac.


    The big man shrugged and smiled at him looking at the results. ¡°Tasers where never weapons i was comfortable with¡±


    ¡°Mac that¡¯s because you are never comfortable with anything smaller than a god damn rocket launcher!¡±,Calana chipped in causing everyone to smile and laugh, ¡°Nice work there Jace you definitely know your way around weapons.¡± Turning to the captain she asked ¡°can we have a go with actual guns now Andrex?¡±


    ¡°Sure ,three rounds with firearms of your choice it is. Pick the gun you prefer from the menu. First rounds is disks for a warmup. Second and third are gonna be special rounds thought¡±,Andrex warned them with a grin stretching his scar and making him look terrifying.


    Everyone hurried to enter their booths. Jace opened the menu and typed the gun he wanted in the search engine.


    The familiar shape of a Corona 220N appeared on the bench.


    ¡°Oh a Corona huh¡± said David from behind him.


    Jace grabbed the gun and turned to look at David who was giving him an embarrassed smile.


    ¡°Sorry i was curious to know what you prefer. But that doesn''t look like their standart magpistol model.¡± he continued looking at the weapon in Jace¡¯s hands critically. ¡°The barrel is longer,a bit thicker and if i am not mistaken so is the magazine¡±


    ¡°Yeah you are right¡±, said Jace passing David the pistol and allowing him to study it closely, ¡°It''s a 220N model.It was designed for the navy personnel of the Altian Federati-¡±


    ¡°To deal with drone attacks on their ships and lightly armored opponents in law enforcement operations¡± David interrupted him, his brown eyes shining with excitement, ¡°i have read all about it! It was the first magpistol with sensor impact rounds wasn''t it?¡±


    ¡°Um yes it was¡± said Jace ta bit taken aback.


    David passed the gun back while still talking ¡°The tungsten round is tipped with a sensor that makes it explode inside the first target it hits to prevent overpenetration against unarmored targets.The sensor could be deactiv-¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah David that''s enough.You sound like a god damn manual again!¡±,Calana¡¯s voice interrupted them from two booths over, ¡°Jace is here to shoot not listen to your version of gunporn!¡±


    David¡¯s face made and interesting attempt of imitating a tomato as he walked over to his own booth.


    Smiling Jace pressed the start button.


    The disks came fast and his proficiency with the weapon quickly showed as he was able to successfully hit ten of the eleven initial targets with quick snapshots ,often being able to use the above average recoil of his weapon to move the muzzle where he wanted it.


    Unfortunately the major drawback of his weapon quickly became evident as well.Having focused on stopping power and avoiding overpenetration the designers at Corona had to sacrifice something and it was magazine capacity. The 220N was only able to hold eleven rounds unlike the sixty five dart capacity the drum magazine of the taser had.


    The reload took him only a bit more than two second but that was enough for him to completely miss one more disk.


    He continued like this finishing the round with a score of 51 out of 60.


    ¡°Good warm up everyone¡±. Andrex shouted from the edge of the range. ¡°Now ladies and gents round two!¡±


    In front off Jace all the disk throwers suddenly disappeared. In their place dozens of white stick figures writing ¡°CIVILIAN¡± started moving randomly across the range.


    ¡°There will be ten targets. And no dead civies please! Now.. Go!¡±


    And with those words from Andrex,without any countdown or other warning black stick figures with targets on the head and chest appeared, one from each side.


    Jace quickly took aim and shoot the figure coming from the left but ,in his haste ,his shot only hit the shoulder.He re aimed and shot again eliminating the target with a torso shot. He waited for a clear shot, as all the white figures were messing up his aim and then managed to get a headshot on the other one.


    From his left Mac¡¯s rifle barked again an again hitting targets only he could see. And from further in the left a never ending string of profanities punctuated with gunshots marked the place Calana was apparently having the time of her life.


    Jace tried to cut off all sounds focusing on finding the slim second openings in the white figures that would allow him a hit. Despite his efforts thought he once again needed two shots to finish of his sixth target.


    As the ninth and tenth target were making their way through the range he realized he had a problem.There was no way he would be able to reload in time and he only had one bullet left.


    Making a decision he pressed a button placed awkwardly on the top of the gun,so it could not be pressed by accident.And then he waited hoping the thrice damn civilians would cooperate.


    Tracking both target in the edges of his vision he took a deep breath steading himself.And then at the right moment he fired.


    The round passed straight through the torso of the first target and hit the edge of the target zone on the torso of the second.


    Both targets disappeared in a flash and then the white figures also faded from his vision.


    Sighing with pent up tension he lowered his weapon and ejected the now empty magazine.With practised movements he grabbed a new one from the bench in front of him and slotted it in.


    Then he waited to see if Andrex had any more ¡°special¡± things for them.


    The captain started clapping from his spot in the start of the range


    ¡°Very good,Very good all of you! You all got nine or ten of the targets and no civilians dead today.¡±


    He paused as if to give them time to realize how good they did but then his voice continued mercilessly.


    ¡°Now do it again!¡±


    In Jace¡¯s vision the white figures appeared again,moving even more frantically this time and the black targets were already moving in as well!


    He could sympathise with the storm of curses that came from Calana and David.If Jace wasn''t trying so desperately to make a good impression he would have joined them.


    Well one thing had become quickly apparent ,there was no way he would be bored during this training!

 Chapter 05

    After they were all done with their rounds the team gathered again and Jace was glad to see that he wasn''t the only one still breathing heavily from the strain.


    ¡°Right ,good work everyone lets take a break. Except you Jace¡±, Andrex said flashing one of his terrifying grins at him before he could rejoice, ¡°I still have to see how you handle a rifle. Three more rounds, go to!¡±


    Jace groaned deeply but moved to the range again,this time picking the Security''s Bureau standard Lezona 3 electric rifle,just like the one Mac was previously using. It was a solid bullpup design for mid ranges,and could use normal rounds as well as flechettes if necessary but it lacked an automatic function.


    Jace completed three rounds, similar to the ones before, with that rifle while holding an average of 90% proving again he wasn''t all talk and data.


    The captain seemed satisfied with this and started manipulating the menu again.


    ¡°Now that we have warmed up we are gonna give Jace some actual training experience. We are gonna use difficulty 3 simulation mode¡±,and ignoring the groans that caused he turned to Jace.


    ¡°The simulation will be just like every other VR game you have played. In this case the playing field will be a recreation of the Lady Annabel. We are gonna start in pairs just like we will be in the field:a pair in each of the ship¡¯s two decks and one pair in reserve in the security room. Mac is with Calana,Chang goes with David and you,for you sins,are with me. ¡±


    He then finished inputting on the menu setting up the scenario.


    ¡°Good luck Jace,you will need it!¡± said Calara merrily before everything around him dissolved into fragments of light.


    ***


    Jace found himself sitting in a chair,behind a desk, in the corner of a large oval room with six rings of balconie-like levels rising above it. It reminded him of one of the old fashioned malls in those crappy old series his little sister liked to watch.


    The main difference was that the shops here were most definitely not kid friendly. Bars with flashy signs,entrances to casinos,strip clubs and front stores of famous metal traders dotted the ground floor.


    If someone looked a bit closer they would notice the telltale signs of a starship interior as well : the atmosphere cleaners doting the ceiling,the big orange boxes containing emergency shipsuits and the low tremor passing through everything as the fusion rockets pushed the ship to ever greater speeds.


    Jace was wearing his visor and the same armor he had one while training,covering his chest,knees,hands and elbows. In a holster he had the dart taser and on the other side of his waist an electric baton. Andrex was sitting next to him looking relaxed.


    ¡°What do we do now Andrex?¡±


    ¡°We wait. ¡±


    ¡°Umm aren''t we supposed to do something in the simulation¡±


    Andrex looked at him, a smile cracking his lips.


    ¡°We are security Jace. We go where we are called when we are called. Waiting is part of the simulation. ¡±


    Oh for god''s sake he hated this already!


    Jace tried to keep himself entertained looking at the people passing through the plaza but only managed to last two minutes before asking again


    ¡°And how will we know if we are ca-¡±


    On the edge of the visor covering his left eye a red light started blinking rapidly.


    ¡°And that would be our cue¡±,Andrex said as he stood up and started running.


    Jace turned to where the light was coming from and saw a bar door. On his right eye the door looked normal but on the left eye,using the visor it was blinking red rapidly.


    He followed Andrex as he run and heard him through the team voice comms


    ¡°Team one responding to alert,reserve team move to the first floor¡±


    ¡°Got it. Reserve team moving to first floor¡±,Mac¡¯s voice answered to his left ear.


    Andrex reached the door,drew his baton, and motioned to Jace to enter first.


    Having a sense of deja-vu, Jace pushed the door open after drawing his own baton.


    A wave of loud music mixed with screams and neon lights hit him as he stepped forward.


    Remembering the first lesson Andrex taught him,Jace immediately checked his left and right as he entered.


    A brutish looking man was standing on the left holding a bottle and swinging it straight at his head!


    Jace calmy sidesteped the man¡¯s clumsy swing and answered with an underhand swing of his own ,the baton catching his assailant on the armpit. The man went limp as the electric current hit him and he fell backwards.


    Quickly verifying that no one else was attacking him Jace stepped out of the way to allow Andrex to enter while he assessed the situation around him.


    The place was a mess with at least one table flipped over and broken glasses all over the floor.. Two big men wearing sailor patches on their clothes had grabbed the bartender and pinned his head on the bar.


    As he was absorbing all that one of the two offenders grabbed a bottle and raised above the pinned bartender.


    Reacting instantly, Jace dropped his batton and grabbed the taser. He shot aiming center mass.


    The man stiffened as the dart hit him on his side,the bottle he was still raising fell from his numbed fingers and hit the floor,followed by his body.


    The other man turned his head and spotting him in his bright blue security uniform grabbed two bottle and threw them at his direction.


    Jace dived left,behind a table, getting out of the bottle''s trajectory. As he landed ,through, he heard a grunt behind him and the sound of a body hitting the laminated floor.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Turning his head he spotted Andrex lying on the floor with his head sporting a new bump,clearly unconscious.


    Looking around he noticed the bartender exiting through a side door,having gotten away in the confusion. He was now alone in the bar with the attacker,the rest of the patrons exiting from the emergency exits.


    One more bottle smashed on the ground right by his feet. He took a deep breath and leaped into action.


    Pulling the legs of the round table he flipped it over ,granting himself some extra cover from the apparently endless rain of bottles that was flying and landing around him,and peeked around the edge.


    His target had taken cover behind the marble bar and was only rising and ducking quicly every time he threw a bottle. Not enough time for a clear shoot.


    Looking around to see what was available to him Jace quickly formulated a plan.


    He gathered himself and the next time a bottle landed near him he launched himself forwards. With a leap he jumped on top of the next table in front of him.


    Jumping from table to table he reached the back of the store and jumped aiming for the top of the countertop in order to get a clear shot.


    His target thought had apparently guessed his intentions and just as he was flying through the air the man¡¯s arm was stretching backwards,holding a bottle.


    Jace¡¯s mind kicked into gear and he did the only thing he could. As his feet touched the bar he allowed them to turn causing the rest of his body to fall sideways on top of the flat surface ,a bottle flying a hair''s breadth for the top of his head.


    Prepared as he was for the fall he managed to not let go of the taser. Leaning to the left for better aim he shot his target and had the satisfaction of seeing him collapse in a heap on the floor.


    Jace took a moment to control his breathing and his pulse and then tried to rise from the marble surface to check on Andrex.


    Suddenly he heard clapping. Raising his eyes he saw Andrex standing there right as rain.


    Understanding flashed through Jace''s mind and he said accusingly.


    ¡°You set this up!¡±


    ¡°Yes i did. What, did you think i would let a random flying bottle take me out?This was actually the first exercise we always use to evaluate rookies coming out of the first two weeks of basic training¡±


    ¡°And how did i do?¡± Jace said,still a bit grumpy. ¡±


    ¡°Pretty good,you handled the door ambush nicely,your aim was excellent and your use of the tables very original. ¡± And sitting on one of the tables he continued. ¡°You only did one mistake. Why didn''t you call for reinforcements?¡±


    Jace looked at Andrex slightly confused ¡°It was just one attacker still standing and the reserve team would not arrive in time before he escaped. ¡±


    The captain shook his head. ¡°I was incapacitated and you were alone. You should have called for reinforcement immediately. You could not know if he somehow managed to slip a gun through the entrance scanners or if he had more friends around. ¡±


    ¡°Also, escape? Where? We are in a starship,there are cameras in all the public areas and all ways in and out are strictly regulated. You are security. Don''t try to play hero ok?¡±


    ¡°Yes Andrex. ¡± he said feeling embarrassed. He hadn''t even thought of calling backup! He had just saw an enemy he could take and went for it.


    ¡°Okay that enough for now don''t beat yourself over it. Every new guy has a hero complex at first. ¡± Andrex said making himself comfortable in on of the bar stools.


    ¡°Now this is how your training is gonna go. I will explain to you the protocols for every emergency situations while in the ship and we then gonna go through a simulation of it. After you are comfortable with our procedures, we are gonna start doing drills in conjunction with the other teams. Ok?¡±


    Jace noded, his determination to make this, his first day at work ever, a success remaining unshaken.


    ***


    For the next 4 hours Jace was drilled repeatedly in all the protocols and procedures they had to follow while in the ship. Before each simulation he would receive a short lecture from the captain,who would then proceed to throw him directly into the deep end,explaining his mistakes after each run.


    Jace learned communication protocols and emergency fall back points. He learned to use his visor to navigate the pathways of the ship and how to connect with the cameras in order to hunt down a fleeing target.


    It was a training in evacuation protocols thought that would end up being his first complete failure.


    ***


    It all started with him and Andrex sitting again in the security desk of Deck One. Everything was quite for a bit,with the older man explaining how to treat the private security guards some of the firms had operating in their shop.


    Suddenly a loud ripping noise echoed through the open room and Jace could feel the air around him starting to move rapidly.


    A computer generated voice started repeating from the every speaker in the ship.


    ¡°HULL BREACH. HULL BREACH. ALL PASSENGERS MUST MOVE TO THE CLOSER SHIPSUIT DISPENSER AND THEN TO THE DESIGNATED EVACUATION POINTS. ¡±


    Reacting as he had been instructed previously ,during a fire emergency drill, Jace quickly donned the shipsuit situated below his chair. Unlike the emergency models all around the ship this one had ¡°SECURITY¡± markers all around it and was equipped with a gravline under one arm.


    The gravline was capable of throwing a wire,tipped with a small but potent magnet, up to 60 meters away. The device could then retract the cable with a powerful motor,allowing for rapid movement in case of gravity failure inside the metal hull of the ship.


    Managing to suit up in less than twenty second he followed his previous training and keeping his helmet open he started directing people towards the emergency shipsuits.There simulated sailors of the ship were making sure they had suit up correctly.


    As people rushed around him he lost sight of Andrex. Trusting that his partner would do his part he focused on the task ahead.


    Tuning his suit coms on the emergency frequency he winced when a deluge of panicked voices entered his ear.


    Using his security clearance to cover all other voices clamoring for attention he said strongly


    ¡°Please remain calm and don''t use this frequency to ask questions. After a sailor verifies that your suit is sealed proceed to the evacuation points in each end of the ship. ¡±


    The noise settled down drastically after that but before he had time to do anything else he noticed a disturbance near the forward evacuation point.


    He started making that way while resisting the wind.The current had become stronger and stronger as the air systems pumped more and more air trying to maintain a breathable atmosphere for as long as possible.He noticed a throng of men wearing green shipsuits ,carrying a trader¡¯s firm markers, pushing people out of the line attempting to enter the lifeboats first.


    Sailors and miners were not about to take that sitting down and a fight was clearly brewing.


    Jace managed to get closer and pressed the red button in his suit coms. A loud,siren like, noise blared from the coms of everyone five meters around him and they all winced. They then focused their attention to him,forgetting for a second their intention to start a fight.


    ¡°Please maintain order in the evacuation line,there are enough lifeboats for all of you. ¡±,Jace said calmly, ¡°And gentlemen wearing the green shipsuits please take you place back to the end of the line. ¡±


    A man who was previously stayingin the middle of the group step forwards and started whining clearly annoyed.


    ¡°Who are you trying to make us wait! I am the region manager from CP Alloys ! If anything happens to us your company would lose its biggest trading partner! ¡±


    ¡°Sir nothing is gonna happen to you as long as you follow the sailors instructions. Please go back to your place in the line. ¡± Jace said trying to remain calm.


    Through the clar faceplate he saw the man''s eyes ,already wild with fear, open further. He fumbled with his suit coms and starting talking angrily in a different channel.


    That was all the warning Jace got before two of the more bulky men in the group charge towards him, both drawing batons. He managed to deflect one but the other caught him in the arm, the pain causing him to drop his own batton that his was in the process of grabbing.


    He backpedaled quickly, trying to open room and draw his taser which was still in his shipsuit belt, but after two backwards steps he felt a jolt in his leg and everything went numb.


    As he fell he saw another figure wearing green shipsuit holding a taser similar to his own.


    Chaos erupted around him with people fighting each other and trying to make a run for the lifeboats.


    He saw a batton heading straight for his face.


    After that everything dissolved to darkness. In the air red letters appeared.


    ¡°YOU DIED¡±.