Chapter 1

Xolara
Solaris City, Solaris VII
Lyran Alliance
12 March, 3067


It wasn’t exactly a seedy bar, but it wasn’t the most upscale of places either. Faith sat towards the rear of the bar, the better to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the various patrons. For the most part, the people frequenting the bar were working class locals with a smattering of tourists thrown in for good measure. Faith was fairly certain that she had pegged the local criminal element doing their normal running, and from the look of it, it was mostly low level trade in illicit substances, and some kind of sex ring that she wasn't quite sure of, and was pretty sure she didn’t want to be sure of.

Today, however, held a new surprise. From a back hallway of the bar emerged a woman, followed closely by two men who were clearly auditioning for the role of archetypal bodyguard. The blonde woman was probably in her forties, perhaps early fifties, but had a certain grace about the way she walked. It didn’t exactly put her out of place here, but it did make her stand out. She was dressed in a dark gray business suit over a teal blouse. Her blonde hair was swept back and her earrings showed a trace of norse influence in them, pegging her as a Rasalhagian native in Faith’s quick estimation.

Not particularly to Faith’s surprise, the woman made her way over to Faith’s table. Faith was the new arrival here, and more likely as not, she knew she would have to explain herself to someone, sometime. The bartender had taken little interest in her, and she had quickly dismissed any notions that he might be one of those bartenders who truly ran a watering hole and had the feel for the information that flowed through it. No, the one who ran this particular establishment was now making her way over to meet Faith.

“Am I disturbing you?” The woman’s tone was neutral, and her voice held a surprising warmth that Faith wouldn’t have anticipated.

“No. And given all the options that a local boss could have been, I’ll take you.”

The other woman took a seat across the table from her and smiled slightly, almost self-reflectedly. “So I’m the ‘boss’, am I?”

Faith kept her tone no-nonsense. “I don’t know what the title is that you go by, but yeah. Seems to me you’re the one in charge. At least of this place, and I’d wager a little further. Nature abhors a vacuum, so there’s always someone who manages what goes on in a given area. You’ve got the presence, and you’ve got the goon squad following you around. So I figure it’s you.”

“I’m Astrid Bensen, and I’m a...local businesswoman. So, what is a low level mech jock doing slumming it here in Xolara in our beautiful neighborhood?” This woman’s stock just rose a notch in Faith’s eyes. At least she had done her research before the meeting.

“Well, you obviously know me. That means you also know I’m a little bit more than a mech jock. I like to keep my hands in a few different cookie jars. For now, I’m just scoping out talent for a friend of mine.”

“And you expect to find it here? This isn’t exactly the Hiring Hall on Outreach.”

While there was some truth to the woman’s words, Faith had plied her trade in the Solaris underworld long enough to know that plenty of talent flowed through the bottom levels of the Solaris experience, it was just a matter of filtering out all of the muck. “I’ve spent plenty of time myself away from the fancy lights of the big city, so I know that talent doesn’t just pool in one place. But I’m sure you know that too. Even if you don’t trade in it, you know what goes through your little piece of the pie.”

Astrid smiled with the corner of her mouth. “You might be surprised what I trade in. But mostly I just watch, make sure things run smoothly. It has it’s rewards.”

And there it was. Faith nodded. “I understand, this is your turf. Anything I find here comes with a storage fee attached. That’s not a problem. Although that might be.” She nodded towards the front of the bar where two drunk patrons were nearly at blows with each other over the virtues of Lyran vs. Davion mechwarriors.

Astrid chuckled. “Those two have been fighting since before the riots. They know that if they break anything, they have to pay for it. Other than that, they’re harmless. As for you and I, I’m glad we understand one another. I like to look at everything as an opportunity rather than a problem. If there’s anything you need during your time here, I’m sure I can point you in the right direction.”




It was about half an hour past last call, and Faith made her way down the sidewalk. It had been raining, but right now the air just hung heavy with moisture and all the surfaces were slick with rainwater. She hadn’t really found anything tonight, but at the very least she had come to an understanding with the local turf boss, such as she was. She didn’t plan to make her way all the way back to Solaris City proper, she had rented a small hole in the wall apartment here in the Reaches to crash at on nights like this. She had nursed her drinks, but there was still a bit of a buzz going on in her head.

Enough of a buzz that she paused instead of walking past when she heard a commotion in the alley to her left. It was the kind of alley that was straight out of some pulp fiction novel, narrow with high walls on either side, suitably dotted with various fire escapes, small fences, and other assorted ironmongery, and just enough lighting from sources you couldn’t make out to illuminate the things you didn’t want to see.

At this hour, what Faith didn’t want to see was a tourist-looking couple backed against the side wall of the alley, and three archetypal low life thugs menacing them in a rough semi-circle. As she approached, Faith could make out some of the conversation.

“We….we’re just asking questions, looking for information, that’s all. We didn’t mean to bother anyone” stammered the male half of the tourist couple. He looked to be in his fifties, easily pegged as a tourist by his business casual clothes and the frightened tone in his voice.

“Yeah, well too late for that, pops. You already caused a bother. You come around here looking for something, you gotta pay a finders fee. Lucky for you, you found the tax collector. Me. Now all you gotta do is turn over everything you got on you, and hey, we’ll even go easy on the little lady there.” The large oaf in the center of the semi-circle was obviously the self-appointed leader of this “tax collection” gang.

The thug to the left guffawed. “Speak for yourself, Manny. Takin’ care of the ole business don’t come cheap down here for some of us. I bet momma there could help me out.”

“Just leave us alone!” The man yelled.

“Hey, chill man. You can watch if that’s what heats up your PPC,” the second thug laughed heartily at his own humor.

“Hey boys, you’re a little way from the tax office, wouldn’t you say?” Faith interjected, causing all three of the goons to turn and face her. Manny, the one who passed for an alpha in this particular pack shook his hand casually, showing off the medium sized knife he held in it.

“What’s it to you, girl scout? We’re having a private conversation here with these fine folks. Why don’t you take that tight little ass of yours outta here and go work the circuit, if you get my drift.” She could tell these three were small time, they obviously weren’t Yakuza, Tongs, or Mafia, and had probably just stumbled on these two tourists who just happened to be practically wearing a giant “rob me” sign.

“Because, Manny, watching the local dropouts roughing up the paying customers isn’t my thing. It gives me heartburn. So why don’t you go on home, help each other out, and call it a night. I assure you that this tight little ass is more trouble than it’s worth to you.” By this point she knew that a fight was inevitable. She also knew she could handle this street trash.

Goon number two was the first to make a move, producing a club of some sort from behind his back and casually walking toward her. “I got just the thing to loosen that asshole, bitch!” As he spoke, he wound up and took a clumsy swing at her. She deflected the blow and grabbed the man’s arm, shoving down with enough force that he awkwardly stumbled to the ground. She slammed her booted foot down on his arm, hearing a satisfying snap as his grip on the club gave way. As she spun around to face the remaining two criminals, she drew the semi-auto holdout pistol that she had squirreled away in the back of her belt.

“Anyone else looking to loosen me up tonight?” She wasn’t sure why, but she caught a hint of indecision in Manny’s eyes. She squeezed the trigger, sending a slug through Manny’s shoulder with a sharp crack. The thug spun around with the impact and let out a howl.

At about that time, the combination of the alcohol and the adrenaline hit Faith’s brain. Time seemed to freeze, lights blurred, and sounds fell to a muffle. She was vaguely aware of the trio of men scurrying their way out the back of the alley, and the shocked couple running up to her after a moment or two.

“What are we going to do?! Miss? Lady?!,” the female of the couple was practically pleading with Faith for a response. Faith blinked hard, shaking herself out of the fugue state.

“Wait for the cops. Always wait for the cops.”