Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Shroud

The sonic pulse of a warp drive echoed in the sky, sending chills down Eon's spine. He turned towards the direction, ready to drop everything at a moment's notice. Fortunately, the cruisers continued off into the distance, flying away from the ruins shrouded in darkness.

The Keyflame Docks were the remnants of an alien stronghold, taken over by the Grindel cartel after the place was abandoned. Located in the old districts of a broken city, it was the perfect place to store goods for off-world brokers who dabbled in unscrupulous markets. Unfortunately, they had chosen the wrong netrunners to guard their assets.

Activating [Shroud]…

Commencing [Data Breach]…

23 Hostiles Detected! Bypassing encryption…

Infiltration complete!

"Like taking candy from a baby."

Nearly ten miles away, Eon stood on the top of a cell tower, boosting the strength of his AI, Revenant. Its signal routed through multiple networks, allowing him to deceive the netrunners on guard duty in the case of discovery. Unlike him, they could interface with a network wirelessly using the fancy cyberware embedded in their brains.

The neuro connections granted a higher finesse in cyberspace. A tempting trade for most netrunners. But what was the point if you could move through data streams like a ghost? There were also the side effects that cybernetic implants had on one's mind that led to Eon declining the procedure.

From blood clots to brain cancer. And last but not least, hijacking. Like any hardware, the brain could be hacked, and he didn't particularly relish viruses running around in his head. Too many netrunners had been turned into relic-slaves as a result, taken by psionic-raiders from the Outer Rim and forced into Nexus realms to claim the artifacts that lay within.

Such abductions were rare for backwater planets like Typhon. But miracles did occur, and Eon wasn't interested in taking that chance with the beings able to manipulate arc energy.

A minute passed as Eon remained undetected, scouring the docks' database for shipment and financial records.

"Ah! There it is," he smiled. "I'll just take my cut plus a decent tip for a job well done… and there, all set."  

Fifty thousand credits disappeared in an instant, transferred to a secured bank account without leaving a single trace.

"Welp, my job is done for the day," Eon said, disconnecting his holo-watch from the cell tower. The device sported a large screen and fit more like a vambrace rather than a watch. It was one of the relics from his forgotten past, which was the main reason he had never bought an updated model—preferring to enhance it with his own upgrades.

Raised in the outer ruins of the world capital, Estera, a place still scarred by the remnants of war, Eon—who wasn't quite sure if that was his actual name or the clothing brand he was found in—had been left to the care of an orphanage ran by an unari woman who tutored kids in the many facets of the underworld.

"Speak of the devil."

The holo-watch alerted him to a call from none other than A'steri. With a sigh, he answered. "Hello?"

"You're late."

"Am I?" Eon said.

"Well, unless you plan to show up after Bun's birthday, I would say so."

Eon winced at the rebuke. Through the call,  he could sense A'steri's psionic eyes boring into him. There was nothing he could keep from her, he learned that as a child. 

"Traffic. You know how the city is at night," he said, refusing to submit to her clairvoyance. Whether her uncanny ability was a psionic skill or a mother's intuition, he would never know.

"And here I thought you had forgotten what day it is."

"No, of course not. How could I ever forget?" Eon said, checking his calendar. "Damned watch," he muttered.

"She's counting on you, Eon."

"I'm on my way as we speak. I got a surprise for her as well."

"What did you do?" A'steri asked.

"Nothing. Stop assuming the worst," Eon said.

"I'll stop when you learn to keep your hands from getting greedy. There's always a trail, Eon. No one can escape consequences."

"I love you too," Eon said. "But I have to go. I'll see you soon."

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They said their goodbyes when Eon climbed down from the cell tower. With the press of a button, his motorcycle exited stealth mode, scanning the surrounding area for anything out of the ordinary. A minute passed as he stood in the shadows, clutching an 847-Acorn.

The plasma pistol was the other relic from Eon's past. Along with an odd name, the revolver came with a charge setting that fused eight plasma rounds into a slug the size of an enlarged acorn. He modified the pistol with a liquid heat retention gel that melded into the plasma when heated, increasing damage by 6%.

The add-on was standard practice. But as Eon waited in the shadows, his revolver switched into second gear, activating its spark emitter. Almost magical, the advanced technology weaponized arc crystals, emitting a spark of the crystal's latent energy. A feat once impossible without the mental prowess of a psionic.

When harnessed in large quantities, the volatile energy of arc crystals could produce enough power to open wormholes, granting access to faster than light travel. Downsides accompanied the energy, however. At large doses arc radiation fundamentally altered an individual down to the molecular level, killing them in a process known as Baptism for the 20% that managed to survive.

Reborn as Psionics, the survivors gained the ability to generate and control arc energy at will. Lacking suicidal tendencies, Eon forgoed the dance with death. Perhaps if he was a betting man he would have attempted fate but instead he chose the next best thing in an emitter, applying a kinetic spark to his revolver.

Six years ago, on his 18th birthday, A'steri returned the Acorn and holo-watch to Eon, forever placing him in her debt. The selfless act gave Eon a new outlook on life. Rather than leaving the orphanage behind, he stayed in the war torn city, helping provide her with resources to run the orphanage.

Finally, the scan finished and Eon wasted no time, driving away from the docks into the city. With a swipe on his watch, he sent out an encrypted message; detailing the list of items he had discovered. Retrieval was not part of his job description. If someone knew your location, you could expect a knife in the back. He learned that the hard way.

Two hours later, Eon arrived at a bike shop. A fat mechanic named Saul sat outside smoking a cigar. The mechanic was one of his teachers growing up. A local fixer who rigged and modded vehicles for the gangs in the lower end of estera. Among many other specialists throughout the city, A'steri would contract their knowledge for the orphans under her care. Eon and Saul had bonded over their love for bikes. They loved nothing more than the night breeze flowing through their curls, a luxury Saul could no longer afford at his age.

"Midnight black paint with an etch of silver highlights on the sides. Throw in another hover boost while you're at it, I've been meaning to upgrade," Eon smiled, tossing his keys over at Saul.

Saul took one long look at Eon, then back to the red Trailblazer CT-X3 he had just parked. A tired cast marred Saul's face when he finally spoke. "No," he said, shaking his head. "In fact, get out of here." He tossed the keys back to Eon, who caught them with deft hands.

"What's the problem?" Eon asked, his mood a little sour, having expected Saul to be impressed.

"I don't know who you teamed up with this past year. But we both know you can't afford that bike. And I can't afford the associations that come along with whatever you've done to attain it. Mariss is pregnant, we don't need your problems showing up here."

"What problems Saul?" Eon frowned. "You think I'd drive straight here? You taught me better than that. Two vehicles, remember?"

"Apparently I failed," Saul muttered. "The first lesson was to not draw attention to yourself. The whole city will be pointing fingers at you, and you just put me on their radar by driving here."

"The decoy—"

"It's not about the bike Eon, it's you," Saul said. "You're rising too fast. Did you think I wouldn't notice? No one is invisible. The streets talk, even if it's only bullshit assumptions. Your names are out there, and it's a matter of time before you have to answer for what you did or didn't do."

Eon stole a glimpse at his holo-watch, then looked back at Saul. "What did you hear?"

"It's not about what I've heard Eon," Saul sighed. "It's about what I've pieced together. This wealth—you're flaunting it as if people don't have eyes. We know your background. A freelancer like you can't afford the level of tech you're packing unless you've made some serious plays."

Saul pointedly looked at Eon's holo-watch then pointed to an automatic turret stationed on the roof of his shop.

A new ornament, Eon noticed, positive that the swiveling weapon packed at least two spark emitters

The turret slid across Eon's path which caused him to grow tense, reaching towards his revolver. But the turret passed over him as if he wasn't there.

"As you can see, that beauty is top of the line. I modded her myself with the best components money can buy, some of which you can't find around these parts. She sees in multiple different wavelengths and tracks electrical signals, thermal fluctuations and even psionic energy. Yet somehow she doesn't register you…" Saul pointed out.

"You're like a ghost—uh uh," Saul interrupted as Eon tried to speak. "Don't tell me how you're doing it, I don't want to know. The point is you're moving hot, and I haven't even mentioned the renovations applied to A'steri's orphanage."

"A'steri—"

"Has a soft spot for you," Saul finished. "She has a soft spot for all of you. But her kids are grunts, pawns that don't draw unnecessary attention to her operation. Who else came up under her that rocks a spark emitter?"

"How'd you—" Eon started to say.

"It's in the way you carry yourself. An assuredness seen in enforcers that have lived outside the law longer than you've been alive." Saul shook his head, wiping away sweat from his brow. "Look Eon, you're a bright kid. You have a good heart, but you're not cut out for the major leagues. You have no training in their world, and no power, no backing to stop your paths from colliding."

For the second time today Eon had been chastised. He thought he was moving appropriately, concealing his actions, yet Saul had seen through him in an instant. Had he truly gotten rusty after acquiring the Revenant, or was it a fluke?

No, better to take it seriously, Eon thought, right as a second warp drive echoed in the sky.

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