The controls of the Unseen Observer shuddered as Kronos righted the ship from a steep dive and presented its belly to the surface of Uranus. The gravity drives onboard made the maneuver effortless and the inertial dampeners in the ship made it like he was sailing the smooth waters of his home world.

He was absorbed in piloting the ship as he flipped it front over end and used his thumb to toggle the firing mechanism for the two forward directed energy weapons. He blitzed through the remains of a small asteroid that he had blasted from orbit.

Astra was in the seat next to his own and she laughed at his actions. “Great job, Kronos. We’ll make a space cowboy out of you, yet.” She gave him a playful pat on the arm.

“What made you think to use the DEWs?” She questioned.

Kronos shrugged as he turned the ship back on course toward Uranus. “I don’t know,” he honestly answered. “It just felt right. It was like I could sense the asteroid before I actually saw it.”

“Don’t worry too much about it, cowboy,” she consoled him. “The intel guys juiced you to the gills with enhancements. After that and tolerance day, you’re probably seeing the fruits of your virtual training beginning to appear.”

Kronos nodded at her explanation before sending a command through his PCD. The ships primary controls were now in Astra’s hands and he could sit back and enjoy the rest of the flight. Still, she had got him thinking.

“What enhancements did they give me?” He asked the pilot.

She gave him a sidelong look as she expertly steered the Observer toward their target, a floating miner colony called The Zodiac Wheel.

“They didn’t tell you anything?”

He laughed. “They threatened me a bunch. We didn’t really talk about the full benefit package.”

“I see,” Astra said dryly. “Well, field agents usually get a bunch of mental enhancements. They get improved reflexes, faster information processing, a techlink, and a psionics package.”

Kronos felt like he understood the first two. He had felt like a fog had been lifted from his brain since his time on Ceres. It was hard to quantify the change, but he simply felt better. It was the last two enhancements that he hadn’t heard anything about.

“What’s a techlink and what are psionics?” He questioned.

“The first is pretty easy to explain,” she began. “It gives you an instinctive feel for Imperial technology. It doesn’t do crap for other factions though.”

“What do you mean?” He gestured toward the station steadily growing in size on the holoscreen. “Isn’t everything Imperial?”

Astra shook her head. “No, not exactly. They own most things and they could sieze anything they wanted, but there are still a few organizations that work parallel to the Empire instead of for it.” She tossed him a wink and Kronos imagined that he could smell her cherry-scented perfume even more.

“Of course, that’s if the Empire lets them, so it’s kind of a moot point. The bottom line is that there are certain merchant fleets and unsavory types that build and operate their own ships and the Techlink doesn’t help you. In one of those birds, you likely wouldn’t even know how to engage the DEWs, much less blast a rock out of space.”

He nodded at the explanation. For some reason the thought that the Empire didn’t have absolute control over everything was soothing. It gave him the barest measure of hope that he could find a way to slip his own chains someday.

“What about psionics?” He referenced the second part of his question.

“Ah, that’s a little more complicated,” she led on. “The brain is a powerful thing and a combination of technology and genetic science has allowed us to use it for things like telepathy and telekinesis. I’m sure there are even more miraculous uses, but powerful psionics users are rare and they’re almost entirely controlled by the Empire.”

“Makes sense,” Kronos noted. “It sounds like they’re potentially powerful weapons.”

Astra focused on piloting the ship toward a docking bay on the Zodiac Wheel. Once the automated system took over and she released the controls, she looked over at him.

“Exactly,” she confirmed. “No one knows what causes someone to be a powerful psionic user. Some are born into and some are grown into it. The enhancements are supposed to help anyone with the latent ability realize their potential. You’ll discover on your own if you’re a user or not.”

She stretched in her chair as Kronos felt the rumble of the Observer docking with the station.

“But that’s a rap, cowboy. Report to your boss. We’ll be on station or in the area if you need us. We’re attached to the local IDF while we’re here, but our primary mission is to provide you transportation should you need it.”

An alert hit Kronos’ HUD when she finished, he pulled it up to see Astra’s contact information.

“Give a girl a ring when you need to be picked up,” she said before smiling.

“I’ll do that,” he answered with a cocky grin of his own.

Taking the hint, he got up from his seat and left the cabin. Zhang was waiting at the hatch but he was being more reserved than usual. Kronos chalked it up to nervousness and gave his teammate a friendly pat on his shoulder.

“We’ve got this,” he said confidently.

Zhang gave him a sheepish smile. “Of course we do, I was just lost in my thoughts.” He pressed the button to open the hatch and then they both walked through.

Kronos first visit on a station was less exciting than he had hoped. They walked through a short hallway that led to a grimy adjunct to the main docking facility. The walls and floors looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in a while and there was exposed wiring and piping every few meters. There was an unpleasant sour smell of unwashed bodies and people living together in close confines. Curious, Kronos pressed a gloved hand against one of the silver durasteel panels and he felt it flex at his touch.The harsh white lighting overhead seemed to enforce the sense of ill repair and degradation.

The adjunct itself looked like it held only one other ship besides their own. The other ship was clearly docked but hadn’t opened it’s access hatch because there were a few people waiting in line to get on. Kronos gave them a cursory look and he was surprised that they looked so normal.

The majority of them had dark brown or black hair with tanned skin. They were a thin and wiry bunch. Neither the woman or the men looked like they had regular decent meals. He wouldn’t say they were starving, but they didn’t look healthy either. Their off-white atmospheric suits hung of their frames like they were scarecrows. They seemed like ornamentations to the station itself—functional, but ill-maintained.

Some of them looked in the newcomers directions and then their gaze darted away once they caught sight of Zhang and Kronos’ uniforms. Kronos frowned at the fear he saw on their faces and turned to Zhang.

“Why are they looking at us like that?”

Zhang shrugged as he answered. “Most of the people who live on stations are an insular bunch. There are probably a few thousand people on The Zodiac and it’s a tight knit community. They don’t trust outsiders easily.”

Kronos nodded his head, but he wasn’t convinced. The population didn’t look suspicious, they looked afraid. It wasn’t a reaction that he was used to. On his home world, he was an honored part of society. With the IID, he had felt like a mix between science experiment and something smelly on the bottom of a boot.

Zhang led the way despite the fact that they both had directions painted on their HUDs. Kronos was content to hang back and get a feel for his new assignment. They had no clue what they were going to be asked to do, but he thought it was wise to get a lay of the land. So far, he hadn’t been impressed with the station or its denizens.

After a series of lifts and trams, they made it to the center of the station and Kronos decided to reevaluate his impression. In the center of the station, everything was immaculately clean. The walls looked polished to a high shine and they reflected the austere lighting until it felt like they were in a house of mirrors. Maintenance and custodian droids trundled along the deck in preprogrammed routes while armored military personnel and civilian administrators skirted out of their way.

Kronos noticed more of the Guard than he expected. Stations like these were supposed to be lightly protected. The Imperial Defense Group in charge of the area only had half the personnel that a typical group hosted.

Yet, Kronos saw guards bracketing every entrance and patrolling along the various corridors with surprising energy. The administrators, instead of looking annoyed at the heavy military presence as Kronos expected, actually appeared relieved.

His observations were interrupted when they arrived at an unmarked hatched with two guards posted outside. Instead of the door opening at their approach, as usual, it remained closed while the guards checked their IDs. When their orders where checked and their identities confirmed, they were allowed access.

The door opened up into a large square chamber at least eight and a half meters tall. Work stations were arranged neatly in the room and a host of intelligence personnel manned them. Kronos tried to observe what they were looking at, but strangely his HUD blurred out each holoscreen as he tried to look at them. While Zhang and he were looking around and wondering what to do next, a door on the opposite side opened and man walked through.

“You two, get over here!” His gruff voice ordered.

Since no one else reacted, the two trainees jogged toward the man as he reentered the room he arrived from. They entered the open door and then it closed behind them. The man that had called them was already seated at his desk with a videscreen gripped in a pudgy hand. Even though he had summoned the trainees, he studiously ignored them while he scanned the data in front of him.

Kronos checked his information with his link and then studied the man he assumed was his new boss. Bureau Chief Janus Pictor was a heavyset man that gave the impression of an administrator gone soft. Even sitting down, Kronos could tell the man was shorter than Zhang by half a head which meant he was shorter than Kronos by another head. His pale flesh looked like it had never been touched by the sun and hisbrown-gray hair was combed to the side in the manner of someone trying desperately to hold onto what little they had left. His black uniform was wrinkled and Kronos spotted a stain on the collar—likely the remnant of the man’s last meal. Apparent from even where Kronos was standing, he had the same sour odor, that the trainee associated with the miners in the docks.

He didn’t strike Kronos as a warrior which was a first in his experience. Every Imperial in power that he had met thus far had been competent and professional even if they weren’t the friendliest of sorts.

After a long moment, Pictor finally put the screen down and addressed the two men in his office. His dark green eyes bored into their own.

“So, it seems headquarters has decided that I didn’t have enough crap to deal with and gave me two rookies to train as well.”

“We go where the emperor tells us, right boss?” Kronos quipped.

Pictor’s face purpled in rage, but Kronos didn’t care. He wasn’t going to be cowed by a food blister of a man. He had killed better men with his bare hands.

“That’s Bureau Chief to you, Trainee,” he hissed.

Zhang interrupted smoothly. “Of course chief, my partner is just excited to get to work. Training can’t compare to the real thing.” He spared a sidelong glance at Kronos. “I’m sure we’re here because of the valuable training you can give us.”

Kronos barely withheld a snort. He personally though Zhang was laying it on a little thick, but it seemed enough to mollify the bureau chief.

“You’re quite right, Wei,” he stiffly said. “The Zodiac Wheel is an important resource to the Empire. Only his most trusted subjects are stationed here.”

Judging by the stunned look on Zhang’s face, Kronos assumed the Chief was experiencing a break from reality. The mere fact that two trainees were sent to assist him meant that this was something of a rookie mission. He decided it wasn’t his place to correct the man. Hell, he didn’t know anything about the planet until he had done some research on the journey there. Kronos thought a change of subject was in order.

“So chief, what are we here for?” He asked.

Kronos decided he didn’t like the malicious smile that appeared on Pictor’s face after his question.

“Well trainees, The Zodiac has had a rash of thefts. Someone is siphoning resources from the Empire and causing our production to dip.” His chipper voice grew more serious. “However, that’s nothing compared to the terrorist attacks plaguing the station. Gas collection equipment has been sabotaged, miners have disappeared, shuttles have been damaged, and we’ve prevented no less than four attempts to disable life support in the headquarters section of the station.”

Kronos frowned. Well, that explains the guard presence.

“That sounds serious,” he mused. “Do you have any information about our targets?”

Pictor put his palms on his desk and leaned back in his chair. “Unfortunately, no. I have analysts working around the clock trying to figure out their identities. Whatever group is causing trouble has taken great pains to remain hidden.”

“You think it’s a group?” Zhang asked.

The chief looked at Zhang like he had asked a stupid question. “Of course I do, I just said it. It has to be an organized and competent group or we would’ve found them already.”

Kronos seriously doubted the man’s faith in his own abilities, but he didn’t press the subject.

“Don’t you have other agents to investigate this?” He wondered.

“You really are new, aren’t you?” The man sounded like he had just discovered a new breed of foul-smelling flowers.

“Agents don’t get permanently assigned to stations like this.” He corrected. “They’d be sitting on their asses the whole time. This is an analysis outfit and we have a simple job here. We harvest gasses from Uranus’ atmosphere and meet our quotas. There hasn’t been anything serious happening here for over a hundred years.”

“So what’s our first mission?” Zhang asked.

“I want you to go undercover as new miners. You’re going to go out on some of the rigs we’ve identified as potential targets and try to uncover the identity of the group and its major members.”

Kronos shared a look with Zhang and saw the same worries mirrored on the other man’s face. From what he had already seen, they would stick out among the miners like a sore thumb. They didn’t have the half-starved look of the other citizens and any observant person would tell that they weren’t from around the station. For the first time, Kronos realized how difficult it would be to penetrate the informal networks of the station. They would have to do something to fit in and quickly or risk being discovered.

Well, I guess this is why they make operatives train in the field.

Pictor seemed to realize what the two trainees were thinking.

“Don’t worry, these miners are stupid little shits. They’re barely worth the rations the Empire gives them. We’ll get you changed into appropriate clothing and you’ll fit right in. I’ve already got your berthings assigned on the station and you’ll find the rest of your gear there. You’ll start work on the Cloud Jumper tomorrow.”

Instead of soothing Kronos’ worries, the chief had just made them infinitely worse. He clearly didn’t understand the difficulty of the mission and Kronos didn’t expect and real support from the man. They would be accomplishing their missions by themselves. Kronos experience as a warrior and Zhang’s experience as a rebel would have to be enough to see them through.

“Understood, chief.” Kronos said flatly while Zhang remained quiet.

“Good, maybe you’re not useless.” The chief said sarcastically. “Now, get out of my office and go get changed.”

Kronos didn’t bother replying. He stalked out of the room with Zhang in tow. They flagged down an analyst and asked where they needed to change since the chief hadn’t seen fit to tell them even that much.

A few minutes later, they were in a small armory, stripping off their CUUs and replacing them with the ding atmospheric suits that the miners wore. They left their bio suits on, but changed their color to the same off-white as the suit. Even up close, no one would tell the difference between a military-grade bio suit and its civilian counterpart.

“This is bullshit.” Kronos complained as he tugged on a boot.

“Yeah,” Zhang said noncommittally “I thought the IID was full of hard chargers and war heroes. I didn’t expect…that.”

Kronos pulled on his last boot and then stood up. “Looks like we’ll just have to do this our own way.” He declared.

“We already got our orders, partner.” Zhang sounded resigned. “ It’s a dumb idea, but it’s the one we were given.”

“Yeah, fuck that.” Kronos replied. “If you were part of the rebel group on this station, you would’ve made us when we arrived, right?”

Zhang shrugged but he looked interested. “Yeah, probably. In hindsight, we shouldn’t have come onboard in uniform, but we didn’t know what we were getting into.”

“Exactly,” Kronos agreed. “And that’s why we need to change the plan. We can’t undo the past so we need to infiltrate in plain sight.”

Kronos put up a finger in thought. “Is there a tavern onboard this station?”

Zhang laughed. “A tavern? No friend, they’re called bars.”

“Good. We’re going to go to one of these bars and pretend to be disaffected IID looking for some jobs on the side.” He decided. “We’ll still do our shifts on the Cloud Jumper, but we’ll chalk those up as a punishment detail from our illustrious leader.”

Zhang seemed to have warmed to the idea. “That might work. When do you want to start?”

Kronos checked the time on his HUD. “Why can’t we go right now? We aren’t expected to start work until tomorrow and I could use a drink. I haven’t had one since I was home.”

Zhang smiled for the first time since discussing their orders. “That’s a great idea. Let’s do it.”

“One problem though,” Kronos interrupted. “How do I pay for a drink?”