The rain continued to drizzle down on Haven City, Vargas walked swiftly, his coat billowing behind him as he made his way through the bustling lower sectors toward the spaceport. The encounter on the rooftop with the alien had left him with a name—The Entil—but that was about all it had given him.
Still, Vargas wasn't particularly concerned. Cabals came and went. Dangerous or not, they all had one thing in common: they would eventually overestimate their power. It wasn't his job to babysit every single shadowy group that thought they could dabble in galactic matters. The new Entil could fester for a while—he'd circle back if they became a legitimate threat.
Right now, all he cared about was getting off this dreary planet and finding something more worth his time.
As he approached the entrance to the spaceport, the noise of cargo haulers and shuttles taking off filled the air. People bustled in every direction—smugglers, merchants, bounty hunters—Nexen IV was a melting pot of shady deals and hasty departures, all industry worlds were. It was perfect for someone like him to blend in, especially when he wasn't in the mood for another drawn-out investigation.
Vargas' retinue was already waiting by the sleek transport ship docked in Bay 12. The Black Aegis. Its hull shimmered with a dark, polished sheen, its lines angular and intimidating. Not quite a warship, but certainly not a civilian craft either. Perfect for their purposes.
As he approached, he could see the familiar faces of his crew waiting at the loading ramp, arms crossed and expressions varying from amused to impatient.
"You're late," a voice called out.
It was Nera, his lead assistant inquisitor. A sharp-witted woman in her late-twenties, her short silver hair was cropped neatly to one side, and her dark eyes were always scanning, always calculating. She stood with her arms folded, tapping her foot as she watched Vargas stroll up. Unlike him, Nera took her job very seriously, to the point of being a perfectionist.
Vargas smirked. "Late? I'm not late, I'm just… fashionably delayed."
Nera rolled her eyes. "You always say that."
"Because it's always true."
Beside her stood Vesik, a hulking, mutant gunman who had been with Vargas for nearly a decade. Towering at nearly 2.1 meters tall, Vesik had cybernetic arms that could snap an average person in half. Despite his intimidating presence, he was one of the more laid-back members of the group. He greeted Vargas with a casual wave, the massive pulse rifle slung over his back looking more like a toy in his oversized hands.
"Fashionably delayed, huh? Sure," Vesik grunted, giving Vargas a nod. "We were about to leave without you."
Vargas chuckled, the air of the serious inquisitor he had worn so well just minutes ago beginning to shed. "You wouldn't dare, Vesik. Who else would keep the lot of you in line?"
Vesik's deep laugh reverberated through the spaceport. "You've got me there."
Next to Vesik was Keera, the pilot. Her wild auburn hair was tied back messily, and her eyes gleamed with mischief. She leaned casually against the hull of the Black Aegis, spinning a small tablet in her hand.
"Hope you've got a good reason for dragging us off this rock," Keera called out. "Because I was just getting used to the fine cuisine of Haven City's underbelly." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
Vargas grinned, his sharp features relaxing. "Oh, you mean the fine cuisine that almost gave you food poisoning last night?"
Keera shrugged. "What doesn't kill me, right?"
Behind Keera, sitting on a crate and flipping through reports with a disinterested expression, was Ralo, the youngest of Vargas' retinue and another assistant inquisitor. Ralo was an information specialist, skilled in cracking encryption codes, hacking into systems, and pulling out data from the most secure networks in the galaxy. His dark, messy hair and oversized jacket made him look perpetually like someone who hadn't slept in days. In truth, he probably hadn't.
Ralo looked up from his data pad and gave Vargas a lazy wave. "So, boss, we out of here? Or did you find another rabbit hole to dive into?"
Vargas shook his head. "Nope. We're leaving. The cabal on this planet? Not worth my time. Bunch of amateurs playing at things they don't understand."
Nera raised an eyebrow. "What were they planning to do, here?".
"Something about the Entil coming back".
"The Entil!" Keera interrupted, laughing to herself. "Ha I knew it, it is a resurrection plot. Where's my money Vesik?".
Vesik grumbled to himself, taking out his own tablet. "Why'd it have to be resurrecting an extinct race, couldn't it be something simple like summoning a demon", he muttered, disappointingly.
"...they seemed to have an awakened", Vargas continued after the interruption.
Ralo stared at Vesik with a smug expression, earning another grumble from the giant.
Vargas stared at his irresponsible subordinates, before looking back at Nera, who was shaking her head at their antics.
"You said an awakened? Did you have to use your technique", Nera continued.
"No, it was an amateur Xanathal. A simple lightning bolt spell did the trick", Vargas answered, playing with his fingers as small bolts of lightning danced through them.
"Still isn't it suspicious. It's only been two years since the Entil were wiped out by the Imperators, what if factions survived, they can still be a threat to the Federation."
"Not yet," Vargas said, flashing his assistant a grin. "Besides, I'm in no mood for babysitting a bunch of wannabe occultists. It's best for a recently promoted investigator to deal with it. "
"Investigator… did they refer to you as an Inquisitor?", Nera questioned, a small smile creeping across her face.
Vargas shook his head in disappointment, "I really wish they stop referring to us as Inquisitors, it's not like the Bureau is called the Inquisition, anymore".
Nera laughed, "Still… it's only been a century since the Empire officially changed its name to the Federation. Some of the outer-ring planets probably still use the old terminology."
Vargas turned to the group, his easy-going persona fully in place. "Alright, crew. Let's get off this rock and onto something more interesting. I'm getting tired of these backwater worlds."
Keera was already tapping commands into her tablet, preparing the Black Aegis for takeoff. "Don't need to tell me twice. We're fueled up and ready to go."
Vesik cracked his knuckles, his cybernetic joints making a metallic sound. "I've been itching for some real action. Something that involves less talking and more shooting."
Vargas chuckled as he strode up the ramp. "Patience, Vesik. You'll get your chance soon enough. There's always something in this universe worth shooting."
He liked keeping things light with his crew. After all, when you spend your life hunting down dangerous cabals, alien threats, and the occasional galactic menace, you need something to balance the darkness.
As the crew followed him inside, the cargo bay doors of the Black Aegis sealed shut, and moments later, the ship hummed to life, lifting off from the spaceport and leaving Nexen IV behind.
Keera placed the ship to cruise above the atmosphere of the planet. Its surface was a patchwork of glowing cities, massive industrial complexes, and densely packed habitation towers, stretching from one horizon to the next in an unbroken sprawl.
Vargas walked over to where Nera was stationed.
"Nera, I need you to type in the report and submit it to HQ. Tell them to assign the case to a newbie"
Nera nodded, preparing to work.
"Ah what was the date again, Terran time".
"It's March 3rd M203", Nera answered.
"Any new cases?"
"Yes there's quite a few actually…", Nera flipped through her tablet, scanning the various cases the Bureau had in the backlog. "There's the imperator Saahad Abbas who fled after the Entil war, at the top".
"No, reject that. We can't even take on a squad of Praetorians without casualties, forget about an Imperator".
"And they want us to take him alive", Nera scoffed at the impossible conditions, before swiping away. "Ah… there's investigator Beirut, who is suspected of colluding with enemy alien factions".
"Hmm… now that sounds interesting. Location?"
"Triton I, in the Mouse galaxy".
Vargas leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the armrest as he thought about Nera's report. "Triton I, huh? That's a bit far from here, but… investigating one of our own might be worth the trip. What else do you have?"
Nera continued scrolling through the list. "Let's see... A suspected alien uprising on Arvox Prime. Some corporate espionage involving gene mod companies on Helion V. And… oh, here's one. A high-priority artifact theft on Craydon Station."
Vargas sat up a bit straighter at that. "An artifact theft? What kind of artifact?"
Nera scanned the details. "It doesn't specify, but it's flagged under ancient alien tech. Stolen from a private collector with ties to the Federation Senate."
"Now that sounds interesting," Vargas mused, rubbing his chin. "Might be worth investigating before it turns into a mess."
Keera, from her pilot's chair, twisted around, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Private collector? Bet that's some rich guy who thought he could hide something dangerous under his rug until it bit him in the ass."
"Exactly," Vesik chimed in, cracking his knuckles again. "I like the sound of that one. Some rich guy gets what's coming to him, and we get to swoop in, clean up the mess, and look like heroes. Plus, artifact cases mean big money."
Vargas chuckled, amused by how quickly Vesik was ready to break heads. "True, but let's not jump to conclusions. If this thing is connected to ancient alien tech, it might be worth more than a couple of thugs guarding a fancy trinket."
Ralo looked up from his datapad, eyes still half-lidded with boredom. "The Craydon Station job sounds like a puzzle. Probably encrypted security logs, hidden files, and some serious hacking required."
Vargas smiled, leaning forward. "Glad to see you're interested, Ralo. We'll need your skills if this turns out to be as complicated as I think."
He turned his attention back to Nera, who had paused on the case file for Craydon Station. "Alright, mark the Craydon Station artifact theft as our next priority. We'll head there after Triton I. The Beirut case takes precedence, corruption in the Bureau can't go unchecked."
Nera nodded, fingers flying across her tablet as she marked the case and filed the reports. "Got it. Triton I first, then Craydon Station."
Vargas leaned back in his chair again, staring out at the stars through the ship's viewports. "I have a feeling these two cases are going to lead us down some very interesting rabbit holes."
Keera, adjusting the ship's flight path, shot him a playful grin. "Better buckle up, boss. I think we're about to step into some serious trouble."
Vargas smirked. "When are we not?"
As the Black Aegis cruised above the atmosphere of Nexen IV, the crew fell into their familiar rhythm. Nera typed up the final reports, Vesik inspected his weapons with a look of eager anticipation, Ralo worked silently on decrypting a few leftover files from their last mission, and Keera was already charting the course to Triton I.
But beneath the easy banter and casual demeanor, Vargas was always calculating, always thinking. He played the role of the laid-back leader, the inquisitor who didn't take things too seriously, but he knew better than to let his guard down.
The Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs—formerly known as the Inquisition—might have changed its name, but the threats hadn't diminished. In fact, in many ways, they'd only grown worse.
His thoughts drifted to the Entil. If the rumors about their potential resurrection were true, the galaxy could be facing something far more dangerous than a mere cabal. But for now, it was a distant problem. There were more immediate issues to deal with.
"Course is set, boss," Keera called out, breaking Vargas from his thoughts. "Triton I is about 2 million light years from here, so two Terran days. Should be a smooth ride unless the local pirates get bold."
"Let them try," Vesik grunted, gripping the pulse rifle slung across his back. "They'll regret it."
Vargas smiled, though his mind was still processing. "Let's see if Investigator Beirut is as guilty as they say. And then we'll see what's so special about that stolen artifact."
Whoosh!
As the Black Aegis accelerated into the depths of space, leaving Nexen IV behind, Vargas couldn't shake the feeling that something big was coming.