Elvia Hotel, Haig, Tortsin, capital of the Tortsinan Empire

  July 27th, 2505

  A month has passed since Hawk’s re-assignment to Tortsin. It has been uneventful so far, which was a refreshing change of pace for her, for better or worse. Over the last month, she became acquainted with some of the Empire’s governmental entities. It did help her in learning more about the systems in play and the big players in it as well as Tortsin and its people. To put it simply, they are descendants of two human Supercarriers that strayed off their path during the Long Voyage in the mid-22nd century and landed on Tortsin. And those two Supercarriers carried crews of European heritage from Old Earth. Given the different mix of these cultures, the Tortsinan people had conflicts with each other until the formation of the Tortsinan Empire in 2237

  From her room in the 8th floor, which was wide enough with a TV, a desk, and a king-sized bed, Hawk peaked through the room’s window. From there, she saw the sun shining towards the neo-futurism style buildings across the Haig district. Tortsin itself would’ve been a nice planet for a vacation, as it is known for its beautiful landscapes and the cultural sites that were based on the European cultures from Old Earth Archives.

  Of course, Hawk was aware that her 3 month stay in Tortsin is not a vacation, but a reconnaissance mission to ascertain the state of things. When Hawk was briefed about her mission, the state of things within the Tortsinan Empire between its Cold War against the United Human Dominion, its territories and its capital, was to put mildly; a buffet of shit.

  This was evident, given the protests by the the Tortsinan people as well as the rise of Sons of Tortsin. They present themselves as the voice for the people. But in truth, they’re neo-fascist terrorists hellbent on bringing back the old Imperial monarchy. But if reading history and politics are any indication, SoT’s goal would be to have a ruler bent to their will. Hawk had been keeping up by reading the news, mostly out of boredom, and that she had the “pleasure” of seeing and listening Pro-SoT protests a dozen times since the last couple of weeks. The Milky Way galaxy is on fire on many fronts, and no one seems to be putting them out.

  Hawk dressed herself with formal wear. A V-neck black suit, nothing more and nothing less. She was personally invited by Empress Anna Vollan to a ball event. “Good thing her title is just for formality” Hawk muttered. But again, she’s on a mission, not a vacation. She heard the knock on the door, then moved to open it.

  She sees young blonde woman, wearing a dark grey outfit more befitting for a royal guard. “Miss Kyra Henderson, are you ready to go?” addressing at the incognito Ranger. With how sensitive the mission is, fake identities are a necessity. “Yes, Sergeant Katrien Crusan. I’m ready to go” As she left her hotel room, and with her aide walking besides her.

  Ahmed would love the dance event if he was here, Hawk mused about her husband. However, with him and his air squadron being in another part of the Frontier Regions, he couldn’t come with her.

  Nonetheless, the event is on, and so is the mission. Not the usual kind Hawk is used to, but she’ll manage.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Imperial Palace Ballroom, Haig, Tortsin

  Hawk went inside the ballroom of the Imperial Palace with help of Sergant Crusan, surveying the scenery ahead. People dancing, eating, even laughing. But most importantly, the architecture and decor. She never cared much how the rich and powerful liked to spend their riches. To Hawk, the rich and powerful are nothing but a symbol of decadence and misery.

  Yet, she couldn’t help herself but feel respect for the architecture of at least one room of many in the palace. She could feel the air of authority and leadership, even in a party event.

  “Nice architecture, don’t you think?” Hawk heard the voice of the Empress Anna Vollan. A weathered woman in her early 50s sporting a light brown hair streaked with grey, wearing a dark blue suit concealed by a cloak and flanked by two palace guards of stature. Hawk bowed to the Empress, showing respect. “There’s no need to bow, miss Hawkins. We’re all friends here.” Vollan smiled politely.

  “Yeah, I’m mostly doing it so I don’t piss off the nobles and your guards and get my ass arrested.” Hawk said tactfully. Empress Vollan chuckled, finding a bit of admiration in Hawk’s sense of humor.

  Empress Vollan shuffled her face towards Hawk’s ear and whispered “Private Quarters in the third floor. One of my guards will take you there.” Hawk nodded slightly, to prevent suspicion.

  “In the meantime, please enjoy the party, Ms. Henderson.” Vollan kept her facade, with Hawk who returned the gesture. She glanced at one of the palace guards, who gestured her to follow his lead out of the ballroom.

  “This should be interesting.” Hawk muttered.

  “I’d exercise concealment, Ranger. You’d never know who might be listening” The guard remarked with a hushed tone, warning her to maintain silence.

  Hawk rolled her eyes, feeling less amused at what her mission has in store for her.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Private Quarters, Imperial Palace, Haig, Tortsin

  It has been 45 minutes since Hawk entered the Private Quarters. 45 minutes as she waited for Empress Vollan to enter. Hawk kept herself busy browsing through her burner phone, reading various articles from the GalaxyNet.

  In her line of work, Hawk experienced a handful of times where she waited hours. Given the topic to discuss is urgent, however, she was running out of patience.

  She glanced at a window besides the study desk, and considered whether to get out of here. Luckily for her, Vollan entered the private quarters before she took action.

  “My apologies, Ranger. Had to deal with some high-end clients. You’d think my title is for formality would make me less prone to converse with influential people” Empress Vollan scoffed. Hawk chortled “Well, it is a title of high-importance. Regardless of how the Prime Minister and his Parliament run the scenes.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Empress Vollan blinked owlishly, “Too true. But on the other hand, you and I are not here for a social call nor discuss politics. So let’s get down to business.”

  “Please do. I’m starving for intel.” Hawk cocked her head, as Vollan noted the sarcasm.

  The Empress went to the operations room as Hawk followed her lead. It wasn’t as big as a war room, but had enough space to handle around 6-9 people in the table. At the far end of the table, a TV with a record player and a remote stood at a stand.

  “So, here’s the issue at hand.” Vollan pulled a small disk from her pocket, then inserted it to the record player. She picked up the remote for the record player and played the recording.

  “Around two weeks ago, a group of four individuals infiltrated a warehouse in the Antwar district.” The screen on the TV flickered, showing security cam footage of the warehouse. One cam in particular showed the inside of the warehouse, filled with rows and rows of boxes and equipment. Within around two minutes of the footage, it showed four unknown individuals making a heist on the warehouse’s interior.

  The footage showed the thieves stealing two metal crates via a forklift. Vollan paused the footage and glanced at the Ranger, “Security guards attempted to arrest the thieves, but…”, Her Majesty pressed fast-forward on the TV’s remote, fast-forwarding the footage a little bit.

  The camera footage showed the security guards being flanked by 4 hostiles from the north and south sides outside the Warehouse, and fell on the floor, pool of blood seeping on the ground. The ambushers meet up with the thieves, where one of them calls a radio. After a couple of seconds, a vehicle rammed through the Warehouse, giving seats to the thieves and their assistants and escaped the premises. Vollan fast forwarded the footage a little more, showing thermal imagery of the Warehouse. The camera focused on a small thing from the chaos, almost looking like a patch.

  Her Majesty stopped the footage and turned off the TV, where she glanced towards Hawk. “Forensics inspected the scene where they found the patch. It was colored in crimson red and a clawhammer at the middle.”

  Hawk’s eyes widened, “Crimson Iron.” She stated coldly. Empress Vollan nodded, “Yes, and the Imperial Intelligence Agency, which I’m sure you know of, were investigating leads, but faced roadblocks. Namely, Sons of Tortsin sympathizers and anti-Imperium anarchists.”, Vollan spoke venomously.

  Hawk raised an eyebrow, and tried to find where she was fit into this web between SoT, IIA, and CI. “And you requested me for this assignment because I’m a foreigner and an anomaly to SoT and their operations.”

  Vollan cracked a small smile. Almost like her father, She thought fondly for a moment.

  “Yes. That Warehouse contained fabricators that creates our serial numbers. IIA were informed by the intel your Rangers provided a month ago. Some of my people…” She paused to take a breath, “They believe the conflict between the Frontier Defense Alliance and United Human Dominion is not an issue the Imperium should deal with and we most focus on domestic matters at home and in our territories.”

  Vollan glanced away from Hawk and looked at the empty black screen of the TV. “My father… He helped in establishing the Parliament and position of Prime Minister back in 97’. He believed that transitioning our Imperium into a constitutional monarchy would ensure in maintaining the balance of power from within, and ensure the politicians held accountable by the people.”

  Hawk awkwardly glanced at the door. While aware of the importance of politics, she’s more of a novice than an expert in these matters. And if she’s honest, she’s more comfortable talking with her fellow Rangers

  Empress Vollan shook her breath, and looked at the Ranger once more. “You will be assigned with the IIA’s Special Service Bureau. One of their units is standing by Antwar District and awaits your arrival.”

  SSB, wonderful, Hawk wasn’t enthusiastic about it, but the mission is a mission. And sometimes, Rangers don’t choose their missions, especially for an important one.

  “Alright, who am I working with?” Hawk asked. The Empress brought a datapad to the Ranger. Hawk perused through the data, inspecting three SSB agents assigned for the mission. One agent in particular, however, made her pause.

  Agent Anya Hawkins, age 26. Callsign Raven. Hawk’s, No. Kate’s sister. Or in more technical terms, half-sister. She was born out of wedlock as their father had an affair with a high-profile individual within the Imperium, 26 years ago. During her upbringing, Anya faced a difficult time fitting with the community in Primoor and was bullied by neighbors due to being a “half-breed” and the gossip whispered about about the affair. On the other hand, her sister Kate and the Hawkins family stood by her side and protected her whenever they could. She was reported to be dead after the 2491 Primoor massacre.

  But in truth, she was taken in by agents of Tortsinan Empire during the chaos and was sent to a boarding school, where she eventually landed a position at the Imperial Intelligence Agency.

  However, Kate wouldn’t know of this until the day she passed her STR selection at the age of 20. Her father, William confessed his knowledge about it as he was informed by Imperium agents. This caused a rift between her and her old man, and Kate hadn’t talked to him ever since.

  Hawk looked at Empress Vollan, who was smiling wryly, “Well, I am not amused, Your Majesty. And putting aside personal feelings, I hardly imagine it’ll be easy with working with a family member.”

  Empress Vollan’s smile disappeared, her face displayed coldness. “I figured that, Lieutenant. That’s why I request you to not bring personal matters nor cause arguments with Anya for the remainder of the operation. Same goes for Anya, as well. My associates went to your hotel room, and sent your gear right outside the Private Quarters. It is for the best you get dressed fast, you’ll be sent to Antwar District. You can use the bedroom to gear up, but please leave your formal war in your bag.”

  Hawk nodded, readying up to get her gear bag. “Oh, and Lieutenant.” She shifted her face again towards the Empress

  “If you think of smuggling Anya out of Tortsin, don’t. There will be dire consequences if you do. Are we clear?” Vollan remarked coldly, her eyes scowled. Hawk licked her lips, then nodded “Crystal.”

  Hawk left the room and took her gear bag inside. As she went inside the bedroom on the far-north side of the quarters to gear up, her thoughts were mixed.

  “Work with my half-sister and not bring up family issues? Yeah, right. Bad enough that only me and dad knows Anya is alive.” Hawk muttered, to make sure she wasn’t heard.

  She sighed, and looked at the bedroom’s window. “Anya, if only you knew how much our family went through while you were gone. How much Maya went through.”