A lone Sabre-class destroyer, cruising through the blackest of space. 
The inner chambers of the ship share the silence with the cold outside.
Two guards patrolling on the night-shift. 
Their boots walking the pressure-sensitive floor of Deck 7, nicknamed ‘The Bank’.
One of the soldiers lets out a yawn, a sign of fatigue. 
“Only 10 minutes till we can hit the sack.” The other one says.
“Thank God.” The first agrees while stretching. 
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
They continue their walk, unaware of what’s about to hit them.
The two stop, as if unable to move further, frozen in time.
Their bodies stand still in the steel-grey hall. 
“LTF is active.” A man de-cloaks himself. His 5 companions follow.
Dark-grey power armour begins reflecting the lights of the grey hall as it becomes clear to the naked eye, a light-blue glow coming from the inner workings and light stunweapons in their hands. Soldiers of cunning, silence and stealth.
“Alright let’s get to work.”

  “Sir?” The Internal Sensor-officer beckons his Captain.
  “Yes? What is it?” The Captain approaches the console.
  “Deck 7… the package, it’s gone.” Eyes filled with disbelieve gaze upon his superior.
  “What?” The Captain doublechecks. “Get a squad down there.”

“Clear!” A group of soldiers moves through the corridors of B-deck. Their steps resonating throughout the steel hull of the ship. Weapons raised, ready to counter any threat. The leader raises his fist, commanding his squad to stop. Someone was around the next corner. He is calm, years of training made sure of that. His feet guided him forward, slowly. He stops, allowing his senses to detect something. His ears pick up footsteps. 
“Freeze!” His voice was loud enough to make anyone tremble. 
He startles the two guards who were walking their last patrol, unaware of what had
happened. 
  “Damn.” The leader contacts his captain. 
  “Sir, there’s no one here.”
  “Have you checked The Vault?” The captain’s voice is focused, even with this crisis.
  “Not yet, let’s move!” The squad moves on, leaving the two guards dumbstruck.  
The thick Duratanium door is open, it’s lock surgically removed. 
Their pace picks up as they enter. The room’s empty, everything is gone.
The only sign of a break-in wis a golden Rolex-watch, Oyster model.
A sigh leaves the leader’s mouth, followed by three words: “Captain, Black Phoenix.” 

Slowly the rumble of engines comes closer. A red ship screams across the deep blue sky. The hatch at the back slowly opens. “You sure about this?” A voice cracks through the radio. 
  “Why not?” Another one asks, sitting in the cargo-bay.
  “We’re flying with a speed over 600 Mp/H.”
  “Don’t worry,” the man stands up,” I’ll be fine.”
  “Okay then, lowering the shield on my mark.”
The man checks his equipment: mask, oxygen, parachute.
  “Alright. In 5, 4, 3, 2...” The man braces himself. The sun reflects on his mask. Under it, a big grin. “...1.” It almost sounds peaceful. 

The man ran up to the hatch, into the light. The shield went down and he was sucked out. He dove to the planet, gaining speed. He spread his arms like wings, slowing him down and allowing him to control his flight. But all of a sudden everything around him slowed down. His free-fall stopped. He gently came to a halt in mid-air.  He looked around, surprised. “What the?” A deep blue sphere appeared, just like that, out of nowhere. Small bolts of lightning surrounded it and the sphere transformed to a small disc.
The man chuckled: “They do know when to pick the time.” He grabbed the disc. Time resumed its normal course. He spun down to the world and straightened himself to gain maximum speed. He cut through the air like a bullet. The planet was coming closer. Earth, the small rock he aimed at became a great mountain. An alarm sounded. 
He pulled the line on his right and a red parachute opened. He floated down like a feather, steering himself to the landing-site. He gently came down on his feet and released himself from his artificial wings. The glider dropped his gear and reached for his mask. He slowly pulled it off, revealing a young beard and deep-green eyes. His mask fell to the ground. 
He grabbed the disc. It was small, no larger than your average coin. He searched for the opening behind his right ear. The disc went in and the data appeared in his mind.

Loading DOP 2.0 //
Identifying Operative: 57220 //
Call Sign: Scorpio //
Goodmorning Mario,
Something unexpected happened. It was not foreseen by our intelligence, so its of great importance you investigate this matter. A-502 has been compromised.
The co-ordinates you’re receiving now are not far from your current position. I expect you to go there as quick as possible, but knowing you, you have some things to clean up first //
Warning, the contents on this disc will be destroyed in 5... 4... 3... //

The man looked at his chute and chuckled.
“Even they know where I spend my free time. What’s this Timeline coming to?”
He ejected the disc from his head and tossed it away.

2... 1... //

The silence broke under the small explosion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.Space stories proudly presents
an IXI story
Chronoheist

A phone rang once, twice, until it was picked up.
“Yes what is it?” A sleepy voice said agitated.
“Sir Imir, it’s about Flight 6.” A female voice on the other side.
“Flight 6? What is it.”
“It has been intercepted.”
“My god, the money?”
“Gone...”
The man sighs.
“Let me make a few calls...”

The line went black. 
Marcus sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “Coffee, milk and sugar.” He said and a red mug was almost immediately filled with the drink he requested. His eyes overlooked the now silent city; Okinawa. He was here to discuss about the Himalaya-cruiser being stationed near Ilia. The Ilians wouldn’t like a such a display of power in their orbit. So naturally, Marcus had to go to their Embassy here. But solving this new crisis, this crime, would prove to be more important, the Senator knew this. He gave his thoughts a rest as he sipped from his hot coffee. 
Off you go.
His face looked young in the mirror, maybe it’s the beard. Marcus liked his new look, made him look 5 years younger. The fact that his beard was grey made it look a bit off, but still, the effect worked. He opened the mirror-covered closet, looking for something nice to wear.
A 3-piece black suit would do, he chose a red tie to finish the picture. Marcus closed the closet, not even noticing the figure that’s reflected by its mirror. The Senator hummed a familiar tune, apparantly he had snooped around the ‘The Who’ archive.
He reached for the phone hanging on the wall, still not noticing the uninvited stranger.
The intruder chuckled, scaring the living daylights out of Marcus, who nearly lost his balance.     
  “You know, you look really bad in that suit.” A familiar voice, the man stood up and stepped into the light. “Mario?” The very first thing to come out of Marcus’ mouth, if not hesitant. 
  “All me.” A confirming answer from his old friend.
Marcus nodded, recovering from his near heart-attack. He took a deep breath and decided not to ask any questions, as he would surely be left without an answer, or atleast not a useful one. “Guess I won’t have to make that call.” Marcus put the phone back on the wall, expecting Mario to speak. But he stayed silent, letting Marcus take control of the situation.
The senator sighed and sat down, beckoning Mario to do the same. “I’m sure your superiors have informed you about everything?” He said, reaching for his coffee. Mario grinned and said: “Little over an hour ago, Flight 6 was intercepted: A Sabre-class destroyer carrying 120 Billion of your Earth credits. How this was done remains a mystery, since there was no apparant intrusion of the vessle. Obviously my prescence is needed here.” Marcus fell silent, not knowing a better way to put it, or atleast not a more arrogant one. “You Denzi do know how to get intelligence.” He chuckled. “We are efficient yes.” Mario kept the grin on his face.  
  “So what do you need me for?” Marcus asked. “Simple, permission to board Flight 6.”
Mario answered. Marcus looked at him, surprised but amused. “Permission granted.” The senator tossed a pass to Mario. “That should get you started.” “Thanks.” Mario said. A few moments of silence passed. 
  “Good, now get the hell out of my room.” Marcus tone turned a bit more serious, probably still angry about Mario’s break-in. “Sir, yes sir.” Mario stood up, nodded at the Senator and said: “I’ll knock the next time.” Marcus watched Mario leaving the room. 
  “Denzi...” He sighed.

The senator looked at his watch, 2 hours till the meeting. He sat down, drinking the remainder of his coffee. The Eastern Sun began to rise over the tall buildings. Marcus sighed as the light began to touch his face. This was going to be a long day. 

Mario entered the Spaceport. His ship was docked in Hangar-module 287, what ship it exactly was, was still a mystery though. Probably not something too flashy, knowing his superiors. He stepped into the elevator on his right and pressed the button to the fifth floor. As the lift ascended, Mario got a good view on the size of the port. The white, reflective floor mirrored everybody that stepped on it. Great marble pillars supported the window-filled roof and several shops offered everything that the average traveler needed. A ping notified Mario he had arrived on the fifth floor. He stepped out and began searching for the right module. 285... 28... –7. He huffed, like he was saying: ‘Here we go.’. The big dark-grey steeled door opened automatically as Mario approached. He was eager to see what his superiors gave him to fly.
A light-grey R-Blade awaited its pilot to board. “Hmmm...” Mario was surprised, the Denzi gave him something decent. Well more than decent. He touched the smooth surface of its engines, his eyes followed the line of the retro-styled cockpit and his nose picked up the smell of a freshly installed leather seat. He put his hand on the fingerprint-lock and the cockpit opened silently. He was about to board when he saw someone in the corner of his eye. He looked at his right and saw a woman standing in the opening of the Hangar.
He stepped back from the ship and approached her. “Lost?” He asked. “No.” She answered.
Her dark-blond hair added something dark to her smooth caucasian face. Dark-blue eyes laid their watch on Mario. “Then how can I help you?” Mario asked again. “You’ll find out soon enough.” Her mouth turned to a grin as she answered. 
  “I’m not single if you’re aiming at that.” Mario felt like there was something more behind this.
  “I already know,” She circled around Mario and stopped at his back, “I also know about your plan.” Her soft, sexy voice whispered. Mario turned around and faced her. His stern eyes looked into hers. The moment that passed was somehow intimate. “You people actually think you can interfere with something that exceeds yourself.” Mario’s words were carefully chosen as he knew what he was facing. “You are wrong, Denzi, “ The woman’s tone was seductive,     
  “we are the ones who will control the fate of this galaxy, we will decide who lives or dies, we...” she paused for a second. “... will be gods.” 
  “Gods fall first...” Mario’s voice echoed throughout the hangar.
She chuckled, caressing Mario’s face. “Perhaps,” she said, “but not until our task is done.” She kissed him on the lips, Mario wasn’t returning it. “You win this one, Denzi.” She said.   
  “The others won’t be so fortunate when the time comes.” The woman turned around and walked away. Every step of her somehow accenting her perfect figure. Mario watched her round the corner, she looked back one last time. He sighed when he was sure she had left.
I’ll have to be more careful. He stepped into his ship and started it up. The leather seat provided great comfort, not that Mario noticed, his thoughts were somewhere else. The ship left the ground, and he punched the main thrusters. He broke free from the Earth’s gravity field and flew into the deep black depths of space. His mind troubled. 

  “Captain, a ship is asking permission to dock.” The captain turned his head: “What type?” he asked.  “Skunk-Works R-Blade.” The Comm-officer answered. “Strange,” The captain thought, “no one knows we’re here.” “Should I ask for a clearance-code?” The officer asked. It took a few seconds for the captain to answer. “Ah yes, do it.”
The message asking for the code appeared on Mario’s screen. He reached for the pass-card and inserted it in the slot on his right, hoping that was the good one. The ship began transmitting the code to the cruiser. “Do we have confirmation?” The captain asked. “Yes sir.” Was the answer. “Good, let him in.” 
Mario turned the ship on auto-pilot, letting it dock on its own. He crossed the shield between the hangar and the freezing cold and landed smoothly on the deck. His neck cracked as he stretched his body. He opened up the cockpit and the cold air streamed into his cockpit.
 “Nice ship.” A voice sounded. Mario sticked his head out of the cockpit to see where it was coming from. The captain stood in front of the R-Blade, awaiting his new passenger. 
  “It sure is.” Mario climbed out of the cockpit. The captain chuckled: “Who are you?”
  “The answer to your little cash-problem.” Mario said, approaching the ship’s boss.
  “Cash-problem?” The captain played stupid, not trusting this stranger yet. “Well this is the ship that lost 120 Billion right? Or did I take a wrong turn?” Mario went in on the game.
The captain’s face turned serious: “Who are you?” He asked. “I’m Mario, Denzi-operative ID57220. Specialised in keeping harm from this Timeline. I’ve been assigned to investigate this matter, and I have the permission from Senator Imir to be here.” The answer was long, letting the captain search for his words. Seconds passed before “Denzi?” came out.
  “Yes Denzi.” Mario confirmed it. “So somesort of sabotage was conducted here? Time-sabotage?” The captain stroked his chin. “Yes.” Was the short answer. 
The captain huffed and he stayed silent for a few moments. “Permission from the Man himself?” He asked. Mario nodded. The captain sighed, not exactly knowing what to do with this. “You can check with him yourself.” Mario mentioned. “Yes I suppose you’re right...” The captain gave Mario a stern, yet amused look. “...you can stay in the brig.”
  “Captain?” Mario asked. “You come aboard a ship that has lost 120 Billion, claim it was stolen by somesort of rogue time-gang, while being a time-agent yourself and then you offer to ‘solve this matter’ because you were supposedly autorised by Senator Imir..” 
Mario was arrested by two marines. “Give me one reason why I should trust you.” 
The captain watched Mario straight in the eyes. He was right, the captain had no reason to trust him. “So much for a warm welcome.” Mario thought. 
__________________________________________________________________________

Mario sat on the bed that was extremely uncomfortable. He didn’t think he would spend his first night in the brig here. His hand reached for his lighter and he searched for his pack of...
Ah crap. He remembered he left them in his ship. Mario let out an ironic huff. Stupid. The guard on the other side of the bars let out a small laugh.
Mario grinned: “You wouldn’t...?” “No, sorry.” The guard quickly turned his face to the steel one he had a few moments before. Mario sighed and he lay down on the rock-hard bed.
His head sank right through the pillow but he figured he could get a few hours of rest. He closed his eyes and tried to get as comfortable as possible. The door to the brig swung open and the captain stepped in boldly. “Mario, “ He said, “turns out you are what you claim you are.” Mario got up and took a deep breath. The captain opened up the door. “Captain Craig Leymour.” He gave Mario a hand. Mario smiled: “A warm welcome after all?” He planted his hand firmly into Craig’s. “Indeed, indeed.” Craig grinned. “But you won’t do it alone.” He said.
  “What?” Mario asked. “I’m going to let one of my men accompany you.” “Heh who could possibly...?” Mario cut of his arrogance as a Marine walked in. Short, black hair and green eyes like a hawk. “Mike?” He asked. The Marine grinned. “Hello sniper.” He said.
Mario laughed: “Of all places... we meet again.” He gave the Marine a hand “Mike Wilson.” And showed a grin. “Good to see you.” Mike said while he shook hands. “I’ll show you your quarters.” Craig beckoned the two to follow him. “Oh...” He said, “...these are yours right?” Craig handed Mario a pack of cigarettes. Mario chuckled and took it gladly. 

This time, the bed was comfortable. A cigarette burned in his mouth, and his mind was set to the future. He blew out the smoke in a circle. It closely resembled a planet he thought, orbiting a sun in deep space. She’s going to be a problem. He thought of the woman. Her motives were clear, her actions however remained shrouded. Mario sighed, put out his cigarette in the ashtray and closed his eyes in an effort to get some sleep. “Hello.” Mario opened his eyes as he fell a body moving against his. Curly dark-blond hair... Mario sat up. There was no one in his room. Then who...? A voice called his name. He grabbed his sidearm. A smooth seductive voice guided him to the door. He opened it and walked, sidearm first, outside. The door closed automatically behind him. The voice came from his right. He followed the lights glowing brightly in the corridor. The voice stopped just as he passed Mike’s room. “In here....” The door opened, just like that. No buttons nothing. Mario was staggered, not because of the door’s own will.
He stood face to face... with himself, like he was looking in the mirror. Mike came out of the shadows and walked up to his image. He put a gun directly to his head. Mike looked at Mario, who was completely perplexed. He laughed and pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed through Mario’s head as he saw himself falling to the floor. 
He woke up... His bed covered with sweat. A... dream...? He looked around. His room was dark, unsettling. Mario turned the light on to illuminate. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and got up. The clock sounded, notifying him it was 6 in the morning. Mario put on his clothes and got out. His stumach told him he was hungry. He sighed and entered the onboard restaurant to get breakfast. It was surprisingly silent. Mario figured that the first shifts hadn’t started yet. He slid his card through the reader and pressed a few buttons. The machine didn’t seem to respond. Mario repeated the 3 figure code, still nothing. “Machine’s been dead for a few days now.” The voice that came from his right startled Mario. Mike chuckled as he handed Mario some bread and a bottle bearing a Chincilla logo. “Thanks.” Mario sighed as he sat down at the nearest table.
  “What are you doing up so early?” Mike asked, taking a bite out of his apple. 
  “I...err...” Mario said while looking at Mike, his eyes examining him, “had a rough night.” Mario sampled some of the milk he had been given. He was surprised by the good taste and he sat the bottle down with a satisfied huff. “Same here, couldn’t sleep.” Mike said, stretching out. “So where do we start Sherlock?” He asked. Mario chuckled, repeating the name. 
 “With the scene of the crime ofcourse.” 
__________________________________________________________________________

The room was empty. Large, clean squares on the floor indicated where the crates with the files had been.
Mario breathed in deeply as he kneeled down. His hand touched the floor. The dust on it wasn’t normal. He took a sample on his finger and ran it through his tips.
  “What is that?” Mike asked, kneeling down beside Mario. 
  “Temporal residue. Its what someone in another temporal dimension leaves behind. Hairs, skin cells, saliva, semen.” The ‘dust’ seemed to change colour as Mario kept moving his fingers around it. It seemed to take a long shape, thin and brown. “A hair?” Mike wondered.
  “That’s a yes.” Mario grinned. “How did it...?” Mike couldn’t formulate his question. 
  “If Temporal Dust comes into contact with normal DNA, it regenerates itself with the newly acquired cells.” Mario answered. He let go of the hair, got up, and looked around. His hand massaged his chin as he walked through the room, thinking of a theory. “Okay here’s the deal. The thiefs set up a small temporal field on this deck, allowing them to move freely.” Mario paused, searching for something to add. “The rest was simple, smash window, take the price.” He nodded at himself, convinced of his words.
  “Really?” Mike’s near-sarcasm made Mario chuckle. “It wasn’t that simple.” Mike added.
  “Oh it was.” Mario grinned. Mike silenced, figuring the man knew what he was talking about.
He shook his head. “What’s the matter?” Mario asked. “It’s just, why do people... take   
  advantage of us?” Mike wondered. It took a while for Mario to answer: “I think,” he said, “I think we’ll never know what drives them.” The last three words came out with a sigh. 
Mike nodded. “Yeah I guess so.” He said. It was silent for a few moments. Mike stared at the squares on the floor. “You had... something else?” Mario asked. “Hmm?” Mike was taken out of his thoughts. “Oh yes, yes.” He said and he beckoned Mario to come with him.
  “Wait.” Mike picked up the hair. “For further analysis.”
They walked towards the elevator, discussing theories. The doors opened automatically as they approached. A man walked out, somewhat out of place. Mike hadn’t seen him before, dark hair and eyes like a fox on the prowl. He stopped as he saw Mario. Mario watched him.
A second passed before he realised who was standing before him. Mario... knew him, and he wasn’t supposed to be here. The man’s eyes widened, he launched his feet and ran.
Mario went after him before Mike could ask what was going on. “Call security!” His voice dying away. 

The man was fast, Mario had a hard time keeping up with him. He rounded a corner, crashing over a cleaner and his robot. He got to his feet, knowing that his pursuer wouldn’t be far behind. His hand reached for his weapon. Mario landed a flying kick in his chest, rendering him unconscious. Proud of himself, Mario allowed his face a grin. He turned around to see Mike with a security team. “What took you so long?”
...............................................................................................................

  “Good morning.” The first words the John Doe heard when he came to his senses.
  “Sleep well?” Mario sat on the table, a chair supporting his feet, casually eating an apple.
He had told Mike to wait outside. Mike watched him through the mirrored glass. 
Who was this guy, how did Mario knew him. Mike bit his thumb as these, and more, questions flew through his head.
  “You know, we’ve been wanting to bust you for a while now.” Mario got up, throwing the apple in the dustbin in the corner. “You were there, always.” He circled around the chair.
  “I was.” A short yet confirming answer. 
  “Does he know?” The man asked. 
  “Who?” Mario stopped his circle so he could look the suspect right in the eyes. 
  “Your partner.” 
  “Know what?”
  “Don’t play dumb with me, Mario.”
Mario chuckled: “I never play dumb with you. But you... did with me.”
  “You are good at this game you know.”
  “I’m the master.”
  “Then I think it’s time...” Three beeps sounded, coming from behind the prisoner, 
  “that I leave.”
And with a bright flash the man disappeared in time, returning to his own temporal dimension. Mario sighed: “Son of a bitch!” was launched after and he kicked away the chair.
  “I though I told you to have him thoroughly checked!” He shouted at the window.
He opened the door with a grand display of his anger.
  “You never told me to check him.” Mike yelled.
  “Aren’t you supposed to do that with prisoners?”
  “Yes we are, but how the hell was I supposed to know he had a time device 
   somewhere? We don’t have protocol for things like this.”
  “Alright, alright,” Mario sighed, “you had... something else?”
     
The golden Rolex watch sat proud under the many lights in the lab. “Hmm...” Mario took a close look. “Oyster model, late 1920’s?” He asked, looking at Mike. “Err...” Mike knew his watches as a cow knew his math. “I guess so.” He answered. 
His friend chuckled. “ETA Earth in 30 minutes.” The voice of the comm-officer sounded through the ship. “Good, that means we can dive into the IR’s archive.” Mario sighed.
  “The archive?” Mike’s voice sounded as if he was expecting some dusty old library. “Yes the archive,” Mario took the watch, “if I remember correctly, this isn’t the first   
  watch they left behind.” He left the lab, leaving Mike oblivious. He knew this wasn’t the last time he would do that. 
__________________________________________________________________________

  “Ah here it is.” Mario turned the screen so Mike could see the information he had found.

28 March 2025,

An American military transport seems to have lost 5 nuclear warheads. Experts are still trying to figure out exactly how the WMDs “vanished”. Government officials say that there was no apparant sign of an assault. 
There was a Rolex watch found within the truck though, how it got there remains a mystery.

   “And that’s not all.” Mario showed dozens of other articles. “They’ve been around.” Mike said. “Indeed,” Mario nodded, “and you know what the strange thing is?” 
With a press of a button he downloaded several pictures. On each and every one the same man in the background. Retro 1930’s hat and clothes, dark hair and sneaky eyes. The exact same man they encountered on the ship.
  “He pops up every time they pop up.” Mike concluded. 
  “Yes, his group is what we’re after. They’ve been altering the Timeline for years now, and 
    we still haven’t caught them.”
Mike chuckled: “How can you, the Denzi, not catch someone that plays your game.”
Mario was silent, not amused of Mike. He stretched his body and got up from his chair that has been stuck to his butt for the last hour.
  “You want something to eat?” He asked.
  “Sure.” Was the answer. 

Mario signaled for a cab. A black retro-styled hovercar pulled over, letting Mario and Mike in.
  “Trafalgar Square.” Mario said. The driver nodded and the cab flew away. 
  “So, why haven’t you caught this guy yet?” Mike asked.
  “He’s one of the most elusive travellers out there. We don’t have anything, no name, age,   
   nothing. We believe he and his group are ex-Denzi agents.”
  “I see.” Mike sighed.
The cab flew its way through the busy hoverlanes of London. They avoided most of the traffic, so it didn’t take long for them to reach the Square. 
  “Keep the change.” Mario paid the driver and stepped onto the hovering platform that was Trafalgar Square. 
  “Coming?” 

  “So what’s new here?” Mario asked.
  “Skunk-Works has gone civilian, there’s this new bio-friendly dairy company taking over the   
   entire galaxy and the Feds have released some nice new ships.” Mike answered, taking a sip from his tea. 
Mario laughed a bit. “And you?” He asked. 
  “Well after my contract with the Feds ended, I needed a job. The Terrans had one aboard 
   one of their transports so...”
  “From soldier to babysitter.”
  “Perhaps, but the money’s alright, and it’s an honest job.”
Mario coughed, half choking in his biscuit. 
  “You alright?” Mike asked.
  “Yeah yeah, damn english cookies.”
Mike laughed. He reached for his wallet. 
  “What are you doing?” Mario asked.
  “Paying.”
  “It’s on me.” Mario offered.
  “Sure? You also payed the cab.”
  “I got plenty of it.”

Mike opened the door to his appartment. He yawned and stretched his arms out.
His body could use some sleep. He opened up the fridge and grabbed a beer.
With one move he opened the bottle and sat down.
  “Good evening.” 
Mike nearly fell of his couch. He switched on the lights and saw a dark-blond haired woman sitting in the chair in the corner. 
  “And who the hell might you be?” Mike’s voice was agitated.
  “I’m... a messenger. Someone with a great deal of information about the money... and your  
   friend.”
  “Hmmm...” Mike nodded, “not tonight sugar.”
He grabbed the woman and kicked her out of the door. The door closed with a loud bang. He turned around to return to his couch. A familiar click went through his ears as he set the bottle to his lips. The door bursted open with a loud bang and the woman stepped in.
  “If you won’t do it my way...” She held a strange looking device, somesort of... gun.
Mike wasn’t going to wait for her to fire. He jumped off the couch and landed with a roll, grabbing his sidearm from the table. The woman began firing her awesome weapon. Big holes were blown in the walls. Drywall covered Mike’s face. He returned fire, not really aiming for anything. The door seemed like a good excape-route. Until she blocked the way.
  “Great...” Mike thought, “really great.” He hid behind what was left of his wall and looked outside. His breath slowed to a halt as the sun went down over the skyline.
Large rectangular shapes darkening against the red-orange sky. He stopped his sigh.
If he could make it to the window. His car was outside and his keys.... He checked his pocket. A grin appeared carefully. He jumped up and made a dash for the window.
The woman followed him with a trail of gunfire blasting the window open for Mike.
  “Thank you!” He yelled as he dove through. His finger held down the trigger and he fired a few rounds to make sure he had a safe getaway.

His landing was a bit unlucky however. He crashed into a pile of trash, next to his car. 
Coughing up the remains of a banana, he got up and opened the door of his car.
He took one last look at his appartment, but quickly started up his hovercar as the woman took her aim. Her shots nearly hit the car. The car on Mike’s right exploded in a bright white flash. It somersaulted onto another causing a second explosion.
Mike dialed Mario’s number. He heard five typical beeps until he heard the answering machine. “Great, freakin’ great.” He threw his cellphone on the couch in the back.
His eyes took a quick view in the rear-view mirror. Two black hovertrucks revealed themselves. “Oh you have to be fu...” Gunfire blasted out his window. “This is a new car damn it!” He swooped through the busy streets of Londen, followed closely by the two trucks.
Mike grabbed his sidearm, and loaded a new clip in it. “You want to play it hard right?” He opened up the roof. “I’ll give you my version of hard.” He pulled the steer to the left and pulled the handbrake. His hovercar tilted sideways and Mike took his aim through the roof.
He released a semi-automatic burst of fire as he pulled the trigger. A few shots pierced through the front window, probably killing its driver. The first truck flew uncontrollable to the right, crashing into a parked hovercar. Mike leveled his car and the pursuit went on.
He took another glance in his mirror to see the woman coming out the hovertruck. 
Carrying what seemed to be a rocket-launcher. Mike’s heart stopped for a second. 
He came to his senses and looked around. Left, right, left, right....Right!
His hovercar roared as he dove right. The truck followed. 
  “Oh great.” The street Mike chose was a very narrow one, with almost no room to go left or right. In other words, perfect for the woman. She smiled as she held pressure on the trigger.
It locked on Mike’s car and released itself. Mike watched in his mirror. 
5 seconds till impact.   
Mike opened up his door.
4 seconds till impact.
He turned his car on auto-pilot.
3 seconds till impact.
The street he flew on crossed with one of the biggest roads in Londen.
2 seconds till impact.
Mike sees a truck flying below him.
1 second till impact.
He jumps out of his hovercar.

The rocket crashed into the rear of the hovercar, triggering the detonation. The fire reached the fuel core, causing the explosion to expand. The shockwave threw Mike on the truck he jumped for. Something snapped in his shoulder and he screamed out in pain. His eyes watched the hovertruck passing the explosion. He hoped that they hadn’t seen him jump.
The pain in his shoulder pierced through his body as he rolled on his back.

Mike sighed, and closed his eyes.
__________________________________________________________________________

The sun rose once more over the rooftops of Londen.
Mike sat the next day in the lab of the Federation HQ. He bit his right thumb, as always, thinking. What if the woman was right? She did try to kill him. So that didn’t work in her favour. Mario startled him as he said: “Hey.” Mike sighed, and continued digging.
  “We found the truck, abandoned in the warehouse district. No traces found yet.”
Mike didn’t really listen and he answered with a simple: “Hmm...”
  “Everything okay with your shoulder?” Mario pointed at the place of the broken collar-bone.
  “It hurts from time to...” Mike looked at his friend’s wrist. A golden Rolex...
  “Nice watch.” He said, looking at Mario.
  “Yeah I just bought it, I lost my other one so...”
Fragments of memories began to form an image in Mike’s mind. 
  “You never told me to check him.” 
Voices of the last days filled his mind, somehow fitting the image.
  “Sure? You also payed the cab.”
  “I got plenty of it.”
He recalled the man that Mario caught. The woman...
  “Mario...” Mike searched for the question.
  “Hmm?” Mario was eating the sandwich he had brought.
  “You would tell everything to your partner would you?”
Mario was silent for a second, knowing that Mike suspected something.
  “Sure.” His jaws continued to chew slowly.
 The brown hair they had found...
  “Sir?” A young scientist entered the lab.
  “Go ahead.” Mike said.
  “The haird you found, obviously it had Mario’s DNA as it regenerated itself with his skin 
    cells...”
  “Get to the point.” Mike interrupted.
 The scientist paused with a sigh. “You’re not going to believe this.”
  “Well I gotta go.” Mario got up.
  “Wait wait...” Mike said. Mario didn’t listen.
  “The hair you found...”
 Mario approached the lab exit. Mike got up to follow him.
  “...was a 100% match...”
Mike heard the last words of the scientist as he left the lab.
  “...to Mario’s DNA.”

Mario began to run. Mike followed, not held back by the pain in his shoulder. He pulled out his pistol with his right hand. “Freeze Mario!” Mario didn’t stop so he fired into the air.
Mario stopped, raising his arms. 
  “What is your connection...?”
  “Listen I can...”
  “I ask the questions here!” Mike yelled.
  “Did you, or did you not steal the money?” His words were carefully chosen.
Mario sighed.
  “Yes...”
  “God....” Mike said, followed by a sigh.
  “Why? Why all this? Why this cover up?”
  “It’s actually pretty logical if you think about it. All that money gone, no idea whatsoever 
   how. The Denzi come in to help, while doing so, covering their own tracks.”
It didn’t really make sense to Mike. 
  “But the only thing we didn’t see, was you.” Mario seemed to reach for something.
  “Keep your hands where I can see them.” Mike’s voice was fierce.
  “Now you see...” Mario didn’t comply.
  “I will fire.” Mike said.
  “...that’s just it.” 
Mario grabbed something from his rear. Mike fired his pistol.
He lowered his weapon. Mario was... gone.
His feet stepped back, not willing to believe.
Mario, his friend, the one he trusted, was gone.

Disappeared.

Returned, to... where he came from.

Mike cursed. His voice turned from anger to laughter.
He had to admit, Mario was good.
He almost fooled him, weren’t it for a few small things.
Mike sat down. Putting his pistol back.

He sighed.
It wasn’t fully clear though. What happened the last few days seemed like a blur now.
A vague dream which had passed too fast.
He realised that he felt... strange. 

How...?
Why...?

Blurred figures ran in front of him.
They seemed to yell. Battlestations. Federation broken from the Republic. Things that seemed so... unreal.
His vision turned black, his hearing followed afterwards.
Was he falling asleep?

Black turned into white, and his mind seemed to disappear.
He felt his body moving up, moving to somewhere else.

  “Sir...? Sir...? What’s this dart..?” Fragments of sound made it through his ears.

Mike closed his eyes, though they already seemed closed.

Little did he know... he was part of something bigger.
His actions influenced the fate of the galaxy.

Ruin would come...
But they did stood a chance.

This is not the end,

This is the beginning.