Retribution, Part I: Dawn Exit

Ryven piloted the atmospheric shuttle up and away from Cerra Manor and toward the awaiting Manticore-class Stealth Bomber in low orbit.  The ocean below was a white capped sheet of black below him, the dawn still an hour away.  His heart ached, having left Shalee behind again, but, his will was iron.  This was necessary for them to ever know peace.  Of course, until this mission was completed, his heart would not know peace.  She had promised to answer him when he was finished, and his chest was tight with the anxiety of not knowing.  Then there was the danger presented by Tiger.  But, he couldn't worry about that right now.  He shook his head to clear the thoughts as he finished the final approach to couple with his bomber. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

He set his navigation computer's destination to the Ibura system, knowing this would be a long and dangerous journey.  After all, Ibura was a high-security system, and his security status had bottomed out a long time ago.  Worse yet, it was Caldari space, and the Caldari were not his best friends, despite what their official standings might say.  Specifically, in his attempts to patch things up with his nation of birth, certain elements of the Caldari State had decided to blackmail him into doing jobs that were even more unsavory than Ryven was accustomed to.  Ryven tried to appease them at first, but, he had finally had enough, largely because his attempts to keep Shalee safe from harm also cost him his relationship with her.  Ryven was pissed, and when Ryven was pissed, people tended to die.

 

Ryven had a plan, but he needed to get certain preparations in place.  And to do that, he needed to visit a few anti-State revolutionary types hanging out in the Ibura system.  With some assistance from these terrorists, he would be able to hopefully accomplish the most daring, dangerous, and arguably impossible mission of his entire life.  He was going to pull off an assassination in the Caldari State's capitol city, and then infiltrate and destroy a government records archive, while enlisting Leela's help to rewrite his file.  If he pulled it off, he would have little to worry about from the State ever again.  If he failed, then he'd likely never see the outside of a padded room again. 

 

His thoughts drifted to Shalee and he knew it was worth the risk.