A landing pad on the planet Tiessa—three months later
The landing pad was deserted at this time of night, only a stray rat scurrying across its forgotten corners betraying any sign of life. Few offworlders used this particular spot to come and go from Tiessa, and the locals with means to own a ship capable of breaking orbit wouldn’t choose an out-of-the-way, half-derelict storage facility to utilize and protect their investment. It was perfect for anything clandestine, no matter what side of the law you were on. This time, Ares happened to be on the right one.
Ares and the rest of the crew sat in a junked shuttle abandoned on the pad’s periphery. Dust and grime had long ago coated the front view portals, but he and two of the others had come out earlier that morning to clean patches of i
