CHAPTER THREE

As the horse destiny symbolized the tenant of law, it was fitting that Yon became a field operator for Information and Public Security or IPSEC. His duties included bio indicator mapping searching for potential adverse activity contrary to public order. Prior to this, he served for ten years with the Border Defence Corps. The edge of habited space was a chaotic and violent place and piracy was rampant. Destiny and personality traits mutated from their intended tenants into those required for survival.

The Outlier groups called themselves "Death on Arrival" and tested the defences of the planet Lexu in order to raid for supplies. Occasionally they would seize fuel vessels headed to Lexu for ransom and use the proceeds to survive until the next run. Public discussions voiced concerns about the blatant disregard for law by the Outliers and some even proposed that absolute force be used but calmer minds prevailed.

Those of Owl destiny and Water temperament were destined towards the tenant of academia and had meditative personality traits. They pointed out that each time an opposing force was destroyed, an even more aggressive force would take its place. They added, it is not up to the governing party to choose who lives and dies just because their views lie contrary to theirs. The best and most effective tack is to allow the natural process of order to play itself out. So, it was decided to use force for self-defence only and to monitor the situation from a distance.

There would be casualties and innocent lives affected to be sure but injustice must be allowed until those affected decide to revolt and reset the course to peace and order. For those who live by terror and violence will themselves be affected by it. One coup will follow another; one assassination will lead to reprisal. Evil however cannot claim victory as long as there is one good person.

During the years, attempts to infiltrate Lexu were becoming more sophisticated and harder to prevent. Altered biocards and DNAtracer technology allowed anyone to enter Lexu undetected, for a price. Snail destiny Andromede traits made the best smugglers as they were

addicted to speed, which was in their destiny tenant, and creativity, their personality trait. The thrill of being caught combined with creating illegal access cards was first and foremost what drew them to the craft. The gold coins were just a bonus. To pirates, digicash was worthless but gold still carried value in the outer rings.

Yon was busy tracking a group led by a Raccoon destiny Volcanis personality trait individual who known to be a notorious keeper with a fierce temper. His lieutenant was a Tiger destiny Lightning temperament who was known for his brutality and not his intelligence. It was rumoured that he experimented on his victims with a morbid curiosity with his wickedly shaped obsid-blade.

Yon looked at his Tactical Analysis and Criminal Evidence or TACE desk and was able to do a virtual walk through of the crime scene carnage. Within the program, he was able to apply various filters and recreate virtual digital simulations of what may have happened and trajectory lines. To a limited extent he could even move virtual objects around.

Yon frowned, Hawkstone and his crew needed to be apprehended. They were brutes who only wanted to create disorder and always left a trail of bodies in their wake.

Yon opened a holo to see what was currently being discussed in the public forums. Silkworm destined Tree trait types almost always pursued media and these people couldn’t get enough exposure or coverage. One was currently an interviewing an Owl destined Auric temperament as they were the most entertaining talking heads.

The newest fad was digifabric which was allowed the user to change the colour of their clothes with a thought. The present guest had programmed his shirt to look like a 21st century Earth subway station complete with random newspapers floating in the wake of speeding subway cars. It was distracting.

"...of course the government is losing control. But governments rise and fall, such is destiny. Look at the Roman empire of Earth, once the cradle of their civilization overrun by barbarians and rotting from inside as corruption and greed went to excess. We are foolish to think that our way is more advanced or better. Power is cyclical and we can only hope to hold onto any advantage until it is taken from us. You see...."

Yon closed the archive feed with a motion of his hand. Yes, destiny played a part in history and yes, governments both democratic and tyrannical rise and fall the same. But a wise man once said that evil can only overcome if those who are good choose not to act.

As Hawkstone was using a DNA alteration device, the usual tech would be useless. They would have to expose themselves somehow. In such cases as these, you either got lucky and the target would slip up or you drew the target in by turning an asset. In a world ruled by destiny, luck had little place. It was either meant to be or it wasn’t.

Yon pulled up the usual suspects. The best analysts knew the right questions to ask before jumping in. In this case, the main suspect had an addiction to accumulate things, otherwise known as a keeper. If Yon could find out what that object of desire was, then perhaps he could set a trap. The issue with keepers was the problem of storage as they never threw away their possessions. The great part about dealing with this type of criminal was that you never had to worry about evidence.

After looking through witness statements, Yon found something that could be useful. Although Hawkstone had cloaking tech to shield him from motioncams, the objects he took by impulse were not. In Lexu, objects were encoded with the purchasers DNA after the sale to prevent theft and facilitate ease of transaction. All Yon needed to do was find the object that was encoded by the last victim and trace their marker to its new location. Yon punched in the BioID number and sure enough, he had a location. He grabbed his S.W.A.R.M and walked out the

door.

CHAPTER FOUR

The S.W.A.R.M was the weapon of choice for Horse destined individuals. With proper training, it made the user extremely dangerous as it impacted the senses of the target. The weapon enabled the optics to target a sensory nerve by using nanites that could swarm the target and solidify at will. With a command, the swarm could, for example, effectively block out the target’s vision and hearing by forming a solid ball around the head. The swarm could also act as a shield by solidifying in front of the user and as a weapon for close quarters combat.

S.W.A.R.M stood for Specialized Weapon: Automated Robotics Module. The tool was only as effective as the holder and limited only by imagination. The tool allowed the officer to get in close enough to restrain the suspect. This required close combat skills and an awareness of your environment. The weapon responded to the operator’s optics inside the visor and voice commands and so could not be easily disarmed. The range was about one hundred grand-units and each nanite could act as a listening device or camera during surveillance.

Yon followed the coordinates to a warehouse and turned on his gear. His NCS headset allowed him to control the nanite targeting functions as well as assess the environment. A hum was followed by a buzzing as the nanites within the ballistic case took the form of a dog.

Ataki looked up and nodded as instructions were transmitted. As he padded towards the main entrance, Ataki dissolved into a cloud of microscopic particles and slipped into cracks and vents to explore and create a virtual layout and risk assessment. In a few mol, Yon would know how many targets were in the building and where they were located. He would also know how many had weapons and what type and could even face match to existing databases in order to gain any type of advantage in negotiations if necessary.

Yon watched the live feed in his optics as Ataki fed him the numbers. There were five targets, no known hostages, and the targets were armed. Yon recalled Ataki and set up a comms with his team leader.

"Sir, I have their location, should I approach or wait for backup?"

"You are authorized to proceed." Jelwin confirmed.

Jelwin was younger than Yon but was on the fast track to leadership school. He was never a field operator but knew procedure and law better than anyone.

Yon walked with Ataki and took cover near where the first sentry was posted. Because of the surveillance, Yon knew that the target was armed with a high calibre LRW or Long Ranged Weapon. Even with S.W.A.R.M tech, a shield created by nanites would stand little chance of stopping a sniper round, especially if it was infused with illegal upgrades.

To make his approach, Yon knew he had to either deploy dampeners to create a sound vacuum or immobilize the target. The second option was harder as the sniper was in an advantageous position with line of sight but the first option wouldn’t be easy either as he needed to be in range to deploy the sound dampeners.

He decided to map out the best route to the target using the live data feedback from the nanites placed within the building. As he made his approach he kept cover between himself and the sniper. Once the target was in range, he activated the dampeners and slid them in the direction of the sniper. Anyone within the target field without the override tools could only hear a muffled static as all extraneous noise was blocked.

The sniper was looking through his targeting matrix with his back to Yon. Yon closed in and released nanites that attached to the sniper and entered into his bloodstream via exposed skin. When the nanites made their way to his brain, Yon could effectively control the subject and download the knowledge that the subject had.

In the wrong hands this tech could be seriously abused and strict procedures needed to be followed to only access information that was relevant to the case. Since the advent of this technology, torture was obsolete as there was no resistance to arrest. Regulations also forbid officers from controlling the subject other than for transport.

With this tech, one could technically control someone to commit crimes for them or even have an entire army at their command and as with any great use for technology, there were those who would use it for great harm.

For the time being however, this incredible technology was meant for peace and order. In a society that treated destiny as a type of fact, the possibility of this power in the wrong hands was to be considered and accepted with a cautious attitude.

With all advancements in medical testing, the government could mathematically identify those who were genetically susceptible for corruption or who had low integrity. As it were, the Horse destiny Scorpions had the least risk and so were trained and outfitted with S.W.A.R.M tech once screening was passed.

Yon replayed any communications that the sniper had made to his leader using the nanite memory scan. It appeared that they were preparing for another heist in two days. The target was to steal from gold reserves that were meant to pay for ransom demands as the pirates didn’t accept digital currency as payment.

From the information acquired, there appeared to be another mercenary securing the perimeter, and Hawkstone and his second were in the war room finalizing last mol preparations.

Yon sent comms to have the transport squad pick up the sniper and used the newly acquired intel to plan his next move. Ataki was back to his dog form but was missing his tail as those nanites were being used for surveillance and in controlling the downed sniper.

Looking at his options and considering the threat level of the patrolman, Yon decided that the best course of action would be a direct attack. That way, there would be little time for the patrol to call for help and if done properly, no time for the patrol to even get a shot off. Preparation was half the battle but in Yons experience, things rarely worked out exactly as planned.

Next Chapter: The rest of part one