Chapter 1.1 - "Pack Your Bags"

 Yulai VIII - Inner Circle Tribunal

 

It takes a special human to say that to the kind of person I am; a capsuleer of many years experience. Summoning all the courage and conviction the mousy junior bureaucrat could muster, he told me in no uncertain terms to 'pack my bags'. It seems I was to be escorted off the station by him and two rather daft looking security guards. These were not your top grade meatheads, which led me to believe this was not a serious show of force. This was a power play.

Some CONCORD middle management buffoon thought he could impress his superiors by corralling a handful of underlings into removing a possible security threat. The file on me isn't really flattering, despite the fact that on the surface my credentials are spotless. They can't openly move against me since I haven't tripped up, but they are watching. This goon, whomever he is, just crossed the proverbial shit line.

I went along without much of a struggle. We operated in this station quite openly, and though we lacked any official sanction for our presence, the truth of the matter was quite different. It didn't take too long before the problem was solved. We had just exited a lift to the central station hub when they arrived.

Approaching from an entrance passage leading deeper into the central hub, three Inner Circle agents flanked a tall and imperious looking man. The sigil of the Inner Circle was stamped lightly on the breast of his jacket, but otherwise he wore no distinguishing uniform or badge. A more serious response than I anticipated. Clearly the power play was over, and the fool who ordered it was about to find out the kinds of people we had befriended.

I found out his name later that day; Jesmal Charret. Seems Mr. Charret lost his recent appointment to the internal security division. I am told he now manages the janitorial staff of the 47th level of the CONCORD Logistics station here in Yulai. Somebody must have taken pity on him, he got off light...