Back into the fray.

- Karkol Starport - Argora System - Mohan Nebula -

The man walked the dark corridors of the outlaw Karkol Star Port, a Westering bolter hanging loosely from his hip.
His movements fluid and focused as he stalked menacingly through the smoky decks heading to the Red Sister, a shadowy den on the lower levels. The Starport had served the nearby worlds, promethium processing hub facilities in the once thriving trading nebula.
However when the promethium dried out the traders corporations moved on and with it all the health. The Starport had been abandoned and eventually claimed by a group of marauders and now with they GDF gone was a haven for illicit commerce. Bounty hunters, pirates, slavers and even scratchers.
Walker had been here for two weeks looking for a new commission.
Rumors of a strange plague spreading through nearby sectors was being reported on several comms channels. The broadcasts were conflicted in what caused it, its symptoms and even how it spread. However most agreed that once infected you would die almost immediately.

He walked into the Red Sister and looked around for a place to sit. Through the haze of blue and purple chemical smoke and the masses of writhing bodies he spotted a group of Elians pushing a range of drug paraphernalia including the highly addictive Spice, grounded Fascination Beads that once ingested delivered an electrical jolt to the nervous system, leading to euphoria, aggressiveness and hallucinations.

The crowd parted as he made his way to a table that faced the entrance. A group of hulking bounty hunters cheered as they spotted him. Other glared at him. It did not matter where he went rumours of who he had been and what he had survived soon caught up with him.
He sat and order a bottle of whatever grog the den had available today and the smugglers had delivered on their last run to the station. He grimaced as he took the first swing. the liquid burned his mouth and throat and he was sure he could feel traces of engine fluid and ethanol. He shrugged. He was getting used to it by now.

Two weeks of looking and searching for work offering his services and nothing that really appealed to him. Just a bunch of petty criminals looking to make a quick buck on the waves of refugees escaping from the chaos of the core systems.
He looked around and wished he was at the Double Helix. Harry had run a decent place with good liquor, but last he heard the Double Helix had plummeted towards the moon it orbited a few cycles ago. He hoped Harry had survived. He emptied his glass and not for the first time wondered if he should have followed Elev and Chuk towards the USSF.
Walker had heard the confederation was offering good contracts to any ex-GDF personal with combat experience.
He shrugged. His heart was not into it anymore. Not after the Battle of the Silence System. He drank another glass ,quickly trying to push the memories away as he absently ran his finger over the chromatic hilt of his bolter.

---

Captain Nyat Frost eventually found an elevator in the dark corridors of the spaceport that would take him to the Red Sister. Taking it down to the lower levels of the station. It was considerably more dark and smoky on this level, perfect for meetings between suspicious people that no one would be suspicious of.
Following the music and the smells of particular chemicals that would have once been considered illegal when there were laws, he made his way to the den. He hoped he was not chasing another bad lead, but in his line of work you took the good with the bad. He did not want to tarry in a place like this longer than he had too.

Nyat Frost was one of the best Salvagers in known space. He simply had the knack to see profit where others couldn’t. He always appeared to be one step ahead of his competitors, finding clues and leads to bounties and salvage before rumours got out in the open. His background as a scholar and xeno-archaeologist, a perfect fit for his line of work. He had been doing it successfully for many cycles now. Had gathered a great team of data-serpents, dirt-worms and scratchers. He was in command of a state of the art exploratory vessel, the "Tears of Har'Min" and a loyal crew.
And now he was taking them to the site of the bloodiest space battle in recent memory.
The scavenge and hunt for the treasures left behind by the High Council and The Armada. He was taking them to the Silence System. All he needed was a guide.

As he entered the Red Sister his eyes adjusting to the stroboscopic lights and his ears to the loud music, scanning the crowd, he found his quarry. Sitting alone with a bottle in a corner of the den.
Captain Frost nudged through the drunken crowd, at one point perhaps a little too hard as one woman nearly tripped and insulted him in a language he didn't quite understand. Regardless, he continued on toward his contact, stopping at the table. The man looked up at him.
"Ya're Walker, right?" he asked.
The man nodded curtly as Frost sat in front of him without asking if he could or should. Under the table out of his line of sight, Walker was slowly pointing his bolter at the Captain's gut.
" I hear ya lookin' for work." he said and placed a holo-pad in front of the man.
Walker's eyes widen slightly. He recognised the coordinates immediately. He drained his cup in one long gulp.
"I'm listening..."