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Arriving over Nurin-Veyga Six was a welcome change to the dark reaches of space.

Dropping back into real space, I was the planet zoom into view ahead of me. I saw the lush grasslands and the large bodies of water that covered the planet, and suddenly felt glad to somewhere I could call home. Spending the last few days aboard the _Red Horizon _had gotten to me the previous day, and now as my ship dropped down and into the planets atmosphere, I was more than glad to be back.

Dropping through the planets thick clouds, I made my way over the Arlic Sea, then soon found myself moving towards Irinek. The wide, sprawling metropolis of a city was easy to spot from the Sea or from the sky, thanks to its host of teaming towers and skyscrapers. Tall buildings of various dark colors that spread across the land and were home to people and aliens alike, as well of hundreds of thousands of shops and businesses. Irinek was the second largest city on NV Six, the first being Barilom. Barilom was home to over eighteen million people and aliens, where Irinek was only home to just under twelve million inhabitants.

Flying into the city I quickly pulled the _Red Horizon _up to avoid any collisions with the already heavy lanes of air traffic. Not a day went by where the traffic in the city wasn't heavy, be it day or night, rain or shine. The various transport ships, taxis, personal crafts and worker ships flew this way and that on this errand or another. The twin suns hung in the sky above Irinek, shinning down on the dark buildings. The city had been built eight hundred years ago, just after the Galactic Ministry liberated Nurin-Veyga Six from "hostile threats" and set up colonies. Wether or not the "hostile threat" on NV Six was actually hostile was a mystery to me, but that was the case according to the city history. And now, eight hundred years later, the city laid across the land and wretched high into the sky, like the teeth of a great metal beast trying to break free from the ground.

Keeping the _Red Horizon _level I tapped a button and said,

"Nir, can you take over while I get ready for landing?"

The bodiless android promptly replied with,

"Of course master."

The main control board flashed now, indicating that Nir had taken the controls, and I stood up. I was still in my grey padded flight suit and, and even with the previous day I'd had, showing up to a less-than-offical debriefing wouldn't be professional.

From the cockpit I went through the doorway and to the armory. I stripped out of my padded flight suit and pulled on a long sleeved grey shirt, a black flight jacket, black pants and black boots. Reaching over the pick up my gauntlet I strapped it on and adjusted the fit, wriggling my fingers. I tapped a button and tapped a short sequence of numbers, then heard the gauntlet beep. I had synchronized my gauntlet with the _Red Horizon _so it would alert me to anything happening with my ship; a feature I found more than useful if I planned to be away from the craft for extended periods of time.

I took a handgun and holster from the table in the armory as well, strapping the holster on my right thigh and holstering the weapon. A small handgun-like weapon that was actually a foreign gun, powered by small plasma cells. The gun fired small bursts of compacted energy and was lightweight. A good thing to have in space if a regular bullet-firing handgun wasn't available. I took a belt from the table and pulled it over my waist, adjusted it, then took another look in the armory. I had my gun, my re-attuned gauntlet, my belt and clean clothes. _Let's get moving _my mind suggested.

From the armory I went back to the cockpit, where I could just see the tall towers in the North Sector.The North Sector was home to the more industrial side of Irinek, as well as Fort Allstein and the surrounding armory. As I stood behind the captains chair I saw the _Red Horizon's _view lower some, the ship shaking gently as it touched down on one of the many landing pads that surrounded the armory. I watched a nearby tower come into view, then saw, accompanied by two guards, Caver.

I went to a clear space in the cockpit and tapped a button. The glass of the cockpit slide backwards, and the tap of a second button made a short ramp appear. I went up the ramp and stood just outside of the cockpit, and Carver wasted little time in calling out to me.

"You made decent time coming back, Black Echo," he had his hands behind his back and was dressed in his neck-to-foot military uniform; a dress jacket, black pants and black boots. His iron grey hair was swept back from his head, and his just-aging face looked worn and tired.

"You told me two days," I replied. I turned to glance at my ship as I tapped a button on my gauntlet, and the cockpit glass slid back into place. Looking back to Carver and his entourage, I said, "Do you want a debriefing now?"

"We'll skip the debriefing for now," said the General. He turned to the helmeted guards behind him, they both carried assault rifles and were outfitted with lightweight combat gear, and waved his hand. The guards both turned and walked off without a word, and looking back at me Carver said,

"I've got a more pressing matter to deal with, and it could use your attention."

"My attention?" I walked to the edge of my ship then dropped down, coming to land with a thump on the wide landing deck.

"Yes, your attention," Carver said.

Straightening up I looked at Carver, my dark golden eyes looking much different than his brown eyes, and said, "What can I help with now?"

Carver gave me the smallest of smiles before saying, "Walk with me."

* * *

From the landing deck Carver and walked into a tower, then as we took a lift down to the grounds of the armory, he filled me in.

"Last week, we were sent a report from the Surface Breaker _Icoroma. _The crew is in the Allamut System, above planet Vayer. They said they were drilling into the planet to find a krotonium deposit when they stopped their progress upon discovery of a strange "crystal-like rock"," Carver glanced at me as the lift slowed down, "At least that's what the captain described it as."

"Did they take this rock out of the drilling site?" I asked.

"No, they left it where it was according to the report," said Caver. The lift doors opened now and I followed the General, "But the crew is nervous now, since Vayer is a supposed planet where the Kamada-Eth were from."

I couldn't repress a small smile as I said, "The Kamada-Eth. A drilling crew of, what maybe two or three hundred men and women, are worried about some kind of strange rock that's been left behind by a one-hundred year old, false-god-whorshipping cult. And I know the Surface Breakers always come with a detail from Hamond, ever since that incident in the Talihar System. And the crew is still scared?"

"I told the Icoroma's Captain I would send one of my men to investigate the rock," Carver said in his usual military monotone.

"Well, I'm not a part of your army, Carver," I said.

The General glanced at me as we walked down a somewhat crowded street that was taking us to the east armory. "I didn't say that you had to be."

"I'm just an engineer," I said with a hint of annoyance.

"Your still one of my men," Carver said.

"Barely," I replied.

Carver didn't immediately reply. We had come to a tall building with two doors, and a soldier standing outside. Carver and I stopped in front of the solider who identified both the General and myself, then let us through.

Through the door Carver and I were in a short hallway with doorways on either side. It was cold and quiet inside, and as Carver started down the hall and moved to the right, he said,

"Even if your not a part of my army, I still going to utilize you like I have been," he said. "So for now, focus on this strange rock mission, and put the rune mission in the back seat. I've got a few things to run past you, and I'll want you to listen carefully."

"I'm waiting with bated breath," I said.

"Don't get smart with me Black Echo," Carver stopped in front of a door and began to tap a sequence into a keypad, "If this strange rock is what the _Icoroma's _Captain thinks it is, your going to need this."

The door slid open and I followed Carver inside as I asked him, "Need what?"

The room was small, Carver and I stood next to each other, and only occupied by a sole table. On the table was a long black case. Carver didn't hesitate in reaching out to unlatch two clasps on either end of the case, then lift the lid. "You'll need this," he said.

Inside the case was a sword. I looked at it as part of my brain registered it, and the other half of my brain asked _What is a sword doing in a military armory in the year 2284? _I looked the weapon. A slim handle, a hand-guard, and a long, dark grey blade that was pointed on one end.

"A sword?" I asked aloud.

"A sword," Carver repeated, "But not just any sword. It belonged to a Captain Rull Orina, who was, until his death ten years ago, a very respected member of the Trah-Ar Brotherhood. The Trah-Ar were, alongside Hamond, the most elite fighting force in the entire galaxy. They fought in the Fourteen Years war and the Battle of planet Demog, among other skirmishes. Captain Orina was the old commander of the _Icoroma, _and now his son Jessit Captain's the flagship."

"So this weapon was his badge of office, so to speak?" I asked.

"Exactly," Carver said, "Orina carried it with him into each battle, each fight, each meeting with his superior officers. It was a good weapon, but, as you can probably understand, It's very outdated with the current times."

"So what is it still doing here?" I asked.

"Until now, just being preserved," Carver reached out and shut the lid with a snap, locking the clasps back into place. He glanced at me, then rested a hand on the case as he said, "But now, Jessit wants his father's old sword back. The _Icoroma _is orbiting above Vayor, and will be there until their done with the planet. For now, your objective is to take this sword to Jessit, and then investigate whatever it is that his crew found on Vayor's surface," Carver looked at me now, "And it goes without saying that this is a very old relic, and won't be appealing to Jessit if it arrives in pieces. So be careful with it."

"Understood," I nodded.

"After you've secured whatever is on Vayor," Carver continued, "Contact me first, then report back to Jessit. He and I are long time friends, and I've asked him to compensate you for the trouble of taking his father badge of office back to him."

"Understood," I repeated.

"Good," Carver nodded, resting a brief hand on the case, then stepped away to leave. Before going, he paused at the door to glance back and say,

"Be careful on Voyar. It's an ice-covered planet, and it took the crew almost eight months to drill and blast their way to where they are now. Jessit told me a few of them froze to death because their gear wasn't up to regulations, so be careful."

"Right," I nodded.

Carver returned my nod, then left with saying,

"Make haste, Black Echo Nine."