Scribbles and Drabbles

SV- Trapped 2

He didn't stop moving until he was out of the base. Even outside, he stayed low and kept running until he was beyond the perimeter, almost snorting at how slow the station was to lockdown with an intruder. His bosses were not going to be happy with him. Still, there was no proof it was an Empire agent.

Running a hand through his hair, Ideon dived into a lake and swam to the far side. He'd made camp in a cave a few days prior, and he needed to lay low until it was safe to make a jump. If he did one now, the Axiums would know an Empire agent had done the work. Fucking hunters, he needed to get his scent gone. Hunter mods were the worst, and Ideon was sure it was a gene mod graft too. He should have known from the name, Horus. The system had him listed as a mod.

Ideon dived deeper into the water and screamed his frustrations out. The chill of the water had helped his earlier problem. Air bubbles moved around him as the armour flexed and used this as a chance to clean itself and him.

He stayed underwater as long as his breath would let him before surfacing slowly and crawling into the hidden cave. The people would know it existed. A basic survey would flag it, but it was much better than staying out in the open. No predators inside and Ideon had hallowed out a little cubby hole which his systems could create a shield to hide him from prying eyes. It wouldn't stop hunters using a smell mod.

He groaned again, eyes on the treeline, searching for anything coming after him. He logged on to the server, careful to use the right encryptions. An alert was out.

[Might be a few days] he sent Webb, his lover on-planet bargaining for supplies right now. Axium made some lovely fabrics, and they were worth a lot to the right people. It did involve some haggling and trading, but Webb was rather good at charming people into his whims. [Had a slight hiccup. Don't wait up for me.]

[I can see] Webb somehow sounded rueful even over a text message. No doubt the news that someone had infiltrated a base was all over the market now. [Stay safe. I'll see you soon.]

He sent a calm message to his Boss before logging off and curling in his hidey-hole. Three days was the standard wait when something like this happened. He had enough supplies for a week if he was careful. After that, if it wasn't safe, he'd have to blend with the locals or surrender himself. The local enforcers would rough him up, put him in a cell and contact Horus as the wronged party. Assuming he convinced the enforcers that he hadn't successfully downloaded data before the accident.

The pro to surrendering was that Horus and his unit would have to treat him with some kindness. Surrendering, in general, was respected if done right. Needlessly fighting, unless to defend someone else, would have a person labelled a coward. Ideon was a little hazy about how they would feel about him hiding.

Some warrior nations acknowledged that spies had a different set of rules to follow than a warrior or hunter. If they'd been on Webb's planet, even a warrior hiding in the wilds and doing his best to survive until help arrived was considered honourable and worthy was respected. Webb's world had the whole not surrendering until you were in chains and bound rule. Some planets weren't as forgiving. Horus didn't seem the type to be merciful. Tall, dark and looming, the image of his eyes looking into the vent made Ideon shiver again.

Webb's world could be a good one to transfer too. Ideon had enough points to resign, and this encounter was high risk. If he could keep the fact he was Empire a secret, he would be safe. If they figured that out or instead got concrete evidence, it would be different. They didn't need to know his name to demand whoever they had sent to get the information.