Syndicate

Coughing. The new mask from the ship was taking it’s time to adjust to the levels of pollution in Rexel’s atmosphere. Hooded, Lore and Char approached the mining consortium holding Blue’s family. Although she didn’t need it, Char had also chosen to don a face mask as they entered the refinery.
“Who are you and what do you want?” The speakers voice was hoarse.
“We’re here about the openings in the mine. Heard you’re taking on labourers.” Even in the low tongues of the trade languages, Lore managed to sound posh and out of place.
The receptionist approached them with raised eyebrows. With two hands, he pointed to a door on the left side of the room before returning to his darkened corner. Lore and Char obliged, keeping the receptionist in their peripheral visions at all times. The next room seemed extremely out of place. It reminded Lore of the physicians waiting rooms back in the UEP, bland décor and uncharacteristically clean for Rexel. Minutes passed in what felt like hours before the receptionist entered the waiting room. He pointed first to Lore, indicating with his other hand that Char was to remain seated. Lore slowly crossed the tiled floor, their footsteps the only sound in the room. The next area was much larger but yet was not what they had been expecting. Evidently, like the hangar, The Syndicate were using an ex-UEP building as a shell for their operations. Following the silent gestures of the receptionist, Lore made their way through the offices. At the end of the hall, an open door stood.
“Hello?” Lore repeated themselves in a variety of languages to ensure they were understood yet there was no response. They continued down the hall and into the open room. It was a sizable office, a lengthy desk sat in the middle. Behind said desk sat a small and unsuspecting girl.
“Shut the door then.” She spoke in English. Surprised, Lore obliged.
“Hello…?” They held out their hand for the girl to shake. She did not.
“Syd.” Lore sat opposite her. She had long, flowing hair and piercing brown eyes. They seemed to have seen something in Lore’s soul. “The air in here’s safe to breathe.” She spoke with a tone like a screwdriver, flat and blunt. Lore lifted their mask hesitantly before removing it completely.
“Lore. Always nice to have an advantage.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You’re wanted. UEP updated their bounty on your head recently.” Lore tensed. “Good thing I found you first then.” Syd laughed. “You want a job…” She looked as though she was ready to cast Lore back onto the streets. “Actually…” She stared through Lore to the guard behind them before pointing at the door. “You don’t want this job. You want what I want, just in a different way.”
“Again, sorry?” Lore felt like a third cog in a conversation of two.
“You want access to the UEP well, I want them gone. You give me a few days’ work and that well and I will ‘forget’ about seeing you here. Deal?” She sat back confidently. Lore agreed.
“Follow me.” The receptionist had returned. He led Lore silently to a lift, sending her straight to the mines.
“What about my friend?” Lore asked as the doors began to open.
“Boss wanted to see her separately.” The gravel spewed from his mouth as Lore began their descent.
The trip wasn’t too long but gave Lore’s heartbeat time to quadruple. Reaching the bottom, Lore replaced their mask and entered the shaft. The walls were not much taller than them but there was enough room for them to walk without crouching. It had hit them in the lift but as they travelled the darkened tunnels it only got warmer. Four hundred meters in and Lore had finally reached the barracks. They repeatedly consulted their map, cursing its deceptive scaling. Sitting by the lockers, a young miner prepared for their day. Lore returned the map to their pocket before approaching further.
“Hello there. I’m Lore.” Their greeting seemed to frighten the miner but the introduction stopped them in their tracks.
“Gods be praised. Finally. Where is that good for nothing then?” They removed their helmet and considered throwing it at the ground. “Blue’s not with you are they?” Lore shook their head. “Name’s Sky.” Sky waved. “Suppose you’re here instead. That’s something”
“They were with us but I don’t know where they got off to.” Lore looked down to their wrist. They had downloaded the Rexel objectives to their Breacher which had now updated. “Where’s Mauve?”
“Gramps is on duty at the moment. They should be back soon though. We usually pass each other on the shift change.”
“How long have you been here?” Lore looked Sky up and down, admiring the second skin of rock dust they had developed.
“Blue sent us down here three weeks ago. We found what we were looking for but couldn’t call them to get us out.” Sky revealed a small wood effect box. They handed it to Lore.
The box was well built to have survived underground for as long as it had. Sky had told them that it was embedded in the wall so had to be at least as old as the rock around it. The surface was unremarkable but in the slot where a key would normally go, what appeared to be an opening for a coin lay.
“It’s a lousy money box.” Sky said. “We found that out the hard way.”
“I think I know what needs to be done.” Lore removed their pendant and inserted it into the slit, ensuring that they had a firm grasp on the cord. A gentle blue glow filled the opening as the box opened. Surrounded by several examples of the local currency, a golden ring lay. It was too large for any of Lore’s fingers but they took it nonetheless. It was at this point, their Breacher began to flash. OBJECTIVE SKIPPED. BAND OF THE SYTHE FOUND. RETURNING TO PREVIOUS OBJECTIVE. “Strange. It has never done that.” Lore scratched their head as the next objective came through. KEEP A LEVEL HEAD. Lore sighed as if reacting to the news before it arrived. It hit them harder than expected. Stolen.