[the following takes place on a planet which its inhabitants have always called The Mother. The planet bears many similarities to our own, with some key differences. The biggest difference being that the Gods have not completely abandoned it, and play a major role in shaping its history and future.]

It was my first time experiencing the Southport docks at night. There were no shoreman barking orders across the port, no fisherman unloading skiffs. Only the mist and smell of the sea, with weak orange light struggling to penetrate it. 

My contact awaited me on the dock. A young woman with long, pitch black hair and almost as dark eyes. She had a scar that stretched from ear to just above the corner or her mouth, noticeable even in the low light of the docks. 

“Agent Wane, welcome to Southport.”

I almost forgot that was my name for this contract. Wane. The Southerners were never subtle.

“Nice to meet you, Ms Langer.” I said with a small bow. It was not advised to shake hands with people in my profession.

“Likewise. We have a car waiting on the next pier avenue. Come with me and we’ll get going”

I appreciated that she didn’t waste time. After a short walk we entered the old shoreman transport van. To call it a car was a stretch, but a personal vehicle was still a personal vehicle. It was preferable, and safer, than the night trams and shuttles. Ms Langer and I sat in the back, with a silent driver up front. Ms Langer walked me through the job. I was to enter the maintenance bay at the Ocean Towers, where I would meet with another contact who worked as part of the cleaning crew. After changing into a uniform I would play the part of a night shift janitor and enter the sixth floor janitorial closet on the south wing of the building, exactly two hours before sunrise. Within ten minutes I would need to place a remote controlled roller into the closet’s diffuser, direct it through the ductwork to room 605, where it would drop into the supply duct, detonate the mixture, and eliminate the target.

If any complication arose, I was to abandon the job and leave Southport by morning. The timing was critical. It was up to Ms Langer’s associate to ensure that the room was empty except for the target during our window. I was assured that the plan would work. Our target had a weakness for our associate. She could orchestrate whatever we needed. 

It was not a rewarding way to take a life. These were the games we played during this Era of Peace. In an age long ago, our guild would have handled this from some 350 meters away with a rifle. Or maybe an intelli-drone planted after days of staking out. But the current technological condemnations of this era turned us into merchants of poisons. A theater guild filled with actors playing dress up. An eight hour trip, half of which was on a trawler that smelled of dead fish for less than ten minutes of work, all to eliminate some middle manager who was voting the wrong way in the next shareholder vote.The most intriguing part of the job was the subterfuge required to quiet the security team of the Tower, a part of the guilds work I had no part in.

After a ride through the ancient, winding layout through the old town of Southport we arrived at the Tower. It was time to get to work.

[Absolutely excellent. I don’t know too much about this band but they seem to be radically environmentally conscious and vegan, which endears me to any band. But even beyond that, this album is incredible. Maybe the most excited I have been to discover a new band this year. 9/10]