Dusk . . . outside Romeo City . . .

*A pair of shadows stretch across the desert's hot sand, the distinct shapes of a man and an Organoid standing out against the backdrop of the early twilight sun. The two are standing at the top of a sand dune and look upon the great city before them.*

*The Organoid turned to the man and gave him a questioning look.*

His gaze remained on the city in the distance as he replied. "Romeo City. From what I understand, not nearly as backwards as the rest of this bloody continent. We should be able to find suitable transportation to Nyx from there."

*The man started off again in the direction of the city, and the Organoid quickly followed.*

"We'll find lodging for the night, then continue on in the morning. It won't be long my friend. Soon we can begin exacting our revenge."

*The Organoid growled a response as the two made their way across the desert towards the city.*

Night . . . Romeo City . . .

*Marcus and Ares approached the city from the west. They came to one of the many entrances to the city streets and slipped in unannounced. The city was as he'd expected, not nearly as advanced as New Helic City, but neither was it as backwards as some of the outer villages.

The pair stuck to the side streets and back alleys. It wasn't so much that Marcus was afraid of anything. But a man traveling with an Organoid was something people remembered, especially in such an isolated place as Romeo City.

Marcus spotted as small, cheap-looking hotel at the end of the alley they were in. He turned to Ares as they stopped just out of the light from the crossing street.*

"Wait here. I'll get us a room for the night and call you when it's safe."

*Ares growled in protest, but a look from Marcus quieted him down. The Organoid crouched down as low as it could and wrapped its wings around its body to help conceal it shape. Satisfied, Marcus turned back towards the street and headed for the hotel.*

*They spent that night in the hotel and the following morning, Marcus checked the local transport schedule. There were several regularly scheduled shuttles to coast and from there to the other major population centers on Zi. But public transport wasn't what Marcus and Ares needed. He scanned the listings looking through the charters and private shuttle companies until he found one that suited their needs.

Marcus made the necessary calls and booked them transportation on a charter Whale King. He preferred the Whale King to other Zoid transports due to their large size which enabled Marcus and Ares to go the entire trip and not encounter the crew without feeling cramped.

They left that night under cover of darkness, when it was less likely that Ares would be spotted. They weren't wanted criminals or anything like that, but Marcus didn't want to attract any unwanted attention and an Organoid in broad daylight would do just that.

As instructed, the transport captain had arranged for a private entrance to the transports dock and no one was visible as they boarded the Whale King. Immediately they went to their cabin and once Marcus was satisfied with the accomodations, he signaled the captain.*

"Captain Braggard. I am ready to leave. Notifiy me once we reach the specified coordinates and not a moment before. Understood?"

"Understood sir. We'll be underway shortly and have you at your destination in about 7 hours."

*Satisfied with that, Marcus layed down on the cot and slept as Ares stood watch. He wouldn't sleep too long, but he felt he would need all the rest he could get for what was about to come.*

*Marcus sat straight up on the cot, startled out of his sleep by the nightmare that had haunted him since he emerged from stasis. It was always the same nightmare. He was being forced into the stasis pod all those millenia ago, only instead of being unconscious, in the nightmare he was wide awake the entire time. Pounding on the glass as the anestethic gas filled the chamber, he screamed until he couldn't see anymore. That was usually when he awoke, drenched in sweat, heart pounding and gasping for air. This time was no different.

Marcus opened his eyes and looked around the small room he was in. As the nightmare faded from his thoughts, he realized where he was. Ares was standing near the door and had turned to face him. The Organoid had a questioning look on its face. Marcus was always amazed at how the creature could display such a wide range of emotions.*

"What are you looking at?" he asked, his tone a little gruffer than he had intended.

*Ares simply sighed and turned back towards the door. Marcus didn't need to tell the Organoid why he had awoke so suddenly. It was the same story every time and Ares had gotten used to it.

Marcus got off the cot and stretched before pulling on his boots and heading for the door. He glanced at the chronometer built into the wall and saw that enough time had passed and they should be nearing their destination.*

"Wait here. I'm heading to the bridge." Marcus said to Ares as he opened the hatch and disappeared down the corridor.

*Marcus reached the bridge just as the transport was making its descent to their destination. He stepped onto the bridge and looked out the panoramic forward viewport. He could see the island below, slowly growing in size as they got closer.

The island was situated nearly directly inbetween the three major continents of Zi and was sparsely inhabited. The people who lived there survived on the trade industry as the single port city served as a refueling and resupply station for transport vessels. The city mainly serviced seagoing vessels but there was a small airstation located there too. The airport was large enough to handle up to 6 medium sized transports and that was the Whale Kings destination.

The captain issued orders to his crew as they prepared for landing. Marcus could see the many sea vessels moored as they passed over the port. A few moments later the Whale King had settled into a docking port of its own. The captain was about to contact Marcus via intercom when he spotted his passenger at the rear of the bridge.*

"Sir. I didn't know you were there. Uhm, as you can see we've arrived, ahead of schedule mind you. Will you be needing any assistance disembarking?" the captain asked.

"No. Have all of your men remain where they are and clear the corridors from my cabin to the closest exit. Here's you payment." He tossed a small leather pouch to the captain before continuing. "If I see any of your men on my way out, I'll be back. And I won't be looking for a refund."

*With that, Marcus left the bridge and headed to his quarters. Ares joined him and they exited the transport. It was still dark on the island, so they quickly made their way to the rendevous point.*

*The rendevous point was an isolated cove about 3 kilometers from the main port city. Marcus and Ares arrived just before dawn, having spent the dark hours first in the back alleys of the city and then through the wilderness that surrounded it. It took them longer than it should have to get there, but they avoided any contact with the locals and so the only ones who knew of their prescence on the island were the Whale King's crew who had refueled, loaded with cargo and headed off on their next job.

Marcus and Ares stood atop a small cliff overlooking the cove and inspected the area. Visible in the early light of the new day was a modified Whale King that had been retrofitted for sea travel. Its engines were converted for underwater operation and its main landing ramp had been sealed. Instead, the nose of the transport was hinged above the water line and opened up to reveal the hangar inside. It was painted in a dark gray color scheme and there were red accents. It wore no markings save those required by the governments of Zi.

The Sea King was moored to a makeshift dock and the forward hold was open. There were about a dozen people in dark red uniforms moving cargo and loading the transport. A few of the men were operating Zoids equipped for cargo handling.*

"That appears to be our transport to Nyx. Let's wait here until they're finished loading and then we'll make our way down to board."

*They watched as the transports crew finished loading, then began to seal up the ship. Motioning to Ares to follow, Marcus stood and headed down to the waiting Sea King. They arrived just as the transport was preparing to depart. Marcus and Ares walked across the dock and caught the eye of the last crewman boarding.*

"You there! You're late!" the crewman shouted to Marcus as he waved them over to the boarding hatch.

*Without responding, Marcus and Ares made their way to the hatch. Marcus stepped through and Ares hunched down, barely squeezing through. The crewman closed up the hatch and pressed a button on the inside wall panel. A claxon sounded and the transport got underway.*

"This way. I'll show you your bunk, then you're on your own. Mess is on the third level aft and chow times are posted. You're restricted to the crew quarters and the mess, so don't let anybody catch you anywhere else." the crewman said.

*Marcus just listened as the crewman ran down the list of "rules". He didn't seem to take notice of the Organoid as they walked down the corridors to the crew quarters section.*

"Here ya go. You'll havta share with your metal friend there. No more space available. We'll be at base in a little over 2 days. 'til then remember the rules."

*Marcus looked inside the bunk room then turned to the crewman. He looked the small, older man dead in the eye for what seemed like an eternity. Marcus stood up to his full height and moved in close to the crewman, staring him down until he was within inches of the mans face. His raspy voice sent shivers down the crewmans spine as Marcus spoke.*

"Now, here are MY rules. We are not to be disturbed until we reach base. We'll go where we please, when we please and if anyone gets in our way it'll be the last thing they do. You'll inform the captain that we're on board and that I'll need a secure comm station dedicated to my use alone. Do you understand?" Marcus used his mental abilities to emphasize his words.

*The crewman simply nodded and turned to find the captain, hurrying down the corridor. Marcus turned to Ares and nodded. The Organoid hunched down again, pulling his wings in tight as he squeezed through the hatch into the bunk room. Marcus followed and closed the hatch.*

*Marcus spent the next few hours resting as Ares kept a vigilant watch over him. His sleep was interrupted by an annoying beeping sound. Sitting up he realized it was the internal comm system. Quickly he woke fully and switched on the comm. The voice that came through was a familiar one. It was the crewman who had escorted him when he came on board.*

"Sir, sorry to disturb you, but the captain wanted me to inform you that a comm station on level 6 has been set up for your use. If you require it, I can have someon- "

*Marcus shut off the intercom, cutting off the crewman's message. He got up off the bunk and headed out to the comm station. Before he left the quarters, he spoke to Ares.*

"Stay here. The less these people see of you the better. Besides, I don't want anyone sneaking in here and leaving any unwelcome gifts. I'll be back shortly."

*The Organoid growled softly in acknowledgement then moved to block the door once Marcus left. Ares would stand there until he returned. Marcus moved down the hallways and corridors of the transport until he reached the comm station. It was powered up and awaiting his commands. Checking once again to make sure no one else was in the room, Marcus prepared his message.*

*Marcus reached into his hip pocket and pulled out a small circuit card which he inserted into an open slot on the comm panel. The card was an encryption device which would leave no trace of its use on the comm system. Marcus felt confident the captain would not spy on him, but he could take no chances. The cryptcard beeped and a green indicator light blinked on signaling that whatever signal Marcus sent would be scrambled and encoded.

Switching off the mic and video pickup, he typed in a short message on the keyboard. Marcus was not paranoid, but he was not going to risk anyone overhearing what he had to report.*

COMM SYS ACTIVE: came up on the monitor and Marcus began his communication by entering the transmission frequency and his access code. Then he awaited a response from the person on the receiving end. A few minutes later he got it.*

AUTHORIZATION RECEIVED - STATUS REPORT

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - IN TRANSIT - AWAITING FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS Marcus typed in his response quickly and waited a moment for a response.

ACKNOWLEDGED - RETURN TO BASE AT ONCE FOR DEBRIEF

MESSAGE RECEIVED - OUT Marcus replied and immediately shut down the comm system and pulled out the cryptcard. He left the comm station and went back to his quarters.*