Best of Intentions

[Ezekiel Koehler 0]

The currency transfer was completed smoothly, and a pleased smile spread over Ezekiel's face as a discrete status window popped up to inform him of the fact. A few quick keystrokes later the whole affair was over and done with, the only physical evidence a vague transferral log nestled somewhere within the bank's enormous database. A casual inspection would reveal nothing more than a routine movement of currency between a small trading company and an arms supplier, and only if you delved further would you discover the telltale signs that not even the most experienced hacker could hope to remove.

 

Satisfied, the gray-haired man folded the top of his small personal computer down and leaned back in his chair. The chair was a nondescript, plastic affair of the type commonly employed by just the kind of outdoor café in which he was currently sitting. Closing his hand around a cup of coffee, Ezekiel turned his eyes out over the colony.

 

The café was situated on a high plateau, and he was afforded a fair view of the entirety of Quintilis Four. Ezekiel had always found it odd that a people who'd initially gone to such lengths to distance themselves from the Naturals had shaped their homes to look as much like Earth as possible. He was himself a Coordinator, of course, sprung from the genetic legacy of George Glenn and engineered before his birth to display the strong traits and talents he possessed. They were useful in his line of work, of course, but unlike many he did not often bother with pondering their significance beyond that.

 

He brought the cup to his lips, savoring the smoky java as well as the knowledge that it would grant him a temporary reprive from the fatigue. He never slept enough during missions, and although this one had techically been concluded the moment his hands left his laptop he still needed to travel back to Luna and offer up his debriefing to his superiors, a task he did not relish. Space travel was an onerous, if necessary undertaking, and he always privately believed that the Soldiers of Fire could have chosen a more central base of operations.

 

Sighing, he leaned back and took another sip of coffee. At least, he thought, he had a few days of R&R between now and when the next shuttle would bring him to Luna. It had been far too long since last he visited the PLANTs.

[fireminerva 0]

Kitsune breathed heavily as he struck the training dummy for what was at least the two hundredth time.  Even though he considered himself to be in reasonable physical shape the training he'd begun to engage in lately was tiring and he almost wished that there was an easier way to learn Jeet Kun Do.  At the same time that was the point of this whole trip to Quintilis, to meet with Master Lo and receive some instruction that he couldn't obtain on Earth.

 

Having finally caught his breath Kitsune grabbed his towel from where it lay on the nearby bench and tossed it over his neck holding it firmly on both ends as he walked out of the training grounds.  It was odd to be back in air conditioning after so many years away from the PLANTS, still he took comfort in knowing that he'd been born in space and it was where his roots laid.

 

Sliding into the black car which he had rented for the few days he'd be in the PLANTS Takashi turned the key in the ignition and smiled as the engine fired and came to life.  Shifting it out of park Kitsune checked his driver's side mirror and pulled into traffic.

 

After just a few miles he took an exit which led up to an interesting little plateau.  Master Lo had recommended it for the java and the view and after his morning work out Kitsune could hardly argue with the idea of coffee.  With just one more day left here in the colony he felt it was time to take in some of the sights.

 

Parking the car in the small lot Kitsune ordered his favorite drink, an ice coffee.  Sliding out of the back door he walked over to the railing on the edge of small patio.  Leaning on it so that his elbows rested on the cool metal Takashi let his eyes twitch a bit and in his field of vision he noticed the gray-haired man with the laptop.