Hayden Addler's Story

The Pagourano Spaceport seemed unusually busy for some reason as traffic control worked to continue the flow of spaceships coming in and out of the hangers. There were transport ships carrying imports and exports to and fro, passenger ships carrying government workers and civilians who were occupied on the planet such as engineers and mechanics, botanists, geologists, xenobiologists, doctors and other scientists, and of course there was also an array of military spacecrafts and other vehicles going to and fro. The 31st Expeditionary Force of the Aurelian Empire had been there. Some explorers and merchants had been there, along with a few stragglers and wanderers. Some scientists from the Outer Veil Institute, some foreigners and Vikings from the Empyrean Empire, and even some local Gnomes and other native inhabitants of Bastion IV were coming and going from the Spaceport, and of course, D17 had also just arrived.

Apart from the outside world and frozen mountainous landscape of Pagourano, the small spaceport enclosure and open hangers provided a very different, almost mechanical atmosphere as people scrambled back and forth along the bridges, decks and platforms, many of them wearing all different colors of jumpsuits and uniforms with name tags, patches or displays. Others were dressed casually or wearing business suits, some wearing white lab coats and jackets as men in hard hats and bright vests worked to load and unload crates and boxes with large dollies, robotic claws, pallet fork tractors and machine carts. Some people were wearing clear-visor hard hats and standing around typing on the small laptop computers and tablets they were carrying while other workers went about welding and doing repairs. There were fountains of sparks, beeping machines and all kinds of other loud noises inside the hangers, but this was not especially peculiar. There just seemed to be more traffic than usual for the remote area.

Another relatively small craft approached the planet and descended into Pagourano airspace, where the pilots made contact with mission control. They were told to wait temporarily until one of the hangers was ready to accommodate the small spacecraft before finally giving them permission to land. As the craft hovered slowly and gracefully into the open hanger that was prepared to receive it, there wasn't anything really particularly unusual or special about its design. It had some form of identification on the side in small letters and numbers along its hull which said CBL-2214, but other than that it had no other insignias, logos or flags on it to designate who it belonged to. CBL was a reference to the Colossal Bioscience Laboratories, a genetic research organization dedicated to the preservation of life known primarily for their cloning abilities and for their preventive measures against the extinction of rare megafauna. 2214 was the ship's identification number, showing that this particular vessel was the 2,214th spacecraft in service from that particular agency.

CBL-2214 was a civilian aircraft, not a military vessel, and the small torpedoes and missiles underneath it were not meant for heavy warfare but were only there for minor defenses to protect the craft from common space pirates in case it was transporting valuable scientific research or sensitive data that might pose a threat or be used in the improper manner if it somehow fell into the wrong hands. As the craft landed and was secured to the landing platform by large machines, the butterfly doors lifted open after depressurization and an automated ramp extended down to the grated floor panels. Michael Wolfenstein stepped out casually and looked around briefly before adjusting his arm sleeve buttoned up cufflinks and descending down the ramp on to the docking bay area, wearing a formal business suit and tie with black sunglasses. Soon, others started to descend down the ramp escorting large metal boxes and crates as the black windshield visor lifted open on the cockpit, enabling the pilots to climb down and take a break. Mike Wolf lit up a cigarette and continued to look around quietly, seemingly in no rush or hurry to get anywhere despite everyone else on the craft appearing to run around and move quickly to unload.

After taking a few drags off of his cigarette, Mike took a quick glance at the photograph in his pocket before folding it up and burning it with his liter. He dropped the picture on the floor grates and let it burn out before rubbing the ashes away with his black polished shoe. After glancing at his wrist watch, he then proceeded to walk around casually, looking for the man in the photograph that he had just burned to ashes. He was sure he would recognize the director when he saw him. But even if he managed to overlook him in the crowded Spaceport, he was sure that the director was already expecting him and would probably recognize him at least. Mike Wolf had been hired by the director for a very particular assignment, which the independent contractor had agreed to even though he wasn't quite sure yet what the assignment was. He knew it was a $46 million dollar contract which required him to help with the hunting or capturing of someone or something, but the specifics had not been part of his debriefing. Instead, Mike was informed about the dangers of his assignment and what he could expect to encounter during his time on the planet in order to better prepare himself for this mission. A lot of the boxes and crates that were being unloaded from the CBL-2214 spacecraft contained the equipment and gear that he would need, as he looked around quietly.