Night falls quickly, fiery amber shattering like liquid flame across jutting fingers of glass, refracting a million times before the swift wings of the dark dashes them away, leaving behind only the harsh neon glow of a waking city to the night.

A bustling port city, Incheon hums with activity, especially down by the waterfront. Massive docks sprawl down the jagged coastline, with great tidal walls raised in the last couple of decades to combat the rising sea levels, though shipping activities continued on even then. Where there is money to be made, it will never stop.

Business is the lifeblood of the city. Ever since the fall of Seoul, the hub of capital shifted south and west to Incheon, and from the ruins of war, they rebuilt. The government may have moved down to Busan, but those who had their assets tied up in the greater Seoul area remained where they were. And with the Awakening of magic to the world, everything changed.

Social unrest, political upheaval, existing power structures broken and rewritten as forces old and new clashed over a period of almost twenty years. Monsters thought to be a myth rising out of the shadows through the cracks of the world; some to be confronted and destroyed, while others adapted to the modern era, slipping unseen into human society, and always moving to their own ends.

Out of all this, new factions and powers rose as social cohesion collapsed, the weak clinging to those who offered them safety in exchange for their allegiance and servitude. When unexplained things started going bump in the dark, the average civilian could only cower behind those with the biggest guns for protection.

What of the government, one would ask. It was only as strong as the military it controlled, and with the unexpected schism engineered by the former Spartans of the ROK Marine Corps, that control shattered into a million pieces as sides were chosen. Some went rogue along with their former commanders, while others fell into the fold of the dragon cult Mireu, which rose like a cancer from the killing fields of Gyeongju.

Named for and dedicated to the mythical serpent they served, Mireu grew strong and dominated the social landscape south of Daegu, allying with the industrial heavyweight Hyeongdae, based in Ulsan. Their polar opposite, the Spartan Paramilitary, was similarly affiliated to Tristar Corp in Incheon, and it was on this axis that Korea turned for the better part of three decades.

That all changed three months ago, when forces unknown infiltrated and slew the legendary figurehead of Mireu, the famed dragon that was also the object of their worship. They took down with them a good half of the Spire, right in the heart of Ulsan, striking a deep blow into the power struggle that had so long been held to a stalemate.

There was blood in the water, and the sharks that dwelled deep in the waters around Incheon could taste it. Things were about to get interesting in Korea, and no one was going to want to get left behind on the fun.

Glasses clinked over the sound of soft pop rock, the digital crooning of a manufactured star as forgettable as the oft recycled melody.

It mattered little. They weren’t here for the music, not really. It was a rare night out for all six of the crew, made all the more precious because it was the first since their last fateful raid against the imugi in Ulsan. Yes, the famed dragonslayers were out in force tonight, and they weren’t even looking for trouble for once.

“When was the last time we came out like this? Other than for work.”

Jung Yerin, former assassin and now a simple runner for hire, had shed most of her usual disguises and was back to her original black hair, which settled down just past her shoulders. Her facial features remained a shifting mystery to the eye, everyone seeing a different version of her, but the gang were used to that. Dressed in a short crop top and fitting pants, she lounged easily on the patent leather seats of the private booth, leaning comfortably against the team shaman, who had one arm around her waist.

“Feels like never.” On Yerin’s other side, SinB shrugged, the resident gunslinger knocking back her drink with aplomb, draining the mug in one long gulp. She smashed it back against the table, signalling for another. Her newly dyed hair looked alternately blue and grey in the flashing strobe lights, completing her usual bad girl look, down to the guns and leather. Boots tapped impatiently on the heel as she looked around, scanning the crowd.

“Looking for someone?” Eunha smirked from the other side of the table, where she was also cuddled against Yuju, who looked a little sandwiched between both Yerin and Eunha. The shaman didn’t look disturbed by that though. If anything, her other hand was also locked with Eunha’s, seeking comfort from her fellow mage. It was the shaman’s first time out of their hideout since waking up from her two week long coma following the final battle with the imugi. All things considered, crowds still made her nervous, but having the two people closest to her nearby clearly helped.

“Where did that giraffe go anyway.” SinB grumbled, flashing her credchip against the robotic server that had rolled up to their booth, fetching her new drink and flipping her empty mug into the server’s waiting grasp. The little bot hummed a cute little thank you before rolling away again, eliciting cute coos and googly eyes from their resident hacker and technomancer, Umji.

“No Umji we’re not bringing it home with us.” SinB interrupted, moving her body to block the hacker’s view. Given how Umji could remotely hack anything electronic without using any interface, it was probably pointless, but SinB felt like she had to put her foot down somehow. It was something Sowon would do, if their leader decided to show back up anytime soon.

“Spoilsport.” Umji pouted, the baby-faced hacker toying with the curly straw of her cocktail, flicking the little umbrella into a spin with her little finger. The normally somewhat shut-in technomancer was dressed in an oversized hoodie and jeans, paired with comfy sneakers. In a more peaceful time, she would look like any college kid out on a post-exam bender.

Now though, she looked just a little like a sheep among wolves. Granted, the current pack of wolves around her were more likely to defend than eat her, and it wasn’t like Umji was completely defenseless. She could hack anything remotely electronic just by looking at it, and in a world where cybernetic augments were street-legal and commonplace, she could theoretically reach out and stop your heart, had you thought to replace it with a cybernetic version. Granted, she has never actually done that before, but the possibility was always there.

“We got incoming.” Yerin noted, cocking her head slightly to look past SinB. The club they were at wasn’t the most exclusive one around, nor the dingiest, but it was well located without being too popular with the wrong kind of crowd -- aka, not quite the kind of hub where you would find those in their line of work. It was the kind of place where corporate suit types would come to slum it without actually putting themselves in too much danger, or somewhere a more well heeled type of ganger or shadowrunner would treat themselves to occasionally for a less hostile night out.

They were definitely in the latter category themselves, and the group approaching their table was as well. One learned to recognize the type when you ran the shadows. At least two of those had some visibly heavy chrome on them, practically wired up to the gills. The others all had some kind of body mod or augment that a trained eye could pick out, and lastly, all of them moved with the same assured step that marked someone always ready for a fight.

“Well, Sowon’s not sitting with us, and we look pretty harmless right now.” Eunha leaned forward with interest, eyes glittering with amusement. She was in pastel colours and looked fairly girl-next-door with her short bobbed hair and innocent expression. Looks, however, were deceiving. None of them were exactly what they seemed to be.

The fire mage had a point. With the possible exception of SinB, who did have her pistol holstered to her side, the rest of them weren’t visibly armed. Umji didn’t need to be armed; she had all her unnies around her and in any case, the most heavily augmented warriors were hers to disable in creative ways depending on the sort of cyberware they were packing, and she didn’t need tools for that.

Yerin wasn’t visibly armed, and her choice of outfit didn’t exactly look like something you could hide weapons in, but Eunha had seen her pull knives out while wearing something almost skin-tight before. Hell, Eunha was fairly sure Yerin slept with her knives, if that one time she walked into her room to wake her without invitation was any indication. Had Eunha been just a few inches taller, she would have lost an eye or worse. Shortness had its perks, it seems.

And as for Yuju and Eunha herself, well. They were magic users, Awakened to their powers and deadly by default. They didn’t need weapons, they were the weapon. Eunha alone could burn the whole place down, and no one present wanted Yuju to do anything with her magic anymore, not after the team had seen her go all out in their fight with the imugi. Eunha’s fire seemed almost kind compared to what Yuju could do. No one likes having their life energy drawn out and then exploded like a crushed juice pack after use. Not to mention how blood magic itself was a forbidden art, and even her own team trod cautiously now around the once seemingly pacifistic Yuju.

Their combat capabilities aside, Eunha made an excellent point. Not only did they look deceptively harmless, all of them were attractive young women, and unaccompanied by any male presence. Without Sowon around, they didn’t exactly come off like a group of shadowrunners at first glance, and short of them doing something to announce the fact, total strangers would not assume them to be anything other than an ordinary group of girls out for a fun night.

“You think they’re going to...hit on us or something?” SinB looked skeptical, wrinkling her nose at the idea. Yerin giggled.

“Let’s bet if they want to kill or kiss us more.” The assassin turned to look at Yuju, who was looking distantly at the approaching men.

“You don’t get to play, puppy. I know you can read them.”

“Aww.” Yuju sulked, earning herself a playful poke in the cheek from Yerin. Eunha chuckled.

“Guess I’m out too then.”

“We’ve got less than a minute if we’re going to play.” Umji piped up, eyes also alit with interest. The hacker eyed the group of five, who was working their way through the crowd, but would get to them sooner or later. “Mmm, I think the buff guy with the spur implants will go after Eunha-unnie.”

“Ten creds at least one of them will hit on you first, SinB.” Yerin cackled. SinB scoffed.

“Only ten? Weak.” SinB glanced over at the men, who were less than twenty feet away at this point. She smirked at Yerin. “Tell you what, if at least two of them make a pass at you, I’m buying you drinks for the rest of the night.”

“You’re on, and I’m thinking at least three, personally.” Yerin flipped her hair confidently. SinB narrowed her eyes at the cocky specialist.

“No turning on that funky aura thing you do to cheat, missy.”

“No one bet on me.” Yuju observed quietly to Eunha, who covered to laugh softly.

“I don’t think any of them noticed the big guy with the shifty eyes staring at Umji either...and puppy, you’ve practically faded yourself into the shadows tonight, no one’s going to notice you unless you actually start talking.”

Yuju shrugged. It helped that they were in a quieter corner and less boxed in by strangers, but she still felt more comfortable minimizing her presence in the group. Yerin and Eunha trusted her unconditionally, a fact she was still grateful for, but the rest were still understandably unnerved by her use of blood magic before. She was trying her best to not frighten them, but with how she sometimes scared even herself these days, it was just easier to hide. If not for Yerin dragging her out today, she might not even have left her room. She had missed everyone though, regardless. It was nice being out like this with the team.

“Here they come.” Yerin sat up straight, toying with her hair coyly. SinB rolled her eyes.

“You don’t even like men, for goodness sake.”

“Yeah, but I do like winning in general.” Yerin shot back with a wink. “And who doesn’t like free drinks?”

SinB had no words for that, taking another gulp of her imported beer. The gunslinger had the distinct feeling she was likely in over her head for this bet, but she already said what she said. She glowered at the group of men, considering the possibility of picking a fight to get out of the situation. She was already healed from the last battle, and her only sparring partners had been Sowon and Yerin since then. Truth be told, she couldn’t wait to actually beat on someone else for once. She was on fairly even odds with Yerin, but Sowon could still regularly kick her .

The shortest guy in front with the buzz cut made a straight beeline for SinB, and Yerin nudged her triumphantly. “Pay up!” She stage whispered, drawing giggles from the other girls who were watching.

So while SinB was dealing with the unwanted attentions of one man, Yerin was being accosted by another, to Yuju’s evident distaste. Eunha tugged at the shaman’s arm, pointing subtly at the guy she had mentioned earlier.

“Told you he was interested in Umji!”

He was. Given that Sowon’s seat was empty, it meant that the seat next to Umji was open, and he was just about to sit down to chat her up when a shadow fell over him.

“Move.” The threat wasn’t even implied, because it was immediately followed up with the beefy man getting bodily picked up and shoved away, and Sowon loomed ominously as she interjected herself between Umji and her would-be suitor.

“This is why I never get to date.” Umji whispered to Eunha with a sigh. Eunha stifled a laugh.

Granted, the big guy probably wasn’t the best catch in the world, so Umji probably wasn’t missing out. Said big guy was also heavily cybered up and didn’t look at all pleased about being shoved aside by some woman. SinB might just get the fight she had been hoping for, Eunha thought. She had definitely noticed the combative glint in her childhood friend’s eye earlier.

Then he took a better look at Sowon and the optical receptors he had replaced his eyes for widened in obvious awe.

“You’re her …” He trailed off and then looked back at the seemingly innocuous group of girls Sowon was standing protectively in front of. Yuju had yanked Yerin back almost possessively about five seconds ago, the assassin currently sitting in the shaman’s lap and trying to placate her annoyed puppy. Eunha looked almost amused, even as SinB put a hand to her still holstered pistol in an attempt to get Buzz Cut to back off.

Meanwhile, Sowon cut a menacing figure with the eyepatch over her left eye and her trademark longcoat. She seemed almost slender in front of the muscular mercenary she was staring down, but she was still slightly taller and evidently reputed enough to make him hesitate.

It didn’t take much to put together the identity of the group once Sowon showed up. She was their most recognizable member, even with her famous blonde hair now faded to ash tones. That and she already had a reputation prior to their latest exploit, having been active in the community for at least the past twenty years. The Immortal, was what experienced runners called her. She could not be stopped and never worked with others...until now.

And of course the first major thing her new crew had gotten noticed for was getting in Mireu’s bad books, and then subsequently assassinating the dragon that was behind the whole cult. Not many runners get to brag about something like that. Sowon was a legend in her own right, though she never actually talked about it. That reputation was doing some work here, right now.

“Guys, let’s get out now. ” The beefy yet obviously smart one of the group hissed urgently to his friends. The others seemed confused, though the one who had been snubbed by Yerin seemed rather persistent. SinB’s suitor froze when the gunslinger drew a knife and pointed it at his crotch before he could blink, cold sweat running down his forehead as the tip brushed against the fabric of his pants.

“Sorry boys, but I’m taken.” Yerin purred silkily before turning back to Yuju and kissing her on the lips without warning. The shaman seemed taken aback by Yerin’s sudden gesture, but didn’t push her away. A couple of wolf whistles rose from the crowd that had inadvertently gathered when Sowon had picked up the first guy. Sowon looked visibly annoyed, making a subtle gesture to Umji behind her back. The technomancer got her point, immediately diving into the wireless network all around them, erasing camera footage of the last half hour.

“Leave. Now. ” Sowon growled. One of the younger hotheads of the group seemed to take offense and was about to confront her, but the smart guy yanked him back, whispering urgently into his ear. There was some disbelief on the man’s face, but Sowon shifted slightly to reveal a part of the heavy assault rifle hidden by her custom longcoat. That did the trick. They left, and in a hurry. It was almost comical watching full grown thugs run like their lives depended on it, which it probably did.

“Thank god you came back, I would have cut something if you hadn’t.” SinB seemed slightly disappointed by that, actually. Then she thought of something else, and turned to look smugly at Yerin, who was still comfortably ensconced in Yuju’s lap. The assassin had broken the kiss after a short while, not wanting to embarrass her puppy too much. That didn’t stop her from cuddling though, and Yuju seemed a little at a loss for what to do. Eunha said nothing, though SinB thought she could read the flash of dejection in the fire mage’s eyes.

“That was only one. No free drinks for you!” SinB crowed. Yerin rolled her eyes.

“Only because Sowon interrupted. You still owe me ten creds, kiddo.”

SinB folded her arms. “It’s only ten creds, you’re really coming at me for that?”

“A bet’s a bet, now pay up.”

Sowon massaged her temples, reclaiming her seat by Umji.

“Do I want to know?”

Umji grinned. “Best not, I think. Where did you go anyway?”

Sowon flagged down a robot server, getting a drink and glowering quietly at the people still watching their table. Was it too much to ask for a quiet night out for once? She just wanted to hang out with her girls and not have to worry about stupid crap for a while. They had laid low long enough, though she knew that SinB and occasionally Yerin had been slipping out quietly in the past month or so once they were back at their best. Sowon didn’t stop them, knowing that they needed their space. She wouldn’t be a very good leader otherwise.

“Thought I saw a familiar face, went to check it out.” Sowon sipped at the warm soju, exhaling slowly as she thought of the person she saw earlier. She hadn’t really spent all that much time in the Incheon area apart from the first few years when she was still learning what it meant to live in the new world. Waking up from a magically induced coma after thirty years tended to throw people off, and she had left once she managed to acclimatize.

It was in this city where she lost her eye, and had it replaced with the crude cybernetic one hidden behind her eyepatch. It was old tech, rough and unfinished, giving her a distinctly inhuman look whenever she took her eyepatch off. There were better models out there now, and she could have had it replaced, but Sowon was sentimental. This was her first ever augment, performed by a street surgeon that had picked her up from where she lay bleeding from her first real scuffle since waking up from her coma. She had only lost an eye, but her assailants were dead. And she had only grown stronger ever since.

The familiar face she had seen was a great deal older than she remembered him being, but that was little surprise. Twenty years would do that to a person, and the fresh faced doctor’s apprentice she remembered was now a grizzled middle-aged man. She didn’t approach him. There was no point in doing so, not when she still looked exactly the same as she did twenty years ago. It would only frighten him, and she owed him a debt for saving her life back then.

She knew the rumors about her flying around in the runner community, which ranged from her apparently being some kind of sentient robot, to suggestions that she might have sold her soul for everlasting youth -- not an entirely absurd notion in a post-Awakening world where magic ran rampant. Sowon smiled sardonically into her cup. They were not entirely wrong about the magic part. She had spent a good fifty years bonded to a dragon orb, and that thing had altered her physically on multiple levels. It finally shattered months ago when Yuju used it to rescue Eunha, but Sowon still didn’t know how far the changes had gone within herself. Her regenerative factor had dialled back down to more normal levels, but she couldn’t be sure about her apparent immortality. Only time could tell for that.

“Friendly?” Eunha queried, turning away from where Yerin was still being super touchy feely with Yuju. It hurt her a little, seeing how Yuju passively accepted Yerin’s advances. And hadn’t Yuju acted out when the men earlier had gotten too close to Yerin? It wasn’t hard to notice that the shaman was in fact attached to the shameless assassin, but Eunha wasn’t sure she was ready to give up yet, despite all evidence suggesting she should. The heart went where it would, even if her mind thought otherwise.

“Someone I used to know, a long time ago.” Sowon touched her eyepatch, a phantom pain triggering at the memory. The wounds had long healed, but some scars never truly went away.

“Did they see you?” Eunha cocked her head curiously. She, of all the team, knew exactly how old Sowon was. Her unfortunate accident with the dragon orb when they had been sent to retrieve it had given her an insight into the past and how exactly they had ended up the way they did in the present. Magic was real, they all knew that, but Eunha never fully appreciated how immense it could be until the wheels of fate conspired to bring them all back together after dying to the imugi the first time in Gyeongju, where it had first risen from the depths.

“I certainly hope not. He seemed to be waiting for someone anyway, and I didn’t want to bother him. He looked well, that’s good enough for me.” Sowon sighed. That was the problem of being functionally immortal. You watched the people you knew age and die while you remained as you were. Was it any wonder why she had issues connecting to others? The ex-soldier glanced over at SinB, and caught the younger girl watching her intently. SinB twitched as she was caught, but then raised her chin defiantly, as if challenging Sowon to stop her. A corner of Sowon’s lips curled upward minutely. And that was yet another problem she didn’t want to think about.

She didn’t really want to have to watch her girls grow old and die before her again in this lifetime. She loved them all; loved them before when they had been soldiers serving in the same unit during the last Korean War, loved them now as her ragtag bunch of misfits who were practically her kids in terms of age and experience. Others might have killed to have a shot at eternal youth, but Sowon was tired of it. She just wanted to live out the rest of her life with the people she loved. Was that too much to ask?

“It’ll be fine.” Eunha said cryptically, glancing between Sowon and SinB with a knowing air. The mage wasn’t quite aware of all of Sowon’s concerns, but knew her well enough to figure that dear leader was probably digging herself deeper into a hole again. As SinB’s best friend though, Eunha felt obliged to help her pal out. That and Sowon probably needed someone to keep her mind off things. The old soldier had been alone for far too long.

“Perhaps.” Sowon scanned the rest of club, not quite liking the attention they had garnered earlier. Some eyes had been on them when they entered earlier, but they were attractive young women and that sort of attention was normal. On hindsight, maybe scaring off those other runners might have drawn unnecessary attention to them, but what’s done was done.

Sowon put down her cup with a thud. Suddenly the club felt vaguely claustrophobic, and she wanted out. The night was still young though, and it seemed a pity to bring all of them home this early. Her kids deserved a break.

“Can we go to the arcade instead?” As if sensing the shift in Sowon’s mood, Umji tugged at her sleeve to get her attention. Sowon paused, considering. SinB piped in.

“Sounds good to me, sitting around here’s kinda boring.” The gunslinger looked over at Yerin.

“I challenge you to a dance off!”

“You’re on!” The assassin paused. “Any stakes?”

“Children, please.” Sowon interrupted, glancing over at Yuju and Eunha. The two magic users nodded their assent. It didn’t matter where they went, as long as they were together. Umji clapped excitedly, and Sowon ruffled her hair affectionately.

“Arcade it is then. Try not to break anything, alright?”

“Yes mom~” “Boo spoilsport.” “No promises!” “I’ll watch them.” “Sure.”

Sowon shook her head, rising to her feet as she led her crew to the exit. It was not unlike leading a bunch of ducklings. Her shoulder brushed past a furtive shadow amongst the jostling crowd, and she turned in response, more out of instinct than any real curiosity.

It was just one more suit among the corporate chummers who frequented this place, but that back view looked oddly familiar somehow. Sowon stared for a moment, trying to place it, and Yerin drew up next to her, following her gaze.

“Something wrong?” There was something coolly professional in Yerin’s voice, a shift from her playful attitude during her squabbling with SinB. Sowon looked down at her, uncertain.

“No...I don’t know. Just thought I saw someone…” Sowon looked back up, this time directing her gaze to where she had last seen the apprentice who had patched her up before. Just one last look to bid farewell to her past, really.

Then she saw it again, the familiar silhouette sliding into the seat next to the good doctor. Sowon moved her hand to her eyepatch, uncovering it partially to allow her cyber eye to zoom in where her biological one could not.

Yerin watched as Sowon’s expression screwed into a puzzled frown, lips tightening into a thin line. The assassin still had one arm hooked around Yuju, who was standing placidly by her side. Conveniently, her chosen position hid her face from the cameras, as always. Yerin was always careful to do that. Especially now that they were in Incheon. One could never be too careful.

“Why are we stopping?” SinB came up with Umji and Eunha in tow. Sowon turned, her shoulders tense, eyes troubled.

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

Yerin gave her a penetrating look, and Sowon acknowledged it briefly with a nod. It wasn’t the time to discuss it, but Sowon knew she was going to need some space to think about everything this implied. If what she suspected was right, this changed everything, and nothing. The dust had already settled, and there was no going back. In more ways than one.

Sowon closed her one eye, letting the eyepatch cover the other. She hoped she was wrong.

She didn’t have many friends left to lose. Most of them she had already outlived. She wanted to believe, but paranoia had ever been her ally while living in the shadows. Trust no one. She never wanted to suspect the worst, but the worst often proved itself to be right.

The light of the moon was obscured by flashing neon signs, the hubbub of nightlife vibrant all around them. The city thrived despite the crawling shadows in its underbelly, or perhaps, because of them. There was always sacrifice in the name of progress. Sowon knew it, understood it, but it didn’t mean that she liked it.

Let me be wrong, Sowon thought. Life was complicated enough without adding more to it. She was never one for plots and machinations, content as a simple footsoldier far from politics and the games of power. It didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of them, if she wanted to remain free to do as she wished.

And yet, the web tightens in its own way, and could they ever really be free of those who sought to use them?

Sowon didn’t know. The truth doesn’t always set you free. But it would allow her to choose, knowing what was right. It might not be good, or easy, but she would know. It would matter.

In the end, that was all they had.

The port was vast, humming with activity even late into the night, as shipments from the day were sorted and transferred. Spotlights and beacons lit the coast, winking like distant stars on a churning seascape. Most freighters and tankers lay at anchor further out in the sheltered arm of the bay, within the embrace of the seawall. Dawn would resume their toils and travails, where the natural light of the sun made the work of loading and unloading that much easier.

There were always those who preferred the cover of night though. A reefer ship eased into the darkest part of the bay, at the tail end of the docks, shrouded in shadow. Painted mottled grey and green, it blended easily against the night, navigating only by radar and the experience of the ship’s captain to avoid any hidden reefs beneath the waves.

A rudimentary floating dock lay secure past the official bounds of the port, of the type that could be easily dismantled once they were done with it. The reefer ship eased in with skill born of practice, and was met with an efficient crew ready to unload its cargo.

“You’re early, Captain.”

A stocky man in overalls directed his crew as he checked off the manifest, nodding at the captain of the ship. The grey-haired captain nodded gruffly, replying in heavily accented Korean.

“Fair winds, and good weather.”

The stocky foreman nodded, putting down his manifest as he pulled out an unmarked credchip, handing it to the captain, who scanned it against a portable reader to check the numbers. The foreman did not seem offended. It was just business.

“The merchandise seems to be in order. Pleasure doing business with you. We’ll be expecting you at the usual time next month then?”

The captain slipped the credchip into his jacket, shaking his head slowly.

“Maybe delay. Goods, difficult. Need time.”

The foreman nodded in understanding. “Bring what you can, and we’ll pay at the usual rate.” One of the unloading crews fumbled with the cryro-lockers they were transporting, stumbling and cracking the container against the dock. The foreman scowled.

“Careful with that! We can’t afford to damage the goods.”

The offending crew apologized profusely, carefully tilting the heavy locker to avoid damaging it further. The container was impact resistant to prevent leakage, but the contents were still delicate. The foreman stepped over, sliding open a hatch to check on the interior.

A face, frozen in cyrogenic sleep, came into view. The foreman grunted, sliding the hatch shut. Quality control was important, and it was so difficult to find a reliable supply these days.

“We’ll see you next month then, Captain.”

The captain nodded, getting back on his ship even as the crew began to dismantle the temporary jetty. Lights danced in the beautiful backdrop of the city of glass behind them, even as the crew vanished into the darkness that lay beneath.

The ship pulled away, and the city sleeps on in its bed of secrets and lies, unknowing.