"Terrorists? Why is this the first Beltigo is hearing of this?"

Discen frowned.

"Crucible's affairs have always been just that, Crucible's. We understand the Beltigo Corporation's interest in this matter, but I am informing you as a courtesy, Zachariah. We have this group well in hand and will be rooting them out soon. I'm simply explaining the declined shipment numbers to you so you do not think we of Logistics are responsible for the delay."

I couldn't see Zachariah's face, but the edge in his voice was clear as day.

"I think you're misunderstanding the role both you—and Logistics as a whole—play on Crucible, Discen. You are but one of the leading factions on Crucible that rule at the Beltigo Corporation's pleasure. We give you the autonomy to self govern and deal with the affairs on Crucible without much interference. But when the shipments of Vitalite become affected, we have no choice but to interfere."

Discen's facial expression didn't change, but he had lost some of the servility his voice had had so far.

"As you said, the Beltigo Corporation has remained hands-off thus far in the peacekeeping on Crucible. The delay in shipments is of concern, of course, but I can assure you this little problem is well in hand and normal shipments will resume shortly. We just need a little more time to…resolve this little issue."

Zachariah crossed his arms.

"You're not understanding, Discen. While the Beltigo Corporation gives the factions here on Crucible the authority to enforce safety and laws somewhat autonomously, the Beltigo Corporation has the ultimate responsibility towards all of those on Crucible and has full authority and reason to intervene in these matters. While we allow you the responsibility to maintain peace for normal crimes and day to day issues that occur on the station, something as serious as an organization responsible for destruction and claimed acts of terrorism requires more than just what you are capable of handling."

Discen frowned.

"Sir Zachariah, surely there's no need for you to intervene. This group of neerdowells have done nothing so grand as to require official intervention from Beltigo. Their crimes have been somewhat minor and focused almost exclusively on property damage. Truly, we of Logistics can handle finding and dealing with them. You should focus your time and efforts on the reason you came to Crucible, helping resolve the disagreement between the Miners and Refiners."

Zachariah crossed his legs, placing both hands neatly atop his raised knee. He drummed his fingers in a rhythm from one side to the other for a few moments before speaking.

"While I understand your desire to keep this investigation under your control, it's clear that Logistics has been unable to redress the issue of the feud despite your many assurances it was well contained. Now you're telling me that an organization is running rampant on Crucible. Compound that with the recent decrease in the amount of Vitalite shipments, and I believe you may be downplaying the damage this group has been affecting here. If this group is affecting the Viltalite shipments, then we will help to stop them as the reduced shipments are my primary objective in coming to Crucible."

Discen didn't speak for a few moments, though his jaw moved from side to side roughly.

"I understand, sir Zachariah. We are grateful for any help you may give us in rooting out the dissidents from our midst. Truly, it is shameful that we have allowed them to get so out of control, but you must understand that with the presence of unrefined Vitalite we have found it…difficult…to use traditional methods to seek them out. We will assist you in any way we can during your investigation and we hope you can help us deal with them all so Crucible may return under our control.

Zachariah nodded.

"Indeed. We shall resolve this issue one way or another, then the feud can come after that. Though I'm sure that once the terrorist situation is well in hand, Logistics will be able to once again help maintain the status quo and work on restoring the relationship between the Miners and Refiners."

Discen smiled what felt like the first real smile I had seen on the man and a look of great relief as he stood.

"Of course! We shall have everything well in hand once this unfortunate situation is dealt with. I shall have Clisto continue guiding you while you're here on Crucible. He is one of my most trusted aides and he will surely be of use to you. Would you like to be shown to your rooms first? I'm sure the trip was tiring in more ways than one"

"No thank you, Discen. While we are indeed weary, we must first speak with both the Miners and Refiners factions. Perhaps they will have more information about these dissidents, and we may be able to begin building a bridge between the two as we gain their help in rooting them out."

Zachariah stood as he spoke and then walked to the door once he finished. Wei Lin and I followed him, Alice trailing along once I nudged her with my hand.

"Very well. Good luck, sir Zachariah. Please let me know if you find anything out or require any specific assistance, and I will warn you, these miscreants have put up resistance in the past and aren't afraid to take their own lives, and those of their captors, should they be captured. As much as it pains me to say so, it would be best if they were…dealt with…lest they do something more drastic than simply taking their own lives," Discen said as he bid us farewell.

Zachariah didn't give any response to the man's goodbye or warning and exited the office at a sedate pace, our group following behind him.

I looked back as we exited and saw Discen turned partially away from us, typing rapidly on a pad in his hand. I supposed that being the head of one of the factions made you very busy, though the furtive glances he cast toward Zachariah worried me somewhat. I tucked that information somewhere safe and followed the rest of the group our of Discen's office, studiously ignoring the reflections in the hallway's walls.

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We took the elevator down to the lobby and we found Clisto waiting for us with the receptionist nowhere to be found.

"It is good to see you, sir. I'm glad to hear you had a productive discussion with sir Discen. Where shall we head to first, the Refiners or the Miners?"

I supposed it made sense that Discen would warn Clisto of our destinations. Considering how clear it was that he wanted to be in Zachariah's good graces, it made sense that he'd want to be as helpful as possible. Either way, having someone who knew their way around the station would be helpful, and I'd be keeping an eye on the man.

"Please show us the way to Refiners HQ. The Miners won't be back from Lattice's surface for a while longer, so meeting with the leader of the Refiners would be best to begin our investigation."

Clisto nodded and started off toward the left, toward one of the smaller hallways shooting off from the main square. We followed him through the hallways once more as the pristine white metals morphed once more into slate grays. As we walked, the number of people walking the halls and going down various off-shoots and hallways increased. As the numbers changed, the clothes people wore changed too. The leisure clothes that were commonplace in Logistics were exchanged for the thicker clothes of workers and full body suits done up only halfway which reminded me of how Alice wore her sect robes.

We passed through a few large warehouses filled with large crates and pallets filled with boxes labeled 'Qi Enriched Vitalite', though more of the crates seemed to be empty than filled. Those that were filled had large opalescent crystals within them that swirled with energy.

Some of the energies within the crystal resonated with the Divine Flame within me, and I could tell from the way the energies felt to me that the crystals were stable and contained a large density of elemental qi.

I changed my attention from the crystals back to the group and tuned in to the long-winded tour Clisto was giving to hear if he had anything exciting to say about the crystals.

"And this is one of our many warehouses where we store the refined Vitalite to prepare it for transport off station. As you can see, due to circumstances outside of our control, the production of refined Vitalite has reduced in recent months due to some deranged lunatics causing trouble. They must be miscreants from Miner or Refiner trying to throw a wrench in the good work of Logistics. Honestly, with how addled those people are with drugs, I'm surprised they could cobble together a group coordinated enough to escape justice for this long."

"Drugs?" Zachariah asked, and I had to admit I was curious about it too. Clisto stopped moving for a moment but then continued a half second later.

"Y-yes. Lately a drug has begun working its way through Crucible's population. We do not know how it is being distributed, but luckily we've been able to keep it away from our people. The same cannot be said for the Miners, Refiners, and those unaffiliated with any faction. We've been trying very hard to root out its source but we've been unsuccessful thus far."

"That is worrying information, though I'm curious why Discen neglected to inform me of this during our meeting."

Again Clisto stopped for a mere moment before continuing to walk forward.

"I don't presume to know what sir Discen may be thinking, but he likely deemed it unworthy of your attention. We are doing our best to ensure the Vitalite shipments continue, and we'll resolve the issue of the new drug as soon as possible, it's nothing to worry about, sir."

"I see. Thank you for informing me, Clisto, but a drug making its rounds on Crucible is worrying information. I will speak to Discen later about this."

After that exchange, the tour was much more quiet, though whenever he got the opportunity to speak highly of Logistics, Clisto got much more talkative.

The density of crates increased in the warehouses we passed through until we reached a new large square. In contrast to the one in Logistics which was populated with greenery and a jovial atmosphere, something about this new area, which must have been the HQ for the Refiners, was much more serious and solemn. Some people walked around a central square with a medium sized fountain, and there were some trees surrounding the fountain in rings, though it was clear no one has taken care of the grass or trees lately. Overgrown weeds and branches reached out toward the paved sidewalks and those walking around avoided them almost automatically, not even giving the overgrowth a second glance.

Before long we stopped in front of a building of similar enough build to that of Logistics HQ, though it was much less well maintained. Panels were missing from the sides and myriad exposed wires stuck out in places. Scratches and scuffs in the metal paired with a couple flickering exterior lights to give the building a much more run-down look than I expected. People entered and exited the building frantically, their protective coats made of thick fabric disheveled and their eyes sunken in from lack of sleep.

Some of them eyed our group as they passed, but we didn't garner enough attention to be worth more than a moment of their busy day. We walked into the lobby—which was comparatively much more clean and put together than the outside of the building—and the receptionist gave Clisto a sour look before noticing the rest of us and raising her eyebrows. She was seated behind a large wooden desk with various papers strewn around and looked like she was up to her neck in work.

"And this is Refiner HQ. As you can see, the building has seen better days, but nevertheless they play a very important role here on Crucible, and I'm sure they will be helpful to you, Sir Zachariah."

The woman at the reception desk stood up and flattened out her clothes with her hands as Clisto spoke.

"Hello sir, welcome to Refiner HQ, my name is Naide, may I ask what brings you here?"

"Gir—…Naide! This is Mr. Zachariah, an envoy from the Beltigo Corporation, and you would do well to show him the proper respect due to a man of his station!"

She shot him another sour look but took his advice and bowed regardless.

"My apologies, sir Zachariah. We were unaware someone of your stature was coming to Crucible, so we are unprepared to receive you. I apologize for the lack of amenities, but I can lead you up to speak with Emil now if you wish? He's currently working in his office."

Zachariah nodded before speaking and I noticed a warmth in his voice that wasn't present with Clisto or Discen.

"Thank you for the welcome, Naide. Do not worry yourself with any amenities or perceived slight. Word of my travel here to Crucible must have been lost somehow. I would appreciate you leading me to speak with Sir Emil, thank you."

Naide walked around the reception counter and we all prepared to walk with her before she pointed to a shabby chair off to the side of the room.

"My apologizes, sir Clisto, but you must stay down here as you do not have a prior appointment with Emil."

She was doing a bad job of hiding her smile at the situation, and Clisto's expression only seemed to delight her more.

"How dare you, I—" he began, but was interrupted with a raise of Zachariah's hand.

"Please wait down here, Clisto. Just as I'm sure you require adherence to Logistic's rules when others visit you in your home, the Refiners surely have their own customs we must adhere to as well. We will resume the tour after we speak to sir Emil, I'm sure you can find something to keep you busy while you wait."

Clisto lost his composure for a second, a visage of fury and hatred slipping through before he quickly hid it and nodded.

"Understood, sir Zachariah. I shall wait for you down here. Please have a productive conversation with sir Emil."

Zachariah ignored the platitude and gestured with his hand for Naide to show us the way. The girl, now armed with a new skip in her step, turned behind the reception desk and into a side hallway behind it, bringing us into the depths of Refiner HQ.

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