Free Angel Of Solace by Selene Edwards

to experience it.”
    “Truer words…” Marivean agreed. “In any case, we’ve been able to learn a great deal about the Asurans over the past several months, and that knowledge is about to pay dividends.” He gestured to Zanek, who was already working at the computer terminal. A few seconds later, he brought up a holo projection on the floor in the center of the room—one detailed enough that it seemed to include every house and building in the entire district. Avrick wondered idly if they had pulled this from the global network or gotten more precise, reliable data from another source. 
    “I admit I thought Tolson’s death would destabilize the rebels more than it did,” Vaelen murmured thoughtfully. “How they’ve survived this long is a mystery.”
    “Less so once you understand how they work,” Zanek said, stepping over next to the projection. He tapped the datapad in his hand, and several buildings on the holo turned red. “We’ve tracked down a dozen of their sympathizers in this district alone. Only a fraction of their group operates out of their headquarters at any particular time. Unlike Tolson, their new leader is especially cautious.”
    “How did Tolson die, anyway?” Avrick asked.
    Marivean raised an eyebrow. “We killed him, of course. Though not before he told us what we needed. That following month we eliminated almost two dozen Demons, and we mistakenly believed that would be the end of them.” His expression hardened. “We should have known better. As the Sacra’thar tells us, evil can never truly be defeated, not as long as a single soul lives in sin.”
    “Their new leader is Samuel Kronn,” Zanek added. “He has a…colorful past.”
    “A doctor originally from Haucos,” Avrick recalled, digging through his memories of the reports he had read on the way here. “Well-respected twenty years ago, but then he took a job with a medical research team in Solace. Their task was to assess the ‘growing threat of Angels and Demons on the mainland.’”
    The squat man scoffed. “They didn’t believe what they saw with their own eyes. Many still don’t, even now.”
    “But they will,” Marivean said coolly. “Sooner rather than later. Kronn, for his part, is still convinced the Covenant is a conspiracy of some sort, a shadow government attempting to forcibly take control of the entire colony.”
    Zanek nodded. “Many Elassians share his view, particularly those in Solace. It is something you will have to contend with in your time here.”
    “You mentioned something about new data,” Vaelen prompted, nodding towards the projection. 
    Marivean paced through the center of the holo, his body suddenly sheathed in its soft glow. “For nearly two years the Asurans have been willing to simply hide from us, coming out only rarely to bring more Demons into their fold. But over the past few months, they have begun to target our assets.”
    “Assets?” Avrick asked.
    “Fringe elements we have been forced to work with,” Zanek explained, his lip twisted as if he had just noticed a bad taste in his mouth. “Pressure from the local authorities has forced us to work outside the system to track down Demon refugees fleeing here from Solace. We’ve forged temporary alliances with several bounty hunters, traffickers, and even mercenary groups willing to work around customs to get the information we need.”
    Vaelen frowned. “That wasn’t in any of the reports you sent.”
    “We can’t risk it getting out, even over encrypted channels. It isn’t something we wish to advertise all over the colony.”
    Avrick tossed a furtive glance to his mentor, and he could tell what the man was thinking. Of course they didn’t want it advertised that they were cooperating with criminals. Their reputation outside the mainland, particularly in Solace, was bad enough without legitimate criticisms. It made him sick to even think they would consider such a thing. It went against all principles of the