Five Weeks Later.

    He sauntered through the receival terminal. Moving along quickly with the other civilians that had just arrived. The space ship terminal was a typical facet of planets and space stations. He had never had to interact with them before because he is in the military. But this time he was traveling by civilian spacecraft to get here.

    He arrived at the lines of people waiting to be cleared through customs. He moved to the line for people with a light amount of luggage. He only had a single bag hanging off of one of his shoulders. He quietly stood in line with his foreign travel documents ready.

    Unlike the Vexical Empire where most people could be identified by the nanobots in their blood. Most other nations had formal identification information since birth with all sorts of complicated systems. But the Vexical Empire only issued foreign public travel documents after extensive investigations.

    As he arrived at the customs station he smiled at the worn out Woltar that was working the station. Woltar are the descendents of genetically altered humans that developed canine features. Such as wolf ears, fluffy patches of skin, mains of fur instead of hair, claws, or even tails of various types. They were considered an Anthro-Human Species. Originally the Woltar''s two system nation was part of the Grand Hexarian Empire, but they lacked the same nanosystem that the people of the Vexical Empire acquired.

    "Hello there! How has your day been?" Jace asked as he laid his documents in the metal box that was opened in front of him. The station had a glass wall separating him from the customs officer while the document was used to move the documents back and forth.

    The customs officer pulled the box to his side and began looking through the documents. He looked over Jace while he did. Jace was wearing tan cargo pants, a tropical shirt with a white shirt underneath it, his combat boots, and a pair of aviator glasses. His tropical shirt was a button up shirt with a colorful design. This one specifically had a Kamot Bear decorating it with some trees. The tropical shirt was currently unbuttoned.

    The customs officer looked at his documents for only a second before a hand went over and smacked a button located at the side. The moment he did, Jace flinched. There was no noise generated but rather it was generating a faint electrical charge that would usually jam the nanobots in his body lessening the effect his talent and ability would have. But because it was electrical in nature it felt more like a faint buzz across his skin.

    "Sorry, Mister Steel. It is protocol with all incoming nanosystem users. At least until I determine your talent or ability will not be a danger or have any effect on my decision making skills." The customs officer apologized while shrugging.

    Jace shrugged, "that''s fine."

    "While I am running your documents, do you have anything you would like to declare before inspection?" The customs officer asked as he walked over.

    "No, I just have clothes and personal tech." Jace shrugged.

    The customs officer chuckled. "Good, well it looks like… yup. Your documents have just cleared through our system. Welcome to Planet Nymph of the Artemis System. Head on through to inspection." The customs officer pushed back through his documents using the metal box.

    Jace nodded, "Thank you, and have a good day." He walked over to the gate as the customs officer pressed a button and there was a buzzing opening the gate slightly. Jace quickly walked through and the gate closed behind him.

    He walked over to the belts and machines where bags and other items were placed for a quick inspection. He pulled off his backpack and placed it into a waiting plastic bin. Then he took off his watch and glasses and placed them in the bin with his backpack. Then he put in just about anything else he had in his pockets along with his documents.

    He followed the other customs officers directions as he walked through the inspection area collecting his items again. But as he was putting on his watch he frowned as he noticed another person who the customs officer was having the young man go through a more thorough search. The young man had a pale complexion and was sweating profusely while he was being aggressive and evasive.

    Jace had seen the same symptoms the man was displaying several times before and frowned. He shook his head and whispered to a nearby customs officer nodding at the young man. "He is a drug smuggler, there is a good chance the drug container burst because he is displaying symptoms of heavy drug use. If it is the drug I think it is, he will have enhanced strength while under it."

    The customs officer looked at Jace before glancing at the young man. As Jace walked away with all of his things he could hear the customs officer quietly calling for backup and a medical team to be on standby.

    Jace walked through crowds of people and a rushed team of customs officers and medics. When he walked out of the sliding doors he was welcomed by the heat and humidity of this planet. While his ears welcomed the bustling noise of multiple vehicles.

    Jace took in a breath of air before he walked over to a taxi station. There were several taxis waiting for patrons so Jace was able to walk right into a taxi. "Chen''s Tropical Beach Bar."

    "Chen''s? You know your stuff. Have you been here before?" The taxi driver asked as he began racing off.

    "No, it was recommended to me." Jace chuckled as he fiddled with his watch for a moment. A moment later he was in a digital message chat. [Reached Nymph, heading to my predetermined hideout. Received?]

    The response appeared on his aviators so it would not be seen by anyone else. [Spectre Jace, Anvil receives. Night off, contact in morning. Others are slightly delayed.] A few seconds after he received the message the chat room was ended and erased.

    Jace smiled as he leaned back and waited to arrive at his destination. "Do you want a few recommendations on places to visit or hangout?"

    "No, I am good." Jace answered as he quietly breathed and focused his mind. A moment later he was sending his message telepathically. {Salem, I have the night off. Can I…?} He did not complete his sentence, instead he left an intent to get his message across. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Jace had to resist a chuckle as he felt the telepathic sigh through their link. [Yeah, just have fun. You get to do fun shit while I brush elbows with a bunch of scumbags. The worst part is they all make passes at me so I feel like I need a shower. Have fun!] Jace coils still feel the annoyance as she disconnected. They were still telepathically linked but it was like turning down the volume.

    Jace quietly sat as he enjoyed the view of tropical beaches and distant islands. Nymph is a tropical planet fashioned mostly for tourists and vacationers. It was made up of a bunch of islands that had bridges running between them. There were some large artificial islands like the space ship terminal he arrived at but for the most part it was a bunch of scattered smaller developments.

    After several minutes they arrived at a wooden building located next to the beach. Jace climbed out and the taxi raced off for its next pickup. Jace walked up to the open building where there were no walls on the bottom floor. The second floor was a walled building but the bottom floor just had a deck, columns, and the bar and kitchen.

    Jace walked directly to the bar where a robot is mixing a drink. It was an ancient butler model with a rounded body and head with metal tube for limbs. Only its hands were modified for more mobility.

    "Chen?" Jace asked as he arrived at the bar.

    The robot looked in his direction, its one round lens twisting for a moment before its front grill lit up with a light behind it as it talked. "J-dot-Steel as I operate and function. It is a pleasure to meet you. The others will just not stop talking about you." Chen quickly poured out the drink he was shaking and passed it to a customer. Then it quickly reached under the counter and pulled out a key with a keychain of a fish. "Here you go, the stairs to the loft are right behind me."

    Jace nodded and accepted the keychain. "Thanks Chen, I am going to toss my stuff upstairs and be back down in a second." Jace walked over to the stairs and quickly made his way up to the second floor and opened the door. Inside was a small apartment with a bed and a side table. Jace put his bag to the side and shoved his glasses and watch in his backpack. Then he walked back downstairs.

    He walked to the bar and sat at the end with his back to the beach. He pulled out a plastic menu they had sitting out. "Chips and Guac. As well as whatever local booze you have on tap." Jace asked as Chen came near him.

    "Sure thing." Chen brought him a local beer brand and someone else came out with a bowl of chips and some guacamole.

    Jace sat for several minutes drinking the local beer brand that tasted like a bitter pear and eating chips dipped in guacamole dip. As he sat there the bar became busier as he watched the sunset.