1 Starting over

The spaceship made its approach towards the planetary hub. It had been a long journey, and despite them making 20 hyper jumps, they were only halfway there.

"How much longer do we have to go?" A sad-looking man asked the captain. Despite his sad appearance, the captain did not dare look down on him. Duke Mayie had lost his daughter, and now he was on his way to pick up her remains. This was not a journey he would ordinarily make, but this time, he chose to go there personally.

"We still have another five days to go."

"What kind of spaceship is this that takes this long. We should have been there by now."

"Sir, we cannot risk drawing too much attention," another voice chimed in. "We need to be as discreet as possible." The captain eyed the second man. Unlike the first, who looked every inch as the classic aristocrat, this new arrival gave off a hint of danger. It wasn't very common for the captain to get such a feeling, so it alerted him that this was an elite. Moreover, when the man spoke, the Duke went silent. This in itself showed that this man was not simple in any way.

"I get that, I do! But every second we stay here is a second my daughter stays in the hands of those devils."

"Sir, I will get this done, you just need to trust me." The man didn't mention that the daughter was already dead and right now they were going to retrieve the body. Even cold-hearted mercenaries understand mourning.

The duke looked defeated. He understood the need for secrecy, and if there was anyone he could trust to look after him, it was this man. However, he couldn't help feeling frustrated by all this, which stemmed from his helplessness.

He hated the fact that he had so much at his disposal and still couldn't have done a thing to protect his daughter. What he hated, even more, was the fact that he still didn't have the power to avenge his daughter, despite him knowing who killed her, and where they were.

"Sir, we are about to dock into a new planet, perhaps you can buy a casket or an urn for her." This was more of a low blow, but the duke needed to be reminded, she was dead. His body frame seemed to collapse, and his face aged several years. He made his way to his cabin without another word.

The man, watching his ward walk off to his cabin, breathed a sigh. He reached for his comms and dialed a contact.

"What?"

"Is it ready?"

"Relax, it will be ready by the time you get here."

"You do know I am docking on the planet right now?"

"Oh? No matter, you'll still get your stuff ready and waiting for you." The sleazy look he was given by the face on the frame made his skin crawl. He would rather face off an army than have to deal with some greedy merchants, but as a spy, he knew all these.

"It better be perfect."

"Come on man, don't insult me. When have I ever made anything less than stellar?" Well, the one redeeming quality about this merchant was his quality. In the mercenary world, this was the go-to guy for all kinds of tech, his selling point being his quality.

The massive spaceship took a day to get docked on the space station, and then they took an airship down to the ground. The duke and his entourage found a luxurious hotel for them to stay.

In the middle of the night, a silhouette emerged from the hotel and took an alleyway. He then proceeded to make several turns to ensure that he was not being followed. After he was fully satisfied that he was alone, he made his way to his destination.

Downtown, a sleazy looking office block. Many who knew the merchant wondered why he chose to set up his shop in such a god-forsaken place despite the kind of money he racked in. However, if you consider the kind of clientele he targetted, the sleazier the better.

"You are here." A short scrawny man emerged. So picturesque of what you'd expect to find in such a place, the man looked to be the same as the environment he was in, perfectly blended.

"I told you I would come." Pleasantries were exchanged, as the man and the merchant both did their checks to confirm that the other was who they said they were. Like most security-conscious people, the two had their verification codes in casual conversation. Only someone who knew them both in-depth would be able to decipher what they were saying.

"Are you sure about this, there is no going back." The merchant asked, wearing a serious face all of a sudden.

"I know doc, but you also know that it's not like I have much in the way of choices."

"I know your situation, but this? This feels like overkill. It's like killing a mosquito with a grenade."

"Look doc, I have given it a fair amount of thought, and this is the best course of action. My mind is made up, now can you do it or should I go look for someone else?"

"Okay relax, no need to get all salty here. Plus, who else can do a better job than mine?" The merchant cum doc smiled his classic sleazy smile, then, "follow me."

The two went downstairs, picked a lift, went further down. There they found another trap door which led them further down. By now, the man guessed he was deep underground. It was in there that they found the room they were looking for.

"So this is it." The man said. The merchant reached for a lab coat. Interestingly, when he donned it on, he looked less sleazy and more sciency, but it was still hard to think of him as a medical doctor, he just didn't have the charisma for it.

Laying down on a bed, the man found himself doing something he always found difficult to do: placing his life in someone else's hands. He had never done that unless he needed to. Yet in one of the most important procedures in his life, he would be asleep for the most part. Despite him knowing why it was necessary, he still hated it.

Needles, syringes, gas masks and lots of hospital tech later, the doctor was finished. It took him a whole week, 7 days, to get everything finished. It had been a rousing success. If his client had died, there was no way he was going to get paid, but now, the sleazy look was back, and on top of that, his eyes had dollar signs on them.

The doctor walked to the lifeless body and started disconnecting the tubes and cables attached. It had served its purpose, now in death, it would do one more thing. Throw the dogs off the scent.

Behind him, 2 almond eyes opened. A newly minted android body rose from the bed. Every inch of it looked human. The handsome 20-year-old face looked nothing like the old spy's body. There was nothing to trace the man that had been with the android that was standing in front of him.

"I see you are up." The doc said, glancing at the android. "How are you feeling?"

The man took a moment to understand who he was. His almond eyes almost looked lifeless for a moment. Slowly, his face contorted, like he was finally experiencing emotions for the first time.

[Welcome to the Integrated Android AutoSystem (IAA), do you want to proceed with the Virtual walk-around?]

A system alert rang out in the man's head while simultaneously writing out the content in the man's field of view. Looking at his visual input, he thought it looked much like a HUD (Heads Up display).

"Good as new Doc, Thanks." The man answered the doctor's question. He willed his mind to minimize the alert, which surprisingly worked. He didn't want to do the walk around now.

"You know how to get the payment, don't you?"

"Assuming everything checks out."

"The way I know you Doc, there is no much assumption goes on in your head, so I guess you've already checked and counterchecked." The man laughed as he dressed up, trying to get familiar with his body.

"So, have you thought of a name yet?"

"Of course, but why would I tell you?"

"That's a good sign."

"Of?"

"That you not planning on doing something stupid, like silencing me."

The man paused his activity and eyed the doc. "I know for a fact that you are not even on this planet, and this is just a puppet. I also know that you are the only one I can trust to repair my new body discreetly, should anything happen. So you tell me, why should I kill you when I have so much use for you."

"You've never disappointed, your intelligence network is impressive as ever." The doctor complimented.

"I better leave, if I don't, you'll be late for your event." Seeing the horrified look on the doctor's face, the man knew he had achieved his goal.

"You know what to do with the body, don't you?"