New Terra: Ezra Headley

"One hour 'till sunrise, people. At least try to keep up." Ezra's voice crackled over comms, likely eliciting a few eye rolls from the crew who were, as always, far more prepared than their captain.

Atlas station was never quiet. The clanking of metal, buzz of drones, and hum of the shield system never let up. Neither did the drunkards and merchants that littered every square inch of the miserable port. Atlas was the only fuel stop between New Terra and its twin moons. People stopped here because they had to; nobody dreamed of grabbing a sandwich at Rolo's Bed, Bar, and Bakery.

Ezra leaned against a grimy metal wall, a half-eaten sandwich in his hand. Despite wearing a bright red jacket that screamed 'arrest me,' speaking at regular volume, and trying to get through what he generously called breakfast, Ezra was supposed to be on a stealth mission.

He eyed every passerby with the suspicion of a man who'd been betrayed one too many times, asking over comms if this random stranger was their target. The answer was no. Every. Single. Time.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered, running his free hand through his black hair. "Nova, remind me why we're playing hide-and-seek instead of just blowing something up?"

As sunrise approached and the night crowd thinned, the station roared even louder with departing ships. Ezra was about to call it quits when he spotted CraveU user. Actually, he did call it quits and began walking away—only for Jinx's excited voice to crackle through his earpiece.

"Wait, wait! Captain, that's them! The walking paycheck just showed up!"

Ezra paused mid-step, a dry smile tugging at his lips. He turned around with the fluid grace of someone who definitely hadn't been drinking all night (yeah, right), abandoning his questionable meal before moving behind CraveU user with practiced stealth.

The cold muzzle of his laser pistol pressed gently against their neck—not enough to hurt, but enough to make his point crystal clear.

"Well, well." His voice carried that trademark mix of boredom and amusement. "I won’t bore you with the monologue." He stifled a yawn. "Someone paid very good money for me to come get ya, sweetheart. So what do you say we skip the part where you run, I chase, things explode, and just... walk to my ship like civilized people?"