-” ...Corruption, scholars agree, blunts good government and corrodes the public faith. Yet, corruption is often a matter of political perspective. It can be functional. Stable, developed star systems view corruption as nothing but a burden, but developing systems depend on it. The Great Dyson Swarm of DH Tauri, for example, was only built as a result of the Halifax conglomerate first, illegally buying the system. Furthermore, it was only affordable due to the unethical employment contracts signed to construct it, and the illegal weapons trade done to fund it. It therefore stands to reason that the exponential expansion of humanity has led our species to higher levels of corruption than ever before…” - Benedict Aufstar, Professor of economics.

  Ronin did not know how long he’d been on this ship. After they locked him in here, he’d lain within what he presumed was a prison cell for hours. After falling asleep on the metal floor, then waking up again, he did know one thing though.

  He was not on Concordia anymore.

  The sonic booms reverberating through the ship, the extreme turbulence and the ship's often vibrating hull, spoke of an environment inhospitable to human life.

  “Why are we out here for just one convict?” Ronin heard a male voice question.

  The ship shuddered and its lights flickered.

  “This is what’s called a special mission Gabba. It’s a sensitive job. Meaning, the higher ups trust us,” an older voice answered back.

  These two had begun talking recently. They probably still believed Ronin was sleeping, which he didn’t mind. Blindfolded and in a place he did not recognize, he needed all the information he could get.

  “Still, I don’t understand the point of this. The ship shakes more every time we come here. And now? All of this for just a single kid? This ship can hold almost a hundred people!” The man called Gabba said, sounding nervous.

  “Relax, that's just the nerves getting to you. The ship's shaking just as much as the last time we came here," the older voice chuckled.

  “We were hauling over 130 inmates back then!” Gabba snorted. “We were carrying more than we could handle. You know… one day, this ship will crash, and I’m not going to be the one that goes down with it!”

  “This old bird still has many more trips in her,” sighed the older voice, “and as for why we have to go through all of this trouble for one person? The term: special mission is not just a word Gabba, it means something. Someone very important pulled a lot of strings to get this kid here, so let’s not question it, alright?”

  A special mission eh, Ronin thought, adding this newest piece of information to his mind palace.

  If this transport was so unusual, it opened up a whole new perspective on his situation.

  The fact that a whole ship, designed for mass transport has been set aside for me, can only mean one thing… Someone is trying to keep this whole thing a secret…

  As far as the government knew, he was just some lucky slum rat that somehow made it into the spaceforce academy. For them to keep this transport a secret…

  Beneath the black bag, Ronin’s face hardened. There was a big chance that the planetary guard knew he was innocent. Why else would they hide what they were doing? This whole operation reeked of foul play…

  “…”

  The ship continued on until the sonic booms grew distant, and the turbulence stopped. At some point, Ronin could hear the deep echoes of heavy metal moving as hydraulic systems strained. Was some sort of big door being opened outside the ship?

  He didn't get much time to speculate though, because the next thing he knew, the whole ship rumbled as he felt it land, and the sound of decompressing gas travelled the deck.

  That must be the airlock, Ronin remarked.

  The clangs of metallic footsteps followed, and a new voice began talking.

  “Fresh meat for the work? Why’s there only one?” The new voice asked.

  “This one’s a special case,” the familiar older voice replied. “Supposedly he blew up a skyscraper, killing over a hundred people.”

  “Oh... A terrorist then? Quite the high-profile inmate you’ve brought,” the new voice replied.

  “Not sure what he is. There was no trial, no nothing. Apparently, he’s part of the Ironglades Spaceforce Academy too,” the older voice said.

  “No trial?" For this place!? A political case then?”

  “I have my orders, as have you. Won’t do any of us any good to be asking questions like that,” the older voice said with finality, making it clear that the conversation was over.

  “Whatever,” the new voice grunted, then ordered his men to pick up Ronin.

  So that’s how it is… Ronin thought as they grabbed him.

  This confirmed it. The planetary guard was corrupt. Whomever had ordered the attack on his apartment and placed a bounty on him, had also likely paid off the planetary guard.

  He wasn’t here because they thought he was guilty, not at all. He was here because somebody paid for him to be here. He’d been a fool to trust in the authorities…

  As the men dragged him out of the spaceship and into the compound, the black bag over his head finally came off.

  “Rise and shine sunshine!" A small man laughed, then splashed him with a bucket of ice-cold water.

  Injured, and now spasming from the cold, Ronin was dragged across the hall.

  He could see new ships coming in from other cave systems, likely carrying more prisoners. Men covered in tattoos lined the walls. Row after row they stood, chained as bots stripped and scanned them.

  “49th rank, 1st row, ready!” Someone called out.

  His captors dragged him over to the newly freed up spot, then had him place his hands on a pressure plate. As he did, several holes in the wall opened up and tentacle-like metal appendages reached out to grab him. Then, a nearby bot came over, and it used fine instruments to cut apart his academy suit.

  Ronin could feel something building up inside of him. Perhaps he’d been holding himself back too much? Too scared of hurting people due to the alien artifact, he’d allowed people to walk all over him. Every man had a limit, and he was close to reaching his.

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  The bot continued on, not stopping until he lost everything, dignity included. A new bot then replaced the old, and began scanning him, stopping at his right eye. Piercing pain followed as a beam of radiation blasted his implant. Next, the new bot moved onto his neck, and black needles dug into his skin as the bot began injecting a thick black liquid.

  I will remember this, Ronin promised. If I ever get out of here, I will find whoever did this and make them pay.

  As the tentacles locking him in place finally retracted, one of the prison guards gave him a slap on the butt, then threw him his new clothes.

  “Welcome to Exodon!” The guard laughed.

  So, it was this place after all…

  Ever since coming here, Ronin had noticed his body feeling heavier. And there was only one planet in Tar with more gravity than Concordia…

  Known as the land without sun. A hellscape the kingdom of Tar only sent its very worst criminals.

  Prison Planet Exodon!

  Looking down at his new clothes, in big black letters, he saw the name they'd given him:

  Inmate 5348.

  "..."

  After putting on the orange jumpsuit he'd been given, Ronin was led in front of a several tons heavy metal door, reading Compound 37. The door opened slowly, revealing a long gray corridor. Made to halt his way through it, he was then forced to ascend a series of steps. His injured leg hurt, and Ronin's mood only worsened the more he walked. Finally reaching the right elevation, another door opened up and he was led into an expansive circular hall, packed with prisoners.

  That's also where the next form of trouble began…

  “Come here little meat, come here!” A man from a nearby cell shouted, his face rabid.

  “Look at that fresh butt!” Another called, whistling loudly.

  For every cell he passed along the gangway, there always seemed to be at least one of these hairless animals, shouting obscenities at him. With cold intensity, Ronin turned to the inmates, then stared them dead in the eye.

  I will remember you. He promised. I will remember every single one of you!

  He was already having a bad day, and these guys were not making it any better. He didn’t know what the bot had injected him with, but he did know that the black fluid had begun healing him. Some of his injuries had already begun scabbing over. With the addition of the alien artifact helping out, it was only a matter of time before he was back in shape. With his enhanced body and the lack of available weapons, his injuries were the one thing that could give any of these prisoners a chance against him. Now, that chance was disappearing with every second that passed.

  If they wanted to come for his butt, they’d have to die trying. In fact, he’d welcome the challenge.

  Glancing out, row after row of gangways circled the hall. There had to be at least 30 floors here in this place, and with each floor having about 500 prison cells each...

  At a minimum, there's got to be over a hundred thousand inmates here, Ronin thought.

  He spotted about 10 inmates for every cell, so the number was probably higher. More importantly though, there was the way these people looked... For some reason, every single inmate here — was bald. Not a single one of these guys had a hair on their body.

  Ronin looked up, spotting hundreds of prison guards patrolling the top floor. Armed with laser rifles, in lockstep, the guards marched along the gangway as they watched the inmates below. These guys had hair.

  Ronin was reminded of the eizenshaft radiation.

  No! The government wouldn't dare! There is no way they'd force prisoners to work in something like that! He told himself.

  Forcibly shoving the question aside, he glanced down at the center of the hall. At the bottom floor, there was nothing, only an enormous cage and he could see blood staining its metal bars.

  Is this some sort of fighting arena?

  “Inmate 5348!” A nearby guard shouted. “We’ve got a nice and cozy cell for you here kid.” The guard chuckled as his mouth stretched into a wicked grin.

  This cell… What was this? There were only 6 other people here.

  “Stop diddling! Are you disobeying orders!?” The guard continued, raising a baton. He then clicked a button on the baton, causing red electric lights to flash across it.

  Ronin grit his teeth in anger, and he felt his battle lust rising. This guard, should he just… No, not yet. He could still control himself.

  Fuming, Ronin entered the cell and began placing his things down.

  “Hey!” One of his cellmates called. “Hey! Hey you! What’s your problem?”

  Ronin turned around, coming face to face with the man. From head to toe, the inmate was filled with bionics. His leg was fully machine, his skull was metallic, and both his arms had wires running through them.

  “What do you mean problem?” Asked Ronin, puzzled.

  “The fresh fish doesn’t even know!” Laughed another inmate. This guy had a large CLM tattoo covering his chest.

  Ronin, already feeling annoyed, was about to ask them what their problem was, before—

  “When you enter someone else's home, don’t you at least greet them first? What you just did, in this place, is seen as a very disrespectful act. I’ll forgive you this one time since you don’t know any better, but don’t expect such charity to come freely,” a deep voice spoke.

  From within the blanket on the bed to his right, huge muscular limbs emerged, elongating into a long, lazy stretch. The huge man, over 2 meters tall, yawned, tore off the blanket, then gave Ronin a measuring look.

  “You owe me a favor now. That's how the rules work down here,” he said.

  “Now, now,” one of the older inmates interjected, reaching out to Ronin for a handshake.

  “I will teach you the ropes of this place, no favor needed. Void knows, it’s hard enough just to live here when you already know the rules. No need to make things any harder than they need to be. Deal?” He asked, his lips curving into a friendly smile.

  “Deal,” Ronin agreed, grasping his hand.

  “Great! Name’s Marvin, but in here, people just call me Marv,” the older man said.

  “Name’s Ronin,” Ronin answered back, feeling a little better. Even in this place, the land without sun, there were still good people around.

  “...”

  As time passed, Ronin quickly studied the ways of prison.

  “Never be a complainer, don’t whine and just do the time. You have to mind your own business. If you see someone do something that doesn't jibe with you; it might be drugs, a beatdown, it could be anything. Heck, even if you like that sort of stuff, stay away. Never talk about it, and don’t bring attention to it. Also, always stick to your words,” Marvin said.

  He’d gone on talking about prison rules for at least 20 minutes now.

  “But I really am innocent. The only reason I’m here is because the planetary guard is corrupt,” Ronin complained.

  “Hey kid, we’re all innocent!” Laughed the man with the big CLM tattoo.

  “Alright, alright.” Marvin chuckled. “Now listen, and this is important.” He palmed his fist to emphasize the point.

  “The most important rule in this compound is to always wear the cuffs. If you figure out a way to remove them, don’t. Also, every morning, when the doors open, walk out immediately. Don't ever oversleep.”

  “Why? Is it because the guards will shoot me if I do?” Ronin questioned.

  The big muscular man whom he supposedly owed a favor now, chuckled. “Fish, heh, you will find out tomorrow. Let’s just say, getting shot would be a mercy if you take off those cuffs.”

  The talks went on, and his cellmates began sharing stories of anything from prison life to funny personal stories long before their life behind bars. Ronin joined in as well, he needed to know why nobody in this place had hair. As he kept asking though, all he got in response were evil chuckles and knowing glances. All they'd said, was that he'd find out tomorrow.

  Before long, it was time for bed, but sleep did not come easy. As his mind kept spinning, Ronin thought about eizenshaft radiation, how much his life had changed lately, and how different prison was. Though the rules here didn't make sense, they could be deadly if he didn’t follow them. There was also the way he’d ended up here.

  He could blame the planetary guard for their corruption. He could blame the person who’d placed a bounty on him, then sent assassins after him. He could blame the alien artifact... None of this, however, changed the fact that he was here instead of in a factory building spaceships.

  But what could he have done differently?

  Should he have been more ruthless? If he had killed that woman back in district 101, he might have been safely back at his apartment now. But... if he did that, if he became the man the artifact was turning him into, would he still be Ronin? Or would he be a monster? The questions circled his mind for hours, but eventually, sleep came.