"ID and purpose of visit?"
The Martial Master at the front gate demanded with a strict tone of voice. The man looked middle-aged, with a long, thick beard and a bald head, wearing a Martial suit with absorption technology, allowing him to withstand attacks much more easily if ambushed at the city gates.
In the distant past, a Martial Master working at a city gate would have been an utter travesty, but in the Era of Expansion, where their numbers had exploded, and supply had skyrocketed, it was considered a promising, stable career in an unstable frontier.
Ria and Runark plucked chipped ID cards from the belts on their exo-Martial attire, offering it to the man.
"Ria Falcon," Ria replied calmly with an alias. "Freelancing."
"Runark, also freelancing."
