One more contract. One more mission.
Perio is a freelance assault pilot who survives by taking jobs no one else will. He moves fast, keeps his rig lean, and trusts his fixer just enough to stay alive. When a new contract pulls him into an ambush zone on the fringes of controlled space, the payout looks worth the risk.
The plan is simple. Wait in the dark. Hit the target when the shooting starts. Board the wounded cruiser, extract what matters, and disappear before anyone can react.
But space battles are never just about the ships.
As Perio pushes deeper into the hull, deploying corpse units and spreading control through the vessel, it becomes clear that the engagement is larger than it first appeared. Signals overlap. Objectives blur. The fight outside keeps moving, even as the rules inside begin to change.
Pickpockets is a dark cyberpunk space heist about layered conflicts, professional violence, and operations where intent is never fully visible. This short story explores boarding actions, close-quarters ship combat, and the corporate logic shaping the ChromaSpyke universe.
