Just past noon, thunderclouds began to gather for their daily show, and the air grew heavy with the musky smell of ozone. Beneath the darkening grey sky of Tyrell lay a sprawling green forest that reached all the way to the horizon no matter which direction one would look. Tall metal buildings rose above the trees and reflected the few sun rays that broke through the thick blanket of clouds above. The cities on the Shivarian homeworld would seem chaotic to an unknowing onlooker, but beneath the deck of leaves lay orderly blocks of streets and buildings. The Shivari had established a perfect balance between nature and civilization.
The first flash of lightning found one of the silvery towers, and was soon followed by the deafening crack of thunder that split the silence before the storm. Although the lightning bolt packed quite a powerful jolt of electricity, the tall building did not suffer any harm. It was built to absorb the shock, for the Shivari had lived in these thunderstorms since the species was born. Each day, just past noon, dark clouds would clash, pelting the world below with white hot bolts of lightning. The inhabitants of Tyrell had taken measures to protect themselves from the daily onslaught, and enjoyed the rain that came as a welcome relief from the searing heat of the morning hours.
In an especially tall tree, someone stood watching the spectacle that unfolded in the sky. Below him was a landing zone for spaceships that belonged to the Shivari police headquarters. Several members of the Private Intelligence Agency would land here within the coming hours. The Shivari Police had hired them to solve a particularly complicated case, but even they did not know the exact details of the job they had accepted. The headquarters itself was a large, pyramid-shaped building made of dull black metal. Each floor had its own set of bulletproof windows, three on each of the building's four walls, revealing the silvery interior. The nameless individual looked up as a spaceship descended through the blanket of clouds, no doubt containing one of the elite agents that worked for the PIA. Below, an official looking Shivari in a black suit that contrasted sharply with his paper white, rubbery skin emerged from the headquarters to meet the visitor. The stranger in the tree smiled. This was going to be interesting to say the least...
