DJ's Mission (4 page)

This passageway was absolutely pristine and
completely different from the rest of this level. The walls were polished and
floors swept. Additionally, the flickering lights which permeated the rest of
the level were gone and this corridor was brightly lit. A huge blast door could
be seen at the far end of the long hallway with foot long numbers boldly
painted in black that stood out in vast contrast from the gleaming metal of the
door and declared this to be his goal, hanger fifty-one.

As he entered the corridor and moved closer to the
door, DJ heard the whirring of automatic defense guns deploying all around him.
He glanced over his shoulder and sure enough, four turrets had popped out of
the overhead and were tracking his progress towards the door. Naturally, this
made him nervous but he didn’t stop his forward motion. Iaido had sent him here
for a reason and it certainly wasn’t to be blown away by his security system.

UR-L8 whistled three tones, low-high-low. “Pardon
this unit’s intrusion master but it doesn’t seem that we are welcomed here.”

DJ ignored the bot’s pleas and continued down the
hallway until he reached the massive door. He looked for a way to open it but
there wasn’t any visible handle or latch. “You could be right.”

Before UR-L8 could respond, a hollow voice came
over the hallway’s intercom. “You have ten seconds to identify yourself or you
will be incinerated. Nine….eight…”

“I’m Staff Sergeant Scott DeJarnette, retired of
course.”

“Please remain still while your identity is
confirmed through retinal verification, seven….six…”

“I’m here at the direction of Iaido Achilles
Spartan.”

“Five…. identity confirmed. Access allowed. Please
step back.”

The massive door began to open.

Whatever DJ was expecting to find on the other
side, what confronted him was not it. Hanger fifty-one was actually just one of
three storage units Iaido had hidden away in this sector of space for his
salvaged and captured items. This was actually his largest and main supply
depot. The hanger bay actually encompassed the majority of this entire level
but this was the only access hatch to the station. The rest were sealed shut.
Standing at the door was a ten foot tall multi-limbed android that was silver
in color and shaped kind of like an upright torpedo. It had three red eyes
which seemed to be able to swivel in a full circle as did its three wheeled
base giving it the ability to move and see in all directions. Its limbs seemed
to unfold out of its silver metal hide. Currently it had ten arms out but DJ
guessed it could double that number if so inclined.

“Greetings Marine, I am Epista’tis the Caretaker.
Master Spartan has directed me to outfit you for a journey of utmost
importance.”

“Uh….thanks? What is all this stuff?”

Even as Epista’tis began moving through the
hanger, he kept talking. “These are the trophies of the Hunter. One could call
them the spoils of war but that would limit it only to the items captured
during battle.”

One limb seemed to point toward a far corner of
the hanger. DJ hazarded a quick glance down the neatly stacked rows and saw an
untold number of battle armor and weapons along the far wall. 

Epista’tis was still talking and moving. “…and
that would not include gifts from grateful benefactors.” Another wave of a limb
and DJ spied racks of gleaming items. He wasn’t sure but at least one looked
like a crown of jewels.

DJ interrupted the android’s rambling. “Where are
you taking me?”

“Master Spartan left specific instructions and
they have been followed to the letter. You will find everything you need to
accomplish your mission on the Aetós.”

“The what?”

As they moved out of the main area and into a side
hanger with pressurized doors, DJ stopped mid-stride at the sight of the ship
right in front of him. One part of his brain registered that there were other
ships docked there but he only had eyes for one.

“The Aetós, which translated from the ancient
language of Greek, means eagle. For some reason, Master Spartan thought you
might like this ship.”

The Aetós was the most beautiful starship he’d
seen in his entire life. Made entirely from some glistening silver metal, the
ship looked like a giant eagle with its wings outstretched and sloping slightly
downward like those of its namesake. He could see twin engines nacelles mounted
gracefully to its hull toward the back of the fuselage and right below the
‘tail feathers’ of the ship. But what really gave the starship the impression
of an eagle was its landing gear and nose design. The landing gear looked to be
patterned directly after the three-toed talons of an eagle. DJ imagined that if
the Aetós was in flight with the landing gear down, it would give the
impression of an attacking eagle with talons outstretched. Then, there was the
cockpit. Even with the tinted windows, he could tell that it seated at least
two. But what seemed most impressive was the fact that the silvery metal was
shaped in an almost perfect representation of the downward turned beak of an
eagle.

DJ had to remind himself to close his mouth.
“Wher…where did Iaido get this?”

“According to my files, the Aetós was built on
Sylvanias by a master shipwright at the commission of a Terran businessman in
2160. It took nearly two Terran decades to complete and before ownership of the
Aetós’ could be transferred to the entrepreneur, all of his assets were seized
by the Coalition government when he was charged with article 104 of the UCMJ.”

DJ knew from his time in the Marines that the
UCMJ, or the ‘Uniform Code of Military Justice,’ was basically the laws
governing those that served in the military and article 104 referred to the
crime of aiding the enemy.

“Why would a businessman be subject to the UCMJ?”

Epista’tis paused for a second as he accessed more
information. “It seems that the businessman in question was a reserve officer
in the UNCF Fleet services and had been activated at the time in question.”

“How long ago was this?”

“Twenty-seven Terran years ago.”

DJ nodded and quickly did the math in his head.
That would’ve been during the earliest years of the war between the Coalition
and the Confederacy. He’d read that there were many sympathizers on both sides
of the conflict which had led to countless problems for the government.

“Okay…how did it get here?”

“Master Spartan received this as part of a salvage
claim against the Sylvan government eight years ago.”

“And now, he is lending it to me?”

“Negative sir.”

DJ cocked his head to the side. “Huh?”

“No sir. The Aetós is not being loaned to you.
Ownership of the ship and all equipment onboard has been transferred to you
effective thirty-seven minutes ago.”

“But….what? You mean this is my ship?”

“I’m sorry sir; I was under the impression that
you understood English. I can speak ninety-three other dialects if you so
desire.”

DJ shook his head. “No, never mind. It’s fine. I’m
in a rush.”

“Very good sir. If you will climb onboard, Aeolus
will take care of you and I will return to my duties. It was a pleasure to
serve you.”

Before DJ could ask what he meant, the
multi-limbed caretaker android was gone and the pressurized doors were closing.
“Come on UR-L8, let’s get onboard.”

The boxy yellow and black android whistled once
and followed the ex-Marine toward the impressive looking starship. The
gangplank, located at the stern of the ship in between the twin engines,
lowered at their approach. Climbing onboard, DJ was shocked at the interior.

He was expecting a very plain and simple decor,
far from it. Granted, it only had one major compartment with sleeping pods on
each side, a small table and two comfortable looking chairs were strategically
located to one side. The interior was crafted in a polished dark wood which he
didn’t recognize. The whole of the inside was constructed with care and
decorated with earth-tones which he found very relaxing. He spied a short
passageway which obviously led to the bridge where two seats could be seen. All
in all, the Aetós was smaller than the Nemesis but much larger than the average
starfighter.

When DJ and UR-L8 cleared the gangplank, the hatch
closed and the engines fired up.

A mellow voice with an ever so slight British
accent spoke from the ship’s intercoms. “Welcome aboard, captain. I am Aeolus,
the Aetós’ resident artificial intelligence. I have been in communication with
Pax and have a full dossier on your exploits and mission summary. We are
cleared for departure and only await your command.”

Once again DJ found himself overwhelmed at Iaido’s
generosity and paused.

“I’m sorry captain, are we waiting for another? I
can open the hatch again if need be.”

DJ shook his head. “No, no we aren’t waiting for
anyone. I take it that you are fully capable for flying.”

Aeolus took on a slightly insulted tone.
“Absolutely, sir. Although, I will admit it has been some time since we’ve
flown.”

“Go ahead and take off. Set course for…”

“Saturn, yes sir. I have been fully briefed. Our
course is laid in and we are currently taxiing to our exit point. Might I
suggest that you strap yourself in? I would recommend the captain’s chair,
which would be the seat closest to you on the bridge. The front chair is
actually designated as the gunners mate’s chair.”

DJ dropped his duffle bag and climbed into the
chair and strapped himself in. Immediately, the command console came to life.
Every gauge, sensor or control was completely holographic with the exception of
the flight control stick. DJ found that with a simple flick of his finger, he
could move or zoom in on any particular gauge or monitor. It was amazing.

Aeolus spoke. “Firing thrusters and retracting
landing gear.”

The Aetós zoomed out of the lower section of Haven
and DJ felt himself sink backward into the chair by the G-forces of their
acceleration. Aeolus took the ship through several barrel rolls and quick
banks. DJ wasn’t a fighter pilot by any stretch of the imagination but he’d
been in a few dogfights in his time and he realized that the agility the Aetós
was displaying was incredible.

“Aeolus, how long has it since you’ve been out of
that hanger?”

“Using the standard Terran calendar: six years,
two-hundred and three days, fourteen hours and thirty-seven minutes and if I
may be so bold captain, it is a pleasure to be of service once more.”

“Sergeant.”

“Beg your pardon, sir?”

“Don’t call me sir, I work for a living. Nor do I
like the title of captain. I know that’s the general rule of thumb for
commanders of a vessel but I’m not an officer, I’m a sergeant.”

“I don’t understand. According to your service
record, you were discharged from active duty status eight years ago. Why would
you still go by the title of sergeant?”

“It’s a Marine thing.”

“Never mind, it is not my place to question my
commander.” A chime sounded through the cabin. “We have reached the outer
marker and can jump to hyperspace at your command.”

DJ nodded. “Do it.”

There wasn’t any fanfare or big surge of energy.
The Aetós just calmly slipped into hyperspace and the stars all around the ship
became a blur.

“You have a message waiting for you on the mess
deck. I will alert you when we are close to our destination.”

DJ unhooked himself and moved down the short
passageway. “Thanks, Aeolus.”

“No thanks are necessary….however, you are
welcome.”

DJ sat in one of the chairs and clicked on the
blinking light on the table console. A small holographic projector began
emitting its message in the air above the table. He wasn’t surprised to find
that it was from Iaido.

“DJ, I hope you like your new toy. I’ve had her
for some time but the Aetós just isn’t me. The Nemesis is my home. However, I
hate to see her just sitting there. Considering all the help you gave me in
dealing with the Major and other bounties over the last few months, it was the
least I could do. Besides, I know you have a thing for eagles.”

Iaido paused and grinned
.

“Honestly, I’ve had Epista’tis and Aeolus
getting her ready for you for several weeks but I just didn’t know how or when
to broach the subject. If I just gave it to you, we would argue about it since
you don’t like asking for help much less taking aid even when you need it.
However, your current family problems provided the perfect situation to solve
both of our problems.”

Iaido leaned back in his chair before continuing.

“Aeolus can give you a complete rundown of all
equipment stored on board. You have pretty much everything you’ll need short of
your HAVOC suit and Typhoon Gatling Gun. Both were available but given your
current mission, I did not allow Epista’tis to load them. I fear if you had
access to them, you would be to tempted to just load up and charge straight in,
which would only lead to you getting killed or locked up again. Keep in mind
that the Coalition doesn’t have any real authority on Saturn. Titan Avionics is
the true power in the Saturnian system and they rule with an iron fist.”

Iaido picked up a datapad and waved it at the
projector as he talked.

“I’ve had Athena work her magic on the net and
as I suspected, you are on the ‘no-fly’ list. As a matter of fact, you have an
active warrant throughout the Saturnian System with orders to arrest and detain
you on sight. But I have an idea to get around that particular problem… you
need to go undercover and I know just the identity to use.”

Iaido tilted the first datapad that he’d handed
him toward the holo-recorder.

“This has all the information about your cover
identification, statistics, past bounties and relevant information concerning
bounty hunting. Memorize it. Don’t worry; your credentials are completely authentic.
For the time being, you will be known as Rote Falken or the Red Falcon. It’s
actually an old cover of mine. I’ve only used it a few times many, many years
ago. As a matter of fact, the last time I had the Aetós out it was under that
guise. However, there is one slight complication.”