We all stand in Titan's favorite area: the recreational room. He stands behind the counter at the bar pouring drinks for all of us including himself. I grab my tiny glass and slam it quick. My hands shake and my heart and head pound. I've been in several fights, but an ambush by the Angel Vanguard isn't just another scrap. That advanced armor rests in my mind and teases me to think we're up against actual superhumans.
Cheq rests a hand on my shoulder. "By my count, Nev now has the most Angel kills out of all of us. Good job, buddy."
"Compared to the air, they're a lot easier to fight on the ground, and that was not easy in the slightest."
Titan leans in, his eyes piercing and his voice deep. "We saw you talking to your P.V.D. Were you in contact with that guy standing at the hatch door?"
I stop myself from another helping of the strong stuff. "Yeah. He says he knows us. He was spying by using the Angel battle jet. By the look of him, he's probably sitting pretty at the top of the rankings. I'm not sure how high though."
"High enough to order a retreat on his own?"
"It looked that way. A few button presses and the whole armada changed its mind, headed back into space. He wants the CN-Gateway we jacked."
Cheq places the small ring on the counter. My eyes read over the dark green metal, it's such a small thing, and this small thing is capable of conquering an entire galaxy so long as the other side doesn't know how it works.
"Well he's not going to get it," Titan says while grabbing it for himself. The automatic intercom plays a jingle throughout the ship to let us know that someone is trying to reach us through our transmissions.
Titan goes to answer it and I follow. He lets the monitor swing down and accepts the call. The older man I handed the report to is the one in the camera view of our screen. It looks like he's back in the office that I broke into.
General Barret (Personal): "Lux-Roulette? This is General Barrett of the Paxes Defense Force. You had a scout deliver me a report on the Angel Vanguard."
Titan seems shocked, his eyes dart from me to the screen.
Titan (Personal): "Yes, general. I assume you've read the report, I can answer any questions you might have."
I step into view of our camera, Barrett recognizes me.
General Barret (Personal): "I have, and while I'm curious as to how you've come to obtain any of this information, the Paxes Defense Force would like to thank you for this unique opportunity."
Titan scratches his chin, further falling into cluelessness.
Titan (Personal): "Opportunity?"
General Barret (Personal): "I've put in a request for a surprise assault with an armada of massive proportions. We'll bring in every elite soldier into one single rally point, and we expect you and your team to be present."
Titan (Personal): "You want us to come? I didn't think you'd be so open to a team-up with a mercenary group."
General Barret (Personal): "Confidential business be damned. The consequence of defeat is too dire to care about protocol. So what say you, Mr. Titan? 19:00 at the coordinates I'm willing to transmit. You open the portal, my armada flies in, you come with us to help stomp these Angels out of our galaxy."
Titan leans back in his chair, his hand goes to his head as he stares open-mouthed at the screen. I wonder if he's thinking about asking to be hired. This is usually the moment and circumstances where he talks about a deal after hearing how needed he is.
Titan (Personal): "One moment, General Barrett, if you please."
General Barret (Personal): "If you must, but please don't dawdle. Time is pressed."
His finger goes for the intercom button. "Guys, can you regroup in the control room, please. There's something I gotta ask of ya, and it's a big one."
Knight and Cheq squeeze through the door and surround us. Knight seems so serious while Cheq looks more curious.
Titan stands up, unwrinkles his top, and puts his hands behind his back. He stands tall and proud, and I feel compelled to step away from his side and join my other teammates. "Boys, what I'm about to ask of you isn't easy."
We all nod, and even though I already know what he's about to say, my chest tightens as if I'm expecting great and horrible responsibility to be asked of me. "We've lived our lives in this galaxy, hopping from planet to planet, taking contracts where we can. It hasn't always been a breeze, I know we all come from a past, but we made it here unscathed." He glances at Knight's deep facial scars. "Mostly unscathed."
He begins to pace back and forth, his stride is determined. "Point is, I like this galaxy, and I know you do too. The general has given us a chance to join him and his armada in the final assault on Angel Vanguard. I understand about having second thoughts, after all, we've all seen what they're capable of."
He stops in his tracks and faces all of us. His eyes dance with a spark in them, giving each of us eye contact long enough to feel the empathy behind the stare. "So, will you join me on what might be our final voyage?"
Knight's shoulders widen, his jaw clenches, and his hands ball into fists. "Titan, I've already followed you to Hell and back. This will be the first time we get to see Heaven and its angels for ourselves."
Cheq wipes his nose as his lip quiver. "Sir, I've seen so much of this galaxy because of you. I owe you for some personal growth and bigger ambitions. I'm with you, through and through."
I feel the fire in my heart! My chest puffs roughly with pride that I can't contain. "This all started because of a vendetta of mine. You offered to aid me with no questions asked and no expectation for rewards at the end. I might be too rash, but my heart's strength is yours to use."
His smile shines brighter than ever. The spark in his eyes, I think they're tears. "I couldn't have asked for better partners." He turns to the monitor again.
Titan (Personal): "Let's go save our home, General."
###
As I sit in my Ucello's cockpit, I stare at the universal clock that stays on one of the many monitors of my console. 18:51. We are all on standby waiting for Titan to take flight first. I can see him staring down in his own jet, but it's hard to tell what he might be feeling right now.
Suddenly his engine turns on, his thrusters light up and he slowly drifts out of the Oxy-Gate. The rest of us do the same and trail behind at a casual pace. Titan jets off at a high speed, and now we know that we are truly ready.
Cheq (Group): "Has anyone ever been to another galaxy before?"
Knight (Group): "There was a time where I planned to start a new life in one, but my old life got in the way."
Me (Group): "Was this before or after the discharge?"
Knight (Group): "Before. I was already named for my crimes by a former associate of mine. He squealed in court, and Paxes cut me off before hyperdriving to a new galaxy. I never got my new start and was given the decision to complete my sentence in prison or to join the military. The discharge made sure I went anyway, just with a shorter sentence."
Spending so much time with these people, I sometimes forget we're only here because we're out of options. We're all shadowed by a bad reputation in civilian living, and an honest life was out of the question once it appeared on our record. The supplement names every merc has are to avoid being looked up, to dodge any dirt being thrown at them.
There's still good in us even if our occupation is questionable. A bad guy who does the right thing doesn't exist. There are no bad guys, just people flying down the path the circumstances have given us. Still, helping Paxes defend a whole galaxy tips my story to the more honorable side.
My radar picks up several aircraft ahead of us, they come into view and I note the number of freighters and jets waiting for something as they hold still in the silence of space.
Me (Group): "Is that the armada up ahead?"
Titan (Group): "Would you look at that, we're here. I'm not even close to being ready, but is anyone really?"
For a fight this size, it's no lie to say we're out of our element here. We don't have large-scale plans like the military would, just a few rough strategies for taking on squads and maybe a trick or two when we're outnumbered. This isn't anything like that. This doesn't feel familiar.
Me (Group): "As ready as we can ever be. Knight, do you want to fly ahead and set up the shot?"
Knight (Group): "I'll do it."
He flies on, meeting up with the armada and pointing towards the empty space in front of them. We join behind him, and my hands grip my throttle tightly as things get silent. I look over to see Titan talking to his comms, he must be introducing us to Paxes.
His voice returns to our channel.
Titan (Group): "All right, Cheq, do a mass scan to implement the coding to use the gate."
Cheq (Group): "On it!"
He flies above all of us, his bottom hull disperses a massive blue light that covers everything floating around us. The battle jets and freighters all get touched, they're ready to use the gate.
Titan (Group): "Knight, let her rip."
Knight shoots into the vacuum of space, his photon light a much different color, it's a dark green trail in the black of space. The shot is slow, it stops completely after a short distance, and the little green ring opens up to massive proportions.
On the other side of the ring, the stars seem to zoom in at an accelerated rate. Further and further it magnifies until it hits the end of the galaxy. The new view is an up-close look at an Angel freighter with another right next to it. It's big, riddled with defenses, and several battle jets drift alongside them.
Cheq (Group): "They don't see us? They probably can't see a portal on their end. That means we'll be visible as soon as we pass through. The element of surprise is on a massive scale here, let's not pull any punches."
Me (Group): "I think they're waiting for you, Titan."
Titan (Group): "Look at me, in charge of the first move for a military. Faiyoh isn't going to believe this."