The following morning is a little stressful. Oniv decides to go ahead with the job, much to the dismay of Dern. Angel though just smiles, looking forward to her first mission on the field. Hatlin takes us to the armory, were our weaponry is recovered and stored. As Dern loads his rifle, Angel approaches me, excited for her first mission.
"I cannot wait any longer." she says
"Why are you so excited from this."
"Oh. Should I not be?"
"You need to be serious."
"So put on my serious face then?"
She smashes her face in, trying to look menacing and angry. Honestly, she just looked adorable, I couldn't be scared of her. Oniv walks up to her and hands out a pistol to her. She smiles and attempts to grab it before Oniv pulls his hand away.
"Remember." He says, "You are only here for recon. Do not engage unless you have to, and do not leave Axton's sight, understand."
"Crystal clear, sir."
He hands her the pistol and a few magazines, which she places in a bag on her back. She mounts the gun to the strap on her leg under her dress but realizes she has another strap on the other side.
"Axton," she says.
"What?" I ask
"Give me your pistol."
I turn to her, slowly. "Why?"
"Just do it."
I hand her my gun and she pulls out the other one, then aims them both forward, then side to side.
"What are you doing?" I ask
She takes the guns and strikes a pose. Both guns are pointing into the air, and she turns her back to me. She stands in a wide stance and looks over her bare left shoulder, straight at me.
"How do I look?" she asks.
"You look...awesome."
"Hey you two! Knock it off!" Dern yells, then continues to load his rifle.
Angel, a bit saddened by Dern's outburst nods, walks away, taking my other pistol with her. I don't even bother chasing after her.
We gather in the war room next door. The Minister and Hatlin go over the briefing.
"Ok here's what's going on." Hatlin says, "Two years ago we picked up a transmission from the Meklar government. There was a large order of Vorian Crystals that needed to be delivered off-planet."
"Vorian Crystals?" I ask. "What are they for?"
"We actually don't know." The ministor says.
"You don't know?" Dern asks
"We don't know what's going in the that's city. There is a base in the city center, that's your mission, reconnaissance. We need to know what they are in there and eliminate the crystals if possible."
"Where are we going?" Clara asks
"A station on the edge of the system. Hellen's Star."
"A space station? You don't have ships you can use to fly over the base and take pictures?"
"We do, but we don't have much."
"So why do you need us for this mission then?" Oniv asks.
"Because we are spread too thin, and this opportunity is too big to pass up."
"Fine, when's our window to get in?"
"Very soon, your ship is already waiting for you. We'll be sending more information to you as you fly. Good luck, all of you."
We are then guided to the hanger at the end of the hall. It sat on the ocean floor, and a huge back door at the far end of the facility was the only thing keeping us from drowning. Our ship sat closes to the entrance. A strange shape the ship was, as it was a simple capsule shape with two rings rotating around it. The thrusters were located along the back of the rings and both sat on two pivot points on the sides of the ship. We enter through the back, underneath a huge thruster. Rows of chairs lined against the back wall and face each other, allowing for more room in the center of the ship, presuming for cargo.
A man yells across the hanger and another yells back. I can't quite hear what they are saying but a loud announcement plays over the intercom as everyone starts to run for the doors.
"Clear the floor, the doors will be opening shortly." It says.
Then someone enters out ship and starts yelling instructions, all while the intercom is playing on repeat.
"Ok, here what is going to happen." He says, "When the doors open, the ship will get hit by the water, hard. Do not under any circumstances remove your straps while we are under. Once we are airborne its a straight shot for you guys to Hellen's Star. Any questions?"
"No!" Oniv yells. Everyone else just shakes their heads.
"Very good! Hang tight, its going to get rough!"
The man then bolts out of the ship as its doors close behind him. The ship then starts to taxi and its rings rotate toward the back of the ship. I get a view of the rest for the hanger from here. The other ship are doing the same, taxing out onto the runway, but then dropping down and mounting into place. A count down plays on some speaks inside the ship.
"Bay doors are opening, please hang on. There will be an impact shortly."
Mere second later, something hits the ship, really hard. Angel is able to hold stead, but the impact knocks my heads into her metallic shoulder. Dern laughs as a concerned Angel messages my head. The windows, now covered with water gives off the hue, and the sound of the engine spins up. The ship rises off the ground, along with the other ships and in one synchronized motion, they all leave the hangar.
The ship accelerates very quickly as it passes through the water. We pass by more fish and a massive creature with long tentacles. The ship tilts up and generates even more speed. The ocean brightens up as we get closer to the sun. Another announcement plays on the speakers.
"Attention, the ship is breaking through the surface. Please hang on."
Like crashing through a metal wall, the ship crashes through the surface of the water. Tons of water fly into the air, as high as the ship, as it continues to climb into the sky. Angel looks out the window and becomes completely mesmerized. The bright blue water went on for miles and not a single cloud was in sight. Her eye sparkled from the amazement, and never never spoke a word for the entire trip. And so with that we are off to our mission. The city of hell. I lay my head back and close my eyes, mentally preparing for the mission at hand, then I wait.