The Compromised Mission - Chapter 5, The Cobra
13 Sep 2021Nathan Crest
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The Compromised Mission
Chapter 5, The Cobra
I blended in with the crowd of office workers hastily leaving the building as station security rushed by. The gun fire was most likely a welcome interruption for the night shift workers, temporarily breaking the monotony of the lives of these corporate wage slaves.
The entrance to dock three was immediately across the street. With station security flooding the area, even Red Valkyrie would think twice about blatantly carrying out her kill order. However, I did not know how many of these security personnel were paid off by Orionis Vision Systems. I walked casually. If you looked like you belonged, people would think you belonged. Security was too busy dealing with the chaos caused by the fire fight that I was largely ignored. The cameras must have captured my trek across the street. But if all went well, I should be off Veblen Station in minutes.
For a change of pace, my saunter to the hangar was not interrupted. Inside was a Cobra MkII. Typically this model was either restored to mint condition and showcased at retro conventions, or used by laborers that could not afford newer models. This was clearly the latter. With the peeled paint and various dings and dents, its purpose was function over fashion. The ship was also retrofitted with adapters that worked with modern landing pad couplers, gaining utility but removing any value as a collector's vehicle.
A teenager with short black hair and lanky limbs came out to greet me. He moved as if he hadn't quite grown into his body yet.
"Commander Crest, you're here. I'm Associate Joey Tsang. We should leave as soon as possible."
I glanced at the boy's badge. It had the proper hidden Albion encoding.
Shaking Joey's hand, I was a bit worried, "Associate Tsang... are you old enough to fly?"
"Yes sir, here is my learner's license," the boy tapped on his comm-link, displaying the official document.
"Well... okay then." Time was of the essence. I needed to get off this station, landing was a matter to worry about later.
I nodded at Joey as I headed toward the cockpit door.
"Um sir, I'm sorry but you can't be in the cockpit. Everyone is looking for you. You have ride in the cargo hold."
"Ok, you mean the passenger cabin?"
"No... the cargo hold."
Well, the boy did make sense. We would most likely be scanned by Orionis Vision Systems as we left the station. I walked to the cargo hatch and opened it. My nose was immediately assaulted by the smell of dirt, manure, and animal feed.
"In here?" I questioned Joey, but I knew the answer.
"Yes sir, these livestock should hide your bio marker, at least enough to pass a cursory scan. We would still need to leave the station fast, and maybe make a run for it if we need to."
I took a quick pause to decide if facing Red Valkyrie was a more desirable fate. With a sigh, I stepped inside the cargo hold.
Within a minute, I heard the familiar noise of the landing coupler being disengaged. It sounded more metallic and hollow from inside the cargo hold.
"I guess Joey knows what he's doing huh?" I said to the Tauri Horned Boar looking at me, as we laid in the corral.
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I tapped on the comm-link. "Tara, I'm off Veblen station."
"I'm glad to hear that. I will let Commander Pendragon know."
"Tell the mercenaries to disengage. I'm already gone, there's no need for them to continue to fight Red Valkyrie."
"I just did as soon as I heard from you."
"That means Red Valkyrie is still alive?"
"Yes, she already took down two members of the team. They were relieved to hear the mission has been successfully completed."
"What a monster. I hope I never have to face her again."
"Are you sure? Isn't she your type?"
"Well, I suppose she did want to kill me as much as my ex did."
The rest of the trip was uneventful. Looked like this kid would turn out to be a great pilot for Albion Interstellar.
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Joey had followed the exact flight plan of landing at Rawn Works to avoid any suspicion. As far as anyone could tell, he was just a farm boy delivering livestock. The extraction point was 50 kilometers outside of this station on Orionis 9. After thanking Joey, I took the SRV he had prepared and drove out into the rocky surface of this planet.
As I neared my destination, Dragon, the massive Type-10 Defender, was easily visible. It cast a hulking shadow which rivaled that of rugged mountains. I maneuvered the vehicle under the colossal ship and engaged the boarding sequence.
"Commander Pendragon! Am I glad to see you." I reached out and shook hands with Hark Pendragon, Chief Senior Officer of Albion Interstellar.
"Likewise Commander Crest, welcome aboard Dragon."
Hark wrinkled his nose. "What is that odor? Nathan, you smell like a Tauri Boar farmer."
"Wow Hark, good nose."
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This concludes Nathan's shenanigans in Orionis. Thank you for reading.
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.