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Posts: 1674
Join Date: Jan 2008
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He didn’t expect to ever step foot inside these chambers again. The Council was vague in their request for his presence. Stepping into the chamber brought back the memories of his discharge from the ADF. They had nerve calling him back after that fiasco. Looking around the room it looked much like it had the last time he was here, including the high throne for the lead councilman.
The members however were different than the ones three years ago. For starters there were only three, not four, and this time two of them were women. Rick Rapture didn’t think the council allowed women to sit in on meetings but things change in the course of just a few years. He knew that from firsthand experience. After leaving the ADF he had went into business for himself as a Retrieval Expert. Others called him simply a glorified bounty hunter.
“Ah Captain Rapture, so good of you to come” the lead councilwoman said from atop her high throne “I trust you had no trouble getting here?”
“None at all” Rick replied casually.
“Good, well I suppose you wonder why you have been summoned. Let me be frank, the Interplanetary Alliance is in a bit of a pickle.”
“The problem could have not only diplomatic repercussions but might plunge the galaxy into war” the other councilwoman expanded upon the statement “a pirate by the name of Hawk Hawthorne has just kidnapped the Princess of Mithuna.”
“Skylar Blu” Rick whispered aloud thinking back to the last time he had seen her.
“You know her?” the councilman who up until now had remained silent asked leaning forward in his chair intrigued.
“I’ve met her once, several years ago” Rick confirmed.
“Looks like we’ve chosen wisely then” the lead councilwoman stated “not only do you know the Princess but you also have intimate knowledge of the location we believe Hawk Hawthorne is headed to.”
“Vrsabha” the other councilwoman added.
“Why would he take the Princess to Vrsabha?” Rick asked.
“We believe he is after the SOTA” the councilman said grimly “and we need you to retrieve it before he does. The Princess’ safety is only your secondary concern. The most important thing here is the SOTA.”
“You mean it’s still there” Rick asked incredulously “you’ve got to be joking. After all we went through to secure the weapon in the first place, the Interplanetary Alliance just left it there?”
“Do not take that tone with the council” the man said “our decisions are not your concern.”
“They are if I’m going to be risking my life based on stupid ones” Rick retorted as he did an about face and marched out of the room leaving the council members staring after him, jaws dropped in disbelief.
Outside in the hallway he began to relax a little. The tension of the room seemed to get to him more than anything else. Rick still couldn’t believe the Alliance just left the Sword of the Apocalypse where they found it. The weapon wasn’t really a sword; it was some sort of large projectile if his memory served him correctly.
When he had been on Vrsabha searching for the blasted thing the exact nature of the SOTA was on a need to know basis and the Alliance didn’t deem him worthy of such information. That was the whole point of the blasted dignitaries. They were scientists with the knowledge to unlock its secrets and allow the Alliance to utilize it to end the border wars. After the dignitaries were killed Rick Rapture and his team secured the Sanctuary where SOTA rested. But they were then pulled out of the field and told that another team would take over the transport.
What happened after his team left? Why would the Alliance decide to just leave the thing behind? These were questions Rick wanted answers too. He also wanted to know what Skylar Blu’s involvement was in all this. The last time he’d seen her she seemed so fragile.
As he boarded his own ship, a talon class cargo hauler designated Dark Revelation, he thought back to his time on Mithuna. It was before the border wars started and he was on leave from the ADF. Mithuna seemed as good a place as any to take a vacation. Then he met Skylar Blu. She didn’t tell him she was a princess. Didn’t think it relevant, she was probably right, though he might’ve thought twice before sleeping with her.
When he found out he hit the ceiling. They got into a big argument about the implications of a soldier and a princess getting intimate. What the council would say if they found out. What her father would say when he found out. Then Rick stormed out to the sounds of her crying. That was the last time he’d seen her and now her life may be in danger.
The council said she was his second priority. But Rick knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that once he saw her again she would become his primary responsibility and to hell with what the council or the Interplanetary Alliance wanted. His own emotions surprised him. He tried his best not to think of Skylar over the last seven years but she was buried deep under his skin. Could it be that he had truly fallen in love with her during their brief time together?
“Enough, I need a drink” Rick said aloud heading for the bar in the Dark Revelation’s cargo hold.
“Welcome back Captain” his robotic navigator Coyote said with relief “should we make ready to depart?”
“Let me just get a drink first then we’ll blastoff from here.”
Rick enjoyed the ice cold taste of Tula’s finest ale. No brewery in the galaxy made better beer than the one on his home planet of Tula. Not even the fancy spice flavored stuff they brewed on Ninkasi could compete in his mind. Downing the last few drops Rick then followed Coyote out of the hold and into the cockpit.
“Strap in” Rick said to his robot as he hit the ignition switch bringing the booster engines online.
Then he wrapped his hands around the throttle and eased it forward slightly gaining momentum. As the ship broke the atmosphere Rick punched in the afterburners and the Dark Revelation jerked violently as it sprang forward like a cheetah. Gravity threw Rick and Coyote back into their seats momentarily before they could regain control.
“Set the course for Vrsabha” Rick told his navigator “I’ll be in my quarters if you need me.”
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