“Thank you for choosing Silvercard Transportation Services, your guide throughout the galaxy! We’ll be arriving in Hathea shortly. Please gather all personal belongings before disembarking. If you have any questions, spaceport staff will be more than happy to assist with whatever concerns you may have. We hope you enjoy your time on Hathea, and hope to see you again.”
Maxim reached over and grabbed his bag, nudging Aidan awake. “Hey, be sure to grab your mountain of luggage. We’ve arrived.” Aidan groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. “Thanks for waking me…and it’s NOT a mountain.”
Maxim smirked and continued looking out of the window, watching as the ship slowly descended through the atmosphere, the flames from the heat generated being easily subdued by the shields of the ship. As the ship landed at the port, everyone stood up almost at once. Maxim watched as the others in his class slowly made their way to the exit and stepped off, following them. As soon as he stepped off, he began looking around, trying to find any sign of this intelligence agent that was supposed to greet them.
“Do you see anyone who resembles who we’re looking for?” He asked as the others were also looking.
“Nope.” Amanda said, sighing as she set her bag on the floor. “You would think that being an agent in the intelligence agency that they would be on time.”
“Or it could be that I’ve been next to you this whole time, but you’ve never noticed.”
Everyone was startled and turned to the direction they heard the voice, and noticed a thin woman, wearing civilian clothing, giving them all an amused look. “Rule number one: never assume an agent for any security agency of the republic will arrive wearing their uniform. Not only does it attract too much attention, it could cause a small panic as people could think that something nefarious is underway.” After a brief silence, she continued speaking. “I’m Kerilyn Rhyne, your rendezvous and, for the duration of your trip, the person in command of you all. Now, if you’d follow me, I have two vehicles waiting for us to take you to your lodgings for your stay.”
As Kerilyn began walking away, everyone stared at each other, unsure of what to make of her.
“Should…we follow her?” Melek asked, finally breaking the silence.
Freya nodded. “Yeah…we probably should. I doubt anyone would know about us and why we’re here unless she claims to be who she says she is…”
Amanda sighed and picked up her bag again. “The intelligence agency suuure picked an interested person to hire…”
Aidan started walking towards Kerilyn, followed by everyone else. After an awkward ten minute walk, the group arrived at the entrance to the port, and two large vehicles that were parked up front. Amanda’s sour mood quickly shifted. “Ooh old school! Tires and all! I thought the government got rid of all pre-hover vehicles decades ago?”
Kerilyn smirked. “What can I say? I’m not the only one in the agency that has a taste for the antique. But we’re burning precious time. There’s more than enough room for your luggage and to accommodate all of you.”
After the group had split into the two cars, the two cars began driving down the paved roads. To Maxim’s surprise, there were still quite a few vehicles that required tires, but from a glance, he could also tell all that he was told about the planet was true. For as far as he could see, the glitz and glamor of its many cities could be seen, even for miles away. Melek, who had gone into the same vehicle as Maxim, was glued to the window, soaking in the sights.
“Not used to seeing sights like this?” Freya asked Melek as she leaned back in her seat.
Melek shook his head. “I’ve never seen sights like this. Where I’m from, sure there’s cities, but much of the planet is still filled with forests so thick that it’s pitch black even though it could be midday. I’m just not used to seeing it be just all…buildings.”
Freya chuckled. “There’s not many urbanized planets that can claim that, except maybe many that were recently recolonized or newly discovered out in the frontier sectors.”
Melek shrugged. “Yeah, it is out near the frontier, but it’s been inhabited for centuries, and was able to hold out during the invasions, at a massive cost of lives though.”
“Interesting. What planet is this?”
“Sivov.”
Before Freya could reply, the driver cleared his throat. “We’re arriving at the base. Be sure you have everything ready when we stop.”
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Several minutes later, after being shown to their rooms, a room for the men and one for the women, the class was inside a briefing room. The room was monotone in color, with a large, oval shaped table in the center, lined with chairs on all sides. At the head of the table, Kerilyn sat, holding a remote. She pressed a button that lowered a projector. “So, I’m sure you’ve all been curious as to what’s been going on that we requested assistance from the academy. Well…the main reason is because we’ve been spread too thinly. We’ve received reports that there’s some terrorist activity that’s been building behind the scenes.” She pressed a button and a picture of a middle-aged man appeared on the screen.
“Meet Ziven Ryen: a fifty year old veteran who was discharged from the military two years ago. He had requested he be promoted to the admiralty, but after some digging, we found some unsavory…opinions that he held, so he was denied the promotion. Needless to say, he didn’t take the news very well. Shortly after he was denied this promotion, his performance sharply declined. He was soon honorably discharged, but since then has led several protests against the government, some of which turned violent. He was arrested multiple times before going off the grid. However, we received reports from some informants that during this absence, he’s been recruiting others who have been known to have similar sentiments. They’re planning on some sort of ‘party’ as they put it to introduce themselves to the galaxy. From what we’ve gathered, their target is an event being held tomorrow night that’s going to include a speech from the planetary governor. Most likely, they’re after him. We don’t have the manpower to keep this event secure, which is where you all come in. You’re going to be part of the security detail.”
Aidan leaned forward and stared at the picture of Ziven. “This guy looks familiar…”
“Well he was a member of the military during the time of the invasions. He actually helped the two heroes on several missions, so you may have seen him or heard of him during your history classes. When the heroes became secluded from public life, Ziven was one of the first members of the military who cried foul about what was happening. Sure, he was correct in some regards about the treatment of the heroes post-war, but afterwards, that’s when he began forming some of his extremist beliefs.”
“What kind of beliefs does he have?” Maxim asked, looking at Kerilyn.
“Anti-establishment would be the best way to describe it. He believes that the galaxy needs to be purged in a sense, at least according to the letters he wrote to associates. He claims that all politicians, regardless of how long they’ve been in office, need to be tried for treason. All who’ve supported the government are deserving of death, but those who are willing to ‘change their murderous ideals’ as he put it would be put in reeducation camps until they’ve been ‘cleansed.’”
“Sounds like a nut job to me.” Amanda dryly said, shaking her head. “Needs to be in a mental institution.”
“And that’s what we’re trying to do, but we don’t know his current whereabouts. That’s where you all also come in.”
Kerilyn brought up her holowatch, and after hitting a few buttons, everybody’s communicators beeped. “I’ve sent you a couple tasks that we’d want you to do. Your instructor has told us what our groups would have been like had there not been a change of plans, so I’ll be splitting you two into those groups to each do one of these tasks. I’ve sent the task that you’ve been assigned to everyone, so once you’re dismissed, those who have task one meet up to the left, task two on the right. I also sent you my official contact number for any questions or to report your progress. Understood?”
Everyone nodded their heads. “Alright then, dismissed!”
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