Prelude Part Two: Reassignment

Prelude

Undocumented Planet on the border of Arion Space

5 Months Ago

“Are you certain of the destination?” the Councilors voice was emotionless. His image on the screen betrayed his impatience adequately enough.

Commander Vah-ri stood with her arms behind her back. She knew the mission had gotten more complicated, but she also refused to show a moments hesitation in front of her superior. “It’s been confirmed. Multiple ships passed through Kelsor. They were mostly Scalantran vessels, but they all passed through the same system, eventually.”

“And only one member of team three survived?” he inquired with an accusatory tone.

“The operation was sabotaged, but I doubt she was complicit.” the Commander replied.

“And the other teams...what of them?”

“Each one was hit.” she sighed. “Only four others survived.”

“Understood.” he paused. “Proceed with your operation...but exercise caution. The entire High Council is watching.”

The image of the Councilor faded to black and the Commander was left staring at her reflection on the display screen. Her long black hair flowed past her shoulder and hung to her lower back. Her large blue eyes stood out under a furrowed brow. Her form fitting black bodysuit showed off every bit of her toned frame.

The Council was already looking for a scapegoat to point the finger at for the bungled infiltration missions. They had been planned with precision and patience to detail. Every escape route mapped and committed to memory. Every precaution had been taken, yet everything had gone wrong.

Someone had betrayed the entire operation. Four separate, six-man teams had been hit. Security teams had been deployed and the planet’s Velorian Protector had been waiting. Nineteen agents had lost their lives in what should have been a bloodless operation. It was true that all of them had been Betans, and usually the Council wouldn’t concern itself, but this was different. This had been the result of an act of treason. The Council would blame it on incompetence, and bury the truth.

She knew she had to act first. She pressed one of the buttons on the display screen,and watched as the face of one of the bridge hands came on screen. “Yes, Commander?”

“Tell each of the remaining infiltration team members to meet me in the conference room in twenty minutes.”

Adara Lor sat at the large circular table, casting a curious gaze around the room at the other people who had gathered. Four others, all men, had answered the summons. All of them were Betans and had the same apprehensive look she did. ’The other survivors.’, she assumed.

She had been told to wait for reassignment to a new team, but she hadn’t expected to be in the same room as the other Kelsor team members. Before they had been sent on their suicide sortie, each team had been kept sequestered from one another. Fraternization was frowned upon in this branch of the service.

She looked at each one in turn. The nearest one to her was a large, dark-skinned man. He had the look of a ’grunt’, with a thick neck and broad chin. The one sitting next to him was a smaller man, with narrow shoulders and a nasty scar across his face that appeared to be recent. The next man was someone she had met before, a former team leader, she had served with, a stern and hard man named Ophir. He was quiet and unassuming, but she knew he was one of the deadliest men in the room. The last man was of average height but had broad shoulders, he had a more distant look in his eyes, as if his mind were a million light-years away.

The silence was broken when the Commander walked in and approached the round podium at the far side of the room. She gave everyone a moment to focus their attention onto her before she spoke. “I wish I could give each one of you extended time off. Each of you have earned it.” she paused for a brief moment, “Analysis of the data each of you retrieved has revealed new information, and given us a new target.”

The short man with the scar motioned with his hand. “I fear I am lacking in old information, Commander. Can you inform us what any of this is about?”

The man with the distant gaze nodded in agreement. “I watched four members of my team get turned to cinders by that damn Velorian...my team leader got gunned down by Kelsorran soldiers.”

Ophir remained silent as the Commander responded. “Yes. You’ve earned your answers.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “For the last three years Arions from different worlds across the Empire have been disappearing. They seemed to be random and unconnected at first. Now we know better. They appear to have defected and left Arion space all together.”

Adara spoke up next. “Defected to whom? Velor wouldn’t accept them, and none of the seeded worlds could protect them.”

“We weren’t sure. The data all of you recovered has provided us an answer. Our informants were able to track some of their aliases and the ships they hired to smuggle them out on.”

“Where did they go?” Ophir asked in a restrained tone.

“Earth.” the Commander replied.

There was a brief quiet as each of the seated Betans exchanged glances. Finally Ophir broke the silence. “How many are we talking about?”

“Thirty-three Betans...and three Primes.” the Commander said.

The dark-skinned man spoke up finally. “Why is the Council taking such an interest in this?”

The Commander looked as if she was hesitant to answer. “These traitors had help. A network of resources and sympathizers that helped them get across the galaxy. That ’network’ starts here in the Empire.”

Adara stared at the Commander in a quiet contemplation. “The same traitor who leaked our mission details on Kelsor...”

“Yes. A traitor and a mole, somewhere in our chain of command.” the Commander replied.

Never breaking eye contact with the Commander, Ophir asked, “What’s our response?”

The Commander responded with a smile for the first time since coming into this briefing. “The five of you.”

“You mean we’re...”the scarred man started to ask.

“Going to Earth. I suggest you get better acquainted with one another...this is your new team.”