Stanford sat back down and took his time with his apple, depositing its core in the empty cup before standing back up again.
Guinevere looked up politely at the speaker, smiling as she wondered what she'll be allowed to do to him.
"Splendid!" Evan said. "Outside, there is a ship ready and waiting for your first field mission. You will be storming a Privateer Ship Convoy within the orbit of New Galapagos. There will be seven armoured cargo vessels with sizeable weaponry. While these ships are meant to hold their own in a fight, they are usually cobbled together from scrap. They are heavily modified but on a shoe-string budget. Sabotage would be easy. Your target is The Crew of The Sprite. We do not know where this ship will be but we do know that is it helmed by three enemies of the Empire. They have been terrorising good citizens for decades and must be captured alive for questioning and sentencing. Completion of this mission will require teamwork. You will have to secure each ship within the convoy before attempting to capture The Sprite's crew. These small heavy-duty haulers carry only 5 to 7 personnel, usually. It should not be difficult if you work together." He looks to Guinevere. "Apart from the crew of The Sprite, feel free to keep as many as you can."
"Sir," Blade started not knowing what the answer would be, "would you mind having me wear the armor I came in?"
Stanford cleared his throat before speaking up. "Uh, yes, question. How are exactly going to jump from ship to ship? Are we gonna get armor or is it a "come up with your own way" sorta of thing? And, what if say a few ships become... Un-salvageable?"
"This sounds like fun. Pity we need to keep some alive. Where's the fun in that? It just complicates things." Guinevere sighs.
"The ships don't matter as long as no one is lost in place." Evan said. "Your target is the crew of The Sprite. The others should have known better than to consort with such criminals." He then turns to Blade, the warm smile still shining through his beard. "Your welcome to use your armour. I believe it will have to undergo some modifications soon enough but it will be sufficient for now." He looks around the room. "Any more? If not, let's get on board, shall we?"
Blade soluted, "Sir." He immediately went to his room, grabbing two large metal crates. Blade carried them onto the ship.
Stanford nodded and went back to room to grab his weapons. He grabbed another book off the shelf and left his cob-pipe as he hurried to the ship.
Needle was on the ship by the time the rest of them arrived, although she was the last to leave the dining hall. She waved at each of them as they came in. She had a strap going from her shoulder to her hip, like a sash, and attached to it were several pockets that looked like they could only hold a deck of playing cards.
(So, let's keep us going briskly.) Evan enters, signalling the ship into the air. With a deafening rush of thrust and forced air underneath them, raising the craft in to the sky with a shaky but swift accent. The Journey took three hours. New Galapagos was a largely green sphere with swirling purple clouds covering the huge land mass. This also gave the sea that was visible a violet taint while the light radiated off it. They stayed within orbit of this place for a further thirty minutes. And then, behind the shadow of a moon, 7 clunky looking freighters emerged. They seemed half rusted and barely able to function, despite all evidence to the contrary. Their weapons were a mismatched ornaments on heavy metal scales that cleave through the infinite void. They appeared to have not noticed the ship of prospective generals yet. "You have space suits in all your differing sizes and requirements if you should need them." Evan said. "Rules of engagement have been left up to you. Your mission is to take the crew of The Sprite alive. Nothing else is important." He leaves a pause: "Except you all returning to me safe and sound, of course."
Blade was happy there was an armor station on the transport ship. Now he has his Spartan armor on, and because he joined this military he gave it a camouflage purple and dark blue paint job, covering the green and black. He then attached his Assault rifle to his magnetic holster, and sheathed his great sword. He had two spike grenades as well as two plasma grenades and a bubble shield. Blade activated his HUD system as the over shield quickly charge. The armor suit was tight, but he was comfortable in it. The suit trapped oxygen in it and was modified for faster running, and was added an active camouflage built into it.
Guinevere put on her space suit with little difficulty. "I'll go have fun with the non-vitals. Cause a... distraction." She grins in a manner no little girl ever should, stepping into a shuttle and flying out. The shuttle soon stops its propulsion, sending out a short range distress distress beacon that half the ships should be able to read.
Stanford slipped into his suit, putting his holster and hat over it. "I'll persuade on of the crews to surrender their ship and use it to carve a way to The Spirit." He hopped into another shuttle and followed after Guinevere far enough back that so that we wouldn't be noticed by either parties.
Blade followed, "I'll take any and all opposing threat if it comes down to it, which will happen." He quickly slipped into the shuttle, ready for combat.
Now here's the interesting thing: it took about five minutes before any communication was made to Guinevere. When they did, there was a loud amount of noise behind the voice that came through. "You OK, Sweetie?!" Was the woman on the other end drunk?
Needle pulled out a deck of white colored cards from one of her pockets. The cards floated in front of her and they sorted through themselves. A twisted, very rough, female voice echoed in Evan's head. "Science is wonderful. Magic is more so." With that, Needle faded out of visibility. On one of the ships, Needle seemed to appear out of nowhere in the corner of a room in near total darkness. She smiled, just as disturbingly as ever, and her eyes flashed yellow. She put her deck away and started towards the door.
Guinevere looked to the console, sounding distraught. "They... they killed everyone. They locked me up and set me to drift in space... I don't wanna die... I wanna see my mommy! Please, you have to help me!" She begs in her best, most innocent little girls voice. She looks to the corner where Needle sat in waiting and grinning at the being, waiting for a response.
