It started out as a normally busy day for Lt. Commander Jonathan Steele, but before it ended, something would occur that would change his life forever.
As he was finishing his paperwork, he felt a paw on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw the Chief Enforcer's head Sergeant staring down at him, a serious look on his face.
"The Commander would like to see you in the situational room right away." The gruff tom informed him, "You've been assigned a mission into Siberia as part of a special ops team."
That was odd! It was rare that he was actually sent outside the office let alone go on a mission with special ops. No matter! If it got him out of the chair he was stuck in, he was all for it.
"Okay, be right there." He replied as he put his work away quickly and checked he had his ID. The Sergeant nodded and left. Moments later, Steele was hurrying out of his office, heading to the elevator to go down to the bowels of the building where the high security situational room was located.
Stepping off the elevator he headed for the heavy security door. Waiting to enter were other specially chosen enforcers. Checking their ID's, the heavily armed guard allowed one at a time to enter. It took a few minutes but finally, Steele stepped into the special room.
It was a fairly large place, lit by the huge monitor screens. In a step down area known as the pit, there were long high tech work stations manned by officers wearing head phones. There was a 3D Navigation Console located to one side. Toward the back corner a glass walled area held a large table and chairs as well as a wall screen which displayed a map. This was where the briefing would be held.
Steele stepped into the room and took his seat to the right of the Commander's chair. He was mildly surprised when the Commander's niece also came in and took the seat on the other side of the Chief Enforcer's chair. When about half the seats were filled, Ulysses Feral finally entered, which was their cue to stand at attention.
"At ease." Feral said as he skipped his chair and went over to the three dimensional map system. The officers quickly took their seats and gave him their full attention.
"Listen up! I have some urgent news. We've received a report of possible suspicious activity in Siberia." Feral said as he pointed his cane to the location on the map, "There was a team of scientists studying possible Agracite deposits in the northern most part of this area, but since yesterday, all contact with them has been lost."
He turned from the map. "You've all been hand picked for this team. Steele will be in command with Felina as second. Your mission is to investigate the disappearance and try to determine what is going on in Siberia. That folder in front of you, Steele, is all the data we have at the moment. I expect regular reports on a daily basis of your progress. You will leave immediately. Get your gear together and board your transport within the hour!" He ordered briskly. "Are there any questions?" He asked. The enforcers looked at each other for a moment but no one spoke. "Fine. Dismissed!"
"Yes sir!" They responded in chorus. Feral nodded and left the room ahead of them.
Not saying much, the officers quickly departed the situational room for their quarters to quickly pack. Steele was excited. This was his chance to redeem himself and prove how capable he was.
In twos and threes, the team appeared at the armory to receive their AR34s and LX18s pistols as well as survival gear. Very quickly sixteen enforcer commandos and two officers gathered on the flight line and after tossing their bags and kits to the cargo techs, they boarded a GS13 Drop Ship (A newly designed battle craft for carrying troops). Taking their seats they strapped in quickly. They would be leaving as soon as the pallets with their gear and the larger equipment they would need was loaded.
Felina looked at Steele distastefully. She never had much respect for the prick of a second in command. She was surprised when her uncle had decided to send him on this mission. She scowled mentally, she would have to monitor everything and watch her own back since he was very good at screwing up whatever job he was given. She had been shocked and angry when he had tried to depose her uncle that one time. There was no telling what else he was capable of. She crossed her arms over her chest and fumed.
Steele could feel Felina's displeasure. He knew she didn't think much of him. He hadn't tried to depose her uncle for his own gratification, he had just wanted a better leader for the enforcers. He found Commander Feral's leadership style somewhat lacking. He actually would have been more willing to place her in the command position if he could have found a way. Though she could be as bull headed and prone to charging head long into danger like her uncle, she was more flexible and willing to try other ways to protect the city and that's what he liked about her.
He hadn't known at the time that she was the Commander's niece or he wouldn't have tried taking Feral out. Unfortunately, anything he tried to say in his defense now would only seem like he was trying to suck up to her to get to her uncle. He sighed. He had always admired her and wanted to get to know her better but he didn't think that was going to happen now. She could barely stand to be near him. As he watched the pallets of gear being pushed aboard, he hoped that this mission would allow him to show her what he was really like...if it wasn't too late.
This is my newest couple guys. I bet you can only imagine who I'm talking about. That's right Steele and Felina! This has to be the most original idea I've ever had since no one has used this pairing. I think I can safely say that this even shocked me when I thought about it.
So please, click the little review button and tell me what you think.
And thanks to Ulyferal for being my beta reader!
