The sleek, black, RH-30 cruiser slowly docks into the Mother of Invention. As the man steps out of the ship, he marvels at the size of the Mother. He had heard tales of the ship, but had never imagined he would set foot on the hallowed decks. The huge metal halls of the docking bay were larger than any ship that he had ever set foot upon. The man is of medium height, well muscled, with a short military crop to his brown hair. As he steps off the ramp, a soldier snaps to attention and hands him an envelope.
"Welcome Agent Washington, sir." He salutes, then stands at ease, and says, "The Director would like to speak to you on the main deck."
"Agent Washington huh? I guess I can get used to it," the man says, as he opens the envelope. "I'll head up directly." Inside is a dog tag with his new name, Agent Washington, along with his new assignment, Project Freelancer. Alongside it in the envelope is a slip of paper, reading: Room 1204, which he assumed was his room on the ship, along with the locations of several other important rooms..
As he stepped into the elevator, a voice shouted, "Wait, hold that door!" Washington held it open as tall man dashed into the elevator, followed by a shorter woman, who was rolling her eyes at him. "Phew, thank you man," said the man. He was a tall, handsome looking man, with bright, blue eyes and short, curly hair. He was smiling, which was the opposite of what his friend was doing. She was short, with neck-length red hair and bright, intense, green eyes. She was pretty, in a I-can-beat-you-senseless kind of way. Despite her size, Washington was immediately more intimidated by her than her companion. The man held out his hand, "You must be the new recruit! I'm called Agent York, and this beaming young lady is known as Agent Carolina."
"Agent Washington", Washington said. He blinked. He had not even hesitated before saying the name. As if it had been his for a much longer. It fit him like an old glove.
Carolina gave her companion a glare. "Alright, enough with the pleasantries. Have you spoken to the Director yet, Agent Washington?"
"Uh, no sir. I mean, mam." Washington corrected himself.
"Sir will do just fine" Carolina smirked at him, "You should head right up to him"
"Yes sir" Washington said.
"Oh chill out, Carolina, no need to scare him", York complained, "look, Wash, you mind if I call you Wash? Of course not, anyways, Wash, come down to the Freelancers quarters after your meeting. I'll introduce you to the rest of the gang. They're not all as terse as her."
Washington smiled. He liked York. "Sure, I'll see you there."
Wash arrived at the main deck of the Mother. The main windows looked out impressively over a looming, completely white, planet. Wash figured it must be covered by ice. Sidewinder, he thought, that was its name. The Director was standing, overlooking the many bustling workers below him. He was a tall, thin man, with shaved black hair and a wispy goatee. His eyes were covered by dark sunglasses. Wash rolled his eyes. Sunglasses inside. And in space no less. So that's the kind of man the Director was. Standing next to the Director was a smaller, dark-skinned man. He seemed to have a permanent stoop to his posture. Not a soldier then.
"Agent Washington, I can't tell you how excited we are to have join our little program." The Director spoke with a harsh, southern drawl. "I trust that ours will be a long and fruitful relationship."
"I hope so, sir" Washington replied, standing at attention.
"Good man, " The Director replied, "Now, as to the nature of our program. We have recruited some of the best and brightest soldiers from around the galaxy, you among them. Together, you will form the Freelancers, a special strike team under my command. Your objectives will be both to complete special missions, and also to test out advanced and experimental weaponry and equipment."
"It is a great honor to be recruited for such a mission, Agent Washington. We trust you understand this" said the dark skinned man at the Directors side. He had a calm and soothing voice, as though he was lulling Washington to sleep. Washington gave him a glance. He didn't look like a threat, but Washington sensed he would have to be careful around him. The Director, on the other hand, gave off an aura of power; he commanded respect.
"Yes sirs, a great honor. When shall I start my training?"
"Time enough for that later, Agent Washington," the Director crooned, "For now, report to your room. Meet your fellow agents. Rest. I'm sure you've had a long journey." Washington nodded, saluted and turned to leave. "Oh and Washington?" the Director spoke. Washington turned. "I'm sure you understand the need for secrecy in our line of work. Nothing that happens here may be relayed to anyone on the outside."
Washington nodded again. "I understand sir. Confidential. Got it." Washington hurried out of the bridge. He decided he didn't like the Director. There was something unnerving about him.
Washington made his way down to the freelancers quarters, he was forced once again to marvel at the size of the ship. He took several elevators, walked through endless hallways, and lost his bearings more than once. As Washington wandered down a suspiciously familiar looking hallway, he spotted a soldier in the white armor of a private walking ahead of him further down the way.
"Hey," he shouted, jogging down the hallway toward him, "Hey you. Soldier!" The soldier walked faster, pretending not to have heard. "Hey! Hold on a second!" Washington yelled, moving faster to catch up to him. The soldier again pretended not to hear him, although he glanced around himself, as if hoping the call was for someone else. Washington caught up and grabbed the soldiers shoulder. "What's wrong with you, why didn't you stop!" Washington panted.
"Oh, sorry dude, "the soldier said peevishly, "Didn't see you there, man. Thought you were talking to someone else, you know?" The private had an annoyingly high and nasally voice, and spoke in a shockingly informal manner.
Washington looked up and down the empty hallway. "Who else would I have been talking too?" Wash asked.
"Oh, you know. You Freelancers. You've got your ways, dontcha man" The soldier said, vaguely.
"What! Never mind, I just need you to tell me how to get to the Freelancers quarters." Washington was beginning to think the soldier had problems.
The soldier looked at him, quizzically. "You don't… know how to get back to your own room dude? I'll take whatever you've been smoking man"
"I've never been there, you dick. I'm new to the program, I just arrived." Washington had had enough of this soldier. "Tell me how to get there or give me your name so that I can make a note of exactly which private was being so insubordinate."
"Whoa, whoa man, take a chill pill. You can just go down to the end of this hallway and take the elevator down. No need to get testy, now." The soldiers nasally voice cut through Washington and made him feel like punching someone in the face. Nonetheless, he took a deep breath, put on a smile, and said, forcedly, "Thank you, private," and began to walk down the hallway.
The soldier called after him, "no need to thank me bro! Just doin my job. The names Vic by the way" Then he turned and walked away from Washington, shrugging and thinking, what kind of Freelancer doesn't know the way to his own room?! Standards must be slipping up there. Maybe I'll be next to get called up. Vic the Freelancer. Has a ring to it.
The elevator doors opened, and Washington strode forward into the room. The locker room contained about 20, large lockers, and a holographic screen rose out of the center of the room. The screen was simply showing a list, no, a ranking of, what Washington assumed, were the other Freelancers. He glanced at the top of the list and read, Agent Carolina. The women he had met in the elevator. However, he didn't have time to go through the rankings before he was crowded by several people.
"Hey! This is the new guy I was telling you about! Agent Washington" said Agent York as he strode toward Washington.
"Yes, uh, hello, " Wash said, glancing around at the other Freelancers in the room.
"Hey, let me introduce you to everyone", York said with a smile. "This right here is Agent Iowa." He motioned toward a women smiling to his left. She was tall, and quite pretty, with long blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. Washington looked her up and down. She seemed almost too thin and pretty to be an effective agent. "You've already met our fearless leader, Agent Carolina," York said, glancing at the red haired women. Compared to Iowa, she was obviously well muscled. Although she was the shortest person in the room, Wash knew that she was probably the most dangerous. "These two are North and South Dakota, our brother-sister team." York pointed toward a man and women to Washington's right. The man was a little taller than Washington, while the women was a little shorter. They both had black hair, brown eyes, and rather square faces. The resemblance was easy to see.
"Hi there, " Washington spoke to the man, extending his hand.
The man shook it. "You can call me North if I can call you Wash" he joked, winking, "much easier that way."
"Sure", Wash replied, smiling back. South just glowered at both of them.
"And this right here is Agent Utah." York said, pointing to a dark man in the back of the room. The man stood. He was huge, taller than York, and built like a bodybuilder. His head was shaved bald, and his nose looked like it had been broken in multiple places. But he gave Washington a gentle smile and shook his hand, saying, "Good to have you on the team."
"Alright, now you've met everyone," North said, "Lets here about you. Who are you? Where are you from? What did you do to get selected to our prestigious ranks? What's your favorite movie?"
"North, North, time enough for that later. I'm sure Wash here has had a long day. Why don't we let him get some rest, and we can interrogate him when he wakes." York laughed. "How's that sound?" He asked Agent Washington.
Washington gave him a grateful nod. "Sounds like a deal. Thanks, York." He went to walk through the door into the rooms, but stopped and turned to North. "And my favorite movie is Guardians of the Galaxy."
North smiled. "A classic! I can respect that, Wash my man."
His sister, South, rolled her eyes at him. "Great, another nerd." Washington chuckled as he heard the twins begin to argue and the doors slid closed behind him. He believed that he was going to do well here.