Aysten wandered around for several more moments before he finally found where the freelancer Mess hall was. Going through the line Aysten tilted his head curiously as he went through the line and discovered there was no server… or even food. Aysten nearly jumped out of his skin as a strange voice came out of seemingly nowhere.
"Welcome to the freelancer cafeteria… Please input code name to receive food." The voice spoke and Aysten looked around him frowning he then spoke.
"Aysten?" He said tentatively still not sure if someone was just messing with him.
"There is no Agent Aysten in the system… Please try again." The voice said and Aysten frowned thinking he then felt almost as if a light bulb appeared overt his head and he spoke again.
"Agent Alaska?" Aysten asked slowly and was rewarded by a slight ding.
"Hello Agent Alaska. And welcome to the freelancer cafeteria… The director has transferred what your favorite food is over to my systems and I would like to confirm this. Do you accept the requested confirmation?" The voice asked again and Aysten nodded then realized he would have to do more than that.
"Yes?" Aysten said slowly and another ding sounded.
"Recorded most chosen food entry is 'Breakfast pizza.' Is that correct?" The voice responded again.
"Yes… That is my favorite food…" Aysten said wondering what this was about and still wondering if it was some form of prank.
Aysten was then rewarded with a large box about the size of a pizza box appearing in front of him.
"There you are agent Alaska. Please enjoy your meal." The voice sounded again and Aysten blinked in surprise slowly he opened the box and inside was not a single Piece of breakfast pizza… But a entire pizza…
"What am I supposed to do with all this?" Aysten wondered then turned towards a large table and tentatively walked towards it.
"Hey Newbie, Over here." A voice yelled and Aysten turned and saw the freelancers he had noticed earlier now sitting around a table eating their own food… Which seemed considerably smaller than the large box he held.
Walking over Aysten sat down tentatively and noticed all of them where still in there armor and all had there helmets off Except for Washington… And Maine who wasn't even there.
"Hey everyone…" Aysten said nervously and he set down the box.
"Whats in the box Alaska?" York asked and Aysten turned to look at him.
"Well… Breakfast pizza…" Aysten said slowly and noticed the others turn and look at the box as well as he opened it.
"Well damn… I don't think FILLIS understands portion sizes… " York said.
"Oh leave him alone.. Its more for us to eat…" Washington said and north laughed.
"Only if he doesn't eat it all wash…And why are you STILL eating in your helmet…" North said turning to look at wash.
"Because delta said it would make my eating more efficient… Doh…" Wash said and Aysten laughed a bit then frowned.
"Who is delta?" Aysten asked curiously and suddenly a tiny green hologram appeared in front of him.
"I am The AI designated as delta and am also the Ai assigned to Agent New York." Delta said and Aysten blinked.
"Its so small…" Aysten said and the entire group laughed
"That's what I said!" Wash said and York sighed although still shaking a bit with laughter.
"Technically you said theta was the small one. You just called delta green… As if that was a excuse for his
"So what's this mission the director told me about?" Aysten asked looking around the table.
"Ah yes… You will be joining Me North and Wash." York said.
"To do what?"
"Not quiet sure yet… The briefing should be soon…" Washington added looking up at the large digital clock on the mess hall wall.
Aysten glanced up at the clock following Washington's gaze up towards the clock. With a muttered curse Aysten stood seeing that it was now almost 0830
"By soon do you mean in thirty minutes?"
"Yes." Washington stated in a smart ass kind of way
Aysten muttered a curse and picked up a couple of pieces of the pizza walked away then turned back and replaced them.
"This is no time for food you idiot…" Aysten muttered to himself turning back away the way he had started going before turning. Walking down the hall that housed the freelancer dormitories aystens eyes glanced back and forth looking for where his name would be on one of the small holographic nameplates on the wall. Thus distracted Aysten rammed into someone walking the down the hall and received a harsh shove backwards in response. Pushed back into a wall Aysten looked up quickly ready to assess any threat that may be there but what he saw caused him to suck in a quick breath of air as he became nervous. Right in front of him stood Agent south Dakota Her body language not showing anything that a normal person would be showing…But her eyes…Her eyes where ablaze with hatred and anger and they seemed almost red to Aysten.
"Agent Alaska…" Came the greeting from south her voice strained as she was obviously trying not to kill him here and now.
"Hello south." His reply came trying to hide his nervous air though trying to sound confident as he made a paltry attempt to match her air of disdain.
"Glad to see your on your feet Alaska…"
"Are you? Interesting…" Aysten said sarcasm flying from his mouth as his nervousness slowly faded.
"Oh yes I am…Know why? Because now that you're here and now a freelancer…I can treat you like a dog does a spider… Playing with it for a few minutes before finally killing it…And now that you have our gear, Well…Lets just say that when im done with you next time…our squabble yesterday will look like a walk in the park…" South spoke her voice low and seemingly more dangerous for the fact.
"Good bye for now Alaska…" South spoke cutting him off before he could utter a single syllable then walking off.
Aysten turned and watched her walk away then once she was a safe distance away he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding then looked down and muttered.
"Creeps me the fuck out…"
Turning his attention back up once more he resumed his search for his room.
Aysten finally found it at the very end of the hallway along with other unlabeled doors that he assumed would be for future freelancers. Aysten reach a hand towards the door handle and grasped it and instantly received a shock from the handle… Light but still painful…
"Agent designation." FILLIS said.
"Agent Alaska."
"Welcome to your cabin agent Alaska. You have several voicemails… Shall I play them for your over your rooms speaker system?"
"Please do FILLIS." Aysten said glancing around curiously he sat down on the bed waiting for the voicemails to be read.
"The first is from Michael J Caboose. Do you wish to hear this message?"
"Yes please."
"Playing message now: Hey Aysten! When I was informed that I had a mission I was skeptical at first not wanting to leave you when you where still in critical care. But then the doctors informed me you would be fine…Also Congratulations of your promotion 'Agent Alaska.' I hope to see you when I get back, OH! And wait till you meet this woman who I am going on the mission with…She seems your type…" The final words echoed around the room then faded and FILLIS spoke again.
"Message finished… Next message from Amber R Vavrinec do you wish to hear this message?"
"Yes FILLIS"
"Playing message now: Aysten. I know we haven't spoken since Mothers funeral but I do appreciate what you are doing for me…I know you didn't want to join the military…or even the freelancer program for that matter…But your monthly income greatly helps Will and I…Please come visit soon…I miss you and I hope you are well…" Aysten smiled sadly as the final words played and he knew he would need to go visit his sister and her husband at the next possible convenience…
"Final message from The director. Do you wish to hear this message?"
"Yes FILLIS."
"Playing message now: Agent Alaska… No need to come to the briefing the mission has been changed to a level one directive and you are being replaced by Agent Wyoming. Instead I will gauge your abilities by having you in a training exercise against Agent New jersey who is expected to return within the next hour…" Aysten frowned this time as the words finished as he felt a slight resentment towards being replaced but he shrugged it off then stood up as FILLIS spoke again.
"End of messages…would you like me to inform you when Agent New Jersey returns?"
"Please do FILLIS…"
"Alright Agent Alaska."
Aysten stood up from where he had sat down once more yawning slightly. "Agent New jersey…" He muttered to himself then remembered he had heard the name mentioned earlier and that whoever it was was on a mission with Caboose…FILLIS then obviously heard him as the voice piped up speaking.
"Would you like for me to search for her personnel file? You are allowed to view several parts of it as a freelancer Agent Alaska." Aysten blinked as FILLIS spoke.
"Yes…Please do…" Aysten said then frowned and spoke again.
"Did you say 'her'? As in a woman?" Aysten said looking up towards the speaker where FILLIS' voice emanated.
"Yes I did Agent Alaska."
"Would you also look up both Agent Delaware's and Agent Tennessee's file?"
"If you wish Agent Alaska."
"Do so then."
"As you wish Agent Alaska."
Aysten then paced for several seconds before FILLIS spoke again.
"All three files are now Viewable on your Holomonitor."
"Thank you FILLIS."
Aysten walked over to the desk and sat down as three files appeared in front of him in the form of Holograms. Reaching out a hand Aysten opened the first one… Agent Delaware. It read:
Gender: Male.
Race: Human
Minority: African
Previous work: Bouncer.
The file ended there with the rest of it being blank. Moving his hand he shut the file and opened the next one Agent Tennessee. It read:
Gender: Female
Race: human
Minority: Indian
Previous work: Courtesan
Aysten raised a eyebrow at the previous line of work then chuckled a bit before shutting it and moving to the very last one… Agent New Jersey. It read:
Gender: Female
Race: human
Minority: Caucasian
Previous work: Unknown
Aysten blinked as he read all the files over again in disbelief…
"Is this all there is?"
"That is all there is that can be accessed on community servers…"
"Your sure?"
"Yes."
"Positive?"
"Yes agent Alaska…" FILLIS spoke this time sounding as close as a computer can get to a sound of annoyance.
"Alright."
Aysten sighed… This wasn't really much to go on.
"FILLIS where is my armor?"
"In the closet Agent Alaska."
Nodding Aysten stood up from the desk and stretched popping his neck quickly and sighing in relief as the built up tension there was briefly released. Walking over to the closet Aysten opened up the door and blinked… Only his helmet was in there.
"FILLIS… Didn't you say my Armor was in my closet?"
"Just your helmet Agent Alaska… The rest of it is at the fitting station waiting for you."
"And where is that?"
"Across the mess hall."
"Thank you FILLIS."
Aysten turned back to the closet and pulled out his helmet and set it down on his bed then walked back over to he closet and pulled out the suit that all the soldiers wore under there armor and stripped down mostly before pulling it on. Then walking back over to his bed he picked up the helmet and stared at it for a couple moments then tucked it in under his arm before Exiting the room.
"Have a good day Agent Alaska." The calling came from FILLIS and he smiled slightly… Computers where so much more polite than Humans…
As he reached the fitting station he stepped onto the fitter and out came his armor after once again calling his designation… Building its way up the machine started with his boots then worked its way up… Aysten grunted painfully at one particular moment when the machine placed his cup on it basically smashed into his groin area before pulling away some the fastening on in the correct location. From then on the fitting went on uneventful until his entire set of armor was on and he walked off the station thinking of returning to his room but then he changed his mind and went to the docking area of the ship as he decided to wait for Caboose and the others there.
Arriving at the hanger he walked over to one of the railings and watched the ships come and go for several minutes before finally a transport ship arrived landing shakily and quickly several medical teams pushed there way over to the ship a stretcher ready. Aysten quickly tugged on his helmet a look of worry on his face as he jogged over to the area. As they opened up the back of the pelican they rushed to a prone blue figure strapped into there seat and held up only by the supporting bar and Aysten somehow knew… That this was Caboose.
The medics worked expertly and quickly pulling him out of his seat and onto the stretcher Aysten turned ready to follow before a hand landed on his shoulder and he turned looking straight into a visor framed by a silver helmet.
"Are you Agent Alaska?"
"Ya what about it?" Aysten asked anxious to go see how his friend was.
"Ah… Caboose spoke highly of you…Lets go."
"Go? Go where! I need to go with caboose…" Aysten said in disbelief at the apparent cold-hearted manor displayed by this person.
"Its time for your training…I am Agent New Jersey." Then she leaned in closer and spoke quietly to him.
"Not now… The director is watching all of this…We can go and see your friend after your training alright?"
"Alright…"
Nodding to herself Agent New Jersey moved past him and Aysten followed.
"So anything I can call you Other than Agent New Jersey? That name is a bit of a mouthful…" Aysten said slowly and tentatively. And the other Agent seemed to think for a moment before nodding and then speaking again.
"You can call me Alyssa…" She said pulling off her helmet she stared into the visor for a moment and Aysten stared at the back of her head noting the shoulder length black hair and Aysten unconsciously pulled off his own Helmet.
"That's a lovely name."
"Trying to get flirtsy are you Alaska?"
"No. I'm stating an opinion. And you can call me Aysten by the way."
"Alright then Aysten." She seemed to hesitate for a moment then added in a lower tone "Thank you for the compliment…"
Aysten nodded and spoke again in the same low voice. "Not a problem at all Alyssa."
Aysten quietly continued on following her path until they arrived at the training area and then she turned around and Aystens Eyes widened in surprise. Her face was unblemished and clear her eyes where a grayish blue color that gave her a serious look but it also appealed to what Aysten liked… In his opinion Normal gray was to serious… Blue was to mellow… Green was just weird and brown was just to soft…But gray blue… The perfect mixture. She coughed lightly which brought Aysten away from his study of her face and back to reality and he came to the cold revelation that he had just been caught staring… Not a good start… Aysten thought to himself as his eyes lowered briefly towards his feet then he looked up and straight into her eyes.
"Alright. What is the training exercise?"
"Hand to hand combat followed by weapons training."
Pulling on her helmet Alyssa walked towards the opposite end of the area and called out.
"FILLIS engage hand to hand combat sequence."
"Alright Agent New Jersey."
A loud ding sounded and Aysten blinked confused and hastily yanked on his helmet as he saw the female freelancer rushing towards him.
Aysten ducked under her fist and sent two quick jabs into her midsection. Then to late Aysten realized he had gone a little to low as he ducked and was rewarded with a knee to the helmet, Grimacing under his helmet he wrapped one hand around her ankle and held on then pulled it up forcing her into a awkward position or so he thought…As Aysten lifted up her ankle Alyssa used this purchase to do basically a flip in which her other Foot kicked him straight in the groin and Aysten lost hold of the other foot as he sank to the ground in pain.
"Point New Jersey." The call came from FILLIS and Aysten staggered back up.
"That was a low blow…"
"You think a Enemy wont go for a low blow?"
"No… But your not a enemy… At least I hope not… I've made enough enemies amongst the freelancer women…"
"Oh… But right now I am a enemy and that's something you need to learn Aysten… No matter what… If you step into this ring the person you are facing is a enemy."
"Perhaps…" Aysten stood then shook his head slightly like an angered bull then got into his ready position.
This time they circled for a few minutes gradually drifting closer before Aysten sent out a quick kick towards the back of her knee which forced her into a awkward bend as it connected then flinging a quick knee towards her helmet she stumbled back and Aysten ran forward pressing his advantage and grabbed her in a mighty bear hug when… Once again a searing pain hit him between the legs and he grunted in both surprise and pain slowly letting go then, as he lay hunched over on the ground a sharp kick to his face left him completely dazed.
"Point New Jersey."
"Why…" Aysten said in a slightly high toned voice standing shakily again this time after a few moments.
"What can I say? They are a easy target."
Aysten growled growing mad he rushed forward in a uncoordinated rush trying to tackle her to which she responded by jumping above him then planting her feet on his back she pushed off flinging him away. Aysten rolled then using the momentum of the rush to turn around he looked around and she was gone…
"What the…" Aysten thought out loud a bewildered expression on under his helmet. Whirling around he turned just in time to receive a kick to the helmet then spinning a bit more than necessary he tried to lure her in which worked apparently as she came running forward and then sent a knee to which he caught then as she brought her other knee up he caught it as well till he was basically holding her and there gaze locked through the visors for a moment before she head butted him which caused him to drop her then rushing forward she prepared to tackle him. But once again he grabbed her and this time before she could respond he flipped her doing a rather large suplex over his shoulder he tossed her which caused her helmet to fly off in another direction then she stood up a smirk on her face which Aysten deemed not healthy for his lower regions so rushing forward again he tried to tackle her but instead she grabbed him and lifted his helmet up tossing it back before laying a kiss on his check which dazed Aysten before she once again Sent a knee flying towards his lower regions which connected and sent him crumpling to the floor his brain confused on whether to send pain waves from the knee or Pleasure waves from the kiss… Eventually pain won and Aysten lay there moaning for several moments… Then a loud voice entered the room.
"Point. New Jersey. Round over."
