Whereas the previous meeting among the delegates resembled a microcosm of the fracturing loyalties that characterized the Star League, the meeting between the ship crews and the security personnel was a more subdued and businesslike affair. The SpacePort briefing room was smaller and so a number of junior crewmen tended to just stand at the rear due to the fact that chairs were in short supply.
"From the top then," Sergeant Edward "Eddie" Pryce addressed the assembled ship crews and security personnel as well as several bodyguards from the delegate group that decided to attend. He had a small moustache and his frizzled scalp had streaks of gray in it, signifying both his seniority in terms of age and experience. "We have two DropShips that will be attached to the Znutar prior to the jump. The first, which will be the Amerigo, is piloted by Captain Janice De Llandes and it will be ferrying the delegates. This Monarch Class DropShip will be half empty but has been thoroughly searched before takeoff." Pryce was direct and to the point. "The second DropShip is the Space Beagle, she's a Buccaneer Class transport Captained by Elijah Rothstein; she will carry nothing more than last-minute supplies intended for the Conference on Tharkad." The Sergeant then glanced over at Pym, who smiled. "The Znutar will of course be piloted by Captain Markus Pym, one of the veteran JumpShip captains of our Star League."
"All I can say is that we have done everything to insure that this will be a secure journey." Pryce went on. "My men have searched every millimeter of both DropShips with trained sniffer dogs and the latest detection equipment from the NAIS Experimental Labs. Unless someone invented a new-fangled device that could fool both the dogs and the geniuses here at the New Avalon Institute of Science, we are effectively secure. Every delegate who will be boarding those DropShips has been screened biometrically to make sure they are who they say they are and that goes for every one in this room. I will be with my men on the Amerigo but I will station two MPs each on both the Znutar and the Space Beagle. Any questions? No? Good." With that, Pryce then left the podium and sat down in the front row. Being a former infantry trooper with the Eridani Light Horse, he was uncomfortable in addressing people inside an office; he preferred to be out in the field.
Taking his silent cue, Major Dominic Durant then stood up from his seat and walked over to the podium to brief the crews on his intelligence estimates. Natasha sat towards the rear, her face partially hidden in shadow.
"The big worry is that some group might try a terrorist attack while we are still on the ground." Dominic began without even introducing himself but it was obvious everyone knew him because of the markings on his Star League uniform. "That is one of the reasons why I made a decision to hold our launch here at the private SpacePort in the NAIS campus. We were able to screen the comings and goings of everyone on a more thorough basis than we ever could, compared to attempting to screen them in the more crowded SpacePort in Avalon City; I believe this was a good decision."
As Natasha looked around to familiarize herself with the crews, she noticed a young, oriental woman sitting at the rear in an almost parallel position as herself. Like her, the woman was dressed in dark, nondescript clothing and she seemed to be able to fit in with everyone else; hardly anyone noticed her. Natasha knew she must have had Special Forces training; only someone trained in evasion and deception could blend into the background like that.
"Ground launched missiles are another concern during liftoff." Dominic went on. "We have been granted complete air cover thirty minutes till launch and thirty minutes afterwards. No aerospace craft other than our escorts will be airborne in a fifty-kilometer radius around the NAIS SpacePort at that specified time. VTOL gunships will be patrolling the airspace around this campus during that time. Our aerospace escorts will accompany us all the way to the jump point. From there we will be using a number of designated worlds as our jump references, all of them have been alerted as to when we will arrive and appropriate escorts will be meeting us at each jump destination. For obvious reasons, we will be taking a circular route around the Sarna March as we jump from our last FedSuns controlled worlds in the Achernar PDZ area directly to Free Worlds League space, and then eventually onto Lyran space for the eventual destination of Tharkad. As I said, we will be afforded full protection as per the Star League charter."
Dominic took a sip of water from a Styrofoam cup before he continued. "As far as our Intelligence estimates, everything seems to be quiet for now. The FedCom Civil War is long over and done with and it seems that every side wants this conference to be fruitful. The Skye separatist movement seems quiet and since we will not be crossing any territory in the Draconis Combine, the Black Dragons should be unable to interfere with our travel arrangements."
When the Black Dragons were mentioned, Natasha noticed that the young oriental woman suppressed a smirk. The Black Widow surmised that the young lady must be part of the Draconis Combine delegation, most probably a bodyguard of some sort since she attended this briefing.
"Renegade pirate groups operating in the Sarna March may be a possible threat but since we will be only passing that region quickly, the danger will be minimal." Dominic kept going. "Previously unknown terrorist groups may be a possibility, but unless they have substantial aerospace forces with which to threaten us, that likelihood is highly improbable at this point in time. Our navigational jump plan is secret and is known only to select SLDF intelligence personnel as well as our esteemed JumpShip Captain."
With those words, all eyes fell on Captain Markus Pym as he sat on the front row. "I will guard them with my life, Major." He grinned while a few people laughed.
"Thank you, Captain." Dominic beamed. "Alright, people, we may now begin preflight preparations. I'll see you on the landing pads."
As the meeting broke up, Natasha made her way over to the young woman.
"I couldn't help but to notice you." The Black Widow said as she offered her hand in greeting. "I am Captain Kerensky, Star League Special Forces."
The woman smiled and shook her hand. "I am Tai-i Chifune Kishikawa, Captain, of the Otomo. I am so honored to meet the Black Widow."
"Otomo? How did you know who I am?" Natasha asked. The Otomo were the elite bodyguards of the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine. Each one was a trained killer and martial arts expert.
"Your reputation precedes you, Captain." Chifune giggled. She seemed so easy-going, like that of a Japanese schoolgirl. Many people, including the enemies of the Combine, would probably never suspect her as belonging to a cadre of elite bodyguards until it would be too late. "Many of us in the Otomo have heard of your numerous exploits such as the incident in Ishiyama Arena. We try to get as much information about you as we can, but of course, because of your occupation, it is sometimes hard to do."
"I'm glad to have met you." Natasha said. " I hope we won't be needing you, though."
"And I hope we won't be needing you either, Captain." Chifune grinned as she turned around and began walking towards the landing pads.
As a K-1 DropShuttle carrying the crew of the Znutar lifted off to rendezvous with the JumpShip, Captain Janice De Llandes walked along the landing pad of her DropShip, doing her line check. She liked to run her hand along the pocked-marked hull of the Amerigo; it was as if she was gently rubbing the body of a racehorse before the start. De Llandes liked to do this just before every flight; it was like a ritual to invoke the gods of good fortune. She had been flying to and from planets for nearly twenty years. Never married, she never could hold relationships for long; she preferred to be up and away, traveling around the galaxy. The destination never held any appeal to her; it was always the journey. And the Amerigo was her baby.
An SLDF military policeman walked over to her. "How is everything, Captain?"
"Everything is good to go." De Llandes answered. "We will be taking off shortly."
"See you onboard, Captain." The young man said as he walked away.
De Llandes sighed. This would probably be the last trip for her and the Amerigo. The Monarch Class DropShip was part of her family for generations but there would be no one to leave it to when she retired. De Llandes wondered what she would do with her life then. Perhaps maybe finally settling down in a peaceful world and enjoy the remaining years of her life, she supposed. The Captain of the Amerigo began to walk towards the still open cargo doors, she hoped that this conference would do well, there was too much to lose.
As the delegates began to walk over from their limousines towards the entrance ramp of the Amerigo, Dominic walked over to Natasha. "Your Warhammer has been stored in the Space Beagle according to your specifications. Your private room in the Amerigo is 22B, right next to mine." He said to her.
"Sorry, Major, but I have decided to travel in the Space Beagle." The Black Widow said.
"The Space Beagle? But they are a transport, it won't be very comfortable."
"Yes, I know. But I really don't like being in the same ship with politicians, plus I want to be with my 'Mech."
"Captain, you can't exactly use your 'Mech up there, you know."
"I am aware of that." The Black Widow said. "But I'm staying with the Beagle anyway. The crew said they wouldn't mind."
"Okay, but you can always transfer over to the Amerigo if you change your mind. You're going to miss some tasty Japanese dishes but I know you don't care too much about those things anyway." Dominic smiled and then shook her hand. "See you later, Captain Kerensky."
"See you in a bit, Major Durant." She said as she headed towards the other landing pad.
Within thirty minutes, all the delegates and their staff had clambered onboard the Amerigo. The DropShip's powerful thrusters hummed and finally went online, spewing forth massive amounts of fire and energy into the air as it lifted off. Several delegates immediately got sick and used their barf bags accordingly. Within several minutes, the Monarch Class ship was already into the upper atmosphere as its nose cone began to glow bright red. As the Amerigo finally made it into space to rendezvous with the Merchant Class JumpShip Znutar, the Space Beagle successfully lifted off as well.
The smoke plumes from the massive DropShip engines could be seen from miles away as both ships entered space.
"Knife to Variable, come in." Jenny spoke through her scrambled communicator as she continued to stare out into the sky with her binoculars.
"This is Variable, reading you loud and clear, over."
"Targets have successfully lifted off. Stage two ready to begin, over."
"Roger that. Blessed be to Blake."
Within minutes, coded HPG transmissions began to filter on all Blakist-controlled HPG stations in the Sarna March and the Free Worlds League until they had reached the birthplace of humanity, Terra.
It had begun.
