Sorry guys that it took so long to post this next chapter. But here it is!
Also if you guys don't know, NASA is allowing people to sign up to have their name on the Mars 2020 Rover. Its free and you get a souvenir boarding pass.
I don't own the rights to Call of Duty.
Devon bumped around in the cockpit as the runway anchors hooked into the underside of her jack. Her body tensed for the sudden jerk as everything began to slow down. As she descended into the hanger, she was cocooned in the muffled bangs and roars, everyone still trying to piece Ret back together. Devon glanced out the cockpit as she saw a flash of movement in front of the landing bay. She found Salt learning against the railing by the lift, trying to suppress her laughter from behind her hand, despite failing miserably. As her canopy popped open, Gibson's tirade filling her ears above everything else as she scolded Reyes about the state of his jackal. Devon spared a glanced at it. A jagged opening on its left side exposed the first level of wiring and hardware. Sparks jumped from the gap, causing both she and Reyes to jump, but Boss kept her full attention on Reyes. Devon shook her head as she disembarked. She skirted passed Boss, knowing she would dig into her about the dings and scratches to her own jack, and joined Salt.
"You're failing horribly if you're trying to contain your laughter." Devon remarked as she too leaned against the railing, her armed folded across her chest.
"I'm actually trying not to laugh too hard." Salt replied. "It was embarrass the hell out of him if I just burst into laughter." Devon shook her head as Boss finished with the lecture. She watched as Gibson turned to take stock of the damage to Devon's jack.
"I'm not even going to waste my breath on you." she replied, throwing her hands up in surrender.
"That's because you tell me the same thing every time." Devon replied, as Gibson walked with the three to the lift. "Hey, at least I don't have gaping hole in my like Reyes."
"Oh, come on!" he groaned, stopping in the doorway of the lift. "This is the first time in forever I've done that."
"I know, because that's my job." Devon replied. She leaned in close to Reyes as she passed him. "Stopping taking it from me, damn it."
"No!" Boss yelled and pointed a finger at her. "That is not your job! That is not anyone's job. Now stop it!" Salt let out a wheezing laugh. "Stop laughing!" Gibson pushed down harshly on the lift's button and glared at them as the doors closed. Devon shook her head as the lift began to move.
"What?" Reyes asked.
"You had to piss her off." Devon replied. She reached to the console and keyed in the floor for her quarters and looked back to Reyes.
"Oh, yeah?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "You shouldn't be talking."
"I don't piss off Boss bad enough that she goes on a tirade in the hanger." she replied, giving him a hard stare. When he backed down, she hummed in affirmation. "That's what I thought." The lift came to a stop quarter levels and Devon disembarked.
"Where are you going?" Salt asked, holding the door open with her hand. Devon stopped a few feet from the lift and turned half way.
"To my quarters." she replied slowly. "I want to look something up."
"Just don't get in trouble with intel." Reyes asked as Salt let go. Devon smirked and turned away.
"No promises!" she chuckled to herself as she knew Reyes would shake his head and roll his eyes.
The hall was mostly empty save for a few souls that were coming out of the night shift. It would be early morning in Geneva by this time. The sun would begin to rise in the eastern sky, washing the broken city in yellows and oranges. Search and rescue would probably have an easier time of getting to their people with natural sunlight to help. Devon's quarters was at the very end of the hall. It was for the best. Most of the crew was happy with the arrangement as they didn't want her to be the first they saw when they stepped out for their shift. She liked it, however, not for the isolation but because there was a window next to her door. She able to pause, even for a moment, and see whoever Gator had jumped them. Be it someone out in the middle of nowhere or Earth. It didn't matter to her, just that she was able to see outside. Devon paused for a moment and caught a glimpse of Earth and her ports. Hell, she could even see the moon. It made her smile a little bit, knowing they were able to beat SetDef back not once, not twice, but three times. It gave her a glimmer of hope that perhaps that had a shot at it.
Devon gently pushed down on the handle and entered. Her quarters were dark, with no window of her own to illuminate it. She found the cord to her wall lamp easily and switched it on. It didn't do much, but it was enough for her. The quarter looked like it had never been lived in. There were no photos taped to the walls, no knick-knacks or cheap souvenirs from the places she had gone, not that she had. Her bed was even more plain the only thing on it was the standard issued sheets and a pillow that had been assigned to. No comforter, no excess pillows. Salt had volunteered to go out with get her so she could get a good night's rest, but Dev turned her down. She lived her whole life with the bare essentials, even as a child. It made it easy and quick, though. She didn't have to rummage through junk to get what she needed. Devon opened up the top drawer of her desk, finding the slim tablet Raines had given her. A way of continuing her "research" as he called it. He uploaded some of the data she had brought with her when she came to Earth. Not all, but just enough to get her started. Again, the room was bathed in darkness as she switched the light off and closed the door.
The bridge was not far the quarters level and Devon resolved to take the stairs. A few flights wouldn't hurt her. The bridge level, like the quarters, was mostly empty. She was glad, she didn't wanted to be bothered. It was easy enough to find a seat after grabbing a cup of coffee from the machine. It was in a far corner, giving her a good view of the area, so if anyone had the death wish of wanting to sneak up on her, they wouldn't be able to. The window was an added bonus. She wasted no time in opening up the tablet and going through what she had. She was able to update Salen's file, adding in the part about being CO of a big fuckin' ship. After her update, she read and re-read everything, from her father to her little brothers, hoping that something would stand out or even give her an idea, an edge, anything they could use. But, she couldn't. She remembered Reyes' warning from the lift and thought it.
"Fuck it." she growled under her breath. Devon opened up one of the intel databases the UNSA kept and entered in her credentials. It wouldn't take her long, she knew what she wanted the access and where it was stored. The data breach from the Icarius had been a gold mine of intel in more ways than others. It revealed enemy ship positions and their movements, as well as tabs kept on the Kotch family. She downloaded the data to the tablet and closed out of the database. As everything came to her, she read through it. She wasn't the least bit surprised to find that Lytton was now the head of the High council. Councilman Cato was bound to keel over any time and optional successors had been hovering over him like vultures on a carcass. Now that she knew this, Devon understood by SetDef suddenly attacked. Cato was patient and always waited for an opportunity. Lytton, however, made the opportunity rather than wait for one to show. With Lytton's recent promotion, Devon found that her oldest brother, Jargo, was also made head of High command, which meant Salen was answering to him and their father and Jargo was just as impatient as Lytton. Devon continued to sift through everything, finding the odd bits that made her internally shiver. Having been close range to two of her nephews on the Icarius for one and the fact that there was no information on her youngest brother Arthur. Devon found it rather odd as the last time she saw him before escaping to Earth, he had just entered a low ranking officer and commanding position within the SetDef Navy. But his folder was completely empty, save for a heavily redacted personal file. She made a note off to the side to delve further into the database to find more.
Devon glanced up when she caught someone entering the area. It was Brooks and he seemed oblivious to her as he made his way over to the coffee machine. Devon continued reading, but would glance up every few seconds to see where he was at. She wasn't surprised when he turned around and nearly dropped his coffee.
"Shite, Lieutenant." Brooked breathed out. "You nearly scared the piss out of me!"
"Beware of your surrounding, Corporal." she replied. She looked up at him. "Or did the Marines not teach you about that?"
"How long have you been there?" he asked.
"Before you." Devon replied. Brooks rolled his eyes. She could see him carefully eyeing a spot to sit at the table and knew his apprehension. She let out an irritated sigh. "Corporal, I am not some predator ready to strike. Ease up." Brooks was still tense as he find out his place at the end of the table and across from her. The two sat in almost silence as Devon continued through and Brooks sipped his coffee. There wasn't much left to the file as everything else she already knew from the missions. She thought about logging back to do a more inept search. The drawback was it would mostly likely set off an alert, then Reyes would be on her case. She hesitated and Brooks saw it. Devon bounced her leg furiously as she weight the pros and cons. She could at least get more information before someone stopped her and decided to log back in. As she search, she wondered how long it would take for someone to say someone to her.
Not very long as it turned out. Not three minutes in and Salt appeared .
"Dev." she called out warningly. "We just got a call from intel-."
"You're going to tell me to stop?" Devon replied. She looked over and saw Salt nod.
"Uh-huh." Devon sighed as she powered down the tablet and set it down. She folded her hands and rested her chin on top. "Besides, Reyes is calling everyone in for another mission." Devon sighed again and pushed herself up.
"Am I needed as well, Lieutenant?" Brooks asked.
"Not yet." Salt replied. "I'm sure the Staff Sergeant will call you up with the plan of attack."
"Roger, ma'am." he replied. Devon fell in step beside Salt, the two letting the sounds of the carrier envelope them. When they entered, she was greeted with Neptune's holographic projection. Reyes, Ethan, and Omar were already standing around the console.
"What can you tells about the Galaxius?" Reyes asked, looking over his shoulder to her. Dev slowed her pace as she took her place to his right.
"The Galaxius is under the command of Captain Lieutenant Radoslav Barkov." she began. "He served during the Succession Wars as a young adult. He was also part of the Dire Brigade." Omar grunted.
"Sick bastards." Omar grumbled.
"Any personal dealings with him?" Salt asked.
"Several. I have known him long enough to know that he hates being 'Radi'." she responded. "He was one of the possible candidates for bonding with one of my sisters."
"Ew." Salt said, pulling a face.
"What's the mission?" Dev asked, turning to Reyes. "Other than taking out leadership and destroying the ship."
"The Galaxies engaged the Ocana." he replied. "They kidnapped the engineers and stole a prototype weapon."
"And you want my help locating both." she concluded.
"We know where the prototype is," Ethan started. "Its the hostages' location we're in the dark about."
"Dev, do you know of any place Barkov could be keeping them?" Reyes asked. Devon thought for a moment, pulling up the layout of the destroyer and rummaging through old protocols.
"Several." she stated. "Bridge, armory, mess hall, hanger. All are likely locations."
"So, we won't know where there are until we actually get on the ship." Gator said.
"Affirmative." she nodded.
"Possible infil points?" Reyes asked. Devon typed in the commands, enlarging the the destroyer's starboard side and highlighting key points.
"This is where SetDef readies for exterior missions." she said, pointing to the bay door. "They suit up here and a mini armory. There is also a set of computer. Ethan can use them to pinpoint the scientists' location." She looked around at everyone. "Stealth is a must. If they see us, there is a high probability they'll shoot."
"Bastards will shoot even if we aren't spotted." Omar said.
"True." Devon replied. "But, if we use stealth, we can rescue our people before SetDef can have a chance of shooting them."
Staff Sergeant." Reyes addressed.
"Yes, sir."
"Who are your two best men?"
"Brooks and Kashima." Reyes nodded.
"Notify them they'll be flying in with us." he ordered.
"Roger, Captain." Omar replied.
"Everyone else, kit up and meet up in the hanger." Reyes looked around at everyone. "Dismissed."
"Go for jump, Gator." Reyes said.
"Aye, sir." Gator replied. Reyes motioned for Devon to follow. They met up with Salt at the lift and rode it down to the armory.
"Well, if ain't it the three Musketeers." Griff greeted, as the three entered and took their positions at their stalls. Devon sighed.
"Again, there are four in the Musketeers, not three." she said.
"Well, I am honored that you consider me the fourth." Griff replied.
"You're not it." Salt chuckled.
"Its not the Staff Sergeant is it?" the man asked.
"Hell, no." Devon said, looking up and glaring at him.
"No, Griff, that would be Ethan." Reyes answered.
"Ah, man." Griff thinned. "I got beaten out by a robot." Salt and Reyes chuckled. Devon went through the load out sequence: NV4 with a suppressor and VMC Sight. She kept the Kendall plain and added a seeker bot. She also kept the 50mm pathfinder cannon equipped to her jackal and switched out the 30mm for the 20mm Dragonfly. As she finished her load out and waited by the door, Brooks and Kash entered.
"Took you two long enough." Devon grumbled. Salt chuckled as she glanced over her shoulder.
"That's what you get when you finish first, Dev." she said.
"'Hurry and wait' is the motto." she replied.
"Do they really use that motto in SetDef?" Kash asked.
"Of course." Devon replied. "We're more a like that either side care to admits."
"Oh, wonderful." Salt and Reyes joined her as they waited. Finally, Brooks and Kash joined.
"Listen up. Kash, you're riding with Salter. Brook you're riding with Devon." Reyes announced, as they stepped onto the lift and began to descend. Devon raised an eyebrow.
"You sure with that pairing?" she asked.
"Solid." he replied. The lift stopped and everyone jogged it to their assigned Jackal.
"Don't be too hard on the throttle, Devon." Reyes warned, as everyone settled in. "I rather not have Boss on our asses about how your maneuvers made Brooks let loose his lunch."
"Yes, please!" Gibson said, through coms.
"I'm not like Kash, Captain. I can hold them down." Brooks replied.
"Hey!" Kash yelled, glaring over at Brooks.
"Not with Devon's flying you're not." Salt jeered.
"If you weren't the Captain, Raider," Dev began. "I'd tell ya to blow it up your arse." Salt and the boys all laughed.
"Never held you back before." Reyes said.
"That was because we were the same rank." Devon replied.
"Then what was that at the Gateway." he asked.
"Bloody pillock." Dev grumbled.
"I heard that." The jackals jerked as the craned loaded them onto the runway and set them down. "You and Kash all set Fever?"
"Tight." she replied. "We're lit."
"Dev and Brooks?"
"Thumbs up, sir." Brooks replied.
"Tower, SCARs are green." Reyes said.
"Captain, I'll be your eyes on this one." Ethan announced through coms. "Marines will escort the engineers to Retribution while you, Salter, and Devon recover the weapon. I'll get you there and back."
"Copy that, Ethan." Reyes replied.
"1-1, 1-2, 1-3, tower advises Skelters are in formation around Galaxius." the mini-boss warned.
"Copy 1-2."
"1-1 copy."
"1-3 copy." Devon rested her hand over the throttle, ready for the tower to give the green light.
"SCARs are locked for go." Devon slowly primed her thrusters to the max as the tower counted down. At zero she shot out like a bat out of hell, going from metal jungle to the darkness unknown.