"Get in here," the Admiral's voice resounded. Juno looked back at Vela, who nodded. He opened the door and stepped into the well lit room. The Admiral's office was about as large as the Team's entire Family Quarters, maybe even a little bigger. On the walls were picture's of the previous Fleet Admirals, as well as some of Jensen's personal effects. Jensen, a rather fit elderly man, sat behind an oak desk stacked with mounds of paperwork.
"Sir!" Juno snapped to attention in sync with Vela and Lupus. "Jet Force Gemini, reporting for duty!"
"What took you so long?" he spoke deeply over the scratching sounds of pen on paper. Juno opened his mouth to speak. "Nevermind, just stand there for a moment!"
After he'd finished writing on whatever paperwork was in front of him, Admiral Jensen pressed a button on the wall behind him. The desk started to sink into the floor, taking all of the accumulated paperwork with it. Once fully recessed, the floor closed seamlessly over the hole, leaving only the Admiral.
Jensen sighed and straightened his dark blue uniform. "I suppose you're wondering… why I called you all in."
"I'd be lying if I said we weren't curious, sir." Juno responded.
"Well… I'm afraid Rosco has gone missing. I need you to fulfill his mission."
"Uh… Rosco? Sir?" Juno fumbled. "Where did he go missing?"
"That's not important. I just need you to fill in for him."
"Fill in where, exactly?" Vela interjected.
"The Award ceremony, of course," Jensen explained. "Didn't you remember? The Annual Award ceremony is today. Rosco was supposed to be the Master of Ceremonies, but we can't find him anywhere! I need you three to do the ceremony."
It was like a child had just died. The Team's countenance hitting rock bottom was nearly audible in the silence that followed Jensen's explanation.
"I don't want to sound disrespectful, sir, but I didn't think… we were here for something… like that." Juno spoke slowly.
"Oh? What did you have in mind?"
"Something… not here."
"Well, I'm sorry kiddo," the Admiral continued. "I really don't have any use for you three besides what you're doing now. The galaxy is peaceful, intergalactic trade is good, the Tribals continue to send us monthly updates on their progress, and you three have personally overseen the rebuilding of the other eleven Jet Force Teams! What more do you want?"
"Not this!" Vela blurted out. She couldn't contain herself any longer. "Send us to personally check on the Tribals! Maybe they're not as well off as they seem! Why not send us out to investigate the missing Drone ships? If the space community truly is safe, why not let us out more? We won't shoot anything that doesn't shoot us!"
Jensen paused. "My hands are tied on this one. All three of you know that if it were up to me…"
"It is up to you." Juno and Vela nearly shouted at the same time. Lupus barked in agreement.
The Admiral looked down at his uniform. "Well, what do you know… it is up to me!" he looked back up to the hopeful face before him. "You have a go. I know you haven't stretched your legs in awhile, so why don't you head over to Goldwood and visit the Tribals? I know they'd appreciate you dropping in."
Juno and Vela couldn't contain their own smiles as they snapped to attention once again. "Yes, sir!"
"Although… let me make one thing perfectly clear. You are not, under any circumstances, authorized to investigate those Drone ships. I already have the other Jet Force teams working on the situation, and I'm sure they can handle themselves. After all… you trained them."
"Understood, sir," Juno replied.
"Now get the hell out, before I make you do the ceremony out of spite!" he yelled with a grin.
Not needing to hear him twice, the twins and their loyal dog sprinted out of the office.
Admiral Jensen watched them go, smiling to himself, wishing he was young again. A thought occurred to him, and he quickly glanced outside his office door before pushing his desk button. The oak desk rose from its place underneath the floor smoothly and quietly. Working quickly, he grabbed a bottle filled with an amber liquid and a glass cup, and placed them on the table. He paused again, listening intently for anyone that might be nearby.
Grinning again, he started to pour…
"Admiral Jensen!" Karen's voice boomed in the spacious office. Poor Jensen, startled nearly to death, jumped two feet into the air, sending the bottle flying. Karen stepped through the front doors to the office, deftly catching the bottle in mid-flight and placing it on Jensen's desk.
"Oh! Uh… Karen! How… nice to see you…"
"Can it," she responded sharply. "You know better than to drink on duty. Since you just finished a meeting, I knew you were free. What's the big idea with all these new cleaning drones? We just got new ones, so why are you wasting our funding on something we already have?"
Jensen quickly stowed his liquor, clearly disappointed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do," Karen shot back. "You authorized it. Here's the paperwork right here." She dumped another stack of papers onto his desk, making the all too inhuman amount of work seem even more impossible. "This is your signature here. See?"
"Hmmm…" Jensen furrowed his brows. "I suppose I did." He looked back at Karen, eyes wide, as if to say what's the problem?
"They're too new. Their OS is setting off our security sensors left and right. Like it or not, you're sending them back."
Jensen nodded. "I agree. Can you see to it for me?"
"Nope." Karen took a long puff from her cigarette. "It was authorized by you, so every single page of this document has to be un-authorized. By you."
Jensen grimaced as he stared at the foot tall stack. "Every single page?"
"Every. Single. Page." Karen looked back to the door and whistled. Three EPS men walked into the room, each rolling a dolly cart stacked with paperwork. "By the way, that stack's only the first clause."
Jensen's panicked eyes rolled to the back of his head as he slammed it against the desk. "Noooooooooo…"