Recommended Listening: "Hand Call" by Harry Gregson Williams from the recent "Total Recall" Movie Soundtrack.
A small red ship floated along in the vastness of space, it's power and life support off. Inside, Juno sat with a thermo blanket, his trajectory on a course for the Drone Warship, Sekhmet.
Juno was making a textbook approach to the Sekhmet, one that he and the rest of his team had made when boarding the red battleship one year prior. By using a preset flight and killing power, the cruiser wouldn't show up on Sekhmet's radar. Juno just had to wait until the cruiser was within Sekhmet's shield and radar tech, then power up and make a quick landing.
As long as the battleship didn't make any unusual maneuvers, Juno's current trajectory was set to take him right into the Sekhmet's blind spot. Nearing the ship, he peered out of his cruiser's viewing window. The Sekhmet was coming up from behind him on his port side, moving only slightly faster than him. He felt a slight tingling sensation as the cruiser slipped through the Sekhmet's primary force field, an eerie green light washing over him and the entirety of the cruiser.
"Here we go," Juno breathed out, beginning his cruiser's power up. Engines, navigation, flight controls, lighting… check. He nudged closer to the ship, being conservative to avoid alerting anyone with a high heat signature.
The Sekhmet's upper docking station sat on the forward port side, and Juno drifted over the spine of the ship to reach it. He checked the seals on his battle uniform and verified his oxygen levels, then checked his onboard computer's flight plan.
He wasn't going to set the ship down. Everything they knew about this ship was wrong, including the double encrypted message. It stunk, and Juno didn't want to risk ambush. The ship's computer was set to follow the Sekhmet within it's shield, hovering just aft of the main docking bay at the back of the warship. If need be, he could jump back to his ship from there.
Juno opened the rear hatch on his cruiser, activating the magnetic clamps on his standard issue military boots. Careful to avoid the burn from the engines, he spacewalked to the ship's underside, knelt, de-activated the clamps, then pushed off, soaring the short distance between the bottom of his ship and Sekhmet. He reached the landing pad, slowing himself with one hand while reactivating his clamps with the other. A smooth landing was his result, and Juno looked up to see his cruiser close it's hatch and make it's way to it's predetermined position.
"So far, so good," Juno muttered to no one. That had gone well, but it was no indication of how things were going to turn out. The Captain took a deep breath and cleared his head, making his way to the airlock.
Juno drew his pistol as he peered down the hallway, first left, then right.
Nothing. The place was dead, almost uncannily so. Scouting the hallway with quick glances, Juno noticed that the cameras in the corridor were all pointed downward, and their power light was inactive. There were no guards, and even the cameras were dead. It just felt… wrong.
As Juno stepped out into the hallway, the lights lining the bottom corners of the corridor took on a life of their own, flashing on and off, giving the illusion that the light was moving down the hall. He tensed, waiting for something to happen, scanning for an enemy. After a few moments of silence, he relaxed.
Juno took a look behind him at the corridor going aft. No light show going on that way…
Someone, or something was guiding him using the lights on the floor, showing him exactly which way it wanted him to go. Juno weighed his options. Whoever it was knew he was there. But since they hadn't attacked him, there was a chance that they didn't mean any harm… even though they lived on the enemy's main instrument of death.
"All right," Juno muttered again, deciding to go along with the light show for now. "I got it. Follow the well-lit road."
The lighted path continued to lead Juno, guiding him from the back of the ship towards the front. For the most part, the journey was a straight shot, taking one of the main upper corridors from the landing pad.
About halfway forward, Juno was thrown into confusion when the lights around suddenly went out, then returned to their normal stationary state. The sound of movement further down the hall reached Juno's ears, putting him on full alert. He instantly raised his gun, preparing for a skirmish. A hissing sound on his right drew his attention to a door that had opened on it's own. The label screen said "Storage 7A".
With only a moment's hesitation, Juno slid into the storage room, and the door shut and locked behind him. He sat on the floor by the door, keeping a ear out for danger. The sounds from down the hall became louder, and Juno recognized the crude language of the Drones. Their footsteps stopped in front of the Storage room, and Juno could hear beeping on the keypad outside.
One of the Drones cursed and a banging noise could be heard, presumably the Drone banging on the door controls. Further discussion between the two guards ended in dismissal of whatever need they had to enter the room. Apparently no longer caring, the voices of the two Drones carried on down the hall that Juno had come from. A clicking noise could be heard, and the the lock on the door indicated open.
Everything was starting to make sense to Juno. The reason he hadn't seen anyone is because he was being lead around all the guards. The security cameras in his immediate area were down because his contact didn't want him to be seen. The only thing still boggling him was who the contact was. They obviously had access to Sekhmet's security protocols, and they knew Jet Force encryption codes, albeit outdated ones.
As he took stock of the situation, a small container in the back of the storage unit caught his eye. He recognized the Drone word for "explosive", and upon inspection, Juno discovered a perfectly assorted box of remote mines, timed mines, grenades, and cluster bombs. He breathed in sharply, excited. This was a good find. Juno stocked up on as much as he could before stepping back out into the corridor.
The phantom floor lights lit back up, guiding Juno to some unknown location. Juno holstered his pistol, deciding to go with the flow… for now.
Juno made good time, feeling free to move a little faster since he wasn't running into any interference. The lights continued to guide him, forward, left, right, forward, right… anytime Juno entered a new area, the surveillance went down, and anytime guards unexpectedly came by, the Phantom had a place prepared for him to hide.
After an hour of being led, Juno had to mentally force himself to keep an open mind as far as tactical situation. It was easy to rely on the Phantom, but if something went wrong he didn't want to be caught unprepared. Although, it was nice knowing where to go and when enemies were around. He just had to make sure that information didn't make him complacent.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when the lights around him suddenly went out again. Juno ducked behind a frame sticking out from the wall on his left, waiting for direction, but also determining a way out himself. Looking forward and back, Juno didn't see any doors or exits. He silently drew his pistol, preparing for the worst.
Silence.
After a minute of waiting, Juno began to wonder. He hadn't heard any noise from guards, or seen anything suspicious. There didn't seem to be any enemies. The only thing odd was that the light had stopped guiding him. Juno had a decision to make. Trust the Phantom and stay put? Or investigate?
Juno straightened up slightly, aiming his pistol around the frame. The hallway seemed clear, completely devoid of life. A small flickering caught his eye, to his forward right. Another frame stuck out from the wall on the right side, and one of the floor lights in front of it was flashing on and off.
Is the Phantom showing me where the enemy is? Juno thought to himself. He had to admit, whoever this Phantom person was, he was good. Juno focused, keeping a straight line of sight with the frame.
"Step out from behind the frame with your hands up, or you're getting a grenade," Juno called out in an intimidating voice. There was silence for a moment, then shuffling as two pairs of hands rose up from being the frame. Human hands.
"You got me," a familiar male voice answered. "I guess the legend of Jet Force Gemini continues, eh Juno?" From behind the frame, a young man and woman dressed in Jet Force attire stepped into the middle of the hallway. Both uniforms had a slightly reddish tint to them. The male's bright red hair showed from beneath his helmet, and the female's blond hair fell to about shoulder length.
"Aries?"