Replacements 2- Part 6
About two weeks later, we were called in for our first mission. Keyop joined me on my motorcycle, and we sped off toward Center Neptune.
As it turned out, some important information regarding Uranium mines near the Archipelago de los Canarreos Islands had been stolen. We were ordered to investigate the islands, and retrieve the stolen information.
I felt a little nervous at first, as Keyop and I sat side by side on the bridge of the Phoenix and scanned the vicinity for any anomalies.
Mark stood behind me for a moment and placed his hand on my shoulder. He must've known how I was feeling.
"Find anything yet?" He asked quietly.
"Not yet." I peered up at him and smiled. I felt more secure with him beside me.
Finally, Keyop spotted something on his radar, and Tiny brought us down on one of the islands, near a suspicious looking building.
Mark motioned for the rest of us to follow him, and we left Tiny behind to guard the ship.
Poor Tiny had mentioned something about not wanting to leave the Phoenix unguarded, and Mark had him stay behind "just this once".
Four shadows shifted silently through the underbrush, making our way to the building.
"Stay back," Mark whispered, holding out the palm of his hand toward Keyop and me. "Well give you a signal when the coast is clear."
He nodded at Jason, and Jason reciprocated. Then, they dashed off together to check out the building.
At first, I felt a little miffed that Mark wasn't allowing the two of us to come along. Then, I realized that he was only being protective, and it made me feel warm inside. I watched as Mark and Jason examined the building, and then I saw Mark's signal.
"Come on, Keyop," I pulled his arm gently.
As we walked up to the building, we could see that Mark had been trying to get inside the building.
He pushed against the door several times, growing more frustrated every moment that the door wouldn't budge. Finally, Jason pulled out the blowtorch attachment on his gun.
"Allow me," He said casually, with an arrogant smirk on his face.
Once, Jason opened the door, we walked into an empty hallway. I instinctively held onto Mark's arm, and he placed his other hand on top of mine for reassurance.
"Where now?" Keyop looked up at me, as if I had all the answers. I started to shrug, and then noticed a control panel in the wall.
I squeezed Mark's arm, and pointed to the wall. He nodded and smiled.
A slow grin crept across my face as I opened it and began to search for information. I easily gained access, and felt exhilarated that I was able to pull some blueprints, showing the Uranium mining activity in the area.
"Luckily, they haven't mined much yet," I whispered. "And I think I've found the Control Center…"
"Good work, Princess," Mark gave my shoulder a gentle pat. "Lead the way."
We slipped quietly through the halls, and I was surprised that we hadn't run into any guards. Maybe the Spectrans weren't as formidable as we had previously thought.
We finally managed to make our way to the Control room, and Mark tried the door.
"Damn it," He murmured. "Locked again. Jason?" He motioned to the gunner, who was more than happy to pull out his gun once more.
Once Jason opened the door, we were met by five green-suited soldiers. We all took our turn in knocking them out, and then made our way over to the main computer.
"Princess, Keyop, you two search for the data in the computer system." Mark ordered. "Jason and I will keep an eye out and make sure that you're not disturbed."
He gave me a quick wink and turned to stand guard with Jason at the entrance.
"You've got it, Commander!" I winked back at him, and then stood next to Keyop and started hacking.
After a few minutes, I felt a nudge from Keyop. "Princess… look here…" he said.
He had found the codes for the security system. "Good work, Keyop." I encouraged. I reached back down to circumvent the Spectran codes. I knew all of that studying would pay off.
Keyop's small fingers were clicking speedily on his computer, as he began to hack into the camera feeds.
A sudden chirp of alarm from him got our attention.
"What is it, Keyop?" Mark asked, worried.
"Soldiers! Almost here!" He cried.
My heart leapt into my throat. I had to finish retrieving this data…fast.
My fingers flew over the keys. The job was almost complete.
"How many?" Jason asked.
I exhaled a shaky breath and smiled. I held up the microfilm in triumph.
"I've got the data!" I announced. "Now, I just have to erase it from their systems…"
The door was suddenly smashed open by a unit of goons and their leader, a man wearing a silly looking shark head shaped hat. Was he for real? Maybe that was fashionable on Spectra. I'd hate to be in a Spectran fashion show… I stifled a nervous giggle.
The Captain demanded for us to surrender, but I could see that Mark had a plan.
"Whirlwind Pyramid!" He ordered.
Then, he whispered further instructions. "Princess, give the data to Keyop! Keyop, as soon as you fall out of the pyramid, run as fast as you can for the Phoenix! We'll take care of the rest of the guards, and then follow you out."
I handed the microfilm to Keyop, and watched as he slipped it into his boot. I could feel the tension in the air as we leapt up and took our places. We hadn't practiced the four man pyramid yet. I silently prayed I'd get it right this time. I shifted my knees together out of habit, and felt the wind press against my body as we spun quickly around together, causing a vortex of air to push all of the soldiers away, smacking them into the walls, and knocking them unconscious.
Fortunately, I landed in a crouching position this time. However, Keyop wasn't so lucky. He ended up on his rear end, but that didn't stop him. The little Swallow was small and fast, and he picked himself up and tore down the narrow passages toward the Phoenix.
I felt proud of him. He certainly had proved his worth on the team as far as I was concerned.
Jason's voice pulled my attention back to the task at hand.
"Princess, let's set some charges and get out of here."
I complied, pulling out my yoyo, as he spoke. "Where's Mark?" I asked, as I set the timer.
"He went after the Captain." Jason remarked. "Looks like he's trying to get away in an escape pod."
I finished my task and looked Jason in the eyes. "Well then, we're going, too." I stated, matter-of-factly.
Jason nodded. "I agree with you, Princess. Mark can't have all the fun." He pulled my arm. "Come on, he went this way."
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We sped off together in search of our Commander, finally arriving at some sort of underwater dock.
We immediately noticed a shark shaped submarine, which had just started up, and was about to submerge.
Jason opened the hatch and helped me in. Then he followed and quickly sealed it tight.
The sub was much larger on the inside than it appeared from the dock. There were several rooms inside, and Jason chose a small closet for us to hide in. We felt the submarine shudder, and then noticed that we were on our way out of the base.
We ducked inside the dark closet, and listened as a few goons ran past.
"It's that guy with the white wings again!" One cried.
"He doesn't give up, does he? Get him!" shouted another.
We sprung out from behind the men and surprised them, taking them out with our weapons.
"We have to find Mark!" I whispered. I was worried about him fighting alone. Although he thought he was invincible, we knew he needed us.
"Don't worry, Princess." Jason reassured me as ran past, scanning all of the rooms.
Finally, we found the main command center of the submarine. Mark had the shark man cornered. He held his boomerang high into the air.
"Give it up, Captain." Mark demanded. "Your days serving Spectra are over!"
A goon holding a machine gun suddenly appeared from behind one of the control panels. I was terrified for my Commander.
"Mark! Behind you!" I screamed, blowing our cover.
Mark turned quickly and wiped out the goon with his boomerang, but he wasn't quick enough to stop the Captain from pressing a self destruct button and cackling manically.
"You haven't won yet, G-Force!" He grinned through jagged, sharky teeth. "You have five minutes to live, and, unfortunately, I only have room in this capsule for one."
"Oh, no you don't! Coward!" Mark leapt onto the Captain, knocking him down.
A clear submersible capsule closed around the Shark Captain and Mark, and loaded into a tube, that would release it from the sub.
"Mark!" I cried. I felt so helpless.
Jason tugged at my shoulder. "He'll be ok, Princess! Hurry! We have to get out of here!"
In my panic over Mark, I had forgotten that the Shark Captain had pressed the self destruct button. I joined Jason in trying to get as far away from the sub as possible before it blew.