Samael had a meeting scheduled with a woman named Vanessa Rovencroft in a week's time. She all but begged him not to do anything impulsive and wait until they had their meeting. So he did. He promised and waited patiently. On the outside at least.
Inside he was a nervous wreck. The expectations he had from himself were high. Samael made sure he was well prepared. Reading and studying anything. A little excessive. Finally, his father made him stop and take a step back. Breathe and focus. Nothing he did or does during this meeting will end the world.
During the week, he met with his new friends, the bikers, and went on rides with them.
He had to unwind somehow so he went to the beach with them. It was fun. Not one of his things, but he learned to appreciate the little things in life. Like girls' figures in a bikini.
Tremendous.
Mars' beaches weren't that great. Always either crowded or filled with killer algae. So they chose an indoor beach in the city next to New LA. Not that many people that wanted artificial sky, water and sand, but it grew on him. He learned that most interplanetary ships had one or another version of an indoor swimming pool for rest and relaxation.
He had a fun week. The meeting day came quicker than expected. Before he knew it, it was suddenly morning; he was rapidly getting ready and suddenly he was waiting near the front door waiting for the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen to enter with poise and grace of a royalty.
He found himself fumbling with his words, like always, when meeting a beautiful person, "Hello, you must be Samael van Ryn."
Samael found it hard to describe her voice, "Yes you must be Miss Vanessa Rovencroft. Or should I call you Principal?" he asked.
She smiled, "Please call me Vanessa for now."
He nodded and led her in, "Please, take a seat," He offered while in the living room.
She chose a comfy sofa and carefully set her stuff down. A bag containing her personal computer, a data pad and a phone. She smiled and watched Samael, "Can I offer you something to drink?"
"A coffee please," She said and watched him leave with a smile on her face.
She concentrated her attention on the room she was in. Various items dating back many millennia were on display, some were intriguing, while others just looked like a cheap knock off. Her attention was directed to a single picture resting on a small altar on a mantel piece. A gorgeous looking woman was looking her in the eye. She was breathtaking. She smelled traces of candle wax in the room and smiled.
Samael entered the room and spotted the woman looking around, "Sorry to make you wait, our coffee maker is broken. Had to use old the fashioned way."
Her eyebrows went up, "Thought no one used it anymore."
"Yeah, my father has a taste for old things. He's kind of infected by it. My mom was a nut as well, you might say she infected him with the virus," he smiled remembering their constant banter about all things old.
The woman's smile was gentle as she sipped the warm coffee, "Where is your father? Thought he might talk with us about something this important."
"He had to leave for work. He's working off world on some project, but has given me full permission to do anything with a school of my choosing," he explained.
Vanessa's eyebrows lifted, "Oh, what does your father work entail?"
Samael shrugged his shoulders, "He rarely talks about it. Something about different particles or another, he's told me just that its important, but I've yet to hear something clear from him," he smiled nervously.
*Interesting, * Vanessa thought.
She sat her cup of coffee on the table in front of her and watched the young man sit next to her.
Samael looked forward to this interview.
*Part 2*
The warp field finally died down and in its place an Imperium's transport appeared. A base was in front of it.
Captain Aleksey AndrovojiΔ's first time going on this kind of mission. The pay wasn't good, but it was something someone didn't say 'no' to. He never understood why people never went on a second mission. It was a breeze. A literal snatch and grab from the old. One dreamed about these. The only thing that sucked was the coins.
"Helm, take us in. Coms, open hailing frequency, code Red-Omega-ELEVEN," Captain said to his officers.
"Aye," he got a brief answer from his com officer.
The captain had a special mission issued by the top Emissary of the Imperium. He was to retrieve all data from the recent breakthrough that the scientists on the remote research station had achieved.
He wasn't privy to the type and contents of the reports, neither did he care, nor did he ask. Captain Aleksey knew what would happen if he poked his nose too much into things he wasn't supposed to know.
"Permission granted Captain," coms officer spoke after a low beep from his console.
Captain Aleksey nodded, "Take us in, thrusters only. We don't want to give them a scare like last time," he smiled under his breath.
"That was a mining base, captain," His helm officer snickered.
Aleksey smiled, "I know. Doesn't help that they reported us to the command. This is different. Military has different standards. Follow their instructions to the letter. If they say strip, we all do it."
The ship swung to port as it slowly advanced toward the hidden base.
His second-in-command was sitting near him and spoke under his breath, "Aleksey, why do we have to go to this trip? And without any armaments. Telling us to strip all of our weapons is just asking for trouble. Pirates and mercs would take us out in a heartbeat."
"Don't ask, they won't tell. You know, I want to know these things too, but I want to keep breathing as well. So I just do what I'm told," Captain whispered back.
"What about the com lines? The could've easily transmitted a secret message. I mean it takes us 2 months to take a round trip with just a single data stick," his second in command wondered.
Captain Aleksey sighed, "I know, however, I want to live. Asking unnecessary things from those above you will get you killed. If they thought I needed to know something they would tell me. Last man who thought he was smart, asked the same things you have. His head came clean off," he whispered.
The man near him swallowed, "Why?"
