Cloaks and Daggers

Akina was more then a bit troubled about what was going on, a few scattered reports about earth and what was going on in the universe as a whole. She had been getting news of some strange new creatures called Devar, and while this was hardly anything new or surprising given earth's reputation for unusual things, the other reports about it bothered her.

Having lived a long time, she had seen many things that let her keep an open-mind. As a general rule, Alusarian's were generally open-minded about things, but the events of finding out about different realms and the like helped expand that even more. These 'Devar' from what little she knew seemed to be for conquest and if they were planning on overthrowing this dimension and not this earth, then it was a concern for her and her people. For the most part they let earth handle its own affairs unless something drastic occurred, this would be one of the exceptions.

Nothing else unusual, just some data about pirate attacks. She scanned through the data pad, putting aside the 'filler' for a later. One of them being a few others that couldn't mind their business, trying to set her up with someone. She honestly wasn't in the frame of mind for anything like that, and though she appreciated the gesture; it was something she could handle on her own.

Akina pushed aside the data pad once she was done to the side of her desk, resting her head on her hands in deep thought. There were a few important matters to dive into. The first being establishing contact with Hirima and her people. It was always a good idea to extend a hand out to make friends when it was feasible. 'Better to make friends then enemies' was a saying her people went by. She would have to think of how best to go about it.

Now the second was a bit more complicated.

Some times I wonder why I took on politics in the first place.

She knew the answer to that; her people needed more of those who were looking out for them and didn't care about power or anything of that nature. However, the second issue was enough to give a headache. On another planet a man named Hideki created beings known as Biodroids, they were for lack of a better way to describe, androids that were partly flesh. More advanced then cybernetics and different from a normal android.

It disturbed the woman upon finding out more information on how they were treated. The idea of creating life like that was frowned upon enough usually as is, but to use them as objects didn't sit well with her. Alus had broken contact with their planet after finding out the news; no longer trading or bother helping them in their affairs.

However, the man and his company continued and from spy networks they had just about every intention of mass producing such things. Alus at the moment couldn't take more direct action for a variety of reasons. For one, as disgusting as the practice was, it was perfectly 'legal'. Adding to that, this Hideki still had trade and the like for other planets, mostly weapons and the like. A direct show of force could lead to a war; and while she could safely say non-arrogantly that Alus could easily crush him and theirs easy enough, the loss of life she wanted to avoid.

After all, war, no matter how brief, people caught in the crossfire couldn't be avoided. Or those were simply serving their planet that were dragged in regardless. That outcome wasn't acceptable which was why as much as Alus hated it, they stayed their hand. They couldn't just go around beating others into submission unless it was something dire.

Akina knew the implications of these 'Biodroids' and she knew the longer it went on, the worse it would get. Already, she had heard reports of Hideki's company selling advanced weapons to undeveloped planets, profiting from the chaos made. This couldn't go on.

That was why, Akina was going to silently get her hands dirty and after some thought and discussion with others on the council; including the current leader at the time it was decided.

They would have Hideki and a few choice others 'silenced' and make it look like a natural accident. They would also rescue, retrieve any sentient experiments within their walls. Once that was done, it would make the company's progress slow to barely a crawl and from there they could decide on the next best course of action. This done successfully would prevent any innocents from being dragged into the conflict.

Akina contacted Commander Jacob and his unit and requested an audience with them. She would feel them in on the details and things would pan out from there. Now all she could do was wait.

* *

Cursing was practically Jacob's normal part of his vocabulary. If he wasn't at least cursing once a day or so people tended to get worried. He did it more when he was upset of course but the fact remained he did it as easy as breathing.

Despite his rough-looking appearance and the fact his language was crude, children were oddly not intimidated by him as often as they should. Why that was, no one was sure. His wife had certainly thought it was because they could see through it and he had shrugged, not really caring. After all, a man that stood 6'6' and weighed two-hundred plus pounds did seem a bit scary.

Today was one of the few times the commander had some time off. He was in his own backyard and smoking a cigarette of some kind sitting in a chair. A strange dog that was walking around but not doing much of anything, just chewing a broken branch of a tree.

"You're lucky. You get to sit all day and do absolutely nothing." Jacob said to the dog, as if it could understand him.

The dog ignored him, still chewing on the branch with vigor. While this was normal for a 'normal' dog, this was supposedly one of the smartest breeds. On the level or above that of an ape from earth. However, this dog, dubbed 'Precious' by his ex wife(he thought it was a pussy name for a big-ass dog, but it made his wife happy) wasn't really. Personally, he thought the dog had been hit on the head when it was younger; which explained its lack of intelligence.

It then went to the thorny part and hurt itself.

Dumbass dog. He sighed and went over before the dog killed itself when he heard a strange beeping noise and looked to his Utility Gauntlet. He then tapped a button and said "One line. Audio only."

"What?"

Tact wasn't always his strong point.

"Is that anyway to greet your friend?"

He blinked, knowing the voice as Akina. "..Odd timing. What do you need?" He switched the device to hologram image as well after finding out who it was.

"I can't discuss the whole thing now." They said. "But I need you and your team at my living space as soon as possible."

Jacob thought about it, and nodded. "Fine. I'll go get the brats up. Jacob out." He switched off the thing and felt a grin forming. Finally, he was going to get a chance to blow things or at least get into some kind of action. For now though, he had to try to get everyone in one place. They could meet at his home and then move from there. First he'd contact a certain explosive expert on his team, and make a 'group' line so they could all talk at once and go from there.

Lyrska Schestina didn't notice her Utility Gauntlet beeping at her at first, for two reasons. One was that it was laying on a table nearby, and not on her arm. The other reason was that she couldn't hear it over the booming rave music she was dancing to in her living room. She only noticed she was getting a call because she was wearing connector clips in her hair that helped her catch the sound. She cursed, turned down the music, and tapped a button. "One line. Audio only. Heyo, what's up, snickerdoodle?" Odd way to greet someone, when she had no idea who was calling her... at least she hadn't put it on hologram image, as all she was wearing was an open uniform jacket, her dogtags, and a pair of panties.

There was a brief pause, before a mildly amused sounding Jacob answered. "..There's only one person I know that calls anyone that so I'm sure I got the right number. It's Jacob. I got a call from Akina not too long ago about wanting our unit meeting down with her ASAP. So I'm trying to get everyone together. I'll have to call Boy Scout(Dean) Terminator(Ektor) and dragonfly(Amara) later." The quirky nicknames of course, were unofficial, but given by him due to their personalities. Anyone who knew them would know there was reasons of why those particular nicknames.

Lyrska grinned a bit, and clicked the button to pop up Hologram Mode. Of course, this meant Jacob, and anyone else added to the line, would see her leaning over a table in her current outfit, a cheshire grin on her face. Any shift to one side or the other came dangerously close to exposing her nipples, and in some cases actually did. "Aww, Jakey, why don't you or the others ever call me for anything other than work, huh? None of you call me to go out dancing, for drinks, a smoke, a random bombing run, anything! Hell, at this point, I'd even welcome a booty call! I mean, I'd probably laugh at whoever did that, but that's not the point." Squirming around, pouting, pressing her breasts together, wiggling her ass... Lyrska managed to do all of those things during her miniature rant, all with that playful look in her eyes.

"If that offer remains open, I might take it." Jacob said with a completely straight face, so it was hard to say just if he was serious or not. "Besides that, Amara does spend time with you and Amara you follow Terminator around when we're together so he probably locks himself away from our merry family. Boy Scout is married to his job. Hang on, I'm opening the line for the others."

A few moments later, he 'called' the others and had them set up on hologram.

Dean was the first to be seen, dressed in casual clothes. Of course a certain female team mate made him turn his eyes away after he noticed who it was. "Why do you make it a point to have the hologram on when you're half naked?"

"Stop bitching Boy Scout. It's nothing you haven't seen before." Jacob clicked something else on the gaunlet. It then showed Amara, she was dressed in a tanktop and some shorts. The next was Ektor, he was dressed in his normal clothes and seemed to be reading earlier but placed the book aside.

"Hey everyone!" Amara said cheerfully, not seemingly bothered at all by her fellow female's state of dress. "How are you feeling Ektor?"

"I am fine. Diagnostics suggest I am at full health. It's good to see you in good health as well sir." They said calmly, the way they spoke was just slightly different from a normal person. He just blinked at Lyrska state of dress. "I took notes of the weather today, the cold suggest wearing that outfit has a higher probability of getting sick."

"Her race don't catch colds Ektor." Dean pointed out.

"Hm."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "I'll get to the point. We got a job to do, Akina called me and we're to meet her ASAP at her own place. I'm going to pick you knuckle heads up, unless you'd rather drive there."

"Negative, sir." Ektor said. "My car is currently in bad need of repair. There was a incident of Amara driving the experimental car."

"How was I suppose to know it would be that fast?" Amara grumbled, then added. "I have a ride so I'll be okay."

"Me too sir." Dean chimed in. "I'd rather drive there myself in my classic."

"Nineteen fourty American human made car would be considered a antique on Alus Dean, not a classic." Ektor corrected the small technicality.

"Same difference."

Lyrska chuckled a little bit and stretched, knowing full well the view she was giving everyone. "Ah, I'll have someone of Akantor Unit drop me off. They like to feel useful when I'm off with you guys. They may be reserve backup for Ursa Unit, but, as we have never needed backup..." She shrugged a bit, crossing her arms under her breasts. "So yeah, I'll get there. Oh, and a couple things. One, Dee-dee, don't be such a prude. I know you like what you see. Amy, you just shouldn't drive. Ektorobo...it's still my personal mission to get an amusing reaction out of you someday. And Jakey? Maybe it will be, ya never know." She smirked, then saluted. "See ya all there, then!" With that, she leaned forward to turn off the communicator, not caring how her breasts hung free, exposed to everyone, right before the image went dead.

It was about thirty minutes before Jacob arrived in his own car, the anti-gravity allowed it travel easily over the roads despite any debris. That didn't mean it had the magical ability to beat traffic. So he found himself stuck in the most annoying and tedious amount of traffic. Only a trip the DMV, which despite all the gains in technology still took forever.

Everyone hated DMV in whatever civilization it existed. This was one the few universes few truth's.

Akina was more then a bit important so before they could even go to near her, they had to be cleared before they could even come near. It wouldn't be put past some for others to want to hurt her either for personal grudges, a random psychopath or just politics. It wasn't their house, however. Instead once the group got there, they would find themselves in front of a large building that was more like a tower that stretched towards the sky.

There was walls around the place, metal-looking walls that were well made that blocked off most of the entrance, all for one being the front 'gate'. It was the gate where the Ursa Unit and others had to be cleared by the guard working in the front. Once passed there, they were free to park their car and enter. The place in question was the South Senate. Jacob had little love of politics, but he liked and respected Akina. At least they would be meeting in private instead of dealing with some of the idiots at the council.

Ektor, Dean and Amara arrived not too long after all piled in the same car. It was basically a van or what Jacob liked to call the 'personal cabby' due to the fact it had more room then that was needed.

"Sir." Ektor greeted once they reached Jacob. "

"At ease soldier." Jacob said, turning to the other two. "Is Lyrska here yet?"

"Negative." Ektor replied. "She is either taking a bit more time or is likely making a grand entrance soon."

"It's Lyrska, it's what she does." Amara shrugged. "But she said she's getting a ride so she won't be driving anyway."

Lyrska's entrance was, as expected, loud. THey would hear here before they saw her. Namely, her wild laughter accompanied by the sound of a missle traveling through the air. When she came into view, she was straddling what was clearly a nuke, and laughing her ass off in merriment as she rode it like a horse toward the group. It stopped on a dime meer feet away, settled, and touched down. Lyrska hopped off, her bodysuit doing little to hide the little bounce that occured, and rapped on the 'nuke'. "C'mon out, say hi to everyone, they haven't seen you in awhile."

The top of the 'nuke' suddenly opened, revealing a woman that seemed a few years younger than Lyrska, wearing the same bodysuit, smiling shyly. "Um...hello, everyone. It's very nice to see you again." She turned to Jacob, and immediately stood straight to salute him, only for Lyrska to lob a common grenade at her head, pin pulled. She let out an 'eep' just before the grenade seemed to blow her head off. A moment later, however, her head reformed out of a strange blue mist, and she gave Lyrska an exasperated look. "Onee-chaaaan, stop doing that!"

"Stop being a party pooper by saluting Jakey."

"He's my superior officer!"

"So am I, but you don't salute me."

"Well, yes, but, it's you."

"...You have a point."

The reaction to what just occurred as far as seemingly almost blowing her own sisters head off was various. Jacob had seen this at least once but it still made him raise an eyebrow about the whole thing. Knowing her as he did, she wouldn't have put her in any real danger but even so he found it a bit..reckless?

Then again who was he to talk at times?

Amara was confused about what just happened, Ektor was passive, not giving anything away. Dean frowned just a bit after what happened.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous to be doing something like that?"

Jacob cut it short for now. "She's fine, lets not have this mess this early in the morning. And be at ease Ilana. At the moment we're not on a mission but when things get tight then its business. Good to see you again kid." That was true. When they weren't currently on a assignment, he was far more relaxed with that sort of thing. When it was 'go' time and things were serious, he expected everyone to have their shit together in short order.

Amara came and gave the younger girl a hug, it was just how she was. She pulled away and looked her over. "Think you've grown a few inches since I've seen you."

Ektor gave a small curt nod. "Good to see you in good health, Ilana." It wasn't much, but with his dampened emotions it was the best he could give.

"Let's get going. Don't want to keep Akina waiting." Jacob said to those gathered before he began walking towards the entrance with the others in tow. It didn't take them long for them to reach Akina, the woman was looking over a few things on a data pad before she rose to greet them.

"Thank you all for coming." Akina smiled, but it was slightly strained from stress. "Have a seat."

Lyrska followed the others in, while Ilana took the 'Nukecycle' back. She glanced around the room, grinning a little. At Akina's words, she smiled and blew the woman a kiss, as was usual for her. After that, however, she seemed to calm considerably. This was because she was preparing to go into 'mission mode' at any moment.

Amara knew something was bothering Akina but thought of talking to her in private about it later then out in the open and Dean was in mind to do the same thing. Jacob, however, wasn't in mind to brush things under the proverbial rug if he saw something wrong and there was no reason(in his mind) to be quite. However, it was Ektor of all people in the motley crew that spoke up first.

"Something is bothering you." Ektor said to the point. "If its something you need to get off your chest, then if it makes you feel better you should do so. We're all friends here and nothing said will leave the room without your consent."

The leader of the South Senate didn't answer right away, thinking. "Let's just say politics aren't a profession I would recommend anyone getting into if they want to keep their blood pressure low." That was all she was willing to say at the moment. Akina from her desk pulled out a small device that looked very similar to a 'globe' of the world as seen by earth. The key difference here was the fact instead of solid material being in the middle, it was instead a holographic image.

"We just got the all clear after much debate to go ahead with this operation. Your mission is both simple and complicated." Akina with a silver remote in her hand not that far from the holo-emitter pressed a button on it. The image changed to what seemed to be the building the mission would take place. "You're to infiltrate this building and go after Hideki. We have reliable enough Intel to firmly place him in that building during that time. Defend yourself if need be, but avoid killing the guards if possible. Hideki and those in his circle are prime targets and to be taken out with extreme prejudice."

A brief press of the button, and the image changed briefly to a young girl with blue hair. "This is Miku. A Biodroid. If you see her in the complex, consider her a priority POW. Any others held in their against their will for experimention could be considered the same. Don't get greedy though. I'm afraid to say it, but with how things are we can't save everyone at once so be be practical and pragmatic."

Jacob nodded. He didn't like that part of the job but he was old and done this shit for a while. He knew what had to be done at times in his line of work.

There was something Ektor wanted to know, quickly thinking of the situation and possible consequences. "Ma'am , I do have one question. Are we to use a disguised ship so they don't know it has any connections to Alus? I am also assuming there's some counter-measures if we are ever seen."

"You're right on both counts." Akina nodded, she was going to explain anyway but Ektor wasn't afraid to take the initiative when it came to things like that. It's what made him a good soldier. "For this mission we have a ship more along the lines of a mercenary ship in terms of looks and function. You will also have access to Sentinel Armor, it'll come with cloaks and the like to keep the enemy guessing. If you need further explanation, the Captain of the ship will give you some further details. Extra weapons will be on abroad. Remember, this mission is about stealth and subtly. If you draw too much attention to something you can't handle without support; you're on your own."

"Any more questions before continue and finish?"

Lyrska immediately asked a question of her own, and knowing her, the question was hardly surprising. "What yeild of explosives will be made available to me, how much destruction can I cause, does it matter if Hideki and his cronies bodies are recognizable, and have you given any more thought to the two things we discussed over the phone last week?" Namely, getting her a mecha, and whether Akina was interested in 'exploring her sexuality'... which was a fairly common thing for Lyrska to bring up.

When Akina spoke, she said so with a straight face as if routine. "Enough to level a Tyrant Class Mech for the heavier things, other weapons will be provided on board. Keep the collateral damage to a minimum, remember this mission is about discretion. No, it doesn't matter on that end as long as its quick and clean. And no for the sexuality as for the mech..let's just say I have something of a surprise for you. Niege Hausen will feel the rest when the time comes."

"You said we won't be getting any support ma'am." Ektor said. "But does that mean there won't be any on standby either just in case? And where is the ship we'll be going on?"

"Actually, some of the Akanator Unit would be on standby." Akina gave Jacob a data pad. "This is a bit extra to look over if you want. As for the ship, if you go across the room here to the left, just out side is a small hangar. You can't really miss it. Anymore questions?" Not receiving any, she finished. "Then dismissed. ..And please be careful out there."

Jacob took the information and put it away. In his work, Intel was as good as water. "Let's get a move on then."

"I haven't been on something like this in a while. Kind of nervous.." Amara mumbled to herself.

"Relax kid, you'll do fine." Jacob clapped her shoulder once. "We've been through this ore then once. Best advice is the same advice I gave a long time ago: Everyone's got a chess plan until they get shot. You can't plan everything so you just go with it."

"I have yet to encounter a problem in this field that couldn't be solved with enough fire power and tactics." If one didn't know any better, they would think Ektor was joking but he said it seriously with a straight. "If its not working you're just not using the right amount of each."

Amara was slightly bemused but left it alone. "If you're vouching for that, I have nothing to worry about."

"I notice a subtle twinge of sarcasm or teasing."

As the conversations went on, Jacob tuned it out as their ride came into view. It was a nice looking armored transport that Alus used either for their armed forces or transporting civilians safely away from hot zones. Jacob would of thought using it would be a bad idea as it would instantly let the enemy know it was them, however it had the ability to disguise itself via holo technology. It was one of the few ships capable of this, as said tech drained a massive amounts of energy, so using it with most weapon systems wasn't feasible.

When they went inside, there was a middle-aged man going through the controls but stood up to greet everyone there, stopping at Jacob. "You ugly son of a bitch, what are you doing here?"

"All that sweet talk is going make me blush Harvey. I would have quit if I knew it was you piloting. Missed you too bastard." Then the two men gave each other a hand shake. Apparently, this was standard greeting between the two as it was just how they were.

Lyrska actually seemed to be ignoring things at the moment, as she was in one of her rare contemplative moments. SHe was excited about the mission, if she was honest, but like always, she got a little... dreary, right before the mission. She was fully aware that she could die. That her friends and loved ones could die. That she could lose everything that mattered. That thought terrified her, and she always needed time before each mission to try and get her head set right.

Everyone coped with the beginning of a mission in different ways before it started. For Amara she tended not to think much about it. It wasn't that such thoughts didn't ever come to mind but she had long ago accepted this part of the job. It didn't mean she liked it or was comfortable but to keep herself from going insane, she did her best not to think about it much.

Dean had a similar mind-set. Jacob on the surface didn't seem to have a worry about it while Ektor was much the same.

That didn't mean Ektor didn't notice the behavior of his team mates. That was why when Lyrska became quite, he went over. "Are you all right?" He wasn't the best at this sort of thing, but he did try.