Welcome to the Worlds Crisis Committee’s Earth Consulate
The Dogs of War stood stiff before the desk they’d been waiting to see. None, however, were quite so rigid as Sophia. Her last name was also on the plaque of the man they’d been waiting to see. The man they’d seen only as a projection and heard only as a voice in an earpiece. Their mission supervisor.
“Chairman Brass. Always a pleasure,” smiled Captain Demi, the only one on the unit who’d met Marcus Brass before. The Chairman gave him a nod of courtesy from the other side of his high-walled silver desk. Ornamental silver sculptures of rising waves climbed each corner of it. Its surface shimmered an eggshell veil over his dark skin. His frizzy hair was pulled back in a black and gray ponytail.
“Demitri. Sorry - Captain Alexander,” Marcus spread a wide, white smile. “Forgive me, it has been a while.”
“Certainly has. But you can still call me Demi,” said the Captain.
“And you can still call me Marcus,” said the Chairman, “All of you. After all, one of you is my niece, and the other two I know through an old friend.”
“Nice to meet you,” smiled Lilia.
“Uncle,” nodded Sophia.
“Marcus,” Kalus acknowledged. It was nothing outside his usual way, though his lack of restraint was in part just to watch Demi tense up. Kalus was convinced the wild-eyed whiskey-chugging soldier that’d gotten him into this mess was still there, somewhere underneath his fancy new Captain pin.
“Don’t mistake that for permission to loosen up,” Marcus warned, one eye suspiciously fixed on Kalus, “How I found you is entirely separate from why you are here. You came highly recommended from Demi, after that scuffle against the Dragons on Saturn. That’s why the WCC needs you. Mind you, this is the Worlds Crisis Committee now, with an S. This is a group concerned with the safety of all human settlements from here to the Outerworlds. I am the Chairman of the Earth Consulate, and you four are its first official task force. The Dogs of War.”
“Yes sir,” rumbled Demi. The rest of his unit followed suit with the same two words of resolution. Even Kalus felt himself straighten up with something like pride. To be chosen. From all the planets under the WCC’s umbrella. From every God-forsaken hole-in-the-wall colony. He was chosen, because Demi saw what he could do when no one else did. Kalus figured he owed it to his Captain at least to go through the official motions.
“Dogs of War, are you ready for your assignment?” Marcus prompted. At the flick of his fingers, a holographic keyboard blinked to life an inch above the surface of his desk.
“Yes sir,” the unit answered again, with a half-second’s dissonance. Marcus’ lips tightened up as he jabbed commands into his keyboard.
At the end of a five-second silent drumroll of virtual keys, a prism of light shone up from his desk. Marcus slid his chair to the side so the light could manifest as a screen on the wall behind his desk. The images that appeared on it sent chills up and down every inch of the Dogs’ of War bodies. The screen showed several locations that they knew on sight. The rings of Saturn. Jupiter’s floating cities. Neptune’s new developments around a massive Chrysum pit. The detail that tied all of the places together was the one detail of each picture the Dogs hadn’t seen before. Creatures that outsized men by half, with wings spread from their backs. Their scales glinted in the light of space stations and mining colonies. Their eyes glowed like precious gems against the darkness of space. Dragons.
“You four, like most of the informed public, know about the increase of Dragon sightings around the Milky Way. The pictures here are only a few instances that have actually been documented. They aren’t just sightings, either. The Dragons have raided several transport and supply freighters. Now…as part of a discreet task force, I have some information for you that the public doesn’t have access to, no matter how well-informed,” said Marcus. He folded his hands on his desk. He eyed every last one of the Dogs of War before he went on.
“The increase in Dragon presence is directly correlated to a mission the WCC commissioned eight months ago. The crew of a ship called the Arcadia was sent to the galaxy Antila II to track the Dragons to their homeworld. The mission…resulted in the destruction of Mukurus, the Dragons’ planet. This killed a huge portion of their population, but also released the survivors from their artificial sleep. The truth is, there are more Dragons awake now than ever, including their leadership circle. They’re called the Higher Order, and thanks to them, we have an organized war effort on our hands,” Marcus explained. He watched the Dogs tense up as he went on. Fingers clenched into fists. Feet shuffled. No amount of training could shield them from the shock of such admission.
“What…happened to the crew of the Arcadia?” Kalus broke the heavy silence that befell them.
“Arms Master Kalus,” Marcus said, curt at the same time as courteous, “The flow of information in this office is one way, until I say otherwise.” Kalus clenched his jaw to keep down a snarl, which Marcus took as a decent enough apology. “There are so many Dragons in the Outerworlds, in fact, that we are forced to consider that the Dragons must have a base somewhere in the galaxy. Footage and raid reports lead us to believe they may be operating from somewhere on Jupiter. Your mission is threefold. Locate the Dragons’ base of operations in the Outerworlds. Disrupt the communications between the Higher Order and the rest of the Dragons. Establish new SkyLine branches from each planet you visit on the trip. If ships can break from the main SkyLines between Mars and Neptune to the planets between, we can avoid the Dragon attacks and save fuel and time.” Marcus raised an eyebrow at Lilia when she raised her hand just over her shoulder.
“Excuse me, Marcus. Might I ask a question?” she said. Marcus gave her a curious nod. “I thought...we couldn’t establish new SkyLines in the Outerwords because of Chrysum shortages? That the technology didn’t exist yet, to create a safe branch so far out?”
&n
bsp; “Ah, perceptive,” Marcus nodded, genuinely impressed. Teacher’s pet, Kalus said silently with the roll of his eyes. “The technology doesn’t exist, outside of this room and your ship. The Cerberus is equipped with a device called the SkyLine Launcher. This is developed from research I oversee personally called the Slayer Project. No one outside this room is to know of it until we’ve stabilized the new SkyLine branches. Are we clear?” The Dogs of War gulped and nodded simultaneously. “Sophia.”
“Ye-ye-yes, Uncle?” the girl stiffened.
“As Artillery Specialist on the crew, you’ll be operating the SkyLine Launcher. You’ll find a manual and virtual tutorial available to you on board. My research-escort will join you on Neptune - he’ll be able to help you with it too.” Marcus told her.
“Yes, Uncle.” Sophia managed to sound just a bit more solid. Marcus Brass only smirked.
“Say something else,” Marcus surprised her. Her eyes widened to fill their sockets as he said, “So I know you’re hearing me. That you understand exactly what it is I’m putting on your shoulders.”
“I’m opening new trade and transport routes…for the first time in almost a hundred years. With a technology that no one is allowed to know about…” Sophia muttered. The rest of the Dogs could hear her mind struggle to stretch around it. “Where…is the Cerberus?” Marcus let slip a chuckle at the honest curiosity that seeped through the crack in her nervous armor.
“Allow me to answer with two questions of my own. First: Dogs of War, do you understand your mission?” asked Marcus. Captain Demi nodded without hesitation. The rest of his crew stood frozen until he shot them urgent glares, at which each of them followed his lead. “Good. The time for sorting out volatile chemistry has passed. Now you must be a unit. The unit that stands between our galaxy and the Dragons,” said Marcus, with a particular focus on Kalus and Sophia.
“Now, about the Cerberus, and my second question. The WCC already had an office in Beijing. And London. And New York. Why do you think we chose to build yet another in Rome, instead of designating one of those the official Earth Consulate? Anyone?” Marcus opened the floor to the group.
“For us,” Demi realized first. It was the only reason he could think of for the disk-shaped design with a massive opening in the center. “So the Worlds Crisis Committee - with an S - task force could launch directly from briefings.”
“Like I said earlier. You’re here for your abilities,” Marcus smirked. Then he turned directly to his niece. “The Cerberus is beneath us.”