The time had been slowly ticking by. The sun had travelled across the sky and yet Seth sat in the same position, waiting for the men to call him back in.
The hall Seth was in was quiet. Only the sounds from around the corner could be heard, along with the hum of the air conditioners, the occasional beep, screech from the elevator doors opening and the sounds of hard shoe souls on the ground as people moved to and frow.
The elevator beeped again. The doors had barely opened before the footsteps started. They where fast and spiritic, hurrying down the corridors.
The footsteps grew closer and closer to Seth, until he saw the person who was walking now towards him. His hair disheveled, and his coat buttons on the wrong hole.
"I aren't too late am I?" asked Mongrel as he stood in front of Seth.
"Too late for what?"
"To help ya kill ya self. What else? I am here to help you pay the dept Maria got her self into"
Seth stood up. He was a head taller then Mongrel. As he looked down at him a smile grew on his face as he fixed the shirt of Mongrel along with his hair.
"As much as I appreciate this old friend, you don't have to do this"
"I am doing this. Ya two are my friends. The only one in a squad to not treat me like a mistake. So I am going to see this through." Said Mongrel sincerely as he looked Seth in the eyes.
"Sorry Mongrel, but you are too late. They are deliberating right now on my proposition"
"So they haven't made up their mind?"
"I guess not. But if they do I will be doing the missions on my own"
"Then I will desert to help ya" replied Mongrel
"MONGREL! Do not say that. You have no idea who could be listening"
"I do not care. I am going to help ya"
"Mongrel, my friend. You have saved my life more times then I can count or wish to admit, but please leave this to me. This is something I need to do"
"Will I get in ya way, or slow you down?"
"You know that isn't why I am saying no"
"Do I slow ya down?" asked Mongrel again.
"No you don't Mongrel, and you know that"
"Then I will come with ya" said Mongrel
Seth knew there was no point in arguing with his friend. He was stubborn once he made up his mind.
'They will come back and agree to my proposition. It seemed they already had a mission in mind. I am sorry Mongrel, but I wont let you be dragged down with me'
The door to the conference room opened and the bald man welcomed in Seth and Mongrel.
"Please come in"
"Thank you sir"
Seth and Mongrel walked into the conference room. The two other men were still sitting at the end of the table when the third man sat down.
"Seth, after great consideration we cannot take the proposition you have presented to us"
"Why not?"
"It just isn't a good trade. Our friends seem to value Maria's potential contributions to the alliance greater then your short term abilities"
"Let me speak to the Harenae on my own behalf"
"They are not interested in the deal as it is being currently presented"
"What if I am also in the deal, just like Seth" stated Mongrel
"No Mongrel. We talked about this"
"And I told you I would help you"
"Are you sure about this Mongrel? These missions are almost guaranteed to kill you by the end of them"
"Do they need to be done more then ya value Maria?"
"Yes. We and the Harenae value these missions more. We will send you to them so you can make your case to them yourself"
"Thank ya, Sirs"
"Mongrel please back out. I can change the deal. Make it better for them without you being in danger"
"The deal is sweet enough for them now, so let us go, and if we die we died doing what we were made to do" said Mongrel
Seth did not say another word. He continued looking at the three men who where tapping away on their communication gauntlets.
Seth and Mongrel started to make their way out of the conference room before the man in the middle called out to stop them.
"Hold on Seth, Mongrel. the Harenae want to discuss your terms right here and now. At attention and watch what you say" said the man on the far left. Before Seth and Mongrel had a chance to understand what was happening, a blue image of the Harenae general appeared in the air above the conference table.
The blue Harenae in front of them was large, above the conference room table showing just the head. The eyes where yellow with horizontal slits running though the middle. The head was round and bulbous, long as well. No mouth was on the head.
A soft rhythmic clicking sound was heard through the hologram. Seconds passed with just the clicking being able to be heard before the translation feature built in the hologram kicked in.
"I hear you want to complete missions for us in Maria's stead. What makes you qualified to replace her" said the Cephalopoda looking Harenae.
"How I am to understand your current position is you need these missions complete more then you want Maria's expertise. I can complete these missions for you no matter what they are"
"You are very confident in your abilities Saipan, you know not what these missions are and yet you are confident you can complete them"
"Hello, sir. I may not know what the mission is, but if the human's in front of us believe Seth and I can complete them I must have faith in their insight" Said Mongrel before Seth could say anything else.
"Interesting. Your file has you not nearly as eloquent and as insightful"
"With age does come certain benefits" replied Mongrel.
"I will send you on a mission the same caliber as the ones you shall complete. Though if you don't complete it and die trying it will not be integral to our plans. If you complete this mission I will drop our arrangement with Maria and take you up on your offer"
"Thank you for the opportunity" Said Seth as he looked at Mongrel who was smiling ear from ear.
"Information of the mission will be relayed to you shortly. Until then, have a good day gentlemen" Said the Harenae.
Seth and Mongrel saluted all the beings in the room and left the conference room.
Outside the room Mongrel turned to Seth "That went well, no?"
"Haha I guess it went as well as it could"
"Come on, cheer up. You now have me with you"
"Thank for coming along man, but you better not die. I don't want to see that"
"It was my decision Seth. What happens to me is my own fault, not ya's"
"Damn factions, ruining the Military" spat Seth.
...
Back inside the conference room.
the Harenae looked at the human commanders through the hologram.
"Do you think he is capable of completing the mission?"
"Yes we do. He is an exempli Scout, and Mongrel will add a layer of security to the mission"
"If you think so highly of him, why did you not allow his deal previously"
"We had plans. Those plans we should not abandon"
"True. But this way we do not lose if he comes back alive he will be able to complete the missions. If he doesn't, it does not matter as Maria will still work for us"
The men in the room looked at one another. They had thought of the possibility but only briefly. They did not want to play with a human life like that, but their reservations were their own and not the Harenae's.