I pushed the button to the door, and it slid open.
The recreation room is rather lavish. There's a small bar where you can pour yourself a drink. Multiple HoloVisions to watch shows on. Comfortable furniture out the wazoo. They even have tables for games like Zargon and Starjack.
In this room my eyes stop at the first person I see, a rather cute-looking lady. She has long, flowing blue hair cascading around a kind yet focused face. She has a standard-looking Taloon military uniform that fits neatly over her athletic figure. She seems rather focused on the news program projecting on one of the HoloVisions to notice me walking in.
I look more around the room to see the bar, a very familiar face at that bar. A far too familiar face if you ask me, almost just like that same asshole I just had to deal with. He turns around in his seat and notices me too as I walk in, the same mean mug staring daggers through me.
"Nuh uh, boy. Do you work here or something? Are you stalking me now?"
"I should be asking you the same thing, old man. Because there's no way you're one of the other two on my team for this op, Dallas."
"Oh, don't worry about that kid; I'm not on your team. This is about to become a two-person job after I blast a hole in that dumbfuck little head of yours."
"You sure talk a lot of shit, old man. I hope you're able to back up those words better than last time; otherwise, this time you'll get more than a little blister on your hand."
As we're throwing these barbs back and forth, both of us have our hands on our holstered pistols as we walk towards each other angrily through the room. Before anything can go down, however, the Taloon girl steps in between us, pushing us apart.
"Listen, you idiots, I don't give a shit what kind of history you two have; you're not jeopardizing this job for us. Unless you dumb dumbs forgot we're getting paid a hundred thousand crowns each."
After a tense moment of looks between me and Dallas, we both reluctantly take our hands off our holsters and calm down. Dallas snarls at me.
"I'll calm down for now. But once this mission is wrapped up, I'm fucking you up, kid."
"That's funny, I was about to say the same thing to you... old man."
"Whatever. Isla, you explain the job to this brat; I'm getting some fresh air."
With those words and one last dirty look in my direction, Dallas storms out of the room.
The girl he called Isla sighs as she walks over towards a seating area on the other side of the room and plops down on a sofa. She gestures to the chair across from her while looking at me. I eventually wander my way over to the area and take a seat across from her.
"So... Isla, was it?"
"Seems you're not deaf; that's good. Look, I couldn't care less about what you two do after this mission. But until it's done, let's stay focused on getting paid, shall we?"
"You have no objections from me. So... ex-Taloon special ops?"
"My past isn't important; what matters is the mission. You ready to get the rundown?"
This girl seems all business; I can respect that. I get myself comfortable on the chair across from her and then give her a nod.
"Alright, flyboy, it's a relatively simple job. For a little background, this world has been in a constant state of war since the previous king died a decade back. The two main families clashing for the throne are the Castallans and the Hargorians. Three years ago, the Hargorian forces invaded and took over a military base to the east that belonged to the Castallans."
"I see, so I'm guessing the Castallans left something of significance at this base that we're supposed to get back?"
"That's about the gist of it. They want us to break into a hidden vault. The Hargorian forces aren't even aware of its existence. According to Miss Olivia, the vault contains a map. It apparently leads to a secret weapons cache that one of her ancestors kept hidden after a similar war for supremacy on this planet from centuries back. In that vault is rumored to be enough firepower to completely turn the tide of this war."
"Makes sense why they'd want it. Did she ever give an explanation as to why they didn't use it in the war efforts? I mean, the war has been going on for a decade, and it seems they had the info in their possession for about seven years of it."
"From what she told me, it seems only the head of the family was aware of its location and how to open it. Her father was that head and a bit of an idealist, not wanting to resort to such lengths, at least that's how she told it. He passed about six months ago, and now she's the head of the house. After learning of its location, she's tried to lead several attacks on the base, and all have failed. Her desperation to get those weapons is what led to her now hiring us."
That's cool and all, but let's get to the mission. I don't need to know all the lore on which of these rich yuppies wants what; I just want to get this done, get paid, and get lost.
I think Isla can tell by the look in my eyes and my body language that I clearly don't care about all the background, and so she decides to move on.
"Sorry for rambling; I get it; it's all pretty boring for a spacer like you. Look, the mission is simple: we get into the vault and steal the map. Each of us has a role to play. I'm the safecracker. Pretty self-explanatory. As for you, well... you'll be the distraction."
"The distraction? What the hell are you going on about?"
"Look, the lady asked your boy Aliester who the most fearless guy he had was, so you were sent. She was told of a job you did on Kayabori-9. Taking on an entire Shambole Crew Death Squad on your own is no mean feat. That was you, right?"
"I mean... yes, but it's not like I signed up for a job like that; I just kind of was backed into a corner. Whatever, I'll hear you out. What exactly do you need me to do?"
She takes out a pocket HoloProjector and places it on the table in-between the two of us. It displays schematics for what I assume is the military base we're supposed to infiltrate.
"It's simple; most of the security at this base is taken up by a large group of TZG-5-type battle droids. There are about several hundred of them. There are only two ways in: a secret entrance in the backside and the front door. While it appears the enemy doesn't know about the secret entrance, it leads to an incredibly well-guarded weapons storage room. Your job will be to go in the front door and cause a storm so that the guard droids leave their position to go deal with it. Then I and Dallas will be able to sneak in through the secret passage."
"Okay, I suppose that makes sense, but what exactly is his job?"
"He's an explosives expert; his job will be to take out the droid control center. Once he does, all the droids will be deactivated. Once that happens, all we'll need to worry about is the living opposition, which, from what Castallan gathers, is about two dozen or so uniformed officers scattered about the base. Once the droids are down, you and Dallas act as escorts and protect me as I crack into the safe. We get the map, escape the base, and turn in the map for a crisp hundred thousand crowns each."
So basically, I have to run in, be loud and stupid, and draw everyone's attention so those two can sneak in. I have to survive long enough for the old prick to turn off the droids, meet back up with them, steal the map, and get the hell out of there.
It sounds incredibly simple and dangerous, two things that I can use to describe most of the jobs I've taken. I don't particularly love acting as a distraction in these types of plans, but I suppose it could be worse. All I have to do is survive an onslaught of a few hundred droids; sounds simple enough.
I crack a smile; before Isla has a chance to say anything else, I lean forward, turning off the projector.
"Alright, this job sounds fun, Miss Isla. I'm in."