(sorry for the wait on this y'all! Had a big obstacle writing this out without it sounding so stilted. Weekly posting should resume on my end from now on.
)
"Very well." Aurelia signaled for the group to stand up and follow her out of the meeting room into another corridor.
...
...
...
After several minutes of walking down the hallway, the sounds of people conversing could be heard just outside what looked to be the doors to a large conference hall. As Aurelia ushered in the new recruits, several people could be seen talking among each other before collectively dying down the chatter once their eyes caught sight of the squad. Aurelia stood at the forefront onto a podium with a microphone. Before the group sat the Terranovan Union heads, all representatives of their planets. In the middle of them was High Councilwoman Ziara Elmak, the chairman of the Union and one of the leaders of Mars. Compared to the other chairs, she was the least humanoid, resembling the lanky and gaunt appearance of a gray alien; her eyes were large with black sclera, but her skin was more along the shade of a pale purple. She watched them with a calculating gaze, but said nothing.
"..."
"So this is it after all?" Devan, Earth's Global Ambassador broke the silence, rubbed a temple with one of his hands, scoffing while peering down at them. He was plain-looking in comparison o the others, sporting short black hair and muddy-brown eyes. Devan had a grimace on his face out of scrutiny. "Now this is rich-- we have to depend on such a tiny group to stop a galactic threat?"
"Like you could do any better!" Empress Ragna Mystia said, her voice obscured by the breathing mask she wore that seemed to loop on either side into a tank. Being Venusian, she looked the 'wildest' of them all, crazy even. "Besides, Councilwoman Ziara said most of them work for the Union anyway, so it's not like we hired a bunch of strangers. Your Earthlings too afraid for the job?"
"At least
mine aren't ex-cons on parole," Devan grumbled a retort, referring to Azumi.
To the other side of Ziara sat a woman who looked to be a religious figure more than a political leader-- a thin white veil obscured her face, but her piercing blue eyes stuck out against the black sclera. She looked more like a mystical fairy out of an old Earth tale than an alien. She kept quiet.
The seat next to her was meant for Grand Ruler Ethin, but it was clearly empty.
"Enough, Mr. Mercer. You too, Empress Mystia." Ziara interrupted their bickering with a stern voice before turning her head to look back down at the group. "Welcome to your first mission, Orion. Your commander briefed you already, but we felt it would be too cold-shouldered to send you on your way without meeting face-to-face. There is also the... reward we need to discuss in exchange for your services."
"Is that
really a good idea right now, Chairman Elmak?" Devan interjected nervously.
"Why wouldn't it be? Mercenaries don't work for free." The High Priestess added in quietly.
"I wouldn't be so eager to do it myself, if I didn't know what I was in for," Ragna laughed boisterously. "I think we should tell them."
Ziara nodded once and gestured to the center of the room, Genma's image from before appearing in a hologram once more. "While we haven't gathered much information on Genma, we have made a placeholder estimate for the bounty on his head. This morning, the Intergalactic Federation has agreed to place the current bounty at 500,000 Nova credits."
Aurelia herself wasn't aware of this information, and sweated a bit. "Forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn, Chairman, but... Isn't that a bit on the low side if the bounty will be split among us?" Although Nova Credits were worth much more than the old Earth Dollar, the bounty definitely would likely be split among everyone in the Squad.
"Perhaps. However, the Federation has agreed to adjust the bounty according to what kind of intelligence we can gather. So long as it
definitively sets an appropriate amount for taking down Scorpius," Ziara declared.
"Whoa, 500 grand in Nova Credits is still a lot... think I could buy me a nice new bike with a cut of it?" Azumi said to Mioi, who shushed her by raising a hand out in front of her mouth to silence her babbling. When she was sure Mioi wasn't looking, Azumi stuck her tongue out at her.
"We figured it wouldn't be very fair of us to make you do work without at least giving you an idea of how much we're willing to reward you for being our hometown-heroes." Ragna said haughtily.
"The Intergalactic Federation also is willing to bestow an Award of Recognition should you succeed in the long-term goal of the Orion Project. That in itself grants access to plenty of other rewards, doesn't it?" Ambassador Mercer asked Ziara.
"Yes," Ziara confirmed, but kept a stern gaze down at them. "But don't let temptations of greed impede your judgement. This bounty can theoretically go to
anyone that succeeds in Genma's destruction, not just this group alone. If I were you, I would be
more concerned about fulfilling your ultimate duty above all else-- it’s in everyone's best interests you don't fail us."
"I heard that the Federation's gonna go public with the bounty soon enough when they hear back from Ziara about how your intel missions will go. So don't mess it up!" Ragna teased. "That Genma guy probably knew everyone will be out for his head by now, but as long as he doesn't know who specifically sent you to do it, your secret is safe."
This isn't Star Wars... Devan thought. He was suspicious about how lightly Ragna was treating this even though it easily could be her head next.
These guys also don't have lightsabers or inexplicable access to an omnipresent formless entity.
