"The meetings are usually like this, but I think it's because Empress Mystia likes to ruffle the Earthling's feathers. Venusians have a... strange sense of humor." Aurelia explained to Mex. "At least when it comes to socializing. You get used to it, but it probably gives the Chairwoman a headache."
"The Grand Ruler of Mercury was a leader of a small colony, but he was well-respected for his ability to make successful combat strategies over the years, even with so little manpower," Mioi said. "I find it strange he was able to be killed like that. Even if he was on the losing end, how was someone able to infiltrate his base of operations and get past his personal security detail? Much less physically overpower him."
"Maybe he isn't alone... no idea if it's for somebody, but there's no way just one guy can do that on his own without getting detected." Azumi said, holding her chin and closing one eye to ponder the idea. "How'd you find that stuff out anyway?"
"I read a lot of archives when I was training. Something I don't see you doing."
"Um, yeah, because reading is for chumps. On Venus we don't have time to read! We're busy taking apart stuff and selling it for a pretty penny! You ever try to wash propellant from a 1997 Earth explorer out of your hair!?"
"No, and I imagine that is why your hair looks so neon without the hair dye."
"No!!! It was the radiation that made my hair so bright. I think I got it from my mom's side. Assuming that's true, anyway."
"Your priority is to identify the object obstructing our feed and see if Scorpius has anything to do with it. If necessary, disable it or destroy it. Just don't leave any trace that it was you." Aurelia ordered the team. Stopping before a terminal at the end of an unmarked corridor, she placed a hand on a screen that scanned the prints on her palm and fingertips before the doors slid open. It opened to a new section of the floor full of control panels and communications personnel typing away furiously at their computers while speaking to someone on the other side of their headset.
"Aside from that, see if you can get any information about the state of Mercury from that post. The planet relies on imported food and water for survical. We estimated that there was enough surpus food frozen for preservation to last about 6 Earth months, so any survivors on that planet are running out. It's best to get any information quickly so the Union can reconvene and plan the next course of action."
Lieutenant Avan showed up again, holding a stack of plugsuits for each person. "These are for you. Azumi and Mioi already have one, but these ones are specifically for Orion missions." He said, referring to the insignia. "You will be boarding an unmarked spacecraft for the time being. It will be on autopilot, so you needn't worry about piloting it. The changing rooms are on the left. These aren't for enduring the cold of space or Mercury, so the actual space suits go over them. They're on the ship, so you can put them on over the plugsuit before takeoff."
Aurelia fitted a headset onto herself, adjusting the microphone as the plugsuits were distributed. "It's too cold to leave your faces exposed, so the built in helmets will suffice. Usually you don't have to wear a helmet to the other planets, but Mercury was never properly terraformed."
