DJ's Mission Read Online Free PDF Page A

wheeled
base giving it the ability to move and see in all directions. Its limbs seemed
to unfold out of its silver metal hide. Currently it had ten arms out but DJ
guessed it could double that number if so inclined.
    “Greetings Marine, I am Epista’tis the Caretaker.
Master Spartan has directed me to outfit you for a journey of utmost
importance.”
    “Uh….thanks? What is all this stuff?”
    Even as Epista’tis began moving through the
hanger, he kept talking. “These are the trophies of the Hunter. One could call
them the spoils of war but that would limit it only to the items captured
during battle.”
    One limb seemed to point toward a far corner of
the hanger. DJ hazarded a quick glance down the neatly stacked rows and saw an
untold number of battle armor and weapons along the far wall. 
    Epista’tis was still talking and moving. “…and
that would not include gifts from grateful benefactors.” Another wave of a limb
and DJ spied racks of gleaming items. He wasn’t sure but at least one looked
like a crown of jewels.
    DJ interrupted the android’s rambling. “Where are
you taking me?”
    “Master Spartan left specific instructions and
they have been followed to the letter. You will find everything you need to
accomplish your mission on the Aetós.”
    “The what?”
    As they moved out of the main area and into a side
hanger with pressurized doors, DJ stopped mid-stride at the sight of the ship
right in front of him. One part of his brain registered that there were other
ships docked there but he only had eyes for one.
    “The Aetós, which translated from the ancient
language of Greek, means eagle. For some reason, Master Spartan thought you
might like this ship.”
    The Aetós was the most beautiful starship he’d
seen in his entire life. Made entirely from some glistening silver metal, the
ship looked like a giant eagle with its wings outstretched and sloping slightly
downward like those of its namesake. He could see twin engines nacelles mounted
gracefully to its hull toward the back of the fuselage and right below the
‘tail feathers’ of the ship. But what really gave the starship the impression
of an eagle was its landing gear and nose design. The landing gear looked to be
patterned directly after the three-toed talons of an eagle. DJ imagined that if
the Aetós was in flight with the landing gear down, it would give the
impression of an attacking eagle with talons outstretched. Then, there was the
cockpit. Even with the tinted windows, he could tell that it seated at least
two. But what seemed most impressive was the fact that the silvery metal was
shaped in an almost perfect representation of the downward turned beak of an
eagle.
    DJ had to remind himself to close his mouth.
“Wher…where did Iaido get this?”
    “According to my files, the Aetós was built on
Sylvanias by a master shipwright at the commission of a Terran businessman in
2160. It took nearly two Terran decades to complete and before ownership of the
Aetós’ could be transferred to the entrepreneur, all of his assets were seized
by the Coalition government when he was charged with article 104 of the UCMJ.”
    DJ knew from his time in the Marines that the
UCMJ, or the ‘Uniform Code of Military Justice,’ was basically the laws
governing those that served in the military and article 104 referred to the
crime of aiding the enemy.
    “Why would a businessman be subject to the UCMJ?”
    Epista’tis paused for a second as he accessed more
information. “It seems that the businessman in question was a reserve officer
in the UNCF Fleet services and had been activated at the time in question.”
    “How long ago was this?”
    “Twenty-seven Terran years ago.”
    DJ nodded and quickly did the math in his head.
That would’ve been during the earliest years of the war between the Coalition
and the Confederacy. He’d read that there were many sympathizers on both sides
of the conflict which had led to countless problems for the