The X Pathogen

Chapter Nine

    Kyo marched them to a briefing room without a word. Fury radiated from him, giving them all the sense that they should behave for the time being.
    Inside the briefing room was a woman dressed in a GSA agent uniform; similar to the cadet uniforms but with heavier armor and a holster. Ash recognized her as the moderator of Saji and Nadil's combat exam. Sitting across the table from her was a heavy set middle aged humanoid with pale yellow skin and stringy white hair. He was dressed in flashy clothes that probably cost a lot more than they were worth.
    The woman looked exasperated but relief flooded her face when she saw Kyo enter the room. She gave a clearly fake smile to the man and said in her best customer service voice, "This is agent Kyo, his squad will be safely escorting you to the agreed location."
    The man crossed his arms with a skeptical grunt. "I am a person of importance, and you expect me to travel with children as a security detail?"
    The woman sighed, "Governor Turi, the risk here is extremely low. Quite frankly, you don't really need a security detail at all. You're just going to open a new rest stop on a barely inhabited planet."
    "There are pirates in that region!" Governor Turi cried incredulously.
    The woman shook her head, "There really aren't."
    The governor glared at her, "I would expect far more professionalism and respect from this agency."
    Kyo gave the woman an amused glance, she just sighed and plastered on another fake smile. "Well, perhaps Agent Kyo will be more to your liking," she smirked at Kyo playfully, "I leave the governor in your capable hands."
    Kyo smiled faintly, shaking his head, "hilarious, Kirki. You never change," he murmured.
    Kirki winked as she left the room. Ash and Saji glanced at each other, resisting the urge to comment on whatever was going on between Kyo and Kirki.
    The governor stood up with a grunt of effort and stared at Kyo expectantly.
    Agent Kyo sighed and turned to the cadets, "Alright, since this is your first mission, we're sticking to the easy stuff. We just have to get this, ahem, esteemed governor to his, er, important event safely."
    "THEIR FIRST MISSION?" Governor Turi shouted, his yellow skin turned a deep shade of orange, "What sort of security detail is this?"
    Kyo turned back around, "the kind you get on short notice as the governor of some backwater region no one has ever heard of."
    Nadil choked on a laugh. Kyo shot him a withering glare, apparently only agents were allowed to smack talk their employers.
    With that, Kyo led the group out of the briefing room towards the shipyard as Turi complained loudly.
    Ash glanced at Nadil, who grumbled, "y'know, as much as I don't like you, I think I hate this guy more."
    Ash choked back laughter, "well at least we agree on one thing."
    Their ship was a simple transport, nothing too fancy but it could make and move through transport tunnels safely. The cockpit had enough room for two people and the passenger space could comfortably hold six people so there were no concerns about room.
    Agent Kyo pulled Nadil aside for a moment and quietly said, "Listen, I saw your scores on the pilot exam. You're a pretty good pilot, but that mistake at the end means you got the lowest score out of the entire squad. You don't follow protocol, and until you can learn to think before you act, you've got flight practice."
    Nadil stared at him, rage burning in his golden eyes, "are you serious? I'm the best pilot in this squad, I made one mistake!"
    Kyo grinned, "follow orders and protocol, Cadet Ronette, and maybe one day, I'll actually let you graduate."
    Nadil grit his teeth but climbed into the cockpit without any further complaints.
    Ash let out a sigh of relief. The flight would last a couple hours, with maybe one stop, and they did not want to spend that much time in a small space with Nadil. They and Saji followed the governor aboard the ship and strapped in.
He sat across from the two cadets, looking at them with a disdainful look on his face.
Ash and Saji glanced at each other nervously as the ship took off. Maybe they wouldn't have to deal with Nadil, but something gave Ash the feeling this was going to be a long trip.