The Arcadian

Chapter 4

Year 2273
Odysseus Crater, Tethys

Jade Aracus

"JPNiner requesting landing on Tethys hangar, over"
"JPNiner, state your purpose, over"
"Yeah this is Commander Jaxtyn Pierce, here for the conference, over."
"Tethys hanger requesting passcode, over."
"095T7Q over." Jaxtyn said into his Mic.
"JPNiner hold, over."

"Commander Jaxtyn?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.
"I'm very good at whatever I do. Besides the title does help with the ladies." he smirked, winking at me.

Behind us, Ivan groaned, "Quit flirting."
I rolled my eyes as a voice burst through the scanner ,clearing us for landing.

"You two need to dress up as AES personnel if you mean to accompany me into the base and cloak the escape pod", Jaxtyn got a solemn look on his face before continuing, "Ivan if you reach to your left you will find a drawer full of uniforms. Check your sizes and put one on .Also grab one identification bracelet from the upper drawer"

"Why do you have so many uniforms?" Ivan questioned him, while pulling out the clothes.
"I used to have a crew to work on the freighter"
"What happened?"
"Some of them disobeyed me, a few found out that I was a spy. I had no choice but to kill them. The rest of my people are secure on another base, awaiting my orders." He explained with a blank expression on his face.

Looking at him, I realized that he was definitely not the same person I knew as a kid. My Jaxtyn wouldn't hurt a fly. I remember the time my mom took Ivan, Jaxtyn and me to the bird nursery. It was a place where various species of birds were raised in captivity so as to not lead to their extinction. Jax had cried watching an old owl taking his final breaths. Time with the AES has made him stone cold.

A few minutes later, Ivan and I filed out of the ship, following Jaxtyn only to be stopped by a few officers. They wore the same yellow and white uniform we did.
One of the men, I'm guessing the captain, stepped forth and shook Jaxtyn's hand.

Jaxtyn nodded and brandished a necklace from his pocket. The AES sigil hung through it like a pendant, a black hexagon with a cross in the middle.
The commander took it and then looked at us, expectantly.

I looked up at Jaxtyn who gestured towards the identification bracelet.
Gingerly, I removed it and handed the accessory to the man in front of me.

"Check them." The captain ordered his men, all the while sizing me up.
"Captain, if you could please be a little hasty in your procedure, we have rather pressing matters to attend to." Jaxtyn demanded, gritting his teeth.
I looked up at him to see his jaw clenched and green eyes glaring at the man.

I rolled my eyes. Jaxtyn and Ivan had always been protective over me. Jaxtyn, being the oldest of us was more so. The little charade was enough to calm my nerves and get my attention off of the fact that we were sneaking into the AES base under false aliases.
I was pretty sure that we would be caught. Surely the AES had pictures of their officers to ensure safety.

"Captain, they're clear", an officer informed him and handed us back our belongings.
"Welcome Commander Pierce, your transportation is waiting for you" The captain said diligently, showing us to a space rover.

Space rovers were like ancient cars, used for on-ground transportation. They were fast and efficient, with tight ventilation system and glass upper parts. They used force opposite to the gravitational force of the planet to keep themselves above the ground.

The three of us climbed in, Ivan and I in the front, since we were supposed to be his staff and Jaxtyn in the back.
As the glass clicked into place and the ventilation system kick started with the rover, Ivan inhaled and I could immediately tell that he was nervous.