In space, people must sleep strapped to the wall or floor to prevent drifting away in zero gravity. We decided to strap Dawn to one, with Sebastian and Claudius making sure that she won't run away.
- Am I supposed to sleep now? - Dawn asked.
- You can - Sebastian replied.
- If this is a trick to let our guard down, it won't work - Claudius was suspicious.
- Aww, you guessed it... - Dawn sighed for the third time.
As we lifted off the ground, I gazed upon the alien world beneath me. The sea of craters dotting the landscape, the grey hills in the distance and the tiny human bases: Russian, American and Chinese. I noticed that the water we flooded the American one with had already been drained. As I turned around, I saw Earth. It was a gorgeous view and everyone, even Dawn, was in awe of our blue and green planet.
- Beautiful view, isn't it? - Einstein asked. We all replied "Yes" (except for Dawn, who chose to stay silent for some reason).
- Edward, we are getting close to the Pitstop Station. Prepare to dock - Jaxon noted.
- The Pitstop Station? That's where you want to bring a dangerous criminal? Isn't a simple refuelling station too insecure for such a person? - Sebastian asked.
- You thought that's all the Pitstop Station has to offer? - Einstein laughed - The Agency has a hidden area there, which is heavily protected with motion and thermal detectors, lasers and a boatload of cameras. If that isn't secure, I don't know what is.
- Oh, okay - Sebastian didn't expect such an answer, nor did the others.
It took us four minutes to arrive and dock at the station. We unstrapped Dawn and carried her with us, which wasn't easy while we were floating around. Luckily, we had been trained to operate in the absence of gravity, so we got the job done. Einstein took a keycard out of his pocket and put it in front of a nail, which was, in fact, a tiny scanner. A piece of the wall, really a doorway, opened and we entered the secret room.
As the hidden door closed behind us, we noticed Captain Nigel sitting in front of an impressive array of computers along with two other men, presumably IT specialists. Upon noticing us, our principal stood up.
- You know that you defied my clear orders? - Nigel hissed at Einstein.
- I had to save the lives of these children! Plus, thanks to my involvement, the mission was a success. We caught the mole! - Einstein pointed to Dawn.
- But you allowed the other enemy agents to escape - Nigel replied fiercely.
- We know, but they're on the run and shouldn't be too far away. Our adult agents can chase them down while we interrogate the mole - Einstein noted. Captain Nigel gave up on arguing and allowed us into the interrogation room, though calling it a room was an overstatement.
The "room" was a tiny compartment with nothing but a chair attached to the floor and a small, dim lamp dangling from the ceiling. We had been giving rope, so we tied Dawn to the chair. We temporarily gagged her so that the ordinary astronauts won't hear her. We then pulled off the gag.
- Ouch, what was that for? - Dawn grunted.
- For trying to blow up our base and trying to monopolise helium-3... - I started, but Amber cut me off.
- You're not the one asking the questions. We are.
- What do you want to know? You already foiled our plan... - Dawn tried to evade being questioned and failed.
- Firstly, was that your full plan? - Claudius asked the first question.
- Why would I tell you? - Dawn was still reluctant to answer. The door slightly opened and Vincent handed over a katana. Amber took the weapon and stood in a menacing pose.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH58Vl4znBg
- Answer, or else you'll learn what this thing does - Amber hissed in a sinister tone. Additionally, I locked the door, cutting off any escape route. Both of these things spooked our prisoner.
- Fine, I'll tell you. We were planning to blame the bomb crisis on some random Chinese dude and provoke an escalation of the conflict between the US and China while we get richer from selling helium-3. Using the money, we'd militarise rapidly and soon defeat the two exhausted superpowers, winning the war. But you had to foil it, you...! - Dawn was about to say something that wasn't nice, but she was silenced by Amber, who just moved closer to her.
- Who was that Chinese dude? - I was curious about the details of their plan.
- I have no idea. Leonid didn't tell us... - Dawn stopped abruptly, noticing that she had made a mistake.
- Are you telling the truth, and is Leonid your leader? - Amber dangled the katana over Dawn's head. I thought this method was a bit extreme, but it got the job done.
- I am telling the truth, and he IS our leader! You're right, just don't kill me! - Dawn snapped.
- We won't kill you as long as you tell us what we need - Amber still sounded threatening - What is this group? An FSB division?16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeA2GLlnhmJ
- No, we're Russian freelancers. We call ourselves the Perseids - Dawn seemed proud of that name.
- Okay, but why don't you have a Russian accent? - I added, catching our enemy off guard.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANxx8yv57J
- I'm not really Russian. I had some Russian ancestors, but I was born and raised in America. Either way, I felt closer to my Russian roots and moved there when I got the chance... - Dawn started, but suddenly, Amber snapped.
- DON'T TELL US YOUR LIFE STORY, WE DIDN'T ASK FOR THAT...! - She swung her katana, but Sebastian stopped her at the last moment.
- Don't do that. She may still be useful - he remarked. Amber was ready to argue, but she ultimately gave in. Then, we heard someone knocking on the door. It was Einstein. We decided to pause the interrogation, especially since Amber needed to calm down.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmitU7brnE
- I see that you're having some nerves. I understand that, but I think you need a break - Einstein said, and we agreed. Sebastian debriefed him on our interrogation.
- Wow, that's a lot of information. Good job - Einstein smiled. Captain Nigel, who also heard this, stayed still with an emotionless face.
- Children, I need to ask you something... - Einstein started - This was a very dangerous mission and I'll understand if you don't feel ready for another one. You know the enemy very well and Nigel would probably force you into continuation, but I give you a choice: you can return to your training and some professional agents will do the job, or you can stay here and continue the mission with the risk of more serious danger. I won't get mad if you choose the first option - he finished, ignoring a slightly annoyed glance from Captain Nigel.
- I want to continue, because I want to finish what I started - Sebastian said.
- I also want to continue and beat up some bad guys - Amber added.
- I'm not sure about my continuation, but I think that this will be far more exciting than ordinary training, so I'll go - Claudius responded. I noticed that unit 208 was discussing something and Jeff came out, saying:
- We'll also join in.
- Well, what about you? - Einstein turned to me - No pressure.
I was internally conflicted. On one hand, I was worried that I would actually die this time and never get to see Earth and my family on it. I really wanted a happy ending. On the other hand, I wanted to close this case, much like Sebastian. I felt something push me towards accepting the request. Like it was my destiny or something. So, despite some hesitation, I replied:
- I'm in.
ns216.73.216.13da2
and then Add to home screen.