The spaceplane was very similar to our old one. A sleek, aerodynamic spacecraft with wide wings, a pointy white cockpit, space for twelve people inside and an emergency room paired with a fuselage in the back. There were liquid fuel engines at the very back of the craft. I suspected that there were hidden weapons aboard the craft, as its predecessor surely did have those. The bottom of the spaceplane was black, with three landing gears which will be used during our descent.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡav6EwwoS7D
The rocket was pretty small compared to some other ones I saw in movies. Its complex structure was condensed into a vehicle the size of my house. The rocket's top was white and sharp, with a black fuselage and several small engines at the bottom. There were four winglets slightly above them, giving the rocket a dart-like appearence.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtz9PSAjm7
As we continued flying upwards and the bunker beneath us shrunk, I was concerned over our spacecraft being shot down. After all, something must have caused the drone to crash? Who said that the culprit left?
I also wondered about the reasons behind shooting the drone down. It obviously attracted the attention of the agency and the government. Wouldn't the Chinese prefer to be stealthy?
The only reason I could think of was a show of strength to fuel people's fears and unleash chaos. The paranoia of the average citizen was like a bomb waiting to be ignited. It would make sense to cause pandemonium and distract the government.
- What is this BIORBITAL company? - Claudius suddenly asked. Instead of replying, Harold gave me a piece of paper and told me to read it out loud.
- "Hello, agents. Arika here.
I've been notified about your new mission. Why do you get so lucky?! I've been condemned to sitting here in China and collecting boring information while you fight enemy agents in awesome places! Uhh, anyhow, I've done some digging and got some info about your new enemies. The company BIORBITAL focuses on bioengineering in space and they set up a biodome on the Moon. This biodome is their main laboratory and base of operations.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1am1zFnwU1
As far as I'm concerned, their experiments focus on developing plants and animals that could live in space and be used for agriculture. At least that is what sees the light of day. Nobody really knows what really goes on in there. The agents that went there didn't get much info from their experience, because they were quickly fired or uncovered.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQphF7IYITL
I know this doesn't sound optimistic, but I wish you good luck.
Sincerely,23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04pNwS7lRt
Arika."23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmhCMbo6MM
- Ignore the post-scriptum - Harold instructed me. I still looked at it.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCM6e1btG3
- "PS: The next time you go on a mission, notify me. I'd be more than pleased to join. :)" - The letter said. I didn't read that out loud, but I was curious.
Arika is a girl we met during our previous mission. She is 15 years old and came into our agency from Japan. She specialises in IT and hacking, a talent that proved very useful during our time on the Hyperspace. She came there to support us as a special field agent to aid us in our quest to locate the Perseids. After that operation came to an end, Arika was sent to China to investigate a coding machine, which could change the outcome of the war. I'm assuming that she managed to crack its code and that's from where she got the information about BIORBITAL.
- Good news, we left the atmosphere! We're in space! - Jaxon informed us.
I looked through the window. The view of the Earth from above was breathtaking, as always. Suddenly, the rocket detatched itself from the spaceplane and plummeted into the Earth's skies. We waited for a bit and then the spaceplane's engines were activated and we continued our flight.
- Seems like we'll be dealing with some interesting adversaries - Amber added with enthusiasm.
- Hopefully we'll make it out alive - Sebastian muttered. Nobody besides me heard him.
- Okay, now entertain yourselves, we got almost a day until we reach the biodome. Vacuum-sealed food packets are in the back of the plane. Remember that when you're hungry - Harold told us.
Harold focused on the controls with Jaxon, leaving us alone. My mind came back to Justine, who was still in the bunker on Earth. How will she react when I'm gone? How will the agents explain my absence?
The rocket dissapeared from our sight, replaced by stars and space junk. We've already seen cosmic trash several times during our previous missions. Still, watching it drift was more entertaining than staring into the dark void of space. Additionally, we were allowed to unclip our seatbelts and float around in zero-gravity, which was fun as long as you were in a spaceship. We were ejected into the cosmos after our previous spaceplane blew up and that definetely wasn't a pleasant experience. Hopefully this plane won't suffer the same fate.
Amber left her seat and floated around, looking through the windows as she did. The others, myself included, soon joined her. Flying was pretty fun as long as you had an oxygen supply and the threat of death wasn't looming over you. We played in microgravity for a while until we got bored and came back to our seats. Even though I didn't want to, I promptly fell asleep. I guess spaceflights are exhausting after all.
- Time Skip -
Now, the view of the window was mostly of the Moon, which we were quickly approaching. Some smaller boosters were activated to keep us in an upright position. As we descended, I watched the areas I've been in before.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsQcpPgbs9
The American Moon Base remained more or less unchanged after our first visit. The only difference was a new dome being built near the old ones. It was nowhere near completion and several robots zoomed around it.
Further away was the Russian Moon Base, which was similar in structure to the American one, albeit much cleaner to being built recently. Several mining rigs dotted the landscape, but I didn't get a good look at them as we continued forwards, reaching the Chinese Moon Base.
I've never seen it upclose before, excluding illustrations in books. Obviously, it consisted of several domes. However, the central dome was much larger than the others and had a star shape engraved into the top. A small launchpad was visible nearby. Even though the complex was large, it was absolutely dwarfed by the biodome.
It was a single, massive dome, probably four or five stories tall. A multitude of colours was visible inside. I wonder what this stuff is.
- Wow, what an enormous building! - Claudius was in awe of our enemy's base.
We saw a red logo upfront, along with Chinese writing and smaller english text below, reading "BIORBITAL".23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzuv62gJkO
It was strange how I never saw the dome during our time on the Moon. I guess it wasn't fully built by then. Either way, it looked very menacing.
And we were about to infiltrate it.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.