Frem's club resided on a planet owned and operated by the Cravians, the shrewdest race in the universe when it came to money. This planet, effectively named the casino and club planet by the Cravians, was home to many crime lords throughout Corpon.
At the ramp, Ace suddenly turned around and blocked the team's exit, smiling casually.
"What's going on?" Asander asked, having almost run into Ace.
"Your academy scores were excellent, and your field assessment training results were great, but that's not real life. This is." Ace gestured toward the nightlife of the planet. "So, I'm gonna sit back on this ship and do nothing while you guys complete the mission."
At this, Ace moved out of their collective way and ushered them off the ship, then closed the hull door in their confused faces. Enzion, the ship's AI, appeared in holographic form in front of him as he began to lounge in his favorite chair.
"Are you really going to just make them do the mission alone?" she asked him as she leaned over the back of the chair, putting her face in his face.
In response, Ace pulled a cylindrical box from his bag, which sat next to his chair.
"This was given to me by our resident genius, Whiz, who told me not to break it or he'll rip off my arms and beat me with them." He cleared his throat, clearly remembering an unpleasant event. "It's a neuro-controlled hacking device. Through nodes, it allows me to hack into Frem's security systems, including his cameras, and monitor our little bundles of joy's progress."
Ace placed the nodes on either temple and leaned back. He wondered if, by now, they had organized and begun planning, and hoped he wouldn't have to step in.
Neira departed the ramp last. There had to be another reason Ace was ditching them for this mission. She just couldn't decide what it was yet, but as she went over her options, she nearly ran into Darec.
"For the love of all of the gods, why did you stop?" Neira complained as she backed up.
Darec turned and replied in his dry tone. "We stopped to strategize. Problem with that?"
They huddled awkwardly around each other, waiting for someone to come up with a plan.
Neira sighed. "Guess I'll take the wheel. Here's what we're gonna do—"
She was interrupted by Asander. "Wait a minute. What made you in charge?" he spat.
"The fact that you failed tactics and games," she retorted. "Twice!"
"She is right," Rip said, nodding and eyeing Asander. "You did fail tactics and games."
Asander nearly turned red as he replied through gritted teeth. "Shut up."
Alessa wasn't paying attention to the bickering of her teammates. Rather, she was watching as certain cameras aligned themselves to watch her and the group. They weren't famous or infamous, so she could only think of one person who would take an interest in them: Ace.
"Oh," she remarked quietly.
Darec turned and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Alessa, who met his eyes, allowing him to read her thoughts. This was a test, and they were being graded, but what were the criteria for passing? He turned back to the group.
"It'd be stupid for us all to go into the club, so I think a team of four should go in. Maybe two," he stated abruptly, cutting through all of the bickering.
Neira nodded. "All right. Rip, you go into the club and acquire the information we need. Alessa, can you hack their comms and cameras?"
Alessa nodded and shouldered her pack.
"Darec, you're Rip's backup," Neira continued. "Asander, you, me, and Mal will be ensuring multiple escape routes from the club for the inside team. Devika, establish a telepathic link between the eight of us. Mia, bless everybody's weapons and go back to the dock area. We need a clean escape all the way to the ship."
Malreki frowned. "You guys better not be reading my thoughts."
Devika smiled. "That's not how this works. Only surface thoughts and strong feelings. The only one I can truly read is Darec, and he can read me. Otherwise, it's a mental invasion, and that's a lot different."
Devika established the link, and Mia blessed the weapons. The team split up to do their jobs.
The club was loud and crowded. Alessa could barely move without bumping into somebody. She held on to Darec's shirt as he navigated his way to a booth. Meanwhile, Rip circled the room, staying on the outskirts of the dance floor, his hood drawn. He knew that it was ultimately his job to get Frem, get the info, and get out. Forgetting the telepathic link, he allowed those thoughts to the surface.
"Rip, we're a team, a single unit," Neira thought back, answering him, but her encouragement was cut off by Asander.
"Yeah, like a hydra!"
Several voices erupted in response.
"What—" Devika questioned, a clear smile audible in her tone.
"Aren't you supposed to be patrolling?" Neira scolded.
Rip tuned them out as he observed the staff.
While Rip observed the staff, Alessa and Darec had found a suitable booth away from prying eyes and out of sight of the cameras. Alessa sat against the wall while Darec sat on the outside, ready to defend if need be.
Alessa brought out her datapad and began working on hacking into the cameras and comms of the club.
Rip had begun moving toward the kitchen, which seemed to be the only entrance into the employees' area besides an entrance on the outside of the club. Rip stealthily approached the door to the kitchen and waited. Flexing his finger, he readied a spell to cast on the first person to come through the door.
A waitress came through the doorway, and Rip immediately cast the spell on her. Her perception of him changed, and she saw nothing as he passed her and entered the kitchen area. Rip then waved his hand across the kitchen, altering the kitchen staff's perception and effectively rendering himself invisible.
He saw three doors, and two of them were freezer doors. The third led to a bathroom area. Frustration started to inch in until he saw the doors to a large dumbwaiter. A red light above the doors began to flash. Just his luck.
Rip opened the doors to the lift, climbed inside, and closed them. He waited in darkness as the lift ascended, positioning himself perfectly to strike at the first being to open those doors.
The doors opened, and three men were dead within six seconds.
Rip plunged his knife into the first man's throat and reached into the left side of the man's jacket. His hand found and grasped the grip of a gun. Rip then turned the gun toward the two remaining security guards. Before either could pull his gun, both had holes in their chests.
Frem watched in horror as this tall, pale boy emerged from his lift after killing three of his best men. He reached for his gun, but the boy had a hand around his wrist and a knife to his throat in seconds. Who was this? What was he?
Rip leaned in close to Frem and relieved him of his weapon.
"A couple of days ago, a beam was launched through space. I want its origin and nature," Rip demanded, then put the barrel of the gun against Frem's thigh.
Frem gazed down at the pistol, then followed Rip's arm up to his face. It wasn't the threat that made Frem speak. It was Rip's eyes. The absolute absence of humanity in them told Frem that if he didn't answer, he wasn't just dead; it was going to be a painful, slow death.
"It was a teleportation beam. The origin is written down on my desk."
Frem knew the faster he answered, the faster this terrifying kid would leave.
Rip moved slightly out of the way so Frem could reach over and hand it to him. After reading the coordinates, Rip pocketed them, then turned to enter the lift.
Rip made it out of the kitchen and back to Darec and Alessa in no time. Once together, they left the club and joined the rest of the team back on Enzion, where they were in the middle of congratulating each other when Ace entered the common area.
"Mission complete!" Neira exclaimed with a smile.
Ace made a face and gave a thumbs-up, which quickly turned into flipping her off.
"Very good. You cleverly made your way into his office, dispatched his guards, and obtained the information you were tasked to get." Ace smiled and pulled Rip into a hold. "The rest of you played great support!"
"Support?" Neira repeated, getting angry. "I'm the leader! I organized!"
"The leader who leads from behind takes it in the behind!" Ace responded.
"I am a young girl! You can't say that to me!" Neira yelled.
Ace tilted his head in mock contemplation. "He. Who—"
But he was cut off by Darec, who bluntly interjected, "He's messing with you."
Ace started the ship, and they left, arguing all the way to their next destination.