Chương 66: Chapter 67: Special Mission

"They would not have been pleased," Adam replied.

"That's putting it lightly, they most likely would have stopped all trading of God's Oasis and other products exclusive to them with us, and God's Oasis is recognised as one of the top ten drinks in the universe."

"Don't you think that I deserve another round then?" Adam asked cheekily as he waved the empty glass in front of Greg.

"Haha, nice try, rookie," Greg said before he left to serve another merc.

"Tch." Adam clicked his tongue before he decided to watch the news feed and catch up with what was happening in the universe. Ever since he had arrived in the Sandanar Galaxy, he had not really had time for a break, so he took this opportunity to just relax since it was going to get busy in a few hours. The news feed on the large holographic display was one that was being broadcast universe-wide wide so it contained news from all over the universe and not just the Sandanar Galaxy or even Palaxia.

Adam could barely understand most of what was being reported on since Spector had only given him a download of the universal laws and not said the races and their relations with each other or the political position of each race. Adam continued to watch the news feeds for the next few hours while also listening to the different conversations that the boisterous mercs were having, until suddenly everyone's unibands in the Mercenary Hall gave out notification sounds at the same time.

Adam looked around in surprise at this; however soon noticed that every merc in the hall had quickly looked at their own unibands with big smiles on their faces, before an excited chat broke out in the hall.

"It's here, it's here finally."

"Took them long enough, damn."

"It's been too long since we got a special mission; it's time to rake in the credits." Adam quickly checked his own uniband to read the notification that had just been sent to all the mercs. [[To: All registered mercenaries on or around Palaxia]] [From: Plaxia Mercenary Hall] [[Title: Special mission on behalf of the Palaxia Defence Force.]] [[Missions details: The Palaxia Defence Force is commissioning a special mission from the Mercenary Hall to take place in the space surrounding Palaxia in twelve hours. Because of the classified nature of this operation, full details will not be provided until the mission begins. All those who wish to sign up should do so ASAP. Payment details will be detailed below.]] [[Payment details: Flat participation rate of 5000 credits + bonuses that will be revealed when the mission begins.]] [[Mercenary Rank required for participation: N/A]]"Damn, five thousand credits just for participating, the defence force is serious this time."

"It means they're either desperate or this mission is expected to be dangerous."

"Or both."

"My credits on desperate, I mean, there is no rank requirement for participation, if it were just dangerous, they would require a minimum required rank."

"I wonder what the bonuses will be?"

"Depends what the mission entails, I'm hoping for pirate elimination, they always pay out big time."

"As long as it's not those damn space bugs again, god, it took days to clean my ship of their blood and entrails last time."

"Agreed, those bugs were nasty."

"While I agree and also hope it to be pirates for the great pay-out we would get, I doubt it will be."

"Why?"

"Because of the secret nature of the mission, this wouldn't be the first time that the defence force has logged a special mission with the hall for pirate elimination; however, when did any of those have this sort of secrecy involved?"

"He has a point." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"What do you think it is then?"

"I'm not sure."

"Then stop sounding so enlightened when you don't know shit."

"HAHAHAHA."

"Ah fuck you." As the mercs continued to discuss the special mission and speculate on what it could be, Adam finished reading the notification just as Lizzie appeared beside him.

"Andrew needs a word." She said before heading into the back. Adam quickly finished his drink before following her into the back and towards Andrew's office. As he entered, he saw Andrew pacing the room with an annoyed look before he asked, "What's wrong?" Andrew turned to see Adam before he slumped down on one of the couches in his office and said in an annoyed tone.

"That fucking traitor Cooper has vanished."

"Pardon?" Adam said with a raised eyebrow.

"After I informed Admiral Dexter about the pirate base and all those within the Palaxia authority connected with it, he immediately ordered some people to go apprehend Cooper and the others who worked at the defence force."

"They managed to apprehend everyone except for Cooper, who has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared."

"Did someone tip him off?" Adam asked with suspicion.

"That's the going theory, though they're still investigating who. According to the data you provided, he was the main culprit in assisting the pirates, so we can't just let him escape."

"So, after you had me infiltrate the base alone to find out his identity, you still lost him? Any idea where he would go?" Adam asked in an annoyed tone.

"Not at present, and I can only apologise for our fuck up," Andrew replied sincerely.

"Hmm, well, I doubt he will go to the pirates, considering his now fractured relationship with their leader, Bonnie," Adam said.

"That's the only good thing about this mess, even though he somehow found out that we know about him working with them, he's unlikely to inform Bonnie or the other pirates after their confrontation that you witnessed."

"So while I'm annoyed that you messed up much of my hard work, why are you telling me this?" Adam asked.

"I was hoping you might be able to find Cooper," Andrew said with an embarrassed tone. Adam gave Andrew a look that asked if he was an idiot, to which Lizzie, who was sitting next to Andrew, laughed at before saying.

"You can't really blame him, after all, you made the infiltration of the pirate base and subsequent access to their secure files look so easy that it made other mercs look useless." Adam sighed before saying, "I'm not trying to be modest, but it really wasn't that hard. Since their base is so well hidden, they're not expecting anyone to find it, let alone sneak inside it. As for the files, they didn't exactly have the best network security since they're pirates."

"Uh-huh, sure." Lizzie replied with a look that said, 'I don't buy the bullshit you're spewing.' Adam coughed before asking, "Anyway, how exactly do you expect someone who has only been on Palaxia for a couple of days, let alone been in what you call the 'known universe', to find him?"

"Well, it was a long shot." Andrew said with a sigh before adding without much conviction, "If by some miracle you do manage to find him and bring him in alive, the defence force is willing to double whatever you make from the special mission."

"Well, if that's the case, Spector," Adam said as his eyes lit up. [Accessing Palaxia Defence Force] [Accessing file on Vice-Admiral Richard Cooper] [Accessing local security network.] [Scanning surveillance footage from across Palaxia] [Failed to locate any individual matching the target] [Accessing Palaxia space dock] [Searching for ship registration TD37D-Slingshot] [Ship registration found] [TD37D-Slingshot departed Palaxia space dock seven minutes and twenty-nine seconds ago.]"Shit, he's already left the planet." Adam cursed as he quickly stood up.

"WHAT!" Andrew and Lizzie shouted in unison as they watched Adam bolt out the door.

"Spector, do you still have him on sensors?" Adam asked as the mercs watched in surprise as Adam dashed past them before leaving the Mercenary Hall. [Affirmative, TD37D-Slingshot entered FTL a few moments ago.]"Launch Spector Unit One to my location and prep for launch." [Affirmative, Spector Unit One will arrive at your location in twelve seconds] [Condition Blue] [Launching stream.] [[Stream description below:]] [[Stream Title: Corrupt Vice-Admiral Chase]] [[Mission Parameters: The Palaxia Defense Force fucked up, After your hard work in infiltrating the pirates base and securing their secure files the Defense Force failed to apprehend Vice-Admiral Richard Cooper who has left Palaxia and is on the run.]] [[Missions Goal: Chase down Vice-Admiral Richard Cooper and capture him alive.]] [Forever1stCommenter (Earth): First.] [Devil_Prince_Asura (Deverinian 9): Oh shit, the streamer is live again already?] [Noobkiller9000 (Earth): Honestly, this guy goes live more times a day than Trump posts on social media.] [AlamoMatador4thewin (Earth): Seriously, maybe he should just consider streaming 24/7.] [1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Yeah, then we can see what he gets up to behind the scenes. Kekeke.] [Celebrityhunter69 (Earth): Maybe we could see what the streamer's girlfriend looks like.] [Whostolemyduck (Earth): Girl, the streamer just left Earth, how can he have a girlfriend unless he left her behind?] [Celebrityhunter69 (Earth): I meant the assistant that's often helping him.] [Superior4horns (Vinox 3): That's an AI, not his girlfriend.] [Celebrityhunter69 (Earth): Can't it be both?] Before anyone could reply to Celebrityhunter69's strange claim, they witnessed a metallic pod drop from the sky in front of Adam.