Date: January 02, 2130
Time: 20:10
Location: Trans Global Route (Between Buffalo, NY, USA and Toronto, ON, CAN)
“David,” Lee whispered to his sleeping friend, “wake up, we’re nearly there.”
David stirred for a second and woke up with a jolt, “Huh, what? Are we here?” Lee chuckled lightly to himself. “Nope,” he whispered, “we aren’t. Not even close.”
David looked puzzled, “Let me see that.” he strutted over to the front of the helicopter. The sight was a lot to take in. At first, a bright light greeted them, then, as it faded out, the shining buildings of Toronto took their place.
David’s puzzled face slowly dissolved and revealed a curious and excited face. “Is that?” David uttered.
Lee nodded, “Yes, it is. Pure Titanium Headquarters.” He turned to see David whose eyes were glowing with curiosity. “How? How is it made of pure titanium?”
“One of the world’s greatest mysteries, my dear David.” Lee smirked. Despite his friend being a bit of a pain sometimes, and even dealing with his obsessions with certain things like space exploration and licking one’s elbow, he was still there to support him no matter what, and even he thought so himself, space is a place meant to be explored.
………
“Okay, David.” Lee hopped out of the helicopter, “We’re finally here.” He turned to see his friend who had already rushed out of the copter in a rush. “Come on, Lee! We’re going to miss the interview!” David yelled out in a frenzy.
“Relax,” Lee smirked, “it won’t be for another hour.” Lee ran over to where David was standing, ready to enter into the unknown with him, they were a team after all.
They stepped in front of the automatic door, who immediately opened itself for them. “Wow!” David remarked, “It’s like a 2070’s warehouse!” Lee chuckled to himself as he saw that David was very much enjoying himself.
The HQ was buzzing with activity, people running frantically from side to side, machines being lowered down onto a shelf, and even some animals never before seen to the world. It was a mess.
“Excuse me,” Lee whimpered, “we’re here for the job interview.” No one responded for a while, until a strange man with crooked glasses and a messy lab coat stepped up to meet them.
“Ah,” he said observing the outfits they were wearing, “you must be the new recruits, David Aurinko and Lee Yue right?”
David stood in amazement, “How did you know our names?” The stranger just shrugged and told them to follow him.
“Don’t worry about that for now,” he smirked, “just follow me and I’ll show you where you need to be.” David and Lee looked at each other but then just decided to follow him. I mean, it’s not like they can wander around the facility touching dangerous chemicals or machines never been seen to man, right?
“So,” the man in the lab coat asked, “why are you applying for this job? Is it for money, for your family or, you know, other reasons?”
David was about to answer the strange man’s question, before Lee stopped him. “How are we supposed to trust you? We just got here and we don't even know who you are.”
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The young man stopped for a second, turned around to revealed his pale face turning a light shade of pink. “Sorry about that.” he said scratching the back of his head, “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Liam, Liam Heffter. I am second in command in terms of this establishment. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Lee stopped in his tracks, his mind focused on the words that Liam just spoke. “Wait,” Lee pondered aloud, “Heffter, as in William Heffter? Famous Space Explorer, Journalist and College Tutor? Are you related to him in any way?”
Liam's face grew long, “Walk with me,” David and Lee turned to each other and continued walking.
“My father,” Liam continued, “William Heffter, was a great man, explorer and father. He founded this exploration team, long, long before I was born. Soon, I was born, and he taught me everything I know about space exploration, and a few other things like technological development.”
Liam stopped in his tracks, and started to sob. “You okay Liam?” David asked as Lee grew concerned. “I haven’t even gotten to the sad part yet.” Liam muttered. Now David and Lee’s concern grew.
“After I turned eighteen, my dad decided to honor my dying mother. He and his A-Team, flew over to Planet-2201, or the Minotaur Planet in the Taurus Constellation. This is when we heard of the Stellaris Saviors.”
David and Lee looked confused for a second, “Who are the ‘Stellaris Saviors’?” Lee and David asked in unison.
“The ones who killed my father.” Liam uttered. David and Lee stood in shock at the sound of the reveal.
“Once my father landed on Minotaur, they were surrounded by that evil cult. They were ambushed, taken hostage, and his death was known from our Solar System to the farthest ends of the Multiverse Cluster.”
“But,” Lee stuttered, “How is this possible? I've been a fan of Heffter's for as long as I've known David. How is his death only being revealed now?”
Liam's tear dripping face quickly turned into a face of hope, “We don't.”
David and Lee stood there dumbfounded. First, Liam tells them William Heffter was dead and then he tells them he doesn't know. They stood there trying to process the information, before they realized they were left in the heart of the facility alone.
Lee starts to panic as David runs over to a door and presses a button, only to reveal a business office just behind the translucent sliding door.
“I've been expecting you,” a man in a business suit bellows aloud, “Please, come in.”
David and Lee exchanged worried looks as they stepped into the shadows. “Sorry, if I'm acting a bit ominous.” The man chuckled, “I am Richard Stelladios, and I'm the head of this headquarters.”
David's eyes glowed with delight, as he frantically ran over and shook Richard's hand. Lee on the other hand, wasn't willing to trust him. There was something about him that seemed a bit off. Maybe it was just his trust issues acting up again, but he better get used to him. He was his future boss after all.
“I’m so glad that you’ve decided to choose Space Exploration as your first ever job.” Richard announced with a grin on his face, “Now, let’s talk about the matter at hand. David and Lee, you two have wanted this position ever since you were little, correct?”
David and Lee nodded as Richard continued, “Now, some of our other candidates have signed themselves up for a relatively similar position, but only as a secondary option.” Richard pressed a remote button and suddenly, his table was flashing with an eerie blue holographic light.
In that hologram, Lee could recognize himself, David and six other people; a short woman with long blonde hair, another woman with her black hair tied up in a knot, a tall thin woman with luscious black hair and a camera in her hands, a tall strong looking man with tan skin, thick black hair and a pair of thick glasses, a guy with short black messy hair and a book in his arms and a woman with braided black hair and a chef’s hat on.
“These six individuals, who are not you,” Richard continued, “Need to be retrieved. Your first mission as Captain and Lieutenant are to retrieve the Medic, Mechanic, Photographer, Intelligence, Scientist and Cook by the end of this week.”
“That’s like, five days,” David answered, “We’ve got enough time!” Lee pondered on it for a moment and realized that they had enough time. “Yeah,” he muttered, “we have enough time to get to every city and back to HQ in less than five days, but what mode of transportation will we use? I mean, all we have is a beat down helicopter, and taking that along the Trans Global Route will take at least a month.”
Richard smirked for a second and asked the pair to follow him. He pressed another button, and the wall behind him fell over to reveal a massive space jet. The jet was a living quarters set on air and for air. David’s eyes sparkled once more at the sight of the giant jet engine. Lee on the other hand wondered if it served its true purpose.
“Now,” Richard smirked, “I want to explain how this works. Until you know how this works, you can fly it.” David was eager to try it out for the first time. “Just tell me what I need to do!”
………
“That was a long flight session.” David mumbled. “Yeah,” Lee agreed, “And it’s nearly sunrise.” Richard looked at the two friends from afar. “Congratulations!” Richard shouted, “You’re officially initiated into the Space Exploration Team, Exploration Number 4001.”
“We need a better name.” David mumbled, “How about the Zenith Swallows?” Lee chuckled and agreed to it while David went off to dance on top of the ship.
“Now,” Richard explained, “The first person you’ll add on to your team is known as Aria Guérisson, daughter of the rich Amy and Carlos Guérisson. Aiming for the role of Medic.”
“Alright,” David smirked as he started the engine, “Where are we headed to chief?”
David and Lee turned to see Richard writing something down. As he turned the tablet to reveal what was on it, it had only one word, ‘Montréal’. David yanked the handle and put the pedal to the medal as the doors opened slowly. They were off on their next adventure, and now with hopefully, a new teammate.