Koster City

As the guard of the missile storage room, One had a pretty important job. But on a ship, such as the shore, it could get really boring. Jerry Yawned as he got tired of browsing the galactic net. There was only so much entertainment on their that he could watch over and over again.

Guarding over this storage where 30% of the missiles aboard were stored was his job. There wasn't much to it. Most of his shift consisted of him just making sure nothing went wrong. Although his job increased when there was an emergency and the missiles were being fired, but now, three was nothing for him to do.

The loading of the turrets and everything was automated. The missiles would automatically be taken from the storage and fired from the designated turret. All of this was controlled from the central command.

As Jerry checked the clock.

"Just a few more minuets till I'm out of this hole."

As he started to surf the Galactic net again, he got a buzz on the door. He quickly checked who it was, thinking the next guy probably came early. But he saw a guy in a lab coat standing. The verification system identified him as Dr. Kita, head researcher of the research division.

This was someone who was way above his pay grade. So He quickly spoke through the terminal.

"Dr. Kita, Welcome to the armory. But.. I don't see you scheduled here."

"Oh, I'm here for a quick check on one of the fritzers. It seemed to have some problems with it and I'm here to verify."

'Huh, He's here to check on one of the Frizters? Seems like a bit under his pay grade.' Jerry thought to himself.

He wondered if it was fine letting him in. Although it wasn't a scheduled visit, Kita was one of the Top brass. So it should be fine letting him in.

So jerry didn't think much of it. He pressed a button and opened up the door.

He saw Kita enter. As he got near the desk, Jerry handed him a tab. I'll need you to Log your visit. So please tap your ID here.

Kita tapped his ID and it sounded a beep.

Jerry looked at the Tab and everything checked out.

"Welcome to the Armory Dr. Kita. Let me know if you need something." Jerry said with a smile.

Kita smiled back and nodded. He started walking towards the section where the Frizters were stored. It was a big room, and everything was constantly monitored. So it wasn't a problem to let him go alone.

Jerry suddenly remembered that he'd be off of his shift shortly. So he stood up his desk and called out to Kita.

"Hey, Dr. Kita. I'll be off in a few minuets. So I probably won't be here when you leave."

Kita turned around and said.

"It's fine." Then gave a smile and proceeded to walk away.

A few minuets later, Jerry heard the sound of a missle being taken out of storage. He didn't thought much of it and sat there.

A few minuets later, he saw Kita coming back out.

"Done already? That was fast!", Jerry said with a smile.

"Yes, It was a false alarm. Everything is fine."

"Good good. Have a good day." Jerry said with a smile.

"You too!", Kita nodded and left the armory.

———

'That was close. I almost thought he was on-to me.' Kita sighed a relief.

He had successfully loaded the Payload in one of the Fritzers. He had noted the number of the missile.

Thus far. Everything had went smoothly. He was prepared to knock down the guard if it came to that. Fortunately he didn't do that. Otherwise the guy who'd come after him would get the wind of everything.

Kita began to walk towards a Pod station. As he got into the Pod, he entered the Bridge as the destination.

As the Pod accelerated through the lanes. Kita sat there and wondered the best way to execute the next part of this mission. This was arguably the hardest. As he almost reached his destination, he figured it was best to stick to his current plan and then improvise as the situations arises.

As he entered the bridge, he felt as if there was a sudden silence. Everyone looked at him.

This felt weird. Kita was more or less a permanent addition to the Bridge. As the head researcher, he represented all the Scientists aboard except for Dr. Kbom. So he frequented to the bridge quite often. But now he was suddenly getting glances from everyone.

'Oh no! Had they gotten the wind?', Kita panicked for a bit. Before forcing himself to calm down. He needed to focus.

He walked towards the captain who was looking at him.

"Captain…" He gave a slight nod.

"Kita…" The Captain sent away the person he was talking to prior to his arrival. He put on hand on Kita's shoulders and brought him in for a hug.

"I'm really sorry for your loss. I know there is nothing I can say." Captain Huges said as he continued Hugging Kita.

Kita didn't say anything. He didn't want to talk about the subject.

Huges eventually let him out and asked.

"How've you been doing? What did the Medics said?"

So he knew about the seizures. Kita decided to play along.

"Everything is fine now. They didn't find anything wrong with me."

"Good good, That's good. We can't afford to lose a bright mind like you. We'll need them all where we're going."

"On that note. Where are we currently?"

"We're at the Lagrange point. We'll be entering the FTL just after the funeral." Huges pointed towards the huge projection of the system. It showed their location and the general location of all the planets and stars in the system.

Kita looked around for a bit.

'He isn't here.'

"Where's Lieutenant Holland? I need to ask him something." Kita looked at the captain and asked. This was crucial to his plan.

"Oh, Holland? He's at his usual place. He has lost a few close ones in the incident. So he's taking a break. He's due to return after the funeral. What do you need him for?" The captain asked.

"Oh, Nothing. Just wanted to ask him a few personal questions. I'll go find him now.", Kita said as he turned to walk out of the bridge.

"Kita.. Take care." The captain said as Kita walked out of the Bridge.

Kita didn't look back at the captain's remarks. He kept moving forward.

Kita went straight for the Pods after he left the bridge. He set the Koster City as the destination. This was one of the cities aboard the Shore. This was where the personnel could spend their free time and buy daily necessities.

Although the Shore was a military vessel, it housed an insane amount of personnel. So keeping them entertained was also an important aspect. So the ship offered several zones where they could let off some steam and chill for a bit. There was Super Malls, Parks, Joy-rides and several other things in these zones. No matter who you were. There was something for you aboard the Shore.

One such zone was Koster City. Kita knew that Holland was a frequent at one of the Bars in Koster City. So that was where he was headed right now.