SSV LOONA

Current location: Sol System, Systems Alliance space

[Time frame: 2 weeks since LOONA Squad has been officially assembled.]

/

“Aye, Vice Admiral.”

Haseul saluted the hologram projected by the Quantum Entanglement Communicator. The hologram of Vice Admiral Jeong nodded back at her.

“I’ll be waiting for the results, Captain. Jeong, out.”

The holo-com cut out with a whiz. Haseul her heel, marching out of the room. She just got forwarded a new mission. The Captain almost paused in her steps when she realized that this was going to be the first ‘official’ assignment for her newly assembled squadron.

Haseul sent a message to her XOs, requesting them to meet in their shared office. She made way for the elevator at a quick but relaxed pace, greeting her communications specialist officer by the galaxy map on the way over.

“Set a course for the coordinates I’m forwarding to you. We’ve just received a new assignment.”

“Aye, Cap’n.”

As the elevator doors closed, she opened up her omni-tool to skim through the mission intel. She frowned a little as her eyes flicked over the rest of the report. The contents giving her just a bit of pause.

What a first assignment this is going to be.

/

[CLASSIFIED BRIEFING]

Sanctum, Sigurd’s Cradle, Decoris System

Capital: Vulpes

Population: 257,300

“Freezing "garden world" mainly colonized as a source of platinum, palladium, and boron.”

Local authorities have been alerted to an attack on a mining outpost on the outskirts of the Alliance colony. Initial investigation shows signs of battle and suspected activity of space mercenaries. Outpost personnel and miners were safely evacuated. However, a few security officers were reported injured or KIA. Three loads of resources reported stolen along with [REDACTED]. Investigation turned over to Alliance Military after finding evidence of [REDACTED] and sabotage at play.

Course of action: Sending Alliance Navy 12th’s Fleet squadron out for further investigation. Mission officially under command of Captain Jo Haseul.

Recommended by Vice Admiral Jaden Jeong.

Approved by United Earth Alliance Inter-Space Military Board

/

The door to the XO office whooshed open, prompting Haseul to look up from her terminal. In walked Jinsoul and Sooyoung.

“You rang?” Jinsoul made a jubilant gesture as she sat down.

Sooyoung opted to stand to the side of her fellow Commander, her stance a little more formal. Her arms were behind her back as she stood loosely at attention. She raised an eyebrow as she scanned Haseul’s desk, “New mission, I’m assuming? Normally, you’d come talk to us in person.”

Haseul only nodded as her hands enlarged the holographic screen before flipping it so that the two XOs could see the mission report for themselves. The Captain began the briefing as the two commanders got settled.

“There was an attack on a mining outpost on Sanctum. Reports state mercenaries as the source.”

Sooyoung spoke up after a quick onceover of the initial briefing, “But… something else is going on?” Jinsoul remained quiet as she accessed the classified information using her Alliance clearance.

Haseul nodded as she folded and unfolded her hands together several times. She was trying to find a way to particularly phrase what she wanted to say. “Official investigation suspects foul play. Especially after finding evidence of—”

“Cerberus.”

Jinsoul interrupted the Captain, and with a rather cold intonation too. At the mention of the particular word, Sooyoung’s eyes hardened, and so did her demeanor. “Those bastards!” Sooyoung angrily gritted out. Haseul sighed, knowing that her friends would react like this.

But she knew she couldn't blame their reaction.

Cerberus was a rather infamous human organization. Black ops, ran illegal dealings and science experiments straight out of a horror movie; the whole villain shebang really. In their words, it was all for the betterment and advancement for the superior human race. In reality, they were just a very shady and ruthless organization who were quite xenophobic and weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty if it meant getting what they want.

You could see why Jinsoul didn’t particularly like them, what with them staining the name of the human race with their horrid and unethical experiments. Haseul and her friends have had a few violent run-ins with Cerberus operations and ‘research facilities’. Those were nasty memories and Haseul didn’t need to be reminded of them. Or want to for that matter. She concluded that anyone associated with them was wicked and beyond the point of no return.

(They had made it one of their personal missions to wipe out anything related to Cerberus after a particularly horrifying and rather traumatic run-in.)

“Official command has been handed over to me.” Haseul said, hoping to snap her friends out of their current state. She knew what they were feeling, she felt the same when the Vice Admiral briefed her earlier. But there was no use feeling like this when they had a mission to carry out.

“Also—a note. This will be the first official assignment as a squad. The Board will be reviewing the mission as it is the first of the so called ‘space squadron’ project. I’ll be counting on you guys to guide the recruits.”

The two commanders exchanged a look.

“We haven’t had a chance to work on their teamwork...”

“No time like the present, huh.”

Jinsoul and Sooyoung settled down but still looked a bit rigid.

“No worries Seul, we can handle it.”

“Aww, it’s our first squad mission together!”

Jinsoul jabbed Sooyoung playfully while she directed a wide grin at Haseul.

Haseul’s lips quirked up as she stood up. “Call the rest of the crew to one of the conference rooms. We can start the mission brief there.”

/

“Whoaaaa…”

Yerim and Yeojin chorused from their position, eyes wide and faces pressed up against the glass as the ship passed by the orbital space of a nearby planet.

“Chill guys. It’s like you’ve never seen a rainstorm before.” Hyunjin shook her head in amusement at the sight in front of her.

“Not in space! Not from where we can see the rain clouds forming literally right in front of us.”

Yerim tried to express the awe and bundled-up excitement she was feeling as Yeojin animatedly ooh-ed and ahh-ed beside her. A sea of blue-purple clouds swirled around the planet’s exosphere. The three of them were able to witness the moment the rain fell. The sight looked like flecks of blueish-purple trickling down in a gentle fall.

Hyunjin opened to retort but was cut off with a beep from all of their omni-tools.

They all looked down before snapping their heads up at the whoosh of the door. It was Vivi. The officer entered the Starboard Observation room in a relaxed manner yet her voice carried a firm tone.

“Hey kiddos—meeting happening on Deck 2.”

/

Vivi led the three of them to one of the conference rooms. Heejin, Hyejoo, and Chaewon joined them on the way.

The first thing they saw was Sooyoung sitting down, her feet propped up on the long conference table. Jinsoul sat across from her, cross-legged on a chair. Haseul stood at the long end of the table, both hands on the table as she peered down at some reports. All three officers looked up when the doors parted.

“Hey guys. Take a seat or a stand, whichever is more comfortable.” The Captain remarked before looking back down. “We’re just waiting on Jungeun and Jiwoo now.”

Hyunjin looked around before taking a seat next to Jinsoul.

“Hey, what’s happening?” She asked her XO curiously. The recruit still didn’t know what was going on, they all just received a message for a meeting out of the blue.

Jinsoul turned to face the ensign. She could literally see all the curious looks on their new recruits. She couldn’t contain herself from spilling, but at least she spoke quietly, “Your first official assignment!”

“Really!?” Hyunjin sat up straight at the news. Her face was a blend of shock, nervousness, and excitement.

Jinsoul nodded enthusiastically. Before she could say anything else though, the door whooshed open. Jiwoo skipped inside, followed by Jungeun who walked in normally.

“HELLO CREW!”

Jiwoo loudly greeted everyone and Jinsoul swore she saw glitter and sparkles emit from the soldier. Jungeun waved a normal greeting beside her, looking like she was very well used to this behavior.

Haseul chuckled as everyone got settled. “Now that we’re all here, let’s begin the briefing. This is our first official assignment together so I’d appreciate it if you all paid attention.”

The recruits sat up a little straighter, their shoulders squared as the Captain’s stern tone set in. That, and the knowledge that their first mission was coming up.

The Captain began typing on the conference table keyboard. The terminal in the middle of the table broadly projected holograms of the mission report and related intel.

“There’s been an attack on a mining outpost on one of the Alliance colonies. We’re being sent to further the investigation.”

“Mercenaries?” Jungeun asked, having a fair number of encounters with the faction before.

“Not quite.” Haseul shook her head. “Ever heard of Cerberus?”

The Captain looked around the room. Her more experienced soldiers nodded while the rest shook their heads.

“Can’t say I have.” Jiwoo said as she and Jungeun shared clueless looks.

Haseul pursed her lips before trying to explain everything in a nutshell. If she went into all the details, they’d probably be here for hours. “Cerberus is an independent human organization, to put it shortly. They operate like military black-ops and conduct highly risky and illegal experiments. Their methods are ruthless and they will stoop to any level if it means they can get what they want.”

“Terrorism, sabotage, assassination… you name it and there’s a high chance that Cerberus has already done it.” Sooyoung spoke up. “The Alliance has labeled them as a terrorist organization and have issued an arrest-on-sight order since a few of their earliest controversies popped up back in 21XX. If they resist, then we have permission to apprehend or incapacitate.”

“What do they have to do with the mining outpost?” Chaewon asked after that little history lesson.

“Ah, excellent question. Local authorities thought it was just another mercenary attack at first.” Haseul focused the mission report and a few images on the projecting terminal. “But it was quickly turned over to the Alliance once they found signs of battle and Cerberus paraphernalia.”

The images showed the mining outpost. Smoking craters and battered mining equipment littered the mining grounds. Another image showed the organization’s black and orange logo on a half-destroyed shield.

“This is a simple search and report mission. The presence of Cerberus brings the level of risk and priority up dramatically. Stay alert and armed. We’ll be landing on Sanctum in a few so get suited. Briefing dismissed.”

The terminal cut off at the press of a button. “Ma’am.” The crew members all stood up and saluted quickly before filing out the room.

/