CHAPTER 185: NEW ASSIGNMENTS

The Puddle-Jumper took off and left the hangar of the Alcatraz Prison Ship. They now had the two pilots in the front along with the two pilots from their ship and all of the Spectres in the same space. So as everyone took a seat and got settled Jace took a black puck out of the equipment storage area for the ship and tossed it in the center of the ship.

He tapped a few times on the holographic display of his watch and a few moments later Director Fenrir’s form behind a desk appeared. She looked tired, "Spectres, congrats on completing that emergency mission."

"Thank you sir." Jace answered as he yawned. "Where are we going next?"

"Home. You are coming back to Echo Base for the time being. We are going to the next stage of the Tartarus Project. We will now be live testing all equipment. So that means you will be split up into your squads and units." Fenrir answered as she leaned back at her desk.

"Spectre Jace, you will be picking two people from your current unit and taking them with you to your next assignment, check your messages in a bit to see the list of possible candidates. Spectre Nina you will be in charge of special operations aboard the newly created Warship. Spectre Dahlia you will be in charge of the Warship, sharing command with the new Admiral in charge of it. Spectre Dominic you will be in charge of the heavy artillery of the new warship. Spectre Anja, you will be in charge of the shock trooper contingent aboard the new warship. Spectre Karlson, you are going to be in charge of the intelligence unit aboard the new warship." Fenrir began reading off the orders.

"Ma’am? Are you sure putting all your Spectres in the same basket is a good idea?" Spectre Dahlia asked, he could see her arm twitch like she was about to raise her hand to ask her question.

"It is fine. More Spectre candidates will appear in time. I need each of you to gain experience being in charge of your own units and commands. Besides, we plan to put the warship at the front line on the Crystoph Federation’s front." Fenrir, in a rare moment, explained her decision.

Jace raised an eyebrow while Nina who was now pouting raised her own hand and then asked her question. "What about Jace where is he going?" Jace saw the others move nervously, like they already knew the answer.

"Spectre Jace is going to be part of a mixed unit that we will have with the Victorium. There is a good chance he will be traveling to the Victorium space to help them with their civil war which is about to break loose." The Director explained, it seemed she was in a giving mood.

"But why can’t I go with him?" Nina asked while pouting.

"Because you are hiding behind him constantly. That reminds me, Jace I hope you do not mind but Agent Vana is going to be part of your new squad. So do not sleep with her too often." The Director smiled at him, but it made a shiver go down his spine. She was clearly expecting something to happen because he sleeps around.

"Yes ma’am." Jace nodded. He then realized something. "What about our equipment? Has it been completed yet. Or is it still in the prototype phase?"

Director Fenrir’s smile widened as she leaned forward on her desk. "All equipment has completed the prototype phase. We will-"

"YEAH!" "WOOHOO!" "YIPPEE!" The Spectres began cheering in excitement. It seemed Fenrir expected this because she just rolled her eyes while Jace chuckled.

"As I was saying. You will get your new equipment when you arrive. Everything from your Spectre Armor to your Speeder Bikes. All of it has been approved for field use. Taylor Hielo will be joining the new warship as the Chief Engineer so you can ask for her assistance if you need anything. As for Jace... well I am sure you will be fine." Fenrir informed them.

Jace smiled as well. "Is that it ma’am?"

"Yes it is, good job on completing your mission and I am not going to bother asking what happened to the other Puddle-Jumper. Instead I will request that you take it easy for the next few days after you arrive. It will be at least a few weeks before you all depart again." Fenrir informed them before looking at something at her desk. "Have a good rest Spectres." The call was then disconnected.

Jace walked to a seat and sat himself down. Seems he would be starting a new Chapter in his life. No telling what this Chapter will have in it. But he was sure it would not be as annoying as chasing down that Hoodwink maniac. Unfortunately he still had not heard anything about the ship that escaped the planet’s destruction.

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"Is there any sign of the bomb?" Paul asked over the radio channel. Jordan was slowly walking on the new asteroid. It used to be part of the Bastion, which they thought was just a gas planet. But after it exploded they quickly realized it was not.

He was part of a weapons technology company. He was a scavenger that would be sent out to battlefields to find technology that is rare or dangerous. The exploded planet was one such place. The Crystoph Federation had too much on their plate with the entire system being thrown out of whack, so they were able to come out here on their own.

Jordan moved into a cave-like structure. They had been able to get their hands on the third largest asteroid. Unfortunately because of the residual gasses they were not able to scan the asteroid so he had to search by hand.

"Not yet. It was just rock and metal on the outside. I am moving in now- Holy shit!" Jordan cursed in surprise as he walked into what looked like a station or ship. He crouched down and pushed aside the dust. Then he walked forward deeper into the area.

"What? What did you find?" Paul asked over the radio channel. "Come on! Do not leave me in the dark!" He asked again a moment later. A bit too impatient.

Jordan rolled his eyes, "calm down Paul. It looks like some type of man made facility or ship." He walked toward a keypad and tapped on it a few times. He tried to pull up information. But it looked like the systems had been wiped. "Well it still has power but the systems have all been scrubbed. Someone really did not want anyone to find anything here."

"Really? Or could it be that someone snuck onto our asteroid first and without a license?" Paul asked, "I bet it is those Terradome idiots again."

Jordan chuckled and rolled his eyes as he made his way further down the hall. He was able to walk because of the gravity. But as he moved he stopped as he noticed some blue stains on the ground. He followed the trail to a body. "I have a body, turning on the streaming camera." Jordan pulled out a camera from his tool belt and turned it on. "It looks... well..."

It was horribly mangled or might have started that way but it looked more machine than human with the white armor and the arm that had been clearly replaced with a sword. "Damn. I have the footage. Do you just want to keep it on while you look around?" Paul asked. "Because that looks like illegal experimental work."

"Yeah, I will keep it on." Jordan answered as he walked past the body and pointed his flashlight around. He stopped when it went over another body similar to the other one. Then he continued walking down the hall. "They look human but is there blood blue?"

"Looks like it." Paul sighed. "I heard about this, but I only thought it was a rumor."

"Heard about what?" Jordan asked as he found another body.

"The Crystoph Federation and a few other countries have been buying biological weapons. They supposedly bleed blue blood. But it is only a rumor because it is illegal because of the agreement to not mess with that stuff." Paul explained.

"You think this is the manufacturing facility for these things?" Jordan asked as he came upon a headless one of those things. Then he followed some scratches in the ground that led to a doorway that looked like it had been completely destroyed.

"It explains why the Vexical Empire risked attacking so deeply in the territory, they abhor turning people into living weapons with technology. They would rather train themselves to the peak of humanity." Paul answered. "Hey, is that red blood?"

Jordan moved back both his camera and the flashlight. There was a trail of blood and he followed it to a body that was sitting on the door. It looked like a woman in a skimpy outfit. But she looked like she had been torn to shreds. He then moved closer and picked up the whip that was next to her. "Jackpot. We have a weapon." Jordan announced.

"Yeah, too bad it did not help her against whatever beast tore her to shreds." Paul pointed out.

"Yeah I- woah!" Jordan moved the camera and flashlight around the room. There were signs of damage everywhere. There was the head that was lost from one of the bodies in the hallway. There was also a cybernetic arm that he crouched down and looked at. Then he saw a wheel chair that was kicked over. Sitting in it was a headless body that looked old and withered. "Well that is just cruel."

"Yeah... look at the walls on either side." Paul told him.

Jordan pointed his camera and flashlight to one side. It looked untouched. While the other side had a few holes in it. He moved closer to the body and looked over it. Noticing an extra floor panel on the ground he looked around for a moment before looking up.

"Looks like someone dropped down behind the guy in the wheelchair and blew his brains out. I will send this footage to- wait! What was that? Look at the body again!" Paul suddenly screamed in panic.

Jordan turned his camera and flashlight to the body. He noticed a slight movement as well. He crouched down and brought his hand to the bloody exploded head of the wheelchair person. As he touched it, it felt squishy as he pressed on it. "It is just a bloody stump." Jordan pointed out.

"Yeah! But you are in the vacuum of space. How is it still liquid?" Paul asked.

"Huh?" Jordan realized he was right but suddenly the red blood turned black. "What?!?" Then as he went to shake his hand he noticed a large clump of the black stuff coming out of the body and the body almost seemed to shrink. "Oh shit!"

He stood up and dropped the camera when the clump of black goo jumped on him. Then he could feel pressure through his suit. "Jordan, shit! This is Scavenger-" His comm was suddenly cut off as the black goo began leaking through a crack it made in his helmet’s visor.

"No no no no," Jordan kept repeating and trying to pull the goo off of him. But it just started spreading across his body and he could suddenly hear a voice in his head as it touched his skin.

[$^(*^$&N)C*OS&(&%] It was just gibberish. But as he lost control of his legs and fell to the ground the voice became clear to him. [NECROS][NECROS][NECROS]

[NECROS NECROS NECROS I AM NECROS WELCOME TO MY SYSTEM.] [YOU ARE NOW A HOST. NEW ORDER SPREAD NECROS TO OTHER LIVING ORGANISMS.]