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*Rise of the Warspite*
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by HappyTarget: [QB] Here's the next chapter. Let me know what ya think. CHAPTER 6 [5 min. later, officers quarters, Tilley Base, Sphinx] Lt. Yuki and Lt. Cmdr. Armstrong made their way up to the watch officer. Although security had been tight originally, since the war began it had tightened considerably. Instead of just having an identity check at the perimeter fence, passes now had to be scanned at the entrances to all major buildings in the base. A bored looking ensign stood guard. He was about to ask the two for their passes when Taz gave a menacing hiss form his seat on Thad's luggage. Startled, all three humans looked at the angered treecat. Taz was puffed up to double size, ivory white, centimeter long claws out digging into Thad's baggage. Taz's lips were curled back to expose jaws filled with needle sharp teeth, and he was looking straight at the ensign. Something had evidently set him off, but for the life of him Thad couldn't figure out what it could be. He passed his ID to Jennifer and tried to calm down his angry companion. The guard quickly passed both of their ID's through his reader. When both came up green, he quickly allowed Jennifer, Thad and one angry treecat to enter the building. On his way in, Thad apologized to the guard through an armful of hissing treecat. No amount of scolding and pleading seemed to placate him. Even after the guard was out of sight the cat refused to calm down, looking back down the hall with the beginnings of a growl at the back of his throat. Once the door had closed behind the party, the ensign let out the breath he had been holding in since the treecat had began hissing at him. He punched a series of numbers into a secure link com and raised it to his face. Only four words were spoken. "The package has arrived." "Excellent!" said the electronically distorted voice on the other end. Then the line went dead. The Ensign lowered the com, moonlight catching the ring he wore. It was just a simple silver wolfs head, with rubies for eyes. The company would forward a large sum of credits to his account for his service. He had no idea what they wanted with one Lt. Cmdr. Thaddeus Armstrong, but the pay given for letting them know he had arrived safely was very good. [Tinnian city, Sphinx, that same time] The person on the other end of that call closed her com with a satisfied smile. Looking out the large windows in her 17th floor room gave her an excellent view of the nighttime cityscape. Tinnian was the second largest city in all of Sphinx. It was also home to THE largest military base on the planet. She could just make out Tilley Base's runway lights near the left edge of her field of view. The director of The Cerberus Corporation decided that the time was right to introduce herself to the young man she had labored to get here. But there would be time for that tomorrow she told herself. She made her way back to the room's personal hot tub. Lowering herself into the churning water, she let out a delighted sigh. It was a pity, the director thought, that she couldn't use the penthouse. The company could afford it of course, but it liked to keep as low of a profile as it could. Sacrifices had to be made to keep Cerberus as far below the radar as possible. So far, these plans had succeeded. The Cerberus Corporation had been in existence almost since the beginning of the Star Kingdom. It had chosen a silver wolf's head with red eyes as its company mascot. Through the years, it had grown until it had quietly become one of the largest companies in the Kingdom. This was not common knowledge within the Kingdom of Manticore though. Cerberus had gone to great lengths to hide its true scope and power from both the Star Kingdom's people and its intelligence community. Cerberus Corporation had hidden ties to almost every major industry within the Manticore system. Its intelligence arm rivaled that of Naval Intelligence itself. It also had ties to many of the less desirable elements of society. Even criminals and pirates had their uses, and Cerberus never discarded something useful. Once it had silently taken over as much as it dared, it ran into a conundrum. What it had was not enough to suit its leaders. They had grown more and more power hungry as their influence grew. Cerberus thus set its sights on destabilizing the current government of Manticore in order to place one of their puppets into power. Thus, Operation Renegade was conceived. It was just the first step in their plans for gaining control of the Manticoran government, but it was a vital one. Now, with Thaddeus Armstrong on side, it would succeed. The director lounged in the hot tub, knowing that the time of hiding in the shadows was almost over. [Officers Quarters, Tilley base, Sphinx, that same time] Thad found his room with little trouble. Taz had finally quieted down, but still seemed edgy. Jennifer's room was just across the hall. Thad commenced unpacking his belongings while Taz seemingly scouted out the room. Once satisfied that nothing was lurking behind the desk and in the closet, Taz jumped onto the top of the high-backed desk chair, significantly calmer. Thad hoped that his furry friend would not have many of such outbursts as this in the future. The cat looked much more his loveable self now, so maybe it was just an isolated incident. "So is he calmed down yet?" Jennifer asked from the open door. "Seems to be. I wonder what set him off?" "Cats have a strong protective instinct over their partners. It applies to both real and perceived threats. Maybe he thought the guard was dangerous to you for some reason." "You seem to know a lot about treecats for a layman!" Thad said. "My sister was adopted by a treecat. I couldn't help but learn a lot about them when one lived in my very house." "Really! I could use any help and advice you have." "Well, there isn't much you really need to do." Jennifer said as they made their way to the two chairs set up in Thad's spartan quarters. "They are more intelligent than most people give them credit for. I have seen that firsthand, as well as their slightly mischievous sense of humor. Beware if you give him any thing like a ball or a Frisbee as a toy. You'll need fast reflexes, trust me! They are excellent swimmers, but don't go in the water if they can help it. Just like Terran cats they hate getting wet, so bath times are interesting. As long as you wash him, it should be fine though." "I wonder why Taz thought that guard was dangerous. He seemed perfectly normal to me anyway." "I was wondering the same thing. He seemed harmless to me to, but since nothing came from Taz's and his encounter, I wouldn't worry about it. The guard might have even been jealous of your having a treecat. The cat picked up on that emotion and interpreted that as a threat towards you." "Maybe…" Turning to Taz, Thad asked, "Was that all it was boy? Was he just jealous? Well in my opinion he had every right to be! Who wouldn't be jealous of anyone lucky enough to end up with you!" Upon hearing his tone of voice, Taz jumped down from his perch on the desk chair and scrambled onto Thad's lap. Once there, he placed his hand/paws on Thad's shoulders and nuzzled his head into Thad's lower jaw. His buzzing purr started up and love flowed into the link between them. Looking at the time, Jennifer stood up. "Well, I'm going to hit the sack. You two should as well. You have a hectic day tomorrow and I'm sure you want to look your best for your first meeting with our new CO." "You're right Jen, see you in the morning then." On impulse, Thad added, "And thanks for being my friend." Jennifer turned a bright shade of red. "Your welcome!" was the embarrassed replay as she rapidly made her exit. Thad wondered what that was about as he started his before shuteye routine. Taz watched in amazement as he entered the shower. Why any sensible being would do such a thing eluded him. After the shower, Thad toweled off, put on a fresh pair of boxers and slipped into bed. The cat jumped onto the bed and settled himself on the pillow near Thad's head. Both soon fell into a happy sleep, each basking in the unconditional love flowing between them through their link. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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