mouth slightly, then closed it again and rocked back on his heels, away from the wall bearing the image of the captain’s face.
“We need the encrypted logs from the computer,” the captain said, “and any other bits of data that can be recovered. Warrant Officer Schneps …” The captain tapped Hank on the viewer on his end to bring up a mission log. “I’m giving you authorization to board the plane and retrieve all encrypted data from the computer. Our ICT scans are being blocked, but the modifications to the plane suggest that there is a rat Animalis on board. No effort will be made to assist or evacuate. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Hank said. He saluted the captain, then Hernandez’s grizzled face disappeared and the wall rearranged into its normal, flat, surface. Hank let his hand drop.
With the captain gone, Felix turned to Maven and clapped his hands together. “Aw, a rat hole! Isn’t that just what gets you out of bed in the morning? I can smell it already.” He feigned a large whiff in the air, then walked to the west wall, which folded away to reveal a rack of spacesuits. His hand stopped before he took down his suit. “Actually, I forgot, Jax is now officially certified to pilot. I think it might be time we give him the honor, don’t you?” Then Felix turned to look at Jax. “Heard you fought Gillian last night and didn’t do half bad!”
Hank grabbed his own suit off the rack and started stepping into the bottom half. “It’s going to be tight,” he said, looking at Jax. “I wouldn’t trust anyone else more than you, though. Are you ready for your first flight?”
“What?” Jax waited for the words to echo through his mind again so he could make sure he had heard them right. “Yeah, yes,” he said. “Yes, definitely.”
Jax hurried to the rack of suits. He lifted both halves of a suit together, but lost hold of the legs, and they clattered to the floor. He left them there and started pulling on the torso piece. Training, learning, expecting, waiting for a real opportunity to make a difference. And here it was, him in control, flying through space, retrieving … data. Maybe not the world-changing mission he was waiting for, but it still fed his sense of purpose.
Jax pulled up a menu in his own retina monitor and navigated to the military training information on Animalis encounters. He had read most of it, and had gone through a series of training classes designed to prepare him for encounters, but this was his first operation—with death as a grim failing grade.
While Jax read, the three others continued to chat.
A list of articles appeared in Jax’s vision:
Rat Animalis Disease Prevention
Rat Animalis Recent Attacks
Rat Animalis Neurology and Psychology
…
Jax robotically put the pieces of his suit on and fastened them together. He scrolled through the list of articles till one caught his eye— Signals a Rat Gives before an Attack —and pulled it up:
While this document aims to give you tools that will help you recognize a dangerous situation before it develops, it is impossible to know with certainty that an Animalis is not about to become aggressive. Studies from within the Animalis detention center over the past thirty years have led to a compilation of common behavioral cues that each species of Animalis gives.
“And,” Felix was saying to Maven, “you think it’s a poorly designed test for the pilot certification?”
Unlike predator Animalis, rats do not usually attack the neck area. In most cases, only legs, tails, and lower backs are bitten. However, when a rat is territorial, their attacks become deadly, clawing and biting at the stomach, genitals, and throat with a vicious ferocity.
“Fighting is what we work the hardest to avoid,” Maven said quietly.
A rat Animalis will almost always turn to violence if a situation suddenly changes, or if they are put into a new environment. Be cautious if the rat is experiencing
“We need the encrypted logs from the computer,” the captain said, “and any other bits of data that can be recovered. Warrant Officer Schneps …” The captain tapped Hank on the viewer on his end to bring up a mission log. “I’m giving you authorization to board the plane and retrieve all encrypted data from the computer. Our ICT scans are being blocked, but the modifications to the plane suggest that there is a rat Animalis on board. No effort will be made to assist or evacuate. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Hank said. He saluted the captain, then Hernandez’s grizzled face disappeared and the wall rearranged into its normal, flat, surface. Hank let his hand drop.
With the captain gone, Felix turned to Maven and clapped his hands together. “Aw, a rat hole! Isn’t that just what gets you out of bed in the morning? I can smell it already.” He feigned a large whiff in the air, then walked to the west wall, which folded away to reveal a rack of spacesuits. His hand stopped before he took down his suit. “Actually, I forgot, Jax is now officially certified to pilot. I think it might be time we give him the honor, don’t you?” Then Felix turned to look at Jax. “Heard you fought Gillian last night and didn’t do half bad!”
Hank grabbed his own suit off the rack and started stepping into the bottom half. “It’s going to be tight,” he said, looking at Jax. “I wouldn’t trust anyone else more than you, though. Are you ready for your first flight?”
“What?” Jax waited for the words to echo through his mind again so he could make sure he had heard them right. “Yeah, yes,” he said. “Yes, definitely.”
Jax hurried to the rack of suits. He lifted both halves of a suit together, but lost hold of the legs, and they clattered to the floor. He left them there and started pulling on the torso piece. Training, learning, expecting, waiting for a real opportunity to make a difference. And here it was, him in control, flying through space, retrieving … data. Maybe not the world-changing mission he was waiting for, but it still fed his sense of purpose.
Jax pulled up a menu in his own retina monitor and navigated to the military training information on Animalis encounters. He had read most of it, and had gone through a series of training classes designed to prepare him for encounters, but this was his first operation—with death as a grim failing grade.
While Jax read, the three others continued to chat.
A list of articles appeared in Jax’s vision:
Rat Animalis Disease Prevention
Rat Animalis Recent Attacks
Rat Animalis Neurology and Psychology
…
Jax robotically put the pieces of his suit on and fastened them together. He scrolled through the list of articles till one caught his eye— Signals a Rat Gives before an Attack —and pulled it up:
While this document aims to give you tools that will help you recognize a dangerous situation before it develops, it is impossible to know with certainty that an Animalis is not about to become aggressive. Studies from within the Animalis detention center over the past thirty years have led to a compilation of common behavioral cues that each species of Animalis gives.
“And,” Felix was saying to Maven, “you think it’s a poorly designed test for the pilot certification?”
Unlike predator Animalis, rats do not usually attack the neck area. In most cases, only legs, tails, and lower backs are bitten. However, when a rat is territorial, their attacks become deadly, clawing and biting at the stomach, genitals, and throat with a vicious ferocity.
“Fighting is what we work the hardest to avoid,” Maven said quietly.
A rat Animalis will almost always turn to violence if a situation suddenly changes, or if they are put into a new environment. Be cautious if the rat is experiencing
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