Space Odyssey: Spectre

Chapter 88 - 88: Salem Meets Fenrir

Jace walked up and shook hands with Admiral Dakota who was focused on a data pad the moment before while talking with Salem. "Admiral Dakota, it is a pleasure to see you again. I suppose you are flying us?"

Admiral Dakota chuckled as he nodded, "I am indeed. Only three people even know the location and we want to keep it that way. Come on, I only have so much time and I want to go say hello to my adorable daughter after this." He quickly walked onto the Osprey heading toward the pilot's cabin while just greeting the director with a wave of his hand.

"Jace?" Salem looked confused as she looked him over. Unlike her he was dressed in just sweats. Salem was dressed in a formal military outfit and appeared to have taken a shower already. She looked good in her enlisted formal uniform. After looking him over she glanced at the tiger that was now sniffing her and then the director, with a look of confusion on her face. "I have so many questions."

"Then I suppose I can answer them on the ride to wherever we are going." Jace told her as he walked up the ramp onto the Osprey. He moved to one of the seats and plopped down. The tiger jumped up and sat in the seat next to him. "I think I also need to come up with a name for this one."

Salem frowned as she sat next to him on the opposite side from the tiger, "yeah… first off, where did you get a tiger and why do you have a tiger?"

"Well I found her injured during the survival training and treated her wound. Then she started following me around so I fed her and she apparently imprinted on me. She is actually something called an Astral Beast so she can change forms if needed, but because she is so young her main form is just that of a tiger." Jace explained quickly as his mind wandered.

The tiger's name had to be feminine in nature. It should not be something simple. Maybe something feline, there were plenty of ancient mythical creatures and people with connections to feline creatures. This would require more re

The door to the pilot's cabin opened up. Outside Jace could see desert dunes through the front window. "We are almost there. Get ready for landing." Admiral Dakota told them.

Jace initially flinched figuring he should grab a weapon. But he stopped himself when he realized that he would not need a weapon. They were not here to fight or anything else. As he took a breath to steady himself he felt the tiger rubbing its head against his thigh. Across from him he caught a glimpse of Director Fenrir looking sad for a moment before her expression steeled again.

There was a slight joseling as the Osprey landed. Then a moment later it started to lower its rear ramp. It was just as sandy as he thought it would be. But it was also bright which was an odd combination.

Since this was likely one of the moons the sunshine and heat made no sense, how was it so bright and hot? Jace stepped down the ramp and looked to the sky. The green planet was visible in the sky along with an almost bright shine around the edges of it.

"The central planet is acting as a reflective lens to send more light and radiation to these moons. But I am guessing they are so widely different because someone was playing with artificial atmospheric shielding?" Jace asked, looking at the director who just shrugged in response.

"Hahahaha!" Admiral Dakota came sauntering out of the pilot's cabin. "Fenrir is not one for sciency stuff. She is more focused on logistics and weapons." He earned a punch from Fenrir who was grinning.

"You never mentioned how your daughter was doing?" Fenrir pointed it out as they walked out of the ramp.

"Oh, you already know." Dakota rolled his eyes. "After graduating the academy she managed to earn herself a spot high up on this Tartarus Project. Then she joined Sergeant Steel here in being one of the S-Ranks."

"How do you become an S-Rank?" Salem asked as she followed them out of the ship.

"Genetic potential unlocked through hard work. The greater your potential for being an S-Rank is the lower your initial compatibility rating is. For instance if you managed to become an S-Rank it would not change much initially." Admiral Dakota explained with a shrug. "Fun fact, there were only five S-Ranks in the empire before Jace appeared."