Argonaut - The Precursor (Prequel)

Chapter 4 - Liabilities

"So we're the bait," Cinder replied, "Why do I not like the sound of that?"

"And what happens when we're just the next team to vanish?" Memnon asked, fitting the bulging sections of armour to his forearms, which housed the dual punch-blades extending out of the wrist.

"This'll just be a routine scouting mission, we'll be starting things off nice and slow. Everyone load up, we'll go over the mission briefing when we're in the air."

There were a few grumbled responses, but everyone fell out as a unit and piled into the sleek warplane, the Argos.

"Nicer than the average jet," Icarus commented, eyes wide as he took in the interior of the plane.

The entire back fuselage was dedicated to housing, seven highbacked chairs gathered in a rectangular formation. As they walked inside a section of the floor raised up to meet them with a gentle hum, a table set into the floor that now filled a good portion of the space. Three seats were set on each side, with one at the far end.

"The old man outdid himself," Gallagher grinned as he let himself fall into one of the seats, which span with his momentum, "This is a nice little rig."

"It'll do," Killian replied. "Maven, Memnon, you're with me in the front. Everyone else, take a seat. Let's get airborne."

The cockpit of the plane was fitted with three seats, the standard Archaean design. Slanted windows gave them good vision of their surroundings, with a pair of gyroscopic handles for use in flying the warplane. Killian sat in the Captain's chair, taking hold of the handles which enveloped both of his forearms. At the slightest touch, the Argos's engines roared to life. He couldn't help but give a small smile.

The loading ramp retracted smoothly, and through the side windows of the cockpit Killian could see the thrusters on the forward sweeping wings of the warplane firing up. The wings themselves bent along the odd hinges as they prepared to take off, flexing in a manner oddly reminiscent to a large bird stretching.

After a few more seconds the roar of the engines settled into a low humming, and the Argos gently lifted off the hangar floor. With the barest touch of the controls, the plane coasted forward from the hangar, towards the small exit towards the back. This was the Archons' private route, and as such skipped the tedious process negotiating their way in and out of the city through the several guarded airlocks. The Archons' own exit cut back many of these security measures, with an almost unused series of airlocks for their own personal use.

The Argos banked over the various war machines of the hangar, and as they came closer to the initial airlocks, Killian flicked one of the hundred switches along the console to hail the gate guards. The comms buzzed to life, a channel that was hardly ever used.

"-Archons, you're leaving so soon? Of course, the gates will be opened immediately.-"

Audible surprise, the gate guards rarely ever needed to actually do anything at their post. It had a reputation amongst the occupants of Olympus as a post for the lazy or cowardly.

Killian gave a small smile before responding. "Not the Archons, I'm afraid. We've been sent on a priority assignment, sending our credentials now."

Another few motions over the controls, and the information packet was sent. There was a long pause, absolutely longer than necessary to go over the information provided.

"-We read you, Captain Killian. Your team is missing a designation, is your equipment functioning?-"

Killian paused to think, going through the files that they'd been given by Hephaestus. Sure enough, he'd given them a designation that came with the ship.