Olympus: The Agency (Book One)

21: Chalk

Phil docked the Cerberus with some coaxing. Since the fight the engine had been acting finicky. Likely burning it out with her maneuvers. The repairs would be costly for Olympus and they would take some time.

Luckily Isis Station was well known throughout Alliance space and beyond as the port of choice for its entertainment district, friendly staff and upgrade businesses. Olympus and crew deserved a break, Phil believed.

Behind her, Phil could hear Zeus talking to Junior about what was needed at a minimum.

"I'm just saying, Zeus," Junior said. "Hull repairs are fine but what we really need is some armour. You need newer, punchier guns and you could stand to upgrade the communications and electronic defenses."

These words meant nothing to Zeus. He sighed loudly, making Phil snort from her chair.

"Alright, Junior," he said, defeated. "Please write down upgrade ideas and bring them with us when we go speak to the dealers. What's everyone else doing, Belle?"

Belle appeared on the command terminal holo-terminal. "Sgt. Traverstine and Agent Thanatos are still recovering in the medical bay under Dr. Refik's care. They will not be joining you on the station. Mr. Gunn has offered to train those that wish to be trained and Agents Epione and Dionysus have taken him up on his offer, as has Dr. Wilson. Agent Tartarus has already entered the station with Mr. Cross and Ms. Jubei to explore entertainment options. Ms. Warsaw wishes to explore the dealerships alone but Sgt. Winters is shadowing her to ensure she does not contact the Realmic Concord. Dr. Fargood and Agent Enyo are still in the laboratory."

Zeus peered over to Phil. "It's your ship, too, Phil. You wanna come with me and Junior?"

Phil bit her bottom lip for a moment before standing. "Sure. I don't want to be alone on a ship with Eliza. Talk about boring."

Zeus, Phil and Junior made sure they had their credit chips. Phil and Junior barely had enough for lunch but Zeus's chip was paid out for the last five missions. With this he could buy a new ship!

"Don't forget you need to pay your staff, sir," Belle reminded him before taking out the payments for the crew. His pay dented but was still considerable. Phil marveled at how much money she had before sending half of it to her family. Junior received nothing but he didn't mind. He had another payment in mind for later.

"Alright, let's go." Zeus said, leading the other two off the bridge. "Belle, you have the bridge."

Zeus started reading the list as he walked along with Junior. Many of these terms did not make sense to him, so he questioned ashe moved, with Phil snorting at his ignorance behind him.

"So this first thing on the list... it isn't a ship upgrade, right?"

"No," Junior said. "It's a request from Marcella that's better to be bought in bulk rather than from a store. It's a Byrne Assault Rifle, a gun that fires 5.56mm ammunition in either single-shot of three-round burst fire shots that can be changed with a switch. It also has targeting computers that hook into Alliance heads-up displays, comes equipped with a 20mm grenade launcher and both the bullets and the explosives can be changed in ammunition types."

Zeus, apart from being incredibly shocked that a minor would have this knowledge in the first place, was in awe as the gun was described to him. He had known that the universe he found himself in now was far different than before. Having it described in detail to him, though, made it hit home. Gone were the days of AK-47s and Walther pistols.

"Does it have a scope?" Zeus asked.

"It can," Phil said, taking over. "The Byrne is designed to allow for huge customisation. Scopes, drum magazines, barrels, suppressors, whatever. Most Alliance weapons are like that, like the Falcon, which is what I use. No scope for me but I edited the barrel and changed the magazine to suit my needs. I turned it from a handgun to a machine pistol. Done."