The Black Eagle

Ugh.

The alarm clock wakes you up, bringing a world full of pain to your head. You probably spent last night getting drunk - again. Not that you can remember. You call yourself a professional, and yet you're a chain smoker and alcoholic. Looking up, you notice the vast emptiness of space. It can get quite intimidating, especially if you've never left Earth, or whatever planet you're from. A robotic voice speaks up, bringing you further pain.

"Tarak Ib-ba, Captain Chellick Arterius requests your presence in his office, Tarak Ib-ba to Arterius' office, thank you."

For what seems the millionth time in your life, you tell yourself you're never going to drink again. You slowly make your way to your bathroom and take a quick shower, which, contrary to what you would expect, only succeeds in making you feel worse. You then proceed to brush your teeh, before making way back to your room, and changing into another uniform, identical to the one you're wearing. An all black, military-style uniform, complete with pants, a short-sleeved shirt, and boots. As if it wasn't dark enough on the ship. The only thing that doesn't make it the blandest uniform out there is a small, grey eagle where the heart should be. You'd order better uniforms, but keeping over one hundred and fifty people fully clothed is already costly as it is.

You walk over to your table, and take out another cigarette, quickly lighting it up. After that, you proceed to feed your "hamster". It's not really a hamster, rather, a "klix", native to the planet of Idna - but you affectionally call it "hamster", due to its' similarity to a real hamster. You also have several fish, although you don't need to worry about feeding them, as you have a small virtual intelligence application (VIA) doing that, and a robotic dog around somewhere, although he doesn't seem to be around. Not that you need to feed him. It's a funny situation when you think about it - here you are, some sort of badass, and you're surrounded by harmless pets. Still, it helps you cope with the stress and nightmares, from what you've seen (along with cigarettes and alcohol, and the occassional drug).

You drag yourself out of your cabin and into your elevator, heading over to the second deck. As soon as the door opens, the pace changes entirely. Several dozen people, and aliens, all wearing the same uniform as you are quickly moving about, trying to do their job. Unlike many other organizations, this is one thing you pride yourself for - being able to maintain discipline. You immediately notice a huge holographic map of the galaxy. Near it is the ships' Yeoman, Charlotte Rund, accessing a small computer

"Mornin' Charlotte". She immediately salutes you, and you casually salute back. "What do you have for me?". She quickly responds "Good morning Commander. I'm afraid that no one has shown interest in our activities as of yet, either. I shall keep you posted, however." You remain unflinched, although this is bad news. You haven't had a job in weeks - you need to get paid, your men need to get paid, and the ship needs to be maintained. "Keep me posted" you say, before saluting again and leaving for the elevator.

You decide to head down to the third deck. People here are far more relaxed, although they still tend to their duties. You head over to the sleeping quarters, where Tarak Ib-ba and James Donnelly are playing poker at one of the tables. Both of them are dressed in the same uniform as you. The rest of the room seems empty, which is odd, but you don't look into it. Both of the men stand up as soon as you enter the room, saluting you. Donnelly sits down again, with a look of confusion on his eyes as Ib-ba doesn't, instead choosing to adress you. "Commander, I have heard rumours that GLC is looking for people to help its' colonization of Munda, perhaps we could enquire further?".

What do you choose to do?
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