Behind the Veil

[Zapp]

The steady, clean sound of the engine, the static of chatter on the comm system, the constant blips of the sensors. Sounds that let Eddy Looper, one of the most deadly lawmen in Liberty, know it was patrol-time, sounds that made his body produce extra adrenaline, as well as other hormones, to put him on edge. His senses were heightened, each bead of sweat on his face felt as they made tracks downward.

However, despite all this, it was a rather droll and ordinary day in New York. The pirates were holed up, nursing their various wounds over drinks or counting their loot with wild eyes, the ne'er-do-wells were keeping clean, and even the Junkers were stepping lightly. Something in the air - or vacuum - smelled of events soon to come, almost seeming to precipitate a major event.

Formed on the wing of his Guardian was Joyce Gordon, Lieutenant in the Liberty Navy. Looper himself was a Lieutenant Commander, though his lack of respect for rank and discipline all but barred him from the higher ranks. He was content, at forty years of age, to be where he was. He knew of no other place that could bring him more happiness than on the front lines, protecting the liberty of Liberty and her people.

Flying along the lane from Fort Bush to Planet Manhattan, Looper and Gordon chatted amiably. The age difference, nor the fact that one day Gordon would probably outrank Looper, was no impediment to conversation. After awhile, a bond formed between wing mates, a bond forged in battle and nurtured off-duty in the bar. The words were of no importance, it was mainly to pass the time by hearing themselves talk. What would've taken minutes by trade lane took about an hour on cruise. The first topic of discussion was obviously griping, and reminiscing on what space travel must've been like before trade lanes or cruise.

As they came up to Manhattan, they both marveled at a rather new- and expensive-looking Luxury Liner idling in space just outside of orbit. Looper wondered out loud what it was, and unexpectedly he got a reply.

"That's the Volente Deo," Gordon said, matter-of-factly, "the newest Liner Orbital Spa and Cruise produced. They said it went through 8 months of upgrades and retrofitting before it actually undocked for it's maiden flight."

Looper chuckled to himself, muttering, "What fool would shell out that kinda money just for a nice cruise..." His thinking was that a fighter was good enough for flying, and any transport could be converted to the tastes of the 'refined' gentlemen. Once again, not expecting an answer, he got one.

"I heard something about someone called the 'Duke of Montgomery', or Mark Teagle, some bigwig CEO of... umm... Blackrock Holdings."

Looper almost laughed; of course Joyce would know this stuff, she was a trivia-whiz. He turned his ship, and by extension hers, and moved down the lane to West Point.