The Pack

[NewHealthRock]

Gordon sat staring out of the large bar windows of the station.
Ships flew past, some convoys, and what looked like a Cruiser formation could be seen in the distance.
"Gordon? Gordon Fallon?" Gordon looked up to see an unfamiliar face, that of a woman standing behind him.
"You're looking at him. And who are you?" Gordon replied, with a hint of hostility.
"The name's Esther Carson."
"Esther Carson? Where have I heard that name before..." Gordon tried to remember, the name was familiar, he was sure of it.

"Nevermind that! I've got a proposal for you. I'm looking for a new member of my group, and you're it."
Gordon looked at her straight in the eyes, to see if it was a lie or not.
"Oh?" Gordon sounded surprised, but having little fame or fortune he was left wondering why she would pick him at all.
Perhaps it was a job, perhaps it was the incident outside Leeds, involving the Kusari Naval Forces.

"'Oh' Is that all you've got?" Esther looked disappointed. "We're known as 'the Pack', and you're lucky to get the chance to tag along."
Gordon didn't take lightly to Esther's attitude, nevertheless, a new source of income was just what he needed.
"I've got little else to do so the answer is 'Yes'..."
"Excellent, I'll meet you out in space." She replied quickly and walked off.

As Gordon watched the Cruiser fly out of the window view he thought back for a moment, on times past.
The last battle almost had him, and he was reluctant to let it happen again.
The station had provided him shelter, and time to recover from his injuries, but it had also left him dried out of money.

Living like a rat was not the life he wanted, and it was about time he got back in the game.
"Let's see if the old bird can still fly..." He mumbled, and headed out towards the docking bay.
The rather old and beaten up Manta rolled out into space. Side panels were falling off, lights flickering.
It had always been like that, yet Gordon couldn't just scrap it. It was a part of him.

As promised, Esther was waiting for him just outside.
A bright beeping noise came out of the comm-system inside Gordon's ship, and a few irritated bangs directed at it corrected it to audible words.
"There you are, Gordon. Ready to head out?"
"Good to go."
"We'll be swinging by the rest of the team, I'll introduce you when we get there."