DJ's Mission Read Online Free

hearts whenever
she was seen in public.
    DJ just shook his head and thought, not for the
first time, too bad she was an android and went back to packing.
    “Going somewhere?”
    “Out.”
    “You need to pack to go out? That doesn’t make
sense.”
    “Since when do I have to make sense?”
    Athena nodded. “So true but I was sent to deliver
a message. The Captain wants you to stop by before your departure.”
    “Tell Iaido that I’m busy.”
    Athena shifted her stance from the more relaxed
‘at ease’ stance to the more rigid ‘parade rest.’ The subtle shift in posture
was enough to inform him that visiting Iaido before he departed was not a
request. Athena might look like a runway model but he knew that she was tougher
than she looked and extremely deadly. She was one of those androids that weren’t
bound by the ‘Three Laws’ but instead had a morality code. The big thing
about the morality code meant that if her programming could justify it, she
could use force…all the way up to and including deadly force if necessary.
Disobeying an order or allowing someone to disobey an order given by her
Captain would fall into that category.
    DJ nodded. “Okay. You win. Tell Iaido I’ll be
there in moment.”
    “I am pleased with your decision.” She flashed him
her infamous crooked grin. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
    DJ did a quick look around his small cabin, it was
a wreck. He had never thought of it as anything more than a place to sleep. The
only real personal item he’d even placed in the cabin was a picture of his
daughter. Outside of that, it was just the same drab grey it was when it was
assigned to him. But now that the cabin was empty, he realized that it had
become home and it hurt to leave. DJ swallowed hard. He thought he’d gotten
past this during his time in New Leavenworth. In prison you don’t get attached
to anything. Guards would move prisoners to new bunking areas just for fun. Not
once in the five years he spent inside or the years following had he ever
gotten attached to somewhere…not until now.
    Somewhere in the back of his mind came his daughter’s
voice. “ I need you to come get me. I know you won’t let me down, you never
have before.”
    DJ grabbed his duffle bag and threw it over his
shoulder. “Let’s go see Iaido. Times a wasting.”
    Athena nodded and led the way forward to the
Captain’s Quarters of the Nemesis. DJ didn’t expect to see UR-L8 inside but
there it was standing next to his friend and probably the deadliest man alive.
    Iaido Achilles Spartan looked to be in his
mid-thirties although DJ knew that he was probably closer to fifty. At six foot
tall and two-hundred and twenty-five pounds, he was well-built but not overly
muscular. Whenever he smiled he seemed to have a kind face, however his steel
grey eyes always seemed to peer into your soul. His bald head and tribal
tattoos on the base of his neck blended well with his neatly trimmed coal black
goatee and mustache; however the large scar which ran vertically down the left
side of his face bore testament of a rough life. 
    DJ looked around the small cabin. This was the one
berth on the vessel which was actually three adjoining rooms. The outer office
or what Iaido called his study was comfortably furnished but not outlandish. 
The hatches to the left and right were closed and probably lead to his bunk
area and private office. Of course this was only speculation since DJ hadn’t
been beyond this point. 
    Iaido was sitting on the couch reading something
on a datapad when he entered; there were several other such pads lying on the
coffee table within easy reach. When he didn’t speak, DJ cleared his throat.
    Iaido looked up and grinned. “I see you are
heading out. You-Are-Ell-Eight has informed me of the situation you are facing.
I don’t have all the details, just the highlights.”
     “Don’t think you can stop me, nothing can.” DJ
shook his head. “Not you, not Athena, not the