Vibranium: Agent 007

Chapter 4: Outer Space

"Look who's graduating again! I'm so proud of you, Brendan. How I wish your father was here to witness what you've achieved all on your own."

"No, no. Come on Mom, we are not going over this again. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have made it to where I am today. So I want to say thank you so much for believing in me." Brendan replied.

"Yeah, you will always be my special boy. So what about the Job, still considering it? " She asked.

"I think I'm going for it. You know, all I ever wanted was to give you a better life and make sure we never lack again. I'm going to make that dream come true ma." Brendan assures his mother with a big smile.

"Wow, that's good to hear. When are you coming home? I want to prepare your favorite."

"Mmmm, next week. Can't wait to see you but for now, got to go to class."

"Alright, talk to you later."

"Alright. Love you, Mom, I'm ending the video call now."

QASA HEADQUARTERS

"You wanted to see me? It better be good news."

"Yes sir, it definitely is." Sonia replied, smiling. But then her mood changed when she noticed Ricky sitting on the couch like she'd seen a ghost.

"So…Is it something you have to tell me in private?" Drummond asked when he noticed the look on her face.

"No, I-I just want to let you know that Brendan told his mother that he will be accepting the job." Sonia replied.

"You are serious? Hohoho, yes! That's great news." Drummond exclaims out of excitement and unknowingly hugs Ricky.

A few hours later…

Ricky walked into the Research department looking for Sonia. He didn't seem pleased with the news she brought to Drummond or maybe he was mad about something else.

"Sonia, can we talk?"

"Is everything alright?" Sonia asked.

"You know the answer to that, but that's…"

"Are you mad at me?" Sonia cuts in.

"No, I'm not. Just wanted to ask you about that Brendan, you seem happy he would be coming to fulfill Drummond's misconception. For Christ's sake, you are supposed to be doing everything possible to stop that project from going on." Ricky lashed out.

"Why? Because you don't approve of it? That's being selfish!" Sonia retorted and some of the team members noticed them quarreling.

"Sonia, you don't know what you're doing. I'm telling you this is a very bad idea, people's lives will be at stake." Ricky persisted but he couldn't tell her the reason why she shouldn't.

"I don't think there's anything wrong in helping someone achieve their dreams. I'm going to help in any way I can, whether you like it or not." Sonia replied and walked out of the department.

A week and two days later…

Wilfred was already waiting outside Brendan's house to take him to the headquarters. He refused to go in because for him it was unprofessional and against his job.

"Hey Wilfred, nice to see you again." Brendan greets him warmly.

"Nice to see you too kid. Congratulations on your graduation." Wilfred reacted and opened the back door.

"Thank you. By the way, my mom thinks you're weird and scary." Brendan whispered to his ears.

"Hahaha. Everyone thinks that and I'm beginning to love it. Let's go."

Immediately they arrived at QASA headquarters, Brendan was officially welcomed. He was given a house and a car as part of the contract, so he could be comfortable.

On the first day of training, he was given the basics and need-to-know about outer space. Then on the second day, Brendan was introduced to the staff, facilities, and recruits for the project. He got to meet Ryan, Davis, Kaleb, Sasha, and Jasper.

After everyone had been assembled inside the training hall, Ricky came to address the crew about the test and how to play.

"This is a visual reality test. Everything you're going to see in there is not real, but we will need you all to take it seriously, alright? First, you are going to work as a team then against yourselves, so we can choose the captain of the team." Ricky explained and displayed an AI video of what the training would be like.

"Question Sir."

"Yes, Ryan?"

"Umm, I thought we were supposed to be seven in number, but there are only six of us here," Ryan said and only then did Ricky realize that one of the newly recruited agents wasn't present.

"Right. Everybody out, you will be notified when the training commences." Ricky instructed and everyone left the hall.

Later on, the news came in that the guy was at the hospital receiving treatment.

"So if I get you right, he is a sickle cell patient and you didn't know that?" Drummond asked. He had that look of disappointment and anger on his face.

"Yes Sir. I'm sorry, I…"

"You're sorry! You know how important this is to me, don't you?" Drummond protested.

"I do Sir." Sonia replied, her head bent low in regret.

"I asked you to carefully research all of them and yet you failed," Drummond yells at her again.

Ricky wanted to intervene but Sonia revoked him. She preferred standing up for herself and acknowledged the fact that she made a big mistake.

"Since it was my fault in the first place, I will replace him for the project." Sonia said and that got Ricky surprised and uncomfortable.

"Sonia, you don't have to do that. We'll find a way out." Ricky suggested but Sonia refused to back down now.

"Alright then. If you think you're ready for a real ride. So be it." Drummond responded without thinking twice.

Before the training commenced, they were all dressed in protective suits to prevent them from hurting each other, and a Visual reality tech projected a battleground for the challenge. At the end of the training, Brendan came best in strategy and performance. He finished first with 98 points, while the second was Ryan with 63 points, then Sonia with 61.5 points.

Ricky congratulated the top 3 squad and also everyone who participated in the training.

"I'm glad to announce that you all passed the test. Surprisingly, no one scored below 50 points, and that is impressive." Ricky stated, plainly.

"Yes!" Ryan rejoiced.

"Don't be too excited yet, out there it is going to be tougher r and more dangerous. You all…"

"Thank you so much Ricky for the enlightenment. Why don't you move to the part where they get their badges." Drummond rudely interrupted.

They all stood in line according to their scores while Ricky handed them their badges.

"Brendan, Agent 007."

"Ryan, Agent 006."

"Sonia, Agent 005."

"Jasper, Agent 004."

"Sasha, Agent 003."

"Kaleb, Agent 002."

"Davis, Agent 001."

"When onboard you all will be identified by your badges. Agent 007, you are the team leader, Agent 006, you are the second in command." Ricky explained and made sure they understood "Are we clear?"

"Yes Sir!" They all chorused.

After a long stressful day, Brendan retired home and slept off almost immediately. "Chee**chee" A wide screen appeared just in front of his eyes and displayed some analysis in red lights. [System upload] [Gaming system online] [Day 306]

Brendan jumped out of bed in shock. He was panting and sweating hard, his eyeballs roaming around the room as if searching for answers.

For a while now he has been having endless dreams about a system, and each time it happened, it felt so real. Like something watching him in his sleep and tormenting his mind. He wasn't ready to tell anybody about it, for he feared that they would all say he was going crazy, just as his friends did when he told them about his first experience.

*Take off day*

"QASA QASA…Mothership taking off in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." Fire roared through the mega engine, smoke flaring the entire atmosphere as the ship elevated, rupturing the ground and everything around it. The view was magnificent as they approached the gloomy clouds, and then the blue skies were visible.

It was a matter of time before it turned pitch black, there was nothing in the sky, just void and rays of light from a distance.

"Approaching the orbits…Temperature level dropping to -200 degrees Fahrenheit. I advise we all fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride." The pilot announced.

"I am actually in space. Wow! Let's go!!!" Brendan screamed at the top of his voice and everyone laughed. The rest of the teammates joined him in excitement.