“Zero Cross! Zero Cross! ETA Two Hours!”
A voice announcing the duration of arrival to a destination, this awakens someone who was taking a shut eye in the vehicle. A long beep was heard from the writing desk in the cabin of the person who had just awake from a slumber; the light of the cabin is switched on, revealing a Caucasian man who is in his early 40’s wearing a mufti uniform, which those in the armed services had when they are neither on duty nor in combat.
“Good Morning Grandmaster, we will be reaching Zero Cross soon.”
An artificial voice young man can be heard from the console on the desk, indicating that there are artificial intelligence has been installed in the vehicle.
“Good Morning Norton, what’s the status?”
“Situation is all green, with no abnormalities sir. While you are resting, there is a message for you. Would you like it to be displayed?”
“Do it.”
Upon hearing the command, a miniature holographic image of a slender man in his youth appeared, dressing up like a police detective from the 1920’s period in the USA. Taking out an envelope from his coat, he threw it up into the air, causing the envelope to burst & revealing its contents to be seen by the Grandmaster.
“Norton, send my reply.”
Upon receiving the order, the contents in the hologram letter faded away, leaving it blank. As the Grandmaster speaks his reply, new words begin to form till the whole message has been written. The paper folded itself into a new envelope & fall into the hand of the miniature detective, who then catches it, making a pose & then throws it away in style, indicating that the message have been replied to its sender.
“Message sent. Is there anything else I can do for you Grandmaster?”
“Inform the captain that I will meet him at the mess deck for breakfast before I disembark. That will be all Norton.”
“Understood sir, have a nice day.”
With this, the hologram vanishes immediately. The Grandmaster himself begins preparing for the new day with a shower. After moments later, wrapped in a towel from the waist down, he changed into his uniform which has signs & markings to indicate his rank in an organization.
Wearing his hat, he left his cabin into a narrow corridor, which is enough for three people to pass through unhindered. After a short walk, the Grandmaster finally reached the mess deck, moving towards a door at a section of the mess deck, he enters the officer’s mess, which is a section of the mess deck where all the commissioned officers of the ship dine for their meals.
Inside the room, already there is someone who is dressed in a uniform which is similar to him. However, the symbols & markings show that the person who is a Hispanic man, in his later 30’s is someone who is in command of the vessel they are in. The moment the Grandmaster entered the room, he stood up immediately & gave him a salute like a sailor would to his superior. The Grandmaster replied his salute & both of them took their seats while waiting breakfast to be served.
“Grandmaster, we will be reaching HQ in another hour. It’s good to have you on board, even if it is a short moment.”
“The pleasure is mine captain. It is good to be back after a long time away.”
Mean while, the crew in the bridge have been at work steering the ship they are in towards their destination. An Indian man in his 30’s was seen sitting at the second in command seat in the bridge. Soon a light flashes at the navigation console in the bridge, indicating that they are close to their destination, which is a hidden base that is also their base of operations.
Back in the officer’s mess, both men who are waiting for their breakfast put their conversation on hold for a while, waiting for the waiter to finish serving them their meal. They chatted while enjoying their breakfast, appreciating the meal that the chef had prepared for them. A beep was heard moments later when they are almost done with their meal, followed by the hologram of the mini detective appearing on their dining table.
“Captain, we have reached Zero Cross.”
“Got it Norton, tell the XO that I will be there at the bridge in a moment for docking.”
“Aye sir, will do.”
The hologram vanished leaving both men to attend to its duty.
“I suppose this is where we part Grandmaster.”
“Duty calls captain, carry on as you see fit, I shall trouble you no more.”
“Then, I shall take my leave now, until another time sir.”
The Grandmaster & the captain both saluted each other again before leaving the room. Each of them moves to opposite directions, facing their respective doors. The door which the Grandmaster faced opened, revealing an elevator. The captain in the other hand was shown a small room with seats enough for half a dozen people. Entering the room, a recorded voice spoke to him immediately.
“Magrail will be moving, please be seated till you arrived at your destination.”
The moment when the captain took his seat in the room, the room started moving in high speeds. He could feel the G-force pressing against him, although the ride in this fast moving vehicle in the vessel under his command only lasted for a minute. Upon reaching his destination, the automated voice spoke again.
“The bridge, please wait for full stop before disembarking the Magrail.”
Leaving the Magrail, the captain moved to a door which is guarded by his security crew. Seeing their commanding officer approaching the bridge, both of them saluted the captain. The door to the bridge, which is controlled by its computer, opened to allow him to enter.
“Captain on the bridge!”
One of the bridge crew called, accompanied by a whistle being blown that causes all the crew members on duty to stand up & salute him. The captain immediately replied their salute, allowing them to resume their work. One of the crew switched on the screen display, showing that the ship they are in is sailing under the sea.
