Warlock and Poet

A bionic eye rendered Diosa Alberich medically unfit for combat duty. After a few weeks of being idle, the retired Master Sergeant realized she did not miss gunfights with enemy combatants in tight corridors on spaceships. Nor did she long for the constant presence of death and the abuse her body suffered during every operation. From that standpoint, retirement felt safe. Which, in itself, was a new emotion for the former Striker team leader, call sign Warlock.

Although Warlock had been recruited as a field agent, she wasn’t ready to trade the uniformed code of military justice for a hazy set of orders issued by people in dark rooms with concealed identities. Even though Special Agent Eiko promised she could choose her missions and self-determine how many firefights she encountered, trust didn’t come easily to Diosa Alberich. Plus, the idea of sneaking around, gathering intelligence did not appeal to the combat veteran.

Yet, retirement papers could not switch off her hypervigilance nor dull her analytical mind. Those attributes led her to uncover a plot by Empress sympathizers. Being long on assumptions but short on details, Diosa called Special Agent Eiko and asked for clarity. “Sorry, I cannot confirm nor deny the information. That’s reserved for active agents,” Eiko responded, rejecting her request. “It’s on a need to know bases and civilians, such as yourself, don’t need to know.”

Type-A personalities, like Diosa, do not care for being refused or lumped into mundane categories. Compounding her frustration, the saboteur’s plot exploded into flames and bloodshed. Having no way to right the wrong, Warlock volunteered to join the agency. Eiko ordered Agent Warlock to Orbital Station with instructions to meet a pilot and collect a package. Retrieving the package went smoothly.

The first meeting between Diosa and the pilot, call sign Poet, proved problematic. Much to the pilot’s humiliation, Poet learned the new agent didn’t linger on problems. Warlock solved them in the most brutally efficient manner possible, then continued with the task.

Welcome to the unfit for duty team of Warlock and Poet. Originally published as Call Sign Warlock 2: Op File Treason.