"Well...well, actually..." Seb piped up, feeling his face reaching mercury-boiling temperatures, "Space is...infinite. So, technically, there's plenty of room for stealing. Like...like there's probably a universe where EVERYBODY steals. All the time. But, then, it wouldn't techically be stealing. But that's an anthropological perspective. Do we have an anthropologist?" he looked around, suddenly feeling like he'd dug too deep, "No? Oh...um...well, I mean..."
Malick looked unimpressed, "You're the funny one, huh?"
"Well, actually, I kinda have the market cornered on 'funny one'," before Seb could say anything, Dex had thrown his arm around his shoulder, "But good effort, man, really."
He smiled at him. Seb wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so he cleared his throat a fewe more times and nodded, smiling sheepishly.
"If you could all avail yourself to remember that you are highly trained professionals..."
"This guy's a professional?" Malick nodded to Dex, who smiled pleasantly, flipping him the bird behind him back and locking eyes with Seb, as if he were in on the whole thing.
Bingham continued, "...perhaps we can drop the middle school buffoonery and proceed with the task at hand."
She snapped her fingers, a razor-thin drawer sliding open in her desk to reveal four tablets, which she spread across the desk.
"Those are for your own perusal. I advise you all to take mental notes. Per company regulations, these will erase themselves at this briefing's conclusion."
---
Ethan scanned the several pages of company-standard legal jargon, most of which he had by now committed to memory.
"Top secret, huh?"
"In the extreme," Bingham replied, "As far as the rest of the world is concerned, this particular jump is no different from any other routine data-collection mission."
"But...but it is?" Leach practically squeaked. Ethan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Ma'am," Harkness began, "Don't you think, this mission being confidential, it would be best to have a more..." he looked over the team in a cursory manner, Ethan noting his attention lingered on Dexman and Leach in particular, "Experienced team?"
"I'm with SpecOps," said Ethan, "With all due respect."
"Captain Malick, with all the respect you pretend to be offerring me, I will remind you that I do ot make decisions of this manner...or of ANY manner...lightly. You four have been carefully vetted for your skills, your innate talent, your degrees of experience, and your personal idiosyncracy..."
"My personal what's-it-to-me?" Dex cocked an eyebrow.
"You are not just the BEST men for the job. You are THE men for the job. Unless any of you doubt your qualifications?"
---
Leach seemed to open his mouth as if to do just that, but he didn't. Teddy supposed that was to the good. The kid seemed way in over his head, but if he was as bright as Bingham claimed, he'd be invaluable to them. Never mind that he'd stood up for one of his teammates. That took a lot, especially for someone like THAT.
If Teddy felt unsure of ANYONE on this team it was the Captain himself. He'd gotten nothing from Malick thus far except an overbearing, even suffocating ego not befitting of an office floor manager, much less the captain of an interdimensional expedition.
But he would not question Bingham's decisions, much as he wanted to.
He continued to read through the table, paying careful attention to the section subheaded 'Mission Goals'.
"Extraction?" he asked, "As in...retrieval?"
"Exactly."
"That's against regulations, isn't it?" asked Seb, though he turned red again the moment they all turned to him, "I...I mean, wasn't their a U.N Resolution?"
"Federal ones too," said Teddy, "All foreign entities brought in from other dimensions have to be vetted before being admitted onto this one."
"I am well aware of the regulations, gentlemen. Trust that I would not be asking this if the matter weren't so urgent."
"Urgent...how?" asked Malick.
"You appreciate I cannot disclose such information."
---
"Yeah, um..." Dex piped up, not entirely liking this, "Question?"
"Feel free to ask it."
"Much as I like the whole 'Rage Against the Machine' thing, how are we supposed to bring anythin back if we don't know what we're looking for?"
"You'll know," she said plainly, "Whe you see it."
Dex wasn't convinced, looking around at the others, "I'm not the only guy thrown off by this, right?"
Harkness made a soft rumbling noise in his throat, but otherwise gave no indication of his feelings. Malick, his new best friend, gave a low, incredulous laugh.
Seb spoke up, in haltering tones, "This...item we're retrieving. There's a lot written here about radioactivity, volatility...is it..."
"We can take no chances. The item is very sensitive and likely IS radioactive. Or at least, it would be were it HERE. You've all had the same training."
Dex had a vivid recollection of sleeping with his head on a book of Quantum Theory, drooling all over equations. He somehow doubted he was as spruced on this stuff as Seb was, at least.
"You will go to the coordinates described in your briefing and you will retrieve the subject to be brought here."
"Easy as that?" Dex asked, smiling.
Bingham, to his surprise, returned the smile, "With your help, Mr. Dexman, it should be."
"Oh. Um. Wow. Okay, thanks..."
"Your designs?" she asked, as if speaking to a not-quite-there child.
"Oh," he nodded, "Oh, yeah. Right."
"You said you designed the recorder," said Seb, "I...um...I remember."
"I did, yeah. And...and a few other things," but modesty had never come easily to him, and he almost immediately added, "Yeah, it's all pretty awesome. You guys have to see it."
"A fair idea," Bingham got to her feet, "Shall we?"