Darien folded his arms and stared hard at Smith as the others filed reluctantly out of the room. Once they were alone Smith turned on the data pad and slid it across the table. He considered the pad for a moment then reached forward to examine its contents. He felt his temper rising as he looked at the screen. He'd suspected Smith's reason for making him remain behind, but being right about it didn't make him any happier.

The screen displayed the dossiers of three Blink operatives and from the dates Darien could see they were new recruits, individuals coming to the end of their training period. They would soon be getting assigned to Blink Squads in field operations. He could see the writing on the wall, and it made him seethe inwardly. He put the data pad down and glared across the table.

"So, is this what it looks like?" he asked bluntly. "Last time I checked Uther was still alive and kicking, and part of my team."

Smith sighed. "Darien, I understand how you feel, but Uther is combat ineffective. He will not be fit for duty again for at least another three months."

"So we'll go with five."

"No, I cannot sanction sending your team out on a mission of this importance while you are undermanned. An active Blink Squad requires at least two operatives with a technical rating of B or higher. You only have one."

"Then why did you call us back in?" he demanded. "Send another team, one that is at full strength if it matters so damn much."

"Because I want you there, Darien, you. Your team stopped that creature on Titan Aquilla – you did what a highly trained scientific expedition, a platoon of marines and an entire Blink squad could not. You are the best operatives we have. Out on Marianas you will personally be in full operational command of every single Blink asset, but I won't send you out there an operative short – not when there are perfectly capable temporary replacements for Uther waiting." He pointed to the data pad. "These three make up a short list for you to pick from. I need your decision before you leave this room."

Darien closed his eyes for a moment, trying to keep reign on his anger. As far as he was concerned they had a full team and looking over this group of rookies made him feel like he was stabbing Uther in the back. Rationally he knew the fresh crop of recruits needed to cut their teeth somewhere, but normally they would be filled into already vacant positions, or formed into 'shadow' squads of new operatives and paired with a veteran team. They would not be thrown into such an important mission or rail-roaded into the top squad on the station.

"With respect, sir, the reason my team is the best is because we work well together. When Amber was brought on board we had months for her to integrate before we went on operations together. You can't just land me with a new operative fresh out of the gate and expect them to work effectively with us. Cohesion takes time."

"I know that, better than most," Smith replied. "But these three are good operatives already. They have the highest test scores, the best combat ratings; given the chance they will be the basis for the next generation of operatives, the foundation for new teams. In order to do that, however, they need to see the best in action. Theory is all well and good, but the top operatives are the sum of their experiences." He relaxed back into his chair and clasped his hands together. "I'm more than willing to argue about this with you until the universe collapses in on itself, but this is not a request. We can waste each others' time for as long as you think is necessary, or you can look at those dossiers and make a decision."

It took every ounce of self control Darien had to stay seated and not storm out of the room. For a moment all he could do was sit there, glaring at the head of Blink operations as he tried to think. He'd been backed into a corner. His right hand clenched involuntarily into a fist and he leaned forward, pulling the data pad towards him to scan the dossiers again.

His eyes narrowed as he examined the three operatives Smith had provided. None of them were older than fifteen, fresh-faced teenagers straight out of the station training blocks. Looking over each one he saw quickly that Smith had not been exaggerating their credentials. All of them sported impressive ratings in combat, technical skills and Blink travel – some of the most promising he'd seen for a long time. The last operative with such skills was already part of his squad.

"How long have they been qualified?" he asked.

"They all passed for active service between two and four months ago."

Darien frowned and flicked his finger over the first dossier, zooming in to view it in its entirety. The first: Elias Graden, fifteen and hailing from the Sol System itself, specifically one of Jupiter's cloud-locked city stations. His scores in the tests were beyond question but something gave Darien a moment of pause. His picture showed a dark haired youth with features that bore an almost axe-like quality. Darien knew what it was that filled him with apprehension: the newcomer looked like Seb, the operative whose body had been re-purposed into a killing machine by the alien entity on Titan Aquilla. The rest of the squad would be on edge enough without having a reminder of their last summit grade mission tacked on against their will.

Shaking his head, he moved on. The next was a girl, Alicia Dantinov, another stellar candidate from Taurus IV. It was like looking at a piece of walking perfection to the point where it seemed almost engineered. She was tall, with long, golden hair that came down over her shoulders, stunningly bright blue eyes and a figure that would have put a fashion model to shame. If nothing else she would be downright distracting. Trying to look past her appearance, he saw a couple of blips in her history that set off red flags in his mind. She had clashed with instructors more than once during her training. That hadn't stopped her scoring highly in all aspects, but it showed a challenge to authority that he didn't like. He locked horns with Smith regularly, but he'd been an operative for years and proved his worth dozens of times. Whatever this girl thought she knew, rookies didn't have that kind of leeway.

Strike two. An unhealthy feeling settled in Darien's stomach as he realised he may well be landed with a new team member that he definitely didn't want. With a sigh of dread he flicked to the third dossier.

The final new operative was the youngest, barely fourteen and exactly two months qualified for field operations. On the screen a portrait showed a cheery looking teenager with brown hair clipped short to just below her ears: Kelsey Brannigan – she was only one in the trio that caught his interest, simply because of where she came from. While the previous potential replacements came from well established colonies with decades of development and terraforming behind them, Brannigan's home was altogether more colourful. Vuntaar was a hard world populated by hard people; a frontier colony characterised by freezing temperatures, fierce blizzards and big predators. Growing up there guaranteed a degree of survival skills by necessity.

He looked over her file. Her technical rating was a high B, slightly lower than the others, but she made up for it with exemplary combat scores. The girl could hit virtually anything with a lance-carbine. They weren't categorically expecting a fight, but over his years as an operative he'd learned that it paid to be ready for anything. He flicked through her background records that Blink had compiled – an alarmingly comprehensive account of her life.

She lost her mother at the age of nine, ripped to pieces by one of the local carnivores that hunted on the ice wastes. It was not an uncommon fate among the colonists, but he didn't doubt it had left the young Kelsey Brannigan with a heavy burden to bear. The fact she'd borne it without missing a beat was the first characteristic that marked out a Blink operative – her ability to reign in her emotions in the face of horrific experience. From then she grew into a rough, half-schooled engineering prodigy working on the reactors and shields on Vuntaar. She was a tough kid and most importantly, knew not to pass up a good thing. She worked tirelessly under the instructors to head the newest crop of recruits.

Darien rubbed his chin, staring at the girl's dossier. The paperwork looked attractive, but paperwork guaranteed nothing. There was still every possibility that when faced with the unknown, with the world Blink existed in, she could buckle. It was a chance Smith was forcing him to take and he didn't like it.

"Brannigan," he said at last.

"Very well." Smith smiled and straightened up in his seat. "I'll send her-,"

"I'm not finished," Darien snapped, cutting him off. "I want to meet her before I sign off on this. I want her in this room, right now."

Smith stared at him for a moment, then gave the slightest incline of his head. He tapped the transparent communications piece in his left ear. "This is Smith. Please locate Operative Kelsey Brannigan and have her brought to briefing room three immediately." Then he leaned back again and looked Darien in the eye. "I'm on your side, you know."

"That may be, but it doesn't feel like it."

They sat in silence for a long four minutes and fifty-two seconds before the briefing room door slid open again, revealing Kelsey Brannigan being escorted by one of the station's administrative personnel. She stepped over the threshold and hesitated for a moment when she saw who was waiting for her.

"Take a seat, Miss Brannigan," Smith said, gesturing to the table.

She did as she was bidden, and Darien saw her eyes dart over to the data pad. Instantly her jaw tightened when she saw what was on it. As she sat he swivelled in his chair to face her, folding his arms and looking her up and down. She matched her picture on the dossier in every detail, although right now she looked ill-at-ease. He didn't exactly blame her for that, however.

"Miss Brannigan, this is Darien Flint, head of Hammerhead Squad."

Kelsey gave him a sharp nod of acknowledgement but said nothing.

Darien frowned. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Yes, sir."

Sir? He fought down the urge to smile. It had been a long time since another operative actually treated him as a superior officer. The Blink Squads were not military units – they operated more loosely than that.

"My name is Darien," he said. "We need someone to temporarily fill a vacant position in my squad until Uther is fully recovered. You made the top of a short list."

"That's good to hear, si- Darien." She bit her lip and he saw the faintest tinge of red in her cheeks. She glanced furtively at Smith then back to him.

"I'm going to ask you one question, Kelsey, and I want you to think carefully before you answer me." He leaned forward, locking his eyes on to hers. "My team is the best. We are the best because we work as a single unit and we don't break under pressure. This is an important operation. We don't know what we're going to find down there and I need to know that I can rely on every single operative who's going in there with me. So, Kelsey, I need to know, are you ready to do this?"

The girl held his gaze for a long moment. Then she took a deep breath, visibly relaxing. "Yes, I am."

Darien leaned back in his seat again. Confidence, but not arrogance, just what he wanted to see. Only time would tell if his choice proved to be the right one, but for now he was satisfied he'd done everything he could.

Firing Smith an icy look, he turned back to his new recruit and stood up. "Good enough for me. Come on, Kelsey. Time for you to meet the rest of Hammerhead Squad."