A/N- Thanks to Dami-chan for the banner and the one for the prologue as well

 

Special Police DekaOps

1

 

He spent several long moments trying to decide if the insect in front of him had dots or dashes covering it’s body. Dashes meant he could eat it, he could eat the ones with the dots too, but he’d be throwing it up a few minutes later. What the hell, he as hungry and he couldn’t risk staying in the same spot for much longer. Dan snatched the bug off the tree quickly. Taking out his knife he cut the head off, he learned he couldn’t make a dent in its shell with his teeth the hard way. “Just like before,” he told himself, “do it just like a crawdad.” Dan put the shell to his lips and sucked the meat out. His face twisted at the taste, it did not improve over time but it was edible, that’s what counted. He rationed out the food stuff he was given at the start of the final exam as best he could. He ran out five days ago, even with mixing in whatever he could find out here in the jungle. And the final exam started three weeks ago by his estimation. He should have told Pierce no.

 

Dan looked at the sky, the first sun was just starting to set. It was going to be a couple of hours before the other one did the same. When they told him they were sending him here for additional training he was expecting some kind of police school, not one mixed in with the survival boot camp from hell. And what a final exam they were given, each “student” was given a backpack of supplies and the bare minimum of gear and told to out into this jungle. The objective was to survive and try to not get caught by the search parties for as long as possible. He could have done that back on Earth, at least there he didn’t have to worry about being eaten by the local plant life.

 

Time to move on. Digging a small hole he buried the shell and blended the dirt in as best he could. Keeping some loose dirt in his hands he rubbed it onto his face, his used to be blond hair and beard and his arms using the sweat to help it stick. Dan set off for what he guessed was south keeping careful attention to his surroundings. A sound made him duck down and he saw the source soon enough, a group of men in helmets and jungle uniforms. Another search party was sweeping the area. There were more and more of them these past couple of days. Slowly he moved away from where they were looking. What he wasn’t expecting was the group right behind him. He must be tired, he didn’t even see them. “There!”, one of the shouted as he pointed in his direction.

 

Dan ran into a dense patch of bushes. There was an open field not far from this location. He spent some time planting some foot trails there going in different direction. Hopefully it would confuse them long enough to buy him some time, but it was a gamble. One he lost because there was another party there waiting for him. “Damn it!”

 

“Attention!”, a voice barked out. Years of military training made him snap straight. A cat like creature named Mynx walked foreword smartly and stared him down. “What is this filthy slug my men have fished out of the jungle? Could this slug possibly be Daniel Stevens?”

 

“Sir, yes sir!”, Dan answered

 

“Did you think you were being clever human?”

 

“Sir, no sir!”

 

“You’re lying to me boy.”

 

“Sir, no sir!”

 

“If there is one thing I can’t stand it’s a liar.” He turned away from him and started walking the area looking at the ground. Every so often he would rub out one of the footsteps. “Did you honestly think this little trick would work?”

 

“Yes sir!”

 

“Finally we hear the truth. It apparently never crossed that tiny human mind of yours that this was the oldest trick in the book.” Dan couldn’t answer but he resisted the urge to look down. “Did I not say that the only way to pass this last test was to be one of the last five caught?”

 

“Sir, yes sir!”

 

Then the cat started eying his men, “Then can someone please explain to me how this lowly slug from Earth was the third to last one caught?” Dan looked at him in surprise after his head was finally able to process what was just said. He quickly went back to attention as Mynx turned around. “That’s right son, out of a class of twenty we set loose you are officially number eighteen.” He softened his tone, “Congratulation Stevens, you have passed the exam and passed the course.” His head started swimming as he took that in. He made it.

 

“Permission to fall on my ass sir!”

 

Mynx made this deep guttural type of sound that he learned to recognize as a chuckle, “Permission granted.” He fell on his butt and sat there breathing hard. “Help Stevens off with his pack.” A couple of Mynx’s men came up and took the pack from him. The cat continued, “This course was specifically designed by Commander Scorp to test the limits of the candidates both physically and mentally. He felt only those who could meet his standards were capable to lead. I must admit a lot of the beings here didn’t think you make it to the final exam. I am proud to say that I wasn’t one of them. Major Pierce helped design this program. If he thought you were up to the task than I had no reason to doubt you either.”

 

“Pierce had a hand in this hell hole? I thought some of it felt familiar.”

 

Mynx looked down at him for a long time. “For someone who was told they passed you don’t look all pleased Stevens.”

 

“I was hoping to outlast that damn lizard sir.” That damn lizard was a chameleon-sejin named Chatrox. Everyone had him pegged to pass this course with flying colors. And he let everyone know it every chance he got. He was also very displeased Dan was there, making snide remarks about the “lowly human”. A sentiment shared by several others as they gave Dan a wide berth whenever they could. He would have gave anything to show up the apparent ring leader.

 

“You did Stevens. Chatrox was the first one caught.” Dan looked up at him in disbelief. “We caught him sneaking back in a day after the exam started. He was trying to access SPD information from our computers. He was taken off planet to discover who he was doing it for and where he obtained his illegal genetic enhancements.”

 

“Now I’m confused.”

 

“He was able to turn invisible Stevens. That’s not natural, at most he should have changed his skin color to blend in with his surroundings. There is going to be hell to pay when Command figures out how he got this far.”

 

“Kicked out of SPD?” Mynx nodded. “Couldn’t happen to a nicer piece of filth.”

 

“Agreed.” Mynx extended a hand and helped him up. “A car will take you back to camp. You can clean up and rest for as long as you like. When you are ready a special meal from Earth will be prepared for you.” He made that chuckling sound again, “Commander Scorp may tell me how to treat you during the course but he said nothing about afterwards. I run my troops into the ground but I reward those who can meet or exceed my expectations.” He headed for a truck but stopped and looked at him, “Before I forget, Stevens welcome to SPD. Do us proud son.” Dan saluted him and followed one of the others to that car.

 

***

Two days later he was on the DekaSpaceBase, minus his electric razor. So he still had the beard because somebody was curious at how it worked and couldn’t put it back together. Right now Dan was still seeing spots after his retinal scan and was being directed to a hallway. Not the one that lead to the shuttle to Earth. No this one lead to another part of the DekaSpaceBase. “Now what?”, he muttered as he grabbed his duffel bag. A woman in a gray uniform with gold trim led him through the halls until she stopped in front of a door.

 

“He’s waiting for you in here sir.”

 

“Thank you.” She smiled, saluted him and walked off. The door slide open as he stepped forward to reveal a conference room of some sort. There was a long table with a briefcase on top of it, Pierce was standing in front of a window with Earth silently and slowly spinning in the background. The Major was wearing a black uniform with red trim. The SPD Earth symbol was visible on his right shoulder. Dan dropped his bag by the door as he walked over to him. “Captain Daniel Stevens reporting for duty sir.”

 

“At ease Dan.” After a moment he looked at him smiling, “Looks like the promotion suits you.”

 

“It was a bit of a surprise.”

 

“After going through that I thought you deserved it. So… did you have fun?”

 

“Did I have fun?”, Dan kept his voice level but the disbelief was still evident. “I was the only human out of a bunch of alien with abilities I didn’t think an organic being could have. I spent my days busting my ass to make sure I wasn’t left in the dust. Most of my nights were spent studying SPD procedure for any pop quizzes Mynx decided to drop on you. And I had to study what was what on that God forsaken planet to make sure I didn’t accidentally poison myself. And how in the hell did you sneak a turkey off planet?”

 

Pierce laughed, “Sounds like you had a blast.”

 

Dan grunted, “So says the man who helped design the damn program.”

 

“Found out about that huh?” He tapped his cane on the ground a few times before speaking, “This has been in the planning stages for awhile Dan. Scorp wanted something similar to what we do during basic. I was called in to supervise. I tried showing them how some things were done.”

 

“Is that what happened to your leg?”

 

Pierce smile saddened just a bit. “Let’s say I should have spent a little more time studying what was what on that planet.” He looked back out the window, slowly twirling his cane. “I’m glad we got this room,” he said softly. “This view reminds you what you’re fighting for.”

 

Dan stood next to him, “How bad are we talking here?”

 

“A lot has changed since you been gone Dan. There are nine Deka units now, from in the planning stages to fully active. That’s including ours.”

 

He whistled, “That’s a lot of teams. Any other planets have that many units?”

 

“To my knowledge most planets only have one. Hell if I know why these Alienizers find Earth so fascinating. Hopefully we’ll find out sooner or later.” Pierce walked away from the window and sat at the table, Dan followed suit.

 

“Has the alien arrived yet?” Dan assignment to the team was half of a compromise between SPD command and the US military. The other half was that an SPD officer from another planet would be part of the team. After six month of being the only human that was going to be interesting.

 

“From my understanding he’s still going through immigration at the moment. I have to say Dan, I’m really glad you passed. I’m afraid that if you didn’t Scorp would have tried to make a case to have a SPD officer lead the unit in the field. I’ll work with anybody but I rather have somebody I trust.”

 

“And trained personally,” they both laughed. “So I’m in command in the field? What kind of rejects am I in charge of?”

 

“There are no rejects in SPD Dan, outside of you of course.”

 

“Ha-ha.”

 

“Your designation on the team is Ops1.” Pierce opened the briefcase and handed him three files. “These are the other three fifth of the team.”

 

“Let’s see what I’m dealing with.” He opened the first folder. “Terry Kennedy, Ops2,” he read out loud. “Team’s weapons expert.” Mumbling a few things a line of info caught his attention, “The guy choose SPD over SWAT?”

 

—

There is a dark haired man in a shooting gallery. He’s wearing a uniform consisting of boots, black khakis and a black shirt. A blue star is on his right arm. He’s holding a D-shooter in one hand and his eyes are closed. Slowly he opens them and raised the D-shooter into firing position with both hands. Firing six times he hits a button that makes the target come to him. All six shots hit near the heart of the target. He smiles as he blows into the barrel of the gun.

 

—

“Bobby Parker, Ops4,” Dan continued. “Explosives and communications? You couldn’t afford two separate officers?” Pierce waved the comment off. “Bomb Squad experience, that makes sense. Spent time behind the radio telling officers of various reports that needed police. Either the guy talented or he’s split personality.”

 

—

A redheaded man in a black uniform with a yellow star is seen playing a video game. He’s wearing a head set talking to someone. Suddenly the character he was playing as dies in a hail of bullets. He takes the jabs from his opponent with good humor as he resets the game.

 

—

Dan opened the last file, “Trish Fieldman, Ops5. Pilot slash mechanic. Been flying since she was ten. Doing aerial work for the police for about a year.”

 

—

A young Korean woman who had her dark hair in a ponytail and a pink star on her arm is working on a black and white motorcycle. She scratched her cheek accidentally smudging her face with grease. Reaching for a wrench, she was surprised that it wasn’t there. Searching the nearby area she finds it on a table behind her.

 

—

Dan gives the files back to Pierce. “They look qualified, I’m hoping they been working as a team.”

 

“No official assignments as of yet. I wanted the full team ready first. But they’re gelling nicely in the drills I’ve been putting them through.”

 

“Ugh,” Dan groaned, “I don’t even want to think of the about the tortures you thought up with this at your disposal,” he motioned to the room. “It’s giving me nightmares and I’m still awake. How do you think they’re going to handle two new elements in the mix?”

 

“We’re all professionals Dan, they’ll adjust to it. Of course some of us might avoid adjusting for as long as possible.” He looked right at Dan as he said that. Before Dan could respond the door beeped. “That should be Ops3.” A few seconds later the door slide open again. A humanoid walked in, he looked a little like a brown cricket with a mouth to Dan. Both of them stood up for the new arrival. “Ranzack?”, Pierce asked.

 

“Yes Major Pierce,” he said. Pierce and this Ranzack shook hands. Then they turned toward him. “Hello,” the alien said as he held out his three fingered hand. There was a calmness to this one that the others on Nagaus 7 didn’t have. Dan took his hand readily. “And you are, if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

“Dan Stevens.”

 

“It is a pleasure to meat you Dan Stevens. I’m sure it will be a pleasure to work beside you as well.”

 

“I’m… sure.”

 

“Ranzack is going to be the team medic,” the Major told him.

 

Dan tried to keep the surprise from his face. “Yes, I am a trained Shalimon on my home planet. I believe the closest word in your tongue is healer priest. I’ve been finishing my studies on human medical treatments while undergoing my SPD training.”

 

“Your training had to be easier than mine. So when do we get back planet side?”

 

“Our shuttle to Earth is ready to go at anytime. Think of it as one of the perks to the job.”

 

***

A jeep took them from the shuttle landing pad to an old one story building a few miles away. Very few people were around as they entered the building. Pierce kept going until they reached a section of wall near the back of the place. He stood in front of it and a section slide to the side revealing an elevator a moment later. “That’s where the money for the comm officer went,” Dan mumbled. Ranzack looked at him funny. The three of them entered the elevator and the doors closed automatically. A few seconds later they open back up into an octagonal room. A rail in the center of the room separated the floor with a table that was on a lower section. A woman in a white coat with the SPD badge on her front pocket rose from that table to greet them.

 

“Major, welcome back,” she said as she walked to them. “Ranzack,” she nodded and took his hand. He lowered his head slightly in return. “Capt. Stevens,” she said to him.

 

“Ma’am,” he replied.

 

Pierce introduced her, “This is Michelle Chavez. She’s our information officer. There’s nothing she can’t find.”

 

“Major Pierce has told me a lot about you Captain,” Michelle told him. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

 

“Lying about me already huh?”, he shot a look at Pierce.

 

“Give a stack of bible and the almighty as a witness and I will swear that everything I’ve said was the truth. Besides,” he added, “any lie would only make you look better than what you are.”

 

“Why would the Major lie about you?”, Ranzack asked.

 

“We’ve known each other a long time,” Dan replied. “Too long sometimes.”

 

“Michelle would you call for the others.”

 

“Sure thing Major,” she returned to the table and pressed a button. Her voice could be heard over the PA system. “Will the field team come to the Command Room please.” After a few moments the three other members came in through one of the doors on the far side. They surprised Dan by falling in rank.

 

“Men,” Pierce started, “these two are the ones we’ve been waiting for. Try not to break them before the first assignment,” he grinned.

 

“Sir,” the one he recognized as Terry spoke up, “It’s an honor to meet you.”

 

Dan looked them over, “I’m assuming the Major told you about me as well?”

 

“He told us a couple of stories,” Bobby told him. “A couple of real embarrassing ones too.”

 

“Boomer”, Terry said out of the side of his mouth.

 

“Boomer?”, Dan said looking at them.

 

“I thought his name was Robert,” Ranzack wondered out loud.

 

“A nickname,” Pierce informed him. “All of these guys have one. They usually answer to that instead of their own name.”

 

“They call me Dead-Eye,” Terry said, “or D.E. for short.”

 

“Ace,” Trish added.

 

“We’re going to have to come up with some for these two,” Pierce said while patting Ranzack on the shoulder.

 

“We can always call the Captain ‘Cap’,” Michelle said with a smile.

 

“I’ve been called worse.” Dan readjusted the duffel on his shoulder. “Is there anywhere I can store this?”

 

“I’ll show you,” Trish volunteered. “Follow me please.” She gestured toward the door she and the others came from. “This hallway leads to one of the living areas of the base. Coming to an intersection she pointed down one hall. “The rec room is down that way along with the door leading to the gym. The living quarters are over here. Each room has a shower unit installed. The restrooms are those doors at the end of the hall,” she pointed to a series of doors. One had a male figure on it and a second had a female. The door that grabbed his attention was the one with an alien on it.

 

“I don’t even want to know,” he ended up saying out loud.

 

“Know what?”, Ranzack asked

 

“Nothing.” He noticed that the doors lining the side had names on them. Well four of them did at the moment. Two had had spots for one but they were currently vacant.

 

“We got a small support crew here,” Trish continued. “About twenty people tops.”

 

“Do they have their own quarters as well?” Ranzack inquired.

 

“In a separate part of the base. But all the outer section are connected. Major Pierce wanted it that way. Something about keeping traffic in the Command Room to a minimum.”

 

“Makes sense.” Dan looked at the two doors then over to Ranzack, “You want first pick?”

 

“It does not matter to me Captain Stevens.”

 

“Alright,” Dan took the door at the far end of the hall. The room was pretty plain. Grey walls with a couple of selves, a closet and a bed. All he needed really.

 

“I’ll let you two rest up,” Trish told them. “If you want I’ll give you the nickel tour later.”

 

“I look forward to it,” Ranzack told her.

 

“Cool,” she said with a grin. “Oh and somebody will be by in a bit with your uniforms. See you guys later.”

 

“Definitely not Army,” Dan mumbled after the door closed. He dropped his duffel onto the bed and stood there. Noticing one of the closet doors had a mirror he took a long look at himself. “Then again this isn’t the Army is it?” His reflection didn’t answer back. After a couple of more moments he started to unpack. He was assigned to do a job and he intended to do it.

 

***

Ranzack was given a uniform with a green star. The four of them stood around the Command Room. Major Pierce was shooting a look at the field team quarters door every so often. Michelle wasn’t paying them any attention, but she was keeping an eye on a news feed that was on her monitor. “How much training did you need to do to get this position Ranzack?”, D.E. asked to break the silence.

 

“I’ve been studying the medical practices of several planets for several years now. Most Shalimon on my planets look down on such a practice. Other, like myself, feel we are not so wise that we cannot learn something new.”

 

“So how did you end up in this then,” Ace asked. “If I was interested in medicine a police unit would be the last place I’d be.”

 

“True,” he agreed, “I was finishing up my studies on your medicine when I joined SPD.” He lowered his head before continuing, “I am a bit of an anomaly among my cast because I see the Alienizers as an illness on this universe.”

 

“So you’re going to try to cut it out,” Boomer chimed in.

 

“In a manner of speaking. I asked for some of the Great Spirit wisdom to guide me in my decision. It lead me to join SPD and ultimately this unit.”

 

“Great Spirit?”, D.E. leaned against the railing. “Oh, I can see you and me are going to have some interesting discussions.” Ranzack nodded.

 

“Would you stop worrying”, Michelle said low enough that only Pierce heard her.

 

“I’m not worrying,” he said, “just wondering.”

 

“If he’s anything like you said he was he won’t disappoint you.”

 

“And a person can change in six months.”

 

“Did he seem different when you picked him up?”

 

“Not that I noticed.” The door to the field team quarters opened up and Dan walked out. He was wearing the same black uniform as the others, his right arm carrying a red star. He also shaved that beard off his face. They all noticed the determined look in his eyes that wasn’t there before. Now that was the soldier he remembered. The other four snapped into attention.

 

“You know Captain,” Boomer said, “not a whole lot of guys can pull that look off. But you do it beautifully.”

 

Dan gave him a dead serious look, “Do you think you’re funny?”

 

Boomer stammered,” I… I used too.”

 

“Damn, we’re probably gonna need a good laugh after some of these missions.” Boomer wasn’t sure how to respond.

 

“I hate it when you do that,” Pierce told him. Dan let a small smirk escape before covering up. “Fall in troops,” he ordered. The five of them got in line. “Before we get started we still need to equip our newest members. Michelle, would you do the honors?”

 

“Of course.” She pulled two devices off the table. They were black with a white front and SPD in black letters. There was a lever on the side with Change, Phone and Judgment also written in black. “These are your Opslicenses,” she handed one to Dan and Ranzack. “You are to carry these at all times, in uniform or not. Just so you know the Judgment mode on these is an altered version than the ones the other units have.”

 

“Altered how?”, Dan asked.

 

“On the other units circle means innocent and x means guilty,” she told him. “On these circle me apprehend the target. You bring them in no matter what they’ve done. They might have information we need. X means eliminate the target. That one speaks for itself.”

 

“Thank you Michelle.” Pierce stood before them and looked each one in the eye. “You are now part of a special unit. You are the DekaRanger Covert Operation Team, or DekaOps. You are to do the jobs the other units can’t.” He pointed his cane at screen with a map on it. The map was color coded to show which unit covered which area. There was a whole lot of white on that map. “As of now the only ones who know we exist are SPD command and the commanders in each region. We’ll do what we can here in the states. But if ordered we will go into an unprotected area on a moment’s notice. If needed we will go into an area already protected by an SPD unit, but only, and I repeat ONLY, at the request of the area’s commander. Is that clear?”

 

“Yes sir!”, they responded in unison.

 

Dan stepped forward, “What is it Cap?”. Dan flinched slightly at being called that, but only he saw it.

 

“What if a case requires us to change regions?”

 

“Good question. If a lead goes to a region that is protected by an SPD unit then we are suppose to hand over all information relating to the case and let them handle. I don’t like it either but that is the mandate. If a lead from here points to an unprotected region than we ask permission from SPD command to follow up. And from what I understand, with our military ties, we’re going to need a damn good lead.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are not your standard police unit. There are going to be situation where we are going to have to get a little dirty. Command may not like it, but that is our reality. May God have mercy on our souls. Dismissed.”

 

They kind of broke up. D.E. and Boomer were making some small talk. Ace was pointing out the door that lead to the medical section for Ranzack. Dan looked at the license in his hand. He opened it up and stared at the black SPD badge on the inside. Closing it up he placed in it holster behind his back. Time to figure out what was what in this place.