Mission Log: AF3/1

Atari Force Special #1, main story
1986
"A Mercenary's Story"
21 pages

In the New Earth Military Academy, Dart prevents a cadet named Nancy from clubbing Dart's roommate, Dalia, during training exercises. Dart is put in the lock-up until Dalia explains what happened. As she and Dalia leave, they are jumped by Nancy and three friends. During the fight, Dart accidentally causes a cadet to fall off a balcony. Security appears and Nancy says she and her friends were the ones attacked. Dart and Dalia flee to Dart's parents. There, Hunter meets them along with Dart's parents and, out of the debt humanity owes the original Atari Force, proposes they fly to Sangfroid to join a mercenary squad rather than him arresting them. There they join Drago's mercenary school.

After several missions, for which they tattoo each other, Dart and Dalia are sent on a mission to protect a Kolb general from mercenaries hired by rebels. During the attack, Dalia is killed and Dart stays with her body until the battle is over. Blackjak happens by and Dart shoots his eye out, even though he's not threatening her. She comes to her senses and sees to his wound. Then she discovers Drago was sending his mercenaries to both sides. Dart and Blackjak return to Sangfroid 7, where Dart attacks Drago. Just as Drago is about to kill her, Blackjak comes to the rescue, but does no better than Dart due to the blaster dampening field in Drago's office. While Drago deals with Blackjak, Dart impales him from behind with a sword, killing him. Dart and Blackjak become partners.

Notes

None of the stories in AF3 list Conway, Thomas, and Garcia-Lopez as the creators of Atari Force.

Annotations

1. According to her fact file in AF2.03, Dart attacked a group of kids that taunted her about her illegitimacy (which her date of birth bears out) but here they're taunting her about her mutant genes.
2. This story serves to explain Dart's tattoos, how she and Blackjak met, and how Blackjak lost his eye.

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