“Sometimes, that’s clear to me,” Colleen said. “But a few times I remember feeling a sense of surprise associated with the experience. I would bet Terry sees that more often. That boy is quite imaginative, and he and Piper have made some very interesting discoveries. The other children we’ve found also seem to go in more odd directions. It might be something that has an idea of what it wants us to do, but it also seems willing to follow our lead, as well.”
“Keep up with your experiments,” Alex said. “I think this is something we should all do, and report our results to Colleen. Are you willing to head this up, grandma?”
Colleen nodded. “I think that would be good,” she said, then looked up at the dark clouds that were gathering above them. “We should probably go. I don’t want to be drenched.”
Her companions agreed, with all three of them paying their bills. They made their way toward their rental car, chatting softly about the events of the day. Johan had been buried in an old graveyard that held several generations of his family. For Alex, it was a strange thing to see a place that held so much history, morbid though it was. They had graveyards in the US, but only those on the East coast even approached the feel and weight of history that could often be found in Europe.
He was just thinking about one of Johan’s grandchildren, who showed a lot of promise in the area of Johan’s, and Alex’s, passion. She was still a teenager, but Alex had already spoken to the girl’s parents about having her attend schooling on Empyrean Island. They were just approaching the car when his watch beeped at him and hummed softly against his wrist.
“Sir,” came Aristotle’s voice from his wrist. As the technology progressed, Piper had been able to provide them with links to their DPA’s in other formats that would not attract so much attention. “I’m detecting a foreign signal coming from your car.”
Alex stopped, his mind flashing through various scenarios. Nathan had trained all of them to be aware of their surroundings, and that they would be a target for a variety of dangers. Especially since the launch of the unknown missiles at the Brokkr, it was clear someone was becoming more aggressive toward Empyrean. They were within about twenty feet of the car when Alex hissed softly. “Stop,” he said. “Turn around now and follow me. There’s a strange signal coming from the vehicle.
Helen and Colleen both gave him a look but didn’t argue as they started to walk away. Alex was already speaking quietly into his watch just in case someone was able to detect what they said. “Aristotle, can you put a call into Samantha Gonzales?”
“Yes, sir,” his DPA answered, then beeped softly for a few seconds. A moment later, a female voice with a light Spanish accent spoke from his watch. “Sir, are you okay? Aristotle just informed me it detected an odd signal from your car and you’re headed away.”
“We’re okay, but I have no idea what it could be. It might only be a tracking device or something.” Alex whispered. They turned back onto the main thoroughfare, but Alex wasn’t sure he was more or less comfortable with more people around. “Can you come pick us up?”
“Yes, sir. I have your location, and we’re on our way,” Samantha said. “I’d suggest heading into a restaurant or someplace with lots of people that are sitting down. Keep your eyes out; we’re about ten minutes away. I’ll keep this line open.”
“Gotcha,” Alex said, his eyes sweeping the street until he saw the entrance to a bistro. It wasn’t full, but it had enough people in it that they should be safe. Ushering the women toward the door, he asked for a seat at the back and away from the windows.
They had just taken their seat when Aristotle spoke again. “Sir, the signal that I have been tracking is moving away from the car and traveling in this direction.”
“Moving?” Alex asked incredulously. “Was someone in our car? I didn’t see anyone, but they could have been crouched down.
He heard Gonzales cursing on the other end of the line. “Change in plans. Leave the restaurant and keep moving. Go out the back. There’s no telling what it is, but if it’s someone wanting to kidnap you, they probably have a gun.”
They all heard the directions, so rose quickly and Alex grabbed a waiter, asking if they had a back door. His Danish was broken, but he’d learned enough of it over the years that he was able to get his question across. The man gave him an odd look, but after a moment he nodded and led them down a small hallway, then toward an exit door to a back alley.
“Thanks,” Alex said to the man, slipping him some money for his trouble before leading the group away. They worked their way down the narrow street, glancing back occasionally to see if anyone would come out of the same door. Suddenly, they heard the sound of an explosion from behind them. Despite the buildings in the way, they could feel the pressure wave travel over them, pushing them forward slightly but otherwise leaving them unharmed.
“What was that!?” Gonzales asked, her voice urgent.
Alex had stopped, and all three of them watched a column of greasy smoke rising from the direction they had come. There was also the sounds of distant screaming. “Oh, my God,” Colleen breathed. “Whatever it was just exploded. I think they set it off outside of the Bistro we just came from.”
“I’m almost there. Head toward the end of the alley and wait.” Gonzales instructed before Alex heard her gasp.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked, suddenly worried about her and her team.
“Yes,” Gonzales said softly. “We’re driving by the building. It was an explosive and… and it’s bad.”
Alex felt his face harden mirroring the same look on Colleen and Helen. The three of them moved to where Gonzales had indicated. Peeking out, they didn’t see anything at first, but a moment later a sedan came around the corner and moved toward them, stopping as a man got out of the passenger seat with a drawn gun. He kept his eyes moving around the street as Samantha Gonzales gestured for them to get into the back seat.
Quickly, the three of them dove into the back seat and shut the door. A moment later the other security guard returned to his seat, and the car roared off, heading directly for the airport.
“I’m glad we got you, sir,” Gonzales said as she moved at speed through the streets of Copenhagen.
“Me too,” Alex said, glancing back over his shoulder at the slowly rising cloud. People had died back there, and he was not happy about it. “Aristotle, get Nathan on the line.”
“Yes, sir,” the DPA’s voice responded.
Chapter 3
Time: April 11, 2030
Location: Empyrean Island, Pacific Ocean
“We’ve increased security at most of our worldwide locations,” Nathan said, pulling up a global hologram that gave high-level details of most of their companies and manufacturing plants. The large Australian pointed at the globe with a small, handheld device, highlighting several places in order. “These places are going to be tricky because they’re in or near population centers that still have primitive infrastructures. Makassar Indonesia, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, and Valencia Venezuela are three areas that I think will be easiest places to gain access.”
“Why those places?” Alex asked curiously.
Nathan shrugged. “We’re making a lot of progress with the locals in education, and we’re getting a lot of goodwill with building and maintaining numerous public projects, but governments there are still shaky, and there’s no way to reach a large majority of the population, especially outside of a certain radius. We still get a lot of distrust, and to me, that means there are lots of opportunities for someone to get close to our employees. We just don’t know what this shadow organization is after, except to hurt us.”
Alex breathed out a sigh, shaking his head. “Is there any hint at all who’s behind it?”
“Not yet. Piper has her computers searching anything she can hack into, but so far nothing. The missile parts we recovered from the ocean didn’t show much either. They were built with a variety of parts, from a variety of different countries, but nothing that would point to a particul
ar government or organization.”
“Have we been able to get anything on that bomb that went off in Copenhagen? Are the Danish police still being difficult?”
“Yes. Despite everything we’ve done, they’re still treating us like a company, and I don’t think we should push them. Doing so might make people even more nervous. Besides, Piper already slipped in and got their computer files, so we know what we need to know. It wasn’t a person that carried the bomb. It was some sort of remote-controlled mini-vehicle. My guess is that it was under your car, and whoever was controlling it just drove it up next to the bistro thinking you were still inside. I’m glad that Gonzales told you to get out of there, and out through the back.”
“Me, too. I’m sure we would have died if we’d stayed there,” Alex said. “I hope you promoted her.”
Nathan nodded, calling up another list on his hologram. “Yes, actually, I did. With our increased need for security, I’ve had to become aggressive in recruiting personnel from a variety of different areas.”
“Are you still focusing on militaries and special forces?”
“For the most part, but there’s a lot of police and law enforcement folks I’m looking at, too. I need to cover all the bases, but that brings me to another subject. Eventually, we’ll get big enough that I’ll have to start making divisions.” Nathan said. “I know you’ve been avoiding it, and I won’t push you, but have you looked at the file I sent you?”
Alex took another deep breath, not loving the subject. He was already out of sorts by having a permanent security detail assigned to him. There were two armed guards just outside the meeting room right now, waiting to follow him around like two dangerous Labradors. “Yes, I’ve read it. Several times, actually. You’re talking about making an army,” he said.
“You know it will be necessary,” Nathan replied. He didn’t say anything further, instead leaning back and giving Alex time to think.
The problem was, Alex did know it would be necessary, but he didn’t like it one bit. This was one aspect of their long-range plans he’d tried not to think about, and that he’d successfully managed to avoid for a while, but with the recent attack on their launch, and then the attempted assassination, he knew he couldn’t avoid it any longer. It didn’t help that his subconscious agreed with Nathan. Almost vehemently, it agreed with him which told Alex that whatever that strange force that was helping them, also believed they would need some sort of an armed force.
That worried him because he wanted to believe that a utopia-style world shouldn’t involve armed conflict. And what about power and its famed ability to corrupt? He knew, deep down, that their technological capabilities and discoveries were only increasing. How much farther in the future would they become more powerful than any single country? Or all of the nations? Once they had the capability, how would they avoid using it except in the direst situations? What would happen if they abused all of that power?
“How are we going to avoid becoming the monsters?” Alex asked, his voice filled with trepidation. “Once we have the tools, what’s to stop us from using them?”
He didn’t expect Nathan to speak so quickly, but the head of his security didn’t hesitate to answer. Leaning forward, the big man gave Alex a serious look. “Vigilance, education, and most importantly, accountability. Believe it or not, Alex, most militaries wrestle with exactly this issue. Not everyone succeeds, but anyone who’s ever sectioned off a portion of their people and armed them has had to think of this. It’s an important question, but we aren’t starting from scratch.”
“I saw the code of conduct,” Alex said, nodding thoughtfully. “I thought it would be a bigger file.”
“It should be, and should be more thorough, but that’s something else I haven’t mentioned. We’ll need to hire my replacement.”
“What? Are you leaving us?” Alex asked.
“Not a chance!” Nathan said, grinning at Alex’s upset face. “I wouldn’t miss this party for the world, not to mention getting to play with all the cool toys. This has been the best job I’ve ever had, and I look forward to more of it. However, when we grow to a certain size, I am going to be out of my element. You’re going to need a whole staff full of people dealing with different aspects of running an armed force. I’m going to only be good for one part of that.”
Alex sighed softly. There was a part of him that regretted this, but he knew that Nathan was right. They’d already begun to develop armored combat suits that were a few generations better than what most countries could field and an assortment of non-lethal weapons. The EMP turrets were one of the larger forms of that, being designed to destroy weapons systems rather than kill the people behind them. “I assume you’ve already started sourcing people you have in mind?”
“A few,” Nathan said. “I might also suggest talking to General Solmon if he has any suggestions or ideas on personnel.”
“Won’t that make the US military nervous?” Alex asked.
“Yep. It sure will, but there’s no way they won’t notice us recruiting personnel from around the world. I think the General will appreciate having a hat in the ring, but we need to make sure we don’t focus all of our attention on America. We need to tap a lot of different countries so that no one thinks we’ll be a particular nations tool. We’re already doing that with employees and security personnel, and it will help with our armed forces, as well.”
“All right, Nathan. I think if we don’t start thinking about it, someone will come along and make us regret it,” Alex said. “I’ll greenlight your efforts, just keep me in the loop. I want to be involved in this.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thanks, Alex.” Nathan said before standing up.
Alex followed him out, trying not to notice the two security guards that followed him as he moved down the hallway. He still wasn’t used to it and didn’t know if he ever would be. In effect, Alex and Nathan had just agreed to do the same thing with the entire company, and he hoped he hadn’t made a terrible mistake. However, something deep within himself said he hadn’t, but he was trying not to listen to it.
Chapter 4
Time: May 20, 2030
Location: Type 2 (Regional headquarters) system -Ogatragaton – Jezerine sub-sector, on course for Zeinbrikka corporate headquarters.
Tur Galon woke, feeling the rejuvenation cocktail of chemicals bursting and bubbling throughout his system. It was terrible, and he always felt like worms were crawling around underneath his skin. For a moment, he just lay there in misery before a sudden urge grabbed his attention. His clawed hand swiped futilely toward the stasis canopy release handle while the other one shot to his mouth, trying desperately to keep his stomach contents in but it was too late.
Before he could successfully open the canopy, he vomited all over himself, coating his burgundy fur with something that couldn’t possibly be his last meal. He hadn’t eaten for almost two and a half years. He still had never received a suitable answer as to why, or what, he threw up whenever he exited stasis. Those thoughts passed through his head for a brief moment before he blacked out, once again slipping into unconsciousness. Again.
Fortunately, he was only out for a few moments, waking up once again as the canopy was lifted with two techs looking down on him. Both of the males were doing their very best to ignore the fact that the head of their family was covered in vomit, though one did reach forward with a vacuum pump, handing it to him without a word.
Without acknowledging the tech, Galon quietly began to run the machine over his matted fur, gathering up the majority of the goo, but knowing he would have to cleanse himself more thoroughly once he was done. He had installed a cleansing unit in his stasis area for just that reason, feeling that avoiding having most of the crew see him stalking through the ship’s corridors covered in stomach refuse was worth the extra cost.
There had to be perks for being the head of the family, after all.
A short while later, he was cleaned, dressed in a fresh, gold-and-black t
ightrobe, and sipping on a bottle of kuul. The drink was somewhat alcoholic, but he’d found that helped him recover after stasis and made him more alert in the process. Sometimes it also made his eyeballs tingle, too, but other than that pleasant sensation, it didn’t affect him overly.
Once he was ready, he moved to his work cabin and sat at his desk, taking a moment to look out of the large window that showed the busy system of Ogatragaton. It was the regional capital in the Jezerine section of the Union and also the Jezerine home planet. A type two system, it was the most built-up type of systems that could be found outside of the core. There were hundreds of large, visible stations orbiting the main planet with all manner of civilian craft moving between them, and out to the other settled planets in the system.
The many craft were far too numerous to count, and those were just the ones in visible range. The mass of ships stretched out like grains of sand, surrounding every settled planet and between. It was a nightmare of organization, which sometimes stressed even the army of shackled AI’s and other entities who were tasked with making sure everything flowed smoothly.
There were also a number of system security vessels, both large and small, but all of them were put to shame by seven colossal Union battlecruisers, and one even more massive battleship, along with their forty or so support vessels They occupied a part of space that was kept clear of traffic, with a traffic lane directly out of the area in case they needed to respond to something quickly.
There were a total of twenty battlecruisers in the regional fleet and two battleships, but most of them were kept touring between the various planets in the Jezerine nebula. They were on a regular schedule, so no system was without a military ship, but they didn’t stay in the same system for more than two years. Any longer, and a planet and a ship’s captain may become too comfortable with each other, leading to corruption.
Solan eyed the big ships jealously for a moment, wishing that his civilian mining ships could be outfitted with their much faster military-grade scan drives. However, he understood why they kept that advantage. In case something happened, it let them respond much faster, and have a great deal more versatility than anyone with just a civilian level drive. They could cover an astounding thirty lightyears in a year, which made his own seven lightyear speed laughable by comparison.
Empyrean Rises Page 11
