by Jan Domagala
“What do we do in the meantime?” Kurt asked.
Sinclair looked at him then at Zara. “I would like to know a little more of young Miss Hardy’s miraculous escape from Toldax,” he said with a smile.
Kurt knew this was the opportunity that Sinclair had been waiting for to learn just how successful the serum administered to him had been. Now Zara had handed it to him on a plate and there was nothing he could do to prevent the truth coming out. His whole body tensed up in readiness for the revelation that was about to be uncovered.
“I have no idea sir. I presume that the plasma bolt didn’t kill me, obviously. I must’ve been covered by rubble that somehow protected me from the explosion when the facility blew up. When I woke up I was aboard a starship so I can only presume that whoever found me administered medical aid because any injuries had vanished,” Zara said.
Kurt looked at her with surprise. He somehow kept his facial expression neutral so he didn’t give anything away.
“They must have put her in a medical coma so that her body would heal itself,” Vance said.
“Yes that way her body would not register the trauma she had undergone,” Torres added.
“Makes sense sir,” Cooper said.
“What else could it be, I mean the alternative is that her body regenerated itself. We all know that’s not possible, don’t we?” Jake said and the glance they all gave Kurt did not go unnoticed by Sinclair.
He looked at each and every one of them then glanced down at his table. When he looked up once more it was with some disappointment. He said, “Yes we all know that is not possible.”
Kurt relaxed then, it seemed for a moment then his secret was about to be revealed; a secret he shared now with the woman he loved. It was also a secret that his friends knew about and one that they seemed willing to keep also.
“Well I think you’ve all earned a spot of rest. I suggest you all grab a bite to eat and some sleep before the debriefing sessions. I’ll schedule them to start tomorrow, for now people, well done,” Sinclair said.
Kurt said, “C’mon guys, let’s go before he changes his mind.” and he led them all out leaving Sinclair to ponder at how close he had come to learning the truth about Kurt.
18
Kurt came awake and his first thought was of Zara Hardy. They had shared a meal together after leaving Sinclair’s office and they had talked long after. When they realised the time they left the restaurant and he showed her to the quarters that had been allotted her for the duration of her stay on base. She had invited him in for a drink which he gladly accepted.
They talked long into the night about their days in Recon Delta, about training, about everything and anything except what had happened to them both. That was the one subject they skirted around and later when he returned to his own quarters he could not think of one reason why.
He checked the time and called her quarters to see if she was awake.
“Hey you,” she replied, her voice husky from sleep. The sound of her voice sent a warm tingle through his body which settled as a flutter in his stomach.
“I was wondering if you’d like to grab some breakfast?” he asked.
“I’d love some. Give me about fifteen minutes to take a shower and make myself beautiful for you then I’ll meet you in the canteen, okay?” she said.
“I’ll see you there in fifteen, and you already are beautiful,” Kurt said then closed the connection. As he made his way to the shower his step was lighter than normal.
*****
Norsky came out of his quarters and returned to the bridge a few hours after they had arrived at the Tartaran security perimeter. He had not heard any news of the samples being transferred to their starship since their arrival and was wondering what the holdup was.
“Any news on the transfer?” he asked as he entered the bridge. Hermes was still where he had left him standing in the centre of the bridge looking at the forward viewscreen. The other clones remained at their respective stations and continued with their duties.
Hermes turned to face him and said, “They’re docking as we speak.”
“That’s good then. We can return to, where is it you’re taking these samples?” he said suddenly realising he didn’t know what they actually intended, just that they had designs on the destruction of Col Sec.
“Earth, we’re taking them to Earth,” Hermes said turning back to the forward viewscreen.
Norsky felt like he was being dismissed as inconsequential, which was something he was not going to let pass him by without saying or doing something about.
He walked up to Hermes and stood right behind him. He clamped a hand on his shoulder and spun him around with surprising strength. As the clone faced him his eyes went wide with surprise and sudden anger. Before he could raise his fist to strike Norsky reached up and grabbed him by the throat extending his arm which stretched the clones’ neck making him stand on his tip toes. He tried to prise Norsky’s hand free with both of his but failed to even get a good grip.
“I think it’s time you showed me some respect. Without my invaluable aid you would not have been able to carry out this portion of your mission so when I ask a question it’s only polite to offer up an answer,” Norsky said through gritted teeth.
He released him before other clones came to his aid. “What do you want to know?” Hermes asked.
“What are these samples you’ve had brought on board and what do you intend to do with them”
“They are creatures from the planet below, creatures with a propensity for violence. Our intention is to set them loose within Col Sec HQ and wait for them to kill everyone there,” Orion said.
“And how the hell do you plan on getting them inside Col Sec HQ, you’ll be shot down before you get within landing range?”
“You’ve been away for some time Captain but let me assure you that we’ve taken steps to ensure that our plan will succeed. If you bear with us for a little while longer all will be revealed.”
Norsky looked around the bridge and saw that all eyes were on him. He had to admit that he was intrigued once more. They had persuaded him to help them with the lure of the destruction of Col Sec now he hoped they would fulfil that bargain and carry out their plan.
“Okay then, I’ll wait a while longer but this had better be worth it,” he said.
“Trust me Captain, it will, you have my word,” Hermes said with a smile.
*****
As Kurt and Zara were just finishing off their breakfast they both received a call through their NI’s from General Sinclair.
“Please report to my office immediately,” he said.
The two of them looked at each other and by the tone of Sinclair’s voice they knew it was bad.
They got up and left the canteen without a word. The canteen was on the floor above Sinclair’s office so they went straight to the elevator and rode it down to Level Ten. When they entered Sinclair’s office everyone else was already there. They were standing around the desk and facing the rear wall where a monitor was displaying an image of a news feed.
“What’s going on?” Kurt asked as they entered.
Matt turned to look at them and his expression told them more than any amount of words ever could.
“This came in on every news feed available and it went straight on to the GalaxyWeb,” Sinclair said as he also turned to look at them.
“Computer replay news feed,” he said as he returned his attention to the monitor screen.
The image on the screen restarted and showed a young woman standing on the steps in front of the MaxCorp building. Arrayed before her was a set of microphones and cameras to collect and record the event.
The young woman was easily recognised as the woman Matt saw killed in front of him, Tanya Wilde, the daughter of Jonas Wilde, the brains behind OMEGA.
“I’ve come here today to right a wrong and to clear my father’s name. A few weeks ago an attack on the Colonial Confederation Headquarters was perpetrated by an enem
y force you called OMEGA. It was claimed that my father, Jonas Wilde was in charge of this group and therefore was guilty of this atrocity. No one stood up for him, it was claimed that he used resources from MaxCorp to fund this group and that Maxwell Eisenhower was unaware of all this. It was in fact Eisenhower who was guilty of all the crimes laid at my father’s feet. It was in fact Eisenhower, not my father who used his own corporation to fund this OMEGA group. Eisenhower killed my father when he learned of what he was doing. My father tried to get Eisenhower to stop his plan and when he wouldn’t my father threatened to inform the authorities. That was what got him killed.
“My father told me all this before he was killed but I was away and couldn’t get back in time. I had arranged to come home when the attack happened and my flight was delayed. Then I heard all the claims about my father that were flying about and I remained away until I could gather the proof.” she said.
A voice from out of camera shot asked, “What is this proof you’re talking about?”
“I have a call log of my father’s last call to me informing me of Eisenhower’s plan. It disagrees with the report from your General Sinclair of Col Sec. It proves that my father was innocent of all the claims against him and refutes General Sinclair’s claim. If he claimed to be an eye witness to the actions he described you must ask yourself if he was somehow complicit in any of it,” she replied.
“Are you accusing General Sinclair of being involved in the attack on his own HQ?” asked the reporter, his tone telling everyone of his disbelief.
“I would never accuse anyone, all I ask is for an investigation by an independent authority be undertaken, only then will the truth be found,” she said, then holding her hand up to stem any further questions she said, “I’ve been asked to take over control of MaxCorp in the meantime by the Board of Directors to which I have agreed. I must inform you now that MaxCorp has ceased production of all products under contract to Col Sec, until further notice. The decision to renew any contracts to them will depend upon the verdict of the enquiry I have asked for. Production to our other customers will go ahead without further disruption.”
That was the end of the transmission and the screen went blank leaving the room in silence.
“Now we know,” Kurt said.
19
OMEGA command was at a secret location known only to those who had business there. It was a sprawling complex built deep inside of a warren of caves on the planet RH426. It was a barren world, the ‘RH’ stood for Roger Humphries, the astronomer who discovered the planet during the early years of the colonisation program. It was basically a huge rock floating around an S type star (S as in Sol, our own Sun). It had no indigenous life but, at one time did wield an astonishing variety of rare earth elements used in propulsion systems for starships from that time and was just ripe for mining. The Confederation strip mined it until there was virtually nothing left, especially considering the cost of the project so they abandoned it deeming it of no further use or value.
Jonas Wilde knew of the planet from his days in Col Sec and once he had set up OMEGA he planned to use RH426 as a base.
There were a series of natural caves situated away from the major deep cast mines that were ideal for his needs and he began a secretive program of siphoning off funds to finance and build a base there.
Now more than five years later and the base was fully functioning and was the control point for all OMEGA activity and where Jonas Wilde remained. His face had been broadcast all over the known galaxy as the face of OMEGA and the man behind the atrocity that had levelled the original Col Sec HQ. He didn’t mind everyone knowing he was behind the attack what he did mind though was the loss of the ability to move around freely but he knew you couldn’t have one without the other.
He was a sociopath who would not take the blame for any of his failings, preferring instead to blame others. He blamed Col Sec in general and Sinclair in particular, for the breakup of his marriage although when he thought back him and his wife had never been suited. She realised what kind of man he was early on and only remained for the sake of their only daughter, Tanya. As soon as she was able she left the marriage citing irretrievable differences in the marriage, what she really meant was she couldn’t bear to be around him any longer. She died shortly after and there was some doubt in the circumstances of her death. It was a road accident and some thought Jonas had had a hand in it but due to lack of evidence to prove otherwise any suspicion over his involvement had been shelved.
Wilde blamed Sinclair for him being discharged from Col Sec. They allowed him to resign his commission rather than force him out, in that way he could gain employment elsewhere without his record holding him back. The reason for this decision was that his psyche evaluation showed some anomalies that they could not let pass. In other words he failed but it was borderline, hence the offer of resigning so that the failure would not go on his record. They were clear in their instructions though, if he tried to remain they would have to demote him and he would never hold any command rank ever again or they could release him with the psyche failure plainly displayed within his record.
He chose to resign after which he procured a position at MaxCorp but all the time he blamed Col Sec for his undoing laying the blame squarely upon the shoulders of General Sinclair.
He blamed his wife for making their daughter soft and also Col Sec for turning her against him so when he had the opportunity he had her killed in front of the agent she had grown fond of. The new Tanya who he had grown was a clone of his real daughter with one major redesign. He had made her like him, a sociopath and therefore much more controllable, or so he believed. She was now truly, her father’s little girl and together they would take down Col Sec and all those who worked with them.
He watched the news feed once more revelling in the story he had woven to cause confusion and doubt over Col Sec and in its leader, General Sinclair. They would be running around in damage limitation exercises, wondering what to do if the Confederation turned against them and how they could put things right again and be totally unprepared for what he had planned next.
Once he had destroyed Col Sec’s ability to function it would be time to turn his attention toward the Elysium Alliance. With the void created with the destruction of Col Sec it would be the optimum moment for the Alliance to mount a first strike against their old enemies. He could not allow that to happen. His aim was to destroy Col Sec but not the entire galaxy by a war that would consume too many planets and their valuable resources. What would be the point in that? No his aim was to cripple the power structure and replace it with another, OMEGA with him at the helm.
The next phase of his plan was about to be put into action. This would lead to the endgame. It was a two pronged attack that would split Col Sec from its most valuable asset and place that asset in his hands while the rest of Col Sec would face their worst nightmare and ultimate defeat.
They would not see it coming; when they did they would not be able to do anything about it because it would be too late.
The endgame would not only cripple Col Sec but cripple Earth’s ability to respond as well. It would create a power vacuum in which the Confederation after being decimated would be unable to cope with what had happened giving him the opportunity to step in and fill that void.
Once that had been done his revenge would be complete.
All the focus would be on the attacks on Col Sec, no one would suspect an attack on the Confederation itself. President Takagi would never suspect his government would be put at risk. The attack on Col Sec HQ earlier which led to the relocation of the HQ and the separation of the Confederation HQ into the Capitol Building was ultimately his intention. Split the two apart making them easier to attack and destroy, it was an old tactic as old as battle itself, divide and conquer.
Whilst his troops took care of Col Sec HQ, Norsky would bring Kurt Stryder to OMEGA Command where he would be bled dry so that his blood could be used to help create an army of indestructible Rover5
’s. Then finally the last attack on the Capitol Building would destroy the Confederation government, all this, supervised from the Lunar Colony.
He had a manufacturing facility here inside the colony where he grew a new batch of Rover5’s. It had been from here that the Rover5’s used on this mission had been grown. For this new batch he had named the commanders after the old Greek Gods. Orion was in command of the team dealing with the woman found on Toldax, Apollo was in command of the Lunar base, Hermes was in command of the team looking after Norsky and Hades who was in charge of the final assault team which would be leaving soon. He had given them the names to distinguish them from their brothers and to give them a sense of individuality that being grown in a batch robbed them of.
Wilde rubbed his hands with glee as he thought about the expression on Sinclair’s normally stoic face when he realised it was over and Col Sec was defeated. He wished he could be there at the end but he knew because of the propaganda Sinclair had spread about him after the attack in New York it was impossible for him to go anywhere on Earth without being arrested, a situation he was also working on to rectify.
It was all coming to fruition; all he had to do now was wait.
******
“What do you intend on doing sir?” Kurt asked once the screen had gone blank. They were all still in Sinclair’s office and were still reeling from the message they had watched.
“We do what we do best, we carry on with our jobs,” Sinclair replied his face stern. He was determined not to give in to this new threat, this propaganda war started against him and those he worked with. He would face this with the same resoluteness that he faced every threat against the Confederation, and he would win.
