by Allan, Jay
She didn’t look away, didn’t move at all. “Of course, Gavin. I assure you, nothing will interfere with me this time.”
He stood quietly for a few seconds then he nodded and walked toward her. “Very well, Alex.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small leather folder. “Here are your documents and credentials.” He gently laid the small pouch on the table. “Welcome back.” He turned and started walking toward the door.
“It is good to be back, Number One.” Her voice was cold, focused…just what she knew he wanted to hear. She leaned back, watching him leave the room. Her thoughts were racing…should I move against him now? She had hidden resources, assets and tools Stark knew nothing about. For a few seconds she seriously considered making a play for the top spot.
No, she scolded herself…don’t be a fool. Stark would be watching for that now; she knew that much. And he had hidden resources too, probably many more than she did. No, she thought grimly…I have to pass my test first, win back some of his trust. “I’m going to have to kill Erik Cain.”
Stark walked slowly down the almost dark corridor, the echo of his quiet footsteps the only sound breaking the eerie silence. The building above housed an import-export business selling rarities from the colonies to Washbalt’s privileged elite. Though ostensibly owned by one of the larger megacorporations it was, in fact, nothing but a cover for Gavin Stark’s most secretive operation.
No one working above even knew these subterranean levels existed. They were accessible only through a series of AI-controlled checkpoints. It would be easier to sneak into the Presidential Palace than to penetrate Stark’s heavily defended lair.
He turned and stood in front of a non-descript plasti-steel door, waiting quietly while the AI conducted a DNA scan. “Number One, confirmed.” The door slid to the side, revealing a drab room with a small table and 4 chairs.
Stark stepped slowly inside, extending his hand to the small, gray-haired man standing next to the table. “Dr. Zenta, welcome to Washbalt. I hope your trip was comfortable.”
Zenta reached out and took Stark’s hand. “Yes, it was fine. But I fail to see why it was necessary for me to come here at all. You know we are at a critical stage in the plan. I have much work to do.” His tone was annoyed, impatient.
Stark caught the anger he felt welling up inside him. This pompous fool scientist, he thought…he has no idea to whom he is speaking. Stark imagined throwing the arrogant ass into Sub-Sector C for a while. It was an appealing idea, but not realistic. Not yet, at least. Zenta was crucial to his plans and, for now, he was irreplaceable. “I regret taking you from your work, doctor. However, I felt it would be too conspicuous right now for me to travel to Facility Q.” Stark pulled out a chair and sat, gesturing for Zenta to do the same. “But I have important issues to discuss with you. Matters that cannot wait, I am afraid.”
Zenta sat across from Stark, an expectant expression on his face. “Then you mean to launch Operation Shadow soon?”
“Immediately, Dr. Zenta.” Stark sat totally still, staring into the scientist’s eyes as he spoke. “That is why I summoned you here.” He’d chosen the word ‘summoned’ very deliberately. It had an imperious sound to it, a subtle reminder of who was the master here.
Zenta’s eyes widened with excitement. “My life’s work…about to come to fruition.”
“Indeed, doctor.” Stark had to acknowledge that Zenta was a genius. He’d achieved something that had eluded Earth science for two centuries…something Gavin Stark was going to put to stunningly practical use. “I believe the time is right.”
In truth, Stark knew he had no choice. Implementing Plan C, and the subsequent Shadow Project, had been enormously expensive. He’d managed to hide the unauthorized expenditures, mostly with a massive campaign of fraud, cover ups, and assassinations. But even he was running out of ways to disguise the massive costs. If he didn’t launch the project now, it was going to be discovered. And the consequences of that would be catastrophic to Gavin Stark and his ambitions.
“What about the war? Shouldn’t we wait until that is over?”
Zenta’s question was a reasonable one. Stark paused for a few seconds, deciding just how much he wanted to share with his scientist ally. “I am privy to intelligence from the front, doctor. As we speak, General Cain and his ground forces are mopping up on the enemy planet. Admiral Compton has already defeated the First Imperium fleet in the system. Although it is not yet general knowledge, I believe the war will be over very shortly.”
Stark’s explanation was pure fiction, based only passingly on the actual facts of the campaign. But outside the highest levels of government, the First Imperium threat had been downplayed enormously. The elites were scared to death already…the last thing they needed was panic-stricken masses rioting in the streets. Zenta could believe Stark’s words because the scientist had never been privy to just how serious the danger truly was.
“I will be meeting with General Samuels this evening, at which time I will instruct him to activate his portion of the plan.” He slid his chair out and slowly rose. “You may return to Q and commence full activation, doctor. It is time.”
“Yes, I will return at once.” Zenta’s excitement was obvious. He’d been working on the components of Shadow for 30 years. Now, finally, he would see his work in action.
Stark walked toward the door and out into the hall, his mind deep in thought. His actual reasoning for launching Shadow was considerably different from what he had told Zenta, something only another cold-blooded psychopath could truly understand. He had no idea whether Garret and Holm and the military would find a way to defeat the First Imperium. But if they failed, he was certain the navy and Marines would be virtually destroyed in the effort. There would be no second chances, no fallback lines of defense. If Garret was defeated, it wouldn’t matter what Stark did…there would be no consequences to his launching Shadow if civilization was going to be destroyed anyway. Indeed, the Shadow project would be the only hope of defeating the enemy if Garret’s people failed. And if the military succeeded…they would come home to find they were too late to stop Shadow. The game would be over, and Gavin Stark would be the only winner.
Chapter 25
First Imperium Sector Base
Planet Sigma 4 II
“Let’s move it, people.” Colonel Eliot Storm was watching his tactical display as he barked out orders to his Marines. They’d had no intel at all about the size or layout of the enemy base…the outer hull was impervious to scanners, just like First Imperium ships. But now his scanning units were feeding him a flood of data, and his AI was constructing a schematic of the place on the fly.
They hadn’t run into any resistance yet. Their entry point seemed to be an out of the way spot. All they’d found so far were vast empty storage areas with huge rack systems along the walls. It wasn’t Storm’s place to speculate on the design of the enemy base, but he was pretty sure these were the storage units for the battlebots and Reapers they’d been facing since the war began…the First Imperium equivalent of barracks. Other than subtle differences, racks rather than bunks, for example, the base didn’t seem all that different from an Alliance facility.
His group came to an intersection, the third they’d found. “Sergeant Jamison, take your section down the south corridor. Reiger, take yours north.” He wasn’t going to be able to detach half a platoon down every hallway they found, but he didn’t know what else to do. The scanning results were still incomplete, and they had no idea where any of these corridors led…or which ones might have enemy forces lurking in them.
“Colonel Storm, we’ve got the high-powered scanners set up now. We’re getting good readings. You can ignore those lateral corridors. They just lead to more troop storage areas, all empty. Post a pair of guards down each just in case, but you can recall the sections.”
Cain, Storm thought…what the hell is he doing here? There was no way the commander-in-chief should be in here exposing himself to God knows what, at
least not until his people had established some kind of secure zone. “Yes, sir.” He paused. “Sir, I really think you should hold back until we can get this place scouted out better.”
“Noted, colonel. And ignored.” Cain’s voice was firm, but not scolding. Storm was only doing his job. “There’s no place for normal procedures now. We need to get this place scouted out, and we need to do it now.”
“Yes, general.” Storm still disagreed, but he kept his mouth shut.
“I’m sending you the revised tactical map. You should be receiving it now.”
“Yes, sir.” Storm was watching the map on his display change subtly, as his AI added the information Cain was sending, expanding on what was already there. “It’s coming in now, sir.”
“Good, now keep moving. Our units are catching hell out there on the surface, trying to keep the enemy forces from breaking through and trapping us in here. So I need your people to haul ass!”
“Yes, sir.” Cain had already cut the line. Storm could only imagine what the commander was dealing with on the surface. He flipped his com to the unit-wide line. “Alright, I’m feeding updated tactical maps to all squad leaders. We’re going to pick up the pace.” All of the Marines down in these corridors had ten years or more service, and most of them had served in Cain’s special action teams during the Third Frontier War. Fighting men and women just didn’t get any better. They would do whatever they were ordered to do if it was humanly possible. Storm wondered if they could do a bit of the impossible as well. They might just get their chance, he thought as he jogged forward, deeper into the seemingly endless depths of the tunnel.
“Fourth Company…advance to the left…now!” McDaniels had just watched 3 of her Obliterators blown to bits right in front of her. The enemy pressure on the flanks had been getting steadily stronger. They must have pulled everything back, all across the line and thrown it at us, she thought. She wasn’t surprised. She’d expected some sort of panicked reaction once the enemy got word that forces had penetrated their base.
Expecting it and being able to handle it were different things, however. She’d had 2,000 Obliterators in reserve, ready to face anything that moved against the breach, but now, after the 4th moved out, she’d be down to her last uncommitted company.
“McDaniels, how’s it going out there?” Cain’s voice was softer than usual, warmer. He knew what she was facing.”
“It’s bad, sir.” She was trying to sound as firm as she could, but the strain was wearing her down. She wanted to scream at him, tell him he’d promoted her too fast, that she wasn’t good enough to handle a situation like this. But he didn’t give her the chance.
“Erin, keep it together. I have complete confidence in you.” His voice was reassuring, supportive. “If I didn’t, trust me…I’d be out there in a flash.”
In spite of the crushing tension, he almost managed to get a laugh out of her. “Thank you, sir.” She wondered how long she’d have to serve with Cain before he stopped surprising her. He was such an ice cold automaton on the battlefield…unflappable, irresistible. Now he spoke to her and the empathy was almost overpowering. She knew he understood what she was feeling…he’d been in her place many times, and he’d always managed to prevail. He was telling her she could too, and somehow, through some connection she couldn’t even fathom, she believed him.
“Just do the work, General McDaniels. You’re exactly the person we need there right now.”
“Yes, sir.” She could feel the adrenalin, her own body responding to Cain’s words. She wasn’t sure what she thought of Erik Cain personally, but failing him when he’d placed his confidence in her…that was unthinkable.
She looked at the tactical display. The forces on the left were really taking it hard. There were columns of enemy Reapers moving up, and the entire area was getting pounded by cluster bombs. This is the enemy’s big push…if we can stop them here, we can hold out. “Let’s go, 4th Company, move your asses!”
She checked her display; there was heavy action on the right too, but nothing like the left. She turned her head, looking off toward the position the 4th was on the way to bolster. She was two klicks from the front line, but she could see the inferno of the battle. “Time for me to get over there.” She muttered softly to herself and started jogging toward the hottest part of the line.
“Are you sure, Friederich?” Cain’s question was genuine. Hofstader carried a colonel’s commission, but that was just a convenience. The German scientist was a brilliant man, and well on his way to becoming one of Cain’s few real friends, but he wasn’t a soldier.
“Yes, general. As I’ve heard you remind your subordinates, time is not on our side. And if we are going to discover anything immediately usable in this facility, I suggest that I am more likely to identify it than any of your Marines.” He stumbled forward clumsily. The armor was a special-purpose AI-assisted unit. They were used mostly to accommodate dignitaries or other non-combatant officials who visited a battlefield. You couldn’t do much but stagger around in one, but there was no way Cain was letting Hofstader into the base unprotected. Not until it was a damned sight more secure than it was at the moment.
Cain admired the scientist, and his respect grew each time they worked together. He demanded a tremendous commitment from his Marines, but they were trained, veteran warriors. Friederich Hofstader had spent his entire life in a lab until the First Imperium invasion hurled him into the front lines. Cain was continually surprised at the physicist’s courage and perseverance. Without Hofstader’s research and the resulting weapons flowing from Tom Sparks’ labs, Cain knew his Marines would all be dead now…and the war lost.
“OK, Friederich. Come up and meet me. Your escort knows the way…and you are to remain with them at all times. Agreed?” Cain had assigned two veterans to escort Hofstader while he was in the combat zone. He was genuinely concerned for his friend, but it was more than that. Losing Hofstader would be an incalculable disaster for the Pact. A mind like his was simply irreplaceable…and there was no other human alive who better understood First Imperium technology.
“Yes, general.” The scientist’s voice betrayed fear…but also excitement. The equivalent of thousands of years of human advancement was laid out before him. Now he was looking for anything that could be adapted quickly enough to aid in the war effort. But if the victory was won, he could properly research the facility. He could only imagine the scientific advancements he might make given time. “We are on the way.”
Cain glanced back at the tactical map Hector was projecting inside his visor. It was growing as new data came in from the scanners his forces were setting up at various points in the facility. The immense scale of the structure was slowly becoming apparent. There were hundreds of empty storage areas, cavernous rooms that once held tens of thousands of battlebots and Reapers. It was becoming clear that all or most of the ground forces his Marines had fought had come from here. He tried to imagine attacking a base like this if most of its ground units hadn’t already been expended…if a quarter of a million robotic warriors were formed up to face any assault.
He drew his mind from such pointless conjecture. Besides, he thought, we faced those bots…we fought them on a dozen planets, and we have the dead to prove it. “If we have an easier time here, it’s only because of the sacrifices Jax and Kyle Warren and a hundred thousand others made.”
“Are you addressing me, general?”
Cain hadn’t even realized he was speaking out loud. “No, Hector. Just indulging myself with pointless thoughts.”
“Very well.” The old Hector would almost certainly have delivered a more sarcastic reply. “General, I have Colonel Storm on the line.”
“Eliot, what’s up?” Cain got right to the point. Storm wouldn’t be calling now if there wasn’t a problem.
“We’ve run into resistance. They appear to be some type of security bots. They’re not all that hard to kill, but they’re armed with close range particle accelerators…and the damned
things slice right through our armor.” Energy weapons were rarely used during ground battles. Atmospheres quickly diffused the power of lasers – or particle accelerators – greatly reducing the effective range of such ordnance. But for short range security - where the fighting would be at close quarters in the corridors of a base – they could be extremely dangerous.
“I’m sending you the reserves. They should be there in a couple minutes. I need you to push ahead, no matter what the cost. McDaniels’ people are catching hell out there keeping the enemy off our backs.”
“Yes, sir.” Storm sounded surprised. Getting reserves out of Cain was generally considered the next closest thing to impossible, especially on the first request. Not even request…Storm hadn’t even asked. Erik Cain liked to have the last uncommitted forces in a battle, but there wasn’t time for that now.
“I know you’re all exhausted and hurting, but we’ve got to hit them again. The battle is not over, and victory has not been won.” Jake Carlson was up in the front lines, doing everything he could to rally the shattered remnants of his battalion. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest…the tension, the fear…the feeling in the pit of his stomach. But there was no time now for his weaknesses. Carlson the warrior, the Marine, was firmly in control now. He knew what he had to do. “General McDaniels and her people are facing everything the enemy has, fighting and dying, but not giving a centimeter. They need us, and there’s no way we’re leaving fellow Marines to fight alone!”
He started walking forward, slowly at first, just a step at a time. “I am tired and hurt and mourning friends too. But I know what I am doing now. I am attacking the enemy; I’m going to aid my fellow Marines, and I will do it if I must stand alone and battle all the enemy has to face me. Anything else would be a disgrace to our brothers and sisters who died today.” His voice was hoarse and he couldn’t hide the fatigue, but he forced the words out with raw force. “Who’s coming with me?” He accelerated, working up to a jog, zigzagging from boulder to boulder, grabbing what cover he could as he lurched forward. The ground was rough…rocky and chopped up from the bombardments, slowing his pace.
