by Aer-ki Jyr
The map upon which David glanced as the shuttle took him down through the orbital layers looked like a spider web of straight and orbitally curved lines that morphed around Luna and covered it in almost a cocoon of navigational tracking signals. The line between planet and moon had been cleared in past years so that microjumps could be made between the two, allowing for direct transit at reasonable speeds, but going anywhere else in orbit required numerous transfers between hundreds of Star Force owned and operated starports, making for what looked like roads on the orbital map, from which shuttles and other craft would ferry out their passengers to their various locations.
Some of those locations were massive stations, or conglomerations of stations physically attached to each other so space travel wouldn’t be necessary to transition from one to another. The original state of Nimbus, long since destroyed, had functioned as the prototype and spawned hundreds of subsequent versions, some of which now functioned as independent nations in their own right.
Before David’s shuttle got low enough into orbit to pass by any of those constructs it did pass by a high orbit shipyard, and this one was definitely military. The flight path into Earth wasn’t even that close to it, for security reasons, but the facility was so large it almost counted as a small moon. It was a Thanatos-class shipyard, shaped like a series of planks interconnecting to form the frame of a long, rectangular box. Inside those planks, and crisscrossing in between, were the ship berths ranging from small scale bays where they could build dropships, shuttles, skeets, and other insignificant craft up to enormous slips capable of building jumpships.
Hundreds of medium-sized construction berths spread out amongst the rest built drone warships to feed the ongoing war against both the lizards and the Nestafar, which the trailblazers were organizing from afar, keeping the rest of the galaxy away from Earth while Davis and others continued to build up its already staggering amount of infrastructure.
Distant as it was, David was able to get a visual enhancement of the shipyard, noting 3 satellite stations positioned off the points of the rectangle with a 4th under construction. Those, he knew, were Liam’s brainchild, dubbed ‘MAC cannons’ and identical to rail guns, save for their extreme size. Each of the MAC stations held multiple ‘Magnetically Accelerated Cannons’ with long barrels poking out from an orrery that would allow them to reposition at insane rates of turn…but they were all centered around one massive cannon, capable of throwing dropship-sized slugs at a fraction of lightspeed, enough to take down a lizard cruiser in a single shot if they ever got as far as Earth.
Eight of those stations were slated for the shipyard, one on each corner and spaced well distant from the mass of metal to ensure good firing lines. Elsewhere more were being constructed, though it was a constant judgement call as to how much in the way of resources should be devoted to defensive installations vs. warships. These stations wouldn’t come into play unless the enemy essentially won the war, while more warships sent out to other systems to fight could keep them from getting here.
David was glad they were being built, but he knew that they were being built for more than the lizards…though he wasn’t sure how much of a dent they could put in the V’kit’no’sat’s shields, even the big gun, though he was sure Liam had done his homework and built them big enough to have at least some effect if/when their primary nemesis ever returned.
3
David transferred from the shuttle to a dropship at one of the low orbit starports that brought him directly down to Atlantis, landing on one of the numerous pads that had replaced the runways, given that with anti-grav technology all landings/takeoffs were now vertical. A number of other surface buildings had been reworked as well, giving the city a slightly different look than it originally had, though the proportions were exactly the same. Rather than expand the city Davis had had six more built nearby on the sea floor for various operations while the public element of Atlantis had been completely removed.
Now the city served Star Force operations only, with the public transitioning through 4 of the other 6 cities. There, Star Force was the corporate entity it had always been with entertainment facilities, stores, resorts, transit hubs, training facilities, etc, but where Atlantis had once held that benchmark the original ocean city was now split between high end Star Force personnel and Archon trainees, making it the most reclusive hub within the entire infrastructure network.
That said, flights were coming and going at a furious pace, as they always had, but now it was Star Force personnel being shipped in and out rather than tourists and diplomats. Even the national embassies had been moved to one of the other cities, making Atlantis’s inhabitants 100% Star Force and reducing security risks considerably.
David made his way through the bustling city over and up to Davis’s office, passing through security at the bottom before walking his way up into the same 360 degree skyline view the Director had always worked out of. Like always, he found him busy at his desk, though the thin, grey man Davis had been when David had first met him centuries ago was now gone, replaced by a fairly fit build and stylish dark hair, making him appear strikingly similar to the Archon’s favorite Doctor, minus the Converse shoes.
“You made good time,” Davis said, not looking up from the datapad he had in his right hand as he compared notes with the holographic display on his desk.
“I came alone,” the Archon said, pulling up one of several chairs and sitting down while Davis finished whatever he was working on. “I didn’t want to pull the others off until I knew what we were dealing with.”
Davis tapped his desktop and the holograms vanished, replaced by a floating list of dates and events on the Archon’s side for him to view. “Bits and pieces I’ve been able to piece together over the last century. We’ve dealt with other dissident organizations before, but this one is far more devious and widespread…so much so that security hasn’t been able to track down more than a few leads. They’re extremely secretive and above all else, patient.”
David looked down the list, seeing small thefts and rules violations, cargo transfers, and other very thin fibers in the web the Director was trying to track down. “Not much to go on…especially given the range of dates.”
“No it’s not,” Davis agreed. “But logistics necessitates certain realities, and I’ve been getting better at guestimating their capabilities and needs…which led me to find this.”
Another hologram popped up, detailing a more recent incident involving the death of an American police officer.
“I don’t see the connection. The Americans still permit civilian ownership of firearms, unless you’ve convinced them to adopt Star Force protocol?”
“Not on that count, no. Look at the weapon.”
David touched a few virtual buttons on his side of the desk and pulled up photos and a report on the confiscated weapon. It was a plasma pistol, obviously, but not of Star Force make. In fact, the report indicated that it didn’t match up with any known weapons maker…which was extremely odd, given that you couldn’t just build plasma weapons out of your backyard shop, not even the crude knockoffs of Star Force designs that other nations and corporations produced.
“Custom build?”
“Tie that in with various thefts of materials and you have a rough region around the Colorado area showing activity. It’s barely detectable, but there.”
“I don’t see how thefts are low key?”
“I’m labeling them thefts,” Davis explained. “To the corporations they’re coming from the amounts are small in number and listed as damaged or miscellaneous parts and compounds. Whoever this organization is they’re very sneaky about appropriating what they need…and this weapon suggests that they are in fact building some items on their own. To do that they have to have a base of operations off the grid, and I suspect it’s somewhere in or near Colorado.”
“You want us to locate and dispose of the firearms factory? That’s a lot of ground to cover.”
“No, I want you to
expose as much of their operations as you can. I don’t think this is a local organization. I believe it to be system-wide, but Colorado is the only location I can even remotely pin them down to. I know there isn’t much to go on, but they think and operate socially. In order to produce equipment they have to operate logistically, establishing infrastructure. Sniff it out and follow the threads wherever they lead.”
“And the Americans?”
“I’m not tipping them off that we know anything, otherwise this group might go to ground again.”
“Again?”
“They’ve been exposed before, the last time being 17 years ago. It was whitewashed into a bribe attempt by a gambling syndicate, but they were attempting, I believe, to infiltrate key facilities in order to create blind spots in the surveillance grid. If no reports of missing items or personnel are filed, then they’re ghosts save for the locals. This is how I think they’ve been covering for themselves, and that recent shooting was a major blunder. It’s already been deemed an act of suicide by cop, but the weapon report was filed before they could get at it and our computer sifters picked it up before they could retract it. As of now the officer was killed by a series of bullets fired from a 9mm Trech.”
David frowned. “How long did that take?”
“The report was adjusted within 20 minutes of publishing. Unless someone was looking at it live they wouldn’t have noticed.”
“Sounds like they don’t have the local police in the bag, but there’s no way that’s going to fly with the locals unless they can put some pressure on them.”
“I agree, which is why I’d like you to start there. Look for infrastructure, possibly subsurface tunnels. I’ve had geoscans of the area taken from orbit, but there are so many subsurface caverns that only straight line construction sticks out, and we haven’t discovered any, so they may be using natural or concealed passages.”
“Why are you so sure they’re subsurface?”
“Because I’ve been monitoring cargo shipments and there haven’t been any anomalies. If they’re interested in medium to large scale production, they’ve got to be getting resources in somehow.”
“In to where? You can’t monitor an entire state.”
“Process of elimination. I’ve built enough structures to be able to ballpark the capabilities and requirements to house industry and have quietly investigated all those that fit the profile…but they’re clean. I think this organization has built their own structures, and best bet would be in the mountains deep enough that our scans can’t penetrate. I was hoping we could pick up connecting tunnels or overland cargo shipments, but we haven’t been able to find evidence of either.”
“Other than just poking around, what do you want us to do that security can’t?”
“Security is already on site, undercover. They’re tracking down some leads. I want you there and ready to move if and when something comes in.”
“So no clue then?”
“Suspicions only. Find their supply lines and they should lead you to the nest, wherever it is. I doubt they’re growing their own food, so they’ve got to be shipping it and other items in regularly.”
“As far as your suspicions go, how large of a ‘nest’ are we looking for?”
“Something big.”
David nodded, having heard enough. “I’ll assign myself until we find something more solid to go on, then call in Green Team if a target materializes.”
“As you wish. I don’t want to take you away from your training for any prolonged period of time, but this is a weed we need to pull out before it grows any larger.”
“If they’re building up an arsenal of plasma weapons in secret, they intend to hit something,” David guessed. “Any ideas?”
“None…and plenty. Whoever this is is staying very quiet while they build their strength. That alone suggests something nefarious.”
“You think they’re stupid enough to come after us?”
“We’re the shiny object that people like to toss rocks at, and given how widespread I think this organization is, I’d be genuinely surprised if their agenda didn’t involve Star Force in some way.”
“I just can’t see what their endgame would be,” David said, rubbing his forehead. “We don’t bow to public sentiment, and there’s no way they’re putting up anything that can touch our fleet.”
“Headache?” Davis asked.
“A bit. My senses have been wonky for the past few weeks.”
Davis’s eyes narrowed. “Wonky how?”
“Flashes, on and off. Sometimes I think I can even see behind me, but it doesn’t last long enough to analyze, which makes me wonder if it isn’t a bit of dream-state slipping over. That’s happened before when I’ve been going through heavy training, but that felt dopey, not flashy…not that that probably makes any sense to you.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Davis said, pulling up one of several datapads and finding a particular file. “Read this.”
David took the datapad and scrolled through a short message from Head Trainer Wilson, detailing some alarming reports he’d received from Jason-025 and Aaron-010. Both were having headaches, it seemed, along with mind-related ‘powers’ that were beginning to manifest. Both trailblazers had requested Wilson’s take on ways to refine the new abilities, given that they’d never trained for anything like this before. Attached were the personal messages from both Archons, detailing their similar, but not identical situations.
As he skimmed through Jason’s report David’s eyes widened at the noting of ‘spherical sight’ and how it had been a precursor to telekinesis.
“Similar?” Davis asked at seeing his reaction.
“Jason’s case is, not so much with Aaron,” he said, skimming his report having to do with thought projections then going back to Jason’s. “Grainy black and white, yeah, that’s exactly what it feels like. Why haven’t they said anything to the rest of us?”
“I’d hazard a guess they wanted to work this out for themselves so they’d have some guidance to offer the rest of you. They didn’t tell me either, by the way, and if you’re showing signs then there may be others as well.”
“Signs?” David asked, curious as to how he intoned that word.
“Of repressed mental abilities resurfacing.”
“What repressed mental abilities?”
Davis frowned. “They didn’t even bother to tell you that much?”
“Apparently not.”
“The dragon we had come visit…you know about that, right?”
“That was mentioned,” the Archon said sarcastically.
“The dragon said that Zen’zat possessed mental abilities that shouldn’t have been affected by subsequent generations…meaning we still have them in our genetic code.”
“Son of a…now that they really should have told us. How long have Jason and Aaron had this?”
“I only know what you’re holding in your hand, but it seems recent.”
“Coincidence?”
“To what?”
“The dragon’s visit.”
Davis sighed. “That thought crossed my mind, but Aaron wasn’t even on Earth when it came and hasn’t been back to the pyramid since, so I don’t think his case was prompted by any alien influence.”
“I wouldn’t rule it out entirely,” David warned.
“You three are all high level Archons. It might be that you’re just breaking through naturally…or maybe the trailblazers were trying on purpose and your case is just random. How much mental training do you do?”
“More than the others,” he admitted.
“Tell me, have you mentioned this to anyone else?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I…well, to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what was happening. I half thought it was my imagination.”
“And I wonder how many others there might be in the same situation,” Davis prompted.
David raised an eyebrow as their gazes locked. “You’re thinking it�
��s time we all swapped notes?”
“I think that would be wise.”
“Jason’s still out on the frontier.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but if they’re asking Wilson for training assistance then this must be a whole new ballgame for you guys. That’s not something you’re going to solve in a few weeks. You’re going to have to create a whole new training component. I think that’s something Jason would be willing to swap off for.”
“If you think he’ll come back, send out a recall order.”
Davis smiled. “I’m not an Archon. Military matters, and especially your training, are not something I have pull over.”
“Yeah, like second gens can give trailblazers orders? You do know how silly that is, right?”
Davis worked his mouth around as he chose his next words, realizing he’d been caught in a ‘my bad’ moment. “I would hope that such internal rivalries wouldn’t cloud their judgement.”
“There are people fighting and dying out on the frontier,” David said, steering the conversation towards the point. “They’re not going to want to leave that in someone else’s hands unless there is a very good reason to do so. You’re in a better position than me to convince them of that fact.”
Davis nodded. “Point taken. I think Taryn’s still on Earth, so I’ll run it by her. Do you have any objection to pulling yourself off the line?”
“After this mission, I assume?”
“After,” Davis confirmed. “With travel times being what they are, it’ll be months before word can even get out to all regions.”
“If this is a new ability developing, I’d like to get it under my thumb sooner rather than later…and if it’s the beginning of massive numbers converting, better to have some of us get through it so we can toe the line when the others need to come back and train. Did the dragon say how many Zen’zat had these abilities?”
“It was taken to mean categorically.”
