Star Force: Origin Series Box Set (25-28)

by Aer-ki Jyr

  “Now that is a strange feeling,” the white-suited man said as he blinked his eyes and cleared his head as he woke up bleary with his senses seeming to creep back into alignment.

  “Hello,” Nathan said, pulling his arm off the man’s neck and walking around to the other side of the desk and looking down at him from behind his silver helmet, “my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

  The suited man looked up at the Archon, seemingly unphased by the threat. “Quite possibly, though I don’t recognize the name.”

  “Or the movie, apparently,” Nathan said, tapping an armored finger on the desk in between them. “Let’s recap. Your facility is in our control. Your security teams have been neutralized. You’re not escaping. There are a lot of unconscious people around for me to chat with, but you were the best dressed so I decided to start with you. Shall we have a chat or should I return you to dreamland and try someone else?”

  “I have no illusions of escape, Archon, and I’d much prefer to spend the next few moments awake, if you don’t mind,” the slightly aged man said, leaning back in his chair casually as if he was in control of the situation and not Star Force.

  “Name?” Nathan asked, getting a weird vibe from the man.

  “I am simply known as Agent.”

  “Wrong color suit for that…and you’re missing the sunglasses.”

  Agent reached inside his jacket, pausing his hand and glancing at Nathan for permission, then he pulled out a pair of opaque white-lensed glasses that he slipped onto his face, matching the color of his suit as well as hiding his eyes from view. “Better?”

  “Why the suit and not the uniform?” Nathan said, realizing this guy was willing to play the word game. He switched off his helmet’s external audio and switched to transmission mode. “Heads up guys. Keep an eye out for reinforcements. Got a talker who’s overly confident.”

  “Higher intellect is rewarded with better style,” Agent said, glancing at the other man in the room and his thick, dull grey uniform.

  “And an office,” Nathan added.

  “A necessity more than a perk, given my position.”

  “Which is?”

  “I organize and coordinate this facility.”

  “Did,” Nathan pointed out.

  “As you wish…I did run this facility. By the way, the laptop will be of no use to you. I already deleted the contents.”

  Nathan glanced at the open screen situated out of arms reach from the man but still on the desk. “And that would be?”

  “A false cover while the purge continues. I imagine that by now all the linked data systems within the facility are also quite useless.”

  “Something you don’t want us to see?”

  “Many things,” Agent admitted. “I must congratulate you on discovering and infiltrating this facility…well, discovering it anyway. The infiltration wasn’t subtle and gave us time to clean up, though you certainly didn’t have trouble breaking through security. Star Force is rather good at such things, despite espousing a peaceful agenda, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “I don’t recall Davis ever describing us as pacifists…”

  “Perhaps not, but whether directly or indirectly you put forth the message of peaceful coexistence while hypocritically building up by far the largest military in history. Well, Human military anyway. How goes the alien war?”

  “We’re keeping them off your doorstep well enough. You’re welcome by the way.”

  “All the while keeping this system under your thumb. Is that going to become your justification now?”

  “We don’t need justification. We’ve got the big guns, remember?”

  “Might makes right?”

  “Right requires might,” Nathan pithily answered. “After all, if we’re not around who’s going to catch clever murders of college students?”

  “Ah…that. Yes, a major blunder. One that I’d hoped we’d covered. Sloppily, I will admit, but I didn’t think you’d be able to track it back to us. How did you locate the entrance, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “What’s the purpose of this facility?”

  “Illicit weapons production, obviously,” he answered, expecting a return gesture.

  “You didn’t take into account the habitual movement patterns of the students when you dumped the bodies. Who was the fall guy?”

  “A loyal associate. So, we placed the students where they shouldn’t have been and you backtracked their movements to…?”

  “A makeout nest.”

  Agent blew out an annoyed breath. “Of all the things…”

  “The other tunnels?”

  “You didn’t really expect us to have only one entrance? There’s only so much cargo traffic we can cover at each site, and this facility requires a great deal of continuous supplies in order to remain operational.”

  “And with them comes armed security to retake the facility?”

  Agent shook his head slowly, reminding Nathan of the agents from the Matrix, save for the white coloration. He had the same eerie calm demeanor about him. “I have no illusions that Star Force now owns this place. What it becomes is entirely up to you. The moment you discovered it, it ceased to be of use to us.”

  “Who is us? An organization of this size has got to have a name…or should I just call you SPECTRE?”

  “Of course we have a name. And given your victory here I suppose you deserve at least that much in recompense. You may call us The Word.”

  “Oh, that begs an explanation,” Nathan said, still standing and looking down on Agent across the desk.

  Agent raised a hand to his mouth and gently coughed. “Pardon. Without giving you too much information, let me say that we are dedicated to returning the Earth to the old ways.”

  “How old is old?”

  “Difficult to answer, that. Society doesn’t change in a moment, rather it loses itself a piece at a time. We are putting those pieces back together, despite the damage Star Force is continuing to do.”

  “That sounds like a complaint to me.”

  “We have many.”

  “I have time.”

  Agent glanced to the wall, and Nathan followed his eye line to the gator’s head.

  “Your trophy?”

  “You don’t approve, do you?” Agent asked, a bit of curiosity in his voice.

  “Was it a fair fight?”

  “That’s not the point, is it? We don’t hunt to fight, we hunt to kill, to claim an elusive prize. We hunt for sport, not combat. Is everything combat to Archons?”

  “That and cookies…well, mostly. What I see there,” he said, gesturing to the wall, “is an abomination. Archons kill, but never for fun or what you call sport…I don’t know if you’d refer to that as fun or not.”

  “No I wouldn’t.”

  “Something more noble?”

  “Good word choice. It separates us from the lesser species…those Star Force erroneously put on par with Humans.”

  Nathan leaned forward, setting his armored fists on the edge of the desk. “If you want to prove superiority, outperform.”

  “Chu, chu, chu,” Agent said, making the noise with no lip movement. “You miss the point again. We are superior by birth. We do not have to prove it.”

  “Isn’t that what you’re trying to do by hunting?”

  “I would call it a confirmation…the question is never in doubt.”

  “I call it cowardice.”

  “You would have me kill the animal with my bare hands? Would that constitute your fair fight?”

  “If you’re superior, do you really need a weapon?”

  “You carry several,” Agent pointed out.

  “Perhaps we don’t assume superiority as much as you think.”

  Agent nodded, politely conceding that point. “That we may have mistakenly assumed of you. Ignorance may be the true root of your problem.”

  “Feel free to enlighten me.”

  “As you wish. There is an order to life. Those
below us in the order are ours to use, for necessity or sport. Personally I don’t like those who kill for fun, but it is their right and they can exercise it as they choose, so long as they do not exceed their position.”

  “And if they do?”

  “They shall suffer the consequences.”

  “And the killing of the students. Was that exceeding your position?”

  “If it had been out of fun or sport, yes. Humans are all on the same level, and we have an obligation to protect and serve one another…but at times sacrifices must be made to protect the masses. The death of the students was a regrettable necessity, forced upon us by circumstance and your incessant scrutiny that has forced our operations under a strict cloak of secrecy.”

  “Now, wait…so you’re blaming us for their deaths?”

  “Partially so, though the majority of the blame lays on the individual who shot them on sight, and those who oversee him…namely me. We are meant to be silent and unseen. My operations have failed in that regard, the penalty of which was your discovery.”

  “Silent and unseen to what point? If you’re going to take us on you’re going to have to come out in the open.”

  “We are no match militarily for Star Force, nor do we ever entertain the notion to be. In fact, we rather like what you’ve accomplished in that field.”

  “I know, you’ve tried to steal it from us several times.”

  “Can you blame us? Your mastery of technology is unmatched. Almost as if you’re getting outside help.”

  “We do share a bit with our alien allies…does that bother you? And by you, I mean The Word. Where do they rank in the universal order?”

  “A subject of continual discussion, I can assure you. In truth, we have too little evidence to work with. Only you have ever dealt with them. All anyone else has is stories.”

  “You question their existence?”

  “Some do…I do not. The universe is too large to be populated only on Earth.”

  “Smart boy.”

  “Is that a knock against my age? I hear Archons can live forever. Truth or fiction?”

  “Everyone can live forever. Most don’t know how, and most of them it wouldn’t matter because they’re just too lazy.”

  “Training? Come now, there must be more to it than that. Your Knights don’t train themselves to greater size?”

  “Their size is irrelevant to how long they live. The body and mind have many capabilities, some so simple they’d surprise you. Raise your healing ability above your attrition level and you can live forever. It’s not complicated.”

  “And what of the malformed children that Star Force has corrected? Did they train their way to health?”

  “As you said, we’re masters of technology.”

  “But it isn’t necessary for your longevity…interesting. How much the younger am I?”

  “About three centuries.”

  Agent shook his head in admiration. “I don’t suppose you’d let me see your face?”

  “Don’t believe me…or do you have active recording devices that you hope will be able to identify me?”

  “There are devices,” he admitted, “but I’m curious as to what might have been. Are you young, or merely postponing the inevitable?”

  “What are the weapons for, if not to challenge us? And why plasma?”

  “As you so aptly pointed out, right requires might. The Word will spread, not through grand wars but through small, deliberate actions. In such small incidents, plasma is superior to bullets, as I’m sure you know well.”

  Nathan reached up and disconnected the seals on the neck of his helmet and pulled it off for a moment, but only a moment, giving Agent a few seconds to confirm that Nathan wasn’t lying, then he put it back on.

  “Some would say you are unnatural…but I fear The Word may have made a mistake in this regard. Perhaps you have stumbled onto a truth of the universe that we have been oblivious to. I hope that whoever sees this will have the wisdom to investigate further.”

  Nathan frowned. “Active transmission?”

  Agent nodded. “As I said, the facility is yours, but The Word will watch and learn and adjust our other facilities,” he finished with a smile, then another small cough.

  Sensing something was amiss, Nathan stepped around the desk and pulled the man’s sunglasses off.

  “I have only a few minutes remaining,” he said, looking up at the Archon with bloodshot eyes. “Ask what you will.”

  “Poison?”

  “A small tablet I ingested once hope of escape evaporated. I contain the knowledge of this facility. Even if you successfully interrogate the others, the secrets of The Word die with me. That is one function of an Agent that I have never had the privilege of executing, but I do so gladly in the knowledge that Humanity will one day be rectified.”

  “Rectified to what?”

  “Our original purpose.”

  “All of Humanity, or just those on Earth?”

  “We have operatives everywhere. Where the children of Earth go, so goes Earth.”

  “And what does Humanity look like when you rectify it?”

  “Order…brotherhood,” he said, coughing again, this time with a little blood coming up onto his lips, “clarity of purpose.”

  “Who rules?”

  “Those with the vision of leadership.”

  “The Word or are you the enablers for another?”

  “A wise question…one which I do not know the answer to. Change will take time, and I do not know what form it will be. As an Agent I focus on the moment and the moment to come, for to dwell in the future is to ignore the reality of the now.”

  “The Now? Is that your sister organization?”

  “Choose your questions wisely. You only have a few remaining.”

  “I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” Nathan said as Agent slumped a bit in his chair, but kept his head upright. “If you had your way, what would you have Star Force do?”

  “Recognize the error of your ways and free the planet from your protocols…use your might to enlighten and uplift Humanity.”

  “We’re already doing that.”

  “To deny the natural order of life is to suffocate it. Your enlightenment is naïve and counterproductive. You have done better than most throughout history, but you are still in the wrong. The Word will bring you into the light.”

  “You can’t infiltrate us.”

  “We already…have.”

  Nathan smiled beneath his helmet. “Liar.”

  “Am I? Believe what you will, but know this…we do not want to destroy you. You are too…important…to the…fut…”

  With that Agent slumped forward, mashing his head on the desk as he breathed his last few breaths.

  Nathan stared at him for several seconds, both to make sure he wasn’t faking and replaying the conversation in his mind, trying to glean some additional meaning in it. He’d been recording it all through his helmet, but he wondered if there wasn’t something there that would affect the here and now…like a self-destruct for the base or airborne toxin to kill the rest of the personnel.

  “Report?” Nathan asked, getting back on the comm.

  “All quiet,” David said. “Trouble?”

  “Assad?”

  “Same here.”

  “The whitewashed Smith I was chatting with just died. Some sort of self-administered poison. I’m half expecting something to go boom right now.”

  “Did he say it would?” David asked.

  “I’m not sure. He said they weren’t going to contend our seizure of the facility. But I could see how that could be interpreted into ‘boom.’”

  “I’ll keep my eyes open,” David promised. “Did you get anything out of him on The Silence?”

  “You’re close…they call themselves ‘The Word.’”

  “Any more than that?”

  “A bit. I’ve got it recorded,” Nathan said, pulling the laptop over and trying to switch the screen…but it was frozen in place. “He
said they did a data purge, but they may have missed something. It’d take a while, but I think we need a tech team in here to sniff around.”

  “What do we do with the personnel?” Assad asked.

  “Depends on the situation at the college.”

  “One of us has to go back,” Nathan insisted.

  David sighed. “I know. We also have to check out the other tunnels. You two stay put and start containing the…”

  “No, wait,” Assad said, thinking deviously. “When the people wake up, what are they going to do?”

  “Agent said they didn’t want the facility now that it’d been compromised.”

  “His name is Agent?” Assad asked.

  “That’s what he said.”

  “Let the rats scatter and see where they go?” David floated.

  “That’s the idea,” Assad confirmed.

  There was a short pause on the comm.

  “I like it,” David eventually came back. “And if there is a self-destruct or other sabotage I’d prefer to get away before it happens. We’ll head out down the other passages, get to the surface, and call in surveillance teams, hopefully before they can scatter.”

  “Sink a few boats and it’ll delay them,” Nathan suggested.

  “You think the end lines have already been alerted?”

  “Maybe,” David said. “Regardless, we need to find where they are, and if the computers are wiped I doubt we’re going to find a map laying around…unless one of you have found a map laying around?”

  “5 minutes to look?” Nathan asked.

  “5 minutes,” David agreed. “Then get back to the dock.”

  Nathan reached down and closed the flap on the laptop and took it with him, hoping that Star Force’s techs might be able to make something out of it.

  8

  May 24, 2405

  Solar System

  Earth

  David walked out of a freezer, pushing open the door after the back had sealed like an airlock. He wore no armor, only the standard Star Force uniform that had a slightly raised collar where the silver stripe that extended down the arms and legs began on either shoulder of the pure white shirt and pants. Outside the freezer, in the back storage room of a donut shop in Craig, Colorado, several other Star Force uniforms were present…the reds of the logistics division, red/greens of analytics, and many gold/white uniforms of security.