by Ben Winston
After talking to each of his commanders and letting them know what was going on, Mark felt he should go to the studio and record a message for the people. He arrived just as John was finishing his speech. In the control room, Mark noticed that the controls had been set to live transmit. What John had been saying was being transmitted. He found the young woman in charge of the small studio and asked her about it.
"He said he wanted to talk to the people, Sire, we set it to go live. I don't think he knows that though, because he's not censoring his words. I've tried to tell him a few times, but... My Gods, Sire, did you know he was going to talk about his life as a Marine?"
Mark looked concerned when she said he hadn't been censoring himself. He doubted John would reveal any state secrets, but the last thing they needed was to offend people with bad language. "I knew he wanted to record a few spots, but I had no idea about this. How bad's the reaction going to be?"
"I don't think bad is going to describe it, Sire." The woman said. "Over the last five hours, I've cried, laughed and been scared, gotten mad, then laughed again. He's made me think without telling me what I should think. He's asked questions that every person in the kingdom should be asking; he's taken the icon we've made of him, and turned himself back into a person. One of us that just happens to be a Marine."
"Highness, I doubt you're going to have to worry about recruiting for much longer," a new voice said from the door. His Press Secretary had just arrived. She looked at the young Studio Manager, "Tomorrow, you'll want to schedule a replay with the major networks. This caught most of them flat footed, and now they're hounding me for a copy of this. Of course, you'll have to break it up, but I wouldn't cut anything out."
The young manager nodded. "I can do that Ma'am. Would it be possible to add some footage from some of the places he was talking about?"
"Yeah, it would be possible, but I don't think it would be a good idea. This was live, and totally unscripted. I really don't want to change that." The Press Secretary said.
The younger woman nodded. "Yeah, I think that's really where its appeal lies. I know I certainly not only have a new respect for him in particular, but also for all of our armed forces. More than I had before. He brought home to all of us just how much our soldiers do for us, and what they give up to do it. He didn't glamorize anything. If anything, for everyone that saw this, he brought home the reality of what it means to be an enhanced Marine."
"You almost sound like you want to sign up, Jen," Mark said smiling.
The woman nodded. "Actually, I am considering it. With the way the Tammerain are acting up, we're going to need more Marines, not less."
"The reason I came down here was to record a message to the people to tell them that we have just been informed that the Tammerain have once again mobilized their fleets. They are still two or three days from the border, but considering what's been going on, I doubt they are going to be stopping this time," Mark said. "The highest casualty rates are from the newly enhanced soldiers because we use the soldier's temporary insanity from enhancement as a form of shock troop. Jen, immediately after enhancement, the data feeds are simply too much for the human mind to handle, and it takes time for it to adjust. During that time, the soldier will be just as likely to fuck an enemy as it is to kill it. The soldier has no control at all for at least the first two months. That's the reason for the mandatory three month 'internment' period. No, we don't really bury a soldier, but we restrict them to the point where they can't hurt themselves and isolate them from everyone so they don't hurt anyone else. We lock them in unpowered armor and lock their controller into the medical computer until the mind is capable of at least rudimentary control of the enhancements."
"Sire, I know..." Jen began, but Mark cut her off.
"No, Jen, you don't," Mark replied. "Even today, we lose ten percent of newly enhanced soldiers due to mental shut-down. The mind simply crashes; unable to process the data from the enhancements. The soldier dies because the mind is not capable of making the transition. The worst part of all of it, the part that we don't tell everyone, is that you are still in there during all of this. You're aware of what's going on, but you have no control. You're trapped in there until you can figure out how to force your mind back under control. That's the real horror of enhancement."
"My God, you were aware of everything you were doing, but couldn't stop it?" Jen asked.
"Enhancement will imprison you inside your mind for almost two years, Jen. It's the first couple of months that are the hardest, because you have no control at all," Mark replied.
When everyone started clapping, the trio realized that John had finished and added their own applause for the now blushing man. John waved at the crowd and entered the control booth. The clapping techs and other visitors stood up for him. John shook his head and held up his hands. "Come on, guys! Enough, please?"
People stopped clapping but still thanked him or congratulated him on such a good performance.
"Well, that should give you a few hours’ worth of commercials, Sire. I got some stuff off my chest and recorded about five hours’ worth of footage for you guys to use however you want," John said.
"John that was a live broadcast to the entire Kingdom. All the major networks are clamoring to replay it since most of them missed the first part," Mark said.
"Is that what brought everyone down here?" John asked.
"Everyone but me, it would appear. Tammerain's on the move again, and I came down here to record a message to the people," Mark replied. "You're gonna be a hard act to follow!"
"Sire, you're the King!" John replied. "People will always listen to you!"
Chapter 37
The next day, Mark kept his promise to Mary, as he had scheduled the morning for her. They ate breakfast together, waited for Manny to arrive, and then Mary surprised everyone by asking John and Chloe to leave.
"I had hoped to be able to talk to Mark before you guys got here. As it turns out, you beat me here, but I still need to make my case to him and Dr. Halverez without you two trying to talk me out of it," Mary explained.
John nodded. "Enhancement is not something to be undertaken lightly, Mary."
Chloe narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? Who said anything about Mary getting enhanced?"
Mary pursed her lips. "How long have you known, and when did you figure it out?"
"I figured it out when I found out about this meeting, and who you had invited to it." John said. "She thinks that if we allow some parts of our scientific community to be enhanced, the knowledge gained in the long run would be worth it. She'll argue that she wouldn't need the full combat enhancement package since she wouldn't be a soldier. But she would be able to carry her research forward for as many years as it took. She would also be able to help enhanced soldiers in a more direct way since she could survive an attack. She would also be able to have physical relations with us."
Chloe looked thoughtful. "I can see you're points, Mary. I agree that we would probably make tremendous strides in any area where a scientist decided to become enhanced. However, enhancement is like using a mass driver to swat a fly. Granted, there is no middle ground here, but you don't destroy a planet to stop a single enemy soldier."
"Okay you two, sit down. Yes, you guessed what I was going to talk to them about, but you don't have all the information," Mary said. Both Mark and Manny had been listening and had been shocked at the suggestion, but chose to let John and Chloe handle it.
"I have discovered something that could have a profound effect on our people as a whole. It's something I've been working on since I was still in school. There is a type of enhancement that we can make available to everyone. In fact, I would recommend it for first generation colonists simply because of the risks that come with founding a new planet." Mary began, and for the next three hours presented her findings and (for Manny) her data.
"Marebella, this is not bio-molecular, this is neuro-cybernetic," Manny said.
Mary nodded. "Yes, it wa
s based in the neuro-cybernetic part of the enhancement process. To summarize, this is the addition of a specially designed bio-crystal, not unlike a Marine enhancement controller, into the human cranium. The person this device is installed in would gain the Marines ability to heal and have the ability to build up their own bodies to almost one hundred-fifty percent of current maximums."
"Manny?" Mark asked.
"I see nothing wrong in any of it, Sire. It would require a bit more testing before we allowed human trials, but from everything I see here... Marebella, it says here that reproduction would be unaffected, is that correct?" Manny asked.
Mary nodded. "Yes and no, Doctor. Reproduction is possible, but every system in the human body would be affected. Much like it is..."
The doors to the Royal apartments opened suddenly, to a very serious looking man in the uniform of a Vice Admiral. "Sire, forgive me!" he bowed quickly before rushing forward again. "The listening post at 4 Antares Sigma has gone dark. As have the solar observatories at Halston's Trinity, the University of Juno's Deep Space Telescope, and six other remote installations!" The man finally puffed to a stop. "Sire, we are under attack!"
Mark nodded. "I'm sorry Mary, your times up. Please get with Manny and work on this as you can. In the meantime, please excuse us, it seems our friends the Tammerain are getting anxious."
"Of course, Sire. Marebella, shall we return to The Center, and delve into your wonderful new idea?" Manny said.
Mary nodded. "Mark, you can't send them out without the new controllers. I'll make the arrangements, but when you're finished with them, send them to The Center for upgrades."
"If there's time, I will Mary, I promise," Mark replied.
Mary put her hand on his arm gently. "This is important, Sire. Please make the time, order them. Their lives depend on it."
Mark looked into her eyes and saw that she believed every word she said. He sighed. "Okay Mary, I'll send them all to you as soon as we're finished here. But keep in mind, every minute they are in The Center from now on will cost lives."
"If they don't get this done, it will cost many more, including their own," Mary said and kissed her friend on the cheek. She kissed both John and Chloe then ran after Manny who had almost made it to the door.
Mark stood, "Okay, come on everyone. Let's go into the viewing room so we can see what we're dealing with."
Chapter 38
The 'Viewing Room' Mark was talking about was actually a large, dark chamber that had holographic emitters mounted in the featureless walls. There was a table and chairs for visitors to use, but the main feature of this room was the powerful holographic projectors, and the computers that controlled them.
"Computer. Exaggerated display of the Border with Tammerain Space. Interface with MIIO and add the last known positions of the Tammerain forces so far detected. "
In response to his voice the room darkened almost completely and the image he asked for took form in the air above them.
"Good, now add in the positions of our forces, include course plots to destinations," Mark added and the computers added that information to the image as well. Finally, Mark directed the computer to add in the facilities the Admiral had told him about. That was when they discovered three more facilities had also gone dark. One of them a major communications relay station that had been servicing an entire sector of the Kingdom.
"Lay it out for us Admiral," Mark ordered.
"Yes, Sire," The man replied. "Beginning about an hour ago, with the loss of the Telleram Six Nova Observatory, or TELSNO, we have systematically lost several expensive facilities in the Kingdom's delta quadrant, sector nine. While this sector of space is along the Tammerain Border, it is far from the main thrust of their attacking forces. While the possibility of accidental failure has been ruled out, we honestly can't pin this on the Tammerain either. We have no information from these facilities prior to them going off-line, and there was no hyperspace signature to indicate ships jumping into that system.
"Each of the facilities destroyed had the ability to provide the crown with real-time strategic data in the event of war. The sector itself is sparsely populated, and with the surveillance capability of those facilities, we have very little in that sector in the way of defensive force. Currently, there are several scout ships in transit to some of these locations to determine what happened to them, and hopefully discover why they did not capture any data on the attackers.
"Now, the forces of the Tammerain know we have the ability to detect ships in hyperspace crossing the border, however, they also have no idea what the range on that is, or even how we are doing it. It could be that they believed these facilities had something to do with the system, and felt they needed to take them out in order to safely cross the border without being seen."
"That would work for this sector, and maybe the next, but not the whole border, Admiral. More troubling to me is how did they take these out without us not even seeing them?" John asked.
"My apologies, Lord-General, I thought you would have gotten the notice that the Tammerain have cloaking now," the Admiral replied.
"I did, Admiral. That's not exactly what I was talking about. Each of the facilities in question is more than a light year from the border, and spread even further apart. We've detected no unaccounted hyperspace events in that sector at all. How are they getting around?" John asked.
"Sire?" Gloria asked meekly.
Mark smiled at her. "I told you, you could call me Mark."
"You did, but this isn't personal. Sire, the scout ships that are going to investigate these events; why not have them stop two or three light hours short of the facility and focus all their sensors on it. Shouldn't that give you an idea of what happened?" Gloria asked.
John chuckled. "The Temporal Witness; the event itself."
"If the sensor platforms themselves didn't record what happened, then how would stopping to record the event help us?" the Admiral asked.
"The listening post had passive, omni-directional sensors, but for the most part, it was focused on Tammerain space. If something could have come on any other vector, there is a good chance the passive sensors simply didn't have time to record or report anything," Chloe explained. "The other installations were civilian installations that had an extra module added to them in the event we need to use them for something. In most cases, they had no sensors other than their primary ones, which were most likely focused on whatever mission they had been on when they went dark."
"Ahh, I misunderstood their functionality," The Admiral said, nodding to himself. "If you will excuse me a moment Sire, I'll issue new orders for those scouts."
Mark nodded to him, and he stepped out. "Chloe, have you gotten anywhere with that code from the Tammerain Capitol World?"
"Yes and no, Sire. We did get it broken down, and it is definitely not normal computer code. I'd like to continue to work on it, but with everything that's going on, I think we should send it to Xanadu Computer R and D," Chloe said.
Again Mark nodded. "I'll make sure that happens. By the way, the Admiral has no idea about that code, or about the planet we detected. He knows that the traders jumped back here with a shit-load of data, but it's all classified and he hasn't been briefed. Last night, I issued orders to expedite the work being done to the Flyer."
When he didn't continue, John finally looked at him. "Not that we don't appreciate it, but why?"
"When it's finished, the TG Flyer will be the most advanced ship and weapons platform we'll have. I'm going to send it, and you, to destroy our real enemy," Mark said quietly. "If anyone can pull it off, it'll be you. That being said, I can't shake the feeling I'm sending you on your Final Mission."
"I thought you didn't believe that planet was the Capitol World of the Tammerain?" Chloe asked.
"No, that part I do agree with," Mark said. "What I don't agree with is that it is the Capitol of our enemy. I believe the Tammerain are being used." When the door opened again, Mark shook his head. "The Flyer will be ready
by the end of the day tomorrow. Your mission briefing and every scrap of data we have will be loaded into her before she leaves the system. You will escort Commander William Curran to his ...retirement, and depart for the mission from there.
"Understood, Highness," John replied. "Mary's going to hate you."
"She cannot hate me anymore than I already hate myself. I know what I'm asking of you - you don't yet." Mark said.
The Admiral, sensing he shouldn't be privy to this discussion, cleared his throat. "Sire, should I step out for a few more moments?"
"No, Admiral, there is no need," Mark replied. "Do we know how soon we should get any new information?"
"The closest scout will be in position in about an hour, Highness,"
Mark nodded again. "Let's get some lunch then."
Chapter 39
"What do you mean you're leaving again?" Mary asked. By order of the King, both John and Chloe went to The Center for controller upgrades, Mary had come in to see them while they were getting ready for the procedure.
"Sweetheart, the Tammerain are on the move, we are probably going to war, and we are soldiers. This is what we do," Chloe replied.
"Damn it! I just got started on a somewhat long term project here, I can't just take off," Mary said. "I really wish Mark would have said something earlier!"
"He didn't say anything for the same reason its fine that you have a long term project just starting. You're not coming with us," John said. "Normally, I would discuss things with you Mary, but not this. You are a civilian, and you have no business in what's coming."
"Besides," Chloe said, "I really need you to stay here and make sure that we can have kids eventually. You'll have to carry and give birth to them, but we'll be able to have a family, right?"
Mary sighed. "When are you leaving?"
"Very late this evening, or very early tomorrow morning. I have no idea how long it's gonna take, so before you ask, the honest answer is, I don't know," John said, pulling the woman into a hug. "Chloe and I both love you, Mary. We need you to stay here, where it's safe."
