by Brian Fisher
Chapter 11
Occupying the center of the small, sparsely furnished room was a worn, but sturdy aluminum composite desk. Major Narja sat quietly in the comfortable gray chair tucked neatly behind the desk. His large frame made for a tight, but comfortable fit. Pictures of a few different worlds hung on the plain white walls. Lava flowed freely down a dark Caldonian mountainside in a hologram that dominated the wall behind the Major's desk. The frame on the opposite wall held a still photograph of a lone space station, floating in the colorful abyss of the Zaphacia nebula.
Narja hardly moved, save for the gentle rise and fall of his chest. His ribs ached slightly, but were mending nicely after his impromptu sparring match with the Captain. He generally healed quickly, especially with proper medical treatment.
There were a few veterans in his battalion, but most of his marines were young and green. He had trained them well. P.T. started at 0600 and consisted of basic muscular and cardiovascular fitness then moved on to include hand to hand combat. After P.T. was over and everyone was ready for the rest of the day, it was time for weapons training and combat situations.
Every day was the same. He pushed his marines until they broke. When they broke, he put them back together and pushed them some more. His marines were the best and they knew it. Uncommon valor seemed to be standard issue with his unit.
Captain McWilliams rarely made requests of anyone. The fact that he had made a request of Narja, had taken him by surprise, let alone the nature of the request. One simply did not make plans to invade a planet, and if they did, there would have to be an excellent reason for it.
Olcai was an artificial, and that made things much more difficult. One mistake and the entire world could be destroyed. Then there was the threat from the terrorists. What more did they have in store? Could they be planning the destruction of Olcai? Was it their plan for someone to intervene?
Major Narja took a deep, cleansing breath, and closed his eyes. After a moment of meditation, he opened his eyes, and turned to his computer terminal.
"Angel, this is Major Narja." he waited patiently for a response.
"Hello Major. How are your ribs?" Angel asked without appearing. "What can I do for you?"
"My ribs are fine Angel. I need you to find some information for me, and I need it as soon as you find it." Narja tapped his fingers against the top of his desk. "I need to know everything about Olcai’s defenses, and a copy of the blueprints for the planet itself."
"Will there be anything else Major?"
"Yes. I need a wire frame model of Olcai." Narja stood and walked to the other side of his desk. The lights dimmed as a large wire frame model of the planet filled the open space in the office.
In the center of the model a series of spheres, one inside the next, formed the core. Six massive struts, spaced equidistant around the core, supported the six different cities. Interspersed between the cities were smaller structures that housed the atmosphere and gravity generators.
"Angel, decrease magnification and display the planetary defenses." the Major watched silently as the orbital defense platforms appeared around the planet. A bright blue dot appeared near the center of one of the cities.
"What is the blue dot for?" Narja pointed at the hologram.
"Major, the blue dot indicates the control center for the defenses." Angel appeared next to the model. She wore a thin smile that threatened to crack at any moment.
"The defense platforms aren't automated?" Narja cocked an eyebrow in surprise.
"No, they are controlled by a central computer. Once activated and the transponder codes are entered into the computer, the platforms will eliminate all hostile forces." Angel shook her head slightly as she walked over to Narja. "Any successful campaign involving Olcai, will gain control of the central computer."
Narja let out a deep breath. "Thank you Angel, that will be all." he forced himself to smile.
Angel paused.
"Yes?" Major Narja asked quietly.
"Major, the defense platforms will not fire until they are activated from the surface." Angel's eyes hardened as she looked at him. "Someone has to be in control of the computer for that to happen."
"Let's just hope that we get control first." Narja sighed and turned his attention back to the hologram.
