Daedalus

by Skully

  “It’s logical. Everyone in Daedalus is behind you, and you are not alone,” Mace said emphasising the word not.

  Daedo sighed, “You’re right.” He would have to hide or deal with his worries, showing stress just brought unwanted questioning.

  “Other than saving the planet? What are you working on?” Mace asked jokingly.

  “Propulsion. We are still using off the shelf jets,” Daedo said.

  “So you are taking over propulsion as well?” Mace asked.

  “It goes hand in hand with Physics,” Daedo stated. He did not mention the alien mystery box full of physics' answers, which cut down his workload significantly.

  “I guess it's all about firing particles off at high speed once you move away from burning chemicals,” Mace replied.

  Daedo was reading up on spaceship propulsion methods and concepts.

  “We might need to add a thermal fusion reactor, and use the heat to burn something off,” Daedo said.

  “That’s a major design change. Does it bring in overheating issues?” Mace asked.

  Daedo nodded and said, “It does. We probably don’t have the room in an exo for this type of system.” He said after closing his screen and standing up. He titled his head side to side as if working off a stiff neck.

  “I’m going to go for a walk,” he announced suddenly.

  “Do you want company?” Mace asked she was still worried about him.

  Daedo looked over at Picard, Axel-Zero and Barran who were engrossed in their work. Vannier and Kang were discussing a subject in a virtual room, which made the ancient library venue superfluous. He finally nodded.

  “Okay, I’ll send a message to everyone to wait here, we’ll be back in thirty,” Daedo stated.

  Daedo and Mace walked into the hall of the usually deserted ancient library. They had never used it until the Fortescue meeting, and since then it was a simple matter of getting a pass from Master Nader, which may be hard for some, but in Daedo’s case, it usually took a few minutes.

  They heard voices. It was Fortescue and a couple of other cadets. Mace pulled Daedo back into their study room.

  “What are you doing? We are allowed to be here,” Daedo said.

  Mace: Shh. I want to see what they are up to. They’ll be expecting this place to be empty, won't they?

  Daedo: Yes. Okay. I will tell everyone to be quiet and stay put.

  Mace closed the ancient wooden door to their study room very slowly, leaving it open only a crack.

  Daedo: Fortescue just arrived. Don’t make any noise Mace wants to see what they are doing. They don’t know we are here.

  Barran: Oh, juicy! Mace you are such a spy.

  Mace: Shh! I am trying to listen.

  All the cadets stopped what they were doing and turned up the audio sensors to full.

  “Okay, in here, this should do.” It was obviously Fortescue. However, as soon as she closed the door, even the excellent Axel body suits had trouble picking up what was being said.

  “Turn off recording….Matthias….Siderus…..”

  Daedo: Was that the M3 House Captains with her? I didn’t see anything.

  Mace: I’ll check. I have a recording…Yes. It was them. Hang on.

  Mace pulled out a tiny spider drone from a compartment on her body suit. It was so small it fit underneath the wooden door, it was a quarter of the size of her smallest fingernail.

  Daedo: when did you get that?

  Mace: I’ve always had it. Watch! I’ll patch you in on the feed.

  Daedo looked at Vannier who shrugged and sent him a private message.

  Vannier: Do you know what her parents do?

  Daedo: No! I just know they travel a lot. They never said what sort of business they do.

  Vannier: So they don’t manufacture tiny drones?

  Daedo: No idea!

  The vision and audio started to come through from Mace’s sneaky spider drone.

  “My research shows that we could rank as high as third in Middle, but it's more likely we will finish mid-table. The main issue is Upper Academy will struggle and may even come last. There is a distinct chance we could be relegated unless action is taken now,” Fortescue said.

  Not only were Matthias and Siderus sitting in the meeting with her but there were three cadets from the Upper Academy. All of them were House Captains.

  “Thanks for the research,” the Osiris House captain said, “I want to make it clear we aren’t taking orders from you.”

  “Oh, you’re not. You are taking them from the LG who is taking orders from my mother. Stop interrupting, we have a lot to get through.” Karine Fortescue said.

  “Why should we believe you?” the Osiris House captain asked.

  “Don’t,” Fortescue said emphatically. “All you need to do is ask your Commander for confirmation, or you can message the LG directly. I don’t care. When it comes down to it, the Commanders finalise the Inter-Academy teams, not you. And these same Commanders will do anything Fortescue tells them to. If you don’t want to listen, leave now. Go on.” Fortescue was either calling their bluff or bluffing herself. Daedo wasn’t sure.

  Barran: Oh man, this is juicy. We need to come here to study every day!

  “Get on with it Fortescue,” Matthias said. No one seemed willing to call her bluff.

  “Very well,” she said with her superior tone. “We have made arrangements with Renault, from tier two, to loan us their best mech which is available at the beginning of the season. They will not upgrade it for us as the season progresses because all they want us to do is to stop Templars from winning Tier 3 and promoting. As you know we have them in the second round. And if it comes down to the wire, we have to let KAIST take maximum points off us in the second last round. This is the agreement with Renault, which must be fulfilled.”

  “Including Middle Academy?” Siderus asked incredulously.

  “Yes, including Middle. You will give KAIST maximum points if they are behind Templars by round ten,” Fortescue stated.

  “You are devious. You do know if we get caught we will be automatically relegated,” Matthias observed.

  “That is why all your recording devices are blocked,” Fortescue said. “This meeting never happened. Oh, and Romulus, you can confirm this fact when the Renault Mechs arrive.”

  “This brings us to Middle Academy,” Fortescue stated. “I will be selecting the team. You can forget your little House Captain roundtable.”

  “Bullshit,” Matthias blasted, and Siderus put a hand on his shoulder to quiet him. They were normally rivals, it looked like a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

  “Whatever you think and do, in the end, it will mean nothing. Commander Mallet has the final say on the first team whether you come to an agreement or not. And Commander Mallet will do whatever I tell him,” Fortescue said.

  “We just want to win,” Siderus said diplomatically. “Surely we are all on the same side.”

  “Not all of us row in the same direction,” Fortescue said.

  Vannier: She means us doesn’t she?

  Axel-Zero: I never knew someone could be so evil and manipulative. I thought the VR dramas were unrealistic.

  “Okay, Miss high and mighty, what are we supposed to do to win your favour?” Matthias asked.

  “For starters, I will attend your House Captain's meeting. I will replace St Claire as the Horus representative,” Fortescue replied.

  “Oh, he’s going to love that, but no loss. Go on,” Matthias said his words dripping with cynicism.

  “Anyone who wants to be on the first team will submit to the gene therapy program,” Fortescue stated.

  “Hang on,” Matthias interrupted, “Upper isn’t doing gene therapy. Why do we have to do this? And whoseprogram? What are the risks, and is this approved?” The hard-nosed cadet was panicking.

  “This would have to be vetted by our parents at a minimum,” Siderus stated. “We aren’t in U1. We can’t do this without permission.” What he actually meant
is she couldn’t force them without their parent's permission.

  “Oh, but you can,” Fortescue stated. “If your House Master approves. Technically they’re your legal guardian while you are in term.”

  Matthias snorted with derision. “That may be so, but if something goes wrong, there would be hell to pay. My family aren’t some chumps you can sweep under the rug when things go pear-shaped.”

  “No one has to undergo the gene therapy. No one is being forced to. But if you want to be selected in the first team you will begin the treatments next week,” Fortescue stated.

  Siderus looked at Matthias. Neither looked happy.

  “Send the details. I want to assess the risks properly before agreeing,” Siderus said.

  “Why are we even considering this?” Matthias asked.

  “Because the M first team needs to beat Templars and we need to raise your chances of finishing mid-table to high on the table. You may not know this, but all the Tier one academies put their first four strings through gene therapy from M2. The increased agility, speed and strength are all reflected in the exo team’s performance.”

  “Why is that not in the news?” Siderus asked.

  “Because they keep it secret,” Fortescue answered.

  “How do you know?” Matthias asked.

  “I’m a Fortescue. We may not have the best R&D, but we do have a world class information gathering operation,” Fortescue said, and they looked like they believed her.

  “I’m beginning to wish I’d never come to this meeting,” Matthias said. “Oh, I said that out loud.” He added and laughed ironically.

  “Is that it?” Romulus the Osiris Upper House captain asked.

  “No,” Fortescue said in a direct manner. “Other than your Commander you are to speak to no one about the details of this meeting. The same information gathering operation that procured all this data will monitor you and can be put to other uses.”

  “Holy shit,” Matthias said. “Did you just threaten us?” He looked at Siderus. “She just threatened us!”

  Daedo knew Matthias was smarter than he was leading on.

  Vannier: Is he always this dumb?

  Daedo: No he is actually very cunning. My guess is he is voicing it to ensure everyone understands and it's out in the open. He only acts dumb.

  Mace: He is cunning then. Because I totally believed he was stupid.

  “Dismissed cadets,” Fortescue said.

  The five M3 and U3 cadets stood and filed out. None of them looked happy, and they all looked powerless.

  Vannier: No wonder we frustrate her. She has never been able to intimidate us like this.

  Barran: You mean Daedo. She’s never been able to control him because she has no leverage on him.

  Daedo: Master Nader has been helping I’m sure. She has hinted on occasion she has stopped the Academy’s politics from affecting us.

  Vannier: For once I am thankful that we have the scariest Master in the Academy.

  Daedo wondered how scared Vannier would be if she knew the truth.

  Chapter 14

  Attendance at Fortescue Military Academy M1 Y:2142

  House Thoth, Squad Leader, Squad Zero

  M1 Rank: 1/1275, Tier 3 M-Rank: Null

  Term: 2, Round: 3

  Daedalus Financial Position 160,000 bitcreds

  ◆◆◆

  They were alone in the library again. Fortescue and the older cadets had left five minutes ago while the squad remained quiet in their study room, not wanting to open the door or move for fear of being discovered. After five minutes had passed, they felt comfortable enough to talk, although Mace left her spy-der drone at the main entrance just in case.

  “You gotta admit, Fortescue is kinda ballsy” Barran observed. Unsurprisingly he received looks of condemnation.

  “Don’t even go there,” Picard said angrily. “What are we going to do?” She asked in a concerned tone looking at Vannier and Daedo.

  “We could turn in the recording,” Vannier said, “But who would we give it to?”

  “Master Nader?” Axel-Zero asked.

  “Wait,” Barran said, “Why would he hand this in? This is leverage.”

  “I agree with Barran,” Mace said, “We should hold on to this and use it when needed.” The cadets expected this sort of thinking from Barran, but the statement coming from Mace surprised everyone except Daedo. She had displayed insight and cunning on many occasions.

  “We can’t let this go. It could be dangerous for the M3 cadets.” Picard said distressed. She didn’t like rich kids, but she would naturally side with the underdog, and on this occasion, the M3 cadets were being pushed around by the more powerful Fortescue.

  “Does the military implement gene therapy on its soldiers?” Daedo asked Picard.

  “Not that I know of. I wouldn’t put it past Private Military though,” she replied.

  “The ones we fought weren’t fast enough to have had successful gene therapy,” Mace said.

  “I agree with Barran and Mace, we should hold onto it,” Kang piped up. “And I want to see the vid of her face when you show that rich bitch the recording.”

  “Kang!” Picard said distressed. “This isn’t natural.”

  “Neither is colouring your hair,” Kang observed pointing out that both Picard and Vannier had their hair colour altered genetically.

  “That isn’t the same. It’s a very simple procedure and has been done millions of times. It’s perfectly safe.” Vannier stated.

  “Who's to say what Fortescue is proposing isn’t safe? Those M3 cadets can make up their own mind,” Kang argued.

  “She’s right, it’s the match-fixing where we really have her,” Barran stated.

  “The M3 cadets desperately want to be on the first team,” Daedo said. “They might do something they normally wouldn’t agree to just to get onto the team.”

  “Daedo,” Vannier said seriously, “Three of us want to turn this information in, to at least Master Nader, and the other three want to hold onto it.”

  “Wait, who is the three to turn it in?” Barran asked.

  “Me, Picard and Vannier,” Axel-Zero said.

  Barran mouthed, “Oh!” without saying anything, and then he looked at Daedo, “You haven’t chosen a side. What do you think?”

  Daedo began to wonder why they were at this Academy.

  They had the creds and ability to go elsewhere, somewhere far superior. He had no allegiance to Fortescue. On the contrary, his father would have preferred he go somewhere else, they just couldn’t afford it at the time. And then once things were set in motion, they never considered changing.

  Daedo only knew Fortescue from the daughter, but everything she said, and did, was in character with actions from the inept company. They had no forward thinking, nor investment in terms of research. They owned space on the spiral, but other than that they seemed to make no preparations, no investment to combat the supposed future invasion. He wondered if their strategy was to just up and run when the time came.

  Although he would condone any strategy that won, because there was no such thing as cheating in war. All Fortescue, the company and the family, did was manipulate and use others. They not only did not contribute to the greater effort in the slightest, out of all the large companies, they actually hindered progress. And that was something he would not forgive.

  “Feck Fortescue,” Daedo said.

  “Yes. Insightful as always great leader, but do you mean the Academy, the company or the girl in M1?,” Barran asked with a hint of humour.

  “Or all of the above?” Vannier asked, and Daedo nodded sadly before sitting down. He tried to go back to work on his propulsion research.

  “Hey, we’re having a conversation here?” Barran asked. “We need to decide what we are going to do?”

  Daedo stopped for a moment. “I am going back to work, and I won’t tell Picard, Axel-Zero or Vannier not to intervene if they think it's wrong.”

  “But we have an opportunity
here,” Barran said speaking for Kang, himself and Mace.

  “An opportunity to do what?” Daedo asked. “What could Fortescue possibly do for us?”

  Barran shrugged.

  “I have a compromise,” Vannier said. “Why don’t we give the information regarding the gene therapy to Master Nader to take further and we hold and hide the information on the match-fixing?”

  Barran grinned, “Deal! That works for me.” With that statement, Mace nodded, and Kang shrugged.

  “I don’t really care that much,” Kang said.

  “Daedo, there is something else we need to discuss. How are we going to get on the Inter-Academy team or is it even important at all?” Vannier asked.

  Daedo sighed, “You are right. Let’s discuss this now.”

  “And by ‘discuss’ you mean you tell us what we are doing right?” Barran asked genuinely.

  “I can extrapolate what we know, and then we can decide what we want,” Daedo began.

  “We know Fortescue is a dysfunctional organisation, there is plenty of evidence to validate this. We could have helped, but their actions continually show we will not be allowed to. Not at first,” Daedo qualified.

  “If we continue to progress our exo tech and they perform well in it, this will help Daedalus, but we will not be getting the practical experience from Inter-Academy matches. We will, however, get practice sessions with the first, second and third string teams during the week if we choose. If they try to deny us even this, we will pull the exo, as we will make it part of the deal.” Daedo stated.

  “It is possible a few of us will be allowed to participate in the Gauntlet. As you know, you can’t be in the first team and compete the Gauntlet event. So if we are ranking in the top ten in M3, we will have a good opportunity to complete in the Inter-Academy Gauntlet.” Daedo said.

  Vannier interrupted, “But that’s not practical experience, we may as well stay at the workshop.”

  Daedo nodded, “But it is still exposure for our exo. We need bitcreds and a lot more of them.”