I started writing a sci-fi story type thing a while back, and just found it again on my hard-drive. I was hoping I could get some fb on it. Thanks in advance:
Oh, and it's like 10 pages. So I'll break it up into chunks.
Everything was in position. The trap was set. The long, rubble-filled street had been turned into the perfect ambush point, and the best part was that the enemy’s intelligence would say that this attack was supposed to be located nearly twelve blocks away. The tall bombed-out shells of skyscrapers flanked either side of the road, full of dust and the stench of destruction. But that was not all they contained. Snipers, machine gun teams and RPG temas stood hidden, clad in black and their weapons pointing out onto the road beneath. They maintained a constant vigil, and if the enemy came rolling in, they would be the first to know, and the first to alert everyone else.
On the ground, Lance squad stood waiting, hiding behind a pile of wrecked cars and trucks. Commander Eian Kurs was actually inside a badly ruined bus crouching down in the space between the seats. The visor of his helmet was filled with various smaller screens, all showing different tidbits of information. Ammo-count, a satellite map of the area, and his own bio-signs. Clutched in his hands was an M89 assault rifle. The holographic sight that hovered just above the flat top of the gun gave off a dim blue glow, and Eian used his hand to shield this light from being seen. As much as he loved combat, loved the thrill of gunning down the enemy, he was getting tired. He and his entire squad had been waiting at the ambush point for nearly ten hours, and the forward observation groups had not seen heads-nor-tail of the hostile forces.
As if sitting in a destroyed bus in the pitch dark wasn’t bad enough, it had now started to rain. Rain wasn’t the right word for it though; it was more like the heavens had emptied their entire contents down upon the wasteland. The one advantage of being inside the bus was that the rain didn’t get it. The roof rang out with the sound of a million raindrops smacking against it. Finally sick of waiting, he opened a com-line.
“Forward team, what the hell is going on? I thought that convoy was supposed to be here and hour ago.” He knew he sounded angry and he knew he shouldn’t, but waiting around for three hours doing nothing had that effect on him.
There was some shuffling and dull bumps on the other end of the com-line before somebody finally responded.
“Uh…I have no idea sir. Satellite observation placed the convoy as heading in this direction at about fifteen miles per hour. It’s not my fault if they’re late. Should I call up Union command and tell them to hurry up their convoy so we can attack it?” The voice belonged obviously to Lt-Commander Jei Grein, Eian’s long time friend and compatriot.
“Jei, since when do you run forward observation? And for that matter, what the hell are you doing here?!” Eian said, genuinely surprised at Jei’s presence. He heard a laugh.
‘Oh Eian. Oblivious as ever. I was pulled off guard duty on Burida to serve here. Didn’t they let you know?”
Eian shook his head, even though he knew that it didn’t matter when Jei couldn’t see him. “Nothing, but I don’t expect to be told anything these days. Anyways, keep an eye on the road. The moment the convoy enters the target area,…well, you know what to do”
“That I do. Grein out”
Eian peeked out through the bus window again. The dark street was still deserted, and the rain was still pouring down. It ended up taking another ten minutes before the Union convoy appeared. Jei’s frantic voice burst suddenly through Eian’s helmet speakers.
“Eian, this is Jei. Union convoy has just turned onto the street and is ten meters from the ambush zone.”
“Roger that. All units prepare for assault.”
Eian activated his Hostile-Friendly Recognition System that was a mode of the visor. It highlighted friendly units in green and enemy units in red. He watched as the sniper and machine gun teams up in the buildings got into ready position. The other soldiers on the ground did the same, setting up their weaponry for the frontal assault.
Further up the road, a group of red outline vehicles and soldiers appeared coming down the road.
“This is Commander Kurs. I have spotted the hostile convoy. On my mark, RPG teams open fire on the APCs. Snipers hit the soldiers and machine gun teams do the same. All ground teams, once the fire from above distracts the enemies, engage them from the front. Lets do this quick and clean.”
A chorus of “rogers” responded to the message. Eian was finally going to get to see some action, and nothing made him happier.
“Jei, how far are they?”
“They’ll be in the ambush zone in fifteen seconds.”
Eian took in a deep breath and clutched his M89 tighter.
Ten seconds.
Five seconds.
His mind’s internal timer clicked to zero. In a calm voice, he spoke.
“Open fire”
Up in the buildings, the RPG teams, wielding the powerful Arxis-93 Multiple Missile Launcher (MML), took aim. The soldiers locked on and fired. Eian watched as bright streaks shot out of the buildings and streaked down to the Union convoy. The missiles impacted the Union’s blocky and, in Eian’s opinion, ugly APCs. The effect was devastating and immediate. The Arxis-93 could fire three rockets in rapid succession, and each missile packed a high explosive directed rockets. As the missile hit the APCs, they exploded with tremendous inwards force, causing the APCs to essentially implode on themselves. As an added bonus, the hydrogen fuel cells powering the APCs also exploded, sending bright blue and grey fireballs into the sky, which mixed with the red and orange flames.
Now, Eian heard the rapid chatter of the machine guns opening fire. He watched as the enemy soldiers who hadn’t been killed by the explosion were now mowed down by the four LMGs blasting away at them.
“Alright. Ground teams, open fire,” Eian now got his chance. He popped the built in bipod out and placed it on the lip of the window. He now opened fire, along with the rest of the ground teams. The enemy forces now had to divide their attention between the forces in the buildings and the forces on the ground.
Aiming down the holographic sights, Eian let loose, firing off toward the enemy. The M89 was a coil gun, firing 5.56 mm tungsten rounds at near super-sonic speeds. These rounds now easily pierced straight through the Union soldier’s body armor. They dropped like flies, some of them screaming as they were killed. Soon, all of the red outlined figures were gone. Eian stopped firing.
“All units, cease fire. We’re done.”
The assault stopped, and Eian stepped out of the bus and into the street. The convoy was burning into oblivion, and dead Union soldiers lay everywhere. The other ground soldiers had also emerged, sweeping the destroyed convoy with gun mounted flashlights and their visor’s night vision systems. Eian walked slowly through the burning wreckage, giving a stiff kick to each Union soldier, making sure that they were dead. They were. Either they were full of tungsten slugs or they had had every bone in their bodies broken and their organs compressed by explosive shockwaves.
“Royal Command, this is Commander Kurs. Union convoy has been eliminated. Looks like the plan worked.”
The stern voice of the Command dispatcher replied to Eian with robotic quickness.
“Roger that Commander Kurs. Please note, we are sending a drop ship to come collect you”
Had the dispatcher been able to see Eian’s face, he would have noticed that it had twisted into an expression of confusion.
“Sir? I thought I was supposed to be transferred over to the Pudorl front. I don’t need a drop ship for that.”
“Negative. The battle plan has been changed. We’re sending you to Hylris.”
At this, Eian nearly chocked on his own tongue. “Hylris? What in the name of the Emperor could cause you to send me to Hylris?”
“Classified. You’ll be briefed by the Grand Marshall on the drop ship. Any questions?”
Eian stuttered, trying to comprehend what he had just heard. The Grand Marshall was the highest ranking officer in the Hegemony Royal Armed Forces, and was second only to the Emperor himself in terms of rule over the military.
“No. Where is the pickup point?”
The dispatcher didn’t answer. Instead, massive spotlights from above suddenly illuminated the entire area. Eian’s visor automatically dimmed and he saw that a Royal Marines drop ship was hovering above the street. The ship was large, with a trapezoidal body, the bottom being larger than the top. There were two rectangles on each end, sticking straight forwards and backwards. In between the front two was the cockpit.
There was a thwap and a a grappling hook slammed into the ground beside Eian. Knowing exactly what to do, Eian stepped onto the platform at the end of the rope. There was a whirring noise and the rope began to retract back up into drop ship. The platform brought him up through a hatch in the bottom of the hovering vehicle and into the cargo bay, where ten soldiers of the Royal Guard stood in their highly ornate gold and blue armor.
The leader of Royal Guard squadron stepped forwards. “Commander Kurs, I am Royal Guard Captain Alexei Bratizmov. The Grand Marshall is waiting for you in the briefing room. Please follow me” Captain Bratizmov turned on his gold plated heels and began walking towards a door at the far end of the hangar. Eian followed him like a dog following after his master; even though Eian technically outranked Bratizmov, nobody dared disobey the Royal Guard. They were ruthless killers, willing to do whatever it took to ensure the “stability” of the Hegemony, even if it meant killing fellow soldiers.
Alexei led Eian to a large briefing room, which was set up like a small auditorium, three rows of tiered seats, all facing towards a holographic projector. As Eian entered, he got his first view of the Grand Marshall. He was younger than Eian had expected; he only appeared to be fourty or so. He wore an ornate military outfit, with a high golden collar and a cloak laced with silver. His boots went up to just below his knees, and were made of shimmering black Titrungstenum. His face was young looking, with bright blue eyes and blonde hair.
Most likely due to extensive genetic modification, probably of a similar sort to the ones that Eian had undergone. The Grand Marshall turned and motioned toward s the seats.
“Commander. Please, take a seat. We have much to discuss.” The Grand Marshall spoke Upper Terran, which was a much more educated and aristocratic version of Lower or Middle Terran, both of which Eian spoke. However, he also spoke Upper Terran, having learned it from his father, who had been noble a long time ago.
“Of course, Grand Marshall Ouren. What is of concern to you?” Eian said it with polite reverence, changing his accent and tone to sound more upper class. He watched as the Grand Marshall raised an eyebrow.
“You speak Upper Terran, Commander? I did not think that you were of noble blood.”
Eian bowed his head, “My father was…he was a scholar.” Eian lied. Had he told the truth about who his father had been, the Grand Marshall probably would have shot him right then and there. So he lied. Ouren seemed to by it, at least superficially.
“I see. You are bi lingual then?”
Eian shook his head softly. “It depends if you consider Terran a single language or not. I speak all three dialects of it, as well as Geilesan and Arcitan.”
At this, Ouren seemed totally and utterly surprised. He took a few seconds to respond and when he did, it was in a tone of disbelief.
“My…my. That is amazing. You’re father should be praised by the Emperor himself for making you so linguistically adept. I myself know the Terran languages and a bit of Geilesan. Arcitan is just so complicated.” Ouren waved his hand as if dismissing the thoughts, “But we aren’t here to talk about my failure to understand certain lexicons. What we are here to talk about, is this” Ouren tapped the control panel and the projector burst to life, showing a 3D cube with a recorded new broadcast on it. A young blonde woman was talking, with images of the galaxy behind her
“Now, onto our top story of the hour. President Hasshain Moridu of the Outer Planets Union told reporters at a press conference that a brand new Union super weapon, known only as Project Super Nova, has been completed. He said quote “This brings us one step closer to the defeat of those tyrannical fascist-monarchs that lay claim to the Homeworld. With this weapon, we shall tear apart the Hegemony’s very fabric”, end quote. While there has been no official releases as to the nature of the weapon, several Hegemony military analysts have said that the weapon is most likely a fusion reactor inhibitor, which could theoretically cause a star to go super nova, hence the project’s name. Minister of Defense Klau Hyr told reporters in our royal capital of Grand Terra City that the Hegemony Armed Forces were more than prepared for any threat posed by the Union”
At this point, Ouren paused the video. “That is why I called you here.”
Eian smirked and pointed at the screen. “What? You actually think they built such a weapon?”
The Grand Marshall shook his head vigorously. “No” He said it firmly and starkly, “We don’t think. We know. Not only did they build it, but also it is in fact complete. However, there are numerous things we don’t know. Like how close it is to operational status or even where the cursed thing is. If this thing becomes active and they use it on one of our suns, it would be the end of the war. And this is where you come in”
On the ground, Lance squad stood waiting, hiding behind a pile of wrecked cars and trucks. Commander Eian Kurs was actually inside a badly ruined bus crouching down in the space between the seats. The visor of his helmet was filled with various smaller screens, all showing different tidbits of information. Ammo-count, a satellite map of the area, and his own bio-signs. Clutched in his hands was an M89 assault rifle. The holographic sight that hovered just above the flat top of the gun gave off a dim blue glow, and Eian used his hand to shield this light from being seen. As much as he loved combat, loved the thrill of gunning down the enemy, he was getting tired. He and his entire squad had been waiting at the ambush point for nearly ten hours, and the forward observation groups had not seen heads-nor-tail of the hostile forces.
As if sitting in a destroyed bus in the pitch dark wasn’t bad enough, it had now started to rain. Rain wasn’t the right word for it though; it was more like the heavens had emptied their entire contents down upon the wasteland. The one advantage of being inside the bus was that the rain didn’t get it. The roof rang out with the sound of a million raindrops smacking against it. Finally sick of waiting, he opened a com-line.
“Forward team, what the hell is going on? I thought that convoy was supposed to be here and hour ago.” He knew he sounded angry and he knew he shouldn’t, but waiting around for three hours doing nothing had that effect on him.
There was some shuffling and dull bumps on the other end of the com-line before somebody finally responded.
“Uh…I have no idea sir. Satellite observation placed the convoy as heading in this direction at about fifteen miles per hour. It’s not my fault if they’re late. Should I call up Union command and tell them to hurry up their convoy so we can attack it?” The voice belonged obviously to Lt-Commander Jei Grein, Eian’s long time friend and compatriot.
“Jei, since when do you run forward observation? And for that matter, what the hell are you doing here?!” Eian said, genuinely surprised at Jei’s presence. He heard a laugh.
‘Oh Eian. Oblivious as ever. I was pulled off guard duty on Burida to serve here. Didn’t they let you know?”
Eian shook his head, even though he knew that it didn’t matter when Jei couldn’t see him. “Nothing, but I don’t expect to be told anything these days. Anyways, keep an eye on the road. The moment the convoy enters the target area,…well, you know what to do”
“That I do. Grein out”
Eian peeked out through the bus window again. The dark street was still deserted, and the rain was still pouring down. It ended up taking another ten minutes before the Union convoy appeared. Jei’s frantic voice burst suddenly through Eian’s helmet speakers.
“Eian, this is Jei. Union convoy has just turned onto the street and is ten meters from the ambush zone.”
“Roger that. All units prepare for assault.”
Eian activated his Hostile-Friendly Recognition System that was a mode of the visor. It highlighted friendly units in green and enemy units in red. He watched as the sniper and machine gun teams up in the buildings got into ready position. The other soldiers on the ground did the same, setting up their weaponry for the frontal assault.
Further up the road, a group of red outline vehicles and soldiers appeared coming down the road.
“This is Commander Kurs. I have spotted the hostile convoy. On my mark, RPG teams open fire on the APCs. Snipers hit the soldiers and machine gun teams do the same. All ground teams, once the fire from above distracts the enemies, engage them from the front. Lets do this quick and clean.”
A chorus of “rogers” responded to the message. Eian was finally going to get to see some action, and nothing made him happier.
“Jei, how far are they?”
“They’ll be in the ambush zone in fifteen seconds.”
Eian took in a deep breath and clutched his M89 tighter.
Ten seconds.
Five seconds.
His mind’s internal timer clicked to zero. In a calm voice, he spoke.
“Open fire”
Up in the buildings, the RPG teams, wielding the powerful Arxis-93 Multiple Missile Launcher (MML), took aim. The soldiers locked on and fired. Eian watched as bright streaks shot out of the buildings and streaked down to the Union convoy. The missiles impacted the Union’s blocky and, in Eian’s opinion, ugly APCs. The effect was devastating and immediate. The Arxis-93 could fire three rockets in rapid succession, and each missile packed a high explosive directed rockets. As the missile hit the APCs, they exploded with tremendous inwards force, causing the APCs to essentially implode on themselves. As an added bonus, the hydrogen fuel cells powering the APCs also exploded, sending bright blue and grey fireballs into the sky, which mixed with the red and orange flames.
Now, Eian heard the rapid chatter of the machine guns opening fire. He watched as the enemy soldiers who hadn’t been killed by the explosion were now mowed down by the four LMGs blasting away at them.
“Alright. Ground teams, open fire,” Eian now got his chance. He popped the built in bipod out and placed it on the lip of the window. He now opened fire, along with the rest of the ground teams. The enemy forces now had to divide their attention between the forces in the buildings and the forces on the ground.
Aiming down the holographic sights, Eian let loose, firing off toward the enemy. The M89 was a coil gun, firing 5.56 mm tungsten rounds at near super-sonic speeds. These rounds now easily pierced straight through the Union soldier’s body armor. They dropped like flies, some of them screaming as they were killed. Soon, all of the red outlined figures were gone. Eian stopped firing.
“All units, cease fire. We’re done.”
The assault stopped, and Eian stepped out of the bus and into the street. The convoy was burning into oblivion, and dead Union soldiers lay everywhere. The other ground soldiers had also emerged, sweeping the destroyed convoy with gun mounted flashlights and their visor’s night vision systems. Eian walked slowly through the burning wreckage, giving a stiff kick to each Union soldier, making sure that they were dead. They were. Either they were full of tungsten slugs or they had had every bone in their bodies broken and their organs compressed by explosive shockwaves.
“Royal Command, this is Commander Kurs. Union convoy has been eliminated. Looks like the plan worked.”
The stern voice of the Command dispatcher replied to Eian with robotic quickness.
“Roger that Commander Kurs. Please note, we are sending a drop ship to come collect you”
Had the dispatcher been able to see Eian’s face, he would have noticed that it had twisted into an expression of confusion.
“Sir? I thought I was supposed to be transferred over to the Pudorl front. I don’t need a drop ship for that.”
“Negative. The battle plan has been changed. We’re sending you to Hylris.”
At this, Eian nearly chocked on his own tongue. “Hylris? What in the name of the Emperor could cause you to send me to Hylris?”
“Classified. You’ll be briefed by the Grand Marshall on the drop ship. Any questions?”
Eian stuttered, trying to comprehend what he had just heard. The Grand Marshall was the highest ranking officer in the Hegemony Royal Armed Forces, and was second only to the Emperor himself in terms of rule over the military.
“No. Where is the pickup point?”
The dispatcher didn’t answer. Instead, massive spotlights from above suddenly illuminated the entire area. Eian’s visor automatically dimmed and he saw that a Royal Marines drop ship was hovering above the street. The ship was large, with a trapezoidal body, the bottom being larger than the top. There were two rectangles on each end, sticking straight forwards and backwards. In between the front two was the cockpit.
There was a thwap and a a grappling hook slammed into the ground beside Eian. Knowing exactly what to do, Eian stepped onto the platform at the end of the rope. There was a whirring noise and the rope began to retract back up into drop ship. The platform brought him up through a hatch in the bottom of the hovering vehicle and into the cargo bay, where ten soldiers of the Royal Guard stood in their highly ornate gold and blue armor.
The leader of Royal Guard squadron stepped forwards. “Commander Kurs, I am Royal Guard Captain Alexei Bratizmov. The Grand Marshall is waiting for you in the briefing room. Please follow me” Captain Bratizmov turned on his gold plated heels and began walking towards a door at the far end of the hangar. Eian followed him like a dog following after his master; even though Eian technically outranked Bratizmov, nobody dared disobey the Royal Guard. They were ruthless killers, willing to do whatever it took to ensure the “stability” of the Hegemony, even if it meant killing fellow soldiers.
Alexei led Eian to a large briefing room, which was set up like a small auditorium, three rows of tiered seats, all facing towards a holographic projector. As Eian entered, he got his first view of the Grand Marshall. He was younger than Eian had expected; he only appeared to be fourty or so. He wore an ornate military outfit, with a high golden collar and a cloak laced with silver. His boots went up to just below his knees, and were made of shimmering black Titrungstenum. His face was young looking, with bright blue eyes and blonde hair.
Most likely due to extensive genetic modification, probably of a similar sort to the ones that Eian had undergone. The Grand Marshall turned and motioned toward s the seats.
“Commander. Please, take a seat. We have much to discuss.” The Grand Marshall spoke Upper Terran, which was a much more educated and aristocratic version of Lower or Middle Terran, both of which Eian spoke. However, he also spoke Upper Terran, having learned it from his father, who had been noble a long time ago.
“Of course, Grand Marshall Ouren. What is of concern to you?” Eian said it with polite reverence, changing his accent and tone to sound more upper class. He watched as the Grand Marshall raised an eyebrow.
“You speak Upper Terran, Commander? I did not think that you were of noble blood.”
Eian bowed his head, “My father was…he was a scholar.” Eian lied. Had he told the truth about who his father had been, the Grand Marshall probably would have shot him right then and there. So he lied. Ouren seemed to by it, at least superficially.
“I see. You are bi lingual then?”
Eian shook his head softly. “It depends if you consider Terran a single language or not. I speak all three dialects of it, as well as Geilesan and Arcitan.”
At this, Ouren seemed totally and utterly surprised. He took a few seconds to respond and when he did, it was in a tone of disbelief.
“My…my. That is amazing. You’re father should be praised by the Emperor himself for making you so linguistically adept. I myself know the Terran languages and a bit of Geilesan. Arcitan is just so complicated.” Ouren waved his hand as if dismissing the thoughts, “But we aren’t here to talk about my failure to understand certain lexicons. What we are here to talk about, is this” Ouren tapped the control panel and the projector burst to life, showing a 3D cube with a recorded new broadcast on it. A young blonde woman was talking, with images of the galaxy behind her
“Now, onto our top story of the hour. President Hasshain Moridu of the Outer Planets Union told reporters at a press conference that a brand new Union super weapon, known only as Project Super Nova, has been completed. He said quote “This brings us one step closer to the defeat of those tyrannical fascist-monarchs that lay claim to the Homeworld. With this weapon, we shall tear apart the Hegemony’s very fabric”, end quote. While there has been no official releases as to the nature of the weapon, several Hegemony military analysts have said that the weapon is most likely a fusion reactor inhibitor, which could theoretically cause a star to go super nova, hence the project’s name. Minister of Defense Klau Hyr told reporters in our royal capital of Grand Terra City that the Hegemony Armed Forces were more than prepared for any threat posed by the Union”
At this point, Ouren paused the video. “That is why I called you here.”
Eian smirked and pointed at the screen. “What? You actually think they built such a weapon?”
The Grand Marshall shook his head vigorously. “No” He said it firmly and starkly, “We don’t think. We know. Not only did they build it, but also it is in fact complete. However, there are numerous things we don’t know. Like how close it is to operational status or even where the cursed thing is. If this thing becomes active and they use it on one of our suns, it would be the end of the war. And this is where you come in”
Eian was confused, and it showed in his voice and face. “With all due respect, I may be a Spec-Ops soldier, but I’m not clandestine operations. I never have been. Why not contact the intelligence departments? Isn’t this in their realm of authority?”
Ouren nodded, tilting his head to Eian slightly. “That is true, granted. Of course, if you just a mere soldier, we wouldn’t be having the conversation right now, would we?”
The Grand Marshall had suddenly drawn very near to Eian, his blue eyes seemingly trying to pierce through Eian’s skull. Trying to must what resilience he had, he said back “What do you mean?”
A servant, who had been quietly standing in the corner of the room, now walked over and placed a Flexi-Pad on the table. Ouren picked it up and began bringing up pages.
“This is your entire record. Everything that you have ever done, ever move you’ve ever made. It is all in here. Now, I personally went through every inch of files in the record, and nothing. According to this, you have never even been near the intelligence HQ building, let alone worked for them”
Eian nodded, and was about to say something when Ouren held up his hand.
“This little thing, however,” As he said this, he pulled a thin black folder from his jacket. It had an ornate golden seal on the front, one that Eian recognized with horror. Ouren opened it up.
“I managed to get this out of the Archives. According to this, you were once part of the”, he cleared his throat and said in an authorative voice, “The Grand Terran Hegemony Royal Intelligence Service, Division 10” He looked up at Eian, who was gripping the arm of his chair so tight, it appeared that he was trying to snap it in half. Ouren nodded and continued to read: “Test subject 001, aka Eian Kur, has shown test results far superior to those of any other subjects. Neural abilities, physical fitness and reaction times are all off the scale. With cybernetic implants, possibility to become Class 1 agent.”, Ouren stopped reading, now just skimming down with his finger, finally tapping the paper, “And most interestingly of all, you were eventually accepted to the Shadows of Ghosts. The ‘non-existent’ group. And through my sources, I know you went on countless espionage missions in both the Combine and the Union.”
By now, Eian was ready to tear the chair out of the floor and fling it at the Grand Marshall’s head. He had hoped to bury the past, hide it away. And it had worked, until now. Gritting his teeth, Eian managed to get out a few words.
“So….are you saying you want me to go back to that? I gave it all up for a reason.”
A looked crossed Ouren’s face, one of confusion and then understanding. “Oh, no, never. No, I have a different offer for you. You see, whether you like it or not, you are the best espionage agent…erm, ex-agent, that we know of. So here is what I propose. If you do this for us, then you will see about…oh, I don’t know, maybe two or three extra zeros at the end of your paycheck?”
“S…sir? Two or three extra zeros?” Eian could hardly believe it. He currently made a sizeable amount, but two or three extra zeros…he would be raking in a few million a year. More money than he had ever had in his entire life. That much money could change everything for him. The choice was finally becoming clear, but he needed to be sure.
“And should I refuse?” At this, Ouren shrugged.
“Then we put these files away, you never see me again and you get to go back to doing whatever it is that you do.” While the Grand Marshall’s words were generous, his tone and facial expressions told a different story. Eian was going to do this, whether he like it or not. Resigned to the fate that life had dealt, him, Eian nodded. “Alright sir. I’ll do it. Where do I start?”
Ouren nodded, tilting his head to Eian slightly. “That is true, granted. Of course, if you just a mere soldier, we wouldn’t be having the conversation right now, would we?”
The Grand Marshall had suddenly drawn very near to Eian, his blue eyes seemingly trying to pierce through Eian’s skull. Trying to must what resilience he had, he said back “What do you mean?”
A servant, who had been quietly standing in the corner of the room, now walked over and placed a Flexi-Pad on the table. Ouren picked it up and began bringing up pages.
“This is your entire record. Everything that you have ever done, ever move you’ve ever made. It is all in here. Now, I personally went through every inch of files in the record, and nothing. According to this, you have never even been near the intelligence HQ building, let alone worked for them”
Eian nodded, and was about to say something when Ouren held up his hand.
“This little thing, however,” As he said this, he pulled a thin black folder from his jacket. It had an ornate golden seal on the front, one that Eian recognized with horror. Ouren opened it up.
“I managed to get this out of the Archives. According to this, you were once part of the”, he cleared his throat and said in an authorative voice, “The Grand Terran Hegemony Royal Intelligence Service, Division 10” He looked up at Eian, who was gripping the arm of his chair so tight, it appeared that he was trying to snap it in half. Ouren nodded and continued to read: “Test subject 001, aka Eian Kur, has shown test results far superior to those of any other subjects. Neural abilities, physical fitness and reaction times are all off the scale. With cybernetic implants, possibility to become Class 1 agent.”, Ouren stopped reading, now just skimming down with his finger, finally tapping the paper, “And most interestingly of all, you were eventually accepted to the Shadows of Ghosts. The ‘non-existent’ group. And through my sources, I know you went on countless espionage missions in both the Combine and the Union.”
By now, Eian was ready to tear the chair out of the floor and fling it at the Grand Marshall’s head. He had hoped to bury the past, hide it away. And it had worked, until now. Gritting his teeth, Eian managed to get out a few words.
“So….are you saying you want me to go back to that? I gave it all up for a reason.”
A looked crossed Ouren’s face, one of confusion and then understanding. “Oh, no, never. No, I have a different offer for you. You see, whether you like it or not, you are the best espionage agent…erm, ex-agent, that we know of. So here is what I propose. If you do this for us, then you will see about…oh, I don’t know, maybe two or three extra zeros at the end of your paycheck?”
“S…sir? Two or three extra zeros?” Eian could hardly believe it. He currently made a sizeable amount, but two or three extra zeros…he would be raking in a few million a year. More money than he had ever had in his entire life. That much money could change everything for him. The choice was finally becoming clear, but he needed to be sure.
“And should I refuse?” At this, Ouren shrugged.
“Then we put these files away, you never see me again and you get to go back to doing whatever it is that you do.” While the Grand Marshall’s words were generous, his tone and facial expressions told a different story. Eian was going to do this, whether he like it or not. Resigned to the fate that life had dealt, him, Eian nodded. “Alright sir. I’ll do it. Where do I start?”
A man in a white coat with a large metal suitcase strode in and placed the case on the desk. He opened up the suitcase, which Eian saw contained a injector-gun and a small vial. While the (presumably) doctor set things up, Ouren explained: “We’re going to be sending you through the Combine as a a citizen of the Combine. The Union and the Combine are on fairly neutral terms, so there shouldn’t be any problem getting there. Once inside the Union, you’re going to be posing as a wealthy investor from the Combine interested in investing in the Union’s aerospace industries. This should get you close enough to begin doing your,…” Ouren paused, as if searching for the right word, “Spy stuff” he finally said, slipping into a Middle Terran accent for just a brief second.
Eian was about to respond when the doctor placed the gun against his arm and pulled the trigger. There was a hiss and then a “pow”, and it was over.
“There you go. You are now Kerim Iyrik. I’d fill you in more, but that’s not my job.” Ouren said, examining the file some more. Eian rubbed the spot where the microchip had been shot under his skin.
“What now? Are you just shipping me off to the Combine?”
“Of course not. You need your documents and such. I’ve set up a meeting between you and a Combine defector. The meeting will occur in a week on Terra, in Grand Terra City, at the Old Building to be exact.”
Eian raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t been to Terra in at least ten years, and the last time he had, he had had an interesting experience involving the Royal Police and a bag of Metolinum that had been planted on his person. It hadn’t been pleasant and gave Eian a bad impression of the mighty capital planet.
“If you say so. When do I leave?”
Ouren smiled and looked at his watch. “We’re arriving at Port Ansixi now, actually. A Jump-Ship is waiting there to take you to Terra”
“Is it safe? I mean, the Unionist still have their anti-space guns.” Eian had no problem with avoiding anti-space fire, but only when he was the one piloting.
Ouren rolled his eyes and laughed a bit, unusual for a man of such high stature to do. “We’ve disguised the ship as a medical transport, so it’ll be protected by the Sol Treaty.” He bit his lip, “Or it should be, at least.”
This didn’t exactly comfort Eian but it was as good as he was probably going to get. He felt the dropship shudder as it touched down on the ground. Standing up, he bowed before the Grand Marshall and turned to the door that would lead him out of the ship. Ouren nodded to two Royal Guard soldiers and they opened the outer hatch. Eian was just about to step out the open door when Ouren cleared his throat.
“Eian, good luck” Eian smiled at this, and then stepped out. Behind him, Ouren turned away and muttered, “You’re going to need it.”
Eian was about to respond when the doctor placed the gun against his arm and pulled the trigger. There was a hiss and then a “pow”, and it was over.
“There you go. You are now Kerim Iyrik. I’d fill you in more, but that’s not my job.” Ouren said, examining the file some more. Eian rubbed the spot where the microchip had been shot under his skin.
“What now? Are you just shipping me off to the Combine?”
“Of course not. You need your documents and such. I’ve set up a meeting between you and a Combine defector. The meeting will occur in a week on Terra, in Grand Terra City, at the Old Building to be exact.”
Eian raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t been to Terra in at least ten years, and the last time he had, he had had an interesting experience involving the Royal Police and a bag of Metolinum that had been planted on his person. It hadn’t been pleasant and gave Eian a bad impression of the mighty capital planet.
“If you say so. When do I leave?”
Ouren smiled and looked at his watch. “We’re arriving at Port Ansixi now, actually. A Jump-Ship is waiting there to take you to Terra”
“Is it safe? I mean, the Unionist still have their anti-space guns.” Eian had no problem with avoiding anti-space fire, but only when he was the one piloting.
Ouren rolled his eyes and laughed a bit, unusual for a man of such high stature to do. “We’ve disguised the ship as a medical transport, so it’ll be protected by the Sol Treaty.” He bit his lip, “Or it should be, at least.”
This didn’t exactly comfort Eian but it was as good as he was probably going to get. He felt the dropship shudder as it touched down on the ground. Standing up, he bowed before the Grand Marshall and turned to the door that would lead him out of the ship. Ouren nodded to two Royal Guard soldiers and they opened the outer hatch. Eian was just about to step out the open door when Ouren cleared his throat.
“Eian, good luck” Eian smiled at this, and then stepped out. Behind him, Ouren turned away and muttered, “You’re going to need it.”
Port Ansixi was the largest spaceport on the planet of Gehrin’Kol. It took up an entire, small peninsula that jutted off of the mainland. It was ideally place, since it was a mere three miles from the planetary capital of Osinav and during the initial Hegemony invasion of the Gehrin’Kol, Port Ansixi had acted as the main operating base and a drop zone for supply. And while the main Hegemony base on the planet was now located in Osinav itself, Ansixi was still the largest recipient for supply drops.
As a result, it was extremely heavily guarded, and this was quite obvious to Eian as he stepped out of the dropship. The spaceport was a vast concrete field with a gargantuan building in the center. The building was shaped like a cylinder, with multiple docking arms sticking off of it like spokes. Huge ships, most of which were painted in the black and gold of the Terran Hegemony Armed Forces, sat idling at the docking stations, offloading tanks and troops and supplies.
Eian’s ship, however, was not doing any of that. It was a large cargo ship, designed almost like a long octagon with block engines and overall construction. However, while most freighters were painted black, this one was painted white, with red crosses on the side. It’s name, the RMS Salvation, was emblazoned on the side of the front in bright red font.
Several soldiers were waiting for him, and quickly whisked him into the ship and into a cabin, all without a word. There was nothing to do and no one to talk to as the cargo ship took to orbit and began moving away from the planet.
The intercom binged and a voice came through it, a soft female voice; “All passengers, prepare for jump”
Eian looked out of his cabin’s window as the stars began to swirl and streak, then blast into long lines as the ship made the jump. Gehrin’Kol was a fantastic number of light years from Terra, which made Eian extremely thankful for the Kawisiga-Iloru Drive that enabled FTL travel. Before the KI Drive, as it had come to be known, existed, spacers were forced to go into long periods of cryosleep to ensure their survival over long journeys. Eian had only been in cryosleep once, and he had come out of it vomiting and with atrophied muscles that took a month to recover.
By his approximations, they would reach Terra is no fewer than fifteen hours. A long time, but still short compared to the old days. Eian lay down on the small, barely adequate bed. It creaked and wasn’t in the least bit comfortable, but Eian hadn’t been expecting a luxury suite onboard a refitted cargo ship. His eyelids had suddenly become very heavy, and they slid closed over his eyes, shutting out the light of the room.
A heavy shudder woke Eian. He yawned and stretched out, and only then realized that he was still in his power armor. The gel lining was so comfortable; he sometimes forgot that he was wearing it. A quick glance out of the window confirmed what he already knew; they had landed in Grand Terra City.
In the thousands of years that had passed since the Era Of The Ancestors, Terra had changed significantly. A horrible war around 2453 had covered Terra with soot and ash, causing the ice on the planet to melt. Combined with out of control global climate change and the end result was the sea levels rising by nearly 220 feet, wiping out whole cities and significantly changing the maps. All of the world’s largest Ancestral cities were obliterated, and much of humanity’s history went with them. A few cities had survived thanks to quick geoforming and seawalls. One of these cities was Grand Terra City, who’s Ancestral name had long been forgotten. Despite this, quite a few Ancestral buildings had been saved. All of the new buildings, with the exception of the Royal Palace, were built out to sea.
A vast network of organic-inspired white/blue platforms and towers rose out of the tranquil blue ocean that covered the ruins of many a great cities. The towers had no angles to them; instead, they were curved with smooth white plastic-carbonate surfaces and blue designs embedded into it. Glass and steel skytrams connected the towers to the city-platforms. The platforms were more traditionally designed, with large columns holding up the thick platforms. Massive buildings, designed in old-gothic and art-deco style at upon these platforms, which were buildings in themselves.
The Salvation had touched down on a landing platform jutting off the top of one of the towers.
As a result, it was extremely heavily guarded, and this was quite obvious to Eian as he stepped out of the dropship. The spaceport was a vast concrete field with a gargantuan building in the center. The building was shaped like a cylinder, with multiple docking arms sticking off of it like spokes. Huge ships, most of which were painted in the black and gold of the Terran Hegemony Armed Forces, sat idling at the docking stations, offloading tanks and troops and supplies.
Eian’s ship, however, was not doing any of that. It was a large cargo ship, designed almost like a long octagon with block engines and overall construction. However, while most freighters were painted black, this one was painted white, with red crosses on the side. It’s name, the RMS Salvation, was emblazoned on the side of the front in bright red font.
Several soldiers were waiting for him, and quickly whisked him into the ship and into a cabin, all without a word. There was nothing to do and no one to talk to as the cargo ship took to orbit and began moving away from the planet.
The intercom binged and a voice came through it, a soft female voice; “All passengers, prepare for jump”
Eian looked out of his cabin’s window as the stars began to swirl and streak, then blast into long lines as the ship made the jump. Gehrin’Kol was a fantastic number of light years from Terra, which made Eian extremely thankful for the Kawisiga-Iloru Drive that enabled FTL travel. Before the KI Drive, as it had come to be known, existed, spacers were forced to go into long periods of cryosleep to ensure their survival over long journeys. Eian had only been in cryosleep once, and he had come out of it vomiting and with atrophied muscles that took a month to recover.
By his approximations, they would reach Terra is no fewer than fifteen hours. A long time, but still short compared to the old days. Eian lay down on the small, barely adequate bed. It creaked and wasn’t in the least bit comfortable, but Eian hadn’t been expecting a luxury suite onboard a refitted cargo ship. His eyelids had suddenly become very heavy, and they slid closed over his eyes, shutting out the light of the room.
A heavy shudder woke Eian. He yawned and stretched out, and only then realized that he was still in his power armor. The gel lining was so comfortable; he sometimes forgot that he was wearing it. A quick glance out of the window confirmed what he already knew; they had landed in Grand Terra City.
In the thousands of years that had passed since the Era Of The Ancestors, Terra had changed significantly. A horrible war around 2453 had covered Terra with soot and ash, causing the ice on the planet to melt. Combined with out of control global climate change and the end result was the sea levels rising by nearly 220 feet, wiping out whole cities and significantly changing the maps. All of the world’s largest Ancestral cities were obliterated, and much of humanity’s history went with them. A few cities had survived thanks to quick geoforming and seawalls. One of these cities was Grand Terra City, who’s Ancestral name had long been forgotten. Despite this, quite a few Ancestral buildings had been saved. All of the new buildings, with the exception of the Royal Palace, were built out to sea.
A vast network of organic-inspired white/blue platforms and towers rose out of the tranquil blue ocean that covered the ruins of many a great cities. The towers had no angles to them; instead, they were curved with smooth white plastic-carbonate surfaces and blue designs embedded into it. Glass and steel skytrams connected the towers to the city-platforms. The platforms were more traditionally designed, with large columns holding up the thick platforms. Massive buildings, designed in old-gothic and art-deco style at upon these platforms, which were buildings in themselves.
The Salvation had touched down on a landing platform jutting off the top of one of the towers.