The Star Agency (The Star Agency Chronicles)

by R. E. Weber

The image viewpoint zoomed rapidly in towards the surface of the brown-cratered world until the edge of a large canyon zoomed into view. It then continued down towards a cliff face at the edge of the canyon, before suddenly stopping and swinging upwards. As Theo stared at the cliff edge, he could see what looked like a dark, grey, rectangular shape embedded in the rock face.

  ‘What I am looking at?’ said Theo.

  ‘Research Station Athonesis Alpha,’ replied Orientator. ‘You can clearly see the research station’s observation window.’

  ‘Got it,’ said Theo.

  ‘At 13:38:07 yesterday, we received a code 2.3 alert from the research station. Shortly after the alert, communication with the station was terminated.’

  ‘What’s a code 2.3 alert?’ said Theo.

  ‘Unauthorised entry to the facility and attempted theft of Affinity property.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Theo. ‘Was anybody hurt?’

  ‘The station wasn’t occupied at the time of the alert. It was evacuated some time ago due to a massive solar flare.’

  ‘Were you able to contact the station again? You know, find out what happened?’

  ‘If unauthorised access to a facility is detected, the node initiates a security lockdown. Communication with the station would then be impossible.’

  ‘Lockdown?’ said Theo. ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘The node will apply additional security protocols to prevent unauthorised access to the node, send out an alert signal, terminate all communications, seal all exits to the facility and then enter a minimal power state. A Lockdown can only be terminated by a Star Agency operative, using a direct physical connection to the station’s node. If you look carefully at the observation window, you may be able to detect a faint red glow. This low level lighting indicates that the research station is still in lockdown.’

  ‘So you mean somebody needs to physically go there, plug themselves directly into the node and turn off the lockdown?’

  ‘Precisely,’ replied the Orientator. ‘Star Agency operatives are issued with Direct Connect Companion Ports to allow this. The ports are single use only. Once used, they render themselves in-operable to prevent duplication or unauthorised access.’

  ‘You mean they self-destruct?’ said Theo.

  ‘Correct,’ replied Orientator.

  ‘But it’s safe, isn’t it? I mean, whoever broke in – they’re not still there waiting for me, are they? And there aren’t any horrible bugs hiding in the shadows, ready to leap out and attach themselves to my face?’

  ‘By the time of your arrival, the Affinity Navy will have secured the station and eliminated any potential threats. Your mission will be purely one of reconnaissance. There is no perceived danger to you.’

  ‘I’m pleased to hear it,’ said Theo. ‘So is that it? Is that all I have to do?’

  ‘Your secondary mission parameters will be to gather any evidence that might indicate how access to the facility was gained. You will be required to record all aspects of your mission via your companion.’

  ‘What sort of evidence will I be looking for?’ said Theo.

  ‘Equipment that may have been tampered with, anomalous activities recorded by the node, in essence anything which will lead us to identify the intruders. You will need to examine the entire research station, thoroughly. In order to assist you with your mission, you will be fitted with a temporary companion enhancement headset. This will comprise of the Companion Port I have already described as well as some sensory enhancements. Additionally, you will be granted a partial security step for the duration of the mission. This will effectively increase your security clearance to Level 4 – High Secrecy for the duration of this mission. This security level is only partial. However it will be sufficient. Level 4 access is a requirement for you to access the research station’s node.’

  ‘Right,’ said Theo rather sheepishly, knowing that he’d already been up to level two, seemingly without their knowledge.

  Orientator paused for a moment, staring at the image in front of him. Then he turned back to look at Theo.

  ‘Are you now clear on your mission objectives, Operative Logan?’

  Operative Logan. It certainly sounded impressive.

  ‘Yeh, I think so,’ said Theo, grinning.

  ‘You need to be certain,’ said Orientator. ‘Doubt is unacceptable.’

  ‘Yeh,’ said Theo, ‘I know what I’m going to be doing.’

  ‘In that case,’ said Orientator, ‘would you care to repeat back the mission outline to me, without referral to your companion?’

  Damn. He hated being put on the spot. It was like being back at school. He stood up nervously and took a deep breath. Then he looked back at Orientator. Here goes.

  ‘The Affinity lost contact with Research station Athonesis Alpha for about erm…’ Theo had to think for a moment. ‘I erm, think it was about two Por.’

  ‘1.2 Por,’ corrected Orientator.

  ‘Yeh 1.2 por,’ said Theo. ‘And the Affinity Navy are going in to make it all safe. Then you want me to get inside the station, logon to the node, kill the lockdown and then find out how they managed to get in – the intruders I mean.’

  ‘More precisely,’ said Orientator, with what Theo could only guess was irritation, ‘your task is to interrogate the node, gather any data relevant to the communications loss, record any evidence which might lead us ascertain how the base was compromised and return this data to Star Agency Command.’

  ‘Yeh, got it,’ said Theo.

  ‘Are you certain you understand your mission?’ said Orientator. ‘You seem... uncertain.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Theo, raising his voice slightly and trying and sound more assertive.

  ‘Good,’ said Orientator. ‘Now, all that remains before you depart for Athonesis, is to be fitted with your temporary companion enhancement headset.’

  ‘Cool,’ said Theo, ‘More toys to play with.’

  *

  ‘Ouch,’ said Theo as the headset, which Orientator had placed around his skull, clamped itself to his head and bonded with his skin.

  ‘I apologise that we do not have the time to surgically install these enhancements,’ said Orientator.

  ‘That’s OK,’ said Theo, relieved that they weren’t going to be drilling more holes in his head.

  ‘I’m sure that you will be able to teach yourself how to access the extra facilities. There will be no need for any further instruction.’

  Theo looked back at Orientator and smiled. ‘That’s alright, Q. I think I can manage it myself.’

  ‘What is a Q?’ said Orientator.

  ‘Oh never mind,’ said Theo. ‘It’ll take too long to explain.’

  ‘Do you have any questions regarding the mission you are about to undertake?’

  ‘No, I don’t think so,’ replied Theo.

  ‘In that case, please follow me,’ said Orientator.

  ‘Sorry, was that a please I heard, Orientator?’ said Theo sarcastically.

  ‘It was. Human speech is so full of unnecessary platitudes. However, I do believe I am beginning to master them.’

  ‘Getting there,’ said Theo rising up from his seat and smiling. ‘Getting there.’

  He turned around to see that, as usual, Orientator was several meters ahead of him, striding away and not looking back. He had managed to get Orientator talking like a human. Now all he had to do was work on his patience.

  *

  Theo followed Orientator through the open doorway ahead of them, then stopped and looked around, feeling a sudden chill. He was now inside what looked like a huge rocky cavern. There were several spotlights on the floor and ceiling, but very little else was visible. The cavern looked dark, vast and empty.

  ‘Is this it?’ said Theo as he glanced around the empty cave, expecting to see something a little more hi-tech.

  ‘Yes,’ replied Orientator. ‘This is the launch pad.’

  ‘Oh right, so when does the transport ship get here?’

  ‘The
vessel is already awaiting our arrival.’

  ‘Is it?’ said Theo, looking around. ‘I can’t see it.’

  ‘The vessel is directly in front of you,’ replied Orientator.

  Theo strained his eyes in the darkness to see if he could see anything, even just an outline. But there was nothing. Apart from the spotlights on the floor and the ceiling, there was just the blackness of the empty cavern.

  ‘I’m sorry’ said Theo confused. ‘Am I missing something? Is it invisible?’

  ‘No,’ said Orientator. ‘The vessel is coated with a Super black, nano-engineered, ablative skin.’

  ‘What does that mean?’ said Theo, looking even more confused.

  ‘The surface of the vessel is coated in a substance which is completely non reflective. The spotlights above and below you are simply there to illuminate the cavern. There would be no point trying to illuminate the vessel since there would be absolutely no reflection in any part of the electromagnetic spectrum, including visible light. Essentially, to any tracking device, it is just a hole in space when it is powered down.’

  ‘And when it’s powered up?’ said Theo.

  ‘The vessel is able to enter full stealth operations. This will enable it to bend any and all background spectra around itself, rendering it totally undetectable by any and all known means.’

  ‘So it really will be invisible then?’ said Theo.

  ‘Completely,’ said Orientator.

  ‘Cool, a stealth ship,’ said Theo.

  ‘It is known as a Ghost Wing. It is an experimental design, able to travel completely undetected almost anywhere. Additionally, its skin is hardened to physical impacts. The vessel, even without it’s shielding, can take several direct strikes from projectile or energy weapons and remain intact.’

  ‘Cool,’ said Theo, ‘So what’s its name?’

  ‘You mean its registration?’ said Orientator.

  ‘No’ said Theo, ‘its name. All Ships need a name, you know, like The Enterprise or something.’

  ‘It does not have such a common designation, simply a registration.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Theo, ‘In that case, I’ll have to get my thinking cap on.’

  ‘Do you require headgear to improve your thought processes?’ replied Orientator flatly.

  Theo looked at Orientator, confused. Then he burst out laughing. ‘Yeh, very funny Orientator, good one.’ But Orientator didn’t answer.

  As Theo stared ahead, a horizontal slit of white light appeared out of the darkness and began to expand, growing steadily downwards until it touched the ground. Theo stared at the light and smiled. It reminded him of a years-old sci-fi movie he’d seen where an invisible space ship had landed on Earth and opened its boarding ramp to let its occupants out. But this was different. This was real. And he was being asked to climb on board.

  ‘Proceed onto the vessel,’ said Orientator.

  ‘Excellent,’ said Theo. Then, without waiting for Orientator to follow, he walked quickly towards the light. As he reached the bottom of the ramp, he paused and stared up into the ship’s interior. He was really doing this. He was about to take part in a secret mission for the Star Agency. He really was crazy.

  ‘Please proceed quickly,’ said Orientator. ‘Time is not in abundance.’

  So with his heart pounding, Theo walked quickly up the ramp.

  *

  The short hop through the quantum portal to the Athonesis system had taken just a matter of minutes. Then, upon arrival, the Ghost Wing had positioned itself in a parking orbit around the planet’s distant moon, with instructions to wait until the Affinity Navy had completed their sweep of the research station. And to Theo, the wait had been a blessing. It had given him time, not only to gather his thoughts, so he could mentally prepare himself for what was about to happen, but also to make sure that he knew the mission profile inside out. He had read, re-read and then read the mission profile again so he understood every aspect, instinctively. It seemed, in principle, easy enough. Or so he hoped.

  Now, was there anything else? Then, as if to prompt him, the skin around the side of his head, to which his companion headset had bonded, began to itch. The sensory enhancements. He opened his companion and scanned for any new options. Assist. That had to be it. He selected it and two more options appeared below:

  Visual Enhancement

  Audio Enhancement

  He selected Visual Enhancement and a new, bright blue-tinted image overlaid itself over his normal vision. Theo held out his hand in front of him and stared at it in the strange new light. But it was odd. When he brought his hand closer to his eyes, the image became blurred, and no matter how long he stared at it he couldn’t bring it into focus. But if he held it out at arm’s length, it suddenly became much clearer. Then he realised why. The viewpoint. The low light detectors were on his headset, either side of his eyes, and that meant the image was coming from a slightly different angle. So whenever he looked at his hand close up, the difference in the angle became exaggerated and the two images didn’t line up. But when it was further away, the difference became less and the image looked more or less the same. After a minute or two of experimentation, he found that it worked better if he turned off his own vision completely and just used the Visual Enhancement. But it felt odd that he could just switch off his own eyesight so easily. And then, just for a moment, he had a horrifying thought. What if somebody else could take control of his companion and switch off his senses in the same way? He didn’t like the idea of that one little bit. But then surely the companion was secure enough to protect against such things. Wasn’t it?

  He then felt the left side of his head. Directly over his temple, he could feel a small raised lump on the end of a prong on his headset. The Direct Connect Companion Port. But he couldn’t practice it now because it was single use only. He retrieved the instructions for the port and read them again for the third time. It all looked pretty simple: Touch the Direct Connect access panel and insert the connecting pin into the Companion Port. Then select Port, Attach and Accept. It couldn’t be simpler.

  Theo closed down his companion and then glanced around the cabin. To his right was Orientator. Only he wasn’t sat down or laid back on one of the fold down seats as expected. He was instead hanging upside down from a horizontal bar about three meters above the ground, with his arms wrapped around his torso. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and as he breathed he made an odd warbling sound, a little like a wood wind instrument. Theo put his hand over his mouth to try and suppress a giggle. Luckily, Orientator didn’t hear him.

  ‘Is he sleeping?’ said Theo to First Mentor through his companion.

  ‘Yes Theo, Orientator is at rest.’

  ‘A few minutes ago he was sat down and wide awake.’

  ‘Polisians are able to program themselves to fall asleep as required, easily and quickly. Unlike humans, sleep can be as conscious a choice as walking or talking.’

  ‘I’ve never seen him in that position before. Why is he hanging like that? How come he doesn’t he fall down?’

  ‘Because the muscles in a Polisians feet clench when they are at rest.’

  ‘Oh right,’ said Theo, confused.

  ‘If you remember, their ancestors were winged. They slept hanging from vegetation or rocky outcrops, out of reach of ground based predators. They can sleep in more or less any position, but hanging is the most comfortable and relaxing for them; a trait I believe that is shared with some species from your own world.’

  ‘Yeh, bats,’ said Theo.

  ‘Correct,’ said First Mentor. ‘The clenched position of their feet is actually the relaxed position. Releasing the foot is what takes the effort.’

  At that moment, almost as if he knew he was being talked about, Orientator unfolded his arms from around his body, opened his eyes and starred across at Theo.

  ‘Morning, sleepy head,’ said Theo, grinning at Orientator’s upside down face.

  Without replying, Orientator curled his body upwards and
grabbed the bar with his four arms, letting his feet hang down. Then he dropped to the floor with a light thud, stood upright, turned around to face Theo and blinked several times.

  ‘We have received word,’ said First Mentor out loud, ‘that the Affinity Navy have secured the research station.’

  ‘So are we ready to go?’ said Theo.

  ‘Yes,’ said First Mentor. ‘Is your environmental suit fitted correctly, Theo?’

  Theo felt up and down his body, underneath his jacket, and then down his trouser legs.

  ‘Yeh,’ said Theo. ‘Snug as a bug.’

  ‘In which case, please follow me,’ said Orientator, before turning and heading down the corridor towards the back of the ship.

  Theo followed Orientator and seconds later they were in a pod berth at the back of the vessel. There were five pods in the berth and one of them had already opened and shaped itself to an approximation of Theo’s body. Made to measure as usual.

  ‘Please enter the pod, Theo,’ said Orientator.

  Theo climbed up into the pod chamber, turned around and sunk back into the foam like walls, which immediately closed around him. Seconds later, an oxygen mask had clamped itself to his face, but the pod remained open.

  ‘Are you fully prepared?’ said Orientator.

  ‘I think so,’ said Theo, his voice muffled by the oxygen mask.

  ‘In that case, I believe the appropriate maxim in your language is good luck,’ said Orientator.

  ‘Thanks,’ said Theo as the pod walls closed around him.

  For a moment, he stared out at Orientator through the transparent pod wall. This was really it. He was going on the mission and there was no turning back. Suddenly, his heart began to thump hard and his breathing became faster. As he continued to stare forwards, he noticed a small, white, blinking light on the wall in front of him. He knew exactly what it meant because he’d seen one before. It was a countdown. Then the light stopped blinking and became steady.

  He’d expected to feel nothing as the pod dropped silently out of the ship, but instead there was an almighty jolt and Theo felt like his stomach had been rammed into his throat. As the Pod raced away from the ship, he instinctively squeezed his eyes shut as the acceleration pressed hard on his eyeballs, almost sucking the breath out of his lungs. It was like the fastest roller coaster ride he had ever been on and one of the most frightening and exhilarating feelings he’d ever had. From underneath his oxygen mask, he let out a muffled whoop of excitement.