by Ben Winston
He turned and led the group out of the receiving lounge and into a large, comfortable looking atrium. "This is the main communal area and business hub. We don't have a lot of business up here yet, but we hope too eventually. We do have plans to expand this area if needed. Before you ask, we are fifty feet below the surface of the moon. Transient and residential access lifts are on the far side of the mall. While all residences are deep under the lunar surface, we have gone to great pains to ensure and promote a more 'open' feeling.
"Apartments as well as the hotel have all been built around large atriums. This helps counter the feelings of living underground, as well as helping with oxygen recycling and production. So your hotel rooms will have balconies overlooking green spaces. These gardens have holographically simulated sunlight, and environmental systems even generate ‘breezes’’’. Under normal circumstances, it's very hard to remember we are actually on the moon. However, if you need a reminder, we can escort you up to the Science and Command Dome on the surface and you can look out the window."
"Although I don't doubt we are actually on the moon Governor, if you have artificial gravity and holographic technology, it should be very easy to make someone believe we are actually on the moon when we are not. Am I correct?" one of the agents asked.
"You're correct. Unfortunately, the only way to prove it conclusively is fatal. Even going for a walk on the surface could be recreated with those two technologies," Carl replied.
"What part of the moon are we on? Basically, where on the moon?" one of the other agents asked.
"We’re near the crater called 'Grimaldi' on a rock shelf overlooking the Ocean of Storms in the western hemisphere. Relax guys, there's no weather up here." Carl added when some of the men looked a little anxious at the name. "It's only the name of the place."
"Speaking of names, your Commander Albright didn't tell us the name of your organization. Could you tell us what it's called?" Wilson asked.
"We actually don't have an official name yet. Some of the people up here are calling us 'Aegis' because we are trying to shield our sector from some bad folks. But I haven't let the Commander know that yet," Carl replied. They had arrived at the lift to the living quarters and hotel. "For the time being, this is the only working elevator serving the hotel. There are stairs, as well as another lift that services the residential areas, but the hotel is still small enough that only one lift is needed. Of course, there is a much larger cargo elevator, but that is little more than a gravity controlled platform that moves up and down a shaft."
"This is a very beautiful base you have started here, Governor. Although I know I'm on the moon and everything is enclosed, it feels more like I'm in a large empty shopping mall and not a base on the moon," one of the agents said.
"Well, if all goes according to plan, this is going to be a very large colony. Once everything gets built and populated, I could easily see the population here reaching close to a million or more," Carl replied.
"You plan on recruiting that many people for this?" Wilson asked.
"Well, we will have to recruit a lot of people, but not all the residents are going to be from Earth. There are other civilizations out there that we will be working closely with, and some of them will need to live here as well, especially during the shipyard construction. Once we get the Greynus here, the rest of the base will get built pretty quickly," Carl explained.
"Other Races? You mean aliens, from other planets?" an agent asked.
Carl nodded. "Currently, there are at least six other races we know of, four of which have Ranger teams just like ours. We are hoping they will join us in forming an alliance that will work together to build the facilities we are going to need to oppose the Drellian forces when they arrive."
"You make it sound like you’re getting ready to go to war, General," Wilson replied.
"We are," Carl replied reasonably.
Prometheus Base
Shermandale, Utah
North American Continent
Earth, Sol System
Greg and Jarad returned to Greg's office to work out the details of contacting the other races. Greg was beginning to feel a sense of urgency about getting in touch with them and getting the ball rolling on planning their defenses. It was decided that Greg should go ahead and begin speaking to the other Ranger teams about forming an alliance for defense.
Greg sat in the command center and began calling the other Ranger Fighters. He thought he would begin with the one that he felt would be the easiest one to speak to, Ranger Fighter Delion of the Harclen Consortium.
"My greetings Ranger Fighter Greg of Terra. To what do I owe the honor of this call?" Delion asked. She was smiling, and Greg hated to ruin her day.
"Abraxis tells me he has informed you of the likely attack by the Drellian Empire. If you have the time, I would like to discuss this with you," Greg replied.
"This development has been troubling me greatly. She," (Abraxis appeared as a female to the Harclen who had a matriarchal society) "has also spoken to me about the possibility that you might be working on a plan to oppose them. I have been looking forward to hearing about this plan."
Greg nodded. "I have been working to devise a method by which we can successfully defend ourselves from an attack such as this. I can come up with nothing that does not require that all of us work together. My people would call this a mutual defense agreement. This is an agreement made between separate nations, what you would call tribes, to work together in order to defend themselves against a much larger opponent. If we are to defeat the coming attack and keep our people safe, all of the Ranger teams, as well as the technologically advanced nations that do not have teams as yet, must join together in the creation of a combined defense force.
Delion nodded, "I thought it would be something like that. The information provided by Abraxis has led me to the same conclusion. We will need a much larger force to successfully repel an attack on this scale. I have spoken to my leaders on this issue. I received a great deal of resistance from them initially but once I explained that the creation of such a force would require many agreements, including trade agreements, they began to see a benefit for our people. I am ashamed to admit that most of my leaders seem to value greed more than they do freedom."
Greg almost laughed. "That is not a trait exclusive to your people, Fighter Delion. I have encountered a great deal of opposition from our leaders as well. In my case though, I do not have one single governing body to work with, but several. It seems every situation is viewed in terms of wealth and power, both politically as well as militarily. We are still a very warlike species and I am working hard to keep our technologies away from them. I fear they would ignore the threat to the planet in order to make war on each other. I could easily see them becoming as bad as the original Drellian Empire."
"Surely not? We have yet to encounter a race that barbaric in our peaceful explorations. We have found that peaceful, more agrarian societies are the norm in the sector," Delion replied.
"We are a very barbaric race, my friend. So much so, that I feel it will be the most powerful of our societies gifts that we will bring to the alliance. The trick will be keeping that violent and barbaric nature in check and under control so as not to let my people gain power over any of the others.
"Is that how you are such a good tactician? Because you were raised in a violent and warlike society?" Delion asked.
Greg smiled back at her. "I don't know how good I am at tactics, but I suppose you would be correct in that I was raised in a warlike society. My apologies for changing the subject, but you said you spoke to your leaders about this issue. May I ask what was decided, if anything?"
Delion nodded. "They will support this. The lure of gaining more trading partners appealed to them. I have been given some authority in this area and can make limited agreements on our behalf. I would say they are looking forward to meeting new races."
"Well, as long as your leaders understand that my people are warlike and can be d
eceptive if they feel they can gain power or money, we should be okay. I will swear to you right now, Delion, I will never knowingly deceive you in any form and I will actively work to prevent my people from doing so to others," Greg explained.
"I have never considered that you would, Fighter Greg. It would be against your nature to be duplicitous. So tell me of your plan so far and how the Harclen people can assist," Delion said without reservation.
Greg laid out the whole thing for Delion and she felt it had promise. With the limited power given her by her leadership, she would begin to make the necessary inquiries to secure transportation for goods from Earth to the Greynus and possibly other worlds as well. She chuckled when she informed him that construction had already begun on larger, longer ranged freighters. The Harclens were hedging their bets.
Greg reminded her to let them know that some of those ships would need to be ore freighters. He got her support and agreement to participate in future meetings, either via video or in person as needed to get this alliance built and moving. She agreed time was limited. Now that she knew their goals, she could work on her end to make sure things got done.
Greg spent the rest of the day speaking to the other Fighters about the possibility of forming an alliance against the Drellian threat to the sector. Abraxis had done a good job of keeping the other Ranger teams informed, and when he spoke to them they had been ready for it. He held the Onarians and the Greynus for the last as he felt that he would receive the most opposition from the Onarians and because he had nothing to promise the Greynus but the attempt to try to help them with their food issues. He was surprised on both fronts.
The Onarians had already begun preparations to ramp up production of computer systems and construction efforts. The entire overly logical society had already made a decision based on the information supplied. Abraxis had told them that Greg was working on a plan to counter the pending threat and the Ranger Pilot, who was acting as the team leader until a replacement Fighter could be found, acted on that information. Abraxis later explained that since Greg had worked with all the teams on the last incursion, a default mutual support agreement was already in place. The Onarians knew, that since Greg was a Ranger Fighter, he would automatically be acting in their best interests.
Greg just shook his head in wonder. His own people wanted to take all this equipment away from him because they felt he was too young and inexperienced (among other more self-serving reasons). Yet the Onarians, who had never even met him had decided to support him without even speaking to him first simply because of the position he held. Logic was a scary thing sometimes.
The Greynus had already assigned two primary hive clusters to the project provided transportation and materials could be arranged. They were simply waiting for a ride before getting to work. When Greg spoke of trying to get them assistance for their food problem, they informed him that any assistance would be greatly appreciated, but the simple fact of getting some of the hives off planet and working on projects would ease the burden on the planet. They were dedicated to the project before the details had even been discussed or agreements had been made.
In total contrast to that overwhelming show of support by the other races, the US government was doing everything it could to make life hell for the team from Earth.
On the day the FBI interviewers returned to Prometheus, a veritable army of law enforcement officials arrived to surround the compound and begin to lay siege against the Rangers and those working with them. Of course, a circus of that size had to include a full-blown media festival as well.
Which actually worked to the Ranger's advantage as the shuttle from the moon arrived after the siege began. Of course, every camera involved caught the arrival of the shuttle.
By the time the FBI, ATF and OHS agents approached the front gate, the FBI team that had been to the moon had disembarked, gone back through medical, and accompanied Greg and Jarad to the surface. At Jarad's insistence, Greg was wearing his flight suit under his coveralls to prevent a sniper from getting a shot on him.
When the first set of FBI agents arrived to investigate the 'kidnappings', Jarad had discussed the issue with Lionel. They had agreed that the next course of action would be for the ATF to show-up for the automatic weapons the Marines carried. After consulting Abraxis, another, non-terrestrial weapon was devised for the Marines to carry.
All the government issued weapons the Marines had were crated up, inventoried according to their issuing documentation, and prepared for shipment. The Marine guards were issued the new, non-lethal, yet still effective, weapons. All the government weapons were loaded in the government issued truck the troops had arrived in and parked by the gate under guard.
Greg, Jarad and Lionel, accompanied by the FBI team, met the new agents at the front gate.
Greg was the first to speak. The media was held far back, but Greg insured that they were receiving the video feeds from the security cameras mounted on the gate itself.
"Gentlemen, before you say anything, I feel I should inform you that this entire meeting is being recorded as well as rebroadcast to the media vans, as well as to our internet servers. This meeting is being broadcast live, on the Internet. My name is Ranger Fighter Greg Albright and I am the group leader here. How can we be of assistance today?"
"Mister Albright, I am Supervisory Special Agent Jon Handley. On behalf of the other agencies represented here, I have been appointed to negotiate with you in order to bring a peaceful resolution to this issue."
Greg extended his hand to the speaker. "It's good to meet you Supervisory Special Agent Handley. Forgive me, but what issue are you speaking of, we are unaware of any issues that might require your presence here."
"There are a number of reasons we're here, Mister Albright. The first is the kidnapping of five federal investigators that arrived here a few days ago to investigate the disappearances of several United States citizens…" the Agent began, but SSA Wilson interrupted him. Removing his FBI credentials, he approached the other agent.
"Agent Handley, I'm Supervisory Special Agent Wilson of the Salt Lake City office. I am the Senior Agent sent here to investigate the supposed kidnappings. I can assure you that no such crime has been committed. We have spoken to each and every person that has been reported missing, and each one has assured us that they have relocated of their own volition. No form of coercion was used to get them to relocate. When I return to my office, I will be formally dismissing the investigation. As for our kidnapping, I have been making daily reports back to my office. If you simply call Agent Sempis in Salt Lake City, she will be able to confirm that."
"I'm sorry Agent Wilson, Agent Sandra Sempis was murdered last night as she was leaving the Bureau Offices in Salt Lake. I'll call and have someone check her computer for your reports. One of the reasons we are here is we believed the crimes to be connected, as the murder has all the signs of a professional assassination. If you and your team will please come with us, we can verify your identities and debrief you," another agent replied sadly.
SSA Wilson turned to Greg and Jarad to shake their hands. "Gentlemen, thank you for your assistance in our investigations. I will make it clear to my superiors that you cooperated fully and that we found nothing illegal in any portion of your operations here."
"I'm glad we could be of help to you, Supervisory Special Agent Wilson. If you have any further questions for us, please feel free to let us know and we will do our best to get the information for you," Greg replied.
SSA Wilson nodded his acceptance and stepped away, behind him each of the agents also stopped to shake their hands. When they had finished, the group of agents was led away by the agent that had told them of Agent Sempis' death.
"I am sorry for the loss of Agent Sempis, Agent Handley. I never met her nor have I ever spoken to her, but I feel it’s a horrible crime when one of the people sworn to protect the citizens of this country is killed, especially under these circumstances. I can easily assure you we had nothing to do with it,"
Greg replied. "I would offer our services in assisting you to discover her assassin, but as we are your prime suspects…" he shrugged. "Is there anything else we can help you with?"
"Several of the former Marines you have as guards took their government issued weapons and equipment with them when they joined your group. The ATF has filed charges against you for the illegal possession and theft of those automatic weapons," SSA Handley replied. "We have a federal order to search these premises and confiscate any and all automatic weapons in your possession."
Greg nodded. "I'm afraid we cannot let you in here without clearance, Sir. However, we did realize what we had done with those weapons. They are all right there, crated and inventoried, with all the ammunition and other equipment issued by the federal government. We sent a message to the local Marine commander two days ago, but have not received a reply. So we simply collected them up and placed a guard on them until someone arrived to take possession of them. As you can see, we even loaded them onto the truck for you. As soon as an authorized individual arrives to sign for them, you can have them."
The Agent nodded. "We appreciate that Son, but I'm afraid you don't understand. You cannot stop us from searching these premises. We have a federal warrant. You are not working for any federal agency and you are not protected by the National Security Act. We have every right to enter this facility and search."
Greg nodded as if he agreed. "As I understand it, Sir. The warrant specifically states that you will be searching for the automatic weapons inadvertently taken by our people when the transition was made. Since we have agreed to surrender those weapons according to military and civilian law, you no longer have anything to search for. We are conducting private research here and have every right to privacy guaranteed to any other corporation in this country. If you would care to apply for clearance through our security office, we would be happy to process it, and, if you pass that check, we will be more than happy to give you a tour of the non-restricted areas. However, until that time, we have every right in the world to refuse you."