After a brief silence, she continued, “Once I got over the joy of doing the thing that I had been drawn to for as long as I could remember, I started to wonder what Fenix needed all the information for. As I'm sure you know, Fenix declares itself the peacekeeping force of the known universe. However, what the Fenix Service Program has really become is Sthenos’ real commodity, a military force for hire. They're not all that worried about whom the buyer is as long as they can pay. Yet, many people blindly believe that this is all done to maintain proper order in the universe. It’s not.
“After awhile I didn't like the jobs Fenix gave me. Crashing an entire planet's economy, tampering with homesteader’s life support systems, sabotaging food convoys, promoting the Council of Sthenos propaganda, or scrubbing data of targets Fenix had assassinated didn’t suit me. I realized that I couldn't outright refuse the jobs though, or else there would have been grave consequences for me and my family. So, I came up with a plan." She said.
"It sounds like you were in a pretty tight spot." I commented.
"As you can imagine, my situation was dire, particularly since I was considered to be one of the more gifted hacks, soon to be upgraded to a full Techno-path for the Service Program. So, I needed to find a way to make myself obsolete to Fenix, less valuable somehow.
“Once I found out that they would be giving me more technological enhancements and augmentations, I had to take my chance. During one of my upcoming procedures, I was going to be fully submerged in a dark liquid which was supposed to work as an anesthetic. However, before going under, I had hacked the code in the operating room, which would make the machinery malfunction. Once the operation began the mechanical arms that were to insert the new hardware into me, flailed strangely; it was obvious that malicious code was responsible. To make the malfunction look believable, I programmed the operation software to wake me up with just enough oxygen to survive the exiting procedure. If I looked panicked, gasping for air, then I had hoped they would be less likely to suspect that I was actually the one who hacked the procedure.
“That’s when I saw firsthand the cruelty of Fenix. Instead of taking me out of the liquid immediately; upon seeing that there was a problem, the doctors left me in… claiming that I was completely fine, though my body was convulsing. I was near to losing complete consciousness and probably would have died, when one of the mechanical arms slammed into the tank and shattered the glass. My body spilled onto the floor and I was finally able to choke breath back into my lungs.
“You can imagine the doctor’s disappointment when they realized their top hack had possibly been tarnished. They ran all kinds of tests on me, everything indicating that my abilities had been largely diminished. The code running within me appeared damaged enough that all of Fenix’ diagnostic software could only access the surface of it. After Fenix’ top experts definitively concluded that my abilities were damaged, I knew my risky plan was working. I still had my full capabilities. I was still Fenix’ best hack… they just didn’t know it.
“Even though I was considered damaged goods, the Service Program began to petition William to give up all his rights to me. My brother and I were never close and we didn't have much contact once we were both in the Program, yet he has always been able to see the true value of what he possesses. The harder the Program pressured him to give me up, the more valuable I became in William’s eyes. I kept track of what Fenix wanted to do with me once they considered me to be less valuable. Once they decided to fully integrate me into the Phantom Corps I knew I had to go Recreant. I didn’t want to be another mindless cog in their war machine."
"That's quite the history... and the Phantom Corps is something that I’ve heard rumors about, something about turning people into machines?" I asked.
"They are one of Fenix' greatest weapons, but they are limited. When you turn someone into more machine than person you take away all their initiative; they can only do what they are told. Only find what they are told to find. With hacks like me, we can see how things are connected without being told to look for the connection. After the failed augmentation procedure, I was placed on a type of light duty, only monitoring a small amount of Fenix Service Program recruiting data in one of the smaller processing facilities on Sthenos. But I knew I was running out of time before Fenix got what they wanted by securing full rights to me. With William being a pragmatic man when it comes to politics, I needed to find a way to make it worth his while to get me off of Sthenos legally; otherwise he may have been coerced or bribed into signing my rights away to them. Altogether, I've been putting things in motion to get free for the last two years.”
After a brief pause she continued, “Jason, I know what's in your file, it’s why I chose to trust you. But what exactly made you leave the Program? One of the main reasons I picked you was that you filed your exit papers the day you were eligible."
I took a moment to consider, then I confided to her, "My grandmother told me, ‘Family is what you make of it, there’s those of blood, there’s those of choice, but it really comes down to who you’d make a sacrifice for. Good people are willing to make sacrifices for others.’ I’ve tried to let those words guide my choices. However, my unit within Fenix wasn’t going out to save people or stop something bad from happening. We were the something bad. The more war you see the more you see the people getting hurt in the crossfire. I couldn’t live with that on my conscience, I’m happy with what I do now. I'm good at hunting down bounties who don't want to be found. I accept contracts that I know will make the universe a better place."
The Peregrine -3226 A.T.D. Day 336-Elliot Singer
Approximately Five Years Later
Ten hours out from the planet of Talia and William's vital signs are gone. Two years since I left and now that I am only ten hours away, he is gone forever. I'm honestly surprised by how upset it makes me feel, knowing William’s pulse has stopped, even though I knew it was coming. Most of the inhabitants of Talia were all too far gone by the time he finally contacted me.
William and I had never been close. I don't think he would have even helped me get out of the Fenix Service Program if I hadn’t arranged for there to be a world of his own waiting for him as payment. My technological augmentations from Fenix gave me the ability to search planet databases far and wide. This resulted in my rare find of an unclaimed, desolate world in the Delta Sector, which William later named Talia. Unknown to most though, beneath the discarded planet’s surface, it was rich with Teragene. No doubt Fenix would have discovered this fact, had I not intercepted the survey bot which had taken samples of the planet a couple of years ago. So, I staked my claim.
Though William mostly had selfish intent, only helping me if he could gain something from it, he was my brother. I did love him. I left when he asked, understanding that he had to choose his wife's happiness over a sister that made everyone uncomfortable. I was considered socially awkward, knowing too much about people because of my abilities to read whatever electronic devices that they had on their person. Trying to make small talk was never my strong suit and I learned that stating facts to others about what I had secretly hacked about them, in an effort to establish common ground, wasn’t the best way to make new friends.
I had been traveling on my own, collecting all of the components from separate worlds for my new devices, a way to fully protect a planet from invasion. My main goal was to design an Electromagnetic Pulse grid, generated from ground devices that would emit a protective shield over an entire planet. I was finally in the testing phase for my first device and Talia, now my brother's ghost world, was going to be my testing ground.
I may not have been able to save them in time, but I could make sure that the people who had caused this devastation wouldn't profit from so much death. No one is going to be doing anything with that planet that could tarnish Echo’s future. Even if I hadn't met Echo yet, she was my family; my niece. She will have all of the choices that I can give her.
The AlliedCorp frigate was still twenty se
ven hours out, and I would add more time to that when I finished corrupting their stardrive power outputs. I hadn’t found a link between them and the faulty antidote yet, but the fact they had a ship on its way to Talia was too much of a coincidence. The satellites showed the Waylay was closer; she was only five hours behind me.
…..
At five hours out, the throbbing behind my left eye is slow and steady but I had delayed the frigate’s progress by another ten hours. I should have enough time to deploy my EMP shield and get the survivors off that rock full of death.
…..
Three hours until Talia and there is a buzzing in my ears. The satellite feed won’t record my small ship the Peregrine; a program I have been running hides me from all but line of sight. The Waylay is a different story. I have to keep tapped into the satellite to block the Waylay from detection. I don't want anyone to be able to trace where Echo is.
…..
As I break atmo the pain in my head has grown to the point that my stomach is rolling. I can't even give Jason a situation report. I'm pushing myself to my limit. I just hope he remembered everything that I told him about using the Modrý Objetí (the blue embrace).
Each EMP shield generating module ejects from the Peregrine and heads out to its designated landing site on Talia’s surface. As the generators start their pre-run-checks, I bring the Peregrine in for a landing as close to the quarantine ship as possible. The readings on my display show only two life signs onboard. The dock bots are still working on the lifting braces for the Peregrine to carry the quarantine ship out of atmo. The blasting bot from the Teragene mine is placing charges on all the battery hubs of Talia’s only settlement. Once we are in the air, this whole settlement will be a funeral pyre for all the souls that were lost to someone’s greed.
I had three whole hours of only working on the satellite and my head is thankful for the reprieve. I only have tremors in my hands at this point, but things are going to get worse before I get to the Waylay. I still have work to do. "Be ready" was all I could send to Jason, along with a passenger manifest from the quarantine ship.
After the dock bots followed the blasting bots’ trundling pace, up the loading ramp into the cargo hold of the quarantine ship, I closed the airlock and ran a pressure test on the ship’s hull. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as all of the checks came back clear.
"This is Ell. I'm Echo's aunt. My ship will be carrying yours off world. Please get ready for takeoff." I broadcast through the comm system of the quarantine ship.
The mechanical claws of the Peregrine clasped the lifting brace of the quarantine ship and we started our slow ascent.
The Waylay -Day 336- Peter Singer
Jason had been chasing his bounty for over a month. It had been the longest man hunt in the year that I have been on the Waylay. He was closing in, and then he just stopped, dropped everything because his ship gave him a cryptic distress message. Now we are heading to the middle of nowhere as fast as our engineer, Mark, can push the stardrive.
I'm worried about Jason. He's been different from what I remember. Seven years is a long time to be apart, but he is closed off. It's like he is keeping some large part of who he is now, to himself. He has an attachment to his ship that goes far beyond what I, as a doctor would call healthy. He acts like he believes the ship actually has feelings. The closest thing to a romantic relationship that he has is with its AI. He often addresses it with terms of endearment. Ell is the most sophisticated AI I have ever encountered, but it's still just an AI. A fact that I feel Jason has lost sight of.
Gabriel was his first hire four years ago. That means Jason was practically isolated on this ship for a year before he took on any crew. Gabriel is a man that can happily go a week in total silence; he despises chaos and greatly dislikes violence, despite what his considerable proportions may have suggested. Not an obvious first pick to crew on a bounty hunting ship. The other crew members that Jason had added along the way seem to be a patchwork of odd misfits. Still they somehow became the highest rated bounty operation in three sectors.
The bounty that Jason just abandoned was sent directly to him exclusively. He hadn't missed a single take down from the time he struck out on his own. This was the first time he was returning a contract unfulfilled. All he did was send a vid saying something personal had come up and that if the bounty was still on the run when he was finished, he would take care of it then. He had no regard for what this could do to his reputation.
The other crew seemed to find his actions beyond comprehension as well. After being bombarded by questions from all of his crew Jason only said, “I got a distress call from a close friend; there is nothing else to explain right now. Just do your jobs and get us there, now!" With that he had retreated to the solitude of his quarters.
I am trying to keep myself busy by making sure my medical suite is prepared for anything that I may be called upon to perform. Jason's generic explanation of a distress call doesn't really help me anticipate what may lie ahead.
…..
By the time we approached the planet of Talia, we were all on high alert. Jason only brought the ship in as far as its small moon. A warning alarm started to broadcast on all frequencies. "Do not approach. There is an electromagnetic pulse shield in place. Any ship attempting to land will be affected," was blaring from the ship's comms.
Jason called us down to the docking bay. We all watched as the bay doors opened and one ship, with a very avian design, entered towing a boxy looking ship down through the Waylays plasma shield.
"I want all of you to help with the rear ship. Get anything that needs it locked down. We need to be gone as soon as possible,” Jason barked as he headed down the stairs to the bay floor. He entered the first ship before any of us could find out more about what was going on.
Aria, our weapons specialist took point, with Mark and me in the middle and Gabriel bringing up the rear. We made an odd quartet. Aria, a tall, red headed, woman was dressed in the fashion of her home of Anastasis. She had on boots, pants, and a flowing top cinched down with a corset. Resting on her head, holding back her short wavy hair, was her ever present goggles. She was obviously armed to the teeth, more so than normal.
Following her lead was, Mark, our engineer. He is on the short side. This makes the bulk of his muscles even more prominent; especially standing next to me with my tall, thin build. Gabriel, following behind, must look like a dark, silent guardian towering over us.
As the second ship’s airlock opened, we were all startled by the sound of Jason thundering up the stairs. He was carrying someone.
"Jas! Do you need my help?" I called after him.
"No. Take care of the kid." was his short reply as he disappeared around the doorway. When I turned back to the now opened airlock, there stood an ethereal looking young woman, with flowing blond locks of hair. She was holding a baby, who had bright blue eyes and dark hair.
"Hello," Her voice was melodic and soft, "I'm Willow, and this is Echo." She said indicating the baby in her arms.
I moved forward, "I'm Peter. This is my brother’s ship. I'm a doctor, is there anything that I can do for either of you?" I could hear a voice in the back of my mind that sounded suspiciously like my brother saying, "Oh, real smooth Pete."
"I think we are alright. Echo could use a check up; maybe, make sure she is growing properly. I think she is on track but it's always good to get a second pair of eyes on a patient."
"Follow me. We will get her all checked out." I said, indicating the direction of the med suite. "Are you a doctor?" I asked to fill the silence.
"No, my father is... I mean was one. He was one of the casualties on Talia. He was training me to be a nurse." Her eyes looked haunted.
"If it's not too much can you tell me what happened?" I asked.
"They were all murdered! They were poisoned by the very antidote that was to protect them from Teragene ore exposure." Her stormy, grey eyes darkened with a look of hatred.
As we walked down
the hall to the med suite the hull gave the telltale shutter of the stardrive engaging.
The Waylay Departing Talia -Day 336- Jason Singer
I hate feeling powerless. That sick feeling of dread, when you're worried that no matter how hard you try it's not going to be enough. It's something that I have worked very hard to avoid. When you have little to lose, there is little that can have power over you. Every attachment, be it person, place or thing has a hold. But sometimes attachments sneak up on you. That's how it had been with Ell.
She was supposed to be a girl that I helped out but never had any contact with. Then she was supposed to be an AI that helped me find bounties. Next, she crept in a little closer when I was alone during the down time between planets. It all started with a game here, her uploading her favorite music to keep me busy there... soon we just started to talk. We talked about everything; everything but the fact that we were married.
Ell was the one that pushed me to hire on Gabriel. She said I should look up this particular cook on a planet where I was delivering a bounty. She also mentioned that he specialized in my favorite dish, blackened steak. Ell told me the peace and quiet of space would be good for him, too.
Once Gabriel had joined the Waylay, four years earlier, I found myself only talking to Ell in private. I think Gabe overheard me once or twice but he most likely had chalked it up to me being a little space mad. I didn't want to have to explain the fact that the ship's AI was really my friend; who at that time also happened to be my fifteen-year-old wife.
Alpha Dawn: Book one of the Teragene Chronicles Page 3