Abraxis Complex 2: Sword of Damocles

by Ben Winston

  "Honestly Sir, I don't know of very many situations where that restriction would apply," Lionel replied.

  "I understand, Captain. You trust your superiors. As a Marine, you have too, it's as important as breathing. However, you have been working in the covert side of things long enough to know what happens when certain situations arise," Jared said. "Situations involving extraterrestrial equipment or contact."

  "Little green men, Sir?" Lionel asked in disbelief.

  "Not that I'm aware of. It's mostly a mishmash of space going animosities bent on our enslavement or failing that, destruction led by an insane rogue Artificial Intelligence that believes it's the immortal Emperor of a long dead empire."

  "Sir, if it were real, it would seem my superiors would need to know about it, in order to defend us from it," Lionel replied.

  Jared knew Abraxis was holding the inner door from opening until he finished talking to Lionel.

  Jared nodded. "Yes, I can understand that viewpoint, and eventually, we might be able to do just that. But for now, what do you think would happen if you reported all of this to your commander back at Twenty-Nine Palms?"

  "That would depend on if they believed me on not, Sir."

  "Come now, you know better, Captain. They'd believe you, what do you think would happen?" Jared asked again.

  "The first thing that would happen is that they would send the entire battalion here to secure the facility," Lionel said.

  "Yeah, and then?" Jared said.

  "Well the equipment would have to be examined so it could be duplicated and mass produced," Lionel added thinking it through. "So most of it would be taken to White Sands, or maybe Papoose Lake."

  "Yep, you're on track so far, except you’re forgetting that in the meantime the aliens have attacked and killed a few million people. Also, you don't know it yet, but the equipment was designed for a group of specific people. Others could use this equipment, yes, but they would be doing so at a severe disadvantage. What next?" Jared asked.

  "Well, I imagine the other nations would get wind of it because of the attacks, so there would be a war since we would refuse to share the technology," Lionel was beginning to frown because he was starting to see where this was going. "It pretty much goes to hell from there doesn't it Sir?"

  "Actually, it would be a bit faster than you outlined, and add to the fact that the four people we have here that are able to use the equipment would be pretty much dissected to see how to make more of them, while the rest of us were 'detained for questioning'." Jared once again took out his knife, this time, leaving it in the sheath. "Do you know what this is, Lionel? By the way, please call me Jared. Agent Danielson, and Sir, are getting old."

  "I know who you are, Sir. Or should I say, what you are. Although I don't know you personally, you and your wife are two of the few people that will always have my respect. It takes a special person to do the type of work you do without the active support of the Government. If one of you die in the line of duty, no one will even know you existed," Lionel replied. "You will always be 'Sir', Sir."

  Jared chuckled. "Okay, I won't push it. Abraxis, please open the inner door."

  The door, then 'thunked' indicating it was a sealed, airlock style door. When it retracted into the wall, Jared led Lionel through it, but made sure to stop him inside the marked area while the door closed behind him. "Abraxis, do you recognize Captain Lionel Washington?"

  "Welcome to Prometheus Base, Captain. Temporary access granted to Main Medical, please proceed, Agent Danielson," Abraxis replied through the speakers. "Doctor Grein is expecting you."

  "Thank you, Abraxis," Jared replied, and led Lionel down a hall.

  "I've seen pictures of some of these bases, this place has sure changed," Lionel said looking around.

  "We redesigned the entire base, Captain. The bulkheads and walls that originally existed simply were not up to the task for what we needed them to be. Even the silos have been rebuilt into launching/landing platforms for hypersleds," Abraxis replied. "Almost everything on this side of the entry door has been replaced or upgraded for our use."

  "Here we are, our first stop, Main Medical," Jared said and opened the door for Lionel.

  "Good Morning, Captain Washington. I think we might have met once before at StealthCon's medical station, but if you don’t remember me, I'm Doctor Beth Grein. Before we let you get any closer to the stuff in the base, we need to make sure you're healthy. So, please jump up on the table, don't worry, this won't take long."

  "I just had a physical last month, Doctor," Lionel said.

  Beth nodded. "I saw that in your records, and you're remarkably healthy. No, this is a bit more in-depth, and looks for specific things in order to ensure you do not bring anything in with you, and gives us a base line to make sure you don't take anything out."

  "Ah, I can understand that, especially if you go into space," Lionel replied.

  "You will also be getting a transceiver implanted so you'll be able to communicate with the Command Center in real time. Other than the medical AI monitoring your health, no other information is gathered about you, and you will not be otherwise monitored," Beth said.

  "You're telling me you won't be 'Big Brothering' me huh?" Lionel asked.

  Beth laughed, "Not any more than I already told you about. The chip monitors your health, and you can use it as a communicator to any of the facilities here or anyone else with a chip, like Jared. That's all."

  "Alien design?" Lionel asked.

  "The original communicator is of Alien origin, yes. However, a new one had to be designed for use with humans, so you could say it is a human design of an alien idea," Abraxis replied.

  "Abraxis isn't a human name, are you alien?" Lionel asked.

  Abraxis had been waiting for Beth to finish telling him what was going on before giving him the story, and used this opportunity to begin. While Abraxis told Lionel the tale, Jared refilled their coffee and got one for Beth as well.

  "... and currently, the Rangers are on the way back from their last mission. In point of fact, they should be arriving in two hours and fourteen minutes."

  "You lost a Ranger? Who was it?" Lionel asked, obviously thinking one of the three girls he'd met had been killed.

  "Ranger Fighter Planier of the planet Onaris five was killed in action. Both of his team mates are critically wounded and one member of Ranger Fighter Delion's team was also injured, although telemetry from her sled reports she is suffering from damage to one shoulder and the surrounding tissues," Abraxis reported. "Ranger Delion and her team are from Harclen-A-two."

  "So out of a fighting force of twelve Rangers, we lost one, and three others are wounded?" Lionel asked.

  "That is correct Captain," Abraxis replied. "It should be mentioned that Ranger Delion's Finder will be healed and ready for duty within the next two local days. Ranger Fighter Planier's team members will be returned to duty by the end of this month, however, they will not be able to perform at their normal level until the Fighter can be replaced."

  "Okay, I understand that each member of a team has a specific ability or strength, but how common are they? How long will it take to replace the lost Ranger?" Lionel asked.

  "They are rare, and it will take some doing to locate another Ranger, however, there are certain things that can assist in the location of Rangers..." Abraxis began, but Lionel interrupted him.

  "Like the intelligence factor, gotcha. I knew a lot of folks like that when I was in high school. Some of the other kids always picked on them. I didn't, because I could never understand the reasons to. After all, if those guys really wanted to, they could've made life hell for the rest of us," Lionel finished.

  "Yes, intelligence is a good indicator in this society, however, I have noticed that a good portion of those with high intelligence would not be suitable as Rangers. Several examples are available right here in this Base. Agent Danielson is a good example. If he were younger, he would be a good candidate for a Ranger Fighter, and his wife, Sh
aron would be either a Ranger Finder or a Fixer. Conversely, there are several scientists that have a very impressive intellect yet lack the other skills required," Abraxis explained.

  "Excuse me, Jared, I need you to step outside for a moment. Abraxis, medical secure mode if you would, please," Beth said frowning.

  Without a word, Jared stepped out and let the door close behind him while Abraxis acknowledged and went silent. Lionel looked at his new Doctor. "Is there something wrong, Doc?"

  "Lionel, this medical equipment was designed by the Alliance thousands of years ago. After Abraxis Prime took over most of the war craft, the scientific community returned to research, and the medical field was one of the most benefited. There are humans out there that were part of the Alliance before it fell, and most likely are still out there. I'm telling all of this to make sure you understand that this technology has a very long, proven track record for diagnosis and treatment of almost any ailment. Do you understand this?" Beth asked.

  "Yes I do, from your explanation and actions, you found something wrong, and it's serious, right?" Lionel asked.

  Beth nodded. "Serious, but not incurable. One of the things scanned is your DNA. In a few years you will most likely develop Parkinson's Disease."

  "You can cure Parkinson's?" Lionel asked.

  Again, Beth nodded. "We can cure damn near any and every disease we know of, including any of the various cancers. Yes, we could have saved your mother, had we known of this before she passed, and for that I'm sorry." Beth paused. "If you want us to treat it, I will need to see you back here in a week, for a two-day stay. I'll make sure Greg grants the leave when he returns."

  "If you tell me I need to be here, I'll be here, Doc," Lionel replied.

  "From now until you get that implant removed, you probably shouldn't go to another doctor either. It will show up on an x-ray or a CT scan," Beth said.

  "Understood, Doc. What about if I get in a car accident or something?" Lionel asked.

  "Have you ever heard of the supposed alien abductee's having implants?" Beth replied.

  Lionel nodded. "Yeah, if you read those gossip rags."

  "When they ask you about it, play dumb. You had no idea it was there, and have even less of an idea where it came from," Beth said. "If we detect its removal from you, we can tell it to destroy itself internally so it can't be identified."

  "What would happen to me if you did that while it was still inside me?" Lionel asked.

  Beth grinned. "You think we installed a kill switch?" When Lionel nodded. She continued. "I won't lie, it is capable of it. But doing what I outlined a moment ago wouldn't hurt you in any way. It would simply stop working."

  "So you will be monitoring me to see if I tell anyone about all of this, then?" he asked, rhetorically. "Smart, I would want something like this too. Especially with as important a secret as this is."

  "We didn't tell you about it because we won’t be using it on you. We really won't be monitoring you; Jared, Sharon, Greg and the other Rangers trust you. Which is the primary reason you're even down here today; Greg asked for it." Beth replied.

  Lionel looked confused. "I don't understand. He doesn't know me at all. I think I've spoken to him maybe twice, and both times it was less than five words."

  "He's has reviewed your file, and he has watched you from the Command Center. He watches how you treat those under you, and all that has told him that you are a person he knows he can trust and count on," Beth explained. "He also knows that you and your father do not get along, but he knows your father, and has respect for him as well. Before you get upset, his decision had little if anything to do with your father, even though he did recommend you."

  Lionel stiffened. "I see. No matter what I do, I can never get out from under that man's shadow. You know, just once I'd like to be evaluated on my own merits and not those of my sperm donor."

  "Then you got your wish. Greg had already asked for this before Carl agreed with him. Also, it was Agent Danielson that asked for you to be assigned to this facility, and Carl agreed because he knows you hate working at StealthCon," Beth explained. "This much animosity toward your father is not healthy, Lionel. If you ever want to talk about it, remember that I am bound by oath and law to keep your confidences, unless those confidences threaten the life or well-being of yourself or another."

  "I understand, and appreciate it, Doc. Maybe I'll take you up on it someday, but not today, I've just got too much to do right now," Lionel replied.

  "Okay, I'll put you down for a week from today for that treatment we spoke of. Is there anything you would like to ask me before I let Jared and Abraxis back in here?" Beth asked.

  "Not that I can think of, Doc," Lionel said. "Just to tell you thanks for the honesty, there isn't a lot of that floating around lately."

  "Well, anytime you need some more, just come on back, I'll give you more than you could ever want!" Beth said grinning, as she unlocked the door. "You can come back in, Jared, Abraxis."

  "Thanks, Beth," Jared said as he entered the room. "Are you ready to see the rest of the Base, Captain?"

  "Abraxis, what was the task you mentioned last night?" Mandi asked as she sat down in front of her terminal.

  "Actually, young Fixer, there are several tasks. Agent Danielson and General Hayes believe we will need to build a fleet in order to help defend our worlds. After looking at the performance profiles for those ships you designed using sled technology, I tend to agree with them. The tasks I had in mind were for you to finish designing the ships, and perhaps design a few others of different classes for the other races as well," Abraxis replied.

  Mandi smiled. "Well, when I told you about those, I kinda fibbed. I knew how you felt about the sleds and building other ships. It didn't actually make any sense to me, so I wanted to build a few in the computer and see how well they held up. In my opinion, they didn't do as well as I'd hoped, but I think I can fix some of that.

  "It is refreshing to be shown I am incorrect occasionally, it is even more so when it is about something that will assist in our defense against the Drellian Rangers. What do you have planned for improving the performance profile?" Abraxis asked.

  "Well, we already know that for the most part, normal people, as long as they are trained, can fly sleds as long as they aren't needed to jump away and there is another person directing their actions, much like on an aircraft carrier. So, I was thinking about designing a carrier of sorts with fighter craft based on the sled designs.

  "Also, a ship based and mounted mass driver weapon. Lasers and particle weapons have their place, don't get me wrong, but there is little out there that can stand up to something that has mass moving at a high rate of speed. Targeting would be an issue for distant targets, but I honestly wouldn't recommend it against distant targets anyway. More like a ship to ship, or point defense weapon." As she spoke, she brought up the drafts of her ideas on her screen for Abraxis to 'look' over, even though she knew he could simply access them directly any time he wanted.

  "I see, I do have one problem with the mass driver type of weapon," Abraxis replied.

  Mandi grinned. "You want to know what happens to the rounds that miss the target."

  "Yes, from your design notes, the weapon would fire rounds at extremely high velocity. Even an object of small mass could do considerable damage to anything it hits. An accidental hit to a friendly ship could destroy it." Abraxis replied.

  "I hadn't actually settled on a solution for that. I read an on-line story once that had this weapon in it that had a small timed explosive built into the round. After a preset time, the round simply explodes. The other idea I had would be for the round to decay at a set rate," Mandi replied. "I have a few other ideas as well."

  "Like what?" Abraxis replied.

  "Well, if we decide to try to retake the nodes of your old network that are infected, in order to do that someone would have to travel there and most likely have to fight to get close enough to input the code. We will need armor to protect our peo
ple during ground combat, as well as weapons to fight with," Mandi replied, opening a few more files to show him. "The biggest problem I'm running into is I have too many ideas to work on, and not enough time to finalize them. Now that I know there is a need for the ship designs though, I will focus on those. Starting with an armored transport shuttle that we could build in one of the silos."

  Abraxis nodded. "That is a good place to start. We will need a method to move people from here to the lunar base when it gets built. Agent Sharon Danielson has begun on that design, with assistance from Doctor Ned Blain as well as Mr. Grein and a few personnel from those departments. Of course, they believe that the design is theoretical."

  Mandi nodded. "I knew Mom was working on the base design, but I didn't know she was getting any help. How's it going with Dad and Captain Washington?"

  "Very well so far, although at first I had begun to wonder if perhaps the Captain might not be a person we would want to take into our confidence. Your father seems to have convinced him though. They are touring the facilities at the moment," Abraxis replied. "Captain Washington has already mentioned that Lieutenant Mays should be okay, as are most of his men, but there are three he is unsure of. Those that he suggested match the ones I had already singled out. I believe Jared is planning on exchanging them for three others recommended by the Captain or the Lieutenant."

  Mandi nodded. "Any word from Greg or the girls?"

  "They were resting, so I have not been speaking with them, however telemetry from the sleds says they are well, and should be arriving within the hour," Abraxis replied.

  Mandi nodded. "I should be getting to the Command Center then, just to make sure everything is ready. I'll also need to run diagnostics on the sleds after they land." She stood, and cleared her terminal. "I'm sorry we lost Ranger Planier, Abraxis. I didn't know him, but we all still feel his loss."