Star Force: Origin Series Box Set (5-8) Page 9

  Intrigued, Paul and Emily quickly walked across the plush carpet and climbed up the stairs, which they found continued up more than one level. They stopped on level two and poked their heads inside what looked like a command center, with rows of standing terminals arrayed on table-like workstations with comfortable chairs and stools sprinkled throughout the rectangular room, equal in size to the lounge beneath.

  “What’s this?” Emily asked.

  “Information and design center,” Paul said with confidence as he walked over to the nearest flat-topped table. “And I think this is a touch screen.”

  “Cool,” Emily said as she got a database prompt at her location when her hand touched the white tabletop. “This definitely beats a data pad.”

  “Looks like they’re going to be giving us a bit of homework,” Paul said, looking at the size of the room, obviously designed to accommodate dozens of people simultaneously.

  “Wonder what they’ve got upstairs,” Emily said, walking back to the staircase. Paul followed, noticing the access door that opened onto their level.

  “They really didn’t hold back anything,” Emily commented as she walked into the third level ‘lounge’ which appeared to be a giant snack room. “At least we won’t have to be running down to the cafeteria in the middle of the night anymore.”

  “No kidding,” Paul said, his jaw slightly agape at the amount of foodstuffs lining the walls and racks that surrounded the central ‘pit’ that contained chairs, tables, and a few viewscreens, reminding him of a breakfast nook Star Force style. “That is an awful lot of calories, even for us.”

  “And that’s saying something,” Emily agreed. “Now I’m really starting to wonder what they’ve got in store for us.”

  “Me too,” he said as they backtracked to the stairs and walked up to the next level.

  “That’s new,” Paul said as they walked into what looked like a train station. There were several pod-like cars sitting on a half-pipe railway track that looked vaguely reminiscent of a roller coaster. The long line of cars ran the length of the track, nestled into niches just off the side to keep the main way clear. On either end the track curved and disappeared into the wall, with one side being the entrance and the other an exit.

  “Secure transit system,” Rafa guessed aloud from further down the way.

  “To where?” Emily asked as they walked up.

  “Been trying to figure that out. The carts have a navigation board that lists 36 locations within the city, all untagged. I’m tempted to hop in and do some exploring, but I figured we should wait to give them a chance to tell us what’s going on.”

  “I’m all ears,” Emily said, ducking her head inside one of the cars.

  “What’s above us?” Paul asked.

  “Equipment room, along with our new uniforms. It seems Adept rates a red stripe as opposed to the Trainee blue. They’ve also got some new stuff up there that we haven’t seen before.”

  “Changing rooms?”

  “Yes, it’s fully loaded…more so than the ones we’ve been using to prep for challenges.”

  “I get the feeling someone wants us off the grid,” Emily surmised. “All this screams ‘secret’ to me…even more than normal.”

  “Yeah, something is definitely up,” Paul agreed as Ivan walked in from the main entrance, looked around at the half dozen adepts milling about until his eyes landed on Paul.

  “There you are,” he said, walking over. “Wilson wants you, Jason, and Morgan. He didn’t say why.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Third level near the elevators.”

  “Maybe it’s time for some answers,” Emily guessed aloud.

  Rafa nodded. “Take notes.”

  “I will,” Paul said, walking back towards the staircase and leaving the others to continue exploring their new digs. He hopped down the stairs one level and walked around the block until he got to the elevator foyer, where Jason and Wilson were waiting.

  “024,” Wilson greeted him. “Davis wants to speak with you, 025,” he said, motioning with his head towards Jason, “and 063. As soon as she arrives…ah, there she is now,” he amended as Morgan came around the corner at the end of the hallway, walking quickly with her typically precise gait undisturbed by her haste. Apparently she was eager to get some answers as well.

  “063,” Wilson said as she arrived. “Davis wants to speak with you three,” he said, thumbing the call button behind him.

  “Is this about our next mission?” she asked as the elevator doors opened and they walked inside.

  “Yes,” Wilson admitted, “but save your questions. We have a lot to discuss and I don’t want to begin this conversation without Davis. I hate having to repeat myself.”

  Morgan nodded once in agreement, then remained silent for the rest of the long trip through the city and up to Davis’s office. Likewise both Paul and Jason kept quiet, never being in a chatty mood around the head trainer anyway, as they both sensed that something big was about to go down. Rarely did they ever get to meet with Davis, and when they did he always came down to them. None of them had ever been summoned before.

  Paul exchanged eye contact with Morgan, and with a brief glance confirmed that she was thinking the same. Out of view of Wilson they exchanged a few hand signals before leaving the elevator and walking through the undercity until they came to the tower where Davis’s office resided. After a quick pass through security they took a traditional elevator up to the top level, then walked up the simple staircase that led into his office, ready to get some answers about what they were going to be doing next.

  2

  When they got to the top of the stairs Davis was standing with his back to them looking out the window at the sunlit cityscape, with his desk and four auxiliary chairs waiting for them.

  “Ah, good,” he said, turning around. “Please…have a seat. We have a lot to discuss.”

  Morgan, Paul, and Jason took the rightmost three chairs while Wilson pulled the fourth off to the side, sitting at the far edge of Davis’s desk and separate from the adepts.

  “Let’s start out with your questions,” Davis prompted. “I assume you have several.”

  “That we do,” Jason confirmed. “First of which is what are we going to be doing now that our training is over?”

  “Second is what’s with the new accommodations,” Paul added.

  Davis glanced at Wilson. “I take it they’ve just moved in?”

  “Just,” the head trainer confirmed.

  “As you have probably surmised,” Davis began, “the two questions are linked. Your accommodations have been designed to give you the resources necessary to accomplish two separate, but vital tasks I am giving you. As I have referenced before, your class will be the trailblazers in Star Force’s militarization, and to date I have been holding back production of weapon systems until you were ready to take on that burden. Now that you’ve finished with your basic training, that time has come.”

  “The design room,” Paul noted.

  Davis nodded. “Understand that I need more from you than ship designs and tactics. I need you to design the entire military from scratch. You are the leaders, as will be those classes that follow you, but the training program you have gone through will not train the rest of the military. It is too hard, and there are too few viable candidates. You will have to design the training programs for the others and we will offer you any assistance we can provide,” he said, glancing at Wilson who nodded in agreement, “but if we wanted a copy of current military structure, we would already have it.”

  “You want something new,” Morgan finished for him. “Something more functional and mission specific to defending the planet.”

  “Indeed…but there’s another aspect to consider. As of now Star Force is independent of any nation’s control or influence due to the fact that we are valuable enough to be left alone. Our technological advantage has bought us time to build but eventually our independence will be tested. In order to secure our
immediate future we have to control space militarily. Right now no one has any warships or viable means of space combat, but in the coming years that is going to change…and when it does we have to be ready to defend ourselves.”

  “Furthermore, we need to be in a position of dominance in order to suppress fighting between other parties. We cannot afford to let Earth orbit become a war zone, and while I can accomplish a significant amount of that goal through diplomacy, I need the means for Star Force to seize control of everything in orbit on a whim. If that option is on the table, I can forestall most conflicts.”

  Paul considered that for a moment, then when Davis remained silent he finally spoke.

  “What exactly do you want the fleet to do?”

  “Rescue operations, non lethal interdiction and intercepts, boarding and seizure, static and active defense of Star Force and allied installations, and the ability to make all out war if need be,” Davis said as if reciting a list.

  Paul didn’t so much as blink in surprise at the tall order. “War solely in space, or on Earth as well?”

  “Space only…save for the defense of our surface facilities and Atlantis.”

  “How long do we have?”

  “As long as it takes,” Davis said forcefully. “What you begin building now will set the groundwork for the future, so don’t rush. I don’t know how to advise you more than that, but based on how you handled the naval challenges, I’ve come to trust in your collective ingenuity.”

  “How many people have you assembled for this?” Jason asked.

  “None…other than you. We’ll start recruiting when you tell me what you need.”

  “We have free reign then?” Morgan asked.

  “Completely,” Davis said without hesitation. “Organize yourselves as you like.”

  “Is this a secret military buildup, or will the public know?” Jason asked, suspecting the former.

  “If we reveal our aim before we’re equipped, we’ll be inviting a takeover,” Davis said. “We have to do this off the radar for now.”

  “So we need a low personnel option to begin with?” Morgan surmised. “You won’t be able to recruit large numbers until it goes public, I assume.”

  “We can manage a decent amount, but yes, large scale recruitment won’t be an immediate option.”

  “Until we get training programs established numbers will be pointless anyway,” Paul pointed out, then looked over at Wilson. “If we design the training programs, will you be able to run them?”

  “In the long term yes, but you need to understand that it also takes time to assemble and train the staff before you can send the first recruit through.”

  “Do we even have facilities for training a military?” Jason asked.

  “No,” Davis answered, “but then again, we didn’t know what to build for, and won’t until you tell us.”

  Jason raised an eyebrow. “This really is all from scratch then?”

  Davis raised his hands in a shrugging motion. “We’re entering new territory and I didn’t want to limit your creativity by making prior decisions. Tell me what you need and you’ll have it.”

  “What’s the command structure?” Morgan asked.

  “That’s up to you too…and by ‘you’ I mean all 100 of you. I thought about having this conversation in the lecture hall, but that doesn’t really afford a good opportunity to discuss the matter at length, so I chose you three as my emissaries.”

  “I think what she means is, do we answer to you or your subordinates?” Jason explained.

  Davis chewed on his lower lip slightly as he thought. “I don’t have a good answer to that. As far as for my subordinates, no, they don’t outrank you. As for me being in charge…let’s just say we’re equals. My expertise lies in the non-military side of Star Force, though once established the two halves will necessarily have to cooperate so a certain amount of power sharing will be required. For the time being do whatever you want, just keep me in the loop.”

  “Generous of you,” Paul commented.

  Davis smirked. “If we can’t trust each other, then we’re already doomed to failure.”

  “Symbolic of Earth,” Jason quipped.

  “Quite right,” he said as his mood turned more dire. “We can’t rely on any other nation or corporation…they’re rife with corruption, greed, and stupidity. Not only is Star Force to be a shield for Earth, it’s to be an example of the right way to do things. I want that first and foremost on your minds when you’re designing the military.”

  Paul nodded. “Jedi, not Sith.”

  “You could put it that way, yes. Which is another reason why we can’t replicate any of Earth’s current or previous militaries.”

  “Including the V’kit’no’sat?” Morgan asked.

  Davis eyed her for a moment, suspecting where that question was arising from. “I realize my holding back information from you can be frustrating at times, but I don’t want to suppress your creativity by giving you too much knowledge of the enemy. We need to establish our own identity, our own procedures and philosophies rather than becoming the anti-V’kit’no’sat. The information will be made available to you in time, but for now we need to focus on base building.”

  “And,” Wilson interjected, “with our technological inferiority, our best weapon against them could be a tactic that they’ve never developed, and if we copy their battle strategies we lose out on discovering anything truly original.”

  “Point taken,” Paul agreed.

  “Still,” Morgan persisted. “A trip to the pyramid wouldn’t seem out of order at some point.”

  Davis suppressed a laugh. “There are exactly 42 people that have been allowed inside, me being one of them. All but two of them are still there, working to backwards engineer the technology inside while maintaining the secrecy of the site, which is paramount. If word of its existence leaked out, everything would change…how exactly I’m not sure, but most likely we would lose possession. In order to avoid that eventuality the pyramid was reburied and a small service tunnel was constructed underground linking to a relatively nearby Pegasus outpost, which I’ve quietly been expanding.”

  “That research outpost is the front that allows technology and data to flow back to Atlantis for our people here to work on. Any unnecessary shipments of personnel to Antarctica could draw unwanted attention, and for that reason the pyramid has to remain off limits to everyone. Even I haven’t been back down there in more than a decade.”

  “Why not establish a Star Force presence…build directly over the site even?” Jason asked.

  “Political turf wars,” Davis said with obvious irreverence in his voice. “While no one has official claim to the continent, there are zones under the supervision of various nations. Pegasus’s outpost exists with the permission of the US and Australian governments. If we were to establish a Star Force base it could get legally tricky, and the last thing we would want is to build and then be forced out. Better to let people think we have no interests down there and protect the site through anonymity.”

  “Risky,” Morgan commented.

  “It is, but until we have a better option we’re going to keep whistling in the dark.”

  “Excuse me?” she asked, not understanding the reference.

  “Hoping nothing goes wrong,” Davis clarified for the Aussie.

  “We’ll have to secure it eventually,” Paul said, agreeing with Jason.

  “Yet another reason why we need a military,” Wilson pointed out.

  “We have no leverage at the moment…at least, nothing more than a bluff,” Davis explained. “Economic pressure only goes so far. If one nation wanted to push the issue and seize what we have now, we couldn’t stop them. Other nations could and probably would, given how profitable we are to them, but until we can stand on our own we don’t dare touch Antarctica with any Star Force personnel.”

  “So we need to get our asses in gear before the whole charade falls on its face,” Jason summed up.

  �
�It’s not quite that bad,” Davis said, “but there is a sleeping threat. So long as it stays sleeping I can deal with it through conventional means, but we won’t truly be safe until we can take physical control over our assets, both on the surface and in space.”

  “Are any of our stations currently armed?” Paul asked.

  “Not yet. Star Force doesn’t do business with any military ventures, and until we can reveal the presence of our own military we can’t visibly be arming anything.”

  “But you are doing weapons research and development somewhere?” Morgan asked.

  “Quietly so, but we haven’t fielded any of the equipment yet. They’re all still listed as prototypes.”

  “Do we have a team of engineers to work with?” Paul asked.

  “You have direct access through the comm gear in your design room. You can conference with an engineering team, even have direct access to the people doing the weapons research. Your quarters and auxiliary facilities are designed to allow you to work as efficiently and effectively as possible, with remote access to all Star Force installations and ships.”

  “Speaking of which,” Paul said, slightly changing subjects. “What’s with the train station in the lounge?”

  Davis exchanged a glance with Wilson. “That is a secret transit system that operates independent of the primary network of elevators. It links your quarters to other secure locations within Atlantis, allowing you more rapid transportation and thereby decreasing wasted time in transit.”

  “It also keeps you away from everyone else,” Wilson added. “You’re going to need the privacy.”

  “For what?” Morgan asked suspiciously.

  “You said there were two reasons you brought us here,” Jason added. “What’s the second one?”

  Davis reached across his desk to a small box and opened the top by entering a three digit access code. From inside he pulled out a tiny vial, the size of half his index finger, and set it down on the clear panel that was his desk in between himself and the three adepts.

  “This,” he said, leaving the red liquid in the sunlight so that it cast an eerie colored shadow that seemed to pulse with energy.