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Chapter 22: Pawn Takes Queen
June 7th, 3239, 1142 hours
Knothole, Mobius
It was mid-afternoon in the city. The warm air was blowing from across the land as the sun climbed into the sky. From well beyond the castle, the city was starting to enter the height of its daily activity. People were going out for lunch, commuting to afternoon jobs, and generally just enjoying their day, although the whispers of what they have been hearing in the news made one look suspiciously at the other. Mobians looked upon their Human neighbors and started to question. A single man had changed society in this city, and caused friendships to be doubted, and relationships to be broken.
All in all, it seemed that Humans might not be so welcome here anymore. Things were picking up, and very recently, a Human fringe magazine blamed the destruction of the hospital ship on a Mobian extremist group.
Sally did not like how things went in the last couple of weeks. Now that she was a regent, she didn't have the same amount of power as before within her kingdom. True, if her parents called, the people would listen, but the fact that Max and Alicia now had to answer to Troy Marshall was more than she could bear. For three days, she did not eat and barely slept. It concerned her parents greatly. Max and Alicia did everything they could for their daughter, but it was clear that nothing they were doing helped. So, they decided to have a friend help her out.
Bunnie knocked on Sally's door. She went towards the heavy wooden portal and cracked it open.
"Yes?" She said, hoarsely.
"Sally-babe? I heard you weren't doing so well."
Sally smiled and opened the door further. Bunnie stood before her wearing a sorry look. "Your parents told me about what happened. You're not eating or sleeping."
Sally was surprised with how scratchy her voice was. "I'm just not feeling so good."
"You aren't sick, are you?"Bunnie asked.
"No. I'm not sick. I just feel empty. Come sit down over here." Sally walked to her bed and sat down on the side. Bunnie followed her and took a seat next to her best friend. "It's just… I don't know what to do. Everything seems like it's falling apart. The questions, the conspiracies, the kingdom going to… THAT MONSTER!"
"Sally, calm down!" Bunnie said with a bit more force. "You are a strong young woman. You should not be acting like this!"
"But… I've lost everything!"
"That's bullshit, and you know it!" the rabbit said, stamping her metal boot as a form of emphasis. "You will always have us, and we won't let this kingdom go. Your parents are the rightful rulers, and they deserve to rule as King and Queen."
Sally cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. "You know, I still can't bring myself to hate them."
"Hate who?"
"The Humans. I feel like I should be thinking that they're monsters… but I realize that they're being played just as our people are too."
"I stay out of politics personally, shugah." Bunnie said. "There's no reason to hate a whole race because of one person." She looked at the Princess and said, "If we all that like that, you and I wouldn't be sitting here talking!"
Sally nodded. She didn't hate the Humans but she sure as hell was starting to downright despise Marshall for all he did. Bunnie, I never really talked with anybody about this before, but I think something awful is happening right under our noses."
"I have a funny feeling about who."
"You remember those 'interviews' we all had?"
"Yeah. They asked me questions about my prosthetics, Sal."
"When they brought me in, they asked me questions that… didn't seem right." She recalled the questions about her possibly smuggling data. "Now, when we look at them one at a time, it doesn't seem so bad, but when you look at all the interviews together…"
"They're studying us!" Bunnie said, now understanding. "They're figuring out our strengths and resources! You don't think that… that… those evil Humans will try to get rid of us, will they?"
Sally got up and started to pace around her bedroom. She looked at her best friend. "We have nothing to support that. You know it and I know it that Marshall has something terrible up his sleeve, but if we want to get proof of his involvement, we're going to need something a little more powerful than what we found out."
"Well, what will we need? I thought that this seemed like enough."
"To you and me, perhaps." The Princess said. "In a court though, this will have no weight. We need solid evidence."
"I think you and I know someone who can help us with that, Sally-girl."
Rouge. She knew the ins and outs to government agencies. If anyone could get them the proof they needed to back up their claims, she could. Combined with the willingness to testify from the rest of the Freedom Fighters… Marshall could be staring out from a cell within a matter of weeks. Of course, the last piece of the puzzle was Chris. What was the Cipher, and what was its importance to Marshall? Just what was he going to find?
Of course, Sally knew well enough that she wasn't going to know any time soon. She was sure that after his last message a few weeks back, the Human was now going off the grid until this whole thing was over. So, Rouge was still their best and readily available option.
So, Sally nodded. "OK. Let's head to Ops and give her a call.
Before they were able to leave the room, her COM system beeped. Sally decided to take the call, very quickly. She strode to the computer and tapped the ANSWER button.
"Hello?"
"Sal, it's me." She recognized the tone.
"Sonic, what's up?"
"I heard you weren't feeling very well."
"I'm fine…" But just as she said this, her stomach lurched. She felt dizzy but still managed to hold on.
"Sal!" Bunnie said, noticing the motion. "Are you alright?"
"Just an ear infection. I'll be fine." She responded.
"Are you sure?" The Mobian rabbit asked.
"Yeah! Stop asking me about it!"
Bunnie raised her hands in defense and backed off.
Sonic continued. "Still, I'd like to see you, Sal. Something isn't right and you're taking a beating in your head."
Man has he got it right, the Princess thought.
"You'd like to meet somewhere?"
"Yeah. Alone, actually."
"… I'll see what I can do." Sally said, after a brief pause."
"Cool. I'll be waiting for you in the gardens. Near the Alliance Dedication Statue."
"I'll be there in an hour…"
"No, this can't wait. Right away!"
That made her even more suspicious. "Alright."
With that, the channel went dead. Sally Acorn turned to Bunnie with a perplexed look on her face. "That didn't sound right."
"Are you still going, shugah?"
"Yeah, but not alone. Can you shadow me?"
"You think something is wrong?"
"I sure do. Should I take a gun?"
"What for?" Bunnie asked.
"Just a feeling. Never mind, I'll go unarmed."
Bunnie clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, shugah. I've got your back."
Meeting someone alone in the middle of the daylight was something much easier said than done. The castle was usually alive with activity at midday. Usually there were dignitaries from other races and cultures, tours of the public areas, citizens come to make requests of the king or queen while court was open, and an odd patrol of Marines going to and from barracks.
Today was no exception, only there was an Army detachment from Alluvia, a Human colony in their universe that orbited some star with an Arabic name. They were in uniform serving as relief guards and were just as solemn. She moved past them with Bunnie and they only stared briefly, some of them never seeing Mobians before. She looked at them with distrust though. Something that had grown ever since this whole affair began.
Bunnie and Sally exited into the gardens which were vast, expansive regions of the grounds that held trees, flower gardens, monuments, and even a relaxing pond area where visitors could go, feed the birds or ducks, and sit down.
Bunnie decided that this was a good time to fall back and start keeping an eye on the Princess. She did not take to the skies though. That would seem odd. Instead, she made it seem like she was walking in another direction while still keeping an eye on Sally. She tried her best to remain hidden while she walked towards the dedication monument.
This was the second time that she went to this great statue within two months. The first time was when she went she met Admiral Andsworth unexpectedly, but that was under more favorable conditions. She looked upon the laser-carved faces of the soldiers and shivered slightly. Something about their unseeing eyes looking out over the horizon always got her. Sally looked around for Sonic, and eventually saw him around the southern edge of the statue. She called out to him, "Sonic!"
The hedgehog noticed Sally and waved to her. He didn't seem very lively. Perhaps he too was taking this whole ordeal pretty hard. When she reached Sonic, the hedgehog gave her a big hug. "How are you?" he asked.
"I've been better. What did you want to speak to me about?"
"Sally… I'm so sorry."
"Sonic, for what? What happened?"
"Please forgive me."
Sally heard the rustling of the leaves behind her, but only saw a shimmer too late. Before she knew it, a golden visor appeared out of nowhere. Within half a second, a suit of armor almost seven feet high melted into existence. Three identical Spartans came in behind her. When she whipped around, four suits of MJOLNOR power armor surrounded her.
"Just try to remain calm, your highness." One of the Spartans, a Senior Petty Officer, said.
"You lured me here." Sally concluded at once. "How did they catch you?"
"We have our ways." Another one said. She was not sure who. "Now get down on your knees and put your hands on your head. You are under arrest."
"WHAT?" Sally cried. "ARRESTED FOR WHAT?"
"For high treason, conversing with a fugitive at large, and smuggling information."
"WHAT? YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"
"We were authorized to detain you."
"I'LL SEE YOU ALL COURT MARTIALED!"
"You're not getting away from us. You will be detained, and shipped to a secure location for interrogation and after, you will be tried."
"SALLY! SALLY!" the princess heard. Bunnie burst from the bushes. "THERE ARE…!" She saw the armored soldiers. At once, she panicked and began to take off.
"Get her." The SPO said. A Petty Officer Second Class whipped out a stun gun, loaded a high shock dart into it, and fired it after the fleeing Mobian. With expert precision, the stun dart hit Bunnie in midflight in the small of her back. She seemed to jolt in mid-air and fell to the earth. "Justin, secure her."
"Aye-aye." The Spartan said and ran to collect the fallen Mobian, camouflaging while doing so. He returned thirty second later with Bunnie unconscious over his shoulder. He laid her at his feet. She was still very much alive, but a deep cut on her head trickled blood over her eyelid. She twitched as electricity jolted to her hands and feet.
"You're nothing but a bunch of Human bullies!"
Justin twitched. "You're a traitor!" he whipped off his helmet, making Sally gasp. Justin was a Mobian. He was a Chipmunk just like her. He had patterns just below his eyes, had 'shaved' hair, and angry wide eyes. "I thought the Freedom Fighters were heroes! I worshiped you, and this is how you repay us!"
She thought that she could connect to a kinsman the best. "Please… believe me! I'm not a traitor! I'm not a bad person! I would never…"
"There's no point in arguing. The evidence was already discovered." The Senior Petty Officer said.
She shivered. "Evidence?"
"ONI agents have discovered the ship used to house the criminal we seek. There were detailed messages between you and him."
She realized the severity of her error in communicating with Chris in the first place. They had evidence that she did indeed communicate with him, but she never sent any information to anybody!
"How do I know you aren't bluffing?"
"Agents reportedly found the ship abandoned on Installation 05 with its data banks fully intact. Agents also reported that they captured your... 'little friend'... and are now interrogating him."
Her heart sank. She didn't have anywhere else to back into. A seed of doubt was planted within her. Did Chris say something that would have sent Spartans after her? Did he betray her? Did the man she intended to marry sell her out? She realized that she didn't know anything, and there was nothing she could do. There was nothing to proclaim her innocence, so all she could do was look at the ground and remain silent.
"We are authorized to interpret your silence as an admission of guilt. Please accompany us at once." The Senior Petty Officer said.
"NOW!" Justin the Mobian shouted.
She also realized the final nail in the coffin was the fact that she was a regent now and reported to President Marshall. There was nothing she could do. It was over for her.
She felt the butt of a rifle against her head, probably from the enraged Mobian. She fell in slow motion, recoiling from the gunmetal striking against her flesh. A ribbon of blood came from her nose as she crashed into the grass. A single sniffle escaped her as she drifted into unconsciousness.
Somewhere, President Troy Marshall was smiling.
Sally Acorn lay prone on the grass, face-down. Justin the Mobian looked at her with a form of contempt. "I TRUSTED YOU!" He turned to Sonic. "You were my HEROES!"
Sonic looked at the enraged young man. "I'm sorry." He simply said. "Really. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I really don't. Everything… everything is just so wrong."
"Damn right it is." Another Spartan said. "Now, we have two unconscious prisoners. You want to make the third?"
Sonic was crushed. Everything was being taken away. Humans were against them, their own people were against them, and it wouldn't be long before the other races of the universe would look upon the best of the Mobians with contempt. Sonic sighed sadly, got down on his knees, and held his hands forward.
"Cuff me."
The Senior Chief Petty Officer walked up, retrieved a pair of wrist and leg cuffs to put around the hedgehog's limbs. When he clicked the last one in place, he removed his helmet and looked Sonic in the eye. Sonic likewise made eye contact. The Senior Petty Officer's eyes were deep brown, his face was lined with stress wrinkles, but he wore an expression of curiosity.
"I know who you are. Why didn't you run?"
Sonic gazed at the Human with sad eyes. "Where would I go?"
For a moment, a mutual understanding was reached between the two men. For a moment, just a small moment, the Spartan felt bad for the Mobian in front of him. Then, he replaced his helmet, polarized the visor and said, "Come on, let's go. You don't need to be hurt any more than you are now."
Sonic nodded in defeat, and followed the Spartans away from the gardens. Justin draped Bunnie over his shoulder, and the two remaining soldiers made sure to drag Sally away by the hands.
When the Princess came to, she was within a transport of some sort. She couldn't recognize it. There were no portholes, no labels, and there were only the unmasked Spartans in front of her.
"Where are my friends?" She asked groggily.
"They're alive." The Senior Petty Officer said. "You're on your way to say hello to a friend."
"Your boss, Marshall, right?"
"Not exactly. It was Mr. Tudyk that called for your apprehension."
Sally placed her head against the hull. "Tudyk's just a crony. You know it and I know it. The only reason he's asking you to bring me to him is because Marshall doesn't want to get himself involved. He's already involved more than you know."
It didn't work. The Spartans were beyond simple intimidation, and it showed. They weren't scared. They were amused at her attempts to unnerve them.
"Is that all you have?" The SPO asked.
"I'm telling the truth! I have evidence to incriminate Marshall for plotting against the Mobian peoples!"
Again, another miss. "The evidence seems more highly stacked against you: You were conversing with a mass murderer, gave him shelter while we were looking for him, sharing secrets, and not only that, your companions are of note." He drew a datapad from a pouch, unfolded it, selected a file and read aloud. "You keep interesting company, your highness: A rambunctious man (your ex-boyfriend) who is known to have strong feelings against Human beings in general, and a disregard for authority figures, a technological genius who has on occasion developed offensive and defensive means for the Freedom Fighters, a heavily armed cyborg, a gunsmith with multiple contacts outside of UEG jurisdiction, and no less than THREE active UNSC servicemen, which includes your guilty lover."
He tapped the datapad on his hand with a pursed lip that said 'Hmm… you've been a busy Princess, haven't you? Is this your way of starting a revolution or something? Perhaps you're ready to start your own tyrannical leadership."
Sally growled angrily. "It's clear that I'm not going to change your mind, so why don't you just take me to Tudyk already and get it over with."
"Hold on…" The SCPO said. "There's someone else that was feeding you information: an ONI Section 0 agent, Rouge the Bat."
Great, now her last lifeline was about to be snapped.
"Getting a spook to feed information to a fugitive is no small task, I congratulate you on that, but when you get a Section Zero agent to do that for you? I almost envy your planning skills."
"Well, you seem to have found everyone that's been part of my little 'revolution'. Shouldn't I be up against a wall now?"
"We don't have her yet." Another Spartan said out of turn.
"Check on the others, now." The Petty Officer said.
It was clear that the Spartan let something out that he shouldn't have, and he wore a guilty expression on his face. The soldier bit his lip, turned on the spot, and walked out of the room. The Commanding Officer walked towards Sally, grabbed her soldier, and placed a micro-injector on her neck. The needles poked into her skin, delivered a sedative, and within ten seconds, she was asleep.
Andsworth led the Captain into the armory. Chris was now clean-shaven, freshly showered, and above all, had eaten as much as he could. The Admiral thought that the young man deserved it. Chris stroked his chin and kind of missed the beard that he had. Nevertheless, he was ready to proceed with business.
"What's this? I thought this was an armory, not a broom closet."
"I'm sorry if I can't measure up to the grandeur that the Indomitable had for you. I'm not exactly working on a very large budget."
The Captain fastened a crew cap onto his head and tapped a weapons locker. The door slid open and a rack of rifles appeared. He whistled.
"Gotcha." Andsworth smiled. He clapped the young man's shoulder. "I may not have quantity, but I sure as hell have quality. I've called in a few favors from a few friends I know, and I've stocked the fridge. This beauty…" He grabbed a rifle with a folding stock, "…is straight from the Sagittarius Arm. This is the only weapons manufacturer there. Thirty round magazine splintering rounds standard… holographic interface/sight."
Chris looked over the weapon. He held it in his hands, appreciating the weight of the gun and yanking back on the charging hammer. He nodded and smiled. "It's nice. Kind of feels good to hold a modern weapon in my hand again other than a pistol. But…" He placed the weapon back on the rack. "The rear sight is too obstructive. If I'm at range, I want to keep my peripherals open.
"Spoken like a true Marine. Keep your eyes open for easy ass-kicking. Alright then, take a look at this." The Admiral grabbed a different gun off of the rack. "This… is new. This is a Remington X-39 Narada. Sixty round coffin magazine, 900 rounds per minute, and take a look at this: Integrated scope but with a fully variable electronic zoom. At Zoom Zero, you essentially have a red dot sight. Zoom level goes up to 3x magnification. Hold it."
Chris grabbed the rifle. It was perfect. He couldn't find anything wrong with it. The magazine was well within arm's reach, and the scope seemed to satisfy every combat situation he could think of. He placed the gun against his cheek and gazed down the sight, lining up the red dot with the front nubs on the gun. He yanked the handle on the left side of the gun and reveled in its greatness. With a pull of the trigger, the gun clicked, and was rendered a safe piece of metal and plastic.
"I'll take it."
"Of course you will." The old man said. "And naturally you will need a sidearm."
Chris grunted in agreement. He tapped another locker across from the long arm lockers. That one slid out revealing multiple pistols and SMGs. He gazed over it and frowned slightly. "Aw, you don't have it."
"I apologize, Captain. I know that your taste in handguns is rather… nostalgic or even prehistoric if I may, but I'm sure that other pieces can catch your attention."
Right away, Chris grabbed a service pistol. Misriah armories still had a monopoly on defense contracts, and the MK-6A was a damn fine gun. He twirled the weapon in his fingers and placed it in his holster. He made no other choice. "I think I'm fine with these."
NICOLE came over the intercom. "If you're done window-shopping gentlemen, I assume we can make up a plan in the ward room?"
"Yes, NICOLE. We're on our way." Andsworth said. Chris held on to his new gear and followed the Admiral down the hall.
Everyone took a seat at the table. Along with Andsworth, Rouge, Chris, and the hologram of NICOLE, a fourth man joined them. It was the XO of the ship, Jubil Xander, a man from a world that Chris could not pick out. He sat with the Admiral and treated Chris with utmost respect.
"The Admiral has told the crew a lot about you, Captain."
"Are you another idealist like the Admiral, Xander?"
"No sir. I was already serving on the Burro before the Admiral came aboard."
Andsworth said, "I was forbidden to take on any crew members from the Indomitable."
NICOLE cleared her throat, "Alright gentlemen. We're ready to review what we know based on what we've learned from the beginning: President Cleary was indeed murdered based on Flight Recorder data on the subject. We know that the Royals of Acorn were lowered down to regents or stewards while the UEG has absolute control over the kingdom. We also know that the government has gone out of their way to either eliminate or capture any personnel that has been in contact with the Chaos Emeralds. Of almost two hundred personnel that have been within contact, one hundred and forty three have been terminated. The remaining fifty seven are either still being hunted or are missing."
Chris pointed out, "The only thing is that we have nothing that links Marshall towards the death of President Cleary. We know that there is, but we need to prove it. I personally suggest a direct approach."
"I'm afraid it has come to that." Andsworth said. "Marshall has stepped too far and has made a move against an Alliance race. Why? We don't know why."
"All things considered," Rouge said, "aside from the murder of President LaFarge, nothing that Marshall has done was illegal. Both of his decisions were ratified and passed. Sure, questions were asked, but the answers they got were satisfactory."
Chris mulled this over. "So we can't get him for overthrowing the Kingdom of Acorn."
"Technically no, we can't. However, if we can get more solid proof that Marshall was the one who gave the order to kill LaFarge, we can add that to a list of crimes that grow from the minute LaFarge died."
The Captain nodded. "I like it. Finally I get a bit of payback. We march in, wring a confession, and then lock him up."
"Easy, son." Andsworth said. "It's not that simple just yet. We need to find your friends. Doubtless they are being held in some government building."
"That raises an interesting question." Xander said. "How do we know that they're on Earth?"
"Good thinking, Lieutenant Xander." NICOLE said. "He has an excellent point: How do we know that Roan, Jackson, or Hera are on Earth?"
"I'm only interested in Jackson and Roan." Chris said bitterly. The rest of the people sitting at the table looked at the young man with concerned eyes. Chris had suddenly taken the mysterious nature of Abigail Hera – if that even was her name – to heart and treated her as much of an enemy as Marshall was. "But even then, I have no idea where to start looking."
Andsworth thought it over in his seat. "Mercs are controlled by a larger company. Vanguard may keep tabs on their agents."
"You mean like tracking devices?" NICOLE asked.
"They might. I don't know if they're subdermal, neural, or a device they keep on them at all times, but it's the best bet we have for finding them."
"Sir, have you considered the possibility that they may have had the implants removed upon being captured?" Lieutenant Xander asked.
"I agree, it is a possibility." Rouge concluded.
"So, what's stopping us from calling Vanguard up and confirming this anyway? One way or another we get a step closer to finding them." Chris said, leaving back in his seat. They decided to go with the plan because it was better than nothing. Even if the implants were removed, they would probably be analyzed to figure out just who hired the mercs, giving them a location either way. If there weren't any implants, the Admiral or Rouge would have to call in a few favors.
Andsworth returned to the bridge and sat in his command chair. He gazed out of the forward windshield over the horizon of Earth. He liked having the curve of the horizon below him. He was kind of OCD that way. It seemed odd having the planet "above" or beside you. The Admiral tapped a communications panel on his left armrest and fastened his ship cap on his head. His uniform wasn't like one on the Indomitable. Here he was dressed not much different than the crewmen. He was fairly comfortable in the khaki uniform that he wore. Gerome always kept his ribbons perfectly straight and ordered, and every single button polished. However it was the headgear that got his goat. His official naval cap was replaced by the ball cap that many officers wore while on duty. It was hard to be a proud officer when the name Burro stood out on his head for all to see whenever someone made a call. He was a laughingstock of the Admiralty.
He swallowed his pride and keyed in the address. This was a direct line to CEO Gustaff of Vanguard Private Security Corporation – the lavishly named private army that Samantha Jackson and Allen Roan belonged to. As he entered the number, he noticed that he didn't even know Gustaff's first name… or if it was his first name and his last name was unknown. It seemed that everyone in this organization was shady one way or another. At least they offered quality service.
The FTL Radio spun up. Andsworth was unaware of how it worked, but it had to use Slipspace to send data, which had no mass, unlike the ships that went through the void. Thus, it went a lot quicker. Within seconds, the viewscreen ahead of him showed a man sitting in an office looking over a file.
"Can I help you?" Gustaff asked.
"Mr. Gustaff… my name is Admiral Gerome Andsworth, UNSC Navy."
"Oh, an Admiral. I've received many calls from sailors before, but never from someone of your rank, and never directly. Why you even bypassed my secretary! That's determination! How can I help you, Admiral?"
"I'm calling on behalf of one of my men that two of your Lone Wolves were sent to protect."
Gustaff leaned back in his chair for a second, trying to remember. He snapped his fingers. "Oh yes! Those would by two of my Lone Wolves. Now, due to the contract that was made, I cannot reveal their names…"
"Miss Samantha Jackson and Mr. Allen Roan."
"Ah…" Gustaff said, slightly surprised. "You know of them."
"Their charge is aboard my ship."
"The Burro… doesn't that mean 'donkey' in Spanish?"
Andsworth blushed. "No… no, it's a different language. Anyway, that's not the reason I'm calling."
"I would assume." Gustaff said with a chuckle.
"Roan and Jackson have gone missing. I would guess that they were captured by our military."
Gustaff sighed. "So, let me get this straight: you are asking me about my forces, which you've apprehended? Are you looking for information? You could have just asked them yourself!"
"You misunderstand me, sir." Gerome said in defense. "We're not exactly with the people who apprehended these two mercenaries of yours. We want to find them."
Gustaff now seemed intrigued, and Andsworth saw it. "Interesting. Why would you assume that I know anything about it?"
"You don't keep tabs on your most important agents?"
"I… might have some way of tracking them."
Uh-oh. He said the 'M' word. The word 'might' was almost always followed by a form of transaction. Usually the person opposite would need to pay some form of money or favor. Andsworth was street smart when it came to transactions like this.
"OK." He said with a sigh. "What do you want?"
"It's not what I want. It's what my company wants. Recently Vanguard has come under scrutiny from the current government. Apparently someone does not like the business we do, and have spread nasty rumors about the people we do business with who may think that the death of our last president was not exactly an accident."
"Is that so?" Andsworth said, folding his arms.
"They're just rumors though, of course."
"And you want me to do something about it?"
"Well, you being an Admiral and all, and a former member of the Admiralty board…"
"Now where did you hear that? We only began talking a few minutes ago!"
"Intelligence comes naturally to me as water from a spring." Gustaff smiled. "Can you dispel these nasty rumors for us?"
Now came the hard part: "That's not something I can do so easily."
"Hmm… well that poses a problem then… it seems you can't post the small blind, if you catch my drift."
"First of all, the game is, of course, Texas Hold 'Em, y'hear? Secondly, think of this as an investment. I know that those two people were hired to protect my officer, and I know it wasn't cheap. I know that the client was anonymous and that you haven't been able to trace the payments despite a background check. I can only assume that the price was right and you knew the stakes were high. You know the stakes are high right now, Gustaff. People can make us disappear in a matter of hours. Have a little faith in my people, huh?"
As a man who knew how to weigh the odds, Gustaff thought about it, made a nod, and said, "OK. Consider it an investment made. You're right, you know. I do know the stakes are high, and right now my people are being held in a prison somewhere not doing their jobs, which means no money for the company. Just let me pull up a few records…"
Andsworth gave a silent cheer but smiled behind his mustache as several of the bridge crew looked on in admiration. He liked it. Even though he was degraded down to this rust-bucket, his wit and cunning could never be dulled.
"Alright. Now, as you may have cleverly deduced, Admiral, Lone Wolves are a cut above the rest. Lots of money goes into them and thus… I like to make sure Vanguard's property is well taken care of. Vanguard Lone Wolves do indeed carry multiple tracking devices."
"Multiple? How many are we talking about, here?"
"No less than ten per Lone Wolf."
"Ten? That's overkill, isn't it, Mr. Gustaff?"
"Like I said, Vanguard's property is precious to me. This is the mother of all redundancy systems: tracking devices in their blood stream, a couple small ones in their skin, tooth enamel, clothing, and even a couple more that I am not at liberty to discuss; you know how it is."
"Yes, I can get the idea."
"Anyway, this was intended to make sure that even if a couple were removed, it would be statistically very unlikely that the agent would totally wink off the map. We would always have some way to find them… and I have a location!"
"You're using real-time feeds?"
"And a fortune they cost, Admiral! They're on Earth, just as you would have suspected. According to this… they are located approximately five hundred meters underground… just forty miles from central Shinjuku in Japan."
"Japan?"
"You got me. I guess ONI wants a more cultural experience. According to the readings though, the tracking devices are within a radius of about three hundred of one another, meaning that a few of them were already separated. I would understand that."
"OK. All I need are the coordinates."
"Remember, we have an investment!"
Andsworth sighed, "I promise. If we come out of this alive, I will do all this and more. Your organization will be the messiah of PMCs across Human Space."
"Hmm… A Private Sector Messiah… I could learn to like that. Very well Admiral, the location is on the way now. Oh, and remember, until this whole thing blows over… this conversation never happened."
"Agreed. Until after the storm."
"When the sun breaks." With that, Gustaff killed the channel.
Andsworth sat quietly on the bridge while the officers around him made sparing glances at him. They were impressed by his quickness in the situation. Andsworth knew that he didn't have to worry about moles, but he said it anyway.
"If I learn that anyone has leaked this conversation to anybody off this ship, I will personally take a hot iron and brand you traitors Texas-style. Then I will kill you."
A few nervous laughs escaped the men, which turned into awkward coughs, and then silence.
"Why Japan of all places?" Chris asked, dumbfounded. "Japan… who puts a secret hideout in Japan? There are nearly 2 billion people on that island! The population density is so thick you can light a match at a party just by holding it in front of you!"
He was suiting up for his trip to the surface. It would be the first time in months that he would have been on Earth, and this time, it was business, not pleasure. The Burro didn't have any dropships because of the small size of the vessel. So, it stood to reason that they needed another way to get to the surface, which brought up the question as to how Rouge got to the Burro in the first place.
She had a ship herself: a beautiful thing she liked to call the Black Bat. It was an initiation present from ONI when she joined the ranks of the spooks. It was a small craft, barely anything larger than a yacht but still enough for an agent to operate from. It was as matte black as the space around it, with a few pink stripes painted on the port and starboard sides of the hull. And there, written right on the top in beautiful calligraphy and brightly lit, was the name of the ship itself.
Rouge offered to take them down on it because it had atmospheric capability. Chris agreed, and two other Marines aboard the Burro accompanied him. As they were ready securing their equipment, Chris commented further on their destination.
"You know that one city wasn't enough for them? They had to build a city on top of a city! I don't mean figuratively, I mean they literally put a ground on top of the highest skyscrapers and started all over."
One of the Marines, a dark-skinned man named Reyes said, "I thought you were from New York. Doesn't that place have a lot of people too?"
"The difference, Reyes, is that I can still see the sky from street level!"
The other man, Konstantinos, smiled. "Then you'll love it in Athens! Nothing above 80 stories."
Chris was calmed by the casual talk and said, "I'm so glad to be able to look at Marines with trust again."
"Sir, we were put here because we thought something was wrong with the world, you know?" Konstantinos said.
"Marshall screwed us like he screwed you." Reyes noted. "Of course, to a lesser degree. They say you blew up schools now."
Chris hung his head backwards. "Oh come ON!"
"That's what I said." Reyes coughed. "Personally it sounded like bullshit after the hospital ship incident."
Rouge popped her head out of the airlock. "I hate to be a pusher handsome, but we don't have all the time in the world."
Chris nodded. He checked his weapons and armor. They all showed green. "Alright Marines, let's roll. We have people to save."
Reyes and Konstantinos gave an 'Oorah' and followed him into the Black Bat. Chris tapped the device on his belt. "You alright, NICOLE?"
"Not bad. The ship is pretty neat. I can't quite make out the class… Maybe it's unique." The AI then said, "I'm also picking up another AI signal from inside this craft. Doubtless that Rouge has an AI to help with steering and flight. There's no way one person could fly all this on their own."
"Just don't try to take the wheel and we should be alright."
"Roger, sir."
The ship was only one deck. The pilot sat aft in a command center of a sort that seemed more like a cockpit than a bridge. There were a few windows scattered about but they weren't very big. A computer dominated one wall where Chris assumed that Rouge got her data (and perhaps news of treasures scattered about), and of course, there was a lavish living room near the front with a satin sheet bed. Rouge really knew a good interior designer. On the one hand it was a spy's dream boat, and on the other, it was the pad of a sexy treasure huntress - the unusual yet harmonious dichotomy.
The Marines sat down near the airlock. Rouge was near the back in a pilot's seat. She fastened a flight mask over her face and was ready to go. "I'm disengaging the docking clamps." She announced. The tiny ship pushed away from the Burro and gave a tiny burst from the thrusters. Chris was weightless for a moment as the simulated gravity did not kick in. Rouge whipped the Black Bat around and put power to the engines.
"Athena, I'm going to need you to find us a suitable landing area!"
"Of course, Rouge. Can you please specify a region?" This was obviously Rouge's navigational/servant AI. She sounded like a Dumb model.
"Lower Shinjuku, at these coordinates." She entered the location where CEO Gustaff indicated.
"Analyzing… I have found a suitable place to land, but I do not think that this is legal."
"Oh, don't worry. We're only going in and out, you and I." She winked to the Marines sitting near the airlock and rocketed them towards Earth.
June 7th, 3239, 1142 hours
Knothole, Mobius
It was mid-afternoon in the city. The warm air was blowing from across the land as the sun climbed into the sky. From well beyond the castle, the city was starting to enter the height of its daily activity. People were going out for lunch, commuting to afternoon jobs, and generally just enjoying their day, although the whispers of what they have been hearing in the news made one look suspiciously at the other. Mobians looked upon their Human neighbors and started to question. A single man had changed society in this city, and caused friendships to be doubted, and relationships to be broken.
All in all, it seemed that Humans might not be so welcome here anymore. Things were picking up, and very recently, a Human fringe magazine blamed the destruction of the hospital ship on a Mobian extremist group.
Sally did not like how things went in the last couple of weeks. Now that she was a regent, she didn't have the same amount of power as before within her kingdom. True, if her parents called, the people would listen, but the fact that Max and Alicia now had to answer to Troy Marshall was more than she could bear. For three days, she did not eat and barely slept. It concerned her parents greatly. Max and Alicia did everything they could for their daughter, but it was clear that nothing they were doing helped. So, they decided to have a friend help her out.
Bunnie knocked on Sally's door. She went towards the heavy wooden portal and cracked it open.
"Yes?" She said, hoarsely.
"Sally-babe? I heard you weren't doing so well."
Sally smiled and opened the door further. Bunnie stood before her wearing a sorry look. "Your parents told me about what happened. You're not eating or sleeping."
Sally was surprised with how scratchy her voice was. "I'm just not feeling so good."
"You aren't sick, are you?"Bunnie asked.
"No. I'm not sick. I just feel empty. Come sit down over here." Sally walked to her bed and sat down on the side. Bunnie followed her and took a seat next to her best friend. "It's just… I don't know what to do. Everything seems like it's falling apart. The questions, the conspiracies, the kingdom going to… THAT MONSTER!"
"Sally, calm down!" Bunnie said with a bit more force. "You are a strong young woman. You should not be acting like this!"
"But… I've lost everything!"
"That's bullshit, and you know it!" the rabbit said, stamping her metal boot as a form of emphasis. "You will always have us, and we won't let this kingdom go. Your parents are the rightful rulers, and they deserve to rule as King and Queen."
Sally cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. "You know, I still can't bring myself to hate them."
"Hate who?"
"The Humans. I feel like I should be thinking that they're monsters… but I realize that they're being played just as our people are too."
"I stay out of politics personally, shugah." Bunnie said. "There's no reason to hate a whole race because of one person." She looked at the Princess and said, "If we all that like that, you and I wouldn't be sitting here talking!"
Sally nodded. She didn't hate the Humans but she sure as hell was starting to downright despise Marshall for all he did. Bunnie, I never really talked with anybody about this before, but I think something awful is happening right under our noses."
"I have a funny feeling about who."
"You remember those 'interviews' we all had?"
"Yeah. They asked me questions about my prosthetics, Sal."
"When they brought me in, they asked me questions that… didn't seem right." She recalled the questions about her possibly smuggling data. "Now, when we look at them one at a time, it doesn't seem so bad, but when you look at all the interviews together…"
"They're studying us!" Bunnie said, now understanding. "They're figuring out our strengths and resources! You don't think that… that… those evil Humans will try to get rid of us, will they?"
Sally got up and started to pace around her bedroom. She looked at her best friend. "We have nothing to support that. You know it and I know it that Marshall has something terrible up his sleeve, but if we want to get proof of his involvement, we're going to need something a little more powerful than what we found out."
"Well, what will we need? I thought that this seemed like enough."
"To you and me, perhaps." The Princess said. "In a court though, this will have no weight. We need solid evidence."
"I think you and I know someone who can help us with that, Sally-girl."
Rouge. She knew the ins and outs to government agencies. If anyone could get them the proof they needed to back up their claims, she could. Combined with the willingness to testify from the rest of the Freedom Fighters… Marshall could be staring out from a cell within a matter of weeks. Of course, the last piece of the puzzle was Chris. What was the Cipher, and what was its importance to Marshall? Just what was he going to find?
Of course, Sally knew well enough that she wasn't going to know any time soon. She was sure that after his last message a few weeks back, the Human was now going off the grid until this whole thing was over. So, Rouge was still their best and readily available option.
So, Sally nodded. "OK. Let's head to Ops and give her a call.
Before they were able to leave the room, her COM system beeped. Sally decided to take the call, very quickly. She strode to the computer and tapped the ANSWER button.
"Hello?"
"Sal, it's me." She recognized the tone.
"Sonic, what's up?"
"I heard you weren't feeling very well."
"I'm fine…" But just as she said this, her stomach lurched. She felt dizzy but still managed to hold on.
"Sal!" Bunnie said, noticing the motion. "Are you alright?"
"Just an ear infection. I'll be fine." She responded.
"Are you sure?" The Mobian rabbit asked.
"Yeah! Stop asking me about it!"
Bunnie raised her hands in defense and backed off.
Sonic continued. "Still, I'd like to see you, Sal. Something isn't right and you're taking a beating in your head."
Man has he got it right, the Princess thought.
"You'd like to meet somewhere?"
"Yeah. Alone, actually."
"… I'll see what I can do." Sally said, after a brief pause."
"Cool. I'll be waiting for you in the gardens. Near the Alliance Dedication Statue."
"I'll be there in an hour…"
"No, this can't wait. Right away!"
That made her even more suspicious. "Alright."
With that, the channel went dead. Sally Acorn turned to Bunnie with a perplexed look on her face. "That didn't sound right."
"Are you still going, shugah?"
"Yeah, but not alone. Can you shadow me?"
"You think something is wrong?"
"I sure do. Should I take a gun?"
"What for?" Bunnie asked.
"Just a feeling. Never mind, I'll go unarmed."
Bunnie clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, shugah. I've got your back."
Meeting someone alone in the middle of the daylight was something much easier said than done. The castle was usually alive with activity at midday. Usually there were dignitaries from other races and cultures, tours of the public areas, citizens come to make requests of the king or queen while court was open, and an odd patrol of Marines going to and from barracks.
Today was no exception, only there was an Army detachment from Alluvia, a Human colony in their universe that orbited some star with an Arabic name. They were in uniform serving as relief guards and were just as solemn. She moved past them with Bunnie and they only stared briefly, some of them never seeing Mobians before. She looked at them with distrust though. Something that had grown ever since this whole affair began.
Bunnie and Sally exited into the gardens which were vast, expansive regions of the grounds that held trees, flower gardens, monuments, and even a relaxing pond area where visitors could go, feed the birds or ducks, and sit down.
Bunnie decided that this was a good time to fall back and start keeping an eye on the Princess. She did not take to the skies though. That would seem odd. Instead, she made it seem like she was walking in another direction while still keeping an eye on Sally. She tried her best to remain hidden while she walked towards the dedication monument.
This was the second time that she went to this great statue within two months. The first time was when she went she met Admiral Andsworth unexpectedly, but that was under more favorable conditions. She looked upon the laser-carved faces of the soldiers and shivered slightly. Something about their unseeing eyes looking out over the horizon always got her. Sally looked around for Sonic, and eventually saw him around the southern edge of the statue. She called out to him, "Sonic!"
The hedgehog noticed Sally and waved to her. He didn't seem very lively. Perhaps he too was taking this whole ordeal pretty hard. When she reached Sonic, the hedgehog gave her a big hug. "How are you?" he asked.
"I've been better. What did you want to speak to me about?"
"Sally… I'm so sorry."
"Sonic, for what? What happened?"
"Please forgive me."
Sally heard the rustling of the leaves behind her, but only saw a shimmer too late. Before she knew it, a golden visor appeared out of nowhere. Within half a second, a suit of armor almost seven feet high melted into existence. Three identical Spartans came in behind her. When she whipped around, four suits of MJOLNOR power armor surrounded her.
"Just try to remain calm, your highness." One of the Spartans, a Senior Petty Officer, said.
"You lured me here." Sally concluded at once. "How did they catch you?"
"We have our ways." Another one said. She was not sure who. "Now get down on your knees and put your hands on your head. You are under arrest."
"WHAT?" Sally cried. "ARRESTED FOR WHAT?"
"For high treason, conversing with a fugitive at large, and smuggling information."
"WHAT? YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"
"We were authorized to detain you."
"I'LL SEE YOU ALL COURT MARTIALED!"
"You're not getting away from us. You will be detained, and shipped to a secure location for interrogation and after, you will be tried."
"SALLY! SALLY!" the princess heard. Bunnie burst from the bushes. "THERE ARE…!" She saw the armored soldiers. At once, she panicked and began to take off.
"Get her." The SPO said. A Petty Officer Second Class whipped out a stun gun, loaded a high shock dart into it, and fired it after the fleeing Mobian. With expert precision, the stun dart hit Bunnie in midflight in the small of her back. She seemed to jolt in mid-air and fell to the earth. "Justin, secure her."
"Aye-aye." The Spartan said and ran to collect the fallen Mobian, camouflaging while doing so. He returned thirty second later with Bunnie unconscious over his shoulder. He laid her at his feet. She was still very much alive, but a deep cut on her head trickled blood over her eyelid. She twitched as electricity jolted to her hands and feet.
"You're nothing but a bunch of Human bullies!"
Justin twitched. "You're a traitor!" he whipped off his helmet, making Sally gasp. Justin was a Mobian. He was a Chipmunk just like her. He had patterns just below his eyes, had 'shaved' hair, and angry wide eyes. "I thought the Freedom Fighters were heroes! I worshiped you, and this is how you repay us!"
She thought that she could connect to a kinsman the best. "Please… believe me! I'm not a traitor! I'm not a bad person! I would never…"
"There's no point in arguing. The evidence was already discovered." The Senior Petty Officer said.
She shivered. "Evidence?"
"ONI agents have discovered the ship used to house the criminal we seek. There were detailed messages between you and him."
She realized the severity of her error in communicating with Chris in the first place. They had evidence that she did indeed communicate with him, but she never sent any information to anybody!
"How do I know you aren't bluffing?"
"Agents reportedly found the ship abandoned on Installation 05 with its data banks fully intact. Agents also reported that they captured your... 'little friend'... and are now interrogating him."
Her heart sank. She didn't have anywhere else to back into. A seed of doubt was planted within her. Did Chris say something that would have sent Spartans after her? Did he betray her? Did the man she intended to marry sell her out? She realized that she didn't know anything, and there was nothing she could do. There was nothing to proclaim her innocence, so all she could do was look at the ground and remain silent.
"We are authorized to interpret your silence as an admission of guilt. Please accompany us at once." The Senior Petty Officer said.
"NOW!" Justin the Mobian shouted.
She also realized the final nail in the coffin was the fact that she was a regent now and reported to President Marshall. There was nothing she could do. It was over for her.
She felt the butt of a rifle against her head, probably from the enraged Mobian. She fell in slow motion, recoiling from the gunmetal striking against her flesh. A ribbon of blood came from her nose as she crashed into the grass. A single sniffle escaped her as she drifted into unconsciousness.
Somewhere, President Troy Marshall was smiling.
Sally Acorn lay prone on the grass, face-down. Justin the Mobian looked at her with a form of contempt. "I TRUSTED YOU!" He turned to Sonic. "You were my HEROES!"
Sonic looked at the enraged young man. "I'm sorry." He simply said. "Really. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I really don't. Everything… everything is just so wrong."
"Damn right it is." Another Spartan said. "Now, we have two unconscious prisoners. You want to make the third?"
Sonic was crushed. Everything was being taken away. Humans were against them, their own people were against them, and it wouldn't be long before the other races of the universe would look upon the best of the Mobians with contempt. Sonic sighed sadly, got down on his knees, and held his hands forward.
"Cuff me."
The Senior Chief Petty Officer walked up, retrieved a pair of wrist and leg cuffs to put around the hedgehog's limbs. When he clicked the last one in place, he removed his helmet and looked Sonic in the eye. Sonic likewise made eye contact. The Senior Petty Officer's eyes were deep brown, his face was lined with stress wrinkles, but he wore an expression of curiosity.
"I know who you are. Why didn't you run?"
Sonic gazed at the Human with sad eyes. "Where would I go?"
For a moment, a mutual understanding was reached between the two men. For a moment, just a small moment, the Spartan felt bad for the Mobian in front of him. Then, he replaced his helmet, polarized the visor and said, "Come on, let's go. You don't need to be hurt any more than you are now."
Sonic nodded in defeat, and followed the Spartans away from the gardens. Justin draped Bunnie over his shoulder, and the two remaining soldiers made sure to drag Sally away by the hands.
When the Princess came to, she was within a transport of some sort. She couldn't recognize it. There were no portholes, no labels, and there were only the unmasked Spartans in front of her.
"Where are my friends?" She asked groggily.
"They're alive." The Senior Petty Officer said. "You're on your way to say hello to a friend."
"Your boss, Marshall, right?"
"Not exactly. It was Mr. Tudyk that called for your apprehension."
Sally placed her head against the hull. "Tudyk's just a crony. You know it and I know it. The only reason he's asking you to bring me to him is because Marshall doesn't want to get himself involved. He's already involved more than you know."
It didn't work. The Spartans were beyond simple intimidation, and it showed. They weren't scared. They were amused at her attempts to unnerve them.
"Is that all you have?" The SPO asked.
"I'm telling the truth! I have evidence to incriminate Marshall for plotting against the Mobian peoples!"
Again, another miss. "The evidence seems more highly stacked against you: You were conversing with a mass murderer, gave him shelter while we were looking for him, sharing secrets, and not only that, your companions are of note." He drew a datapad from a pouch, unfolded it, selected a file and read aloud. "You keep interesting company, your highness: A rambunctious man (your ex-boyfriend) who is known to have strong feelings against Human beings in general, and a disregard for authority figures, a technological genius who has on occasion developed offensive and defensive means for the Freedom Fighters, a heavily armed cyborg, a gunsmith with multiple contacts outside of UEG jurisdiction, and no less than THREE active UNSC servicemen, which includes your guilty lover."
He tapped the datapad on his hand with a pursed lip that said 'Hmm… you've been a busy Princess, haven't you? Is this your way of starting a revolution or something? Perhaps you're ready to start your own tyrannical leadership."
Sally growled angrily. "It's clear that I'm not going to change your mind, so why don't you just take me to Tudyk already and get it over with."
"Hold on…" The SCPO said. "There's someone else that was feeding you information: an ONI Section 0 agent, Rouge the Bat."
Great, now her last lifeline was about to be snapped.
"Getting a spook to feed information to a fugitive is no small task, I congratulate you on that, but when you get a Section Zero agent to do that for you? I almost envy your planning skills."
"Well, you seem to have found everyone that's been part of my little 'revolution'. Shouldn't I be up against a wall now?"
"We don't have her yet." Another Spartan said out of turn.
"Check on the others, now." The Petty Officer said.
It was clear that the Spartan let something out that he shouldn't have, and he wore a guilty expression on his face. The soldier bit his lip, turned on the spot, and walked out of the room. The Commanding Officer walked towards Sally, grabbed her soldier, and placed a micro-injector on her neck. The needles poked into her skin, delivered a sedative, and within ten seconds, she was asleep.
Andsworth led the Captain into the armory. Chris was now clean-shaven, freshly showered, and above all, had eaten as much as he could. The Admiral thought that the young man deserved it. Chris stroked his chin and kind of missed the beard that he had. Nevertheless, he was ready to proceed with business.
"What's this? I thought this was an armory, not a broom closet."
"I'm sorry if I can't measure up to the grandeur that the Indomitable had for you. I'm not exactly working on a very large budget."
The Captain fastened a crew cap onto his head and tapped a weapons locker. The door slid open and a rack of rifles appeared. He whistled.
"Gotcha." Andsworth smiled. He clapped the young man's shoulder. "I may not have quantity, but I sure as hell have quality. I've called in a few favors from a few friends I know, and I've stocked the fridge. This beauty…" He grabbed a rifle with a folding stock, "…is straight from the Sagittarius Arm. This is the only weapons manufacturer there. Thirty round magazine splintering rounds standard… holographic interface/sight."
Chris looked over the weapon. He held it in his hands, appreciating the weight of the gun and yanking back on the charging hammer. He nodded and smiled. "It's nice. Kind of feels good to hold a modern weapon in my hand again other than a pistol. But…" He placed the weapon back on the rack. "The rear sight is too obstructive. If I'm at range, I want to keep my peripherals open.
"Spoken like a true Marine. Keep your eyes open for easy ass-kicking. Alright then, take a look at this." The Admiral grabbed a different gun off of the rack. "This… is new. This is a Remington X-39 Narada. Sixty round coffin magazine, 900 rounds per minute, and take a look at this: Integrated scope but with a fully variable electronic zoom. At Zoom Zero, you essentially have a red dot sight. Zoom level goes up to 3x magnification. Hold it."
Chris grabbed the rifle. It was perfect. He couldn't find anything wrong with it. The magazine was well within arm's reach, and the scope seemed to satisfy every combat situation he could think of. He placed the gun against his cheek and gazed down the sight, lining up the red dot with the front nubs on the gun. He yanked the handle on the left side of the gun and reveled in its greatness. With a pull of the trigger, the gun clicked, and was rendered a safe piece of metal and plastic.
"I'll take it."
"Of course you will." The old man said. "And naturally you will need a sidearm."
Chris grunted in agreement. He tapped another locker across from the long arm lockers. That one slid out revealing multiple pistols and SMGs. He gazed over it and frowned slightly. "Aw, you don't have it."
"I apologize, Captain. I know that your taste in handguns is rather… nostalgic or even prehistoric if I may, but I'm sure that other pieces can catch your attention."
Right away, Chris grabbed a service pistol. Misriah armories still had a monopoly on defense contracts, and the MK-6A was a damn fine gun. He twirled the weapon in his fingers and placed it in his holster. He made no other choice. "I think I'm fine with these."
NICOLE came over the intercom. "If you're done window-shopping gentlemen, I assume we can make up a plan in the ward room?"
"Yes, NICOLE. We're on our way." Andsworth said. Chris held on to his new gear and followed the Admiral down the hall.
Everyone took a seat at the table. Along with Andsworth, Rouge, Chris, and the hologram of NICOLE, a fourth man joined them. It was the XO of the ship, Jubil Xander, a man from a world that Chris could not pick out. He sat with the Admiral and treated Chris with utmost respect.
"The Admiral has told the crew a lot about you, Captain."
"Are you another idealist like the Admiral, Xander?"
"No sir. I was already serving on the Burro before the Admiral came aboard."
Andsworth said, "I was forbidden to take on any crew members from the Indomitable."
NICOLE cleared her throat, "Alright gentlemen. We're ready to review what we know based on what we've learned from the beginning: President Cleary was indeed murdered based on Flight Recorder data on the subject. We know that the Royals of Acorn were lowered down to regents or stewards while the UEG has absolute control over the kingdom. We also know that the government has gone out of their way to either eliminate or capture any personnel that has been in contact with the Chaos Emeralds. Of almost two hundred personnel that have been within contact, one hundred and forty three have been terminated. The remaining fifty seven are either still being hunted or are missing."
Chris pointed out, "The only thing is that we have nothing that links Marshall towards the death of President Cleary. We know that there is, but we need to prove it. I personally suggest a direct approach."
"I'm afraid it has come to that." Andsworth said. "Marshall has stepped too far and has made a move against an Alliance race. Why? We don't know why."
"All things considered," Rouge said, "aside from the murder of President LaFarge, nothing that Marshall has done was illegal. Both of his decisions were ratified and passed. Sure, questions were asked, but the answers they got were satisfactory."
Chris mulled this over. "So we can't get him for overthrowing the Kingdom of Acorn."
"Technically no, we can't. However, if we can get more solid proof that Marshall was the one who gave the order to kill LaFarge, we can add that to a list of crimes that grow from the minute LaFarge died."
The Captain nodded. "I like it. Finally I get a bit of payback. We march in, wring a confession, and then lock him up."
"Easy, son." Andsworth said. "It's not that simple just yet. We need to find your friends. Doubtless they are being held in some government building."
"That raises an interesting question." Xander said. "How do we know that they're on Earth?"
"Good thinking, Lieutenant Xander." NICOLE said. "He has an excellent point: How do we know that Roan, Jackson, or Hera are on Earth?"
"I'm only interested in Jackson and Roan." Chris said bitterly. The rest of the people sitting at the table looked at the young man with concerned eyes. Chris had suddenly taken the mysterious nature of Abigail Hera – if that even was her name – to heart and treated her as much of an enemy as Marshall was. "But even then, I have no idea where to start looking."
Andsworth thought it over in his seat. "Mercs are controlled by a larger company. Vanguard may keep tabs on their agents."
"You mean like tracking devices?" NICOLE asked.
"They might. I don't know if they're subdermal, neural, or a device they keep on them at all times, but it's the best bet we have for finding them."
"Sir, have you considered the possibility that they may have had the implants removed upon being captured?" Lieutenant Xander asked.
"I agree, it is a possibility." Rouge concluded.
"So, what's stopping us from calling Vanguard up and confirming this anyway? One way or another we get a step closer to finding them." Chris said, leaving back in his seat. They decided to go with the plan because it was better than nothing. Even if the implants were removed, they would probably be analyzed to figure out just who hired the mercs, giving them a location either way. If there weren't any implants, the Admiral or Rouge would have to call in a few favors.
Andsworth returned to the bridge and sat in his command chair. He gazed out of the forward windshield over the horizon of Earth. He liked having the curve of the horizon below him. He was kind of OCD that way. It seemed odd having the planet "above" or beside you. The Admiral tapped a communications panel on his left armrest and fastened his ship cap on his head. His uniform wasn't like one on the Indomitable. Here he was dressed not much different than the crewmen. He was fairly comfortable in the khaki uniform that he wore. Gerome always kept his ribbons perfectly straight and ordered, and every single button polished. However it was the headgear that got his goat. His official naval cap was replaced by the ball cap that many officers wore while on duty. It was hard to be a proud officer when the name Burro stood out on his head for all to see whenever someone made a call. He was a laughingstock of the Admiralty.
He swallowed his pride and keyed in the address. This was a direct line to CEO Gustaff of Vanguard Private Security Corporation – the lavishly named private army that Samantha Jackson and Allen Roan belonged to. As he entered the number, he noticed that he didn't even know Gustaff's first name… or if it was his first name and his last name was unknown. It seemed that everyone in this organization was shady one way or another. At least they offered quality service.
The FTL Radio spun up. Andsworth was unaware of how it worked, but it had to use Slipspace to send data, which had no mass, unlike the ships that went through the void. Thus, it went a lot quicker. Within seconds, the viewscreen ahead of him showed a man sitting in an office looking over a file.
"Can I help you?" Gustaff asked.
"Mr. Gustaff… my name is Admiral Gerome Andsworth, UNSC Navy."
"Oh, an Admiral. I've received many calls from sailors before, but never from someone of your rank, and never directly. Why you even bypassed my secretary! That's determination! How can I help you, Admiral?"
"I'm calling on behalf of one of my men that two of your Lone Wolves were sent to protect."
Gustaff leaned back in his chair for a second, trying to remember. He snapped his fingers. "Oh yes! Those would by two of my Lone Wolves. Now, due to the contract that was made, I cannot reveal their names…"
"Miss Samantha Jackson and Mr. Allen Roan."
"Ah…" Gustaff said, slightly surprised. "You know of them."
"Their charge is aboard my ship."
"The Burro… doesn't that mean 'donkey' in Spanish?"
Andsworth blushed. "No… no, it's a different language. Anyway, that's not the reason I'm calling."
"I would assume." Gustaff said with a chuckle.
"Roan and Jackson have gone missing. I would guess that they were captured by our military."
Gustaff sighed. "So, let me get this straight: you are asking me about my forces, which you've apprehended? Are you looking for information? You could have just asked them yourself!"
"You misunderstand me, sir." Gerome said in defense. "We're not exactly with the people who apprehended these two mercenaries of yours. We want to find them."
Gustaff now seemed intrigued, and Andsworth saw it. "Interesting. Why would you assume that I know anything about it?"
"You don't keep tabs on your most important agents?"
"I… might have some way of tracking them."
Uh-oh. He said the 'M' word. The word 'might' was almost always followed by a form of transaction. Usually the person opposite would need to pay some form of money or favor. Andsworth was street smart when it came to transactions like this.
"OK." He said with a sigh. "What do you want?"
"It's not what I want. It's what my company wants. Recently Vanguard has come under scrutiny from the current government. Apparently someone does not like the business we do, and have spread nasty rumors about the people we do business with who may think that the death of our last president was not exactly an accident."
"Is that so?" Andsworth said, folding his arms.
"They're just rumors though, of course."
"And you want me to do something about it?"
"Well, you being an Admiral and all, and a former member of the Admiralty board…"
"Now where did you hear that? We only began talking a few minutes ago!"
"Intelligence comes naturally to me as water from a spring." Gustaff smiled. "Can you dispel these nasty rumors for us?"
Now came the hard part: "That's not something I can do so easily."
"Hmm… well that poses a problem then… it seems you can't post the small blind, if you catch my drift."
"First of all, the game is, of course, Texas Hold 'Em, y'hear? Secondly, think of this as an investment. I know that those two people were hired to protect my officer, and I know it wasn't cheap. I know that the client was anonymous and that you haven't been able to trace the payments despite a background check. I can only assume that the price was right and you knew the stakes were high. You know the stakes are high right now, Gustaff. People can make us disappear in a matter of hours. Have a little faith in my people, huh?"
As a man who knew how to weigh the odds, Gustaff thought about it, made a nod, and said, "OK. Consider it an investment made. You're right, you know. I do know the stakes are high, and right now my people are being held in a prison somewhere not doing their jobs, which means no money for the company. Just let me pull up a few records…"
Andsworth gave a silent cheer but smiled behind his mustache as several of the bridge crew looked on in admiration. He liked it. Even though he was degraded down to this rust-bucket, his wit and cunning could never be dulled.
"Alright. Now, as you may have cleverly deduced, Admiral, Lone Wolves are a cut above the rest. Lots of money goes into them and thus… I like to make sure Vanguard's property is well taken care of. Vanguard Lone Wolves do indeed carry multiple tracking devices."
"Multiple? How many are we talking about, here?"
"No less than ten per Lone Wolf."
"Ten? That's overkill, isn't it, Mr. Gustaff?"
"Like I said, Vanguard's property is precious to me. This is the mother of all redundancy systems: tracking devices in their blood stream, a couple small ones in their skin, tooth enamel, clothing, and even a couple more that I am not at liberty to discuss; you know how it is."
"Yes, I can get the idea."
"Anyway, this was intended to make sure that even if a couple were removed, it would be statistically very unlikely that the agent would totally wink off the map. We would always have some way to find them… and I have a location!"
"You're using real-time feeds?"
"And a fortune they cost, Admiral! They're on Earth, just as you would have suspected. According to this… they are located approximately five hundred meters underground… just forty miles from central Shinjuku in Japan."
"Japan?"
"You got me. I guess ONI wants a more cultural experience. According to the readings though, the tracking devices are within a radius of about three hundred of one another, meaning that a few of them were already separated. I would understand that."
"OK. All I need are the coordinates."
"Remember, we have an investment!"
Andsworth sighed, "I promise. If we come out of this alive, I will do all this and more. Your organization will be the messiah of PMCs across Human Space."
"Hmm… A Private Sector Messiah… I could learn to like that. Very well Admiral, the location is on the way now. Oh, and remember, until this whole thing blows over… this conversation never happened."
"Agreed. Until after the storm."
"When the sun breaks." With that, Gustaff killed the channel.
Andsworth sat quietly on the bridge while the officers around him made sparing glances at him. They were impressed by his quickness in the situation. Andsworth knew that he didn't have to worry about moles, but he said it anyway.
"If I learn that anyone has leaked this conversation to anybody off this ship, I will personally take a hot iron and brand you traitors Texas-style. Then I will kill you."
A few nervous laughs escaped the men, which turned into awkward coughs, and then silence.
"Why Japan of all places?" Chris asked, dumbfounded. "Japan… who puts a secret hideout in Japan? There are nearly 2 billion people on that island! The population density is so thick you can light a match at a party just by holding it in front of you!"
He was suiting up for his trip to the surface. It would be the first time in months that he would have been on Earth, and this time, it was business, not pleasure. The Burro didn't have any dropships because of the small size of the vessel. So, it stood to reason that they needed another way to get to the surface, which brought up the question as to how Rouge got to the Burro in the first place.
She had a ship herself: a beautiful thing she liked to call the Black Bat. It was an initiation present from ONI when she joined the ranks of the spooks. It was a small craft, barely anything larger than a yacht but still enough for an agent to operate from. It was as matte black as the space around it, with a few pink stripes painted on the port and starboard sides of the hull. And there, written right on the top in beautiful calligraphy and brightly lit, was the name of the ship itself.
Rouge offered to take them down on it because it had atmospheric capability. Chris agreed, and two other Marines aboard the Burro accompanied him. As they were ready securing their equipment, Chris commented further on their destination.
"You know that one city wasn't enough for them? They had to build a city on top of a city! I don't mean figuratively, I mean they literally put a ground on top of the highest skyscrapers and started all over."
One of the Marines, a dark-skinned man named Reyes said, "I thought you were from New York. Doesn't that place have a lot of people too?"
"The difference, Reyes, is that I can still see the sky from street level!"
The other man, Konstantinos, smiled. "Then you'll love it in Athens! Nothing above 80 stories."
Chris was calmed by the casual talk and said, "I'm so glad to be able to look at Marines with trust again."
"Sir, we were put here because we thought something was wrong with the world, you know?" Konstantinos said.
"Marshall screwed us like he screwed you." Reyes noted. "Of course, to a lesser degree. They say you blew up schools now."
Chris hung his head backwards. "Oh come ON!"
"That's what I said." Reyes coughed. "Personally it sounded like bullshit after the hospital ship incident."
Rouge popped her head out of the airlock. "I hate to be a pusher handsome, but we don't have all the time in the world."
Chris nodded. He checked his weapons and armor. They all showed green. "Alright Marines, let's roll. We have people to save."
Reyes and Konstantinos gave an 'Oorah' and followed him into the Black Bat. Chris tapped the device on his belt. "You alright, NICOLE?"
"Not bad. The ship is pretty neat. I can't quite make out the class… Maybe it's unique." The AI then said, "I'm also picking up another AI signal from inside this craft. Doubtless that Rouge has an AI to help with steering and flight. There's no way one person could fly all this on their own."
"Just don't try to take the wheel and we should be alright."
"Roger, sir."
The ship was only one deck. The pilot sat aft in a command center of a sort that seemed more like a cockpit than a bridge. There were a few windows scattered about but they weren't very big. A computer dominated one wall where Chris assumed that Rouge got her data (and perhaps news of treasures scattered about), and of course, there was a lavish living room near the front with a satin sheet bed. Rouge really knew a good interior designer. On the one hand it was a spy's dream boat, and on the other, it was the pad of a sexy treasure huntress - the unusual yet harmonious dichotomy.
The Marines sat down near the airlock. Rouge was near the back in a pilot's seat. She fastened a flight mask over her face and was ready to go. "I'm disengaging the docking clamps." She announced. The tiny ship pushed away from the Burro and gave a tiny burst from the thrusters. Chris was weightless for a moment as the simulated gravity did not kick in. Rouge whipped the Black Bat around and put power to the engines.
"Athena, I'm going to need you to find us a suitable landing area!"
"Of course, Rouge. Can you please specify a region?" This was obviously Rouge's navigational/servant AI. She sounded like a Dumb model.
"Lower Shinjuku, at these coordinates." She entered the location where CEO Gustaff indicated.
"Analyzing… I have found a suitable place to land, but I do not think that this is legal."
"Oh, don't worry. We're only going in and out, you and I." She winked to the Marines sitting near the airlock and rocketed them towards Earth.
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