Two Days Later. July 24th, 2267. 07:45 Rural District One
The car slowed down on the gravel road and turned right towards the gate. It stopped near a sensor. But the gate didn’t open. The occupants of the car looked at one another. No one wanted to leave the car alone. Elias then slowly opened his door which was followed by the other occupants.
“Why wouldn’t it open?” Kaius said as he closed the door behind him, “It clear is detecting our car.”
Renata held up a scanning device, “It’s sending out a message requesting a response code. In short, we don’t have the means to unlock it.”
“Wonderful, it’s a half mile up to the house,” Aella said, “Better climb the gate and get walking.”
Elias nodded, “I’ll go first.”
He began to climb over the gate. It wasn’t quite as tall as he was, but thankfully the horizontal bars in it made it rather easy to climb over. He walked forward and scanned his surroundings.
The distinct smell of freshly cut grass permeated the air. So strong was the smell that it was almost obnoxious. Three distinct buildings could be seen in the distance. Several fruit-bearing trees lining the driveway were seen as well.
The westernmost side of the homestead was clearly marked by tall plains grasses growing there. Small varmints could be seen running into the cut grass, pausing, then heading back into the tall grasses. Elias held up his data slate and zoomed in on it.
“The locals call them varminters. They weren’t very creative, but they say it looks like a raccoon and weasel interbred from Earth,” Kaius said, “Acts more like a trash panda than a weasel though.”
“Well let’s get…”
The distinct sound of gunfire rang out. Multiple shots were fired in their direction. Not their general direction though. The shots were just feet over their heads. Whoever shot at them meant it.
“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!” a hidden voice shouted out at them from about fifty yards away, “YOUR FUCKING TRESPASSING!”
The four agents immediately drew their weapons, though they still hadn’t made out where their attacker was. Then he appeared from around a bush that was alongside the western side of the gravel road. The Xenuians tensed and prepared to aim their guns at their attacker but stopped when he started speaking.
“I am going to skull fuck the hole I make in your heads if any of those pistols are raised. Drop them on the ground and walk back to the gate,” John said calmly.
He stared at Kaius who was hesitating, “Skinny man, I ain’t fucking playing. Gun on the ground now.”
Kaius complied. There was no reluctance in it as a large caliber rifle was pointed right at him. And as the man had already fired at them the odds were rather high that he would fire at them once again.
“Mr. Hart, we’re not here…” Elias began to speak with his hands up.
“Hands down idiot. Walk back to the gate and face it. We are going to do this on my terms, not yours.”
Elias nodded and turned around. As he did so he ordered the trio that was with him to comply. Guns were gently placed on the ground, then they all walked back to the gate.
“Hands on the gate and spread your legs,” John said.
“Is that really necessary?” Aella asked.
“You aren’t my type, don’t think you’re going to get some today,” John said as he waited for their compliance, “Ok, stupid bastard in charge, what’s your name?”
“Elias Mendicate.”
“Weird name. Why are you trespassing on my property?”
“We wanted to talk to you.”
John then raised the gun to his shoulder and he flicked the safety off. The click was very clearly heard by all four agents. Kaius tensed up as he turned his head slightly.
“Are you from fucking intelligence?”
“We aren’t from Naval…” Kaius began to speak.
“I wasn’t talking to the tall fucker. Stupid bastard, who are you?”
“We’re immigrants here,” Kaius shouted out.
John’s eyes squinted slightly, “Try again.”
“That is true,” Elias insisted, “We grew up in Alliance territories. We escaped here to avoid religious persecution.”
“Tall fucker, that true?”
Kaius scrunched up his face, “Yes, we’ve never even met this Naval Intelligence you speak of.”
John nodded, “Yeah you don’t sound like them.
“Bitch that she thinks is hot, climb the fence and get back into the car,” John said.
“My gun is…” Aella’s complaint fell on deaf ears.
John shook his head, “Mine now, finder’s keepers. Next time you want to come here call ahead and see if I want company.”
John watched as Aella climbed over the fence and got into the backseat of the car, “Ok, actual hot bitch, climb over the fence and get in the car. Tall fucker, you do the same after she gets in.”
“I’m not leaving without him,” Kaius said as he pointed to Elias.
“Your leader and I will have a conversation back in the house. If he is who he says he is then we won’t have a problem,” John pointed the gun at Kaius after Renata got into the car, “Now the choice you have is climb over that gate or I skull fuck the hole I make in your dumb fucking head.”
Kaius shook his head, “If you hurt him, I will kill you.”
“I appreciate the spunk, really, I do. But you’re really testing my fucking patience,” John growled.
Elias nodded to his subordinate and friend. With a great amount of reluctance, he climbed over the gate and opened the door to the car. Just before he was about to sit down in the car John called out to him.
“If that car moves or I see you back on the property, I’m gonna put you down like the dogs you are. Capiche?”
Kaius glared at John as he got in the car. He slammed the door shut and stared at him from the front seat. Elias then slowly turned around.
“Alright, Elias, otherwise known as a stupid bastard, you are going to pick up those four guns and carry my new toys up to my house. I’ve got a database of all known Naval Intelligence agents along with known bounty hunters that they’ve used,” John was holding his rifle in the high ready state, “I’m going to scan your DNA, if you come back in the green, I will kill you.”
Elias nodded as he walked by John, “I’m not worried.”
“Then you’re a fucking idiot,” John said ushering Eliass with the rifle towards the house.
The walk up to the house took a painfully long amount of time for Elias. Despite his saying that he was not worried, a fear lingered within him nonetheless. The stories they had read on Confederate military personnel contrasted greatly with his brief interaction so far. If Elias didn’t know any better this Steven individual was almost feral.
Was that because of his running or his self-imposed exile away from people? That question provided Elias with enough to distract him from the life-and-death situation he was in. That was until the pair got closer to the homestead’s building. The smallest building was a large garage with presumably lots of storage. The farthest building had its main door opened and in it, a tractor was parked there. Clearly, that was the shop building in Elias’ eyes.
“Drop the guns on that table and walk inside,” John said gruffly.
“Very well,” Elias complied with the request.
Each gun was set down carefully, with the barrels all pointing at the house. Elias walked to the door and let himself in. A curious thing he thought was that the front gate had all this tech preventing one from entry and yet this house didn’t seem to have any security in it. That thought was struck from his mind the moment he walked inside.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Despite appearances, Steven was not slumming it. In fact, the chairs and sofas he saw were quite high-tier. And there was an impressive security system built into the structure, and presumably the grounds as well.
“Put your hand on that scanner. If it goes green, I’m dropping you right here and now.”
“Very well Steven, I will do as you comply. When it fails to return anything would you be so kind as to have a discussion with me?”
“Hand on the scanner now.”
Elias complied and set his right hand on the scanner. When the scan was complete there was no reaction of any kind from the scanner. The reaction on Steven’s face told a very clear story to Elias.
“I believe that should prove beyond any reasonable doubt that we are not affiliated with Naval Intelligence, or would you prefer something more Commander Hart?”
John tensed up and brought his gun to a high ready and played up his supposed surprise, “Who the fuck are you and why do you know me?”
“I know of your circumstances, but no more than that. I believe we’ve correctly surmised that your father got you to this world to live quietly, away from the prying eyes of those in law enforcement.”
John flicked the safety back on and no longer held the rifle at the ready. Both of his arms were resting on the butt of the gun as it was hooked into his sling. He looked up and down at his guest.
“I want nothing to do with y’all. Stay away from me and keep your mouths shut about me and we’ll be fine.”
“You aren’t interested…”
“I’m sure you know that my father is fabulously wealthy, no?” John asked, “Then you know I have access to a not insubstantial amount of wealth here in this world. Transferring more money here became a pain in the ass shortly after I got here. There is an underworld and I do have connections. I’d rather not get my hands dirty with y’all.”
Elias nodded, “Very well, we will keep our distance. In the event that I need, or would like to, discuss anything how would I go about that?”
“Colonial channels, now that you have been here you know how to get a hold of me right?”
Elias nodded once again.
“Good, now get the fuck out of here, the guns stay with me.”
“I must insist…” Elias was once again interrupted.
“I must insist that you leave here with your life. Also, if I find any bugs in this facility I’m calling those contacts,” John paused, “It isn’t difficult to find or buy replacements. Now then, you are overstaying your welcome here.”
“Very well, I suppose I ought to thank you for not killing my people and me.”
John’s response was just silent staring at Elias. As if the encounter wasn’t uncomfortable enough, those piercing eyes made it worse. He quickly turned around and walked out of the door. Once he walked out onto the gravel driveway he began to jog down to the gate.
Elias didn’t bother looking back. He could see his team was happy and relieved to see him come down the driveway. It hadn’t even crossed Elias’ mind that Steven could have stepped out and shot him in the back. Had he known that Steven was in fact a highly decorated, and deadly, active Confederate officer, he would be covering his six.
He quickly clambered over the gate and hopped over to the passenger door of their vehicle. A quick gesture was all that Kaius needed to reverse onto the gravel road and tear ass away from this building. The mood in the car was tense until Kaius stated the obvious.
“What a fucking nutter that guy was!”
“He’s scared,” Aella said, “He’s projecting his fears of being captured.”
“I concur, the man is on the run and is holding on to some semblance of normality while he’s forced into hiding,” Renata said, “He’s stressed to the max and isn’t able to tap into his normal quality of life. He’s used to the high life but now he’s a want-to-be farmer.”
“I’m not fucking skinny,” Kaius said pouting.
“You actually kind of are based on Confederate standards,” Elias said as he watched the road go by, “I want you to pull over near where the paved road starts. I want to hide some sensors there.”
“You think he’s more than he presumes to be?” Aella asked curiously.
“I’m not discounting the possibility that he is more dangerous than he led on. But he was genuinely surprised when I didn’t come back as NI to him,” Elias paused to reflect on the moment, “Almost disappointed.”
“He’s harboring a deep-seated rage against them,” Kaius said, “They were the ones that investigated him. Now to be fair, the man is guilty as sin of the crimes he was convicted of.”
“I want more data on this guy,” Elias said as he tapped on the communication screen on the console in front of him, “Castor, I want a full dossier written up on Steven Hart. Psych profile, where he grew up, where he lived, what ships or stations he was assigned to, living quarters on his home base. Everything basically.”
Castor nodded on the screen, “We’ve already got a fair bit of that information pulled already. I’ll begin collating that into a singular file and begin the process of pulling in any of the extra bits of data.”
“Good,” Elias then ended the communication.
“Being a bit hard on the lad, aren’t you?” Kaius said quietly.
“I am not,” Elias said, “Trust is hard to earn and easily cast aside. A lesson he is learning now. It’s a lesson we all need to understand.”
The car ride back home was uncomfortable. But productive. They were able to do a fair amount of research for Dale while the car’s auto-pilot system did its job.
True to Elias’ request they stopped twice to plant surveillance gear. It wouldn’t get much, but they’d be able to better track anyone driving on the road. Elias was not happy that his team and he were shot at. The preliminary analysis was likely correct. But those eyes he saw in Steven’s home. What was it about those eyes?
When they finally arrived home at their delipidated home base Elias gave a simple command to those in the car, ‘send all video of this encounter to me.’
The team understood a review of that would be done. To what extent was beyond them at the time? Deep down Elias knew something was wrong with Steven, but there was no evidence to prove his gut feeling. And in this case, barring any hard evidence, he wasn’t willing to move without hard evidence.
17:45 Elias’ Office
Castor walked into Elias’ office and placed a data slate on the desk. The senior leader barely recognized the junior officer. Just before he left the office Castor turned around and spoke.
“I’m sorry I disappointed you.”
“It’s not what you did to me that disappoints me so, Castor,” Elias looked at him, “It’s the complete disregard that you and Ellie had for your family's plans for you both. That you were genetic matches is nothing short of a miracle, but it doesn’t make up the problems you caused.”
“We fell for one another, why would that…”
“Castor, your families have a say in who you are to wed. I know for a fact that both hers and your families had plans to wed other people when you returned home. Plans had been made years ago but those are now in shatters and both of your families have had their reputations impugned.”
“We meant no disrespect to our families. But these kinds of things just happen.”
“No Castor, they do not. We are not afforded the ability to do that. Our families work closely with the government to ensure the best genetic matches. Unlike the Confederacy, we need to produce the best generation possible. And our families need alliances with one another to grow stronger.”
“Is a war with them really necessary?” Castor said quietly, “Loss of life is synonymous with war. Are we not risking our genetic destiny in this?”
Elias’ haughty attitude dropped as he nodded his head, “I fear that you are right. I’m not sure if now is the correct time. Attacking them during a state of war or after a large conflict would’ve been a better time to do so. But our leaders have made a decision, and it is up to us to follow through with their orders.”
“I’m not going to apologize to you for falling for Ellie, but I will apologize to my parents for ruining their plans,” Castor said as he saluted quickly, “For the record, both of my parents prefer Ellie to the match they had for me.”
“You are dismissed,” Elias said.
Would he have been so lucky to have fallen in love in a similar way thought Elias? He wondered why it was that he was never matched to anyone. It must’ve been a genetic quirk that his siblings didn’t have. That got Elias curious about the past, but the present intruded onto his mind once again.
He picked up the data slate and looked at it. Everything they knew about Commander Steven Hart was there in front of him. Despite his house arrest, Castor did a phenomenal job putting together this dossier.
Kaius then walked into the office unannounced, “I see the dossier is done, care if I join ya?”
“The more the merrier,” Elias said as he transferred the dossier to his terminal and activated the holographic display.
“Fucking nutter, that guy is a grade-a asshole.”
“He got into numerous fights at his prep schools. Which is unironically why he was sent to eight different schools before he graduated,” Elias said as he pointed to the records, “Dad pulled some strings that kept his record clean and got him into the Naval Academy. Fights stopped but his psych evaluations show an underlying rage brewing beneath the surface.”
“Interesting that he made Commander,” Kaius said as he scanned the dates, “Was in the top ten percent of his class to earn a new promotion. The only delay was to Lieutenant Commander but that was because there was a six-month hold on promoting new commanders when he first became eligible.”
“He was bounced out of command a year after he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander; he harbored a fair amount of resentment towards that.”
Kaius nodded, “That’s how the corporations got their hooks into him. Then he shifted to being more focused on generating as much money as he could.”
“In any way he could,” Elias added, “He’s a serial womanizer, never settled down with any one woman. Had one in every port, or so the rumors say. That dates back to his ensign days.”
“He never dipped his pen in the company ink either. I’ll give him some credit for his restraint,” Kaius said, “His dad was worth billions and yet he taught all his children how to be survivalists.”
“Do you think he’s the one?”
Kaius shrugged, “What I saw today was unbridled rage, but not directed at us per se. This is a man who is terrified of facing justice. I’m just not sure that he’s our spy.”
“There was something about his eyes. The disappointment in them was surprising to me.”
“He psyched himself up for combat. That crazy asshole was ready to do some damage to the invaders. Then, when he finds out we aren’t who he thinks we are, he knows he’s gone too far with strangers.”
“You saying he feels guilty?”
“Maybe regret, his pride won’t let him apologize to us, we were trespassing after all. But all that built-up energy was for nothing,” Kaius said, “Wouldn’t hurt to keep tabs on him but I don’t think that he is the supposed agent.”
“Then who is it?”
“I think whoever it is completely covered their tracks. If it was NI and they are the boogeyman that everyone says they are, why wouldn’t they have a backdoor into the immigration system? Or any and all of the other colonial systems?”
Elias nodded, “Which means they can remove logs and records of anyone they want to. Removing theirs would be a matter of a few clicks.”
“It’s a wild goose chase. I think we should set up some more sensors in the buildings around us. Just in case,” Kaius said as he stood up, “But there is some good news.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m sure the agent tracked us to where we went. He will know where this asshole is. Maybe he’ll off him and we won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
Elias pressed a few buttons on his terminal and then looked up at Kaius, “I want resources to monitor him, at least for the next couple of weeks. I want to know where he is at all times. And I’d like that to be compiled daily.”
“Castor or Alberic ought to be able to do that. I’ll talk to both and have one of them compile that into a report daily. Or at least until your gut says you're good to go.”
Kaius then left the office. Elias remained, still unconvinced, about who the new agent was. Or if there was an enemy agent working against him. The eyes, Elias kept coming back to Steven’s eyes. What was it that he was missing? The answer to that question evaded him. It would continue to trouble him over the future days. Little did Elias know, but turbulent skies began forming in that future, clouding their possibilities and results.