December 17th, 2267, 2267. 09:05 Vosture Prime – John’s Homestead
Elias stared at Steven, no that wasn’t his real name. It was John Lief, but was that the truth or another lie concocted by the Confederacy? The last fifteen minutes had sounded like a fanciful tale of bullshit. Yet somehow there was a sincerity and earnestness to it that simultaneously made it believable. He was tongue-tied, whatever could he ask to help make sense of what he had heard.
Finally, after a painful moment or two Elias spoke, “You had said you were forced to come here with little to no preparation. I find that difficult to believe that you’ve been as successful as you have been against us with no preparation.”
John shrugged, “Travel time did me well. I had fifteen days to get my head back into the game and to study what little information I could. Plus, it helps that I am a quick study.”
“That child that you recruited to attack your friend, did it work?”
“Oh man, I wish I could tell my best friend that I was responsible for that,” John laughed, “But did it work? I have no idea. If, in some improbable way I survive here, I have no idea if I still have a marriage to return to.”
“You are worried that your superiors and government will double-cross you and lock you up?”
John nodded.
“Come with me, your talents could be useful.”
John shook his head, “My loyalty is unquestioned, even if I may have questions of those who are above and around me.”
“Worth a shot, though that was the answer I was expecting,” Elias took a deep breath.
“Would you ever really trust me knowing that I’d turned traitor once?”
Elias’ head bobbed side to side as he thought but eventually, he simply shrugged, “You are right. Your loyalty would forever be questioned from that point forward.”
“I know the deal was for me to answer questions from you, but would you indulge a dying man’s questions?”
“I suppose that’s allowable.”
“Why did you invade Confederate territory? And what is so special about this system?”
Elias smiled, “I figured you’d start at the beginning. Very well, I will happily humor your curiosity.”
10 Months Ago. February 3rd, 2267. 10:30 Nu Prime, Xenuian Intelligence Headquarters
Elias Mendicate strode confidently into his workplace. His beige uniform was neatly pressed, and his black shoes shined so much he could see his reflection in them. He was genuinely curious why he had been called in during his leave.
He was supposed to be wedding planning with his betrothed today, but his fiancé had made it especially difficult to plan anything together. Something always came up or she wanted them to do something else. Perhaps it was jitters or maybe she just hated planning. But their wedding date was fast approaching, and they had precious little to show for it.
He was the last of his siblings to get married, despite being the oldest. He was intensely, though only in private, jealous of his siblings’ marital status. All of them had received their betrothals upon their coming-of-age ceremony. But for him, that didn’t happen. It was a minor miracle that his parents had successfully convinced the Monet family for a pair bonding. Their oldest daughter was single not because of a lack of requests or beauty, she was a site to behold, but she had stubbornly refused numerous suitors.
Elias’ thoughts refocused on the task at hand when he got to the reception desk. The red desk stood in stark contrast to the dark grey floors and walls. Two armed guards flanked the sides of the desk. He always thought it curious that the intelligence department had armed guards, there were less than a handful of crimes committed each year. None would dare assault this place.
But the guards continued to be posted here. Their stoicism in the futility of their mission was at least something to respect in Elias’ mind. They chose to do their duty to the best of their ability. At the very least, none would dare assault this building.
“Good morning, Tribune Mendicate,” smiled one of the receptionists, “You know the drill, scan your ID and place your hand on the scanner.”
“Morning Maria,” Elias did as he was instructed but he leaned closer to the desk, “Are they in a good mood?”
She nodded, “They are in an unusually jovial mood. Though I’m not really sure why they are or why they would call you in from your leave.”
The scanners dinged. Elias received approval to enter his workplace. The receptionist waived him through the security scanner. After Elias stepped into the secure portion of the building, a curious notion as the only thing that separated the secure area from the unsecured area was a white line on the floor and a pair of guards, she gestured for him to lean in.
“When’s the big date?”
Elias shrugged, “Daphne is not a great planner of events. There always seems to be something that comes up.”
“Cold feet, eh? You really ought to take her on a romantic trip. I’m sure all the girls here would be dying to help you plan that with you.”
“It seems that I may need to take you up on that offer.”
“Oh, that is delightful,” the receptionist's smile was brilliant, “I’ll get working on some ideas for you!”
Elias smiled as he nodded. Then he headed towards the elevator. His destination was on the fourteenth floor. The sprawling complex was a sight to behold. The exterior of the building was best described as highly angular. It had a unique aesthetic amongst the governmental buildings standing in this world.
Due to its unusual shape and construction, there was a significant amount of wasted space internally. Many rooms were just oddly shaped, reducing their capacity or overall use. Elias’ own office and department were housed in one of these spikes that jutted out from the main building. His area was wide enough for a desk on each wall and a walkway between them. With a singular office, his, at the end of the room.
He wasn’t heading there today though. He was heading to the Xenuian’s Intelligence department’s office of the Legatus. Their leader called for Elias specifically warmed his heart. For ten long years, he toiled and worked at his craft. Elias had desperately wanted to be recognized for his hard work over the years. He was confident that now was finally the time to be recognized for his work. Fate, it seems, had other plans for never in Elias’ wildest dreams would he be prepared for what was about to come.
The elevator doors opened. He had never walked into this section of the building. His eyes were darting over the room as he stood in awe of the platinum-trimmed marble pillars. Elias felt a bit guilty walking on such gorgeous floor tiles. White was the predominant color, but multiple shades of grays, blacks, and specks of gold were found throughout.
Three steps into the sprawling room Elias looked up at the voice that called out to him.
“Tribune Mendicate, Legatus Sorano will see you now.”
Elias nodded and walked to the ornate doors. Once again, he felt guilty touching the gorgeous doors. He overcame that and pushed at the doors. He was surprised at how easily and crisply the hinges on the doors opened.
Legatus Marius Sorano looked up from his desk and smiled, “Elias, come come. It’s good to finally get a chance to meet you face to face.”
“Legatus,” Elias snapped to attention and with a closed fist tapped his left breast twice, “How may I serve?”
Marius continued to smile at his officer, “That is the attitude I was seeking. Please, I insist you take a seat. Now tell me, what do you know of the Confederacy of Mankind?”
“Our forebearers split from them some one hundred twenty years ago. We arrived at our home world fifteen years later. Unlike the breeders who expand out in a haphazard we, the society our founders created seeks a purity of focus and genetics.”
“A textbook answer. Now tell me your personal opinion of them.”
“They are the supreme power in the space they occupy. Two more coups were made after our forebearers left, one loud and the other quiet. Combined the two lesser powers may be able to bring them to heel, at great cost to them. But as it stands, they are the technological and numerical superpower occupying our birth sphere.”
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“The Senate believes it is time to invade their space and bring light to the unenlightened. They fear their current dogma is leading them on a path to destruction, and that our intervention is necessary for the survival of their species.”
Elias looked concerned, “Their expansion towards us seems to have halted. Why the rush now?”
“I presume you’ve been made aware of the Phi Iota system we recently inhabited?”
“In what way, sir? I know there are two colonies that were started in the past year, but beyond that, I haven’t heard of anything interesting about the system. Though to be brutally honest, I’ve never spent any time researching it.”
Marius nodded, “Perhaps its uniqueness is too bland to be interesting to most people. Slip Space is preternaturally calm there. Our scientists don’t believe it is natural, whatever those processes may be in that dimension, and it just so happens that there is a sister world in Confederate space that is also a new and slow-growing colony on the fringes of their empire.”
“Being that the system is on the fringe of their space, that would make for an ideal foothold system. But it takes at least three months to travel there. Reinforcements and supply chains would be an absolute nightmare, and that’s presuming the great tides are calm. We both know that as traffic grows so to do the tides which will slow down the ships behind them.”
“Agreed. But what if we could connect the two worlds by tunneling through the great tides? And what if that trip would take a handful of days or even hours instead of months.”
Elias closed his eyes and thought for a moment, “That would give us a decided tactical advantage. Though we’d need to defend this wormhole or structure as if our lives depended on it. If it were to fall into enemy hands…”
“Truly a troubling and disturbing thought. But we’d have a full fleet of ships guarding it, if push comes to shove, we’d destroy it and retreat to prevent our enemies from using it against us.”
“Sir, what is this device? I wasn’t aware something existed that could bridge two systems together like this?”
“Our scientists are calling it a slip gate, I know, it’s not very creative. In theory, it could link any two systems and create a stable conduit in slip space between the two worlds,” Marius paused to take a drink, “Construction of the prime gate is nearly finished. The beta gate will need to be constructed in this system, and some materials we will transport to finish the project.”
“You need to destabilize that world to allow for such a construction to happen?”
“In part, yes. The beta gate will require a substantial amount of energy to power. One of the missions is to coerce the colony into using its own resources to build void-based energy plants and use its mineral resources to build the gate. Future use or any other nonsensical bullshit that you come up with as an excuse would work. You will need to get your hooks and claws into the people of that world in order to achieve this mission.”
“How long do we have to enact this mission?”
Marius looked stern as he viewed his underling, “Six months ideally, no more than nine.”
“A difficult task to do on such a compressed timeline,” Elias said solemnly, “To be frank, I’m not sure it’s going to be possible to do both.”
“An election starts in two months, just after you and your team are set to arrive. Find a candidate and bend them to your will. Use the chaos in their foolhardy democratic system to achieve your goal.”
“My team has been selected for this, but we are not experts in subterfuge. We’d stand out like sore thumbs there.”
“True, but your team is second to none when it comes to logistical problems and counter-intelligence operations. We’re going to supplement your team of fourteen with six members from Tribune Nardine’s team. They can be your public-facing group.”
“When do we leave?”
“Eight hours. I’ve already taken the liberty of having the other nineteen members of your team report to a conference room on the fourth floor.”
“I will do as commanded, but may I ask a question, sir?” Elias said politely.
“Absolutely, what is on your mind?”
“Surely you are aware of the Confederate Military capacity. What are the damage estimates to us?”
“It will not be without loss of life. It will cost us blood, sweat, and tears to achieve this victory. But defeating the Confederacy is the first step before we are able to unite our species under one banner.”
“Sir, I don’t disagree with the end goal, but I question how viable it is. It is almost a certainty that they would resort to guerilla warfare or outright piracy in response. Any victory is going to cost decades of blood on our part to maintain control.”
“Yes, yes. I know you’re going to say the more we hold onto that control the less we actually have. There’s a nearly fifty-year plan in the process, the key is their younger generations. Once we get them bought into our mindset we’ve won, even if their elders would rage against our control.”
“I’ve seen some of those estimates in the past, and in my opinion, they are far more hopeful than expected. I’m also not convinced that the Confederates are that far behind us technologically. If you don’t mind, I’d like to run a side op on acquiring as much intel on their military activities and equipment while there.”
“I would expect you and your team to do just that. But remember, your first and second steps are to ensure the construction of the slip gate and to coopt their election. Should you have additional time by all means, acquire as much intelligence as you can,” Marius took another drink, “Now then, it’s time for you to meet your new team members and head to Vosture Prime.”
11:15 Xenuian Intelligence Headquarters – Fourth Floor Executive Boardroom
Elias had finished his hastily prepared presentation. No one looked thrilled to be in that room. Who would? The other nineteen souls were told that in a bit over seven hours they’d be shipping out to some fringe world a couple of months away.
And that they would be laying critical groundwork for an invasion. They would pour the foundation of a galactic war. No pressure at all, Elias couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at that though. Success, it seems, was the only acceptable outcome. But there were so many questions for the team, the least of all was whether or not it was even possible.
Elias kept his opinions to himself, but he knew that if they failed then at a bare minimum his career was finished. The Mendicate family had significant sway, but not nearly enough to prevent his sacking or even reassignment to a dead-end division to be forgotten.
“Tribune, is this mission even achievable? The timetable is...” Primus Kaius Nuveen asked, “The timetable is so compressed.”
“It is possible, though my own estimates are on the high end. Nine to ten months seems achievable. It is imperative that we corrupt one of the candidates and help them win their idiotic election. If we can achieve that then a path to our success becomes illuminated.”
“I don’t want to sound like that person,” Centurion Viviana Lupus said carefully, “But we don’t act like them. We’ll look like we’re in some sort of religious cult.”
Elias nodded, “Which is why we won’t be interacting with the public. Legatus Sorano was kind enough to assign Prefect Constantine Cento along with five of his team members to my command. They will be running the deep cover operations and train us to effectively blend in with our enemy.”
Prefect Constantine Cento then stood up. He was the oldest in the room by over two decades. He was a grim man, but unbeknownst to those not familiar with him he had an encyclopedic knowledge of dozens of societies. His ability to blend in was legendary amongst their intelligence division.
“This is the last time anyone will speak of the Confederates as birthers. While that may be true, your prejudice against them will work against our success. It is my hope that by the time we land there is a candidate that we can corrupt to our side,” Constantine said, “Your team ought to investigate the security of their election devices. One way or the other we will win.”
“Prefect Cento will be in charge of all operations involving interacting with the colony. On these matters, his word is not only final but law. Our team will work on contacting and corrupting a candidate to meet our ends,” Elias said, “Now then, do we have any other questions?”
“How are we to avoid detection?” Signifer Nemo Murena asked, “What if the Confederates have any agents or officers capable of thwarting our espionage efforts?”
“That would be less than ideal,” Elias said, “But to be frank I think we must expect that they have agents in and around the colony. Centurion Cossus will coordinate with Prefect Cento to engage and eliminate those targets. While he does that, Optio Cicero and her team will initiate an electronic attack on the colony’s systems with the desired outcome of locking down and eliminating whatever hooks their agency has on the world. I’m moving her team to report to Prefect Cento.”
“When are we shipping out?” Tessararius Daphne Monet said in a tone that could best be described as acidic.
“We will meet at the Gloriana Void Port at 16:00,” Elias said.
“That’s ahead…” Tirones Castor Lionel complained.
“The sooner we wrap this Q&A up the more time we have to pack and say our goodbyes,” Kaius said.
“Agreed, once we board our shuttle, I’ll be more than happy to attempt to answer any questions that you come up with,” Elias looked around the room, “If there’s nothing else then your dismissed.”
The lower-ranked officers and rank-and-file personnel all but ran out of the room. The more senior officers seemed to casually stroll out of the boardroom. Two officers stayed behind. Kaius and Constantine walked towards Elias. Neither said a word until it was just the three of them left.
“Legatus Sorana can say anything he wants; six months is an impossible task. Nine months is pushing it,” the venom and borderline insubordinate tone in Constantine’s voice was plain as day.
“Careful how you speak, this is…” Kaius couldn’t finish his sentence.
“I don’t give a damn what he thinks. He’s not going to reassign me. Not if he wants this mission finished in the next year.”
Elias nodded, “The timetable is, to be frank, rushed. Corrupting one of the candidates is doable, but to build this void energy plant in nine months? My best-case scenario is twelve or thirteen months.”
“What we do have working for us is this system is on their far fringe, several solar systems outside their nominal reach. It’s so obscure that they may not notice anything until it’s too late,” Kaius said.
“On that, we will agree,” Constantine said, “I would recommend the rest of our team read these materials.”
Constantine punched in a command on his tablet. Numerous books, reports, and observations were sent to the other two leaders. The other two leaders nodded.
“The bottom line is that your teams are going to have to get out into the community and not act or look too out of part.”
“One thing going for us is the remote nature of the colony, and how they are accepting of everyone.”
“We can say we were from a religious commune from the Mercantilist Union,” Elias said, “It’s sketchy, but not unbelievable.”
“From the Alliance, they are more devout than the Mercantilists,” Constantine said, “The latter only worships credits.”
“Thank you, I’ll amend and continue to work on the backstory in the interim. Everything I need is already packed.”
“See to it that you do,” Constantine said icily, “I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Kaius watched the master spy leave the room before looking at Elias, “That one will be our downfall.”
Elias shook his head, “No, he and his team are needed. Without them, there is no possibility of success. Go and say goodbye to your loved ones. I’ll be seeing you at the port.”
Elias was soon the only one remaining in the boardroom. He sighed before leaving the room. He went up to his office. Fifteen minutes later he was walking out of the intelligence building and catching a ride to the void port. It was the first day of an unexpected mission. A difficult one no doubt, but if they could achieve success his ascension to the senate was all but certain.