7 Months Ago. April 30th, 2267. 05:15 Xenuian Infiltration Headquarters
All was quiet in the Xenuian’s now clean and fully stocked headquarters. Constantine and his team still hadn’t returned from leaving the night before. The logistics group was soundly asleep. But one office room was filled with frantic energy. Draco and his team had identified several security and financial weaknesses over the past two weeks, and they were still finding more to exploit.
The most shocking thing found was the merchant services and how easy it was to tap into that network. Thanks to their work they were now skimming a portion of the interchange rate on all transactions conducted using credits in the colony. While this only amounted to fractions of a credit, the volume of transactions made this a highly profitable hack.
That action, completed on only their third day in this strange new world, enabled them to purchase anything that they needed. The stolen fractional shares were then bounced from system to system in the Confederate banking network to clean it. There was so much money left over that the logistics team had successfully lobbied Elias to pay everyone a bonus, of sorts, in credits so people had some incidental spending cash. Money that was off the books and untraceable.
The room suddenly fell quiet as the crowd of counterespionage agents began holding their breath watching the central screen. They had achieved root access to the colony’s primary communications system. Draco could hardly believe his eyes as he looked at the screen. They now had unfettered access to all communications the colony managed, and no one would be the wiser.
Cheers rang out from the office. They had done it. At that moment success seemed almost predetermined. Draco let out a booming cheer as did the others. Elias then walked into the office, wearing slippers and a robe. He was smiling and sipping on some coffee, having woken up minutes before their triumph.
“So, what’s the excitement for?” Elias said calmly.
“We have root access to their communications network!” Katherina shouted excitedly.
Elias nodded, “Draco, can you search for any communications related to Naval Intelligence?”
Draco’s excitement changed to puzzlement, “Why would we do that?”
“Naval Intelligence has assets in each colony. We need to eliminate them. Once you’re done scanning that I’d also like you to do some analysis on whether or not any of us have been discussed. Fantastic work to you all.”
Draco and his team immediately went to work. Elias took another sip of coffee and congratulated the team on their success. He was almost out of the door when Draco shouted out to him.
“Tribune, the civilian government has indicated that there are three agents. Two of which are on the surface. Displaying their dossiers now,” Draco shouted, “They all are in constant communication with a colonial liaison.”
“Recall Constantine and his team. We need a plan to eliminate the two agents that are on the surface. With any luck that will draw the agent on the station to the surface.”
“We may have access to the colony’s communications, but we don’t have access to the military subchannels or Naval Intelligence’s. Since the militia is run by the colony, we at least have access to theirs as well.”
“What is the likelihood of cracking the Confederate Military’s systems?”
Draco shook his head.
“It is most unlikely to crack military-grade communications without direct access to one of their communication terminals,” Katherina said, “We can begin some preliminary checks but I’m not expecting their military to be that lackadaisical in their security.”
“Please look. I want Constantine and company back here at 08:00. By the end of the day, I would ideally want both of those agents dead. Investigate that liaison too, they may need to be purged as well,” Elias then calmly walked out of the office.
The excitement was immediately killed off. More work needed to be done. The thoughts of premature victory were stricken from their memories. The team, tired as they may have been, redoubled their focus and began working on the next steps.
08:12 Subterfuge Office Room
Constantine was not a man that enjoyed meetings. When he had to have meetings, he preferred an informal style. Their office was the only one in the building that lacked a boardroom. That fit him just fine. He and the five people that reported to him were looking at the holographic displays. Like Elias, Constantine immediately agreed that the enemy agents needed to be eliminated.
“We know where these two live, what they do for ‘work’ on the surface,” Elias said, “This guy is onboard the station.”
“And you have effective control over the colony’s communications?” Constantine asked.
“But not of the military or their intelligence division’s communications. From what Draco and Katherina have been able to uncover the military liaison position is currently unfilled. The former employee left the role just two weeks ago.”
Constantine nodded, “Which means once we end these three, we have de facto control of what is said and to whom. But you can’t exercise control until these cats are killed. Paulus, Linus, you are to head out and track these two. Use skin cloaks to keep your identities hidden.”
“Constantine, what about the third agent?” Elias spoke with a quiet firmness.
“If you try anything they will take notice…” Constantine paused and was in deep thought, “Are you able to track individuals through their communication devices?”
“Yes, under two conditions,” Elias said, “We can only track personal devices and only people on the surface within city limits. The tracking capabilities in the rural areas are non-existent.”
“That implies the agents aren’t trackable,” Paulus said.
“Luckily for us, it seems they have personal devices on them, and we know what those devices are.”
“The acquisition team will have jammers, so will you two,” Constantine said, “We’ll need to snatch both of these agents simultaneously. And keep jammers near them at all times. We have another problem though.”
“We don’t want to bring them back to our facility,” Elias said.
“No, no we don’t. Luckily, we have a truck with a closed box. We can drive them out to a rural area, eliminate them there, and drop the bodies,” Constantine said.
“I’ll have Draco and three of his team drive out into the country and dig graves for us. I’ll drive the truck and pick up your teams,” Elias said.
Constantine nodded. Paulus and Linus grabbed communication jammers and left their facility. The remaining members discussed how this snatch-and-grab job will work. A plan was thrown together quickly. The remaining members grabbed their tactical kits and followed Elias to the truck. The first real mission in the colony was about to begin.
10:38 Ninety-Five Miles Northwest of the City
The old truck slowed down as it pulled over onto the grass. A familiar car was parked on the side of the road. Elias maneuvered the truck so that the rear doors were facing the forest. Thankfully they were on a lightly used road and hadn’t seen a soul once they exited the city. Elias put the truck into park and shut the engine off.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Elias looked in both directions of the road before opening the doors. Paulus and Linus hopped out of the truck. Both agents were roughed up and bloodied and were being dragged by their restraints to the rear of the truck.
“Learn anything?” Elias asked calmly.
“Precious little. We did acquire some new firearms, untraceable. We also carved out their trackers. We’ll chuck them into the river with one of the jammers in one of those bags.”
Elias nodded, “Pull them out.”
One of the Naval Intelligence agents tried to resist when Constantine reached for his arm. All that resulted in was a fresh kick to the face, breaking their nose. A stream of crimson blood began to flow down the man’s face.
The other agent spat out blood onto the bed of the truck, “You have no idea the hornets’ nest you’re about to kick up.”
Elias closed his eyes and shook his head, “No agent, your deaths will go unnoticed save for your compatriot on the station. With any luck, he’ll be down here to suffer the same fate.”
The agents were then unceremoniously pulled out of the track. Two of them began to do a quick cleaning job of the box. A more thorough cleaning would need to be done immediately after they got back to their headquarters.
“Your handgun please,” Elias said politely to Constantine.
Both agents were standing up with their arms bound behind them. One of them stared at Elias defiantly. The other seemed to have an unnerving calm about the situation. He simply turned around and closed his eyes.
Elias then raised the gun and pointed it at the defiant agent.
“Fuck you…” the agent was rather rudely interrupted by a ten-millimeter projectile that struck his forehead.
His body fell limp and into the hastily dug grave. The other agent remained serene. He didn’t even flinch at the shot. Elias then sidestepped and raised his gun.
“You do not want to face your death?”
“Only a coward would shoot an unarmed man in the back. Do as you see fit,” the man said calmly.
Another shot rang out in the forest. A second murder occurred in the name of defending one’s nation. One more soul’s life ended because of conflict, a conflict that wasn’t even known to one side.
“Constantine your men help clean the surface of the truck. Make sure the obvious spots are cleaned. I want to be out of here in five to ten minutes.”
Draco and his team laid down rocks carefully over the corpses. They were almost gentle in placing them over the body. When one grave was finished, they began working on the other as the first then had dirt shoveled into the makeshift grave. Another member was grabbing moss-like vegetation and fallen branches.
Eight minutes later both vehicles were driving away from the murder scene. They drove for another twenty minutes before the truck pulled over to the side of the road after crossing a shallow river. The bloodied and dirty towels were thrown into the river quickly before they quickly drove off once again.
May 3rd, 2267. 09:12 Vosture Prime – Industrial District
The two Naval Intelligence agents’ fatal mistake was that they carried personal tablets. Those tablets were turned on and connected to the colonial network. It was a rather simple task for Draco and his team to track the precise location, within about two or three feet of the user.
Speaking of Draco, his team hadn’t found a way to hack into the military’s network, though to be fair that outcome was an expectation of theirs. They did find a way to close the network to outgoing traffic. The noose would only be tightened on those channels the instant they captured the intelligence agent.
“He’s three blocks away, snooping around in this building,” Draco said as he pointed at the screen.
“One building away from Constantine and his ambush team,” Kaius said.
Elias nodded, “Gaining access to that building was relatively simple. Look what we have here. He’s on the move and heading toward the designated building. Let Constantine know.”
“He acknowledged receipt of our warning. They are prepared,” Daphne said.
“What’s going to happen to that agent?” Ellie asked.
“The same thing to the other two agents. The more important part is with this guy captured and dead we can lock down their communications. It gives us the ability to modify work requests and so on,” Draco said.
“Let us not be hasty and, how do they say it here, count our chickens before they hatch,” Elias said, “They may be both biologically and technologically inferior to us, but they are a foe we must respect.”
The room waited on bated breath as they watched the monitors. The agent managed to make entry into the deserted building on the second floor. The two buildings had barely four feet separating them, making it relatively easy to get from one building to another. Two agents were huddled under the lights and appeared to be working on something.
The Naval Intelligence agent slowly crept down the stairs and aimed his gun. The moment he did that someone in the shadows behind him struck him on the head. The agent was stunned and dropped his weapon. Before he could regain his senses, he was tasered and brought to the ground on the square platform separating the flights of winding stairs.
“Perfection,” Daphne said.
“Draco, lock down the military communication channels. Begin the process of commandeering the Vosturan communication network,” Elias said calmly.
“With pleasure,” Draco said as he and three of his team members began work on that.
Elias pressed the green coms button on the terminal in front of him, “Constantine, dose the man so that he is knocked out. Do not rough him up in the truck, I’d prefer to not have to deep clean it once again.”
Constantine nodded in the video but then spoke back, “I’ll need to find out if he’s the last but given what we’ve seen I think it’s safe to presume we own this place.”
Daphne was looking at the terminal and was puzzled, “Their Navy was last here four months ago and isn’t scheduled to be here again for nine months.”
“We are ahead of pace. I expected it to take three weeks before taking control of their networks,” Elias said, “Well done everyone. Excellent job.”
Linus then spoke up, “How about we have family-style spaghetti tonight?”
Kaius could barely contain his excitement, “I think that is an acceptable choice of meal. Be careful on exiting the city. Castor and Alberic should have a grave made for you by the time you get there. Transmitting the location now.”
“Constantine, scan the devices you recovered from the agent. Anything that doesn’t have a tracker is to be returned to us forthwith, I’d like our team to investigate them to see if there’s anything we can do to utilize them.”
“Aella, you won’t be going with us. Take the alleyways back to the headquarters,” Constantine said.
“You needn’t worry about cameras, we’re in control of them now,” Draco said, “Clearing a blind path for you now.”
“Understood,” Aella saluted quickly before gathering up the items.
“Well, with that excitement out of the way, I need to go grocery shopping since we do not have enough supplies for spaghetti,” Daphne said as she stood up, “Elli and Viviana, would you care to accompany me to the store?”
“Nemo, go with them,” Elias said, “No outbursts from anyone. Failure to comply with my order is a week's confinement.”
Daphne rolled her eyes at Elias in open defiance. Despite the ravishing he gave her a couple of nights ago, she was as impudent as ever. Her behavior could be overlooked for now before the success they were achieving. She was testing boundaries, and Elias knew she wasn’t just bouncing into them, she was crossing them. Yet something within him held him back from being too overly harsh.
Elias then retired to his office and began to review several things. The local television channel was on. Their candidate was blabbering on about this or that. He smiled when he saw the current poll results. Seventy percent indicated they’d vote for him. It was as if their candidate was on cruise control for victory.
It didn’t hurt that the media loved Dale and only asked him softball questions. That the media was complicit, in a matter of speaking, with their efforts was icing on the cake for Elias. A brief message was sent to Dale, which included the list of questions the mediator would ask. A list that was easily available to them now that they could see all messaging made within the colony.
With that work done, he pulled up the deep space ore mining mission. He needed to adjust what the miners were collecting and refining. This was going to be a much longer process, changing everything immediately to their desired output would raise too many questions.
Elias thought through the timetable and his options related to them. The most aggressive timetable was generating sufficient metals and alloys in three months. The five-month plan though seemed much more natural and substantially more challenging to notice. Elias then entered in the adjusted output targets from the refineries and moved on to his next task.
That was interrupted by a message from Dale.
‘Elias, it’s good to hear from you. The campaign donation came at an ideal time, my fundraising this past month was less than ideal. I’ve instituted the changes you and your team recommended and I’m happy to say that we likely won’t need an emergency influx of cash again if the recent results continue (though of course, I wouldn’t say no to such a gift to the campaign).
The list of questions is quite helpful, it’s a bit comical in fact to see some of the questions they intend to ask my opponents. I’ve spent the last couple of days practicing the debate. It’s hard to not feel confident but with this, I can assure you that I’ll crush the competition. With any luck, I can knock out one or two of the candidates.
I did have a question and a recommendation regarding the mineral rights in the inner asteroid belt. The mineral wealth in that belt is fairly low. In fact, even common ores like carbon and iron are fairly rare there. It’s incredibly difficult to generate any kind of wealth. The middle ring isn’t well explored but there’s more mineral wealth present. That means it’s an area of opportunity for you. I can get you in touch with some prospectors. I also am familiar with the process of filing for mineral rights. If you get an LLC setup, I can file the paperwork for you.
Kind Regards,
Dale’
Elias smiled. Never in a million years could he have dreamed of the scenario he found themselves in. In a few days, they were flush with cash, had control of the communications network, eliminated hostile agents, and had the leading candidate for colonial governor in their pocket. If that wasn’t enough, they were beginning to stockpile minerals for the slip gate.
Elias presumed that this mission’s success was about a coin flip over twelve months. Six months was now not only possible but the current expectation. There was nothing that could stop them.