1 Day Later. December 8th, 2266. 9:30 St. Mary’s Station – Power Armor Repair Facility
John was walking through corridors that he had never been in before. He knew that there was a fairly significant power armor facility on the station. In fact, he was reasonably confident that they produced both variants there. More importantly, all suits were offloaded from their ships and inspected here after each mission that they were used.
Each time his suits had been taken and inspected John received numerous warnings about unauthorized modifications. Normally those warnings were written or verbal ass-chewings. This was a new one that he was asked to show up in the facility.
The doors then opened in front of him, and John was shocked to see Admiral Nagy looking at his suit of power armor. There were several other engineers pouring over his suit as well. The admiral though looked angry. That anger was soon directed at John when the admiral looked over at the door and saw John in the doorway.
“Lief,” Admiral Nagy shouted, “What in the hell have you done to this suit?”
John sighed quickly and walked to the repair bay, “That suit is a first-generation prototype. I received blanket permission from the R&D geeks to tweak or enhance things. Any changes I made had to be shared with them so they could make the final updates for the production suits. As far as I know, the VI still sends combat data to them.”
“You received such permissions in writing?” Admiral Nagy could hardly believe his ears.
John nodded.
“Send me that authorization.”
John pulled up his tablet and scrolled through his saved messages folder. If ever there was a time to be a data hoarder, now was it. He quickly found the authorization and forwarded it to Admiral Nagy.
“I just sent it to you, sir.”
Admiral Nagy nodded quickly before gesturing for John to follow him, “What is that?”
“I can’t speak about that, sir.”
“Oh, you will speak to me about that.”
John nodded, “I can speak to you, to a limited degree. But only you.”
Admiral Nagy hastily waved off the other engineers working on the suit, “Take a break.”
“Leave the room, the door will remain locked until you are allowed back in,” John said in a commanding tone.
There was a slight pause but then before Admiral Nagy was about to say something John interrupted, “That condition is non-negotiable.”
The engineers looked past John and at Admiral Nagy. The poor admiral didn’t have the faintest idea about what the device was. His curiosity had gotten the better of him but more than that he was unable to remove the device from the suit. Not even his level of authorization was sufficient to remove it. A moment later Nagy nodded at his engineers.
One by one they filed out of the repair room into another room in the facility. John then walked over to the door console and entered some commands into it. All cameras and recording devices were turned off. The doors were then locked. Finally, John enacted a general dampening field eliminating the ability for any handheld devices not connected to the station to record the conversation.
“It’s a bespoke and highly modified psychic conduit that effectively amplifies one’s psychic capabilities several folds,” John said calmly and plainly, “You do not have clearance to detach the device from the suit nor can you scan and review the device. It was not designed by your division. I highly modified it.”
“I am the highest-ranking official in the bloody research and development division. I will examine that…”
“No, you won’t. Both Naval Intelligence and the Office of Psy-Ops control this device,” John said as he disengaged the device from the suit, “Additionally, this device will work for one lonely soul in all of humanity. Scanning it won’t offer any solutions on how it works.”
Admiral Nagy was getting irritated, but his mind continued to probe out the different arguments he could make. He paused for a moment and stared at the module. As he did a grin formed as he looked back at John.
“If you modified it as much to turn it into a bespoke item then whatever protections the Psy-Ops division has on it is null and void…”
John interrupted the Admiral, “No it does not. They became aware of the modifications about seven years ago.”
“I need to know how much it interferes with the suit’s systems.”
“You took scans of how it ran before it was equipped and engaged. I can remove it and you could rerun the scans. The delta between the two ought to be the degree of interference it generates. Presuming your scans are accurate that should give you what you are looking for.”
“Lieutenant, I am ordering you to hand over that device.”
“Respectfully, no, sir,” John said politely, “I confirmed this morning prior to leaving my residence whether or not you had sufficient clearance for this device. You do not, nor does anyone else in your division. I suggest running your scans on the suit without this device attached.”
John handed Admiral Nagy a data slate. He took it hastily and looked down at it. It was a letter from Admiral Patrick Blanc, leader of the Psy-Ops division. His name was not spoken much, in fact, most admirals try to ignore Patrick, but in actuality, he was one of the most powerful men in all of the Confederacy.
Admiral Nagy stared down at John. That anger John witnessed previously was back. The man was thinking deeply, likely trying to find some way to work around the clearance. Then without saying a word he turned and brought up the suit’s diagnostics and powered it back on.
This went on for five awkward minutes. John stood in the same spot, he looked almost relaxed. Admiral Nagy spied looks at John every now and then. That only drove more anger to build up within the admiral. Then a closed fist suddenly slammed the chest plate.
“LIEUTENANT! YOU ARE GOING TO TELL ME WHAT IN THE FUCK IS GOING ON!” Admiral Nagy exploded in rage.
Spittle flew everywhere. Nagy was poking John in the chest. A thought did cross John’s mind immediately to break the finger and knock the Admiral out. That thought was quickly stamped out by knowing he would get drummed out of the military quickly if he did that.
“A moment, sir,” John said as he walked around the Admiral.
John reached into his pocket and pulled something out. The Admiral didn’t notice what John was doing. A fully charged Predecessor power core was in John’s palm. He gently placed it at the bottom of the hip pouch, where it and the others were stored.
“I suggest re-running your scans.”
“What did you do?” Admiral Nagy said through clenched teeth.
“I’ll explain after this scan is done.”
Admiral Nagy squinted at John. He then brushed past John and walked over to the terminal. The scan commenced once again. Unlike the previous scan, there was a noticeable increase in EM radiation this time. Not an unhealthy amount to humans, or silicon, but it was affecting the latter’s functions.
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“Oh, one more thing,” John said, “I presume you are aware of how much EM radiation the empty or mostly empty power cores gave off right?”
Admiral Nagy looked over at John and nodded.
“I think I had like eight or nine on me at the time.”
“You had twelve.”
“Oh, right. Then add in the cumulative effects of eleven of them to those readings,” John spoke calmly and didn’t look the least bit perturbed.
Admiral Nagy then modified the scan and added in the requisite amount of EM radiation the power packs gave off. The suit went from functioning normally to being erratic at the best of times. Though one question bothered the Admiral.
He turned and demanded an answer from John, “Why did the scans of the fusion core come back so clean?”
“A scanner beeped at me when I first entered what I believe to be the secure area of that facility. Safety feature most likely. It makes sense that they didn’t like unexplained explosions or possible explosive devices near the core of their power system.”
“You are saying you took them out of the pouch?”
“In a matter of speaking, sir. I detached the armor plate and set it on the floor. The desk I placed it on first collapsed into dust,” John grinned, “Dodged a bullet on that one.”
Admiral Nagy then sidestepped and opened the large pouch. Inside was a single power core. And to his amazement, it was fully charged. He grabbed it with greedy hands and continued to stare at it.
“I could have you written up for this.”
“You could, but I suspect you aren’t going to do that.”
“And why would I not do that?”
“You’ve got more important things to do with that device than waste time with some idiot lieutenant that made a mistake in organizing his paperwork.”
Admiral Nagy raised an eyebrow at John, “You don’t make mistakes.”
“Oh, I make plenty of them, sir. More than you know.”
“What else did you find that you stashed away?”
“Care to make a deal with me, sir?” John answered immediately.
Admiral Nagy sized up the Lieutenant in front of him. He didn’t know what to make of him. He was caught red-handed with contraband. And yet here he was offering him a deal. What could he possibly be hiding? And why would he so brazenly be offering something?
“Before we go there, why did you keep this?”
“Well, I’m not sure how it got charged for starters. I suspect that one was over a wireless recharger in the fusion facility. I think anyways. I was hoping to use that as a rainy-day item to get me out of a jam,” John grinned, “Thanks for sussing me out so quickly. You kinda ruined that plan.”
“If I were you, I’d mind the sarcasm at the moment. I have you by the balls.”
John grinned, “Not as much as you think.”
“So, what is this deal of yours?”
“Can you recreate a source of energy with that exact resonance and wavelength?”
“Not at this time, no. Our fusion cores cannot be modulated in the way the Predecessors did.”
John nodded, “Well if you can make something to match it exactly. There’s something that could be revolutionary. But between us, no one will find where it is. And it will remain hidden until it can be powered on safely.”
“That’ll take a decade or more.”
“You're still mostly young,” John grinned, “I’m sure you’ll discover a way.”
Admiral Nagy rested his hands on his hips. He didn’t like this. Not one bit. But what was being teased was tempting, far too tempting if he was being honest. This isn’t something that should be agreed to. And yet here he was honestly considering it.
“What is it?”
“I’m pretty sure it’ll revolutionize our systems. Think about it,” John grinned, “You’d be the admiral in command of R&D at the time we made not only a revolution in fusion core advancement but also general systems and computing.”
“You think to use the sake of vanity and fame on me? It won’t work.”
“It already has,” John said confidently as he punched in some commands to the terminal, “When I leave the cameras and shit will go back on. If I see the military police show up then I’ll know my sales pitch failed.”
“If you die, I want whatever you are hiding.”
John thought for a moment then nodded, “Presuming I’m not killed through questionable means, I’ll agree to that clause.”
Admiral Nagy nodded then gestured for John to leave. He’d write up that John found and handed over a power core in the personal effects that he was going through. How exactly it found his way into his gear was left unanswered but because he was forthright in handing it over Nagy suggested it be overlooked as a simple mistake.
John escaped by the slimmest of margins. He was fortunate that he had correctly judged Admiral Nagy’s character. Though he did open himself up a bit too much for his taste. Admiral Nagy could turn around and burn him. At least John had a recording of the interaction, thanks to an old Naval Intelligence trick. If Nagy gets out of line, he can at least sink that man’s career too.
Maybe this wasn’t the way to play the game. In fact, it probably isn’t. It could be the price that needed to be paid to get ahead. John didn’t particularly like the way he had handled the situation, but telling the full truth here wasn’t something he could do, not yet. He had resolved to take a shower when he got home.
8 Day Later. December 16th, 2266. 11:11 Planet of Manchester – The Floating City Resort
John was smiling as he leaned against the island as a lone fried egg cooked away in the pan. It was the last step in making the perfect burger. The cheese was already melting between the patty and bacon. Alice silently shook her head as she watched her husband impatiently wait to finish making his burger.
“You know that step is unnecessary,” Alice smiled as she took a drink of wine.
“That is an argument you aren’t going to win,” John said as he slid the fried egg off the pan and on top of the burger, “This is the perfect burger!”
John then grabbed the toasted bun top and placed it on top of the burger. He eagerly took a bite of his now-finished burger. Burger juices and some egg yolk spurted out and made a mess out of his chin.
“And that right there my uncouth savage of a husband is why you don’t need the egg on top.”
John shook his head as he used his napkin to clean up his face, “You are still wrong.”
“So, have you heard the news?”
“You may as well tell me since I’m always the last to know most things.”
Alice gave John the stink eye, “That is because you are shit when it comes to reading messages from us.”
“In my defense, I’m usually fairly busy and don’t get much downtime when I’m deployed.”
“All I’m hearing are excuses,” Alice giggled before taking a bite from her burger, “Jessica is engaged.”
“Again? I thought her fiancé died?”
“Jeremy did pass away, but she met a new guy earlier this year.”
John grimaced a little. Alice picked up on that immediately.
“Don’t worry. She got over things more quickly because her jackass of a now dead fiancé was cheating on her.”
“Oof. That was bad luck. Though if she’s happy that’s all that matters,” John’s delivery lacked any real sincerity.
“You are being an ass,” Alice looked straight at John as she pointed a fork at him.
“What?” John looked up at his wife, “I may not sound it, but I do empathize with her. I couldn’t imagine losing a loved one like that.”
Alice continued to stare at John. Just a couple of years ago she found out what that felt like for a time when the Des Moines went quiet. She knew her husband was different than an average person, but she had limits on how much she would put up with. John, despite his vast intelligence, had an annoying topic to speak about first and think about later when it came to interpersonal dealings.
“You need to either keep those statements to yourself or speak to them with the appropriate emotion,” Alice said sternly.
“I apologize, I didn’t mean to come off as unemotional. I did mean what I said,” John then realized he was digging himself a hole as he noticed Alice’s reaction, “But I will endeavor to be better for you and everyone else.”
“That’s better. Now then. What are we going to do the rest of the day?”
John then looked down at his data slate. His happy-go-lucky demeanor changed into a frown. He leaned back in his chair and outside. Dark storm clouds were rolling in. His plan of fishing or relaxing on their private dock was now dashed.
Alice noticed her husband’s attention had shifted to the great outdoors. Her reaction was not that dissimilar to John’s. She looked back at John and was surprised and annoyed at his stupid grinning face. John was about to speak until Alice put a finger up and effectively silenced him.
“Get your filthy mind out of the gutter. I am not going to spend all day in the bedroom with you,” Alice swore she saw part of John’s soul die a painful death, “If you behave, maybe tonight you’ll have your way.”
John sighed loudly and tried to look pathetic. Alice shook her head and rolled her eyes. He then dropped the act and finished off his burger. He wiped his mouth and then grinned.
“Well, I’m not going shopping either.”
Alice squinted at John, “That is not the same thing.”
“It kinda is,” John gave off a warm smile, “Technically a compromise results in both parties being equally unhappy.”
“I’ll let you get a watch,” Alice looked and sounded so proud.
“Nope. For starters, there are surprisingly not any good jewelry stores in the driving range of the resort. And the two places that are here don’t have anything I want,” John stood up and picked up their plates, “I already went to both stores and perused their inventory. I was left most unimpressed.”
“Fishing and swimming are out. I’d prefer to not be electrocuted or made to feel like a wet dog.”
“How about we do dinner somewhere at the resort?” John said as he rinsed the dishes.
“Sounds like a good plan, but we still have five hours to kill. We could go to a movie.”
John turned around and smiled. The trials and tribulations of married life were things he genuinely enjoyed. It was moments like this, insignificant as they were, that made his life worth living. Trying to find out what to do without the fear of death at every corner.
For now, John was just going to enjoy his leave and go with the flow. He needed this downtime. And he needed this one-on-one time with his beautiful wife. One mission was successfully completed. He obfuscated and kept quiet about some findings. He even managed to successfully blackmail, if that was even the appropriate term, an admiral. He’ll be sent out on another deployment in due course. It was high time to enjoy the quiet he had earned it.