June 17th, 2263. 02:45 St. Mary’s Station – Residential Wing
John was happy that he was home but disappointed that he had to work. At least today he had off. And likely tomorrow. He was looking forward to seeing his wife, eating a home-cooked meal, and generally relaxing and unwinding.
He set his bag on the normal chair and walked to the bedroom. The door opened quietly. John chuckled to himself quietly when he was greeted with loud snoring. He stepped back and let the door close, the recliner would do just fine. If he wanted to rest, and he did, then it would occur in the living room.
John unbuttoned his shirt and dropped it on the ground next to the recliner. He untied his shoes after sitting down, kicked them off his feet lightly, and then got into a comfortable position. Moments later he was in a deep sleep.
Three and half hours later John’s peaceful sleep was interrupted by his dainty wife’s squeals as she jumped on top of him to kiss him.
Alice held his face as she looked into his eyes, “Why didn’t you crawl into bed?”
“I was, but you were snoring too damned loud.”
Alice squished John’s face a little harder, “That’s not very nice.”
She giggled as she felt one of John’s hands grope her right breast and the other grab her ass. Her hands let go of his face and swatted the probing hands away from their desired target. John tried to get his hands back on target but he was thwarted.
“As much as I’d love that honey, I have to work in an hour.”
“Awwww.”
Alice pushed herself off John and looked down at him, “John, I love you, but I am not going to give in to your pitiable attempts at sex.”
John grinned, “I suppose I’ll have to settle for generating a noise complaint this evening.”
Alice bent down and picked up a shoe and dropped it on his crotch then patted his head, “You are such a dog. But I love you and am very glad to have you back.”
She strutted back into the bedroom to get cleaned up. John eventually got out of the chair and stretched a bit before meandering into their kitchen. He was most disappointed when there was a lack of bacon and eggs in the fridge. Even more so when there wasn’t any sugary cereal. His breakfast was going to be a disappointing one.
He settled on an off-brand bag of Wheaties and picked up the data slate with his honey-do list. Grocery shopping, cleaning up a couple of rooms, cleaning and rearranging the patio furniture, and installing a few new shelves in several different rooms.
John took a bite of the cereal and looked at the floor near the walk-in closet, “That explains the boxes.”
Alice came out, dressed in her blue uniform, and kissed John on the cheek. She rolled her eyes at his observance of the lack of sweet cereal, bacon, and eggs. She responded by simply telling him that he needed to eat better. Her bowl of Grape-Nuts cereal was finished quickly. The bowl was washed out and placed in the sink. Alice added one more item to her list before she kissed John and left to go to work.
17:45 St. Mary’s Station – Residential Wing
John had successfully finished installing the last of the shelves Alice had wanted to be put up around their condo. He didn’t know what would be placed on them, but if he was honest that didn’t really matter to him.
He swept up the mess on the floor into a dustpan before walking into the kitchen to empty it. John tossed the small brush and pan onto the floor of the pantry. It was then he began thinking about what to make for dinner.
The fridge door was pulled open and John scanned through the now very full fridge. Lamb chops, cheesy mashed potatoes, and caramelized carrots sounded like a delectable meal. The items were pulled from the fridge and strewn about the center island. Pots and pans joined the produce and meet shortly thereafter.
John washed his hands and put the first pan on the oven and poured a touch of oil on it. While it was heating up he began peeling the potatoes and dicing them up. They were then dropped into another pan, filled with water, and put that on another burner. The lamb chops were placed in the big pan.
“Ugh, three minutes a side,” John complained to himself.
The smells the searing meat was making were making his mouth water. He spread some seasonings on the top of both chops as he watched his timer tick down. The oven was then fired up. John was grooving to his cooking rhythm, moments later he flipped the chops after they got a nice sear. The timer was reset, not it was just counting down the time to put the chops and pan in the oven to finish.
Not wanting to be that guy, John took this time to clean up and wipe the counters. The cutting boards were scrubbed and put in the dishwasher. John lifted the pot of boiler potatoes and stuck a knife in several potatoes but they weren’t ready.
The timer went off and the would-be chef shut it off and put the chops in the oven. The rest of the ingredients he needed were fished out of the cupboards and fridge. There was a growing mess on his once clean and tidy countertops.
Ten minutes later there was another mess on the countertops. Carrot shavings, sour cream, and remnants of shredded cheese were everywhere. The mashed potatoes were finished and tasted great. Caramelized carrots weren’t really John’s thing but they paired well with the richness of the lamb, plus Alice liked them so that was good enough for him to give this a go.
Alice walked into their condo as he closed the dishwasher and started it. To say that she was surprised was an understatement. John was an excellent chef, but a chief critic was his overuse of utensils, knives, plates, pots, and cutting boards. Today was no different in the amount of gear he had used to cook the meal, but he did clean.
“Oh my god,” Alice said excitedly, “You made a meal without leaving a bloody mess.”
John squinted at his wife, “I can give half of this meal to the neighbor lady that likes me.”
Alice stopped and put her hands on her hips, “That’s not funny.”
“It’s a little bit funny.”
“You sir are burning up all the goodwill you just earned.”
John smiled and nodded, “Dinner’s going to be done by the time you get done changing.”
Alice blew a Kiss at John and headed into their bedroom to change. John pulled out the lamb chops from the oven and dropped in a huge block of butter on the pan. He began to butter-baste the chops. Alice laughed when she saw the last step in finishing the chops.
“Did you use enough butter?”
“I used just enough,” John looked over at Alice and smiled.
John plated the food while Alice dug out a bottle of wine and poured the drinks for the couple. He walked over and set the plates down.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Bon appetite.”
“Oh my god John, this looks delicious,” Alice took ate a carrot and a few mashed potatoes, “Yup. Delicious.”
She then cut a small piece of lamb and let the flavor explosion happen in her mouth. Alice set her utensils down and took a drink. She then leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands.
“Ok, I know this routine too well. This is where you butter me up to get permission to do something insanely dangerous or stupid. Sometimes both and quite literally in this case.”
John shoveled a heaping forkful of mashed potatoes in his mouth before answering, “I’d like your permission to do something sketchy.”
“How sketchy?” Alice speared a carrot and eyed John.
“About a five or six on my scale.”
“You know your scale is a bit… skewed,” Alice grinned as she took another drink of wine, “That’d be pegging most people’s meters.”
John took a sip of win, “What year is this? Cabernet Sauvignon right?”
“Yes it’s a 2245 Vintage, but don’t change the subject.”
John sighed and looked at Alice.
“You will do what you haven’t proposed to me anyways. You just want my signoff to have a clear conscience,” Alice said out of turn.
“I’m going to do what I need to do. I just want you to be alright with it.”
Alice took another bite of lamb, “Excellent as this meal is my dear, I’m not sure I will ever be alright with you risking your life.”
“The risks of leaving this organization run free and rampant are too great. I can’t get into the specifics, but trust me when I say that the horrors they are conducting on regular people are so great they demand action,” John sighed, “I’d rather just bomb these assholes from orbit, but we, no I, need to know with absolute certainty that the organization is killed permanently.”
“You can’t confirm whether or not the dead include the right individuals,” Alice sighed as she took another sip of wine, “What do you want to do?”
“Ultimately I need to prove a couple of things first to get certain individuals onboard. That doesn’t need your permission, and I don’t really want to get into the specifics of what I’m planning with that. Ultimately that leads me to broadcast to the enemy where I will be personally to induce an attack by an old acquaintance.”
Alice closed her eyes, “And of course, you’ll try to do some of this without backup or support. What if she’s improved?”
“Part of my unique abilities required me to be a lone wolf. What I am capable of doing needs to be kept secret.”
Alice took a deep breath and looked at John, “There’s a therapy that could bring your abilities back. Wouldn’t it make sense to have those tangible abilities first?”
John nodded, “That therapy only allows one to regain maybe ten percent of their former capabilities. That’s not enough to do the work I need to do. And that's presuming it even works with my newfound gifts.”
“Once again we’re on the path of you being borderline reckless with your life, and ultimately our life.”
“Alice, you…”
Alice interrupted John, “John, my deepest worry is getting a letter that you're killed in action in some far-flung world. I suffered mightily when you were missing. You know what you are asking me to do.”
“I do. And I wouldn’t be asking you this if I didn’t think it was necessary. Alice, I can’t tell you what I’ve seen, but I worry about the psychological damage and scars my Marines have. And we haven’t even gotten into the thick of it yet. We haven’t even lost anyone but I fear the easy part is behind us.”
Alice took another bite of food, “Why do you ask me if you plan on doing this anyway?”
John shrugged, “I have to do what I’m ordered to do. But I want you to get on board. I say this with absolute certainty, we need to end this organization, no matter the cost.”
Alice ate another carrot and sighed, “I don’t like this one bit. Not one bit. I really don’t like this faux choice bullshit you are pushing on me. If this organization is eliminated does that mean things will quiet down?”
John laughed before taking a sip of wine, “Hell if I know on that part. You know how the universe likes to dig up crazy shit to throw at us. But a major threat will be gone forevermore.”
“I know it’s worth it John. But do you know the concerns I have?”
John nodded, “I know I’m being a bit of a selfish prick here. I have to do this, there’s no one else that’s going to complete the mission with the level of certainty that I can. It always had to be me to do this.”
“I’d feel more comfortable if all of our friends were with you on this one,” Alice cut a piece of lamb, “Finish the mission. And you're doing these dishes too by the way. One of many penances you owe me for this.”
John smiled and quickly changed the subject to something more fun and interesting. The meal was finished, John did the dishes as he was told, and the couple retreated to the living room to watch a movie. True to any private movie showing the movie got ignored quickly as the couple begin kissing and groping each other. They jumped at the chance for the intimacy that they both desperately longed for. And for the noise complaint, they received that John had sarcastically said he’d be gunning for.
June 18th, 2263. 08:15 St. Mary’s Station – Marine Operations
John was sitting at a terminal working through this operation. Sketchy and hopeful as it may be. As he leaned back in the seat he began to re-read and proof his plan. The room was locked, its recording equipment scrambled, and the communication systems had been temporarily modified to increase the encryption on any outgoing communique. Finally, it was to ensure no traces that any messages were sent.
The first step was to plug the intelligence leak, despite his superiors saying there was one John was less than willing to believe that, was to share a very specific troop movement. Irrespective of his personal feelings on the matter his plan should easily draw out a traitor. The drawback to this plan was John needed to put a ship in serious danger and he couldn’t let many people be aware of that.
If that did draw out a traitor, then the next step was to let Dr. Norman’s organization know that he was going to be in the unclaimed territories. Technically this would also thin out the pirates there which would be a win-win for the Confederacy. One that even the Alliance would be loathed to complain about.
The key component of the second step is to not only draw out Lisa but kill her. Killing her, John figured, would cause what little grip of reality Dr. Norman still possesses to be lost for good. This may even be accomplished if Lisa was captured, at which point they would most likely try to conduct an operation to retrieve her. Injuring her so severely may also accomplish that.
John did not want to leave her alive. The damage she could do if she was left to her own devices would be enormous. But injuring her so badly to cause Dr. Norman to really go crazy was possibly worth it.
That ultimately was the key to this plan. John needed to push Dr. Norman over that ledge. It was fairly clear that the Mercantilist Union’s government was not only holding his leash but pulling on it. They hadn’t completely ended his ambitions though, something John doubted was actually possible.
“Well, here goes nothing,” John said as he opened a communication channel.
John had secured this potential channel with five layers of encryption, more than he had ever done before. It was absolutely over the top and he was going to get questions from the recipient. That wasn’t important to John at the moment, getting the Admiral to follow through with his plan was.
Seventh Fleet Admiral Li Zhang answered the call and looked at John suspiciously, “That explains the over-the-top encryption. What kind of cloak and dagger work are you involved in Lieutenant?”
“Admiral, apologies for this but it’s necessary for reasons I cannot say. I need you to quietly, and quickly, reposition your fleets forward recon elements to the Epsilon Tauri system in the Hyades Cluster.”
Admiral Zhang did not appreciate John’s request, “And why would a Lieutenant from the First Fleet need that to happen.”
“In four days the CNS Fargo, and I, will be departing for a new mission. We will be rendezvousing with the CNS Apollo six days from now. The Apollo is heading to the Epsilon Tauri system on a routine patrol. I have reason to believe a large pirate force could, in theory, attack the Apollo when they arrive in the system.”
Zhang slammed her fist down on the table, “You will not be endangering…”
John respectfully cut off the Admiral, “I am doing this because I’ve been given near carte blanche orders to confirm the security of our intel streams. If my superiors are correct, things will happen. I do not wish for the Apollo to be harmed, but it is a risk I am willing and need to take.”
Zhang leaned forward in her seat, “If you are wrong then I have elements of my fleet out of position.”
“Unless I’m mistaken those elements are all within four days' travel to get to the system. The Apollo has fourteen days until they will arrive,” John said, “They are also coms dark now and will be until they reach the system.”
“Because you ordered them to do so.”
John nodded, “And because there’s a ‘rogue VI’ onboard their ship that is thwarting any attempts to communicate. Don’t worry, it is harmless, coms will be re-established immediately in an emergency.”
“Very well Lieutenant, I will do as you ask,” Zhang said as she leaned back in her seat, “If this blows up in your face, you will have to pay the piper.”
“If everything goes as I suspect it will, the Apollo will be fine, your ships will tally up some pirate kills, and our adversary's chess pieces will be out of position.”
“This is a terribly dangerous game Lieutenant Lief, one that you're intelligent enough to instigate, but I worry about whether you have the wisdom to see the most likely ends to it.”
John grinned, “There’s only one way to find out, ma’am.”
Zhang looked down at her terminal and sighed, “Am I correct in presuming this new application on my terminal is the only way to contact you?”
“It is. Just in case you have a need to have a conversation in the future.”
Admiral Zhang nodded and disconnected the call. While she wasn’t happy she acquiesced very easily. John smiled at his decision and plan, he knew she was the right fleet admiral to contact and persuade. Her desire to safeguard the Confederate naval vessels from enemy attacks was enough to overlook John’s underhanded methods. But John also understood all too well that if this didn’t work she would fry his ass.
John slank back in his seat and unlocked and undid all the modifications to the systems in the room, “Pawn to E4.”