November 1st, 2264. 09:30 Hilton Penthouse Suite 1-B
The tension in the room was palpable. Merissa was staring daggers at the young Confederate Lieutenant that was sitting across from her. Aaron appeared both nervous and angry with the sudden change. John was trying to sit more comfortably in his chair and didn’t seem to have a care in the world.
Whatever nervousness Merissa had, of which there was a substantial amount, was being overridden by her anger. Being in the same room as him was not something she wanted to be doing. Despite the young man’s blissfully ignorant appearance, he was still the scariest security risk she had ever come across. He had caused her security team a great amount of angst to ensure her safety.
“You have me here. And now thanks to you I have to worry about my safety. Are you even aware of what you’ve done to me?”
“Do I really look like I was going to kill you? Or planned to do that?”
Merissa didn’t dignify the question with any answers. John took a sip of water before stretching his neck. He picked up the social cues that it was his turn to speak once again.
John sighed and didn’t take his eyes off the stately woman, “You are aware of how far Norman’s hand reaches. There is a legitimate worry that you feel for your family, if and when your vote of confidence in Dr. Norman be removed.”
Merissa continued to stare down at her young opponent, “Then what would you recommend I do, were you a confidant of sorts.”
“That’s rather simple. Be careful. Someone in your inner circle would likely say to continue supporting this madman,” John paused then gestured outside the room, “All of them are loyal to one and only one person. The good job selecting that crew.”
“That’s fair and sound advice. Now, what would you, John Lief recommend I do?”
John grinned, “Continue to give him the vote of confidence.”
Aaron looked surprised, as did Merissa. That was not at all the response they were expecting. Aaron was the first to speak up.
“What the hell is all this for then?”
Merissa added, “That’s the first step, isn’t it? You aren’t here to discuss that; you are here to discuss what happens when he loses that support.”
John nodded, “That’s correct, but let’s level-set something. You don’t support him any more than I do. Your support is purely political with a side of self-preservation at this point. Your star is so bright that any move he makes on you would be miscalculated at best.”
“And why would I do this?”
John opened his briefcase and pulled out several data slates. He activated each one to find the data he wanted to share. The fourth data slate was the correct one. A quick flick of the wrist sent the data slate sliding across the table to Merissa.
“Dr. Norman is literally pissing your government’s money away.”
“Explain this,” Merissa said while staring at the results, “I’d ask how you even have this information, but I doubt you’d answer.”
“Your assumption is highly accurate, I’m not going to answer that. What you are seeing there are funding figures. The highlighted row is what Dr. Norman is getting. For weapons research. Flip to the next slide.”
Merissa did as she was asked and immediately looked up at John, “Is this what I think it is?”
John nodded, “Roughly eighty percent of the money the government is giving him is being used to buy, build out, and set up labs in Confederate space. Labs that I might add we are nuking from orbit, well, lancing from orbit, now. We’re in the fuck off and find out the stage of dealing with him.”
Merissa leaned back in her chair as she set the data slate on the table, “You have my attention young man.”
“Obviously his mandate to stop genetic testing has been ignored. And your Intelligence Bureau has done a shit job of overseeing his operations.”
“The grievances we’ve had with him in the past have been rectified. I have had suspicions about his commitment but nothing firm. I presume you have proof of the testing continuing?”
“Of him directly doing the tests? No. Remember, all of these labs are proxies,” John slid another data slate across the table, “As you can see that on that slate, they are doing some sketchy shit. Clones, serums that rapidly increase bone growth, genetic modification to add photosynthesis to human cells, and much more.”
“The problem with this data is this is all proxy work. He himself didn’t do the work.”
“The clone incident was Mercantilist led and operated with a smattering of Confederate scientists as support.”
Merissa set the tablet down and looked at John, “I’ll concede that incident, but the other…”
John slid another data slate across the table, “Records from Dr. Norman’s servers. Proof of the money trail along with instructions to the lead scientist at each lab. So yes, he was absolutely connected. He wasn’t the trigger man, but he was absolutely a conspirator.”
“Yet he didn’t do the research himself. Our mandate was for him to cease the work himself.”
“Look, you want to split hairs with this that’s on you. He’s following the letter but not the spirit of the agreement you had with him. Also, Dr. Norman, that isn’t his name, it’s Dr. Abel Jansen. Were you even aware he was a disgraced Confederate scientist?”
Merissa couldn’t look at John, “His history was shared with me but I’m beginning to think it was a lie.”
John stretched out his arms and leaned back in his chair, “He’s had this mindset since he was studying in his first doctoral program. After he received his second doctorate, he was assigned to a research facility dealing with weapons of some sort. The weapon systems don’t really matter.”
“Why would he take an assignment there when his focus was on genetics,” Aaron sat down and asked.
“One of his doctorates is focused on mechanical engineering,” John answered.
“What did he do?”
“He somehow, and don’t ask me how he did this as I strongly suspect there was a lot of ass-covering in the final report, had a private lab built which only he had access to. Twenty artificial wombs were stored within.”
Merissa looked at Aaron. The two exchanged glances at one another. John noticed the awkward looks that were given. Merissa then looked at John.
“We heard the lab was larger. Much larger.”
John shook his head, “This was his first lab of many. We don’t know how many babies he produced, and ultimately killed or harvested their DNA, but he was caught with twenty one-day or two-day-old babies. Obviously, the implications of what was happening there caused the scientists there to freak out. During said freak out he managed to abscond with one child.”
“Fuck, that’s gotta be…” Aaron said.
“The mother of Lisa and Lex Benning. Twenty credits to guess who the father was?”
“Hold on,” Aaron put his hands up, “Are you saying his vision of humanity’s future runs through himself?”
John grinned, “He makes everyday narcissists only look like moderately self-interested. By the way, Lex is super dead, not sure if that’s been shared with y’all.”
Merissa furrowed her brow, “Not according to what his organization has said.”
John laughed, “He was struck with several mass reactive rounds. And his head exploded. I burned what was left of him. He was reduced to ashy bits.”
“The nineteen babies that remained, what happened to them?”
“One was unhealthy and passed away. The remainder were kept under observation,” John sighed as he slid another data slate down her way, “An unofficial and very casual matchmaking program was done with the remainder.”
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“A eugenics policy?” Merissa spat out, “This is…”
“Not as bad as anything your nation is guilty of. The goal was to pair the children up with children who had equally good genes. No gene therapies were undertaken. What was done was, and continues to be, legal in all of our nations. I’ll concede the sketchy nature of it.”
“So out of the eighteen, there weren’t any issues with them acclimating into society?”
John looked confused, “They were adopted by military families and given loving homes. Most became military officers themselves. Some worked in the corporate world following a stint in the military but in roles that dealt closely with the military.”
“Was the quasi-eugenics policy, as you put it, followed for their children?” Merissa asked.
“No,” John shook his head, “The children were left to their own devices.”
Merissa leaned forward, “Why do you want him so bad?”
“My grandmother was one of the eighteen. He tried to convince me that his way was best. When that failed, he tried to kill my friends and family. The universe is a worse place because of his presence and unnatural experiments,” John said quietly, “Put another, he’s a blight, cancer which desperately needs to be excised. Needs to, ma’am, his crimes are so heinous that nothing short of his death and destruction of all his research data is necessary to begin balancing the cosmic scales.”
“That’s why he had such a hard-on for you,” Aaron was wide-eyed in shock, “You are proof the program could work. His original program. You are the ultimate proof that his plan for advancement is the correct one.”
John shook his head, “He believes I’m the proof, but the simplest explanation is I am not the proof he sought. My grandfather and birth parents weren’t part of his plan. While my lineage ties back to his sick experiments, my former gifts weren’t the result of his plans, but a simple product of the mixing of DNA between families. Families, he didn’t and couldn’t predict to come together.”
Merissa continued to scroll through the evidence, “I am convinced everything you’ve said is truthful.”
“But?” John cocked his head slightly.
“I sympathize with your plight in dealing with the Doctor, however, his organization is not in control of these bases. The proxies are frankly not our concern. And I’m not convinced that he is as involved as you suggest.”
John looked down at his watch, “Have you checked to see if he has submitted any of his monthly fund requests yet?”
“Why would I look for that?”
“Well, about an hour ago we just turned another thirteen labs into ash and rubble. I’d bet my left nut that he’s asking for substantially more money than he normally receives,” John said calmly.
Merissa pulled out her tablet and logged into a secured site that allowed her to view the different agencies' requests for funds. Sure enough, Dr. Norman had submitted one that morning. In fact, it was submitted barely fifteen minutes ago. She looked back at John before checking the amount. It was almost twenty times the normal amount.
“How did you know that?”
“Did I stutter? We blew up his proxy labs. He’s not willing to give up on his plan. He needs funds to create more labs. That’s one of several reasons why we need to end him.”
Merissa shook her head, “This is not enough to convince me. I’m sorry but I cannot pull my support of him. But for the sake of discussion what were your plans?”
“Ooh, I get to act like a supervillain now,” John leaned forward and sarcastically grinned at Merissa, “Well not to get to stuck in the details I’d run an op to kill his last remaining operative. After that succeeds then you’d greenlight a temporary approval for my fleet to enter Mercantilist space and fly to his home base. Then my Marines and I would assault the base and end his reign. All evidence of his genetic tests would be destroyed. We’d also ensure we limit damage to any civilian facilities.”
Merissa stood up and walked to the end of the table and looked out the window, “You are delusional to think we’d agree to any of that. You are aware that Dr. Norman, or Jansen, has a notable bounty out on you. Why wouldn’t we take advantage of that?”
John smiled, “Do you see that white shuttle out on the ring there?”
Merissa squinted, turned around, and nodded.
“Any attempt on my life and that blows up. We’re inside the detonation bubble by the way. You go after me, then I take us all out. Of course, we’re simply discussing a theoretical possibility. You and your team wouldn’t be foolish enough to try that, or to attempt to deny my permission to leave the base, now would you?”
Merissa forced a smile when she spoke, “Of course not. Why would anyone be so foolish?”
“Well, since we’ve shifted onto the topic of a theoretical, please take a look at this,” John slid a pair of data slates down the table to her.
Merissa picked one up, and Aaron took the other. Both sets of eyeballs bulged slightly. Aaron’s offhand fist clenched. Merissa’s left eyeball began twitching. They switched data slates and the angry reactions continued when they saw the other bits of classified secrets that John had access to.
“So, you’re blackmailing us?” Merissa spat out.
“I had hoped you’d come to see reason instead of supporting a madman. I did not come here to initiate violence against you, but I did come here to specifically get you to agree to my plan. Consider this the leverage I plan on utilizing against you to achieve your agreement.”
“Fucking hell, by any means eh old friend?” Aaron tossed the data slate onto the table.
“Let us go back to the theoretical. If you fail to support us that information is going to leak. It’ll first appear in Confederate media sources with surprising alacrity. The Alliance will pick it up but honestly, they won’t care much about the bombing. You can bet the trade between our nations will be halted almost immediately.”
“The bigger problem is what the Alliance will do about that,” Aaron pointed at the data slate Merissa was holding.
“Oh, come now, we all know what they will do. Their first expeditionary fleet will cross your borders within forty-eight hours of receiving that intel. Within five days I’d wager a full half of their fleet will be in your territory. Any location rumored to house any genetic testing will be annihilated. The greatest sin to those puritans is genetic testing, between us I find them to be bloody hypocrites, but that’s an argument for another day.”
“And if we back out of an agreement then this information will magically appear in the news, won’t it?” Merissa asked.
John nodded.
“And if we do this willingly, what do we receive for our cooperation?”
“That door shut about five minutes ago when you decided to not support my very reasonable actions. In the event any civilian structures are damaged or destroyed in the final assault we will of course be willing to compensate any such victims of our assault. Of course, that doesn’t apply to Dr. Jansen and his goons.”
Aaron stood up and walked over to Merissa. The pair spoke quietly for a moment. Neither looked happy. Merissa especially looked like she was ready to throw her hands at being cornered again.
“How will you coordinate things?” Merissa asked.
John smiled, “I’ll contact Aaron, he knows how to contact you. You’ll know when I reach out to you.”
“It seems you have left me no choice,” Merissa sighed, “I will comply with your demands.”
John stood up, smiled, and pointed at three of the five data slates, “Excellent. I’ll take those back and get out of your hair.”
As John was packing things up Merissa slapped the table lightly to get his attention, “I won’t be forgetting this indignity young man. Nor will the Union as a whole. I will make it my life’s mission to make the Confederacy pay for this insult.”
John rose to his full height and stared down the fierce woman, “You had best clean up your state’s act before throwing down with my nation. No one’s hands are clean in this game. We aren’t covering up or employing a psychotic madman. If or when you achieve that then I’ll welcome such criticism, but until that happens it would be wise to keep such comments to oneself.”
“I know full well what your leaders are planning. They want custody of him and his materials. Don’t try to fill me with any self-righteous bullshit that they don’t want him alive.”
John grinned, “Your assumption is correct. They do want him. However,…”
Merissa set both hands on the table and leaned forward, “When the Bureau uncovers a program you can bet that the Alliance will get our full unredacted reports, and we will join with them in a war against your nation.”
John continued to grin, “I wouldn’t hold my breath for that theoretical future. I appreciate your cooperation, however unwilling it may be. As they say, don’t call me, I’ll call you.”
John bowed slightly, turned, and left the room. Moments later the faint sound of the doors could be heard opening. Several feet could be heard walking into the room.
“Auntie, I didn’t think…”
Merissa put a finger up and shook her head, “You should have known he’d have followed through with the threats. We were never negotiating from a position of power. Despite the minimal evidence he had, there was more than enough in there to get those assholes from the Alliance wound up over this.”
“He’s not wrong, we don’t need or want this cancer working for us. He’s bleeding us dry.”
Merissa sighed, “If we are to keep up with his nation’s ships and weapon platforms, we do need people like that asshole.”
“Do we though? Seriously, do we really need him? The Confederacy doesn’t want to take over our space. They are content with us doing our own thing. We’re self-sufficient and we don’t mind trading with them. The Alliance is no different in that regard.”
“Your worldview is a bit childish Aaron,” Merissa scoffed.
“Or is your worldview too warped? Lief gives zero fucks about the Union except for one man and his organization. We wouldn’t lose that much if we cut them loose.”
Merissa looked dumbfounded, “Did you not hear or see what he just did? He literally blackmailed us into submission. If we don’t play by his rules the Alliance, Confederates, or both of them will tag team us into destruction. You say he doesn’t care about us, and that’s true, but in his not caring about us he will absolutely grind us down to meet his objectives.”
“Which didn’t need to be done had you just given away one man and his organization. That man isn’t even one of our citizens and is too much trouble for our own good.”
“Is Lex really dead? Has the bureau confirmed that?”
Aaron shrugged, “No one has reported seem him in almost three or four years. The absolute best-case scenario is that he’s been permanently incapacitated. But I tend to believe John on this one.”
Merissa turned back to face the window as she did something on her tablet, “I was asked by the finance secretary to provide secondary signoff on his funding request.”
“You are going to approve it right?”
Merissa nodded as she looked out the window, “With this, he’ll know that he still has the cabinet’s support. Marcus has said that he will no longer support him without quantifiable returns to be displayed within the next three to four months.”
“You should be able to get another year out of him,” Aaron said, “Lief’s timeframe has to be in the six-to-nine-month range.”
“If it’s not, it will be now. Now I want you to do some quiet digging about Lex. Get confirmation of those claims if you can,” Merissa said as she stood up, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to the finance minister. Please let John know our timeframe, I don’t want to see that young man’s face anytime soon.”
Aaron nodded and spoke sarcastically under his breath, “Not like I want to either.”
While they tended to their fresh political wounds, John was grinning from ear to ear as he walked through the docking ring. He spied his docking bay and was practically skipping with excitement as he entered the shuttle.
He quickly sat down in the pilot’s seat, filed a flight plan, and waited for his clearance to leave the station. Several minutes later the shuttle’s docking clamps were released, and he was flying out of the planet’s gravity well to the designation location to enter slip space.
John hit the coms button and waited for his commanding officers to appear on the screen, “Mission accomplished, suggest we go after the beta target.”
General Mizrahi nodded, “Consider your plan green-lit, you’re a go immediately upon return to St. Mary’s.”