Seven days later. November 4th, 2266. 02:33 CNS Waukesha – Captain’s Boardroom
The Waukesha had set sail, later than desired, but they were underway at last. On a scientific mission of all things. That was not something John ever thought he’d be party to. Or that he would be a critical component of the mission was even more surprising. At the last moment, John was given orders that Dr. Hamelin and his team weren’t privy to.
‘If you feel that sufficient precautions are not being taken then you, and you alone, have the authority to terminate the mission.’
His orders still rang in his ears. John was truly in command of this show. Even if the eggheads onboard thought otherwise. Speaking of those eggheads, Dr. Hamelin and his three very important people were sitting in the boardroom with John.
Mateo Ortega was Dr. Hamelin’s chief of security. He was a stoutly made man, though to John he looked more like a large dwarf from fantasy books than a person. His beard was epic and ran down most of his chest. His arms were heavily tattooed. John appreciated the man’s rough appearance, but he was certain he could take the man out with ease.
The senior linguistic specialist, Lina Cho, sat to Mateo’s right. She was an entirely unpleasant woman to look at. While possessing an above-average body in terms of general attractiveness, the resting bitch face she wore was both unappealing and difficult to look at. Her manner of speech, which dripped in condescension, rubbed John the wrong way instantly.
Kenneth Jennings was the second most senior archaeologist on the team, behind only Dr. Hamelin. Kenneth, who insisted on being called Dr. Jennings or Dr. Kenneth Jennings, was a short and skinny man. He had very pale skin and had the appearance of a scholarly bookworm that rarely ventured outside.
John laughed internally at that thought, he didn’t spend much time outside either. The void of space was most inhospitable to humans. Who was he to judge another if they didn’t spend much time in the great outdoors?
“Lieutenant Lief, as I was saying, our research building here has excavated the majority of the structure. Based on ground penetrating radar and other scans we do not believe it is connected with the main structure,” Dr. Hamelin, “In the event that our gambit fails, which I do not believe will be the case, the disappearance of the building shouldn’t cause any harm to anyone.”
“Provided of course the atomization that occurs doesn’t occur to the poor saps that find themselves inside those alien structures. Your research notes are less than clear on that topic,” John responded, “I’d prefer us to not be let in and then something happens that atomizes us.”
Lina tried to smile, but that made her look even more unpleasant to John, “In six of the known cases we know the researchers were not deconstructed.”
“How many are alive today?” John looked at Dr. Hamelin.
“None,” Mateo said, “We didn’t know what we didn’t know.”
“They were buried under millions of tons worth of soil and rock. Let’s move on to another, how shall we call it, disturbing point. Y’all were linked with a Dr. Norman from the Mercantilist Union,” John stared at the team, “You know the man, reputed bad and immoral guy. He literally brainwashed people in your circles. Conducted all sorts of awful human experimentation. That guy. That was the guy that was funding this shit.”
“That money was cleaned multiple times and we never knew who he was,” Kenneth said, “We were truly in the dark. That money would not have been accepted otherwise.”
“Dr. Hamelin, I asked for everything and instead I was given what amounted to bullshit and wasted time. If you want my assistance your unredacted notes will be handed over for my review,” John looked at the two junior scientists, “I assure you I am capable of both reading and comprehending big words and difficult concepts.”
“Lieutenant, a degree of discretion…”
“Doctor, I spent six years in Naval Intelligence. I was a desk jockey and a field agent. My clearance already enables me to view documents classified beyond top secret. I assure you that I not only can keep a secret but that I will. I’m also not here for glory, I’m here because it is my duty,” John leaned forward, “This means that if you want my assistance, you had best learn really quick how to trust me. I assure you that if you don’t trust me then this expedition will be a waste of time.”
Dr. Hamelin looked at his team. Mateo shrugged and seemed to not care one way or the other. John just couldn’t read Lina. Kenneth seemed to be upset and agitated at the request. Deep down, Dr. Hamelin knew now wasn’t the time to play games.
“Very well. Since I’m going to expose myself in such a way, I’d appreciate some kindness from you.”
John grinned, “I’m not going to show you, my junk Doctor. This isn’t a dick-measuring contest. But I appreciate your willingness to be more forthright with me.”
John scrolled through the documents until he found the image of a stone cipher. Both John and Dr. Norman presumed it’d be necessary to decode the alien species' language. John also assumed it’d contain their number system and the periodic table.
When he found the image, which included their team’s translations, he was able to quickly compare the results. They were able correctly to decode the base-eight figures accurately, but their translation of the alien alphabet and periodic tables were wildly inaccurate. Inaccurate in a way that was family to John’s translation, at least at first, until he discovered an image of another stone cipher.
“Your translation of the alphabet is inaccurate. As is the periodic table, primarily due to misunderstanding how this race labeled its neutrons. Your math translations are on point though. This leads me to believe that you had an image of the first cipher, didn’t you?” John looked up at Dr. Hamelin.
“There’s another cipher?” Kenneth slammed the tables with his hands.
John nodded.
“How do you know this,” Lina asked, “Our materials…”
“You don’t think you were the only ones researching this for your benefactor, did you?” John pulled up and shared the image of the second cipher, “If you notice this second image, the tablet is actually a pyramid. Since it has four sides you were missing out on half of it. Two of which are repeated.”
“Christ, that’s going to take a week to redo that work,” Kenneth said in a dejected tone.
“Why do I have the feeling you are still holding out on me Dr. Hamelin?” John asked.
Dr. Hamelin looked at John but broke eye contact. He looked down at his terminal then back at John. His right hand was trembling, though it would be much more noticeable had his hand not been resting on the desk surface.
“Doctor, you aren’t very good at playing poker. And you aren’t the smartest person in this room. You aren’t going to pull a fast one over on me. Now, this is the last time I say this, if you want my help, you will open your books and bare everything to me. Failure to do that will mean that I cannot trust you,” John icily stared at Dr. Hamelin, “I do not go into dark places with or for people that I do not explicitly trust. My safety, along with my crew’s, is paramount to me. And I am most certainly not a lab rat to be experimented on.”
Dr. Hamelin double-tapped something on the terminal’s screen before pushing his glasses up, “All our data is being sent to you.”
“Excellent,” John smiled before ordering a file transfer to the doctor, “You should have my full translation of their alphabet and the periodic table. Feel free to confirm or update it as needed. I would appreciate a notification of some sort confirming my assumptions. The guards will escort you back to the hangar.”
The doors opened when John pressed the associated button. A pair of marines stepped into the room. John gestured to them. While the scientists obviously had questions, beyond the obvious ‘who in the hell is this guy?’ John desired no further conversation. It was time for him to return to his duties, and at some point, absorb the newly gathered data.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Dr. Hamelin nodded and led his team out of the room. Second Lieutenant Paige Crannek walked in from the side door. She stood at attention across the table from her captain. John then spoke.
“Guarded minds?”
Paige nodded, “They all had very disciplined minds. Psychic blocking methods were all well practiced and learned. I’m not sure it’d be possible to get anything from them without damaging their minds. Or at least alert them that a deep scan was occurring.”
“I suspected as much. It was worth a shot though,” John shrugged at his young psy-ops attaché.
“Uhm, sir. I don’t know how to put this in a way that doesn’t pry too much. But I couldn’t read you. In fact, I couldn’t…”
“Speak no more of that. You are hereby ordered to exclude any mentions of any irregularities about my…” John said curtly before he paused for a moment, “Condition. Naval Intelligence directive one-alpha-two-niner-gamma-echo-two-three-six forbids any psy-ops officer from pressing this issue. Feel free to investigate that order on your own time if you’d like to push the subject.”
“Understood, sir,” Paige nodded quickly, “It is out of sight, out of mind. The rest of Dr. Hamelin’s team is trained in a similar manner. To varying degrees of success, but it’s far more than just basic training. That is not normal to have that many people trained to those degrees in my experience.”
“The heads of each department, that I can understand. But are the laborers being given that treatment too? What in the hell is going on here?”
“While they kept their focus to prevent another mind from entering their subconscious, their emotions were easy to read. They are concealing something, but what that is I cannot say,” Paige paused for a moment, “Kenneth seemed nervous about a plan. I don’t know if there were multiple plans, but he was broadcasting that loudly.”
“I may have moved my piece in a disadvantageous way,” John took a deep breath, “Please continue with your work in compiling dossiers on the prominent members. I want to know more about our guests. Your team will be stationed in the hangar for the foreseeable future. They are to report anything they find or suspect to you.”
“Dr. Hamelin’s profile is nearing completion, you should have that by tomorrow morning,” Paige paused, “Obviously it’ll be lacking most of the psychic review that our profiles typically have. I should point out that aside from Dr. Hamelin, there are gaps that cannot be accounted for.”
“Contact Naval Intelligence for assistance. They should be able to fill them in for you,” John said as he picked up a data slate.
“Understood, sir,” Paige saluted and began leaving the room.
John spun his chair around and looked out of the viewport in front of him. What game was being played? He didn’t know, more than that, he felt like he wasn’t operating from a strength of power. John was certain he didn’t make the correct move, but more maddening than that. What was the correct move to play? That answer escaped John at the moment.
15:25 CNS Waukesha – Starboard Hangar
Mateo was suffering from cold sweats. What he was reading was terrifying. No, it was much worse than that. That is under the presumption that it was accurate but given his sources, he had no reason to doubt its authenticity or accuracy. The captain of this ship was a positively terrifying opponent. One that rarely lost, and always fought to the petulant end.
He jumped out of his chair and ran out into the hangar to find Dr. Hamelin. He was nowhere to be found. But Kenneth was sitting at a table working on a terminal. Mateo jogged over to him.
“Kenny, where’s Hamelin.”
Mateo, I didn’t spend twelve years in university to be called some boorish nickname. I am to be referred to as Dr. Jennings.”
“Look, I don’t care about that. The four of us need to have a conversation,” Mateo said nervously, “It cannot wait.”
“Do we now?” Kenneth looked up at his compatriot and scowled, “I’m busy attempting to validate this man’s work. That he had translated this alphabet so thoroughly is vexing. He looks the part of a barbarian, certainly not a scientist.”
“He is so much more and worse. Look, I don’t know what kind of long con y’all were going to play against the military, but we need to have a frank chat about this plan of yours,” Mateo whispered the panicked words.
“Dr. Cho is likely working with her team. Dr. Hamelin was having a conversation with his wife as of ten minutes ago.”
“Where are they?” Mateo squeezed Kenneth’s shoulder.
Kenneth pointed twice at two prefabricated structures.
“Get a meeting room ready for us. Now!” Mateo said urgently.
Ten minutes later Dr. Hamelin and Cho filed into the meeting room. They saw a curious thing. Mateo was pacing nervously; they had never seen him behave in such a matter. It was as if the life had been drawn out of his face, he was so pale looking.
“Mateo my friend, are you alright?” Dr. Hamelin said, “You look like you’ve seen an apparition.”
“Dr. Jennings, you look flustered as well,” Lina said.
“For the record, I’m just as confused than flustered,” Kenneth said, “I’ve spent the last seven hours monitoring four supercomputers parse the alien language. How Lieutenant Lief was able to translate it as accurately as he did seems impossible. Who the hell is he working with that did this work?”
“First Lieutenant Lief is not a man to cross,” Mateo said nervously, “Look, I don’t know what game you all were intending on playing, but you need to drop it now. Lief is a seriously bad guy to cross.”
“Mateo, our game was to use the military’s resources to explore a scientific and archaeological wonder,” Dr. Hamelin tried to sound sincere, “Nothing more. I think you may be, what do the youth say these days, overhyping the threat.”
“No. You don’t get it,” Mateo rubbed his forehead before displaying John’s official bio on screen, “First Lieutenant John Lief, born March 2239, graduated high school in 2251. That’s no mistake, three months shy of his thirteenth birthday he was done with high school. He was mistakenly allowed to take the Naval Intelligence entrance exam, which he passed with flying colors. To this day, he still holds the highest score ever recorded. I’m not even sure how he was able to do this, but he also passed the physical test even if it was just barely. He did all of that as a tween, pretty impressive, no?”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Kenneth said looking at Mateo, “That mongoloid did no such thing.”
“Ken, please be quiet. Mateo, how certain are you of your source?” Dr. Hamelin said as he held his hands together, “I need you to be absolutely certain of what you are saying.”
“My source sent me a lightly redacted bio. What’s displayed here is his official bio, which is nothing but fluffy bullshit,” Mateo took a deep breath, “The source has never failed me before. Back to Lief, he was a desk jockey for three years before he got promoted to field agent. Not just any kind of field agent, but a covert agent. The government, our government, trained a teenager to be a fucking cold-blooded killer. And he got good, some would even say too good at it too.”
“That seems a bit fanciful,” Lina said, “It’s unlikely that he would’ve developed quickly enough to be able to…”
Mateo interrupted the haughty-sounding scientist, “He’s a homo superior. There have been murmurs that he may be a step beyond that. From a genetic standpoint, he is literally the pinnacle of human evolution. Everything about him is better. Everything,” Mateo reached down at the desk and activated the display screen behind him, “In three years he racked up one hundred and sixteen confirmed kills behind enemy lines. Confirmed kills is the keyword here. The real number is estimated to be three to five times higher. His mission may have been to kill a target, but additional high-value tertiary targets were often included.”
“Mateo, spare us with this utter nonsense…” Kenneth was quickly interrupted.
“He single-handedly killed, no that’s not accurate, he butchered virtually all leadership of a mafia family in a single night while he was in the academy. He thwarted an attack on the moon in a lunar glamper while also in the academy. Then there’s the time he coordinated with other cadet training ships to defend the Sol system from a surprise Alliance attack. His kill count while in the Academy is frankly unbelievable.”
“That was reported to be dissidents,” Lina said, “The military overhyped what really helped.”
“No, the military underplayed what they were able to do,” Mateo rolled his eyes, “He also brought home the Des Moines. The ship that attacked an enemy squadron rather foolhardily, then rather masterfully shut down political attacks on him. And while he was on Earth it was rumored that he effectively eliminated two power blocs in the Senate. Dr. Hamelin, this is not a man you want to cross.”
“Ok, thank you, Mateo, I apologize for putting you in this position. This changes things rather dramatically,” Dr. Hamelin rubbed his chin for a moment before looking at his underlings, “The truth of the matter is that our research is jointly funded by a corporation that has deep ties in the Alliance. This corporation is also aware of alien sites and has indicated that we’d gain access to theirs for a favor. We were going to meet with a team of their chosen scientists to ‘aid’ us in this endeavor.”
Mateo nodded as he thought, “He’ll sniff that out immediately. Those scientists will be captured, or worse.”
Lina stood up, “Doctor, are you really believing all of this?”
“I am. I have seen what the military says in his official papers. They are nothing like this,” Dr. Hamelin looked down at the floor, “While I don’t know Mateo’s source, I’ve heard rumors about Lieutenant Lief. Rumors that I thought were a bit too fanciful, but it seems that those rumors were not going far enough.”
“Mateo, you are sure of this?” Lina asked, “Would you put your life in your source's hands?”
“Yes, and yes.”
Dr. Hamelin sighed, “I think I have a plan, but it’s going to chew into the budget. Our salaries are going to get cut by at least thirty percent.”
“DO IT!” Mateo said immediately.
“I’ll make a call. With any luck, we can create a scenario where we can suggest working together for the common good.”
Mateo then began to display images of crime scenes that John was responsible for. Each image got more gruesome and brutal than the previous one. It culminated with a particularly vicious killing of a perpetrator of the Peace Garden Massacre.
“This man is capable of all of this and likely much more,” Mateo said, “Do not go into this thinking we can outsmart or outmaneuver him. We can’t. You may need to cut the trip into the ruins short to preserve the illusion.”
“Kenneth, you and I are going to work out the details. Lina, call ahead to the research station. The Deerbrook twins and their unique set of skills will be needed,” Dr. Hamelin said, “Mateo worry not, we will limit antagonizing this man as much as we can.”
“Doctor, need I remind you I have thousands of tablets to retranslate now?” Kenneth said, “We need to get more work done on that in order to operate any systems we may come across.”
“That can wait a few hours. This is more important. We just need to stay a step ahead of that young man. If we can do that,” Dr. Hamelin stood up and smiled, “If we can do that we’ll go down in history. The first human team to discover alien life.”