Colonel Jacoby had Mars in his office. He was just sitting there, staring at him, inviting—no, daring—Mars to speak first. Yes, Mars did not like this man.
“You’ve been reassigned,” said Jacoby as he spit out loose tobacco from his cigar.
Mars couldn’t believe his luck. He would rather be anywhere else than working under this micro-managing, antagonistic ‘leader’.
“Roger sir,” said Mars, trying to conceal the waves of delight that were inevitably creeping across his face, “What is my new assignment?”
Jacoby was growling now, “Federation Historia HQ in Lagos Pyrἰnas, some new unit being set up.”
Jacoby stood up, pacing in front of the large window in his office, gnawing at the cigar as if he might eat it. “To be clear, I did not recommend you. I do not believe in your abilities. I do not think you should be in some new, ‘special’ unit. And I can’t wait to never see you again.”
Mars knew he was being baited. Jacoby wanted him to say something so that he could deny Mars this opportunity and probably kick him out of the Federation.
“Thank you, sir!” said Mars, as enthusiastically as he could, “I’ll take it under advisement!”
Jacoby was clearly displeased and kicked Mars out of his office.
Mars finally let his smile show. He couldn’t control this emotion; it had been so rare for him to feel.
----------------------------------------
Mars showed up at Lagos Pyrἰnas as ordered. Even though he had lived in the Chicago Pyrἰnas for four years, Lagos Pyrἰnas was even more majestically impressive. Lagos Pyrἰnas was the center of the Lux Orbis world government because of its strategic proximity to the Saharan Solar Field.
It had taken two weeks for Mars to get to Lagos. Even with all the improvements of this new global government, they still had not solved the slow-moving wheels of bureaucracy.
Mars took the subterranean roadway to the Federation Historia headquarters. When he emerged from the tunnel, he saw the grandeur of the Pyrἰnas which he had missed before. He was held in awe by the size of it. Everything was pearly white, and it glittered under the hot African sun. Trees of all varieties were scattered in a circular pattern throughout the grounds. Holograms lit up the sides of buildings, depicting great events from humanities past, simultaneously delivering the story through audiological implants that every human had for passersby to learn the history their ancestors might not have experienced.
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The Federation Historia headquarters was co-located with Nova Gnosis and the other major government agencies of Lux Orbis. This was clearly the power-hub of civilization.
Mars made his way to his assignment. As he walked past the Nova Gnosis HQ, he noticed the black columns outside the entrance and the massive Nova Gnosis emblem above: a red and silver sword piercing a beautiful green planet, entwined with an overbearing red-letter N and a nearly invisible black-letter G. He kept on moving.
When he arrived at Federation Historia HQ, he was greeted with a friendly, “Sergeant Kane!”
Mars looked over his shoulder and saw the source of the friendly voice—Ella Fleury, his friend from the Spartan Berserkr Course. Mars hadn’t seen her in years; he knew she was high-profile now though.
“Ella…it’s been a while. How are you?”
“Busy. How have you been?”
“I’ve been living in a black hole at the Chicago Pyrἰnas for the last four years trying
to remember why I went through all the training in the first place. But I’ve paid my dues and hopefully I’m on to bigger and better things now.”
“Yes, you have, and yes, you are. I saw to it,” Ella said, with a smirk.
“What is it you do now exactly?” Mars asked, wondering what kind of a ride he was in for.
“I’m the Stratego of Lux Orbis. I’ve held the position for two months now and getting you to the Lagos Pillar was one of my top priorities.”
“But why?”
“Some mysteries are worth waiting for,” said Ella with a smirk, turning to walk away. “Meet me at my complex later.”
“Yes boss. See you there.”
Mars was processed at the Federation Historia HQ and given quarters in their complex. It wasn’t glamorous by any means, but it had everything he could possibly need. Besides, there was more to life than creature comforts and he didn’t choose this path in life for it to be easy. He did it to ensure humanities survival and kill the clones.
Included with his room was a new wardrobe of uniforms; he tried a set on and looked in the mirror. At first glance, it was a standard-looking black uniform, trimmed in a dark blue, with the Lux Orbis symbol on the right sleeve; a green world in the background with a phoenix bursting from the world and a triskele in the Phoenix’s tail. He noticed a push-button inside the left sleeve…so he pushed it.
The uniform changed with a quick shimmer. Mars was now wearing a grayed-out uniform that blended with the concrete walls of his room. The Lux Orbis logo also changed: it became a blood red Ouroboros with the head of a wolf devouring a black world that the Ouroboros was encircling. Mars thought about this symbology momentarily, then switched back into his old, familiar uniform…the one that held no surprises for him.
He made his way to the complex gymnasium for combat practice to clear his head, and then he was going to see Ella so he could find out exactly why she had brought him to Lagos.