The man again smiled crushing out his spent cigarette producing another which he lit. “Ok. Since you gentlemen are so interested in certain subjects here it is...”
[Continued from Part I]
Pulling a long drag off his cigarette, the man continued with his expensive tale. “Name’s Todd Stark. I was the personal pilot for the executives of the Vector Corporation sometime ago.”
“Vector Industries? The military contractor?”, Ramius asked.
“The very same”, Stark answered.
“They went bankrupt two years ago”, Ramius added. “Their products and technologies were invaluable in”, he stopped short of revealing more as Akina kicked his boot under the table, “certain markets.”
Stark nodded. “Yes. But I know the truth of why they failed aside from the official story.”
Ramius and Akina leaned forward slightly as the pilot continued. “Vector had a research facility out on a dead planet a few light years from the Ceti Alpha system. The planet is a giant ball of ice and was thrown out of its solar system into deep space eons ago or at least that’s how I heard it. Vector found the floating rock and claimed it. Adrift in deep space the planet was frigid, encased in ice and frozen gas, and inhospitable to both man and machine. Nonetheless the company built a research station far beneath its surface that housed Vector’s most secret research.
This wasn’t my first trip out to what we all called the ‘cooler’ back then. Executives and scientists were always coming or going which at the time kept the staff pilots busy. It was another routine run to the planet except this time the President and a most of the corporate officers were aboard for a tour and inspection of the facility at the request of the chief scientist. We landed and entered the facility. I remember it all as if it were yesterday...”
== Sometime Ago – Planet MKX-11325 ==
“Doctor Roberts, I hope you didn’t drag us out here again to ask for more time and funding”, President Zachary Halburton remarked as he walked with several corporate officers and the head research scientist.
“No Mr. President. We’ve made some significant progress in recent months. We have arranged a short demonstration so you can see for yourself the breakthroughs we have at last achieved.”
“Very well”, Halburton said as the group entered a nearby elevator. “We’ve been funding this project for sometime. I’ve been wondering when we would see a return on investment.”
“We have a working prototype now”, Dr. Roberts replied. “With some final work I expect we can have a production model ready in three months.”
Roberts was about to close the lift doors when he noticed Halburton’s pilot at the far end of the hangar.
“Mr. Halburton, we’ve been having some trouble with the furnaces in this section lately. Your pilot might be in danger if the heat fails again. Given the extreme cold the temperature can drop substantially and potentially pose a hazard for anything living. It might be best if he came with us?”
Halburton frowned, but he wasn’t going to risk his pilot and be trapped on a remote planet for several days until a replacement could be dispatched.
“Stark!”
“Yes sir”, the pilot said rubbing his hands in the barely tolerable cold of the icy hangar bay.
“I’ve been informed that due to environmental malfunctions this area is not safe. You need to come with us.”
“Yes sir.”
“However, you’ve signed a confidentiality agreement with Vector. You are NOT allowed to discuss with anyone what you see here is that absolutely clear Stark?”
“Crystal sir.”
“Fine. Get inside. Proceed doctor.”
The doors to the lift closed and the lift descended deep into the planet and Vector’s most secret research facility.
== Sometime Later ==
President Halburton and staff were led into a white room the size of a large warehouse. Stark, bringing up the rear, almost shielded his eyes from the brilliance of the facility. The entire underground complex was a sterile, hospital white that reflected the overhead lighting like a mirror. He couldn’t see how people worked down here. It was as if he was encased in a snowdrift devoid of color, personality, or style.
Dr. Roberts, and several other scientists, had gathered in the room all wearing smiles. “Sir, the team and I are proud to present the XCOS system which is the future of combat and hopefully a profitable product for Vector. Years of research, effort, time, and capital has made this dream a reality. Behold ladies and gentlemen the warrior of the future.”
A person rose from a concealed hatch in the floor encased in a sleak white armored suit. Stark looked on with some fascination as did most of the executive staff. President Halburton remained his usual stoic self.
“XCOS is the modern solider’s first, best, and only friend on the battlefield. The exoskeleton of the suit’s armor is a new composite material which is strong, lightweight, and extremely durable. Let me demonstrate.”
Dr. Roberts picked up an energy weapon from a nearby table and fired it at the suit. The beam was absorbed by the material leaving only a slight discoloration at the site of impact. “That was a setting that would have disintegrated a normal person”, the doctor said.
“In addition to the armor, the suit features an internal shield generator that can absorb and deflect incoming energy weapons adding to its safety factor. While the shield does come with a power penalty it does allow a team of skilled troops to penetrate heavily fortified areas with reduced casualty risk. Capturing a fortified position, enemy bunker, or other high value target is now achievable with much lower casualty rates, smaller forces, and less collateral damage from atmospheric or sub-orbital bombardment. However, the XCOS was not designed only with defense in mind. Its offensive capabilities are equally impressive.
Built into the suit is a highly sophisticated AI system which performs many functions. First it is responsible for the soldier’s health. If the wearer becomes injured or incapacitated the suit can automatically isolate, diagnose, and deliver limited first aid and medication until help can arrive while at the same time broadcast a distress signal to assist in rescue operations. The AI also provides the wearer with enhanced vision and sensory inputs allowing the user to see greater distances, identify targets, retrieve tactical and combat data on known weapons systems, and perform a variety of other tasks. Additionally, the suit’s internal systems increases a soldier’s strength by a factor of ten and their mobility by a factor of five. Micro thrusters in the back and boots of the suit aid in jumping, running, and mobility giving the soldier a distinctive edge in most environments. The armor is also resistant to most chemical, biological, and radiological attacks making it ideal for harsh, dangerous, or even potentially lethal environments.
Our greatest achievement is the onboard micro-power generator which is at the heart of the system providing vital power to the suit. Recent testing shows the suit can operate for several hours in the field without replenishment of its energy source. Additionally, should the power unit become exhausted the new armor still provides the solider with a substantial increase in defense while maintaining acceptable levels of weight without adversely impacting mobility.
Now watch as the XCOS displays its full capabilities.”
Roberts nodded toward the soldier who moved toward a table.
“The table you see before you is made from 15 centimeters of typical industrial grade plasteel. Observe.”
The soldier curled his right arm into a fist and quickly struck the table which shattered in half like a sheet of glass.
“Impressive”, President Halburton quietly said amid a round of subtle clapping.
Stark himself, though leaning on a wall near the back of the room, took note of the demonstration and moved slightly to get a better view despite Halburton’s insistence that he remain ‘out of the way’.
“Next we’ll demonstrate the suit’s climbing and jumping abilities...”
“Wait, what’s he doing”, one of the staff members suddenly stated as the solider began moving toward another table.
Roberts turned his expression souring as the last thing he needed was for his demonstration to be fouled up by unauthorized activity from the suit’s operator.
“Lieutenant Cambren, is there a problem”, Roberts asked.
There was no reply as the soldier picked up a nearby rifle and inserted a live energy cell.
“What is going on Doctor”, Haliburton demanded as a sudden wave of anxiousness filled the room.
“I don’t know”, the doctor replied unsteadily.
“Lieutenant Cambren stop at once. Can you hear me?”
The soldier, whose face was covered by the suit’s helmet, turned to face the gathered crowd of scientists and corporate executives.
“I can hear you just fine doctor”, a sinister voice suddenly echoed in the large test area.
“Wait! That’s not Lt. Cambren!”
“You correct doctor. What keen intellect you must have to deduce the obvious.” The soldier leveled the rifle at the crowd his intentions turning hostile.
“Identify yourself. Who are you”, Halburton shouted. “What do you want?”
“President Halburton. I already have what I want. This suit. Quite a remarkable creation. I am sure the scientists at your competitor NeoDyne Corp. are already salivating in anticipation of its arrival.”
“Neodyne! Merikai! That scheming bastard! How much is that corporate degenerate paying you? Whatever it is I’ll double it”, Halburton shouted.
“How the hell did he penetrate our security”, Halburton’s aide muttered.
“I’m sorry Halburton. How would it look if I accepted your bribe and betrayed my employer? It would be bad for business although I can say your offer is tempting.”
“Name your price”, Halburton answered. “I’d just assume buy you off here and now. You can’t possibly think you can escape this facility with that suit. We’re far to deep to be beamed out and my security forces..”
“Pose little threat to me with this marvelous invention”, the unidentified soldier quickly countered.
“You won’t leave this facility alive”, Halburton shouted upping the ante.
“I beg to differ. Watch how easy it is as I put the prototype through some actual testing.”
Stark, at the rear of the room near the exit, looked on in shock as Dr. Roberts, standing next to Halburton suddenly disintegrated in a cloud of red particles.
“You see. It’s easy”, the voice continued followed by a chilling, evil laugh which ran through every nerve in Stark’s body.
The soldier suddenly opened fire on the group as the people scattered looking for anything to shelter them from the vicious onslaught of weapons fire. Within moments everyone except for the president was dead. The sterile white hue of the massive room was now spattered with red as the blood of many victims oozed down the walls and pooled on its floor.
“MUDERER”, President Halburton shouted staggering back as the soldier approached. “Why! WHY have you done this?”
“Business is business. I am sure that is something you can appreciate. In nature the strong survive while the weak die. The same is true in business. You either play to win or else you fail. I’m sorry, but I am afraid you didn’t play hard enough.”
“You tell Alistair Merikai that he can...”
The president never finished his sentence as a phaser beam cut the man in half.
Stark, frozen in place by total fear and shock, suddenly realized he was the last survivor in the room. Seeing the president dead on the floor he quickly turned and bolted down the hallway toward the elevator. Upon reaching the doors he slammed his fist against the up button to call the lift as the mechanized sound of footsteps further down the narrow hallway filled his ears.
“Come on damn it, COME ON”, he shouted pressing the button over and over as the footsteps grew louder and louder.
Stark turned and pressed his back against the doors of the lift as the robotic suit closed in.
“Just where do you think you are going”, the voice asked in a teasing, almost playful tone.
Stark could barely breathe as the suit moved closer its rifle brought to bear on his body. A loud tone suddenly rang out sending Stark falling backwards as the doors to the elevator opened. Springing to his feet he jabbed at the button to ascend. As the doors slowly closed the suit broke into a run to close the gap before the lift escaped.
Stark closed his eyes as the slit between the doors narrowed as the menacing suit disappeared from view. He felt the tug of the lift as it began its ascent. Sweat dripping from his forehead, Stark heard the high pitched whine of tearing metal beneath him. Those sounds faded as the lift picked up speed on its journey back to the main shuttle hangar on the surface.
Pressing the call button on the lift’s controls, Stark tried desperately to raise someone, anyone on the intercom and warn them of the intruder. His panicked calls went unanswered.
A few minutes later the lift opened as Stark was rudely hit by a blast of frigid air. The heating systems were offline in the hangar and the temperature had plunged to dangerous levels as the late doctor Roberts had earlier forewarned.
Dashing for the safety of the President’s luxurious transport, Stark ran as fast as he could across the open expanse of the hangar bay whose metal floor was covered in a thin layer of white, frozen condensation.
Stark suddenly felt his body shoved forward by an immense force as something behind him exploded. Hitting the frozen deck plates he slid several feet on its thin icy surface as his ears rang and the world around him spun.
Something metallic grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him upwards into the air as the hangar deck spun in all directions. His vision, still somewhat blurred, finally began to refocus as he realized he was now in the clutches of the white monster that he had escaped only moments ago.
“How amusing”, the voice suddenly said. “Did you believe you would be allowed to flee the coop like a barnyard chicken so easily?”
Stark was too frightened to struggle or respond. Held hanging in the air there was nothing he could do to resist. He was at the mercy of the murderer encased in the armored suit.
“What? No words? Cat got your tongue? Don’t worry you won’t have much need for it anyway where you are going.” Another devilish laugh reverberated throughout the hangar. Stark clamped his eyes shut. He didn’t want to see the end coming. Death was almost preferable to the terror that had gripped him as his heart felt as though it would burst from his chest.
Then, as if by some miracle, Stark hit the ground. His eyes snapped open as he looked up at the white armor towering over him.
“Thank your god, if you believe in such a thing, or you may want to curse him”, the soldier said. “It seems I must leave you alive. Neodyne wants a scapegoat on hand to pin the blame for all the unpleasantness which has occurred here today. So while your life may have been spared I think in time you will eventually wish I had killed you.”
“Me? Who’d believe I am capable of such acts”, Stark shouted his voice weak.
“Leave that to NeoDyne. They will ensure enough evidence remains to convict you. We can’t have the authorities following any breadcrumbs back to us.”
“I’ll tell them everything”, Stark shouted. “They’ll find you!”
“Doubtful. As you said, who will believe the words of an implicated Vector employee who is trying to shift the blame elsewhere without a shred of proof? You’ll be convicted and sentenced. If you’re lucky you’ll end up on one of the nicer penal colonies where the inmates won’t tear you to pieces or worse.”
“You..you are a murderous bastard”, Stark blurted out.
The soldier, whose identity remained hidden, only laughed. “Pathetic.”
Seconds later, the President’s transport exploded in a ball of fire and flame as the soldier fired his weapon destroying the engines.
“We can’t have you leaving here before the authorities arrive. Enjoy your last few days of freedom pilot. If I were you I would quickly head below. The heating system up here was oddly destroyed earlier. I’m afraid it will become far too cold to support life in a few more minutes.”
The soldier, without another word, turned and retreated leaving Stark shaken and alone in the rapidly freezing hangar bay.
===
“How did you escape”, Akina asked Stark as he finished the story.
“By sheer luck. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait to be picked up and blamed for those murders. I stumbled around as the temperature fell nearly freezing to death and located a small shuttle used by the scientists. I guess it was overlooked by the NeoDyne operatives before they left.”
“And you never reported this?”
Stark blew a cloud of smoke into Ramius’s face. “Would you? I left that forsaken planet and have been on the run ever since. Neodyne ruined my life. I’ve been forced out here to the frontier to escape the law and barely make do as a pilot for an abusive captain on a rusty, deathtrap of a cargo freighter.
So now you know the whole story. Vector Industries didn’t go bankrupt due to mismanagement, it failed because NeoDyne stole its prized research project, assassinated its corporate officers, and ensured it would remain dominant in obtaining defense contracts for the foreseeable future.”
Ramius and Akina looked at each other exchanging silent glances.
“So was that information worth something to you two? I want that bar of latinum now. Perhaps I can use it to escape this miserable life that has befallen me and retire somewhere quiet where no one asks many questions. I swear if I were a bit younger and in better health I’d find some way to track down the bastard who killed those people. I’d make that smug SOB pay for the misery he caused.”
Akina produced a bar of latinum and set it on the table.
“Is there anything else you can tell us”, he said before presenting the bar to Stark. “Can you remember any other details or clues that might aid us? We too have a score to settle with NeoDyne. Anything else you can tell us might be valuable.”
“How valuable”, Stark answered. “It was a long time ago. I’ve already told you everything I remember. I’ve spent the last few years trying to forget those memories.”
Akina noted that Stark’s right hand was now shaking. Recalling the events was obviously taking a psychological toll on the man. Stark pulled out another cigarette and quickly lit it.
“You’ve been most helpful Mr. Stark”, Akina finally said pushing the bar across the table.
Ramius’s attention shifted from the latter parts of the conversation as Akina wrapped up the business arrangements with Stark. The pilot’s story was shocking, but Ramius had seen NeoDyne’s ruthlessness first hand. The impact of the disturbing story while worth the risk had not had been beyond his expectations. As Akina concluded their discussion, Ramius looked up as five men entered the tavern and stood near the entrance. They didn’t move and instead appeared to be scanning the room as if searching for someone. Glued to the new development his eagle eyes caught the movement of the tavern’s barkeep in his peripheral vision. The man slowly ducked and disappeared from sight behind the bar. The man seemed to recognize something was about to happen which instantly set off alarm bells within Ramius’s well trained instincts.
Ramius, recognizing the danger, quickly shoved his hand into his pocket grasping a phaser as his grey blue eyes locked with those of the men at the entrance. There wasn’t anything to be said. While their identities were a mystery their intentions were crystal clear.
“GET DOWN”, Ramius shouted as he grabbed Akina and pulled him rapidly to the floor while at the same time kicking over the table to act as a makeshift shield.
Bottles and glasses slid shattering on the floor as the bar room was transformed into another battlefield on which Ramius had again been forced to fight.
[ To Be Continued... ]
===============
T. Stark, Pilot
Captain Tav Ramius
CO, USS Corsair
Captain Zane Akina
Starfleet Intelligence
(apb Tav)
