Lost Systems: Legacy War Book 2 Read online

  “I sent along the reports,” Desmond said, “but I understand you probably haven’t had a chance to read them all yet.”

  “Not yet,” Reach said. “But we can go over them in detail now. Doctor Harper will want to be present, so we’ll have some time. Each of you has a room down here to relax. Agent Alexander, I believe your superiors are going to want to have a word with you. I’m going to go through the essentials of your report and we can meet back up at sixteen hundred.”

  “Sounds good, sir.” Desmond nodded once, turning to Salina and Cassie. “You two okay for now? Do you need anything from me?”

  “I’m good.” Salina nodded. “I look forward to having some time on the ground before we go back up. Artificial gravity is nice and all, but nothing beats the real thing.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine too.” Cassie looked more nervous than okay, but Desmond didn’t want to push her in front of the admiral. “I’ll see you all at sixteen hundred. Thanks.”

  “I’ll send out a meeting invite,” Reach said. “Keep an eye out for it.” He glanced at Desmond. “Again, great work. Enjoy a little downtime. Believe me, you’ve earned it.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Desmond saluted the man again before directing his attention to the sky. The clouds were sparse that day, offering up a wide, blue expanse. At night, they’d be able to see some of the fleet orbiting the planet but just then, the view was the same as his ancestors had seen for hundreds of years.

  They lived here blissfully ignorant of all the drama of galactic affairs. The burden of taking this step falls to our generation. I hope we’re ready. We have our flaws, our problems and disagreements but I’d like to think we’re enlightened enough to make the leap to partners with other cultures.

  I guess we’ll see how true that is based on how Thayne is treated. We have to be worthy of this responsibility. And the only way to prove it is through our actions. Good, bad or indifferent, every decision pushes us toward the judgement of those waiting to see our intention. This will be a lot of work.

  Chapter 2

  Desmond and Admiral Reach spent nearly four hours together in the briefing. They discussed the combat portions of the mission and what tactics were used to defeat the Tol’An. After the larger parts of the mission were discussed, they delved into the smaller details of resource expenditure and how the hyperspace trip worked out.

  “You know,” Reach said, as they came to an end of the talk, “I believe I told you to leave if you found the force overwhelming. From what you described, going at them with a single ship might’ve been suicidal.”

  “The fact that they were engaged with the automated defenses gave me the feeling I could take them on,” Desmond replied. “They were essentially pinned between us and those drones. Our challenge came from taking out the defenses so that they didn’t turn on us. And more importantly, freeing up our ground forces to operate without direct fire on them the whole time.”

  Reach nodded. “Quite the gamble … but I can see why you took it. And it paid off too. Good work bringing the Orb back. We’ll break for dinner and discover what Doctor Harper has to say. She’s had some time with your alien friend and might be able to shed some light on the galactic situation by now.”

  “He’s been quite open with us so far,” Desmond said. “I’m fairly certain we could just put him in a room and he’d talk.”

  “Nevertheless, I’m going to play this cautiously. We’re in a delicate time right now. Humanity just received irrefutable proof that we’re not alone in the universe and we learned it by looking down the barrel of a gun. Friendly visitors are going to need to prove themselves a little more before we welcome them with open arms.”

  “Understood.” Desmond stood and offered a salute. “Conference room Six B, right?”

  “Yes, see you back here then.”

  Desmond didn’t have a stomach for food, but he nibbled anyway. At nineteen forty-five hours, he found himself tired from the briefing, and they had more to do. The next steps involved learning more from Thayne, if Harper got anything out of him, and determining what their next course of action would be.

  He hoped his colleagues had a chance to get some rest before they met up again. It seemed like they’d need it. Desmond knew his people would be afraid after the attack, but he hadn’t been out amongst the regular population. Did they even truly know yet? And if they did, were they in a state of panic?

  Desmond checked the news feeds but didn’t find any coverage of the situation. Had the military covered it up so effectively already? The aliens did attack them in orbit and went after a secret facility. Perhaps it wasn’t so difficult to believe that only a select few humans even knew they’d been attacked by an outside force.

  Of course, Reach made it sound like there were more. High level leaders no doubt. The type that could keep a secret straight to the grave. He wondered how Cassie’s meeting with her superiors went and if they had their own concerns about the situation. The AIA may well know more than anyone about the situation.

  Would they let her in on any of their secrets? Did Desmond know her well enough to believe she might confide in him? He hoped so but didn’t plan to push. After all, she might have her own restrictions in talking about her organization’s plans. Prior to the attack on the Earth, people thought of them as the boogie men.

  If they have something up their sleeve to help us, I’ll take back everything I ever speculated about them.

  ***

  Cassie arrived in the Gamma Alpha hangar just after eighteen-hundred hours. The place was uncharacteristically empty, meaning her people had commandeered the entire area for their meeting. It didn’t make sense. The traffic in and out of the area should’ve made this an impractical location to meet.

  But then again, her superiors never really minded disrupting other people for their causes.

  “Agent Alexander.” Cassie recognized the voice as the director of the AIA, Beaumont Dulain. She’d seen his likeness on monitors and listened to his speeches but never met him in person. He ran the entire organization, and some would argue he held significant sway over the government. Enough to ensure the AIA had a say in any major decisions with the Orb.

  “Sir.” Cassie nodded once but she didn’t know where the man was. The room was vast, and his voice echoed off the ceiling. She looked around casually, hoping to catch a glimpse of something that might tell her where he was, but nothing stood out. There was a single shuttle in the bay, another oddity, and all the storage crates were neatly stacked against the walls.

  The open space provided no room to hide. He must be in the shuttle.

  “Thank you for coming. Feel free to hop aboard.” The ramp to the shuttle dropped. “We need to speak in private.”

  Very private, Cassie thought. Real nervousness began to grip her stomach, a firm squeeze, as she headed over and walked up the ramp. She expected a normal military or commercial shuttle but this one bordered on luxurious. Cushioned seats lined the walls and there was enough tech inside to run a large nation just from the cabin.

  Beaumont sat at the back with two dark clad agents flanking him. They were clearly armed as she approached but they weren’t what she focused on. Mister Dulain did not look at all like he did on his video feeds. In those, his skin was smooth and his hair a perfect shade of dark brown.

  In person, he wore lines around his mouth and eyes and gray took his temples. He gestured to the chair to his left. “Have a seat.”

  Cassie sat down but couldn’t relax. She sat up straight and waited for him to speak.

  “I’ve seen the briefings from your captain,” Beaumont said. “They were quite thorough. It seems that against all odds, you were successful. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “And you were able to bring home a somewhat friendly alien as well. Unexpected. Doctor Harper’s making fantastic headway with him. Apparently, he wants to stop these … Tol’An as much as we do. Seems he’s personally affronted by the fact they kidnapped him. Can’t sa
y I blame the poor guy.”

  “No, me either.” Cassie refrained from swallowing hard. She wanted to ask a question but held her tongue.

  “I expect you will all be heading back out to space quite soon. In fact, I would be surprised if you stay here an entire week, but I didn’t get into the nitty gritty details of your damage reports.” Beaumont considered his hand for a moment. “Of course, I have no idea where they’re going to send you but I’m hoping you’re prepared for the next voyage?”

  “They told me I’d be part of the crew,” Cassie replied. “I didn’t think it would be for a single trip.”

  “Excellent. Much as I’d like to have your insights here on Earth, I think you’ll be better used out there, keeping an eye on things.” Beaumont frowned. “I’m going to grant you an authority that I expect you won’t need but it could come in handy. Considering your experience with space flight, I’m thinking you’d rather not use it.”

  “Sir?”

  “You will have authorization codes to take operational command of the mission, should the need arise.”

  “Oh, sir … I … I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean, I understand technology and know how the Gnosis works but Captain Bradford is a real expert. Look at the briefing. He handled the enemy incredibly well. The odds were stacked against us in a major—”

  “I know, I know.” Beaumont interrupted. “I’m not suggesting you use this to become the captain of the Gnosis. However, once you understand our interests in this matter, you might need to flex some muscles to fulfill our goals. You see, the second Orb is fantastic, but we know there are other items out there … some quite dangerous … that the military may not deem worthy of pursuit.”

  Cassie’s brow furrowed. “And how do you think I’d fare on board the ship if I suddenly assumed command to have them go after one of these items? Do you think I’d be welcome to go back out with them the next time?”

  “My recommendation is that you speak to the captain in private and let him know that we’re keen on these items and that he should work closely with you. You might even tell him about the command authority.” Beaumont smiled. “In fact, use it as a point of conversation. Tell him the AIA gave you this, but you would never use it.”

  “You don’t think he’ll see through that?”

  Beaumont shrugged. “I suppose it depends on how much you’ve ingratiated yourself amongst the crew. The briefing speaks of how helpful you were. Is it true?”

  Cassie nodded.

  “Then you should have the rapport to have the conversation … or save it as an ace up your sleeve. The point is, we need a representative up there who will represent our needs. You’re in place and though I know this is your first field assignment, you’ll have to remember your training and obligations.”

  “Understood, sir.” Cassie forced herself to take a neutral tone. She didn’t like it, but he was right. She didn’t have to use it. Unfortunately, if she brought it up there would be a veiled threat behind it. Follow the AIA directive or I’ll be forced to make you. Beaumont put her in a tough position, but she had time to think of a way out.

  “Without knowing where you’re off to next, I can’t really direct you as to what we need … nor have we queried the Orb to find out anything specific. We are compiling a database of dangerous items. We’ll give you access so you can see what we’re talking about. Hopefully, we’ll have a preliminary list before you leave. In case you need some incentive.”

  “No, sir. I understand the importance of keeping weapons out of enemy hands. That’s why we attacked when we should’ve come home. Giving them another Orb would’ve been a terrible idea.”

  “Totally agree.” Beaumont smiled. “Again, fantastic job, Senior Agent Alexander. Good luck with your next meeting.” He stood up. “Oh, and ensure you have something to eat. You look terribly pale. Don’t want to be ill, after all. You’ve got a long year ahead of you.”

  No, I certainly don’t. “I’ll do that, sir.”

  “Um … ah! Dismissed.” Beaumont shook his head. “I always forget that part. See you next time and good luck.”

  Cassie disembarked and headed for the door. Before she was half way across the open floor, people began to pour back into the area, returning to work. The shuttle closed up and left, the roar of the engines causing her to clap her hands on her ears. As she reached the door, the place was back to normal, a bustling work area driving traffic through Gamma Alpha.

  Incredible. Cassie sighed as she went about the rest of her day. The next meeting would be with the admiral and others, but she had time to get some food and relax. Considering the news she just received, she needed one but didn’t have the stomach for the other. Nevertheless, she made herself take both.

  No point risking getting ill. As he said, there’s a lot left to do.

  ***

  Desmond arrived at the conference room early, sitting alone with his tablet for nearly fifteen minutes. Salina arrived next, followed closely by Cassie. They didn’t have a chance to speak before the Admiral, Doctor Harper, Thayne and two marines showed up. The grunts remained by the door while the others sat.

  “Thank you all for coming,” Admiral Reach said. “Everyone in this room knows the score and what we’re dealing with. It is imperative we determine what the Tol’An are up to and what our next move must be to thwart them. Doctor Harper has had the privilege of speaking to our guest, Doctor Rindala of the Pahxin. I’m hoping you’ve got something to share.”

  “Indeed,” Doctor Harper replied. “First off, after speaking at length with Thayne, I believe that we have a real opportunity to create positive relations with the Pahxin people. Their culture, according to him and the records we pulled from the equipment we pulled from the attackers, appears to be benevolent. They are friendly with their neighbors and have been exploring space for some time.”

  “What are their military capabilities?” Reach asked.

  “Considerable.” Harper turned the main screen on and displayed a massive list of vessels. “We took this from the Tol’An. Apparently, they’d been keeping tabs on their people and this is just a fraction of what we know. They have had a long time to build this force up and we are going to be in a difficult negotiation position depending on how we go about it.”

  “Understood.” Reach sighed. “What is the recommendation?”

  Thayne spoke up, “I believe that your people have several bargaining chips that will make for a positive first conversation. First off, you prevented the Tol’An from succeeding twice. That will be impressive to our leaders. However, with two Trin … er … Orbs, you may be in a situation where they would like one of them. After all, theirs has been stolen.”

  Reach frowned. “And we couldn’t do much to stop them. Would they take it?”

  “I’ve seen our government do some incredible things,” Thayne replied. “But I believe they would rather have a positive impression. Just know that it could come up as part of the conversation and be something you will need to be prepared for. Considering our people lost ours and you did not, there’s a good argument for you keeping them safe.”

  “We should send a communication,” Harper said. “Get the dialogue started as soon as possible. We need allies against this other culture and I think we’ve found our first good bet.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll run that up the pole.” Reach returned his attention to the computer in front of him. “The next order of business is that I’d like to talk about what happened to Agent Alexander. This says something about a waking vision?”

  “Yes, sir.” Cassie nodded but Thayne jumped in.

  “She may have discovered the ancient way to interface with the Orb. We have the parameters to repeat the experiment but wisely, the scientists here are running more simulations before doing so again.”

  “Good.” Reach hummed. “Do you think this vision had anything meaningful?”

  Harper said, “It could have to do with why the Tol’An are trying to acquire the Orbs. We have discovered
that they believe a plague wiped out several cultures. Bringing the technology together, in their opinion, would allow them to build a defense against it … should it return. And they genuinely think it will.”

  “I don’t know,” Cassie said. “If my vision has to do with what they’re worried about, it felt more like war … or a natural disaster than any sort of plague. Maybe it’s not an illness in the way we think of it. Maybe it infects the planetary body itself but somehow, the people in my vision knew they were in danger and were trying to flee.”

  “I see.” Reach considered his computer for a long moment without saying anything. He looked particularly old for a moment before turning back to Harper. “It seems to me we need to better understand the fears of our enemy. We need to know what happened. If it comes back, we may have to deal with it ourselves.”

  Harper nodded. “Agreed. Thayne has some ideas about that.”

  “There are many vacant worlds out in the cosmos, many livable,” Thayne explained. “However, they are dangerous. They hold weapons far worse than the automated defenses you contended with before.”

  “What do you propose?” Desmond asked. “To just go to these places and hope we discover something?”

  “Not at all,” Thayne said. “Much as you are all prepared for the exploration adventure of a lifetime, it would take far too long. Leaving without direction will not get us to our goal. We need an expert. Someone versed in what you call ‘archaeology’. Stellar archaeology in fact.”

  “You’re not an expert?” Cassie asked.

  “I’m more of what you would call an engineer specializing in the technology of the Orbs. No, we need someone who understands the planets we need to visit. Someone who can direct us to the most likely areas with clues that we need so we can trace them to some source … to understand the threat.”