The Icarus operative - 5. Five

Somewhere in the Galaxy

Mother Shadow Headquarters

Covenant Year 329

THIRTY ONE DAYS BEFORE THE ARREST

Ifthere was something Christian Dekker hated more than his exwife, was Mother Shadow’s headquarters. Everything in the place was metal and mostly no furniture around. There was a funny smell to the place which always made Dekker think of a hospital. And he did not like hospitals either. He also hated waiting, and he’d been waiting in the front desk for some minutes now, while the young female shadow officer gave him the clearance to see Mother Shadow. She was a rather good looking woman, probably in her twenties, though the high bun of hair made her look much more severe than any twenty year old human woman should look.

She was all dressed in navy blue, as shadow operatives usually dressed; blue military pants and the tight blue trenchcoat on top.

“Mother Shadow will see you now,” the young officer said, her voice as severe as her hairdo, “this way please.”

He followed the officer through a corridor and stopped in front of a metal door. There was a state of the art keypad on the left side of the doorframe, where the officer keyed some commands and then waited for the retinal scan confirmation. When the door opened, she gestured him to go inside and waited for the door to close. He came into a narrow metal room, and a set of red scanners went all the way through his body from four diferent spots in the metal walls. An artificial feminine voice spoke as the scan was finished:

Christian Dekker. Human. Male. Forty Standard years old. Confirmed Active Shadow Operative.

A second later, a door on the opposite side opened and the artificial voice spoke again:

Welcome, Operative Dekker.

He walked outside the room and came into a corridor, where he was greeted by a young male operative.

“Operative Dekker,” he said, “Mother Shadow is expecting you. Please, follow me.”

He followed the man all the way to the end of the corridor, where he keyed a series of commands on a pad similar to the one in the previous door and waited for a new retinal scan. The door opened and the operative gestured him inside. He stepped inside another room and, once the door from which he had come closed, a door on the opposite wall opened, to allow him inside a room which looked nothing like the place at all.

This room was warm, cozy, filled with round furniture all over and finishing in a wide round desk, where Mother Shadow awaited. It was a Danareen, though from the distance he couldn’t really tell wether a male or a female. That did not come as a surprise to Dekker, for it was common knowledge among Shadows, that, because of security reasons, Mother Shadow was never the same individual, and rumor had it that it was a group of people from all different species within the Galaxy, who exchanged places for every assignment, so that the whole Shadow Operation would never be exposed or be finished from within. Even when Shadow operatives were carefully filtered and selected, one could never be too careful.

“Operative Dekker,” Mother Shadow spoke, and, because of the pitch, Christian realized it was a female Danareen.

“Mother Shadow,” he said, bowing.

“Please, be seated,” she said.

Christian Dekker sat down in a very comfortable armchair strategically located far from the desk, so that the distance and the dim lighting would make it difficult for him to see the features of she who should remain featureless.

“First,” she said in a rather flat monotone, “and before we discuss the details of your mission, I’d like you to see something with me.”

Having said so, Mother Shadow tapped a button on her desk and a holographic image appeared before Dekker’s eyes; it was a man in his fifties, of rivulan features, and with a hard gesture.

“Play!” Mother Shadow said, and the image came to life.

“Fellow Citizens, for centuries we have been poorly ruled by the Covenant and subjected to their law and authorities. We’ve been used and abused once and again to satisfy the needs of a system which stinks of its own decadence.

We, citizens of Halan II, and direct descendants of the Jem’dorah, are tired of being puppeteered by what we recognize as an abusive and insensitive government. Ever since the colonization of Halan II we have been faithful subjects of the Covenant government.

But no more.

We are to be a free people according to the Covenant Manifesto and we are not. Make no mistake, The Covenant does not care for our situation, does not care for the hunger and enslavement of our people and will not lift a finger to assist us.

¿For how long are we going to stand this situation?”

The image then blurred and the holographic message finished. Dekker looked at Mother Shadow but did not voice any comment.

“Halan II is not the only system uprising against the Covenant, as you might well know. It is obvious that the Covenant Government is not ready to face the upcoming situation and it is up to us to work it out.”

“Why are we to clean up for the Covenant if it was the Covenant itself which decided our agency was no longer necessary?”

“We are not cleaning up for the system, Operative,” Mother Shadow replied, and Dekker thought she was smiling as she said so, but he couldn’t have been sure, “Our goal is much higher than that, as it has always been. Suffice it to say that we are preparing the Galaxy for a system built upon the ideals on which the Covenant was founded.”

Dekker nodded. He had always agreed with those principles which had been the ideals of the founding races, and which continued to be abandoned by Covenant ruling. The Government kept on changing and looking more like a dictatorship as time passed by.

Christian remembered his first years as a Shadow Operative, and he did remember a diferent kind of Covenant Rule. And he’d only been an operative for twenty years. He was sure that Mother Shadow, or the inner circle that was it, had been around much longer than that. Considering particularly that the Danareen had a regular lifespan of three hundred years, and the Rivulans around one hundred and fifty.

“There’s a padnic on the table in front of you, Operative,” Mother Shadow spoke again changing the subject of the conversation, “there, you’ll find the details of your new assignment, for which you’ll have to travel to Eden ASAP.”

Dekker took the padnic and went over the details of the mission. Eden was most definitely a hot zone those days, what with the uprisings and all. He knew immediately why he had been chosen for the assignment, and he was not happy that this new mission would so closely relate to the Icarus incident.

“I see,” he said as he went over the confidential pages.

Mother Shadow allowed him to go over all the details without interruption, until he spoke again.

“I do not mean to question your commands, Mother Shadow,” he said finally, “but I find it disturbing that you would choose me for this assignment considering the fact that The Icarus incident almost cost me my career as an operative.”

“I thought you might feel this way, Dekker,” she replied, “but it is you who’s had the most experience with the Icarus project, and I can’t think of anyone more qualified than you to complete this mission successfully, in spite of what happenned some standards ago.”

It was a known fact in several circles of the Agency that Christian Dekker had jeopardized his career some years before, when he’d been sent to the Luna facility to report on the Icarus project, along with his fellow operative Mankur. It had been really hard for him to report on what he’d seen, for he’d empathized with Icarus, the first of many engineered operatives to come, who was not oblivious to the fact that he was to be stripped from his personality.

On the days that followed his departure from Luna, Dekker worked on a plan to retrieve Icarus from the Shadow facility and send him somewhere away from those who had engineered him. Because he was an operative of high rank and seniority with all the connections in the Galaxy, it was not difficult for Dekker to infiltrate the facility on his own and retrieve Icarus. To this day, no one knew what had become of the kid. Not even Dekker, whose memories of the boy had been targeted for elimination via blankslating technology.

As usually happened with blankslating, some memories had come back in the following years, flashes, images of Icarus, but nothing as conclusive for Dekker to find out about the kid whom he’d helped escape in the first place and who had so strongly reminded him of his long lost son.

“There’s something that is not very clear for me, Mother Shadow,” he said.

“Please, speak candidly, Operative,” Mother Shadow responded.

Dekker shifted uncomfortably in his chair and faced the silhouette traced against the back wall of the huge office. “I’m to take place as head administrator to this Lord Gimmer Ebenweiss and then locate an Icarus operative.

“That is correct, Dekker It is your mission to locate him and send him into our custody. Once you’ve located the Icarus operative, you’ll contact the agency and an undercoveragent will take over to retrieve him and bring him our way.”

“I do not understand, Mother Shadow, how it is that such an asset has been… misplaced… Wasn’t he genetically tagged?”

“Icarus operatives are not tagged at a genetic level. And his tracker was removed not a week ago…”

“So you suspect someone is trying to hide him from you,” Dekker said, pensive.

“It’s the most logical conclusion…”

“I see.”

“This is a very delicate mission, operative,” Mother Shadow said, “and we’re trusting that you’ll fulfill it to the best of your abilities.”

Christian Dekker cleared his throat before speaking, as if giving himself the time to put his ideas together.

“I once abducted and released an Icarus operative from Shadow custody into the world,” he said, “for I believed he’d been wronged by our organization. What makes you think I won’t do it again?”

He thought he saw the female Danareen smile once again, though the dim light made it impossible for him to be sure one more time.

“Operative,” she said, “I do know you are a man of his own convictions, so to speak. But I also know you believe in what we do here, I know you can see how the whole system is falling apart, and there’s no one but us to keep it together.”

She then stood up from her seat and walked from one side of the office to the other, never really letting Dekker get a clear sight of her face.

“There are some bad things that we sometimes do for the greater good, Christian,” she said now, calling him by his name for the first time, “I’m no alien to those feelings. In fact, I clearly understand why you did what you did some years ago. But I do know that your ability for compassion is not clouded by your ability for assessment. The Galaxy is falling apart, and it’s up to us to keep the system from destroying itself.”

“You can not know whether I’ll do what you want me to do,” Dekker said.

“You’re right, I can not, but that’s a leap of faith I’m willing to take, Christian. Because I know that in your heart you are one of our most loyal operatives. I’m willing to entrust you with this mission. It’ll be up to you to fulfill it to the best of your abilities, or to let the Covenant go to pieces.”

“It is a big weight to be put over one person’s shoulders,” Dekker said as he tried to find out Mother Shadow’s motives.

“It is indeed,” she said, and this time he was sure she had smiled, “but it’s a job I’m sure you are more than capable of accomplishing. If there’s no further questions…?”

“None,” he said and stood up.

“Thank you, operative,” Mother Shadow said sitting down again, “look for Operative Dorian, he’ll provide you with the intel, credentials and tools you will be requiring.”

“I’ll do so. May your path find you within the light.” He said in the traditional shadow farewell.

“May your path find you within the light as well, operative.”

And having said so, she went back to the several screens on her desk. Dekker turned around and started walking towards the exit door, not knowing what to make of what she’d told him. It was a big burden indeed, to bring a system upon his shoulders. When the time came, he knew, he would have to decide what would weigh more, his compassion, or his sense of duty. And he wasn’t really sure what he would do when he came to that choice.

When Cristian Dekker had left the office, Mother Shadow stood up from her desk. As she did so, a door that had remained hidden opened with a pneumatic hiss. A figure silhouetted against the doorframe stepped through it and came inside the office.

“So,” she said, “what do you think will come from all of this, Djakk?”

The Danareen Mother Shadow turned and looked at her fellow operative as she smiled, for she had every single motive to trust that whatever had to be accomplished would be.

“What has to come, will come, Otiyar,” she said with total conviction, “That is the only unchangeable truth in life.”

“That sounds so typically you, Djakk,” Otiyar Harall replied, “I do have to confess I don’t really understand you completely. But then again, you’re the head Mother.”

“There’s no such thing as a head Mother, Otiyar,” Djakk said sitting down on the desk, “and you know it damn well.”

“But if there were,” the Hyadenese said, “we all know it would be you. This agency is what it is thanks to the way you keep it together.”

“That’s very flattering Otiyar, thank you. But what we do, we do for the sake of the system. Coffee?” she asked her and she nodded. She ordered the coffee through a screen over her desk and turned back at his fellow shadow operative. “I read your report on Martin Preston’s resignation from the Covenant Army, but you still haven’t told me how it went with the admirals.”

“There’s not much to tell really,” she said, “I wsih he hadn’t quit… I wish I’d been able to disclose my shadow nature with him so he had known he would’ve been working for the greater good. If he hadn’t quit, he would’ve helped us in retrieving the Jemdorah descendant to keep him safe from Rivulan separatists. I wish I had been able to tell him we weren’t trying to abduct the boy but to protect him.”

“I understand. Still, revealing yourself as a shadow operative could’ve jeopardized our entire operation. You are one of the few undercovers we have among the admiral ranks.”

A young officer came into the room with hot coffee on a plasteel tray. He left the tray on the desk, bowed, and left the room.

“You know me, Djakk,” she said as he poured coffee in a mug, “I would not have gone against direct orders.”

“I’m not questioning you, Otiyar,” she said as she smiled, “I think you’ll still manage to keep the operation under control. Preston’s unfortunate dismissal just delays our progress regarding the Jem’dorah Messiah… it will not bring it to a halt.”

“I know… but Preston is a good man… a man of conviction and ethics…”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she said as she placed her blue hand on Otiyar’s, “what matters is where we go from here. Any new developments on the Covenant’s progress in locating the Jem’dorah descendant?”

“A new candidate for the task is being chosen as we speak, but it has not yet been disclosed. La’nostem does not want to risk a new eventuality.”

“Good. Through our operatives we’ve planted the suggestion that he’s in Eden…”

“But he isn’t…”

“No, but that way we’ll be misdirecting friends and foes. If both the Covenant and the separatist factions are looking for the boy in Eden, we’ll have bought sufficient time to retrieve the real Jem’dorah Messiah and bring him safely to the government of Halan II.”

“I see, so whoever looking for the boy will get…”

“…The Icarus operative that Dekker has been assigned with finding. When they learn the truth, the Messiah will have been placed as the right ruler.”

“Djakk… the Icarus operative could end up dead…”

“We are well aware of that. And it’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make… for the greater good…”

“It’s both a bold plan and a dangerous game, Djakk…” the Hyadenese Covenant Admiral replied with genuine concern.

“It is, Otiyar,” Mother Shadow said, “but placing the rightful ruler in Halan II will help us appease the other systems and pave the road for the Covenant to become what it must be. There aren’t many operatives who know about this, so I’d appreciate your discretion on the matter.”

“You don’t have to tell me that, Djakk, you know I’ve been a loyal operative for a very long time.”

“I know, Otiyar,” she said, “you’re actually one of the few officers trusted within the inner circle of Mother Shadow. You’ve proven your loyalties more than once.”

Harall smiled.

“Now, let’s get ready to receive our Erjnak Mother Shadow. We need to discuss the situation in the Athruvian System.”

“I know, and it’s something I’m not really looking forward to.”

“And why is that?”

“Because communication with them always drains all of my energy. You know what I mean.”

“I do. But the Erjnak are a very powerful race and we should feel lucky that they joined our agency almost as soon as they joined the Covenant.”

“I couldn’t possibly agree more. Then again, it’s gonna be a rather long meeting with Mother Rjtnek.”

“We need to keep the ball rolling, Otiyar. Shall we?”

“After you,” Harall said, and they both walked outside the room.