Aeris - Guardian Force - 2. Act 1 - Origins Part 2

Chapter 3:

The courier drone arrived five days later, a standard size model about 3 meters long, 1.5 meters width and height. Tubular in design with fins, and equipped with a micro-fission powered sublight engine, and micro subspace FTL drive, in the back third, it left almost 2 meters of cargo space. Three items were in its cargo compartment, video and text mail delivery for the crew, in the form of small data-crystals; a secure credit transfer package for the Purser’s office; and the eyes-only command package addressed to Adm. Franks. Joshua took the box from the cargo container, before Flight Ops packed the drone into storage, for future use. The package itself was a reinforced briefcase style of titanium, with a keypad, and biometric scanner as the lock. Joshua had seen these in the past knew they were tamper-proof, and would explode if a pre-set number of failed attempts to open were done.

The walk to the Captain’s office from the drone flight deck on Deck Twelve, gave him some time, to think about his current situation. The route was a series of lifts, stairs, turns and walkways that moved him both towards the front, and back parts of the ship. This, of course, was a holdover from the water-based naval vessels of Earth so that hostile boarders could not go directly from hanger to bridge. He had been honest with Adm. Franks, about being assigned to her as an assistant, and performed his duties as an Aide-de-Camp. What he did not share was the Codeword classified details of his full mission with her. He honestly didn’t know what the Passphrase and code key he was given by Fleet Admiral Toews, back on Titan, but he suspected it had to do with this package. Joshua felt like he was stuck in the middle of a situation going out of hand. His Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) mission was to observe Adm. Franks, Executive Officer O’Conner, and the civilians working on the experimental Grav-metric engines. He was a highly trained Special Forces officer, whose task was to protect Franks, and the Prometheus, from sabotage, and external threats. In addition to his training, his parents spent a small fortune on his genetic engineering, which the Sol Federation SpecOp task force enhanced upon as well.

His speed, strength, agility, stamina were all superhuman now. His parents paid to make sure; he wouldn’t get sick from any physical medical condition, like heart disease, or cancer. However, the essential augmentations were the biological cybernetic implants that SpecOps gave him. They replaced his left forearm to hide a concealed compartment, plus a microcomputer interface; a neural implant positioned behind his right ear, would connect him to data ports for computers, and with combat battle armor; microphone and speaker built into his jaw and ear; and all this tied into a retina projected Heads Up Display (HUD).

Adm. Franks knew about his service record and training, but the cover story, while he was her Steward, suggested he was of a higher rank and was busted down to a Lieutenant for a charge of insubordination. Then as punishment, a tedious job of cleaning the Captain’s latrine, and making her bed he was given. “Very reminiscent of an ancient Steven Segal movie, from the late 1990’s,” he remembered Adm. Toews saying. This is what he felt, was making Jules nervous about this package. That her and his, world was about to become a shitstorm, on a level of magnitude, they both didn’t suspect. Black Operations tended to go south when you least expect them.

~*~

Stepping from the lift on the Ship’s Main Bridge, at the top of the C&C tower, he walked the few paces to the Captain’s Office. Despite Jules’ promotion to Rear Admiral, she still went by “Captain” when performing her duties on the Bridge. The door slid open at his prompting, and he stepped inside with the package. Both Jules Franks and Kevin O’Conner were already inside waiting. The Captain’s Office itself was part private personal office, and part conference room. Metal and electronic desk was situated opposite the door, on the other side of the room. The captain could easily see the door when someone entered. A few padded armchairs, on magnetic wheels, were sitting in front of the desk, for personnel here on business. Two couches, one along each wall, and a couple of tables rounded out the main room’s furnishings. Two side doors lead to a conference room for six and a private bathroom for the Captain, and senior staff.

Jules was looking rather focused today. Her brown eyes and wavy brown hair shone from the light in the room. Her light creamy brown complexion marked her of a mixed race, which was quite common in the Federation. Only some of the more stubborn Families tried to remain pure or paid for specific ancestral genes to come forward. Being 2 feet shorter than him, at 4ft4in, she was the definition of mean things come in small packages, with a graceful, athletic build. O’Conner, on the other hand, was every bit of stereotypical caricature Irish like his name suggested; 5ft10in, broad shoulder, with natural red hair, pale cream skin, and freckles to boot. Though he didn’t have an Irish accent, you’d swear you heard one, after conversing with him for more than an hour. Joshua thought, he was a perfect looking man and fantasized about him in his alone time.

“Lieutenant, if you could shut, and seal the hatch behind you please?” she said.

Joshua pressed the lock code into the control panel next to the door, adding in the code to activate safe room features of the office. After a few moments, the status read secure on the panel, and on Jules’ Halo screen in front of her. Walking across the room, he set the briefcase down, on the desk, “It seems to be encoded for your Auth code and Biometrics.”

Jules nodded to him and turned the case, so the lock pad faced her. Typing the code in, and letting it scan her, the top of the case opened up for them. “Odd never had one where the top came completely off,” she said. Setting aside the top, they were faced with a new lock that was underneath. This time, it needed a keycard and a spoken passphrase. She looked up at Joshua, giving him a suspicious look. “Lieutenant, please open the next lock.”

Commander O’Conner looked between them, wondering where this was going.

Joshua took out his cardholder from his utility pocket and pulled out the white card key that Admiral Toews gave him on Titan. As he slid the card into the slot, the case chirped, “Passphrase now.”

“All good things come to those that wait,” he said. The effect was immediate, as the case reconfigured. Two slide outs opened on each of the smaller sides, containing hardcopies in one; and data-crystals, and card keys in the other. On the top of the case, a small series of holographic emitters sprang up, to reveal the symbol of the Federation Naval Warfare Division. Joshua passed out the Hard Copies, as they were closest to him; the three files each had one of their names on it. As if on command, the projection changed to Fleet Admiral Toews, and his voice rang from the built-in speakers.

“Admiral Franks, Commander O’Conner, and Lieutenant Rintel; the following mission briefing has been classified SCI, and Ultra-Black Eyes Only. Under the standard security precautions, any divulgence of this information outside those with the proper passphrase will result in a Court Martial, and Life Imprisonment. Let’s get down to business, of why your orders are changing,” the disembodied voice said to the three of us, as we sat looking at the projections. “In the hard copy packets, you’ll find a summarization and any additional information that is needed for you specifically. Share amongst yourself, at your discretion. Also, any findings you received are to be considered SCI/Ultra-Black, and again feel free to share among the three of you.

“First off, Admiral Franks, and Commander O’Conner, you should learn what Lieutenant Rintel’s real mission is. As you are already aware, he is a SpecOp trained member of the Federation Stellar Navy. However, the circumstances he came to be on the Prometheus are just a cover. His primary mission was to oversee the Civilians as they worked on the ship. He was tasked to make sure; no Harm came to the Senior Staff or any Sabotage to the vessel itself. His position is among the Guardian Force, and his Code-name is Aeris. Lieutenant Rintel, please continue to perform you Aide-de-Camp duties, for a few more days, as cover for the Civilians. Afterward, you’re free to choose to resume those duties. I’ll leave that up to you, and Admiral Franks. This leads to the next part of this briefing.

“Second, the civilian technicians need to be removed from the ship, now that its trials have been completed. Land them at the Navy Docks at the Ashford Colony, within the next couple of days. Where you’re going, they do not need to be there and would be in the way. Once they are ground side, they’ll get passage back to Earth.

“The reason behind this is something extraordinary. One of our Deep Space Drone explorers has found the possibility of Alien Life. Images and ground surface scans show signs of ancient ruins on a planet located around Gilese 667 which lies approximately 23.62 Light Years from Earth. Your mission is simple. Go there, and check it out. This may become a First Contact, situation, or it might just be a dead civilization, similar to Earth’s Aztecan civilization. Lieutenant Rintel, will be in charge of all ground base security, and research operations. His word is law planetside. A Doctor of Xenoarchaeology, one Shane Thomas, is currently in route to the Prometheus. He’s the lead Scientist, but underneath Lieutenant Rintel, and you Admiral Franks, and Commander O’Conner. Good luck on this mission, the rest of your orders is in your packets.” The voice and face fade off shortly after the last words are uttered, and the case acknowledges that all information has been erased.

Chapter 4:

The trio of officers sat in silence while they digested what they just heard from the Fleet Admiral’s recording. The look of mild shock on Commander Kevin O’Conner’s face, at the mention of Guardian Force, was a pleasant amusement for Joshua. He’s seen it time, and again, when senior officers found out who he was, and it has led to more than a few nocturnal encounters with them, afterward. The Guardian Force was outside the Normal Naval Structure. They were Sol Federation’s version of Special Forces, Delta Squad, Green Berets, Army Rangers, and Navy SEALs rolled into one, with an add-on bonus of Zero-G Combat training, and human augmentation.

“Guardian Force, eh? You couldn’t have clued us in on that, Lieutenant,” Commander O’Conner said, breaking the awkward silence that had developed.

“My mission was SCI classified. I couldn’t even reveal it to Admiral Franks, and yes, I’ve been cleaning her cabin, and office, this whole time. It’s what we do,” he responded while anticipating the next question.

“Well damn, Lieutenant. Now, that the cat’s out of the bag, how are you going to handle this,” Kevin said.

“As Adm. Toews has said, I’ll continue to play my role as Steward to Adm. Franks, and once all the Civilians are off, she and I will have to decide upon that function. If I remain as her Steward until we reach the planet, no changes. If, I don’t, well… protocol for Guardian Force officers will go into effect. I’ll dress in my GF uniform, and go by my Codename, Aeris.”

“Is Lieutenant Joshua Rintel, even your real name, and rank?”

“That’s classified.”

Hearing enough of the back-n-forth exchange, Jules sighs some, “Alright you two. That’s about enough dick saber rattling; a girl can take only so much in one day. As of right now, we’re all informal. Joshua, can you pour us some drinks?” She then starts laughing, shaking her head, “Sorry, going to have to get used to not having an Aide.”

“No worries, Hun. I don’t mind,” he says, as he gets up, and walks over to a wet bar that’s along the left wall. He takes out three glasses and pours them each three fingers of whiskey. Carefully walking back, he hands Kevin, and Jules each a glass, before sitting back down. "Jules, you’re still entitled to an aide, being a Flag Officer. If you want, I can recommend a good replacement.”

“Thank you, that will be helpful,” she said. “Kevin, what do you think of this?”

“I think, FleetCom, is off their meds. We’re a new Ship, and Crew, barely broken in. While some departments have a crew that worked together previously, most are straight out of the boot camp, with officers reassigned from other ships. Not to mention, it’s going to take us how long to transit there? It took us a month to go one light year. It’s at least going to take us, what up to twenty-five months to get there, based on that initial trip, and we don’t have that kind of supplies.”

“Good point, and one that I’ve been thinking about as well,” she says while taking a sip of her drink.

“If I may interject,” Joshua breaks in. “Our Speed here was at a disadvantage. FleetCom purposely put a control governor on our Subspace Drives. We could have made that trip in two days. My hardcopy says these data-crystals, and keys are for us to unlock that drives so that we can make best possible speed to Gilese 667.”

“Well, that solves the transit issue. Less than two months, is better than twenty-five, and we have the supplies, for such a trip,” Kevin acknowledged.

“Then it’s settled. Round up the civvies, ship them out, wait for the good Doctor to show, while Chief Engineer Fox unlocks my ship,” she stated looking at the two men.

“Sounds good to me,” Kevin says.

“Same here,” Joshua adds. “One last thing, though. This, I am authorized to share on a limited need to know only. Remember the planet Vargus—“

“I do,” she says.

“Yes,” he says.

“—one thing that is not out in official reports, Alien artifacts were found on that planet after the first exploration colony started operations. The Settlement went dark three months later. Officially, a reactor blew and killed the whole colony. Hence, why Vargus is now a no-go planet. In truth, Guardian Force was sent to see why the colony went dark. Everything was fine, though some strange phenomenon was detected, all human life at the colony was gone. We’ve never encountered the phenomenon before, or since on any of the planets, we’ve colonized. Some 1200 families disappeared, and we still have no clue how it happened.”

“That’s just grand,” Kevin snorts.

~*~

After the meeting, a whirlwind of activity started. Admiral Franks called a meeting of all the Senior Staff, and Department Heads, informing them of the change in orders. Permission was given to disseminate the orders to the rest of the crew. Joshua took the data-crystals to the server room in a secure part of Deck Six, and in tandem with Chief Engineer Fox, unlocked the Subspace drives. An unexpected side-effect also occurred when that happened.

The ship was state of the art; most systems ran with very little in need for human involvement, outside of maintenance, repairs, and secondary observation. However, once the data-crystals were installed, and upload, it triggered an Artificial Intelligence (AI) to activate. It seemed that with the increase in speed in the drives, along with the Gravimetric drive, that a more fine control was needed. Humans would still operate and control the Ship’s Helm, Navigation, and other stations, but the AI would do various behind the scenes calculations that needed to be updated by the second. She called herself, Linda.

All of the Civilians were informed of the change in itinerary, and when to report to the shuttle bay for transfer to the Naval Base and from there back to the Sol System. The industrious Ensign Adkins volunteered to make the drop-off, and pick up the Doctor Thomas. Jules approved it, knowing that her young Bridge Officer could handle herself with impeccable professionalism.

Joshua supplied Adm. Franks, with his suggestions for an Aide, and soon they agreed to go with a second shift steward, Petty Officer 3^rd class Emilio Palmer. Palmer decided because it not only lessened some of his duties but included a Field Promotion to Ensign; including, a huge pay raise, which would help his family back home on Mars. Ensign Palmer was settling into his new role quickly and was being briefed by Joshua on Adm. Franks’ tastes. In short order, Joshua felt Palmer could handle the duties, and sought out Adm. Franks.

~*~

He found Jules in her office, going over reports; she was getting off her comlink, informing the XO that a naval resupply cargo barge would be here in about 3 hours. She looked up to Joshua, giving him a warm smile, “How can I help you Lieutenant Rintel?” Even with the revelation of his SpecOp status, they were still friends.

“Stopping by to inform you, Palmer is going to do a great job. He memorized your coffee order first so that he can make a good impression on you tomorrow.”

“I won’t go too hard on him,” she said, chuckling. “But, you spoiled me. I hope he can live up to that bar you set.”

“I believe he will.” Pausing for a moment, Joshua continued, “I’ll be moving to my new quarters this evening, during Third Watch. I didn’t have much as Lieutenant Rintel, but my gear was stored down on Third Deck, near the Marine Corps quarters. Shouldn’t take too long.”

“Anything I need to know about your new room?”

“Just that it’s on Deck One, around a corner from yours, and that it has reinforced walls. Smaller than yours, but I’ll have three storage bays, that are already full. Otherwise, it’s like what you and the XO have.”

Jules shook her head some looking at him, “So we’re supposed to call you Aeris now?”

“Yes, ma’am; though you can still call me Josh or Joshua when we’re alone. I liked that cover name they gave me this time.”

“Is it hard on you? Being someone different?”

“Nope. I’ve been doing it so long now; I’m used to changing legends. It becomes second nature.”

The two of them spend another hour talking. Aeris leaves the office, and heads for the quarters of Lieutenant Joshua Rintel, to clear out what items that tied him to that life.

Chapter 5:

Jules usually waited at least fifteen minutes before arriving at the Bridge. This gave Third and First Watch time to do change over, and she did not want to get in the way of that. The Bridge of the Prometheus was, like the rest of the ship, state of the art, and one of a kind. Sol Fed R&D, along with Mithras Corporation, spent a lot of time, and credits, making it ease of use, functional, and comfortable. The wrap around viewport had armor plating that would snap into place when Combat Condition Red was active. Roughly three quarters from the forward viewport sat the Captain’s, and Executive Officer’s station, with the rest of the control stations, places around them.

Helm and Navigation both sat in the forward part of the Bridge, while Tactical-Weapons sat directly left of the Captain. Ninety percent of the ship’s weapons were automated, and just needed someone to push the red button to activate. Even with automation, the Tactical Officer was still required to input firing solutions. Behind Tactical-Weapons and near the entry hatch resided Tactical-Defense, who controlled the limited energy shield, and commanded the roving Pin-Point Force fields. Directly to the Captain’s right was the home of Communications, with Operations sitting behind them. Three multi-use stations were behind where the Captain sat, to round out the control stations. Lastly, tucked in the corner behind operations was the most prized part of the bridge according to the people who worked here, a full self-service Coffee Bar for the long watch hours. The room was kept dim, with Red Vision lighting as primary. Holographic projections were everywhere showing the status of every function of the ship.

“Captain on the Bridge,” the Chief of the Boat (CoB) said, as Jules walked in. A chorus of “Good Mornings,” rang from the different officers. Jules smiled as she made her way to the coffee bar, pulling her mug from the holder, as each station made its report on Ship Status. Sipping her piping hot brew, she walked over to her seat and sat while they finished. This has been a morning tradition since they launched.

“Has that resupply barge undocked yet?”

“Yes Sir, it has. About an hour ago,” the Operations Officer answered. “We’re still waiting for our shuttle to arrive.”

“Thank you, Lt. Danvers,” she said. Taking another sip of her coffee, she then puts the mug in the station’s built-in holder. “Comms, give me 1MC.”

“Yes, Sir… It’s ready, now sir.”

Jules stood up; having always felt a little self-contentious when making addresses and spoke out loud knowing the computer will pick up her voice. “Attention all crew of the Prometheus. As some of you have learned, we’re not following our planned route, and instead, have been ordered by FleetCom to investigate a planet one of our DSDs surveyed. There is potential for a first contact here, but we will not know for sure until we arrive. Soon, one of our shuttles will arrive carrying some Scientists to exam what we might find. This is going to be a long haul through Subspace, around 25 days more or less. Your department heads have been briefed and will inform you of any additional details. This mission has been labeled SCI – Ultra-Black, please remember what that means.

“Final note. We’ve had onboard a member of the Guardian Force, who’s been undercover. After FleetCom deviated us from our planned mission, they were taken out of undercover operations. His Code-name is Aeris. Once we arrive at the planet orbiting Gilese 667, Aeris will be in command of all ground functions. Admiral Franks out,” she concluded and motioned for Comms to kill the channel. She looked around at her Bridge crew, who had turned to watch her, and saw their collective looks of awe and shock. “Well, don’t just sit there gawking at me, get back to work!” she said, with a stern but playful tone.

~*~

Aeris stepped out of his cabin, now that the entire ship knew he was there. He wore the black and gray uniform of a GF soldier. Its form-fitting design made him look intimidating, with the strategically placed reinforcement padding at his shoulders, chest, joints, and crotch. A set of armored combat boots rounded out the ensemble. No unit patches were visible, but his name “Aeris,” and “Commander” rank insignia were visible on his chest and left sleeve respectfully. Being outside the formal ranking structure, the Commander rank was mostly symbolic but could be used in times when a leader needed to take charge. Outside of ship’s security, Aeris was one of the only ones allowed to be armed, and he was with a ph99 Laser pistol. Standard issue for the GF, the ph99 looked like an old 21^st-century handgun. Sporting 100 shots per energy clip, it could fire in single shot mode or rapid shots of five. Usually, only one shot was needed to take down his fellow humans.

He noted the stares he was getting, as he walked along the hallway, to the Officer’s Cafeteria, where he ate breakfast alone. Leaving there, it was a short walk to the lift to bridge deck. He approached the Bridge security sentry, who saluted him and let him pass. “Aeris on the bridge,” the CoB said, as all eyes turned towards him.

“Permission to come onto the bridge, Captain?”

“Granted, and from now on, you don’t need to ask Commander,” Jules said with a smile. She pointed to the XO’s chair and nodded him over. “What brings you up here,” she asks when he sits down.

“Just stopping by for an update on the Shuttle, and Dr. Thomas.”

“They’ll be arriving in 45 minutes, with another 15 to dock, and secure the hanger for Prometheus to leave. We’ll be on our way, shortly after that.”

Aeris nods to her and sets a timer on his HUD. The two of them talk for a bit, before Aeris leaves the Bridge, and goes to Flight Control on Deck 12.

~*~

The shuttle arrived on time and was docked in its bay when Aeris felt the ship’s sublight engines kick on. He waited by the hatch for Doctor Thomas and was rewarded a brief moment later. Doctor Shane Thomas was a Xenoarcheologist, from an old college on Earth. Aeris and Shane had worked together on Vargus, during that ill-fated mission. He was happy to see that Shane had not changed much at all. Shane was average height, around 5’8” with a medium build. His brown hair was shaved on the sides and had a spiked up top, that contrasted his crystal blue eyes. His face sported a day, or two, growth of stubble, but the scar that ran from his right ear to his nose still plainly seen. Aeris, remember how he got it, after one of Vargus’ version of an Oricat, had jumped out of some bushes and attacked him. He did spot one difference, though… Shane’s wedding ring was nowhere to be found.

“Ah, Aeris. Good to see you again, you old bloke. How’s the world been treating you,” he asked with a genuine smile. He quickly slid into step next to Aeris, as they left the Flight Control Center, and headed for the lift. Aeris had made arrangements for his gear to be taken to where it was supposed to go.

“It’s going. After debriefing from Vargus, I’ve been nonstop undercover, until the launch of Prometheus. Even then I played housekeeper, to Adm. Franks, until Toews sent the change of orders. I hope you were given more of the data from the DSD than we did.”

“I was, and I’ll go over it later after we settle into subspace. Right now, I could use a shower, and to relax a bit.”

After checking his HUD inside his vision, Aeris stated that Shane’s stateroom wasn’t ready just yet, so Aeris directed them to his quarters on the Deck One. They talked the entire way, as two friends catching up. Entering his cabin, Aeris points towards his private shower, while going over for a spare set of civvies, which he knew the other man could wear. Shane was busy undressing when Aeris stepped in and set the clothes on the counter. He watched as the handsome man, took off his final articles, and stood naked before him. Shane still had the light dusting of hair across his chest, with a treasure trail that led to an endowment that Aeris has tasted and held before.

Stepping the short distance between themselves, the two men embraced, planting their lips upon one another. It was an electrifying passion for dominance as their lips, and tongues fought for each other’s mouth. Aeris ran his hands up, and down Shane’s back, before his left hand settled on his right cheek, and his right hand held him in place, while they kissed. Breaking their passionate embrace, Shane steps away from Aeris, with a lustful look on his face, “Care to join me?”

~*~

The two men laid in Aeris’ bed, cuddled up face to face, after a vigorous session of lovemaking. With Shane lying on his chest, Aeris bent to kiss the top of his head, before moving to sit up. “We need to get cleaned up, and dressed. I’ve already gotten two messages from Admiral Franks, asking where we are.” They kiss once more, before returning to shower, and getting ready.