Bloodletting

Mr Creed, where were you on the night in question? "I was with my company CEO, maam." Could you please state the name of your company and it's CEO for the court." "Genpar Inc. The CEO is Mr Jamison, Edward Jamison, maam." "Mr Creed, I have stated for the record that you would address me as Assistant City Prosecutor Clark or as Miss Clark only!" "Yes maam, you have." "Mr Creed, what were you doing together with Mr Jamison on the night in question?" "We had some business, maam." "What kind of business, Mr Creed? Is it true that you serve as Genpar's enforcer?" "I object! The prosecution has no right to speculate on my client's role in Genpar. Any business of his with Genpar is just that, his business!" "Sustained. Miss Clark, move to a new line of questioning." "Very well. Mr Creed, on the night you were apprehended by the police, why were you in procession of a plasma weapon, model number 4413-09, shown here as exhibit 3?" "Maam, I am the security liaison of Genpar Inc. The weapon is legal, as I do have a permit for it." "Mr Creed I don't think you know just how serious the allegations against you are. You are charged with the murder of one Isaac Green, an employee of Digicert Corp, the company you last visited as Genpar's security agent. What do you have to say to that?" "Maam. A hundred other people visit Digicert a day. Are they all potential murders?" "Your honour I would like to know where the prosecution is going with this line of questioning! She is not making any progress at all and is impeding my client's rights!" "Miss Clark just where are you going with this?" "Your honour, I wish to prove that the accused had the ability and motive to commit murder." "And what was my client's motives?" "Mr Creed was heard to have said and I quote, 'You are going down, scum. You will not live to see the sunrise', unquote. This clearly proves that the accused had a grudge against the deceased." "Miss Clark, may I remind you that no body has yet to be recovered. For now you may carry on." "Thank you, your honour."

Mr Creed, I have here in my hands a military dossier on one Lt Jason Creed, rt. Is that your name and is this your military dossier?" "Yes maam, it is."" It says here that you are one of this country's most decorated military officers. Six tours of duties, two silver hearts, one Bronze Star, The Crimson Slash, The Star of Courage and First Blade. Impressive. You also have 150 confirmed kills by hand, 300 above kills aided and 60 other unconfirmed kills. Last operation theatre, Scotland, 2560. Why did you leave the service Mr Creed?" "I could not afford the insurance premium, maam." "Very funny Mr Creed. I'm sure they don't teach you that in the military. Am I right to say that you were one of the first bio implant recipients?" "Yes maam." "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have just proven that Mr Creed here is able to commit murder. He has proven this ability over and over again all over the world." "I object! My client is just the by-product of this nation's extensive military upgrade program." "Sustained." "I have no further questions, your honour." "Mr Jafar, you may question your client." "Thank you your honour, but I believe that is unnecessary. I have here in my hands a signed statement by the CEO of Genpar saying that my client was indeed with him at the time of the so-called murder. A copy has been submitted as evidence." "Very well Mr Jafar, I think you have said enough. In view of this evidence and the lack of a murder victim, I declare this case to be null. Court is adjourned." "What? Your honour, I have proved that the accused had the motive to commit the crime, I..." "Miss Clark, court is adjourned! Good day."

I'm sorry maam. You win some and you loose some. Thank you for your time," said Jason as he stepped down from the witness stand. "Mr Creed I'm not done with you or Genpar. That piece of paper saved you toady, next time you wont be so lucky. I'll be seeing you again, Mr Creed." "Looking forward to that day, maam. Good day." Walking towards his attorney, Jason said, "Thanks man. You saved my ass. Got my bacon out of the fire real quick." "Damn it Jason that was close. If I hadn't got to the judge earlier you would be rotting in jail by now. What were you trying to do? Bring down Genpar with you?" "Calm down Abdul, the guy turned. I had to do something," answered Jason. Walking out of the courtroom, Abdul Jafar, attorney at law for Genpar Inc, was a small man, but he could be intimidating when it suited him." You could have handled it discreetly Jason. The old man is not happy."" Damn. Is he pulling the plug on ops?"" No. I intervened on your behave. You owe me one Creed."" These days I seem to owe everyone something," mused Jason as he stepped into a limousine bearing a Genpar Inc logo.

Lost in his thoughts, Jason was brought back to reality by Jafar." Jason Beta 3 didn't report back last night."" Sorry?"" I said Beta 3 did not report back." Sitting up, he asked, " When was their last report?"" Just over 3 hours ago. Their tracking beacons show them still at the mission site. We just haven't been able to get a comn link trough. No signs of jamming and our satellites are clear."" Damn. What's their bio status?"" Green, but we lost contact for 5 minutes or so before we got the signal back." The biometric signs would show if the team had any casualties." Then send in a retrieval team. Get them the hell out of there," said Jason as he reached for his comn unit." Jason the site is still hot. Policy has it that any team not back within stated mission parameter time is to be counted as MIA. You know that as well as I do."" Damn it you just told me that their biometric signs were green. That's not a write-off man!"" Jason remember the 5 minutes we lost the signal. 5 min's to long man. Calm down. There's nothing you can do now. The 'old man' has already ordered the site to be sterilized."" What! Termite Plasma charges? He can't do that!"" He already has Jason. Look we're already here. Why don't you ask him yourself."

Walking up to Genpar Inc's main walkway, one would think the modest genetic engineering and research company was a bank or a prison. The high walls and charge wire around the compound gave the impression that Genpar valued its privacy. Walking into the bio scan archway, the main computer cleared him and Jafar, opening the main doors. Words of greeting flashed through his bio system, and he triggered the elevator access switch through his implant." Look Jason I have work to do. See you latter. Take care Jason."" Hey thanks for getting my ass out of jail man."" Yeah you better hope it was worth it," replied Jafar smiling.

"State required floor," came the female voice of the computer as Jason entered the elevator." Accounting, level one," said Jason sending off the required access code at the same time trough his neural net to the main network. The faint buzz he related to the neural net was slightly muted, and it left him thinking clearly, clearer then the last 24 hours he spent in jail. The elevator doors closed and Jason leaned against the elevator wall. Damn it he was responsible for Beta 3 and the old man better listen. The elevators opened and Jason was instantly transported into chaos. A large screen covered most of the main wall, with other, smaller screens around it. People were mobbing about, some shouting orders, others taking them. No one noticed him until he ran a query for Beta 3's status trough his neural net." Sir Beta 3 is in Sector 3 - north quadrant," said a tech." Sector 3? The Kervorkian Core meltdown site? It's off limits!"" Try telling them that Jason," came a voice from behind. Turning around, he saw a tall man, about 50 years old." Sir you have to order an extraction team," said Jason. Edward Jamison, CEO of Genpar Inc just stood there looking at the screen. But his eyes were glazed, as Jamison accessed his neural implant." Sir!," said Jason again." Jason I hared you. I'm sorry, rules are rules."" Damn it Edward just give them a chance! Send me in alone I don't care. I'll get them out."" Jason they are gone. Biometric signs or not. I'm not going to lose another team, not today. Sarah launch the drones."" Online. Drones launched. Confirmed payload of Termite Plasma. ETA to target 5 minutes."" Jason you know this is the only way."" Warning! Unidentified aircraft approaching drones. IFF negative." With no Identify Friend-Foe beacon, the other aircraft were surely enemy units." Sir should I abort the sterilization procedure?" asked the computer." Negative Sarah. Can you identify the other units?"" Scans have identified units as F-63 attack drones. I can not verify weapons payload at this time."" Sarah proceed with the run."" Confirmed. Drones will be in range in 1 minute. T-Plasma launched. Direct hit reported by drone onboard computers." Suddenly the room filled with noise as the new data came trough the net. The new data scrolled slowly on the main screen but many of the techs were busy accessing the net trough their implants." Area has been sanitized. Sir?" "Thank you Sarah. Continue with ops and keep me briefed, neural net. I'll be in my office," with that Edward Jamison left the room.

" Come in," came the reply as Jason knocked." What is it Jason?"" Sir we could have done something for Beta 3. We just left them there to die! For all we know there could have been a malfunction with their comn link. Sunspots or something! You had no right to order the …"" Enough! You think I like sending men to their deaths? Beta 3 didn't have a chance. There were dead or dying. We have been receiving reports that they are now taking prisoners."" What for? They have their banks, why take the risk?"" That's what Beta 3 was to find out. Jason I'm sorry, I know this is hard on you. There were good men, every one of them. But I need you here, now. I can't afford to find you dead in some revenge trip. They are up to something, something big. The Asian Coalition and the European Commune have had increased sightings, open retaliation at times. They are getting bolder. I don't like the looks of things."" What about ComSat? Any new reports?" "Jason ComSat 1 went offline yesterday, 0200 hours. Just about the time Beta 3 infiltrated the sector. We took extreme measures, and engaged the self-destruct on ComSat 1. The official story is that some cyber terrorist took control of the satellite. ComSat 2 and 3 are online now and we have transferred all data control to Genpar. Like I said Jason they are up to something big."" Can we do something about it? Make it known?"" No Jason, for now we are on our own. All our operatives and command centres have been notified. For now all we can do is wait. Go get some sleep Jason, you look like hell," said Jamison." Yes sir that's pretty much how I feel."" And Jason…"" Yes sir?"" These rules were put in place for a reason. There's nothing worse then going against your own people in the field."" Yes sir," replied Jason as the left the room. Entering his room 10 minutes latter, Jason dropped to his bed and was instantly asleep.

 

"My Lord, the First Blood report that Sector 3 has been destroyed. The serum and retro virus samples there have also been destroyed."" Genpar?" came the cold voice." Yes my Lord. Will there be anything else, my Lord?"" Assemble the Council of Five. We must take steps to ensure the humans do not find out about our dealings." "At once my Lord." "Yes. We shall see what Genpar has to offer us," mused the figure as its eyes closed in slumber.

 

09/08/2001



Sir I think you should look at this." What is it?"" Well it's the Park Avenue sim unit, sir. We're getting really odd readings from it."" Park Avenue? Didn't we just install the new G-15 simulator there? Fred's Arcade right? So what's wrong with it?"" Well there's nothing wrong exactly sir. It's just that we are reading a high biofeedback and the sim's processor is running at 70% sir. The sim's only meant to run at 30-50% sir."" So what does that mean? A malfunction?"" No sir, not a malfunction. But I think you may want to live feed the sim unit. This kid's good." Walking up to the main screen Jason sat at the main command chair and placed his hand on the console. With the biotech implants he did not need to be anywhere near the consol but old habits died hard. Accessing the main network, he logged on the G-15's main computer.

"Hey kid I thought I told you never to come here again. Come on kid yer' cleaning me out! Give a man a break will ya?" "Peace Fred. Just one more round. This new sim's the coolest." Coolest. Who would use an anarchic word like that, thought Fred. One weird kid. "Yeah that's what you said an hour ago, Candra." Many kids were already crowding the main screen where Candra was, and a few more were at the main consol following his progress. "One more round Candra, then you're out of here." Walking away Fred found himself looking at the main console. The G-15 simulator was just installed by Genpar Games and already it was a hit among the kids and teens. Who ever thought that a space fighter sim would bring in the money? Twisting in his seat Candra fired off two Stinger-Beta projectiles towards the red enemy plane. The cockpit rocked as he flew by the explosion and debris left by the destroyed enemy ship. In front of him he saw a purple coloured ship coming towards him at high speed. "Man here comes the Baron. Look at him turn and burn!" came a voice from outside the cockpit. The Baron was the nickname for the elusive purple ship, with only a skull decal on its underside hull. All who faced him ended up in the great plane graveyard in the sky. "Let's see what you've got," said Candra out loud. By now the arcade was full of cheering teens. Everyone knew Candra was the best. Checking his instrument panel he saw that he was down to half a dozen Stinger-Beta’s and only the right plasma cannon was functioning. Even with the chips against him, he faced the Baron head on. Easing his fighter to Mach 5, Candra accelerated right at the Baron, in a manoeuvre commonly know as playing chicken. The Baron fired a full round of his Grauss cannon, but Candra easily evaded and loosed two of his own Stingers. He didn't hope to get the Baron with the projectiles but it bought him time. Precious time. Pulling a tight turn that was virtually impossible with gravity, he came behind (well relative behind as there was no directions in space) the Baron and fired the plasma cannon wildly. The Baron once again evaded and fired his retro burners, effective only in space, bringing his ship to a dead stop. Before Candra could take advantage of the situation, the purple ship released an ECM charge and zoomed out of the blast radius. Mimicking the Barons actions, Candra engaged his retro burners and turned his ship. He could feel the simulator's processor trying to cope with the multiple inputs and stresses he was putting it trough. Suddenly the shields glowed amber as three new enemy fighters came at him in tight formation. Frag time!" he angled himself between the Baron's ship and the 3 new ships. Just as his missile lock warning tone came on, he shunted all power from the shields to the main thrusters and released a chaff pod. The missiles flew first at him, and then at the Baron as the missiles locked on a new source. The Baron started evasive manoeuvres and Candra only saw one missile impact on the Baron's hull.

"Does he have any bio hardware?"" No sir just the norm. His systems are at level 2, advance learning. His name's Candra Gupta, Asian Indian, studying Advance Aerospace Tech at the Space Academy. His stats are good and so are his grades. I think we have another good systems designer or hardwire implant here sir."" Good. Now take him out," said Jason as he went offline from the consol." Sir? Take him out sir? He's about to beat the Baron sir."" And that's just why we have to take him out." "Sir yes sir." "Then arrange a meeting, at the Academy," said Jason as he left the room." Yes sir."

"What the frig is going o...," said Candra as the stick went dead in his hands. Try as he would the ship just did not respond. He found himself facing the Baron again, this time with his shields still down, it's power directed to the main engines. The screen stayed on long enough for him to see the Baron launch two projectiles at his ship, then there was only a 'Game Over' message flashing on screen. "Man that was supergreen man. You rule, man," came the response as he exited the simulator's cockpit. "You did good, kid. Now take your tokens and get lost," said Fred in a friendly tone. This kid was good for business. Soon every kid and teen in town would want to try the G-15 simulator. Man all this for free! Genpar Games test runs and Beta testing were the best thought Fred.

 

"Sir?" "Yes?" asked Jason as the tech stood to attention." Mr Jamison would like to see you sir."" Where?"" The penthouse, sir." "Thank you, carry on." "You are welcome, sir," replied the tech as he walked towards his consol. In the elevator, Jason once again pulsed the access code through his neural net and exited the elevator seconds latter. Walking towards the penthouse door, Jason found himself facing a large door, steel rimmed. He could almost feel the security net all around the penthouse through his implants. Slipping his data card into the card reader, he simultaneously pulsed his access code, and the door opened. This was the only part of the system where both physical and neural verification was needed. The penthouse was a mini version of the ops room in 'accounting'. "Sir you wanted to see me, sir?" "Yes Jason. Come, sit. What do you know of a Rylic Corp?" "Sir?" "Have you even heard of Rylic Corp, Jason?" "No sir," came the embarrassed answer. "Well that's understandable. The company was set up just last year, to take over the ailing Kenji Space. You do know of Kenji Space?" "Yes sir. Kenji Space owns two thirds of the Lunar and Mars colonies. They have some extensive data nets set up around the world and some of the outer rims as well. Plus they have access to key stealth and space components." "Well they once owned two thirds of the Lunar colony. 21 years ago the company made a bid to colonise Alpha Centauri. They got the contract and everything was going fine. 2 years ago the police found Kenji Ho dead in his mansion, overdose on some new synth drug. From there on the company started going under. Next thing you know Rylic Corp comes along and takes over the company, assets, contracts, bad debts and all." "And just what has this to do with me or Genpar, sir?" "Simple. Guess who is the controlling asset holder of Rylic Corp? Well, well, well. Look what we have here! It's Hemo Global."" H Global! Is Genpar doing anything about it?" Is the Alpha Centauri site safe?" "The Centauri colony is safe, under the protection of Genpar. I took some precautions some years ago, and now they have paid off." "So where do I come in, sir? It sounds as if Genpar has everything under control." "Well Jason my son, you just won a free trip to Alpha Centauri." "What!" “Oh, and you’re bringing along some of our best for this mission too.” “Alpha Team sir? Sir I strongly advise against that. Alpha will be needed here if anything is to…” “Yes I have already taken that into consideration. That’s why you’re going in with Team Omega.” “Omega? Sir, we don’t have a Team Omega,” said Jason, his voice cracking. “Oh… we do now Jason.”

"Dropship Alpha, bearing zero one niner, please identify."" Roger, control. Dorpship Alpha pulsing data key, this time. Alpha current cargo is supplies and new recruits from Earth." "Data key verified. Welcome to the Outer Rims, sir. Docking in bay Gamma 3, low thrusters pulse this time." "Roger Rim control, docking at Gamma 3, this time," answered Jason as he piloted the ship towards the docking bay. After docking, Jason made sure that all the new recruits were transferred to the Outer Rims station and then he switched to station gravity. Station gravity was less then Earthside but it did not make any sense to apply full gravity to a station this size, in the middle of nowhere. Walking down the umbilical support tube that connected the ship to the station, he noticed techs checking for leaks in the seals. Air was precious here.

"Welcome to the Outer Rims sir. If you would just follow me, I will show you to your quarters. This way sir." The tech did not give him time to say anything so Jason just followed her, admiring her long legs in uniform. "This is your room, sir. The Commander will see you at 0600 hours Earth standard. Is there anything else, sir?"" No, thank you." Jason surveyed the room and found it almost identical to the one on the drop ship. Terren design never strayed from the path in space. He unfolded the bunk styled bed and set his implant to wake him at 0530, and fell asleep.

"Sir, I am not sure of you're rank here. How should I address you sir?" asked Commander Jiro. The base commander was short and deeply tanned, pure Shinto blood. "I am just a passenger en-rout to Alpha Centauri, Commander. The fact I work for Genpar Inc has nothing to do with it, or my rank. I am a civilian now Commander." "Yes Mr Creed, if you say so sir." The Commander found it difficult to work with someone from one of the most powerful syndicates on Earth and most of the Terren sphere. "Please, Commander, call me Jason." "Of course, Jason. I am to inform you that your ship to A-Centaury will be arriving here in 2 standard days. Fold time is about 5 hours, maybe more. The distance is of course not that very far. The route is a merchant one, quite safe." "What about the shipment from Genpar Mars? Has it arrived Commander Jiro?" "Yes, it has. I must say that a large shipment of shielded cargo is quite unusual for one of the rim stations. I presume the cargo is also headed to A-Centauri?"" Yes Commander, it is. Some new farming equipment, very fragile." "Yes, farm equipment. They are fragile," said Commander Jiro with a smile. Jason just smiled in return.
 

Five screens came on, all simultaneously. The third screen remained filled with static as the other four screens showed figures, all dressed in red. The figures were seated with a guard standing in the background. “Gentlemen, welcome. Give me an update,” said Lim as he sipped his green tea with jasmine. “Sir, we have recovered the flight recorder from our downed drone at sector 3. The data shows another drone closing on the site as the sector was vaporised. We can not verify who or why Sector 3 was destroyed, but we think there was a virus outbreak of some kind. That would justify the usage of the plasma incineration,” answered the figure from the fourth screen. “Right, duly noted. Is there anything else?” asked Lim again. None of the figures spoke for a few seconds, then the first figure said, “Sir, Genpar has launched a colony outfitting mission to A-Centauri. We have received reports that as of today, the ship will be rendezvousing with the Outer Rims. Sir, some of our operatives at the Space Centre say that they have spotted Jason Creed at the launch site. The name was flagged yellow alert by the databanks, on your authority.” “Are you sure it was Creed, Marcus? Could you not be mistaken?” “Yes sir, we are very sure.” “I will decide what to do latter, for now I want to enjoy my tea. Good day gentlemen,” said Lim as the screens went blank. As Lim sipped his tea, a red logo in the shape of a capital ‘H’ with one atom circling it flashed on all 5 screens.

 

“Sir we are ready to begin testing the new suits and CRAV’s.” The CRAV or Combat Remote Autonomous Vehicle was designed to be sentries for the coming Alpha Centauri colony and would serve as front line security and defence. Most of the people involved with the A-Centauri mission didn’t even know that the CRAV’s were on board. “Good. Begin testing and update me in the briefing room. I will be with the recruits,” said Jason. Walking into the room, one wouldn’t have thought it to be a combat briefing room. The recruits seated were all dressed differently with stylish hair cuts and tech gear strapped to one appendage or another. As Jason entered the room, all eyes turned to him, taking in his grey ship suit, short retro army haircut and hard face. None saluted, let alone stand up. Clearing his throat Jason said, “Welcome to the Outer Rims. Your outfit will be known as Team Omega. You have been briefed of the current mission but none of you know where, or what you will be doing for this mission.



23/01/2002 00:28

In fact, I don’t think you’ve ever met each other, have you?” There were murmurs around the room as Jason ran his eyes over each recruit. All of them were young, and each had the best reflexes and mental stamina for the coming mission. The only problem was that none of them were combat ready. Jason had only 4 weeks to get them ready for what they would face at A-Centauri. “Good morning, I will be your instructor for the next 4 weeks. You may call me sir. Are there any questions so far?” When no one answered, Jason continued, “Today we will familiarise ourselves with the new CRAV units. A brief live vid will also be shown of the suits and CRAV’s in operation on Io. First we have here a simple designer’s blue print of the current suits you will be using latter…” “Sir, we already know this. We’ve had this data for the whole trip from Earth. Is there anything new?” asked a young, yellow haired youth. “Name?” asked Jason. “Sir, Bernard Fujioki, sir,” said the youth with an easy smile. “Call me Bernard, sir,” he added. “Well Bernard, for one thing, the schematics given to all of you during the trip here do not match up to the one I’m showing you here. Take your time to look it over, and tell me what you find.” “Um… well sir as best as I can see there’s nothing new here, standard Genpar space utility suit, welding lasers, directional thrusters, extended life support…” “Armour rating is up to 55% in five locals, additional safety and medical nano, and last but not least, hard points for additional weapon load. I’d figure each suit could sustain a plasma weapon, small laser, heck even a trop launch tube. Nice,” interrupted a voice from the back. “That’s about right. There are other modifications made to the suit, but you will find out about that latter. Name please?” asked Jason. “Sharon Carter.” “Well Carter, you forgot the ‘sir’. I’d make sure of that the next time we have a chat. For now I’ll let that go. Let’s continue with the debrief, shall we? Now most of you have seen animations on the vid, mostly manga or anime that show large robots, piloted by a single pilot, kicking ass. Now can anyone tell me why we don’t just copy that idea?” “Shit we don’t have that kind of tech… sir,” said an Indian recruit. “Candra, right? Well actually we do have bio response and feedback technology, and even the servo designs to actually make one of these large robots. But to what end? First of all we can never support a squad of 6 units. The costs of building and maintaining even one of these robots would be considerable. In the vids, they never seem to have production or building material shortage. Secondly we’d only have a fighting force of 6 units, and the damage caused with, say close in fighting in a city block, would amount to the same as an enemy attack. Lastly, even with the bio-tech, all responses from the pilot would be delayed as the AI processed them into data, and the hardware into movement. I’d say for a unit about 12 feet high, there would be a 20-60 seconds of lag. That’s almost a minute of response-lag time. I’d fill you up with depleted uranium slugs from a hand held thrower before you could even lift a finger. Do I make myself clear?” “Yes sir,” came the general answer. “Good. Now lets get suited and try out these suits.”



Candra could remember the briefing session like it was 2 weeks ago. Now five months into the Centauri skirmish, all of them were tired and weary. Hemo kept coming at them, and they kept driving them away. Once he came up to 5 feet of a Hemo merc, and he had launched all his anti-suit bomblets at the trooper. After the debris had settled down, he saw that the mercenary had crouched for cover behind a large rocky outcropping but that had not saved him. Candra could see where the bomblets had hit him, already grey medical and repair nano was forming over his suit. The merc’s suit face shield had shattered, and for once Candra saw the face of the enemy. Creed had told them that Hemo was using regular mercenaries for this skirmish, but none of them had ever seen one up close. The death snarl on the merc’s face showed filed canine teeth, and that disturbed Candra a little. After that Candra made it a point to never come up close. Yes sir, sit back, pound em with plasma fire and rockets, finish up with the Grauss rifles. “Candra, did u hear me?” came the tiny squeak from his helmet speaker. “Negative, interference. Repeat last, check”. “I said get your ass over to quadrant 5 we’re being overwhelmed here!” “Yes sir, moving out, check.” Just another day in the corporate machine, thought Candra.

 

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