Planet: Perks – supply transit and exchange planet
Year: 2493
Dominion is vast and powerful, yet even with enormous military strength and wealth of hardworking people cannot be everywhere. Milky Way was challenge that no ordinary human can overcome, so big bunch of corrupted, overconfident and with this stupid chaps rendered it almost impossible. To ensure illusory secured space unspoken and unwritten assumptions were made. Trough creating zones for fringe, outer and inner colonies with capital planet Earth in center doubtful peace was secured. In order to preserve control over free trade special transit planets were established and trough them flowed every kind of things between zones. Once big and green terrestrial planets, changed to be monstrous industrialized hubs cored out of air and cut off from daylight, because of orbiting harbor platforms. From space these planets looked like infected hive covered in shiny iron shell full of buzzing metallic flies. Perks did not differ from this description.
Even if these hubs were crawling with Dominion forces, popular Kahel Combine inhaling masks connected to Kahel Combine helmet with anti-hazard Kahel Combine outfit made difficult to distinguish enemy from ally thus making planet like this perfect place for hiding. Darkest place is always in the shade of lantern. Eve knew that very well too and has chosen this planet for her hideout. It was placed between inner and outer colonies so it was easier to gather all important info from her remaining allies in inner colonies with hiding remnants of her family in outer. After evading couple of drunken men dancing noiselessly in doorway she entered to labor bar. Place was full of people standing in couples near small round tables, wearing same gray cloaks and masks with wide curved visors covering their faces. One thing that differed was small colored patch on left breast. Uncanny feel that she was joining hollow ordeal was oppressive for her intellectual mind creating many final scenarios. Including a way of juicy group suicide. On ceiling spider like machine having tubes full of glowing blue liquid dispensed it directly to wearer mask, then hovering flew to another thirsty customer.
Eve pottered around a bit and found the patch she was looking for, almost in the center of the room. Convinient she thought. She stood in front of man or woman and pass fast nod. Then second later inside mask on crystal clear visor appeared prompt about safe encrypted connection, with eyes she chose answer. Yes. With selective filter of light synchronized with other user visors cleared picture for both of them. In front of her was standing young boy, about eighteen years old with sharp green eyes and freckles all over oval skinny face.
"Hi Rabbit, you are famous in these parts" kid started to talk with voice just before its mutation "like thirty million credits famous"
"Neat" she agreed with satisfaction "so more idiots will want to drag me out on open field with vision of great wealthy future"
"Rather your cold and still body for thirty millies" he showed silly smile "alive notorious killer, human eyes eater with huge persuasive skills cost five times more. I am proud and standing right here rabbit, whatha you want?"
Eve rubbed her arm and stared threefold intense with her yellow dim from exhaustion eyes at boy.
"Have you found what you were asked for?"
"Yes, but I think you will be not pleased with results" suddenly HUD in boy's visor flowed with many floating windows, stripes and buttons. His eyes were dancing freely in this festival of glowing pictures.
"Shoot" pupils in her eyes narrowed quickly
"So this is what I recovered from this marvelous piece of paper… Order was destroyed to the ground and servers by future Dominion executives in init XXII century. Group of madmen, utopists and fascists what spread false and utterly wrong ideas to the society. So this is quite standard for labeling this kind of groups but…" he staggered a bit in his speech
"But? Faster, I don’t have time."
"This scale, devotion and resources needed to wipe them from history is unbelievable. Every, single, thing… erased."
"So you got nothing for me?"
"No! There is a man… but it is unimaginable he could be possibly in the Order."
"Who is he?"
"Head operative and owner of Grathius Corporation also high commissar of Dominion weaponry assimilation and technologies."
She trembled with both excitation and terror unwillingly showing her teeth in creepy smile.
"You want to know what I think it is?" boy started to cheep even more "It is a trap. To lure remnants of Order into Dominion hands, this is what it is Rabbit. You can’t denied it!"
"It all makes sense… this scheme… this monster…"
"No it doesn’t!" he exclaimed "You know that I can spy here and there and get locked for couple of nights eventually. But I will not make my face appear in every fridge or friggin’ mirror with thirty million credits on it!"
He looked into her eyes but they were clearly somewhere else, far away in other places that he couldn’t hope to know. She shook of suspension, neared visor as close as she can and looked directly into his eyes making him blush a bit
"You will deliver this" she pulled paper envelope and slipped under his right palm "to him, scan what is inside and send. You are great hacker. He will want to meet you for sure to get original" she suddenly catched his arm "This is last thing I can hang on. This is it, the end! You can do it champ. Take care."
"Whaaa…?"
Eve cut connection and turned around in direction of door. She had big hopes in this boy even if she had used him a bit. A big bit, but she will repay him in nearly every way after all of this. He stayed in place where they were talking before and hid envelope in his side bag, she passed through doorway and went in front of the Bar. Hollow lights of the plasma lanterns blinded her when visor was still regaining light synchronization. She needed to board her shuttle ASAP and met with prominent gang leader in Anarchy Reigns. Navigation lights in mask showed her way to appropriate bay she turned her cloak net and as a blurred shadow vanished in nearest corridor into iron maze.
This was the last time they have seen each other.
--- Two days later ---
Planet: [Unknown]
Year: 2493
For Grathius Corporation this way of ending business conversations was not good way for making suitable profit, any profit. Newly developed Nion weaponry was a breakthrough in weapons of mass destruction. Miracle: easy to deploy, easy to target, easy to transport, with no radiation and full resources recycle. With one critical flaw: huge demand for initial energy surge. This is reason that you better develop something from its foundations not copy and redesign from old scraps of ancient paper.
These were thoughts of quite young man who was lying on bed with plastic bottle on side wearing sleek white suit. Short dark brown hair shined brightly thanks to ultra-strong gel with this stressed evenly tanned skin. He put his hands on face and breathing deeply asked loud:
"Is there something for me mrs. Tanel?"
After couple of seconds to spherical room entered old lady in black and white plain servant outfit.
"Nothing in particular, sir. I have taken care of these jealous pricks."
"Thank you. There is nothing more for you to do for me today. Have your time."
"And you, sir. Good night."
She turned around and slowly toddled inside the apartment. Doors to room shut without the slightest noise creating fully spherical room with arched ceiling. Man lifted his hands and clapped twice, command was accepted right away and all of curved walls lighten up with green pleasant light and with soft transition ended on the live picture of night sky with glowing stars.
"Maybe you have something for me?" his next question pierced the silence
"There is about two thousand sixty seven holographic messages, twice as much interactive video ones and…" impassive computer voice mercilessly continued to give informations about every noticeable thing
"Cut it! Anything have special interest for me?"
"Two holographic, seven i-video and thirty one written."
"Get it over with, start with holo."
There are great things with being rich and have almost every single thing you can imagine. Likewise you get everything you didn’t imagined and more importantly don’t want. False compliments, false friendships, marriage offers, trials to use new batch, health insurance, training programs. Everything worthless as it is to proud, rich and well born. Everything false, created only to extort money, even by using something so abstract: feelings.
Time slowed down when man was listening to wall of micro implants who can still call themselves humans. Bio-tech. Easily killed when cut from their computer enchantments and their puny Grid. He could not bear sight of these abominations and passed along to written messages. Mrs. Tanel can talk to these monsters for him it is too much to even watch. I am pitiful echo of self-conscious rattled inside his head. Sheets of digital paper passed on curved walls before his eyes and only more negative feelings gathered somewhere around his stomach to squeeze it mercilessly like big slimy tentacles of gruesome creature trying to kill its pray.
But very last message was odd, it was blank yet it passed his firewalls and Tristan. Tristan is a very popular AI created by Sentient Science for mass use yet with much advancement than primary version especially for advanced customer it passed through. Message like this brought message equal to head of the horse in bed: your life will be short and will end painfully.
"Tristan why you gave me blank message?"
"It is not blank, sir. It has an attachment, displaying now."
His mind couldn’t comprehend the view he was seeing right now, his mouth opened widely and pupils nearly covered brown iris. Just before him, slightly curved, was fully vivid Polaroid picture precisely scanned but with slightly bent corners. Unforgivable! On upper part of wide white rectangle was blurred square picture of messy colors and below it, poorly written with marker code. This code was so familiar for him that he jumped off the bed, knelt before it and from below he pulled out wooden casket. On its lid was palm reader and it accepted the hand print from boy. Insides hid two gray envelopes, he threw them on bed and left opened casket in its place. He carefully opened them and drawn two other Polaroid pictures.
"Make it smaller to fit it and turn up brightness" he commanded calmly.
"Done" digital voice announced second later
He took deep breath and stacked all pictures in one place. Now everything was clear.
"Scan it and give me all old designs."
"Done."
Whole empty area was filled instantly with many kinds of old brown paper and blueprints, engineering heaven. But one little picture was fully colored and it took whole attention of young man.
"Contact me in this instant with Emily Hargreave."
"On Halo will be night, sir."
"It is important and I don’t really care. Just do it! By all means necessary."
Two loud knocks took him out from thinking about how to play it out with this woman to get everything he wanted. With wave of his hand door opened and behind it in dressing-gown was standing mrs. Tanel with cup on silver plate.
"Sir is in high spirits right now I assume? So I have prepared sweet cocoa for young gentleman" she said calmly.
Without words he took cup and sat in the same place as before, sipping bit by bit brown hot liquid. Mrs. Tanel bowed and slowly leaved the room without turning around. Door closed as she gave last step and boy impatiently waited for answer. His eyes stopped on newly discovered picture composed of one digital scan and two real pictures now lying in tidy pile just next to him. Now stare battling with picture of equine, young violet filly with horn and big shiny violet eyes that looked into Polaroid’s lenses.
For him, everything was clear, this is his chance to finally do something for himself.