Fault line of the Mind

[korn469]

Chapter 1:
Holding on

The outskirts of U.N. Amnesty Town

A lone rover made its way up the rudimentary road leaving a trail of dust behind it. The perimeter defense was now out of sight. On the horizon light blue smoke whiffed up from the other side of a small rise in the terrain. The rover sped on cresting the ridge, bearing down on a U.N. convoy that was at the bottom of the hill. One of the heavy transports was a smoldering mess of twisted metal that blocked the road, and the rest of the convoy had pulled to the side of the road behind it. Soldiers in light gray uniforms and blue berets were trying to move the destroyed hulk of the heavy transport off the road while medics in white uniforms mulled over three bodies covered by a tarp. Not too far in the distance other soldiers were spread out before the convoy sweeping for landmines.

A soldier motioned for the rover to stop, but much to his dismay it didn't slow. He started yelling, waving his hands frantically at the rover trying to get the driver's attention. It downshifted, the transmission roaring in protest, and then the rover veered off the road and sped by the convoy. U.N. troops sweeping for mines ahead of the convoy scrambled off the road as the rover, kicking up gravel and dust, swerved back onto the road. It sped on, past the curses of the U.N. soldiers.

In the distance, U.N. Sublieutenant Terrance Patel carefully tracked the speeding rover. How they had managed to acquire a rover, much less a general staff rover was beyond him. To cut through that much red tape must have taken a number of rather large bribes. It wouldn't matter though if a Spartan landmine blew them up. Still he was very impressed, not only had they made it, they were two days early.

The white rover was covered with the ubiquitous reddish-brown dust that blanketed Chiron, and it had small blue flags with gold trim flying on its hood signifying that it carried a VIP. However, the passenger in this rover was a far cry from a U.N. general. He was Collin Taylor-West, a Morganic media magnate, and one of the richest men on Chiron. He was a long way from home, and he was travelling into a war zone. The poor condition of the road, nor the possible presence of more landmines slowed his rover down. It actually seemed like they had picked up speed on the flat expansion of the dusty dry plain.

Lt. Patel put down the rangefinder, not knowing if he had made the right decision or not. It was too late to be second-guessing himself, he thought. Yesterday he had reported that his platoon had come under artillery attack, before he destroyed the commlink, and right now his entire platoon was listed as MIA. For all practical purposes, he was a deserter from the U.N. Peacekeeping Forces. If they were caught his punishment would be severe, but if somehow they made it back he would be a very wealthy man. He got up and ordered his men to break camp, soon they would rendezvous with Mr. Taylor-West and in a few more hours they would be crossing behind enemy lines.

[korn469]

Alpha Prime had just set and Chiron was bathed in the dim reddish-orange light of Hercules. For two hours each day Chiron was bathed in Hercules' dim red light alone, in military circles this time of day was referred to as red watch. Strictly speaking there was ample light to see by (about the same as on a cloudy day), but the tint of the light cut the visibility of an unaided human eye by almost half. There was an old adage amongst soldiers on Chiron, "On alert during red skies, or the unit dies."

Long before the lone rover came into plain sight, sentries had followed its approach across the rocky landscape on passive IR. The rover had homed in on the short-range beacon Patel activated when he first spotted it on the plain below his position. Finally the rover cleared the last obstacle and entered into the small clearing pulling up beside of the U.N. troop transport. Three figures in state of the art Morganic atmospheric suits got out of the rover. A private escorted them to the troop carrier, opening the airlock for them, and sealing it behind them. The air lock rapidly scrubbed the air, and as the red warning light clicked to green the inner airlock opened. Lt. Patel, flanked by First Sargent McAuliff, greeted his guest with a smile and motioned them in.

One of the three was obviously female, although she was tall her smaller frame and curves gave away that fact before she even removed her helmet. Much to both Lt. Patel's and Sgt. McAuliff's surprise the female was a rather striking, though quite stern looking, cyborg. Patel immediately recognized Collin's large toothy smile. He walked in grasped Patel's hand firmly, giving it good shake.

"Mr. Taylor-West, let me say it is a privilege to welcome you to U.N. territory." Patel glanced at the sullen looking man who flanked Collin. He knew that Mr. Taylor-West would be traveling with an entourage, but this wasn't anything like he had expected. Something was very strange about the entire situation.

"Lt. Patel, it's good to be here. You were a very hard man to catch up to, but I don't want to bore you with the details of my trip." Collin exuded charisma, Patel already felt at ease with this man, and this worried the ever-cautious Sublieutenant. "We are on a tight schedule Lieutenant, but before we get down to business I'd like to introduce you to my team." As he spoke, he nodded to the man beside of him. "This is my Executive Vice-President of Operations and long time friend, Kai Makita-Nomo." Patel shook his hand and noticed the unusually firm grip of this dour looking executive. "And this beauty here is Kira." She neither offered her hand to Patel, nor took his hand as he extended it toward her.

"Kira?" Patel said dryly. "It is my understanding that all Cyborgs such as yourself include the designation of their algorithm in their name." He was baiting her, knowing which algorithm one was dealing with was always an advantage.

Looking at him with impassive contempt she said in a placid voice, "My proper designation is Kira-Omega-Nine."

"Omega series?!" McAuliff spurted out in loathing disbelief. "This isn't part of the bargain! We won't..." before he could continue his tirade Patel cut him off.

"Well Kira-Omega-Nine it is an unexpected pleasure to have your expertise at our disposal," Patel said obviously feigning enthusiasm. He felt the same disgust as Sgt. McAuliff for this dangerous technological abomination, yet he managed to keep his composure; thankfully McAuliff was a professional and he had quickly regained his military bearing. Still, like the Sargent had blurted out, this was not part of the bargain. It was one thing to desert from a long dead career; it was quite another to work with a series of malicious algorithms created solely to eradicate the Cybernetic Consciousness by unethical University scientists. As far as he was concerned, this cyborg was an unwitting pawn of that despicable war criminal, Zakharov. He could not understand why Mr. Taylor-West would travel with such a dangerous entity.

"Trust me gentlemen, Kira is only dangerous to those who would seek to harm me. She has imprinted on me and through the years we have developed a very close bond." A wave of reassurance washed over Lt. Patel, and though he felt oddly comforted by Collin's words something deep inside bothered him. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of what looked like the ever silent and dour Mr. Makita-Nomo becoming even dourer. However, the look passed by so quickly he wasn't sure if he had truly saw it, or if he was just imagining it.

"Actually Lieutenant, Kira is a expert at cracking datalinks, and you should be pleased to have her on your side." Collin smiled at him and playfully punched him on the arm. "Even though that was one of the weakest attempts at sounding excited I've ever heard." He chuckled at Patel, who stood their not knowing how to respond. However, this seemed to significantly lighten the dark mood that had fallen over the room. "More specifically Kira cracked the Spartan datalinks and has some useful information for us." He nodded at her, and she pulled out a small holo-projector from one of her cargo pockets and then she plugged it into the datajack on her forearm just above her wrist.

"As you are aware Spartan Federation forces in this area are in a state of general retreat for the time being. The unexpected attack by Human Hive Marines on U.N. Enforcement Base completely caught the Spartan Federation off guard. Additionally the loss of their Command Center at U.N. Enforcement Base disrupted all local command and control capabilities of the Spartan Federation. A simultaneous attack by U.N. forces has hampered an orderly retreat. My analysis of the situation indicates that the Spartan Federation forces are falling back to fortifications northwest of U.N. Enforcement Base." She highlighted the location of the fortifications on the holo-projector, and displayed Spartan troop movements toward it. "From here there is a high probability that they will regroup and coordinate a counterattack in conjunction with the arrival of Spartan Federation Naval elements." Without pause she continued her breifing.

"Heavy fighting is still taking place outside of U.N. Enforcement Base between Human Hive marine detachments and the remnants of Spartan Federation forces stationed outside of the city. The fighting taking place between U.N. and Spartan Federation forces is mostly a rear guard action, with many of the Spartan Federation armor units easily outdistancing the slower U.N. mechanized infantry. In their haste to retreat, many hidden caches of Spartan weapons stores and equipment have been left behind. One of those small caches is 75 kilometers from here and contains two Spartan Federation troop transports, ammunition, fuel stores, and rations." She highlighted the position on the map and displayed the quickest route to it. "Signal analysis and previous examples of Spartan Federation tactics indicate that although the main body of forces are retreating several pockets of resistance are purposely being left behind. These forces will harass and slow the U.N. advance, striking supply lines and will make any attempt at proceeding deep into Spartan territory a dangerous proposition." Lt. Patel was well aware of Spartan retreats, having already lost an entire platoon in a previous campaign. "Acquisitions of a Spartan troop transport will allow for a rapid transit through areas of Spartan resistance, with a minimally increased chance of being attacked by U.N. forward elements."

"So as I understand we will disguise ourselves as Spartans and take advantage of the fact that they are retreating." He sounded slightly dismayed. "That seems like a highly plausible way of advancing into Spartan territory, but I have one question. Where are we going?" Lt. Patel was highly perplexed by the plan being presented to him. Yes it could work, but why would Mr. Taylor-West risk such a dangerous trek across one of the most highly militarized zones on Chiron? This bordered on madness, what was the point of all this trouble he was going to?

"Lt. Patel, our final destination is the Medusa monolith formation on the edge of the Great Fungal Wastes." Collin answered. He was holding back a smile, but the excitement in his voice was unmistakable. Kira-Omega-Nine had already displayed the course they would take to get to the monolith south of U.N. Enforcement Base. Patel's faced remained blank, but inside he felt his stomach turn. One thought pounded on his consciousness. This is suicide! Pure and simple suicide.

[korn469]

Patel and McAuliff stood silently as the airlock sealed behind their trio of visitors. Both were shaken by the plan presented to them by Taylor-West; although it certainly sounded feasible, why would he risk travelling to such a hostile location. There were monoliths scattered across Chiron, why would he choose this one? He was holding out on them, there was something important that he hadn't told them yet, there had to be a reason he would choose the Medusa formation.

"He brought an Omega with him! I can't believe he brought a damned Omega," McAuliff growled. "What are we going to tell the men Sir? They won't tolerate it. Some of them are willing to turn back now, and this..." he let his voice trail off searching for the words, "...this monstrosity could cause them to mutiny. I don't like anything about the entire situation, especially not that thing strolling in here like a proper introduction from Taylor," McAuliff purposely insulted Collin by ignoring his maternal name, "will make everything satisfactory." Patel interrupted him before he could continue another longwinded rant.

"Iain, I know the men are wary about this, but trust me they will follow orders. I will tell him to refer to her algorithm as something else. She could pass for a Xi algorithm I think. Kira-Xi-12 for all I care." Patel paused looking at his old friend, and spoke somberly letting the full effect of his words hit McAuliff.

"We are deserters Iain. Two days ago I would have personally arrested that thing, but today we depend on her. If her information is wrong we will either die, or have to face a court martial. This time we will spend the rest of our lives at U.N. Criminal Tribunal. So any, and I mean any emotions you have that are going to interfere with this operation have to be left in here. When you walk out that airlock either you are going to have perfect military bearing throughout this entire mission or I will leave you here. So what is it going to be?" Patel stared at him, and after a short pause, McAuliff began nodding his head.

"You won't have any problem from me Sir." McAuliff clenched his jaws and his voice sounded strained; but he was a soldier and would follow orders.

"Iain, I'm going to be counting on you; but if you have any second thoughts that is fine. We're friends. You tell me you don't want to go through with this and I will understand. I will ask the men, and anyone who doesn't want to go with us I will leave them here with rations. No questions asked. However, once we leave here tonight there is no turning back. From then on, we are Mr. Taylor-West's platoon. He says jump, we ask how high. It's your choice Iain." Patel seriously thought McAuliff was going to walk out the airlock, but he didn't move.

"Terrance, I've been your friend for ten years now, and you can count on me. It's this entire situation is just insane. Days after the Hive moved against the Spartans and they started falling back, he contacts you and offers us five million credits to be his personal escorts. I know he has the money," a ten thousand credit signing bonus came with the original message, "but that is beside the point. He wants to goto Medusa and you know that is crazy!" Patel nodded in agreement. "If we don't get killed on the way there the mindworms will kill us once we get there." McAuliff sighed in disgust. What could motivate a man to undergo such a dangerous trip?

"Iain you know that neither one of us has a future here. I have more blotches on my record than I can remember, and you ruined your career when you testified on my behalf. Five million credits split forty ways is still alot of money." He paused, grappling with bottled up emotions that had been building inside of him for years. "I'm thirty-six and I'm back to being a Sublieutenant. This is our one big chance." Patel grasped McAuliff's shoulders and his eyes had a look McAuliff hadn't seen in years. Desperation. Terrance finally looked like he cared again, and that came as a surprise to Iain. "I need this," Patel's words were little more than a hiss. His hands were clamped on McAuliff's shoulders like vices.

"I'd follow that fool to the very heart of Sparta Command if he paid me enough. We have nothing to lose, and that money will let us start new lives. Do you know what I'm going to do?" His grip loosened, and he began to grin.

"What are you going to do?" he asked with genuine interest.

"I'm going to go to Morgan Industries and take a Longevity treatment. Then I'm going to go celebrate Lander's day in Morgan Metagenics like any other twenty-year-old. Do you wanna come with me?" McAuliff cracked a smile and chuckled at his friend. He thought it was funny that Terrance was apparently having a mid-life crisis.

"Actually, I am going to U.N. Marine Agency, there is this xenobiologist who told me that when I was finally out of the military to look her up. She refused to commit to anyone in the force." He laughed at himself. "If I had of told her that I was stationed in the Demilitarized Zone I doubt she would have even went out for drinks with me that night." Patel sat down and pulled out his datalink and a stylus. McAuliff took a seat beside of him.

"As I see it our distinguished Mr. Taylor-West is either suicidal, foolish, or he has something else planned for this trip." McAuliff nodded in affirmation while Patel began one last review of supplies on his datalink. "He doesn't seem suicidal, nor does he seem like a foolish man. You have to remember that he is one of the top ten richest Morganites, and he got there by taking risks. Could Medusa have anything to do with his media empire? Could something at Medusa be worth all of the expense and risk he is going to?"

"That doesn't seem likely. If it was just money, I'm sure he could have hired somebody to do his dirty work. Why else would he be here? It's strange, and I hate strange." McAuliff responded emphasizing the word hate.

"That has been bothering me too. Taylor bothers me. He's too friendly, and I liked him too much." Patel was trying to explain the way Collin just put him at ease, but couldn't exactly pin down his emotions.

"I felt the same way. He comes in her smiles at us, and suddenly I feel like a Gaian during perihelion. Do you think he has the voice?" They both grimaced at that thought.

"He might, but it is very rare for Morganites to have the voice. Moreover, if he did have the voice it would seem that he would publicize that fact. The governor of Morgan Trade Center has the voice and that alone made him famous enough for Morgan to appoint him governor. I don't know. All I know is that my gut reaction to him is to be on guard."

"Affirmative. Plus his Vice-President looks like he lost everything when the sythaline market crashed. Talkative chap too. Actually that damned borg has more of a personality than he does." They both chuckled at the joke. Patel finished the quick last minute check.

"Sargent, I'm going to ask Taylor-West to refer to his Cyborg as a Xi series algorithm and I want you to assemble the platoon. I will give them one last chance to back out. We'll break camp at 1730 hours." They both stood, returning to the formal discipline of the U.N. Peace Keeping Force. "Dismissed."