Chapter 1
I.F. Headquarters: 0610 (one month before the recovery of the shuttlecraft)
In the border monitoring room located in the main building of the I.F., a recent transfer, Sgt. Hollis is sitting at her terminal watching for signs of intrusion into Terrain space. The night shift started off like any other night shift that she has handled sense she was assigned to HQ, boring and looking to be uneventful. She went to refill her mug with another round of coffee to keep her going through the rest of her shift when her monitor begins sounding an alert. Hollis hurries back to her monitor and studies the information scrolling past her eyes.
"Lt. Mason, I am receiving reports of a drifting shuttlecraft that has just crossed our border. Holographic identification suggests that is an older design of a shuttle that was equipped with a status pod for prolonged deep space exploration." "Sgt. Hollis you know as well as I that status pods were never put onto shuttlecraft because they were deemed to be too big a drain on the main power core. Only our carriers and passenger liners had them installed." "Yes sir, I know that sir however that is what this report is telling me. I'm unable to bet better information at this time however." "Why is that?"
"Sir, I have been locked out of the system. My screen has gone blank and isn't responding. I apparently do not have the security clearance to give you more information at this time." While Hollis had been reporting to him, Mason has come over to determine what the problem is and to make sure that someone isn't trying to hack into the I.F. mainframe. When he confirms the report for himself he enters his clearance code to access the rest of the report, only to find that he is unable to access the rest of the information. The message on the screen reads "Insufficient security clearance. Alpha level 8 clearance or higher required."
"Sir, have you ever been denied access to information like this before?" "Yes, only once before Hollis. That was when I tried to get more information on the young admiral that went missing ten years ago. I saw this same message back then too. It's as if he ceased to exist after he went to Command School, when we were still at war with the Formics." "If this information is being secured behind that same level of lockout, no one in this room has the clearance to get any further information about this intrusion into Terrain space. We have to call this in to the Colonel, which means that I have to go call him and wake him up. He's not going to be in a good mood over this, he likes his sleep."
I.F. Officer Barracks 0715, Colonel Rackum's room
"Colonel, its Lieutenant Mason. I hate to wake you at this hour however we need your help with something and, it's something that I think that you have a very vested interest in solving." At hearing the tone of the lieutenants voice and the implied answer that comes with a wish long awaited to be fulfilled. He donned his uniform quickly and left his quarters to follow Mason back to the I.F. main building, hoping against hope that he might finally be able to repay the debt that he owed, redeem himself to the person that he wronged so many years ago and lift the shame that he carried from what he did to do to a very bright young man.