Chapter
1
The station was cold, dry, and dark. Low-lit lamps beamed down upon the terminals as a frenzy of fingers worked tirelessly inputting lines of data. The room was open enough to contain a large, panoramic view screen at its head, and sat four rows of massive holographic computers; each with a two person team manning its controls. From a speaker in the back of the room came a monotone voice, "T4-2, add more alloy. T6-1, incorporate seventy two percent more humidity. T7-2, reduce the color green by forty percent and replace with purple." The commands rolled out from the small box overhead and the men and women typed away.
From a wide one-way window to the rear of the computer room, was a smaller room with a handful of exuberantly wealthy occupants. "How much longer till this project is complete?" a slender man in a shiny trench coat asked.
"Our estimated time of completion is two weeks." answered a short hairy man.
"Will it be fully operational?"
"Yes."
"Will it be ready for live testing?"
The short man paused a moment before he answered, "That depends." he replied sipping his coffee.
"On what?"
"That depends," the man said, "what are you looking for, and what are you willing to sacrifice?"
The taller man sighed, his brow frowned and his face gave the impression that he was deep in thought; turmoil over the possibilities. Finally he spoke, "We are making history here. I'm willing to sacrifice anything."
The hairier man chuckled as he took another sip, "Good." Then the man turned and walked to the table at the back of the room and poured himself another cup 'o joe. "I'll notify you when we are up and ready for those live tests Mr. Garfield."
"I appreciate that Tom, I look forward to working with you more." the slender man said, and with that he exited the room.
"Hey Jim, hold up a sec will ya." called a young red headed man from just outside a café. The man hailed stopped in his tracks and shoved his hands in his pockets, then leaned against the wall. Jim was a tall, very well built man. His figure was that of a professional football player's. He had long blond hair that he braided around the crown of his head and let hang down his back. His jaw was squared with a "butt" chin and full of scruff. Jim was a warrior by trait, a master on the battlefield.
After a moment of waiting, an equally as impressive man jogged up next to Jim, "Sorry 'bout that," the man said with a grin, "the wife wants to get her 'freak on' if you catch my drift."
Jim laughed, "Yeah, yeah I get you." The two rounded the hall and passed into a room full of busy people. "What's the occasion?" he inquired.
"Nothing," the man replied, "my wife's just a nasty like that!"
Jim shook his head and smirked widely, "Mike what would I do without you?" he said.
Mike gazed off into the distance finding a retort, and then looked at Jim, "I don't know, probably die a shrewd, decrepit virgin."
"What, I've had my fair share of women." Jim defended.
"Oh, wait, you mean all those meat bags weren't men?" Mike gasped. "Bro I'm sorry, those were women weren't they, and this whole time I thought they were dudes." The two laughed, "That's why I kept my distance."
Jim shoved Mike, "Screw you asshole."
"So, let's get off my wife and onto more pressing matters..." Mike began, but before he could run any further with his sentence the two were abruptly cut off upon entering the debriefing room.
"It's good of you to finally show up gentlemen," said a slender woman with long, silky blonde hair, "please have a seat, continue, I wouldn't want to interrupt you two." she said sarcastically.
"No Ma'am, we were actually discussing work." said Mike seating himself at an empty desk with Jim.
The woman glared, and then pointed to a holograph of a planet. "Let us continue," she huffed, "Flare Corporation has believed to have found a new planet in the Atlantis Cluster." her metal pointer touching a shining orb, which expanded to show a large planet. "As you know with new worlds, we have absolutely no intel for you, except that it is habitable. As with many missions in the past, this one remains the same. You are to provide security for a team of geologists as they take samples of the planet's surface. Where they explore, you follow. Flare Corp. has shown a great deal of interest in this world so expect to remain planet side for some time." Everyone in the room moaned. "Hey, I don't want to hear it," the woman shot, "it has always been policy that the company provides the best care to their employees and their families."
"Do we have a timeframe of when we are to ship out?" Mike asked.
"This is immediate Michael. We are shipping Alpha team tomorrow. Bravo and Charlie will ship in three days, and Delta will arrive in two weeks." the woman replied.
"Shit… You gotta be kidding me Janice!" Mike complained.
"Calm yourself Mr. Kidd." Janice said with a raised voice. "We will be sending in replacements in a months' time. This will be quick, a short and easy mission." Janice gazed around the room at all the staff. "If you have no questions you are dismissed. Alpha team will be debriefed in two hours, and Bravo and Charlie teams will have a debriefing tomorrow morning at seven o'clock. Please bring your gear as you will be departing straight from your meetings."
The workers mumbled as they mulled over the new mission and exited the office. Mike stood and began walking to the door when he noticed Jim hanging back, "You coming buddy?" he inquired.
"Go ahead without me man, I got a few questions I wanna go over. Tell Tricia sup for me." Jim replied. Mike nodded and left the room. Jim waited until the last person exited before he approached Janice.
The petite woman looked up, "Yes Jim?" she asked.
"Ms. Valentine I was hoping you'd have an answer for my request, the one I put in three weeks ago…" Jim paused for an answer.
"Yes I do." Janice replied pulling it up on her tablet. "The Corporation has approved it and as soon as you're mission here is over you will be transferred to Pandora's field office." This news brought great satisfaction to Jim, who showed it with a big smile. "I'm happy to hear you got what you wanted Jim, you're a hard worker and proficient at what you do." said Janice.
"Thank you Ma'am." replied Jim. He nodded goodbye and walked out of the room and back to his quarters.
The Flare Corp's station Super Nova was equivalent to the size of Pluto and housed approximately two million occupants; employees and their families. Jim had his own flat that was located in the Crystal District. He hopped in the teleportation mat and was transported to the station in his district. He walked to his building and took the elevator to his place. Upon opening the door, his lights automatically turned on then dimmed. His myPOD Infinity 5 clicked on and quietly played Jim's favorite band, The Incinerators; an electronic rock group.
Jim tossed his clothes on the floor as he walked from the doorway to the shower. "Shower on," he ordered, "heat at eighty two, no eighty one percent." The shower jetted on and steam rose around the room. Jim tossed his briefs on the floor and hopped into the roomy, rain-style shower. After he had cleaned off and dried his long hair, Jim grabbed two pills and put them in the oven. He closed the door and pressed a button. Instantly meals blossomed and were ready. He pulled out two cheese burgers, a plate of fries, and a pie.
Jim moved into the living room and turned on the TV. His favorite news channel popped on and he dropped into his recliner. The news was streaming some interesting footage of a wrecked ship drifting in space above the planet Pandora. Jim wondered if anyone he knew was onboard. He hoped not. Images of a grizzled man in Earth's Marine Corps fatigues and a woman with strange blue tattoos flashed across the screen.
After eating his dinner Jim wondered into the bedroom where he dove onto his plush bed. He crawled into his covers and glanced over at a picture of a scrawny blonde boy with thick glasses, "I'll find you brother," he yawned, "if it's the last thing I do." Jim closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep.
