Chapter 25

Zenith Defense Industries

Nevada Desert, United States

(Near Flagstaff Mountain)

Rotarl had been able to take the Warspite's Swordfish down into orbit with little trouble, though she was full of apprehension the entire time, expecting another attack. But as she got closer to ground, a calm set in as she seemed to switch 'off', retreating and replaced by carefully programmed orders for approach. The Swordfish was a combination fighter/bomber and it had room for two, the pilot and intercept officer. However, patrol pickets by grateful allied ships made the likelihood of an attack less and less so. When this was all over, there was no way anyone on the Warspite would be able to buy a beer at any military club.

Once the Swordfish had landed on the hangar strip near the facility, Maria took notice of a sign that showed ZDI's tri-hexagon logo. 'Welcome to Zenith Defense Industries Wildfire Facility'.

"Wildfire, that's a rather strange name." Maria said as the canopy opened and the mouse started to climb out from the automatic ladder than unfolded. She began to dismount as well carefully, Miles' chip pressed against her body as she wore a full flight suit like Rotarl's.

"It was a US government facility that was made in the 1960s in response to potential biodefense concerns from the space program." Janus explained, dusting herself off. "But the military's efforts and cuts in the space program made it obsolete so the facility was sitting there unused. Originally there was a USDA agricultural annex here that covered the main entrance but when Dr. Everest purchased the ground and the facility, he just put a standard shell over it. Tore out all the equipment and put in a little museum on the ground. This is usually where you'll find him, all of his pet projects are here."

They walked across the strip to an electric cart that had a protective tarp over it. Janus tore it off and patted the seat before starting it. Maria sat down and looked around while Rotarl drove down the strip and onto a side road that would lead to the facility's front entrance, pulling it to a stop near a charging station. They dismounted again and entered through the automatic sliding doors that featured the company logo on the panels. To their surprise, Everest himself seemed to be waiting for them.

"I was waiting for you ever since the chip was activated." Everest said. The fox placed a hand on Rotarl's shoulder. "Let's go ahead and have you down for a check-in. In the meantime, Dr. Robotnik let me show you what I've had prepared for the good lieutenant."

"Lieutenant Commander now actually." Maria corrected gently. The fox nodded and adjusted his glasses. "My apologies." He began to lead her to the main elevator while Janus started to go into another elevator. Maria unzipped her flight suit partially and removed the chip from an inner pocket, having left her labjacket behind on the Warspite. She held it up and Everest took the chip, adjusting his glasses again to look at it.

"It's still in relatively good condition. I've had a body on standby for Miles since the chip was installed." Moddex explained as the elevator traveled down. "Completely functional with some differences, he will be fully robotic but there will be organics so that he can integrate with the expected sensory systems. He will look the same as you know him, just a bit taller. It will make him more intimidating towards the enemy. There is also a loadout of powered armor and personal weaponry."

"You've been preparing for this for three years?" Maria asked, tilting her head.

"In a manner of speaking." Moddex answered, staring at her with his ears raising.

"Why?" Her next question had been expected as Everest looked away from her.

"It's a bit complicated and delves into things that I must keep to myself. Suffice to say, it's very important that we get him back on his feet." Moddex said evasively. "Even then, you profit from this arrangement because you get him back for yourself."

"I profit yes, but the cost of all of this runs into millions of dollars." Maria countered softly. "I'm asking what the price is."

"Price is no object here." Moddex said, looking down at the chip. "If I gain anything of it, it's more time."

"More time for what?" Maria blinked.

"All of us, I don't think we would do well under an Acornian thumb, would we? Or someone worse." The fox's yellow eyes narrowed as Maria picked up a little bit of subtext. Once the elevator stopped and the doors parted, he gestured with his free hand for her to follow. There seemed to be a large vault door down the only hall in the level.

"This used to be the area where Wildfire kept an atomic bomb at the ready to destroy the facility in case of a contamination emergency." Everest explained. "I repurposed it because the shockproofing here works to our advantage. The government disposed of the weapon some time ago and there's no radiation hazard." He took a step towards the vault door which began to open automatically, the outer lock turning before the door slid inwards. The fox seemed to gesture with his free hand as a sort of containment tank began to rise from the floor. Once the frost inside began to clear away, Maria pressed a hand to her mouth as she looked directly at Miles' face, the eyes open but more of a cyan blue color. The tank started to tilt until the front of it pointed up to the ceiling.

"Time to wake up now, Mr. Prower." Moddex said, inserting the chip into a slot. He flexed his fingers before initiating a sequence on the computer station next to the tank. There was a low hum and a whirr while Maria watched the fox operate the computer. She blinked, realizing that the system was making a copy of the chip.

"You're copying him rather than moving him?" Maria asked.

"It's a safety precaution, a copy at least can be redone. If movement failed for some reason, corruption could occur. After the process is complete, this will be the only active iteration of him, Doctor. The chip however will be stored for safe keeping. I intend to use its contents to also establish a sort of safety net for him. Think of the chip but in the form of a networked system." Moddex explained. "Death is still permanent for him if the chip were destroyed and this one body. So, we'll put him in a few places to where one can restore him again as needed."

"What about the organics you were speaking about? If this was on ice, won't it hurt if you bring him online all at once?" Maria asked. Everest pointed towards the tank.

"There's a spinal rig which is what he uses to integrate with the armor systems. Rotarl has one as well, I'd recommend if he has long-term operations in armor that he wears the jumpsuits we'll provide but his own tailor's bill is his own concern of course." The fox said. "The spinal rig when connected to the tank delivered a solution not unlike what you use to rewarm blood and organics after hypothermia therapy."

"So, you know a bit of trauma medicine as well, I figured you just as a weapons expert, perhaps a cyberneticist." Maria said.

"I know a great deal of things, Doctor." Moddex looked over at her, then pointed as Miles' face began to animate. He started to lean forward, lines from the tank disconnecting from the spinal rig. Miles looked down at himself and twitched his fingers, then his toes as his tails unfurled.

"I returned as you ordered." Miles said, looking at Everest. Then he carefully swung his legs over and stepped onto the floor while Maria looked him over, her face flushing for a moment. Miles leaned forward slightly and pressed his hands to her face, sniffing at her before lightly sweeping his tongue against her cheek. She wrapped her arms around his body, leaning into him. The only thing that seemed off was that when she grasped one of his wrists, she didn't feel a pulse.

"I thought I lost you." Maria said softly, hot tears running from her eyes while he shook his head.

"I thought so too, up until I briefly saw those words flash in my eyes. At first I thought you did something to me." Miles admitted. "But you would have asked me. Then he-" He pointed his head towards Moddex. "-or at least a simulacrum of him appeared to me when you got the MAARS online. It's been a rather wild ride, but I'd rather not pay the admission again."

"I don't blame you, Lieutenant Commander." Moddex said, crossing his arms. "I suggest you get into a jumpsuit and crack into the manifest I've loaded into that body. You're not home free quite yet from what I understand of the situation." He tapped at his glasses. "Unfinished business on the ARK, there's still hostages up there. Then there's the matter of the enemy himself. But let's get you dressed and see how you take to food."

Miles nodded, and Maria slowly untangled herself from him to allow him to open an orange panel locker, removing a royal blue jumpsuit from within, as well as a pair of boots. He unzipped the jumpsuit and put one leg inside of it, following it with the other, pulling it up on his body to where he could get his arms in before zipping it up the rest of the way. He turned to face Maria, who ran her hands along the fabric.

"It's armored." Maria observed.

"Well his endoskeleton can take a good deal of abuse, but the idea is to prevent the need to test that resiliency." Moddex said. "Let's go meet Janus on the ground level, she should be done with her check-in by now. Then we'll talk armament."

Ground Level

Food was just as much a tonic on the nerves as tea was. Pasta with garlic sauce as well as cheese spread around within its bowl, along with bread and one's choice of drink was what awaited the four. Miles sat to Maria's right, looking down at his bowl, picking up his spoon and dipping into it. He was fully aware that Maria was analyzing his every movement. Checking to see if there was anything off that might bring her towards the uncanny valley with him. As soon as his consciousness had linked in, the feeling in his fur and limbs felt no different than his original body. He even performed a signal analysis and found that his neuron-signal recall was dead on accurate. The sight and scent of the other three matched up, though he had to note that his sight, scent and vision was more acute.

Taste was another element that didn't seem any different to him. He liked pasta and especially if there was a white sauce involved, along with cheese whether it was parmesan or melted cheddar or mozzarella. Everything tasted correctly, as did the ice-filled glass of Coke. Though once he had swallowed, he lost awareness of his meal's presence. He also simulated breathing but then questions began to come to him internally. He ate but where did it go? Did he not gain weight any longer? The systems manifest had the answer every time. He tasted food and in fact it was processed to where it was broken down better than any organic system could do it, fueling onboard systems, just filling an energy reserve. He no longer had use for the bathroom outside of cleaning, no more using the porcelain throne for a reader's chair.

Maria went back to eating, her stomach making its displeasure of being mostly empty for the last few hours except for tea known to her. Janus seemed to be watching Miles as well but seemed more casual about it. There was a remote link established between the two that was signified by a silver iteration of the ZDI tri-hex at the top right corner of his HUD next to his full color one. He brought his HUD into full focus and looked over at Moddex, switching visual filter modes. Complete darkness surrounded the other fox, which confused him. He looked over at Maria and Janus, both showing up in almost every visual filter that he had. Moddex caught the look of momentary confusion but said nothing about it, leaning back in his seat with fingers linked.

"Let's talk." Everest said, rising to his feet. Miles gently rubbed Maria's back before getting up, following the other fox to the window. The two eyed each other, creator and creation. Miles crossed his arms and flared his nostrils audibly.

"I knew you tried to scan me, it was natural for you to try. I've got some modifications in me but one of them is a device that won't allow sensors to pick me up." Everest explained. "There's some things that I don't want anyone to find, even people I trust."

"I would say that would be a form of paranoia if it weren't for how calm you sound." Miles said softly. "I could appreciate the need some secrecy in the defense industry but what would you be worried about? Rival companies? The Acornians?"

"The Acornians are small fish compared to the shark that is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, Mr. Prower. But even then, there are even worst enemies out there. Enemies you haven't even gotten to see yet because fortunately they haven't been able to penetrate this universe. Except one did."

"How would you know that?" Miles asked, staring at the shorter fox.

"This wouldn't be the first time I've seen the Battle of the ARK." Moddex said. "But it would be the first time that I'd see it with a good possibility of victory without total destabilization."

"You saw the battle before? Why didn't you alert us? We could have acted on intelligence." Miles said, narrowing his eyes.

"Then would come the question as to how I came across it. That leads down a path to where the status quo gets upended terribly. The goose laying all her golden eggs at once. Greed, delusions of power and a society chained to the technology introduced, addicted to it. That would have been just as bad as Robotnik winning, except we'd be driving the sword into ourselves." Moddex explained. "I had to change the battlescape slowly, subtlety as I have. You were part of the equation there."

"The backup chip you mean? You put quite a lot of faith into someone you barely knew." Miles said.

"I guess you could say I'm a sucker for giving someone worthy a second chance. If it's any consolation the first time around, you at least died with Maria. But that was two lives wasted. My choice was validated though when you took control of the Warspite." Moddex said. "Sure, you had direct control of the ship, but you took immediate grasp of the tactical situation and leveraged your weapons rather effectively. You made Robotnik give up ground. Your presence shook him. Now that interests me, why would someone so confident in himself and corrupted, managed to flee in fear of you?"

"He might not have directly feared me, perhaps it was just the tactics involved. No one really likes the idea of being on the receiving end of a full broadside, Doctor." Miles murmured.

"Had it been Concha, he might have possibly pressed his attack. But he broke because of you, Miles. You might want to consider a change in career track after this." Moddex suggested, his ears flickering.

"To command? I don't have the qualities to run a ship like that indirectly." Miles said.

"You have the capacity, you just want to sit down and be small. You are content with where you are and what you have. But some of the best masters of the battlefield are those that don't seek it directly. I would have to agree on one thing though." Moddex said.

"What would that be?" Miles blinked.

"You would have been wasted as an infantry officer." Moddex declared. The two foxes stared at each other, a small smile forming on the corner of Miles' mouth. "Are you ready to finish this?"

"Am I ever." Miles turned to look back at the table

"His blood's up." Moddex seemed to mimic an Irish accent. "Good, good. Now let me unveil your early Christmas gifts." He clapped his hands, making Janus and Maria look towards them. There were audible footsteps as something approached the room. There seemed to be an unmanned suit of powered armor, carrying a large case and advancing towards Moddex. The fox pointed directly in front of Miles. "That will do."

The armor suit seemed to halt before him, setting the case down before taking a step back and fully opening from the back. The fox slowly stepped around the case and carefully mounted it with handles that unfolded before stepping in. The suit sealed him within with a low hiss as interface plugs inserted directly in line with the ports on his back, making him growl audibly.

"You'll get used to it." Moddex said as Miles looked down upon him from an even higher vantage point. Then a helmet seemed to fold around his face except for his muzzle. His visuals momentarily blanked out as he switched to a wider field of view provided by the suit's sensor package, the center of the field of view fed from his head. "Speaking of which, your sidearms are in your legs." Miles reached down as the holster compartments opened outwards, bringing out two mean looking black finish automatic with an extended barrel and magazine.

"I know, you'd rather have your Webley but most of your time would be spent dropping speedloaders in." Moddex said. "But we're not switching the caliber at least. .455 Webley is still rather useful which is why it's KRSN standard issue. But you'll need something for a heavier target or a large group of them. He pointed to the case, causing Miles to follow his instructions. "You should be able to connect to and activate these after attaching that to your back. Miles knelt down and raised the case over his head and lowered it down against his back until it locked in. Then a rifle stock seemed to rise up from the top almost as if the pack was a quiver. Pulling it up and out, he noticed that there was a magazine connected to a graphene belt that ran into the pack. It looked like a cross of an M14 and a No. 4 Lee-Enfield with a synthetic black finish.

"You're armored so recoil isn't much of a problem here, thus why you have the ZDI-Enfield Marksman, chambered in .303." Moddex explained. "Semi-automatic, you should have the time to make your shots. Though for heavier targets you may need some enhanced firepower. Another stock came up from the top, one that he removed with his left hand, a black finish rifle that had a thick barrel, cooling vents and three heavy insulated lines running to the weapon. There appeared to be what were two magazines connected, side by side. Miles put the Marskman back into its place and released the magazines from the second weapon. They weren't magazines at all, one seemed to be a heavy power cell while the other contained coolant.

"In case you must detach from a pack, it will operate independently with you but not at peak. You're best served by not making extremely high wattage shots in that configuration. When connected to the pack, it will at least draw coolant and power from the armor." Moddex said. "There's a third weapon as well, a rail rifle with a similar setup as the laser, only it's not as much of a power hog independently but you can change the launch velocity of your projectile, the faster it is, the more power it will need to draw."

"In essence." Maria had finished eating and walked up to Miles' left side. "You've made him into a walking weapon. Normally I would have had objections but after what we've been through today, it's time that we dished out more than what we took. What's our first move?"

"We take the ARK back." Miles said. Both Maria and Moddex looked at his helmeted face. "There's still a considerable Acornian presence there and the potential for problems with the Warp Gate. We don't want to go directly in pursuit of Ovi to have our forces potentially split in half. Those ships have been needing the opportunity to pay him back anyways. There might be something for us to fight once we're done up there."

"They'll likely need medical support up there as well." Maria said, looking over at Moddex. "Would your company be able to loan me some medical supplies? Perhaps some volunteers as well that I could go over BLS procedures with?"

"I'm going with you all, as is Janus." Moddex said. "We may not necessarily need additional medical personnel anyways if we have overwhelming force." He tilted his head to the side. "The Secretary of Defense just answered my e-mail, he got a little run down on Miles' specifications. The Raider Regiment is waiting for us at Camp Pendleton, SEAL Team One will be taking off from Coronado. JTF2 will launch from Trenton, the SAS from London, GIGN from France and GSG9 from Berlin."

"A spearhead assault alongside American marines." Miles raised his eyes up. "I don't know whom to feel sorrier for, us or the enemy?"