Roger Fent stared nervously at his group of advisors. They all looked
at him strangely, wondering what he called the meeting for. He took a deep
breath.
"Men. We have made a mistake, a grave mistake. Apparently Operation Counterstrike was not completely a failure."
The advisors, including Mr. Klatt the head scientist and Mr. Brammer the military strategist, stirred in their seats. They mumbled to each other.
"There are…still…three men. They are still alive and fighting. They know that…that we forgot about them, but they are fighting anyway. They have almost reached the slipgates actually."
Brammer spoke up, "What?! How could that be? We haven't been getting any reads from the complex for the last two days! How do you know there are still men in there?"
"Well, we lost record of them after their power armor was exhausted. It was a strange coincidence, a freak mishap due to radio waves and magnetism. We were planning to do a week of scans on the complex, beginning from three days ago when Operation Counterstrike began. Because of the power outage we could only get minor details on the scans. For example we used to get the mount of power used in the room, camera readings, temperature and etcetera. But the best reads we could get now are as detailed as electrical doors opening and closing and computer logs. This trio of men, Daniel Wallace, Sean Youngman, and Alice Reeves has made it through most of the sections in the complex. Because of our limited readings we don't know how they made it to some parts but our last scan told us they had just exited the chemical storage chambers."
An advisor spoke up, "Do the scans provide any information if the slipgates are still operational or if there are still any terrorists roaming the complex?"
Fent answered him the best he could, "No our scans don't provide us with any of this information. I know you were all told the slipgates were destroyed and the complex was shut down for a week for clean up but that was a lie. The slipgates could very well still be working and by the scans we can tell that the surviving men are fighting something down there. As for the survivors dealing with the slip gate and the power core, well, they know the effects of destroying the core but they'll have to take matters into their own hands. It's too late and too dangerous to send the scientist group down there. Are there any more questions?"
One of the older advisors questioned, "Will this be canceling out the use of the prototype anti-shock missile? It seems the missile has had much hard work put into it but will you sacrifice it for the sake of three lives?"
"Well, although using the A2 Missile would be a quicker and cleaner operation than any means of shutting it down manually, we will have to take the survivors lives into consideration. Any more questions?"
The advisors sat cold.
"You'll have to be excusing me I have an appointment to get to." Fent closed and locked his briefcase, slid it off the black marble table and exited the room. Mr. Klatt left behind him with a sickening look on his face.
He caught up to him in the hallway and slammed him against the wall. He grabbed him by the inside of his jacket.
"Klatt? Klatt what are you doing? Get off of me!"
"Mr. Fent your status may be higher than anyone else's here but you are lower than anyone else, anywhere."
"What are you talking about? Stop speaking nonsense…"
Klatt quickly interrupted him. "You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. You knew the slipgates were on the whole time. You knew those men were still alive. You just needed to make up a story so when they shut down the gates they would understand what happened. You know that these aren't terrorists. Some hacker…Quake? You know these aren't earthly creatures. That slipgate complex is about a hundred feet from here! This place and the barracks! And now your going to kill the last three people who lived to tell the story…just so you can test your new toy? The A2, the happy bomb. Mass destruction but its contained. Ha. Keep using your freakish inventions this way. Soon you'll get yours."
Fent gently shoved Klatt away, "So you've been doing some snooping but no matter what you discover now will help. The A2 is already scheduled for a prompt launch and a new slipgate research enter is already being built. You keep doing your job and I'll do mine. Good day, mister Klatt." Fent dusted his jacket off and walked down the elegant but professional looking hallway. He straightened his tie and walked out the door. Klatt was going to need a niece piece of armor and a big gun. He was going in.
"Men. We have made a mistake, a grave mistake. Apparently Operation Counterstrike was not completely a failure."
The advisors, including Mr. Klatt the head scientist and Mr. Brammer the military strategist, stirred in their seats. They mumbled to each other.
"There are…still…three men. They are still alive and fighting. They know that…that we forgot about them, but they are fighting anyway. They have almost reached the slipgates actually."
Brammer spoke up, "What?! How could that be? We haven't been getting any reads from the complex for the last two days! How do you know there are still men in there?"
"Well, we lost record of them after their power armor was exhausted. It was a strange coincidence, a freak mishap due to radio waves and magnetism. We were planning to do a week of scans on the complex, beginning from three days ago when Operation Counterstrike began. Because of the power outage we could only get minor details on the scans. For example we used to get the mount of power used in the room, camera readings, temperature and etcetera. But the best reads we could get now are as detailed as electrical doors opening and closing and computer logs. This trio of men, Daniel Wallace, Sean Youngman, and Alice Reeves has made it through most of the sections in the complex. Because of our limited readings we don't know how they made it to some parts but our last scan told us they had just exited the chemical storage chambers."
An advisor spoke up, "Do the scans provide any information if the slipgates are still operational or if there are still any terrorists roaming the complex?"
Fent answered him the best he could, "No our scans don't provide us with any of this information. I know you were all told the slipgates were destroyed and the complex was shut down for a week for clean up but that was a lie. The slipgates could very well still be working and by the scans we can tell that the surviving men are fighting something down there. As for the survivors dealing with the slip gate and the power core, well, they know the effects of destroying the core but they'll have to take matters into their own hands. It's too late and too dangerous to send the scientist group down there. Are there any more questions?"
One of the older advisors questioned, "Will this be canceling out the use of the prototype anti-shock missile? It seems the missile has had much hard work put into it but will you sacrifice it for the sake of three lives?"
"Well, although using the A2 Missile would be a quicker and cleaner operation than any means of shutting it down manually, we will have to take the survivors lives into consideration. Any more questions?"
The advisors sat cold.
"You'll have to be excusing me I have an appointment to get to." Fent closed and locked his briefcase, slid it off the black marble table and exited the room. Mr. Klatt left behind him with a sickening look on his face.
He caught up to him in the hallway and slammed him against the wall. He grabbed him by the inside of his jacket.
"Klatt? Klatt what are you doing? Get off of me!"
"Mr. Fent your status may be higher than anyone else's here but you are lower than anyone else, anywhere."
"What are you talking about? Stop speaking nonsense…"
Klatt quickly interrupted him. "You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. You knew the slipgates were on the whole time. You knew those men were still alive. You just needed to make up a story so when they shut down the gates they would understand what happened. You know that these aren't terrorists. Some hacker…Quake? You know these aren't earthly creatures. That slipgate complex is about a hundred feet from here! This place and the barracks! And now your going to kill the last three people who lived to tell the story…just so you can test your new toy? The A2, the happy bomb. Mass destruction but its contained. Ha. Keep using your freakish inventions this way. Soon you'll get yours."
Fent gently shoved Klatt away, "So you've been doing some snooping but no matter what you discover now will help. The A2 is already scheduled for a prompt launch and a new slipgate research enter is already being built. You keep doing your job and I'll do mine. Good day, mister Klatt." Fent dusted his jacket off and walked down the elegant but professional looking hallway. He straightened his tie and walked out the door. Klatt was going to need a niece piece of armor and a big gun. He was going in.