DC Heroes: MechWarrior I
By: Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: All characters and situations contained in this story are ©2002 by either DC Comics Inc. or WhizKids and are used without permission for fan-related entertainment purposes only. No profit is made from this story. This original story is ©2002 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced either in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
Chapter 10 Kord Industries, West End New Gotham Gotham Commonwealth January 23, 3032Ted Kord settled his face into a determined and grim look as he listened to the Archon-General. It was rare for so high an official to come and grace a manufacturer with their presence, but Alfred Pennyworth was not a typical leader. The general was a hands-on administrator and Ted noted that the general had aged noticeably in the decade since he had taken the reigns of leadership.
Alfred noted the seriousness of Ted's stare and smiled, trying to relieve some of the tension. He understood that even super-rich industrialists could be made antsy by his presence. "So you see, Mr. Kord, any aid you could provide in this matter would be most beneficial."
Nodding, Ted walked past the two burly Oracle agents and moved to the terminal at his desk. Typing in a few commands, he waited until the results were displayed before speaking. Not satisfied, he glanced over his shoulder to ensure that none of his guests were looking and then typed in several other commands that brought up an entirely different screen. He wondered how Oracle was able to find out about his considerable hacking skills; skills that were not technically legal to employ.
He was not happy with the information he found. "It is true that I do try to hire former Oracle agents to work in my security force and many of my other employees end up getting jobs with the agency. I have always strived to have top-notch protection. As you know, WayneTech is my biggest competitor in the Commonwealth," he said with slight irony. WayneTech was a corporation owned exclusively by the royal family and was always awarded the most lucrative military contracts. "Any advantage I can get I have to guard jealously…you do understand?"
Alfred bowed his head and maintained his pleasant smile. "Indeed, and let me assure you that the reputation of your company is well-known and appreciated."
"I hope you remember that the next time we put in a bid to develop a new BattleMech, sir," Ted said with a wry grin. Kord Industries was mainly a weapons developer and had made great strides in improving what was currently available to the various militaries of the Inner Sphere. Much of the technology of the era of the Justice League had been lost during the Succession Wars and it was now a race to see who could reclaim what. GreenStar was rumored to have the technical specifications of many League weapons, but they weren't sharing.
What Ted really wanted, though, was to put one of his new BattleMech designs into production, but nobody was buying right now. "Yes, we did hire Mr. Napier about a year ago. And we hired all of the other gentlemen you indicated in your list at one time or another over the past decade, right after I started the company."
"Did you hire them personally?" Alfred asked.
"No, my Vice-President of Resources did, Maxwell Lord," Ted answered. Though he wasn't fully aware of why he was being asked to dig into his employee records, Ted knew that when the Archon-General presented you with a list of names, it didn't mean anything good. "Should I be made aware of something here?"
"Jack Napier was identified as a spy within Oracle; unfortunately, he resigned before we had that information and we've had to track him down," Jim Gordon said from the opposite corner of the room. He stood in the shadows and all Ted could see of the major was the lit end of his cigarette. "Bastard jumped into a vat of chemical to escape us, but we managed to get the rest of his gang. They called themselves the Red Hood. Damn Independents!"
Ted nodded and searched his memory. Independents were individuals who felt that the Great Houses had no right to lord over the individual planets in giant so-called planetary empires. They demanded that each world should be granted self-rule. This Red Hood organization was probably involved in some sort of scheme to dethrone the Archon-General.
Or worse, Ted suddenly thought as he remembered the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. "I didn't know…I swear…"
Alfred held up a hand. "We know, Mr. Kord; believe me when I say you are not the only one here who has had the wool pulled over their eyes. Oracle is going through some…changes; changes initiated by myself and Major Gordon. It was during these changes we discovered the Red Hood plot. We tracked Napier's employment to here and then discovered that several of his confederates were likewise employed here. As stated, Mr. Napier was only the latest in a long series of spies rotated in and out of Oracle."
Ted turned ashen. If an agency like Oracle had been infiltrated so easily, he began to wonder about the secrecy of his own projects. Someone of vast resources and extremely large testicles was stirring up a pot of trouble for both the government and private industry. He tried to remember the access frequency for his lawyer, but was too shaken. How many of his 'mech designs were now on the black market? What about the new weapons systems? The increased range lasers he had been working so hard on. Worse, what did the government think about him now? "Forgive me for asking, sir, but how can you be so sure of my loyalty? Not that I'm saying I'm not…"
As if on cue, there was a knock at the door and one of the Oracle agents opened it. A blond-haired handsome man stepped wearing a business suit cut in the latest style. "Mike, not right now," Ted said quickly.
Mike smiled and inclined his head to the Archon-General. "I've been invited, Ted," he replied. Ted's stomach began to quiver just a little bit more.
As the door closed and Mike entered the office proper, Jim began to explain. "You know him as Michael Carter, your number one weapons tester, but he's actually a special agent with Oracle, assigned to gauge your loyalty to the Commonwealth." The room became deathly quiet.
Ted had to remember to close his jaw. He and Mike had become the best of friends over the last year and now he had to wonder if that was even true. Then he considered that his government was using shadow tactics to spy in its citizens. "I'm not too sure I'm happy about this."
"We had to do it, Ted," Mike began, holding his hands out in front of him. "We discovered that most of WayneTech's upper management was corrupt as well. Kord Industries is the only other manufacturer in the Commonwealth that has a fully developed weapons program."
"You've lost me," Ted said. He was caught between fear of losing everything, outrage at having his civil liberties violated and profound sadness as he realized he may not have a best friend after all.
"Mr. Kord, there has been an insidious plot to bring down the government of the Gotham Commonwealth," Alfred said as he brushed something off of his sleeve. "It caused the murder of both Thomas and Martha Wayne, as well as that of John and Mary Grayson." He let that sink in. The "Flying Graysons" were famous in the Commonwealth and now Ted had to consider that he hadn't heard of them for several months. He merely assumed they were on maneuvers or doing something important. Why hadn't theur deaths been reported in the news? Surely they were deserving of a proper state funeral.
"The Archon-Prince is in hiding, Oracle has been infiltrated and we cannot rely on the BattleMechs currently being produced from our major manufacturers. Not to mention, it appears that your company has been used to filter terrorists on and off of the planet through Mr. Lord." Alfred did his best to remain calm, but as he spoke the words, laid out the cancer that was eating away at his adopted home, he became angrier. He had lost most of the people whom he considered family and he was forced to begin doing things that he loathed, such as spying on fellow citizens. It was such policies that gave credence to the rantings of the Independents who said the Commonwealth was nothing more than mirror-image of the Thanagarian Combine.
"You do have a private contract with GreenStar, don't you?" Jim asked Ted.
"Sure, cost me a wad but it gives me double the privacy of my competitors who use the Commonwealth's channels," Ted replied with a wave of his hand. A light seemed to come on in his head and he turned and accessed several more functions on his terminal. All of the functions, of course, were illegal, even for Oracle because they violated the GreenStar contract. If it were discovered that Ted was doing what he was doing, GreenStar could possibly interdict the entire Commonwealth as punishment, making communications between worlds and more importantly the military force impossible.
Mike winked at Alfred. "I told you he was good."
"Indeed," Alfred said with a smile. Ted Kord was going to be a very useful ally.
Ted sat back. "I don't get it; he has all kinds of communications between here and Solaris."
Jim stepped out of the shadows. "Solaris? Damn!" He nodded to the two Oracle agents. "Go get Maxwell Lord and put him under arrest. Carter, you show them where to go." Mike didn't hesitate and the three men were out the door immediately. Ted got up and went to close the door.
"I take it Solaris is not a good sign?" he asked.
Alfred rubbed his face wishing for a stiff drink. "You are quite correct, Mr. Kord, Solaris is not good." Alfred turned to Jim. "Pull him in."
Jim nodded and pulled out a personal communicator. He stepped into the rear of the office and way from prying ears as he spoke. From his gesturing, Ted could only guess what was going on. "Pull who in?"
Alfred smiled. "A matter of national security I'm afraid you are not cleared for, Mr. Kord. Mr. Maxwell shall be taking an extended leave of absence so I strongly recommend hiring a replacement as soon as possible." He handed over a card. "This gentleman is a personal friend of mine and not a member of Oracle, I assure you," Alfred remarked to the rise in Ted's eyebrows.
Jim joined Alfred and the two moved for the door. "Mr. Kord, please send me all of the documents pertaining to your Dark Knight project, I would be most interested in looking at the specifications."
When they were gone, Ted smiled to himself. By just being honest and doing a good job, he had landed a coveted position…the ear of the Archon-General. If he was asking about the Dark Knight, that meant Mike had been touting to all of his superiors how great the proposed assault-class BattleMech would be.
It meant that Ted Kord was finally going to get to build 'mechs for a living.
He plopped down in his chair and began pulling up other projects he had been working on over the years. BattleMechs, main battle tanks, hover vehicles and even battle armor like they wore during the days of the Justice League. His main competition was falling apart and Ted Kord couldn't be happier.
As he opened up a design marked Blue Beetle, he began to dream of designs yet to come.