Sorry this released so much later than I stated it would in my last update. Part of that was because of the whole debacle last week with my peers, the other part was I went back and decided to revise a lot of stuff in this chapter a few days before the stated release date. Again, I have no idea when the next one of those will come out, finals are this week and after that summer is wide open. Thankfully I have no plans for this summer (besides my current job search) and will hopefully have plenty of free time (and inspiration) to finish this story before going off to college. As a sort of landmark this is my first chapter to exceed 14,000 words and with that my story has now climbed to be well over 100,000 words in length, and I still have about 6 or more chapters to go with this thing.
Well enough meandering, lets get the review responses and favorite/follows out of the way:
Aceshadow: I'm glad it all made sense, part of what took me so long to conceptualize this was that I had to actually think and finalize the sciences behind some of these concepts. I'd say it paid off in the end though, lore building wise. They are all connected in some manner yes, some that in this chapter more in the next. I hope to answer the last of the secrets with this chapter and the next, but tell me if theres anything I missed.
Jack Cross: Yeah I did take a long time on this, not really 'soon' was it. Sorry.
As of last chapter we have two new favorites so thanks go out to Jessica1495 and Datsniper, glad you're enjoying the story. Now lets get this thing back on track!
"Some secrets, should remain secret."- ...Someone
Alaska: Adult Industries Top Secret Research and Development Complex
The War Room was hardly packed. Built to house the High Command of Adult Industries Delinquent Enforcement Division, the room was big enough to accommodate Father and every other adult villain on the face of the planet, with a few corporate overseers and teenage liaisons thrown in for good measure. Now it served as the temporary HQ for the rag tag remnants of the Adult Industries Company Board. A dozen battered executives and a few military officers were situated at large intervals around the massive table; there was only one teenage representative in the room at the moment, and he was far from happy. Maurice leaned his head against his fist as he rested his elbow on the table, adopting a classic position of boredom. These conferences had been a necessary evil for the teens to gain a voice in the adults plans, and being a high ranking teenager, he'd been chosen for the position of "ambassador" to the adult high command.
However, he was ambassador in name only, more often than not the generals and other bigwigs would just talk over him or completely ignore his input all together, preferring to rely on their so called "superior" wisdom than take advice from an obnoxious teenager. Today's primary topic of discussion was an audio only message that had started being transmitted across the continent exactly 17 hours ago. The message was supposedly a radio broadcast sent by the President ordering US forces to stand down and surrender to the occupying forces, the subject of whether the message was actually valid had been the general topic of discussion for the last hour.
"We cannot rule out the possibility that the president is alive and is in fact transmitting this message", stated one of the generals, "however, whether he is doing so willingly or is under duress is the major unknown here." The senior general in the room, one Johnson Buckner, leaned back in his chair in thought, "whether the message is valid or not is beyond the point, the US does not give in to intimidating force, that's the way we ran things in Vietnam, that's the way it ran during the War on Terror and that's the way we're gonna run now."
"Disobeying a direct order from the president is an act of treason", countered one of the junior officers, "if this message is in fact valid, we'll be labeled as turncoats and rebels for resisting!" "That's beside the point as well", shot back Buckner, "if the message is true, then the invaders have won and the US doesn't exist anymore, gentleman, we have but one choice, if we intend to have a country to return to, we must fight!" Preparations for the launch of our new space fleet are continuing as scheduled", put in one of Adult Industries chairman, "they will be ready to fly in exactly two hours time, loading of munitions and pre-flight checks are already underway on over half of our craft."
Maurice noted how the chairman stressed the "our" in that sentence, if we pull this off, thought Maurice, he clearly wants it to be known that it was HIS company that saved the world and not the military. He sighed, that had been much of the extent of these conversations so far. Each side wanted to make it known in their own subtle ways that it was "their" input that would save the world, we haven't even pulled this off yet and they're already fighting over who gets the credit, Maurice groaned.
He'd lost count of the number of times he'd had to excuse himself from the room to clear his mind from the oppressive cloud of bullshit that seemed to constantly hang over this conversation. Thankfully the adults finally moved the topic of conversation over to the problem at hand, how to launch a counter offensive against the invaders. While this may have been a step up for them, it was a step down for Maurice. The inherent mental retardation of a counter attack on the Confederates at this time seemed to be lost on all but him. Unlike the others in the room, as a secret KND double agent, he'd had access to the KND net until the Confederates took it down. He'd seen how badly the KND had gotten pasted in the opening attack and he knew that anything capable of bringing the KND to its knees in a matter of hours, wasn't going to be stopped by the adults.
Maurice rolled his eyes at one general's beyond absurd assertion that his "valiant troops", would be able to retake the states in matter of weeks once the orbital fleet was dealt with. Already bored beyond reason by the pointless conversation, he turned his head to stare out the one way armor glass window that dominated the left wall of the War Room. The window overlooked the bulk of the research facility, but besides a few uncovered construction silos and the expanse of harbor a ways beyond, where several US and teen ships lay moored at anchor, there wasn't much to see but the Alaskan wilderness. Most of the facility lay buried underground, a precaution that in peace times, was meant to help hide the base from KND satellites. Maurice smiled to himself, it'd taken him months, and more than a few dates, just learn about this bases' existence from Cree, a few more and he would have had enough info to take back to the KND. Then the Confederates showed up and everything he'd wanted to know was dumped right into his lap and there wasn't a thing he could do with it.
His smile turned into a frown as he saw the double doors on the other side of the room open to admit Cree, who was wearing full Battle Ready Armor. Maurice grimaced, that wasn't a good sign. Cree was a temperamental gal, a bit on the crazy side in more than a few ways, but she did have her upsides and he'd grown to like her more and more throughout his time as a double agent. She'd been in an especially bad mood lately, she'd never admit it, but Maurice knew it was because of her sister. Everyone knew about what had happened at the Moonbase and how only a few ships had survived to make it back to Earth. Worse, teen spy satellites had managed to record and transmit the final moments of the attack on Arctic Base, before Confederate squadrons sniffed them out and blasted them. Everyone on the base knew that the KND Arctic Command Center was now nothing more than a smoldering crater in the ice, a fact that didn't make their stay at this base any more comfortable.
More than a few times Maurice had woken up in a cold sweat, expecting to hear the air raid siren blaring and feel the cataclysmic shockwave of the impact rush through his room as one of those bombardment projectiles smashed into the base and blew him and everyone he knew to oblivion. He shook his head to quell the nagging thoughts, now was not the time for such fears. "Mr. Maurice, are you paying attention?" The question and come from the same general who'd made the earlier absurd statement, his eyes were fixed angrily on Maurice, no doubt blaming him for interrupting his grand strategy. Maurice waved his hand in a noncommittal gestured and mumbled, "sure man, whatever." The adult general was not amused and when he responded, his snide tone carried more than a hint of annoyance, "you teens are such an undisciplined lot, if it were up to me you'd be thrown out of this base and sent back to the states to fend for yourselves, war is no place for a child." "And yet", countered Maurice mockingly, "here we are, getting our butts kicked by a bunch of space kids."
The general's annoyance quickly switched to outright anger and he was about to rebuke Maurice's belligerent comeback when Cree cut in, "General Buckner, my partner here is just a little worn out from the debate, all he needs is a quick break." Buckner mulled this over and finally snapped his fingers at the door, "out then, get him out and don't bring him back in until he's capable of contributing to the discussion." Cree nodded and tugged Maurice by the jacket sleeve as she lead him out of the room. Once they were outside, the sentries posted inside the War Room shut the double doors abruptly, leaving them alone in the long spacious hallway. They walked down the length of the corridor; once out of earshot of the War Room, Cree shot an angry glance at Maurice and demanded, "what was that!" "What was what", asked Maurice impatiently, "that... this! This attitude of yours right here", shot back Cree, "your supposed to be representing us in there and instead your slouching off and ignoring everything thats going on!"
"Hey, you weren't the one who had to spend almost two days in there with those pompous idiots", Maurice countered angrily, "I did my best in there, but you know these big shots! Every one of them has an ego a mile long, I could barely get a word in!" Cree sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes, "look, I didn't pull you out of there to argue, I've got a problem I need help with." Maurice groaned in exasperation, "what kind of problem?" They continued walking down the corridor towards the loading docks where they'd be able to exit out towards the construction sites, Cree filled him in on the way, "we just got word from the states, looks like The Steve didn't make it out." Maurice shrugged, he'd never liked Steve anyway, "what does that have to do with us, its not like he ever led anyone, he was just the figurehead." Cree shushed him as they entered the loading dock, most of the adult workers on duty paid them little attention as they discreetly made their way to the exit, "thats not the point, listen, you know he ordered everyone to go to ground after the invasion?"
Maurice nodded, it'd made sense back then, unlike the KND's massive tree houses, the teens relied on cavernous bases discreetly buried beneath common mini-marts to run their operations, making them much harder to spot than the KND's more grandiose style headquarters. "Ok, but...?" "But", continued Cree, "we just got word from one of our bases in Washington, looks like those space kids found one of our bases, now they're trashing every mini-mart across the states to find the rest, once the word got out that the bases weren't secret anymore, every teen across the world started bolting." Maurice groaned, "and now that Steve's dead theres no one left in the states to command the other teens, great. So what are we gonna do about the ones in the states? The Confederates have the states locked down tight."
"Thats not the problem", Cree explained as they finally made their way out of the base. The exit from the loading dock was located at the base of a small mountain, within which was located the primary facilities of the research center. From their vantage point they had a clear view out across the airfields and construction silos to the harbor, where the multitudes of teen and adult ships were docked. Cree pointed towards the docks in the distance, now Maurice could see clearly that the majority of teen ships were actually on their way out of the harbor, "wha... where are they going?" Cree shrugged, "thats why I had to come get you, the ship captains won't talk to me, I can't even get them to pick up the phone!" Maurice arched an eyebrow, "why not, they can tell its you on the caller ID right?" Cree shrugged, "yeah, but I don't know, I assume they're just going off to do guy stuff, so I thought I'd better get you to talk to them." Maurice sagged with relief, he'd expected something much worse than this, "so why didn't you just call me then?!" Cree rolled her eyes, "even if the adults weren't screening all calls to the base, I couldn't because someone refused to wear his armor again!" Maurice groaned, he hated having to wear that stupid bra, even if it was combat armor.
Cree tossed him one out of her back pocket and gestured for him to put it on, Maurice stared at it for a second, "doesn't this seem the slightest bit perverted to you", he asked. Cree's face turned bright red; she quickly looked away before responding, "its just armor, thats it! Now put the damn thing on already!" Maurice shrugged and slipped on the bra, swatting the hidden activation switch in the center with the palm of his hand. Almost instantly he was covered in a full suit of steel futuristic ninja armor. Those morons probably decided to go throw a submarine race in the channel again, he thought to himself as he keyed in the frequency for the command ship. The line clicked but no one picked up. Frowning, Maurice tried again and got the same response.
They should be able to tell from the ID thats it me calling, he tried once more and this time was rewarded with a burp of static before the line went dead again. Maurice groaned and slapped the side of his helmet, naturally it didn't do anything. Ok fine, he keyed in the number of one his old high school buddies, Justin Cavallero. Justin should have been right by the docks with the other teens, but again the line went dead the moment he sent the call. Maurice began to feel a growing sense of unease, looking over at Cree he asked, "can you call me?" Cree shrugged and keyed in his number, a few seconds later she shook her head, "thats weird, these were all working a second ago..."
Suddenly alarms started going off all over the base, soldiers leapt to their positions and what teens were left began racing towards their bikes. Maurice felt a tremor run through the ground, then another and another, almost like... Realization struck him. He triggered the binoculars built into his helmet and immediately began scanning the horizon in the direction opposite the harbor. What he saw made his heart stop; what was just a few moments ago an empty expanse of Alaskan tundra, was now a wall of walking death. Through his binoculars he could a line of ten Confederate siege walkers, walking abreast as they strode slow and ponderously across the bleak Alaskan wilderness. Above this line of death incarnate, backlit against the pale Alaskan sky, hovered a small flotilla of Confederate warships. Despite the tremor the things were creating, they were still several dozen miles out from the base, damn things must of been using stealth systems to make it this close to the perimeter, thought Maurice.
He had seen what those massive war engines could do to a city back in the states and he wasn't about to stick around to see that again. Triggering his rocket boots, Maurice grabbed Cree's hand and blasted off into the sky, heading towards the teen fleet, which was still on its way out of the harbor. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING", screeched Cree indignantly, "WE HAVE TO STAY AND..." "AND WHAT", bellowed back Maurice, straining to make his voice heard over the sound of the rockets, "DIE? TO HELL WITH THE ADULTS AND THIS BASE, WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!" Cree twisted free of Maurice's grasp and triggered her own rockets, the two hovered there, eyes locked. Cree cast a glance down at the base, torn. In the distance, the walkers halted their march and began to train their main cannons on the base. Cree saw that too and winced, she knew what it felt to be on the receiving end of those guns. She glowered at Maurice, "you got a plan?" Maurice held out his hand, "I'm still working on it", he admitted. Cree eyed the proffered hand for a moment, before nodding her agreement. The two locked arms and began to jet out towards the teen fleet, while far behind them, the Confederate walkers let loose their first salvo.
C.W.S. Mandate: Holding Position 20 miles outside Alaska Base
Arthurs was relatively uncomfortable in the war room command chair. Unlike the Harbinger, the light cruiser Mandate wasn't built as a command ship and as such, didn't boast the broad range of specialized features such classes generally held to accommodate higher ranking personnel. To make matters more inconvenient, while Harbinger was a Federation Leviathan class battleship, albeit an older model, Mandate was entirely of Confederate design. As such she had all the hallmarks of a rebel ship, built hastily, slapped together with what was on hand and jury rigged in more places than he'd care to point out; she wasn't the best of ships. But she had one key feature that set her apart from the all the rest: this war room.
Mandate, was one of the oldest ships in the rag tag Confederate fleet that had slunk its way into the Sol system, with a service record dating back over 200 years to the final days of the last System War. The third and final System War had been the last true battle between the Federation and the Confederacy, the last time both sides could really consider each other equals. Light cruisers were the largest class of ship capable of atmospheric travel, unlike most light cruisers though, Mandate had been designed with command in mind. The war room Arthurs sat in now was an example of those upgrades and, unlike most other ships in the Confederate fleet, Mandate's systems were newly upgraded, with the entire ship freshly refitted for modern combat duty. She still managed to pull her own weight, despite being over two centuries old.
The center of the room was dominated by a large holo table, around which were situated multiple stools fixed to the deck. The fours corners of the room held uplink consoles tied into ship's sensor grid and communications network; usually crewed by com officers, these consoles granted a commander a constant stream of information from the field, while simultaneously allowing him to relay orders back to his individual field commanders. The room was rectangular, laid out length wise; Arthur's command chair was situated on the far side of the room, facing the exit. The wall behind the command chair was actually a virtual interface, allowing Arthurs to call up live feeds from anywhere on the ship, as well as project images from outside using the external sensor net. The wall was curved, allowing for a fully 180 degree view, while the interface project a realtime 3D image of the area in question, allowing one to see everything as if they were standing right in the room itself.
Arthurs had the system set to the bridge at the moment, the interface projecting a hologram of his likeness in the commander's seat behind the Captain's chair, the link was two way, allowing him to give orders without risking his own life up on (what was in his opinion) a relatively unprotected bridge. Captain Landon looked positively bored with what was certain to be another one sided slaughter in this, so far, spotless campaign. Arthur's had the holo table on too, so he had a clear view as the siege walkers fired off their first salvo. The semi-guided, high explosive shells from their main guns arced up over the battlefield, crashing down onto the helpless adult base. Until they vanished from the holo-grid. Arthurs blinked.
"Captain, what just happened!?" Arthurs' barking tone startled Landon out of his boredom, checking the sensor readings the captain replied with confusion, "I... don't know sir, the system is reading low level energy shields around the base, but those shouldn't have been powerful enough to take out the projectiles." Arthurs relayed the sensor readings and other data up to the intelligence team on the Harbinger. His intelligence chief responded quickly, "long range sensor data shows high concentrations of energy build up at key points around the base one minute before the barrage was wiped out. This indicates energy weapons and though our records say such a feat is impossible for adult engineering, we believe that the barrage was countered by some anti-projectile laser defense system, sir." Arthurs nodded and relayed the message over to Landon, "I'd assume that means they can knock ships out of the air with that Captain?"
Landon shrugged, "in theory yes, but nothing of our size, especially considering we have energy shields as well. Anything about the size of a fighter or dropship would be toast though, thankfully it seems to be a relatively short range weapon." Arthurs cursed, "well then, looks like we're going to have to do this the old fashioned way, begin landing the troops and order the walkers to begin a constant barrage, maybe we can overheat that system." The Captain saluted and Arthurs deactivated the interface. Arthurs sat and thought for a moment, the room was empty besides himself, affording him the comfort of privacy. Chewing his lip in thought, he reached over and keyed in the com frequency for the brig, "bring me the... consultant", he ordered. A few minutes later, the bulkhead on the far side of the room opened to admit a pair of Confederate soldiers, dragging between them the bedraggled form of Numbah 35.
The two soldiers unceremoniously dropped the operative on the floor before the holo table. Arthurs regarded the operative with a contemptuous expression, "get up", he ordered. Bartie dragged himself to his feet and deposited himself in one of the stools opposite Arthurs. Arthurs killed the holo-table, the surface went dark and the holograms winked out of existance. "Lets get down to business", started Arthurs, leaning over his chair to rest his elbows on the table, "I have a few questions for you, first of all, when did the adults develop military grade energy weapons."
Bartie looked at Arthurs blankly, "are you crazy", he muttered. Arthurs rolled his eyes and gestured to the guards, "leave us, this is going to take a while." The guards saluted and left the room, sealing the bulkhead behind them. Arthurs eyed the operative,"You probably don't know who I am, but I know you understand what I am", he said slowly. Bartie regarded him, "you're a Confederate officer, that much is clear." Arthurs looked him in the eye, then methodically, he unhooked his service pistol from his belt and deposited it with a heavy clunk on the top of the table. "Then you know exactly what I'm capable of", he said with a slight hint of menace. Bartie eyed the pistol with anger, "is that it, your just going to shoot me, like you did to all the others", he spat vehemently.
Arthurs regarded him with a calm expression, "I'd prefer not to, however your kind has proven to be quite meddlesome, so I wouldn't hesitate if I had to." Bartie glared at him, "who are you", he finally demanded. "I am Arthurs", replied Arthurs, "and I am the overall commander of this invasion force." Bartie's eyes widened, "I must say", continued Arthurs, "I've been interested in meeting the commander of the lunar base we captured, though the current campaign has not permitted me a chance to do so until now." Arthurs noticed that Bartie was paying considerable attention his pistol, he smirked, "I can tell what you're thinking", he remarked nonchalantly, "and yes, I can have this in my hand before you cross the table, observe." In a single motion, Arthurs ripped the pistol off the table, flicked off the safety, chambered a round and leveled it at Bartie's head.
Arthurs let the gun hang there for a moment before he flicked the safety catch back on and unloaded it. To his credit, Bartie didn't flinch once through the whole process, Arthurs respected that, "I can see why they chose you to stay behind", he remarked, dropping the sidearm back onto the table. "I volunteered", responded Bartie in a low voice, Arthurs nodded, "you should be commended for such bravery, be that as it may though, your efforts did little to stymie my campaign." Bartie gestured at the table, "I'd assume by what I just saw your still in the middle of said campaign, which means we're still holding out", he sounded hopeful.
Arthurs uttered a bark of derisive laughter, oh we can't have that now, he reactivated the holo table, projecting a historical report of the progress of the campaign, "I forgot, you've been up on the lunar base since this began, I think its time you got a status update." He projected a holographic globe and overlaid the history of Confederate expansion across all fronts since day one of the invasion, outlining captured territories in red. About 50% of the globe was red on day one, on day two 70% was red, the final two days played out as well as the new reports from today, in the end, almost 98% of the Earth was red. Arthurs provided combat recordings from the early days of the invasion, lavishing time on the recordings of the attack on Washington, the slaughter at the convention center and most of all, the destruction of Arctic Base.
With each passing second Bartie's heart fell further and further into despair. "As you can clearly see", Arthurs finished by showing off the latest footage from Russia and the current battle, "there are still a few strongholds that hold out against our occupation, but as you can see, these are quickly being overcome and my analysts tell me that the war will be over in just another two days, with full subjugation following in about another five." He cast a smug look at Bartie, "these are of course, the maximum estimates, the minimums are much shorter." Arthurs killed the feed again, "so as you can see, in a few days I won't even have to ask these questions, so..", he looked over at his service pistol, "I have to ask myself, do I even need you?"
Bartie wasn't intimidated, "enough with the mind games", he snapped, "if you didn't need me I'd have died back on the Moon Base, so cut to the chase, what do you want?" Arthurs was a little taken aback by the question, "well for starters where did the adults..." "Thats not it", Bartie cut him off, "if you wanted information on the adults, you would have brought in an adult and like you said, I've been out of the loop for almost five days, I don't know anything current. So stop beating around the bush and spit it out!" Arthurs was equally annoyed and amused by Bartie's little outburst, he eyed him in silence for a few moments, before breaking into a grin. Leaning back in his chair, he proceeded to crack his knuckles before responding, "you've got balls kid, I'll give you that. If any of the adults I've dragged up here spoke to me like that, I'd probably have just shot them. You on the other hand, you're a kid, one of us, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."
"I'm. Not. One. Of. You", responded Bartie, in a shaky voice that spoke of barely controlled rage. Arthurs shrugged, "true enough, but lets get down to business for real. I want the command codes to the super computer on the lunar base." That startled Bartie, "...why? I mean, why me? Can't you just pull them from the data logs on the base?" Arthurs smiled thinly, "first rule of interrogation kid, don't ever say anything that makes you look expendable, but thankfully for you, no, I don't want the security command codes, I want the master command codes." Bartie paled, "now", continued Arthurs, "from the information we gathered from the KND global net, I know that you were made global tactical officer after Schmitt took over fleet operations. As a result, I know you are the only other person besides the Supreme Leader who has the current set of master command codes and seeing as how the Supreme Leader is indisposed at the moment, you are the only one I can turn to."
"You're joking right", Bartie couldn't help himself, he busted out laughing, "why would I ever give YOU those codes?!" "I could give you a number of good reasons", responded Arthurs cooly, "but I'll give you only one, unlike other Confederates I'm willing to bargain for the information before throwing you in an interrogation room and wringing it out of you." "Why though", Bartie brought himself back under control, "why do you need the codes, what could you possibly need them for?" Arthurs smiled, "do you know what we are?" Bartie considered the question, "the guards told me a few things, you're an army of rebels fighting against a organization called the Federation. They said Numbah 141, the admiral, was from there, that he came here to help defend us from this invasion, but he didn't realize you were the ones invading." Arthurs steepled his fingers, "you must understand that our quarrel isn't with you, Schmitt represents the Federation on this world as a result all allied with him also represent Federation interests on this planet."
"BUT WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE FEDERATION IS", Bartie yelled, slamming his fist against the table, "HOW CAN YOU JUSTIFY ALL THIS, KILLING ALL MY FRIENDS AND THOUSANDS OF OTHERS JUST BASED ON THAT BLANKET EXPLANATION!" Arthurs regarded Bartie with an analytical expression, "Schmitt fights for the Federation, he upholds their interests and their agenda, as such those who stand with him on this world stand with the Federation. We will not show mercy to those who stand beside our mortal enemies. Besides, we never prevented any of you from siding with us in the first place, I don't seem to recall anyone defecting either." Bartie considered this, it was true, no KND operative had considered surrender to the Confederates, but..., "that doesn't excuse the fact that you executed my friends in cold blood", Bartie spat at Arthurs, "now that I think of it, why I am even talking to you about this, go ahead and interrogate me, you won't get anything!"
Arthurs eyes narrowed, "you may have guts Stork, but you're no soldier. You have no idea what war is like, let alone our war. On that note, allow me to explain why I need the codes: we aren't here to conquer, we're looking for something, something that will give us an edge in the war against the Federation. But our time is limited, the Federation surrounds us and everyday we spend here is one less we have to escape, so as you can imagine, we're getting desperate. Now..." He gestured towards Bartie, "what we're looking for is ancient, something long lost in the sands of time, something that your ancestors unearthed at some point. So, I need full access to the KND archives stored in the central computer, and I need it now."
"Remember", he added, "the sooner we find what we're looking for, the sooner we leave." Now...", he was all business again, "what do you want in return?" Bartie considered the offer for a few moments, "what assurances do I have that you're telling the truth?" Arthurs grinned, "none whatsoever, but if I am, what you do now could save countless lives, are you really willing to take that chance?" Bartie considered this carefully, finally he sighed and responded, "alright, I want two things." "Name them", said Arthurs, "I want to know if my family is still alive, and if they are I want them protected", demanded Bartie." "Done, and the second?" Bartie eyed him suspiciously, "I want constant access to all information about the state of the war, I want to know exactly whats going on when it's going on."
Arthurs scratched his chin, "thats a tall order, I can give you access to after action videos and battlefield reports, but no live feeds or communications data." "I'll compromise on the communications, but I won't agree unless I see live feeds", responded Bartie angrily, "I need to know I'm not being fooled." Arthurs considered this, "fine, deal." Bartie held up a hand, "hold on, I've got one final condition." "What", asked Arthurs curiously, "I won't give you the codes, after all I have no guarantee you'll keep me alive after you have them, I'll access the Super Big Computermabob and give you remote access, the system has a mandatory half hour time limit before logout for security purposes. I'll log you back in if needed then." Arthurs smiled, "smart, you're learning." He extended his hand, "we have a deal then?"
Bartie glared at the proffered hand for a minute, groaned and then shook it, "deal." Arthurs smiled again and pressed a button on the armrest of his command chair. The two soldiers from earlier entered the room and took up positions on either side of Bartie's chair, waiting for orders. Arthurs gestured at them, "escort the consultant to the hanger deck and get him on the first shuttle back to the Moon Base. He's to have full access to the primary KND network and central computer and remain under 24 hour guard, understood?" The soldiers snapped off quick salutes and went to grab Bartie by the arms again. Arthurs waved them away, "let him walk out of here, he's earned it." The soldiers obediently stepped back and waited for Bartie to exit the room before following close behind.
The bulkhead shut with a resounding thud, Arthurs chuckled to himself and keyed in Kreller's com frequency. Well that's one piece of the puzzle, now for the other, a hologram of Kreller popped up on the table a few moments later. The hologram saluted, "what is it sir, we're in the middle of combing the tunnels, I'd appreciate it if..." "I want a status update Sub Commander", demanded Arthurs, "you are a day overdue, I'd hope for your sake you've made some progress." Kreller eyed Arthurs with unmistakable annoyance, but made his report anyway, "it took us about a day to find the setup and locate the necessary equipment, drilling has been very slow as most of the old tunnels have either collapsed or have been filled in." Arthurs frowned, "you were unable to find Schmitt's tunnel? There should have been one leading to the Vault from the storage facility."
Kreller grimaced, "if there was one, the bastard must have collapsed it on his last trip, we didn't find any access points, however, we did find a map of the old KND transport tunnels." That confused Arthurs, "what does the KND have to do with any of this, I ordered you to find the Vault not play archeologist with a bunch of seven hundred year old KND garbage!" Kreller continued his report, ignoring Arthurs' rebuke, "the map has lead us to what was once an old KND artillery base, Schmitt left a bunch equipment lying around here plus a few maps that indicate the Vault is located in vicinity to the ancient KND capital, historical reports from that time period cross referenced with the Directorate intelligence logs you forwarded me indicate the original Site 32 research station was located in the very same area."
Arthurs grinned like a wolf, "the noose tightens then, very well Sub Commander, how much longer before you reach the capital?" "The drilling rigs are making good time", reported Kreller, "we borrowed a platoon of combat engineers from the local garrison forces to run them, they'll be through the old tunnels to the capital in about two hours, just as soon as we can find the ideal dig site." "Excellent", exclaimed Arthurs, "I want a full report of your findings as soon as possible, over and out." He cut the connection immediately, not waiting to see Cameron's goodbye salute. Arthurs sat back in his chair, wringing his hands with anticipation, ah Imnis, I have no doubt your lackey intends to do just the opposite, after all, it wouldn't do to have the prize of the campaign fall into the hands of such a wild card as myself. Fortunately, I've planned for all of that.Arthurs reactivated the holo-table and scanned the updates from the ground force commanders, deployments were almost complete.
Now for the final piece of the puzzle, Arthurs called up his chief doctor back on the Harbinger, "I need you to access the personnel archives and send me a sample of Agent Uno's genetic material." Seconds later a digital copy of Nigel's genetic code was sitting in the storage bin of Arthurs' PDA. Feeding the data into the holo table, Arthurs set the system to project a revolving image of Nigel's DNA. He ran a hand through the hologram, watching with amusement as the image fizzed in and out of focus, and they thought using genetic material as an authorization code was fool proof, he chuckled to himself.
Everything was in place, now all he needed was full access to the KND central computer. Calling up a feed from the ship's central hanger, he saw that Bartie's shuttle was launching at that very moment. Arthurs quickly ran a few calculations in his head and began to grumble, the boy wouldn't be back at the Moonbase for about half an hour. He shrugged and re-called the live feed from the ground forces, no matter, all I have to do is wait. To pass the time, he watched as his troops prepared to storm the last adult stronghold on the planet.
Ancient KND Central Command Bunker: Beneath the Ruins of the Capital City
Nigel leaned against the side of the elevator, arms crossed, as the metal box descended into the bowls of the ancient bunker. Apparently, the first set of massive steel bulkheads in the first room had been only the first of three, though thankfully none of others had required more genetic samples from Rachel. After the series of security doors as Schmitt called them, the tunnel had dead ended at a security checkpoint. The checkpoint had consisted of a square room, roughly 20x20ft with a low hanging ceiling. Two steel pillboxes dominated the far wall, their empty gun slits staring silently at the security door through which they had come. Between the two boxes was a single blast door, which upon their approach, had ground open to reveal an old elevator beyond.
After some cajoling from Schmitt, the group had boarded it and they were now slowly making their way into the heart of the ancient KND base. Schmitt had assured them numerous times that this elevator would take them straight to the habitation deck of the bunker, from there he promised he'd take them straight to the legion. Nigel glanced around the elevator, it was fairly spacious and had allowed the various parties on board to retreat to their own respective corners. In one corner, Nigel's friends were busy taking inventory of the supplies they still had, while in the corner opposite that, his friends had propped Monty up against the wall in order to let him rest. It was in that same corner that Schmitt had unceremoniously dumped Benedict's unconscious body; Schmitt himself was in the third corner, tending to the last of his wounds as Rachel peppered him with questions about the ancient KND.
Nigel had refrained from asking similar questions, deciding that Rachel deserved to be the one to finally get some answers out of Schmitt. So he'd retreated to the final corner of the elevator and was now propped up against the wall, listening to the two chat. "You still haven't told me what you were doing here seven hundred years ago", pressed Rachel, "why weren't you off with the Federation, why bother with Earth?" Schmitt shrugged, "I've always kept a watchful eye on this world, this is after all the only planet left with human adults on it. As for what I was doing here... well thats a long and complicated story." Rachel grinned, "we've got plenty of time, please do tell." Schmitt grumbled to himself, "fine, heres the compacted version, back when the KND was first getting started, it was attracting a lot of attention from the Federation. It was the first time a kid organization and ever risen to power on this world and as a result, there was talk in the senate about offering you a place in the Federation. However, we don't make offers like that lightly, so a survey team was sent in undercover to gather data and analyze your civilization, with the purpose of determining whether you were ready to be added to the Federation. What they brought back was... disconcerting."
Rachel arched an eyebrow, "it couldn't have been that bad... for the kids anyway." Schmitt shrugged, "it wasn't, but that wasn't the point. As I've told you, the Federation has tried to put our grudge with the adults behind us and as a result we are primarily an isolationist state and though that has changed quite a bit in recent history, back then we were still keeping most of the galaxy at an arms length. What we found on Earth was the exact opposite of that, the KND of that day was in all honesty an imperialist power. Your people were extremely militaristic and intensely xenophobic towards foreign powers, those being the adults. Nationalism was in full swing, we doubted you would have agreed to be assimilated into the Federation. As a result, your entry was denied and Earth was placed under quarantine as a safeguard, in the event that you developed ships capable of space travel." Rachel looked at him quizzically, "which we did, so... why didn't you guys do anything?"
"Of course we did something", responded Schmitt defensively, "they sent me. Ten years before the start of the Reclamation war between the kids and the adults, quarantine command discovered evidence that the KND was developing its first interplanetary colony ship. Naturally, they freaked out and wanted to launch a raid to destroy the project, in lieu of that I volunteered to go down to the planet and reevaluate the KND to see if you were now ready for entry into the Federation." "But why did you go", demanded Rachel, "why didn't the Federation just send another survey team?" Schmitt grimaced, "they'd been planning on it, however, almost three hundred years passed between the report of the first survey team and the construction of the colony ship, in that time the golden age of the KND empire came and went and by the time you came to our attention again, you no longer presented as much value as you had the first time. I.e., the council didn't think it was worth it to outfit and send another survey team, so I volunteered instead." 'But why...", Rachel demanded again, impatiently, "did you personally volunteer?"
Schmitt eyed her with a mix of annoyance and distaste, "patience Rachel, I'm getting there. To put it simply, I volunteered for the express reason that I am one of a few that recognizes the unique value presented by this world. It is here and only here that we have ever witnessed a society where kids and adults can coexist on a relatively equal level. In all other points of history wherever kids and adults are both present, one side has dominated the other. The existence of a such a relationship on this world between kids and adults presents hope that one day we may be able to put aside our grudges and coexist as species." "Wow", exclaimed Rachel sarcastically, "when did you become such a hippie?"
Schmitt looked at her with surprise, "don't tell me you don't want peace? Isn't that what the KND has been fighting for this entire time? Peace and equality between kids and adults?" Rachel wasn't really sure how to respond to that, in the silence that followed Schmitt soldiered on, "when I arrived here I found the KND in the twilight hours of the golden age, much of the glory of the old days was gone and KND society had slumped into a period of static laziness." "Our histories recall that part at least", added Nigel, finally joining the conversation, "it's said that after we created the adults, the KND became increasingly lazy. We started delegating most of our responsibilities to the adults, forced them to build our cities and do our chores, right?" "Yes", agreed Schmitt, "that much is true, however there is still much more to it than that."
The elevator stopped suddenly, the door swung open to reveal a blank and featureless hallway made of iron and stone, like and old WWII bunker; two steel double doors sat at the opposite end of the hallway. Schmitt gestured towards the doors, "shall we", he asked, stepping out of the elevator. Nigel and Rachel followed close behind the admiral as he made his way towards the double doors, sector V lagged behind still dragging the unconscious bodies of Benedict and Monty. The admiral thrust open the doors revealing a cavernous chamber beyond. The room beyond was at least 80 feet high and was shaped like a semicircle, with a vaulted ceiling. The room was about 60 feet across and consisted of two tiers, the top most one was the one the elevator passage led out to. From the double doors, a stair case extended down towards the floor of the chamber. The room appeared to be symmetrical, as they could see another set of doors opposite them on the other side of the tier. At the ground floor, a tiled pathway depicting a red road led towards the far side of the room, where another large bulkhead could be seen.
The bulkhead was flanked on both sides by statues of stout looking soldiers standing at attention, the final two statues before the bulkhead depicted two officers holding out their swords so they cross right above the doorway. The statues might have been gold at one point, but the paint had long since faded or flaked off. The room wasn't as ornate or grand as the train station had been, but even in the dimly lit room, Nigel could still make out a few long banners hanging from the ceiling. The room was lit only by a few flickering bulbs, somewhere high up in the ceiling, most of the light was coming from Schmitt's flashlight so Nigel couldn't make out the patterns on them. The flickering lights, combined with the immense, shadow casting statues gave the chamber an incredibly eerie feel.
As the group descended the stairs, Nigel could see another bulkhead facing the one on the far side of the room. The road depicted on the floor led in both directions, so Nigel assumed the door on the other side of the room closest to them was some kind of passageway, possibly leading to a freight elevator of some kind. "That way leads to the freight elevator", confirmed Schmitt, who had noticed Nigel's expression, "this little entry chamber is just one of five access ways to the surface for moving supplies and men to and from the habitation deck." "How far down are we", asked Rachel curiously, Schmitt shrugged, "I don't really remember, they last told me seven hundred years ago, its either three or four hundred feet beneath the city."
Schmitt waved his flashlight in the direction of the bulkhead, "through there, that way leads into the bunker. The place is shaped like one big X, this side is the habitation deck, so we'll be passing through the military barracks and living spaces, most of the entrances from the surface lead to this section. On the other side of the habitation deck is the storage and deployment level, this bunker was designed to house and entire army, so that section is dedicated to storing munitions, supplies and weapons. That section also has multiple elevators that lead directly to the surface for deploying ships, troops and vehicles. The middle of the bunker is taken up by the command center while the front section contains the research and development level where experimental technologies and projects are stored."
"You mean like project IronWing", pipped up Rachel. Schmitt stopped and looked back at her, "I guess you really did read the contingency orders, yes project IronWing was stored in that section." "What is it", asked Rachel, "the order didn't really explain how any of this would help us win." Schmitt sighed and turned around to look Rachel in the eye, "the contingency orders weren't created to win the war, they were created to help us survive it." Rachel wasn't sure if she'd heard him right, "but this legion you talked about is a military force, right? You said we could use them to bolster our forces." "Yes", agreed Schmitt, "those extra forces would give us the man power we needed to last out. You fail to understand that Arthurs is on a time table here, the Confederates can only keep this up so long before someone in the Federation gets suspicious and comes to inspect whats going on. All we have to do is hold out long enough for those inspectors to show up."
Rachel was baffled, "thats it. THATS YOUR PLAN!" Schmitt looked extremely uncomfortable, "I'm a strategist, not a miracle worker, we're facing overwhelming odds from an enemy that outnumbers us, outguns us and can outmaneuver us at every turn. You can't expect much better when faced with those odds." "But.. but..", Rachel didn't know what to say, "there has to be another way besides this? What about the fourth contingency order?" Schmitt went rigid, "that order...", he said slowly, through gritted teeth, "is an extreme last resort, and it is absolutely not an option at this stage." "But what is it", Rachel pressed, "and why did you write it in code in your own notebook?" Schmitt looked up at the banners hanging around the room, it took him a few moments to respond, "the notebook was intended to help guide a successor in the event of my death, or in the event I was removed from Earth before the invasion started. It was my insurance policy."
He looked back at the group, "you all know about the Book of KND, no?" The others, especially Nigel nodded, Schmitt pointed up at the banners, "in the final days of the war with the adults, the leaders of the ancient KND knew that their empire was coming to an end, the legions were on the retreat and the adults were advancing on all side unchecked. So in those final days, they created a text, compiling all their knowledge, all their secrets into one book. A book that was left behind, hidden on Earth for future generations to find and learn from." Schmitt gestured to the base around them, "but they didn't put everything into that book, sometimes there are things in the past best left untouched." He regarded the group of operatives solemnly, "the fourth order is one of those things, and I'd appreciate it if you let it go for now."
Rachel considered interjecting, but thought better of it, Schmitt was starting to go into his stubborn mode. She inclined her head in acknowledge and Schmitt relaxed, "thank you", he replied, "now as for project IronWing, well that ones pretty simple. Project IronWing was a prototype KND air dreadnaught, equipped with the KND's first fully operational railgun. While it was designed far before the conflict, it was only finished in the final days of the war, by that time the adults had pretty much won and there wasn't time to deploy it. So, it was hidden here along with the Last Legion." "In the orders you said you wanted to get this thing operational", Nigel said, with a hint of confusion, "whats one ship going to do to help us?" "Well thats the thing", answered Schmitt, "IronWing is about twice the size of the Gihugeacarrier and despite being ancient, its got enough firepower to tangle with most run of the mill Confederate ships."
"But... its still one ship", pointed out Hoagie, "you can't take on a fleet with one ship, even if it is that big." "I wasn't intending to use it as a warship", corrected Schmitt, "more of an ark, the legion would provide fire support while we loaded as many people as we could on the thing and then make our escape." "I'm pretty sure something that big would have a really tough time running the Confederate blockade", countered Hoagie. "I've thought of everything", Schmitt deadpanned, "I had a single in-system jump drive stashed in the labs back at Arctic Base, it would have been easy enough for your engineers to jury rig it to the ship, then all we'd have to do is clear the atmosphere and jump for Mars."
"I'm guessing that drive got flattened with the base though", remarked Rachel with a wry expression. Schmitt shrugged in response, "I don't know, the marines may have picked it up before leaving or maybe they didn't, its beside the point at this stage." The continued on till they came level with the bulkhead leading into the base. When they arrived, Schmitt stopped and gestured towards the entrance, "this is the last gate between us and the interior of the bunker, before we go any further I'd better wake these two up", he indicated Monty and Benedict with a jerk of his thumb. The others cringed, "uh no, bad idea", said Nigel quickly, "yeah", added Hoagie, "I think its in everyone's best interest if you don't wake up the murderous, psychopathic super villain." Schmitt waved away their concerns, "don't worry, I can place a temporary mental block on him so he won't be able to use his powers, should last a few hours at least."
"But why does he have to be awake for this", asked Nigel matter-of-factly, "can't we just drag him through the base with us?" "Because he needs to see this", replied Schmitt, as he kneeled down to place his hands on Benedict's head, "the line of Fathers descend from the first Father, the one who led the adult hordes against the KND legions during the first war between kids and adults. It's only fitting that he be awake for this." Schmitt pressed his hands against Benedict's temples and closed his eyes, a few seconds passed before he opened them and released Benedict's head. Schmitt then moved on and repeated the process with Monty, he was smiling when he released Monty's head. Nigel was confused, "what's so funny", he asked.
Schmitt indicated Monty, "just wait and see", he said. A few minutes passed, then the bodies began to twitch, finally a few seconds later their eyes began to open and they began to push themselves up off the floor. "Uggh", groaned Benedict, "why do I feel like I just stepped out of an oven after being run over by a steamroller." "Ben, is that you", asked Monty curiously, "what are you doing here, I thought..." It was then that he noticed Nigel and the others standing nearby. Monty's eyes had yet to fully adjust to the gloom, so it took him a moment before he could truly make out what he was looking at. When his eyes finally adjusted, his expression registered confusion, "Nigel? Son is that you?"
Nigel was stunned, "Dad... you remember me?" Monty's brow furrowed, "of course I remember you, why wouldn't... I was decommissioned again wasn't I?" "Yes, after I...", Nigel halted in mid-sentence, "...wait, you remember what decommissioning is?" He looked to Schmitt for confirmation. Schmitt only smiled and gestured dramatically towards Monty, "as I said, I can place mental blocks, but I can also remove them to. Thankfully your decommissioning process only represses memories instead of wiping them, so allow me to re-introduce Numbah 0." "And boy is it good to be back", added Monty, hopping to his feet. Facing Nigel, Numbah 0 saluted, "good to see you again Numbah 1", he dropped the salute and then added in a tender voice, "its been too long son." Nigel embraced his father, Monty drew him close and held him gently.
While father and son had their reunion, Schmitt walked over to where Benedict was still sitting and nudged him with a foot, "on your feet", he said coldly. Benedict looked up at him, "you... you're the one who defeated me." Schmitt bent down and looked Benedict straight in the eye, "yes, and if you move one step out of line, next time I'll kill you, got it?" Benedict snorted, "you may have my powers, but you're no villain kid, you don't have the guts." Schmitt grabbed Benedict by the scruff of his neck and hauled him up so their faces were but an inch apart, "try me", he growled. Benedict saw the fire in his eyes and he knew all too well what that meant. This kid, whoever he was, would not hesitate to back up his threat.
Benedict didn't back down, but he gave an almost imperceptible nod and Schmitt released him. Benedict hauled himself to his feet and looked down at Schmitt, the boy wasn't the slightest bit intimidated or discouraged by his size. He cocked an eyebrow at him, "who are you, really. I've never met anyone outside my family who could use those powers and what you did to my mind... even Grandfather wasn't telepathic." Schmitt glared at him, "someone who has fought your kind in the past and knows how to deal with adults like you." "If thats true then why keep me alive", countered Benedict, "why risk me getting loose?" Schmitt's glare was unwavering, "because like it or not, I'm gonna need someone to lead the adults when this is over, someone with influence, who can take care of themselves and who isn't afraid to throw their weight around. Despite your selfish plans and arrogance, I know you put the preservation of your people above all else, and that is something I can respect. So I trust you will do just that until this war is over."
Benedict eyed him with suspicion, "if this is about the war between the adults and the KND you can forgot it, I..." "Its not", interrupted Schmitt, "this is about the war between Earth and my people. I'll explain in due time, but know this, you represent the very reason why this war started in the first place. You represent everything that we hate about adults, you embody the very worst of what it means to be an adult. I should kill you right now, I WANT to kill you right now, but I have a duty to these people and to the future of this world, and unfortunately you play a part in that. So you will play that part or you will wish that I'd killed you right now. Understood?"
Benedict wasn't used to people telling him what to do, he was even less used to a kid ordering him what to do. But he remembered all too well the beating he'd just endured, he gave an almost imperceptible nod in consent. He would bide his time; eventually Schmitt would slip up and then he'd get his chance, but until then, it'd be worth it to see where this was going. "Good", was all Schmitt said, he turned to leave, "wait", demanded Benedict. Schmitt halted and looked back at him questioningly. "Why can't I remember why I'm down here", demanded Benedict, "what was I doing down here? What did you do to me?" Schmitt was stone faced, "trust me, you don't want to remember." Without another word, he turned and walked back towards Nigel and the others, leaving Benedict alone with his thoughts.
During his exchange with Benedict, Nigel and the others had filled Monty in on what had been happening over the past few days. He was taking it rather well, "it sounds utterly impossible", he said, "but if you say so, then it must be true. So the that whole deal with the Galactic Kids Next Door was just a big lie then? Oh, when I get my hands on those Confederates I'll make them wish they were never born!" Rachel smiled, "the Confederates better watch out now that we have the greatest hero in all the KND on our side... no offense Nigel." Nigel smiled back and shrugged, "non taken, he is my dad after all. Dad I don't think you ever met Rachel, she's the new Supreme Leader."
"Is that so", Monty cocked an eyebrow at her, "things have certainly changed since my time." He held out a hand, "good to meet you, sir", Rachel shook his hand, her expression was a bit dazed, "thank you, but... you don't have to call me sir, your Numbah 0 after all." Monty grinned, "and I'm not exactly KND any more either, fair enough, Ms. Rachel." Rachel blushed. Monty released her hand and looked up at the high ceiling, "I only wish I could see what was going on up there. If this is to be the end of the 7th age, I'd rather go down fighting up there than skulking around down here." "It isn't over yet", stated Nigel firmly, "we still have a chance to end this." "No, he's right", countered Schmitt, walking up to them, "like it or not, the KND will be fundamentally different when this is over, we may already be looking at an 8th age." Monty examined Schmitt, "so your from outer space eh? Not exactly how I imagined a space kid would look, but..."
Schmitt raised an eyebrow, "well what did you expect?" Monty scratched his chin, "something a little more retro, you know, like those old fashioned space men with ray guns and those cigar shaped rockets?" Schmitt chuckled, "I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those suits. Actually I would, the suit would probably rupture the moment I hit hard vacuum." Monty gave him a sideways look, "you have a very grim sense of humor", Schmitt waved his hand dismissively, "1000 years in the military will do that to you." "Mind explaining how thats possible", asked Benedict, who had trudged back over to the group. Everyone of the operatives instantly had their weapons pointed at his head.
Benedict gave them an annoyed glare, "put your pea shooters away I'm not gonna fight you." "How do we know your no just gonna attack us as soon as we do", demanded Wally, "you seemed pretty eager to tear us apart last time." "I was", admitted Benedict, "but for the life of me I can't remember why." "Wait, what", Nigel lowered his weapon in confusion, "you don't remember what you said earlier?" "What did I say", asked Benedict curiously, "well...", Nigel was about to go on, but Schmitt shot him a piercing glare and he shut up. "Like I said", continued Schmitt, "you don't want to know." Nigel shot him a questioning look, I'll tell you later, Schmitt thought to him.
Schmitt gestured towards the door, "now that everyones awake and kicking, let me continue where I left off." He looked pointedly at Benedict and Monty, "do either of you know where we are?" Monty and Benedict shrugged, "this is the resting place of the Last Legion", answered Schmitt, "one of the last surviving relics of the ancient KND, now I'm sure at least one of you knows what that is." Monty scratched his head, "I remember some stories from the Book of KND, but nothing more than that." Schmitt looked pointedly at Benedict, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere than here right now, "I know what it is", he said finally.
Monty shot him an incredulous look, "how, you never even joined the KND?" "He's a Father", Schmitt crossed his arms as he glared at Benedict, "every Father is descend from the first Father, the one who started the war between adults and the KND. Every Father passes down the story of the war to the next in line, Grandfather never got a chance to tell you before you overthrew him but..." He gestured towards Benedict, who continued for him, "when I decided to become Father", he explained, "I went back and looked through all of Grandfather's old records and possessions. One of his possessions was a book, a book with the collective history of the line of Father's, each adds his story to it and passes it on to the next generation." "Like the Book of KND", realized Nigel, "the adults did the same thing, they made a record of the ancient times and passed it down so that if one generation was defeated..." "Another would rise up to take its place", finished Schmitt, "this is why the war perpetuates, thanks to the two books, both sides always comes back in the end."
Schmitt hit a switch on the wall next to the bulkhead and the steel door cranked open, "if this war is to ever end, you must first understand how it started." As the door ground open, the same robotic voice from early rang out from somewhere above, outside access to primary Command Bunker detect. KND DNA samples verified, disengaging stasis locks and security fields. "Stasis locks?" Nigel looked to Schmitt for answers, "come now", he replied, "if the ancient KND just left everything out it'd be dust by now. Another amazing advancement of the ancient KND was the semi-mastery of chronology. The invention of stasis fields allow objects to be frozen in time, allowing them to withstand the weight of the ages. Clothes, weapons, food, all of it is preserved without the need for cryogenics or other kinds of suspended animation."
Their entrance into the base must have triggered the generators to; lights started flickering on in the corridor behind the bulkhead and beyond. Schmitt pocketed his flashlight and beckoned to the group to follow. Together, kids and adults alike walked side by side into the ancient bunker. Schmitt began to explain the history of the ancient KND, "before the adults", he started, "times were good, the KND ruled all of Earth, they tended the land, explored the wilds and built vast cities and huge monuments dedicated to the glory of their empire. The golden age of the KND empire lasted around 200 years, in that time the KND built the vast treehouse cities you've heard about in legend. After this period however, the empire began to wane."
They passed through several habitation complexes, Nigel saw barracks with cots pushed against the walls and hammocks hung from the ceiling. They passed locker rooms, row upon row of compartments sealed, each with a serial number printed at the top, "as kids", Schmitt continued, "your people didn't reproduce, as a result, deaths from disease, accidents and the occasional armed skirmish took their toll. Your ancestors had one thing in their favor, they had managed to create something only we of the Federation had ever managed to achieve. They invented their own version of the Anti-Aging Vaccine. Theirs however, was a flawed version, as it was only a temporary measure, doses had to be renewed every five years or so for the effect to be maintained. So old age wasn't a problem, but as time went by, the empire shrank from a global power, to a nation small enough to be contained solely on this continent."
They passed through the habitation deck and into the command center; they walked through empty ready rooms, briefing halls and even a few map rooms. Schmitt continued talking the whole time, "eventually the KND empire was reduced to a few hundred treehouse cities on this continent. As your empire waned so to did your people, the average citizen became lazy and sloth like. Nobody had the drive to do anything anymore and your entire civilization fell into a slump. So the scientists of the ancient KND decided to create a race of servants, slaves who would take over the job of repairing and maintaining the empire. These were the adults. As the legends say, you basically enslaved them, they had no rights, no possessions and no time to themselves. For close to 30 years this went on, finally one adult, the first Father rebelled. He argued that adults, having been created from the genetic material of kids themselves, deserved the same rights and privileges as any citizen of the empire. The KND imperial council and the ruling Supremarch, refused to jeopardize the efficiency of their workforce by giving them rights.
So the adults left the empire. They headed north, into what is now Canada, and began to build a state of their own. The adults, unlike the KND, could reproduce and in time their numbers swelled to outstrip even the empire's. 60 years passed and the KND continued to wane while the empire of the adults began to rise. The KND saw how the adults treated newborn children in their empire and feared the implications of a world ruled by their kind." The group passed through the command center and into a vast, cavernous chamber, that seemed to go on for miles. Here, row upon row of armored vehicles were lined, going back as far as the eye could see. Half of the room was taken up by a cavernous pit that fell down into blackness. Schmitt hit a switch on the edge of an elevator platform and lights winked on in the pit, going down, down, down for hundreds of meters. Bellow, they could see sections cut out of the walls and more chambers that reached beyond where even more rows of vehicles, aircraft and even what looked like massive siege cannons, were stacked up in storage.
Schmitt gestured around the room, "the adults had numbers but the KND had technology and industry on their side, when the Supremarch finally marshaled the legions and marched against the adult territories, he had enough vehicles to ground the fledgling adult empire beneath his heel." They walked on, into what appeared to be a flight deck. here rows of boxy, heavily armored craft that looked like a cross between a WWII bomber and a tank were lined up in orderly rows. Schmitt waved towards them, "destroyer bombers like these flew on the adults in the hundreds and leveled dozens of cities in the first days of the war. The KND armies encircled the adults and began to mercilessly pound their defenses into dust with siege artillery and armored blitzkriegs."
"This went on for about seven years, the adults held on, trusting in their numbers to stall the KND advance. The KND continued to advance, slowly reducing the adult's fledgling civilization to rubble. Finally, after years of development, the adults managed to reverse engineer enough KND technology to create a weapon capable of turning the tide of the war." Schmitt stopped outside a large door, over which was the label: STASIS BAY A1 CONTROL DECK. "You know the weapon as Octopaddlers, the ancient KND forces called them Striders. The adults built them cheaply for mass production, so they weren't that hard to take down, but there were so many of them. The adults swarmed the KND front lines with Striders and broke the siege lines around their territory. The KND had concentrated most of their forces on that line, never believing that the adults would ever break through. When they finally did, the adults went on a rampage throughout KND territory. By that point the legions were in disarray, entire armies had to be pulled from the front lines to deal with the adult incursions, by the time those had been brought under control, the siege lines were weakened to the point that the adults were able to overwhelm them with ease and thus began advancing in all directions across KND territory."
"The war then fractured into a dozen fronts and over the course of the next three years the KND's vast legions were slowly whittled away by the adult's advance. In the final days of the war, the adult armies were on the doorstep of the KND capital. It was at this point that the last remnants of the empire took the colony ship they had been developing and used it to flee to the moon. But..." He opened the door and stepped into the room beyond. The room was semi-circular, most of the far wall was taken up by a glass window that overlooked a vast, dark chamber. Several work stations were situated around the room, Schmitt went over to one and began typing in coding. "One legion however, refused to give in. That legion, the home guard legion, commanded personally by the Supreme Praetor of the legions himself; hid itself away in a secure location, planning to one day return and exact their vengeance upon the unsuspecting adult populace." Schmitt hit a few buttons and then threw a switch positioned at the center of the control panel.
The chamber was lit up by bright florescent lights. The room beyond was a massive rectangle, several dozen meters high and many more long. Set into the walls in the chamber were row upon row of flat, rectangular pods, mounted on racks that reached all the way to the ceiling. Each pod was the same size and glowed with a faint blue light. Upon closer inspection, Nigel could see that each pod contained a kid, none of which looked older than 12. The kids were dressed in a variety of uniforms but Nigel could see a distinct similarity between them all; the control deck was set towards the ceiling of the room and Schmitt motioned towards an elevator platform set in the wall that would take them down towards the floor of the stasis bay. "This here, is the legion", he explained, "part of it anyway. This is the last legion of the ancient KND, the last remaining army that disappeared at the final hour of the war and was never found, by KND operatives or adults anyway."
"So the Last Legion, is made of kids from the ancient KND", asked Rachel incredulously, "how many are there?" Schmitt considered this, "in total there should be around 40,000 of them, maybe more considering the inclusion of the flight wings and technical corps. More than enough to bolster the ranks of the KND." "An entire army of KND soldiers, all trained and experienced in real warfare", remarked Nigel, "I can see now why you put this on the Contingency Orders." Rachel noticed a control panel set in the wall near the bottom of one of the racks, "well lets not waste any time then, time to wake these guys up..." She stopped and considered this for a second, "wait', she turned back to Schmitt, "you said the legion hid itself away to exact vengeance on the adults, so wouldn't they just attack the adults if we woke them up?"
Schmitt sighed, "now we come to this. Yes. This is why I never woke up the legion before myself, a decade of war breeds deep grudges. Considering the situation we're in now, it is likely the legion would simply side with the Confederates and help them exterminate adults. That is after all, what they intended to do in the first place." The others stared at him, "so...", Nigel began, "WHAT THE HELL DID WE COME DOWN HERE FOR THEN", screamed Rachel. Schmitt calmly held up a hand, "listen", he said firmly, "there is a way to get the legion to fight for us, but it is extremely risky." Rachel tapped her foot impatiently, "you have one minute", she stated.
Schmitt gestured around the room, "the ancient KND was extremely strict in the installation of discipline throughout the ranks, as a result the legions were unwaveringly loyal to their commanders. If we can sway the commander of the legion to our cause, the legion will fight with us to protect the Earth. However, this legion's commander was among the most fervent in his hatred of the adults." Schmitt gestured towards one of the pods on the far side of the room. Before this pod was a sword that had been thrust into the deck of the room and on it hung a peaked officers cap, dark red with gold thread. "We can selectively wake members of the legion", explained Schmitt, "but even if we wake the commander, there is no guarantee he will keep his word and side with us."
Rachel and Nigel looked at each other, then Rachel looked to Schmitt and said, "you wouldn't have brought us down here if you didn't think there was a chance we could convince this guy. Don't tell me your backing out now." Schmitt smiled sadly, "I went all in on this a long time ago, the question is, are you all willing to?" Nigel glanced at the others, his friends were all giving him thumbs and nodding their heads, even Abigail was nodding in agreement, Nigel cocked his head at her. She shrugged, "we came all the way down here and its not like we got a better idea, might as well take the chance." "Dad", Nigel turned to Monty, "what do you think?" Monty put his hands on his hips and gave him a courageous grin, "I think the KND never got where it is today by being cautious and besides, if these fellows are really KND soldiers, then they must have some bit of decency in them, I saw give it a whirl."
Nigel thought about this for a moment and then walked over to Schmitt, "what", asked Benedict a little offended, "you aren't going to ask me for advice?" Nigel glared at him, "you'd probably burn this whole chamber down and everyone in it the first chance you got, I'm not gonna ask you anything." Benedict glanced around the room with a mixture of fear and loathing, "fair enough kid." Nigel turned to Schmitt, "do it." Schmitt sighed and pushed a few buttons on the control panel mounted in the wall next to the stasis pod. The pod whirred and clicked, then the blue light inside faded and the pod began to open. The figure inside stirred and then began to clamber out of the chamber. He was a boy, around 12 by the looks of it, and relatively tall as he came up to being only a few inches shorter than Schmitt.
He wore a dark red military uniform that looked right out of the earlier 20th century. He had on a dark red officer's jacket, over a grey under shirt, as well as grey trousers and black boots. The detail of his uniform was tailored with gold thread and he had on his shoulders a pair of classical epaulets, also in gold thread. He had on a dark brown belt with a shoulder strap, and attached to the belt at the wait were a pistol holster and a sword sheath, both empty. Over his shoulders, just below the epaulets, he had on a pair of gold plated pauldrons, complemented by a matching set of gold plated greaves and bracers on his legs and arms.
The KND commander, pushed himself out of the chamber, stumbled for a second, then fell down on his hands and knees and began coughing violently. "Soldier", he said in a voice that sounded like it belonged to an old man, "fetch me a canteen, my mouth is as dry as sand." Schmitt unbuckled his canteen from his belt and tossed it to the commander, "drink up Frederick", he said gruffly, "its been a long seven hundred years." The officer uncapped the bottle and poured the entire contents down his throat before answering, "has it really been that long? My bones feel like dust." "Walk it off", encouraged Schmitt, "it'll take a few minutes before you adjust to time outside the stasis field." The commander, Frederick, blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the brightly lit chamber, "your voice is familiar, where have I heard it before..." The commander's eyes widened as he realized who he was talking to.
He made a grab for the sword still sticking out of the deck at the foot of his pod, but Schmitt blocked his path, laying the blade of his own sword across the commander's chest, "not so fast Frederick, we need to talk." Frederick growled, "Air Commander Number 1B7, I locked you out of the bunker! How did you survive seven hundred years outside of a stasis chamber!" "First of all Frederick", began Schmitt, "I thought I told you to call me by my name, and as for your question, lets just say I got my hands on a lot of Anti-Aging Formula." Frederick scowled as his eyes adjusted and the admiral came into focus, "what, did you pillage the empire's entire supply?! I find it hard to believe the adults left enough formula lying around for more than three decades!"
Frederick then noticed the small group of operatives and adults watching the pair, he glared with undisguised hatred at Monty and Benedict, "I'll have your head on a stake for this", he spat, "you dare to bring adults down here! After everything they did during the war!" "Times have changed", said Schmitt firmly, "they aren't who they used to be." Frederick snorted, "they can't be much better and who are the kids, they don't look legion to me?" Schmitt indicted Rachel and the rest of sector V with a wave of his hand, "these, are operatives of the latest generation of the KND." Frederick's brow furrowed, "new... operatives did you say? So the Book was a success then."
Nigel and the others stepped forward to introduce themselves, "I'm Numbah 1 of Kids Next Door sector V, these here are my teammates, Numbah's 2, 3, 4 and 5", the indicated operatives gave salutes as Nigel called them off, "and this is Numbah 362, the current Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door." Rachel stepped forward and saluted as well, "and who are you sir?" Frederick expression was a mixture of confusion and distaste, "back in line soldier", he barked at Nigel, "the commander can introduce herself." Nigel was taken aback by this response, but he did as the officer instructed, Rachel cast a glance back at him before addressing the officer, "I know they did things differently in your day, but that was totally uncalled for." Frederick turned back to glare at Rachel, "If that was uncalled for, then things certainly have changed drastically since my day. Whats the Kids Next Door?"
Rachel was shocked, "its... its our organization, the organization. That is what the KND was known as in the old days wasn't it?" "No", replied Frederick in a flat tone, "it wasn't. In answer to your earlier question, I am Supreme Praetor Number 1B4, and I served the empire of the Kids New Directorate."
OMG 14,000 words, I need a drink.