Reckless Faith VI: Chapter 3
Spoiler Alert: This is a new entry into the Reckless Faith series. The prologue may be found here: https://devonai.wordpress.com/2021/10/26/reckless-faith-vi-prologue/
Sylvania Technologies Corp was a massive complex, sprawled out over a 200-acre campus, with its almost two dozen buildings comprising more than six million square feet of space. It was nestled in an isolated corner of the country’s southernmost state, surrounded by miles of protected woodland. From the time that the sun went down to the next morning, only one man was there, an unarmed security guard named Samraa. Three times during his shift, he would confirm his personal transponder was working, and embark on a circuitous patrol of the property. Checking each major structure, while not walking particularly fast, took him almost two hours. Samraa preferred this over spending his entire shift behind a desk.
It wasn’t just a break in an otherwise mundane job, but also an opportunity for him to marvel over all the projects that STC was working on. Though the size and scope of its research and development had waned over the years, they still laid claim to the status of the largest and most innovative technology company on the planet. And yet, their most profitable enterprise, that of spacecraft propulsion, had all but disappeared, having been completely eclipsed by the Residerian-Z’Sorth Conglomerate’s expansion into the core galaxy some twenty years earlier. Fortunately, their research into spacecraft fuels, dry-cell batteries, and a score of other cutting-edge technology had kept them afloat. Samraa found all of this fascinating.
His walking tour of the campus took him through empty buildings, office suites, manufacturing floors, and fully-stocked laboratories. The complex also boasted a dining facility and temporary housing, though the latter hadn’t been used in years. His favorite building was the one that housed STC’s plasma lab, not just for the mysterious nature of the work, but also the pretty colors. Visible through windows from the hallways, several low-power experiments were run 24/7, making for an interesting and mesmerizing display. It was also home to a device that was the most important stop on his tour: a hydrogen generator. Though he didn’t understand exactly why, if a green LED indicator outside the generator room was ever to turn red, he was supposed to immediately call emergency services and evacuate the building. This begged the question of why he was only required to check it thrice during an eleven-hour period, but that was beyond his pay grade.
Samraa was not a highly-educated man. Initially, everything that was going on at STC was beyond his ken. What he lacked in schooling, however, he made up with in enthusiasm. Since landing this job one year earlier, he had made a reasonable attempt to understand most of the research going on there. At the security desk near the main entrance to the complex, he had access to the ‘net, and had used whatever unclassified resources were available out there to learn as much as he could. This allowed him to gain a basic understanding of the principles of some of the projects. What he lacked was an opportunity to talk to any of the scientists or technicians working there, since it was the middle of the night. As much as he would have loved to visit during the day on one of his days off, he wasn’t authorized to be there except while on shift. So far, none of the day shift guards had offered to trade shifts with him, so it was still uncertain if he’d ever have the opportunity. Of course, going back to school had crossed his mind, if he could find a way to afford the tuition.
That night, as usual, he had just spent a few minutes gazing at the blue-green jets of plasma flame visible in the Uranium Hexafluoride Zero-Emissions lab before moving on to the next building. While crossing the short distance outside during the beautiful summer night, he noticed a ship passing low overhead. It was of unfamiliar design, though it seemed to be a shuttle. He could discern little other detail before it disappeared behind a building, presumably coming in for a landing in the main parking lot. Samraa sighed. He still had an hour left on his tour, and deviating from it would result in paperwork for him. Corporate hadn’t notified him of a visit, which while theoretically possible, had not occurred during his tenure there.
He jogged back toward the main office building, choosing to cross through various courtyards rather than retrace the steps of his tour. Fortunately for him, his gear was light, and he was in decent shape. By the time he got back to the front of the complex, the ship had landed, and disembarked an armored vehicle. He got into his office, where the intercom was located, at the same time as the vehicle stopped at the main gate. It was immediately obvious to him that no matter how this conversation was about to go, the vehicle could easily smash through the gate. He watched on the security camera as the driver lowered the window to speak.
“Welcome to Sylvania Technologies Corp, Officer Legasi speaking.”
“This is Major Janoek of the Rakhar Empire,” came the growling reply. “This facility has been selected for inspection.”
Samraa had of course heard of the mysterious fleet that arrived in the solar system, claiming to be part of the Empire, Protectorate, or whatever. He had not heard that they had arrived in orbit around Eniph, nor that they had begun any sort of operation there. The fact that they were talking at that moment seemed to indicate that this was not part of a full-scale invasion, but something of a lesser degree. Though it was also possible that this visit was their only foray onto Eniph, it seemed unlikely. For now, Samraa could only think of one thing to say.
“Visiting hours are 0900 to 1530 local time. If there’s anyone in particular you wish to speak with, I can leave a message for them.”
“Open the gate or we’ll blast it off its hinges.”
Since the truck was armed with a rather large-caliber gun in a turret on top, Samraa was obliged to do so. The truck rolled up to the main entrance, and six Rakhar got out. They were all wearing black combat armor, had sidearms, and each had a long, curved blade on their belt. He unlocked the double doors from a switch at his desk, and they came inside. He didn’t recognize their rank insignia, and had to assume that the first one to speak was Janoek.
“You will submit to an inspection of this facility,” he began. “How much of it do you have access to?”
“Almost all of it,” replied Samraa. “There are a few labs I can’t get into, but if you’re interested in the technology inside, I wouldn’t advise using force to enter as you might damage whatever’s in there.”
“We’re just here to verify what we think STC is working on. If we suspect that something classified might be of use, then we’ll come back during the day. For now, you will assist us with a walk-through.”
Samraa considered the irony of the situation, as he had often wished his employer would allow him to be armed. And yet, now this sleepy corner of the forest had finally experienced a real incident, and a sidearm would be useless to him. Even a plasma rifle probably wouldn’t help in a one versus six fight. Not with these guys, anyway. In any case, a weapon would have been for self-defense. He didn’t have any loyalty to STC beyond doing his job well enough to keep it.
The next two hours went by with maddening slowness. Samraa gave the six men a guided tour of the entire place, including the empty areas, and explained what little he knew about STC’s various projects. Janoek took notes in his PDA, but asked very few questions. They stopped briefly at most of the labs, and at some, the men scanned the area with their PDAs. All of them seemed quite disinterested in the task, and he got the sense that they resented this assignment. He also became increasingly confident that they wouldn’t kill him. When the circuit brought them back to the lobby of the main building, Janoek called his superior and uploaded to him all the information he had collected. A few minutes later, he got a call back, and they spoke again briefly. Finally, Janoek turned to Samraa.
“You don’t really need to know this, but you’ve been cooperative so I’ll show you the courtesy. The Rakhar Empire is claiming oversight of this facility. Two of my men will stay here for now, and a full squad will arrive shortly. The purpose of their presence is to ensure nothing is removed from the property. Though employees will be allowed to continue to work normally, nothing of value will be permitted to be relocated. Our troops will require access to your sanitary facilities, other than that they should stay out of your way. The highest ranking soldier will be the liaison if STC wants to communicate with us. Understood?”
“Yup.”
Without anything further, the men piled into their truck and exited through the main gate. Samraa sighed, sent a text message to his boss, put his feet up on the desk, and went to sleep.
__________
Commander Tereis stood in the parking lot of the Percy Conservation Area on Secundus, not far from the Four Winds Complexium. He was there with his boss, Captain Marcon, waiting for the arrival of a ship called the Reckless Faith. It was an agreeable late summer morning, and the kind of setting better suited for a fishing pole and beer than what Marcon had in mind. Seeking a new contract so soon after their exhausting assignment to the Swan wasn’t something he was looking forward to. Enough time had passed since then for the crew to take some R&R, but it didn’t seem adequate, and as second-in-command of the Rastaban, Tereis had only been offered three days. A glance at his savings account balance was the only reassurance he would ever have, working for Marcon.
Tereis squirmed underneath his concealable body armor as he began to sweat through his undershirt. He gazed forlornly at the sky. He was seriously considering retirement, and he could certainly afford it, but he’d been with Marcon for twenty years, and their partnership was more than just a business arrangement. Tereis didn’t have the command acumen of his friend, so he was content to let the man captain as he saw fit, but he was better at the business side of things. They worked well together.
With a rush of wind and a barely-perceptible hum, the Reckless Faith appeared over the trees. Tereis had seen it before, during the assault on the Swan, and he was still shocked that such a small ship could have caused such big problems for so many people. The ship found a clearing nearby, and came to a stop hovering about one meter above the ground. The ramp opened, and three people emerged. The first was a man wearing a green jacket, and appeared to be Terran (or Perdition, their intel told them the crew had referred to themselves as both). The second was a shorter Primarian woman wearing a black leather jacket. She had a Liberator pistol in a low-slung holster. The third was a Terran woman, wearing a camouflage jacket and glasses.
“I’m John Scherer, commander of the Reckless Faith,” the man began, “and this is Reveki Kitsune, captain of the Fox. You’ve already met Evangeline Adeler.”
“I have,” said Marcon. “I’m Evan Marcon, captain of the Rastaban. This is my first officer, Mathus Tereis.”
“You’re Umberian,” said John to Tereis.
“Yes,” he replied. “I understand you and your crew are responsible for liberating Umber from the Zendreen.”
“I see your intel is very good. Yes, we did, with a lot of help. I wish I could tell you things are going great there, but we had to pursue the Zendreen to the core immediately after that.”
“I’d like to visit again someday. Perhaps when I’m done with this line of work. By the way, scans of your ship show it to be an Umberian Mark Seventeen. I assume that’s not a coincidence?”
“No, it is essentially that, albeit with a completely different exterior design.”
“So, was it a collaboration with Umberian engineers or something? Or did you stumble on the schematics somewhere?”
“In the last days of the invasion, Umber sent a probe with a repository of their technical data to our home planet. During its long journey, its memory was badly fragmented. If we knew what it was supposed to look like, we would have used that configuration.”
“It probably worked out for the best at the time, since there was a hefty bounty on Umberian ships.”
“Oh, we found that out pretty quick. We had to mask our energy signature, too, until the conflict was resolved.”
“So why only send one ship?”
“That was another detail the probe couldn’t tell us. We went there to investigate a cry for help, without knowing the true situation. If not for the Vengeance virus created by Professor Talvan, we would have been useless.”
“Why get involved at all?” asked Marcon. “Sheer curiosity?”
“Yes. Curiosity, exploration, temerity… mostly temerity.”
“Well, I hope you were handsomely rewarded for your trouble.”
John gestured and smiled. “We got to keep the ship!”
“More than that, so I’ve heard. Which leads me to my next point. The services of the Rastaban and her crew will command a hefty fee. How do you intend to make payment?”
“We can offer you Palladium, we have a lot of that.”
“I beg your pardon?”
John put his hand on his earpiece for a moment. “Uh, element 46.”
“That’s always easy to move. We can agree on amount later. Now, if I’m to be your employee, it’s not really any of my business, but I have to ask. Why are you getting involved in the situation over in the Pegasus region?”
“We’ve proven to be useful for people in need. Whether or not we can help in this case remains to be seen. For now our only goal is to go to Eniph and evaluate the situation.”
“Very well. Captain Kitsune, can I assume your motivations are the same?”
Vecky said, “Technically, I’m under their employ as well. As a freelancer relatively new to the trade, I need to build up my reputation somehow. Though, my crew and I are also unwaveringly loyal to the Faith, thanks to our past collaborations.”
“And the fact that we were shooting at each other just a few weeks ago doesn’t give either of you pause?”
“Your involvement in the Swan affair,” began John, “certainly made what we were trying to do more complicated. Still, we weren’t exactly enemies either, which I’m guessing is why you were bold enough to approach Adeler and offer your services.”
“Yes. If we had known you were simply trying to evacuate your own people, I would have ordered my men to back off.”
“All right, then. If you’d like to come aboard, we can discuss payment over drinks in our galley.”
“That sounds perfect,” said Tereis.
