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  Chapter 7 The Offer

  The lift glided to halt and the silver doors slid smoothly and effortlessly apart to reveal a spotless gleaming white corridor stretching out before him. A number of slightly recessed sliver doors, identical to those of the lift, leading off either side of it. The far end of the corridor terminated in a double set of same smooth silver doors. Jasper steeped out of the lift and ran an armoured finger down the white wall leaving a light grey trail of soot, accumulated from the destruction up top, behind. He watched with mild amusement as the self-cleansing material appeared to vaporise the dirt and returned to its former pristine state. Suddenly startled by a voice behind him he reached for side-arm and turn towards the source of the disturbance.

  A balding, rather portly, round face man with pale blue eyes and a strange looking pair of black goggles pushed up onto his forehead greeted him. “Ah, you must be Jasper, we're expecting you.” he held out a white gloved hand. “Welcome to the Angel-1 research facility. I'm Jackson head of research.”

  Jasper simply scowled at the man as he holstered his pistol. No wonder he's allowed him to sneak up on him like that, apart from his goggles he was dressed from head to toe in a white uniform that appeared to merge into the white walls around him. Typical of a physically inferior intellectual he though to sneak up on you using some sort of tech to compensate for their innate physical shortcomings. He despised intellectuals they were weak and as far as he was concerned in the fight for survival brawn would always triumph over brain. When the chips were down raw power was all that mattered. It was the fittest and strongest, not the cleverest, that survived.

  Completely unperturbed by Jasper’s stub Jackson, continued without missing a heartbeat. “If you’d care to follow me this way to the board room.” he gestured towards the double doors at the far end of the corridor. “Henderson and his fellow stakeholders are waiting to meet you.”

  Jasper raised the eyebrow above his cybernetic implant.

  “Oh, you military types can be so literal at times, not physically of course!” he slipped the black goggles back over his eyes and inspected Jaspers cybernetic eye, walking backwards in front of him as they moved towards the double doors. “Ah, how quaint.” he continued. “It’s a long time since I've seen something quite as primitive as that."

  Jasper simply snarled at him and tried not to express what he was thinking. “By the gods he's so irritating I'll kill him before we reach the door.”

  “Of course I understand it's purely for effect, to unnerve people, make them wonder what it is you really can see, but we have some marvellous software upgrades that I think you'd like. That would make the effect real rather than imaginary. I think you'd be suitably impressed.”

  “No thanks.” he snapped back. At that particular moment he couldn't imagine anything more unpleasant than Jackson poking around inside his skull.

  “Hmmm. Never mind, weapons, armour, genetic modifications, some additional cybernetic implants perhaps? After all why be merely human when you can be so much more?”

  “Standard issues good enough for me. No amount of modification can substitute for innate inferiority” he snapped back as they reached the double doors.

  Suddenly, it all happened so quickly, he couldn't tell how, never mind react, Jackson's hand was locked round his throat in a vice like grip. The podgy little man his arm outstretched thrusting him into the air above him and against the ceiling. He flailed helplessly trying in vain to prise his fingers from his throat as he gasped for air.

  “A word of advice Jasper never underestimate the power of the mind.” his voice was cold and clinical.

  Then just as Jasper was about to pass out he released him. He dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap gasping for air.

  “Let me know if you change your mind about the upgrades, oh and I wouldn't worry too much about me poking around inside your skull it’s not like there's a lot to interest me in there...”

  His voice trailed away and Jasper taking several deep breaths of air pulled himself to his feet to find himself standing alone in the corridor. He flexed his shoulder and neck muscles rubbing the bruises under his chin as he strode purposefully through the doors and into the board room beyond.

  In contrast to the corridor he found himself standing a room dominated by a black granite quartz flecked motif. That took in the ceiling, walls and floor in stark contrast to the brilliant white, long, narrow table, that stretched out in front him. Lined either side by a row of white chairs that seemed to grow organically out of the floor. At the far end of the table stood Henderson's life sized avatar. His left hand lodged casually in his pocket, the right holding a virtual cigarette. He was wearing the same pinstriped, charcoal grey, collarless business suit his avatar had worn topside. The chairs were occupied by avatars of people he’d never met. Who he assumed were Malstrom stakeholders, each dressed for the most part, both men and women, in the same soulless pinstriped business suit Henderson wore. They turned towards him as he entered. A wry smile crossed Henderson's face as he observed Jasper rubbing his throat.

  “I see Jackson has given you the customary greeting he reserves for all the brawn over brain military types. He really needs to get out more.” he paused “Then again perhaps not. Although when we're done here you should really talk to him about those upgrades.” he pointed the cigarette at his cybernetic eye. “I think you'll find it'll give you a whole new outlook on life.”

  “If I was you I'd be more concerned about your health.” retorted Jasper pointing back at his cigarette.

  Henderson smiled. “That's the beauty of virtual tobacco, all the pleasure none of the risk.” he flicked the cigarette into the air sending it spinning over the table before it vanished in a puff of decoalescing light particles. “Do you know we can genetically modify smokers now to block the harmful effects of smoking the real thing? The only downside, for them of course, is it locks them into our particular brand with 'unfortunate' and painful side effects should they decide to switch to another.”

  “I thought you called me here to offer me something, not talk about next year’s marketing campaign for tobacco products.”

  “Humour never was your strong point Jasper, still you’re not here for your entertainment value, so let’s get down to business.”

  “Which is?”

  “There is one important clause to consider first. In the unlikely event you reject this offer I'm afraid our man Jackson is going to go poking around inside your skull and erase all memory of this meeting.” he looked Jasper squarely in the eye.

  “Like I said before if it means more money and power for me I'm in.” he replied folding his arms across his chest and returning his gaze.

  “More than you can imagine, Jasper, more than you can imagine.” he turned to the stakeholder’s arms outstretched. “You see ladies and gentlemen, I told you he was the man for the job. A single minded purpose and vision, ‘wealth and power'. Here is the man who will make us strong again.” he raised his voice and shouted the liturgy, the stakeholders joined him. “No mercy or compassion for the weak, only the spoils of victory for the strong, as it was meant to be.”

  Jasper looked around the table as he joined in with them shouting the liturgy. They looked pretty weak and ineffectual from where he was standing.

  Henderson held up his hand and silenced them. “If only it were true Jasper, if only they all meant it.” he swept his right hand across his body gesturing to the avatars sitting around the table. “It's become a hollow corporate slogan devoid of meaning. Malstrom has become a big, bloated, complacent paper tiger, that thinks it deserves the fear and respect of others instead of having to earn it.” he paused for effect. “But you, we, are going to change all that starting today, right here, right now.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I take it your familiar with the legend of the ‘ark of the ancients’?”

  He snorted derisively. “Fairy tales.”

  “It’s a remarkably persistent cultural meme
that transcends the normal boundaries of race and species, from Earth’s lost city of Atlantis to the Talmari tablets of truth and the Hyneari Orbs of wisdom to the fabled crystal tower of the Onggar.”

  “It still just fairy tales, so what’s your point?”

  “Over half our advanced tech is the result of researched based on recovered alien artefacts. For years we’ve employed the services of some of the best freelance relic hunters out there to help us stay one step ahead of the competition. Everything we’ve discovered has led us to believe that the ark is real, a proverbial mother lode of advanced alien knowledge that would give whoever possesses it an unassailable advantage.”

  Jasper turned towards the door. “I didn’t come here to chase shadows and dreams.”

  “Then perhaps this will interest you?” Henderson flashed up an image above the table. “Recognise him?”

  Jasper stared at the image and scowled, the hooded figure was instantly recognisable.

  “You know him locally as ‘the monk’ we call him Ford." he flashed up several similar images. “On Talmar-5 he knows as Jones wanted for grave robbing and smuggling, on the Onggar home world he’s known as Harrison, wanted for looting archaeological sites, the Hyneari call him…”

  It was Jaspers turn to hold up his hand and call for silence. “Enough I get the picture, your point is?”

  “Two and a half years ago he claimed to have located the ark. According to an ancient script he’d located in Anterian space and translated it was located here on Anobar and protected by a mysterious guardian. Ford offered to lead one of our black ops squads to it and transmit details of how to deactivate the guardian once he was paid and safely off planet. We never heard from Ford or our squad again once they went planet side. That’s when we decided to acquire the Delware Co-operative and its assets and look for it ourselves.”

  “So he betrayed you.” interrupted Jasper.

  “Perhaps.” continued Henderson. ”All we know is that several months later he turns up out of nowhere, apparently suffering from amnesia, to save the resistance and lead a highly costly and successful guerrilla war against us. Our psychologists believe that at some level he has taken on the role of the guardian and is using the rebellion to try and stop us from obtaining the ark.”

  “That’s all very interesting, but what does all this have to do with me?”

  “We're running out of time Jasper, our competitors are circling us like sharks, waiting to rip us apart. They see our inability to put down the Anobar rebellion as a sign of weakness, as do others. We've had to put down five separate uprisings on indentured planets in the last three months and the unrest is spreading. But the truth is, like us or not, we're too big to fail. No one has the capacity to assimilate what we've built. If we fall then humankind falls with us, hundreds of systems, thousands of planets plunged into chaos, billions of lives lost. The Anterian flesh eaters will have a field day.”

  “And I should care because?”

  “I'm offering you unlimited power. Malstrom's primary battle fleet is inbound to the Anobar system. Its escorting the prototype of our new planet killer class dreadnought Fury. The single most powerful ship we've ever built and it yours to command in return for one thing.” Henderson pulled up an image of the fleet traversing hyperspace, the massive hulk of the Fury lying at the dark heart of Malstrom's most powerful fleet. A rugged monster of a ship bristling with raw unashamed power. The planet splitting Armageddon Array mounted on the forward section of the mighty crafts gleaming underside protected in a bulbous housing under the bow.

  “So you've made your offer.” said Jasper eyeing up the ship enviously. “What's your price?”

  Henderson's avatar put his hand inside his jacket pulled out a silver case, took another virtual cigarette out of it, lit it and took a long slow drag. “Intel says on current trends you'll crush the rebellion within six months. The attack on the refinery was a last desperate role of the dice. They had no idea what was underneath it. It also says our competitors will move against us en mass in less than three. We need you to up the ante, kill Ford, do whatever it takes to recover the ark and rip the planet apart with the Fury's Armageddon Array. Send the universe a message on behalf of Malstrom. Strike fear into the hearts of our enemy’s. Once that's done your free to use the Fury to strike at our competitors as you see fit. Apart from the odd specific assignment we'll send you now and again. I'm sure you'll figure out a way to incorporate a ‘suitably rewarding’ business model into your activities.”

  Jasper smiled “I always did like mixing business with pleasure. I take it I get to choose my own command staff and bridge crew?”

  “Anyone you want, so long as they are as ruthless and dedicated as you, but beware the Brethren.”

  “The Brethren?”

  “It’s a new cult. They believe that the ancients seeded our galaxy with life before leaving and that when the ark is activated they will return to judge us and only those deemed worthy will be spared. Needless to say the Brethren believe that only they are worthy. Most species seem to have a chapter or two, even Malstrom has been infected by it.”

  “Frag me you people can't do anything right.” laughed Jasper. “Perhaps I should just take over Malstrom myself?”

  Henderson flicked the virtual ash from his virtual cigarette. “Don't confuse greed with ambition. I'd stick to what your good at if I were you and don't forget to ask Jackson about those upgrades on the way out.”

  The avatars flickered briefly before disappearing leaving Jasper in a cold empty room. The double doors slid open to reveal Jackson.

  “About those upgrades you mentioned.” said Jasper turning towards him.

  “Ah, I knew you'd see sense, there's nothing like a few enhancements to impress your superiority on a new crew.”