It was Midday on New Eden and still raining since yesterday. All the screens in the streets suddently flickered as the tune of the World News Flash could be heard in the whole sector.
"And here comes the World News Flash, with Leila Bennett." "Greetings and welcome to the Midday WorldWide News Flash. We will begin with an announcement from the Department of Exterior Surveillance. The following citizens received an appointment at the building of the DES in the Sector One and are requested to come as soon as possible.
The following citizens are concerned, please verify your identity card number : DEAL-34917, WITH-114095, IT-660139 and CAT-2974.
These citizens have seen their authorizations upgraded accordingly to access the Sector One.
In other news, Accord Industries has announced a new upgrade for their tritium based freighter engines, resulting in an economy of 17% compared to the model seventeen. Several analysts are assuming that this discovery will make the Tritium Power Cells cheaper and the citizens will likely notice a difference in the upcoming Energy Bills.
A quite sad event happened today, the police department of sector twelve reported a..."
As the news flash continued, everyone was wondering what was going on. The DES was an extremely secret authority and very little was known about it, except that it's goal was to protect Aurora from exterior dangers. They were also responsible for the construction of the system-wide barrier powered by solar energy that was protecting Aurora. Who were the chosen citizens ? What was all this about ? Only they would know very soon...
Violet listened to broadcast, she finished bolting up a nut then she reached down into her overal pocket, she pulled out a small ID card.
Name: Violet Jennings
Occupation: High Level Engineer
Clearance Level: Sector 2
ID CODE: WITH-114095
She sighed, and then put the ID card back into her pocket, zipping it up after.
"Zack !"She yelled, cleaning her hands with the cloth tucked in the opposite pocket. After no reply, she dropped the cloth and leaned against the edge of the cockpit she was reparing. "Zack !" "What?!" A voice echo'd from another room. "I'm going to sector 1, make sure you lock up after yer' shift, yeh ?" "Alright cool. Laters"
Violet was the 'go to girl' for reparing machinery, her knowledge of Aurorian technology was known to sector 1. Though she never met anyone from Sector 1, they kept in contact via neutral net, or simple letters. They often gave her drones to repair which were damaged somehow. Violet didn't just do drones, she did house visits for her customers, that is why she didn't spend much time in her garage.
The front door of the police department building opened with a loud bang as several heavily armored officiers walked in, dragging hand-cuffed thugs along with them."Put them all in a cell ! Officer Cook ! Take your prisoner to the interrogation room and make sure he tells you who sent them !" Yelled a woman.
"Lieutenant Johansen ! Lieutenant Johansen ! Erica !"Yelled the officier at the reception desk as she finally approached. "What is it, Michael ?" "Your ID number is CAT-2974 right ?" "It is. Why ?" "I heard it on the news a few minutes ago. The DES is looking for you, you've got to go to their building in Sector One." "Sector One ? Wow, I barely approached the Sector Three in my life." "Well you should be quick, apparently your ID has received the authorizations to enter the Sector One." "Alright I'll go there immediatly, make sure no one does something stupid with these thugs."
Erica left the building pretty quickly and even forgot to take off her armor. All she was concerned about was what the hell did they want to her. As she was walking to the nearest subway station, she opened her handbag and took out her ID card.
As she walked down the stairs, she looked at the panels trying to figure out what subway train had a stop in Sector One and found it. A few minutes later, she arrived at the subway train that was about to leave in a few seconds and managed to get inside before it left. It was quite crowded and all the seats were already taken. Erica sighed, happy that she didn't miss it, but quickly noticed that everyone was looking at her, it wasn't extremely common to see a police officer alone in armor in a subway train on New Eden. Station after station, the train finally arrived at the Sector One subway station. As Erica left the train, the first thing she noticed was the prettyness of the station full of colors, with advertisement screens and it was extremely clean.
Approaching the stairs to exit the station, she noticed there was a police checkpoint right before the stairs. An officer approached her and asked for her ID card. After a quick look, all she got was a simple"Welcome to Sector One, Lieutenant Johansen."The officer didn't say anything about her armor and moved to the left to let her pass. Erica walked up the stairs, not knowing what to expect. It was the first time in her life she came to Sector One, but still didn't know what it was for.
An hour later, her eyes full of awe, she arrived in front of the DES Building and entered. She was welcomed by a few officiers of the Sector One and was told to proceed to the 100th floor of the building using the elevator. As the elevator stopped and its doors opened, she walked to the door in front of her and entered the room. An asian looking man and a woman were already there, sitting in silence. Erica poured some water in a glass, exhausted by all this travelling, and sat in a chair, looking at the two persons.
Violet left through the main garage doors, Sector 2 was known to be the 2nd most important place in Aurora, though as Violet looked around, she begged to differ. The place was filled with over head pipings, and leaking sewage. She thought about what gave the other sectors a impression that sector 2 was any differant. She began walking through the allyways, she profered them as they didn't produce as much noise as the main roads. As she started to walk up the final bridge to Sector 1 territory, she wiped the remaining oil from her hands onto her overals.
She actually thought that this 'invitation' was some machinery which couldn't be moved to her Garage, and that she had to come there. She paid no notice to the other ID CODES given in the transmission, she thought they were just some people doing other duties. As she came to the doors od the building in sector 1, she open the door, leaving some oil prints on the handle.
"God damn it.. this stuff wont come off !"she looked around to make sure noone saw her touch the handle. Noone did, she gently closed the door, and went looking to who ever wanted her. She came to a Kiosk.
"Alright, what is it ? Heat generator gone down ?" She asked quickly, trying to get the job done ASAP. The man at the Kiosk looked at her strangly.. "Who are you?"he said Curiously. "Violet, now.. is there any reason I've been called up here?" "Got you're ID CODE, Miss ?" "Sure, here.She unzipped her pocket and gave the man her ID CODE, he looked back up at her, and stood up. "Ah, Miss Jennings, floor 100, enjoy your stay miss"The man guided her to the stairs.
Floor 100 ? She asked herself, why the hell is she going to floor 100, it didn't take long for her to realise she wasn't there for no simple repair. Non the less, she procuded walking up to floor 100, when she reached the top, she was out of breath. Once she caught it, she looked up, and long corridor painted white, and a simple redish borwn coloured door. Violet walked towards it, knocking before entering, as she entered there was a short table, with 5 chairs, followed by a large window showing the overview of most of the sectors. Violet walked around the table, untill she bumped into something behind her, it was a table of food, and drink. She quickly poured herself a drink, and sat down, chilling in the black leathered chair.
'This is Tsai-1 Traffic Control to cargo ship CS-Infinity, please proceed to the Hazardous Materials landing pad. Welcome back to New Eden.'
The Infinity began to lose altitude as it approached the spaceport Tsai-1. The Hazardous Material landing pad was especially reserved for ships hauling Deuterium and radioactive elements harvested from the nearby moons of planet New Eden. Ten minutes later, the ship landed and its engines were turned off. Both the ship and the Deuterium cargo were safe. End of the trip.'Ten minutes and fifteen seconds. I guess you broke the record again, Leung...' The two crewmen left the ship and watched how the Deuterium containers were uncoupled from the ship. Once the job was done, they stepped into the company's office, located near the landing pad. "I'll take a nap, this trip around that icy hell made me feel tired. Don't answer any call. We're not moving more Deuterium until the 14th..." Leung said to his buddy before entering his personal room.
While he was lying on the bed, he overheard Leila Bennet's voice coming from the hall of the office. His buddy had to be watching Midday WorldWide News Flash."Who cares, I'll watch it later."He thought for himself. One minute later, his buddy knocked the door repeteadly."Eh! Leung! Leung! Still awake?"Leung grumbled and got up quickly, opening the door. "The news! Wasn't DEAL-34917 your ID number? Seems the DES wants your arse in Sector One as soon as possible!"Leung blinked a few times before answering."And why would the DES want a...? Eh, did you say as soon as possible? Okay, give me the keys of the speedcar."
He didn't care much what would the DES want from him. It was the best excuse to fly the speedcar from Sector 27 to Sector One. Even he didn't feel tired now. He took a look to his ID before leaving the spaceport.
Name: Simon Leung
Occupation: High Level Cargo Spaceship Pilot, Sector 27
Clearance Level: Sectors 13 27 68
ID CODE: DEAL-34917
560 kilometers per hour. Nothing compared to the speed that his ship reached in open space, but it still allowed Leung to arrive at Sector One southern police checkpoint in two hours. "Mister Leung, this way". One of the officers said once Leung showed his ID card. Leung followed the officer through several corridors until they reached an elevator. "Floor 100, then walk straight down the corridor. Have a nice day, sir." Leung just smirked at the officer before taking the elevator. He already got in troubles with the police departments of many sectors because of his tendency to exceed speed limits in the speedcar. But this time his ID number granted him certain immunity. 'Floor 100, walk straight down the corridor and ... step into the room'. Then he sat on the first chair he saw. Now he felt tired again, but still wondering what would happen next.
Jeffery Aldan flinched as the intercom came on in the medical ward, and made the announcements. He almost dropped his medical boards too, he quickly regained his composure and reached his door. He pulled out his ID card to swipe it in the door then saw it.
Name: Jeffery Aldan Occupation: Chief Medical Officer; Ward 15 Clearance: Sector 15 ID CODE: IT-660139
He dropped his card, and everything in his hands at the same time, so shocked by what he was reading. "There is no bleeding way this is happening, it must be a mistake."
He left all his items on the ground, except for his card, figuring someone would get it, his staff was reliable. He made it quickly to the bottom floor, and briefly greeted the secretary.
"Dr.Aldan, what's wrong, your pale....well more so then usual..."
"Jane, I have to go clear something up..."
"What's that sir?"
"They made a mistake and authorized me for clearance to sector one."
He quickly made it to the nearest subway, and began his trip to sector one.
Jeffery stepped out of the subway car, and looked at the giant sign reading "SECTOR 1".
He had barely made it a few feet before two figures approached him. He stood still, and he could feel great tension until they got near.
"Dr. Aldan I presume?"Asked the first Police Officer. "Why, yes, I was just here to clear this up, you see-"
"Please let us see your ID card", the second Officer interrupted.
Jeffery flashed his ID card to the guards who took a short glance at it.
"Alright, please follow us Dr.Aldan, we are going to escort you to the appropriate room."
"But, this must be some kind of mistake, I am merely a doctor, why would they-", Jeffery stammered, disbelieving such a thing would ever happen. "No mistake Dr.Aldan, now please, take this lift to the 100th floor, and at the end of the corridor will be the room you are looking for"
Jeffery obeyed, stepping into the lift. He didn't utter a word to the guards as the doors closed.
He arrived at the 100th floor in short order, or at least what he thought was the 100th floor. He walked down the hallway, as his head spun from all that had happened in the short time.
He reached the door and somehow he felt this was all right like he should be here after all. What he saw on the other side of the door he entered the room and saw several figures sitting about.
He sat next to a lady dressed in full body armor, and when he got closer he realized she was another Police Officer.
The door opened as a man in his in thirties entered the room. After closing the door, he pushed a small button and a large holo-screen appeared in front of the group.
"Greetings everyone."He said, as he quickly looked at each of the four persons."I am John Madden, one of the two heads of the DES. I know you are wondering why you are here, and you're going to find out very soon. Incase you would refuse the offer, and I'm confident you won't, you are not allowed to talk about this mission. This mission has been voted by the Council itself, and you four... you are going to change the future of Aurora. Expect your name to be in our history books in a few years."He said, amused.
"You are going to be the first expedition to venture outside of the barrier."
John wasn't sure of what their reaction would be after this announcement, the first law that was voted 400 years ago was that they would never establish contact with any sirian again. But time passes, things change, the society change, the mentality change... the universe change.
"Things are changing out there, and not in a good way. The houses are at war, and the objectives of Gallia are unclear to us, but one of our spybots managed to reach the core worlds of Gallia. It took it one loooooong year of FTL driving, but what it transmitted us is... more than concerning."
John tapped the screen several times, revealing pictures of a Gallic armada. Valors, Obstinates, Perilous... and more fighters than you could ever count.
"You might wonder why the Council and the DES are concerned by this, we are isolated from everything and no one knows our position in the sector." he said, as he pointed the Valors with his finger afterwards."They will find us. It will only be a question of time and we have absolutely no idea of what their stance is towards us. A first contact has been made between us and the house of Gallia, I am myself in charge of this. But when I look at these pictures... Our people don't know about these images, and the public still see Gallia like some kind of messiah."
He sighed."We need to be cautious about everything we're going to do, but we need to be prepared, incase... there is a war."
He taps the screen a few times again, revealing a map of Sirius, zoomed on the house of Liberty.
"Your mission is a detailed scouting of the house of Liberty, our spybot located there has been destroyed two months ago by what we suppose to be a ionstorm. We need to update our data about Liberty, we need an estimation of their fleets and current state of technology. Liberty is likely the house with whom it will be the easiest to make a first contact with. It is too dangerous to enter in contact with Bretonia or Kusari yet due to their proximity with Gallia. If they are invaded, it might become a real issue for our security. We have plans to establish a contact with Rheinland, but this is another matter. Liberty is our only viable choice at the moment.
But that isn't all. When we'll receive the data, you will become the first Auroran outpost in Sirius. The danger is extremely high out there, it is completely different from here, and this is why each of you have been hand picked by us.
Lieutenant Erica Johansen, you will be the one in charge of the operation aboard the ship and the person reponsible of transmitting us the reports of your scouting, you will be aswell the one responsible of the evacuation of the crew and destruction of all critical technologies installed on the ship incase any problem happen. It is your priority, our technology must NOT be leaked.
Sir Simon Leung, you will be the navigator of the ship. I'm not going to teach you how to fly a ship, your objectives are to make sure the vessel reach its destinations and is not detected, if it happens, do your best to make sure the ship does not get caught.
Miss Violet Jennings, you will be the engineer onboard. Your extended knowledge of the Auroran technology and everything using Tritium will for sure be an advantage. Make sure our baby is always healthy.
And finally, Doctor Jeffery Aldan, we need someone to make sure the crew is healthy. I'm sure you know your job better than me. If you want to be involved in any other task, it's up to you. Just remember your primary job.
Everything is already loaded aboard the ship. The chief engineer Cole is waiting for you onboard, he'll give you a small briefing about what's loaded aboard and how to get past the barrier.
If you have any question, or you want to decline, it's right now."
Violet leaned back into her chair, resting her left elbow on the armrest. She studied carefully what she just heard. 'Liberty' she short , she heared stories about the place, from her grandmother, which were past down through the family tree. 'The House of Dreams' she had been told. But from what she heard just, it wouldn't be the same due to the war.
Violet was left with a chance to get out of and travel the stars, something she had always wanted to do, but somehow figured it would never happen. This was her chance to make her dreams come true, and she wasn't going to let 'dangers' destroy a chance which came in every 400 years.
She took another sip of her nearly empty glass, and evaluated the other 3 people sitting at the table. They stayed silent, still decoded what they just heard into reality.
"Okay, I'll go. I.. how do you sector 1's put it ? I... 'accept' the challenge" Everyone looked at her for a moment, then slowly went back into their thoughts.
Erica looked around, she wondered if the team would be up to the task. John Madden said each of them were hand picked by the council. The council wouldn't take any risk and send unexperienced people on a such critical mission.
"I'm in."said Erica, as she turned to the two men left.
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