Frozen Soul, and other works: Chapter 81

(BSS Starlight Raven, Alpha Centauri System)

Carissa poked her head into the cockpit while Sheila and I were going through the final launch prep with Raven. The princess was actually turning into a capable navigator, which was good for me. Sure, I’d set myself up so that I could do anything aboard the Starlight Raven that needed doing, but that didn’t mean I could do everything at once. Having people who I could trust to take some of the load was a good thing.

Carissa, on the other hand, had become a very qualified Ship’s Doctor, even though we rarely needed her services. Her services as my secretary/manager, however, were a boon beyond compare, frankly, because she was a genius administrator, as one might expect of someone who had gotten to level 80 primarily through office work and bed work.

“Shearah wanted me to pass the word that the engines are ready and everything checks out. Everyone else is set and ready to go, and we’ve got stores aboard to last us three months, just in case some craziness happens.”

I nodded to her, and said, “Good, we just finished our checklists, so let everyone know that we’ll be heading for Sol in—”

Raven’s voice cut in from the speakers, “Captain, we’re receiving a priority message through the FTL comms from the Dimiya base!”

Well, that sounded bad. Nothing good ever came from priority messages just as you were about to leave port. With a sigh, I said, “Put it through.”

What came up was a report on the intel my people had been sifting through when they hit the Empire’s black research station. The marines had pulled all the data and collared several of the VIPs, so the research and development they’d bene doing there was all ours now. Unfortunately, a lot of it was stuff that rated as war crimes. A couple of those projects would get you buried under a mountain somewhere if you ever tried to use one on the same planet as a civilian population! I wasn’t naïve enough to say that the US didn’t have projects like that back in RL, but having those kinds of things in my hands was a scary thought. That kind of power just begged to be used. Of course, doing that led you down the path of the bastard who created the Legion on Jagloth.

Speaking of said bastard, it seemed his work just wouldn’t die and go quietly into the abyss. Before the quarantine, an Imperial spy had apparently gotten a sample of his early work, and shipped it to the Empire for testing. That much was to be expected. The fact that the Imperials had been playing with the stuff and developing it on a different design path was not, though I guess it should have been. Researchers get blinded by the research, and not the implications of the research.

Event Quest!

Wait, what? I’m fairly certain I hadn’t seen a single quest window the whole time I’d been playing. I’d found all my jobs through in-game resources (like the message boards at dockside bars for freighter captains), or other such things. The company hadn’t handed me a quest since I’d first logged in!

Event Quest! Doomsday Developments The Legion Plague swept across Jagloth and, in the end, forced the Confederacy to burn one of their own worlds to ash and quarantine it for the foreseeable future. The Imperials have obtained an early sample of that nanoware, and were making their own developments. Unfortunately, you were not the first to have access to this information, as your crews found evidence that the files had been accessed by the mad AI, Deus, and research samples were shipped to another location before you launched your raid. The Legion Plague is being studied at an isolated location (uploaded to your computer), away from prying eyes. Internal documents reveal that the finished product will be ready in seven days. However, special rifts in the area prevent FTL travel within the system, and makes stealth impossible. Worse, the base has a fully functional FTL communications array, and there are fleets that can Transition into the system within the hour. A large attack force will surely be discovered and cut off before they can escape. However, a small force, aboard a freighter making a supply run to the base, may be able to infiltrate the labs.
Objectives	Infiltrate Imperial research lab, codenamed: Botany Bay 0/1 Destroy the Legion Samples 0/1 Find researcher notes on Deus Strain 0/5 (Optional) Destroy Botany Bay Research Station 0/1
Rewards	Experience Unknown
Consequences	Earth suffers the same fate as Jagloth.

Event Quest! Oppenheimer Research Base The Legion Plague swept across Jagloth and, in the end, forced the Confederacy to burn one of their own worlds to ash and quarantine it for the foreseeable future. The Imperials have obtained an early sample of that nanoware, and were making their own developments. Unfortunately, you were not the first to have access to this information, as your crews found evidence that the files had been accessed by the mad AI, Deus, and research samples were shipped to another location before you launched your raid. Countermeasures for if someone used the Legion Plague against Imperial worlds are being researched on Salusa Secundus. The research facility is guarded by at least three frigates and a full air wing of three squadrons of fighters. Getting in unseen will prove a challenge, but the potential reward is great.
Objectives	Neutralize Enemy Ships 0/3 Neutralize Enemy Fighters 0/60 Assault Oppenheimer Research Base 0/1 Recover Project: Thermopylae research 0/1 (Optional) Destroy Oppenheimer Research Base 0/1
Rewards	Experience Unknown
Consequences	Those dealing with the Legion Plague or similar attacks must simply hope they can run faster than the Legion and that they don’t get caught in the Exterminatus.

At this point, I would be loving some merely ‘not good’ news. Hell, I’d go for ‘bad’, ‘awful’, or even ‘fucking terrible’. Because it seems like the good boys and girls in the GM suite decided that I was going to get to go and save the world. Literally. Still, I guess I ought to make a couple calls before we change our flight plan.

“Raven, edit the message we got, and prep the highlights for secure transmission, and get me the Empress on the line, highest priority, personal comm if you have to. If anyone questions it, just tell them it is a codeword Handsome Swordsman situation, and they should refer that up the chain of command ASAP.”

I looked over to Carissa, and said, “Tell the others, let them know we’re going to be going on a solo mission. Full combat loads, including the spec ops armor. This is going to be our nastiest job yet, and those spec ops suits might be able to hold up against any… unconventional attacks.”

Carissa went off, and I turned to my console, bringing up Captain Inatumal on the Shinokage. “Captain, change of plans. You will take the Shinokage, Wisteria, and Artemis into Earth space, and begin the survey mission. No ship is to get closer than a light hour to any of the planets or fortifications, and full stealth is to be maintained at all times. The moment you’re discovered, get out of there. Even if you’re not discovered, You are to return to Alpha Centauri within 14 days from now, so the commanders have the information they need to plan the assault. Do you understand your orders?”

The Captain nodded her head. “It will be done, Master. Where will the rest of the Black Star Fleet be going, if I might ask?”

“I have other missions that require their attention. Ready your crews, I want you stored and leaving within an hour. Mollen out.”

I switched to another channel, bringing up Captain Suominen on the Simo Hayha, as well as Captain Am’Rica and Major Khan over on the Thunderfury. “Captains, Major, I’m not going to mince words. We’ve got a situation that requires the loving attention that only the Black Star Navy and the Black Star Marines working together can provide. Captain Suominen, you will take the Hayha, Shadowdancer, Thunderfury, and Vicious Return to the location I’m sending you. Your orders are to eliminate Imperial forces guarding the base, and clear a path for the Marines to capture the base and find the research specified.”

Captain Suominen frowned. “We’re not joining in the scouting party to Earth?”

“Afraid not. The eggheads have been going over the data the Major’s teams pulled out of Raxicore Base, and they found evidence that the Imperials had been experimenting with the Legion Plague.” I waited for the obligatory swearing to die down, and then said, “My thoughts exactly. One piece of information is that while one group was looking and new and wonderful ways to use Armageddon in a bottle, another team has been looking for ways to stop a Legion Plague if it hit one of the Imperial worlds. I need you to attack the base where they’re researching countermeasures, and steal anything that will help us. Because if we fail, then the Empress is probably going to have to burn out Earth, and maybe everything else in the system. I don’t need to tell you the potential problems THAT would bring.”

After another round of obligatory foul language, I nodded to them, and said, “Get moving. I want you to hit hard, hit fast, and get back here before the attack on Sol begins, which means you have 14 days on the outside. The quicker you get back, the more of any countermeasures we can produce in that spare time. Captain Suominen is in command of the fleet, Major Khan is in command of the assault. I’m sending you all the intel we’ve got on the base. It isn’t much, but it is something, and will let you at least make some plans while you’re in hyperspace.”

I closed the line just in time for the Empress to respond to my call. Well, I wasn’t expecting to be able to reach her immediately, so this was still pretty good time. She nodded to me, and clearly wasn’t looking to waste time. “Commodore. I take it something’s up, if you’re calling just before you were scheduled to leave. Especially if you went and used a codeword like Handsome Swordsman to get it to my attention while I was in the middle of a planning meeting.”

I sent a copy of the edited data that Raven had prepared, and said, “Quick version? You know the utter crapstorm that happened on Jagloth? The cause was a nanoware virus that converted those it infected into a hive mind, all sharing the controller’s mind. Imperial spies stole an early version of it before the Confeds quarantined the system. In their infinite wisdom, the people in the black R&D programs decided to research it, instead of simply destroying it, and Deus found out about it. There’s two active facilities we’re tracking, one that will tell us how the AI changed the Legion Plague, and the other that may have countermeasures to stop it, perhaps even a cure.”

I nodded as the color drained out of her face. With a slight tremble in her voice, she said, “Oh god, if the AI could create something like that, it wouldn’t have any compunctions about using it on the population. The damn thing would be able to turn the entire population of Earth into his slaves within weeks, maybe even days!” She paused, as the true implications came to her. “Oh no. We would have to do the same to Earth as they did to Jagloth, wouldn’t we?”

“Yes. And Mars, and Venus, and everything else the AI has touched in Sol. Humanity’s cradle would become a wasteland. The effects on the Empire, on humans everywhere would be… extreme. I don’t doubt that there would be calls for blood, and they would need someone to target and destroy. If you didn’t get there first and provide someone a scapegoat for their jihad, then people will probably lay the blame at your feet.”

I paused for effect, and then said, “Shinokage will lead two of my ships to Earth, to complete the scouting mission. Simo Hayha will lead the other ships, including my Marines, to assault one of the research bases and secure any countermeasures to the Legion Plague that they came up with.”

“And you? What will you and the Raven be doing?”

“We’re going to the black site, and find out what the AI changed about the Jagloth version of the Legion Plague, and hopefully shut it down before it is ready to distribute. And hopefully not get ourselves killed or worse in the process. I’ve sent you the basics of what tactical data we acquired. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to do a lot of winging it, since we don’t have time to plan this right. The longer we delay, the more time the AI has to set up defenses, and convert more of the population. All my ships have orders to be back here in 14 days, to help in the assault.”

“I understand. Godspeed, Commodore.”

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Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):

Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT

Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):

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Omnibus 1 - Volumes 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X

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Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL

Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y