[Vfw-times] Story: Logs of a Wanderer 5/6

[Jason]

Spooks R Us

*****************************************************

Log Entry 0005

Begin Recording

If you've ever had to deal with members of any military intelligence agency,
you'll understand why I call them spooks. I've never seen a bigger
collection of paranoid, pessimistic beings than those that were stationed at
Darkside Base. Just the way they look at any new arrival, whether the being
is a returning colleague, or someone just assigned to the base can give
anyone the creeps. To top it all off, this wasn't, I suspect, the first time
my path had been crossed by Intelligence.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As I exited the shuttle bay, and stepped into Darkside Base, the first thing
that crossed my mind was "There's no way this is a military facility."

The walls were painted in light colors, primarily creams and beiges. The
floor was covered in a nice, deep pile carpet. Indirect lighting illuminated
everything like sunlight on a clear day in the tropics back on Earth. There
were green plants everywhere, and couches, benches, chairs, the works,
stuffed into little areas off of the hallways for people to sit and relax.
Lets face it, if there's any group that can get away with violating any and
all the rules on how to furnish the common and work areas of a base, it has
to be Intel.

`Configuring Interface` popped up right in front of my face. Of course,
since this was a message from my cyber unit, nobody but me could see it.

`Establishing Link To Base Computers`
`Downloading Additional Software`
`Configuring Nanotech For Upgrading Of Biological And Cybernetic Systems`
`Nanotech Configured. Proceeding With Upgrade`
`Do You Wish To See A List Of All Upgrades?`

Hell yes was my response to that. I didn't have a clue what was happening,
but, considering the surroundings, it seemed best to play along.

`Working`
`Hardware Upgrades Include:
	Cybernetic Augmentation Of Musculature
	Full Life Support Capabilities
	Holographic Concealment Field Generator
	Force Shield Generator
	Quantum Stabilizer Matrix
	Quantum Rift Generator
	Full User Control Of Nanotech
	Gravatic Matrix Power Core
	Trans-Dimensional Quantum Communications System`
`Software Upgrades Include:
	Infiltrator v2.0.5
	Icebreaker v5.6.9
	Code Breaker v4.2.9
	Universal Translator v3.2.0`
`All Upgrades Approved Base Commander K'Ree Ashan`
`Current Time -78 Earth Standard Hours`

I just sat there, looking over the list floating in front of my eyes.
There's no way that this is anything other than experimental technology. And
the software upgrades alone make me one hell of a threat. Infiltrator or
Icebreaker alone would let me break into even the most secure systems the
CDF possesses. And putting in a full Universal Translator program means they
obviously expect me to work without support of any kind.

"What the hell is going on here?" I mumbled, "As if I'm not already a
superior soldier, now they're turning me into a walking science experiment."

"What's going on, Lieutenant, is that you're the latest addition to Project
Forge's Security team."

As I looked up, I saw Commodore Ashan. Now, normally I'm not impressed, but
seeing a Cornalian up close can unnerve most people, even us GC's.
Basically, the Commodore was a winged dragon, straight out of Earth's
ancient mythology (circa 1400 AD). There weren't many Cornalians in the CDF,
but they were well respected as being some of the best combat engineers and
field commanders there were.

"Security? Then why go to the trouble of having me approved for combat?"

Commodore Ashan sighed, and his face took on the appearance of someone who
just realized they screwed up big time. "Lieutenant, we should go to my
office. There are a few things you need to know about Project Forge, and
this is not the place to discuss them."

What could I do? I followed him.

It didn't take us long, but we were soon in the Commodore's office. The best
way to describe it is comfortable. Yes, the temperature was a little higher
than what I usually prefer, but that's because Cornalians are from a desert
world, and like it hot. As I sat down, before he could say anything, the
Commodore pressed a button on his desk, sealing the room and activating so
many counterintelligence systems that I could feel the temperature rise from
the additional heat output.

"Well, Lieutenant, I see that your disregard of protocol wasn't overstated."

"You try being civil to people who treat you like a specimen for the first
years of your life, Sir." I'm not stupid, I just can't stand useless dribble
like waiting for a superior officer to say "Please be seated" or something
like that.

"So, I take it that you know nothing about Project Forge."

"Other than the fact that, even unofficially, it doesn't exist, Sir? Ya got
that right. So, how about chucking the whole cloak-and-dagger act out the
nearest airlock, and telling me exactly why you need a GC, let alone one
who, up until your orders came in, was considered mentally unstable, for
security?"

"That, Lieutenant, is somewhat of an embarrassing subject. First, however, I
think you should know what exactly we do here. Project Forge was originally
intended to provide the Commonwealth with a means of instantaneously moving
personnel, supplies, or anything else you can think of, to any point in the
known universe. Unfortunately, the Quantum Rift Generators won't let us send
more than about 30 adult humans, or the equivalent amount of mass, through
at a time." The Commodore leaned back and stretched before continuing, "We
then discovered it was possible to alter the rift in certain ways that
allowed the transcendence of time, as well as actually being able to open
rifts to other realities."

"No offence, Sir, but why do you need me?"

"Well, Lieutenant, we need you because some of our people have screwed up.
On a routine evaluation mission, a team member was captured by the local
military, because he fit the description of a known enemy agent. This caused
the escalation of hostilities until a worldwide conflict broke out. You,
Lieutenant, are going back in time to extract the entire team before they
are discovered."

"So, basically, you need me to get our people out before they screw up.
Peachy," I replied. Frankly, with all the security on Project Forge, I half
expected it to be something like this. But me actually being needed to save
someone's ass? Now that, at least, I was trained to do. "Well, Commodore, it
looks like I don't have much of a choice. When do I leave?"

The Commodore smiled, and stood up, turning off the counterintelligence
systems as he did. "As soon as we get you outfitted, Lieutenant. Please,
follow me."

We left his office and proceeded down to the armory. The only stuff I got
from there was a change of clothes, however. It seems that, at my
destination, civilians were forbidden any type of weaponry. I couldn't even
take a chunk of pipe, or a length of chain! At least I couldn't complain
about the clothes. A nice shirt, jeans, good boots, and a black trench coat
would let me blend in just about anywhere, even in the Commonwealth.

After that, we proceeded to the Launchpad, as it was called. There, floating
in front of me was a shimmering blue portal, hanging in mid air. What was I
to do? I stepped through without even a backwards glance.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So, here I am, sitting in a dinner who knows how far from home, waiting for
a member of the survey team to make contact with me. I really hate waiting,
so I'm going to spend some time going over the manuals for all this stuff
that's been crammed into my body. Hopefully, there's an option on that
communications unit for me to gain access to the Internet back home, or at
least pick up some local television feed. At least the temporal variance
between realities was only about 400 years. Ah, well, time to start reading.

End Recording.

Log Entry 0005 Closed