The Compromised Mission - Chapter 2, The Safe House
06 Sep 2021Nathan Crest
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Chapter 2, The Safe House
Tara was able to secure a shuttle to Section L34-D of Veblen Station. None of the passengers were of unusual sizes, and that put my mind at ease for the time being. I turned my thoughts to the current state of the mission.
There was palpable discontent in 14 I Orionis. Typical of corporate controlled resource extraction systems, the wealth gap was significant. What an executive earned in one day, was more than what a refinery worker could make in an entire life time. This set the stage for easy penetration by an external communist faction such as HIP 23421 Worker's Party. But was the Worker's Party really fighting for the people? No. From our investigation so far, they were just flying a different colored flag for the same end goal - power. But their propaganda was resonating with the working class of Orionis.
The shuttle shuddered to a stop. My comm-link buzzed with a new message.
"Safe house is three minutes away down Foundry Street."
"That Tara, what will I do without her," I mumbled to myself.
I stepped out of the shuttle and was immediately greeted by the smell of raw sewage. This was definitely not the nicer neighborhoods of this outpost. A number of homeless people meandered about, searching through the trash that littered the street. Nearby buildings were in various stages of disrepair, with heavy metal bars guarding the windows and doors.
This, the bleak and inevitable reality that was the counterbalance to corporate success, enabled Worker's Party propaganda to spread like wild fire. Little did the people know, even if their master changed, their fates would remain the same. There was only one rule in the universe: might makes right. Their problem was they were on the wrong side.
As the other passengers scattered and walked toward their own destinations, I pulled my coat up to cover my face with the collar, as if that would ward off the foul smell. I headed down Foundry Street.
The safe house looked as dilapidated as all the other buildings around it. In fact, it was practically indistinguishable save for the Albion encoded marker visible only to the trained eye. Inside however, was clean and functional. The inner door was with reinforced with alloy composite. The short entrance hall quickly ended in a small room, with a basic bed and a monitor station showing camera feeds from inside and outside the building. Next to the small room was an even smaller kitchen, but it was well stocked with food and water.
My comm-link buzzed with a call. Unsurprisingly it was Tara.
"Glad you made it Nathan."
"I see you have access to all the cameras here, I suppose you'll be watching me sleep with adoration."
"Uh-huh, watching you sleep is your kink, not mine."
"What's the latest?"
"Commander Pendragon is on his way. I will contact you later with details of the extraction."
"Great. You told him to watch out for a meat-head the size of a Procyon Mountain Gorilla right?"
"Yes, Eddie will be taken care of."
"I think Eddie is modified. Maybe bio, maybe cyber. Be careful."
"That's new information. I will notify Commander Rolkein. In the meantime, lay low and be careful."
"Thanks. You're a life saver Tara."
I sat down in front of the monitor station and absent-mindedly clicked through all the camera feeds. What happened to Eddie? He had successfully infiltrated Orionis Jet Camorra, a group of outlaws, pirates, and delinquents, and turned them into a weapon against the Worker's Party. He was effective and reliable if unpleasant. Who was the hidden player in this game that pulled the strings?
My eyes focused on the screen. Several heavily armed mercenaries were combing the street, looking for something, or someone - probably me. This wasn't right. How did they find me so quickly?
"Tara, we have a problem." I spoke into my comm-link.
"Yes Nathan, I just saw."
"You modified the street camera feeds all along Foundry Street to cover my tracks right?"
"Yes. I did. In fact, Orionis Vision Systems provided the back door access.... This is not good. Do you think they are compromised as well?"
Strange, we were working with Orionis Vision Systems against the Worker's Party. In fact, the engineered war was their plan; we were just the ones getting our hands dirty. Did Orionis Vision Systems turn against us?
"Do they know Commander Pandragon is coming?"
"Yes, they are aware of the current situation."
"I don't know what's happening with Orionis Vision Systems, but they can no longer be trusted. Tell Commander Pendragon we have to abort the extraction."
"Okay Nathan, but you have to leave the safe house, now. I will work on an alternate extraction plan with Commander Pendragon. I will let you know."
"Thanks Tara, I'm counting on you."
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This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.