Memory Terminal Classification Omega Epsilon WDY: Begin Upload
We touched down on Alexander XII as the sun was rising. I had done some reading on the system; it was a minor system on the outlying reaches of the Natio cluster, where old Earth colonists had first landed and made their new homes. The only terrestrial planet around this lonely little star was Alexander, but even the planet itself wasn’t livable. It was a giant ball of igneous rock with more molten metal beneath the thin crust. It was lucky for the colonists that there were dozens of satellites orbiting Alexander and that some of them weren’t only livable, but hospitable. The Hellenic League, founded from what had formerly been the Earth nation Greece, had claimed Alexander as a child system of their own system of Olympia. But Olympia had fallen during one of the countless wars between Natio systems, so now Alexander and his moons were independent of any other power.
“Remember, since there’s so many moons here around Alexander, the day-night cycle is way out of whack,” Drek called as he flipped switches and depressurized the ship, “Try not to let it get to you. And the gravity is way lower here than most other places that we go, but interestingly, there’s a full atmosphere. Natural, too. There wasn’t even that much terraforming when they got here.” I nodded, remembering my readings. Alexander XII was also called Leonidas by the natives, keeping in the old tradition of naming moons and planets after legendary heroes. Each of the dozens of inhabited moons around Alexander had its own name, each an ancient Hellenic hero. Leonidas was an ancient king, said to have killed thousands of invading soldiers on his own. He was from Sparta, the harshest and most unforgiving of the ancient Hellenic states, so it was sort of ironic that the most naturally beautiful and hospitable moon was named after him.
“They speak Basic here, right?” Elly asked, strapping her sword to her back. Ked put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. She sighed and unstrapped the sword. They didn’t allow weapons on Leonidas except for their local police, another hint of irony.
“Yes, they speak Basic,” Zanti said, cinching his robe around his waist and straightening his tunic. It was still strange to see someone with a tunic that had something other than an omega on it. “But Drek has told me that they have horrible accents. It will be difficult to communicate with them.”
“Are we ready to go?” Holly asked, twisting her bracelet around her wrist nervously. I’d known her for over two years now. We’d been through so many life-threatening situations together and came through on the other side unharmed. She had gotten more combat experience in the month before the attack on the Academy than most squad leaders got in their whole career. And she was still the shy, soft-spoken girl I had dinner with on Sylvas.
“Yeah, gimme a sec,” Drek said, typing furiously onto a keypad, “Just arming the anti-theft mechanisms.”
“We have anti-theft on this thing?” Elly asked, “I just figured that nobody would try to steal it in the first place.”
“Come on, let’s go,” Ked said, pointing at the door. Holly trotted out, followed by Elly’s resigned trudge. Zanti strode purposefully past me, and Drek finished his typing and dashed out, tying up his hair in a hurry as he barreled through the door.
“After you, General,” I said, making an overexaggerated gesture to the door. Ked laughed and stepped close to me.
“Ladies first,” he said in that voice of his, then leaned forward to kiss me. We shared the moment for a few seconds, then he broke it off and put a hand on the small of my back. We left the bridge together and joined the rest of the team at the gangplank.
“Ready?” Ked asked, and Drek nodded. The doors opened and the gangplank lowered for us to step down onto the surface of Leonidas. As we walked down I couldn’t help but notice that Holly was sneaking glances at Ked. I felt a pang of guilt in my conscience. Ked and I had been secretly dating for a few months now. Nobody knew, not even the rest of the team. It was forbidden by the rules of the Agency, but we did it anyway. I would have been perfectly happy if it weren’t for Holly. I’d known about her crush on Ked since the day we met, but I knew that she was too shy and by-the-book to do anything about it. Ked didn’t know about Holly and I didn’t have the heart to tell him. He was so determined to keep us a secret that I think he actively tried not to notice me when other people were around. We stepped onto the packed dirt landing pad that we had touched down on and I leaned over to whisper in Holly’s ear.
“Something wrong?” I asked. She jumped a little bit and righted herself, sort of like a startled puppy.
“No,” she whispered back quickly.
“It’s okay,” I reassured her, “You can tell me if it’s about Ked.” Even though I felt like I was doing something to help her nerves, my stomach turned over.
“I… he’s just so good,” she said, “I mean, he’s really good. As a person. And I know that even if I tried to talk to him, nothing would happen between us. It’s against the rules.” My heart sank.
“You’re probably right,” I lied to her, “Plus, he’s married to his job. You know, he’s one of those guys.” With every word, I knew that I would regret it later.
“You’re right,” Holly said, then moved up to walk next to Elly.
“So who’s this guy that you know?” Ked asked Drek as we headed toward the buildings in the distance.
“Name’s Menocles,” Drek said, “Great guy, met him at the Academy.”
“He’s an Agent?” Elly asked.
“Nah, didn’t make it through testing,” Drek said, “I think he got washed ‘cause he was really bad at listening to orders or something.”
“Someone who managed to be more disrespectful to authority than you,” Zanti chuckled, “This is a man whose feats outstrip any.” We all shared a laugh. I liked this new Zanti, I realized. Finding a sense of humor really did wonders for the guy.
“What does he look like?” Holly asked, then quickly added, “So we know what kind of person we’re looking for. I just don’t want to go in without knowing who we’re meeting.”
“Uh, well, he’s pretty dark,” Drek said, “I think he’s got black hair. Green eyes, but like dark green. And he’s got a fun accent. Really fun.”
“Alright, keep an eye out for a dark, black-haired green-eyed man,” Ked told us as we walked into the town.
“Found one,” Elly said, pointing one direction.
“He’s over here,” Zanti said, and I realized that he was looking in a completely different direction.
“Drek, is that all you remember about what he looked like?” Ked asked slowly.
“Yeah, kind of,” Drek said sheepishly, “I only knew the guy for a few weeks.” I remembered something else that I had read about the moons of Alexander.
As Alexander’s moons were formerly a Hellenic colony, the residents of the moons are largely homogenous. There is very little physical distinction in Alexandrians since they are not a popular spot for tourists or relocating colonists. Alexandrians, like their Hellenic cousins, have three main features in common: bronzed skin, hair like oil, and the olive eyes of ancient Greece.
“Huh, I probably could have planned this better,” Drek realized as dozens, if not hundreds, of look-alikes walked past. There were small differences, I noticed, like the shape of their noses, or their teeth, but it seemed that finding Menocles was going to be like a hunt for an unnamed file in an entire archive.
“At the risk of sounding insensitive,” Zanti said as we walked in awe through the crowds of Alexandrians, “I would like to say that this would be a lot easier if all these people did not look the same.” Drek snorted with laughter and I rolled my eyes.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” I said, catching one woman by the arm, “But do you know a man by the name of Menocles?” I smiled, hoping that being kind would win me some points with her. But she just gave me a dirty look and shook my hand off.
“Looking for Menocles?” a high pitched voice asked from behind me. I turned and saw a young boy, no older than ten, leaning against a cart and grinning, “I know him, I do. If you would be coming with me, I can take you to him.” He turned and ran off down a narrow alleyway.
“Hey, this way,” I told the team and ran off after the boy. He was fast, but I managed to keep him within sight, twisting and turning through the maze of buildings. Eventually, he stopped in a dead-end corner and I doubled over panting. Even though the gravity was lower than I was used to, it seemed like the oxygen content of the air was lower too. I was winded.
“Did you… did you take a wrong turn somewhere?” I asked between breaths, “This doesn’t look like it goes anywhere.”
“You neither,” a rough voice said in heavily-accented Basic. I spun around, reaching for a bolt gun that wasn’t there. Two large men stepped out from behind piles of discarded garbage and leered at me. I didn’t have my gun and I definitely couldn’t fight both of them.
“What do you want?” I asked, trying to sound intimidating. I don’t think I did.
“Oh you know, pretty one,” one said, reaching into one of the piles and bringing out a rusted pipe. It looked like it would not only hurt but would also give me some kind of infection.
“Okay, but don’t hurt him,” I said, reaching behind me to protect the child. He was gone. I turned to look and saw him climbing notches carved into the wall behind me.
“Sorry, Miss,” he called, “I do what I can,” and disappeared over the top.
“Oh, we never hurt him,” the other thug said, grabbing his own weapon, a spiked board, “He brings us the pretty ones like you, so we never hurt him.” He swung at me and I tried to jump out of the way. I had forgotten about the gravity. The board scraped my side as I floated through the air and I cried out in pain. The second one moved up.
“Good, that you are not from here,” he said, “Means nobody knows you.” He didn’t seem to have any trouble maneuvering in the lower gravity. He pushed forward with his pipe and tried to pin me against the wall. I ducked under his rush and punched him in the stomach. He doubled over as I tried to retreat to the other corner of the alley.
“Bitch,” he spat, “Stop fighting.”
“Yeah,” the other one said, dropping his board, “Easier for you.” He ran at me, cornering me, and stood over me with a satisfied grin. Then I heard a savage yelling and he turned his head.
The thug in front of me tried to get out of the way but fell to Ked’s wild punch. On the other side, Zanti tackled the other one and grabbed him by the front of his tattered shirt.
“You never threaten my friends,” Zanti growled, lifting the thug off the ground, who was easily ten kilograms heavier than Zanti, and grinding him against the wall.
“No!” the thug shouted in fear, “Please! No!” Zanti’s eyes started glowing and I smelled the horrible stink of burning hair. Zanti dropped the thug and he curled into a ball, trying to escape the punishment that Zanti was threatening. I looked at the other thug and saw Ked pinning him down and punching him mercilessly. When he stopped fighting and fell limp, Ked stood up and spit on him.
“Savage, dude,” Drek said, but I saw that he was concerned.
“What were you thinking, going with that kid like that?” Ked demanded, shoving me on the shoulder. I stumbled back and opened my mouth to offer an answer. “You could have been hurt, or killed, or worse!” Drek moved forward to stop him, but I saw Elly put a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I thought… he was a little kid. I thought we could trust him.”
“Stupid!” Ked shouted and kicked the nearest thing, which happened to be the unconscious thug. He coughed and shuddered, but didn’t say anything. “Fine. Whatever. You’re not leaving my side for the rest of the mission. Drek, lead the way. You have the best chance at finding Menocles. We’re just going to have to ask around and hope that someone knows him. Holly, make sure that these two are going to be fine. Then lock them up and alert the local police.” Ked stormed out of the alleyway and left us with the two thugs.
“Come here,” Zanti said, approaching the whimpering one with restraints in his hand. He shackled him to the pipes on the wall as Holly went to check on the unconscious one.
“Hey, are you okay?” Elly asked, coming over to me and putting a concerned hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I said with as much neutrality as I could muster. It wasn’t my first life-threatening situation, but that had been closer and more direct than anything before. Nothing else had come close. I was pretty shaken up
“Ked’s wound up pretty tight, huh?” Elly laughed, which I tried to share. My heart wasn’t in it, though.
“I haven’t seen him this agitated before,” I said, “Even fighting Zentrial.”
“He’s restless,” Elly reassured me, “We all are, really. I haven’t had a real fight since then, and he’s been trying to get into the teaching thing really hard. He can’t, though. He’s a fighter, just like me, and he knows it.”
“I bet,” I joked, “He’d choose a stable life at the Academy and a family before what we’re doing any day. You saw how he was before we left the Academy.”
“Yeah, but that was before we got him out of the office,” Elly pointed out, “Did you notice how he didn’t complain after he woke up?” I realized what she was saying with an unwelcome sense of dread.
“I guess you’re right,” I said. I intended for it to sound cheerful, but a hint of resignation crept into my voice at the end. I thought Elly flashed me a suspicious look, but I was just being paranoid. New environment, unfamiliar faces, and a less-than-welcome greeting party. I was jumping at shadows.
“Hey, Drek,” Elly called, walking ahead a few paces to catch our technician. She started a conversation that I quickly lost track of when I saw Ked fall back to walk next to me. Neither of us said anything for a few tense seconds before I took the initiative. First rule of diplomacy: set the conversation on your terms.
“I’m sorry,” I said, quiet enough that none of the rest of the group could eavesdrop, “I acted stupid back there and I could have been hurt. I’m really lucky that you noticed and came to help me.”
“That was really stupid,” he echoed, something adding a new edge to his voice. It wasn’t something that I ever really expected to hear from Ked. It was fear. “You can’t just do that. There’s lots of bad people out around the galaxy, and I can’t be there to save you every time.”
“I know there’s bad people,” I said firmly, “I’m not a little girl. I can defend myself well enough. I just don’t want you to worry about me.”
“That’s my job,” he tried to joke.
“Is it?” I countered, “You kind of lost it back there. You wouldn’t have stomped that guy into a pulp if he was backing Drek into a corner.”
“Well, you’re not Drek,” he started.
“And you’re not supposed to treat us differently,” I pressed him, “I know that we have this thing between us, but it’s staying between us. If anyone finds out, we’re both getting court-martialled, not to mention it’s not fair to Hol… to the rest of them.”
“I know that, but I don’t care,” he said, “I know it’s wrong that we’re not telling them, but we can’t tell anyone. But that doesn’t mean that I can just stop caring about you when we’re in public. And it’s not like I’m starting to care less about you, either. Every day I wake up and count the minutes until we can be together.”
“I feel the same way,” I said, but I was getting frustrated. He just wasn’t getting it, and sweet nothings weren’t going to brush this one aside. “But that doesn’t mean that I can get special treatment. You ignoring your other responsibilities to take care of me isn’t just unfair, it’s dangerous and it puts everyone else in danger. What happens if you get hurt protecting me? Then we have no leader and we’re down one fighter. That could kill everyone, not just me.”
“I’m not going to lock my feelings in a box and open it when we’re behind closed doors,” Ked insisted, “It’s not natural and it’s not healthy. And I’m not letting go of you. I care about you, Wendy. You mean the world to me, and you’re the best thing in my life.”
“If you can’t separate your work and personal life, then maybe I shouldn’t be, General,” I said tersely, brushing past him as I moved quickly to walk next to Zanti. I was mad, but more than that, I was disappointed. I had thought that Ked was who I thought he was, that disciplined, straight-laced soldier who knew how to keep everything compartmentalized. But he wasn’t. It had worked at the Academy; we worked apart from each other in a low-stress environment, and in the evenings we shared each other’s company. But it looked like that wasn’t going to work here. Shit.
“You are distraught,” Zanti said quietly to my right.
“Yeah, how’d you guess?” I asked with acid-coated sarcasm.
“There is no need for you to take that tone with me, General Gian,” he chastised me calmly, “I am on your side, as it were. I understand that a secret relationship with your direct superior can cause complications in the field.” My face betrayed a shocked look before I could fully react and I cursed myself quietly.
“How did you find out?” I asked, keeping my voice barely audible above the ambient chatter of the marketplace.
“The stars show the faithful many hidden truths,” he said cryptically, keeping his gaze on the masses on Leonidans before us. He waited a few moments, then admitted, “I walked by your office once while you two were occupying it.” My face was definitely red.
“You haven’t told anyone, have you?” I asked.
“Of course not,” he said with a hint of proud indignation, “You two are my closest friends. I would never betray a friend like that.”
“Closest friends, huh?” I said with a tentative smile, “What happened to your little bromance with Drek?”
“Drek is fun, I admit it,” he said, returning the smile, “But I admire you and General Davras for reasons beyond your humor.”
“Yeah, I don’t really win any awards for comedy,” I said, “But I could really use a pick-me-up.”
“Well, Wendy,” he said in a playful tone, “You are a remarkable woman. You came from relatively nothing. No pedigree, no training, and you caught the Academy’s eye from your place on that unimportant little colony planet. You almost struck peace between a race of disenfranchised people and their conquerors, and you lived to tell the tale after a rebellion. Then you, along with the rest of us, laid siege to the Academy and saved it from its sure destruction. Now you are teaching the subtle art of diplomacy without any other qualifications, and, please don’t tell anyone else this, but you are by far the best of them at it.” I couldn’t help but smile. He was a stiff, odd guy who was basically born to be part of Psi, but Zanti could be chivalrous and charming when he wanted to.
“Well, isn’t that nice,” I said with a satisfied smile, “So what makes Ked your other pick?”
“He’s a natural-born leader,” Zanti said, “He commands more effectively than officers with twice the experience, and it seems like he is only getting better. He is the youngest Division head in Jetstream history, and he currently holds the record for most combat missions in thirty days. Ked Davras is a prodigy by any measure. You are all quite fortunate to be under his command.”
“You’re so flattering that I’m almost not mad at him anymore,” I admitted. Zanti’s smile turned cheeky as he lowered his voice and whispered into my ear.
“Plus he does that thing with his fingers that you like.” I went scarlet.
We found Menocles’ workshop with a little bit of effort and a few greased palms. I hated having to bribe people to get anything more than common courtesy out of them, but the Jetstream crest wasn’t well-respected outside of the Core Systems. Menocles’ place was a dingy little shop off the beaten path with a giant gear fixed over the doorway as the only identifier.
“Yeah, this looks about right for him,” Drek commented as we approached it, “I just hope that he’s in. And that he remembers me.”
“You really didn’t plan this out well, did you?” Elly asked. Drek shrugged and walked into the shop.
“Menocles!” he shouted in a commanding tone, “Come out and show yourself.” There was a commotion in the back of the shop as someone knocked something over and made a show of getting to their feet.
“Are you sure about this?” Holly asked quietly, “He probably thinks we’re the police or something.”
“What do you want, bastards?” a heavily accented voice called from the back.
“Come out with your hands in the air,” Drek called, “Under Jetstream Order Kappa-six-nine-six-nine, you are required under galactic law to buy me and my friends a round at the nearest bar.” The back of the shop went quiet for a second, then Menocles called out.
“Sir, I’m afraid that’s not possible,” he said, a smile rising in his voice, “The nearest dozen bars have banned me and any of my descendants for three generations. We might have to find a new planet.” A bronze-skinned man walked out from the back of the shop with a grin that would have split anyone else’s face in half and embraced Drek in a tight hug.
“Ha!” Drek laughed, “I knew he’d remember me! After we passed physical conditioning, we stole a few agent’s uniforms from a staff sergeant and went off-planet. We used that line to get probably half a dozen drinks at all sorts of bars on New Earth.”
“Yes, yes!” Menocles agreed gleefully, “The citizens were always too confused to question it!” The duo laughed and hugged each other again.
“Menocles, I’m General Ked Davras of Jetstream’s Omega Division,” Ked began, extending a hand to shake. Menocles broke his hug with Drek to grab Ked’s hand and pull him into a tight hug.
“No, no, General Ked Davras of Jetstream’s Omega Division,” the Alexandrian chastised him, “This is not how we do things here on Leonidas. An old friend has returned and he has brought the greatest of drinking parties with him. Whatever you have to say, do it tomorrow, for tonight we dine in Hell!” He thrust a finger into the air dramatically and struck a brave-looking pose.
“Hell?” Holly asked, “That doesn’t sound pleasant.”
“Oh, no, I am sorry, Hell is the name of a bar a few miles away,” Menocles said quickly, “One of the few places where I am still allowed to drink, and only then because I am such a generous patron!” he laughed and pulled Holly into a tight hug, kissing her on each cheek.
“You Leonidans sure are friendly,” Elly said, taking a step back from the huggy Hellenic.
“Oh, no, Leonidans are a surly group,” Menocles corrected, stepping toward me. I reached out and hugged him. It would have been rude to deny him a customary greeting. “The only time a Leonidan is happy is when he is drunk. It is lucky for me that I am always drunk.” He smiled and glanced at Elly, who shot him a death glare. Menocles settled for wrapping his arms around the stiff corpse that was Zanti.
“Are you sure that he’s the best guy to help install volatile new technology on our ship?” I whispered to Drek.
“Yeah, sure,” Drek said loudly and enthusiastically, “Menocles is one of the best mechanics I’ve ever known. He was a shoe-in for Eta Corps before he said… uh, what did you say to that drill sergeant, Menocles?”
“Oh, I remember what I said,” Menocles said with a wicked grin, then launched into one of the greatest tirades of profanity that I had ever heard. Every other word had some sort of offensive double meaning and it all strung together into something that could only be described as poetic filth.
“Wow, that’s… amazing,” Elly said. She was in love now.
“When I got home after they kicked me out, I had it framed,” Menocles said, gesturing to a framed canvas on the wall. True to his word, the whole thing was printed in its unedited explicit glory.
“That’s… wow,” Ked said. He was dumbstruck, and I kind of was, too. Academy candidates were some of the most promising talent and work ethic that the inner galaxy had to offer. How extraordinary was this guy’s technical skills that they’d even consider overlooking the rampant character flaws? He hit some of the biggest red flags that we looked for: narcissism, addictive personality, insubordination, and the language that it wouldn’t do justice to call colorful.
“Damn, I missed you,” Drek said to Menocles, “These guys are fun, but they’re like Yahvist monks compared to you.”
“What are we waiting for, then?” Menocles asked, “We have an entire night ahead of us! And this one is one of the long ones!”
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