Jason knew when he was beat, all things considered. Of course, he hadnt considered everything. Oh, everyone thinks on the miracles that could happen teacher getting hit by a bus the day of the big test, divine intervention in a fight such as this, its all the same but he never counted on them. A miracle didnt happen, as a matter of fact, but something else did. The ship shook, as if hit by a salvo of fire from a large enemy force. Jason couldnt see Sams face in the dark, but he could feel the worry. Inside his head, Jason heard something the Nomad was fighting for power.
My brothers come! Free me!
Jason cursed under his breath. Nomad attack not much in the way of miracles, but hed take it. Now, he was fighting a battle on two fronts a battle for freedom, and a battle for his mind. Another explosion rocked the ship, and by the dull thwumps, it was obvious that large guns were returning fire. A small shower of sparks fell from the ceiling, a panel blowing open by an overloaded circuit. It provided brief illumination for a second, before completely lighting up the area by a green incandescent glow. Sam curses, and now Jason can see his footing.
He quickly approaches Sam, feet deftly moving around the pitfalls, and then grabs her retreating form by the neck, lifts her into the air, and slams her into the wall that she had just about backed up into. Her body slumps into the non-struggle of unconsciousness.
A quick search brings Jason to the door, and to possible freedom.
The weapons fire had stopped a while ago, and since the ship was still in one piece, he assumed that they had fought off the attackers. Now that the initial confusion in the attack was over, Jasons cover was gone. He had to find another ship, fast. The hallways were vastly deserted, but still held the luxurious flair that they had when the ship was actually used for that purpose. A labyrinth of corridors met Jason, yet no alarm had been raised they hadnt found Sam yet, she hadnt woke up yet, or they were trying to take him by surprise.
Turning another corner, he comes across a computer terminal that was built into the wall. Taking up position in front of it, he used a device the Hackers had put together that could crack any computer log-in anywhere. Five seconds later he was inside, pulling up a floor plan to the ship. The first thing he noticed was the small hangar bay that had been installed near the front of the ship. There were a few ships in there, by these readings. The second thing he saw was the huge damage the ship had taken during the last fight. Finally, Jason noted with no little horror that the entire second half of the ship was enveloped by what appeared to be a Nomad Battleship just like the LNS Tundra.
It was now a race against time for Jason. The Nomad ship was inching its way up the Luxury Liners hull, slowly eating it like a snake. He was at a dead run, and praying to avoid another Nomad encounter. He had had enough for any man. Down countless hauls that looked like they belonged in a mansion, all devoid of human life, which gave the ship an eerie feeling. Soon he came to a set of double-doors which announced the launch bay. Walking up and opening them via a panel to the right, Jason walked in, doing his best to look every way at once for some shred of warning of an attack.
It was empty, and loaded with a bunch of Order Nephtys fighters, which was odd. It would suggest that they were either friendly or had a deal with the Order, but what could the Order be getting? Me, perhaps, Jason thinks to himself with a wry chuckle. So self-centered. Jumping into a ship, he blasted the doors open, as he didnt have proper clearance. From the narrow view out the doors, he saw a few Nomad fighters flying in formation, buzzing the ship. Oh joy.
Throwing all safety procedures out the window, Jason slammed the Cruise button, overriding the computer warnings that they were inside a ship. As if a slumbering beast of war had been unleashed, the ship gleefully disregarded the computer safeties as well, almost seeming to enjoy destroying the launch deck as the force of the engines ripped apart the inside of the ship. The Nomad fighters leaped at the unexpected outburst, scrambling to intercept. Jason, however, had the momentum and kept it. A keen pressure in the back of his mind reached a crescendo to a high-pitched squeal, right below the maximum human capacity to hear.
He shook his head as if to shake off the noise, but it continued. Must be that damn Nomad crying out for freedom, was Jasons thought, but he wouldnt give in. He was in control, and he was not gonna be captured by Nomads. Back-tracking to Chugoku, the Nomads were eventually left in the dust. They must have satisfied themselves with their current prize. Once on Kyoto, Jason checked the data logs of the fighter and whistled under his breath. The encryption was so heavy that the techies back at base would spend days just getting in the front door. Jason downloaded the contents of the computer to a portable drive, and made his way back to Freeport Six and his Sabre, Cassandra II.
Jasons Sabre set down on the Hackers forward base, set to guard the jump hole that connects Vespucci and Magellan. Quite a ruckus was made about him; apparently they had presumed him dead. An immediate debrief with Aralie as well as a lot of further testing proved that the Nomads consciousness was still in Jason. At first a few marines were posted to follow him around, and he was restricted access to everywhere but his quarters. He quickly realized that he was lucky to not have been shot. In the days that followed, numerous psychological examinations were used to determine that he was human, and in control of his faculties and the Nomad. Hesitantly he was handed his privileges back, and soon was allowed to fly.
Over the course of fighting Liberty, he was promoted to Fleet Commander, but never got a capital ship which befitted the rank. Apparently, Jason had gotten the HFs trust, and was not about to abuse it.
Moore lay in his bed, restlessly turning, thinking. Connecting dots. It didn't make any sense. There was more at work here, from what Sam had told him, and she had no reason to lie. A force that had yet to show itself, let alone what was in its hand. He sighed and resigned himself to another sleepless night, but soon something caught his attention. Footsteps, outside his room. It wasn't odd that people were walking in a base, but what was odd was the sound of the footsteps. Something was odd about them, he just couldn't place what.
Metal combat boots he thought, realizing that anyone in this section wouldn't be wearing the cumbersome boots used to resist small-scale explosions such as land mines or grenades. Jason rolled out of bed silently and stalked to his door, bare feet making not a sound. Otherwise he wore a flannel shirt and pants. Putting his ear to the door to try and hear something, he strained to catch even a whisper of wind. What he heard was the lock mechanisms being manipulated - someone was picking it.
Quickly heading back to his bed, he reached into the nightstand and took out his gun, then made his way back to the door, positioning himself by the hinges. The door creaked open, and a man started to walk in as quietly as possible, pulling out a gun as he did so. Jason brought the butt of his gun down on the man's hand that had just unholstered the gun, making him give a small yelp and drop it. Taking a step to his right to get a better hit, Jason pistol-whipped him in the head. He crumpled like a doll.
There was a second man, who had pulled out his gun and squeezed off a few shots in shock, each one going wild through the door but missing Jason. It had a silencer, so each one was a muted pop that wouldn't be taken for a gunshot from someone in another room. Jason's gun made a sound that'd be taken for a gunshot to those same people, though. It slammed into the man's chest, making him take a step backwards, but apparently he had body armor. The next shot took him in the face. Now people were starting to come out of their rooms quickly, holding guns and in PJs.
Jason ignored them all, and knelt by the man that was still alive, though unconscious. Searching him, he found a fake Lane Hacker ID, and a sealed letter addressed to Jason. Opening it, he read:
"Good evening, Mr. Moore, you'll find enclosed coordinates to a meeting point. Let me make clear that we are the ones you have been looking for, and if at all possible, bring my men back alive, though if I were to guess I'd say one was already dead."
It was unsigned, and had coordinates in the deep Omicrons. Jason got dressed, grabbed his flight bag, and went for his ship.
The Sabre streaked from America base, cruising through Magellan, California, Texas, finally entering New York via the jump hole in the Badlands. Docking on Buffalo, Jason set about looking over sensor logs of Zone 21. There was quite a bit of activity, but it shouldn't be too hard...
What the... Jason thought, blinking to make sure he was seeing straight. An Osiris had just jumped... two Osiris... three! It was too far for sensors to pick up scrub fighters, but knowing the Order it was likely a swarm. Jason smiled, running to his ship and launching. If this distraction wasn't for him, he was the luckiest man alive.
Through the New York intrasystem jump hole, up 20 clicks and there was the hole in the minefield. You can only fit so many ships in such a small space, which was the main reason the Order wasn't getting slaughtered. An entire battlegroup was kicking their heels outside Zone 21 whilst only two dreadnoughts and various other ships were in the fighting.
The battlegroup took a few shots at Jason, but he dodged it all with a few intricate moves. Weaving his way through Zone 21, as he was jumping Jason saw the Order ships falling back. On the other side Jason didn't wait up. He slammed cruise, heading for the Omicron Minor jump hole. While the coordinates were in Minor, he wasn't going to assume he was dealing with the Order. Not yet.
Omicron Minor was a hellish place, worse than Alaska by far. The coordinates were located in grid G4, close to the Alaska jump hole yet leading away from Toledo, the main Order presence in the system. Jason didnt like the feel of it, too remote. Of course, the entire system was remote, but a remote place in a remote system only lent itself to a setup. Coming in, Jason noticed the odd-shaped asteroids thinning until he came to a clearing, and there a triangular-shaped object with a center that was hollow, more three objects that made the shape of a triangle than anything else. And in front of it was an Osiris.
The Osiris sent out a hail to Jason, telling him to dock. Grudgingly, Jason followed the directions and found himself in a dark docking bay. They were always dark when something was about to go bad. Taking a deep, calming breath Jason drew his gun and disembarked the Sabre.
A man walked out of the shadows, wearing an Order uniform and otherwise unremarkable. He looked shifty, but that mightve been Jason leveling his gun on the man and demanding to know who he was.
Take it easy man; take it easy no need for guns. The boss told me to escort you to his office, yeah? He was licking his lips by the end, nervous to be on the business-end of a gun.
Jason just nodded and motioned the man to move, but didnt take the gun off of him. The nervous man almost ran down the halls towards the office, and Jason matched him stride for stride.
The Osiris was running on emergency power, or at least the lighting was. Dim was the best word to describe the corridors, and empty came close second. Not a single crewman was seen, nor any doors open. Bulkheads were closed to close off corridors and funnel Jason in only one direction: where the man led. Eventually, they got there, wherever there was, and the man motioned towards a door and stood there. Jason lowered the gun but didn't holster it, opening the door and walking in. He was about sick and tired of this game, and hoped it could end here and now.
It was an office, with a man standing next to a bookcase that took an entire wall, holding a book and reading the back cover. He looked up when the door opened, and put the book back.
"Moore, how good to finally meet you face to face. I believe you've heard of me, I am Robert Foster."
So. The unknown adversary, the foe with no face, the man standing in the shadows and pulling the strings, had finally deigned fit to show himself. He was... remarkably average. Brown hair, brown eyes, mid-forties, straight teeth. Hands weren't callused, but neither were they soft. He had a look about him that said he had seen a lot, survived a lot.
"Please, have a seat," he gestured to the chair that was positioned opposite the desk. Robert made no move for the desk.
"I'd prefer to stand, thanks. Now... who the hell are you, and why?"
"Ah... straight to business. I am Robert Foster, simple as that. No rank, no affiliations. None that would matter, anyways. Why, you ask? Because Jason... you are a danger."
Jason scoffed, saying, "A danger? Damn straight, what's that gotta do with anything?"
"You do not understand. You have within you the capability to effectively combat the Nomad threat. If the Order ever got their hands on you, they could replicate what that joint LSF/Order project had done." His voice dropped to a whisper: "Did you know they destroyed the blueprints for it, and erased all records? Why do you think that happened, wouldn't they want to make more of you?
"The simple answer is this: they didn't erase it, no. Those that tried to further the project were neutralized, those that knew of it were all put into an Anubis and left to drift, for the Nomads to find them. It's about survival, Moore."
"Survival of who, dammit? The human race, or the Nomads. That's all there is, and you look like you're looking after the damn Nomads."
"But I am, Moore. I am." His eyes started shining blue. "So is the entire 'crew' of this Osiris. We were once loyal to the Order and humanity, but have now been shown the light. You, Moore, are a danger to all of us. You must die."
Jason just sighed, saying, "OK, seriously, how many Nomad-infected bastards are there in Sirius?" He meant it as a rhetorical question to show how fed up he was that they just kept popping up, but Robert answered.
"More than you know. You see, we are on the eve of a second 'Nomad War', as you call them. This time, we have more experience in fighting you humans, we are more widespread, and with you gone humanity won't stand a chance." While he was talking, he was slowly taking steps forward, as if savoring the kill. Jason didn't like it... he had killed enough of his men so that he should know just how hard Jason is to kill. Only someone with an ace up their sleeve would be so smug.
Oh really. And what makes you so sure you can kill me? You havent been doing a good job so far. Robert laughed a little, and then tapped his temple with one finger, a smirk on his face. Because Moore, you have that inside of you. All it takes is the flip of a switch, so to speak, to take control.
His face squinted in thought, as if he was concentrating on something. Nothing happened. Robert looked a bit perplexed, and it was Jasons turn to smile. Not working, squid-man? Aww, thats a shame. Though on the outside Jason looked triumphant, almost, on the inside he felt like he was about to throw up. The Nomad was stirring, but not in a way it ever had. It was projecting almost human thoughts, as if instead of forcing its perverted will on the host (Jason), it had taken the mindset of the host instead. Unable to dominate, it had given up and been dominated, and was now but an extension of Jasons subconscious thought. Of course, what is a villain if he doesnt have two aces up his sleeve
The door behind Jason opened, and the same man that had escorted him had a gun, aimed at the head of Jasons sister, Kelly.