Chapter 13: Preparation

“Who is Morathi?” Shira asked Stone.

“Engh...,” Stone grunted.

It had been about an hour since the interrogation with Torrin. Ioren, Stone, Javier, and Shira were in the CO and XO’s stateroom, debriefing the information that had just been acquired. Javier stood by Shira as she sat down, smoking another cigarette. The captain was completely relaxed, leaning back as she questioned the master sergeant. Stone and Ioren stood next to each other, overlooking the commanding officers.

Ioren reached up and tugged Stone’s shirt, almost as if she were begging him to explain. The master sergeant rolled his eyes and relented.

“Fine...,” Stone said in annoyance. “He’s a nobody, but ... supposedly, to some, he is more of a myth.”

“The Unending Arrow?” Shira remarked.

Stone shook his head. “Morathi is just a man. A thug for hire who worked for the Dragon’s Eye Syndicate. He was sniping our officers back on Oshun before I killed him.”

“Yet, Torrin believes otherwise and supposedly worked for him just recently.”

“His corpse would disagree with that statement. It’s still there in Oshun’s morgue.”

“How long did you analyze the body?” Javier asked.

“I was there for a minute to confirm the kill. Everything was how I remembered it before I had to tend to other things. The wound and the shot pattern were a perfect match. My bullet was recovered and embedded through the right eye where it supposedly stopped just past the rear portion of the skull.”

“Explain the myth of the Unending Arrow,” Shira stated as she took a drag of her small cigarette. “No matter how irrelevant it may seem.”

“It was his nickname,” Stone explained. “Something that the other criminal exiles made up when I was in Dragon’s Eye. They claimed that Morathi had mastered the art of immortality, that he could never be killed and would seek out the ones that bring harm to him. Others claimed that he was over eighty years old. I would just tell them that he’s dead.”

“Is it possible that someone is impersonating him?” Javier asked. “Trying to keep the myth alive by claiming he’s him?”

“Maybe,” Stone said.

“But you didn’t seem entirely convinced,” Shira stated. “This gets into another question. Why didn’t your round do more damage to your sniper?”

The master sergeant seemed to think for a few seconds. Javier looked at Stone’s sidearm. It was a big handgun capable of firing more powerful rounds than typical UHN handguns. The master sergeant had an answer.

“It was claimed that the window glass and the scope’s alloy and material slowed down the bullet enough that when it penetrated into his skull, it didn’t blow through the other end of his head,” Stone explained as he sighed in aggravation.

“The caliber of your gun is quite powerful,” Shira explained. “You sacrifice capacity for sheer penetration.”

“I make sure that the perps don’t get back up.”

“But, in this case, this one did. He was one step ahead of you.” Shira began to interface the computer panel where the main display turned on. She switched one of the other room displays to what she was looking at for the others to see.

The face of a man appeared on the screen. It showed that of an individual with a dark complexion, a typical man of Oshun. He was bald, in his mid-thirties, and carried a short stubby beard. Stone walked up to the display and pointed at it.

“That’s him,” Stone confirmed. “Before he claimed the bullet that ended him.”

“According to the criminal record provided by Oshun’s police statements,” Shira explained. “Bowman Morathi, age 38, when he died. He was arrested once when he was 19 for violating the ‘No More than 10% rule.’ He was supposedly working as a data broker at the time.”

“I suspected him as an information dealer.” Stone pointed at the image again. “Augmented implant on the back of the skull connecting to the brain, along with augmented arms and legs. But I don’t deal with a dead man’s history, either.”

“Augmented implant?” Javier questioned.

“His profession required that he physically wire himself into a banking computer to help assist in Oshun’s transactions. But the man was conveniently stealing small sums of money from customers and trying to get away with it until he was caught.”

“According to the report,” Shira explained as she tapped the ashes of her cigarette into the ashtray. “Morathi had the option to choose what augments he would lose. He chose to lose an arm and a leg before he was released.”

“It’s likely he just went to the black market and got a replacement. Happens on Oshun more often than anyone thinks.”

“Yes, but why?”

“Yeah...,” Javier wondered. “Why keep a head implant when no other firm would hire him after getting busted like that.”

“Probably working with mobs or other criminals,” Stone stated. “Possible that he was trying to penetrate unprotected UWAN networks as a hacker.”

“Hmmm ... that is possible. However, the report states that the alloy used for the implant is tritanium. This doesn’t match with the alloy when he was arrested 19 years prior to his death.”

“Tritanium?” Stone questioned as his eyes narrowed some.

“That’s expensive,” Javier said. “Where did a person like that get that sort of money?”

“Probably from the dealings he made ... whoever hired him, maybe.”

“Unfortunately,” Shira remarked. “We only have this man’s story from the first arrest and his death, with a sizeable gap in between. But, I would easily assume that tritanium could withstand the bullet that you fired at him, correct?”

“Depending on the thickness of the layer, Yes...,” Stone said in realization. “It would explain why there would be no exit wound. His brain was still destroyed from within.”

“But not the implant,” the captain concluded. She left the burning cigarette on her lips as she typed in a few other queries. Stone’s focus began to zero in on the information.

“You’re pulling up other crimes on Oshun?” Stone asked.

“Yes,” Shira said. “I am curious as to other unexplained deaths or homicides, preferably with bullet wounds similar to what happened to Ioren.”

“A 50-caliber round is something that you don’t miss in a forensics report,” Javier remarked.

“Hmmm...,” Stone said as he analyzed the data reports. “Cross reference with all deaths that transpired between now to 20 years ago.”

The screen changed to depict eleven different findings. This included faces and pictures of various scenes. Most of these images were taken from UWAN news media-related journals. However, Javier’s face showed curiosity.

“Wait a minute,” Javier said. “Go back to the one that you were on.”

The screen focused on an image of a man, most likely a person born from former Japan. He had long gray hair and a hairless face. He appeared to be a man in his late 80s.

“That’s Doctor Takeo Shinji,” the XO said.

“Who?” Stone asked.

“You don’t know Shinji?”

“I don’t bury myself in the history books like you.”

“Shinji is actually pretty well known in computer history ... ehhh ... our history. He was monumental in progressing memory and data storage hardware within the course of 30 years. Many considered him the greatest computer scientist in the early 24th century. He was somewhat active in his retirement. He taught at universities. I wouldn’t be surprised that Doctor Ericsson learned a thing or two in computer engineering, thanks to Shinji.”

“He was murdered,” Stone said. “Five years ago.”

“Yeah ... I remember, now that I think about it. Shinji was ... an odd person. Supposedly, he moved to Oshun to retire, but I remember some of the ... mysteries that circulated around him.”

“Explain,” Shira stated.

“Doctor Shinji claimed that the purpose of his advancement in data and memory storage technology was because he wanted to recreate the storage memory of a human brain. Some even claimed that his final wish was to ... supposedly transfer his consciousness into a computer.”

“Interesting,” Shira remarked.

“It was just rumor, though. Some even considered the concept to be ridiculous, but I think that Shinji’s greatest fear was death. But,...” Javier tapped his head before looking at Shira. “We have access to top secret information. Shira, pull up the information on Project Keihatsu.”

The captain keyed in a few words. The UWAN was dropped and replaced with the UHN logo. The Shal’rein then typed the name given. The Top Secret Classification appeared before it was revealed to them. A series of information and data was pulled up.

“Here it is,” Javier explained. “Project Keihatsu started in 2298. Leading civilian scientist in charge was ... Doctor Shinji. Thought so.”

“Hmph...,” Stone grunted. “A secret military project they kept hidden from the public.”

“Yeah. I heard of some rumor that he worked on a military project or two. According to this, Keihatsu was about ... the transfer of human memory into computer data storage. The entire project’s goal was to essentially transfer one’s consciousness into something else.”

Shira and Ioren remained curious as to the discussion being made.

“How?” Stone asked.

“I’m no computer expert,” Javier continued. “But...”

“It was enough for the UHN to remove this from public knowledge,” Shira said. “It states that the project was discontinued in 2324.”

“Most likely from Shinji’s retirement. But the concluding paragraph is interesting. ‘It is the UHN’s wish to pursue passing the expertise from man into machine. The current technology does not meet the desires and practical usage for the UHN to continue anymore. However, it is believed that further testing would eventually lead to a successful outcome.’” Javier shook his head.

“There is more to this,” Shira pointed out. “Fourth paragraph to the end.”

“Let’s see ... in... 2319, early tests revealed a possible breakthrough in human to human ... transfer. However, insufficient data storage and inadequate augment brain interface lead to continuous failure...” Javier gave Stone and Shira a confused look before looking at the information.

“Human to human?” Stone gave a confused look.

“That’s all it states,” Javier said as he came to the realization. “The technology improved enough that Dr. Ericsson was able to program and create his own super-advanced AI because of Shinji’s data storage advancements, but Shinji’s project was discontinued before it led to a successful outcome. Is it ... possible that Shinji never gave up on this project?”

“The article about Shinji’s death,” Shira remarked. “He was killed by a high caliber round to his heart, but the bullet was never recovered. It states that a lot of his notes and equipment also went missing from his home when he was murdered.”

“Somebody stole his work...”

The project records began to show pictures of a connection port in the back of the head with two living test subjects. This included connecting to a computer quantum core and the other with a person-to-person.

Another picture showed a hypothetical diagram drawing of a disklike device that could be plugged into the back of the skull where the connecting augment receiver was located. It was small enough to fit in the palm of the hand. The words ‘Memory Core Unit Beta’ were listed. The sentence in Shinji’s writing asked, “Can one memory dominate another’s consciousness?”

“What would they have accomplished by a human-to-human transfer?” Javier asked.

“That would be a question that Stone may have a better chance in answering,” Shira replied. “Who would be a likely candidate for continuing Shinji’s work? Who managed to successfully achieve ‘immortality’ as the prisoners of Oshun claimed?”

Stone looked at the images. If only he had a chance to evaluate the body further so long ago, it would have confirmed this. He clenched his fist as if he was about to punch the display board.

“It’s not possible!” Stone exclaimed. “I fucking ended him. It’s just some perp posing as him.”

“Yet, there is a suggestion otherwise,” Shira explained. “Even if the evidence isn’t entirely clear, we are given hints that Morathi had killed and stolen Shinji’s work. The augmented implants in Morathi are similar to the project. He placed high value on protecting the back of his brain because that is who he is. The body is just a shell to him.”

“If somebody else had these ports,” Javier said in realization. “If Shinji managed to complete the project ... It’s possible that Morathi could transfer ... take over another person’s brain?”

“It’s not used this way!” Stone waved his hand and turned away from the screen.

“Yet, he still kept it,” Shira told him. “Morathi has failed in killing you, but he accomplished much at the same time. It’s very likely that there were two individuals that were there that day to terminate your life. When Morathi was ‘killed,’ he went to another body.”

“This is ludicrous. Conjecture stacked on coincidence.”

“I agree that our information is limited and that it’s most likely circumstantial. However, it’s our job to evaluate it and ‘put the pieces’ together. Tell me, Stone. Did the corpse have a disklike device connected to the back of the skull?”

Stone fumed. He looked down at Ioren, who seemed unsure. However, it was the best and perhaps only lead that they had on this person. The master sergeant’s memory flashed to that day when the pair were in the alleyway. The day when Blackstar mercenaries were helping to eliminate another gang, the police shootout, and the insanity of urban warfare. There was so much chaos, but it ultimately led to a simple life-changing event. Both Stone and Ioren were together pursuing the remains of the dead and dying. They were trying to get to the other side of the block when the barrel poked out of the windowsill of that building...

It was the same gun, same method, and same bullet at Valradena. However, Stone could remember seeing only one person there back in Oshun. However, it was in the wake of the moment. Split seconds were crucial as he had to kill that man before Morathi accomplished his task of killing him. His attention was diverted to Ioren, who was dying on the concrete, having to get her to the hospital as soon as possible. Only the investigation long after that event could be made. It was possible that somebody else was there, deeper in the apartment, that his augmented eye couldn’t see. If only he had the chance to evaluate Morathi’s corpse further. If only he had the chance to go to the apartment immediately instead of tending to Ioren’s near-fatal wound.

“Perhaps,” Shira continued. “Torrin will provide more detail on our assumptions. He seems quite convinced that he was speaking to the very man you seemed to fail in terminating. However,” the Shal’rein captain stood up and looked at Stone. “I wouldn’t be too harsh on yourself. If I were planning to eliminate you, I would certainly have a backup plan or two.”

Javier smiled upon hearing that.

“Hmph...,” Stone grunted.

“Regardless,” Shira explained. “Torrin’s comment has proven to be quite helpful.”

“You honestly believe that the pirates are starving?”

“No, but even if it isn’t, it’s still a precious commodity. The raids on the civilian ships do indicate that the pirates are raiding valuables, equipment, food, and water. Two incidents in the last five years, they only stole food when the ships were loaded with ore. Torrin’s comment makes sense. And, because of that, I can now conduct an operation to lure the pirates out of hiding.”

“An offensive mission?” the master sergeant.

“One that would utilize our ship’s resources to its fullest extent including our marines and the Paloran marines given to us. Stone, I would advise you to make preparations with them in the days to come. Javier and I will begin establishing a battle strategy plan, something that Admiral Thiago may be intrigued to agree with.”

“Consider it done,” Stone said.

“Very good. Both you and Ioren are dismissed.”

Ioren was in the process, but Stone stepped closer to the table.

“How long are we going to keep him alive?” Stone asked her.

“We have not completed our information gathering as of yet,” Shira calmly explained. “Until then, he must be preserved.”

“He should be brought to trial on Palora,” Javier remarked.

“So he can escape again?” Stone aggressively asked him. “Even now, he’s a waste of space and eating the ship’s food.”

“I’m just saying that we should honor the Admiral’s orders.”

“Don’t be a bleeding heart for this man. I have a marine that’s ready to gut him if I don’t do it first. As long as he’s alive, he’s a danger to society. He’s already been tried, convicted, and sentenced. We’re simply fixing the problem that Oshun failed to accomplish.”

Shira lifted her fingers to stop the argument before it became inflamed. “Rest assured that the Admiral’s orders will be respected,” she said. “All I ask from you, Stone, is patience.”

“Engh...,” the master sergeant grunted. Flustered, he turned around and stepped close to Ioren. The door opened before the two left the room together. After the door closed, Javier shook his head as he looked at Shira.

“I have to keep reminding myself of what he is,” Javier remarked. “What he’s done for Oshun, Mars, and this ship. Every time I feel like I’m close to an argument with him, I have to decide if I’m going to be engaged in some screaming match with him or back off entirely.”

“You will often find that it is best that he is voicing his disapproval,” Shira replied. “I would be more concerned if he never said a word while he’s adamantly disagreeing with you. By then, it would be too late.”

“That’s ... reassuring, I guess...” Javier looked at the display and changed topics. “I admit that even this idea of a dead man being alive is a little farfetched.”

“It is what we have for now.”

“If this is all true, then it really just gets down to revenge in the end, isn’t it? You might as well arrange a meeting for the two men to gather together and give them the swords they need to rip each other apart.”

“You are quite perceptive on the idea that you’re suggesting. Vengeance is often a powerful motivator for one’s actions.” She stepped away and gestured for Javier to sit on her chair. “I am curious as to how much you know about Stone’s lineage, especially for a mate with your acquired knowledge.”

“Personal history of one man?” Javier asked as he sat down on the chair. “I know about surrounding events, but it’s a little specific to know something like that.”

“I have observed that Stone recently changed the knife he’s carrying.”

“I didn’t even notice it.”

“It is larger than his previous. I noticed a name that I wanted to inquire with you ... the one that is called ‘Arondight.’”

Javier seemed to think about it as he closed out the search menu on the main display. He then began to look up on the local UWAN sites before he really considered it.

“The name almost seems familiar,” he said, scratching his beard. “I remember hearing about it in Earth history ... ummm... 21st-century history, I think.”

“We have the local libraries we can research.”

He began typing in the search query for the name in question. A series of results came up.

“Let’s see,” the XO read out loud. “It’s the name of Sir Lancelot’s sword. It’s an old story, but that isn’t it.” He then picked on the next result. “Ah ... yes. That’s it.”

A picture appeared on the display. It showed that of a towering, muscle-toned man. On his head, shoulders, and back was a red and dark blue cowl. The person had a pale complexion, but he wore so much gear and clothing that it almost blocked out his entire body and face. On his back were the tattered remains of an old US flag that flowed almost down to his knees, worn like a cape. He was dressed in body armor with the circular symbol of 13 stars in the center. On his face was a large, almost mechanical mask covering his nose and mouth, with black camouflage almost covering his left eye. In one hand was a large caliber rifle with various sidearms on his belt. The other hand was a bowie knife pointed down to the ground. The angered look of intensity could be seen in those eyes, almost as if his vision would melt down the person who took the picture. Even the star symbol carried dried blood on it.

“Arondight...,” Javier said glancing at the text. “Yeah, now I remember. He was a blip in the US history books from 2067 to 2078 in the era simply known as ‘The Troubles.’ It’s not like the other nations fared any better. But, it was considered the worst time period in the 21st century for the United States. A group of terrorists smuggled in a small nuclear device, a dirty bomb, and detonated it inside Washington DC, destroying much of the government infrastructure. Prior extreme polarization and disagreements eventually ripped the nation apart when the states couldn’t agree on where the nation’s capital would be relocated. Eventually, the politicians agreed that the only course of action was to split into two nations: The USSA and the URA...”

“That is the same knife that Stone has,” Shira said, looking at the picture.

“Arondight has a ... rather lengthy history to him. Wow,” Javier tried to summarize. “His name was Aaron Stone, a former Green Beret, hence his callsign ‘Arondight.’ After 12 years of service, he tried to retire from the military and live a civilian life until his wife was killed by three police officers. He took the law into his own hands, supposedly hunting down these three officers while engaging in terrorist actions, playing a key role in wiping out the NECA, and later engaging against the USSA’s military. Ah...,” Javier shook his head. “The lists of crimes on this person are almost as large as the entry. Some sources say that he killed and injured hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people during his reign of revenge. However, his controversial actions led to saving many lives and families from oppressive or corrupt administrative groups. Many sources claim that Aaron Stone was the most successful terrorist and hero in the late 21st century until the USSA and the URA reunited and became the USA once again.”

“The warrior’s blood flows through him,” Shira commented. “As he continues his military service, more and more of this past will begin to surface and make him even more powerful.”

“I would hope that it doesn’t overwhelm you. This Aaron Stone was a man once, driven to wipe out everything in his path to get what he wished for.”

“The correct course of action is to guide this power and harness it rather than facing it directly.”

Javier could see genuine curiosity and respect in Shira’s face when it came to Stone. Her attention was focused on the old picture, but the XO knew that she was concentrating on so many things. Arondight was simply a forgotten relic by now. His blade was successfully passed down to the current family member who carried it...