OIC (24)
MegaZone23
"Peace? Prosperity? Phaugh. It can't last."
--Field Marshal TARAX Arcade
18 JUNE 2289
HALSTEAD STATION
Orbiting over the planet Halstead, Halstead Station was
something along the lines of an orbital office building. It
was owned, nominally, by the government of the planet,
constructed ten years earlier in an attempt to raise commerce
to the area. The government of Halstead had expected to have
a couple of small corporations and many small businesses move
into their station, paying it off in a few years and bringing
attention to the remote location, perhaps stimulating trade
and a few more space stations.
Instead, a single corporation had moved their central
headquarters from Earth entirely into the station. Halstead
Station was the sole preserve and basically the property of
GENOM Interstellar GmbH now.
In his office at the peak of the station, furthest out
along its axis from the planet's surface, Largo sat surveying
the starscape. It had taken him many years to recover from
his corporation's near-annihilation in Neo-Worcester. The
first time he recreated GENOM from ashes, he had an entire
industrial complex handed to him; the second, he had to start
over, with nothing but an office in a building in Tokyo.
Over the next few years he lost control of the growing
corporate entity, and won it back, and had to deal with
upstart women in battlesuits...it had been a long, hard road.
Now, though, he had his giant back, and he had the means
and wherewithal to destroy the Wedge Defense Force, once and
for all. All it required was some timing and finesse...and a
bit of technology. The preliminary work was all done; now he
could strike. He had been patient. Now was his time.
"You have done well, my servant," he said to the man
standing in the shadows near his desk. "Unlike many others,
you have not failed me."
"I am gratified, my lord," the man replied.
"Good," Largo said. "I like my servants content." He
picked up his telephone and dialed.
"This is Largo. Is the project ready? Excellent. I'll
be right down." He hung up and went to the elevator; the
other man followed him, keeping to the shadows as though he
felt nervous about being seen, even here.
Shortly, they had arrived in a techlab and were standing
before twin Mann Systems Type 1001E BioSculpt tanks. A tech
immediately handed Largo a sheaf of printouts. Scanning
them, Largo's face tightened into a grim smile.
"Perfect," he said, and threw back his head and laughed
aloud. The sound terrified the techs. "Perfect!" He roared.
"With this I will finally have my revenge!" he declared,
brandishing a fistful of papers.
The first BioSculpt tank opened up and a perfect replica
of Commander Benjamin D. Hutchins, Wedge Defense Force,
stepped out. Looking quite unconcerned, the false Gryphon
toweled himself off and picked up the clothes that were
waiting for him--a perfect copy of Gryphon's SDF-17 uniform.
"Begging your pardon, sir," a tech ventured, "but how
will a Type 33/S copy of one of them destroy them?"
"Simple. Through my spies aboard the SDF-17 and in the
Utopia Planitia organization, I have compiled, over the last
century or so, detailed psychological profiles of the Wedge
Defense Force's command staff. I know how they think. And
this one--this one is their weak link. Destroy his
credibility--make the others think he has betrayed them--and
they will crumble.
"We will use this doppelganger to do just that. And
then--then will we strike. Their morale will be low and they
will be missing at least one member of their command staff.
Our fleet will tear them to shreds."
"How will we be able to use the doppelganger, m'lord?"
the shadowed figure asked.
"You will see, Decker," Largo replied with a smile.
"You will see."
Then, the second tank opened up. A blandly beautiful
Asian woman stepped out of the cylinder.
"And, to add insult to injury," Largo said, "We shall
beat them at their own game. Two of their best agents, Kei
and Yuri, were taken from video series. And the best way to
eliminate a cartoon character is, of course, with another
cartoon character. To irritate them even more, we're using a
character from the Dirty Pair comic book, which the Angels
find incredibly insulting. Enter..." he gestured
melodramatically "...Shasti."
"And my mission, Largo?"
"Infiltrate the Wayward Son. Kill the Lovely Angels,
and impair the ship's combat capacity to the best of your
ability. The warrant officer," he pointed to a man standing
at attention, "will see that you get whatever resources you
need for this job. You have a blank check, of course.
Any expense for such an elite operative...and such an elite
operation."
"Your information on the crew was helpful. I already
have a plan, Largo." She stepped towards the warrant
officer, who rapidly produced a bathrobe.
Largo turned to a lesser tech. "Give the order to the
central computer. Let Operation Gotterdammerung begin!"