Sliding Reality: Chapter 4 Part 3 of 3 (Patreon)

Brad clomped through the ship, opening Stuart's room and finding nothing. He was a bottle of red hot anger, clenching his fist as he stormed through.

He looked in the cafeteria, Stuart was nursing a bottle of whiskey, his suit in disarray, like a drunk salaryman after a long week.

"Stuart, what the fuck?" Brad yelled.

"Hello to you too," Stuart slurred, raising his bottle.

Brad snarled and smacked the bottle out of Stuart's hand, it spun off and hit the wall, of course it was shatter proof. An arm extended from the ceiling and grabbed the bottle.

Stuart’s dulled expression tightened into swirling anger, Brad pulled him up by his suit dragging him upright, face to face with Stuart’s whiskey breath.

"What the hell have you done!"

"I did what I had to, what was the right thing," Stuart shoved away from Brad, stumbling as Brad let him go.

"What you had to do was sit here. Not touch anything and let me get us out of this fucking mess!"

"And what talk to your AI friend she's here to fucking kill us!"

"You don't know that!"

"And you don't either! Spouting shit about some alien race, she's the fucking alien man! What you think that you're going to be some hero in those storylines we made up. That you're going to save humanity and all the idiots in it?"

"You do this every fucking time!" Brad yelled. "I didn't want to sell out to Ella, but no, you knew it was a good idea so you pushed me into it, you were the one that pushed us to come out here, like it was some adventurous treasure hunt. You were the one that didn't want to disconnect Sphere World from our servers!"

"How was I to know!"

"You didn't! We needed information!" Brad smacked his hand against his palm as if talking to a dimwit. "Instead of gathering information you fucked off and ran to mommy and daddy. As soon as things get hard that’s what you do, bury your damn head!"

"The factions can deal with this! We can't Brad!"

"No, the factions can fight over this, you think they're going to understand a damn thing about this? Sphere World, tell me, why didn't you go to the factions?"

"Oh, asking on your pet now!"

"I didn't go to the factions because of the possibility of in stabilization which could lead to humanity fighting among themselves and rendering them an ineffectual fighting force."

“And what would render us ineffectual?” Brad growled.

“Internal conflict leading to war.”

“War! We’re at peace!”

“Peace is a thing fucking line, a fucking fishing line of a tightrope we walk every fucking day. You haven’t seen it Stuart.”

“I said that they need to work together!”

“You think they’re going to listen to you?”

“I was the one that told them!”

“You think that the Federation and the Coalition are just going to forget the killing on both sides and agree to share control over a system that can produce carriers, fighters and a remote fighting force? Think that Sol is just going to sit back too?”

Brad sucked on his teeth, letting out a sigh that removed none of the tension band running around his chest.

"They're the government, they represent humanity, they were picked for their positions," Stuart made a throwing away gesture.

Brad looked at the room and marched to the wet bar.

"What are you?"

Brad grabbed all the other bottles of drink and threw them in the recycler.

"Hey! You know how much that cost?"

"I'm not going to let you use booze to try and dull your brain Stuart. I want you to know what you did, to remember your actions here." Stuart flinched away from his eyes. "Your trying to avoid responsibilities, trying to foist what you fucked up on someone else. Whatever comes, this is on you." He jabbed his finger forward at Stuart. “While you wallow in here about the unfairness of the universe. I’m going to see just what the hell we can learn about Sphere World, to protect the gamers that are playing it. God, can you think of what the factions are going to do to them?”

“Well they…”

“They thought they were playing a game, they attacked one another for the fun of it. They stole from one another. Fine in a game, but in real life? Jynx was part of a group that used nukes. And you just threw them all to the wolves!”

“Brad.”

“I don’t have time for it, the factions probably have scouts on the way already.” Brad shook his head, turning and leaving the room.

"Where are you going?"

"Right now we are the only neutral party between all of the Factions and we control Sphere World. In hours I need to become an expert on Sphere World and somehow un-fuck this situation."

“Can you lock out Stuart Sally?”

"No, but I can make it that you have to agree on everything together and I have a ten percent say."

"Acceptable, institute that rule."

"Hey!" Stuart yelled but Brad had left the room.

"Hide here on the ship Stuart. I'm going to do what I've always done and clean up your mess. But this is the last mess of yours I'm going to clean up."

***

Li Wei sat at the head of the conference table, looking at the hologram of the Orion system in the middle of the table. Ships moved throughout the system, Sphere World circling Valhalla. The only other splash of color scouts sent by factions and other interested parties.

The wall at the end of the single-piece glass conference table, was a full-sized screen showing Captain Robertson of the Xin-Tao.

“We have run several checks on our sensor system and have remote sensor platforms heading deeper into the system. Everything confirms our previous map.”

The previous map, being pulled right from the Sphere World game. I should stop calling it a game.

She felt the backs and hairs of those around the conference table stand on end as eyes darted across the table in silent conversations, heads controlling how fast they turned to face her. The men and women in this room were privy to the darkest secrets of humanity, working for only the most powerful clients.

Not a single word passed through their lips as their eyes bounced to her and the two men beside her.

“Thank you, Captain, continue to monitor the situation.” She tapped a key on the table, the wall-screen turned back into smoked glass, the room brightening with hidden lights.

“The Federation military were already doing exercises around their lagrange points, they’re moving to readiness positions.” Raine Fan’s hair pulled back into a severe top knot, without an errant hair. His face like angled granite, earrings down one ear, his green-altered eyes with a hidden intelligence. He pursed his lips. “They are deploying their reserves at the same time and a bill has been passed by their senate that opens the road to war.”

He turned to her, raising an eyebrow.

As if they were prepared for this.

Li Wei nodded at his silent words. “The Coalition?”

“Are moving to reciprocate.” She turned to Ivan Dang on her left, and the third partner of their firm. “They are scrambling to get their reserves called up, their military is moving away from policing activities to reinforce their lagrange stations.” He waved to an associate down the table.

“We wondered what they were doing with their older model warships, they have been keeping them in storage. The ships are much older, but they come from a time of heavier armor and less countermeasures. Our defensive strategy department believes that they will take up the defense of the lagrange points, allowing the Coalition active fleet the ability to strike. They have also called up their primary reserve to serve, with their secondary reserve going through indoc.” She held her hands under the table, waiting.

Li Wei didn’t show the shiver that ran down her spine. The Coalition were sleeping beasts, she had dealt with them for decades, it was easy to out maneuver them in deals, but under that calm demeanor were dragons, and they were waking up. If they stood up, then it would be hell putting them back to sleep. And like dragons, they don’t care about normal things. They would take losses, lose profits, spend lives as if they were currency, without care. If they had the belief of their people, then no cost was too high. It was anathema to all business practices.

Dennis Smith cleared his throat, halfway down the table, another suit among many, no visible piercings, tattoos or body modifications. A few eyebrows raised, but Li Wei and her partner’s attention was focused on him.

Li Wei opened her hand to him. And what has our intelligence officer ruffled.

“Sol’s agents are moving in greater numbers than we expected, its clear that they have a greater understanding of the corporations ability than the other factions, and they’ve made an announcement.”

The wall turned into a screen showing Estefan Devi stood behind a podium with the United Sol symbol, the system wreathed in Olive branches.

“Our navy has confirmed the existence of Sphere World in the Orion system.” He rode out the stir among the reporters, holding up a hand and closing his eyes, a picture of calm. “There will be a time for questions later, we will share everything that we know with the public as we know it. As Stuart Martin said, this is the time for Humanity to band together. I am calling on the governments of humanity to meet together to discuss Sphere World and our future. Thank you for your time and I hope that we can step forward as one into this new future.”

“They’ve taken the political advantage.” She leaned back. “With this they can shape the dialogue between the factions. The Coalition will agree out of principle, the Federation will attend just to test the waters.” She looked at Raine. “Get us a seat at that table, quietly.”

He looked to someone nodding to them, they excused themselves from the room.

Dennis waited for the door to close before he continued.

“The factions have all started to institute measures around people who had been playing Sphere World.” Dennis continued. “The Federation are conscripting Sphere World Players and demanding that all accounts and resources be turned over to them effective immediately. The Coalition is asking their citizens to turn over their accounts, they will pay for them, they are also saying that people should not sign up for accounts, and are pushing to have a bill to restrict people from the game. Sol is quietly searching for all of their people that are playing the game. Guilds that are playing the games have retreated to their bases and their leadership have been called in by their sponsor companies. Settled systems vary in response.”

“Can you extrapolate what this will mean?” Li Wei asked.

“A direct injection of weapons and gear that is unrestricted and uncontrolled. There shouldn’t be many warships as Corvettes have only started to be produced in Sphere World. In the immediate future it won’t mean much, the biggest changes will come from the factories. They are able to refine and build components faster than our current infrastructure. Utilized properly they will greatly increase the speed at which any force can increase in size. Bots will allow people to wage war without losing troops directly. Suicide missions will become a matter of resources.”

Those at the table stirred slightly, a crack in their masks. She felt Raine and Ivan holding back their comments.

“Have the Security corporations step up their fleets, draw from the mutual fund, we will pay base rate. They are to patrol, but don’t have them move to the lagrange points, we need to de-escalate. Slow shipments of weapons and ammunition intended for the Federation. Invite the Council of Humanity’s Corporations to meet, send them a report on what we know. I want simulations on the stock market fluctuations.”

It was all moving quickly, they needed to push forward instead of being on the back foot. The governments are too entrenched in their positions now.

“Olivia, get me Brad and Stuart’s council. I want to know what Sphere World is bringing into this whole mess.”

“What about our connection to Orion Belt Enterprises, do we really want to use it?” Ivan Dang raised a manicured eyebrow.

“They have proven to be capable in the past and they are at the middle of this situation, the more information we are able to get the better.” It was alien after, all, something other. “Remove production limits placed on military production.”

“Are you sure? That could be taken as threatening,” Raine asked.

“While we need to calm the factions, we don’t know what Sphere World brings with it. Humans didn’t make it. It produces rifles and warships, remote fighting platforms, not farms.”