The Unknowing War (Optimum Project sequel)

Chapter 4

New information

After messaging pix I decided to just meet him down in engineering to talk, he was probably dashing around looking for a project that actually would take me a week to complete. I walked down the hall with my supplies and rode the elevator down to engineering, which was uncharacteristically empty, I looked around.

"Where is everyone?"

"Believe it or not, I do not have tracking systems for the engineers who commonly reside here."  Tom gave a reply that practically dripped sarcasm.

I quietly set my stuff  down on a vacant workbench and worked my way forward, towards the private workrooms placed near the rear of the massive bay. Tom automatically triggered an analysis overlay, and part of the system recognized that one of the workspaces was occupied. I crept close enough to the door that I could hear muffled voices and tom triggered nanite enhancers for my hearing, causing the indistinguishable voices to come through crystal clear.

"He doesn't know yet, we haven't told him because who knows how he would react?" That was pix.

"You need to, he is the only viable combat solution to this entire thing, if he is going to help us win this he needs to know what, or in this case who, we're really dealing with." I didn't recognize the second voice, deep and gruff, it sounded as though the owner had just finished gargling gravel.

"I know, I know, but I think we need more time, he's already a bit psychologically inclined to believe he's a danger to others, even if he has the self control. Imagine what he would think if he realized that his predecessor hadn't really died, but had rather gone rouge and disappeared into the Shattered Zone." Pix replied.

I raised my eyebrows, the Shattered Zone was completely off limits to everyone, not that anybody would want to go anyway, from what scientists could gather, three stars simultaneously collapsed and became black holes, but because of how they orbited each other they were locked into a tidal battle, and the planets in each of their systems broke apart and created massive debris fields that orbited in odd formations, making it impossible to navigate safely. Factor that and the fact that the blackholes gave off massive amounts of radiation? Life expectancy in there was zero.

So who was this mysterious predecessor they were talking about? And who was he predecessor to? Me? I doubted it, I hadn't been mentioned and there was certainly no need to jump to conclusions, I tuned back into the conversation.

"We need to fight fire with fire here, and the more Noah Price knows about who we're facing, the better equipped he can be to handle the situation."

Now I was really curious, they were talking about me, why seemed to be related to this so called predecessor. I closed my eyes and requested mental access to the file mainframe of Project Optimum. I sifted through files, most about the constructive process, most also heavily encrypted. I tuned one ear back into the conversation as Tom tried locating anything useful.

"I still don't like it, not one bit." This was Pix.

"I don't either but..." There was a pause of some sort and then "Wait a second, we have an unauthorized login on the Project Optimum database, by Tom."

I closed my eyes slowly as I realized what that meant, then I walked through the door.