the final compromise

Part 3

1,600 miles away, Aiden Copper stands in front of a group of people at the GKO Test Site. Where he is, the sun is blazing down, scorching the endless sand on every side of him.

The conversation between him and the group of engineers and globally respected pilots is much more official than that of Vincent's. They all look at him with professional understanding, and when Copper is done explaining, they disperse.

On the other side of a sandy hill left of Copper is Arabella Gunn. She similarly is with a group of engineers, but of which are mechanical and aerospace. She stands in an immense base, full of scientific equipment, every single person hard at work.

Gunn, looking down at her watch, starts driving toward a camp of small buildings. As she goes, she passes many of these buildings, and eventually stops at one with a black military helicopter on top. She is greeted by Aiden Copper.

"Good afternoon Copper." Gunn says as they walk up the narrow staircase up to the roof of the building.

"We'll be at the headquarters in two hours," says a voice when they step into the aircraft. We watch the helicopter take off and follow the two through the blue skies.

Hours later, Ms. Gunn and Mr. Copper arrive at the landing site on top of the GKO headquarters, they start straight for Aiden Coppers office. They walk down the flight of stairs, and arrive at a large door that happens to have only two keys. Standing inside was Vincent K. Ives.

"Operation Arena began three days ago," says Arabella.

"I have just started Wrist today, " Copper replies, "Ives, what about you?"

"Operation Jewel will take a while longer." He answers. The other two nod, and leave the room.

Ives exits after them both, and walks to Dr. Ferguson's lab, desperate for the answer to a question that had been eating at him for a while now. When he arrives, the odd smell of various chemicals once again hits him. He sees the doctor sitting at one of the tables, writing something in his old brown book.

"Hello Vincent," Dr. Ferguson says quietly, without looking up.

"Doctor I have something to ask you." Ferguson stops writing in his book and looks at Ives, gesturing for him to sit down across from him.

"The 45 people we hired," Ives begins, "I can't seem to grasp why you picked them."

"Ahh," says the doctor, "What we're doing here is classified-"

"I understand that, doctor but-"

"Will you let me talk, child." Ferguson says sternly, "What we're attempting is classified, as is most operations. But this one, this one could send the world into a great uproar of tumult, one that we would never be able to fix. Due to this, we shall bring in the lowest amount of suspicion from the world. Everyone who has gone through an advancement test is in harm's way, so the only people that aren't are the ones under twenty. This is the only way Operation Jewel can work, and those 45 people are the only ones that can make it work without any skepticism."

"I see doctor," Ives says, comprehensively.

"You trust me, don't you Vincent?" says Dr. Ferguson.

"Yes, doctor, of course."

With those four words, Vincent K. Ives left the lab, and resumed the construction of Operation Jewel. He left without another doubt in his mind, loyal to Dr. Ferguson, maybe too loyal.

A few hours later, when the night starts to fade into morning, we return to the GKO headquarters to the same small room three people were conversing in earlier.