The Optimum Project

Chapter 25

Time lapse

It's been six months, six months since I was forced into the alliance. Six months since I've seen my father. Six months of rigorous training in this place. After these six months I was now fluent in four alien languages, capable of handling and maintaining all alliance issue weapons and most non-alliance gear, plot my own flight course using gravitational fields and, of course, maintain a fighter in forbidding territory. Today was our  'summer break' if you would, and after about a week of family visitations on a nearby civilian station; I was, to the best of my knowledge, going to be sent back to training.

I'll be blunt with you, I wasn't excited about more training, but I was excited about visitation rights. I had asked one of my commanding officers if I would be permitted to visit my father, and he had informed me that though he had received his new carrier, he would not leave the station for another two weeks. I was very excited, but also nervous... I had changed a lot; I now had more muscle, my features had shifted and seemed to complement each other, making my face seem more complete. I was taller, and my hair was cut short in a military style buzz. Yeah, I was nervous.

I was walking down the hall towards the meal hall when my tablet went off, I looked at the message...

Noah Price, you are to report to the engineering bay immediately.

I groaned and turned around, headed towards the elevator, "what could they possibly want now?"

I thought about it on the elevator ride down... I had passed all my exams with flying colors, had no active demerits (though with Sarah and Bree's help I had previously racked up quite a few). I scratched at my arm and then blinked as a thought came to me... I had asked, more than once, how I had received the tattoo on my arm, and the only explanation I ever got was that it was important and would be explained before this cycles visitation time... This had to be what they were talking about, I was finally going to find out what this thing was.

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I walked into the engineering bay and found the room the computer had specified, it was small and windowless, though well lit. In the middle was a small table on wheels with a strange looking gel tube, connected to the tube though a series of wires was an old looking computer, also on a wheeled cart. I looked at Pix, who hadn't noticed I had come in and reached over and picked up the tube, when my hand immediately went numb. I jumped and the tube jerked out of my hand before clattering slightly back onto the table. The noise clearly surprised Pix, who whirled around in surprise.

"Hey Pix" I waved sheepishly at him as he noticed the tube gently rocking back and forth on the table.

He glared at me and used one finger to stop the rocking. "What, is the first rule about engineering?" He asked.

I sighed, "Don't touch something you don't understand, unless you are at least sure it's somewhat safe."

He nodded and gestured to the tube, "How did you know that this was safe?"

I looked at it, "It's clearly some sort of interface, perhaps to an organic entity of some sort... Wait," I turned to him, "why did you want me here?"

He smiled and pointed at my arm and then the tube, "We're going to let you know what that tattoo is, and then we're going to activate the technology in it."

I looked at him, "So the whole safety thing...?"

He grinned, "I was just messing with you."

I nodded, "and who's we?"

Pix pointed and I turned around and found myself face to face with General Quade.