Slingers (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 1)

Chapter 8

"So, honoured Council members, I believe it is clear to see how much of the utmost importance that this operation is. The AU Prerogative has been confirmed, and I believe now is the time to activate Project EO." Director Gottlieb sat in the hologram chamber addressing a group of people that weren't really there. He was sitting at the head of a long table with chairs surrounding it. The only one that wasn't truly empty was the one he was sitting in. The rest were filled with white holograms, showing several men and women in formal uniform, showing off their separate ranks. This was the Supreme Council of the Galactic Defence Federation, composed of the highest-ranking officials in the entire galaxy. Gottlieb was important in the hierarchy, but compared to the people sitting at the table, he was one of the lowest-ranked. He was still not afraid, however. He still had an influential role, and politicians and other directors and admirals did not frighten him. These were the best of the best, and none of them were to be trifled with. They often did conferences like these, where almost all of them were holograms. The entire Council rarely ever met in person. It was for their own protection and anonymity. The Council sat in silence for a while, until Admiral Waller, the head of the fleet from the 14th Sector, spoke up. "Are you certain that this would be the best course of action to take? The addition of Project EO might upset the order of things even more. It has not been field-tested yet." She said, and some of the other Council members nodded. Gottlieb smiled. "Then this will be the perfect field test. We've managed to catch Slingers worse than this group of criminals before. Project EO will apprehend them with minimal casualties. I will personally oversee and take responsibility for the mission myself." More silence from the Council, then Stromberg, the advisor and intermediate between the Council and the High Monarch, spoke. "Alright, Director Gottlieb. You will have clearance from the High Monarch. I will report to him of this. All those in favour of activating Project EO?" The entire table raised their non-existent hands slowly. "Very well. Council adjourned."

Nolun sat down in between the red-haired girl who had introduced herself as Andress, and the pirate who was now calling himself Dante, and opened up his journal, flipping through the yellowed pages until he found what he was looking for. "Here! This is what I wanted." Andress leaned in close to him to stare at the page, and then wrinkled her nose at the strange markings. "Ok then...what does any of this mean?" Nolun looked at her then back at the page. "I didn't know at first, but now that I actually have a Dorado Piece, I think I can figure out how this works!" He placed both the journal and the Dorado Piece carefully on the floor of the cargo bay. Edvard and Elicia, who Andress who had agreed to untie as long as Bunker kept a gun on them at all times, watched the golden piece with a mixture of hunger and annoyance. Nolun read from the journal some more, and spun the Piece around until he found what he was looking for: Marker symbols adorning several rings running in every direction across the spherical surface. "Look!" Andress and Dante leaned down and saw the rings. "What are they?" Andress asked, her red hair flowing down past her arms. "Marker symbols." Dante and Nolun said at the same time, which made Nolun and Andress look up in surprise. "You know about the Markers?" Nolun asked. Dante nodded. "I may not have all the knowledge I require regarding the Dorado Pieces, but I have a good amount to point me in the general direction." "Ok, for those of us who don't know Dorado lore, what exactly are Markers?" Andress asked, looking confused. Nolun stared down at the sphere, looking at the symbols. "Well, the Tablet was obviously built by an ancient race that existed long before humans did, and we call them the Markers. They left behind the Dorado Pieces, and the Tablet tells us that there are clues on these Pieces that will lead us to the next one. These symbols are the key to unlocking that clue." Nolun began to fiddle with the rings, and saw that they moved. "These rings could act like tumblers on a safe." He stared at the group of symbols he saw in the journal, and started to move the rings so that all the symbols matched. All of a sudden, the sphere began to glow brighter, causing the three of them to step back. Then, a glowing beam of gold light shot out of the sphere and out of the front of the ship.

Gottlieb walked down the stark white hallways of the Nirvana Alpha and watched as every crew member he passed stood at attention, then only relaxed as he walked away. He walked down into the bunker where his own secret had been stored, away from the prying eyes of both the Council and his own crew. Project EO was his brainchild, and subsequently everything that Project EO would be used for he would be in charge of. At the bunker, he was greeted with a computer panel that he placed his hand on. The panel read his palm and fingerprint signature, while also taking an extract of his blood to analyze his DNA. Then, he placed his eyes up to two scopes, which read his pupils and irises for a retinal scan. Finally, he entered his 6-digit code which he only knew, and of which all traces had been erased. The door opened, and he stepped through, with an electronic voice greeting him. "Welcome, Director Gottlieb." He walked through a collection of empty vertical tanks, each able to hold a human body, and each with a barcode and a collection of numbers on them. The final one at the end was the one he was looking for. Inside of it was a man, who had spiky and long blonde hair, floating unconscious and almost naked except for a device across his body full of pipes and valves to provide nutrients in green water with a breathing apparatus in his mouth, repeatedly blowing out bubbles to indicate he was alive. Gottlieb stared at the man, then the barcode and serial number on the tank. It read: 

PROJECT EO: 0000-0000

He typed a command on the console in front of the tank, draining the tank, casing the man to wake up. The front of the tank opened, and the man stumbled out, kneeling on the floor. From here, Gottlieb could see the barcode on the back of his head, his blonde hair shaved off around it. The palm that was down on the floor began to clench into a fist before Gottlieb called out. "Project EO. Activation code 1134579, Magnum Victor Alpha." The fist unclenched, and the man stood up, the apparatuses disconnecting from his body, some drilling right out of his skin, but the man did not even flinch. Gottlieb watched this, then stared into the man's grey, lifeless eyes. "I have an assignment for you."