[Log] Aidan's Personal Logs

Aug 21, 4566 0015hours

Xo's personal log. Encrypted.

He used the VX system as he didn't want Yuka or Emily to hear him saying things aloud. "What the fuck just happened?! I get off duty, to come home to my wife, fiancee, whatever the hell we are. Right into a damned minefield!"

He walked around, and cleaned out his pipe. He was calmer, but far from calm. "Yuka comes right out and says, here's my old lover. Do you mind if she comes into our lives and beds? Did I over-react? I really don't think so. Yuka has this all tied into a nice neat box. If I don't let her be with Emily physically, I am somehow the bad guy as I HATE open relationships. There is a reason it's called a third wheel. Someone is always neglected in my experience. If I do let her, I have to share. Do I love her enough?" He thought about it, "yes, though I wonder how she'd react if she had to share me with another woman."

"Then she up and has a nervous breakdown. While not a conscious effort, it still sucks. Now if I leave I'm the cad in the relationship as she's that unstable. We sorted it out before we began the relationship. We sorted it out at the cabin, or so I thought. It's clear to me she can't love just me. Maybe what it boils down to is something else. Does she love me enough to respect my wishes? So far that answer is no if I want to be honest with myself."

But I don't get to have bad feelings in this relationship without her throwing a tizzy. It's all predicated on what she wants to do and her needs, regardless of how I feel. She's made that abundantly clear. Examining all sides though, I wonder about things she said. Have I forced her to love me? Forced the issue of marriage and kids down her throat? How many times did I tell her that it wasn't something we had to decide right now. I have Ayasha. Glad she's not here though, I'd probably have to restrain her from smacking Yuka. "

Aidan moved to an overstuffed loveseat he had replicated. The old style leather noisly succumbed to his weight, and Myron jumped up the instant Aidan was in place and lay next to him. The Marine stroked the semi-soft fur absentmindedly. "I've seen her mental scars, at least the ones she is willing to share with me. I think she forgets we all have scars. I've led countless men and women into battle, many did not return. People I commanded and many I cared about, that I watched or held while they died."

He hated himself instantly for thinking of it, but it might need to be addressed. "Was Yuka really fit for the command of a starship?" His needs aside, there were hundreds of others that were under their collective command, not to mention the billions of people that were counting on the two of them to pull out miracle after miracle. The ship had to come first. No matter how much he loved her, that was their first duty.

Aidan Thornton ( backpost)
Classified location

March 3, 4565

Peanut (Jeff Power) piloted the dark purpose built four person shuttle through a series maneuvers as they entered the system. Gloss black to reflect the starlight, stealth coating, and it even had a cloak. Aidan called out the pilot seat next to him. “Easy there cowboy, I'd like to keep my lunch where it is.”



“Sorry Chief.” the man called out. Chief in reference to Aidan's Indian heritage. “Peanut, I'd like to set down a little ways away from the perimeter. We shouldn't setting off any alarms a farther out.” Like Aidan's nickname, Jeff had one as well. Peanut was an intentional misnomer. Being nearly as large as Aidan, he clocked in at 6 foot 2 inches and nearly 200 pounds.



Peanut set the dark shuttle down, now camouflaged to match the surrounding terrain. Stepping on the forest floor, Aidan retrieved his kit. Jeff knew enough not to bother him. The other two team-mates were already in total suit-up, oblivious to the world around. This was a ritual they had all done dozens of times. There was little sound, save for the background noise from the surrounding plants swaying in the breeze and the occasional bird or small mammal. Snapping on thin composite panels over his powered armored, he waited for the night to become full. That would take time. He took off the thin gloves. Setting a plasma pistol nearby in case of surprise guests, he quickly field-stripped his alternative service pistol. Unthreading the barrel cap, he attached a silencer, about 8 inches , it made the double stack pistol over a well over a foot long when attached. It was nearly a least ditch weapon and the term was actually suppressed, no pistol will be silent as the slide moving will have some noise, like a hammer being used on a nail. Once back together, he slide it into the shoulder holster and made sure he had eight full 15 round magazine. If he needed more than that, he was in trouble.



The option was something he came up with. The two team-mates with him preferred drugged crossbow bolts. Aidan still preferred the gunpowder weapons. They work even in space as there is oxygen in the round of ammunition, and the carbine he was used was nearly silent. You would have to be within a few feet to even hear the sound of the bolt action being worked and the sound hitting the target would be less than slapping a mosquito. It used the same ammunition and magazines as the service pistol to save weight plus commonality let him save space for other things.



Various other tools went into long thought out and practiced spots. Knives, multi-tool, several types of lock-picks, his custom black ops tricorder, and two concussions grenades. Thought if he had to resort to grenades....escape would be impossible. Just for the sake of expediency each of the team, carried a photon grenade with a remote detonator. He hoped they wouldn't need it, but this was a mission he hadn't wanted to do in the first place.



Deep in FSF territory, the intelligence community had solid proof of a biogenics weapons facility. Targeted non-persistent biogenics that would decimate a populace to such a degree that invasion or outright takeover was much easier. Carol had managed to talk him into one more mission after a call from Admiral Louden. It was deemed so important, they had actually pulled him from the infantry and managed to scare up his old partner Jeff “Peanut” Powers. He had to admit that it felt good to be back in the seat with Jeff. The severity of the mission was something he that dwelled on him. He had explicit orders to terminate with extreme prejudice. The scientists were top on the list, but the orders included the base if he could manage it.



Night came quicker than normal, it being winter on the planet now. Once it was actually dark, Aidan motioned to the other two in the team. Aidan wanted to call them Adam and Eve as they kept to themselves and each other when not in missions. It was frowned upon, but Command looked the other way as long as it didn't interfered with missions. They were commiserate professionals. Aidan had his helmet in hand. He offered Jeff, “not going to be able to give you much of a warning. I know you hate it, but with the briefing I got, please stay in your seat and wait for me. It's either going to go very well, or very wrong.”



“Ah...you worry to much Sitting Bull.” Yet another name Jeff had come up with. There were others depending on mood.”



“Your mouth to the Creator's ears.” Aidan replied.

“If she's cute.” Jeff retorted, unable to resist the endless barbs when Aidan mentioned the creator after finding out that the creator is female in Aidan's culture. The barb made him smile. Slipping on the thin black helmet, he triggered the suit to go dark ( passive mode), and started the kilometer walk to the base perimeter.



The trio drifted through the foliage. The sensors used in the power armor they wore were state of the art. They consumed very little power unless fully active, also deadened by the layers of electronic muscle and stealth material as the outer layer. Within an hour they reached a fully active energy wall. This would be a problem.



Aidan gave the hand signal for down. They all froze. Several guards were walking the perimeter. They waited. Changing of the guard. Activating his chronometer, he checked the intervals. There was swap out every 15 minutes. They all used the same pass-code. Sloppy, Aidan thought to himself. Aidan gave the word that they would each take a guard them mimic the code to get in.



A few minutes later he was waiting in the woods. Carbine to his shoulder. His guard was passing by. Stepping into a darker area, the short rifle made a nearly silent 'poot' and the guard dropped instantly. Carefully Aidan drug his kill deeper into the woods and covered with several branches he gathered. Walking quickly, he adjusted his gait to match that of the one he eliminated. He palmed a small shape charge into his hand and pretended to trip a little using the beam of the energy wall to steady himself. In passive mode, the charge would wait for his coded signal before doing it's job. If it was removed, it would go off instantly. A fail safe.



Within ten minutes the trio was inside the perimeter. Aidan walked over to a nearby console made it look like he was logging in. His customer tricorder was hard at working on the security interlocks. If he managed to get in, the job would be much easier. The map and a few doors codes were all her could obtain from this console. They would have to risk it further in. The limited time they had before one of the three bodies were discovered or a guard failed to return to his post was rapidly dwindling. He latched another small explosive to the underside of the console, out of sight. Moving along, 40 meters away, another console came up. Logging in, his tricorder cracked more files. The labs were up ahead. Approaching the door, he signaled for the other to watch the hallway while he did the dirty work.



Removing the pistol from it's holder he slipping into the door. One the scientists looked up, wondering why a guard was in their when the klaxon sounded. The door behind Aidan slammed shut. He didn't let it bother him. Raising the heavy pistol he shot the first technician in the head. The entrance wound was a perfect neat circle but the back flew out on the wall behind him. Another was moving, a quick double tap to center mass ended the movement. The last one was cowering in the corner. A quick shot to the head made another mess. Aidan put it as far out of his mind as he could, he'd deal with the mental fallout later. A firefight erupted in the hallway. Aidan removed the suppressor from the pistol. It would track faster and noise was your friend in a firefight. Boosting the muscle amplification to maximum, her forced the door open a little. Adam helped him once the door inched. A short staff elongated from a leg pocket and Aidan shoved it into the opening. It wouldn't hold forever, but it should be enough. Several canisters of completed biogenic compounds were in the corner. He took out his photon grenade and looked at the two co-combatants. They nodded nearly in unison. Each sealing their suits, he placed the grenade in the middle. Taking out a concussion grenade has motioned for Eve to do the same. Counting to three they each tossed one in the opposite direction of the door. As they blew, the trio rushed out. Aidan wanted his infantry rifle badly at this point or even a sword for such close quarters. He shot two guards down the hall, as Eve did the same with her plasma pistol. A guard nearby was recovering from the stun effect of the grenade and grabbed Aidan's legs. He punched the man in the head, hearing the sickening sound of the jawbone breaking. Triggering the charges he left on the consoles, two brief thuds were heard, amongst a scream or two.





Reaching the outer wall, he then triggered the photon grenade. The blast lifted the three of them off of their feet, slamming them several feet away. Aidan shook off the effects as quickly as he could, he burst scan the explosion. It should not have been that large. Tricobalt. A large charge of it has been replaced with his photon grenade. He heard Eve make a noise. Her suit had been torn slightly at one of the joints, and she was limping as she got up. The self sealing compounds would take effect, but would they take effect in time was the problem, his tricorder was registering chemical threats. “Take her, I will cover the rear, give me your photon grenades first.” Adam handed over the two grenades. Aidan did another burst scan. Both were tricobalt variants. The equivalent of 50 tons of TNT. “I'll kill him.”Aidan said to himself. He used the power armor to throw one of the grenades as far as he could. He hoped it would reach the other side of the facility to give the illusion of multiple attacks. Waiting 5 seconds after the throw, he triggered the grenade and was satisfied with a large explosion and several secondary ones. Whatever had been there was now burning. Even at this distance he felt the shock wave from the grenade. He thought about using it, then thought better of it. Maybe he'd use it for Admiral Louden's new suppository.



Making their way as quick as they could, they has made it about 300 meters when another explosion ripped through the building. It sent debris raining all over the area. To make matters worse, a group of soldiers headed their way. “Adam, keep going. Make the best time you can, I'm going to draw them off.” He triggered his VX com. “Peanut, we are in a bad way out here. Take the others first and me last. A beam out would be nice.”



Going to the enemies right flank, Aidan found a large tree that had been blown over and was rotting. A nice little hideaway for a few shots. He turned on the starlight scope. It didn't have much magnification, but the cartridge was only good for accurate shot to about 100 meters. Normally he'd wait and pick off the stragglers, but he wanted them to stop and scatter. One of the men was waving his arms. Aidan took that as he was in charge and shot him in the head. The man dropped. Several other crowded around him. Racking the bolt, he took aim and shot the one attending to the fallen comrade. This time he aimed for a wounding shot. Simple strategy implied that it takes more people to take care of a wounded soldier than a dead one.



Starting to get up and move to a new location, Aidan saw the second man go into convulsions. “Biogenics” Aidan thought to himself. “Peanut, be advised, level 4 MOPP (mission oriented protective posture), is in effect. I say again, level 4 MOPP is in effect.”



“Roger that Chief. Suited up and ready. On the way.” Peanut responded.



He rolled out quietly, and started catching up to Adam and Eve. He had to occasionally double back to ensure the enemy wasn't too close. A couple of minutes later, he saw the small ship land in a nearly impossible spot between the trees. The ramp in the back came down and Peanut as out helping with Eve. She was limp. It was impossible to know her status from here. They had loaded her into her seat. Aidan was less that 100 meters away now. As he looked up he saw a small patrol of three men flanking his team. He snap-shot one of them, as another was getting ready to toss a grenade. It was a race to see who was first. Aidan quickly worked the bolt. Another snap-shot which hit the soldier as he was mid throw. It caused the grenade to land between the two groups. It went off tossing both groups. He ran, sliding the carbine to his back with the sling and pulling out the service pistol. He slowed as he got there. The last soldier convulsing on the ground. Aidan shot him between the eyes as a mercy killing.



Checking on Adam, he was already dead, tears in his suit and the force of the grenade doing it's deadly work. Jeff was breathing raggedly. He coughed up blood as Aidan lifted him up, then reached to the panel on the man's exo-suit and keyed in large does of painkilllers. “I g-guess this it is Crazy Horse. It's been a wild ride.”



“Louden will pay for this. I promise.” Aidan said.



“Don't. He's not worth the breath. You were right to get out. Tell Jan I love her.” Jeff said. Aidan nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. Jeff passed quickly. He lifted Jeff's body up and into the co-pilot seat, strapping him in. Then doing the same with Adam, and making sure Eve was set. It wouldn't do to have bodies bouncing around in the cabin during flight. His last action was setting the remaining photon grenade out on a ten minute delay. With a little luck a few more bastard would be claimed for this



He had no problem on the return flight. He took the time to run decontamination procedures. Alone with his thoughts he stewed. Carol. Louden, his daughter, they all flooded his mind. A few hours later, he reached the rendezvous point, a small starship waiting. He decloaked a half million klicks away. “Watchtower, this is Nightingale. Mopp 4 procedures are in effect on board. I have three fatalities.”



“Nightingale, this is Watchtower. You are cleared for cargo bay 2. Stay in the ship until decon teams are in place.”



“Roger Watchtower.” He punched the comm a bit too hard nearly shattering it.



20 minutes later, the shuttle was in the bay, the teams had finished the exterior decontamination and the bodies put into stasis until they could be dealt with properly. Aidan, still in full body suit was being power washed in the heavy gravity chamber. He imagined it was a hot shower and let his mind drift. In a few minutes, he was done. “All clear Lieutenant Thornton..”



“Thanks guys.” Aidan had no beef with any of the crew. Like him, they were mere puppets for the puppet master who was now walking in the door. Aidan set the power to maximum on his suit but released the helmet.



Full of himself as usual, but smooth Louden offered. “I read your after action report. Looks like the facility is out of commission rather permanently. I'm truly sorry about your friends.”



“Is there someplace nearby we can talk?” Aidan asked. A nearby office was cleared. Aidan and Louden were alone.



Louden said just the wrong thing. “They were good people. I think we...” Aidan snapped. He reached out and grabbed Louden by the throat with one hand and lifted him up bodily with the other, slamming him against the wall. Gritting his teeth he said, “what the fuck do you know about good people? They are DEAD because of YOU! How the fuck do you get off screwing with our equipment? Tricobalt?! Why not just shoot me yourself?!” Louden was trying to break the lock Aidan had on him, but it was like a small child trying to break the grip of an adult. “I should fucking end you right now and save the universe a helluva lot of trouble.” Aidan let go and Louden unceremoniously dropped into a heap.



As the Admiral was regaining his breath and composure, Aidan continued. “What I left out of the action report was that stunt you pulled compromised the entire mission. When the first grenade went off, it crippled Eve. Adam had to help carry her away. But by then, she was already infected. It slowed us down enough for the enemy forces to catch up and engage us. I have the information stored in a private location. You will return me to the infantry and never darken my doorway again. If you do, the real report of how the chain of command killed my team by negligent misconduct, will come to light.”



Louden stood up and rubbed his neck. “You're mad, I get it. I have orders too. Mine were to make sure the biogenics didn't make it to the light of day. I was doing what was necessary. It's war. People die Thornton.”



“Fuck you Sir. If you had told me any of this, I could have made a few simple changes. My team-mates died because your sense of duty and honor are SO screwed up, you can't trust anyone anymore. Those people were my friends and more because we have our lives entwined. You just use people like tissue. Needless death is nothing to you as it never hits your doorstep. I did your dirty work for the last time. Do I get my transfer or should I ask for that court-martial and let people see the inner workings this office?” Aidan said.



“You're naive if you think any of this will come to light.” Louden offered.



“True. But I can make enough noise that questions will be raised. We both know that.” Aidan countered. “That's the problem with people that had my particular skillset. I can be an asshole too. I get my life back. A simple Marine career. It's all I ever wanted.”



Louden chuckled. “The higher up you go, simple goes out the window. Thornton, you are talented. I'll give you this.....for now. Life has a way of turning back on itself. We'll cross paths again. Count on it.” Louden walked out.