A.I. #01A11

ASSIGNMENT: AREA MONITOR
Location: Secure Conference Room 1A08 - UFS
GENSTAT number: N/A
Date Assigned: 01/02/2223
Monitoring Period: Permanent.
Transcript ref number:000ABG-9876AGA-000302.A

Date: 11/06/2358 Time: 20:55

Visual Scan: Everyone in the room stands as the President enters and takes her seat at the head of the long conference table. The rest of the room sits. The people seated around the table are as follows:

Admiral Richards

Lexington Stryker

Ms. Cannon

Partab Sing

Jack Ironwood

Louis Varchone

Colonel Iverson

Fong Wu

EM Scan:No weapons are evident.

The President looks over the shell shocked faces in front of her.  She
clears her throat.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	I've spent the morning going over all of the reports that
	document the events leading up to this tragedy.  I want you
	all to know I hold no single person responsible.  I'm afraid
	this was unavoidable.

Colonel Iverson turns ten different shades of red before he explodes.

			COLONEL IVERSON
	What!  You're just going to sweep this under the rug!
	I've lost close to a thousand marines!  I'll be damned if
	they get glossed over!

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	They were my men too, Andy.  Nothing's getting glossed
	over.

			COLONEL IVERSON
	Then why'd you send them into this egg hunt unprepared?

The Admiral looks physically pained.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	Colonel Iverson that is enough!

The Colonel backs down at the president's tone of voice.

			JACK IRONWOOD
	Why don't you cool your thrusters until you get
	all the facts... Andy.

The Colonel turns to Jack with a look meant to kill.  Jack smiles at the man
that was once his CO.  The Colonel fairly spits.

			COLONEL IVERSON
	Would someone tell me what these CIVILIANS are
	here?

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	Mr. Ironwood was conducting the investigation that lead
	up to the discovery of the... craft.

			COLONEL IVERSON
	I should have known you'd be involved in this.  Some of 
	those men were your supposed friends, Ironwood.

Jack's expression turns to one of menace and he stands with murder in 
his eyes.  Louis grabs his arm.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	Gentlemen!  That's enough.  Sit down Mr. Ironwood.

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	Stow it Colonel, NOW.  Try and listen for a change.

The Colonel slumps back into his seat with a scowl.  Jacks sits and lets
the steam burn off.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	Mr. Stryker?

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	Mr. Ironwood was hired by me over a month ago to 
	investigate the Donovan murder.  Ms. Cannon and Mr.
	Varchone have been assisting Mr. Ironwood.  For your 
	information Colonel Mr. Ironwood was almost killed a 
	few nights ago by the same people who are responsible
	for the deaths of your marines.  If Mr. Varchone had not 
	been there he most assuredly would be dead.

The Colonel betrays some surprise, but says nothing.

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	Mr. Ironwood's investigation has surfaced an old...
	nemesis.  Shadow.

Worried looks transform most faces in the room.  Partab Sing looks
confused.

			PARTAB SING
	I don't mean to sound dim, but what is Shadow?  Some 
	kind of gang?

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	I'm embarrassed to say we don't really know what Shadow 
	is.  They could be a gang, cult, extremist group or who knows,
	but one thing is for sure.  They've been around for  a long 
	time.

			PARTAB SING
	How long?

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	Since Genesis left Earth.

More nervous looks go about the room.

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	My predecessors have logged incidents attributed to
	a group called Shadow for the entire ride.

			COLONEL IVERSON
	What kind of incidents?

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	Murders, suspected espionage, sabotage, blackmail
	and we think they started the crystal trade.

Louis shifts uncomfortably.

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	These are really bad people.  We've only every caught
	three of them.  All three were dead with in hours.

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	What's their charter  Lex?  Disorder?  Chaos?

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	So it would seem on the surface, but my gut tells me
	there is more.
	
			COLONEL IVERSON
	What has all this to do with yesterday's explosion?

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	Mr. Ironwood has been instrumental in uncovering
	this Shadow organization.  He's helped us corner	
	someone who calls himself the Walking Dude.  We
	believe the explosion was caused by the Walking 	
	Dude's transport.

A stunned silence blankets the room.

			PARTAB SING
	Transport to where?

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	We don't know.
	
			COLONEL IVERSON
	Please don't tell me this is an alien thing.

			LOUIS VARCHONE
	He was human.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	You say that with such certainty Mr. Varchone.  How
	can you be so sure?

			LOUIS VARCHONE
	Let us just say that I am very familiar with the sound
	and feel of breaking ribs.  I managed to illicit this 
	sound from this Walking Dude.

			COLONEL IVERSON
	Too bad you didn't finish the job.

Admiral Richards thumbs a control section on the table in front of him.
A picture of the transport plays up on a screen on the opposite wall.

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	This was the transport that exploded.  This was the 
	last thing Sergeant Scagnetti saw before he was
	vaporized.

Jack winces at the name of his dead friend.

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	It does not match anything in our database, but by the
	same token there is nothing to suggest any alien 
	technology.

			COLONEL IVERSON
	Well, where the hell did it come from?  We're a couple
	hundred light years from the nearest star dock.

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	We don't have all of the answers, Colonel.  What we
	do have is proof of Shadow, the Walking Dude and ill
	intent toward Genesis.

			COLONEL IVERSON
	And a thousand dead marines and sailors.

Silence settles over the group again.

			PARTAB SING
	Is it possible someone or maybe someone's is using
	the surface of Genesis to defeat our security measures?
	Maybe someone is evan living out there?

All eyes turn to Partab.  The President smiles.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	That's what I like about you Partab.  The obvious seems
	to elude the rest of us.

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	That might explain how this Shadow group has managed
	to hide from us all of these years.  Genesis is a big rock
	with lots of craters.  There are plenty of places to hide.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	Well, that's going to end.  Admiral I want you to work with
	Partab and come up with a sensor grid that we can lay 
	down across the entire surface of Genesis.  Maybe we
	can pin these rats down where they live.

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	That's a tall order Madam President.  That's a lot of area
	to cover.  I don't know if we have the equipment.

			PARTAB SING
	We might be able to reduce our requirements by 
	multiplexing several different kinds of arrays.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	Like I said, Admiral, work with Partab on a solution.  I'm
	sure the two of you can come up with something.

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	I would suggest that you tell no one what you are working
	on.  Keep it all compartmentalized.  We are also quite sure
	that Shadow extends throughout Genesis and into the 
	administration.

			COLONEL IVERSON
	How deep?

			LEXINGTON STRYKER
	We're quite sure Donovan was Shadow.

The President does not betray her emotions. 

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	Mr. Stryker, you and your team are authorized to use 
	what ever resources you need to conclude this matter.
	Admiral that includes your services.

			COLONEL IVERSON
	What!?

Jack smiles.  The President ignores the Colonel and turns to Stryker.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	I also expect you too keep the Admiral up to date
	as well as myself.  Maybe information can protect us
	from future tragedies.

Stryker nods in agreement.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	This meeting is classified.  Any information about Shadow
	is classified.  We'll meet again in a week to go over our
	progress.

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	There's one more thing.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	I hesitate to ask.

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	My navigators just gave me some very bad news.  The blast
	knocked us half a degree off of our course.  Our calculations 
	determine we'll miss New Terra by ten light years.

			JACK IRONWOOD
	Shit.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	Why can't we just make a course correction.

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	Obviously we'll have to.  It's just that we have run into
	a dry spell for hydrogen.  We have long term needs
	and short term needs.  This course correction was not
	figured into the equation.

			PARTAB SING
	The longer you wait to make the correction the more fuel 
	it will take.

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	I know, but we dont' want to hit the New Terran solar system 
	with no ability to break.  We need to find more hydrogen
	before we make a correction.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	How long before the situation is critical?  

			ADMIRAL RICHARDS
	We have a couple of weeks before we start to approach
	the point of no return.  Of course if we run into a substantial
	hydrogen source that all changes.

			PRESIDENT GOLDBURG
	Let us all pray for substantial hydrogen sources then.
	Until our next meeting then.

The President and her secretary stand and leave.  She is soon followed 
by the Admiral and the Colonel.  Stryker turns to Jack and Ms. Cannon.

			LEXINGTON STRYKER				
	I want you two working with my analyst	on the data we
	got out of hacker.

Styker looks at Louis.

			LEXINGTON STRYKER			
	I don't remember hiring you.

			LOUIS VARCHONE
	That's because I don't work for anyone.

			LEXINGTON STRYKER			
	You do now.  I want you watching Ironwood's back.
	
			JACK IRONWOOD	
	Now wait a minute!

			LOUIS VARCHONE
	I'm already looking after my cousin.

			LEXINGTON STRYKER			
	I'll get someone else for that detail.  The way I hear
	it you've been made.  We're better off shuffling people
	around.

Louis relents and nods in agreement.  Jack remains silent.  The quartet
leaves the room.
	

ALL PREVIOUS MATERIAL HAS BEEN ARCHIVED UNDER THE TRANSCRIPT NUMBER LISTED ABOVE. LEVEL 10 ENCRYPTION. SENIOR ADMIN KEYS ONLY.

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