01 - Covert Talents

Ages - Age of Expansion - Uprise Saga

Endless Advance >>

Ava Landyn and the group of Human/Pricolici changlings (found in In Bad Company) - Edwin, Nick, SAmantha - go out on a mission for the FDG arm of the Federation. The entire book involves one major operation, on a group of interesting planets, the Alaxar Trinary Group. Ava is an interesting character, with her special talents.

US01/1 DIFFICULTIES

Lieutenant Ava Landyn, human leader of a Were team (of the Force de Guerre universal peacekeepers), is fighting her way out of an operation that hadn’t gone as planned. The facility was supposed to be unoccupied, but troops and a mech had disproven that. The assignment was supposed to be simple: scope out an abandoned Nezaran research facility on the remote moon and scour the data archive for any reference to the Alucian government. They had been given the wrong information. Edwin Caites, one of the warriors on her team, is in her immediate area, and helps with their escape, taking blackmail vids of her avoiding enemy fire as they do so (they find cells where weres had been held. Purpose?). Her other team-mates, Nick Rixon and Samantha Matthews, are able to drop a blast door between Amy and Edwin, and the mechs who were attacking them, allowing Amy and Edwin to approach the room where Samantha and Nick had captured a person Stewart, tied to a chair, who might have the password to the files they were after (Plan B. Plan A hadn’t worked). Amy reads his mind, (one of her natural talents which she hesitates to use without authorization), finds the password, and the files are copied and taken with them. The captive warns them before they leave, “You shouldn’t dig into this unless you want to be in the middle of a war. You should leave well enough alone.” “Are the Nezarans planning a move against the Alucians?” “You think this is about the Nezarans?” “Well, this is a Nezaran facility----““Right, yeah. Have fun with those files.” Five soldiers appear to hinder, their escape.

01/2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 19 THE ASSIGNMENT

01/2 FDA Headquarters After fighting their way out, they return in their Pod to their home ship, the Raven, to report and recover. Ava reports to Major Marcus Widmore, her superior, complaining about the inaccurate info. Widmore sympathizes. He didn’t know about it. Will debrief at headquarters. Colonel Tyson Kurtz reviews info recovered from NTech lab, based on Nezar. They’d completed their first human trials. They’d built a new lab on Coraxa, and he needed to get someone on the inside to find out what they’re doing. He knew just the right person.

01/3 Raven arrived at FDG Base, a station in the Dren Cluster, Ava to see Kurtz. It would seem NTech has discovered—or gained access to—a way to program a new strain of nanocytes. Using some of the old technology from the two Kurtherian clans, they are bypassing the incompatibilities that caused the two types of nanocytes to attack each other. NTech’s reports refer to this new group as the Hochste. We fear that the Nezaran Coalition intends to use these Hochste to attack Alucia, which will soon be a member of the Etheric Federation. We want to stop that conflict before it starts.” Whatever gives the planet its special connection to the Etheric, they want it.Your team won’t be going with you on this one—at least not for the initial recon work. You’ll be in contact with a local who knows you – Luke Carter.

014, 5 Kurtz then goes on to setting a trap for whoever is the mole in the FDG. He had been suspicious, and now he wanted to prove it. He had anticipated the file would be relayed directly from the FDG servers to some outside recipient, likely in the Nezaran Coalition. However, not one but four individuals had viewed the file and then subsequently forwarded it on. “I’m afraid the leak isn’t isolated just to someone in the FDG feeding information to the Nezarans. It appears that there’s a contact in your very administration, and that individual is connected to a contact in one of the major news outlets.” It’s a great way to control what we can do with any effect—stay quiet when our movements are beneficial for their agenda, or expose us if it’s not in their interest. Someone in my own administration could bring the entire agreement with the Etheric Empire crashing down.” And I know where the other leaks are, so this won’t be an issue in the future,” Kurtz said. “A low-level comm officer, a lieutenant with one of our special ops teams, and a major assigned to security oversight.” Detain each of them for questioning. If there’s a link, we’ll find it.”

01/7, 8, 12 Denise Ortaga (Head of Security), and Kurtz approach one of the leaks, Major Ellis first. Not loyal to FDG. Upset Alucians. Mind control? Lieutenant Morgan – to help her parents. Upset Nezars. Approached third suspect, Alan Goert. All three planets involved, evil alien doing it, mind-wiping all three agents.

01/8 President Connors decides on a speech to recommend immediate ratification of the Federation Treaty, by & PM that evening.

01/9 Pres Connors signs treaty papers with Federation. Chancellor of Nezar seems possessed – cannot consult now.

01/2, 8 - 14 THE LABS

01/2 Andrea Mason, Lead scientist, needed to do some swift housekeeping. With the experiments going into stage three, Human Trials, she needed to be absolutely sure that all of her subordinates were 100% with the program, as it was going to become questionable in some aspects. Tim, one of her associates was not. She showed him the evidence she had acquired (friendship with one of the people being used), then killed him, drinking his blood.

01/8 Andrea Mason meets Ava when she comes to lab with Luke, wants to investigate her mind-reading abilities, use her in the experiments. Takes Ava down to sub-level four. Ava tries to read her mind, can’t. She’s a vampire, from before Bethany Anne left Earth, so not converted. Still sucks blood, etc.

01/9, 10, 11 Andrea tests Ava’s contacts with Etheric. Energy. Discuss inhabitant’s connection with life on Coraxa. Takes time. Ava thinks planet allows genetic ability to flower. Ava interested in Andrea’s research, so goes along with it. Finds whole storage area inaccessible, and Tim Connors missing. (Andrea killed him). Ava follows Jared out of the lunch room, finds him going into wing D, the hidden area in NTech labs. Andrea plans to use Ava to prove stage four of their experiment. Ava mind-reads Jared, makes him take her down into wing D, look at genetic/nanocyte experiments.Jared takes her into wing D, shows her experiments, gives info ,she takes vial of special nanocytes, all under her mind-control. She then wipes his memories of the last hour, hoping it will be enough, and goes to door to wing B, to exit into Luke’s wing A.

01/13 Luke starts to analyze nanocytes in blood, in attempt to find out what hybrid vamp/were might do. Analyses alerted automatic security sweeps, so guards alerted. and will be coming to get Luke and Ava. Ava and Luke escape, get out of lab. Andrea realizes what has happened, calls strike for 2300 that night, and wants Ava’s parents taken as hostages.

01/14 Ava transmits info to Kurtz, FDG. They will be there by 5 AM the next day, ava and Luke hide in tourist crowds, come back late. Hear mechs rounding up people, escape to get to rendezvous point to meet with FDG forces.

01/4, 6, 8, 21 AVA AND LUKE

01/4, 6 Luke is her contact for getting the information out of the NTech Labs on Coraxa. Meet on Coraxa again, after many years, still have a spark for each other. After all these years, the repartee is alive and well Luke wants to know more about why she is there. She tells him some, in general terms. She asks about a gym to use, he also, is into sparring, so he’ll take her to his gym, and they’ll see what the other one knows.

  Luke takes Ava on a visitor’s tour of NTech Lab, wing A. Meets Andrea Mason, who wants to know more about her mind-reading abilities. Andrea tells her assistant, Jared, who is also interested.

01/8 Has dinner with Luke, and an entertaining evening. Next day, Mom and Dad show up.

01/21 After all battles, stresses, anxieties are gone, Ava and Luke take time out for themselves. When Ava gets up to clean up and use the facilities, she notices her image in the mirror, find that her hazel eyes have turned luminous yellow.

01/1, 15, 17 - 21 FDG MOVES ON NTECH LAB

After all battles, stresses, anxieties are gone, Ava and Luke take time out for themselves. When Ava gets up to clean up and use the facilities, she notices her image in the mirror, find that her hazel eyes have turned luminous yellow.