24 Hours Prior
A.T.C Headquarters
California
December 20th 2199
Mason sat silently in the brightly illuminated meeting room, the room was large and rectangular in shape, the walls were a pitch gleaming black along with the floor. The sun shined through the square slits in the far wall as it fell against the metal conference table that was surrounded by various men and woman wearing suits and business attire. Mason was the only one in the room who looked like he didn't fit in, he sat wearing full army fatigues, from black scuffed boots up to his exposed neck line, his army coat opened to reveal the black tank below and a set of gleaming dog tags against an muscular chest. In front of each person in that quiet room on a Wednesday afternoon sat a file, one in which each man and woman was reading, the looks on their faces were that of one who had eaten something sour. Mason had his arms crossed against his chest as a black device sat perched between his lips, smoke like vapor was coming out of the small cracks in his mouth as he watched the room slowly becoming hostile. He already knew that the A.T.C board members were going to not like what he came here to tell them, over the years there had been considerable tension between the A.T.C and the Military Unit which had been assigned to over see their operation.
A tension that had grown so thick that Mason himself had distanced the board members from himself, when he had first joined this unit things were a lot better then, unlike now. Back then A.T.C and the O.E.D had worked seamlessly together with no real dilemmas. That was a time before he had become the Commanding Officer, the time before the incidents on the old Mars Facility started happening, the time before the secrets started becoming ever so apparent within the executives of the A.T.C. It had started out small of course, in fact it was barely considered and incident back then, and Mason had no problem writing it off as fatigue. After all when people started to go a little stir crazy miles away from earth, it was normal, some just couldn't handle life on Mars. But as time went on the incidents got worse and more frequent, not just people going crazy but accidents as well, a hand lost here, a limb lost there. Accidents that were attributed again to fatigue and the person in question being careless. Another excuse that had worked for the most part, and again Mason wrote it off for what it was. An then it was the first unexplained death that had drawn his immediate attention, the death of one of his men, a death that was characterized as his soldier going crazy and eating his own plasma rifle.
Which again the lead Scientist, a man named Ruger claimed was due to fatigue, but truth be told this time that excuse was no going to just pass. Mason had order and investigation into the soldiers death, but it was shot down by the courts claiming there was no real proof to involve the military. Mason bite his tongue for almost a year, and now here he sat, with three dead soldiers, all his men in a morgue. All whom seemingly killed themselves out of insanity, the mens who names the A.T.C board members were reviewing now, the same names given to the courts as proof that an inspection was needed, and inspection that none of these men and woman wanted. Compared with several incidents that had taken place within just one year, they could no longer fight him on this. Mason removed the black electronic smoke from his mouth as he blew out a wisp of smoke and broke the silence in the room.
"As you can see Ladies and Gentleman, we have a problem on the Mars Facility, and this time there is no excuse that Ruger can give that will be acceptable in any case."
There was a certain satisfaction in Mason's voice as the President of A.T.C Frank Delahue looked up from the report and raised an eyebrow at Mason.
"Truth be told I do not see any need for such and inspection Colonel. What I see here is a couple incidents with your men not being able to handle it on Mars. Men who should have been rotated more so that they did not go stir crazy and take their own lives."
Mason swallowed hard as the snobby old man tried to dismiss the deaths of his men as if it was just a common occurrence that his men took their own lives. His eyes became hard as he picked up the file in front of him and tossed it across the table landing in the center as the various reports scattered across the table. Communications of several other incidents, weird noises, voices, unexplained phenomenon. The board members looked on as a couple seemed to swallow a bit harder then they should of.
"Truth be told Mr.Delahue your half ass excuses are not going to cut it anymore nor is Ruger's excuses going to either. Do you see those reports Mr.Delahue, reports from your own people, reports of weird voices, hallucinations, accidents, people disappearing for days and then reappearing. My men... my men taking their own lives for no god damn reason. These reports are coming in more and more daily, and are becoming increasingly frequent, your own people are scared Mr.Delahue and I would like and explanation as to why."
Delahue looked almost idly at the scattered reports from the file as he looked back up at Mason and gave that all too annoying dismiss of a look and spoke.
"They are tired Colonel Griffin, fatigue is a terrible thing, a disease really and people working so far from home on a distant planet can sometimes hallucinate, see things that aren't there..."
Mason slammed his fist on the table as it shook from the impact, the board members damn near fell back in their chairs as Mason stood up so quick his chair tipped over and smacked the ground behind him.
"Thats is not going to fly anymore Mr.Delahue, you have got away with that excuse one too many times as it is. One or two people maybe it would be more plausible, but these reports are from over forty different people, not to mention my own men complaining of the same thing. I know more then what its like to be away from earth Mr.Delahue, I was stationed on Mars for almost four years, and the problems that are happening here never once happened when I was living on Mars. The facts are this, three of my men are dead, your people have had numerous accidents over the course of one year, and the only thing you can tell me is that it is fatigue."
"Colonel Griffin we are all aware of the personal vendetta your unit has against the Mars Facility being under control by A.T.C but this is ludicrous..."
"Thats is enough Delahue! I am not going to listen to this shit any longer! I don't know if your intentionally blind to what might be happening or if your ignorant to whatever this is, but I can assure you that I am not going to sit by while innocent men and woman suffer on Mars to and unknown aliment! This has not a damn thing to do with a vendetta, this has to do with human life. I am done talking Delahue, if you like it not the Mars Facility is not under my jurisdiction until I do a full inspection of all sectors. I have a warrant from the courts, they feel the same as I do and have given me all the proper permission to do what needs to be done."
Mason pulled out a sheet of paper and threw it on the table to show them he was not lieing. The members of the board all viewed it as they seemed to realize they had no choice in the matter. They remained silent as Delahue seemed to look like he was constipated.
"Now that you are all aware, I have been instructed by the courts to tell you that you will have a representative ready to travel to the Mars facility within twenty four hours. This representative will also be inspecting the facility and filing a separate report of their own, just in the spirit of keeping this inspection unbias, these reports will be reviewed by the courts and any decision will be made after my and your representatives deliberation upon our return. You have twenty four hours ladies and gentleman, contact Ruger and inform him of the inspection, and get your representative, after twenty four hours I will be en route to the facility with or without your representative. Good day."
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Present Day
Aboard the A.T.C Transport ship Mars 1
On route to Mars Facility
Mason sat quietly in the back of the A.T.C transport ship as it traveled trough the dark inkiness of space towards the A.T.C Facility on Mars. Across from him sat a younger woman, the representative who would be accompanying him to the base. All he really knew about her was that her name was Anastasia Smith, and that she was a personal secretary for one of the board members. Other then that she was just a mystery person to him at best. Mason eyed her now and again as he took her appearance in, she seemed rather young for this job if you asked him. It made him wonder if they chose her because she would be the perfect lackey to follow their orders without question. The younger crowd seemed to be all about following their orders without question. Mason sighed as he took a drag of the electronic cigarette and looked out the window at the emptiness outside.
Mason was more then aware that if there was something to hide on Mars, the board was going to be damn sure they he had a hard time trying to figure it out. Did he hope that there was nothing out there, of course he did, but that was not what he thought at this point. He just hoped that whatever it was, it had nothing to do with the incidents from before. His worst fear was always that sooner or later they would start to mess with teleportation again, and that they would bring Hell back into this world again, and that this time there would not be a marine to stop it from reaching earth. Either way it went they would be making their approach soon to the base, he had to keep himself ready for anything. Taking his eye's off the window he leaned his head back and closed his eye's and let his eye's rest for a bit.
