“Stolen Technology? Recent news sources say that humans have developed almost nothing on their own. Join me tonight as we dig into the secrets of the ancient Egyptians of Earth and how these primitive people used the power of Li-Tech to build their empire.” – From Mysteries Unsolved, conspiracies through the ages.

  “I don’t fucking get you!” Alec screamed, throwing his wrench across the room and slamming a fist into the engine. Wincing in pain, he grabbed the now injured hand and let out yet another curse, “I’ve seen your schematics, which I can’t read. I’ve torn you apart. I’ve completely rebuilt you twice now, but no part of you makes any goddamned sense!”

  “Oh yes, injure yourself. That’ll give us the answer,” Warren said without looking up from the screen, “Failing to figure this out won’t hurt our careers at all. In fact, keep beating on it like a monkey with a wrench and see how quickly you can get this project taken from us. It’s not like our patron Officers aren’t Silva and Ross, the two biggest tech geniuses in human history.”

  “That’s why I’m so damned frustrated.” He kicked the chassis of the stolen engine to accentuate his point.

  Getting the first crack at a new piece of alien technology was a long-standing tradition in the AHF. It was almost like the engine was the ‘spoils of war’ and they had the right to choose how and when it would be shared with the rest of the organization. That said, Command expected them to make some sort of progress fairly quickly. If they failed, command would probably pass them up for future honors like this.

  Sadly, the engine had proven to be little more than a big paperweight. Its secrets were still proving far out of reach for the two young soldiers, and it was grating on their nerves.

  The engine’s software was well past the realm of the unfamiliar, and into the realm of the ridiculous. Besides being in a language he didn’t know, the operating system itself just didn’t make sense. After three days of constantly pouring over it, the two men found little more than that it was—in fact—an engine.

  They’d been able to get the basic software off the ground with a little creative application of electricity, but the primary power input required much more energy than they could produce to get it working. Nothing in the human tool-belt had reached that threshold, not Light, nuclear, or even old-school combustion.

  “Have you had any luck figuring out that port?” Warren asked, rubbing his temples as he pulled his mind out of the machine.

  “Nothing more than we have so far. There is a slight magnetic pull toward the housing in the back, but nothing I’ve tried can make the turbine spin.”

  “Maybe it’s time to send this up the chain? We’ve exhausted our knowledge and gotten exactly nowhere. We aren’t tech experts. The only reason we even got this chance is because we stole it.”

  They’d both thought about it, but neither of them had dared voice the option. After nearly a month of ripping the machine apart and putting it back together, both men were beyond tired. The idea of handing over their prize was becoming more and more inviting every day.

  “I get that, I really do. But I wanna be the one that brings our findings to the Commander.” Alec whined, “We would look good, and I know that we both like looking good.”

  Warren gave him a long, silent, condescending look.

  “I’m serious. What do you think would happen if we brought the brass real answers about how it works?”

  “We would look good. But think about the flip side of that coin. How would we look after months of study, only to tell them we have nothing?”

  “Dave,” Alec yelled to his friend as he walked through the door, “Please explain to Captain Pessimist here that we will look awesome when we get this thing working.”

  “I’m sorry, brother, but I have to agree with him.” Dave replied, approaching the engine, “You might make a discovery soon, or you might not. If you don’t think those chances are high enough, it might be time to give it up.”

  As he talked, Dave fiddled with the machine aimlessly. As a kid, his dad taught him the basics of engine maintenance. Sure, he hadn’t paid nearly enough attention, but he had caught on well enough to know how to turn a wrench and fix a tractor.

  He started trying to remove the faceplate to examine the inner workings. Being able to see the big picture often helped with troubleshooting. It was something he’d done hundreds of times with electric tractors. Could this be much different?

  The tip of the omni driver slipped as he repositioned his hand. With a thud, it touched the power input and produced a metallic rending sound that tore through the room.

  Dave jumped back and stared at the twisted remains of the tool. Its Light-emitting tip was torn apart as if it were made of aluminum instead of titanium alloy. The only part left was the handle, and even it looked like a stretched piece of taffy.

  “We’ve tried that already,” Alec said from the pile of boxes he sat on. “There is a way to disassemble it. You remove that center disk, and it all comes apart. But we don’t have tools strong enough to break the fastener along the rim. The force required is much higher than anything we possess.”

  “So, that part is the answer.” He replied with a shrug and leaned toward the housing. An unseen force pulled his dog tags toward the metal as he got closer.

  “Partially? We think? Either way, we are missing a vital piece of the puzzle.” Warren said, casting the schematics to Dave’s HUD and overlaying them with the engine, “We can’t read the writing, but we know it used to have an external power source. The problem is that we can’t exactly replicate what we don’t know.”

  “I think that external power source bit is a bit obvious,” Alec said, joining them. “I mean, how else are you going to run it?”

  “So, why can’t we just use Light to power it? What is it looking for? Explain it to me slow,” Dave interrupted with a raised hand.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Warren looked at his partner briefly, wondering where to start. He couldn’t fathom why the Aegis even bothered coming down here if he didn’t understand basic tech in the first place. Hell, it had taken the big man nearly a year just to get used to using his Vis-HUD properly.

  On the other hand, Alec knew exactly what Dave could and couldn’t do. The former farmer could fix just about anything. Throughout their life, he’d repeatedly shown that even if he couldn’t remember the names of parts, he knew what they did and how to make them work. Years of repairing tractors gave him the skill, and despite a lack of formal education, taught him that manuals were just about useless.

  “As you know, one of the most primitive forms of harnessed energy was and still is fossil fuel. Its issues are simple– it’s not renewable, and it is terribly ineffective. Old combustion engines only had about twenty-eight percent energy efficiency.” Alec explained, “For nuclear, we have to convert its raw energy into something useable. It’s very hard to work with, but it has significantly better efficiency at ninety-three percent.”

  “Not to mention the danger. Even today, containing that much of nuclear power is difficult,” Warren added.

  “True, but I think that’s mostly because of the lack of research after Li-Tech became the norm for power generation.”

  “What about solar?” Dave asked. “We had a few panels at the farm, and they seemed to do pretty good.”

  “Yes, but that also required a conversion from DC to AC. Not to mention that—even now—there is quite a bit of lost potential.”

  “And liquid Light powers this ship, right? Why does Earth not have this power?”

  “Because Li-Tech isn’t allo…” Alec started.

  “They do, but the batteries are disguised so regular people don’t find out,” Warren said.

  Alec looked at him with a mixture of mistrust and confusion. “How the hell would you know?”

  “I just… do. You know what, never mind, I must be mistaken.” Warren’s poor attempt at covering the slip was incredibly obvious, but the other men left it for what it was. “When the Founders discovered the Particle, they were originally looking for a long term, high-capacity power source that was easily renewed. Frankly, they found exactly what they were looking for. When the math is drawn and the cards are down, Li-tech batteries capture and use ninety-nine percent of the potential energy and have no waste. It blew all other forms of power generation out of the water.”

  “So, what you’re telling me is, those little squid things harnessed a power we ain’t never heard of, nor have the slightest clue what it might be?” Dave asked skeptically.

  “That’s about the short of it.” Alec said, “And quite frankly, there is a chance we never find out what it is. Humankind hasn’t needed to develop an alternative power source in so long because we haven’t found a limit to Light.”

  “Huh,” the former farmer said, throwing what remained of his Omnidriver into the trash, “Well boys, I know of a power source neither of you has mentioned yet, and I am offended that you are ignoring it.”

  Warren just stared at the man with a raised eyebrow.

  “Pizza. I’m hungry and you two ain’t been out of this room in days. Let’s get some food, and then you can come back here and scratch your head, and I’ll head back to the gym.”

  “You’ve been hitting that gym harder than ever,” Alec observed.

  “Yeah, I have.” Dave said, “And I’m gonna keep at it too. If Jack could stop one of those damn things with just his Optic power, I shoulda been able to as well. I ain’t gonna stop trying to get stronger until I can beat one of those things on my own. I… I won’t watch a friend die like that again. Not while I stand powerless on the sidelines.”

  “I thought you two were holed up in the workshop?” Jack said, sliding into a booth in one of the Washington’s many restaurants, “Hit another wall?”

  “Same wall,” Alec grumbled, a look of sheer annoyance on his face.

  “Too bad we can’t translate the damned instructions. We might have an answer then,” Warren said by way of explanation.

  “Alright then. Well, as much as I love watching my friends pound their heads into a wall over and over, we need to talk about something for a bit.”

  “No, please, anything but changing the subject from the source of our discomfort,” Warren said sarcastically, “How can we possibly live without the constant reminder of our troubles?”

  “As much as I wish I could offer a helping hand, I’m so mechanically useless that it would somehow turn into a pile of slag just from me being in the room.”

  “And don’t you forget that either,” Alec threatened with a chicken wing. “We don’t need you in there cocking this thing up.”

  “Can’t be worse than me. I broke an Omni after about thirty seconds.” Dave shrugged.

  “Nah, I bet it stole your lunch money, and you were just giving it the justice it deserved,” Jack chuckled. “As for you, I wouldn’t just ‘cock it up.’ That implies that you could fix it with enough time and energy. No, if I touch it… it’s ruined.”

  “I still can’t help but think the right move is to pass this thing along and hope we can remain involved.” Warren said quietly, “Look at it, it’s obviously got components we will never decipher, much less replicate.”

  “But the prestige,” Alec moaned, “What about the possibilities, the fame, the girls?”

  “When’s the last time you got laid because of your mechanic skills? Don’t try too hard, it’s never.” Dave jabbed, forcing a bit of reality back into Alec’s delusion.

  The Dragoon chewed on the wing slowly, lost in thought. After a few hard moments of contemplation, he put the naked bone down and sighed, “Ah, I guess. Honestly, it really is the right course. I wish we could figure it out, but we can’t find a single clue.”

  “Sorry man, I know how much it meant to both of you,” Jack consoled. “I have some good news! Or maybe bad. I don’t know. I’ll let you decide.”

  Sending them a copy of the message from command, he continued, “We’re being called to Phoenix Prime to provide testimony to the Senate.”

  “How in the ever-living fuck is that a good thing?” Dave asked, choking on his drink.

  “Because we will have a few days planet side to do as we please. They only need us for a little while. Griffin and Summers will do the heavy lifting with the politicians. Which means we get to spend some time on a planet where we don’t have to kill anything. We can just enjoy our life for a few days,” he said with more than a little excitement in his voice.

  The look on their faces nearly matched his own. The idea of being on a planet that showed the full splendor of mankind was so intoxicating, their excitement could easily match that of a six-month-old puppy.

  “And, because I know we’ll have at least one night to ourselves, I’ve taken the liberty of reserving hotel rooms for the squad,” Jack grinned widely, “Sure, the part with the senate will suck, but afterward we can enjoy ourselves.”

  “If half the stories about Phoenix are true, this is going to be one hell of a few days,” Warren said around a mouthful of pizza.

  “I hope we can find a live Light Ball match. I’ve seen every game this season on my HUD, but the real thing would be killer!” Dave nearly shouted. His passion for the sport was clearly present on his face.

  Ever since that first game two years ago, Dave—for lack of a better term—hadn’t shut up about it. He subjected them to endless hours of commentary about games they hadn’t seen, and statistics they didn’t care about. If the need to train wasn’t so pressing, Jack was certain the big man would spend every waking hour watching match after match.

  “Alright, alright. IF a game is playing, I’ll go with you. If not, we go find something else, cool?” Jack said, swiping another slice of pizza as he stood. “You guys get some rest… real rest. I have to let everyone else know.”

  “Yeah sure, we all know that’s just code for spending the night with Thea,” Warren remarked. “I suspect tonight will be yet another round of washing her back?”

  “You don’t know,” he answered, waving goodbye with the slice of pizza.

  He drafted the message while standing just outside the doors of the establishment. After all, he wasn’t kidding about letting everyone know… he just wouldn’t do it in person.

  Well, perhaps one.

  Warren didn’t need to know how accurate his prediction was, and he definitely didn’t need to know about the… other activities the two had planned for that night.