Hi everybody! I just want to say thanks to everyone who has been reading this story and following it so far. As a new writer on Literotica, it helps to know people are reading my work. As always, feel free to leave feedback or suggestions for me, I'm always open to new ideas and learning more too. I hope you like this chapter! Thanks.
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"What is Operation Cryo? And what do I have to do with it?"
"Don't worry about the specifics right now dear, just worry about what your task is. Because you have a very important job, one that is integral to the entire mission."
Alyssa couldn't believe what she was hearing, what she was seeing. When she agreed to take the job with General Miller and came to his office, she just expected to see him and have a normal briefing on the job specifics. But what was Fran doing here? None of it made any sense.
"Alright, so your mission is to-
"Hold on Jack, the girl is downright shocked, like a deer in headlights. You must have so many questions don't you Alyssa?"
Alyssa hesitantly nodded her head.
"Well, I can't tell you everything single thing, but I can do my best to ease you into this. Me and Jack here have been, working together for a while, in secret of course. We used to work together all the time, before I decided to retire. Who knows why this old bucket didn't follow suit, but here we both are."
"What do you mean working together? What are you planning?"
"In short, we're planning to take back control of the Society from Ethan and his followers."
"What?? What do you mean take back control? Ethan's the President, it's impossible."
"Well with that attitude it is. Look around you, dear, have you been paying attention? The Society is in shambles, the morale is all over the place. There is no consistency, no order, and there won't be peace until there is a change."
Alyssa stood silent, shocked.
"Revealing the existence of the termination chambers to the public in this press conference, and then announcing their closing has left people in a place of ambiguity. Do they forgive the Society for their faults? Do they forgive Ethan, because he made the decision to close them? What about their loved ones who were lost due to the punishments? People are sending letters, complaining, nervous about the future."
Alyssa remained still, unable to come up with a response.
"And then there's the business about this girl who somehow came into our space station. Can you believe that? An outsider, a survivor of Earth boarding our station! Who knows what she could have done? She could have planned to destroy us!"
"And then Ethan decides that he needs to handle it himself, without even consulting me." The General replied.
Alyssa forgot about the girl. She was surprised about that too, and knew it was a troubling situation, something the Society never had to deal with, to the knowledge.
Despite her growing trepidation due to the shock of it all, she had to admit to herself that she wasn't disagreeing with anything that Fran said so far. The Society was undergoing a lot of changes, and people were confused and worried about the future. They were afraid because of the girl's infiltration, and wondered if more people from Earth could try that. But she never fathomed the thought of someone else being the President besides Ethan. She didn't think it would have to come to this.
"Oh calm down, Jack. I swear you would fight him in a boxing ring if you had the chance."
"Damn right I would."
"But even that, dear, avoiding protocol and the chain of command to do something so selfish. It's erratic, and the Society can't deal with erratic behavior and change. It wasn't built for that. It was built for stability. Don't you agree?"
Alyssa nodded again.
"I know you do. And I know how much the Society means to you, Alyssa. You worked beside Ethan for three years to contribute to its well-being. And he just threw you to the side." Fran said as she got up and laid her hand on Alyssa's shoulder.
Alyssa looked down, not wanting to think about how Ethan treated her, and rejected her. She was still upset with him about that.
"We need to quell this fervor, before it's too late. Are you with us dear?
Alyssa didn't know what to think. Part of her didn't think that the closing of the termination chambers was a bad thing. She didn't think that much violence was necessary to maintain order in the Society. But she did want the Society to be in a more stable place.
Plus, her feeling towards Ethan had changed drastically, she wasn't on his side anymore. She wasn't his assistant anymore. She didn't have to do anything for him anymore.
"I won't have to kill him, will I? That's now what you're asking me to do? Ethan won't die, will he?"
"No, of course not, there's no need to go that far, to those extremes."
"Okay, well what would you need me to do?"
"All we're asking you to do is get your job back with Ethan. Get back to working with him again."
"What? Start working for the man that wronged me? You know what he did to me, Fran."
"Yes, I do, but I also know that he needs you. He doesn't work well on its own, at least without an assistant. This much we do know, and if you do this, he will be out of your life soon. You won't have to worry about him anymore."
"But why would he take me back as his assistant anyway? That's what he has you for."
"Well that's the thing dear, I've really been using that position to try and learn more about him. But now my time is needed elsewhere, and I need you to do that job. He wouldn't say anything to me anyway, so he might open up to you more. I'm going to tell him that I haven't been feeling well lately, old age and what not, and that I can't be his assistant anymore. Then he'll come back and ask you, and take you off leave."
"How do you know that?"
"We just have a hunch. You're reliable to him, he'll want that stability in the midst of all these changes, to help him." The General replied.
Alyssa noticed that the General was uncharacteristically quiet during this entire exchange. He usually took control of every room or meeting he was in. She realized that Fran must have been the mastermind behind this plan all along.
"Okay, umm what would you need me to do once I get my job back?"
"Just give us intel and stay connected to him. Anything that might be useful, we want to hear."
"You'll report to us whenever we call you, until we're ready to tell you more and begin the next phase of the plan."
This is ridiculous...
Not too long ago, Alyssa was happily working for Ethan, and everything was fine. Now, she was about to take a job that would mean that she would be working for him again, but also plotting against him. But she couldn't disagree with Fran or the General...
"Okay, I'll do it." Alyssa said reluctantly.
"Good, I'm glad you can be on our side, Alyssa. You're going to make a real difference." The General said.
"So, just as I said, you'll take your job back as Ethan's assistant when it's time. Until then, try to get some sleep and relax. You'll be very busy soon." Fran added.
"Okay I will, thank you."
***
"Koko, why don't you go to your room and play for a little while, okay?"
"Okay Mom."
Kodi ran out her mom's room and back to hers to work on her most recent project, the Prototype III. Even though she was 10 years old, she hadn't lost her relationship with her parents and still liked to talk to them and show them what she was doing in school. But recently, her parents were pretty busy with their own work, and didn't have as much time for her. Still, they played with her and did things outside whenever they could, so she wasn't too upset about it.
Plus, this would give her a chance to work on her most recent invention, the Sound Catcher, that would allow her to hear sounds from any location by placing a homing device in that area, and then having a receiver that picks up on everything with perfect clarity, even past the soundproof devices. She heard her dad walk in the room with her mom, and realized that this was the perfect opportunity to test it out.
She made the homing device so small that it was smaller than a penny, so while she was in her mom's room, she hid it under the covers. Now, all she had to do was turn on her receiver, and listen to everything.
Alright, Sound Catcher, time to work your magic.
She activated it, and after a few loud noises, she could hear them talking, and even clicks and knocks from them walking on the floor and knocking against stuff.
Yes! The Master Inventor Kodi strikes again!
She was happy that another invention worked, and listened in to her parent's conversation:
"But Damien, you know that's ridiculous. It's not just ridiculous, it's fucking ridiculous."
"I know Maya, but the board has already agreed, it's going to happen. The best thing for us to do now is be prepared and make sure our family is safe. We have to get ahead of this thing."
"This thing?! Do you realize what they're asking us to do? They want to destroy everything! How can we protect our friends, Kodi, ourselves from that? It just doesn't make sense, and you're acting like it's an algebraic equation from grade school."
"You don't think I get the ramifications of this shit! Of course I do, it's going to be a mess! I'm saying we need to do what we can to protect ourselves."
"How Damien, How? I can't believe that have scientists that are actually okay with this. They're taking our plans and using it for that?? All the research we worked on trying to help people is now being used to cause mass destruction."
"I know, babe, I know, but look, we'll start working on a bunker, anti-radiation gear, force fields, something that'll protect you and me and Kodi, we have to try something."
"I just...I don't want something bad to happen to Kodi. Maybe us, but not her. And the plan they're proposing means it'll be ready for launch in 6 months. 6 months?? How are we going to tell her?"
"We should just be upfront like we always have, Kodi's too smart to not figure out what's going on eventually. I don't know what we'll say, but let's just tell her now. I'm with you, it'll be okay."
"Koko! Come here please!", her mom yelled, but Kodi was petrified, frozen in a state of fear and disbelief. She couldn't believe what she just heard, and the worst part was the vagueness of the whole thing.
What was going to cause mass destruction? What did they need protection from?
She dropped her receiver module from being so nervous.
"Kodi, did you hear your mother? Come here for a second!"
She couldn't go. A part of her wanted to know what was going on, but she mostly wanted to just forget about it. She ran and hid in a corner next to her bed with the Prototype III toy, and shook her head in disbelief, the beads in her braids making clicking noises from knocking together.
The door opened, and she braced herself for the bad news.
"Koko, are you in here? We need to talk sweetheart."
