Inclusion: The Corporate Wars, #4

By R Thomas McPherson

The Corporate Wars

are heating up

The Rossom Corporation is causing havoc across the conglomeration. Rick is sent to rescue the CEO of the McTech Corporation, a rival corporation, from the Rossom attacks. He does it because it is the right thing to do. Will he succeed? Find out in,

Inclusion

Book 4

The Corporate Wars

• Language: English
• Publisher: R Thomas McPherson
• Release date: Nov 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215936313

Book preview

Chapter 1 Disclosure

RICK WALKED INTO HOBBS’S office. Sir, it’s time.

Hobbs half turned in his chair but didn’t get up. Rick, do you think this is a good idea?

Honestly, I don't know if it is or not. What I do know is that we can't do this alone. They need to know what they are facing.

You're right, of course, said Hobbs. I'm just feeling old.

That's no wonder with all the stress you have been under for.... Rick had to think how long Hobbs had been the CEO. Has it only been six months?

Yeah, I guess it has, said Hobbs, then changed the subject. How many do we have in attendance?

We have thirty-four CEOs and representatives from another seventeen.

Fifty-four. Do you think that will be enough to do what we need to do?

We’ll make it work, said Rick. We have no other choice. You made me your military adviser, and this is my advice.

Well, said Hobbs as he hoisted himself out of the chair and headed to the meeting. Let’s go.

Rick knew that he was tired. He had been up for the last several days setting up this meeting. Assurances had to be made. Security had to be arranged, and the safety of the CEOs had to be considered. Hobbs wanted the meeting to take place on Anteagan among the ruins of the capital. This was to remind everyone of the horrors of war.

The attack by Rossom had left the Wilson Administration Building devastated. While they were working on restoring it, the building was still mostly a pile of rubble. As a result, they had to set up a room in the Legal Building.

Jammers lined the walls and were covered with wood panels. It was set up much like the Board room, with room for sixty.

Rick knew that he would give the briefing; his only concern at the moment was if Hobbs would stay awake. It was all ‘old news’ to Hobbs, but Rick didn't want him to appear feeble.

They passed by security and entered the room. Tim was at the podium and introduced Hobbs. Rick always thought that was strange because everyone knew who he was.

Hobbs went up to the platform and said, Thank you all for coming. I'm sure that many of you have heard rumors. Some of you know because you had direct contact with the situation. We will now end the rumors and give you the facts. Our way of life is in danger. This menace threatens our livelihoods and even our lives. We will ask for your help, but first, I need you to understand what is happening. To brief you on the state of current events, I give you Rick Thompson.

There was a lite clap as Rick came to the podium.

Where to begin? A little over three hundred years ago, we, as a race, stepped out into space to find new worlds. We were disappointed that we found no life like ourselves with each new world. We thought we were all alone in the night. Brace yourselves; we are not alone. A race of cat-like aliens is headed for us as we speak.

There was a rumbling in the crowd. Rick paused a moment to let it die down.

I have been investigating this from the beginning. It started with the destruction of the labs. I went out to find out who was responsible.

Wasn’t it Rossom? said a female voice from the crowd.

While Rossom was directly responsible for one of the attacks on Wilson’s property, they were indirectly responsible for all the attacks. I will explain that in a moment. We gathered some of the wreckage from a number of the attacks and studied the energy signatures. We discovered that no corporation in the Conglomeration could have committed these attacks. We didn't understand this until we captured Steve Collier. Then we found out the truth. Watch.

Rick hit the button on a remote at the podium. The lights went dim, and screens came down all around the room. The video started, and it was the video Collier had recorded of the lab's destruction.

Before the attack, Rick paused the video and said, I call your attention to that small red circle in the bottom left of the screen. That is one of the labs at 100,000 kilometers distance. That is important as you watch the next sequence. He hit play again.

There were gasps in the crowd as the energy bolt emerged from nowhere and enveloped the station. In a matter of seconds, the station was destroyed. That is why we could find no evidence, said Rick as he hit pause.

Rick heard someone in the room ask, Where did it come from?

Rick was sure that that question was on everyone’s mind. That’s a good question. You will have your answer in a moment. I don’t think you are going to like it. He hit play.

Rick watched the crowd for reactions as the electrical disturbance brought the alien ship into view. It took up most of the screen. The grumbling started as the vessel appeared. The fighters came out and fired on anything left alive. It didn’t take long until they were headed back to the ship and the video ended.

I want everyone to remember that that ship was 100,000 kilometers away. To give you some perspective on that. The alien ship is ten times wider and fifteen times longer than the largest carrier in the Conglomeration, Rick paused to let that thought sink in. By the way, CEO Summers, we believe that it was your lab that was destroyed, so now you at least know what happened to your telepaths.

I don’t know what you are talking about, said Summers.

Rick continued, Let me respond to his statement to all of you. Any denials will be counter-productive to this meeting. Collier has confessed that he worked with many of you to set up labs to create telepaths. His ultimate goal was to get you to fight with each other and weaken the corporate structure. So, he could take over the Conglomeration with little to no resistance. Again, Rick paused. All of you should know that I don't say anything without proof. So, let's say you lied. I pulled apart those lies with a web of infallible logic and saved ourselves some time. We are not here to cast the blame on anyone. We are here to give you the facts so that we can prepare for a coming war. The telepaths are going to be an important part of that war. Because the aliens are or have many telepaths.

The last statement caused a rumble in the crowd.

That’s why the aliens destroyed the labs. They wanted to remove any opposition. A few rogue telepaths could easily upset their plans.

What happened to that ship? Is it still out there? Came a voice from the crowd.

To answer your second question first. No, it is not out there. To answer your first question.... Again, Rick hit the play button. The video started just before Jennings took his dive at the alien ship. Everyone was transfixed as they watched Jennings’ heroics and the alien ship break up and fall to the planet. We have destroyed that ship. That was just a scout. A vanguard, if you will. As ex-Director Collier said, 'If a fleet of those ships wanted to come in and take over, there is nothing we can do about it.' We need the resources of the entire Conglomeration working together to defend against that fleet.

You have got to be out of your mind, said one of the CEO. We are not going to join with hostile corporations!

No, said Rick calmly. I am not out of my mind. Rick hit play again. This video was from the first alert station on the Mosley moon. I want you to pay close attention to the distortion on the right side of the screen.

The two Langley battleships jumped in and started to engage the attacking Rossom ships. They began to turn and leave the area. Before they could jump out, the plasma bolts came out of the distortion Rick had pointed out. They watched as both battleships were destroyed.

Within one minute, that ship destroyed two of Langley's finest battleships. That ship destroyed the labs before they even knew they were being attacked. With that said, does anyone truly believe you can stand alone? Rick paused to let that thought sink in. The crowd was silent.

This is where we need your help. We know that most of you have business interests on the other side of this war. You are still friendly with corporations even though they are on the other side of the conflict. We need you to reach out to them and get them to join us.

There was much talking going back and forth then. Finally, someone said, How do you expect us to get them to join Wilson?

I don't expect you to get them to join Wilson. I expect you to get them to join humanity. Rick started a new video. This time he let Collier's comments be heard. Collier talked about the rumors he had heard and what he expected to see. As the video played out, it showed proof that Rossom had dealt with the aliens.

As the video ended, there was stunned silence everywhere. No one could believe that Ridges could or would make a deal with the aliens. Rick dropped his words into the silence. This is why we have to isolate Rossom. They have conspired with the enemy against humanity.

This caused an uproar of anger throughout the room. Rick waited for the noise to die out. Each of you will be given full data packs to aid you in our request. We believe that once the other corporations understand that they have given allegiance under pretenses, they will join our cause. The survival of humanity.

There were mumblings of agreement.

However, this is not the end of the briefing. We have discovered several facts along the way that you need to be aware of. First and foremost, the aliens were looking for something in our area of space. At first, we were still trying to figure out what that something was. Then it came to our attention that a group of telepaths, or talents as they are more commonly known, heard a mental noise in a base on Horse. The aliens bypassed them as they rampaged through the area. This base was built and owned by Steve Collier.

There was more mumbling.

Steve has saved over a thousand talents, and it was discovered that this noise protected the talents from the aliens. What created the noise was a compound called Methane-Hydrate.

So, this resource is on the planet, Horse?

That is correct. However, the Coltrane Corporation has closed its borders and has its entire fleet protecting the planet. You can buy the Methane-Hydrate from them but at a very steep price. You will be happy to know that we have found another source.

How much are you going to charge?

We will make it available as needed, but it is a limited resource. But that is not the point. As we were battling the alien ship over Braxis, we realized we caught them off guard because they were looking for something.

Were they looking for that methane stuff?

That’s what we thought at first, but this is what they were looking for. Rick hit play, and the video showed the three-dimensional structure of the crystal Methane-Hydrate. That, my friends, is a prison. What the aliens wanted to do was free the prisoner.

There was an outbreak from the crowd saying nasty things about Rick and how he was out of his mind. Rick stood there while they hurled insults his way without flinching. As the noise died out, he said, Let me remind you, I'm not going to say anything without proof. He started another video. This recording from one of the helmet cams showed the battle between Rick and the evil alien. Rick shuttered as the wisp of orange curled in on itself and escaped.

I didn’t know it at the time, but I had just set free a foul and evil being. The talents told me that there are three others. We know that one of them is on Horse. We don't know where the other two are.

If this was an evil being like you say, why were the aliens trying to free it?

For that, we have no firm answer; all we have is conjecture. We know this is a very nasty and powerful being. We suspect that the aliens wanted be allies, much like Rossom wanted to be allies themselves with the aliens. That is just a guess. Still, we think the aliens are at war with another race.

The last statement caused a stir in the crowd. Many of them were asking the same question. How many races are there? Rick held up his hands and answered the question. When it finally got quite enough, Rick said, That I do not have an answer for. This is what I can tell you. One of the talents, one of the strongest we have, looked into the mind of the being as it was escaping. He saw hundreds of races.

The mumbling started again. Someone finally yelled, Why have we never seen any of these races before?

That is a good question. Rick hit a button, and a map of the galaxy came up. On the outer spiral, a red dot appeared. As it began to pulse, Rick said, That red dot is the entirety of the Conglomeration in relationship to the galaxy. Is it any wonder that we have not encountered alien life when we have not even left our front yard? Rick paused to let that thought sink in. With that thought in mind, the human race can no longer stand divided. We work together, or we die alone. It is that simple.

Do you believe you can get corporations allied with Rossom to fight against them?

I want to make this absolutely clear. We are not going to fight Rossom! They are not the enemy. If attacked, we will defend ourselves, but we are not going after them. We are not going to fight a war of conquest. We hope that once Rossom stands alone, Ridges will come to his senses and stop the war. If not, once all or most of the allies have abandoned Rossom, we will send the information I have shared with you to the Rossom Board of Directors and let them deal with him.

And if that doesn't work?

"If that doesn't work, we'll have to discover another course of action. For