The Dead Speak... If You Know How To Listen and What Questions To Ask

Aaron closed the ring box and admired the four identical boxes sitting on the table in front of him with a pleased expression on his pale, handsome face. Each box held one of the rings and one of the pendants Aaron had designed. Once closed, Each box appeared to be a seamless black cube. They looked as though they were made of highly-polished obsidian with each of the corners accented with gold. Aaron could literally see himself reflected in each one.

Aaron stood back and admired each box one last time before waving his hand over them, causing them to explode into four differently colored clusters of light which promptly disappeared into the storage bands on each of his wrists with an almost musical set of chimes.

It had only been a short time but Aaron had already gotten use to wearing the bands and except for a slight buzzing in the background of his senses it was easy to forget about them. The only thing he was concerned about was accidentally pulling something from his inventory without realizing it or meaning to. The last thing he needed was to access his inventory and subconsciously pull out a gun or a knife while in school or while he was around his step-father so Aaron closed his eyes and took a few moments to refine the access parameters so that such eventualities would be minimized if not completely negated.

When he was satisfied he regarded the storage bands around his wrists for a moment then turned to leave. In just a few short steps Aaron found himself standing in the primary space in front of an enormous supercomputer on a revolving platform. Aaron loved being in The Core but for him this was home and where he spent most of his time in Knowhere.

Aaron took a seat in the unbelievably comfortable chair and began making inquires., "First, Let's Review The Dossiers On The People Who Attacked Me."

A few key strokes later and thousands of digital documents and crime scene photos were being displayed in front of him., "It Seems Gog Was Right...," Not that he doubted her analysis., "... These Tattoos...," Aaron isolated several photos showing a tattoo of ten rings overlapping to form a circle., "... Correspond To A Middle-Eastern Terrorist Organization Known As The Ten Rings That Has Been Trying To Gain A Foothold In The Union. How Curious That Each Person Who Attacked Sydney and I Is Supposed To Already Be Dead According To The Military Records Gog Was Able To Access Which Would Seem To Imply A Black Ops Background. Add To That The Archaic Weapons They Were Using Which Were Upgraded With Slightly Above-Standard Biometric Failsafes. I Mean Why Bother? Then There's The Matter of The Banned Ordinance They Had With Them. Who Even Makes That Stuff Any More?"

"Father...?," Gog cautiously asked.

"Yes Gog... What is it?," Aaron asked as he stopped typing.

"I tapped into the computers in the city coroner's office and downloaded all of the files on the workups done on the people that attacked you and it was a good thing I did..."

"Why is that?," Aaron asked curiously.

"Because the files were wiped from computer memory only ten minutes after they were uploaded and all of the back-ups were permanently deleted as well."

Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose before asking., "What about the hard copies, independent data filings or the bodies?"

"All have been discreetly removed without a trace.," Gog replied ominously.

"I See.," Aaron added absently as he reviewed The Coroner's findings., "They are definitely from the middle-east. Genetic Profiling confirms it as well as mineral analysis. According to the build up of region specific minerals and pollutants as well as traces left on their clothes they haven't been in The Union long. The antigen tests also show that nearly all of them have been exposed to a strain of The Parasitic Fungus Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis of the Genus Cordyceps and recovered after extensive treatment. Combined with genetic records to pinpoint their origin... the presence of antibodies to The Cordyceps Fungus narrows down the area in the middle-east where they operate since The Hungries have been largely contained over the last century."

"Look at the nucleotide sequences Father..."

Aaron pulled up the genetic map of several of the enemy mercenaries and compared them. Aaron had mastered virtually every scientific discipline in existence even those of extraterrestrial origin but he had deliberately stayed away from Human Genetics out of fear that he might feel compelled to examine his own DNA and find something that would shatter any sense of normality he had been able to maintain but even he could tell that something wasn't right.

"... They're O.E.," Gog stated after a pause.

"Over-Engineered, huh?," Mumbled Aaron as he isolated several key gene sequences and protein structures from the archived cellular data.

"Yes.," Confirmed Gog., "... By at least at 40% over standard. Its a good thing you had fractal point ammunition or they would have been difficult to deal with."

"That's true.," Aaron agreed., "Normal Chromes are tough but at or above 40% of standard their ability to heal and resist injury is even more formidable. However, Fractal Point Rounds are specifically designed to inflict catastrophic damage over a wide area when properly adjusted so even they can be brought down with relative ease."

Aaron continued to peruse the vast dossier assembled by Gog encompassing nearly 3 teraquads of data while committing every quad of information to memory for possible later use. As Aaron committed the details and appearance of each person to memory he couldn't avoid flashing back to the moment he had killed them. He wasn't bothered by their deaths because they were trying to kill him and he had only done what needed to be done in order to survive but as he remembered the expression of each and every person that had died by his hand he remembered the street and the buildings where his fight for survival had taken place.

Pausing momentarily Aaron asked., "Have the repairs to the street and buildings been taken care of?"

"Of Course Father!," Came Gog's bubbly voice., "Each resident has accepted the offered compensation without complaint and the cleanup and repairs to the damaged areas were successfully completed 4 hours after the job request was filed."

"Very good.," Commented Aaron in a pleased tone., "You've actually managed to dig up alot more information than I expected."

"Thank You Father!," Squeaked Gog happily., "It wasn't easy as you know because of the virtually primeval level of technology in The Middle-East which has never been able to return to its former glory but I made use of every backdoor, exploit, and work-around that I could to find this dreadfully minuscule amount of data."

"No need to sound so disappointed...," Aaron spoke in a tone reminiscent of a parent trying to soothe a child., "... I'm looking at close to 3 teraquads of information mined from thousands of encrypted and booby-trapped servers... and judging from the format, date stamp, and coding of some of the documents in front of me I wouldn't be surprised if some of these files were buried so deep in their respective databases that many of the parties involved aren't even aware that these documents even exist. So cheer up... This is really great work and if not for you we wouldn't have the now erased coroner's reports."

Aaron smiled as Gog giggled at his praise.

"Have you uncovered any additional information on The Ten Rings or its Leader... This so-called Mandarin?"

"It has been difficult Father but while I've only been able to find a few scant references and rumors regarding The Mandarin I have managed to trace The Organization itself to as far back as the building of the first pyramids..."

Aaron examined the information as a timeline of events began to take shape in front of him., "This is quite impressive Gog..."

Even without her saying anything he could tell that she was overjoyed with his praise.

"... It looks like you've pieced together every rumor, vague historical reference, and passing mention even remotely related to The Ten Rings..."

Aaron closely examined the various charts and graphs regarding both suspected and confirmed activities of The Ten Rings from all over The World.

Aaron leaned back in his chair and sighed., "It seems they have been rather busy of late."

"Yes.," Gog confirmed., "... And Father..?"

"What is it Gog?," Aaron asked not liking Gog's unusually meek tone.

"The code that hijacked the sentinels during your visit which you had me take a look at..."

Aaron had a bad feeling he wasn't going to like where this was going.

"I traced it to a possible stronghold being used by The Ten Rings in Bahrain but before I could break in they severed the connection and have since gone dark. It is likely that they have abandoned their base... I'm sorry Father."

"There's no need to be upset... You did your best. I'm surprised that they had someone that could detect you let alone sever the connection before you could invade their system. Whoever it it is most definitely not an amateur."

Aaron was sure that whoever it was on the other side of the screen... that he hadn't seen the last of them. Just as that thought occurred to him he had another disturbing realization.

"Wait a Minute!," Aaron stiffened as he began typing furiously, the analysis of the coding he had Gog run dominated the huge screen of the supercomputer., "No matter how good a hacker this person may be it would be practically impossible to gain access to Stark Systems from the outside so..."

"What you're thinking is correct Father.," Gog weighed in on Aaron's train of thought., "The malicious software code was uploaded from inside of Stark's own factory. It is because every hacker has their own approach toward coding that I was able to trace the hacker that created the code to Bahrain but yes it is likely that someone else planted it in Stark's Systems... Most likely an undercover operative that could move about unseen or unnoticed."

Aaron immediately began combing through his extraordinary memory for everyone he saw while he was at Stark International and more than a few people jumped out at him. He uploaded their faces via his and Gog's link and Gog immediately began an exhaustive analysis which was completed in short order, leaving only one possible.

As Aaron stared at the beautiful Female face on the screen in front of him he remarked., "Sandra Wu-San, I suspected it was her."

Aaron had only glimpsed her briefly while Tanya Stark was giving him a tour of the factory but even though he hadn't paid any particular attention to her at the time he had felt something off about her but he dismissed it as nervousness because he was not only standing in Stark International's Industrial Factory but Tanya Stark herself was giving him a guided tour.

"I Should Have Paid More Attention.," Aaron thought to himself.

"Don't Blame Yourself Father.," Aaron heard Gog's voice through their link., "You Couldn't Have Known."

"Perhaps.," Aaron added after a pause as he examined the face in front of him. She was quite beautiful with long straight black hair, smooth and exceptionally feminine facial features, and intelligent dark eyes that gave her a mysterious and dangerous quality.

"Her Hair Was In A Bun and She Wore Glasses But It Is Definitely Her.," Thought Aaron as he mentally compared the face on the screen with the one from his memory.

"What can you tell me about our Mystery Woman?," Asked Aaron who had to **** himself to look away from her photo when he found his eyes lingering a bit too long on her full lips.

"What little I could dig up on her is not good Father... Not good at all."

Aaron didn't like the sound of that but he listened carefully as Gog gave her report backed up by a series of electronic documents and files on the screen in front of him.

"Sandra Wu-San. Asian, Specifically Chinese Lineage. 35 years of age. five foot eight inches tall. 141 pounds with next to no apparent body fat aside from her ample C-Cup breasts. Black hair, usually long. Brown eyes..."

All that was fairly standard biographical material so Aaron wasn't particularly impressed.

"... She was orphaned at the age of four and saved from the streets two years later at the age of six by a shadowy group known as 'The League of Shadows' or to those in the know... The League of Assassins which as the name implies takes talented or expendable youths and molds them into cruel, cunning, and ruthless dealers of **** who accomplish the goals of this terrorist sect even at the cost of their own lives. She is widely regarded as the most talented assassin ever trained by The League and on a list of The World's best martial artists she is definitely in the top three for sure."

With that information, Aaron was definitely giving Gog's report his full attention but he did have a question... A rather obvious one actually.

"You said she belongs to The League of Shadows?"

A 3-D holographic head appeared above the computer's main keyboard. It was Gog's smiling face who nodded excitedly before disappearing., "That's right Father."

"Then how is she connected to The Ten Rings?"

"The League of Shadows from what I've been able to find apparently pre-dates the building of the first Egyptian pyramids by a couple of hundred years at least. Also the two seem to share similar roots and have been cooperating with one another almost from the beginning of their respective organizations..."

"Then that means that she likely infiltrated Stark International under the orders of The Ten Rings."

"Yes, That seems likely from everything I have been able to find out. It seems that Ms. Wu-San is very close to The Ten Rings Leader."

Aaron thought about that for a moment then brought her employment file up on the screen., "Lydia Lin..."

[That's What It Said On Her Name Tag When I Saw Her In The Factory.]

"... Age 24..."

[Obviously A Lie But She Can Get Away With It Because Despite Being 35 and Coming From A Poor Impoverished and Unenhanced Background She Looks Younger Than She Is. A Potent Combination of Naturally Superior Genes, Training, and Diet.]

"... Unmarried. No Children. No Long Term Attachments. Hmmm, Her Height and Weight and Other Minor Biographical Details Are The Same..."

[Mostly True.]

".... Korean Descent. Parents Live In Sejong...."

[Korean Instead of Chinese. A Well Adjusted Family Does Make For A More Productive Employee.]

Aaron continued to peruse the fictional biography of a non-existent Stark International employee before sitting back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose., "It may be a fake but its a good fake. Employment history, citizenship, tax and medical records, an entire life fabricated from the ground up and no matter how hard I try I can't find any signs of tampering. Whoever planted this in Stark's mainframe is incredibly skilled."

Suddenly Aaron had a thought and after a few minutes he managed to isolate several sections of the code that reprogrammed the sentinels.

"There it Is!," Exclaimed Aaron.

"What is it Father?"

Aaron pointed to the screen., "See this section of code?"

"Yes? O-Oh, I See!," Gog squealed excitedly, realizing what Aaron was talking about., "When the guards scanned her badge the compressed coding infiltrated Stark's System through a less protected internal sub-system and unspooled within seconds to deliver the payload which also contained the code that affected The Sentinels."

"Exactly. It was an ingenious approach if a bit clumsy but it did what it was intended to do for the most part...," Aaron cracked his knuckles loudly before continuing., "It's indeed quite troubling but if they make another attempt on my life I will be prepared."

The chair Aaron was sitting in was on a swivel and he spun around once then twice before going back to typing., "Let's see if we can get to the bottom of some of the other recent mysteries, shall we?"