8 Revelation

The meeting place was crammed. A number of vehicles had been landed or parked in the surrounding area, which appeared to be a former parking lot. The new, rebuilt Dallas was farther off, visible from where Donovan's helicopter landed. Countless skyscrapers rose up in the distance, many sparkling in the sunlight.

Unlike the sleek, new Dallas, the area they were currently in could still be described as post-apocalyptic. Between the clumps of unbroken asphalt, mostly demolished buildings, and untouched skeletons it almost seemed as if the place had been abandoned for years.

Streams of people swarmed around, mostly heading towards the ruins of what had once been a shopping center of some kind. Most of the building had crumbled but some of it still stood. Based off the hundreds of people, there was probably a larger space below ground the crowd was moving to.

Although most of the people around seemed to be Jacks, there also seemed to be an Aceron military contingent stationed here. Burns assumed they'd be the ones responsible for briefing all the Jacks who'd showed up.

After ensuring the helicopter's antitheft measures were in place, the two Jacks followed the crowd. Burns was proved right when they descended down into a floor below ground. This area was distinctly different from the building above, having no doubt been constructed later.

The stairway they took into this lower floor was clearly well defended. Aside from being narrow enough to act as a checkpoint, made clear by the long line of people slowly descending down it, the entrance had a number of turrets and wards. As they stepped out of the stairwell, the two saw multiple portable barricades had been set-up. These also had wards marked on them. Clearly, lengths had been taken to ensure this location was hard to take.

From the stairway, they headed deeper into the facility. Aceron grunts guided the Jacks through the facility, which Burns began to realize was a sprawling killing maze. It was only after they'd descended to a second, lower floor that they seemed to have entered the actual base.

The second floor looked like it was far better equipped than a mere bunker or safehouse. Burns saw a large-scale infirmary, automated factories, a number of storage spaces filled with crates, a barracks-esque room full of bunkbeds, and two drone control centers.

The comprehensive capability of a base like this was astounding. After Burns passed by a summoning room for External Magic users, something that was truly rare to see, he suspected this location was meant to be entirely self-sufficient. The amount of resources involved in creating something like this, without being detected, must have been extraordinary. If bases like this existed everywhere the tens of thousands of hired Jacks had been sent . . . it boggled the mind!

It hadn't been a full two decades sent the Shifts happened. Although they weren't quite apocalyptic, with humanity not actually entering a new Dark Ages, they'd come close. If it weren't for technomancy being one of the most common forms of External Magic, it would've taken far longer to recover from the Shifts. Still, Burns was truly impressed. Technomancers were always needed, so they tended to be extremely well-paid. Even if Aceron was the world's first megacorporation, the investment required for so many bases like this to be constructed must have been staggering.

Eventually all the Jacks were led to a briefing room which was almost identical to the one from the facility Burns had visited for his mods. This time though, there was no holographic projection of a Nobody. A presumably high-ranking military officer stood where the hologram would've appeared, watching the Jacks file in.

Fortunately, this briefing room wasn't entirely the same; all the Jacks got a seat. Once they were all seated the officer began speaking. "Greetings everyone. By coming here, you've decided to work with Aceron. If you're having second thoughts, now is your last chance to leave. Once the briefing begins, anyone who turns their backs on Aceron will be treated as a traitor. You have five minutes to decide."

Whispers spread throughout the room as people discussed that statement. Someone called out "If we stay are we going to be conscripted into Aceron's military?"

The nameless officer coldly replied "Of course not. Even if I was ordered to do that I'd never allow such rabble as you amongst my ranks. Jacks who stay here for the briefing will be given missions to complete, with payment on job completion. Any specific rewards that were negotiated when initially recruited will still be applicable simply for choosing to stay during the briefing. Completing a single mission assignment will be enough to redeem those rewards."

"What about after the first mission" someone else asked? "What kinds of rewards would we be offered then?"

"Jacks who complete a mission will be allowed to reside here for a week free. Every mission completed after the first will offer merit points. We have a large stock of Aceron products here which will be purchasable to those Jacks who stay but only merit points will be accepted. You'll be informed of the merit points each mission is worth and although some missions will be mandatory, many will be optional. The quartermasters have complete inventory lists; go to them for specifics on what's for sale.

Aside from physical goods, full pardons can also be purchased. It doesn't matter which major power you've crossed, so long as it was one located in the Americas, your enmity can be ended with merit points. Our CEO, John McCloud has personally guaranteed these pardons will be honored!"

Burns and Donovan weren't the only Jacks who were impressed. Although a few people chose to leave, most of the Jacks stayed. As he looked through the crowd, Burns noticed Hayashi seated three rows away. He had showed up after all.

The Erratic Jack refocused as the briefing began in earnest. "In your last briefing you were told that the alien ship never left. That was true. Our plans to study the ship weren't. The 'ship' isn't a ship at all. It's a kind of gateway. As for the stealth technology failing, that's due to a massive build-up of power. Later today, a third Shift will be unleashed by this gate.

When the third Shift hits, our magic is going to go through another major change. That's when they'll strike. From the gate, several attacks will be launched on major population centers. Dallas is one such target. The projectiles they shoot from the gate will be heavily-warded bases designed for orbital drops. They'll turtle up in these locations while attempting to gain air superiority.

While the air space is still contested, we'll be launching assaults on them from below. Although it is likely the Third Shift will leave many people incapacitated for a time, we've prepared drones for the initial attacks. As soon as you've recovered, all of you will be assigned a role in the main assault on the Dallas base. When we attack, our main priority will be taking out the base's gate system. Even if a retreat is called for, the mission will be a success so long as the gate is destroyed."

Before he could say more, a Jack asked in disbelief "Hold up a moment! How does Aceron have such detailed information? How could you possibly know this?"

"That information's classified. This situation may seem surreal but this invasion will happen. The faster you adapt to that the better."

Burns listened closely as the officer walked the Jacks through the details. He didn't know what effects the Third Shift would have but had a great deal of information on the alien bases. He walked the Jacks through the base's gate, a kind of portal that never went off after activation. While it was active, the enemy's forces would be effectively unlimited. The sooner it was destroyed the better.

The officer also described the base's layout, structural weaknesses, points of entry, and other pieces of invaluable information. After assigning Jimmy to record everything, Burns turned his thoughts to something else. How was this information obtained?

The theory he ultimately formed was surprisingly simple. He was well aware that while gene mods could give others Internal Magic, the effect was never as good as the source. Although Internal Magic was connected to one's DNA, other factors contributed to any magic's effectiveness. The person who first gained a specific magic would always be strongest.

Using that knowledge, how powerful was the source of Danger Precognition? If the person who'd been used to create that gene mod had seen this invasion coming, they'd know specific details about the threat. That could explain why a base like this existed in the first place too. It would also help explain why Aceron was able to unify the Americas with relative peace. The more he considered the idea, the more Burns felt he had the right of it.