*
“Why do you keep checking your tablet?” Absalom asked “The countdown clock at the front of the room should tell you everything you need to know.”
The commissar’s voice barely rose above the pounding music in the dance hall. Even when he yelled, he wasn’t particularly loud.
Seth quickly put his tablet back into his coat. He didn’t even realize how often he was pulling it out to check the time. It was probably every thirty seconds or so. It made him look suspicious. He didn’t want to look suspicious. As it was, he only had to keep up the charade a little longer.
Why? Because the countdown clock didn’t tell him everything. It didn’t let him know when his makeshift bomb would detonate. Seth had placed the hacked laser pistol at a junction near the rear of the observation station. It was one of the weakest structural walls in the entire building. When the pistol finally overheated and detonated, it would create a large enough explosion to blow a hole in the junction. This wouldn’t just create a vacuum, it would also create a panic.
Seth smiled. He would only have to pretend to be friends with the commissar for a few more minutes.
“I’m just excited,” Seth said. “That’s all.”
The two men stood near the back of the hall, watching the dozens of men and women dance away the last hours of faster-than-light travel. As Seth eyed the crowd, he realized that he recognized most of them. They were the elite of the elite in the Republic. After all, it wasn’t easy to get a ticket to the central Forbearance Day celebration.
“Garland!” Seth turned to look for a familiar voice. At first he didn’t believe what he heard. But then he saw her. Willa Green, his classmate from RSIR, was standing in front of him. “Look at you, suddenly the paragon of the Republic. Whatever happened to--”
Seth held up his hand, stopping her mid-sentence. He knew what she was going to say. She was probably the one person in the galaxy who could reveal his secret. He wouldn’t let that happen. “That’s all in the past. A long, long time ago.” He smiled. “How did you get here? I mean, tickets were hard to come by. I didn’t think that I’d see many RSIR students here”
Willa laughed. “Didn’t you know, Seth? My father is on the High Council.”
“No. No I didn’t know that.” Seth steadied himself in his chair. He thought back to all of the subversive things he told to Willa. And she never reported him? She never turned him in, to her father or the military? It was really rather remarkable. “Please, Willa, let me introduce you to Commissar Phaer Absalom. He’s the one behind all of this. He set the timetables, arranged the teams...everything.”
Absalom thrust out his arm and they shook hands. “Pleased to meet you,” he said.
“Same here,” Willa replied. “And I have to say, while your military record is exemplary, I am most impressed with your ability to turn Seth into a model citizen for a few months.”
Seth laughed nervously, but didn’t say anything. He was afraid of slipping up and incriminating himself somehow.
“Don’t worry,” Absalom said. “He’s been great.”
Willa turned to look at Seth and smiled. “So... Do you want to dance? Or are you only here on business?”
“I... Uh...” Seth pulled out his tablet again to look at the time. The pistol should have exploded by now. He would have heard it. The detonation of a kinetic energy core would not go unnoticed...and if it did, it would be useless to him. “Maybe later. I don’t think I’ve had enough to drink to start dancing.”
“Suit yourself,” Willa said, rolling her eyes. She headed for the dance floor. “Maybe I’ll be available later. Maybe I won’t.”
Once she was gone, Absalom looked over at Seth. “What was that about?” he asked. “She seemed nice. When this is all over, you and I are going to have a lot of free time on our hands. I would not mind spending time with one like her.”
Seth sighed. “She’s not my type.”
“You are so strange sometimes, Mr. Garland,” Absalom replied, then went back to sipping on his drink and scanning the crowd.
“If you say so.” A sense of dread was beginning to set in for Seth. If his makeshift bomb didn’t explode, he had no idea what to do. He needed to pull the guards away from the ships and it was the only hope he had. He couldn’t hope to fight past all of them on his own.
After a few more seconds of silence between the two men as they listened to the pounding music around them, Absalom struck up another conversation. “I should apologize for last night,” he said. “You were right. I should never let my personal beliefs inform how I do my job. Or even why I do my job.”
Seth looked over at him, stunned. He’d figured that the commissar simply didn’t remember what they discussed. Instead, he felt bad about it. He actually listened to Seth. “Wow, I--”
Suddenly, a deafening crack!split the air. It was so loud that it cut through the drumbeat of the music on the dance floor. It rattled the walls and shook the rows of glasses on the bar nearby.
Everyone in the dance hall stopped. They started to look around, as if they could find the source of the mysterious sound. The DJ near the front of the room turned off the music.
“What is happening?” Absalom said, an almost palatable sense of despair in his voice. Seth didn’t dare respond. If he spoke, he feared that he could not stop himself from gloating. A deathly silence filled the hall. And then the sirens started up.
Red light flashed through the room, bathing everyone in crimson. Blaring klaxons droned from the speakers on the ceiling. Everyone began to panic, moving back and forth across the hall. Some of them hit the ground, covering their heads as if the base was under attack.
It was, but they had no way of knowing that.
A loud voice followed the klaxons. “EMERGENCY,” it said. “EMERGENCY, STATION HULL BREACH DETECTED ON LEVEL TWO. PLEASE REMAIN CALM. IN THE EVENT OF DEPRESSURIZATION, SECURITY AIRLOCKS WILL BE CLOSED. PLEASE REMAIN CALM.” Despite the reassurances, this automated message only made the chaos worse.
“Shit!” Commissar Absalom yelled, pushing himself up. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small earpiece. As he limped towards the center of the room, he pressed it into his ear and started yelling. “What is going on? Someone get me a status report.”
Seth calmly followed him. For just a second, as the commissar was distracted, he closed his eyes. He pictured the map of the Europa Station in his mind and considered the distance between the site of the explosion and the guards posted near the remaining starships. How long would it take them to abandon their posts?
“Get everyone down there!” Absalom yelled. “Make sure that this station is secure!”
The commissar tapped the receiver in his ear and looked back at Seth. He was panicking. He didn’t expect this.
It was just like Seth thought. The reason he’d been put in charge of the enforcement of the Spatial Preservation Act was because he believed in it. He was one of the few people in the galaxy outside of the High Council who thought that it was the right thing to do. But he was young, and he was inexperienced, and he didn’t know how to handle a real crisis.
“Is someone trying to board the station?” Seth asked, feigning naivete.
Absalom shook his head. “I do not know. I have no rims-damned idea.”
“Where’s the breach? Is it anywhere near the ships?”
“No, thank Aesu,” Absalom said. “It will take at least five minutes for anyone trying to enter the station via the breach to get close to the ships.” Seth nodded. That was pretty close to his estimation as well. “And if anyone tries it, the guards are already on their way.”
So far, everyone was playing into Seth’s hands. The military was pulling their men off of the repair bays where the ships were docked. They were moving towards the site of the hull breach, where they would find nothing but the scattered pieces of a laser p
istol. The dance hall was in disarray. Lockdowns were about to begin across the station, but Seth knew how to circumvent every emergency door that would stand in his way.
Seth closed his eyes and began to count down in his head. He had to time everything just right. He wanted the guards far enough away from the repair bays to be able to get out in front of them, but not close enough to realize that the explosion was a ruse.
Absalom looked up at Seth. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m thinking,” Seth replied.
“About what?”
Rather than answer, Seth started to walk towards the commissar. His heart was racing. He was really going to do this. With each step, he moved closer to the point of no return. He would either leave this station on a starship or as a corpse. His eyes flew open as he approached Absalom.
Seth reached up and he grabbed the commissar’s earpiece from the side of his head. There was no turning back.
“Hey!” Absalom shouted, but Seth just walked past him, into the cowering crowd on the dance floor. “What was that about? Mr. Garland! I need my earpiece!”
Seth placed the device in his own ear and tapped the button on the side, connecting him to the guards positioned around the station. He took a deep breath. “Help!” Seth shouted. He didn’t even have to sound panicked; that was coming quite naturally to him. “Anyone who can hear me! This is Civilian Liaison Seth Garland! The commissar is down! We need backup in the command center!”
Then, before anyone could respond or ask for details, Seth threw the earpiece to the ground and stepped on it. The delicate electronics crumbled beneath his shoe.
Absalom stared at Seth from the back of the room. Seth could see a horrible realization wash over the commissar. His shoulders slumped and his face transformed into a scowl. He was being betrayed. For just a second, Seth thought he might give up. He might not fight back. His pained expression was filled with disappointment and defeat.
But it wasn’t going to be that easy. The commissar’s despair turned into anger. He gritted his teeth together and reached into his jacket, where he kept his laser pistol.
Before the commissar could open fire on him, Seth dashed further into the crowd within the dance hall. Most of them were already on the floor. The sight of the commissar readying his weapon caused even more people to dive to the ground. This didn’t leave Seth with much cover.
Seth looked off to the side. Willa Green was nearby, glaring up at him. She was the only one in the room who expected this. He’d even told her that he planned on stealing a starship. She did nothing to stop him, telling no one, protecting his secret. Seth was grateful for this, but not grateful enough to keep him from doing what he did next.
He moved closer to Willa, then reached towards her. Before she could react, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up to her feet. Catching her by surprise, he twisted her around and pushed her in front of him. Seth thrust his gun over her shoulder and pointed it at the commissar. Willa was larger than him. This made aiming difficult, but it also made her an ideal human shield.
“Seth!” Willa yelled. “Hey!” He twisted her arm harder, silencing her.
“I’m sorry,” Seth said. “Don’t worry. He won’t shoot you to get to me.” Seth looked up at Absalom. “Will you, commissar?”
Absalom stared at Seth and Willa across the dance hall. “Stand down, Mr. Garland,” he hissed. “You cannot possibly think you can accomplish anything here.”
“I can prevent the Fall!” Seth proclaimed. “I can save civilization.”
“Don’t be so overdramatic,” Absalom replied. “Put down the gun. Don’t do anything to make this worse.”
Seth’s eyes glanced around the room at the dozens of men and women surrounding him. “I lied to everyone,” he announced. “The plans you showed me weren’t the real plans. There aren’t any complete plans of the Heilmann Drive anymore. When the Republic takes apart the last one tonight--”
“Lies!” Absalom shouted and, for a second, Seth wondered if the commissar knew the truth. It was entirely possible that even he wasn’t aware that the plans were fake. “Don’t listen to him! Someone stop him!”
The men and women in the dance hall were the elite of the Republic. They were all here, on the Europa Station, to celebrate the end of faster-than-light travel. If there was any group of people who legitimately supported the Fall, it would be these people. And all it would take to stop Seth was one of them. Just one had to stand up, get behind him, and disarm him. Even Willa could probably pull away from him if she really tried.
But none of them would. Either they were too afraid...or somehow they knew he was right.
Seth began to back towards the door on the other side of the room. His right arm was getting tired already. It wouldn’t be long before he would have to let go of Willa and give Absalom a straight shot at him. He would have to be quick.
The crowd parted as Seth pushed through them. No one tried to trip him, or grab his gun, or free Willa. It didn’t matter why. Maybe they were secretly on his side. Maybe they were just cowards. He made it to the door without a single person getting in his way.
Commissar Absalom didn’t chase after him. It wouldn’t have done any good. His bad leg made him slower than Seth and his hostage combined. He just looked around, at all the people in the hall, and shouted, “Someone stop him! Anyone! Don’t you see? He’s mad!”
He looked like a broken man. It wasn’t just Seth who betrayed him, but everyone in the room. No one else truly believed in the Fall. He was alone.
“You were right about one thing,” Seth shouted before he left the large room. “You will never be on the right side of history.”
Once Seth and Willa were in the hallway, Seth pointed his gun at the control panel next to the door. He squeezed the trigger and looked away. BANG! Sparks flew from the panel. Just as Seth hoped, this activated the security airlocks. The station computers believed that depressurization caused the damage to the panel. Thick metal doors descended from the ceiling and sealed off the dance hall.
Seth didn’t know how long that would trap the commissar. Undoubtedly, someone had the override codes for the security airlock doors. And it would only be a matter of time before the guards who went to check on him in the command center realized that they were duped. By then, Seth hoped he would be far, far away from Europa.
Before Seth could appreciate the first taste of his victory, he felt a sharp pain in his gut. Willa slammed her elbow into his stomach and pulled away from him. She grabbed for his wrist and tried to knock his gun from his hand.
Winded, Seth could only stumbled away from Willa. But it was just enough, and he was out of range of her clumsy fists. He recovered quick enough to steady his grip on the pistol. His hands shaking, he pulled it upward and pointed it at her. Almost immediately, Willa stopped trying to fight him. She stood very still, but expressed her anger in another way.
“How dare you do that to me?” Willa screamed. “I thought we were friends!”
Seth nodded. “We are friends. You’re stronger than me. You could have overpowered me any time you wanted, but you waited until we were out.”
Willa gaped at him. “You... You think I just let you do that? I was scared! You have a gun!”
“Everyone is scared,” Seth replied. “Not me. I’m sick of it. The future is no place for fear.”
“I don’t even know what that means!” Willa exclaimed.
Seth started to lower his gun. “You should come with me. RSIR is done for. I could use your help.”
While he wasn’t willing to admit it, Seth didn’t know what he would do once he’d taken the starship. If he had someone along with him, he could at least discuss it with her.
“Are you crazy?” Willa said. “No! I’m not going to hijack a starship with you! Why would you even--”
“Fine,”
Seth replied, and tried to tell himself that he didn’t want her to come along anyway. “Then get going. I’d appreciate it if you don’t raise an alarm, but I guess I can’t keep you from anything once you’re out of sight.”
“That’s it?”
Seth rolled his eyes. “What? Do you want me to try and convince you to come along? Or shoot you? Because I don’t have time for either.”
That was all Willa needed to hear. She turned around and fled down the hall. Seth didn’t watch Willa go. He’d already spent too much time bothering with her. He had more important things to do.
9.
Seth took a deep breath. He looked at the metal warehouse door in front of him. The I.S.S. Illustrious was inside. He was so close he could almost taste freedom.
The plan worked just as he hoped. He didn’t see a single Republic soldier between the makeshift dance hall and the warehouse. They were all dispersed throughout the station, either investigating the hull breach or the fake distress call from the commissar’s earpiece.
No matter how elite the guards were, they simply weren’t prepared. Like everyone else in the Republic, they lived a relaxed life. There were no wars, few skirmishes, and very little crime. All of their experience was training. For years, they ran through simulations and exercises. They prepared for invasions that would never happen. They memorized routines and procedures until they could perform them in their sleep.
When an explosion rocked the exterior wall at the station, they knew exactly what to do. They knew how to contain the damage and prevent intruders from boarding. When Seth told them that the commissar was hurt, they fell back on their training. They’d performed hundreds of simulated extraction missions. Undoubtedly, they descended on the command center in perfect formation, ready to retake it and rescue their leader.
But they were never ready for an attack from within. They were taught from childhood that the Republic was perfect, and that anyone who opposed it was unstable or insane. They could have never expected that anyone on board the station for the Forbearance Day celebration would turn against them, use their own training to foil them and betray the Republic.
Seth reached out and pressed the button next to the warehouse door. He readied his gun in front of him. There would still be people inside. Even if all of the guards abandoned the ship, there were still engineers and workmen. They were preparing the Illustrious for decommission.
He doubted if they would put up a fight. Just like the men and women in the dance hall, they were not invested in the outcome of the Spatial Preservation Act. They wouldn’t risk their lives to enforce it. Hopefully they would just let him board the Illustrious and leave. While he wasn’t going to let anyone stand in his way, he also didn’t want to have to hurt anyone.
As the door slid open, Seth peered inside. The Illustrious took up most of the floor space of the warehouse. There weren’t any soldiers in sight. Even the guards inside the warehouse must have responded to one of the emergencies elsewhere on the station. For just a moment, Seth was sure he’d won. But then he stepped into the warehouse.
Three workmen surrounded the Illustrious. At first, Seth thought they were just cleaning the ship. Then he saw one of them raise his hand towards the ship. He was wearing a kinetic glove.
Seth felt his heart bottom out as he saw a long sliver of shimmering metal float from the side of the vessel. They were already taking it apart. He recognized the part they were removing. It was the heat isolation coil, which modulated the temperature on the ship during the massive energy surge during a Heilmann Leap. To even reach the heat isolation coil, the workmen would need to disassemble some of the most complex parts of the faster-than-light engine.
He was too late. Even if he could convince them to try and put it back together, they probably wouldn’t know how. The few people who could assemble a Heilmann Drive were already isolated in Republic facilities on Earth. None of them would be on the Europa station, and none of them would be tasked with the destruction of the ships.
Was this it? Was this the end? Anger flooded over Seth. Without thinking, he slammed his hand into the bulkhead.
The three engineers stopped moving. They looked up at him. The one holding the isolation coil flinched, causing his kinetic glove to give out. The thin piece of metal fell to the ground and shattered, rendering the ship even more useless.
Seth stared at the engineers. They were stunned. They didn’t expect anyone to interrupt them. In just a few seconds, they would signal the guards. All of the other operations would be called off. Every solider on the Europa Station would turn against Seth. It would all be over. He would be lucky to make it out of this with his life.
No. He couldn’t give up. Not now. There was still hope. There was still one more starship aboard the station. The I.S.S. Monitor. It would still be intact. After all, the Republic planned on televising the first steps of its destruction at midnight.
With the Illustrious halfway to scrap metal, the Monitor was the last starship in the galaxy. It was the only one left. If Seth didn’t take it, it would be decommissioned. And faster-than-light travel would end forever.
Seth raised his gun as he charged into the warehouse bay. “Nobody move!” he shouted. “Everyone, put your hands up. If you even think about calling for help, I will blow your rims-damned head off!”
The three engineers were still. Just as Seth hoped, danger paralyzed them. They were no better than the Republic soldiers, accustomed to their training patterns. A slight disruption in their routine existence was enough to send them into shock.
“What... What do you want?” One of them asked as Seth approached. “What is going on?”
Seth took a deep breath. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted, other than time. The repair bay that housed the Monitor was on the other side of the Europa Station. “Earpieces!” Seth shouted. “Earpieces and tablets, put them on the ground.”
The engineers didn’t object. One by one, they took out their earpieces. They removed their tablets from their pockets. And they put the devices at their feet.
Seth waved his gun between the three men. “Now step on them. Break them, so I know you can’t call for help.”
Timidly, the engineers placed their feet on theelectronics and smashed them into obsolescence. Without tablets or earpieces, the engineers would be unable to contact the guards for a few minutes. Unless, of course, they used the control panel near the door.
With a flick of his wrist, Seth pointed the gun at the first engineer’s leg. BANG! He collapsed, grabbing at his thigh. The other two broke for the door, realizing that they were going to be shot no matter what. Seth steadied his aim. BANG! He took down the second man. BANG! The third fell to the ground.
This wasn’t what Seth wanted to happen He wanted it to be easy. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. But all three engineers would live, as long as they didn’t try anything foolish.
Seth placed his gun in his jacket and approached the nearest man, the one who’d been holding the isolation coil. He reached down and grabbed the engineer’s arm. With a quick motion, he ripped the kinetic glove from his hand.
“I’m sorry about this,” Seth said. He sighed, strapping the glove across his own fingers. “I hope you understand someday.” A tingle of electricity tickled across his palm. Seth had used a kinetic glove before, when he was a shooter on his primary school forceball team. But that was a low power model, intended for recreational use. This was strong enough to take apart a starship, and he hoped he could control it.
Seth walked towards the control panel near the door of the warehouse. He thrust out his hand and twitched his index finger. A wave of energy flew from the glove and latched onto the front end of the wall. Seth yanked his arm backwards and ripped the entire panel from the surrounding bulkhead. Sparks flew everywhere as Seth dropped it on the ground next to the door.
If
the glove could pick apart a Heilmann Drive or tear a wall to pieces, it was strong enough to be a weapon. And Seth knew that he needed every weapon he could get if he was going to make his way to the I.S.S. Monitor.
Faster Than Light: Babel Among the Stars Page 20
