“Should?”
“Look, pal, this isn’t exactly a walk in the park. I never worked at this speed before. Let’s hope I don’t suffer from an aneurysm before I manage to beam these bombs off of the planet.”
“Is the ship ready to receive them?”
“Yes, it’s empty and ready. As soon as I have the frequency and feed it into my code, I should be able to send this ship far, far away from Earth.”
“Please avoid sending it to my home world.”
“Is it within a five minute jump from here?”
“Point taken. I was just trying to break the ice.”
“Good job!”
Tar’Lock looked at the phone and saw that the scan was about ninety percent done, when he noticed a blinking red icon on the top right of the screen.
“Cedric.”
“Not now!”
“Yes now. There is a blinking red icon on that smartphone you gave me.”
“For the love of god, don’t tell me you’re running out of batteries... Let me che—Oh, fuck me! Alright, let’s hope the battery holds. The scan should be done in five seconds. The moment that transfer button appears on your screen, click it immediately. And then pray to whichever gods you believe in… On second thought, just start praying now.”
Tar’Lock made a noise crossing between a snort and a growl.
The scan bar completed and blinked, then a second blue button labeled Transfer appeared.
Tar’Lock pressed it, and the phone turned black.
“Please tell me you got it?” Cedric yelled.
“It turned off,” Tar’Lock exclaimed, examining the phone.
“We’re doomed. The one thing that will kill this planet is a crappy, old-gen phone battery…”
“You could have charged the phone.”
“Yea and that helps us how right now!?”
“Tell me what to do, Cedric, NOW!!”
“Okay… let me guide you towards the main control room. We’ll just hope one of the guys there has a USB cable.”
“I’m listening.”
“It’s on the first floor, to the east of your position. How fast can you run?”
Tar’Lock didn’t even bother to answer. He flew over corridors and stairs to reach the first floor, and when he saw a wall panel indicating “main control room,” he ran there as fast as he could.
“I’m almost there. How much time do we have left?”
“I’d say a minute or two for me to have enough time to input, to receive the data, and then beam the bombs off.”
“No pressure, surely.” Tar’Lock gasped and kept moving.
He stormed the central control room. The three people present in the room jumped out of their chair in horror. A fourth man emerging from another side of the room with cups of hot coffee in his hands simply lost consciousness at the sight of Tar’Lock.
“Don’t panic, everyone, I’m not here to hurt you. I don’t want to stress you out either. But if you don’t provide me with a USB cable to charge this phone,” he said, showing them the smartphone, “a bomb on this power plant will explode, and probably destroy the entire planet.”
“Funny guy,” snorted one of the techs.
Tar’Lock’s eyes thinned. He screamed at top volume. “DOES IT LOOK LIKE I’M JOKING?! GIVE ME A GODDAMN CHARGING CABLE!”
The faces of the three techs lost all color.
They started looking through their belongings as fast as they could, but none could find anything.
“John! Where’s the power bank you borrowed from me, quick!”
“It’s in the passenger seat of my car in the parking lot.” He turned towards Tar’Lock. “It’s the blue Mistubishi Galant in front of the main door, here take the k−”
But before he could get his keys out of his pocket Tar’Lock was already gone. The three guys looked at each other, not knowing what to say or how to react.
“Did he say how long we had to live, if he can’t charge his phone?”
“From the speed at which he took off, I’d say not long.”
“John, I think it’s a little too late to tell you this… I love you, man.”
“What the fuck, Richard? You’re married!”
“I know… terrible timing. But it’s true.”
The third guy started laughing.
“What’s so funny, Tony?”
“Well, I just thought that if we survive this, the next hour should be interesting.”
* * *
Tar’Lock arrived at the parking lot in front of the building and there were three blue cars parked in a row. He swore something in his own tongue, expressing frustration in a very clicky and annoyed way.
Only one read “Mitsubishi” on its back so he ran in a blur to the right side of the car. He caught a glimpse of a black brick on the bucket seat, with a cable splitting into many connector ends. He tried opening the door but it wouldn’t budge. He punched the window and felt excruciating pain from the impact, but it only made a small crack on the window.
“How are we doing? Time is running out!” he heard Cedric on his comm.
“How do I open a car that is locked?”
“Surely you have the strength to break that glass?”
“Normally I would, but I only cracked it…” he said, panting heavily. “I’ve been running at two hundred miles per hour for the better part of the last twenty minutes. I’m running out of juice, Cedric, and I... I’m moments away from passing out.”
“Please don’t, please, please, please...”
“CEDRIC!”
“Right, if the glass is cracked its structural integrity is compromised now. Try and vibrate your hand very fast on its surface, okay?”
Tar’Lock put his hand on the glass and made his hand tremble as fast as he could, using every bit of energy he had left. After a second the glass shattered. He grabbed the power brick, looked at the four different ends, looked at the hole in the phone and put the cable that matched the geometrical shape.
“Cable is in, but nothing is happening.”
“Give it a second.”
“It’s been five seconds.”
“Alright, something is wrong. Describe what you’re doing.”
“I’ve connected a cable to what I can only surmise is a portable power source.”
“A power bank, okay. Is there a button on it?”
Tar’Lock turned the power bank and saw a small, metallic button protruding from the box, which he pressed fervently.
“Still nothing. Is it out of juice?”
“Try pressing it and holding it, perhaps a second or two.”
A blue light flashed across the screen, then the phone turned on with a white default logo on a black background, with a cheesy, musical ditty playing.
“I see something on the phone.”
“Boy this is going to be close, Tar’Lock. We need to wait while the smartphone boots up, but—”
“How long will that take?”
“Another twenty seconds.”
Tar’Lock started to feel really light headed. “I’m... I’m not feeling well.”
“Dude, DO NOT PASS OUT on me now! You still need to press the transfer button when the phone finishes booting.”
Tar’Lock’s vision started to blur as the phone display re-appeared. He could no longer read the font, from his current exhaustion. But he could still see the familiar blue button. He pressed it, and swooned, and collapsed to the ground.
“Good job, Tar’Lock, I’m receiving the signature. You’re okay, buddy? Tar’Lock? Oh dear...”
* * *
Ryonna was waiting in the office of Cedric’s coworker, a beautiful, young, blond lady named Johanna. She was still analyzing the tablet file.
“How are we doing?” she demanded for the millionth time, long out of patience.
“Not exactly the kind of data I’m used to working on, but I think I’ve managed to locate something of use.”
“Could you be more specific?”
“While I can’t pinpoint the exact IP where this file was created, I did manage to access subsystems’ history, like GPS and the onboard camera. I have the recent GPS locations, listed here. It looks like a copy of this file traveled to about thirty locations all around the planet in the last few days.”
“Yeah, that is consistent with the thirty bombs we’re trying to beam off-planet.”
Johanna swallowed heavily.
“Did you say bombs?”
“Yes, bombs. So keep working. If Cedric doesn’t manage to beam them out in the next few minutes, we’ll all be long dead anyway… So there’s no need to panic.”
“Interesting bedside manners...” she muttered tearfully, hands trembling uncontrollably.
Ryonna cursed herself for telling her about the bombs. She approached Johanna and put a hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at Ryonna, her eyes widened by sheer terror
“I... I don’t want to die.” Her voice trembled on every syllable.
“I don’t want to die either, Johanna. But understand this, survival is out of our hands. There is nothing you and I can do to fix that, nothing at all, you understand? But we can help.”
She nodded nervously.
“So please take a deep breath, and tell me more about the GPS information you’ve managed to find.”
Johanna took three successive deep breaths, and entered a few more commands on her computer. The screen started displaying a map of Earth, superimposed by mad, converging lines all over. Ryonna looked at them and saw that they all converged to one single point.
“Can you please tell me where this place is?” She pointed at the converging lines.
“It’s in DC. Give me one moment to bring up the address.”
“What information could you get from the camera, anyway?”
“The file references a file that must still be on the original device. While GPS locations were embedded in the file, camera information must be stored in the original system.”
“Does that mean that if I bring you the laptop, you could access this data?”
“I think so, yes.”
“Alright, give me a minute and I’ll bring it to you. In the meantime, try to cross-reference the address you found with databases of known criminals, Earth Alliance employees and whatever else you think might be relevant.”
“Cross-checking now.”
Ryonna rose to her feet and crossed back to Cedric’s office.
When she arrived, the sheer quantity of sweat dripping from his face wasn’t reassuring.
“How are we doing on beaming away the bombs?”
“Can’t talk. It’s gonna be right down to the second...”
“Alright, I’m just taking the laptop we recovered. Johanna needs it.”
“Whatever.”
She could see his eyes going all over the place, interfacing with his neuronal link. She looked at the timer on the laptop when she grabbed it, counting down from two minutes and fifty-seven seconds.
She hurried back to Johanna’s side, who started working on the laptop. Who had ever seen anyone type on a keyboard that fast? She was glad that she’d evidently regained her focus.
“Is that the amount of time we have left?” she nervously chirped.
“Yeah. I think Cedric will manage though. He seems competent.”
“He’s the best!” she burst out. Her face quickly turned a shade of red, while she made a slight face.
Ryonna permitted herself a half-smile.
“Got it. Bringing up some of the photos, though it will take a few seconds for them to decrypt.”
“What about the addresses and cross referencing?”
“I’ve had one match, with an Earth Alliance employee.”
“I didn’t expect that. Do you have his name?”
“Hers.”
“Alright… Is her first name Nina, by any chance?”
“No, Sarah something...”
Interesting coincidence? Ryonna wondered.
“As long as it’s not Kepler,” she said.
“Yeah. That’s her, Sarah Kepler.”
“That’s impossible!”
A cold shiver shot down Ryonna’s spine.
Then a photo of Sarah appeared on the screen, followed by many others.
“What are those?”
“Pictures which the cameras from different laptops took over the past few days. I wonder why she’s present on each of them? That’s strange! Is she a friend? I think I saw her around.”
“Are you absolutely sure she’s the one who worked on that file? I need one hundred percent certainty.” She stared at the timer now: one minute thirty-two seconds.
“Yep, no doubts about it. It’s a shame. She seemed like such a nice girl.”
Ryonna’s heart started pounding forcefully in her chest. She simply could not believe it. She shook it off.
“Please send all this data straight to the Cronos. They’ll need to get this before this timer runs out.”
“I thought you were sure that Cedric would diffuse the situation.”
“If he doesn’t, it’s vital that Admiral Thassos gets this info before the planet blows up.”
She bit her tongue. She knew she could very well send Johanna into another panic attack with these hasty comments. But it didn’t seem to stop her, or even give her pause.
“I trust my Cedric,” she just said before adding, “Done! Cronos got the files.”
With forty-two seconds left on the timer, she simply murmured, “Thank you so much for your help, Johanna.”
Then she opened a channel to Admiral Thassos.
“Admiral Thassos here. Ryonna, time is almost up. What’s the status? Is the ship still in orbit?”
“Oh, c’mon you stinky piece of shite!” interjected a muffled voice from the other office.
She made a face.
“I’m... confident Cedric will manage... But there’s something else, Admiral. Please listen very carefully.”
“Go on.”
“I’ve sent you irrevocable proof that the acts of terrors have been perpetrated by…”
“By whom?”
“Commander Sarah Kepler.”
“You’re shitting me? Hang on, something is happening. The ship just entered hyperspace.”
All lights and electricity-dependent systems on the premises started to blink intermittently and finally stayed off.
She heard Cedric shout, “YEEEEEHAAAAA!”
“Yeah, I’d say that Cedric has accomplished his task.” She laughed.
She watched the timer counting down from three seconds, then resting silently over zero.
“In the nick of time, I might add,” she burst, exhaling deeply. The tension and pressure in her muscles all abruptly relaxed at once.
“Told you,” Johanna sung cheerfully, giving Ryonna a huge, surprising hug.
“You did. Admiral?”
“Yes, I’m still here.”
“I wondered if our communications would have been affected by the power loss down here.”
“These Alliance redundant systems aren’t connected to Earth’s power grid. They should still be running fine.”
“You need to let Commodore Saroudis and Chase know this information ASAP. She could very well put both their lives and the mission in jeopardy.”
“Absolutely. I’ll send a coded message via subspace immediately.”
“Thank you, Admiral.”
“No, thank you, Ryonna. I’ve misjudged you, and I want to apologize for the crap we gave you after the interrogation. A job incredibly well done.”
“Thank you. Ryonna out.”
Ryonna went to see Cedric. He was doing a weird, intricate sort of dance but no music was playing.
“All good here?”
“We’re still here, aren’t we?” he said, while continuing to wave his arms and legs around in broken circles, with a soulful look on his face.
“Great job, Cedric, you saved the planet.”
“Again! I ke
ep doing that!”
“I wasn’t there the first time around, but well done.”
“Yep… I… saved the world. But now, I’m going on vacation for the next two months. I’m thinking Zakinthos. I hear it’s great this time of the year.”
Ryonna smiled, but as she was about to leave Cedric added one last reminder.
“You should go check on Tar’Lock. I think he lost consciousness after transferring the bomb’s signatures.”
“I’ll swing by his last location. Thanks, Cedric.”
“Oh, and Ryonna.”
She turned.
“Yeah?”
“You’re one tough chick. I like you.”
She couldn’t help but smile.
“You have another admirer at the end of the hall.”
“Really?”
“Yeah…”
“Kewl!” He tripped on his pant legs, but played it off as part of the dance.
“See you later, Cedric.”
“See ya, Ryonna. Take care.”
“You too.”
* * *
Spiros opened his eyes. A familiar, repetitive buzzing sound slowly brought him out of his slumber. He no longer felt any pain anywhere, which was wonderful. He activated the exit switch from inside the regeneration pod, and the liquid slowly started to empty from the pod.
With the first few breaths of air, he was himself again. The transition sensation was always just as weird as the first breath of regen fluid taken into the lungs, but he was glad to be back to the real stuff.
The door of the pod slowly hinged open. Spiros paused, feeling unsure what he needed to do next. His thoughts still felt a little foggy. But that was a known side effect from using the regen tanks. Seeing the Zarlack cadaver on the ground sent a shiver down his spine and it all came back to him.
Without stopping for anything, he ran out of the infirmary and towards his R&D lab. He passed countless Zarlack bodies strewn across the corridors, abruptly presenting zero threat. He reached the lab, but when the door didn’t spring open how it usually did he nearly crashed into it headlong. He paused, pressed the door controls again, and the door made a quiet whine but still didn’t budge. After swearing out loud, he opened the manual release hatch, reached inside and pulled the lever. He heard the satisfying click as the doors split open slightly, just enough to try prying them open by hand.
Fury to the Stars (Universe in Flames Book 2) Page 26
