by Jake Bible
“Don’t,” North said. “I have a feeling you won’t get anywhere with them. I may have overstepped with General Birmingham.”
“Overstepped?” Ngyuen asked then shook her head. “I’ll come to the security levels and find you, sir. We will get this sorted out.”
Ngyuen’s image blinked out and North grinned at the guard closest to him.
“Hear that?” North asked. “My assistant just told me we’d get it sorted out. My assistant. She’s a corporal and I am a major. Not to mention, I’m also acting commandant on this training station. But, hey, she’s going to find me to get it all sorted out.”
The guard didn’t respond. North just shook his head as they stepped in front of the lift.
“Quite a fucking day,” North said as the lift doors opened and he was escorted inside.
Thirty-Six
The wrench slipped from between Linklater’s fingers and clattered against the ladder then began to tumble into open space as it fell down the long shaft of the server tower.
“Cocksucking fucker dick fuck shit fucker cock!” Linklater yelled as he slammed his hand against the ladder over and over.
“Feel better?” Wendt asked as he looked up at Linklater. “For what it’s worth, you missed my head. Thanks for that.”
“I totally fucked my hand up,” Linklater said as he flexed his fingers and winced. “Ladders are hard.”
“You’re exhausted and frustrated,” Wendt said. “I get that. You aren’t used to the grunt work we do in maintenance. You’re more used to pressing buttons and waving your hand in front of consoles. You deal with images and simulations. I deal with nuts and bolts and grease and heavy shit.”
“Go fuck yourself, Wendt,” Linklater said. “I did my time in the shafts and vents of plenty of stations and bases. I know my way around hard work, thank you very fucking much.”
“So what’s the problem?” Wendt asked. “That was just a wrench. I have a dozen more like it in the pack on my back.”
“The problem is we have possible Estelians on this station, the simulations are glitching, North won’t take five fucking seconds to listen to me, and we’re having to ladder it down dozens of levels to chase some data line that goes from a bank of destroyed mystery servers to Makers know where!”
“Is that all?” Wendt chuckled. “I was in the middle of getting me some when you had me pulled away. That sweet thing is not going to wait for me forever. The women are fickle on the Perpetuity, trust me. They either get their rocks off when they want or they move on to some other guy or girl.”
“You’re only saying that because we’re alone,” Linklater said. “You sure as fuck wouldn’t be saying that in the mess hall.”
“No, I sure as fuck would not be,” Wendt replied. “Doesn’t change the fact it’s true. Badass ladies demand some badass lovin’. I start to lose my reputation as a badass lover and this station is gonna get pretty lonely for me. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Jesus, how do you get any work done, stud?” Linklater scoffed.
“I manage,” Wendt said. He stopped descending the ladder and frowned at the server bank in front of him. “Hold up. This isn’t right.”
“What? Are we there?” Linklater asked.
“Yeah,” Wendt said. “But I’m not sure where. These servers are just backups. They are on hold unless needed.”
“So? We’re looking for where the data was being sent,” Linklater said. “It would make sense it was being sent to backup servers.”
“Except that these are dead,” Wendt replied. “Take a look. These aren’t even lit for standby. No power, nothing.”
“Then they aren’t the right servers,” Linklater said. “Keep going. I don’t want to hang out on this ladder all day.”
“No, these are the right servers,” Wendt said. “I know it. I pinged a signal through that cable and it went to here then it stopped. Even if these servers were just relays, they’d still show power.”
Wendt unslung his pack and clipped it to the ladder then he tightened his belt and clipped that to the ladder as well.
“Get comfortable,” Wendt said as he undid his pack and pulled out a power driver. “I’m going to see what the fuck is up.”
“Get comfortable?” Linklater asked. “How the hell am I supposed to do that?”
“Clip in and hang tight,” Wendt said.
“Clip in? With what?” Linklater frowned. “I’m not maintenance.”
Wendt looked up at Linklater and shook his head. “See? Soft.”
He rummaged around in his pack and pulled out a ring of carabiners then held it up to Linklater.
“Take these and clip in,” Wendt said. “Be ready to hold whatever I hand you. I’ll net up most of this stuff, but there could be things I need right away.”
“I’m your assistant now?” Linklater asked as he clipped himself to the ladder. “How the hell did that happen?”
“You’re in my world now, Lieutenant,” Wendt said as he placed the driver against a bolt in the first server. “We’ll get done a lot faster if I take lead on this.”
“I was doing just fine when we were up in the lift,” Linklater said.
“That’s because those servers were crushed,” Wendt said as he removed a bolt and tucked it into his breast pocket. “That was a salvage job. This is a little more technical.”
“Do you have any idea how many systems I’m proficient with?” Linklater snapped. “I built half the protocols for the simulation bays myself. I know my way around this server tower.”
“Yet you had no idea what those crushed servers were,” Wendt said, removing another bolt then another. “And you didn’t know these servers were dead.”
“Neither did you!” Linklater almost yelled.
“But it’s not my job to know,” Wendt grinned. “It’s my job to fix. It’s your job to know.”
“You’re an asshole, Wendt,” Linklater said.
“If you say so, sir,” Wendt chuckled as he removed the last bolt and pried the face plate off the server. He stared at the empty space for a couple seconds before he tossed the plate aside. Allowing it to clatter its way down to the bottom of the shaft.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Linklater asked. “We’re going to need to put that back on.”
“Probably not,” Wendt said. “There’s no server.”
“What? Let me see,” Linklater said. He started to climb down then got hung up by the carabiners clipping him to the ladder. “Son of a bitch.”
After a few moments of cursing and unclipping, Linklater was able to get down the few rungs in order to see inside the empty server. Wendt just swung aside, keeping one foot and one hand on the ladder. He nodded as Linklater shook his head in confusion.
“That’s a lot of space back there,” Linklater said, pointing to a small box that their mystery cable was plugged into. “Where the hell does it go?”
“I have no idea,” Wendt said. “But there’s only one way to find out.”
“Give me a driver,” Linklater said. “I’ll start on the other face plates.”
There was a clunk and clang from far above in the shaft. The two men looked up, squinting into the darkness that was only broken by the twinkling of lights from the thousands of servers in the tower.
“Was that the lift?” Wendt asked.
“Can’t be,” Linklater said. “I put it on lockdown and called it in to Dornan. It would take Major North’s command to override that.”
“Maybe it is Major North,” Wendt suggested. “You did tell him to come back and talk to you.”
“Shit, you’re right,” Linklater said. There was another clang. “I’ll try to reach him.”
Linklater pressed at his wrist as Wendt began working on a second faceplate.
“North?” There was no response. “Major North, come in.” Still no response. “Son of a bitch.”
“Try Ngyuen,” Wendt said.
“Corporal Ngyuen?” Linklater called. “Corporal Ngyuen, t
his is Lieutenant Linklater. Corporal Ngyuen? Corporal Ngyuen! Come in, you twat!”
Wendt removed two more faceplates then looked over at Linklater.
“Try anyone,” he suggested.
“Dornan?” Linklater announced. “Dornan, come in.”
There was a hesitation then Corporal Dornan’s image flickered to life above Linklater’s arm.
“Lieutenant?” Dornan asked, looking confused. “I was told you were unavailable.”
“What? Who the hell told you that?” Linklater asked.
“Security,” Dornan said. “I received a message you were unavailable and that all requests that needed officer authorization should go directly to Corporal Ngyuen for Major North’s approval.”
Linklater looked over at Wendt as the man removed three more faceplates, his driver whirring so fast that a distinct smell of burning ozone filled the shaft. Wendt glanced at Linklater briefly and shrugged then went back to his task of pulling off faux server faceplates.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on, but right now I don’t care,” Linklater said. “I have been trying to reach Major North to see if he is in the server tower. Can you access the personnel tracker and tell me who is in the lift? We’re working on some servers and don’t need that lift coming down on our heads.”
“You should have put it in lockdown,” Dornan replied.
“I did, Dornan,” Linklater snapped. “I’m not a moron.”
“Then the only person that could override that is Major North,” Dornan said.
“He’s a genius,” Wendt said.
“Was that Wendt? Tell the sergeant he can suck it,” Dornan said.
“Just shut up and check the system,” Linklater growled. “Tell whoever is up there to get the hell out and put the lift back on lockdown.”
“Okay, okay, hold on,” Dornan said.
“Jesus, you could sleep in here,” Wendt said as he got more faceplates off, creating an opening wide enough for a person to wiggle through. He stuck his head in and looked down then looked up. “It’s this whole level. There’s basic framing, but no actual guts to any of these servers. Hold on. What’s that?”
“Hey, Lieutenant? I’m not showing anyone in the lift,” Dornan said. “It’s empty.”
There was a loud clank and the distinct sound of metal on metal then a loud screech. Linklater and Wendt both looked up into the shaft.
“That’s not good,” Wendt said.
“Dornan, there is someone in the lift!” Linklater yelled. “Tell them to get the fuck off it and stop messing around!”
“There is no one on the lift,” Dornan insisted.
The screech happened again then a thunk that was not only heard, but could be felt. The ladder started to vibrate, then shake, then full on shudder.
“It’s coming down,” Wendt said. “It’s coming down fast!” Wendt unclipped himself from the ladder, took off his pack, and tossed it into the empty space behind the faux servers. “Lieutenant! Come on! Get in here!”
Linklater watched Wendt scramble inside the empty space then looked down at Dornan’s image above his wrist. “Dornan? Shut down the server tower lift.”
“I’m already trying,” Dornan replied. “Even I can hear that thing rumbling down at you.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Linklater asked.
“The lift is in lockdown,” Dornan said. “I can’t override your command!”
“Eight four three one one delta alpha one one three!” Linklater shouted. “That will override!”
“It’s not working! Now it’s just showing me that the lift is offline!” Dornan yelled.
“LIEUTENANT!” Wendt shouted and grabbed at Linklater’s arm. “Get your fucking ass in here!”
“This is insanity!” Linklater yelled. “Dornan, I swear to God that if you don’t get this lift shutdown, then the next time I see—”
Linklater’s head rocked to the side as Wendt’s fist connected with his jaw. Stars danced before his eyes and he tried to shout something but the words wouldn’t quite form. He felt hands fumbling at his belt then he was roughly pulled inside the server tower wall. His arm caught on something sharp and he felt pain then warm blood start to trickle down his left bicep.
“I…I…” Linklater stuttered.
“Shut up and get back,” Wendt hissed as he pulled Linklater as far away from the shaft as possible. “You’re going to want to…”
But Wendt’s words were lost as the shaft was filled with a high-pitched screeching and then the thunderous noise of the lift rushing past the opening at a speed it was not designed to move at.
“Shit,” Linklater said just before a massive crash filled the tower causing both men to clamp their hands over their ears. “SHIT!”
There was a loud whump and the acrid smell of smoke began to waft up to the opening. Linklater coughed hard and then even harder as the smoke grew thicker.
“Someone set something on fire in the lift!” Wendt yelled as he coughed as well. “We’re going to asphyxiate!”
“We can -cough cough- climb back -cough cough- out the shaft,” Linklater said.
“We won’t make -cough cough- it,” Wendt wheezed.
Linklater looked about the empty space and then saw their mystery cable above them. It snaked around a couple of struts then was lost from sight inside a conduit in the wall.
“That -cough cough- goes somewhere,” Linklater said. “Maybe we -coughcoughcough—”
“Yeah -coughcoughcough-,” Wendt nodded as he handed Linklater a driver and started working at the bolts in the wall in front of them.
The drivers whirred furiously while the two men coughed and hacked, their throats growing raw and rough, their eyes watering and noses dripping. The acrid smoke was a thick black and it started to make it almost impossible to see in the space despite the multiple halogens that Wendt turned on and slapped against the wall.
“Here,” Wendt gasped as part of the paneling on the wall gave way. “Pull.”
Linklater and Wendt dug their fingers in the small space Wendt had made. They pulled with what little strength they had and managed to bend the paneling down enough to step into. Wendt picked up one of the halogens and handed it to Linklater then grabbed one for himself.
The two stepped into a low-ceilinged corridor that was barely wide enough for them to walk in. Their shoulders rubbed against the dust coated walls as they hurried down the corridor, trying to put as much space as they possibly could between them and the toxic shaft.
“There,” Wendt said as they got to the end of the corridor and stepped into a space that was a perfect square. “A hatch.”
Linklater nodded, his arm across his face to block the smoke that followed them. He grabbed onto the wheel in the middle of the hatch and tried to turn it, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Hold on,” Wendt said as he dug around in his pack. “This will -cough cough- help.”
He aimed a spray can at the wheel and pressed the button on top. A stream of white foam hit the wheel where it connected to the hatch as Linklater kept trying to turn. Suddenly, the wheel spun so fast that it slipped from Linklater’s hands and he had to jump back to keep the hatch from smacking into him as it opened wide.
“In,” Wendt said, shoving Linklater in the small of the back. “Go!”
The two men stepped inside and Wendt yanked the hatch closed then spun the wheel, locking it into place.
“Okay,” Linklater said as he shown the halogen around at the small room. “Wasn’t expecting to see this.”
The room was only about four meters by four meters with a short ceiling about two and a half meters high. Along one wall was a small cot and a couple of crates of supplies. Right next to that was a desk where the mystery cable snaked down and ended, connecting to a control console.
“That’s a comm system,” Wendt said.
“Yes, it is,” Linklater agreed.
The console actively blinked with lights, indicating it was transmitting and receiving.
“The data wasn’t going to server backups,” Wendt said. “It’s being broadcast somewhere.”
“Fuck me,” Linklater sighed. “This is not how I thought my day would go.”
Thirty-Seven
It was painfully obvious to North that the stains on the table were not from someone’s lunch. Not from a condiment or spilled drink. His eyes studied the surface of the table, moving past the main body of the stain to the splatter pattern that told him exactly what had been happening in the interrogation room.
The hatch opened and Metzger strode in, his eyes wild and his skin a sickly yellow. He licked his lips over and over then grabbed a chair, swung it around and sat down with his arms over the back, facing North.
“Major,” Metzger nodded. “I’m glad you came willingly.”
“Didn’t have much of a choice,” North said. “Your guards made that very clear.” North spread his hands out, palms up, on the table in a placating gesture. “Listen, Coop, we’ve known each other a long time. We’ve worked together on the Perpetuity for a few years now. Hell, we even ran into each other out in the systems on more than one occasion before our call to duty lead us here. I know you’re a good man, and I know the lure of pharma, believe me, but you can’t just—”
“Shut the fuck up, Bartram,” Metzger snapped. “I don’t need a lecture.”
“Bartram? Sergeant, do I need to remind you that you are addressing an officer?” North asked, his eyes narrowing. He straightened his back and folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t know what the hell you are up to, but you’re digging yourself a pretty deep hole, Sergeant Metzger.”
“From Coop to Sergeant Metzger just like that,” Metzger said, snapping his fingers. “Sure, we’ve worked together for a long time, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re a self-important, holier than thou prick. You think I don’t know what you say about me behind my back, Bartram?”
“What? What do I say about you?” North asked. He studied Metzger’s eyes, seeing how dilated the pupils were, and realized he was stuck in a closed room with a very dangerous animal. “If I said anything that could be considered disparaging, it wasn’t meant to be. Yeah, you can be rough around the edges, but you get your job done. And in all the time I’ve been here, I haven’t ever found fault in the way you do your job.”
