by Ciana Stone
“To our destiny,” he said with a victorious smile.
For a moment she hesitated, wondering if he would shoot her if she just took off running. At that moment she would almost have preferred it because she knew if she did what he wanted she would live in hell for however long he allowed her to live. More than that, she knew that he would never allow Konnor to live and she didn’t think she could bear seeing him die.
“If you think to defy me, bear this in mind,” Kitaro seemed to read her mind. “I will make them suffer a very long time.”
That was enough to get her moving again. He made Konnor drive the jeep that was parked outside. They drove to what appeared to be some type of aircraft hangar and he ordered Konnor to stop. There were no guards, no soldiers, not a living soul in sight. Senna could not figure out why the base seemed deserted. If the Sumer project was so important then it should have been guarded. But she had no time to ponder the question. Kitaro motioned them toward a door in the side of the building.
As soon as they walked in they all stopped dead in their tracks. A craft unlike anything any of them had ever seen took up almost the entire area of the cavernous building. It looked at least four-stories high and almost as long as a football field. Its surface was a dull matte black and it was a bit reminiscent of a Stealth bomber, only many times larger.
“Behold.” Kitaro’s voice was barely above a whisper and carried a hint of awe. “Sumer.”
Senna marveled at the sight. The prototype Lucas had developed was actually only the control center. He had been interested more in the instrumentation and how it worked than the actual application of it to any type of craft. Her eyes traveled over it and she noticed what appeared to be some sort of ramp that extended from the belly.
Kitaro motioned them toward the ramp. The interior was cool but well lit. Every wall and ceiling inside seemed to be made of the same type of material—a slick silver metal that oddly enough didn’t seem to reflect light. The floors were a dull black material that felt like very thick, hard rubber. It had a bit of give to it when they walked but absorbed all sound.
They were directed to a door that slid open when they stopped in front of it. Kitaro motioned them inside and keyed in a sequence on the lighted control pad. Senna felt a slight motion, and although she could not tell from it whether they were ascending or descending, she knew they had to be rising. The doors opened and Kitaro prodded her forward.
Her breath caught in her throat. It was almost like being transported back in time. They had reached the control center. It was circular in shape. All along the walls banks of controls were mounted. Each, she knew, had a specific function, but all were controlled from central command.
The ceiling of the room rose to a peak in the center. Suspended from the central point was an enormous globe of glass. From the information in her mind she knew that it was a type of viewer, offering a three dimensional image of whatever the sensors were targeted on.
Directly beneath the globe was a structure that resembled a raised circular lectern. On two sides there were crescent indentions, forming almost a niche in the rounded structure. Each of these two sides rose at a slight angle to a flattened point in the center. Each sloped surface bore a control panel. The panels looked something like a keyboard, but instead of letters and numbers the keys were lit and marked with symbols.
Kitaro shoved her toward the stand. She lurched forward and caught herself then turned to him. “Please,” she beseeched him. “Don’t do this. You don’t need this, Kitaro. You’re already a wealthy, powerful man. You don’t have to—”
“Silence!” he shouted at her.
“All right.” She recognized the insane gleam in his eyes and knew not to push him too far. She had to find another tactic, anything to stall for time. “But will you please answer something for me?”
He narrowed his eyes then nodded curtly. “Was Lucas working with Slater?”
“Slater thought so.”
“Then Lucas was telling the truth. He wasn’t working with Slater and Marcus.”
“In the beginning he was.”
“I don’t understand. If he didn’t want Slater to get his hands on the machine then why work for him?”
“He needed the funds Slater could provide and he trusted Marcus and Andrea. When he discovered who Slater really was and what he wanted with the research, he betrayed them.”
“So he ordered my mother…Andrea’s death,” Senna said.
Kitaro’s face lit in a sly smile. “Indeed he did.”
“You find that amusing?” she asked angrily.
“Highly,” he replied then looked up for a split second as if in thought. “Perhaps I should have let Lucas live a bit longer. It might have been worth the bother just to see the look on his face.”
“What are you talking about?”
He pulled a communicator from his pocket similar to the type law enforcement agencies use and spoke into the microphone. “Bring her in.”
Senna stared at him in confusion then looked at Minora. Min shrugged as if to indicate she had no idea what was going on. The entrance doors to the control room slid open and Senna felt like she was going to faint.
“Andrea!” Minora’s voice was weak with surprise.
The man holding on to Andrea pushed her ahead of him into the control room. “Well, well, if it isn’t the pristine Minora and her bastard brat,” Andrea sneered and walked over to stand beside Kitaro.
He stepped back so that like everyone else, she was in his line of fire. “You may leave,” he said to the man at the door then looked at Senna. “What? Have you nothing to say? And I thought you would be overjoyed to at last be reunited with your mother.”
Senna was speechless but Minora was not. “You bitch!” she hissed.
“Poor Minora,” Andrea taunted her. “So righteous, so honorable…so stupid. Did you think I wouldn’t figure out Lucas’ pathetic plot to kill me? Who do you think took the material from your house that he sent?”
Minora glared at her. “I could wring your neck myself, you unfeeling, sadistic slut.”
“Now, now…” Andrea wagged her finger in a mocking way. “Is that any way to talk in front of your daughter?”
Minora took a step toward her but Kitaro raised his gun. “Enough. We have wasted enough time. Senna, you will activate the final gate and initiate the system, now.”
“I won’t do it.” She hoped she sounded determined.
Kitaro raised his gun and pointed it at Minora’s head and Senna’s resolve to defy him weakened. Minora looked at her with frightened eyes and she felt her will diminish even more. She could not let Minora die.
Andrea laughed. “What’s the matter, Min? Scared? Are your pants wet?”
“Shut up!” Kitaro shouted at her.
She looked at him haughtily. “Don’t use that tone of voice with me. If it weren’t for me you’d never have gotten this far, you fool. Or have you forgotten…”
Her words were interrupted by a soft pop from the silencer of his gun. Blood and tissue sprayed as the back of her head exploded. Her body swayed once then fell. Minora jumped back and Senna fought to keep from throwing up. She felt Konnor ease up behind her and put his hand on her back to steady her.
“Now.” Kitaro leveled the gun at Minora but spoke to Senna. “You have three seconds to decide if she lives or dies.”
At the count of one, Minora made a whimpering sound then put her hand to her mouth.
“Two.” Senna swallowed and looked from Minora to Kitaro. “Thr—”
“Okay!” Her surrender came out in a shout. “I’ll do it!”
He smiled but didn’t lower the gun. “Where is the gate?”
She straightened her shoulders before answering. “You’re looking at it.” Immediately she felt Konnor’s tension through his hand on her back. She turned and looked at him. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let her die, Konnor. She’s my mother.”
“Do you have any idea how many people will die if you do as he
says? Aren’t all those lives worth more than ours?”
As if a veil had been lifted from her eyes, she saw the truth. He was so right. Even if all of them died, it would be nothing compared to the possible thousands or even millions Kitaro might kill if he possessed the craft. She smiled at Konnor, hoping that he knew just how grateful she was for his wisdom and his love. In his eyes she saw an answering depth of feeling that gave her courage.
“No,” she said firmly as she turned to Kitaro. “I won’t.”
“Then she dies.”
“I’m sorry, Min.” She looked at Minora. “But we can’t let innocent people die.”
“Senna.” Tears appeared in Minora’s eyes. “I know this is selfish but I’m scared and I don’t want to die. Please, I’m begging you, as your mother. Please, don’t let him kill me.”
A sob came from Senna’s throat. She was torn between what she knew was right and her love. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.” Then she turned away. She couldn’t bear the look in Minora’s eyes.
Kitaro kept the gun leveled at Minora but didn’t fire.
“Well?” Konnor broke the silence. “What are you waiting for? Go on! Get it over with!”
The gun swung around to point at Konnor’s head. “If you are so eager, then perhaps I should start with you.”
For a moment Senna was stunned. Unless he had completely gone off the deep end, Kitaro would never risk shooting Konnor. He had to have him to activate the system. Then it dawned on her. When she had told him he was looking at the gate, he had been looking at her. He had not realized the gate was Konnor.
“No!” she exclaimed without thinking. “You don’t understand!”
“Yes, he does.” Konnor stepped around from behind her. “Or at least he thinks he does. He thinks you’ll do anything to save me. But he doesn’t know you the way I do. He doesn’t know that you’re willing to watch me die to prevent him from getting control of Sumer.”
She couldn’t help but understand what he was doing and even though she admired and loved him for it, it broke her heart. He knew that if he died, there was no way to activate the system. Kitaro and everyone else who might want the technology would be stopped. With his death he could save not only the innocents who would suffer, but Senna as well.
The problem was, she didn’t want to live if he died. “If you kill him I’ll never help you,” she challenged Kitaro.
“Then you will watch him die, slowly, an inch at a time,” Kitaro replied. “Followed by your dear mother.”
It had come down to the wire. She had to choose. Closing her eyes, she prayed to whatever forces there were that she had the strength to do what was right. Then she opened her eyes. “Then kill them.”
Kitaro blinked in surprise and didn’t move. She watched him in bewilderment, seeing the indecision on his face mixing with the rage. Something flashed over his face, a change in expression that was almost too fleeting to see but she recognized what was happening.
“Shen!” she cried. “Help me!”
Kitaro’s gun hand shook and Senna saw Konnor inch forward, knowing that he was waiting on the opportunity to spring on Kitaro. Minora looked over at Konnor at the same time then leaped forward at Kitaro.
“You fool! Can’t you see what she’s doing?” Minora grabbed for the gun but he snapped to and jerked it in Konnor’s direction.
Both Konnor and Senna were looking at Minora, dumfounded at what they had seen and heard. She looked from them to Kitaro and he shook his head in disgust. After a moment she shrugged. “Well, I suppose the gig is up, as they say.”
Unexpectedly, Senna’s anger flared. She was so tired of being tricked and lied to. It seemed that everyone she had ever cared about had done nothing but lie to her and use her. Realizing that Minora was no better than the rest of them infuriated her and made her feel like a complete idiot.
“I’ve had it with all of you!” she shouted. “Do you hear me? You’re all nothing but a bunch of perverted, power-hungry psychopaths who don’t deserve spit in the desert!”
“Kill Chase,” Minora said to Kitaro.
Kitaro’s finger tightened on the trigger. Minora looked at Senna. “You can save him. All you have to do is activate the system and we’ll let you go. I give you my word. No one will ever know the part you played. Just activate it and he lives.”
Once more, Senna felt as if she had reached the end of the line. If either she or Konnor died the system would never function. What no one besides her and Lucas knew was that the system’s encryption was based on her and Konnor’s genetic codes. Whoever had originally drawn up the plans had made sure of that. Lucas had never told anyone and unless someone had just happened to stumble on it they would never have guessed that the programming was designed in that manner.
“I…” She turned to Konnor. “I…Konnor, help me. I can’t…tell me what to do.”
He looked at her for a moment then suddenly looked past her at something. She turned to see what he was looking at. Colton Ryder stood in the doorway. Minora turned and smiled. “I was wondering where you were. Come on in. Senna was just about to activate the system for us, weren’t you, Senna?”
Colton walked past Minora and Kitaro and stopped in front of Senna. She looked up at him and when their eyes met everything changed. For the first time in her life she was sure.
“Father,” she whispered in awe.
“Yes.” His hard features softened in a smile.
“Tell me what to do.”
“You have always known what you must do,” he replied. “Now it is just a matter of doing it.”
She nodded and turned to Konnor, extending her hand. “Please,” she implored with her voice and her eyes.
He looked down at her hand then into her eyes. “Do you understand the choice you’re making, Senna? Can you live with it?”
“Yes.”
He took her hand and she led him to the dais. He took a position on the opposite side as she stepped up to the control panel. “Please put on your headset,” she directed Konnor.
He pulled a device from a slot in the dais. It looked like a headband with microphones that fit into the ears except that it had a sensor attached on either side that fit against the temples. He put it on as she put on an identical one.
She keyed in a series of commands and a jolt of energy passed through her that made her feel as if every cell in her body was vibrating. The sensation lasted only a moment. Her fingers moved over the lighted pads and she jumped slightly as Konnor’s thoughts sounded in her mind. Damn! What the hell was that?
She smiled and looked at him. I’ve activated the telepathic communicators. Activate sequence omega 3, zeta 2, 4, 7, omicron 5.
She saw his fingers move on the keys then a blank look took hold of his face. It took a couple of seconds for his eyes to focus again. I remember! she heard him think. But what exactly are you doing?
Just trust me, she replied mentally. And hope I’m not wrong.
“We must be in a stationary orbit in order for the targeting computer to lock on.” There was a slight vibration under their feet.
She looked at Kitaro and Minora. “This shouldn’t take long. Activating exterior visual.”
The holographic globe above them swirled for a moment then the scene from outside the craft was displayed. Kitaro and Minora watched in fascination as the walls of the building seemed to melt from the heat of the engine. The craft lifted up, tearing through the metal ceiling of the hangar as if it were paper. Then they were free, free, hovering above the destroyed building.
Senna looked over at Colton. He pulled a small microphone from his pocket. “Scramble the fighters,” he said too softly to be overheard.
She smiled and navigated the craft up to thirty thousand feet. “Short-range sensors online,” Konnor announced.
She looked at the display. Within thirty seconds a squadron of F-117 Nighthawks was moving in from the east. From the west a squadron of F-16s gained altitude. Can they destroy us? sh
e heard Konnor’s mental question in her mind.
I believe so, she replied, then started in surprise. Konnor! What is that?
He looked at the display. Too big for a plane.
She turned to look at Colton. A split second later the sensor system registered an alert and the holographic globe displayed what was going on in the sky around them. One of the F-16s was firing.
Kitaro jerked around with his weapon gripped in both hands. “Activate all weapons!” he yelled.
Senna looked at Konnor with wide eyes. He met her eyes and shook his head negatively. They both knew that at any moment they would die. Kitaro shouted again. “Shoot them down!”
“No.” Colton turned to face him. “This craft must be destroyed.”
Kitaro howled with rage and started firing. Instantaneously a blue light appeared around Colton. The bullets ricocheted off the light, striking metal and consoles. Several lights flickered out. Among the sounds of gunfire, Minora screaming and Kitaro bellowing, a computer voice announced in a monotone the damage that was being done.
Senna looked at the tactical display. Three of the F-16s had locked their weapons systems as they came in from the west. Two Nighthawks screamed in from the east. As she watched, the computer noted the lock of their weapons.
She reached across the top of the panels for Konnor’s hand and he grasped it firmly. “I love you.” She tried to keep the quiver out of her voice.
“I’ll never love anyone else,” he replied.
She could not stop herself from looking at the tactical display. The military jets were bearing down on them. At best they had only a few seconds. Suddenly the strange object they had spotted before appeared on the display. It seemed to be right above them.
“What is that?” she shouted.
All at once there was total silence. Kitaro and Minora were staring at the holographic display in astonishment. The light surrounding Colton disappeared and he stepped up beside Senna at the control panel.
“It is time to choose.”
“Choose what?” she asked in bewilderment.
“Kill or die.”
She looked at Konnor and he gave her hand a squeeze. She felt his thoughts and knew that he knew hers. Whatever happened, she had known love. It would have to be enough. “We won’t kill innocent people.” She spoke the words for both of them.
