by Nick Cook
We were outgunned and outmatched – scientists, not soldiers, who hadn’t asked for any of this. And what was this all for anyway? If those guys got hold of Sentinel, what would happen then? Would he simply end up stacked in some vast Indiana-Jones-type warehouse that was full of secrets we weren’t meant to know about? Or would he be picked apart and analysed like a lab rat? Meanwhile, the AI’s mission to help humanity would be flushed down the toilet.
Something hardened inside me. Screw this!
I leant round the corner of the desk and fired off a volley of shots at the soldiers until my pistol was clicking on empty.
Kiera, tucked behind a control station, threw me another clip. She made a pantomime of releasing the clip on the side of her own gun and sliding a fresh one in. I mimicked her actions, ejecting my empty one and reloading too.
‘Talk about on-the-job training,’ Steve said.
I could even manage a hint of a smile.
Kiera wordlessly mouthed to me, ‘One, two, three, go…’
Both of us leapt up and opened fire on the men who’d begun to climb over the barrier. One of them crumpled across a desk, but the other backed out whilst shooting wildly and destroying the monitor just above Graham’s head.
Temporary silence filled the control room.
I found myself staring at the man draped over the remains of the barricade like someone who’d tried to storm a trench in the First World War. My heart clenched. Had I killed him too, or had it been Kiera? And did it really matter? Either way I would carry the scars of this night for as long as I lived, which might not be that long anyway.
Someone was shaking me… Steve.
Graham gestured towards the control-room window. ‘Look!’
I became aware of distant shouts from outside. Then I realised that Lovell’s dish was moving, the whine of its motors filling the night air. It slowed to a stop, its dish aiming towards a point near its zenith.
My eyes focused on the text of one of the few remaining monitors.
Target selected: communication satellite, Varuna. Countdown restarted. Thirty seconds…
Steve punched the air. ‘Oh, you complete beauty, Sentinel!’
‘I don’t understand,’ Kiera said.
‘After they cut the landlines, I think Sentinel found an alternative way out of here.’
Graham slouched against a filing cabinet. ‘You mean he’s uploading himself to this Inmarsat-4 satellite?’
‘I think so, which means he’s converted Lovell from a receiver to a transmitter.’ Steve chucked away his screwdriver. ‘I won’t be needing that any more.’
20
19
18…
Fresh hope burned inside me like a tiny flame. ‘So if we manage to hold them off for a bit longer, there will be nothing left for them to take?’
Kiera gazed at us from across the control room. ‘Even if that’s true, it won’t stop those guys out there murdering all of us. They won’t want any witnesses to what happened here tonight.’
‘So we’re damned if Sentinel escapes and damned if he doesn’t?’ Graham asked.
‘I’m afraid so,’ Kiera replied.
I massaged my fingers into my neck, trying to unknot the muscles that were still tense from the flashbang… ‘So a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid shoot-out it is.’
Kiera gave me a genuine smile that reached her eyes. ‘I’ve always loved that old movie, but less so the ending.’
She might have been a hard-faced bitch, but I was starting to like this woman. ‘Yeah, me too.’
Kiera tossed me another gun clip. ‘That’s the end of our ammunition, I’m afraid.’
‘Then let’s make every one of our bullets count.’ I reloaded my weapon with more ease this time.
Kiera gave me an approving look. ‘You really should consider a career in MI5.’
I gestured towards her clothes. ‘Not a huge fan of the trouser-suit uniform, thanks all the same.’
Kiera laughed. ‘This look certainly isn’t for everyone.’ She cocked her pistol, face deadly serious again. ‘Once our friends outside have regrouped they’ll attack again.’
Steve gave me a sideways glance.
‘What?’ I asked him.
‘You seem to have turned into our very own Lara Croft, that’s all.’
‘I wish, although I do think I could seriously pull off the sassy shorts look.’
‘You really are my sort of woman.’
‘I realised that a long while ago, Steve, but now is not the time for that particular discussion.’
He gave me a sad smile and shrugged.
Yes, a hopeless fantasy for another life.
10
9
8…
A green canister blurred through the broken window and rolled across the floor.
‘That’s a smoke grenade! Keep low to the floor and cover your mouth,’ Kiera called out.
With a hiss smoke erupted from the canister and started to fill the room. Within seconds dense vapour was scratching my throat and making my lungs burn.
I heard the control-room door bang open again and this time green laser lines skewered the fog now filling the room.
As Kiera and I fired blindly towards the source, the next moment seemed to happen in slow motion. One of the light lines locked on to Kiera and automatic gunfire tore into her. Without any form of body armour she didn’t stand a chance.
Kiera jerked backwards, red stains blossoming across her white shirt.
My gun tumbled from my hand and I raced to help her, no longer caring about my fate.
The guy at the head of the group shouted something to the other men and held up a clenched fist.
All of that was a blur to me.
I reached Kiera, who was gasping hard for breath, and gently cradled her head into my lap. Her eyes rolled to meet mine. There was no fear in them, only acceptance. She’d fought the good fight and lost, a warrior till the end.
Steve and Graham raised their hands as green laser sights danced over their chests.
The leader of the assault team walked towards us calmly, his pistol pointing at me. I glowered up at him and stared into the piercing glacier-blue eyes behind his goggles. I dimly registered a crescent scar radiating out from his left eye.
I would die rather than give this man the satisfaction of seeing the fear that was churning inside me.
I raised up my chin at the man. ‘You can fuck right off!’
His gaze held mine: crystal lakes of ice. Then he raised his arm and dropped it. Instantly he and his men sighted their weapons on us.
No witnesses…
The leader scowled and glanced towards the shattered control-room window.
And then I heard the whirring noise of helicopter rotor blades growing louder and faster. The leader looked at me for a moment longer, then across at the computer on which Sentinel had been installed.
The flame inside me grew fiercer. This is not how I die!
In the split second that he looked away I leapt sideways and rolled towards the gun I’d dropped. I grabbed it and bounced back to my feet as a stream of bullets swept past me. I might not have been trained for this, but adrenalin was powering me on.
I aimed at the man nearest me, fired, rolled sideways and fired again.
Both men crumpled to the ground.
And the leader?
I swung my pistol around at the spot where he’d been standing a second ago. I caught sight of him disappearing out of the door carrying the MI5 computer. My gaze tore to the one remaining operational monitor screen.
Data upload complete.
I sagged as Steve and Graham slowly lowered their hands.
Steve stared at me. ‘Holy shit, Lauren, where did that come from?’
‘I think I was channelling the spirit of Lara Croft for a moment there.’
A wild wind swept into the control room from the rotor wash, and the remnants of the smoke were blown away. Outside, a twin-rotored Chinook settled in to lan
d. The moment it touched down, figures darted down its rear ramp and stared to creep towards the control room, guns raised.
I crossed back to Kiera, whose whole body was convulsing. Her eyes locked on to mine, her voice the quietest murmur.
I put my ear closer to catch her faint words. ‘What are you trying to tell me, Kiera?’
‘Overseers…’ she whispered. She blinked hard. ‘Stop them…’ Her eyes rolled. With a long sigh she stilled and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
Tears ran down my cheeks as I cupped her face with my hand.
Steve crouched by my side. ‘What did she say, Lauren?’
I stared at him for a moment, already knowing the information that Kiera had just shared with me was going to change the rest of my life. And I also knew in an instant there was no way that I could inflict the danger of that knowledge on my friends. Friends who’d already gone through too much.
‘I didn’t catch it,’ I replied, my voice tight.
The door burst open and the soldiers I’d watched disembark in combat gear rushed inside.
‘Drop your weapon!’ one of the men shouted.
It took me a moment to realise he was talking to me. I threw the pistol away across the room.
‘Hands above your heads!’
I just stared at him as Graham and Steve complied.
A tall man, with blond hair peeking out from beneath his helmet, emerged from the group and walked towards me gun in hand. He peered down at Kiera’s lifeless body in my lap. Then he looked at me for the longest moment before pocketing his gun.
Three of his men darted forward and secured our hands behind our backs with plastic ties.
The blond guy looked at me with hazel eyes. ‘My name is Captain Jacobs. Would someone please tell me what the bloody hell has happened here?’
Graham glowered at him. ‘We were bloody attacked obviously! But I thought it was going to take thirty minutes for you guys to get here – not that I’m complaining.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Captain Jacobs replied.
‘I thought Kiera told you everything when she called for backup?’
‘Kiera who?’ the captain replied.
I gestured with my chin to her body. ‘That incredibly brave MI5 woman who just sacrificed her life to save us.’
‘I don’t know anything about that. The only reason we’re here is that someone at this facility hacked one of our most secure military satellites and sent a distress signal calling for urgent help.’
My eyes tore to the monitor. Data upload complete.
‘Sentinel did that knowing the others wouldn’t get here in time.’
Graham nodded. ‘He saved us.’
‘Is that the name of your hacker?’ the captain asked.
Steve smiled. ‘All I can say is that our debriefing is going take a very long time.’
The first rays of dawn were starting to tint the sky along the eastern horizon as the chaos of soldiers and MI5 personnel dealt with the aftermath of what had happened. Graham had volunteered to continue with the questioning to give Steve and me a break, as they’d already questioned the two of us non-stop for four hours. Apart from feeling exhausted on every level, I also needed time to think.
We sat in silence at one of the picnic tables in the viewing area outside as we tried to emotionally process what had occurred whilst people hurried past. A tiny point of light crawled overhead – one of thousands of satellites that circled Earth.
‘I wonder how Sentinel is getting on up there,’ Steve said.
‘I hope he’s already downloaded himself from Inmarsat-4 and is starting to deal with the DEC experiment threat,’ I replied.
‘Whatever he’s doing, I wish him luck with it. Anything that’s important enough for an alien AI to travel from a parallel dimension to tackle it has to be pretty damn serious.’ Steve looked up at Lovell, its white steel struts being kissed by the golden dawn. ‘Things are never going to be the same again, are they?’
‘Nothing can be after what we learnt tonight. This changes everything and it’s certainly changed what matters to me.’ The satellite disappeared into the growing glow on the horizon. ‘And I’m really going to miss this place.’
Steve’s forehead creased. ‘What do you mean, Lauren?’
‘I mean that I’m not going to stop till I get to the truth and that will mean hitting the road.’
‘So you’re going to join the ranks of the UFO hunter crazies?’
‘I suppose so, although now we do know they’re not that crazy.’
‘But you’ve told me a hundred times that working here is your dream job. You can’t throw your career away over this, however important you think it is.’
‘Actually I can. The fact that aliens are visiting our world takes priority even over my dream job.’
‘I suppose I can see that. But what will you do?’
‘To start with I want to visit the locations where those blurry photos of inverted pyramid craft were taken. I’m going to find eyewitnesses to go on record.’
‘So our very own Fox Mulder then?’
‘Something like that.’
Steve peered at me. ‘And why should this be your personal mission, Lauren? It could be extremely dangerous, you know?’
‘Because I watched Kiera die protecting us and I want to make the people responsible pay for that. Also, if UFOs really have been buzzing our skies on a regular basis, then people have a right to know.’
Steve shook his head. ‘Something tells me that you might just be the person to crack this conspiracy wide open, with the determination and drive you have.’
‘And don’t forget my winning personality.’
He snorted. ‘You know that dream job of yours will always be here for you, Lauren.’
‘Always great to have a fantastic plan B.’
‘And you’ll keep in contact?’
‘Of course. You’re not going to get rid of me that easily, Steve.’
He smiled. ‘Good to know.’
The control-room door was opened and held by Captain Jacobs as two of his soldiers carried a stretcher outside bearing a body. A blanket was pulled up over the head but a white-shirted arm lay exposed to one side of the body. Kiera.
I stood up and approached Jacobs. ‘Do you mind if I see her one last time?’
His eyes lingered on me. ‘Of course not.’ He nodded to his two men who halted.
With my heart hammering hard I peeled back the blanket to reveal Kiera’s face. Her eyes were still open and filled with serenity. I drank in the strength that still lingered in her expression. If I had half the determination of this woman, I would be doing well.
I leant down and whispered into her ear, ‘I’ll stop them, Kiera…’ I gently placed my fingers on her eyelids and drew them closed. Then a tremble ran through me and I bit back a sob.
Jacobs pulled the blanket back over her head, then dipped his chin towards me. He and his men moved away with Kiera’s body towards a military ambulance.
Steve’s hand appeared on my shoulder. ‘Are you OK, Lauren?’
‘No, not really.’
He pulled me into a tight hug. The warmth of his body ebbed into mine and I started to shake.
Steve kissed my head gently and tears flooded my vision.
There was so much I wanted to talk to him about, but I couldn’t. Who exactly were the Overseers and why had they tried to suppress the truth about UFO encounters for all these years? To stop the general public panicking? Or was there a darker reason for all of this? Whatever the future held, I already knew that I would need to do it solo. It wasn’t so much because of whom I could trust, but because I wasn’t prepared to put anyone else in danger.
I wrapped my arms tighter round Steve’s neck. The edge of the blue memory card peeked out from beneath my leather bracelet. I peered up at the last bright star in the sky, watching the giant red Betelgeuse fading into the growing dawn over Lovell. And in the light of that n
ew day I made a promise to myself. Whatever the cost, I’d never stop, not until I’d unearthed the truth.
Afterword
First and foremost, I hoped you enjoyed The Signal. If you didn’t realise it, this story bridges events between my published Cloud Riders trilogy, and my soon to be released Fractured Light trilogy.
The inspiration for this story actually came from, of all things, a book trailer I produced for my publisher for Cloud Riders. In it, a strange signal has been received at Jodrell Bank, a site I visited to capture video footage for the trailer. And that visit left a lasting impression on me until that itch turned into the book you have just read. If you want to see that trailer, you can check it out here: Cloud Riders trailer.
If you visit my website – http://www.nick-cook.net – you’ll quickly realise I have a lifelong love affair with all things space, something I blame on growing up during the era of the Apollo moon landings. That not only led to my passion for science fiction but also my love of astronomy.
The question of alien civilisations is one that I feel has to be true logistically, not least due to the sheer size of the universe and existence of other planets that could sustain life. Whether craft have visited this world or not is a subject of debate and something I have no expertise on other than willing it to be true. Yet I do have experience of witnessing something strange one night…
In 2008, I was a member of an astronomy group that arranged a viewing session on a remote site near Cley Hill in Wiltshire, England, a location famed for UFO sightings. In all honesty, I’d previously taken these sightings with a very big pinch of proverbial salt. However, on the night of the meeting, the twenty experienced amateur astronomers gathered there, including me, witnessed something that can only be described as strange.
A bright point of light appeared at low altitude (around a thousand metres) with no visible exhaust trail and moving in total silence. It was travelling from east to west, between us and the horizon, at a relatively slow speed (maybe around seventy-five miles per hour). Initially, because of our proximity to Salisbury Plain which is a military training area, we thought it was a helicopter, but no navigation lights were visible (as a former pilot, I know what to look for). One of our group managed to align a scope on it long enough to confirm that they couldn’t see navigation lights even through the magnification. Yet at this point we didn’t think it was that unusual apart from the fact we couldn’t hear any rotor or engine noise at all. But it was what happened next that was really weird.
