“If the core is failing,” Lee said, “we won’t be able to repair that. No one can, not anymore. It would mean Hakagi’s time is numbered … days, weeks, months … the beginning of the end. When it completely fails, the tower will be uninhabitable. Thousands would become dispossessed, homeless even.”
“Yes,” Keira said in a near whisper, thinking about all the suffering that would bring. Just the thought of it made her ill.
Lee ran a hand over his face and rubbed at his eyes. “I could run a diagnostic. We’d know if parts of the core have begun to go bad. But honestly, the people in charge of that system here in the tower should be doing that regularly.”
“This is Asherho we’re talking about,” Keira reminded him.
“Right,” Lee said. “Who knows what they’ve been actually doing, if anything at all.”
“Do you want to call them? Get the latest reports on the core?”
“No need,” Lee said. “I can pull that information up here.” He typed for several moments and brought up new screens. Lee studied them for a long moment, then let out an unhappy breath. “They’ve only been running basic diagnostics.” He ran through several pages on the display in rapid succession. “It’s been more than a year since they initiated a deep scan of the core.” He then gave a grunt, leaning forward slightly, eyes narrowing. “That’s odd.”
“What?” Keira asked.
“There’s nobody logged into core control. No one’s punched in for over a week.”
“Really?” Keira looked at the screen and saw he was right. “I thought someone was to be on duty at all times.”
“I sent them a message once we arrived for the repair,” Lee said. “When they did not reply, I didn’t think anything of it. Half the time, the people manning these towers don’t give a shit what we do.”
Keira gave a nod. Planetside, it wasn’t an unusual occurrence.
“I guess things have changed or they just decided to stop working altogether.” Lee tapped some more on the keypad. “No wonder things are beginning to fail at an increased rate around here. The tower’s own maintenance staff have stopped reporting to work. No one’s punched in for duty in the last forty-eight hours.” He scratched an itch on his neck. “What do you suppose it means?”
“I don’t know,” Keira said, thinking that was Command’s problem and not theirs. “How long would it take to run a deep scan of the core?”
“About twelve hours,” Lee said.
“Well, get it started. The sooner it’s done, the sooner we’ll have a better idea of what’s going on.”
Lee turned back to the panel, brought up another screen, and keyed in a series of commands. He worked furiously for several moments, then relaxed.
“The diagnostic is running. If it comes back clean, we’re gonna have to start thinking about what’s causing the problem, and if we can’t come up with something …”
“Then reinstalling the software on the system becomes our only option,” Keira finished.
“Yeah, it does, and that’s gonna take some time to do properly.”
“I will call Command and give them the good news on what we’re thinking and have learned.”
“Good news.” Lee gave a sour laugh. “That’s gonna make their day.” He paused for a moment, clearly thinking. “I’m gonna look at a few other systems, see if I have any control and try to determine if this is a bigger issue.”
Keira gave a nod and stepped over to the communication uplink that Lee had set up a short distance from the station he had been working at. If she’d been wearing her suit, she would have been able to access it remotely. Keira checked the time on the unit. They weren’t due for their daily check-in with Command for another hour. It was still early stationside. She grabbed the headset and put it on.
“Command,” Keira said, opening a channel. “This is Keira Kane at Hakagi Tower. Do you read me?”
“Hi, Keira,” Sandy’s voice came back after a slight delay. Her friend sounded tired. “Wait, you’re still at Hakagi?”
“Yeah,” Keira replied. “Why wouldn’t we be? We just got here last night.”
“I thought you were recalled with the other teams.” Sandy stifled a yawn.
“Recalled?” Keira asked. A short way off, Chris was still speaking with Pikreet. “We received no recall.”
“I just got on shift, so I guess I must have it wrong then. Maybe there are still a few teams out there, like yourselves. You guys are in the toxic zone after all, so it’s possible Command felt the risk was minimal. Anyway, the reception for the Protectorate was last night and I was up late. I overslept and missed most of the morning briefing, though I wish I had made it now. I might have a better answer for you.”
“How was the reception?” Keira asked, curious, though she was seriously troubled about the recall. What had happened to issue a recall of most of the teams?
“The reception was a little more formal that I expected, almost strained given all that’s going on dirtside,” Sandy said. “The people from the Protectorate seemed stiff. They weren’t too friendly, either—arrogant is more like it.” Sandy stifled a yawn with little success. “So, how can I help you today?”
“We may need a systems specialist to walk us through a software reinstall of the purification and pumping system. Just to be safe and before we get to that point, we’re running a diagnostic on Hakagi’s computer core. Lee and I are concerned that may be the root of the problem. We should know for sure in about twelve hours, when the diagnostic is complete. I wanted to give Command a heads-up to have someone standing by and ready to assist us should we need it.”
“I will pass that along and request a systems specialist be made available.” Keira could hear Sandy tapping keys. “All right, your request is entered and logged.”
“There’s also no one at the tower’s control center,” Keira said.
“Given all that’s going on down there, that doesn’t surprise me.” There was a pause on the line. “Honestly, what does surprise me is that you’re still at Hakagi. It worries me too.”
“Things are bad topside?” Keira asked.
“Bad is an understatement. From the word going around, and keep in mind I missed most of the morning briefing, near as I can tell it’s all gone to hell planetside.”
“Tell me. What’s happened?”
“You mean you don’t know?” Sandy sounded surprised by that. “I thought everyone knew.”
“No.” Keira was becoming worried. “I didn’t see any security alerts this morning.” In fact, now that she thought about it, the morning security brief had not been sent either. “Not counting a few hours’ sleep, we’ve been busy since we got here, first restoring the air on this level and then troubleshooting a problem with climate control.”
There was a long moment of silence before Sandy responded. “Keira, the people at Hakagi and the Sung Arcologies declared independence yesterday evening. There are more than half a dozen other places around the planet that have done the same and are refusing to acknowledge UPG authority. Heck, there are rumors some of the militia have thrown in with them and have joined the rebellion.” Sandy lowered her voice. “I think UPG leadership is scared. Coming in to work this morning, there were armed guards everywhere, checking documents and performing random searches. It was another reason why I was delayed. I even saw them take someone into custody. They had him cuffed and everything before they dragged him off.”
Keira could not quite believe her ears. “You’ve got to be kidding, right?”
“I’m not. Near as I can tell, the government is mobilizing militia units from all over the planet … regulators too. There’s already been fighting around Hakagi and it looks like it might spread too.” She could hear Sandy typing on her keyboard. “Planetwide, there are only a handful of repair and maintenance teams left in the field, like yours. Almost everyone else has been recalled.”
Keira was floored. It all made sense now why core control and the maintenance people had stopped showing u
p. It must be chaos in the tower. Anyone who worked for the UPG was surely in hiding or at the minimum had been arrested.
“And they’ve pulled out the other teams from Hakagi?” Keira asked.
There was more typing. “As far as I can see, your team is the only one left. Odd though—there’s no recall message for you in the log.”
“I wonder why?” Keira asked.
“I don’t know how you were missed,” Sandy said. “I just sent my supervisor a message, alerting him. He’s in his office meeting with the security director. I should have an answer as soon as he’s free.”
There was a commotion by the door. Keira turned to see two armor-suited figures enter the control room. They wore Marine Corps powered armor, similar but not quite the same as Chris’s. Keira’s heart leapt at the sight of Wash and Vex. She felt an intense relief that they’d arrived, and earlier than expected too. She suspected that was no coincidence.
“Keira, wait one—” The line went dead. A few heartbeats later there was a beep, indicating Sandy was back. When her friend spoke, there was an odd note in her voice. Keira could not peg down what was wrong, but it sounded suspiciously like fear. “Ah … I’m being told I need to go. Things are a bit strained up here. I am sure you can understand. Talk to you later.”
“See you,” Keira said, wondering what was going on and not liking anything of what she had heard.
Sandy did not respond. The line simply beeped again and went dead. Keira set the headset down on the uplink. Why had they not been recalled? Why leave them in the field on a repair when the entire tower was rejecting UPG rule and declaring independence? There must have been some mistake. It just didn’t make any sense.
A booming laugh drew her attention back toward the door. Wash was laughing at something Chris had said. Did Chris know what was going on topside?
From across the room, their eyes met. Chris glanced meaningfully at Pikreet, whose attention was on the two newcomers. He shook his head slightly in the negative. The meaning was clear. She was to act normal and not let Pikreet know she knew something was off. Chris did know. Had he been listening in on her conversation with Sandy? She suspected he had. But how? He wasn’t wearing a headset.
Almost woodenly, Keira moved across the room. As she approached, Wash and Vex turned to greet her. The faceplates on their helmets were retracted. Keira ignored Pikreet, who had turned an unhappy look upon her, before focusing his attention on the marines. He did not seem pleased to see them.
Wash grinned at her, and Keira, despite her worries, suddenly had the feeling that everything would be all right. She found his grin infectious. Wash had a rugged, honest, genuine manner. Despite him being as old as Chris, there was something boyish, perhaps even roguish about him, which spoke of a mischievous nature.
“Keira,” Wash said, “you’re looking a bit on the skinny side. You need to eat more. Chris should be seeing to that.”
“You say that every time,” Keira said. She hugged, or rather attempted to hug, him. His armor was bulkier than Chris’s, and she could not get her arms even remotely around it. He hugged her gently in return, then stepped back. On his chest was stamped Cpl. Mendes. His first name was Roberto. Corporal’s chevrons were stenciled on his armored shoulders, as was the Colombian flag.
“Let me get a good look at you,” Wash said and glanced over at Vex. Despite his jovial manner, there was a look of concern in his gaze. Only someone who knew him well would have noticed it, and Keira had. “Remember when we used to bounce her on our knees? Or tickle her senseless?”
Vex was on the smaller side and, when not wearing her armor, stood shorter than Keira. She was dark-haired and – skinned. She was also strikingly attractive, with piercing brown eyes and strong, pronounced facial features that made it seem like she’d been carved from stone. In her powered armor, Vex looked imposing, fearsome, mean even. Harris was the name on her chest. Keira knew her first name was Melissa. A British Union Jack was painted on her shoulder.
Vex’s armor was slimmer and sleeker than either Chris’s or Wash’s. She carried a longer rifle, too, which was secured to her back. Keira knew it was a sniper’s weapon. She’d seen Vex shoot at the range and had great respect for her abilities. In an almost effortless way, the marine hit whatever she shot at.
Wash’s over-sized MK31 assault rifle was secured to his back too. Both also carried large packs that without powered armor would likely have been impossible to pick up, let alone haul around.
“She was a precocious thing,” Vex said back to Wash. “Used to terrorize the entire ship, even Captain Scaro, and no one messed with the company commander.” Vex glanced at Chris. “The gunny’s done a good job of taming her wild spirit though. I’ll say that.”
“There’s no taming her,” Chris said.
“Tame me?” Keira replied in mock outrage as she turned on Vex. “Hop out of that suit, marine, and I will show you a thing or two.”
“You can try.” Vex said to Keira. “You look fit enough, a little leaner and more muscular than when we last saw you. Still working out with the gunny?”
“Yep,” Keira said. “I’ve got some new tricks too.”
“Sparring sounds like fun.” She glanced over at her companion and her hard expression cracked with a slight upturn of her lips. “Wash poses no challenge in that department.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Wash admitted. “When I match up against you, I don’t think it can be called sparring. A beating is more like it.”
“Then why do you enjoy it so much?” Chris asked Wash.
Keira saw the open affection in Wash’s gaze as he looked upon Vex. “Why indeed?”
Vex was perhaps the only person Keira had ever met who could consistently best Chris in hand-to-hand. She was fast and more than skilled. Vex was a master at whatever she set her mind to doing. Growing up, Keira had looked up to the woman.
“Captain,” Chris said abruptly, as if remembering Pikreet was present, “as you can see, we’ve got some catching up to do.”
“Of course,” Pikreet said, though he sounded thoroughly unhappy. Keira found the captain’s expression an odd one she could not pin down. Was it anger? Consternation?
With that, the captain turned for the open door. He hesitated a moment and glanced back, a sour expression twisting his face. Then, he left, fairly stalking from the room. Chris moved over to the door and closed it behind Pikreet.
“He doesn’t seem too happy to see us,” Wash said. “Not one bit.”
“I doubt he is,” Chris said. “Before you arrived, he wasn’t pleased about the heat and that it’d broken. I am sure it just made his day to see you two clowns show up, and unexpectedly too.”
“They broke the heat?” Wash asked. “I thought you just wanted it warm in here.”
“No,” Lee said as he joined them. “We did not break the heat. I just turned it on, is all. It sort of broke all on its own. Wash, Vex, good to see you.”
“Lee, it’s nice to see you’re keeping these two honest.” Wash gave Lee a nod. “I trust you are well.”
“I’m trying,” Lee said. “It’s a full-time job, and yes, I am well.”
“Good,” Wash said and clapped Lee gently on the shoulder with an armored hand.
“I assume that was you just now—cutting their feed?” Vex asked Chris, all trace of amusement gone. Her head was cocked to the side in her helmet. She had grown intensely serious.
“I did,” Chris said. “The moment Pikreet left. They’re hearing only static now, so too are the UPG monitors. Let’s hope they decide to troubleshoot the problem, instead of jumping to conclusions and ordering the captain and his boys in before we’re ready. I have a feeling we don’t have all that long.”
“What’s going on?” Lee looked between them. “Whose feed? What are you talking about?”
“Agreed, Gunny. We’re gonna need to bug out to the safe house sooner rather than later,” Vex said, ignoring Lee.
“In addition to Pikreet’s company,”
Chris said, “there’s another company of militia nearby.”
“We know,” Vex said. “I was able to hack into their command net. They are First Battalion, Hakagi Militia, Fifth Company. We had to sneak by them to get to you. They’re here to keep you and Pikreet from leaving and have occupied the floors immediately below this one.”
“What do you mean?” Lee asked, looking thoroughly bewildered. “Keep us from leaving? Why would they want to do that?”
“From what I could gather, Pikreet’s orders are to keep us here, too,” Chris said. “However, he and his sergeant seem to have other ideas.”
“That’s our assessment too,” Wash said.
“Also, he and this other company’s CO are not exactly on speaking terms,” Chris added. “The two of them had it out a couple of hours ago over comms. There’s not much love lost between them, let me tell you that. Pikreet will likely make his move soon”—he paused and glanced between Vex and Wash—“sooner now that you both are here. He will want to catch us off guard. That means we have to make the first move.”
“Sara’s seriously concerned,” Wash said. “She’s thinking we shoot our way out if need be and make a dash to your APC, focus on speed before the second ship gets in range. She’s fairly convinced that when that happens, all hell is going to take place in orbit. It’s a battlecruiser after all and we have no idea who they are.”
“I know,” Chris said, sounding grim. “I spoke to her. I was hoping not to have to use the APC to get to Seri. Taking the Beast means we go topside and potentially reveal the position of Seri or at least its general location.”
“Quicker than getting there on foot,” Wash said.
“I wanted to take the subterranean route we’d mapped out.” Chris suddenly looked tired, and old. He glanced at his armor, which stood in the corner next to his “surprise.” The metal crate had been pushed up against the wall. “We just need to get away from the militia. If they pursue, the subterranean route would be best. It’s a regular rabbit warren down there. We should be able to easily lose them.”
“That all depends upon how motivated they are,” Vex said, her tone turning dangerous.
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