by Nick Cook
‘See you on the other side, Lucy,’ I said.
‘Looking forward to it.’ She beamed at me as her video window closed.
Our fleet and the Tic Tacs came to a stop about two klicks out from Eranos and Lucy, as they headed towards each other, our squadrons bearing witness to what was about to happen.
The Angelus AIs closed to within a few metres of each other and as we’d seen on previous occasions, they slowed at the last millisecond. Then Eranos’s crystal tetrahedron slid into Lucy’s micro minds craft, sparks flying from both AIs as they merged.
A huge pulse of light burst from each craft, making our virtual cockpit blink off for a moment as the light washed over us.
Erin stared at Ariel’s readouts and then her face relaxed. ‘Don’t panic, we’re all good.’
Ruby nodded. ‘Yes, that was just an energy spike, but the cockpit display is already rebooting.’
The hexagonal display panels lining the cabin flickered back into life. Before us, hanging in the sky, was a star-shaped, merged micro mind craft, now with an extra three points.
Whoops and claps were coming over the comm channel.
But rather than looking at the micro minds, I noticed Jack was gazing down towards the ocean.
‘Well will you look at that?’ he said, a sense of wonder in his voice.
The whale pods had returned. Hundreds of the beautiful creatures had converged on the spot where only a few minutes ago had been a spinning whirlpool of death. The sunlight glistened off their backs and they swam towards the centre of it. I was pretty sure that if we had still been down in that sea we would have heard the ocean filled with the sound of their songs as they called out to each other.
Mike sat back in his seat. ‘After that huge firework display, can someone please tell me what happens now this signal has been sent?’
A video window opened up and Lucy appeared on it. ‘Oh, I’d be delighted to after what I just learned from Eranos and trust me, it’s seriously going to blow your minds!’
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I sat with Jack, Mike and Ruby in Leon’s quarters onboard Venus a week later. We were in the sea off Cuba, at the site where Hercules had been sunk. Carlos had made a personal request via Glenn, saying he would very much like us to attend. So here we were, all dressed in our finest and waiting for the ceremony to begin.
It also marked the end of what had been a gruelling emotional week after funerals had taken place for Tom and Daryl, who’d both been buried in the jungle back at Eden. Erin had stayed behind to work out the arrangements to visit Daryl’s family and share her condolences with them.
If those burials hadn’t been enough to break my heart, there’d also been the memorial service where their names, along with Maricela’s, had been added to the memorial wall in hangar bay one. Oh how I’d wept at that one, my soul splintering into tiny pieces. And now the last part of this emotional marathon was about to conclude with Maricela’s burial at sea. Carlos and Raúl felt it was exactly what she would have wanted rather than the more traditional Cuban funeral.
But it had also been a frantic week as events had unfolded after the Resonancy Chamber broadcast and so Lucy had just rung in via my Sky Wire to get us up to speed with the latest developments.
She gazed at us from the screen that I had propped up on Leon’s desk.
‘I’ve just finished correlating all the data from radio telescopes around the world,’ Lucy said. ‘We finally now know where those fast radio bursts that were aimed up into the sky, were targeted.’
I cradled my hands together; that topic had really been bugging me, and even Eranos had no idea of the answer when I’d asked her about it.
‘Which was where exactly?’ I asked Lucy.
‘It turns out they were headed for all of your solar system’s rocky core planets: Mercury, Venus and Mars. Quite a few moons were also targeted including Earth’s own, Jupiter’s Ganymede and Callisto, and Saturn’s Dione and Mimas.’
‘And has any activity been detected on them?’
‘Radio telescopes registered brief pulses of return data, suggesting that if micro minds are buried on them they certainly received the message.’
Jack shook his head. ‘It never occurred to me that the Angelus might have hidden micro minds across the whole solar system and not just here on Earth.’
‘In fairness, none of us did,’ Ruby replied with a shrug.
‘Which only adds extra weight to the fact that my creators went to extreme lengths to hide whatever secret it is that we have buried in our collective consciousness,’ Lucy said.
Mike pulled at his shirt collar, which was clearly a few sizes too small for him. ‘I think that whatever is capable of stopping a Kimprak invasion must be off the scale compared to anything that humanity can currently get their hands on.’
But that was the thing that had kept us all guessing. If our species already had nukes, what could pose even more of a threat to the Kimprak scavenger race heading towards the planet?
‘Has any activity been detected on Earth yet, Lucy?’ I asked.
‘The quick answer is yes and to give you a fuller answer, I’m going to patch Jodie in to our call as there’s been a major development in the last hour,’ Lucy said.
Jodie’s face appeared on the screen. ‘Hi guys. I didn’t want to disturb you until the ceremony was finished but yes, Lucy’s right. It’s been a full eight days since that broadcast was sent and our TREENO CubeSats network has registered over fifty neutrino bursts right round the Earth.’
‘That’s the good news,’ Lucy said. ‘The bad news is that the micro minds still need to be excavated from their hidden locations even if they have become active.’
‘Hang on, logistically there is no way that we’re going to be able to get to that many sites ahead of the Overseers, let alone the ones on the other planets and moons,’ I said.
‘Ah, that’s the other bit of news,’ Jodie said. ‘There have been multiple sightings of Tic Tac craft guarding the sites where the neutrino bursts have come from.’
‘Seriously, you mean we’re going to have plenty of time to get to them?’ Jack said.
‘Well if it were just your team, I’d say no. But Alice is already briefing other flight crews to begin the retrieval process. She has even sent Pangolins out to begin the recovery of the micro minds across the solar system.’
‘That’s great news,’ Ruby said.
I leaned forward. ‘It is, but is there any more news on all those people who returned from Eranos’s E8 stasis field yet?’
‘Alice has been flat out doing what she can to set up what’s turned out to be a major reorientation exercise, as you can probably imagine,’ Jodie replied. ‘In some cases they have to get up to speed with the several centuries of history they missed whilst they were away. Those with living relatives can be reunited with them. They have already expressed a desire to make a go of creating a new life in a very changed world. They’ll need new identities too, for obvious reasons. But many, especially those who disappeared centuries ago, will need far greater levels of support. They will of course get everything they need. A few of the returnees, as they’ve become known around Eden, have even volunteered to come and work for Sky Dreamer Corp.’
‘It’s great to hear that things have been progressing so well, and so quickly,’ Jack said.
Jodie smiled at him. ‘You know Alice. She doesn’t slow down for anyone or anything.’
‘Just like us,’ Mike replied.
‘I for one am looking forward to getting back to work and heading out with the others to recover the rest of the awoken micro minds,’ I said.
But Jodie was already shaking her head. ‘Alice said you’d say that. But she’s insisting that you all have a bit of proper R&R and just kick back for a few days. I mean, God, you must need it after everything that you’ve all been through.’
Jack met my gaze. ‘You can say that again. I could sleep for a week after all this.’
Mike nodde
d. ‘You’re not wrong, I feel completely shattered as well.’
‘But it doesn’t feel right to be sitting on our hands when there are all those micro minds waiting for us out there,’ I said.
‘I think on this one occasion we can let someone else take the strain because this is what delegation looks like,’ Jack said. ‘We can’t do it all by ourselves, Lauren.’
I knew he had a point. As the person in charge there was a compulsion within me to try and do everything myself, perhaps even more so since the awful loss of Tom, something that I was still trying to come to terms with. To make matters worse, I kept reliving his death in my dreams, often waking in a cold sweat, my brain constantly coming up with a hundred other strategies where he might have survived. But every scenario I came up with, somebody still died in it. And constantly reliving that awful moment had left me hollowed out. Yes, maybe my body and even my soul, needed a moment to recover.
I slowly nodded. ‘Okay, I give in. A bit of R&R sounds like something we could all do with right now.’
‘Good, because Alice has a suggestion for you,’ Jack said.
‘Hey, have you been talking to her behind my back?’ I asked.
‘Maybe,’ he replied, smiling at me. ‘Anyway, how about spending some time kicking back in Cuba with Glenn at his place? It’s all sorted if that appeals?’
I exchanged a look with Ruby and Mike, who were now both smiling too. ‘You two were in on this?’
Mike shrugged, grinning at me. ‘Whatever makes you think that?’
I shook my head. ‘But let’s be clear here. You mean actually have a real holiday where we’re not on a mission and nobody is trying to kill us?’
‘Exactly,’ Alice said.
‘I could catch up with some surfing,’ Mike said, his grin widening.
‘I would certainly love to do some diving with you that doesn’t involve any secret underwater bases, Lauren,’ Jack said.
The thought of spending some quality time with him was instantly appealing. If nothing else, having a holiday in such a special location would help remind me just how precious the world we were all fighting for actually was.
‘Sounds like we have a plan,’ I replied. ‘But how about you, Ruby? Are you really okay with this?’
She shrugged. ‘Hey my idea of kicking back is time on the firing range, but set me up with a sniper rifle and a few tin cans on a beach and I’ll be a happy camper… and I do mean that in the first-person shooter sense.’
I smiled at her. ‘Then it sounds like we have our vacation booked.’
A knock came from the door and my smile faded as Glenn, his face drawn, entered the room.
‘They’re ready to begin Maricela’s funeral, guys.’
‘Okay, we’ll be straight there,’ I said. I glanced back at the screen. ‘Catch you guys later.’
Jodie nodded. ‘Good luck, I’ll be thinking of you all.’ The screen went dark as she ended the call.
As we stood up, I straightened my black dress for the third time in a week. Then I took a large physical and mental breath. ‘Okay, let’s go and give Carlos and Raúl the moral support they need.’
Jack patted my shoulder as we headed towards the door, but already the feeling of dread was filling my stomach. I was emotionally wrung out, but I wouldn’t be able to relax until this last ceremony was behind us. My head lowered, a heaviness in my step, I followed the others out onto the deck under a bright blue sky that seemed completely incongruous to how I was feeling at that precise moment.
Jack and I swung gently together on one of the twin hammocks in front of Glenn’s crumbling mansion as we gazed at the sunset over the Caribbean sea.
I breathed in the salt-filled air, noticing that the tension in my neck had finally relaxed. It had taken a while, but at last the trauma that I’d been carrying inside me had begun to loosen its hold on my soul.
Out on the sparkling water, Mike was riding the waves on a surfboard that he’d borrowed from Glenn. He zipped back and forth, turning on a dime as he crouched low, riding what he had already told us was great surf. He might be a long way away but everything about his movement was joyful and I could just about see the huge smile on his face as sliced up those waves.
Further along the beach, Ruby had been true to her word and had set up a tin can firing range. She was currently giving Antonio some weapons training with her Accuracy International sniper rifle. Glenn was with them too, taking a very active interest in his son’s performance. Every so often the gentle sighing of the waves was punctuated by Glenn’s applause when the teenager managed to hit one of the cans.
‘Ah, I could seriously get used to this lifestyle,’ Jack said, sipping on the ice cold beer that our host had furnished him with along with a seriously good mojito for me.
I reached across and squeezed his hand. ‘Me too. Life has been so non-stop over the last few years that I’d sort of forgotten what a holiday even feels like.’
‘Absolutely. I certainly know that I needed this time away from the coal face if I wasn’t going to flame out.’
I grinned at him. ‘Yes, all work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy.’
Jack snorted. ‘And just how long have you been waiting to hit me with that particular line?’
I grinned at him. ‘Forever.’
‘Yeah, I thought so.’ He kissed the side of my head. ‘I so needed this, Lauren.’
‘What all the sun, sea and sex?’ I said, giving him my best attempt at an innocent look.
He laughed. ‘Yes that, but just as importantly, some quality us time. We get so little time to just hang out and be a normal couple.’
I rested my head on his chest and nodded. ‘I know normal doesn’t really come into it. But hopefully it won’t always be this crazy.’
‘If we manage to retrieve all those micro minds out there waiting for us, you mean?’
‘Yes, but when we recover them all, not if.’
He kissed the side of my head. ‘Absolutely.’
A gull on the beach squawked and took off as a nearby tin can went flying when a bullet whistled through it. Ruby gave Antonio a high five as she beamed at her prodigy.
‘If he keeps that up, Ruby will be recruiting him into our team next,’ I said, smiling.
‘Yeah probably,’ Jack said, suddenly sounding distracted.
My spidey sense immediately told me he had something on his mind. I drummed my fingers on his chest. ‘Okay, out with it, what are you thinking about, Jack?’
‘Am I that transparent?’ he said.
I sat up and looked at him, a lot more concerned that I had been only a few seconds ago. ‘Apparently so.’
‘Damn it, you know me way too well. I didn’t want to spoil the holiday mood so I was going to delay showing you it.’
‘Oh God you’ve got me properly worried now. Showing me what exactly?’
He sighed. ‘It’s Tom’s last message. He recorded it onboard Artemis before he passed.’
Any sense of peace was instantly wiped away as the ache in my chest throbbed. My feelings were obviously written in large letters across my face as Jack took my hands in his.
‘This is exactly what I was worried about; I didn’t want to spoil things for you.’
‘Just tell me what he said, Jack,’ I said in a small voice.
He sighed and nodded. ‘Okay, Lucy recorded Tom’s video via the QEC radio system. Although it’s to you, she asked me to be the one to show it to you and only when I thought you were ready to see it.’
My heart twisted. ‘Oh God, this sounds really bad.’
‘It’s not and it may actually help you in a small way.’
He took a Sky Wire from his bag, pressed play, and handed the device to me.
As I took it, Tom’s face had already appeared on the screen. He looked exactly as he did the last time I’d seen him, his face calm, not a hint of fear in his expression, just utter certainty. But the moment I saw him, a huge lump filled my throat and tears began to flow as Jack ru
bbed my back.
‘This message is for you, Lauren,’ Tom said, as water hissed into Artemis’s cockpit around him. ‘Please believe in yourself as much as I and all the others always have. You’re the mission commander that Eden needs whether you realise it or not. And I for one am so bloody proud of you. All I ask of you is to continue to be the extraordinary woman that you are.’ And then, so uncharacteristically for Tom, he blew a kiss towards the camera. ‘Goodbye, Lauren, and good luck. The world needs heroes like you.’ A second later the video was filled with static.
‘We think that’s the moment that the self-destruct sequence detonated,’ Jack said gently.
Then I was sobbing so hard that it felt like my very being was breaking in two. But even as Jack enveloped me in his arms, I made a silent vow to myself as complete and utter grief took hold of me.
I would never stop fighting against the evil that had stolen Tom and so many others away before their time. And I would do whatever it took to save this big beautiful world of ours against the threat that was coming for us from the stars. I would do it for all the people I loved, for Aunt Lucy, for all the friends I lost along the way and now for Tom, too. I would be that woman, the hero that the world needed me to be just like all the incredible people I was lucky enough to call friends.
Then, as I rested my chin on Jack’s shoulder, my anchor in this storm of grief, I gazed out towards the horizon.
Mike was waving frantically at us and for an awful moment I thought he was in trouble. But then I heard him whooping and pointing further out to sea, where a spout of water was shooting up from the surface. Then a whale’s back broke the ocean’s surface and a moment later its giant tail was propelling back down again.
I’d never been one for taking omens – good or bad – seriously. But right then, in my emotional state, I interpreted that as a sign from Tom, because how could I not?
I breathed out as some of the tension flowed out of me and I hugged Jack harder, knowing his love and support would help get me through whatever lay ahead. And the other thing that would keep me going, in no small part thanks to Tom’s sacrifice, was knowing that right now, fifty very awake micro minds were out there waiting for us. That changed everything.
