“Thank you,” she said graciously. Or at least that was what she thought she said. Her lips and mouth were indeed making different, unfamiliar movements.
It’s okay. You’ll get used to it.
I hope so. This is weird.
The scientist followed her in, their eyes adjusting to the lower light levels. “What is your supervisor called?” he asked.
Molly slapped her head again. “Oh, you’re going to think that I’m so stupid. It was my first time meeting him earlier. I can’t remember.”
The man looked even more suspicious than previously.
“It’s okay,” she recovered quickly. “I’ll find him. Thanks so much for your help.”
He bowed slightly, and she returned the bow. He turned to leave, and Molly did the same, walking in the opposite direction.
Oz, I need a schematic, and directions to the nearest Server point for access.
Working on it. I just have to get into their systems.
There was a pause.
Okay. I’m in.
Molly turned back and noticed that the scientist was walking off down the corridor along the front of the building. He turned to look at her. She waved awkwardly, and he turned away again, continuing on his journey.
Okay, you need to head straight into the heart of the building. So straight on from where we came in the door.
Molly walked into the dimly-lit foyer, which opened up into a larger hall. It was all wood paneled — nothing like any military operation she’d seen in the Sark System.
Straight on. Through the hall, and into the corridor on the other side.
Molly felt exposed as she walked through, her footsteps echoing loudly no matter how softly she trod. There were three people huddled together in one corner, deep in a discussion. As she walked past, she drew their attention; but she kept walking.
Seeing the door now, her eyes adjusting somewhat, her heart started to race as she neared her first goal.
Once in the corridor, you want to follow it down to another set of doors.
Oz? Don’t I need security clearance?
Already handled. I’m on their network now.
Molly sighed in relief as the doors slid open in front of her. She stepped through into a more brightly lit corridor. It was stark and clinical. She couldn’t tell what kind of building materials had been used; some looked natural, like wood, where others looked like wood-plastic hybrids. The light was soft, and she tried to identify the source as she hurriedly made her way through the passage.
About twenty paces ahead of her was another set of doors.
That’s it. Just through there are the servers. The nearest point for us to plug into is to the right as you go in the door. Fourth stack down.
Molly breathed and focused as she covered the last few paces to the door. Nearly there, she told herself.
“Hey, you!” a voice called out behind her.
She spun around to see another Zhyn in a military uniform heading her way.
He was armed. She kept walking.
“Stop right there!” the voice called again.
Molly turned around. “Huh? Me?” she asked, pointing to herself.
Oz, get me out of this one!
“Yes, you. Hands up,” the man commanded, pointing his weapon at her.
Molly slowly raised her hands up above her shoulders. “Have I done something wrong?” she asked.
The guard slowed, looking a little confused. “What are you doing here?”
She pointed over her shoulder, in the direction of the doors at the end of the corridor. “I’m going to meet my supervisor. He said he’d meet me in there about now. I’m here on exchange, a diplomatic exchange, for the data convention next month.”
Her detainer looked even more confused, but then he straightened. “I need to check out your story. Until then, you’re coming with me.”
Oz?
Nearly there.
The Zhyn’s expression shifted, and he seemed to be changing his mind. A second later, he lowered his weapon.
Oz?
I’ve just given him a message on his eye display that makes it seem like his system ran a facial recognition of you. You’re now in their system as a diplomatic exchange scientist. Your supervisor’s name is Xcli’tr.
Say that again?
‘Els-i-ter’ would work, if you wanted to say it in a human accent.
Got it. Els-ister.
Near enough.
The guard addressed her again. “Sorry ma’am. You’re free to go.”
Molly bowed her head. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
The doors opened behind her, and she strode the rest of the way down the corridor and through into the server room, as fast as she reasonably could without looking suspicious.
Mother of all fucks! That was close.
Yeah. Well, you do insist on getting yourself into these scrapes.
I guess it’s all risk compensation, Oz. I know I’ve got you to get me out of them if I get stuck.
Oz chuckled, making Molly’s head hum a little.
Molly turned right and headed into the server stacks. She counted off. One, two…
She kept walking, her feet barely making a sound on the rubber carpet.
Three, four.
She rounded the corner and stepped into the aisle between the servers. She could feel the heat coming off of them, and the air system extracting as much of the heat from the room as possible. It made for hot and cold patches of air all over the place.
You want the one that matches the symbol we practiced. It’s probably a port that is fairly obvious and accessible. They use this to pull data and download updates, from what ADAM told me.
Molly searched through the machines, looking for any kind of port that had the circle surrounded by eight attached circles. It took a few minutes, but she managed.
Got it.
Okay. You know what to do.
Molly inserted the dongle into the port, and pushed it in as far as it would go.
Has that done it?
Oz was silent for a second.
Yes, that’s it. We’re all good. I just need thirty seconds.
Molly’s mouth twitched. This is sounding more and more like a date.
What?
Nothing.
Molly looked around, taking in as much detail as she could. Thirty seconds to kill… she thought.
She crept back to the end of the stack and peered around the corner to see if anyone else was nearby. She couldn’t see anyone, but there were sounds like people were moving around somewhere on the other side of the server room.
She noticed the quantum bead in her wrist was illuminated; that meant she was connected. She pressed it, and pulled up her holo.
IN SERVER ROOM. PATCH UPLOADING. COMING BACK IN 20S.>>Send.
The quantum bead under the skin in her wrist lit up a little more, and then returned to its previous glow.
Message sent, I guess.
She wandered back to the dongle and stood in front of it, waiting to pull it out. Suddenly, she heard voices by the door. She kept still, trying to listen, but she couldn’t make out the words.
Okay. We’re good to go.
Molly pulled out the dongle and slid it carefully back into her pocket. Then she headed back to the end of the stack, slowly peering out from behind the banks of machines before committing herself to stepping out.
The voices seemed to have moved off in the other direction, leaving her free to extract herself via the door she’d come in. Carefully, she made her way to the exit, as quickly as she could.
There were two scientists just off to the right, working at a console with their backs to the door. They were talking in low voices.
Okay, this isn’t ideal, but I’m going for it.
Door is ready when you are.
Let’s do it.
Molly strode out quietly but casually, heading for the open door tha
t was about ten paces ahead of her, but across an exposed area.
She could see the corridor beyond.
“Excuse me! Who are you, and what are you doing in here?” a voice behind her boomed out.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
It’s okay. We’ve got this. You’re on their system. Be cool, girl. Be cool.
Molly turned around to face her questioner. An older male Zyhn was walking toward her, looking displeased.
A female hung back, watching what was happening.
“Greetings,” Molly began. “I’m—”
The scientist interrupted her. “Not meant to be in here!” he told her. “Who are you?” he demanded.
He was larger than the other Zhyn she had seen. He had the height of an Estarian, but he had more features of an Ogg; the waistline, specifically.
“I’m Sandra,” Molly said, trying to sound casual. “I’m here on a diplomatic data exchange. I was going to meet my supervisor in here, but then I forgot something.”
“And who, pray tell, is your supervisor?” he demanded.
“Els-ister,” she answered after only a slight hesitation.
The man looked thoughtful. Then he looked amused as he tapped something on his hand, which was presumably linked to his eye display.
He turned his attention back to Molly. “Well, Sandra; since I am ‘Els-ister’, and I have no knowledge of you or a diplomatic exchange, I can only assume that you are, in fact, an intruder.”
Oz! Now would be the time…
Working on it. He just hailed security.
The Zhyn looked at her menacingly. “So who are you, really?” he asked her again.
Molly’s brain whirred.
Oz, if this place goes into lockdown, can you still get me out?
I’m not sure. It’s all in a different language, with different conjugations. I haven’t had time to process what I need to in order to understand the building and security systems.
Are you saying ‘it’s all Greek’?
I’m saying it would be risky. Eventually I’d be able to figure it out; but you may end up being captured, in the meantime.
Okay. I’m all over it.
Molly took a step back toward the door and felt a presence behind her. “Oh, there you are!” a familiar voice exclaimed.
Molly spun around to see Joel in a lab coat, next to the security guard who had accosted her earlier.
“This is her, then?” the guard asked.
Joel nodded. “Yes, and the boss wants to see her, pronto.”
He turned to the big scientist named Els-ister. “Thanks for holding on to her for us. You know, we need more people who will ask the right questions to keep this facility secure. Thank you again.”
And with that, he grabbed Molly by the arm, and hauled her out of the server room; whisking her off down the corridor, followed by the security guard.
The big guy, Els-ister, stood and watched them disappear as the door slid closed again.
He paused, staring at the door. Then he turned back to his colleague. “Okay, so the only problem with putting them into the stacked arrangement will be the amount of heat they generate. So we need to run some calculations on that…”
* * *
Molly trotted beside Joel as he strode decisively onward. She dared not utter a word, for fear of blowing their cover.
Joel had released her arm, and was looking straight ahead, still in character. The security guard was still following them, and at the next set of doors, Joel allowed him to lead the way. They followed him back through the wood-paneled foyer, and then toward the front door. The door slid open, allowing them out into the hazy daylight.
Joel turned to the guard. “Thank you for your help.”
The guarded nodded, bowing slightly, and then turned on his heels to leave them be.
Molly waited until they were outside and several yards clear of the door. They were still walking in the direction of the rest of the base, rather than back to where they needed to go for the skylift.
She glanced up at Joel, whose pace had now slowed a little.
“That was close,” she admitted.
“You’re telling me!” he agreed.
Molly was still looking at him. “How the hell…?” she asked.
Joel smiled, relieved. “A bit of improvisation,” he told her. “We need to clear the building; they still have cameras around the perimeter.”
He pulled up his holo and pressed the quantum bead that was inserted into his wrist. “I’m just telling Jack that we’re out and to meet us. She’s found a hole in the fence, just over that way,” he said, pointing off to the side of their current path.
Molly started walking in that direction. “Great. Let’s get out of here.”
Joel closed his holo and followed after her. “No arguments from me.”
* * *
Jack was waiting by the fence. “Okay, soldiers, let’s move,” she whispered across to Molly and Joel as they approached.
The pair made their way through the fence, and followed Jack through the undergrowth and the cover of trees.
They found their way to the skylift and Joel pressed the call button. Molly kept a look out.
“I don’t think we’ve been followed,” she told the other two. “I’m just worried about the reaction once they find their weapons system has been deactivated.”
Oz, how long until deactivation?
Maybe five minutes.
Can you hold off on doing it immediately? I think we’ve more chance of getting away if they think that everything is as it should be.
Sure. Let me know when to go with it, then.
Okay.
Molly turned to the others as they waited by the lift. “Oz is going to delay taking them offline… just until we’re clear.”
Jack nodded. “Great,” she agreed, scanning the tree line around the skylift for early indications of company.
The lift arrived, and the three of them stepped in. Molly hit the button for orbit. “You know, I think we did well with this lift. It seems this is only for military use; the others are probably much closer to populated areas.”
Joel nodded. “Yeah, the absence of advertising is also a clue!”
The three of them sniggered as the lift shot upwards, leaving their stomachs on the floor.
Molly steadied herself by grabbing the handrail, but Joel and Jack stood firm. The lift seemed to climb forever. Every time Molly thought they might have reached the top, it just kept going. She moved around a little, trying to resist her pacing habit.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if there were windows in this thing?”
Joel leaned back against the wall. “Erm… No. I mean, you don’t want to see how little material is holding this shaft in place.”
Jack folded her arms. “Yeah, I’m with you, Joel. I just don’t wanna know.”
Molly leaned against the bar and held onto the handrail behind her.
How’s everything going down there, Oz? Anything we should know about?
Everything seems business as usual. The security guard is entering the incidents, but they won’t be reviewed until later this evening.
Good.
As the lift reached its lofty destination, it slowed to a halt. Molly felt a little dizzy by the change in movement. “Man, that was like a train ride in the wrong direction!” she commented.
Joel chuckled. “Yeah, that’s a good way to explain it.”
Jack was the first out onto the platform, and she immediately grabbed a rail and started looking around above them.
She pressed the quantum pearl on her wrist and talked into her holo. “Jack to Emma. Emma do you read?”
“Hello Jack,” Emma responded immediately through her auditory implant. “I read you. What is your location, please?”
Jack glanced around, looking for the ship. “We’re here on the platform. Top of the skylift. I can’t see you.”
&
nbsp; “I’ll be at your location in two minutes,” Emma promised.
“Great,” Jack acknowledged. “See you soon.”
“Two minutes,” Jack told the others. “Keep your eyes peeled.”
For the next one minutes and thirty seconds, the three warriors stood looking up into orbit, watching all kinds of traffic drift past. There were satellite dishes, containers, and ships — from cargo ships through to smaller ones — all at different heights, carefully coordinated from the surface.
Their ride arrived, and the three of them grabbed onto the frame that Emma lowered through the hull of the ship.
As The Empress lifted up, gracefully clearing the hull of the skylift, the three were able to see down to the planet’s surface, safely cocooned in the forcefield and the atmosphere of the ship.
Molly looked on in amazement. “Now that is a sight I’ll never forget,” she breathed, her voice full of awe.
“Yeah, I hear ya, sister,” agreed Joel.
Jack was silent as she took it all in.
Moments later, the climbing frame started to retract, pulling them into the ship. They were greeted by a smiling Sean, who was standing over by Emma’s console.
“Welcome back, motherfuckers,” he beamed, his relief evident despite his casual manner. He moved over toward the frame to help them off of it as the hatch below them gently closed.
He grabbed Jack and then Molly. Joel had already dismounted, but the two hugged and slapped each other on the back anyway.
“Good to be back, man,” Joel said.
“Yeah, glad you’re safe, mate,” Sean replied.
Jack and Molly looked at each other, grinning at the male bonding.
Okay, Oz. We’re clear. Wanna do your thing?
It would be my pleasure.
“Sean?” Molly called over, interrupting Joel catching Sean up on the intricacies he had just been through. “Let’s get us out of here and back to Gaitune, fast as we can.”
Sean looked at her. “’Aye, boss!” he agreed, and headed out of the basement, back up to the cockpit.
Joel grinned at the two soldiers remaining. “Guess my retelling of rescuing your ass will have to wait till pizza time,” he chuckled.
Molly smiled back at him. “Yeah. I guess so,” she agreed. “But my thanking you doesn’t.” She walked over to Joel, carefully avoiding stepping on the hatch door — just in case — and threw her arms around his neck. “Thanks, Joel.”
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 92