by Richard Dusk
"This is it," said Vince when they stopped at large shipyard hall.
He got out and walked to roll up steel door gate, big enough for a truck to easily pass through, next to the other one running up to the roof with a height of the regular mid-sized ship. Vince beckoned them to drive in and immediately rolled down the gate after they passed through.
They got out into the vast, gloomy hall where only a feeble light came through the shattered roof. Curtains of green moss grew on high damp concrete walls between two borders of white marks created by water that leaked from ruptured pipes a long time ago. With a dose of necessary imagination, they looked like the picture of the snow-covered mountain section. Peeled off dark blue joists and struts gleamed here and there, illuminated by Deimos's headlights. The staircase on both sides ran up steeply three floors high beneath giant red traveling crane stretching over the broad water chamber filled to the edge. Parts and panels of two unfinished fishing ships, which bare torsos tied to bollards with thick hawsers floated on the surface, lay everywhere around. They stepped on the ground; the dust raised and glittered in square beams of light coming down to them through roof windows.
"This is it?" said Jillian when she spotted the rusty ships.
They didn't look like they could carry anything more than themselves, including the fact that their engines lay aside on the concrete ground.
"No, we used this place to hide our ships. Diamond's navy base doesn't exist anymore. Major parts collapsed in the beginning, so we stored our ships here. Now keep your fingers crossed to find Manta in here - it's the last one we have. Garrett, Vince, help me unload this. Others go to lower the cargo ramp and load the supplies on the ship. Double-check everything," Kaiden began unfastening CHED.
Pace and Hodge took heavy bags with supplies from Deimos and pulled them further across the hall while Lex led Jillian to the stairs on the right.
"Go to the top floor. Right above the gate is a diesel generator and control panel to open it. Everything's labeled so it won't be a problem to find. Just don't forget to switch the fuse. I hope it still works. Okay? I'm going to help guys," said Lex, and Jillian nodded.
As she climbed up the steel stairs, the black anchored ship emerged from behind the other ones. Somebody turned on its bright lights, and by the shape of its body, she finally understood the name. Two long curved wings with hulls submerged below surface held massive deck above the water. They lowered the loading ramp in front, and she saw others carry the supplies in. When she reached the top floor, subtle whistling coming from the bottom of the deck resounded. Kaiden got on the ship's bridge to start and warm the turbine before departure.
She walked towards the yellow-colored control panel, watching the sunlight passing through holes above her head. A draught blew fresh air on her face but didn't comfort her. She smelled strange stench mixed with moist ocean air coming from behind of generator. Blood-stained oily rags strewed around, looked like torn by a wild animal, which made its home from it. The smell intensified, and gentle iron clashing came from behind. She pulled out the pistol and steadily, step by step, walked sideways to the generator, expecting something to rush out at her. She raised the gun and aimed. Her finger tensely pulling the trigger cocked the hammer halfway. The clashing sounded again. She deeply breathed to encourage herself and quickly made two steps sideways to see right at the source of the sound.
"No," she whispered, lowering the gun. "Guys, get in here. Now," leaned against the railing she shouted at her mates pulling cargo inside the ship. Heavy stamping of fast running sounded from the stairs.
"What is it? What happened?" called Garrett, followed by others from the stairs.
Jillian didn't answer. She just waited to let them see with their own eyes.
"Jillian, what happened?" Garrett stopped at her and watched her finger to point behind him. They all turned around to see a rotting corpse lying on the ground.
"Hell no," exclaimed Hodge, when he saw him.
The man wore the same uniform as they did. Black with white diamonds on shoulders but had a sturdy steel harpoon rope tightly winded around his neck and tied to his arms. A petrified expression with missing eyeballs and open mouth got stuck on his grayish, dry-blood-covered face. None of them could keep a look at him.
"Who is that?" said Garrett while Vince walked to the man, covering his nose.
"Woodhill," Vince read the tag on man's chest. "If I'm not mistaken, he and his squad joined Hikls on the mission to destroy X-RON. Since they left this place, we didn't receive any message from them, so we proclaimed them KIA. Apparently, something different got them."
"Murder? Who would kill him?" said Lex surprised. "How did he get here? Where's the rest?"
"I don't know. Maybe he's the only one who was killed when they were attacked, and others managed to escape."
"Do you want to tell me that we struggle to fight this world as equal, and some psychos were murdering our squads?" said Pace bitterly. "We can't move an inch without something wrong happening?"
"Get it together, Pace," Vince walked around them. "It happened long ago. This guy probably somehow appeared here. I didn't see him lying there when I was fueling the generator last time. Anyway, would it change your mind if you knew?"
"No, but we can remake Nest and survive there," said Pace.
"Nest is gone forever. Understand?" raised Vince his voice. "We stayed buried and waited there for too long. We've got only one way to go now, and it's ahead."
"Pace, Vince is right," said Garrett. "Look, I'll be honest with you. I don't know what to expect the same as you. But we are here together as a team. And we'll hold together. It's just a few hours, and we've gone through some wired moments already. You are capable of doing anything just because you believe in your team. You will find nothing back in the base if we don't stop this madness outside. So support your friends in good and bad times. All of this is bigger than any one of us. I know it's hard to realize and even harder to bear, but you are the best and only hope that left for every living soul on this planet."
Pace stood silent, looking embarrassed a little when vigorous footsteps echoed through the hall.
"Well said, doctor," said Kaiden, who came unnoticed to them. "I wouldn't say it better. Now ladies, wipe your tears, get up and move. We're on schedule; one dead man won't stop us. There are hundreds of them lying everywhere around. Go and take a look," he pulled the lever to switch the generator on.
The thrumming noise came from the lowest level, and few unbroken lamps came on. Vince walked to the control panel and pressed several buttons. Yellow and blue light beacons around the doors began to flash in turns, and buzzing, warning sound filled the room as the front doors opened. Pace angrily mumbled, but Kaiden leading them down to the ship ignored him.
"Are you okay?" said Garrett to Jillian while others walked down the stairs.
"Couldn't be better, I guess," she said, and her feeling of pointless living deepened.
"Hey, we've been through worse, and we managed to get out alive, didn't we?"
"Garrett, this is different. You saw the man the same as I did. They murdered him, and I believe somebody from Diamond or his own rank took care of that. Who else could do it? If they had some problems with survivors ambushing them, then there would be more dead men lying around than just one. But if he died on Greenland, then somebody took care of him on the way or at the end. They were a team the same as we are now, and still, there lies a man with a rope around his neck. Do you see the parallel? I've never trusted people, and I don't trust these guys much, but I don't feel right about Diamond. You've seen what Kaiden did to those men. I don't want to see you or me be harmed on this task," said Jillian, minding Vince's words not to tell anything unnecessary. "There might be something moving beyond your sight."
Garrett sighed because she said words that had a point. If there will be anything other than only destroying the source of these disturbances, things will get quickly complicated.
"I got you, but there is
n't a way back now. It can't be worse than it is, can it?" he forced a smile on his face, but Jillian didn't bat an eye.
They walked down the stairs and up the ramp inside the cargo hold. All items they brought hanged hooked up on the wall, next to nine stacked creates fastened with cargo net, labeled with FOR, DES, or ICE.
"Did you mount spiked wheels?" said Vince looking at four six-wheeled ATVs standing in a row. Short, sharp retractable spikes stuck out from the tires.
"Yeah, the last time we were here. I thought it would be good to have these. The ground might be covered with ice," said Lex climbing up the spiral staircase to the bridge.
When last foot disappeared from the stairs, Garrett left there alone. He looked at CHED's body and disconnected power source standing on the ground. He didn't feel the same determination and belief as he did back in the laboratory. It vanished. He felt like a liar, giving hope and encouraging words to people, who voluntarily took this death march. He stood there in the cold until the cargo doors behind him shut, and he plunged into darkness. Only weak red lights illuminated the space.
'What did you think?' sounded voice in his head. 'That you will just come, destroy X-RON, and go home? What are you doing? Whole your history repeats. These people are counting on you, and you're going to fail again. Do you realize that they are here because they rely on your words and promise to finish this task? Are you even capable of that? You're weak to save anyone. You're just a scam. You could never-'
"Garrett," shouted Jillian from the door. "Where are you?"
He dropped back to reality and walked up the stairs to the bridge. The team sat in eight seats in two rows right behind Kaiden sitting in the captain's chair at the control panel. Seven windows in front gave them a view in a range of half circle.
"What took you so long?" said Jillian.
"I wanted to check if we packed everything we need."
"Grab a seat and buckle up," said Kaiden zestfully and weighed anchor. "This will be one fine ride."
Chapter 20 - Replication
The world on the open ocean acted differently than the one on the solid ground. All signs of damage, harm, or land ravaged by nature's power could be seen only on the shore, hundreds of yards away from the ship. The ocean always offered its undeniable advantage to conceal everything that wasn't strong enough to survive its wild storms or elude dark depths lurking below the smooth layer reflecting clouds in the sky. Despite its calmness, the omnipresent danger held them back from any rash action.
"Good morning every-," yawning Vince entered the empty galley. He stopped at the door and stretched himself.
"Hey," said Garrett sitting in the corner alone, studying papers spread across the table. "Rough night?" he noticed Vince's bloodshot eyes.
"I can't sleep on the waves. Made me sick all night," Vince poured two mugs of cooled coffee. He flung pill in one of them to tranquilize his stomach. "Apparently, I'm not the only one," he noticed the same pills lying on the pile of Garret's papers. "Where's the rest? It's like six already," he offered coffee to Garrett, who gladly took it.
"What do you think they'll do?" he poured sugar into the mug. "They have a chance to get some good sleep before the final action comes. Let them rest."
Vince walked around him and slurping coffee sit down by the window.
"We're not on autopilot anymore, right?" he looked out of the window at the receding thin lines of rock-covered shore in the distance.
"No, we're not. I checked it. Kaiden took over the control again before the dawn came."
"Of course. Did he say where we are?"
"We're passing the Newfoundland. Any nearest land you'll see will be the rocky and frozen shore of Greenland."
"Newfoundland? I thought that by this time we will be much farther," he watched the last traces of land disappear in the distance.
"I asked the same. He didn't want to sail at full throttle in case of a crash or if something disappeared from the ship. We would be less injured and able to swim to the shore. But it won't matter on the open ocean. If we crash, we may drown or freeze. So he sacrificed some time to keep us at least a bit safe and slept there for any case to happen."
Vince didn't say anything, out of habit blew to cool the lukewarm coffee and sat next to Garrett. He looked at the papers, took a few of them in hand, and sipped the coffee. Garrett noticed he acted differently than usual. The man who commanded respect at first sight now looked hesitating and unsure, searching for the right words to reveal his thoughts. Garrett didn't help him and continued to read the papers.
"I hate that man," Vince threw the papers back on the table.
"Who?" said Garrett without surprise in the voice.
"You know the answer," he drank the rest of the coffee. "That man isn't all right for a very long time, and now we're stuck with him on this ship," he stood up and went to pour himself another mug.
Garrett watched Vince's hands shook a little. The night had to be rough on him.
Why is he telling me this?
"He's dangerous, Garrett," he sat back to him and put his feet up on the opposite chair. "Even you are lucky to be alive."
"What do you mean?" Garrett frowned lightly.
"When he pointed that gun at you after he had driven over that men, I thought he will shoot you," he checked the corridor. "Don't take it wrong, but you messed with a man who got really high in Diamond's hierarchy. His rank means nothing when you know how the organization perceives him, and it fought inside his head. He has to protect you and get you there, but you interfered. You are a civilian and would let the enemy live and turn your back to him. That's not a wise choice in the presence and under the command of someone who doesn't hesitate to kill anyone standing in his way. You should think through your actions. Not all people are on the same side. Be grateful to Lex. If she wouldn't raise her gun, I don't know what would happen. At least she knew how to pour some sense into his head. He probably wouldn't shoot, but did you want to find out?"
"Hey, slow down. What you mean?" said Garrett, who couldn't believe his ears and the fact that they are practically not in danger just from outside but apparently from the inside as well. "He lost his temper, that's all," he said to evade the truth for a second longer.
"No, he didn't. You know nothing about soldiers in Diamond. You don't know the way people are trained in there, but you witnessed a weak example of actions they're capable of. The higher their rank is, the more they are devoted, and orders become sacred to them. This is just another task for him, and he's capable of finishing this with or without us," Vince took a good gulp. "I beg you for everyone on this ship, don't do anything stupid, even if you would have to watch the same scenario over and over again in an even more brutal way or this mission will turn into a bloodbath in our rank. Keep your beliefs to yourself. You will understand everything in the end."
"Why did you let him come with us then?"
"I had no voice in this, and Rosefield approved it. He's skilled and therefore valuable according to the corporation. He knows tricks, strategies, combats. You saw what he did to those guys with Hunters. We've never been trained for something like that and probably couldn't even think of it. We would preferably shoot or capture them but not hunt. If he didn't come up with it on the spot, then he had to prepare it long ago as a just in case scenario. He apparently has a different training than the rest of us. You've seen that he doesn't value life if it's not an asset."
"What about you? You did nothing to stop him from executing that man," said Garrett. Vince turned on the chair and looked right into his eyes.
"Do you believe it would turn to a better result than one dead enemy? Diamond always gets what it wants. Any quarrel is pointless, and I don't want to see your or anyone's name on the death list. It makes me sick to know how blindly I followed all the time and now unveil the truth in tiny bits, but more I know, the less I want to be involved in this. I'm sure about Lex and her views, but Hodge and Pace follow Kaiden. They admire him and his skills but see nothing beyon
d that. They don't see who he is and what Diamond's goals are. Answer yourself this question: If he realizes we're not all on the same side, who will stop him when the going gets tough? Lex? Jillian? You? I'm sorry, Garrett, but you don't know yet who you're playing with. Take my advice and do what you're told to do."
"Sarah knew about this?"
"Of course," Vince chuckled disgusted.
"She's okay with having us killed just because Kaiden loses his temper?" said Garrett, but Vince chuckled again and shook his head.
"It's not about Kaiden. You bought all the lies she told you, and she used you very well. You built her a new weapon into Diamond's collection. It seems that Kaiden and I are the only ones on this ship who knows what's going on."
"What are you talking about?" said Garrett concerned.
Vince put down his feet and leaned closer to him, "Listen carefully and don't mention this till you'll be safe enough to do so. Pretend to be a dummy when Kaiden is around, okay? The same men who built X-RON decided to destroy it. One of them is dead; one is sitting here. It was built in the same lab that you've just left. You spent months developing it, and then Hikls created a weapon to destroy it. Moreover, you disappeared the moment when he began with that? Why? And now you suddenly appeared to continue where he failed. Anyway, do you think it was possible to complete his research in such a short time? They gave you all the pieces of the puzzle they couldn't complete because they didn't have the whole picture. And you carried that last piece in your head even though you believed you don't remember. Yes, I've heard about it, but I don't believe it's a coincidence. It just doesn't fit, and now they've got everything they needed. You may be an expert in your field, but you must agree with me that it's no accident that CHED stood unfinished till your arrival. You brought them the piece they needed."
"What do you mean? What piece? How do you know about it?" said Garrett, getting angry at Sarah and himself as well.