Restoration

by Daniel C McWhorter

  “I have Epsilon Six Alpha, Lieutenant Commander Luanne Wilkes on the line. Connecting now.”

  The image of a young woman of Western European descent replaced Christian’s on Dianne’s display.

  “Reporting as ordered, ma’am.”

  “Yes, thank you, Commander. Current status?”

  “The subjects are being held by the facility administrator pending a final decision by the council. Our team is in place and ready to go.”

  “Commander Wilkes, do you understand the importance of your mission?”

  “Yes, ma’am, we were briefed en route.”

  “Good. Then you’ll understand why I must ask you to retrieve the subjects now and evacuate them from the lunar surface with all due haste.”

  “Ma’am, with all due respect, I have orders from Captain Bachmann to wait until the council has reached a decision. He believes they will turn them over to us without a fight.”

  “I understand, Commander. My concern is that, while you wait for the council’s decision, the fugitives will escape and we will be unable to recover them—which absolutely must not happen.”

  “I appreciate that, ma’am but I will have to call the Captain to confirm your orders.”

  Dianne pushed the commander’s image off to one side of her display and opened an encrypted file on the other.

  “Commander. I am invoking GSSA Directive Seven. Prepare to receive your authentication code.”

  Dianne manipulated the display several times before placing her palm on the DNA scanner embedded in the top of her desk. A second later, a long string of letters and numbers appeared at the top of the encrypted file.

  “I am transmitting authorization now, Commander, please confirm and authenticate.”

  “Receiving and authenticating, stand by.”

  Several seconds passed while the commander validated the encrypted authentication sequence with her onboard operational support AI.

  “AI confirms, ma’am, the message is authentic.”

  “Very well. Your new orders are to use any means necessary to extract the subjects, preferably alive but dead works too. I want them off the lunar surface within one hour, no excuses. Understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am. We will get them out.”

  “And one other thing commander…”

  “Yes?”

  “Under no circumstances are you to respond to any order that contravenes mine. I am exercising GSSA authority to assume full control of this operation until its conclusion. Are we clear?”

  “Understood, ma’am.”

  “Very well. I look forward to hearing from you in one hour, Commander Wilkes.”

  “Wilkes out.”

  The display faded and Christian’s face reappeared.

  “Will there be anything else, ma’am?”

  “No, that’s it for now. I am going home to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be another very busy day I’m afraid!”

  CHAPTER 18

  APRIL 5, 2075 12:30 AM GST

  Klaproth Spaceport

  Luna

  Lieutenant Commander Luanne Wilkes glanced over at the Peacekeeper standing next to her.

  “New mission, Sam. Immediate exfil, dead or alive.”

  An exfiltration order was one thing but the stakes just went up now that the powers-that-be no longer cared whether the targets left Luna on their feet or in bags.

  “Fucking fantastic.” Master Chief Samuel Washington pointed at the pistol hanging on his right hip. “Does that mean we can trade these in for our suits and some real weapons?”

  Luanne smirked. “I’m afraid not Sam, the Lunar treaty says holstered energy weapons and standard environmental suits only.”

  “So, what happens if things get hot?”

  “It’s our job to make sure they don’t!”

  “Hmm, should be fun. So, what’s next?”

  “I’ll assemble our team. Standby one.”

  A faint green glow emanated from Luanne’s eyes as she activated her operational support AI, which she called Emma.

  “Emma, burst to Alpha team. Disengage target Yin. Assemble my location. New orders: Interdict primary targets and immediate exfil. Send.”

  “Burst transmission sent,” Emma replied via Luanne’s audio implant.

  “Request status Bravo team. Instruct them to hold position but be ready to move on my order.”

  A few seconds passed while Emma queried the Bravo team AIs.

  “Bravo team reports standing by. Alpha Three and Four en route. Alpha Five and Six are off-grid.”

  “Off grid? Did you try using the station relays to boost your signal?”

  “Yes, Alpha Five and Six are not transmitting. Scanning for last known location.”

  “We have a problem, Sam.”

  Sam was monitoring Luanne’s tactical feed and had seen and heard everything.

  “I’m seeing it. You want me to go check it out?”

  “It’s probably just interference but we need to get moving. Let’s go to them, I will have Ryan and Jaime rendezvous with us at the outer docking ring.”

  “Transmitting new orders to Alpha Three and Four,” Emma said, anticipating Luanne’s next command.

  “Orders acknowledged,” Emma confirmed a few seconds later.

  The Peacekeepers walked briskly toward the tunnel leading to docking ring C. As much as she would have liked to run, Luanne didn’t want to attract too much attention from the station authorities who were certainly monitoring their activities. While they walked, Luanne asked Emma to replay the last two minutes of signals she had received from the missing Peacekeepers.

  It looked like everything was normal. Tad and Marcia followed Yin at a safe distance and Yin acted as though nothing was wrong. Yin picked up the pace as they approached ring C and the Peacekeepers matched her. Tad pulled his stun pistol as he approached the end of the tunnel. The last thing he saw was a brilliant flash of blinding white light.

  “Analyze flash.”

  “I already have.” Emma adjusted the holodisplay in Luanne’s right eye and zoomed the last image recorded by Marcia’s AI. “The flash was a high-intensity photon burst emitted by a micro-drone hovering above the target.”

  “Goddamnit,” Luanne said.

  “Bloody hell,” Sam echoed.

  “Double time, try not to attract too much attention.”

  Luanne and Sam hurried as fast as they dared through the tunnels to docking ring C. Thankfully, they encountered only a few civilians along the way but nobody got in their way. Alpha team members Three and Four, a.k.a. Ensign Ryan Randolph and Senior Chief Petty Officer Jaime Gonzales, caught up just as Sam and Luanne approached the intersection at docking ring C.

  Randolph spoke first. “What’s up, Commander? Tad and Marcia are still off grid.”

  “Yeah and presumed missing. It looks like Yin might have taken them out. Let’s split up. Sam and I will take the left tunnel, you two take the right and we’ll meet up on the other side. Keep comms open and weapons on stun unless you receive hostile fire. If anyone opens up on you, take them out but please don’t kill any Lunar civilians if you can help it. The last thing we need is a diplomatic incident.”

  “Got it.”

  “Drones?” Jaime asked.

  “Surveillance and defense only unless I give the order. Now move out.”

  “TacNet Emma, active scan,” Luanne instructed her AI.

  Within seconds all four remaining Alpha team members were seeing an integrated tactical view on their optical implants. In addition to real-time drone data feeds and biometrics, they were now capable of seeing and hearing everything that any other team member saw or heard. It took years of training to learn how to manage the overload of sensory data but, having mastered it long ago, the AI-driven Tactical Network gave Alpha team a significant advantage over their opponents.

  No more surprises, Luanne thought as she drew her weapon.

  It took less than five minutes for the teams to meet up on the opposite side
of docking ring C and neither group had seen any evidence of their missing squad members—the ring was completely empty. A quick review of the station logs showed two vessels parked on this docking ring, a short-range shuttle used to move people between Lunar stations on pad three and a maintenance drone on pad one. The Commander glanced up at her three team members.

  “Pad three,” they said in unison.

  The squad double-timed it to pad three, only to find it empty.

  “No departure record,” Sam said, having queried the station’s flight tracking system.

  Petty Officer Randolph slammed his fist into the wall. “What the fuck? That’s impossible!”

  That earned a stern glance from his Commander.

  “Easy, Ryan,” she said. “Somebody must have hacked the logs.”

  Ryan took a deep breath to calm himself. “Clearly but who has that kind of access? The AI that runs this station is supposed to be impervious to that crap. Unless…”

  Sam finished for him. “Unless they have top-level security clearance with override authority.”

  “Or have someone on the inside helping them,” Luanne added. “There is nothing more we can do here. Let’s go pay the station administrator a visit.”

  “What about our team?” Ryan asked. “We can’t just abandon them!”

  “You know me better than that, Ryan,” Luanne scowled. “But they clearly aren’t here and we can’t go after them until we know where they went. So, we can either stand here being pissed off or we can go talk to someone who might be able to shed some light on the situation. Clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, ma’am. I just didn’t expect to lose anyone on a simple snatch and grab.”

  “They aren’t lost yet, just missing and we are going to rectify that. You with me?”

  “Hooyah!” the three team members shouted in unison.

  “Good, now let’s move,” Luanne replied.

  CHAPTER 19

  APRIL 5, 2075 12:41 AM GST

  Klaproth Spaceport

  Luna

  Yin managed to make her way past the Peacekeepers and station security personnel without being seen and was now standing in front of Administrator Nayak’s receptionist.

  Before Yin had a chance to say anything the receptionist pointed toward the administrator’s office and said, “Please go in, they are expecting you.”

  “Thanks,” Yin nodded slightly.

  Doctor’s Feldman and Hao stood up from the couch as soon as they saw Yin. Administrator Nayak remained sitting behind his desk.

  The administrator spoke first. “Welcome back, Doctor Li. You have been quite busy I see.”

  “Yeah, sorry for the delay. I got lost, and it took longer than I expected to find my way back.”

  “Sorry to hear that. Had you spoken with any of my security team, they would have been more than happy to escort you.”

  “It’s fine, they were busy, and I didn’t want to bother them. It seems like a pretty busy day around here.”

  “Busier since the three of you arrived, I think. Will you please take a seat? We are expecting to hear from the President shortly. Her assistant just notified me that the board has adjourned and she is on her way here now.”

  Nayak pointed to a chair adjacent to the end of the sofa closest to Chen. “Please sit while we wait.”

  Yin gave Chen a slight nod as she took her seat. Chen and Evan returned to their previous positions on the sofa.

  “So, the President is coming here now?” Chen asked.

  “Yes, she should be here momentarily.”

  The next five minutes passed in awkward silence, with only an occasional glance between the three fugitives as they waited to learn their fate. Evan was about to ask a pointless question just to break the silence when the administrator suddenly stood up from his desk.

  “The President is here,” he announced, “please stand.”

  Everyone stood as the door hissed open and two armed guards entered the room, taking up positions on either side of Yin and Evan. A tall woman with flame red hair followed behind them.

  “Madam President,” Administrator Nayak said with a slight bow. “May I present Doctors Li, Hao and Richardson.”

  President Duchon looked them over for several seconds before speaking.

  “Well, you look harmless enough but you sure have created quite a mess. Which of you wants to tell me who you are and why you are here...and why I shouldn’t put your asses on a shuttle back to Earth right now?”

  Doctor Hao started to answer, but the President cut him off.

  “And no bullshit. I've been in three hours of meetings because of you and I have no patience for bullshit. You've got two minutes to convince me to deny the extradition request…and I strongly suggest that you do not waste it.”

  Chen continued, “Yes, Madam President and thank you for your time. We apologize for the inconvenience and wish merely to resume our journey to the Telogene research facility on Mars.”

  “And why Mars?” the President asked.

  “There is a team there working on the genetic defect problem and we are going to check on their progress and see if we can’t provide some hands-on assistance.”

  “And what role, precisely, will Telogene’s Chief Cryologist play on that team?”

  “Madam President, I have had many roles at Telogene over the years and my current title is not why I am going. I am going both as a geneticist and as the senior executive in charge of this project.”

  The President smirked as she turned her attention to Evan.

  “And what about you, Doctor Feldman? What is your role in all this?”

  “Umm, my name is Richardson. Doctor James Richardson, Madam President.”

  “Oh? I was told that you are one Doctor Evan Feldman, recently brought back from the dead. Was I misinformed?”

  “It appears so, ma’am. I work at our research lab on Mars and have been through here several times before. I am sure your records will confirm what I’m saying.”

  “Yes, well, I’m sure they do. We spent the last hour reviewing your travel logs, in fact.”

  Evan glanced at Chen and did his best to suppress the choking sensation in the back of his throat.

  The President continued, “I noticed that you spent nearly a week with us during your last trip. Hopefully, you had a good time.”

  “Uhh, yes, thank you. I had some time before the next scheduled transport and figured I’d take in the sights.”

  “And the woman you were traveling with on that trip, what was her name?”

  Shit, she’s got me, Evan thought.

  Chen interjected before Evan could answer. “President Duchon, with all due respect, can we please get to the matter at hand? It is imperative that we be on our way.”

  “I'm sorry but your time is up.”

  The President turned to the security officer on her left. “Arrest them. Separate cells. No contact without my authorization.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the officer replied as he signaled to four other guards waiting in the hallway.

  Four armed guards entered the room, with one moving to restrain each of the fugitives and the other blocking the doorway.

  “Madam President!” Chen said with more than a hint of desperation in his voice. “On what grounds are we being detained?”

  “You and Doctor Richardson are accused of violating the Human Dignity and Decency Act and will be held pending extradition to Earth. Yin Li is accused of aiding and abetting you in your escape.”

  The President turned to Yin. “And Miss Li will also be charged with assault, kidnapping two GFN Peacekeepers, tampering with station security monitors and unauthorized use of a surveillance drone.”

  Yin said nothing as the guard searched her. When he found the drone case in her sleeve pocket, he held it up for everyone to see before securing her arms behind her back with plastic restraints.

  President Duchon added, “Of course those are Lunar offenses and will be tried here, so it is unlike
ly that she will be joining you for the return trip back to Earth.”

  Chen pulled away from the guard restraining his hands and took a few steps toward the President. “President Duchon, please give us a chance to…” His words were cut off by the guard jamming a stun wand into his side, dropping him to the floor.

  “You will all get your chance to explain…just not to me. We have judges for that. Now if you’ll excuse me.” She turned to Administrator Nayak. “Thank you for your service Administrator.”

  He nodded. “Madame President.”

  The President and her personal security officers left the room, leaving the chore of moving the prisoners to the remaining guards. Chen was semiconscious and couldn’t stand on his own yet, so two guards each grabbed an arm and lifted him to his feet. The other two guards took turns shoving Evan and Yin down the hallway and into a nearby elevator.

  “Now what?” Evan asked Yin.

  “We wait,” she replied as the elevator doors slid shut.

  CHAPTER 20

  APRIL 5, 2075 01:34 AM GST

  Klaproth Spaceport

  Luna

  Commander Wilkes and her three remaining Alpha team members had arrived at Administrator Nayak’s office just after President Duchon had ordered the fugitives arrested. A brief conversation ensued between the Commander and the Administrator with the result being that Wilkes and her team would have to wait until President Duchon authorized the release of Evan and Chen.

  The Commander and her team weighed their options and decided that Luanne would wait in the administrator’s conference room while Sam, Ryan and Jaime resumed the search for Petty Officers Durand and Bianchi. Their second search of Docking Ring C turned up no new information but station security had confirmed that someone had bypassed the sensors in that section of the station.

  The station security chief informed Sam that he had little new information to share, except that whoever hacked the sensor array must have had detailed knowledge of the system, and had likely accessed it from a maintenance port.