by D. L. Denham
The station’s roof opened to the sky. Its glass had long been shattered. Pieces still littered the concrete floor and glistened on the tracks. A round six-foot clock mounted on its wall ticked wildly, its minute hand moving faster than time would allow. A century had passed since the Old World died, giving birth to this new realm that had been stunted and smothered by the alien invasion. The world couldn’t move forward until it belonged to humankind again. Time was running out, and Reho doubted whether he could do what they were asking of him. Everything was happening so fast. He still hadn’t processed everything that had happened in his dream. He wasn’t sure how much of what he dreamed was real, but he did know that his conversation with James—Jimmy—was real. He was tied to Jimmy through his mother, somehow. Had Jimmy been the one haunting his mother, reminding her that neither she nor the Earth would be free?
An OldWorld tank with room for twenty people waited on the tracks. Its mounted gun could rotate in a complete circle. Slater opened the back end.
“Let’s get it loaded!”
Rainne joined Reho at the clock and placed her hand on his shoulder.
“Everything’s been so frantic,” she said as she pressed her head against his arm.
Reho wasn’t sure what to say. He loved her. He hadn’t said so verbally, not yet, but he did love her and the thought of being with her one day, in a world not like Usona or like Neopan, is all he wanted. Somewhere, there was a future for them. If the clock they were looking at was any indication of the time: time was almost up.
Thursday’s rifle roared to life. Electricity danced across its barrel as fire bursts from its muzzle, releasing a rapid fire of blue bolts. One found its way into a Vector dropping on a grappling line from the opening in the ceiling. The blast sent it flying to the other side of the room.
“Get to the tank,” Reho said to Rainne.
Three more Vectors dropped from the roof. Sola fired, ripping off the lower half of one. The guns Slater had given them were designed for this sort of assault. Reho fired at an android, blasting it twice in the chest, disabling it.
Thursday got off a few rounds at the third android before his gun misfired and blew up in his hands. He tossed the gun, but not before losing two fingers on his non-dominate hand.
As Rainne passed Thursday, the explosion caused her to wince and lose balance. She screamed as she fell off the platform and onto the tracks. Another android descended and snatched her, lifting her up the grappling line to the roof. Reho fired once but was interrupted by an android that had dropped from behind. It kicked him in the back, sending Reho flying forward across the platform. His gun slid over the edge and landed onto the tracks. Reho flipped over and booted the android as it attempted to crash land on top of him. It flew through the air before finally striking the wayward clock.
Sola blasted the remaining android and ran to Thursday’s side.
“Jesus, Thursday!” Sola said, helping him to his feet.
“Reho, we can’t go after her,” Slater said. “If we do, we compromise everything!”
Reho climbed on top of the tank. There was no way to reach the roof without a grappling line, and all the lines had been cut loose.
“I have to find her!”
“If you leave, then the mission has already failed,” Ends said, joining Reho on top of the tank. “There aren’t two choices here.”
Two more androids dropped behind the tank, their grappling line cut lose once they hit the ground. Sola shouted obscenities from inside the tank as she hammered a volley of bullets into them. The androids jerked and danced until one’s head exploded, followed by the other one slumping to the ground. It landed prostrate across its fallen comrade, both of their bodies shredded with OldWorld lead.
The backdoor slammed shut once Reho and Ends stepped through. The tank rolled forward on the tracks and picked up momentum. A moment ago, he had been watching the clock and thinking about the future—not just in a world without the Hegemon, but a future with Rainne. They hadn’t killed her; instead, they had taken her with them. Log?
“Log is completing its protocol?” Reho asked Gibson.
“The attack on us is bigger than just Rainne, but I think you’re right,” Gibson said. “We are in the system to be apprehended. Rainne posed no threat, so they arrested her instead of attacking.”
“Where will they take her?”
“Back to Neopan.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Slater said. “I am getting us out of here and on our way to Omega. We’ll monitor Log’s activities once she arrives there. Reeves can hack in and tell us what Log does. I can’t offer anything more than that right now.”
Reho dug his fists into the steel wall of the tank, welcoming the pain that shot to his elbows.
“No one dragged her into this. She was here because she knew she had a part to play,” Sola said, her hands wrapping around Reho’s forearms as he pushed harder into the steel. “She still has a part in this.”
“We got company!” Thursday was looking through a peephole, his blasted hand pinched in his armpit, a pistol in the other.
“I got it.” Finch was sitting behind Reeves and Slater at an illuminated control panel. The joystick mounted there rotated the cannon above them. In the monitor, they saw two cycle-riding Vectors heading their direction and gaining speed.
“That is ridiculous,” Sola said. “They’re balanced on the rail. That skill is beyond precision.”
“They’re tires are magnetically attached. It’s good engineering, not skill,” Gibson said.
“Blast them now! We’ll lose them if they get too close,” Slater said.
Reho heard the cannon thunder above.
“We still have one,” Thursday said.
Ends undid both latches to the back door. He grabbed a weapon that had been mounted above them, shoved a rocket into one end, and flipped the optical targeting sight on the other. He positioned himself in the center of the floor and shouldered the launcher.
“Slater, I hope this thing has a soft launch,” Ends said.
“It’s OldWorld Soviet. You’re good! Shoot that droid!” Slater replied.
Sola turned the latch and the back door dropped to the ground, sending a volley of sparks from the gravel and steel beneath them. The android was fifteen feet from them as Ends fired the rocket directly into its cycle. A brief wave of heat then smoke filled the tank’s interior.
“Way to go, Ends!” Finch said from the gunner’s seat. “Now can we put that door back up?”
Reho helped Sola raise the door from a lift chain connected to its lip. Sola dug out a medic kit and sat next to Thursday.
“I thought we could wait until the chopper, but you’re looking bad.”
She stuck him with a needle and unwrapped his bloodied hand.
“Oh gross, Thursday,” Sola said as she cleaned the wound where Thursday’s pinkie and ring fingers had once been and bandaged his hand as tight as she could.
“You’re turning me into a doctor. And that is not what I signed up for.”
“I think we’re in over our heads now. This isn’t what any of us signed up for,” Thursday said.
Ends jerked around and gripped the bar above Thursday’s head. He lowered his face and looked him in the eyes. “So quit.”
“You know what I meant, Ends. Our plan. This whole thing is too much. We’re not an army.”
“Who else is there?” Ends asked, looking around at the crew. “Who do we find to help us do this?”
“If you’re with me,” Ends said, “then you’re on the chopper with me. If you want out, stay with Reeves and Finch. God knows they need help figuring out what to do here.”
No one moved. “It’s five against the Hegemon,” Gibson said.
Everyone fell into their own private silence as the tank continued to the South Hanger.
***
Gibson maneuvered the chopper through the opening in the hanger. The tank had gotten them this far; the chopper would take them to their shi
p. Then there was no coming back until it was done. Slater would stay with them. Reho understood that they needed him and that he now shared the responsibility to see it through, to finish what he and Ends started before Reho had ever been born.
“How long until we reach the ship?” Thursday asked.
Gibson adjusted the controls on the panel and reported that it would be at least fifty minutes. Ends was flying shotgun, his briefcase open and his eyes lost in the screen.
Reho gazed from the window. He could see Shibuya and Neopan in the distance. Somewhere, Rainne was being transported back to Neopan and would be tried. What was the charge? Reho had been targeted for the murder of Coder’s brother. And Coder had left hours ago to check on her mother. Had she made it out alive?
***
“This is it,” Gibson said as he put the chopper down on the strip of beach where they’d left their ship anchored off the coast just two days ago.
“You never said your ship was a floating palace,” Slater said. After several failed attempts to communicate with his contacts on the ground, he’d spent the flight sorting and repackaging their equipment. Reho had wanted to ask him about the equipment and more about the plan, but his thoughts stayed on Rainne.
“It’s the newest line of warships, courtesy of Kibo himself,” Gibson replied. “I hope someone is ready to get wet, because I flew the chopper. Someone else can retrieve the water taxi.”
Thursday had woken up groggy but volunteered to retrieve the water taxi from the ship. The ship had originally been equipped with two water taxis; one was still docked in Neopan’s harbor, leaving them with a single taxi to complete their mission.
“You just want to feel useful,” Gibson said, watching Thursday strip down to his boxers. “Not wanting us to treat you like a handicap.”
“Next chance I get, I’m going to cut off your eleventh finger,” Thursday shot back before diving into the water and heading for the yacht.
As Reho helped lift the last of the containers from the chopper, he realized there was something missing. Between the six of them, there were only five weapons.
“What about weapons?” Reho asked Ends as he exited the chopper.
“We’re making a stop,” he replied. “For now, let’s worry about getting as far away from this chopper as we can.”
***
Reho joined Gibson and Slater in the navigation room. The ship started up with ease. Slater examined the fuel gauges and energy cells. The yacht displayed an estimated 3500 miles of fuel remaining.
“Barely enough to get to Sentosa but we have to try,” Slater said.
“What about the refueling stations at one of these islands to the south?” Gibson said, indicating a smattering of blue dots between them and their destination.
“Piracy has increased around those ports the last few years,” Slater said. “We’re short on weapons and wouldn't be able to do much against a boat filled with OldWorlds. We have guns waiting for us at Sentosa, along with our fuel. I’ll update Ends on the situation. Just get us moving,” Slater paused. “Reho, walk with me.”
Reho hadn’t known what to expect from Slater. He knew what Slater expected of him: to immerse into Omega’s virtual system and blow the nuclear reactor. He knew Slater was a military commander and that nothing short of ridding the planet of every Hegemon was going to satisfy him. He suspected Slater would make whatever sacrifices were necessary to complete their mission. He had already seen it with Rainne.
Slater and Reho were on the top deck of the ship, a cozy area away from the main decks. They could still see their abandoned chopper on the beach. Slater pulled a device from his pocket and lifted the protective cover on a red button. He stretched the antenna and paused.
“It took us six years to get that chopper running. Twenty years of work and planning comes down to Plan B.” Slater pushed the button. A single explosion sent a ball of fire and billowing black smoke into the air.
***
Reho, Slater, Sola, and Ends were gathered around the cafeteria table. Thursday had been in the kitchen for more than an hour, and Gibson was in the navigation room, still working on the fastest, most fuel-efficient route to get them to Sentosa.
After everyone had eaten more than their share, Ends took control of the conversation.
“I won’t lie to you,” he said. “We might not succeed. Everyone here had a chance to not get on that chopper. Everyone got on. This is your last chance. After I explain the invasion plan, you can decide whether to continue on with us or stay in Sentosa. After that, the success of the mission depends on everyone fulfilling their duty—regardless of the outcome.”
“Jesus, Ends, you make it sound certain that this will be a suicide mission,” Thursday said.
“Unless Reho is able to do what Slater says he can do,” Ends replied. “It is.”
“Then start there,” Sola said. “Why does it need to be Reho?”
Slater stood. “Reho possesses a genetic difference that allows him to be stronger, both in our world and in the virtual worlds constructed by the Hegemon. This is something he shared with Mar and others who had been abducted by the Hegemon while their mothers were pregnant. I don’t understand how it works. The man we sent into the Mainframe died seven minutes after immersing, but he possessed none of the attributes we see in Reho.”
Reho leaned forward. “After immersing, then what?”
“You are Plan B. Always have been since Ends first located you.” Slater took a long draw from his coffee. “You will locate the controls for the nuclear reactor. The real reactor is hidden near Omega, but its controls are only accessible virtually. You will need to locate the nuclear facility inside the Mainframe, it’ll be located near the smokestacks—tall, cylindrical structures that cool the reactor by converting its heat to steam. You’ll know them when you see them. There will be a switch in the control room that will shut down the cooling system. We estimate the time between shutting down the system and the meltdown to be thirty minutes.”
“Why now? Why do we attack when we are not officially at war?” Sola asked.
“The war with the Hegemon has never stopped. Possibly four or five communities have already been destroyed just in the last few years,” Slater said. “This fight is just a continuation from the day they invaded.”
Ends stood up and looked at each of them.
He slammed his fists onto the table. “You are the last soldiers! The Hegemon haven’t won until they have taken out every last one of us. They keep us isolated and weak in our communities. If we fail, then they’ve won. There will be no third chance.” Ends locked is eyes onto Slater.
Slater sat down, took a deep breath, and continued. “In Sentosa we will meet with a guy named Jag. He is holding weapons and equipment for us. We’ll refuel before we meet with him though. Once we reach Omega, some of you will defend the ship and pull Reho before the reactor goes off. Gibson did the math on the reactor’s blast radius.”
Gibson cleared his throat. “My calculations estimate at least a three mile blast radius.”
Thursday laughed. “That’s it?”
“It’s enough,” Gibson replied.
Plans are never a hundred percent,” Slater said. “But it’s our plan for now.”
***
Reho returned to Hall D and entered Rainne’s room. He had avoided it at first. The bed was still unfolded, its covers knotted where they had last slept together. Reho stretched his body across the bed and took in the lingering scent of the floral OldWorld shampoo she had used that last night. The fragrance reminded him how tired he was. He had slept little in the past few days. Everyone was tired. They all needed rest and time to process everything that had happened. Every mile between the ship and Neopan was a reminder that Rainne had been abandoned. When Omega was gone, Log would be weakened and Rainne would be free. He would return and save her.
***
A knock on the door woke Reho from the mirrored city. The nightmare had been filled with images: Jimmy, a dim roo
m with a lighted switch, a woman weeping over her dead son. The boy’s face tiled the floor like computer displays repeating the same image. His eyes were blue and his soft brown hair licked his face as a strong gust pushed against him. The boy was Reho. The switch across the room flickered, above it the sign read: More Magic.
“Get up! We found her! Come on, get up!” Gibson shook Reho awake, his laptop dangling in his left hand. He rushed pass Reho and brushed items off the desk in the room.
“We were messaged by Coder twenty minutes ago. She updated Slater on the status of the tunnels and ran a search for Rainne. We didn’t have her identification number, so it took some time. But she sent us this:
>>|Identification| //Rainne//0984239072<<
>>|Birth Date| 2064.34<<
>>|Birth Origin| //New.Afrika//Killa-jaro///<<
>>|Admittance to Neopan| 2083.197<<
>>|Credit Balance| 0000.000<<
>>|Charges| NA498C.AA58B.AA90E<<
>>|Proceeding Date| 2083.199<<
>>|Conviction Date| 2083.199<<
>>|Conviction Status| //Transfer.Approved//Omega //42.7<<
Reho reread the screen. His eyes glued to the last line: Omega.
“Slater hasn’t seen this before. Neither has Coder,” Gibson said. “We don’t know why they transferred her.”
The ocean, looking out from the pier. Six . . . I am six years old.
Chapter 17
“We can’t deviate!” Ends said, waving his arms about like a madman.
Sola sat next to him, her hands calm and eyes focused. The shakes Reho had observed for weeks hadn’t returned since they left Shibuya.
“But we can scan their systems once we reach the coast,” she said.
“We can’t promise,” Ends said. “We are refueling in Sentosa in an hour. Let’s talk about this with Slater once we’ve secured our fuel and weapons.” He ended the conversation and left the room.
Sola reached across the table and rested her palms on Reho’s clenched fists.