by Andrew Gates
Here they were now: the Final Contingency Plan, the last resort in the event of city-wide destruction. Few knew of its existence. Even fewer actually came.
Built deep underneath the seabed, the only way into the FCP was through a single elevator shaft, hidden behind closed doors. Guards positioned at the top of the elevator checked every person coming in. If the name was not on the list, they were turned away.
Sanja and her team got in just in time. The President made the call to destroy the shaft only a few minutes later. It erupted in a fiery inferno of tetrathermic dynamo. Nobody could come in or out after that, at least, not through the shaft.
There was only one way out now: the Final Evacuation Chamber, or the FEC. This massive room was designed to eject from the seabed and ascend to the surface, just like the station’s escape pods. Only unlike the pods, the FEC could hold hundreds, thousands if they crammed inside. It was only to be used by direct order from the President once there were no alternative possibilities for survival. In other words, it was intended to be the last resort’s last resort.
Sanja had never seen this room, but she knew where it was. She wondered at times what it looked like on the inside. Probably a lot larger than this room we’re in now, she thought as she looked around the stifling confines of what passed as an event hall.
Adapting to living in this small enclosure was a difficult task, not just for Sanja, but for everyone. People who were once in positions of great power were now no more special than anyone else. Heads of huge companies were now monitoring the inventory of supplies. The greatest designers were now repairmen. Brilliant writers were now typists for the EOs.
Sanja did not favor her own role in this new community. As a forensic investigator, she was chosen to keep things sanitary in the FCP. The EOs highlighted her mastery with chemicals and her keen eye for things not being in their place. The assignment was a joke. In simple terms, she was nothing more than a cleaning lady.
Sleeping at night was probably the worst part of living here. Cots were stacked three high in the narrow communal bedrooms. When someone wasn’t crying like a baby, she could hear every cough, every sneeze and every snore coming from the other cots around her. And if a couple was trying to be intimate, everyone could tell.
Each day more and more people would take their own lives. Suicide rates were higher than ever expected. It seemed most people just couldn’t adapt.
The issue had gotten so bad that the Navy was forced to remove any glass from public areas, any forks or knives from the kitchens and all ropes, shoe laces or loose wiring. They even bolted down everything that could be used as a bat, including the toilet-paper holders.
Sanja did not mind the suicides. In fact, she kind of looked forward to them. Fewer people meant fewer annoying noises at night and fewer people to share the cramped halls with. She didn’t know what the Navy did with the bodies once people offed themselves, but she didn’t quite care. Just as long as they’re out of here, I’m fine.
Music started playing, pulling Sanja’s focus back to the event. She had not realized how much she was aimlessly staring into space.
The bride and groom processed out of the room with smiles on their faces and cheers all around. Sanja decided she should at least clap.
People in the crowd started to rise. Goddamit, we’re standing now. Sanja stood up too, despite having a perfectly good chair below her. She envied Baltir in this moment. His injury gave him an excuse to remain seated.
Once the married couple exited the room, people began filing out of their seats. Sanja was in no hurry to get back to cleaning. She sat back down and leaned to Baltir.
“Where are you going after this?” she asked.
“Commander Skylar has asked for my assistance with something. He’s having some sort of meeting.”
“And you’re going?”
“Of course,” the hacker replied. “Should I not?”
Of course you should go, idiot.
“Go, definitely go. But… can I come with you? If Peter Skylar is in need of your help, something interesting must be going on.”
“I don’t think you’re invited and I don’t think I can just bring guests like that.”
“Come on, Baltir. Don’t be so stubborn.”
“I’m not your servant, Sanja. That’s Yuri’s job. Just let this pass. You’re just not used to being out of the loop, but there’s nothing wrong with it,” the man said. He must have taken a lot of joy in teasing the powerless woman. She could sense his pleasure.
“Do not test me, Baltir. You may have added me to the FCP, and I thank you for that, but if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have even known about this place!”
The half-breed sighed and shrugged as if suggesting there was nothing he could do. As he did this, Sanja spotted Jordan Grey walking through the crowd of people. That’s it, she thought, the commander, he’s my ticket in.
“Commander!” she shouted. She stood up and pushed her way past Baltir and the other chairs. She moved through the crowd of people in the room. “Commander!”
He spotted her and looked her way. He smiled.
“Ah, Sanja! Good to see you,” he greeted. The commander still wore his clean Navy uniform. Some people had taken to wearing scraps since descending into the FCP. Clearly Jordan liked to maintain a degree of professionalism, even in the afterlife.
The two of them met in the middle of the crowded room. People squeezed their way past them as they stood still. The commander’s nice attire matched Sanja’s grey pantsuit. She was glad to see she wasn’t the only one who wanted to look nice.
“It’s been a long time,” Sanja said. “I haven’t seen any of the higher-ups since coming down here. I’m glad I was at least invited to the wedding.”
“Don’t take it personally. There’s a lot going on. Everyone is getting used to their new roles. It’s difficult to arrange meetings,” he explained. He took a deep breath. He seemed tired. “Did you know it took the EOs two whole days just to assign everyone’s role?”
That’s the fastest they’ve ever done anything.
“I hear Commander Skylar is arraigning a meeting,” Sanja said, getting right to it.
Jordan nodded.
“That’s true. But it’s not happening for a few hours. We want to give the lucky couple a bit of time to themselves first.”
Where are they even going to find the space to enjoy themselves? Sanja wondered.
“Do you think I can sit in? I’ve felt very removed from everything since we came down here.”
“The afterlife is hard,” Jordan said sympathetically. “I won’t argue if you’re there. Knowing your expertise, you might have something useful to offer. But the President won’t be thrilled. He doesn’t like that you came down here. You weren’t even supposed to be here.”
“Where and when is the meeting?” she asked.
“The President’s suite,” he explained. “Three hours.”
“And you’ll let me in?”
“I will. But I don’t get the final say. The President can easily overrule it.”
Sanja smiled. Ortega wouldn’t do that. Starting a fight with me is just another task on his long list of priorities. He has too many other problems to worry about. For once, the busy schedule of others seemed to be working in her favor.
“I’ll be there. Thanks!” she said. She patted him on the back.
Jordan nodded.
“No problem, Sanja. Just be careful, alright?”
“Are you afraid I’m going to embarrass you?”
“You’ve never let me down so far, but things are different now. I’m not sure how the President will respond.”
“Never let you down? Aside from the Gallino case, you mean, right?”
The commander lowered his head for a moment, reflecting.
“We aren’t perfect. The Gallino case was a puzzle with too few pieces. There was nothing you could have done,” he explained as he met her eyes again. “But that’s a wholly separate convers
ation. No need to bring that up now. Take care, Sanja.”
She nodded back as he walked away.
Though she did not realize it, most of the room had cleared out by this point. Only a few stragglers stayed behind, talking to each other in the corners. Baltir also remained seated, probably just waiting to see how her conversation went.
She glared at him as she walked out the room, leaving him alone with his leg in a cast. He’ll have to hobble back through the halls without any help. That’s what he gets for trying to outplay me.
Sanja stood still in the thick crowd of smelly old men. She had grown used to standing so close to people over the last few days. Open space was nonexistent down here. But as much as she longed for some arm room, she mostly just wished someone would take a shower. The investigator covered her nose as she examined the President’s suite.
Sanja expected to find a room like the SAR, but discovered one a third the size. The far side of the room was lined with a long desk. Several large monitors were mounted high on the black wall above the table, each displaying various data.
President Ortega sat in the center of the long desk. His chair faced the inside of the room, away from the wall of elevated monitors. He wore a suit with a crimson tie. By the expression on his face, Sanja could tell he was exhausted.
To his right sat the new chief of staff and one of Sanja’s least favorite people, Sandra Walter. Apparently Ortega’s previous chief of staff did not make it to the FCP in time. Nobody knew whether he was late by mistake or if he merely chose to stay behind. In any case, Sandra found herself a promotion rather quickly. She wore a simple white t-shirt and a long black skirt today. Clearly she was not as concerned about appearances as some of the others in this room.
To the President’s left sat Commander Peter Skylar, the organizer of this meeting. Like Jordan, he wore his clean white Navy uniform. Sanja was glad to see that a few people decided to look presentable today.
Others were sprawled out throughout the room. Due to a limited number of seats, most people were standing. Sanja saw Jordan Grey, Baltir Yavenna, just-married Linda Faulkner, as well as numerous other people she did not recognize. Strangely absent from the group was Commander Hugo Alvarez. Perhaps he didn’t make it to the FCP in time either, Sanja thought. Come to think of it, he was not at the wedding.
Sanja was just glad to be here among the group. When she first arrived, the guards would not let her in. But Jordan came by and told them it was alright. She was lucky he showed up when he did.
“Alright, without further ado, I think we can get started,” began Commander Skylar.
“Before we get into what I have to say, there is a bit of news. As you all know, there’s been quite a number of shake-ups in the Council of Elected Officials lately. Former Council Head, Nora Slockter, did not make it to the FCP in time. By popular vote, Edward Segal was chosen as her successor,” Commander Skylar explained. This was all old news so far. “Just a few minutes ago, we received news that Edward Segal has died of hypothermia. The EOs will be voting on a new Council Head later today in a special session.”
There was mumbling all around. Everyone in this room probably had their own theories as to who the EOs would pick. As much as she hated to admit it, Sanja’s bet was on Horace Fielder. She despised the man and everything he stood for, but the EOs generally liked him. His experience as Chairman of the Defense Committee would only help his chances too.
Shit, she thought. The last thing we need right now is Horace Fielder heading up the Council.
“If you would all quiet down,” Commander Skylar said. The voices hushed. “I just wanted to let you know this news before we get started. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Segal at this time.”
Whose thoughts and prayers? Yours? Sanja had no intention of praying for him.
“The reason I’ve assembled this meeting is not to talk about changes in the Council, but to go over some interesting information we’ve discovered,” the commander explained. “Over the past few days, the Navy has been working closely with an elite hacker, Mr. Baltir Yavenna.” He gestured toward the injured man as he said his name. “Mr. Yavenna has helped us access some of our surface probe data.”
A hand was raised directly in front of Sanja’s face. She pulled her head back, giving herself some space.
“Excuse me,” the hand-raising man started, “didn’t we already have access to the probe? I thought we’ve seen this before.”
“We did,” the commander answered, “but after the station was destroyed, so was our database. The servers were all in the city, not down here. So accessing things has been a bit more difficult. We’ve had to go through the Meganet to do most anything. And even then, a lot of stuff is simply gone.”
“If I may,” Baltir interrupted. Commander Skylar held his hand out as if to suggest he had the floor. He stepped forward and faced the crowd. Sanja giggled at the way he hobbled. “What the commander is saying is right. I basically bypassed the computer system altogether and hacked directly into the probe itself through its link to the Meganet.”
“Yes, thank you, Mr. Yavenna,” the commander said.
Baltir nodded and rejoined the crowd. It was odd seeing him with this group. Sanja had been around many of these people before in the SAR, but never accompanied by Baltir Yavenna.
“This is what we discovered from the probe’s footage,” he continued. He pressed a button on the desk and one of the monitors displayed an image. At first, it was hard to determine what she was looking at. But after a few seconds, Sanja realized that this was footage of the surface. She could make out a sandy shoreline with waves brushing against it. The sea above was bright.
“What are we seeing at here, Commander?” asked a voice to Sanja’s left.
“This, Mr. Harrington, is the surface. You can see the land here. This is what we call a beach. It’s made mostly of sand. And the interesting part is these little impacts you see here.”
Sanja had not noticed it before, but now she saw the impacts Commander Skylar was talking about. It looked like footprints, lots of footprints. There have to be at least 20 sets of prints there!
“These appear to be tracks. One of our resident mathematicians took a look at the length and width of the prints, as well as the overall shape. She concluded that these prints are the same size and shape of human prints.”
“Lord Beyond Both Seas,” someone said.
“She also counted a total of 23 different tracks,” Commander Skylar added.
The same rude man held his hand up in front of Sanja’s face.
“So this is not a live feed?” he asked.
“Correct. You are seeing captured video. This was taken at an earlier date,” the commander answered.
“Can’t we just replay the video and go back? Then we can see whoever left these prints.”
“It doesn’t work that way. If we could, we would have. We can only watch it live and record a few seconds at a time. We just don’t have the storage space to record the whole thing.”
“So we tune in and get lucky if we see anything, then? Is that how it works?” asked the rude man.
“Essentially, yes,” the commander replied.
“Let’s watch it now!” someone else added.
It’s like we’re in a room of kids, just jumping in whenever they have a comment.
“We cannot watch it now. That would require us to hack into it again via the Meganet,” he answered.
Baltir stepped forward with his left hand raised. Once again, he had to hobble to get around.
“I would be more than willing to hack in right now,” he suggested, “if that’s what these people want.”
Peter Skylar shrugged and moved aside, allowing the hacker access to the terminal. Baltir did something with the computer. The others in the meeting remained quiet and watched. After a few minutes, Baltir paused altogether and turned in his chair, facing the inside of the room. He appeared confused and surprised. It was as if things were not going as he exp
ected.
“What is it?” the commander asked.
“It’s strange. I’m… I’m picking up another Meganet device. It’s not the probe. It’s something else.”
“Another device?” asked Sandra Walter.
“Can you access it?” added Peter Skylar.
Baltir turned back around and continued typing away at the computer. After a few minutes, he pulled away again.
“It’s bouncing a radio signal,” he said.
“Radio? But we’re deep underwater. How can we be picking up a radio signal?” asked another person Sanja could not see.
“The radio signal is being bounced through this Meganet source. It’s strange,” he explained.
The room was quiet for a moment. Then the President broke the silence.
“Well, let’s give them a call,” he suggested.
Sanja expected people to get excited by that proposition, but instead, the room was quiet again.
“Okay,” Baltir said nervously. He pushed a couple of buttons. “And… we’re live.”
Commander Skylar swallowed and instinctively adjusted his clothing.
“Attention, attention,” Peter Skylar began, “this is the Atlantic Federation. Do you read? This is the Atlantic Federation. Do you read?”
There was no response, but Sanja could hear static on the other end of the line. Everyone in the room just looked at everyone else. The entire room seemed tense.
“Attention, attention, this is the Atlantic Federation. Do you read? This is the Atlantic Federation. Do you read?” the commander repeated.
Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for something to happen. Sanja did not expect an answer, but to her surprise, someone suddenly responded. The entire room seemed to gasp at once as a stranger’s voice came through the speakers.
“Atlantic Federation, we read you. This is Lieutenant Ryan Stone, external defense,” he responded.
Jordan Grey coughed in astonishment and turned to face Linda Faulkner. She looked just as shocked. They must know this man.
“Lieutenant Stone, this is Commander Grey,” Jordan added, jumping in. “It’s good to hear from you. We thought you were long gone!”