“Report, Irene,” he mumbled. “And get us a medic up here ASAP.”
The AI’s voice crackled over the com system. “Acknowledged, running diagnostic report.”
“And shut those alarms off,” he said.
Silence washed over the room.
“Engines 1 and 2 are offline, sir. Engines 3 and 4 are both functioning at seventy-five percent, although those numbers are fluctuating,” Irene said. “Compartments 4 and 5 are completely flooded. Compartment 6 is partially flooded. I was able to seal off the corridor just in time—”
Noble cut in. “Engineering, how are we there?”
“There are only minimal reports of damage.”
“What about Compartment 7 and its aircraft?”
Without them they would have no way to lead an offensive, or, if needed, abandon ship. He knew those areas would likely have sustained massive damage.
“Inconclusive, Captain. That section of the ship is unresponsive. I haven’t been able to hail anyone yet.”
“Get on it.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
Hustling across the bridge, Noble returned to Athena’s section, eyeing the periscope.
“Sir,” the navigator said as he approached. “We’re now ten nautical miles away from the vortex, and only about one hundred feet below the surface.” She glanced up at him and gestured to the device. “You could probably see it through the periscope.”
Noble wasn’t sure if she was serious. He limped over to the periscope. Holding his breath, he pressed his eye against the cold lens. His heart climbed into his throat as the image came into focus. The wall of water extended into the sky far beyond his view, like the ocean had been turned upside down. Somewhere far above the surface the collection ships sucked the turquoise water into their bellies, swallowing Earth’s most important resource right in front of the GOA.
For the first time since the invasion, Captain Noble realized what they were up against.
Seeing it firsthand put things into perspective. He had learned something from the sight. Maybe they didn’t have a chance of winning the war after all.
CHAPTER 12
SOPHIE poked at her lips with her fingers. She wasn’t used to the tingling. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d smiled. Not for this long. And the odd thing was, she didn’t even know why she was smiling.
“How do you feel?” Emanuel said from the doorway. The sound of scuffling feet from across the room drowned out his voice. Bouma and Holly stood to the side, both of them staring at her with confused looks. She was aware of others, too; she could see the outlines of smaller figures in the hallway.
“Why are they out of bed?” Sophie asked, noticing the time. She pointed to the kids and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
“You should rest,” Emanuel said. He crossed the threshold and sat on the edge of her bed. He gave her elevator eyes and then said, “Why on earth are you smiling?”
Sophie watched Bouma chase the children back down the hallway. Then she remembered Smith. The marine had seen the multidimensional Organics! And she’d seen Sophie, too! She felt a current of excitement jolt through her.
“Now do you believe me?” she asked, stiffening her back.
Emanuel ignored her question. “Lieutenant Smith is very sick. She needs our help. Your help.”
Her enthusiasm fizzled. “I know. Have you performed the tests we discussed?”
“Yeah—actually, I just finished one of them, but I’d like to do another.”
“With the MindTec,” Holly blurted.
The outburst made Sophie hesitate. She wasn’t sure whom to acknowledge first. And the headache, she could feel it returning, settling in the same place as before, right behind her eyes. The buzzing was there, too, distant but present. She winced from the pain.
“Are you okay?” Emanuel inched closer to her, touching her leg with cold hands.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She shook her head and pointed at Holly. “What did you say about the MindTec?”
Holly scooted forward nervously in her chair. “Smith hasn’t been able to communicate much up to this point, and the MindTec may allow us to answer some of our questions. She may know things that could help us learn more about the Organics.”
“I didn’t even know we had a MindTec,” Sophie said.
“NTC didn’t equip the Biosphere with one, but they did leave one in the outer offices,” Holly replied.
Sophie furrowed a brow, an idea surfacing. Perhaps the machine could vindicate her once and for all, and show the team what she had seen. Her smile grew wider and a tingle ran up her cheeks, masking the pain from her growing headache.
“Smith isn’t the only one who has useful information about the Organics,” Sophie said. She pointed to her head. “There are things I’ve seen that can help answer our questions, too.”
The comment appeared to take Holly off guard. She exchanged a worried look with Emanuel, who turned and waved an index finger as if he was scolding Sophie. “No, you are in no condition.”
“I’m fine,” she lied. The humming was louder now, emanating from inside her skull.
“I don’t like this; I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Emanuel said. “Besides, I haven’t even told you about Smith’s condition yet.”
“No one’s stopping you,” Sophie replied.
Emanuel narrowed his eyebrows. “Her biomonitor shows she’s doing a bit better, but Alexia believes it’s just part of the process.” He paused and folded his hands in his lap. “As you know, she’s dying.”
Sophie’s smile completely disappeared. Another bomb of pain went off in her head. She blinked several times before replying. “Has she responded to the antibiotics?”
Emanuel shook his head. “But I did perform an experiment with the RVAMP. Alexia was able to zap a sample with the reverse pulse. It destroyed the nanobots and the bacteria, but it also killed healthy cells.” Emanuel crossed one leg over the other. “I don’t think she would survive being exposed to a full pulse, but we have no choice. She may die either way.”
Sophie nodded. “It’s worth a shot, I suppose.” She slumped her back against the wall and massaged her temples. “I really want you to hook me up to the MindTec. I have to know if what I’ve seen is real or if it was a dream. Please, Emanuel.” She turned to Holly and pleaded. “Please.”
“Fine,” he replied. “But if we’re going to do this we need to do it soon. Like in the morning.”
“No,” Sophie said. “Let’s do it now. The sooner we do it, the sooner we can help Smith.”
“I think we should also take a sample of your blood to make sure those headaches aren’t something more serious,” Emanuel said.
“Fine,” Sophie replied.
Emanuel locked eyes with her. “You’re sure you want to do this?”
Sophie swung her feet back over the bed and stepped onto the cold tile. “Let me get changed. I’ll meet you in the medical ward in a few minutes.”
Emanuel patted her leg and scratched his beard. He looked pleased, as though he had accomplished something. She narrowed her eyebrows and watched him leave the room, suddenly feeling like she’d been tricked.
* * *
Smith could hear the voices as they entered the room.
She lay there, paralyzed, unable to remember anything from her past. She had no sense of self, she knew only that she felt compelled to act.
Her veins burned and her brain swelled inside her skull, like it was boiling. All she knew was that soon, very soon, it would all be over, that she would rejoin them. Those that had possessed her mind and body. The blue ones—the architects.
* * *
Lieutenant Smith slept peacefully. The white blanket covering her frail body moved up and down ever so slightly as she breathed.
Sophie was in the adjacent bed, flanked by Holly and
Emanuel. They were both busy setting up the small MindTec machine that they’d wheeled over on a cart by her bedside. Alexia’s hologram supervised from her console a few feet away.
“All set,” Emanuel said. “I’m just going to slip this over your head like a helmet. Okay?” He carefully plucked the device off the cart and held it in front of her.
Sophie studied the miniature MRI machine from her pillow, feeling an unexpected bit of fear. It passed quickly when she reminded herself what the results would likely show. With a nod she lifted her head and let him slide it over her hair.
“The best results are achieved when the patient focuses on whatever it is they are trying to remember. In your case, your time in the alien vessel,” Alexia said.
Sophie nodded again and closed her eyes. She tried to picture the interior of the Organic ship, but her headache had returned with a vengeance; it was difficult to concentrate on anything.
“This may take a while,” Emanuel said. “Holly and I will be by your side the entire time. Alexia will be monitoring the results.”
“Okay,” Sophie replied in an unusually soft tone.
“Running preliminary scans,” Alexia replied.
Emanuel grabbed Sophie’s hand and cupped it in his own. “Relax, it’s going to be okay,” he said. “Just breathe.”
She complied, and worked on compartmentalizing the pain in her skull. She took in several deep breaths, exhaling until the pain finally faded.
“All systems functioning at one hundred percent. Prepare for initial scan,” Alexia said.
“Okay, here we go,” Emanuel replied.
Sophie felt a painless current jolt through her and then drifted off to sleep.
ENTRY 5101
DESIGNEE – AI ALEXIA
The initial scan results are fascinating, but unusual. The data and images are coming from Dr. Winston’s subconscious; deep in the area that normally indicates dreaming. It’s an anomaly. Like half her memories are real and half are imagined. I can hear Dr. Rodriguez and Dr. Brown discussing the images in hushed whispers, but I ignore them to record Dr. Winston’s test results.
Dr. Winston’s first memory starts in Colorado Springs, at the lakebed where they encountered the human farm. I watch her trek across the ground with Sergeant Overton and the others. They reach the poles and split up. Now she is checking the vitals on a man attached to one of the rods. Sergeant Overton says something and she moves on to the next person.
That’s where the scan becomes unusual. The Organic spaceship descends and Dr. Winston is sent tumbling into a pole. The current of electricity shocks her and there’s a time lapse. I log this as the moment of the anomaly.
Now she’s inside the spaceship, but for some reason the MindTec can’t determine whether the images are memories or dreams. They seem to be registering as both. There are thousands of orbs, lining the walls in all directions. One of them contains a flowerlike alien creature. If the image is indeed real, then it means Dr. Winston made contact with yet another new and unidentified alien life-form. I note this in my database.
Next, Dr. Winston sees a blob of blue shapes. I presume this is the multidimensional alien she has told us about. I also note this in my log. Before I move on, I study the memory. There are no recognizable features. No lips, mouth, eyes, nothing like the other Organics. Whatever this entity is, I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
Seconds later, Dr. Winston’s suddenly on Mars. The landscape quickly vanishes and she’s sinking in an ocean. There are explosions, an underwater volcano, and domes containing thousands of Organic creatures are destroyed. More black ships rise from the water and Dr. Winston’s back on Mars. The subsequent images are of more black ships, a cluster removing water over the ice caps of Europa, another collecting the residue behind a comet.
The memories are some sort of snapshot of the Organics’ history. Mars, as I already suspected, must be their home planet. It makes sense, considering that’s the source of the surge. But there are many other things that still don’t make sense. Why did they come to Earth long after their own civilization was destroyed? And why Earth? There are many other sources of water in the solar system.
Fifteen seconds have passed since I began studying the data. I decide to discuss the implications with Dr. Brown and Dr. Rodriguez. Their expressions both suggest a combination of different emotions, primarily shock and confusion.
I’m the first to instigate conversation. “Doctors, the data is confusing; in fact, it’s inconsistent, and I must conclude the results show an anomaly.”
“Could the NTC chip in her neck be the source of these ‘memories’?” Dr. Brown asks.
“No. Since we first discovered it, my database has been directly linked to the material contained inside all the chips. And it contains no intel on an Organic ship with thousands of orbs inside.”
“So did she dream this or experience it?” Dr. Rodriguez asks.
“Inconclusive. These results are unexpected, an unfortunate abnormality.” I know it’s not the answer they are looking for, but I’ve never seen anything like it. I will run another scan just to make sure the results are the same.
They are.
“This does line up with my theory,” Dr. Rodriguez says. He takes off his glasses and moves back to Dr. Winston’s bedside. Dr. Brown moves away from the monitor, but her eyes remain glued on the grainy images. Specifically the memory of the multidimensional alien. The creature’s flesh shifts and flickers like a gelatinous blue lightbulb. It’s truly amazing.
“What’s your theory?” Dr. Brown asks.
“Alexia,” Dr. Rodriguez says, “Rewind to that very first memory where she touches the rod on the human farm.”
The screen with the unidentifiable alien transitions to the moment right before Dr. Winston tumbles into the pole.
“There. Pause it,” Emanuel blurts. “Right here.” He points at the screen. “When she touches the pole, the electricity shoots through her. I believe that current explains everything. I believe it connects to the surge and the alien nanobots found in Smith’s bloodstream.”
I am unconvinced.
“Doctor Rodriguez, your theory lacks any factual evidence. May I suggest first testing Doctor Winston’s blood for the same nanobots found inside Lieutenant Smith’s?”
He scratches his beard. But he does not look surprised at my suggestion. I conclude he has already had the same thought.
“What’s she talking about?” Dr. Brown asks. She nudges Dr. Rodriguez in the side when he doesn’t immediately respond.
“The nanobots we found in Smith’s bloodstream. She’s saying Sophie could be infected with the same thing,” he replies. “And that she could have picked it up in Colorado Springs when her body came into contact with one of the poles.”
“What does that mean?” Dr. Brown inquires.
“I was hoping that it wasn’t possible, but now I’m almost certain that it is,” Dr. Rodriguez says. “I’ll prepare the test. Alexia, prepare to scan the sample.” He turns to Dr. Brown and pats her shoulder. “I’m not sure you should be here for this.”
A tear drops from Dr. Brown’s right eye. Her lips move, but she does not reply. She simply shakes her head and kneels next to Dr. Winston’s bedside.
* * *
Diego smacked the side of his helmet to ensure it was tight. After his experience aboard the X-9, the last thing he wanted was to start a mission without a secure suit.
His HUD blinked green just as the captain’s voice flared in his earpiece. “Diego, give me a head count.”
The special ops lead counted the helmets behind him. “I have six men, sir.”
The captain replied quickly. “That’s it?”
“We were slaughtered down here. A real back-alley fight. Several of our guys ended up with broken bones. Half of these guys shouldn’t even be venturing out—”
�
��I understand,” Noble replied. His tone became almost apologetic. Diego attributed it to the poor quality of their radios. He turned to his men. “Listen up. This is a rescue and salvage mission. First and foremost, we are looking for survivors in Compartment 6. After that we will make our way to the cargo bay to determine the status of any vehicles that may still be in working order.”
He scanned the faces looking back at him. They were bruised, bloody, and scared. These were men who had already been through the wringer. Now, they were being asked to risk their lives.
All in a day’s work for the NTC Special Forces, Diego thought. He smacked the man closest to him on the shoulder. Jed was his name. Just a kid from upstate New York. Diego didn’t know him real well, but knew he played poker with skill well beyond his years.
The other men were a mixture of ages and races. All battle-hardened by action they’d seen in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and other NTC hotspots where the locals hadn’t liked the company coming in and taking over valuable real estate.
The men were down, but they weren’t out. They would do just fine.
“Any questions?” Diego asked. He noted none and said, “Let’s get it done, then.” Reaching for the handle to Compartment 6, he stopped just short of twisting it.
“Irene, you’re my eyes. Make sure we aren’t walking into a lake,” he said with a grin.
“Aye aye, sir,” the AI replied. “The following compartment is only partially flooded. Knee-high water more than likely.”
“More than likely?”
“My cameras and sensors were damaged. I’m not—”
“Got it,” Diego replied. He twisted the circular handle until it popped open with a loud metallic click.
He felt a rush of adrenaline enter his system. Becoming a soldier had been his one true calling. He’d considered other careers in high school. His parents had encouraged him to become a doctor or an engineer, but he had wanted to see action, to feel alive. And this was the only job that had ever given him the feeling of intensity that he longed for.
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