Bridgebuilders

by Marlene Dotterer

  Ned’s sudden laugh startled them all. “You have to admire them, sometimes,” he said to the room at large. “Masters of spin, aren’t they?”

  Moira burst into tears.

  “They beat her.” She felt Andy’s arm go around her, and she leaned against him, glad when he wrapped both arms around her. She sobbed into his shoulder.

  “I’m sorry about that, lass,” Ned said. “They will do whatever they think is necessary. They always have.”

  “Which brings us back,” Pete said, “to the question of why? Why do they think it was necessary?”

  “Convenience, I think,” Andy said, patting Moira’s back. “They’ve connected me to rebel activity, which most of the public would secretly have sympathy for. But if they can paint me as a monster, no one will condone anything I do.”

  “And everyone will be looking for you,” Karen said. “And by extension, us.”

  The screen buzzed. Everyone turned at the sound, as if glad for the distraction. Moira used the moment to step away from Andy and pull out a handkerchief. Ned checked the incoming-call ID and put the call on the screen.

  “Arkady, what do you have?”

  “I got two bombs, is what I got. One of ‘em live.”

  Moira turned to face the screen, her gasp echoing Sarah’s. The screen showed a thin man in the blue NISS uniform, blond hair cut short, his blue eyes creased and fearful in a stern face. Behind him, a window looked out on a hallway, and beneath the window Moira could see part of a console, with screens, buttons, and a holographic display. Someone sat in a chair in front of the console, halfway out of the camera’s view.

  “Where?” Ned asked. “How much time?”

  “Six hours. The second bomb was partially assembled. They must be smuggling the components up and someone here puts ‘em together.” Arkady leaned closer to the camera, as if to keep his words from being heard. “Rhyder has ‘em. He caught my team while they were reporting to me. Took possession of the bombs, and said he’d handle it. I wanted to do an Abandon Station, but he nixed it. Said they had it under control. Thanked my team for doing a good job.” Arkady ended with a growl.

  “Damn.” Ned whispered the word, and Moira saw his dismay. “Do you know where he took them?”

  “Aft cargo station, according to Rhyder. Said it was the safest place to defuse the thing. Says he’s sure there aren’t any more than this, but he’ll have his people search. He won’t let us assist.”

  “We’re out of time.” Ned turned to Sam. “Security on NISS is controlled by Sun. Rhyder is head of security, working directly under Feldman.” He held out a hand, begging. “You’ve got to get us on that station now. I can send a team of fighters to take on Security while the rest of us search for bombs, and you set up your bridges to transport them off.”

  “You want us to go to a space station that could blow up at any time?” Sarah clutched Sam’s arm, anger lining her face. But her eyes watched the scene on the screen, and Moira followed her gaze, watching as a group of school children wandered past the window behind Arkady.

  “You have children up there,” Sarah said, as if just realizing it.

  “It’s a colony,” Ned said. “Workers bring their families to live there.”

  Sam reached for CERBO. “Get everyone in here you want to send. I’ll get the bridge programmed.”

  “Feldman will see the bridge when we activate it,” Andy said. “They’ll be here in five minutes. Or less.”

  “Fuck me.” Ned grabbed his Pad and his fingers danced a short pattern over the keys. All over the room, personal Pads jingled in a rapid series of repeating rings. People instinctively grabbed their Pads, and Moira heard Ned’s voice coming from all over the room as he spoke into his.

  “Red alert, folks. I’m initiating self-destruct, Plan 2A. Repeat: Plan 2A. Security, report to the conference room, tasers and hand weapons only.” He glanced to Sam. “How long before the first bridge is ready?”

  Sam waved a hand. “Five minutes.”

  Ned went back to his Pad. “Begin self-destruct immediately. You have ten minutes, folks.”

  Sam spoke up before Ned finished closing his connection. “I need a space large enough to send people into. Coordinates.”

  Ned turned to the screen, and flipped the microphone to the station. “Arkady, give us a clear space big enough for eight people at once.”

  On the screen, Arkady motioned to someone off screen. The camera changed to show a woman. She slammed a headset on and tapped a screen to her side, glancing into her camera at Ned. “Theatre’s the best bet. The stage is empty.”

  “Give us the coordinates.”

  She tapped another set of buttons and nodded. “On your screen.”

  Sam glanced up. At the same time, three guards rushed into the room, dressed in full riot gear, and bristling with weapons. Sam ignored them. “Sarah, Andy, Moira, work on that equation. I want the same answer from all of you before I send human beings out on this thing.”

  Moira grabbed her Pad, her fingers trembling as she entered the coordinates into the equation. The tricky part was accounting for the station’s rotation. She didn’t look up, but she could sense Andy and Sarah working on either side of her. It’s not a race, she reminded herself. You don’t have to be first, you just have to be correct.

  She heard Ned briefing the security team as he grouped them together in the center of the room. Her Pad displayed an answer and she stared at it, reviewing the steps in her mind, looking for an error. Andy stopped working, and a few seconds later, Sarah did, too. Not finding any errors, Moira sent her own answer to Sam’s Pad, then went back over her equation again. Just in case.

  “Got it.” Sam said. He looked to Ned, who held up a finger.

  “Real quick. Tell them what to expect. No one’s ever done this before.” Ned flashed a strangely nervous smile at the guards, reminding Moira that these weren’t just random soldiers. The people who worked here were all friends. “Lisa, Phil, Trevor,” Ned seemed to be naming them as a solemn acknowledgement. “Listen up and don’t panic. Do us proud.”

  They all nodded and turned pale faces to Sam. “You just stand where you are,” Sam said, his eyes moving from one to the other. “In one second, you’ll find yourself standing on the stage on NISS. No weird feelings, no sounds, no visions.” He glanced around the room. “Those of us who remain will hear a clap of thunder, due to atmosphere displacement after the people leave. It’s just the molecules slamming together. Perfectly normal phenomenon.”

  Ned nodded. “The rest of you, get ready. As soon as we send the first team, Sun will know where we are. We leave within a minute.”

  “Yes,” said Sam. “That means you three,” he gestured to the guards, “will need to move off the stage posthaste. We don’t want two bodies trying to occupy the same space.”

  With that odd vision in her head, Moira began stuffing Pads and paraphernalia into her backpack. Everyone but Sam was doing the same thing. She felt her heart racing, but didn’t know if was fear or excitement.

  Ned said, “Go,” and Sam positioned his fingers on the keyboard, eyes on the squad, who stared back at him, grim and alert. Two men, one woman. Lisa, Phil, Trevor. Moira wondered if their names would end up in some future history book.

  “On three,” Sam said. “One. Two. Three.”

  Moira was watching the squad, so missed when Sam pressed the final button. She couldn’t suppress a small scream when the people vanished. The thunder that accompanied it made her jump. Andy’s arm went around her shoulders and she realized she was shaking.

  Then she realized that he was shaking, too. But he didn’t hesitate, just nudged her forward to stand where the squad had been. She remembered that he had done this already, when he and Sam and Sarah escaped from Sun.

  It wasn’t just the bridge travel that had her rattled. She’d heard all her life about NISS, and in the last few years, she had learned a great deal about it. She knew it was pressurized, and that spin provided artificial gravit
y. She wasn’t afraid of going there. Awed, perhaps. Overwhelmed, and with no time to mentally prepare.

  As the others crowded around her, and Andy kept his arm firmly around her shoulders, she glanced upwards, as if she could see the sky, and the star that was NISS. But as her eyes looked up, she found herself staring at a catwalk, lined on two sides with royal blue drapes. Around her, people sighed in relief. Ned said, “Bugger me!” in a reverential tone.

  She glanced at Andy, who was looking down at her, his grin tremulous. The arm he held around her tightened in a quick squeeze, then he released her. The guards, who had followed Sam’s instructions and jumped off the stage as soon as they arrived, now clambered back up, big grins wreathing their pale faces.

  “Ya gotta tell me how you do that!” Lisa declared. Ned shook off his dazed state and waved a hand.

  “They’ll tell us later. We’ve got the element of surprise here, people. Let’s use it. Guards point and aft. You’re going to clear our path to any bombs we find.” He tapped his ear. “Arkady, we’re in.”

  “Bloody hell. How’d you get here so fast?” Arkady did not sound convinced.

  “Ask me later, mate. Where’s the closest bomb from here?”

  “I’m sending you the coords of where I think both of them are. But remember, the Sunnies have possession of them.”

  “So we’ll convince them to give ‘em up. Where’re your teams?”

  “All over, just like a normal day. They’re covering each other to take breaks and search for bombs, but they have to do it in secret, and it’s slow. The Sunnies are making it hard. Us finding those bombs tripped ‘em up, but they’ve been planning this for a long time. We’re just an annoyance.”

  “Okay.” Ned flipped up the virtual station map on his Pad. Moira could see blue dots moving around as he continued speaking. “I’m sending you a couple of civvies. They have a job to do, but your work takes priority, if you need ‘em.”

  “Got it. Arkady out.”

  Ned pointed at Karen, his eyes still on the map. “Take Sarah and Moira to the communications center, then join the search for bombs.”

  “You’re splitting us up?” Sarah threw a nervous glance at Sam as she interrupted Ned. Moira understood how she felt.

  “Yeah,” Ned said. “You two keep working on the prototype. We might need it. Andy can help Sam with the bombs.” Sarah opened her mouth and he held up a hand. “I don’t need a bunch of noncombatants to babysit. My priority is to protect Sam and the machine.” He raised a brow at Andy. “You grew up in a free village. Know how to use a taser?”

  “Yep.” Andy caught the gun Ned tossed to him.

  Moira shook her head. “You have a lot of strange talents, Andy.”

  He grinned, but Ned wasn’t waiting for banter. “Move out, people. We don’t have much time.”

  Karen headed for the door. Moira started after her, but stopped when Sarah held her ground and glared at Sam. “Don’t die,” she said.

  Sam brushed a kiss on her lips. “Same to you.”

  Sarah gave a sharp nod. Her lips were tight when she turned to catch up with Karen. Moira glanced at Andy, realizing for the first time that they could die up here. And we’ve never kissed at all.

  He must have been thinking the same thing, for his gaze dropped to her mouth, but he just winked at her before falling in next to Sam. Shouldering her backpack, Moira left him to his job, and went to do hers.

  Chapter 32

  “Got another one!”

  Dinnie, who was trying not to sleep as she read through Moira Sherman’s school work, jerked upward at Mike’s yell, and flew from her seat to join him at the detector. She longed to shove him out of the way and type in the calculations herself, but he was doing it faster than she could have, the way her hands were shaking. She sensed the ominous weight of Feldman’s presence behind her, watching over her head as the bridge’s alpha point appeared in a three dimensional grid over Belfast.

  The sweat on Mike’s forehead gave away his nervousness as he kept typing. A moment later, the omega point blinked into existence.

  In space.

  “NISS.” Feldman hissed the word behind Dinnie, and deep inside her, she felt something start to scream. Her soul it was, sure of its impending death. She stood frozen, staring ahead at Mike, watching him begin to turn, to nod in verification.

  Then relief swept through her, from head to toe. They did it. They found the chip and went to NISS. They’re going to save the station. By the time Mike completed his turn, she had recovered, and met his eyes with a brisk nod of approval, before turning to face Feldman. Alert and professional, ready for anything.

  Except for the desperate shock on Feldman’s face as he stared at the display. Behind him, to his right, the security supervisor was on a call, already sending a team to the alpha point. Dinnie’s voice was too high when she asked, “Sir? Why would they go to NISS?”

  The shock left his face as a slow smile moved his lips. “I don’t know, Dr. Warner. But we’ve got them.”

  He pointed at Mike. “I want to know how many people were transported. Hurry.”

  Mike turned back to the display, began typing again.

  “It takes a few minutes,” Dinnie said, not wanting Feldman to yell at Mike.

  “I want it now.” Feldman jerked his chin at her as he tapped his ear. “Help him.”

  It was a one-person job, but Dinnie stepped next to Mike and ran her finger over the bridge, hoping she looked like she was doing something useful. Mike grinned tightly at his racing fingers to acknowledge her.”

  Behind her, Feldman said, “You have intruders on your station, Rhyder. Don’t ask me how I know. Just listen. Put that station on lockdown. Get your guards ...”

  “Shit! There’s another one!” The shout was out of Dinnie before she even realized it, as a new virtual bridge shot through her hand. She could feel Feldman’s eyes boring into her back, but she didn’t turn around. “Same alpha and omega, sir.”

  “How many fucking people?”

  “Three on the first one,” Mike said, gasping a little. Dinnie thought she could see smoke coming from his fingers. She stared at the display, thought she could see where the numbers were going ... and took a leap.

  “More than three in the second one.” She stared and counted. “Five ... no, seven. I think.”

  “Yes,” Mike said, breathing hard. “Seven in the second.”

  “Rhyder, you’ve got ten intruders,” Feldman said. Dinnie listened, but didn’t take her eyes off the display, terrified she would see another bridge. “Find them all. You can kill the soldiers, but no one else. Make that clear, Rhyder: no one else gets killed. Confiscate their equipment immediately, but do not let any equipment get broken. They’ve got some irreplaceable stuff. You make sure your people understand that. Are you on lockdown?”

  Dinnie didn’t hear the answer, but Feldman said, “Keep them that way until all ten are rounded up. Move.”

  He turned back to them. “Any more?”

  Dinnie shook her head. “Not so far.”

  Feldman moved closer, to peer at the display. Dinnie watched him without turning her head. “Why,” he said, as if asking the display, “would they go to NISS?”

  ~~~

  When the lockdown alert came over the PA system, Ned stopped walking and shook his head. “On to us already. Damn.”

  “Not surprising,” Andy said. “They saw our bridges.”

  “I know they saw the fucking bridges. I was just hoping for more time.”

  They were in a corridor, a tight circle with Sam in the middle. They had kept their weapons holstered out of deference to the civilians, but at Ned’s nod, the guards and Pete armed themselves. Ned pulled his taser out, as well, and after a moment of hesitation, Andy did, too.

  “We continue to our objective,” Ned said. “When we meet resistance, Sam and Andy get down, try to get to cover. But let us protect you. Andy, you shoot if you have a clear aim, but your first priority is to protect Sam and th
e machine. Got it?”

  He didn’t wait for Andy’s nod, he just turned and gestured onward. Andy went with them, tapping his taser with nervous fingers, and regretting his lack of rebel involvement up to now. If he’d been with them earlier, maybe he’d feel more confident about his ability to fight.

  They’d traversed half the corridor when their luck ran out. Ahead of them, two Sun guards rounded a corner. Andy quickly lost track of the action. The Sunnies ordered them to halt, their own guards were swinging around, the Sunnies were pointing weapons, someone pushed him, and in a blind panic ... he fired. He had time to see that his shot arced wild before he went down under Pete and Phil, and as the corridor filled with sizzling energy and shouts, he knew with sick certainty that he had fired first ... thus giving the Sunnies plenty of excuses to fire back.

  In the next few minutes, he and Sam were shoved back a few feet, then into an open door. Their team followed and Pete pointed them to another door opposite them. Andy grabbed Sam’s arm and they ran through.

  “Hang right!” Pete yelled. Andy turned without seeing, pushing Sam ahead of him, down a flight of stairs. They rounded a corner and crashed against a closed set of double doors. There was nowhere else to go. The sounds of taser shots and pounding feet grew ominously near. Andy exchanged a glance with Sam, who shrugged. “In for a penny ...”

  Andy slapped the switch and the doors slid open on soundless tracks. Lisa appeared around the corner behind them, her taser firing back the way she’d come. Swinging around on one leg she saw them and shouted, “Go!” before continuing her spin to shoot in the other direction. Andy grabbed Sam and pushed him through. Inside were row upon row of plants in various stages of growth. They took shelter behind the nearest one and Andy peeked around it, taser ready. He felt more in control, remaining alert for either friend or foe to come through the door, prepared to not shoot if it were the first, or shoot fast and duck back, if it were the second.

  Pete dashed through, then Ned and Lisa, neck and neck. Ned and Pete took cover, while Lisa turned to face the door, her taser held ready. A shot came through, but she didn’t flinch. The next moment, Trevor fell through the door as if he’d been thrown, then Phil dived in, slamming the switch on the wall as he came. The doors slid closed, and Lisa fired a five second blast at the switch mechanism on the wall. By the time the Sunnies got there, the doors refused to budge.