Nano Contestant - Episode 4: Arctic Survival: The Technothriller Futuristic Science Fiction Adventure of a Cyberpunk Marine (Nano Contestant Series)

by Leif Sterling

  Table of Contents:

  Copyright

  Join Nano News!

  Dedication

  Chapter One - Rib

  Chapter Two - Interrogation

  Chapter Three - Calcium

  Chapter Four - Two

  Chapter Five - Arctic

  Chapter Six - Ivan

  Chapter Seven - Cubes

  Chapter Eight - Contest

  Chapter Nine - Pillar

  Chapter Ten - Red

  Chapter Eleven - Five

  Chapter Twelve - Upgrade

  Chapter Thirteen - Chute

  Chapter Fourteen - Ripcord

  Chapter Fifteen - Reboot

  Chapter Sixteen - Honor

  Chapter Seventeen - Nightfall

  Chapter Eighteen - Snowshoe

  Chapter Nineteen - Hunter

  Chapter Twenty - Leverage

  Chapter Twenty-One - Alpha

  Chapter Twenty-Two - Glacial

  Episode 5

  Join Nano News!

  Review

  About the Author

  Nano Contestant

  Episode 4:

  Arctic Survival

  A Sci-Fi Technothriller

  Copyright © 2015 Leif Sterling

  All rights reserved.

  Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold.

  Thank you for reading.

  For more information and release schedule, please visit:

  www.LeifSterling.com

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  Dedication:

  To Carlos, the fastest Nano Contestant reader - EVER.

  You, Sir, are amazing.

  CHAPTER ONE:

  RIB

  ROLAND’S FEET BARELY touched the ground as the security team moved with military precision down the hallway. Roland struggled futilely against both the strength of the individuals and of the group. His demands for an explanation were met only with silence and echoed off the bare concrete walls.

  Skylar watched as her video feeds began showing a little bit of static. The static increased as Roland went down the hallway. She frantically checked all her receivers and cranked up her locator pings. Roland’s signal continued to fade away. What did they know?

  Coach watched Roland’s video stream fade to static. “Roland? Are you ok?”

  Skylar stopped typing as she saw that her efforts to reach out to Roland were not making any progress. She looked helplessly at Coach. “What do we do now?”

  Coach ran his hands through his hair and exhaled sharply. “We wait. Keep your pings going. I want to know the moment we hear back from Roland.”

  Skylar just stared back at her screen, watching every ping fail on her holographic terminal.

  The security guards went through the double doors at the end of the hallway into another large room. The large room was divided into many smaller storage rooms with a small walkway at the front of them.

  Roland heard their footsteps echoing loudly, competing only with the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears. He was taken to the third storage room.

  The security guard at the front stepped out and yanked the door open. Without warning, the security guards efficiently sent Roland airborne into the room.

  Roland flailed, landing in a belly flop. He impacted hard on the rough concrete floor. His head bounced once, and then he skidded on his cheek until he finally came to a stop. He heard the door slam behind him. He forced himself up on his elbows and crawled over to the wall. He braced his back against it and stood.

  One quick glance around the bleak room told him all that he needed to know. This room looked exactly like the room where Mark’s death had been recorded, minus the chair. His mind churned, trying to think of a way out of this.

  The door flung open again. The security guards filed in and surrounded Roland.

  The security leader came in, holding a chair. He mumbled a command into his comms unit, and four one-inch cylindrical holes lowered themselves in the middle of the room.

  The security guards held Roland fast.

  The security leader set a chair down on the floor. Then he gave another muffled command. A slight humming sound emanated from the floor. Then the chair slid three feet from where the security leader had set it down. Its four legs slid into their places in the holes in the ground. Roland observed the chair carefully. Electromagnets. Powerful ones, too, by the look of them.

  The security guards moved Roland to the seat. Four sets of meaty paws ensured that he did not move while the remaining security guards shackled him to the chair. Then they stepped away from him and silently lined themselves against the walls.

  Roland struggled against the shackles on his wrists and ankles.

  The security leader stepped forward in front of Roland. He crossed his arms and glared down at him. “I am Sergeant Rex, security team leader.” His voice was low and carried a sinister authority with it. His stoic expression could have cared less whether he was having a casual conversation or an interrogation. “You are in one of our secure interrogation rooms.” He gestured towards the walls. “These rooms are made with Faraday enclosures. No transmissions can come in or out. Your team can’t track you. Your team can’t help you. Now. Let’s get down to business. Yesterday, we have you in a restricted area without an authorized escort. Why were you in the hallway near the datacenter?”

  The man’s tone made the hair on Roland’s neck stand on end. What did they know? Roland gave the thought command for Slow Mo to help him process his thoughts. The world slowed down, allowing his senses to amplify his surroundings. A single light bulb swung slowly on a chain overhead. Its low wattage brought no cheer to the storage room. The air smelled of mildew and a dozen perspiring bodies. The hum of the electromagnet under him seemed louder. He could identify the frequency of its pulsing waves. “I was in my team’s overnight room all day yesterday, except for a meal. Check the logs on my.”

  Sergeant Rex’s fist interrupted Roland.

  Even with Slow Mo, the attack was so fast, it had barely registered in Roland’s brain.

  Sergeant Rex’s fist slammed hard into Roland’s solar plexus.

  Roland heard the crack of his rib before he felt it. Slow Mo let him feel the intense pain of his lower left rib cracking at the base of his sternum. His vision blacked out momentarily from the pain. His diaphragm muscle spasmed. He gasped for a breath that defied his pleas.

  Sergeant Rex stood with his hands behind his back. “Don’t waste my time with lies, contestant, or the next time you’ll actually feel pain.”

  Roland shook his head to try and clear it. He wheezed as he tried to breathe. “Check my logs.”

  Sergeant Rex pulled a Bowie knife from his belt. Its blade was a foot long. Its handle was thick and beefy like its owner. He took a step towards Roland and lowered the
blade so that it was level with Roland’s stomach.

  Roland looked down at the knife. Slow Mo took in every detail. The knife’s edge was a lighter color, showing recent signs of having been sharpened. There was a bloodletting groove at the top of it. The knife was nothing, if not efficient. His breath began to return to him. He began to say something, but the sergeant interrupted him again.

  Sergeant Rex pushed his knife up against Roland’s abdominal wall. The knife point made an indention in his skin, but did not break it yet. He waved his hand over the comms device on his belt. It projected a holographic video into the room. It showed a business man in a suit walking towards the camera.

  Roland watched the short video clip of the business man.

  Sergeant Rex inclined his head towards the video. “We have you on video in a restricted area. You’re going to tell me what you were doing there. Now.” He pressed the tip of his blade a little further into Roland’s stomach.

  Roland winced as a small trickle of blood began to flow from the knife’s tip. Roland gritted his teeth. Then he squared his jaw and stared straight into Sergeant Rex’s emotionless void of a face. “I wasn’t there.” He exhaled sharply. “That’s not me.” Roland jerked his head towards the video.

  CHAPTER TWO:

  INTERROGATION

  SERGEANT REX’S EYES narrowed. “Don’t play games with me, contestant.”

  Slow Mo amplified Sergeant Rex’s slight facial movement. Roland could feel worry growing, but he couldn’t show it. It churned in his stomach instead.

  Sergeant Rex twisted his knife point. “We watch all the contestants like a hawk. Don’t you think we know that the locators can be spoofed? Or how much tech you guys have inside?”

  Roland was close enough to Sergeant Rex that he could the smell food on the security leader’s breath: tuna, egg and mayonnaise. Roland swallowed hard and stared directly back at Sergeant Rex. “You have good tech too. Run your analysis. Again.”

  Sergeant Rex watched Roland’s micro facial expressions. He knew that those little expressions could tell volumes during an interrogation. Swallowing hard. Goose bumps. Nervous twitch. Direct eye contact.

  Roland tried to ignore the pain of the knife point in his stomach. He reminded himself that the needle in his eye had gone much deeper. “The man in that video is not me.”

  Sergeant Rex moved his knife up to Roland’s throat. “Last chance, contestant. I will gut you like a pig. Tell me why you were in a restricted area. Are you a corporate spy?”

  The video of Mark’s execution flashed through Roland’s mind. He set his resolve to go out like a Marine. Roland glared, unflinching. He felt his adam’s apple hit the knife.

  Sergeant Rex gripped his knife tighter as he watched Roland’s face.

  Roland heard the door click open behind Sergeant Rex. He refused to even blink.

  A mousy looking, middle aged man in a Pinnacle polo shirt quietly came in and tapped Sergeant Rex on the shoulder.

  Sergeant Rex leaned over towards him, while still keeping an eye on Roland.

  Polo shirt put his hand up to cover his mouth as he whispered. “Sir. We need to recheck the data. The tech who measured the man’s height from the video earlier was new and may have miscalculated the recognition formula.”

  Sergeant Rex turned to the man, exposing him to the full powers of his deadpan expression. “Confirm it.” He raised up, stepped back and sheathed his blade.

  Roland watched the odd little man as he scurried over to the video hologram and began re-running his recognition formula on the man in the suit. Zooming in and out of the video several times, he regathered his data pixel recognition points.

  Watching the video again, Roland noticed someone else in the video frame. There was a janitor at the far end of the hall. His head was down, and he was pushing a cart. There, on the screen, was the undeniable evidence of his guilt. His heart pounded in a deafening rhythm. For a moment, he was afraid it might give him away.

  Polo shirt finally turned around to face Sergeant Rex and shook his head.

  Sergeant Rex nodded his head to his men and stepped into the hallway to relay the new information to his superiors.

  The other security guards pounced on Roland, but this time they unshackled him and moved him out of the room in one fluid motion. Roland was once again whisked out into the main room. He hadn’t even made it to the double doors of the room when the security guards suddenly pinned him up against the wall. Roland heard yelling out in the hallway coming towards the doors. He craned his neck to try and see around the living wall which held him fast.

  The double doors burst open and forcefully smacked against the walls. The screaming voice seemed familiar to Roland.

  This second team of twelve security guards was having a hard time holding onto their unwilling captive. Suddenly, their charge got a fist free. With a whoop, he took a well-calculated swing at the nearest face.

  Recognition hit Roland like a freight train. Enrique!

  The moment Enrique’s punch connected with one of the security guards, they moved as one and took him to the ground. The crushing dog pile of defined muscle extracted their punishment threefold on Enrique. Huge, ham hock sized fists pummeled Enrique into unconsciousness in a matter of seconds. Then they stood and moved Enrique towards the room from which Roland had just departed.

  Roland’s feet never touched the ground as the security guards plucked him from the wall and took him down another passageway. After three minutes at a near jog, the security guards dropped him off at the entrance to the teams’ overnight quarters. They disappeared the way they had come without so much as a word, much less an apology.

  CHAPTER THREE:

  CALCIUM

  THE FURTHER THAT the security guards got away from Roland, the more he felt the signals coming back into range. “Sky?” Roland limped towards the team’s overnight room.

  Skylar jumped in her seat. “That’s a ping!” Her terminal began giving a continuous series of beeps. “It looks like Roland’s system is trying to contact us.”

  Coach looked at the still blank video terminals. “Do we have any video yet?”

  Skylar shook her head. “No. Not yet. I don’t understand how we are not getting contact. All my receivers are working.” She began checking over her system to see what data she could get. She pulled up Roland’s vitals. She was getting a heartbeat and other regular vital signs. Then she heard Roland’s voice asking for her. “Roland! Are you ok?”

  The pain from the race was catching up to him now. It was compounded by the fractured rib. “I’m near the room.”

  Coach and Skylar both ran out of the room towards Roland. They saw him at the end of the hallway making his labored movements.

  Coach put Roland’s arm around his shoulder so he could support his weight and help him to the team’s room. “What happened? Where are you hurt?”

  Roland gingerly touched his chest where he had been hit. He winced. “They broke a rib.”

  Skylar went ahead of them and held the door open. “Come on in here. I will get the medical scan running.”

  Roland eased onto his bed. Then he took off his shirt. A nasty, purple and yellow bruise was already forming.

  Skylar gasped. “Oh no.” She put her hand over her mouth. “That looks awful.”

  Coach bent down to get a closer look at Roland’s bruise. The bruise was dark purple in the center and yellow around the edges. The whole bruise was six inches in diameter. Coach stood up and crossed his arms. He furrowed his brow as he stared at Roland. “Tell us what happened. Why did security take you away?”

  Roland accepted an ice pack from Skylar and held it against his chest. “Pinnacle has a video of a contestant in a restricted area.”

  Skylar froze briefly in her movement.

  Roland laid back on the bed. “They falsely accused me.”

  Coach frowned. “So they took you into custody without adequate evidence and tried to beat a confession out of you?” He threw his hands up in the
air. “I’m going down to talk to the game’s commissioner right now.” He headed towards the door but then turned back to Skylar. “Give him some food and get the healing app running. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Then he left.

  Skylar brought up the holographic food menu for Roland. She bit her lower lip as she came over next to Roland’s bed. “What was on the video?”

  Roland shook his head. “They have a guy on video in the hallway going to the datacenter. But it isn’t me.”

  Skylar sat down on the bed. “Do you know who it was then?”

  Roland nodded. “They brought Enrique in as I was leaving.”

  Skylar whispered. “Enrique?”

  “I don’t know. But they let me go and brought him in instead.”

  Skylar shook her head. “I can’t believe it.”

  Roland sighed as he checked off item after item on the menu. Then he submitted his order. “Did you find anything to help us?”

  Skylar began to smile. She held up a finger and went to crank up the music on her holographic terminal. The room was filled with the outlandish beat of the Floating Zebras. She snapped her fingers in time to the tune as she came back over to Roland’s bedside. “I think this song is actually growing on me.”

  Roland smirked and rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Like a fungus.”

  The smile left Skylar’s face. She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “Their operation is deeper than just framing their employees for profit.”

  Roland raised an eyebrow.

  Skylar nodded. “They are buying up presidents and dictators in small countries. They have them in their pocket. Then when war breaks out, they sell ammunition, technology, and defense droids to both sides through many obscure shell corporations.”