“Your hand would probably be crushed if he shook it.” Lucas smiled.
“Better than my throat,” Keith said, touching the bruised skin around his neck.
For the first time in a long while, Keith felt a sense of accomplishment, a sense of victory. He’d worked long hours on the ECHO project, and to see it come into its own was like watching a child grow up.
As the Marines loaded up on the jet, Keith noticed something. Sergeant Martin, the first Marine to actually see Saven, was staring at Keith from beside a row of boxes being loaded in the jet.
Martin looked emotionally disturbed.
Keith approached him, sticking his hand out to shake it. “Well, another Crucible down.” Keith smiled.
“Yeah,” Martin said. He faked a smile up at Keith, but looked down, and refused to shake his hand. He appeared to be holding something back.
“So what are your plans when you get back?” Keith asked.
“Are you serious?” Martin said, raising his eyebrows. Keith shook his head slightly, confused by Martin’s answer.
“Keith, you do realize Belmont is still going to be my superior, right? If we would have won, that meant the rank of Major for Belmont, but more importantly for me, a transfer,” Martin explained. “Not anymore. That’s just a dream.”
“Uh, Martin. Man, I hate to hear that. The last thing I would have ever wanted is to see you continue to take his shit.”
“See, you already knew, how?” Martin asked.
“I just do. He constantly hounds you. You’re a sergeant but he treats you like a private. Just an observation.”
Martin nodded, pulling out a cigarette. He lit it up and took a big draw. “You want one?”
“Ha. Nah, I’m good,” Keith said.
“Yeah, it’s against regulations in my unit, but I don’t really give a shit right now.”
“Well, hey, listen, I’ve got to get going, but I’m sorry if Saven startled you during the drill. We designed him—”
“Startled?” Martin interrupted.
“Well, I’m not saying you were afraid, I just mean—”
“I was… terrified,” Martin interrupted again, tapering off his voice when he realized he might alert someone.
“I’m sorry, Martin. I didn’t mean—”
“I had some of the most vivid nightmares in my entire life last night.”
“Well again, that wasn’t my intention either.”
“I know, Keith. I’m not busting your balls, man.”
Martin stepped in close to Keith, looking him dead in the eyes. He glanced over toward Belmont for a moment before speaking. “I want that.”
“What?”
“I want that power to drive fear into my enemies. I want to be able to do that to people that deserve it.”
“What do you mean? I don’t—”
“Stop with the bullshit. I know that’s a man under there, or part man. I want that, too. I want to feel the power that thing has.” Martin explained.
“Martin, I think you’re underestimating the power of artificial intelligence.”
“No. No, I’m not. Listen, it’s fine if you can’t say anything, but you’re talking to a Marine that has made a career out of killing drones with artificial intelligence for years. That thing is not AI.”
Keith looked away. He wasn’t the best liar, but he couldn’t say anything.
“That’s no drone,” Martin insisted.
Even if SolarSystems ever wanted another ECHO unit, it wouldn’t be Sergeant Martin. He was a good Marine, but not even close to the caliber of soldier needed for the program.
“Hey, Keith, you good?” Lucas hollered over at him.
“Yeah. I’ll be right over.”
Martin gave Keith a piercing gaze before he ran away. “Think about it, man. I’m perfect for it.”
“Let’s rock and roll!” Belmont barked. The Marines loaded up on their jet.
Keith stared at Martin, but didn’t say a word.
Lucas closely watched Martin walk away as Keith caught back up to him. Martin stared back at them one last time before entering the jet, walking past Belmont on the rear gate.
“What was that about? That guy looks ill. Has he eaten since we’ve been here?” Lucas asked.
“He just asked me if he could be an ECHO,” Keith said.
Lucas stopped him. “Wait, what?”
“I know. I have no idea how he knows for sure, but he does,” Keith said.
“Wait, isn’t that the guy Belmont shot in the chair?” Lucas asked.
“Yeah.”
Suddenly, everyone’s attention shifted to the exit. Two SolarSystems technicians in lab coats appeared. They were guiding Saven’s pod on a mechanized dolly. Keith ran around it, making sure all his connectors were in place for the short flight back.
The Marines’ jet was parallel to Keith’s. Belmont’s eyes followed Saven’s pod until it was out of view. He shook his head side to side, squinting his eyes. He smashed the rear gate button with his hand, closing it. A minute later, the Marines took off, blasting into the atmosphere and out of view.
“Looks good… Load him up,” Keith said, giving them the thumbs up. He and his small staff ushered the pod up and strapped it in. Lucas followed in just behind them.
The pilot’s voice came over the intercom. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to have this bird off the ground in the next ten minutes, if possible. Storm’s intensifying,” he said in a calm, but commanding voice.
“Sure thing,” Keith said. “I think we have everything loaded, but let me go back and double check.” He had a little pop to his step, exiting the jet, thrilled about SolarSystems’ first win.
“We’ll be here,” Lucas said, smiling.
Keith ran back to his control room one last time. The pilot was right. The storm was picking up. He didn’t forget anything, so he dashed back toward the jet in the blizzard. He could hear the pilot throttling the solar-powered engines, keeping them warm as Keith darted across the courtyard.
He stepped onto the rear metallic lift gate. “Okay, we’re good!” Keith rubbed his hands together excitedly while walking toward his seat.
“Damn, that’s cold,” Keith said. He hit the rear gate button.
“I think we need to talk.” Lucas threw an arm over his seat, but noticed something behind him.
“Whoa, hold up, Keith. Who’s that?” Lucas perked up and pointed out the back gate.
Keith turned around and saw a female in a thick white cloak. Her face was covered in a dark mask under a hood, and only her eyes were showing. She was standing in the snow about forty meters away from the jet. Somehow, he hadn’t seen her earlier.
“That’s not one of Casser’s people?” Keith turned toward Lucas in confusion.
“I don’t remember her. Either way, Casser is gone. Actually, everyone is. Go see what she’s doing,” Lucas said in a concerned voice.
Confused, Keith trudged back out a few feet into the blizzard. “Who are you with?” He raised his voice even louder. “Did you miss your flight?”
The female stayed silent.
Keith stepped closer until he was within a few feet of her. He could tell something about her was unusual. Her clothing and disposition were out of place. “Ma’am, it’s cold. You can’t be out here. You with Casser?” Keith asked again, raising his voice slightly in the blizzard.
The woman turned her head, looking out into the distance. “I’m with Michael,” she responded.
“W-What did you just say?” Keith replied. His eyes widened, and he took a step back.
“Are you Lucas Anderson?” she asked.
Suddenly, the woman stepped closer, coming eye to eye with Keith. “Does the name Michael Keller mean anything to you?” she questioned, yanking out a small submachine gun. She pointed it at Keith’s stomach. “It means a lot to me,” she said, raising her voice.
“Where. Is. Michael?” she demanded.
Keith’s mouth dropped as his bottom lip quivered. He gl
anced behind him toward Lucas, feeling his heart pounding inside his chest.
“Don’t look back again or I’ll fill your gut with lead. Don’t make me prove how little I care about your life.”
“You’re her…” Keith whispered.
She dropped her hood, revealing an unnaturally beautiful red headed woman with red eyes of scorn. But suddenly, that changed. Her hair turned to a dirty blonde and her eyes changed to green. More wrinkles appeared on her face and she looked more natural, less perfect.
Vala.
Her eyes stood out most of all. They reminded Keith of himself during a period of his own life. A time of despair, loss, anger, and madness. Even though her eyes were green now, they didn’t look any less like fire.
“Y-You’re Michael’s, how did you? Find him?” Keith said under his breath. It sounded like he wanted to cry. Some of it was fear, but most of it was empathy in remembering his own experience.
“Where is he?!” She poked the machine gun barrel into his stomach hard, forcing him to hunch over.
“Ohhh!” Keith keeled over. Saliva streamed from his mouth. He couldn’t believe this was happening. “Nooooo,” Keith said. He knew there was no absolution for her, much like himself all those years ago when he looked into one of the hospital staff’s eyes, begging them to let his pregnant wife in.
They couldn’t help him, and now, he couldn’t help her.
Lucas immediately stood up from inside the jet, looking out at Keith. He had to know something was very wrong. He could now see the gun, unobscured by Keith’s body as he hunched over.
“Stand up!” She barked at Keith. Lucas darted out of jet with a gun drawn on her. “Tell the pilot to contact command. We have a security situation!” Lucas yelled back to one of the crewmembers.
“Yes, sir!” the crewmember replied.
Keith couldn’t stand. Vala snatched him up off the ground, pulling his 190-pound frame up with ease. His feet came off the ground a couple of inches.
“Aaaarrrghhh—Lucas!” Keith doubled over as she twisted his body around awkwardly, pointing the gun at his head, using him as a shield.
“So that’s Lucas, huh?” she said. She placed Keith directly in front of herself, giving Lucas no room to take a shot.
“You have Michael, don’t you?” she said.
“Put the gun down!” Lucas ordered.
“I’m only here for one thing, and if I don’t get it, people are going to die,” she said.
“Ma’am, I don’t know what this is, but you need to release him!” Lucas demanded loudly and clearly. His tone was focused, but calm, as his blue eyes honed in on Vala. The snow pelted his face, but he never blinked once.
“Michael Keller!” She shoved the hot gun barrel against Keith’s temple. “I know he’s here, and I know you have him!”
Behind Lucas was her Michael, but he wasn’t who she remembered. Lucas bit his bottom lip, glaring right at Keith.
“Ma’am, there is no scenario where this ends well unless you put the gun—”
“Tell you what. You give me Michael, and you can have your buddy here. I’ll trade you,” she said.
Lucas glared back at the pod, then at Vala. He pitched his eyebrows forward, breathing slowly. Keith could tell he was lining up a shot, but so could Vala.
Lucas fired. The bullet struck her gun’s suppressor, knocking it from her hand. Vala hurled Keith toward Lucas, nearly knocking them both to the ground. Lucas expended several more rounds into the blizzard as she disappeared.
“Urrgggghh!” Keith smacked face-first into the snow.
Lucas probed for a shot, but nothing was there. “Get inside!” Lucas yelled with his gun drawn as Keith crawled forward. The crewmembers helped him back onboard.
“Go! We’re clear. Everyone is onboard. Get us out of—” Lucas pounded on the deck in the direction of the pilot’s cabin.
“Hold on!” The pilot whooped over the intercom, realizing the urgency of the situation.
The G-force pinned them down. “Everyone all right?” Lucas rocked back and forth, but was still in command of the situation.
“I’m fine,” Keith said.
“How did she know my name?” Lucas asked, panning around.
“I-I don’t know,” Keith responded.
Keith felt like an accomplice in someone else’s madness. The madness he endured in his own struggle was one thing. Now he had assisted in someone else’s. He didn’t blame her. He was shocked at her tenacity. But deep down, he understood her pain.
“We’ve got a tremendous problem, Keith. I know you understand that,” Lucas said in a low voice as the jet leveled out at cruising speed.
Keith stared out the window at a loss for words.
“Just so I’m sure, this is crazy, that was the woman from Saven’s human life, right? His wife or?” Lucas asked, breathing heavily.
“Yes, Vala, his fiancée,” Keith said. Suddenly, that name being spoken triggered something. A knocking sound was heard. Everyone’s eyes moved to it. It was coming from Saven’s pod. It got louder and louder.
“Okay, now what?” Lucas questioned.
Keith hurried over toward the stasis pod and looked inside. Saven was smashing his head against the bulletproof glass, violently attempting to bash through it as the jet lifted high into the atmosphere. Each impact was harder than the last, knocking the pod back and forth.
“What?! What’s it doing?” Lucas asked as he rushed over to the pod.
“I don’t know! I’ve got to shut him—”
Suddenly, Saven’s metallic hand broke through the glass, grabbing Lucas by the collar. “Aaahhh-hhhhhh!” he cried as Saven slammed Lucas’ face against the glass.
“Turn it off!!” Lucas attempted to push himself away from the ECHO’s grasp.
Saven opened his mouth, exposing his huge fangs. He gnawed at the glass that Lucas’ forehead pressed against. Saven made a loud screeching noise, unlike anything Keith had ever heard. The crewmembers froze. Some placed their hands over their ears and huddled down in their seats.
“Stop it!” One of the crewmembers screamed.
“What’s going on!?” The copilot ran out of the cabin.
Saven continued bashing his head against the glass as it began to crack.
“I got it!” Keith pressed a series of commands on the pod’s control panel, sedating Saven. Lucas felt his grip loosen, yet he still had to pry each individual finger off his collar with both hands, using his body weight to get free.
Lucas gasped loudly, panting. “He’s…still…moving.” Lucas examined his head as it bobbed back and forth.
“The sedation should be setting in—”
BOOOM! A shotgun-like sound erupted. Shrapnel from the pod shattered outward as Saven’s metallic wings unfolded. Keith covered his face with his hands. The force from the blast knocked Lucas between a row of seats.
“God! No!” Keith yelled. A blur darted toward the rear gate, punching a hole through it. Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling as the cabin lost pressure. A loud roar enveloped the cabin from the engine and wind.
“Oh God!”
“Masks!” Lucas held on as the pilot attempted to regain control. A siren blared as red lights strobed inside the cabin. Then, a secondary shield door cascaded, instantly muting them off from the open air.
“No. No. No,” Keith said, running toward the gate. He looked out the window.
Lucas grabbed him, tossing him into his seat. “He’s gone! GONE!”
“How? I-I don’t know how that—”
“You’re in shock. Concentrate Keith. Can you shut him down remotely?” Lucas asked.
“Yes, I… What just happened? Ahhh. Let me think… He’s gliding. I need to give him some time to land. I can’t shut him down at twenty thousand feet,” Keith said, looking out the window. His face was red.
“He almost killed me,” Lucas said.
“Look at the door, Lucas. All of us could be dead if he wanted.” Keith said.
The copilot
ran back into the cabin, assessing the rear gate. “Situation report. Now!” he demanded.
“As of a few moments ago, the most dangerous weapon man has ever created is out in the wild. Swing back around so we can retrieve him,” Keith explained.
“What? Absolutely not,” the copilot said.
“I’ll shut him down completely!” Keith said.
“You’ve just proven you can’t control it. No way in hell I’m putting us in jeopardy again without supporting units. You may be in operational control of your prototype, but we’re in charge of this aircraft. Sit down, strap in, and shut your damn mouth until we land!” The copilot ordered, pointing at Keith.
“Turn it around! Now!” Keith stood up, pointing back at the co-pilot as he slowly backed away. He turned, quickly stepping back toward the cabin. “Not going to happen!” The copilot said with his back turned.
“I have to make this right,” Keith said, shaking his head in shock.
Lucas kneeled down, picking up a fragment from the destroyed pod. He stared at it for a few moments, shaking his head.
“So your prototype is an artist?” Lucas said.
“What?” Keith snapped around. Lucas showed Keith the debris, exposing an image of a female’s face.
“Not the best portrait I’m sure, but that looks a lot like the woman that just tried to kill us.” Lucas observed, pitching Keith the piece of metal.
“It’s her, no doubt about it now.” Keith examined the likeness.
“…. You knew?” Lucas asked.
“I saw it earlier, I just… I didn’t believe, I don’t know,” Keith replied.
“You were told her memories were erased, but maybe… some other power is at work here, something we’re unaware of?” Lucas suggested.
Keith shook his head side to side. His eyes danced around the plane. Lucas put his hand on Keith’s shoulder, comforting him.
“The way I see it now, this project was designed to fail. Soon as we land, we’ll head right back and pick him up, I’ll call in a transport jet now, and we’ll handle it before Amery finds out. Whatever you need. Don’t worry about your career if they threaten you. You have a career waiting for you.” Lucas whispered. “You did more than enough here.”
“But there’s one more thing I can do.” Keith nodded his head slowly.
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