Cronus

by K. A. Finn

  'Of course we can do that dear,' Evie says, pushing her hat back from her forehead. 'This ingenious contraption can rebuild his body... or what's left of it. We can deal with the cybernetics later. If his body is too weak to support his implants he's dead anyway. Which he sort of is. It will buy him a little time to figure out what he wants to do.'

  Terra smiles even though she's not entirely convinced about his upgrade plan. 'Thank you.'

  Evie nods and turns back to the pod. She walks around the bed and stops beside Gryffin's head. 'Hmmm. Well, they say you should never meet your heroes. I guess they're right.'

  'What exactly do you mean by that?' Terra asks, irritated by the woman's tone.

  'Never met the man in person but I've heard a great deal about him. I have to admit I was expecting...' She leans over to examine his metal tipped stump. 'More. You appear to have left a bit of him in the Outer Sector.'

  'We took it off a few weeks ago. It was pulling too much power from his body,' Desyl explains. 'We left in such a hurry we didn't have time to get it.'

  'I'm sure we can sort him out with something appropriate,' Felix says as he takes a blade from a drawer and begins cutting what's left of Gryffin's clothes off.

  Evie takes Terra's arm and turns her away from Gryffin. 'This process could take a few hours, dear. Might be best if you get cleaned up, have something to eat, and a catnap. You can't do anything for him right now.'

  Terra pulls out of her grip. 'I don't want to leave him.'

  Evie takes Terra's arm again and leads her towards the door. 'I'm going to be honest with you, dear. You can't be here for this.'

  'I already said I'm not leaving him.'

  'How can I put this? If we're going to help him, we have to get stuck in and I mean really stuck in.'

  Terra frowns, not understanding what Evie is saying.

  'We're going to take him apart,' Felix shouts from across the room. 'Try using English, Evie.'

  'I was trying to be sensitive, you oaf. I apologise, dear. But Felix is right. We have to make sure he's not a risk to the station or anyone on it, and also figure out how to help him. That means opening him up and checking all his implants - external and internal. You really shouldn't be here for that bit. You understand, right?'

  Terra looks over at Gryffin and nods slowly. Evie is right. She doesn't want to see him like that. 'Can you please call me—'

  'The second we're done,' Evie promises. 'Big guy, can you show this young lady to the mess hall?'

  Heath holds out his hand. 'I usually go by Heath. You hungry?'

  'Not really, but I should eat something. Desyl, can you stay with him?'

  'Sure thing.' He nods and smiles although from the look on his face, he'd much prefer to be leaving with her.

  15

  FOUNDATION HQ

  Leeson stands in front of One, his hands clenched firmly in front of him. One was not expecting a visit from the admiral so he doesn't rush to acknowledge him.

  'Sir.'

  One slowly lifts his head to look at Leeson. He cannot believe the man had the nerve to interrupt him. 'Excuse me?'

  'I understand you are incredibly busy, but I really do think you will want to hear what I have to say.'

  'I will be the judge of that.'

  'Yes, sir.'

  'Very well. You've disturbed me. What is it?'

  'Sir, the prototype is in the Sector.'

  One sighs and shakes his head. 'It is in the Outer Sector which is where you are going to find yourself if you don't leave immediately.'

  'But, sir.' He hands a unit to One and takes a step back. One barely looks at the data, initially rejecting it as nonsense, but he sees Leeson is telling the truth. It may have lasted for less than a second, but the signal clearly shows on this side of the Port.

  One stares at the data, unable to form any words. After staring at the information for a few minutes he drops the unit onto his desk. 'Has the signal reappeared?'

  'No, sir. I've scanned the area several times and haven't found it again. If he's on a ship there's a strong possibility he will have moved.'

  'Of course he's on a ship you fool. He's hardly out for a stroll through space.'

  'Sir, there's something else. Seven knows about this. He was in the room when the alarm was raised. He is planning to discuss it at the meeting...' Leeson glances at his watch. 'At the meeting that is starting now, sir.'

  One suppresses a sigh. It's far from ideal for his fellow council members to know about this issue, but there's little he can do about it now. Perhaps with them knowing he will be able to launch half a dozen ships to search the area. With their support, the prototype could be captured speedily and then repaired.

  One steeples his fingers together and smiles to himself. Time to face the rest of the Council and get this search underway. With the advanced technological capabilities of the Foundation, he has no doubt the troublesome prototype would be back in restraints by the end of the day.

  'Very well. Leave me. I will join you shortly.' He waits until Leeson has left then contacts Nova again. It takes the irritating cyborg a long time to respond but eventually her face shows on the screen.

  'No. We have not found him yet.'

  'I am well aware of that. Perhaps you have not found him because he is here.'

  'He is on Earth?'

  'Good gracious, no. His signal was picked up briefly around the Port then it conveniently disappeared. I will organise a search party, but I need you to bring your team back to Earth. There's little point in you being there if he's here.'

  'Just my team?'

  'Yes, Nova. Just your team. I'll leave the others there to hold Ultar. Now that we have that infernal colony under our control I plan for it to stay that way.'

  He shuts down the connection and stares at the information Leeson gave him. He thought the prototype had been altered to ensure he would not be able to cross the Port. One sneers to himself. That wretched Scientist couldn't get a thing right. Faulty prototype and faulty programming. It's a surprise the new models function at all.

  Never mind. With the prototype and Garvan within reach of Earth, it would make modifying the two men so much easier. But first he needs to deal with this meeting. Top of his list is to shut down the Port so the prototype cannot make its escape again.

  DIXON SPACE STATION

  Desyl glances from the monitors and instantly regrets it. Evie's fingers are a little too far inside Gryffin's leg. He clears his throat and focuses on the screens again.

  Evie moves from one side of the bed to the other, her wide brimmed hat casting shadows on the table as she moves. 'Will you stand still woman. I can't see what I'm doing,' Felix snaps from the head of the table.

  'I can't believe we have the infamous Gryffin here on our station! This is so exciting.'

  'Calm yourself, woman,' Felix says. 'You're coming across a little crazed. Besides, I thought you said he was disappointing?'

  She waves her hand at him, shooing him out of the way as she leans back over his leg. 'Now that I've had some time with him I can see there's a bit more to him. He's quite impressive, isn't he?'

  'At the moment, he's a corpse. How about we bring him back before you start drooling over him.'

  'I can't wait to talk to him.'

  'I wouldn't get your hopes up,' Desyl says from the head of the bed. 'This is pretty much as chatty as he gets. You're lucky to get a few mumbles, shouts, or growls from him.'

  Felix gently prods Gryffin's eyepiece while Heath uses the high-tech scanners to thoroughly check every inch of Gryffin's body. They haven't survived this long out of the Foundation's reach by being complacent.

  Felix peers down at the damaged leg and grimaces. 'That's particularly nasty.'

  Evie sucks in a breath. 'It's even worse than it looks. The infection is putting a strain on both his organic and cybernetic systems. The rejuvenation pod should help ease it, but I'm struggling to see how to help him long term. Personally, I'd recommend amputation.'

&n
bsp; 'That's what Milla has been telling him for weeks. She's our doctor,' Desyl explains.

  'Found something.' Heath points to the screen on his unit. 'Tracker of some sort. It's embedded in whatever this thing behind his ear is.'

  Desyl looks at the screen and frowns. 'We used to fit a monitor there. It gave us a heads up whenever he was getting... well, dangerous. Can you block the signal?'

  Felix smirks. 'The station is blocked. It can transmit as much as it wants, the signal isn't going anywhere.' He frowns and looks up from the scanner. 'It probably started transmitting as soon as you came through the Port. No doubt we've got company headed our way.'

  'So they know he's here,' Desyl grumbles. 'We've placed you all in danger.'

  Felix brushes his concern aside. 'Our fail-safes reach beyond the walls of the station. The signal will have registered but they won't be able to get a lock on our location. Just to be on the safe side, we'll move out of the way.'

  'The station can move?'

  Evie nods. 'Of course it can. We routinely move around. Like us, it doesn't go very fast, but in a few hours we'll be settled in an area they've already checked.'

  Felix leans over to examine the thumbnail size disc embedded in the skin behind Gryffin's left ear. 'I'd like to get this little guy out and destroyed as soon as possible but I can’t.'

  'Why not?'

  Felix shows Desyl the scan results on the screen. 'This is the altered monitoring device, and this,' he says, tracing his finger from the device to one of the larger implants in Gryffin's head. 'This is this young man's brain. They attached it. We could possibly take it off, but the odds of doing permanent damage, well more permanent damage, is high.'

  'What do you suggest?'

  'I can modify one of my signal jammers. I'm sure I can attach it to this. It'll probably have to go in front of his ear instead of directly attached to what's behind his ear.'

  'Could that have been the reason he wasn't able to come through the Port when we were chasing Alpha?'

  Felix nods slowly. 'Possibly '

  Evie smiles. 'Fantastic. Sort out the transmitter, Felix, while I deal with what's left of this young man's leg.'

  Felix turns to glare at his wife. 'We know what we're doing, woman. We don't need you pretending you're in charge.'

  Evie makes a face before returning to Gryffin's leg. Felix glances up from Gryffin's head. 'What exactly are you smiling at?'

  'A few days ago we were sitting having bread without jam, I might add, saying how quiet life had become. I get the impression all these guests are going to add a little excitement to our lives over the next few days.'

  EARTH

  Zeke easily disarms the alarm to Harvey's office and slips inside. His step-father left for work about an hour ago. Zeke was eager tear the place apart, but wanted to make sure Harvey was at the Council building before he broke in.

  He pulls on a pair of gloves and closes the door behind him. The room reeks of pomp and circumstance. Harvey was never happy with what he had, continuously striving to be better than everyone else. The ornate gold gilding on every surface is probably enough to feed a family from the outskirts of the city for a year.

  He pulls out the plump desk chair and sits, hating the way he sinks into the cushion. It's easily the most expensive and least comfortable chair he's ever sat on.

  Zeke pulls out Harvey's personal unit and attaches a signal blocker before he powers it up. It's probably the first time Zeke has used his original training. He had been assigned to the Systems and Operations Division, but after getting in a spot of bother more than once, he had been reassigned to the Security Observation Division which involved staring at a screen looking out for possible threats on the streets of the city.

  It was rare that an assigned role could be changed, but his supervisor had pulled every string available to get rid of him. Another reason for Harvey to disapprove of him. Zeke considered it well worth the move for that point alone, even though it is mind-numbingly boring.

  It takes him a grand total of two and a half minutes to break through Harvey's security settings and log into the system. He starts with his step-father's personal email and finding nothing interesting there, goes to his Council email.

  He stares at the blank page, shuts it down and starts again. Still nothing. 'What the hell?' Everyone has emails or message of some sort on their system. Even his three-year-old niece has emails. So why doesn't Harvey have any?

  He decides to try a different route. Instead of going in through the front door, he tries a back route. 'Got you!' he exclaims when he finally finds what he was looking for - another email account hidden in the system. After trying a few more less than inventive passwords, he gets in and freezes. What he thought was an email account is actually a live video feed showing a painfully white cell.

  Zeke recognises the design. It's a Foundation holding cell. This one is slightly different however. The room is bigger and, from what he can see, has been reinforced substantially. He leans closer to the screen, but he can't see anyone.

  Why would Harvey be watching an empty cell? Just as he's about to cut the feed, the door of the cell opens and a man is thrown in. He rolls once and lands in a heap on the floor.

  The man pushes himself to his feet and turns around, giving Zeke a clear view of a face he never thought he'd see again. His heart hammers in his chest as he watches the father he's spent years looking for, walking around a cell being monitored by Harvey.

  He spends the next few minutes tracing the live feed back to its source then sits back in the uncomfortable chair as he reads the information on the screen.

  Council Headquarters.

  Now he's even more confused. What the hell is his father doing there? Whatever is going on, Harvey has his father less than an hour's transport ride from the house and that's all he needs to know.

  As much as he doesn't want to, Zeke shuts down the feed of his father and closes the unit. He makes sure everything is as he found it with the computer then leaves the office, resetting the security system once the door is locked. He pulls off his gloves and climbs the stairs to his room. Once there he locks the door and lowers onto the end of the bed.

  He knew his father was alive. Deep down he always knew it. Liza and his mother had given up, but he never had. That knowledge doesn't help him find his father or get him out. Whatever Harvey's involvement, he'd deal with him later.

  He's only got one choice. He showers quickly, taking a few minutes to shave for the first time in about a week then gets dressed in his uniform. He ties his hair back and tucks the short ponytail under his hat. The Council recommended all men working on the HQ should have short hair and be clean shaven – hence Zeke's decision to have long hair and a beard. Nothing like getting on the Council and Harvey's nerves to brighten his boring life.

  Not today though. If he's going to save his father, he needs to blend in. He hasn't quite figured out how he's going to save him, but he was never one for making rigid plans and sticking to them. He much preferred to wing it and see what happened. He has Harvey's access codes and will have no problem breaking into an ammunition's locker once he's inside.

  After that he'll... well, he'll do whatever he has to do to get his father back. His only loyalty is to his dad. Harvey and the Foundation can go to hell for all he cares.

  16

  DIXON SPACE STATION

  Bray races into the room and joins Heath and Sayber at the bank of viewscreens. 'What is it?'

  Heath points to a cluster of lights in the far corner of the bottom screen. 'Foundation.'

  'Don't suppose it's too much to hope they're here just for the heck of it?'

  Heath leans on the console as he examines the data. 'Felix finds a tracker and they appear. Eh, no. That's no coincidence. We've been here for months and nothing. Your brother arrives and suddenly a deserted area of space is a hot target. It's him.'

  Bray gives a half-hearted nod. 'You sure this place is shielded?'

  Heath snorts. 'The st
ation and everything in it is covered. The Dixon's may seem a little eccentric, but they're on the ball when it comes to security.'

  Sayber frowns at the screen. 'Must be a damn powerful tracker. Ares is shielded. I would know. I've been trying to track her down for years. Unless her captain says otherwise, the ship is invisible.'

  Bray frowns. 'That doesn't make sense. Surely Ares and the station would have blocked any signal if he is transmitting one?'

  'Nothing's a dead cert,' Sayber says.

  Bray looks back at the screen and makes a face. 'How the hell did we miss this? He's been checked regularly to make sure his implants aren't doing anything they shouldn't. I'm sure if he was transmitting a signal, someone would have found it.'

  'You're assuming it would be that simple,' Heath says. 'There is a small chance, if there is something nasty in him, besides his implants of course, it could have been triggered as Ares entered the system. If it's a Foundation signal, it could have been boosted when he got within range.'

  'Well that's just great,' Sayber mutters under his breath. 'The damn man is unconscious and still giving us headaches.'

  Heath glances over his shoulder at Sayber. 'Another fan, uh?'

  'That scar across his neck is my doing. I'm looking forward to finishing what I started.'

  Heath laughs and holds out his hand to give Sayber a hearty handshake. 'I want front row seats to that show.'

  'Excuse me. You can all discuss killing my brother later. For now, we have to check the other cyborgs in case they're sending out a signal. The last thing we need is for the bad guys to knock on the door and kill us all.'

  Sayber nods. 'Fair point.'

  Heath holds up a hand. 'Hang on one minute. There are more cyborgs here?'

  'Three more,' Bray says. 'They're locked in a cell on Ares until Gryffin is sorted.'

  'Well this is just perfect.'

  'Dante, Boone, and Trace have been rehabilitated to a certain degree. They don't have the control implant like Gryffin does.'