New Hope: Book 1
33

John Lassiter and the two commandos led by Sergeant Burrows left hurriedly from the control center of the Protagonists’ complex. Before leaving, they set their objective. First, they had to neutralize the power supply of the transmitter, being careful not to damage any of the devices operating the fusion reactors of the entire facility; then, if it was possible, deal with the dangerous robot prowling somewhere in the depths, and secure at least one superluminal core.

Easy, thought the lieutenant as he switched on the flashlight mounted on his rifle’s barrel, releasing the safety on the firearm, and pointing it in front of him. “Nothing like a few simple orders, eh,” he sighed, “no pressure.”

The Lieutenant ordered the other soldiers to unlock their weapons and stay alert.

To add to everything, soon after the soldiers left the room, all the lights in the complex went out. If not for the flashlights, the soldiers would be walking in complete darkness, which was just dangerous with a robot running rampant somewhere nearby.

“Either there was some short circuit or the enemy is actively working to our detriment,” said Sergeant Burrows. “What are our orders if we were to see the robot, lieutenant?”

“Sergeant, if you see the robot, it’s almost certain that he will see you, too. In that case, you’re free to open fire,” replied lieutenant Lassiter. “We cannot let the enemy run loose around the installation and interfere with our plans,” he added. “Take into account that the robot is equipped with armor, so you’re going to need to fire more accurate rounds to knock him down. And although he’s most definitely not indestructible and we managed to get him to retreat using a few rounds, we cannot underestimate the opponent. We cannot count on one shot to end it,” he explained.

Elrael had the advantage of knowing his way around the complex, so he could move around efficiently even in complete darkness. Lassiter’s soldiers had to do this practically blind. The seemingly haphazard layout of the installation also wasn’t helpful.

“Gentlemen, we’ve got under 45 minutes to neutralize the transmitter,” said lieutenant Lassiter, looking at his watch. “If we don’t complete our mission by then, we’ll have a very serious problem. Let’s hurry!” The lieutenant increased his pace along the dark corridor, trying to find the way leading down to the target. Luckily, they didn’t need to search much longer. Having walked only a few dozen feet, Sergeant Burrows noticed some stairs going down.

“Lieutenant!” called the sergeant, “There, look. I think those are the stairs we’re looking for,” he said.

“Excellent work, Sergeant,” said John. “The pitch-darkness makes it very hard at times to discern anything.” John touched his communicator and connected with Ellie.

“Dr. Johnson here,” said the voice on the speaker.

“Ellie, we found the stairs to the lower level and we’re on our way there. I don’t know if our radios will work at that depth. Just letting you know that we may disappear. Everything good on your end?” asked the lieutenant, and when it was confirmed, he asked

“I know you have other things to do, but I need to ask: are you able to switch on the lights in the bottom corridors? The lights went out a few minutes ago and moving around blind is slowing us down, not to mention exposing us to contact with your robot. I assume the robot can see in the dark, we can’t all that well...”

“Sure, John, I’ll try to do something about that. It may take a moment,” she replied. “I can read their language but I’m not exactly fluent in operating the systems of this complex,” she sighed, concerned by the information about the lighting failure. That probably meant Elrael has started the hunt for her crew’s members, and this gave him the element of surprise. “You should see the effects immediately if I’m successful. I just need, hmm... A few minutes?” she asked. “I don’t know if I can activate the main lighting, but the emergency lighting should come on in a sec,” she added.

“Thanks, Ellie. Over!” replied Lassiter. “Dr. Johnson is trying to turn on the lights for us. In the meantime, let’s keep going. Time is running short.” He went to the front of the mini-column of soldiers and led the team down the winding stairs to the next level.

When they got there, the awaited emergency lights went on. That’s what it looked like, anyway, considering the dim light coming from the orange light fittings. It was enough to light the way for the commandos, but still far from the comfort zone. There were still many shadows and unlit sections where the enemy could hide.

“Let’s hope it’s not the end of the good news,” said one of the commandos. “Better that than only the little bulb on the rifle,” he said jokingly.

The soldier turned toward a darkened room that was open, stopped for a moment, and looked more closely.

“Wait, I think I saw something!” whispered the soldier to the receiver. They all stopped in their tracks and strained their sight and hearing, trying to discern what the soldier could have seen.

After some seconds of listening and sweeping the surroundings with the rifle flashlights, the commando at the door relaxed and said,

“Sorry, seems to be clear. I think my eyes are playing tricks on me...” he said, turning back toward the rest of the soldiers who had already started walking ahead when something grabbed him by the shoulders and hurled him along the corridor with immense force. The commando just managed to scream, pull the trigger of the machine gun and fire off a few rounds blindly, but not hitting any target. However, before he could even wonder what had happened, he hit one of the walls. With the sound of snapping and breaking bones, the soldier was engulfed by blissful nothingness.

Lieutenant Lassiter and Sergeant Burrows turned around toward the noise but they could only see the receding flash of shots fired, and hear the scream of a man. But then it went quiet.

“Private!” the sergeant called to the soldier over the radio. The only response was a penetrating silence. “Private, say something!” he tried again.

“Both soldiers cautiously but quickly turned back toward the spot where their comrade was just a second ago, but when they got there, they only found a machine gun on the floor and traces of blood. The sergeant gulped, realizing that whatever had the strength to literally rip the commando from his shoes and deal with him in a matter of seconds must be a very powerful and extremely dangerous opponent. After a few more seconds, lieutenant Lassiter found the private lying by the wall with his skull split open. This was only one external injury, which suggested only one, very strong blow that turned out to be a lethal one.

“It’s futile, Sergeant,” said John Lassiter. “The enemy hunting us is more advanced than anything we’ve had to deal with before. We have to take extra caution.” The private stayed too far back from us and he paid the price,” he said, fighting tears.

“Let’s move right next to each other covering our front and back. Otherwise, the enemy can wipe us out before we reach the target,” said Sergeant Burrows gloomily.

“Agreed. Let’s go,” said Lassiter. He and Burrows positioned themselves, allowing them to light up both directions, increasing the chances of catching sight of the opponent before he’s able to cause any more damage. This manner of movement was slower but safer. It’s better to reach the target later than not at all, thought the lieutenant.

Due to the pressure of time, the soldiers ignored any side rooms, assuming that the target of their expedition must be in a larger room, probably at the end of the corridor, according to Dr. Johnson’s clear directions. She took the instructions from the Protagonists’ system, which enabled her to activate functions necessary to download a simplified map of the complex, as well as learn how the systems operate.

Lieutenant Lassiter finally reached a closed door on which there were some symbols, similar to those he saw earlier on the entrance opening to the complex.

“Ellie, come in,” said the lieutenant to the radio. “We found a locked door and I don’t know how to deal with it. Can you help or should I use more brutal methods for getting inside?” he asked.

Dr. Johnson’s voice came on.

“John, wait, I see you on the motion sensors. I thought for a moment that you’d gone too far, but I see I was wrong. The door you’re at is a passage to a vulnerable part of the complex. That’s why it’s locked. I should be able to unlock it from here. Wait a sec,” she said. Just several seconds later, they heard a heavy “thump” of a metallic bolt moving in the door and it opened. “Voila,” said Ellie with a smile. Then, in a less joyful tone, on John’s private channel, she added,

“John, listen. I found something that could help you avoid transmitting into space.”

“I’m all ears,” replied the lieutenant.

“Remember how I asked to watch out for the cooling installation of the reactors because crippling it could cause an immediate explosion?” asked Ellie.

“How could I have forgotten... You’d remember things like that in the middle of the night and while sleeping,” said the lieutenant.

“Good. So, I managed to find that I can turn off this installation remotely from the control center we’re in. But the process won’t immediately damage the reactor cores. It’ll gradually switch off specific elements of the cooling system. Usually, right after that the reactors themselves would turn off but I think I found a way to go around this,” she said. “John, I think I found a way of blowing up this whole installation with some delay. The resulting explosion wouldn’t be as extreme as I mentioned before, but still strong enough to vaporize this whole cave. Hopefully… If I activate this procedure, we’ll have exactly 20 minutes to escape the complex.” Ellie hesitated a moment and then said, “If I don’t hear from you within 15 minutes that you were able to neutralize the transmitter, I’m turning off the cooling and taking this place out!”

John went pale, and in reaction to this visible change, Sergeant Burrows asked concerned,

“Everything alright, sir?”

John looked at his subordinate and replied,

“Everything’s fine,” he said intently, like never before. “Let’s not waste any more time...” Then he spoke to the radio, “Understood, Ellie. We’re moving,” he said, “Be ready for immediate evacuation just in case. The helicopter from McMurdo should be close, so if we’re not back in fifteen... Run, Ellie, run as fast as you can and don’t look back!” he added.

Ellie looked at Julius, who was listening to the conversation. They both knew their lives depended on John’s success. If he doesn’t succeed... Dark thoughts enveloped both colleagues’ minds, but Ellie didn’t let them take over for too long. She still had much to do, and these thoughts only draw her focus away from what’s important: make sure that if the worst happens, the explosion engulfs the transmitter and the entire complex around it, before the signal makes it into cosmic space. Even if it meant paying with her own life... And the life of the other mission members, she thought somberly.

Julius Cousteau didn’t have to say anything. He had known his friend for too long and knew exactly what was going on in her mind. He understood what was at stake, and he knew failure could mean the wipeout of all of humanity. The Captain didn’t know if anyone ever carried such a great burden, but he had no doubt that Ellie is one of the very few people would could bear it. If he could help her in this task just by not complaining and drawing her attention to him, then he will gladly do this and sacrifice his own head.

“We’ll be careful...” said Julius on the radio wanting to reassure John a little. Unnecessary stress and fear for his companions is the last thing he needs. “Keep your eyes peeled. There’s not much time left. From what I can see, Ellie’s almost finished programming the systems’ override, so we’re just waiting for you and then we’re out of here as quickly as possible!” said Cousteau.

Elrael, hidden near the soldiers’ position in an air duct where no living human being could fit, was listening to the conversation between the commandos and Dr. Johnson in the control center.

“So that’s how they want to stop me and interfere in the natural course of history...” he learned. “Instead of facing me, those losers prefer destroying the transmitter, like cowards. That was predictable! I won’t let these ape-men derail my plans and prevent the Sarassians from taking their rightful position in the Universe,” he said through clenched teeth. His mind started devising a plan that would thwart the plans of the stupid humans. Not long now.

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