We had just under a full solar day left. I told Durs and Reni about my curator's plan. They thought it was more reliable than our previous one, but also more dangerous. Reni was tasked, in case the shot failed, with mining and blowing up the docks—that was our Plan B. Durs was to go to the Children of War for the rifle and instructions. Before leaving the complex, a car with two bribed Galts was waiting for him to take him straight to the rebel headquarters.
My role was to be the shooter, and I had to find a suitable spot. Soon after the curator's call, the rebels contacted me and offered two locations—from each, they said, there was a clear view of the docks.
But before going there to scout them out, I had to meet Reni and help him with the mining.
We agreed to meet at his quarters. After getting dressed and receiving a message from Durs that he had the rifle and was waiting for instructions on where to take it, I went up and headed to Reni.
Before Fen's arrival, many were preparing to receive him. The head of an entire officer command corps and assistant to the head of Apollo's communications wasn't just a soldier—he was one of the elite.
I wondered how many years and how much effort it had taken our agency to push him into that position, and how long Fen had to be one of them while being one of us. Perhaps the mask he wore had stopped being a mask altogether.
Walking to the elevator, I met a group of officers walking toward me, chatting. One of them even started laughing before he saw me, then saluted in greeting. I did the same.
The Galts' military ranks were different from ours. They had three types of officers, while we had one, and the higher the officer's merit, the higher his number. I was a third-rank officer, while those two were second-rank, so I represented authority and a symbol of subordination for them.
Reaching the elevator and starting to go up, I saw bright light reflect into my eyes. The windows, which had been hidden by the security system, were open and perfectly cleaned by the workers. Through them, a view of the streets opened up. They were all covered in sand and dust, except for a couple of districts. The white marble streets with golden arches reflected the sunlight—the rich district, where guests and the elite couldn't even imagine the dirt and horror happening beyond the walls that separated them from it.
The rays were so strong that I had to squint. In the end, I gave up on this simultaneously mesmerizing and horrifying view, turning my back to it.
The elevator reached my floor. When the doors opened, two soldiers stood before me, and between them was a man in a blue uniform with a bag over his head. His hands were in electric restraints. Nodding to them, I stepped out of the elevator and, watching them go, headed to Reni.
Reaching his quarters, I knocked twice before he opened the door.
He was dressed nicely and looked sharp, but there was a smell about him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said, adjusting his collar.
"Everything okay? There's a smell," I said, looking past him into the room.
Various boxes and mechanisms were scattered on his table and floor. Some of them had clear signs of burning.
He looked back and smiled weakly.
"I was trying to make explosives," he said, looking at me.
"I can see that. Did you blow anything up?" I asked, still standing in the doorway.
"You'd have heard it," he said and laughed. I smirked back.
"Can I come in, or are we going to stand here chatting?" I said, expecting him to let me in, but to my surprise, he didn't.
"Wait outside for a couple of minutes," he said and quickly pressed the button to close the door right in my face.
Stepping aside, I waited a few minutes before the door swung open again and a young woman of about twenty ran out, wearing a first-rank officer's uniform. She was adjusting her belt and smoothing her hair with her hands. She didn't notice me and hurried away.
Stunned by what I'd just seen, I stormed back to Reni's door and started pounding on it.
"Reni, what the hell are you doing?! Open up, you son of a bitch!" I shouted.
He was silent. A moment later, the door opened.
Before me was a corridor leading to a table and a chair.
"Reni?" I asked cautiously, entering the room with my hand on my pistol. Then, glancing toward where the girl had gone, I stepped inside.
I walked quietly, looking around and watching my step. Various devices and microchips lay scattered about, along with propaganda posters and bags of belongings. Entering the main room, I saw two batteries on the table connected to some round device that looked more like a bomb. But the wires connecting it all were burnt, and a small wisp of smoke rose from them.
On the chair lay clothes and a holster without a pistol. Seeing this, I drew my own and moved deeper into the room. Reni was nowhere to be found. I even thought for a moment that the young woman had killed him and hidden him somewhere.
"Reni? Are you here?" I called out, approaching the only remaining room, which led to the bathroom.
Getting closer and listening, I heard someone breathing heavily. Fear consumed me. I started kicking the door, but nothing happened.
"Reni! Hang on, damn it!" I shouted, and just as I was about to kick again, the door opened in front of me.
Reni stood there in the same uniform, a pistol on his belt. He looked slightly surprised as I burst in on him, gun drawn.
"What's going on, Kyle? What the hell are you doing?" he said, stepping back.
Fear gave way to anger and relief that my friend was alive.
"Who's the girl, Reni?" I asked sharply, still holding my pistol. "Did you sleep with her? Or did she just happen to walk out all happy and satisfied?"
"Her name's Keran. She's an officer. We met when…" he began to explain.
"I don't give a damn when you met. Do you realize she's a Galt officer? Do you realize what you're doing?" I continued. "Should I remind you about the Protocol?" I asked, gesturing with the pistol.
He knew the Protocol's rules well.
"The Legion is dead, Kyle! And you know that better than anyone!" he started shouting, waving his arms and stepping toward me.
"Oh, listen to you. I guess Fen's talks really got to you!" I shouted back and shoved him in the chest.
Everything around us ceased to exist, as if only Reni and I were in this world and no one else.
Anger rules. Reason reigns.
"But we can't kill her just because she slept with me!" he continued. "We can't, Kyle!"
He looked at me—straight into my eyes. And I understood: it wasn't anger or rage that had taken hold of him. It was fear. The fear of losing someone you love. I remembered that look from childhood, when I was taken from my parents. They had the same look. It held everything—tears and pain.
"Does she know?" I sighed, stepping back, trying to calm down.
"Who we are? No," he said, also trying to calm down and find the right words.
"And what you're doing—is she aware of that?" I pressed, hoping the answer was no.
"No," he said quietly.
I exhaled, and relief flooded through me.
"Fine. Laws get rewritten. Maybe the Protocol will be too," I said and punched his shoulder. "Let's get to work."
I stepped back so he could come out, and we sat at the table littered with various inventions. Reni moved forward a bit, clearing the chair of belongings, and sat down across from me.
"Why didn't you answer when I called you?" I asked.
He smirked and settled into a more comfortable position. The tension between us was slowly fading. The air still smelled of burnt plastic and lavender.
"The walls and doors are packed with soundproofing material. I've found that it can even block a gunshot," he explained.
"Now it makes sense," I said, looking around. "Looks like quite a mess you've got here. Weren't you embarrassed to bring a girl over?"
He smiled in response.
"She wasn't looking at that," he said and laughed.
"Jerk," I said and smiled back. "Now, about the plan. What do you have?" I quickly shifted focus.
"I have two bombs. One I'll plant under the docks, the second on the inner side of the gravitational grid, so that if the shuttle survives the first explosion, the second will tear it apart with gravitational shear waves," he began, twirling a pen and occasionally entering something into his terminal.
"But it takes a large, powerful wave concentration to tear apart a shuttle. Won't that cause a temporal rift?" I asked warily.
He just shrugged.
"We'll find out. But there'll be enough power."
"Then let's go plant them," I said.
"Yeah. But we need to distract the guards and hack the surveillance system so the cameras don't catch you planting them," he continued.
"Wait. Me?" I asked incredulously.
"What, you think I'm going to plant the bombs with my hands and hack the security system with my feet?" he snorted. "I'm a master of my craft, sure, but not that much of a master."
"Fine. When do we move?"
"In an hour," he concluded and started programming something on his terminal, transferring data from it to a device.
The hour dragged on unbearably. I paced the room back and forth, reloaded my pistol, and even cleaned it. Sometimes I looked at my watch, realizing our time was running out. I tried to hurry Reni along, but he just cursed at me not to distract him.
His quarters had a beautiful view of the city—not the one from the elevator. His view overlooked the port. Small ships docked there, and fishermen together with sailors showed off their catch in Apollo's artificial rivers and oceans. I noticed one fisherman asking others for help to haul in a giant he'd caught.
It was a massive fish, as long as four grown men, and probably heavier than the boat that brought it in. Its head was shaped like a triangle with smoothed corners, and it had no fins at all. Its tail was long and more like a snake's tail than a fish's.
The other fishermen helped him lift it, then hung it by its belly from a hook that was raised so everyone could see the enormous, terrifying monster. How simple and yet complex their lives were. That poor fisherman had probably spent several days, maybe weeks, waiting for it, then fighting it. And in the end—human nature prevailed. The pinnacle of evolution and reason.
But, thankfully, the endless hour was coming to an end. Reni packed the two bombs into a special shockproof case, and we headed to the docks. Along the way, we passed many officers and ordinary soldiers, but due to our rank and status, they didn't dare ask what was in the case.
As we descended toward the docks, we encountered two Edge soldiers standing at the entrance, clearly preparing for Fen's arrival.
We managed to turn around quickly before they noticed us.
"Damn. Is there another way?" I asked Reni, setting the heavy case on the floor.
"I don't know. But we can try through the dispatch room. There's probably a way down to the docks from there," he said, navigating the map of our complex on his terminal.
"Fine. Let's go there," I said, lifting the case and sighing.
He nodded and led the way. Occasionally, he left small, barely noticeable round balls near the joints where the wall panels connected. I asked what they were for. He explained they were small electrical charges linked together, and when the time came to shut down the entire security system, he'd activate them, creating electromagnetic interference that would disable the cameras and motion tracking systems.
Reaching the dispatch room, which was locked, Reni hacked the door system, and it opened. I quickly carried the case inside, and the door closed behind us.
Looking around, we spotted a staircase leading down to the docks.
"What do I do now?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.
"You need to go down and find the transformer shed. When you open it, you'll see a pipe. Throw the first bomb in there, but before you throw it, activate the rotation mechanism," he began. "Then go to the outer wall of the gravitational field and plant the second bomb under the panel with the energy flow redirector. It's a metal box with a green atom symbol. Then get the hell out of there," he finished his little briefing.
"How much time do I have?" I asked.
"About three minutes, total," he answered.
"Are you insane? How am I supposed to cover five kilometers in three minutes?" I protested. It was impossible.
"Only three minutes. After that, the system reboots and everything comes back online. You need to make it somehow."
Reni pulled away from his terminal and looked at me. Then he nodded.
"Don't do that. You're not in a movie," I told him.
"Oh, screw you!" he smirked.
"When do I go down?" I asked anxiously. Fear filled my soul.
"On my mark. On the count of three," he said and began counting.
He turned back to his terminal and started typing quickly—probably trying to hack the security system.
"One…" he began. "Two…"
Time stretched in that moment. I closed my eyes and heard my heart beating, my blood circulating through my veins. I heard it all. Then the final word shattered my silence.
"Three…" he gave the command.
I opened my eyes and ran with the case toward the stairs. The weight seemed to disappear.
"Go, Kyle! Run! Run!" Reni shouted after me.
Once I descended, the weight of the case returned. I had three minutes, and with every thought, less and less remained.
I scanned the area, spotted the transformer shed, and sprinted toward it. Running, I opened the case and activated both bombs at once, trying to save what little time I had.
Reaching the shed, I took out the first bomb and tucked it under my arm, leaving the second in the case. I nearly fell twice.
Already at the shed door, I spun around and threw the case with the second bomb toward the gravitational zone. To my surprise and misfortune, the case didn't fly far. What was I thinking?
Opening the shed door, I found two pipes. Confused, I called Reni on comms.
"Reni, there are two!" I said quickly.
"Two what?" he asked, surprised.
"Two damn pipes! Which one do I throw the bomb into?" I asked, counting down the seconds in my head. Two minutes left.
"I don't know. Let me check," he answered quickly and started searching.
Time was running out.
"Faster, Reni, damn it! Time!" I shouted.
"I know! I know! The second! The second pipe, Kyle!" he relayed quickly.
I tore out my earpiece in frustration that I wasn't going to make it and threw the bomb into the second pipe. Closing the door, I ran toward the case, which was lying about halfway there. Thanks to the low gravity, the case had been drifting in the right direction all this time.
Reaching it, I snatched out the bomb and sprinted toward the panel. I was wrong. The distance wasn't five kilometers as it was in our Empire's docks—it was only three. But that was still far too much.
I had ninety seconds left. Running toward the panel, I felt like I was falling through time. Everything around me receded while the panel approached, but I knew it was an illusion.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I remembered our training in the desert under the scorching heat, when I ran from a buggy alongside a few other students. Those who got caught could be expelled or barred from the next qualifying trial. Fortunately, my callsign was "Heatwave"—that might mean something to you.
A few more moments passed before I reached the metal box and started planting the bomb behind it. As I worked, something was pulling me toward the gravitational grid. I looked at my sleeve and saw it floating, stretching toward it. Securing the bomb, I ran back, stumbling.
I had fifteen seconds left. I ran for the case. Sweating, barely feeling my legs, I ran toward it. And suddenly, I sank into my dream—the dream where I was running from a death ray that erased everything in its path. I ran, afraid of rejoining those dead souls and the voices that tore at my ears.
Fear consumed me completely, as if I lay unarmed in a pit, fighting it one-on-one. Only it had the weapon.
I heard the sound of pain and horror catching up behind me. Death was chasing me, wanting to take me.
I saw the case. Grabbing it, I dove to the floor and rolled into the wall.
A sharp sound echoed through the docks. It sounded like an engine starting up. The security system was back online.
Slamming into the wall, clutching the case, I exhaled deeply. I made it.
My breathing slowly returned to normal, and my mind calmed, allowing fear to retreat. But I knew it would return, and I would face it many more times.
Walking to the stairs, holding my side, I began climbing up to meet Reni and tell him of my success. Seeing me from below, he helped me up and took the case.
"You okay?" he said, seeing me hold my side.
"Broke a couple of ribs. Not the first time," I grimaced a smile at him. "Did I make it?" I asked, pausing between breaths.
Silence fell for a few seconds as Reni checked the bomb systems and the security system reports.
"You're a lucky bastard, Kyle," he said, smiling. "Everything went perfectly."
Hearing this, I smiled again and leaned against the wall. The pain filled me, but it was nothing compared to what I'd just done.
Time itself must envy me.
"We need to go, Kyle. The guards will be here soon."