Valeria led the way as she and Bradigan made their way toward the bridge. As they approached a t-junction however, they heard a voice.
“So what do we do now?” someone asked.
“We continue with the mission.”
Valeria and Bradigan sidled up to the wall and approached the corner quietly. There was no telling who was in the hallway and no way to detour around them.
“We’ll have to pick up where the other team left off and get to the engine room,” the second voice added.
Bradigan quickly looked up at the directions posted on the corner. In relief he saw engineering was down the hallway away from them; if the group was hostile, they wouldn’t turn at the junction. He tapped Valeria on the shoulder and pointed, she nodded in understanding.
“But what if we run into Heidler’s men again?” the first voice asked.
Bradigan and Valeria glanced at each other. That confirmed the group’s allegiance. They hugged the wall tighter.
“Then we’ll go through them!” the first voice said. Others in the group cheered in agreement. “Friends, this is our sacred duty,” he continued. “Mankind is imprisoned by this station, unable to achieve its full potential. They told us after we launched that civilization was wiped out due to the weapons of the terrorists who opposed the A.S.R. project. But I promise you, the destruction was deliberate! It left us defenseless, with no way to reach our captors!”
This person must have been very close to Locke, Bradigan suspected.
“But we have been placed here for a higher purpose: To right the wrongs of the past and liberate humanity! I know each of you believes this within your very soul. So we will not stop! We will take back the future!”
Bradigan and Valeria listened as the group cheered loudly and began storming toward their direction. Emboldened but distracted, they passed by the corridor without spotting them. Valeria and Bradigan quickly swung around the corner and came face to face with a straggler. The man’s eyes grew wide and he looked after his fellows, then back at Valeria. He opened his mouth and she tried to close the distance to strike him, but before she made it, a hand reached around from behind and covered his mouth. She stopped and a sword thrust through the man’s chest, killing him. The limp body was dragged backwards and disappeared into an adjoining room. Bradigan and Valeria followed to find Vidal retrieving his sword.
“Where is Major Thorne?” he asked. His eyes already knew the answer.
“Killed by Jormunssen,” Bradigan answered.
“I see,” he said, cleaning his blade. “Come, I was sent to meet you and bring you ahead to the bridge but your detour slowed down my finding you.”
“Wait,” Valeria said, “How do we know you’re on our side? You could have been the one who gave Locke access to the security systems.”
“Logically,” he began as he sheathed his blade, “if I believed Locke’s rhetoric about tampering with the natural development of humanity then my mission would remain the same: To return you to your rightful time.”
“Then why did Locke say it didn’t matter if we lived or died?” Valeria asked.
“Because even Locke is just a mouthpiece who doesn’t think for himself,” he answered. “The most dangerous movements are the ones based on truth and goodness because they garner an easy following. But when the human variable inevitably enters the equation, hate replaces truth and destruction replaces goodness.”
Bradigan understood that perfectly. His time period was wracked with ideologies that preached acceptance of all people but reacted violently against those they deemed contrary to their beliefs. Valeria understood too.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Vidal nodded and together they made their way toward the bridge. They emerged from their detour and rejoined the main corridor; that’s where they saw again the carnage wrought by Fender.
“He must be going the same way we are,” Vidal said.
“I hope Commander Hoban was ready for him,” Bradigan said.
He was not. As they finally arrived at the bridge, they found the thick metal doors pried open and an uncomfortable silence.
“What do we do?” Valeria whispered, surrounded by the bodies of fallen A.S.R. personnel.
“The bridge is our only option,” Vidal answered. “We can’t access the platform from anywhere else.”
“Maybe he’s already gone,” Bradigan offered.
“Your optimism is appreciated,” Vidal said. He looked at them eye to eye. “I will get you home.”
They nodded, both seeing the determination in his eyes. Silently, silently, they moved to the door and looked in on the gruesome scene. Bodies littered the floor, blood painted the walls, equipment sparked and flickered, and Fender sat hunched over the body of Commander Hoban. Vidal urged them to stay quiet as they entered; stealth would by them some time. Bradigan and Valeria stepped over bodies, fighting the reflex to gag when Fender bit through a bone. They made their way straight to the platform as Vidal wound around the room to the command console; he looked it over and nodded to them, it was functional. That was one hurdle cleared already. Vidal muted the keystroke feedback sound and began inputting the time and place data for the jump back. Valeria and Bradigan held hands on the platform, watching Fender for any sign of danger as Vidal finished the calculations. He looked up at them, his hand poised over the Enter key, and mouthed the words, Stay on the platform. They nodded in understanding and he pressed the confirmation.
Jump initialized, The computer blared. All non-essential personnel, clear the platform immediately.
Fender jerked up as sirens rang out on the bridge. He turned around and saw Vidal vaulting over the railing away from the console, trying to lead him from it.
“Come here!” Vidal shouted as he made his way around toward the exit.
Fender was more than willing to oblige. He roared and bounded forward on his long arms like an animal. Vidal drew his pistol and fired a few rounds which sank into his muscled flesh. He bled for only a moment as his overdriven cells worked to multiply rapidly and heal him. Responding in kind, Fender picked up a toppled computer and heaved it toward Vidal. The captain ducked underneath but the machine landed in the doorway, blocking his exit. Fender, seemingly assured of his prey’s capture, approached him casually. Vidal gripped the railing and knelt down before springing upward and delivering a powerful kick into the giant’s jaw. Fender reeled backward and roared in anger as Vidal’s momentum carried him over the railing. He flipped backwards upon touching the ground and positioned himself behind the beast, gaining a bit more space to move around. The monster spun around, swatting with his backhand but Vidal ducked the swing.
Two minutes till transport, the computer said. Commencing final checks.
Bradigan and Valeria watched silently as Vidal fought, trying not to draw Fender’s attention. In his head Bradigan was cheering as loud as he could.
Vidal launched another spinning kick, this time however, Fender caught the leg and angrily flung him through the air. Vidal recovered with acrobatic skill and knelt down. The throw had torn his pants and he ripped off the lose material revealing a bionic leg. Fender approached him quickly, arms outstretched. Vidal leapt from his kneeling position and passed over Fender’s head while delivering another empowered kick that sent him careening into the wall. Fender roared again as he got up.
One minute till transport, the computer announced. Please assume activation positions.
Vidal grit his teeth, he needed to end this now. As Fender approached him again, more cautiously this time, Vidal yelled as loud as he could. Not one to be outdone, Fender roared as well, his mouth gaping open and blood dripping from his unnaturally sharpened teeth. Vidal yelled again as Fender drew closer and the beast answered back again with his own roar. Seeing an opening, Vidal sprung forward and launched a kick that landed on Fender’s lower jaw. The sinew and cartilage snapped from the force and the jaw sagged leaving Fender unable to close it. As the giant howled in pain for the first time, Vidal drew his sword and plunged it into the open mouth, stabbing through the back of the throat and severing the spinal cord. The monster went limp and fell forward as Vidal released his hold on the blade; there it would stay, lodged firmly between the vertebrae.
Ten seconds till transport, The computer announced. Please input activation confirmation now.
With no time for celebration, Vidal quickly approached the console and placed his hand on the scanner. He looked up at Bradigan and Valeria with a smile and saluted. Before they could return the gesture, the travelers appeared back in Heliarc’s underground lab, only they were several feet off the ground. As they fell onto the floor, everyone turned from the doorway where they had vanished from and rushed to their aid.
Writer by Grace 