Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 155 of 365. Sol standard year]

Days after of Crash landing/ 4

Uninhabited Island / Clearing of Escape Capsule # 405

Galactic Standard Time / After 0900

Jessie

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As he worked over the code, Jessie looked up at the small watch station twenty feet away from him. So far, the work to make the watch stations out of the packaging for the generators has been going well. While they had eaten, they all had worked out how to look out the ‘holes’ in the shield safely. They had figured out that they would need to make each of the ‘stations’ before the hole was blocked off. Thankfully, the packages were metal and big enough for two people to stand side by side. So with a bit of work, they now had four ‘watch towers’ that people could sit in. The window was against the shield and they could look through a clear circle. It wasn’t the best, but they didn’t have many options.

He sighed and looked down at the console he was manning. So far, he had been working on the code and he was pretty sure that it would work. But the only thing left to was try it out.

“We’re ready then?” Terra asked from behind him.

He looked over at her and then nodded, sighing as he did. He had been able to talk the others around to let him only try out the code on one of the consoles. He had trust in his work, of course, he did. But he had no idea about the unicorns. For all they knew, the drunkenness was because the monsters wanted them that way. If the Unicorns used that attack again and wanted them to die instead? He felt that he should have been the one to try the view first. But he was the best coder they had, so here he was.

“Yeah. Just give me a minute. I still think I should look out first,” Jessie muttered and Terra sighed.

“And you know why you can’t! we need you to figure out what will work if this is wrong!” Terra said with a slight scowl on her face. As Jessie looked back at her and glared, she sighed and shook her head, her scowl softening. “I get it, I do. But we can’t have you fall on your sword this time! We just can’t!”

Jessie only sighed and nodded, looking at the volunteer, and waved. The volunteer waved back and then walked into the tower. Jessie swallowed and inputted the command. He closed his eyes, and then after a minute he heard cheers. He blinked, looking around, grinning. The shield was still dark, and the volunteer had climbed down from the ‘watch tower’.

They grinned and raised their right arm. “IT WORKS! THE HOLE IS SMALLER THEN THE WATCH HOLE!”

Jessie looked at the shield and grinned, cupping his hands around his mouth. “What about the unicorns?

“Gone! I think they moved on!” The volunteer called back.

Jessie sighed and nodded at Terra. “So that’s it then? Are we safe here? I can get started on the preparations for our dive?”

“Yeah. How long will it take to modify all the rifles?” Terra asked.

Jessie only looked at her and grinned. “If I grab someone to help me take apart what I need to, a half hour. I’ll need someone in the know through.”

“Grab Zevortro. He had the best Mechanic grades among them. If Dalila can’t be bothered to help,” Terra said with a laugh.

Jessie looked at her and then he chuckled. After she had recovered, Dalila had then gotten most of the supplies for their trip. Then she grabbed the console that still broadcasted and kept trying to get a response. She tried each hacking program she had, but nothing was working. But seeing her react after the last time she failed, made most of the people up here laugh. “Yeah, no. Let her keep working on that project of hers. Maybe that’ll let that thing below know we just want to talk.”

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Terra nodded and Jessie walked off, his mind going to strange places. He had never attacked a base held by an AI before. He had to hope that they would be able to keep everyone alive. Without any modern medicine, this was going to be harder. But still, they had to go into it.

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Vivian

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As she sat in Duncan’s office, a tablet on her knees, Vivian sent the drones through the capsule. So far, she had been able to stalk Jones. The man was going about the tasks that Duncan had given him. For some reason, the man worked swiftly and he didn’t complain.

She studied people, and everything the others told her painted a very strange picture. The man had supposedly fought his way free to warn them, but there were no wounds from them on him. He said that his team had been ambushed, and he had been the only survivor. But with his membership of the Purity Path, there was that to consider. She had spent a few Hunts tracking down some of the ‘rogues’ of that Cult. And the data on their book she recovered? It was terrible. Pure garbage! But Jones? He was starting to look like a true believer. And that meant that he might be like the Rogues, able to make him think something had happened. But he was just waiting, not even talking about his beliefs. There was something here, something that she just couldn’t see.

“ARRRGGGHHH!” She moaned as she reached down and held her face with her hands.

“So nothing new?” Duncan asked, a low voice of anger in his voice.

Vivian only nodded, her mind racing. She knew it was amazingly stupid to think that one day of work would show anything. And she had spent a year watching over a target before she moved in for the kill. But back then, there was nothing that was threatening to kill them outside a safe zone! And those same things had ways to get at them through the protection! All in all, she was starting to feel rushed. And she was shocked and worried about how Jones wasn’t. “Nothing about him makes sense. I mean, what is wrong with him? Anyone else would have cracked by now!”

“Yeah….. No. You based those on a normal psyche, right? Work one with a sociopath as a base,” Duncan said as he leaned back, grinning at her. As Vivian’s mouth dropped open, Duncan chuckled. “Always expect the worst, then work backwards for the reality. Makes it so much easier to figure everything out.”

Vivian looked at him, letting that go through her mind. As she worked it out, everything that she knew about psyches made the picture clearer. Suddenly, the way he was so calm made more sense. If that was the case, then they were in terrible trouble. A person who was able to rewrite his brain, and with no empathy and remorse? They were looking at a monster that was waiting for something. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to throw him into a sleeping cell. Then she blinked, looking at Duncan in horror.

“Wait… if you thought he was a sociopath, why haven’t you done anything about him?” Vivian demanded.

Duncan only laughed and shook his head, a weary smile on his face. “I said plan for the worst! I don’t have any proof, and being that isn’t a crime. And some scientists are creating a nanite guide to help people like that. And the fact he’s a Pather? I thought that maybe someone trained him to survive in society. Or maybe he’s from a small village that has a different social normal. There are a lot of places like that out there!”

Vivian looked at him and then sighed. “Oh yeah. Let me tell you about a few Hunts I did over the years!”

A knocking from the door caused Vivian to activate the drone in the vent looking over the main chamber. She sighed and shook her head, looking up at Duncan with a sigh. “The person that we think is working with Jones is here.”

Duncan sighed and shook his head, a scowl on his face. “Of course! He wants to talk to me. Come in!”

Bradford opened the door and poked his head in. “Hello, Chief! I was just wondering if we could talk a bit. Nothing too out there sir, just a small idea I had!”

Vivian looked at Duncan who sighed. “Come in Bradford. I have nothing else to do.”

“Yes, thank you,” Bradford said with a grin. He came in and closed the door. “Now, I was just thinking. We must still have a lot of supplies in the three storage rooms, right? I wish to empty all of them, and use the rooms as sleep chambers to allow all of us more space to sleep.”

V1 looked at Duncan as he stood there, his arms crossed. She had to admit, the fact that she had slept until the last shift was heavenly! Being able to sleep without having someone hit her, was perfect! This way the snorers could have a chamber just for them as well!

“We’ve had other priorities for the last few days. We still need to go over one or two of the chambers, right?” Duncan asked as she looked at Vivian.

She blinked and then she looked down at her tablet. She called up the right file and looked it over, seeing the data she needed. “According to our records, we have looked over a total of half of the last two rooms. But could we have the numbers to move all the boxes?”

“Good question. We need people on the consoles, the people going down, and the watchers. It will take a while, and it will be long. But we might be able to clear one room by tonight. But I will not let any of the other passengers outside Bradford. That’s where I draw the line!”

“And I agree with you! After what happened, we have to keep everyone safe!” Bradford said with a smile.

Something told Vivian that this was exactly what Bradford wanted. The perfect way to keep everyone locked up. And if they were told about the attack, they would link the way Bradford would tell it to he was keeping them safe.

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Jones

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Jones sighed as he moved another box. The last few hours of work were just what he needed. He could take his time, and try to think of how to help others find the right way. He had to teach these people the right way to live! This world was so wild and amazingly wrong that they needed to keep walking the Path to live. So far, they had been lucky, but luck ran out before too long.

“But does the book of the Path not say that tho who work will live? This is the trial of the spirit! I will pass through this challenge and bring all who survive into the Light of the Path! By my guidance will all those become heroes that will raise Humanity to our proper place!” Jones declared with a manic smile on his face. He felt that strange sense of warmth that sparked within him sometimes, and he felt fear. When that happens, one thing will always happen.

He cackled a little before he felt his mind ache, and he dropped the box he was holding. He fell to the ground and panted heavily. He felt his mind ache and then the pain disappeared. Slowly, he got back onto his shaky feet. “Oh, great teacher. Forgive this warrior for his weakness. May the blessings of the First Walker be upon me. May the time come that this unworthy one never has such episodes.”

With that one prayer, Jones went back to work. Not bothering to think too much on his old curse he worked, never noticing that he felt hotter.