Chapter 7 “Jack of diamonds.”

Five years and one month had passed since the door of Vault X closed. Halfway till it opened again onto what could be a dead world for all Burton knew.

He sat in his lab, scrolling through satellite imagery. Nothing but dust and ruins. The natural ecosystem of the Green Valley, chosen for the protection it provided, instead trapped the sprawling storm fronts. With a deep sigh, Burton rolled his chair to the adjacent terminal and began the arduous coding needed to retask his satellite.

However complex and frustrating he found orbital mechanics, he preferred it to what he should be doing. Final preparations for the activation procedure, and deciding which of the children would be first.

Over the past five years, Burton’s devices secreted strong nanofilament around the bones and along the nerves of the children. He once saw them as little more than numbers. Swapping the standard issue fusion cores to the Ultracite cores would let the devices function at full power. A new frontier in human potential.

There were supposed to be half a dozen of the best of and brightest down here with him. Surgeons, neurologists, psychologists. Scientists. Instead there were half dozen ex military security guards, a trainee teacher, and two cooks. Each of them had become much more than that in the last five years, but nothing close to what he needed.

Burton didn’t notice Shaw enter, not till he lit a cigarette. He turned and Shaw threw him his single daily smoke. It didn’t help ease his nerves. “Have you decided?” Shaw asked, focusing on the mug he used as an ashtray.

“No.” Every rationale he tried felt hollow and unfair.

“Scientifically, there’s no reason to pick one over the other right?” Shaw asked.

“Not really. Not that I can think of anyway.” Burton hated the way that sounded. Not because it dinged his ego, because he couldn’t help.

“Look, five years ago I told you I believed in you.” Shaw made eye contact. “I still do Burton.”

“I…” Before Burton could deflect the compliment, Shaw produced a deck of cards and fanned them out.

“Just pick one.” Shaw’s solution at least felt fair. Burton smoked his cigarette down to the filter, and chose.

“Jack of diamonds.” Burton tried to keep the card from shaking in his hand.

“Ava Hartwell.” Shaw’s voice stayed steady, but his eyes betrayed his worry.

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“I’ll set the bots to sterilise the lab, we’ll do the procedure tomorrow night. You and Ellen will have to assist.” Burton started typing commands as a pair of dormant bots began to stir. He felt Shaw linger at the door.

“We’ll get through this month, and we can all take some downtime over Christmas.” Shaw almost spoke to himself, then left. Burton, finally, opened Ava’s medical file.

“Alright, from the top.” In a curtained off corner of his lab, Burton rehearsed the procedure, again. Shaw and Ellen mimed their actions over an empty gurney. “Thirty seconds. Good.” Burton resisted the urge to run it again. He saw his nerves getting to Ellen. She kept a cool head under pressure, but she wasn’t anything close to a surgical nurse.

“Look, this is routine right.” Shaw struck an authoritative tone. “It can be done in the field if needed, right Burton?”

“Right.” Burton knew they were well beyond the field manual. “It’s a simple swap out.” With untested technology, he thought.

“I’ll go get her.” Shaw stood, but Ellen beat him to it.

“No, I’ll go. This is going to be stressful enough for her without a visit from ‘The Major’.” Ellen slipped up and used the children’s nickname for Shaw. Burton saw how it hurt him, to be seen as the stern commander. That his very presence had an effect he didn’t always intend, or like.

After a few tense minutes of silence, steps began to echo from the corridor. The door opened with a hiss. “Good evening sir.” Ava waited, addressing Shaw. While not exactly the runt of the litter, Ava stood at barely five foot with a slight build. The tips of her short, black hair still dyed green.

Her jetset parents cared more about a fix than feeding her. She’d be dead if she wasn’t here, Burton thought, trying to ease his mind. “Good evening, Ava. Be seated.” Shaw extended an arm to the chair in front of him and she sat. “Now I’m sure you remember last week's briefing about the activation procedure.”

“Yes sir.” Ava answered. The children had spoken of little else in the days since.

“Well, we’re starting tonight and you’re going to be first.” Shaw didn’t ask, it wasn’t a question.

“Tip of the spear, sir.” Ava sounded excited. Burton often wondered whether the children really believed in the mission he had signed them up for. Or if it had been easier to give them a story to cling to.

“Good Girl.” Shaw patted her knee and turned to Burton. He nodded to Ellen.

“This is something to keep you…help you relax. You might feel a little groovy, but you’ll be awake the whole time. And I’ll be right here.” Ellen took the tray with two paper cups over. One with water, one with two pills. The cups helped disguise the fact the pills were little more than high end street chems Burton cooked up.

“I have something for you Ava.” Burton went over to his desk drawer, rummaging through it. “Here we are.” He handed her the box he’d found while searching for misplaced cigarettes in the stockroom.

“Thank you...sir.” Ava’s slowed speech meant the chems were taking hold. She inspected the box. Plain metal save for an etched barcode, it rattled as she took it. “Ball bearings?”

“Non standard ball bearings. Ten mil smaller. Which means…” Burton trailed off, letting her get the answer.

“Smaller skateboard wheels, tighter turns.” Ava yawned and almost dropped the box.

“It’s time.” Burton took a deep breath.