Morvex took a tentative step forward, and immediately noticed the shift in the gravitational field inside the brilliantly lit space. His movements became more difficult the nearer he drew to the plinth, and his last few steps were jerky and faltering. Standing before the waist-high plinth, still squinting in the brightness, Morvex took a deep, calming breath and reached for the small box.
“Warning, gravitational and temporal field suppression destabilizing,” the computer voice blared at him, “Please ensure all safety protocols are in place prior to destabilization. Full destabilization in thirty seconds.”
The perfluorocarbon surrounding Morvex seemed to compress, nearly buckling his knees and his head began to swim. Morvex’s fingers closed around the box, and he lifted it from the plinth. As the box lost contact with the plinth, several things happened at once. Alarms blared, their deafening peals causing Morvex to wince and grab at his head. The perfluorocarbon compressed further, nearly solidifying, crushing the breath from Morvex’s lungs. He strained to breathe, gasping and straining in the oxygen rich liquid as it began to return to its former density. Morvex looked back toward the edge of the brightly lit space, still unable to see anything beyond the wall of light he had stepped through, and turned to make his way toward it.
“Warning, gravitational and temporal field destabilizing. Emergency protocols activated. Full destabilization in ten seconds.”
Morvex increased his speed, fighting with all of his strength against the increased gravitational effect inside the sphere of light. As he reached the wall of light that marked the edge of the sphere, he bent his knees and pushed off with everything he had, sliding through the light and into inky blackness. Ahead, he saw the door to the elevator, his team still crowded near it. Moving as close to a run as he could manage in the dense fluid, Morvex headed for the rectangle aperture of the pressure hatch, his hand reaching for Gareth’s outstretched one. As Gareth’s hand closed around his forearm, Morvex felt himself being tugged sharply in the other direction.
“Warning, gravitational and temporal fields have destabilized. Emergency protocols activated. Prioritizing containment of temporal anomaly. Self-destruct sequence initiated. Time to self-destruct: ten seconds. Please evacuate,” The computer said in its cold, toneless voice.
“Morvex,” Gareth said through gritted teeth, “If you have a plan, I think now is the time.”
Morvex pulled on Gareth’s arm with all his strength, finally slipping into the pressure hatch, as Jorphin slammed it shut behind him. Morvex looked down at the box in his hand, his fingers searching for the lid release, “I have a plan, Gareth, but you aren’t going to like it.”
There was a slight, metallic click and the lid of the box sprung open. A holographic display solidified in front of Morvex and he began entering coordinates into it.
“What the hell are you doing?” Gareth said, his eyes going wide, “Do you even know how to use that thing?”
“Relax, old friend,” Morvex said as he finished typing on the holographic display, “I told you; I have a plan.” As he spoke, the box began to glow with an ethereal blue light and an archway of shimmering white and blue light appeared in front of the rear wall of the elevator. “Go, now. Through the archway.”
Gareth and the others hesitated, Gareth’s eyes narrowing, “Absolutely no-”
“Go! Now!” Morvex screamed and shoved Gareth through. His yell had been enough to get Jorphin and the other three moving and they dove through the archway as Morvex rushed through behind them. Just as he stepped through, the world behind him exploded.
***
Morvex’s eyes fluttered open, his vision unfocused. He was vaguely aware that he was lying on the ground, the cool feel of grass beneath him. He sat up, shaking his head to clear it, then leaned to the side and vomited. Thick, viscous liquid poured from his mouth as the nanites worked to expel the perfluorocarbon from his lungs. The pain was excruciating, his lungs cramping as they tried to purge the fluid. Eventually, the flow slowed and then stopped, and a small mesh ring slid from his mouth and into the grass. Morvex heard the sound of vomiting around him and breathed a sigh of relief, which turned into a coughing fit. He struggled to regain control and slow his breathing, but his lungs continued to greedily gulp in air between the racking coughs.
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A strong hand clapped him on the back several times, and Morvex looked up to see Gareth glaring down at him, “What the hell was that, Morvex?”
“I... told you... you wouldn’t like it,” Morvex said through heaving breaths, “Get everyone up, we have to get out of here.”
“Where, exactly, is here?” Jorphin asked from behind them.
“Iowa, about 75 kilometers from the Des Moines Metropolis, in Stephens Forest,” Morvex said, “Come on, we need to get moving. We have about two kilometers to cover before the event ends.”
“Why here? And where are we going?” Gareth asked.
“When I was on Earth, I met a young man named Alex Rivera. He was a biological engineer who focused on creating plant species who could scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a higher rate than naturally occurring ones. We became friends and he brought me here, to Stephens Forest, because his father used to bring him here when he was a child. Alex grew up in the Des Moines Metropolitan Center and they would come here to get out of the city. Humans may have many irredeemable qualities, but the One Earth Federation still takes preservation of nature quite seriously. I fell in love with the quiet beauty of the forest, and I decided that if I was going to hide a ship somewhere, why not somewhere I know and love?”
“You have a ship? Why didn’t you tell us that you had a ship? Our exfil plan was to get out of the laboratory and get to the embassy,” Jorphin said, “Why keep this from us?”
“Why else would I bring two pilots, Jorphin? Let’s move and I’ll explain on the way.”
The five Orlesians stood and stared at Morvex for a long moment, then Shorin and Jorphin nodded in unison and the group began following Morvex. He led them into the trees, his direction seemingly random. They walked along in silence for nearly ten minutes before Gareth cleared his throat.
“So, are you going to explain? If you trusted the five of us enough to accompany you on this mission, why hide this from us?”
“You will find, when the event is over and we can bring our systems back online, that while the six of us infiltrated the underground lab, the New Orlesian High Council chambers were similarly infiltrated,” Morvex said.
“Charlie Team?” Jorphin asked.
“Yes, Charlie Team. Kovar Alcorn and his team have been on New Orlesia for several days, most likely. My assumption is that Charlie Team has spent that time infiltrating the High Council compound and preparing to try to end this war by killing us, or me at least. By now, they have struck and if they are as good as the reports tell us they are, the remaining members of the Council are dead, Naverin Vestenor with them. It was he who told me they would come, and that it would be Kovar who led them. He was insistent that only Charlie Team, only Kovar, could possibly accomplish it.”
“But if you knew they were there, then why not order them found and captured, or killed?” Shoren Klothor said, “Why not tell me? I am the War Minister, am I not? I could have eradicated the threat and we could have saved the Council.”
“For several reasons, Shoren, “Morvex said as he wove his way between the trees, “First, because the cost of taking on Charlie Team in a direct firefight would be astronomical. They are killers at a level that is unmatched on Earth or New Orlesia. Even our Elite Guard are no match for them. Second, because if we did manage to kill them, we lose any opportunity to infiltrate the lab and secure the temporal device. If we killed Charlie Team, even the event would not provide sufficient cover for us to reach the planet surface. We had to get down here before the flare disrupted our transport. Just imagine the wall of security that would meet any unidentified transport moving through Earth orbit after the most elite fighting force on the planet had been lost to a secret mission.”
Shoren’s forehead creased in thought, “So, how do we leave the planet? Even if they managed to get into the chamber and kill the Guard and remaining Council members, their hopes of getting out alive are slim. When the event has passed, and we can get our ship off the surface, the One Earth Federation will know, and the lockdown will be just as total.”
“No,” Morvex said as they came to a small clearing, “It won’t be. Kovar’s team will get out and they will relay to the Federation that they failed to find me. By then, we will have already left orbit.” Morvex moved into the clearing and brushed his hand through the air in front of him. The clearing rippled as he pulled down the active camouflage cover that draped the small vessel.
“How is the cammo cover still operating?” Gareth asked.
“It’s a new design, it not only doesn’t require a power source, it also acts as a shield to the effects of the event. Don’t look at me like that Gareth, it isn’t our design. It’s human tech,” Morvex said, as he pulled the rest of the covering from the ship.
“How do you know Alcorn will make it off of New Orlesia?” Shoren asked.
Morvex smiled, “That is the easiest question you have asked all night, Shoren. Because I ordered it. I was very clear, a token resistance by squads of Elite Guard and the remaining Council members, then Charlie Team would be allowed to make their exfil point. We need them alive, Shoren, and the lives lost won’t matter after we set things right.”