Chapter 10
TEN
EDDIE
Hours passed as Eddie delved into the signal code.
He knew now that it was multilayered, with text, video, metadata, and something else.
That something wove in and out of the expected streams, corrupting them, merging them together when they should be separate.
He needed to pull the streams apart one by one until only the corruption remained.
And he needed to not damage the rest of the code.
Eddie pulled up tool he’d designed to strip the text out and set it running, queueing up video to start when it was done.
Sleep clouded his eyes and one look at his console showed that he’d downed at least three cups of coffee while he worked.
And it was no longer working. Eddie would crash soon, but he needed to stay up long enough to parse the important data and pass it along so a decision could be made by someone further up the chain of command.
Someone higher than mere captains of starships.
He stepped away, stripped, and entered his shower where cold water streamed over his tense shoulders and sore neck. The jolt and adrenaline would have to be enough to get him through the last of his work.
Then he could spend time picking apart the corruption.
He wanted to see how it worked, where it came from.
But that was for his downtime. No one would care what the corruption was, they just wanted the data.
Eddie envied people who cracked codes and corrupted signals for their jobs; he’d started there and excelled too far, too fast. And now he wished that was all he had to worry about.
He could have passed this off to someone in Tech, but the dual need for secrecy and Eddie’s own need for something to do won out.
As he scrubbed himself clean, Eddie’s thoughts returned to Jett, to that sad smile and sorrow flashing in his cybernetic eye. He didn’t have a recent, clear memory of Jett happy and carefree, only those nights where he either begged or antagonized Eddie.
The sensory memories, too, had slipped from his clutches.
Eddie couldn’t hear Jett’s off-tune singing while they danced at Club Fanatica; he couldn’t feel the pressure and heat between them as they slept and fucked and sought comfort in each other.
The only thing that remained unchanged was the deep, enduring, overwhelming love he felt for Jett.
That would remain long after they were parted for good.
As he toweled off and fussed with his hair, Eddie berated himself for his deficiencies.
For the traumas he hadn’t overcome, that forced him to be less emotionally transparent and available for Jett.
As he changed into soft sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt that had been one of Jett’s favorites, he cursed his family.
They’d nurtured in him a fear that kept him aloof, even with Jett.
He cursed his mother and brother for playing into his insecurities, for pushing him to make the worst decision of his life.
They’d done so much damage in such a short period of time that it was almost as impactful as the combined traumas of Eddie’s entire life.
When he returned to his tab, the text had finished and the video sat at 80% completion.
2073.12.17
The crew is disappearing rapidly
and our evacuation was unsuccessful.
Something lurks in the dark, and a
storm is closing in around the ship.
Please, someone, anyone, send help.
Eddie gasped.
“You weren’t wrong, my love,” Eddie mumbled. He typed up a message and attached the decoded text.
Text decoded and attached. Working on video and metadata extraction.
As soon as it sent, the video file completed.
Eddie started the video and felt the ship turn upside down, his heart jamming in his throat. He’d neglect led to notice changes he should have seen and reported up the line to Quasar.
“This is Adonis Mox, acting captain for the final systems check voyage of the Quasar Yacht-class ship Golden Lion.”