Chapter 41
FORTY-ONE
EDDIE
When Eddie and Cosma were alone on the Bridge, when the confirmation that the shuttle had launched came through, Eddie breathed a sigh of relief.
Eddie exited the Control Room, pressed himself against the glass wall, and looked down on the dark and empty streets of Neo-Tokyo.
Where is Jett? It’s been too long since I heard from him.
Eddie switched to Jett’s channel and it was silent. Not the silence that was filled with heavy breathing, with little gasps, with banter and bickering between Jett and Jack. It was the silence that was only filled only static and the dying screams of stars.
He’d lost the connection to Jett.
Eddie looked down on those streets, devoid of life yet not empty, and wondered where his lover, his most beloved, was.
Wondered if he would see Jett again or if something horrible would happen.
He wondered if another Affected would attack him, finally break though those defenses wrought from steel and a lifetime of pain.
Eddie knew the thoughts weren’t productive. They didn’t do anything for the situation or for his mental state, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help the worry or the guilt that clawed their way up from his stomach where they churned in time to the thump in the ship.
“Eddie? The last of the crew shuttles are away. It’s just us, Ollie, Jett, and Jack.
” Cosma paused a moment, like she was going to say something else.
But she didn’t. She didn’t mention the people who were now stuck in the city, who would die along with the Neo-Tokyo.
And Eddie mentally thanked her for that.
There was only so much that he could deal with at one time.
“We did what we could.” He sighed and looked back down to the city, to the neon lights and the rose-tinted memories of days spent in its embrace. “I lost the signal to Jett.” He said it without looking away, as if speaking the words aloud would let him detect Jett in the vast city below his feet.
He turned back when he heard no response. Cosma stood behind him, looking out the windows toward the distant hull and the stars outside.
“We’ll find him,” was all she said.
They returned to the Bridge and Eddie called down to Engineering.
“Are you ready, Ollie? Once we start this there is no way to disengage.”
On the feed, Ollie stood over the main console for Engineering. Eddie fed him instructions for changing the settings for the engines and Ollie double and triple checked them.
“Okay, looks like all the settings are correct, boss.”
Eddie took a deep breath and wondered once more where Jett was, what had happened to make them lose the connection.
“Alright,” he responded, pulling up the instructions and program on his panel. “There should be three large buttons in a case that just unlocked on the underside of the tabletop.”
A plastic clack rang through comms. Ollie leaned down, the camera feed focused on the top of the console.
“I found them. Green, yellow, and red.”
Eddie took a deep breath as he reread the instructions on his console for the fifth time. “Hit them in that order.”
A moment later a prompt filled Eddie’s panel: ENGAGE SELF-DESTRUCT?
He tapped the prompt and a metallic voice filled the Bridge. “Captain Stone, please speak your full name and the passphrase to activate the self-destruct sequence. You will have twelve hours to evacuate the ship. This cannot be overridden.”
Eddie stretched his hand, felt the ring twist and slide against his skin. He dug his nails into the flesh of his palms. Took a deep breath.
There’s no going back from this. But you cannot let this spread.
“Self-destruct authorization: Edward Markus Stone, Captain of the Neo-Tokyo. Passphrase: Metropolis Down.”
A long moment passed, time stretching into oblivion as silence lingered around them. Not even the crack and sparkle whispered to Eddie.
“Passphrase accepted. You have twelve hours to evacuate the ship before it self-destructs.” The lights on the Bridge dimmed, flashed red once, then returned to their normal setting.
Eddie let out a shaky breath. The fate of the Neo-Tokyo was now sealed.
“Ollie, you can leave now.”
There was a moment of silence. “You sure about that, boss? You and Cos don’t need another gun where you’re going?” Ollie’s voice was even lighter than usual, Eddie almost heard the man smiling.
Eddie raised an eyebrow at Cosma, wondering if she had shared their plans. She stood a little taller and shook her head at him. He’d never dropped her from their line. “What do you mean by that?”
Ollie laughed, a little too loud, a little too manic. “I mean, you and Cos aren’t on a shuttle. I can see that almost all are gone now, so you’re gonna have to evac another way. And that tells me you probably have something else in mind.”
Eddie didn’t respond.
“You’re up there staring at Cos right now, wondering how I know. You forget that you’re married to one of my best friends.”
You always overestimate how secretive you are.
“I lost comms with Jett and Jack on their way to District 3. Either something happened to them or the dead zone is expanding. Cosma is escorting me down there to investigate.”
“Ha!” Cosma laughed. “More like he told me he was going and I had no choice. I don’t want Jett on my back if something happens to him.”
“Yeah, definitely don’t want that! I’ll meet you guys at the main tram stop. Wait for me if I’m not there.”
The line dropped and Eddie looked to Cosma.
“How pissed off is Jett going to be when we find him?”
“I’m trying not to think about it. We’re being very, extremely fucking stupid and he’s not gonna be happy I agreed to take you down there.”
Eddie grinned. “You can just use the same line you gave to Ollie. I told you I was going and you agreed to protect me.”
Eddie stepped off the platform for the last time.
He’d spent so much time in this room over the last ten years.
And now it was by his voice, his command, that the ship, his home, would cease to exist. He didn’t know how to feel about it; he probably wouldn’t know the full weight of his feelings for days or weeks or years to come.
But there were two things now that were important right now. Eddie needed to verify the accuracy of his visions, and he needed to find Jett. Everything else could wait.
Eddie picked up the rifle he’d left in his old office and returned to Cosma. “I am ready. We find Jett and then we get off the ship.”
Cosma nodded, a grimace on her face. “Here we fucking go again,” she said as she led Eddie off the Bridge for the last time.