The Millionth Week #5
“Hardly.” He gestured to her. “You’re not exactly scary.”
“Good. It means you’ve underestimated me. Give me a knife and let’s see who is scarier?”
He peered at Cleo in disbelief.
“Captain, the transmission has reversed direction,” a woman sitting at one of the control panels said.
“What did you do?” Kane advanced on Cleo.
“Me? Nothing. I’m here chatting with you.”
“Tadan, go find Rawson and grab a bunch of peace keepers. Head down to the power plant and regain control,” Kane ordered.
“Yes, sir.” A man hopped to his feet and hurried to the door.
The panels slid open and Zavier stood there with his sheep…er…team. “Going somewhere?” Zavier asked. He stepped over the prone forms of the control room guards and entered.
Kane growled and lunged at Cleo, aiming his knife at her heart. She twisted, grabbed his arm, and dug her fingers into his wrist. With a cry he dropped the knife. But he pulled her close, wrapped an arm around her neck, and pressed his kill-zapper to her temple.
“Surrender, or I’ll recycle her,” Kane ordered.
Zavier met Cleo’s gaze. “You were supposed to stay in the air shaft.”
“He was going to kill-zap one of his people.”
“So? They’re the enemy.”
“They’re citizens of Inside. I’m sworn to protect them all. Even idiots like Kane.”
“Shut up. What are you going do, Zavier?”
Zavier shrugged. “She’s always driven me crazy, and I’d like to see Outside. Go ahead, Kane, finish what you started.”
Cleo stiffened as Kane pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Sheepy had done his job, neutralizing the kill-zappers.
“Polluted water.” Kane tossed the weapon at Zavier and wrapped his hands around Cleo’s neck. “Outside is nothing but Outer Space. You have to be stopped to save Inside.” He squeezed harder. “I had to be the one to do it. To make you bleed.”
Breathing was impossible. Black and white spots swirled in her vision. So close to seeing Outside. Then the pressure eased as Kane rounded on Adia.
She brandished a small syringe. “Missed this. Sweet dreams,” Adia said as Kane staggered and slumped to the floor.
Cleo sagged in relief. She turned to Zavier. “You did it!”
“No, the Force of Sheep Part Two did it.”
She laughed. “Can I promote you to Commander?”
He shook his head. “No ambition remember? How about you come visit me more often?”
“Only if you help me decorate my quarters with your art.”
“Deal.”
Cleo looked forward to spending time with Zavier again. She’d judged him too harshly and she planned to make amends. In the meantime, she had an announcement to make, letting the Insiders know she was back in command.
“Greetings citizens of Inside, this is your captain, Cleo Ashon with an update. Inside will be doing a maneuver called a slingshot around a sun the beginning of week 999,900. This is to slow us down. The coup attempt of week 999,825, caused us to have more speed than we should at this time, but our Chief Engineer Ofira Narelle assures me that this maneuver will be successful. On the video screens is a list of what to expect and what you need to do during the slingshot.”
Ten hours later, Cleo and her new command team manned their positions as the slingshot commenced.
While the maneuver was already programmed, they planned to keep track of all the systems in case something was damaged.
They had also installed harnesses on their chairs.
For the first time, Cleo actually sat in her captain’s chair.
Although not part of the team, Zavier occupied one of the control panels, lending a hand.
At first, nothing happened. Then Inside vibrated, causing a rumbling in the walls. The vibrations turned into a shudder that transformed into a shaking that rattled her teeth. Even though she expected the movement, Cleo still worried Inside would break apart.
The noise pounded in her chest. It was a combination of banging, squealing, grinding, and clattering.
“Turn off the Outer Space video feeds,” Cleo ordered in a calm voice despite the trembling of her heart. The Insiders had been watching as a bright yellowish-orange ball grew bigger and bigger. Apparently, it was a sun and to stare at it too long would damage their eyesight.
“Aye, sir,” Ofira said. The chief engineer insisted on being present during the slingshot.
“The outer walls are heating up,” Ofira said. “We should be fine unless the heat transfers to the inner walls.”
“Keep me posted,” Cleo said. Actually, they’d been shouting to be heard over the increasing racket.
The temperature in the room rose, thickening the air uncomfortably.
This was all expected. This was all normal for a slingshot.
Her brain agreed, but an irrational part of her was terrified.
Would this rusting bucket of rivets withstand the strong forces and searing heat?
Sweat beaded on her forehead then slid down her face.
“A water pipe broke,” Ofira shouted. “I’m shutting down the water systems until this is over.”
Cleo rubbed her hands on her uniform pants. It would be another two hours of this torture. Soon they were all dripping with sweat. Inside had never been this hot. She hoped the plants survived. Ivette had all the sheep sheared to help them keep cool.
An unseen force pushed on her chest, pressing her into the chair, making breathing difficult.
Unwelcome memories of being stabbed replayed in her mind.
She glanced at her new team, mourning the loss of her old one.
Cleo had held a memorial service for them a few weeks ago.
It wasn’t as cathartic as a parade, but Mazin and the others would be remembered.
They had also incarcerated Kane, Rawson, and their followers. It had been a nice surprise to discover not all the peace keepers had been involved.
The noise continued its assault. She inserted cloth plugs into her ear canals to block some of it. Adia and her staff had given them to everyone for this purpose. Sweat continued to drip. Cleo already drained the glass of water Adia insisted everyone keep nearby.
Cleo closed her eyes and waited in misery. Would they bleed off enough speed? Would they complete the slingshot or crash into the sun? Would they ever reach Outside?
Slowly the air cooled, the noise receded, and the pressure on her body eased. Cleo’s uniform was soaked. Pulling out the plugs, she wiped the sweat from her eyes. There was a loud ringing in her ears.
“Status report,” she said.
“Still assessing each system,” Ofira said.
“Did the slingshot work?”
“Oh, just a minute.”
Zavier swiveled in his chair. “We’re still alive.”
But for how long? They still had one hundred weeks to go, and they might need more time to transfer everyone to Outside.
“Yes! The maneuver was successful.”
The control room erupted into cheers. The rusting bucket of rivets had done it!
In the end, they had a handful of busted water pipes, cracks in the walls, damage to several pieces of machinery, and the video cameras and antennae mounted on the external walls had incinerated.
There were various citizen injuries, mostly broken bones, lacerations, and dehydration.
Everything affixed to a wall had fallen.
They planned to spend the next hundred weeks repairing everything just in case.
About twenty weeks after the slingshot, maintenance installed a new external antenna. Hours later, a message arrived.
“It’s from an external source,” Ensign Denyce said with excitement.
“Play the missive, please,” Cleo said.
After a bit of static, a deep voice spoke gibberish. They glanced at each other in confusion.
“Ensign Denyce is the communication corrupted?” Cleo asked.
“No, sir.”
“Do we have any programs that can translate it?”
“I…I don’t know, sir.”
“Should we respond?” Commander Jerica asked.
“Can you verify where the signal is coming from, Ensign?” Cleo asked.
After a few moments, Denyce said, “From the direction we are traveling toward.”
In other words, from Outside.
“Can we respond?” Cleo asked.
“I don’t know, sir.”
Cleo kept her frustration in check. This was a new team. Accessing her computer, Cleo searched for information on translating the missive. While she worked, Zavier arrived.
“Someone’s been reading our files,” he said.
“I’ve been searching—”
“Not you. An unknown source.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I tried to block them, but they have full access.” Zavier scanned the control room. “Has something happened?”
She told him about the message. “I think the Outsiders are trying to communicate with us. Maybe they are the ones in our computer.”
He grunted and sat at his console. Knowing Zavier would have better luck, Cleo gave up on her search and focused on how to respond.
A few hours later, another communication from Outside arrived.
Static once again buzzed, then the deep voice said with a heavy accent, “Welcome citizens of Inside. We are excited about your arrival and are prepared to receive you. We’ve linked with your computer and have determined your transport vehicles are still operational.
Here are the coordinates of the spaceport.
We are looking forward to meeting you in eighty weeks. ”
Relief was Cleo’s first reaction. Outside not only knew they were coming but were prepared for them. Excitement followed, and then anxiety. Would Outside be disappointed by the Insiders?
Regardless of her fears, they spent the next eighty weeks preparing for arrival. Since the Outsiders had accessed their files, they knew a lot about the Insiders. However, all questions sent to Outside were answered with: All will be explained when you arrive.
They watched the video feed as a blue and white sphere filled the screen.