Nova drove the shuttle over Austin, Texas. Inside, he had five security guards and three students from the university. These people were unable to contribute to the work The Oracle and Alex were doing at this time, and Nova recruited them into special service for BADGE.
“How do we move them?” One student asked.
Nova directed the shuttle to a football field. “The students will pick up young children. Security guards, I assume you’ve had training in lifting and carrying people?” He looked back at them.
All the security nodded, the woman in the lead said, “We all have fire fighter training as part of our core.”
“Good. You will target teens and younger.”
“Only children?” A security guard asked.
Nova said, “For now, yes. The sad truth is we must prepare for the worst. If this plan takes too long, people will start dying before we can save them. The youngest need to be protected first.”
“We understand,” the lead security stated. She gave her people and the students a stern look. “We follow your orders right now. Right?” The group agreed.
Once the shuttle landed, another shuttle from the station met them. A group of robots disembarked, they brought with them special bio equipment.
One security member said, “This way. They have the motor bikes over here.” He led the group to a station with motorized bikes for them to get around on.
Nova barked out orders, “Target day care centers, hospitals, and schools. Carry as many as you can, but that also means don’t overburden yourself. We don’t have time for injuries. Now move!” He pointed at the robots. “Command 405, execute. Security Leader Jessica is command authorized for emergency command until further notice.” He then pointed at the head of the security team.
“Understood.” The robots announced and then raced off after the group, save two smaller bots that were setting out the equipment to keep the bodies alive.
Nova clicked his comm, “Nova to Quark, report.”
The small screen flicked on with Quark. “We’ve already gathered all the youths we could find in Boston and are moving to Worcester.”
“Boston? Last time I was with you, you were still in Pennsylvania.”
“You should see EB go. That little guy is moving faster than I’ve ever seen. Since we can’t teleport, he is hoofing it.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Quark said, “We may save more than we thought, but...”
“I know, billions. We’ll do all we can. Our hope rests on Alex.”
Alex stepped out of his portal onto the station. The room was small, dark, and he bumped into a shelf, causing a canister of dusting spray to hit the ground. Clicking on the light, he found himself in the janitor’s closet near the infirmary.
“Okay, good. I got the right destination. Now, about my appearance.” There was a picture of current staff members and their assigned hours for the week. Looking at one in particular, Alex put his hand on his face and slowly twisted his fingers as he pulled away. His face changed from Alex to that of the Janitor in the picture. “I hope Mark is taking a break right about now.”
Opening the door, he gingerly stepped out, keeping a keen eye on his surroundings. The moment was surreal. He had been in this very corridor just yesterday, walking with Nova. Only there were burn marks on the walls, broken lights, and the power was dead. This was clean and in perfect shape. A small vacuum bot buzzed by his foot and he jumped slightly.
“Jumpy today, Mark?” Dr. Henderson chuckled as she came up from behind him.
“Oh, just... surprised. Have you seen... uh... Justin?” He was going to ask her if she had seen Mark today, but that would not be smart.
“Justin? He’s in ops like normal. Why? You don’t normally work up there.”
“I have... to ask him... about something.”
“If it’s about handing in a resignation. Don’t be worried. So many have quit. He’s used to it now. I’d hate to see you leave. We need people up here. But, then again, with no crime in the world, this place is getting to be a ghost town. Whatever your choice, good luck.” She walked on.
For the briefest of moments, he had considered trying to tell her the truth. Eventually, she’ll have to be convinced. But he also considered why Nova told him to go to Justin first. Dr. Henderson was not just a medical doctor and scientist, she also handled psychological evaluations. If he wasn’t convincing enough, she could make it much worse. If Gamer G realized what was happening too soon, this would all be over. He had to tread carefully and tactically. Justin was the best chance at starting this going in the right direction.
Alex stepped into the lift and paused for a moment. He almost punched in his security code. That his code might alert Gamer G of his presence crossed his mind.
“What is the maintenance password code?” He muttered to himself.
“Wait a moment.” Chase stepped in and punched in her code. “Hey, Mark. The guest suites on deck seven are going into power saver mode, and that is causing all the air conditioning in my area to go on standby at night. Gets really warm. Can you do something about that?”
“I, uh, sure. I’ll look into it.”
“Great. What are you doing heading for Ops?”
“I have a question for Justin.”
Chase snickered, “I know we’re kinda only half on the job right now, but remember that he is Director Justin or Agent Justin. If we take on more students, the respect of rank will be required.”
“Oh, sure. Forgot.”
“Don’t sweat it. Nova would’ve been a little more peeved than Justin, but I think it’s a good idea.”
The doors opened and Alex let her out first and then stepped into the Operations. The lift, which was ten steps above the main floor, gave him a good view of the monitors. Just like the station itself, the view was an eerie splash of how fake this world really was. Monitors watched the word in almost the same locations as he had seen in the real world, only everything was perfect. Blue skies, children playing, life blossoming at every corner.
“Mark Boswell.”
Alex heard this but forgot who he was imitating for a moment. He continued pondering the way this felt more like a dream now than it did the first time.
“MARK!”
“Then come down here and talk.” Justin handed a tablet to Chase, and she left.
Gamer G frowned at Alex. “What do you need?”
Justin retorted, “Remember, not your job.”
Gamer rolled his eyes and walked away, which was a great relief for Alex.
Alex said, “Uh, sir, I need to talk to you, but not here.”
Justin let out an annoyed sigh. “If you want to quit your job, just hand in the paperwork and book passage on a shuttle. Thanks for you time and...”
“No, I’m not quitting. This is an important matter.”
Justin looked over at him. “In maintenance?”
“Something like that. How about we talk in the conference room?”
“I don’t exactly have a large staff to run Operations. You can talk to me here.”
Alex looked over at Gamer G., who was casually watching a monitor with a view of a beach covered in half-naked people. Gamer G zoomed in on a group of college girls in bikinis playing volleyball.
“Not here, it is about... something in the conference room.” Alex was desperately hoping that neither Gamer nor Justin was getting worried about him right now. Being deceptive is not exactly one of Alex’s best skills.
Justin shook his head. “Fine. If it is that important. Gamer...”
“I have command!” Gamer sounded like a giddy fanboy on the set of his favorite show.
“No. Just monitor things. If anything happens, send for me. Don’t issue any commands, no one will follow them.” Justin jerked his head to the side. “Conference room one, now. This had better be important.”
Alex followed, knowing that Justin was beyond irritated.
Once they walked into the conference room, Alex turned and locked the door.
“Mark, why did you just lock the door?” Justin paused with a curious frown.
Alex turned to him. “Because we are in grave danger.”
“Something wrong with the station?” Justin asked.
Alex ran his hand over his face, which changed his appearance back to normal. “Something is wrong with everything.”
“Alex? I thought you left to search for Nova three weeks ago.”
“I found him.”
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