Jupiter's Halo Book Two: The Fall

Chapter 10

Maccy’s day was becoming far more complicated than he was generally happy with.

The woman he’d seen skulking around the substation had accessed every databank while he wasted his time arguing with the Blacks about who’s responsibility it was to stop her.

“Why aren’t you doing anything?”

The impassive expression remained on the closest man’s face, driving Maccy’s frustration level to previously unknown heights.

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know!” He replied, hating the calm, uncaring tone he heard. “She’s signed in as one of the comms ops but I can’t see her face. She could be anyone.”

“So you don’t know she isn’t supposed to be there then,” the other Black supplied with a smirk clearly designed to irritate.

Maccy threw his hands up to vent a measure of his anger. He spun on his heel, looking for support from his fellow bridge crew. Jinsin simply smirked at his annoyance, her face turned toward her console, but the expression visible as she pretended not to notice the rising volume of his voice.

Holden was no more use. He was watching on, his own tasks abandoned to follow the spectacle, but as yet he’d failed to utter a single word. He was frightened of the Blacks and their unmoving pet robot, Maccy knew, but that shouldn’t matter now. This was serious. He had no idea what information was being stored down in the substation, but the level of security surrounding its access gave him a hint that it shouldn't be open to just anyone.

Worse, part of his job was to monitor the station’s input and output of data traffic and that included whatever was being held down there. If this woman, whoever she was, attempted to leave GS-114 with her stolen cargo then it would be his head on the block.

He stepped up to the nearest Black, the man towering over him by half a head and easily twice as broad.

“You’re supposed to be protecting this place right?” He poked a finger into the man’s chest, feeling the unforgiving armour concealed within the dark fabric.

The look he received told him very clearly just how big a mistake he’d made.

“Our job is classified, my little man.” The Black replied before giving Maccy’s offending digit a pointed glance.

“Classified? Classified! Everything on this bloody station is bloody classified!” Maccy shouted the words into that impassive face, his finger jabbing forward.

He’d meant to remove it, but the patronising, superior tone and the use of ‘little man’ had pushed his anger past the point of control.

Who the hells did these damn Blacks think they were? They barely spoke, they loomed over everything and they seemed to revel in the discomfort and fear they caused in the crew. Some of them even seemed to treat the whole thing like a game, wasting people’s time trapping them in corridors and racing about the place like the station was some sort of extended obstacle course put here solely for their amusement. He was sick of it, sick of all of it.

“I am not your little man!” He jabbed his finger forward again and then squealed as the Black’s hand shot up to envelop it and bent the digit back and around. The pain was sudden and excruciating, dragging his whole arm across his chest and down. Maccy had no choice but to follow it, his knees bending in sympathy and words failing him as the agony washed all thoughts from his mind.

“You don’t get to touch me.” The Black leaned down to keep his face close. “You got that, my little man?”

Maccy nodded furiously, desperately hoping his agreement would see an end to the blinding pain. It didn’t.

“Hey, let him go!”

He heard the words shouted from behind. Jinsin, faith bless her. He couldn’t turn to see her, his whole body caught in that terrible grip, but he heard the familiar rattle of her chair as she rose at speed.

“Stop that, you’re hurting him!” She continued.

Above him, Maccy heard the smile in the Black’s voice.

“That’s the point.”

Through tear blurred eyes he saw the second man step past to intercept Jinsin as she came to his aid. As far as he could tell, Holden still hadn’t moved, but the pain and Jinny’s raised voice as she shouted for him to be let go were blanking out everything else.

The pressure on his finger released and Maccy collapsed to the floor, clasping his abused hand. Jinny stopped shouting and a change in the atmosphere of the bridge filtered through to him.

Maccy looked up to see another Black standing in the doorway to the link stair. It was odd that she had chosen to come that way, far more effort than taking the trans-terminal that ran the length of station structure and allowed access to every deck.

She stood silently, her eyes fixed on the scene above him across the circular expanse of the bridge. Maccy rolled onto his side to see Holden still in his chair, his head turned like all others to face the woman who had interrupted the scuffle. Until this moment they'd had little to no idea of the hierarchy within the Blacks, but seeing the way she stared and the reactions of the two men now stock still and quiet, Maccy knew she was most definitely in charge.

“What’s happening here?” She spoke calmly, almost quietly but her tone held an unwavering authority.

Neither of the Blacks spoke but Jinny was all too ready to jump in.

“Your man here was assaulting Mr Chivvers and the other one was preventing me from stopping him and laughing.”

Maccy didn’t remember hearing any laughter, but the memory was already a blur and his hand still throbbed. The commander of the Blacks tilted her head in query.

“Trishan, Billings? Explain.”

There was no uncomfortable shifting as Maccy would have expected. Both men stood firm, their eyes cast slightly down in deference, but otherwise seemingly unabashed.

The one who’d held his finger spoke first.

“Mr Chivvers believes our role is to police the station.” The man shrugged. “He didn’t like finding out it’s not and he laid hands on me. I took measures.”

The speech was short, unapologetic and Maccy was shocked at the lack of reaction he saw in the woman.

“That’s not—” He started, but Jinny was already striding across the lowered centre of the bridge to step back up and face the Black’s commander.

“Right or wrong your man was hurting him and if you’re not here to keep the station safe then what the hell’s the point of you?” She demanded and Maccy felt a measure of admiration for her courage.

The woman she faced raised an eyebrow but didn't move. She was taller than Jinsin and more muscular beneath the black of her armour and the bio-suit covering her lower half.

That stopped Maccy and re-routed his thoughts. Why was she wearing a bio-suit? Or half wearing it at least. The top section was hanging loose from her waist, but her legs and feet were encased in the thick white material as if she was halfway through putting it on or taking it off.

“Are you seriously injured, Mr Chivvers?” She asked, her voice still calm, unchanged.

Maccy pulled himself to a sitting position, still cupping his hand and tentatively flexed his fingers. Nothing was broken and already the pain had subsided to a dull ache.

“Er… no. Not really,” he muttered.

Jinny span and pinned him with an angry stare, but what else could he say? The pain had been excruciating, but now it had stopped it was clear the grip had been specifically tailored to subdue him without causing lasting damage. He wasn’t about to annoy this strangely frightening woman by feeding her an easily exposed lie.

“Then I believe you have been afforded a valuable lesson, Mr Chivvers.” The commander hadn’t taken her eyes from Jinsin. “The remit of my team is not yours to question and they will act as I command. Hinder them or attempt to in any way and you will find the consequences unpleasant.”

Maccy swallowed and nodded slowly. The way she had said ‘unpleasant’ had fired his imagination and he didn’t care for any of the options it was presenting.

Jinny made an angry noise; a mix of frustration and probably embarrassment and stormed her way around the bridge’s outer tier. She stopped on the opposite side, her arms crossed over her chest and her face turned to the high, thin window that ran two-thirds of the way around.

In the quiet, Holden finally seemed to find his voice.

“There is something you might want to see,” he said in a careful voice. “Not that I’m trying to say you definitely have to,” he added hurriedly as the commander’s eyes turned on him.

She stepped down to the lowest tier and through the thin space between the console desks to stand over Maccy.

“Help him up, Trishan.”

At her words, a dark gloved hand extended down and Maccy hesitated a moment before taking it with his undamaged hand and feeling the immense strength of its owner lift him, almost bodily, to his feet. He came up quickly and struggled to catch his balance as the Black let go. He looked down on Maccy with the barest hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth and winked.

“So what is it you think I might be interested to see?” The woman asked.

Holden pointed a shaky hand at Maccy and indicated his console and screens with repeated jerks of his head.

“Maccy found someone in the substation that shouldn’t be there. Probably.”

The commander’s head snapped around and Maccy felt the sudden intensity of her stare.

“Show me.”

There was no way he was arguing with that command and he almost jumped back in his haste to reach his desk. Maccy sat, seeing the video feed for the substation was now clear of anybody and knowing whoever was doing whatever they had been doing, had now left.

“Someone signed in under an ident that wasn’t theirs.” He spoke quickly as his fingers worked the controls to find and replay the images of the woman he’d seen.

He let the video play and turned, finding all three Blacks standing close; the woman right behind him and her men stood a respectful step further back. She leaned forward to peer at the screen.

“Who is that?”

Maccy swallowed, not relishing the prospect of admitting he had no idea.

“I, I, I don’t know,” he stuttered “She signed in as Olivier Greenhalgh, but she’s clearly not him. The feed didn’t get a shot of her face though.”

Maccy looked up at the man who’d refused to help before hurting him, Trishan, she’d said. His face was impassive.

“That’s why I wanted your man to, er… intervene.”

The commander still stared at the screen.

“You say she covered her face?”

Maccy nodded furiously.

“Yes. That’s why I thought someone should go down there.”

She laid a gloved finger against his cheek and used a gentle pressure to direct his eyes back to the screen.

"I don't disbelieve you," she said gently. "But I have to assume you were otherwise engaged, rather than manning your post when this happened."

On the screen, in perfect clarity and without a single obstruction, was the face of the woman in the substation. The image was frozen and Maccy realised he hadn’t noticed the Black’s commander pause the feed.

“Er… “

She stood quickly and turned, the sudden movement causing him to flinch.

"Remain here," she addressed the two men behind her. "I'll have Hornwood track her down. From the look of her, he'll enjoy that."

Both men smirked for a second as she looked away, before straightening their faces again when her attention returned to them. Maccy knew enough about the military technology to understand she’d sent an order to someone through her comm-link.

“Is this within parameters?” The one who hadn’t yet spoken asked.

Maccy couldn't remember the name she'd used but noticed the way her weight shifted slightly at the question.

“It’s likely of no concern, but I always prefer to be sure of these things.”

She took a step between the two Blacks and hesitated as Holden spoke again.

“Mac, check your console!” He said urgently.

Maccy started to turn his head, but his eyes didn't want to leave the woman. Something about the way she c****d her head as if she already knew what was going to be said.

“Mac, seriously! Check your console and tell me this is false.”

There was genuine panic in Holden’s voice and Maccy span to see a list of warnings flashing across his desk. He scrolled through them quickly, seeing the urgency of each message, his hand moving automatically in response to his training.

“It’s not false.” The words left his lips, his mind refusing to believe them.

Before his eyes, every sensor in the lab level lit up, reporting readings of level-five critical contamination. He had no idea how that could be the case. Then he saw the origin and his mind clicked. The secrecy of the team working all hours in the lab section of the first level in the primary station section, the way they’d all been drilled again and again about the importance of the station but kept from knowing why. It all suddenly fit into place.

There was one command; one responsibility of his role that had made no sense until now: The failsafe.

To the right of where he sat was a button encased in reinforced glass. The fact that it was covered was less unusual than it’s physicality. Maccy hadn’t seen a real, pressable button outside of historical picts in training manuals, before this assignment.

His fingers worked almost subconsciously through the routine of commands to release the case and it flipped up without a sound. Behind him, he heard a sigh, almost sad. He turned, his hand hovering over the wide button.

“Well, that didn’t take as long as I expected,” the commander said, the meaning lost on him.

She sighed again and he saw her shoulders slump.

“Pity, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this myself.”

Her cryptic words meant nothing and he saw the confusion in the faces of the Blacks stood either side of her. Then her arms shot out, each palm connecting with a man on either side and Maccy saw the flash of something metallic catch in the overhead lights.

Both men were facing him and he saw the pain in Trishan’s face for a second before it fell slack and his body crumpled. The commander withdrew her hands, letting the men slump to the floor where they seemed to unroll and lay still. Maccy’s body froze in shock.

She’d killed them. Her own men.

She’d just killed them!

She still didn't turn but gave a little shrug before moving her hands in front of her. They came back a moment later, empty but stained with fresh red blood. He watched in stunned silence as she reached down to pull up her biosuit and slipped her arms inside.

Holden hadn’t moved, as shocked into inaction as Maccy and on the edge of the bridge’s outer circle Jinsin simply stood and stared. He hadn’t seen her turn around, but the look on her face told him she’d seen what happened too.

The commander stepped forward, stopping briefly to lean down to Maccy’s empty console and keying in a command. She straightened again, her eyes moving slowly to pin him with a stare that frightened him with its calmness.

“You have a choice now, Mr Chivvers,” the commander said in level tones as she continued covering herself with the suit. “Neither option has a particularly pleasant outcome I’m afraid.”

Maccy still couldn’t find the words to say. His eyes dropped to the men now lying prostrate on the floor. They looked for all the worlds like they’d been carefully laid to rest, the black of their armour glistening in tiny patches where blood seeped from her strikes, but otherwise pristine.

"You can evacuate and wait. No one will rescue you, not once you've been exposed. But you will have a little time at least before the end comes. I'm afraid it will be painful, more so than anything you can imagine, but you will have time."

She turned, fastening the bio-suit up her chest and shrugging on the hood. As Maccy watched, her face disappeared and he heard the gentle hiss of the seals closing to separate her from the air of the station.

“I wouldn’t wait for that if I were you.” Now her voice had a strange edge to it, caused by the suit’s emitters. “Press the button. It’ll be quick. Probably even painless. Whereas, if you wait… ” There was a strange noise and he realised after a second that she had sighed.

"Do you even know what research is being done on this station?" Maccy shook his head slowly, mesmerised by this terrifying woman. "Have you ever seen a human body melt, Mr Chivvers?”

Maccy shook his head again, feeling the knot tighten in his stomach as the fear gripped him wholly.

"It's unpleasant to watch. I imagine it's indescribably agonising to go through." She took a step forward, leaning over him. "Imagine every cell in your body starts disintegrating at the same time. Your flesh begins to run, your bones liquefy. Your eyes are gone so you can't see, but you can feel it. You can feel every nerve ending die, feel your body turning to mush as your legs crumple and you begin to puddle on the floor. You can’t scream, you can’t even breathe. Your internal organs are gone, nothing but soup, spilling out to mix with your blood and piss and shit.”

Her tone changed, taking on a lighter note as if she was delivering good news.

“I’m told it’s quick, a minute or so from start to finish.” She gave a little tilt of her head, as she was glancing upward in consideration. “I’ve seen people take just a few seconds to die and the pain they went through made it seem like they felt it for an eternity. Just imagine how long a full sixty seconds would feel.”

Maccy gulped, unable to speak as his mind pictured the horrific scenes she'd spelt out so graphically.

In the mirrored visor, Maccy saw only his own terrified reflection. It was as if he was telling himself what to do. He felt his hand tremble.

“Press the button, Mr Chivvers. Enact the failsafe. Or don’t. I leave the choice to you, but I know which one I’d take.”

Without another word, the commander walked past him, stepped up from the central tier and disappeared through the link stair door.