OPERATION GHOST RIG

THE RELAY

The darkness was absolute.

Elias didn't move. He held the fishing spear in front of him, the metal cold and slick with salt. Beside him, Jesus breathed slowly, his axe ready. Somewhere in the black, Ava whispered to Isaac, her voice barely audible over the hum of the station's generator.

"Echo," Elias said. His voice echoed down the corridor. "Show yourself."

A laugh. It came from everywhere and nowhere, bouncing off the walls, distorted by the station's speakers. "Show myself? But I'm already here. I've been here since you arrived. You walked right past me."

Elias tensed. He tried to remember the layout of the room they'd entered. A narrow corridor, a door to the left, another to the right. The security office should be ahead. But in the dark, every shadow felt like a threat.

"Becky, can you get the lights back on?" he asked.

"I'll try." Her voice shook, but he heard her move toward the wall, fumbling for a panel.

"Don't bother," Echo said. "I've disabled the main power. The emergency lights will follow soon, but by then, it'll be too late."

"Too late for what?" Jesus growled.

"For you to stop the inevitable." Footsteps now, slow and deliberate, coming from somewhere deeper in the station. "The Nyx is already on its way. It will reach the main facility in less than three days. And when it does, the final phase begins."

Elias moved toward the sound, but a hand grabbed his arm. Isaac.

"Don't," the boy whispered. "He's trying to separate us. He wants you alone."

Elias hesitated. The boy was right. Echo was playing games. But they couldn't just stand here.

"Jesus, take point," Elias said. "We move together. Ava, keep Isaac close. Becky, stay behind me."

They advanced down the corridor, feeling their way along the walls. The emergency lights finally flickered on, casting a pale blue glow. The station looked even more decrepit in the half-light—peeling paint, exposed wiring, puddles of stagnant water.

They passed a door marked "SECURITY." It was ajar. Elias pushed it open.

Inside, monitors lined the walls, all dead. A single chair sat in front of a console. On the desk, a half-empty cup of coffee had grown a skin of mold. Someone had been here recently.

"Check for anything useful," Elias said. He moved to a locker and pried it open. Empty. Another locker, also empty. But on a shelf, he found a flare gun and three flares.

"Over here," Becky said. She was at the console, her tablet connected. "The communications array is still active. It's routed through a satellite uplink. If I can bypass the encryption, I can send a distress signal."

"Do it." Elias handed the flare gun to Ava. "Take this. If things go wrong, use it."

Ava nodded, her face pale.

Becky worked fast. Her fingers flew over the tablet. The console beeped once, then again.

"I'm in," she said. "The satellite is locked. I can broadcast on the emergency frequency."

"Then send the message. Tell them what's happening. The Nyx, the copies, the main facility."

Becky typed. A moment later, the console emitted a low tone. "Signal sent. But I don't know if anyone will hear it."

"They'll hear it," Elias said. "The question is whether they'll believe it."

A loud bang echoed through the station. The door behind them slammed shut. Then another door, deeper in the corridor.

"He's locking us in," Jesus said.

"Or locking something out." Elias moved to the door and tried the handle. It wouldn't budge. "Becky, can you override the locks?"

She shook her head. "The security system is controlled from a central node. I'd need direct access."

"Where's the central node?" Ava asked.

"The main control room, on the upper level." Isaac pointed at the ceiling. "It's above us. But the stairs are on the other side of the station."

Elias looked at the vent in the corner of the room. It was small, but maybe big enough for Isaac. "Can you fit through there?"

Isaac studied the vent. "I think so."

"Then go. Find the control room. Unlock the doors and turn on the lights. Can you do that?"

Isaac hesitated. Then he nodded. "I'll try."

He climbed onto a chair and pulled the vent cover off. The opening was dark, but he slipped inside without complaint. They heard him crawling, the sound fading.

"Now we wait," Jesus said.

"Not for long." Echo's voice came through the intercom again. "You think the boy will save you? He's just a child. He'll get lost in the vents. Or worse."

Elias ignored him. He moved to the window and looked out. The sea was calm now, the red lights gone. But he knew Echo was still out there, somewhere.

A few minutes passed. Then the door clicked open.

Isaac's voice came through the intercom. "I'm in the control room. The doors are open. But I can't turn on the main power. Something's wrong."

"What do you mean?" Elias asked.

"There's a backup generator, but it's not responding. And there's something else. A timer. It's counting down."

Elias felt a chill. "How long?"

"Ten minutes. Maybe less."

"Can you stop it?"

"I don't know. It's locked behind a password."

Echo laughed. "That would be my doing. The station is rigged to self-destruct. A little insurance policy. If I can't have you, no one can."

Elias grabbed the radio from Becky's bag. "Isaac, get out of there. Now. We'll find another way."

But the boy didn't respond. The intercom crackled with static.

"Isaac!" Elias shouted.

"He can't hear you," Echo said. "I've cut the intercom in the control room. The boy is trapped."

Elias turned to the others. "We have to get to him."

"The stairs are on the far side," Becky said. "We'll have to cross the whole station."

"Then we run." Elias grabbed the spear and moved to the door. "Stay together."

They burst into the corridor and ran. The emergency lights flickered, casting long shadows. The station shook, a low rumble that grew stronger.

"Nine minutes," Becky said, reading the timer on her tablet.

They reached the stairs and climbed. The upper level was even more decayed, the walls streaked with rust. At the end of the corridor, a door marked "CONTROL ROOM" was closed.

Elias tried the handle. Locked.

"Stand back." He raised the spear and drove it into the lock. The metal bent, but the door held. Jesus stepped forward and slammed his shoulder into it. The frame buckled, and the door swung open.

Isaac was inside, standing at a console. His small hands were covered in soot, his face streaked with sweat.

"I found the timer," he said. "But I can't stop it. It wants a code."

Elias looked at the screen. The countdown showed seven minutes and forty-three seconds. The code field blinked, waiting.

"Can you bypass it?" he asked Becky.

She moved to the console. "Maybe. But I'll need time."

"We don't have time." Elias scanned the room. There had to be another way. His eyes landed on a fire axe mounted on the wall. He grabbed it.

"What are you doing?" Ava asked.

"Cutting the power." He swung the axe at the main power conduit, a thick cable that ran from the floor to the ceiling. Sparks flew, and the lights went out again. But the console stayed on, powered by a backup battery.

"That won't stop the timer," Becky said. "It's on a separate circuit."

"Then we find the circuit." Elias moved to the wall and began pulling panels. The others joined him, searching.

"Five minutes," Isaac said quietly.

Elias found a junction box. He pried it open, revealing a tangle of wires. "Becky, which one is the detonator?"

She studied the wires. "I don't know. There are too many."

"Guess."

She hesitated. Then she pointed to a red wire. "That one. Maybe."

Elias cut it.

The timer stopped.

For a moment, no one moved. Then Echo's voice came through the intercom, cold and furious. "Impressive. You've bought yourselves a few more minutes. But the Nyx is already on its way. And this station is still mine."

A new sound filled the control room. The walls began to shake. Something was moving outside.

Elias looked out the window. In the distance, the Nyx was approaching, faster than before. And in the water around the station, dozens of red lights blinked to life.

Echo's army was rising.

"Now what?" Jesus asked.

Elias looked at the flare gun in Ava's hand. "We signal for help. And we fight."

He grabbed the radio and broadcast on all frequencies. "This is Elias Vance, at the relay station. We are under attack. Requesting immediate assistance. Any vessel in the area, please respond."

Static. Then a voice, faint but clear.

"This is the U.S.S. Halcyon. We copy. Hold on. We're coming."

Elias's heart leaped. The Halcyon had survived. Or maybe it was a new ship. But it didn't matter. Help was coming.

He turned to the others. "We hold this position. We buy time. When the Halcyon arrives, we get off this station."

"And the Nyx?" Ava asked.

Elias looked at the approaching ship. "We stop it. Or we die trying."

The red lights were closer now, swarming around the station. The first machine climbed onto the platform, its metallic body glinting in the dim light.

Elias raised the axe.

"Let them come."

The battle began.