Olympus: The Agency (Book One)

22. Osmosis

Zeus had not read about the Wight Initiative at all in his many mission briefings but the look of abject terror on Phil's features made him feel as if they should have been.

"How bad are we talking, Phil? Do we have time to evacuate the station?"

Phil shook her head. "If you were warned about them, they're already here. Warning the station would accelerate the timeline. They think like a computer, Zeus. Anything that prevents their normal timetable is either dealt with or they accelerate the timeline. They cannot be stopped."

"But-"

Phil grabbed the front of Zeus's armour. As she spoke, her fingers dug into the ablative ceramic of the armour and he could hear the collar splinter from the force. Her eyes changed in colour from her normal green to a sickly lime with black vein-line lines pouring from it.

"They cannot be stopped."

Zeus gently placed his hands on Phil's shoulders.

"Okay," he whispered. "I believe you. So what do we do? We can't abandon everyone on the station to them. Can we warn our team?"

"No," came Junior's voice. Zeus peered over Phil's shoulder and looked at the young man. "They listen to radio signals and can hack into any line except one, which we don't have."

This was a true dilemma to Zeus. He couldn't warn his team, he couldn't warn the station and he couldn't prepare openly. So he would do the only other thing left to him.

Hope.

"Alright, new plan," Zeus said, keeping his voice low. "I need the two of you to help as well, to keep it looking like we're unsuspecting. Forget the list right now, focus on buying the weapons and armour. Do we get them handed to us?"

"You can request it as an Agent of the Alliance." Junior offered.

"Okay," Zeus said. "We won't be alone at the shopping district either. Remember what Belle said? Marcella and Minnie are there, too. We find them and loop them in. That will make a team of five."

"What about the others?" Phil asked, her eyes slowly returning to their normal green.

"Like Junior said, they can hack our communications. Unless we can get our hands on a method they can't do that with, the rest of Olympus and the crew... are on their own."

This admission was the biggest thing Zeus could admit right now. Moving forward, his team would comprise of a pilot, a teenager, a terrorist and a marine, none of which were part of Olympus. The team he had come to trust and care for these last three months had to rely on whoever was with them and not each other.

In many ways, this would be the true test of the abilities of Olympus Squad.

"Phil?" Zeus asked, looking down at her. "I need you to help me out here. I can rely on Junior to get the guns, armour and upgrades we need but I need you to keep it together. Okay?"

Phil nodded and pushed off of Zeus lightly. She breathed in deeply, keeping her emotions under control.

"Junior, go ahead. We'll be right behind you."

Junior nodded and began to make his way towards the shopping district. Zeus led Phil along with him. They were moving along slowly but Zeus was silently adamant he would keep Phil safe.

"Phil," Zeus said quietly. "Your eyes changed when you started to panic... You healed me when we crashed on Bjarni... Your reaction time is three times higher than most humans, even pilots like me. I need you to be honest when I ask you this question but understand that whatever the answer is that I trust you. Okay?"