The impulse to relax and enjoy himself had been driven from Darien's mind by the incident. He didn't much like Seb. Hell, he detested the other boy's arrogant manner and constant competitive undercutting, but that didn't mean he wished a Summit Grade mission on anyone. The memories of his one and only venture into that most dreaded territory still burned raw in his mind.
He knew Niamh would make sure the others took advantage of the time off. All of them understood, except Amber of course. He hated himself for not having the spine to explain everything to her from the outset but he couldn't recount the episode, not yet. It was the first and only casualty Hammerhead Squad had suffered in his tenure as leader and it had left a wound in his heart that ached every time he thought about it.
Seated on his bed, he flung the rubber ball at the wall of his quarters. It made a satisfying thump as it bounced back for him to catch. Try as he might, he couldn't drive the thoughts of that ill-fated mission from his mind. Knowing that out there somewhere another group of operatives were facing something just as bad made his stomach knot. All he could do now, however, was pray that Seb and the rest of Raptor Squad made it back in one piece.
A whole day had passed and they hadn't returned. That didn't automatically mean something had gone wrong – he'd been on missions that had lasted days – but it simply piled unease upon worry, angst upon fear.
"Damn it all," he cursed under his breath, bouncing the ball again. Then the door chime of his quarters bleeped rudely, interrupting his thoughts.
He glared at the door for a moment. "Who is it?"
"C'mon buddy, open the door," Idas answered, his voice muffled by the thick plated door.
With a sigh he stood and crossed the room, pressing the release panel on the left side of the door frame. The slab of metal slid aside, revealing Idas standing with his hands in his pockets and a rueful smile on his face.
"You okay?" he asked simply.
"I dunno." Darien turned, slouched back over to the bed and sat down to resume bouncing the ball. Idas followed him in and the door slid shut behind him.
"You know," Idas said, sitting beside him. "You can't stay in here forever."
Thump.
"What happened on that planet could have happened to anyone. It wasn't your fault any more than it was mine, or Niamh's, or anyone else."
Thump.
"Keep this up and you're going to put a hole in your wall."
Thump.
"Darien, at least look at me when you're ignoring me."
Thump.
Idas reached forward and caught the ball before it could reach him and Darien let out another heavy sigh.
"How many times do you want to have this conversation?" he said. "I can't help how I feel about it. I picked her – I was the reason she was there and the reason she died."
"We all lost someone that day," Idas said, his tone hardening. "Moping about in this room won't help how you feel."
"What would you suggest?"
"Get off your self-pitying behind and go do something constructive."
Darien glared at him, and then held out a hand. "Give me back my ball."
Idas was about to reply when the door chime sounded again, and before Darien could ask who it was he heard Niamh's voice from the other side, shrill with urgency.
"Darien, Idas," she yelled. "Open the door – something's happened to Raptor."
Darien shot upright and across the room. The door opened and Niamh stood with the rest of the squad behind her, her eyes wide and breathing heavily.
"Smith sent us to find you," she explained breathlessly. "They've lost all contact with Seb and now the Nav-Rod signal has gone down! He's waiting for us in the main briefing room. This can't wait."
Summoning all his willpower, Darien suppressed the shiver of horror that shot through him. He couldn't fall apart, not now. He was a squad leader, a Blink Operative and a damn good one. He looked into Amber's gleaming brown eyes and a spark of resolve lit up in the back of his mind. He was not going to let the past cripple his future.
"C'mon, Idas," he said firmly. "Looks like no-one's on vacation anymore."
*
The briefing room was large enough to hold several squads of Blink operatives, but right now only Smith and the members of Hammerhead Squad occupied it. The fact that Smith was giving the briefing himself only served to drive home the seriousness of the situation they were about to be thrust into.
Standing in front of the large screen built into the wall at the head of the room, Smith paced back and forth. The Blink operatives sat in front of him on a single bench, all looking up expectantly for the briefing to begin.
"Alright," Smith began evenly. If the current course of events had unsettled him he wasn't letting it show. "As you are no doubt aware, Raptor Squad was dispatched thirty-six hours ago on a Summit Grade mission. They have not established contact since their arrival and two hours ago the Nav-Rod signal from the planet they were sent to went dead. What that means we can only guess at, but it is definitely not good."
"No kidding," Idas muttered.
Smith ignored him. "The planet in question is Titan Aquilla, a highly sequestered archaeological research colony well beyond the Black Line."
Darien found the more he knew the more apprehensive he was becoming. The Black Line marked the farthest reaches of colonised human space. Anything beyond that was largely unexplored, unmapped territory where any number of new threats could be lurking. It figured that the colonial governments would tuck a secretive research post beyond the range of prying eyes, and consequently, beyond the range of any kind of response in the event of an emergency.
"Exactly what research is being undertaken at Titan Aquilla is unclear at this point," Smith said, and now his tone carried a definite hint of unease. He was not a man who liked being kept in the dark. "Sufficed to say it involves a potentially seismic discovery in the field in interstellar exploration. The only information I have that is concrete on the matter is that they were excavating what is believed to be a settlement below the surface. A settlement of non-human origin."
"What, aliens?" Uther grunted.
"You can ask questions when the briefing is over," Smith snapped. "Now, the station dispatched this distress signal two days ago with Summit Grade priority." He pressed a button on the remote in his left hand and the screen came to life.
Darien folded his arms and stared hard at the haggard figure on the screen. The man looked like a colony engineer of some kind, clad in deep brown overalls and he looked over his shoulder for several seconds before turning back to the camera and speaking.
"This is Chief Engineer Evett Scoular, Colonial Outpost Titan Aquilla, Identification 000-000-001X, Summit Grade priority message," he blurted out. Sweat ran in rivulets down his cheeks and his eyes were wide with hysteria. He just barely managed to keep his voice at an even pitch as he spoke. "Yesterday conditions at our dig site were compromised entirely, I repeat compromised. Our security force is attempting to contain the situation but I don't think they can stop what we've uncovered. This thing...I..." He glanced over his shoulder again. "This is not a sanctioned transmission – I will probably be shot for sending it, but we need help and we need it now. I urgently request that if Blink HQ receives this message that they send out operatives to our location. This station needs to be locked down. If we can't contain this thing then this facility should be destroyed."
"Scoular!" another voice suddenly knifed into the transmission, someone off shot. "Damn it man, this is a classified facility! I order you to cease transmission!"
"NO. If that thing gets loose no-one will be safe!" He turned back to the screen. "Send help NOW!"
A gunshot ripped over the transmission and Evett Scoular was torn from the image by a bullet impact. Another figure hove into view and fired again, his gun aimed at the camera lens. The screen flicked to static. Darien stared at the bands of grey, fighting down the terror that he felt in his gut. There was little to no information on what they would actually be facing – a worst case scenario for any operative. He glanced at the others. Amber's eyes were wide, her hands clenched into fists against her legs. Uther looked stunned; Idas gnawed on a knuckle.
A moment of silence hung in the air until Smith turned off the image and looked at them.
"As you can see, we don't have a lot to go on. All I can surmise is that they dug up something dangerous and this Scoular did not think they're security measures would be able to contain it. Judging by the current chain of events it would seem he was correct."
"Did anyone else pick up the call?" Darien asked.
"Yes. The Colonial Navy gunboat, Ivanhoe, has been redirected towards the planet, but they won't get there for three weeks. From what we can glean from this recording the threat is an immediate one. We can't wait three weeks."
"Did Raptor send any communication at all after they arrived?" Niamh put in shakily, still staring at the dead screen.
"Not so much as a whisper." Smith sighed. "I'm well aware that sending you out there is incredibly dangerous but we haven't been left with much choice. Right now you, in this room, represent the only people who I trust to handle this situation."
"Hang on a sec," Idas interjected, sitting up. "If the Nav-Rod is down how the hell are we even supposed to get there? I can't Blink hundreds of billions of miles."
Smith looked distinctly uncomfortable now. "There is a way. Again, it is dangerous, but it is the only course of action open to us." Suddenly his gaze locked onto Amber. "Amber, I know you are a new member of our organisation, but you are also the one person I believe to be capable of doing what is required."
"No!" Darien said, leaping to his feet. "You can't ask her to do that!"
"You forget yourself, Darien," Smith hissed.
"No I damn well do not!" he snarled back, his anger flooding to the surface. "She's not ready. And even if she was it's still insane!"
"Wait, just what are you two talking about?!" Amber asked, worry shimmering in her voice.
"He wants-,"
"Amber!" Smith raised both his hands to regain some semblance of order. "I am not exaggerating when I say you are one of the most gifted Blink travellers this institution has ever seen. What I am proposing is dangerous, and-," he glanced at Darien, "I will not force you to do it. However, it is the only way to get out to Titan Aquilla."
"So what is it?" she demanded. Darien slowly sank back into his seat, seething inwardly as Smith outlined his scheme.
"You have the capacity to Blink travel all the way to that planet."
She recoiled in surprise. "Oh..."
"Our only course of action is to give you a portable Nav-Rod. You will then Blink to Titan Aquilla and activate it, which will then allow your squad mates to follow you through." Smith took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "If you say no, I will not hold it against you. Blinking so far is very dangerous and has rarely even been attempted."
Darien couldn't contain himself any longer. "This is wrong! She's barely been on two live fire missions, and now you're asking her to do something that no-one on this entire station is capable of doing!"
"All I am doing is asking." Smith looked to Amber. "Well?"
All eyes in the room turned to Blink's newest recruit. Darien felt sick. Smith was virtually asking her to commit suicide. He dug his nails into the palms of his hands and then a word slipped from her mouth that made his blood run cold. She looked like a deer caught in headlights, staring at Smith with glassy eyes, as though the question had physically stunned her. She pressed her lips tightly together, fingers of her right hand gently drumming on the table.
"Yes," Amber said quietly.
He looked at her, aghast. "No, Amber you-,"
"I can do it." She looked at him. "When you guys came to find me you told me I was exceptional. Is that true or isn't it?"
"Yes...but I...this is too much!"
"I can do it, Darien. It's why you brought me here." She turned back to Smith and nodded, her voice gathering strength. "When do we go?"
"We'll need time to rig up the rod with a portable power supply," Smith replied. "Four hours." His mouth slipped into a grateful smile. "And thank you. You represent the best of us."
Darien sat speechless. His head was spinning with a thousand objections, but the choice was not his to make. It never had been. Amber had decided to believe in herself, and had made her decision, but he knew full-well what lay at the root of it. She'd come from a place where she was the best at everything, and the incident with the hostage taker had shattered her view of the world. She was desperate to make amends. He could only pray that desire wouldn't end up getting her killed.