Nicholas Smith - Deliverance

“You okay?” he asked.

Layla simply nodded and walked past him, into the room where Rodger and Magnolia were standing over Timothy’s flickering form.

“What the…?” Layla said. “Why are there mummies in here? Who are they?”

Timothy let out a racking sob, the hologram blinking in and out. Translucent tears dripped from his eyes, fizzling into nothingness before they could reach the floor.

Michael hadn’t known that AIs could cry.

“Commander, may I speak with you?” Rodger asked.

Michael pointed with his chin down the corridor, and Rodger joined him outside while Magnolia whispered soothing words to the distressed AI.

“We have a problem,” Rodger said.

“I can see that,” Michael replied. He grabbed the hatch and quietly shut it so they could talk in private.

“Apparently, those corpses were his family, and… I don’t even know how to say this.” Rodger looked back into the room. “That’s Timothy’s body in there.”

Michael let out a breath. “Holy shit,” he said. “Wait, I thought he was the final survivor of the Bastion and transferred his consciousness to the AI program.”

“Apparently, that was after he killed his entire family,” Rodger said.

Michael eased the hatch open a sliver to peer inside, eyeing the pistol in the original Timothy’s dead hand.

“I’ll be damned,” he said. He unconsciously reached for his own holstered pistol as he considered what would drive a man to do such a thing. Facing similar circumstances, could he ever shoot Layla? The idea made him sick, but he could imagine scenarios where it would be better than the alternative.

“He must have wanted to end things his way,” Michael whispered. “To keep his family from being ripped to shreds by the Sirens.”

Rodger saw him reach for the gun but didn’t understand the reason. “Don’t worry, Commander, the Sirens are long gone. This all happened hundreds of years ago.”

Timothy stood and finally turned to face Michael, holographic tears still streaming down his face.

Michael relaxed his grip on the pistol and let his hand fall to his side. He pushed the hatch open and walked inside with Rodger.

“I’m very sorry, Commander,” Timothy said. “My memory was damaged when Rodger and Magnolia activated my program at the Hilltop Bastion. Some of the older memories are just now coming back. It appears my programming suppressed them for obvious reasons. Seeing the bodies brought them back.”

Timothy winced, his brow furrowing as if he relived his painful last moments. He reached up and put a hand on his head. With his other hand, the AI pointed to a bookshelf propped against the right bulkhead. “Commander, would you please move that?”

“Is that real oak?” Rodger said, stepping over to take a look.

“Just give me a hand,” Michael ordered.

Together, he and Rodger moved the shelf to reveal a four-foot-high door built into the bulkhead and secured by a touch-screen keypad. Michael tried to open it, but it was locked.

“One moment,” Timothy said.

A click sounded, and the door popped open, revealing shelves stacked full of supplies.

“We came here to hide from the beasts while most of the other residents hid inside the facility,” Timothy said. “But when the Sirens entered the ship, my family… we decided to end things quickly. We never got a chance to use these supplies, but perhaps they will help you.”

Michael reached in and pulled out a container of dried food. Blaster shells, flares, food, and containers of water in sealed packages were arranged neatly on the shelves. It would keep Michael and his team alive for weeks, if not longer.

“I’m sorry about your family,” he said, turning from the shelves. “Sorry you had to see them like this.”

Timothy dipped his head, and when he looked up, it was as if the storm of emotions had never happened. He met Michael’s gaze. “Will you do me one favor when I drop you off on the surface, Commander?”

“Sure, Timothy. Whatever you need.”

“Will you please bury my family? They deserve that much, and in my current form, I am unable to give them a proper burial.”

“Your daughter won’t have to dive as long as you do your part, Sergeant,” Jordan said. “That means carrying out every order without so much as a flinch. You got that?”

Sergeant Jenkins stood across from Jordan’s desk in the office inside the bridge. He nodded solemnly. “Yes, Captain. You have my word.”

Jordan met the soldier’s gaze, searching for the lie. The last thing he needed right now was to worry about Jenkins plunging a knife into his back.

But Jordan had a contingency plan in case Jenkins betrayed him.

“If you do decide to ignore this conversation, Erin will dive again—without a chute. Got it?”

Jenkins nodded again, his nostrils flaring with anger. That was okay with Jordan. Who wouldn’t be mad?

“It’s nothing personal, Sergeant. I’m just trying to ensure the survival of everyone on this ship. We need your daughter to train the new recruits, and I need to make sure you don’t get any bright ideas.”

“I wouldn’t dream of that, sir.”

Jordan took another few seconds to study Jenkins before dismissing him. As the hatch swung open, he saw Ensign Ryan, waiting for him on the platform outside the office. Ryan shifted his glasses higher on his nose—a nervous habit that told Jordan something was wrong.

“What is it?” Jordan asked.

Ryan glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening. The platform was empty, and the officers stationed on the levels of the bridge below them were all focused intently on their screens, monitoring everything from the water pressure to the electrical storms.

“Captain, I’ve intercepted another message from Xavier Rodriguez,” Ryan said quietly. “I’m not sure how old it is, but this one is from a different location than the others.”

Jordan gestured for Ryan to enter the office. The hatch sealed them inside, and Jordan opened a desk drawer. He retrieved a map marked classified and spread it across the small table across from his desk. On the map were dozens of locations where they had picked up X’s transmissions over the years. Jordan had kept the project a secret, revealing it to only two other people aboard the Hive.

“Go get Lieutenant Hunt,” he ordered.

Ryan left the room, and returned a few minutes later with the XO. Leaning down, Jordan examined the locations of the other messages. They formed a squiggly line away from Hades, toward the coast.

“Where was he transmitting from this time?” Jordan asked.

“A place called Asheville, North Carolina. He claimed there’s an ITC facility with more of that synthetic food. You know, the kind that looks like strings.”

“Yes,” Jordan said, annoyed. “I’m aware of what it looks like. What else did he find? I’m not risking a dive for food that will last us only a few months.”

“Fuel cells and livestock embryos,” Ryan said.

Jordan straightened his back and massaged the wrinkles on his forehead. “We are in desperate need of more chickens.”

“Here are the coordinates,” Ryan said. He pulled out a piece of paper and placed it near the map, then took a pen from his uniform and circled the location.

Jordan had never taken the time to memorize the old states until he started following X’s journey. Now he could practically draw the map from memory.

“Damn, he’s getting close to the ocean,” Jordan said. He walked over to his desk and sat down in front of his monitor. He touched the screen and brought up another map that showed the radiation levels across the continent.

“Looks like Asheville is in the middle of a red zone,” Jordan said. “I’d be amazed if he made it out of there alive. It’s got to be crawling with Sirens.”