Gary Gibson - Final Days

‘What kind of measures?’

Hanover leaned forward. ‘Both ends of the Copernicus–Florida gate are linked to shielded servers that maintain constant radio contact with each other. If the servers at either end of a wormhole gate stop transmitting, for any reason, it triggers a major security alert.’

He sat back. ‘Now say, for whatever reason, there’s only one person in a position to respond to that alert; maybe because there’s been an attack, or – and this is why they set things up this way in the first place – because something alien and vicious, something completely unknown, has come through one olony gates. That puts all the rest of the gates in equal danger. What they don’t tell you is that it’s possible to simultaneously shut down not just one wormhole gate – but all of them.’

‘Why have I never heard about this before?’

‘Because it’s such very dangerous knowledge,’ Hanover replied. ‘It’s the kind of thing you really don’t want your enemies knowing. Or most of our friends, for that matter. If there isn’t an immediate response to the security alert – within, say, half an hour – the two-man rule is automatically rescinded and just the one person can trigger a gate shutdown. Are you following me?’

‘That’s what happened to the Galileo gate, isn’t it?’ asked Saul. ‘You were in charge of the investigation, and you were the one who dismissed the idea that EDPs had played a part in causing the wormhole to collapse. But Donohue told me you’d been playing both sides, that you gave the separatists everything they needed to cut Galileo out of the network. Did you tell the separatists the same thing you’re now telling me?’

‘Let’s just say,’ said Hanover, ‘that I wasn’t given a great deal of choice in the matter.’

Saul stared at him, momentarily speechless. All these years, and the man responsible for so much pain and anguish had been right there, working for the same people as he did. But instead of anger he felt only a curious emptiness, as if a cavity had been dug out of the core of him.

Hanover regarded him with evident amusement. ‘Are you really sure you’re up to this, then?’

‘No, but I don’t feel like I have any choice either.’

Hanover nodded wearily and bent over the side of his chair to retrieve the Agnessa. ‘You should probably go now.’ He stood up stiffly, inspecting the gun before heading towards a bank of elevators, without so much as another glance at Saul.

‘Wait,’ Saul called after him.

Hanover paused, without turning. ‘Please don’t try and stop me, son. Especially since I’m armed. I hope you manage to pull this off, I really do. But to be frank with you, I’m glad I won’t be around to find out, either way.’

Saul watched Hanover step inside an elevator, and the doors closed behind him. He then turned and walked back out the lobby entrance and into the warm, moist air, and realized his hands were shaking.

He received an incoming call from Olivia, as he was putting distance between himself and the Dorican. ‘Did you get what you were looking for yet?’ she asked.

‘I did. Have you explained to the others what I’m planning to do?’

‘Mitchell didn’t say much, at first. Jeff was pretty shoc, but he seems to be on your side.’ There was a bitter tone in her voice as she revealed this. ‘Mitchell offered to fly out there and pick you up.’

‘Really?’

‘Yep. Insisted on flying out all on his own to fetch you, but Lester vetoed that. Said he wanted one of his own pilots on board.’

‘Who’s Lester?’

‘Lester Rose. He runs Launch Pad with his wife, don’t you remember?’

‘Christ.’ Saul felt the warm patter of rain on his skin. ‘I do, now.’ Lester had been a cantankerous old fellow even back in those days, and Saul was surprised to learn he was still alive.

‘How is Mitchell getting here?’

‘He’s borrowed a tourist hopper. Try and see if you can find somewhere flat and even for it to land in the meantime.’

Saul moved further away from the Dorican until he spotted a deserted car park around the far side of the hotel building. ‘I think I’ve found somewhere, and I’ll send you the coordinates in a minute. How long before he gets here?’

‘Two hours maximum. Think you can hold out that long?’

‘Sure I can.’ Saul paused before his next question. ‘How long before you and Jeff set out for Inuvik?’

‘I . . . Saul, we’re already on the way there. We boarded a sub-orbital just a few minutes ago. We’ll be landing in the North-west Territories in another hour or so.’

Saul felt something lurch deep inside him. He pictured the sub-orbital arcing high over the northern wastes of Canada, before dipping down towards a settlement spread out along the shores of an Alaskan lake. It was a journey he’d made many times before, for the Inuvik Array had been one of the first of its kind, located in the remote north when the technology had still been experimental. It was still the only way to get to the Jupiter Research Platform.

‘About that enquiry you asked me to make,’ she continued. ‘I’m still not sure just what it is I’m supposed to be looking for, but I’ve set up a couple of automated queries. Assuming they aren’t discovered, they’ll return any correlations between Mitchell and the shipment. I don’t know how I’ll get anything back to you, once we’re out there, but if there’s a way, I’ll find it.’

Saul felt his throat tighten. ‘Thanks.’

‘One other thing,’ she added. ‘Once you’re on your way to the Moon with Mitchell, we want you to send the contents of the Tau Ceti database to this network location.’ Saul received a string of data even as she spoke. ‘We’ll share those files with any survivors on Mars ad the other research platforms, see what we can find out. After that, it’s up to you to get your own copy through to at least one of the colonies.’

‘I’ll miss you,’ he said.

He could hear the catch in her throat as she replied. ‘Goodbye, Saul – from both of us. Take care.’

And with that she was gone.

He sat down hard in the dirt and dust, suddenly light-headed. After a minute he heard something like gunfire from the direction of the hotel. Three shots in rapid succession, then, after a brief pause, one last shot that affected him like a hammer blow.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Florida Array, 8 February 2235

The hopper dropped from the sky later that afternoon, a bright fleck of silver resolving gradually into a brightly coloured tourist bus, descending on VTOL jets. Random detritus erupted from the car park as Saul watched from a short distance away. The bus rotated a few times before folding its wings away and landing, its turbines diminishing from a high-pitched whine to a low rumble.

He then jogged forward and climbed through the hatch as soon as it opened. He spotted Mitchell sitting in a cramped acceleration chair – just behind the pilot, who raised one hand in greeting before reaching back for his controls.

‘Saul.’ Mitchell smiled a greeting hesitantly, almost shyly. ‘It’s been a while.’

Saul stared back at him, his mind full of all the things he’d learned about Mitchell.

‘For Christ’s sake, man, at least sit down.’ Mitchell then glanced at the pilot. ‘Hey Sam? I think we can—’

The aircraft lurched immediately with an escalating howl, and Saul stumbled as he quickly pulled himself into the seat next to Mitchell’s. A light blinked on, and a computerized voice urged him to strap in.

‘Sorry,’ Sam called over one shoulder. ‘Figured it was best not to stick around here. We got shot at during our approach.’

While Saul strapped himself in, the sun went sliding past the window, as the hopper rotated in mid-air.