Intervention | NaNoWriMo 2018

Chapter 7 - In Pursuit

Lincoln almost dropped the stun gun in his hand. He felt light-headed and instinctively grabbed onto the stair railing. Earth. So close, yet always beyond reach. Growing up, his history classes had been full of stories about the toxicity of Earth, how where life once had been possible, death now reigned and life itself was impossible. Evacuating to a cosmic dump made no sense.

"Lincoln? Are you there?" Hamil said, having detected a longer than the usual moment of silence.

"Why would these modules be programmed to go to Earth? It's uninhabitable. Everyone knows that."

Another long silence followed. Lincoln thought he lost the connection to the Operations Center when Hamil spoke again.

"Listen, Lincoln, it's a long story, and I'd love to fill you in on the details. For now, let me just say that we have a presence on the surface for situations like this. Anyone evacuating with a module would be perfectly safe on the surface."

"A presence? What does that mean?" Lincoln felt overwhelmed. Was Earth not the toxic dump they had taught him it was, after all? A presence on the surface had to mean personnel, right? Habitats, vehicles?

"The important thing right now is Marie," Hamil said, ignoring Lincoln's question. "Your mission remains the same. You must apprehend her."

"Apprehend? How? I'm stuck here, she's on her way to Earth."

"You must follow here," came the immediate response.

Lincoln couldn't help himself and let out a laugh. "Follow her? With a module?"

"Exactly. Get into any of the modules, strap yourself in and press the launch button. The hatch will close and you'll float down to the surface. There's nothing there you can't handle."

Lincoln stepped back into the circular room and peered into one of the modules. Hamil was right. An evacuation module had to be easy to operate in order for its user to escape whatever they needed to escape from. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Captain," Halim said more sternly, "Do you acknowledge?"

"Sir, I understand, yes."

"Is there a problem?"

Besides the fact I'm about to set my foot into a machine that will take me into what I thought was an uninhabitable wasteland just moments ago? Lincoln opened his mouth to say something but decided it was for the best to keep his mouth shut, as his father often had told him. He knew that he didn't have an option. If he wanted to save Marie, he had to follow her. Hamil had also given him a direct order. Disobeying would have severe consequences for his future. That wasn't an option either.

"No, no problem, sir," he said.

"Good. In that case, there's no time to waste. Once you launch the module, you will lose radio contact. You will be on your own until you land. Each landing site is self-contained and stocked with provisions to ensure survival for an extended period. There is also a communications center. Once you land, find it and report back. By then, I should have a solution to retrieve both you and Marie and bring you back here as soon as possible."

"Roger that, sir." Lincoln sighed and stepped into the closest module. "Strapping in now, sir."

"Very well. Godspeed, Captain Graber, and good luck."

Lincoln shook his head, sat down in the chair inside the module and strapped himself in. His heart was beating faster than a drum inside his chest and he wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. A few deep breaths did little to calm him, so instead, he reached for the launch button mounted on the wall to his right. After a moments hesitation, he slammed it with the palm of his hand and held his breath.