Keryn threw the test tube in her hands, shattering it against the far wall. “Why are we even here!” she yelled into the destroyed laboratory.
Adam motioned for Wyck to wait outside while he moved over to her side. He placed an arm around her shoulder and held her close, even as she tensed at his touch. Alone with Adam in the lab, the tears she had held back outside now flowed freely.
“It’s not fair,” she cried into Adam’s shoulder. “We’ve worked so hard. We’ve been through so much. I can’t accept that this is how our mission ends.”
Adam stroked her hair as she buried her face in his chest. “It’s not over yet,” Adam said, consoling. “We didn’t come this far just to reach a dead end now.”
“Shut up, Adam,” she said between sobs. “Quit being my savior and just hold me until I get this out of my system.”
They stood in silence, wrapped in each other’s embrace, until Keryn’s shoulders finally quit shaking. As she pulled away, she wiped the streaks of tears from her face and looked him in the eyes.
“Tell me we can do this,” she demanded.
“We can do this,” he said confidently. “If there’s a computer left in this outpost, Wyck will find it. I figured that’s why you brought him along.”
“That’s exactly why,” she confessed. “I wish he could search the Ballistae computer files from here instead of wasting his time walking around with the two of us.”
“Tora will do fine on the ship. Wyck is needed here.” Tora was an Avalon who had shown some impressive computer proficiency, but nowhere near the same brilliance that Wyck had demonstrated. Still, they were both sure that Tora would do fine sorting through the multitude of files.
“Let’s get out of here before I have another episode,” Keryn said, dejected. “My Voice is already calling me names.”
Adam laughed out loud as he followed her into the hall where Wyck waited, looking surprised at the sudden laughter. Placing his hand on Wyck’s shoulder, Adam pushed him deeper into the labyrinth of the Terran facility.
The trio lost track of time in the dark, winding passages. Occasionally, they passed a destroyed window, the dark glow from the outside shining only slightly brighter than the inky gloom within the building. Twice, they went up sets of stairs, following Wyck’s guidance. He explained as they walked that the computer system would be closest to the center of the building, which was the direction they moved. However, the humidity and indigenous creatures that would have roamed a marshy planet like Beracus precluded the computer systems from being stored on the first floor. After an eternity of walking, Wyck’s intuition paid off when they found the main control room.
Keryn’s mood did not improve as they viewed the decimated remains of the room. The large monitor that dominated the far wall was shattered, appearing to have suffered from multiple gunshots before the screen cracked and crumbled. Wyck moved to one of the imbedded computer towers in the room, shaking his head as he stuck his fingers into the holes blasted into the side of its alloy casing.
“They shot it,” he said, irritated. “It looks like they shot everything in here!”
“Focus, Wyck,” Keryn said calmly, suppressing the frustration she shared with the young genius. “Search all of them. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that soldiers firmly believe that if you shoot something, it’s no longer an issue. They often fail to understand the intricacies of aiming at a specific part of the computer tower. Find me a computer tower where they didn’t hit the specific part we need.”
As Wyck went to work examining the computers, Keryn left the room and activated her microphone. “Ballistae, this is Talon,” she said, keeping the call sign she had used with the Cair Ilmun.
“This is Ballistae,” the static-filled voice replied as the signal broke through the blizzard swirling across the planet.
“Patch me through to the control room,” Keryn requested, referring to the computer room where Tora was examining computer files.
“This is Tora,” a bubbly Avalon voice replied over the radio, her voice crackling from the interference.
“Tora, this is Keryn. We’re in the computer room now, searching for anything useful. What have you found up there?”
“Nothing so far. I’m sorry, Keryn. There are still quite a few files to go, though, so I’ll let you know the second I find something worthwhile.”
Keryn frowned, disappointed. She had hoped that one of the two current missions would reveal some good news. She keyed the microphone again. “Don’t worry about it, Tora. Just keep working to find me anything I can use. Keryn, out.”
She walked back inside, shaking her head in response to Adam’s inquisitive look. She gestured to Wyck, who slid on hands and knees from one tower to another. A steady stream of profanity flew from his lips as he examined yet another shattered tower.
“That pretty well says it all,” Adam said as she slipped an arm through his. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m better. Sometimes, I just need to get it all out before I can start recharging again.”
“Vent any time you need to,” Adam said as he leaned down, his lips meeting hers in a gentle kiss. They both jumped as Wyck yelled excitedly.
“I’ve found one!” he screamed, jumping to his feet.
“You found a working tower?” Keryn asked, her own enthusiasm mirroring Wyck’s. For the first time in days, a smile spread across her face.
“Yes, I did,” he said, dropping back down to the ground and prying open the front of the computer tower. “I mean, they probably wiped the hard drive before they tried to shoot it…”
The frown disappeared from Keryn’s face. “What do you mean ‘wiped the hard drive’?” The anger crept into her voice. “You said you found a working tower. Now did you or didn’t you?”
Though his back was to her, Keryn swore she could sense him rolling his eyes. “Remember when we were on the ship and you and I compared the emphasis of research for both the Empire and the Alliance? The Terrans wiped the hard drives on their computers, assuming that the data is lost forever once it’s complete. To be honest, it would be lost to an average genius. But I am not average.” Wyck ended his rant with a flair of arrogance.
Adam placed his hand on Keryn’s arm as she started to step toward Wyck. “So you’re saying you can retrieve the data?” Adam asked, defusing the hostility in the air.
“I should be able to get the data, no problem,” Wyck replied. He reached into the depths of the tower, pulling out a handful of color-coded wires. Holding his flashlight in his mouth, he sorted through the mess of colored cables until he found the two he was looking for. Detaching electronic nodes from his own handheld console, Wyck attached the nodes to the wires. As his fingers flew across the screen of the console, data started flooding into his computer from the dormant hard drive.
“Give me a little time to retrieve all the deleted data and sort through the crap we don’t need,” Wyck requested, “then I’ll be able to give you an answer.”
Keryn leaned into Adam and whispered in his ear as Wyck began typing again. “I don’t wait very well.”
Adam chuckled. “If anyone knows that already, don’t you think I realize that fact? Go explore the rest of the floor. Go look out a window. Find something to pass the time or you’re going to drive us both crazy.”
“And him?” she asked, motioning toward Wyck.
“I’ll keep him working like a good slave driver,” Adam replied, snapping to the position of attention. “I won’t let him take a coffee break or anything.”
It was then Keryn’s turn to laugh. “Very funny. Call me as soon as you have anything.”