ã€ŠAtrona Deepã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1

    SPACE is a vacant void with limitless boundary. It is filled with planets of various sizes comprised of a wide variety of minerals. Regardless of how people wanted to describe space, mysteries would always enshroud the true nature of what we called the universe.

    With countless of stars, galaxies, nebulas, and spirals of sheer beauty surrounding themselves in a sea of unique, molten gases, the universe seemed to be on a level that was above human¡¯s perception of reality.

    When humans thought they had uncovered and explained one mysterious part of space another would materialize in silence. Waiting there like a feral predator, the enigma lurked and pounced at the human curiosity when the timing was right. Tearing off the shells of the inquisitiveness only available through human nature, the mysteries would devour the mind of logic little by little, as any plausible explanation was not accessible in any sensible way.

    Yet, curiosity was what had kept the humans going forward. Curiosity was the fundamental fuel for technological advancement to explain the unknown, to unveil the incomprehensibility that hid the truth from the sentient minds.

    By the early twenty-second century, a massive capsule called ¡°The Archival Vista¡± was launched into deep space. Humans back then had hoped that through the capsule, any intelligent life form or any alien civilization would be able to learn more about the planet Earth. Inside the capsule, DNA samples, literatures and art, and various other records in digital storage devices were placed inside.

    It was indeed an archive of human achievements, one that was destined to be discovered by alien sentient race in the future.

    During the launch day, the capsule had soared into the endless sky. People on land cheered and celebrated hoping that one day their grandchildren would be able to see intelligent beings visiting them and bringing along with them the knowledge of an advanced foreign world.

    But was it worth it? Was it a fool¡¯s dream hoping that the incoming aliens would be peaceful? No one knew for sure. They had never considered how devastating it could be by introducing one alien culture to another.

    Curiosity fueled desire. It was a desire to understand something that was once strange and mysterious to all. And once understanding had been achieved greed came soon after. When information was given to a person it meant that person would gain power. And it was this power that had corrupted mankind¡¯s soul. Soon, materialistic wants appeared and no one cared about ethics anymore.

    There was no need for any belief in religious and spiritual philosophies because power was everything. Such idea continued on for ages until a major disaster had changed people¡¯s perception in morality.

    Several political parties on Earth had decided that they wanted independence after they had literally controlled all the online digital information. The world that they were living in was governed by one large empire: The New-Age Party.

    Leaders around the globe had formed the New-Age Party at the end of twenty-second century when civil chaos rose due to the creation and the launch of the Titan Strike Missile Station in the year 2185. It was floating in space three hundred and four miles away from the Earth¡¯s atmosphere.

    The Titan Strike Missile Station, TSMS for short, was used primary for instant defenses against massive debris from the Kuiper Belt extending from the orbit of Neptune to the outer range of the sun.

    Sadly, TSMS not only could protect the Earth from possible asteroid crashes, it could also easily attack any place on the planet with two hundred thousand advanced technical nuclear warheads, each with the power of destruction fifty times greater than the conventional nukes back in the 20<sup>th</sup> Century.

    In reality, the true nature of TSMS was not defense. Its actual agenda was designed for future war scenarios.

    Because of the TSMS¡¯ existence, riots continued for several more years until powerful countries had made an alliance to bring down the insurrection and to support the existence of the TSMS. After all, they all received unspoken mutual benefits by having such ¡°defense system¡± in place. It was a tool to maintain their governance over the general population around the world. All those who dared to oppose the authority could suffer dire consequences unleashed upon them through TSMS¡¯ destructive power.

    When people had thought everything was under control, a few leaders of the New-Age Party had suddenly decided that they could not gain any special privilege during the decision-making process. In a way, power was distributed among ten world leaders and everyone was equal regarding the control of the world with one figure holding an authoritative image, designed to represent the New-Age Party in front of the media.

    That figure, which was the head of New-Age Party, was assassinated in 2190 and the party was disbanded soon after. Battles had clashed between the two sides that were shaped when the empire was split in half. Soon, minor disputes had transformed into an all-out nuclear war.

    A foolish decision by mankind.

    In the morning of March 1st, 2197, more than forty nuclear missiles had slammed onto the crust of the Earth. Gigantic fireballs dazzling white at the core and horrifying red at the shell of the blasts had smothered buildings, civilians, transportation, and streets. Thunderous thermal shockwaves swept across the cities and rural vistas, incinerating and wiping out everything that they touched.

    Cities with populations over billions were annihilated in an instant. The entire planet had trembled as if it was going to explode under the immense destruction.

    Nuclear fallout followed shortly after and radioactive winter descended upon the surviving humans whom were left strangled in the mingling darkness. Filled with ruins and dusts, an entire human civilization was gone.

    Over forty-five billion lives had perished. Gone. Disappeared into distant memories.

    For the upcoming centuries humans had struggled to survive. But not everything was grim. The relationship between each person was brought closer by the tragedy. Everyone had worked hard to rebuild their lives again and everyone was trying hard to overcome arduous obstacles.

    Morale was high once again as people supported each other. After decades of hardship, Earth was slowly being restored back to its original look. Nevertheless, scars could be seen on surface of the planet forcing people to remember the foolish mistake that their ancestors had once made.

    After extracting new resources from the ground and refitting major factories that had subsisted the original thermal nuclear detonations, new technologies were built and old ones were discarded.

    In the year of 2275, humans were far more technological enhanced than the previous eras. Nearby stars were discovered and thoroughly studied by using the Stellar Probes.

    The Probes were shaped like a sphere with antennas protruding from the laminated platinum bodies, which were then covered with tiny shield generators. Knowledge on space had gradually broadened. Textbooks were edited and star charts were redrawn.

    Future had never been so highly-regarded by the new generation of humans. However, resources were being drained at an alarming pace with ever-advancing technological inventions.

    Nearby planets had already been excavated for every drop of natural minerals. Reports from the outer planet space stations had confirmed that not enough natural resources were left to sustain the ever-increasing population back on Earth. Yet, there

    were no existing technologies good enough for a long-term space exploration of sentient civilizations and natural resources.

    Due to such a dire situation, a team of extraordinary scientists had decided to invent something called a Quantum Drive. It would be a new set of engines that could propel humans deep into space and explore new sectors first hand.

    Regrettably, the laws of physic were still too strong in foundation for the team to bend or to manipulate completely. One failure after another they were getting discouraged.

    It was as if the end of human history had come. Time was running out.

    OOOOOO

    [Net Message #300450002 on 25400123@0345am ¨C Transmission Code: 34e3cc7764d01]

    Urgent Message to Dav, Chairman of The World Alliance:

    Military Division Six, Ten, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, and Thirty-one have been reported missing. Threat of possible insurgent uprising is imminent. Request Military Division One through Five, Forty through Fifty to be repositioned at all sectors in the capital city.

    Reports of civil unrest confirmed at Lonesdale Dome City, Arcadas Dome City, and Herocule Dome City. Civil Police efficiency is at forty percent in all three cities. Requesting drafts of manpower from the capital cities of Metro and Waysburn Dome City.

    End Message.

    OOOOOO

    [Year 2540 - June 28<sup>th</sup> ¨C 7:43am]

    ¡°May I see your identification card, sir?¡±

    The security at the gate had demanded proof of ID when he saw Payton Lane walking closer to the checkpoint. Payton gave a small smile as he fished out his ID and gave it to the officer. There were quite a few people lining up behind him. All of them wore the same silvery coat as he had while they shuffled to board the underground shuttle.

    ¡°Busy day today, huh?¡± Payton started making small talk as he waited for the security to clear him.

    Nodding, the officer slid the card through a scanner and entered a few commands in the touch screen before him. ¡°Yeah. The first day of the week is always busy. People just can¡¯t afford to be late for work, you know?¡±

    ¡°Especially when there¡¯s only so many shuttle gates that you can go through, I¡¯d expect nothing less,¡± the scientist sighed as he retrieved his ID and placed it back into his left chest pocket.

    Looking straight at the young worker, the officer straightened his back and replied: ¡°Well, the limitation is needed if you want to keep the opposition away from harming the citizens. We can¡¯t have too many security holes in the city. Besides, I think all these people going to the central district where all the offices are located are the main reason for causing this huge line up. You included.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh, putting the blame back on me now, are we?¡± Picking up his bag from the glossy floor that was in a grid pattern with a few spots cracking from the edges of the tiles, Payton Lane brushed his short black hair back with his free hand and chuckled. ¡°Sure beats working in the contaminated areas outside the dome that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    The officer shrugged. ¡°At least they have more freedom out there than in here. Freedom Party sure has fucked up everyone¡¯s life.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t argue with that,¡± Payton patted on the guard¡¯s shoulder and walked through the metal detector.

    ¡°Hey! Will you hurry it up and stop chatting?¡± Someone in the back of the line impatiently shouted.

    Looking a bit embarrassed, Payton said to the officer: ¡°Have a good day, huh?¡±

    ¡°Same goes to you, sir.¡±

    The capital city Metro was the biggest metropolis among all forty cities on Earth. After salvaging what was left of New York back in 2210, the massive air dome was erected over the skyscrapers. The war of 2197 had literally fried all the vegetation and life on the planet with the nuclear fallout. The remaining few cities that had the least amount of deadly radiation combined all the resources left available and started a new era of human history.

    Metro Dome City had completed its repair in 2375 and was declared the capital city under the leadership of the World Alliance. Over two billion people had populated the city. It was not long before all the districts were filled with attractions and job opportunities. Advertisements in floaters were displayed left and right. The streets were filled with market stands. Stores were opening up on all levels of the skyscrapers. Highly advanced highways were constructed with hundreds of millions of vehicles driving through them every day.

    Since the Metro Dome City was incredibly popular, the opposition of the World Alliance, the Freedom Party, had constantly tried to cause social unrest from time to time. The Freedom Party believed that technologies would ultimately end human race once again.

    Although the leader of Freedom Party had denied being responsible for all the violence that were breaking out in the core areas of the metropolis, the general public knew he was the mastermind behind the bombings and hackings that had occurred over the years.

    After the War in 2197, Earth had formed another political realm. Same as before, it was split into two halves.

    The major conflict was, once again, caused by the existence of TSMS. Some wanted to burn it on the planet¡¯s atmosphere while others wanted it to continue its service to humankind. The World Alliance had sponsored the future upgrades for the TSMS, which would have the Stellar Probes installed onto the station to seek out new threats. The opposition, Freedom Party, had tried every possible way to stop the World Alliance. They believed that TSMS still posed a great threat to humanity, just like any other technology out there.

    It was ironic that an organization claiming to be ridding technological evil had been using it with non-stop assaults on the general public.

    As a result of the ever-increasing threats of attacks from the Freedom Party, the World Alliance had decided to place multiple security checkpoints around all high-value locations, such as the subway systems and the federal buildings.

    It was, in some way, a sense of confinement rather than the liberty that the political party had promised within Metro Dome City.

    Payton Lane hummed a random melody under his breath as he walked through the reinforced subway corridor. His black hair was blown in a way that looked like piercing spikes towering into the sky. It was not long but it was not short either. It had also matched his childish face even if he was thirty-two years old already.

    Dozens of other workers were also walking around him, as the passageway had split into other directions after every few hundred meters. The place was well lit with bright fluorescent lights mounted on both sides of the white barren concrete walls. Ventilation systems were designed to accommodate the amount of people that had crowded the hallways during rush hours. The tunnels had remained cool and fresh, as bio filters were blocking harmful particles in the air.

    As Payton stood in one of the many lines on the platform waiting for the train to arrive, he could see multiple security officers dressing in dark blue patrolling nearby. The large individuals looked intimidating. Arming themselves with assault rifles that held clips with over two hundred bullets, the officers shifted their gazes left and right to spot any potential trouble.

    The young scientist was used to the scene. With the Freedom Party becoming more and more restless, the World Alliance had to take action to protect their cities. Payton shook his head as he thought about the future prospect of humanity. It seemed that even after the great war of 2197, the human race had continued to fight with each other.

    A beep had sounded through the massive speakers semi-concealed in the pearl-colored ceiling. A few seconds later, the underground shuttle had silently arrived from the right. Payton boarded the train and was about to start another day in the office safe from the chaos of the outside world.

    OOOOOO

    [Year 2540 - June 30<sup>th</sup> ¨C 6:00am]

    Payton whistled as he poured some rich black coffee into a stainless cup on the counter. Sweet aroma had risen into the cool air in a stream of feathery white. He scanned around the kitchen with his dark blue eyes searching for his personal laptop that was stashed somewhere among the many rows of steel cabinets. He walked around the circular room a few times and then decided to find his computer in the living room.

    It was six in the morning. At seven he would need to leave the house.

    ¡°Lights on. Setting to four,¡± he said to the house¡¯s central computer.

    The light bulbs in the ceiling gradually grew brighter and brighter, symbolizing a new day that was to come.

    In the living room, flat-screen television with eight surround sound speakers had dominated half of the space. Soft glowing lights up in the white ceiling had cast a fuzzy luminosity onto the furniture and the floor. The radiance was providing an atmospheric dream-like state of relaxation.

    Payton scratched his head as he navigated around the black couches. Looking around for his laptop, he was not sure if he had the time to find the computer that seemed to be playing games with him by hiding. At last, he found the laptop at the bottom of the table in the center of the room. The low desk was made up of glistening crystal materials that twinkled under the light.

    Adjusting his nametag on his upper left chest and smoothing out his silver laboratory outfit, Payton grinned foolishly to himself in the mirror.

    ¡°Payton, your vehicle is now waiting outside,¡± the house computer stated as its external sensors had detected heat signatures coming out of the car¡¯s engine. ¡°You also have a call waiting for you. It¡¯s from Liam Ope, the chairman of Space Committee. Do you want me to accept the call?¡±

    ¡°Send it through the living room channel,¡± Payton said as he sat on the couch.

    The room went dark and an image of a man in his forties with a bald head had materialized within hundreds of flashing lasers from the projector up in the ceiling. He was wearing a black suit with a light blue tie. His light-gray eyes gazed at Payton. Tall buildings could be seen through the massive window behind him, as he folded his hands together on the verdant colored crystal table.

    ¡°Payton! How are you doing lately? Haven¡¯t seen you in a while.¡± Liam smiled slightly as he greeted his old friend.

    ¡°Not too bad, Liam. I was just about heading out to work. So?¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°Well, you called me, didn¡¯t you?¡± Payton chuckled as he sipped his coffee.

    Liam faked a scowl as he replied: ¡°Your old pal¡¯s calling you after months of zero communication and that¡¯s the only thing you can say?¡±

    ¡°After several months of silence, as you¡¯ve just mentioned, in your own words, you¡¯ve suddenly remembered that I existed and called?¡±

    ¡°Whoa, hey! I was busy with work, as usual.¡±

    The young scientist sighed as he placed the cup back onto the table and folded his hands before his knees while leaning forward. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Liam? You didn¡¯t call me after all these months of silence and you certainly didn¡¯t call me today just for a friendly chit-chat.¡±

    ¡°Seems that I can¡¯t hide anything from you,¡± Liam Ope¡¯s expression had sobered considerably. ¡°Listen, buddy, the funding to the Descent Project has been frozen. The Freedom Party has somehow convinced our investors that the Project is¡­well, for a better lack of word, reckless. I¡¯ve spoken to the head of the Union Company, where the largest sum of money comes from and unfortunately the guy agreed with FP and they couldn¡¯t afford to take any risks.¡±

    Payton felt his throat tightened up. Tilting his head a little he leaned forward. ¡°What do you mean ¡®they cannot afford to take any risks¡¯? I thought we¡¯ve already explained to them that this new development will be successfully completed and it will open up a whole new way to travel into space? Hell, we¡¯ve even shown everybody the sketches! And the plans for the ship that we are going to be building in a few months!¡±

    ¡°I know! I¡¯m upset as well, but right now the funding has stopped, completely! I can¡¯t even get a big enough corporation to support what we have right now. I¡¯m sorry but there is no more money for us to continue the R&D for the Descent Project.¡±

    ¡°Jesus, that¡¯s pure bullshit!¡± Payton¡¯s face turned red. Standing up, he stared at his colleague. ¡°We¡¯ve already gotten the approval from the High Court and billions of people are supporting this new project as well! Do these damn businessmen know how much money they would lose if they break the contract now?¡±

    Payton was infuriated. They were so close to building the ship. Now they were brought to a stop by some lousy funding problem.

    Liam rubbed his eyes as he shook his head. ¡°Payton, I gotta be honest with you here. There are over seventy percent of global scientists and astronomers that think what you are trying to achieve is impossible. You are talking about going through space sectors in a way that can cut down the amount of time needed to travel with convention means by at least 70%.

    ¡°Do you know what that means if you are correct? War. War between two equally powerful political sides on this planet because people will bring religions upon us. That¡¯s what FP is about! Religion! They will say something like: ¡®God forbids humans to do something that is not part of nature¡¯, or, ¡®God will punish all of us if this project continues on¡¯. We cannot have a war right now. Earth is starting to run out of resources and if we have nukes flying all over above our heads once again the human race will cease to exist, for good. We don¡¯t need a repeat of past history.¡±

    ¡°You were in full support of this project when we had first drafted the plans. Now you are worried about starting a war based on some religious beliefs?¡± Payton¡¯s look darkened. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re playing me for a fool.¡±

    Liam sighed as he rubbed his eyes. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking properly at the time. Six years ago, when you told me about the Descent Project I was so caught up in the excitement that I didn¡¯t consider the consequences.¡±

    ¡°What consequences? The one where people will start calling us blasphemy for creating a technology that can ensure the survival of our race? Or the one that billions of people will starve and die if we didn¡¯t proceed with the project? Liam. Our resources are running out. Our knowledge of this world and this solar system has hit its peak. If we don¡¯t do something about this problem, we won¡¯t even have a civilization to start a war.¡±

    ¡°You are missing the point, Payton. We are trying to prevent a war from starting.¡±

    ¡°We can''t even venture outside the dome cities without protective gears. Do we really have that much liberty to worry about a war?¡±

    Liam shook his head. ¡°No one sees the importance of our project. They just think we are playing God by exploring space outside of our solar system. If history repeats itself then we would be in a serious trouble.¡±

    ¡°I think the present is more important than the future,¡± Payton countered.

    ¡°That may be. But this reasoning doesn''t justify the growing threat of a global war. You and I both know that the Freedom Party is getting more influential, especially when everyone¡¯s fighting for a chance of survival. The World Alliance will be swallowed up by them eventually. I wouldn''t be surprised if tomorrow the WA was disbanded.¡±

    Sinking down onto the couch, Payton laid his head backward onto the soft leather cushion as he closed his eyes. The day was starting so well with the sunlight filtering through the reinforced glass panels around the house and birds were singing outside on the wooden porch. All of these were gone the moment that such dreadful news had appeared.Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Payton, listen to me, I hate to do this but even WA can''t do anything about this anymore. The shareholders have left. We don''t have people supporting the Descent Project. I''ll be frank to you, my friend. Even I have some doubts when you came to me six years ago and told me that you could devise a way to allow humans to explore space faster and more efficient than before, without ever having the need to use the Stellar Probes. You are talking about seeing the outer edges of galaxies with our own naked eyes. It is just a dream, Payton. A good dream but one way or another you will have to wake up and face the reality.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, earlier you just said you were excited about my idea when you had first heard about it six years ago, and now you¡¯re saying you had ¡®doubts¡¯?!¡±

    ¡°Must you split hairs?¡± Liam scowled unhappily. ¡°My god, I had every reason to doubt you in the beginning when you first brought the idea to my table. Then I was¡­convinced that your theory had its merit.¡±

    The young scientist stood up and laughed dryly. ¡°So now you¡¯re back-peddling on your support toward my theory. I guess knowing when to join the right side at the right moment is the perfect way to ensure one¡¯s survival.¡±

    ¡°For God¡¯s sake, Payton, stop being so cynical. This isn''t just about space exploration or resource hunting. This isn''t just about personal achievements or glory and fame. This is about preventing a global threat to ensure our survival. We can''t fight the majority. We can''t win by ourselves. With our society degrading rapidly people tend to hold onto their faith. They want to believe that someone will be able to guide them through today''s hardship. They want some organization to tell them what to do to ensure that their lives can continue on. The Freedom Party is doing just that.

    ¡°I hate to admit it but they are doing what''s good for the people. The World Alliance has become more of a corporate monopoly in recent times that ignores the wishes of the people. They support the TSMS because they knew at the time that the people would give their vote to WA. That was before resources were running out. It was all for political reasons.

    ¡°Now is different. As you have said, we are at the peak in terms of discovery and knowledge. We are at the peak of our resource usage. People are getting restless and troubled as they realize that soon the planet won''t be able to support all twenty billion people. This is why we need to calm things down. We need to figure out a way to solve the problems without creating more. We can always find new resources. It is only a matter of time.¡±

    Payton scoffed as he laid an arm around the couch. ¡°Time that we don''t have. How much time has the environmental scientists predicted? Fifty years? You expect a peaceful solution to somehow, magically, emerge from out of nowhere while keeping everyone happy? Liam. I thought you were smarter than that. Wishful thinking isn''t going to get us anywhere. The Descent Project is our only salvation. The ship that can travel through wormhole and onto the other side of the galaxy. The ship can be considered as a haven from the possible extinction of humanity. Why do people want to put their lives on some religious hope that things will be better, that someone can make miracles out of thin air?¡±

    The scientist stood up and paced around the room. Several times, he crossed the path of the beams and distorted the communication hologram image.

    Wheeling around, Payton said defiantly: ¡°Liam, we know that time travel is ultimately impracticable. It''s high school knowledge. That''s why we have to make a few changes. The theory of a wormhole is that ''any mass curves space-time''. To make it simpler, if we can utilize the wormhole that was detected ten years ago and somehow manipulate it in a way that can allow us to travel in the hyperspace from point A, then we can come out from point B into a different area of space that would have taken us centuries to get to with normal space flight! Even with laser powered Light Engines it''ll take us years before we can get there.

    ¡°It''s like a Twin Paradox, Liam. Time will slow down when we are close to light speed. In a sense, the wormhole can serve as the light speed engine. If this project is true then we can travel anywhere in space without aging as fast as the people on Earth and without ever having to spend so much time traveling to our destinations. The result would be a successful mission in either finding a sentient race or fresh resources for us to haul back to Earth.¡±

    ¡°There''s a critical point that you have ignored, Payton. Time slows down for your team but the rest of us here on Earth continue to age normally. By the time you get back we''d probably be gone already. If that''s the case than what is the point of bringing back resources? In addition, are you willing to sacrifice your own life here on Earth for this ambitious dream of yours, Payton?¡± Liam eyed his friend sternly. ¡°What about having a family? What about your parents? What about your friends? By the time you come back to Earth centuries would have passed. What would have happened to the planet, no one would know. You might even come back to see the world in dust or worst yet, you might come back not to find a planet but a red giant engulfing the Earth.¡±

    Payton heaved out a deep breath. ¡°For science and exploration, for the sake of mankind, I am willing to make that sacrifice. I want to see the stars, real stars. The ones that are ancient to us, Liam! I want to experience what no man can experience!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your desire, Payton, not for the better good of the mankind!¡±

    ¡°We will make it back in time to help everyone on Earth. If we can find an alien race with advanced technologies, it may be possible to return back to Earth even faster than using my wormhole method.¡± Payton said quietly.

    ¡°This is ridiculous. Do you even listen to the words that you are saying?¡± Liam Ope groaned. It seemed that there was no hope in talking some sense into Payton¡¯s head.

    ¡°You think I¡¯m being na?ve.¡±

    ¡°No, I think you¡¯re just being unrealistic and unwilling to face the facts.¡±

    ¡°Says the person that suddenly decides to follow the devil¡¯s footsteps.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I never said I supported the Freedom Party,¡± Liam glared unhappily through the holographic image. ¡°Don¡¯t put words into my mouth.¡±

    ¡°It certainly seems like that with the way how you¡¯ve literally shot me down through every possible angle during this conversation.¡± Payton grumbled.

    ¡°That was not my intention, kid. Don¡¯t get offended so easily. Regardless of your belief, Payton, I''m just informing you that the flow of cash is gone. Unless you can find another way to support your ambition or dream or whatever you want to call it, the Descent Project will be suspended until further notices. I''m sorry. You might want to talk to your team about this.¡± Just before the chairman of the Space Committee logged off, he gave his friend a long and sad look. ¡°It''s amazing.¡±

    Payton looked up and asked: ¡°What''s amazing?¡±

    ¡°You said we shouldn''t be putting our lives on hope. And yet here you are hoping that you can find a way out there in deep space to save our planet. Don''t you think it''s ironic?¡± With that, Liam ended the call. The projector went offline and the room brightened once again.

    Payton did not speak a word as he contemplated Liam Ope''s words. The clock beeped several times signaling that it was seven o''clock.

    ¡°Enable the security for the house,¡± he told the house A.I.

    Payton got into the car and slammed the door shut. With the seatbelt on he pressed a few buttons and changed a few settings. Silently the car started to move. It was like a black snake, as it slithered onto freeways that were suspended at a high altitude within the dome. It weaved in and out of the traffic swiftly and elegantly.

    Light-orange sunlight from outside the city shields was reflecting off the shiny bodies of the cars through the hazy sky. Noises roared as rush hours began. People and cars merged as one. It was a great contrast in differences between life in the dome worlds and life outside in the dark-brown barren lands, an aftermath of the devastating nuclear war centuries ago.

    An unspeakable dread that was slowly sinking its fangs into the human race¡¯s existence had gradually loomed closer and closer. No one, not even Payton, had expected that something awful was about to happen.

    OOOOOO

    Located fifteen miles away from Payton''s house within the defensive dome of Metro City, a large area filled with advanced edifices rose into view. It was the resting ground of Arc Research Center or ARC for short, where all the enhanced technologies gathered to devise new machineries.

    ARC supported all the top military personals and scientists with houses and shops for long-period stay. Twenty thousand people were constantly working in the complex day and night. Squadrons of armed soldiers were responsible for securing the site just in case people from the opposition party had decided to sneak top-secret documents out into the public in order to ruin World Alliance''s reputation. After an urgent message was sent to the leader of the World Alliance several months ago, the guards at ARC had tripled in amount.

    Six levels below the main building that was called ¡°Aurora Sphere¡±, a series of labs were created for the most intelligent people on Earth to produce state-of-the-art tools for space and military missions. It was also the place where the Light Engine was first created with boosting speed seventy-five times faster than the ordinary shuttle engine.

    Individuals who had worked in the laboratories were not allowed to walk outside the region of ARC unless they had special permissions and rankings. Their jobs were so important and secretive that anyone who was caught violating the rules would be executed instantly and their records wiped clean.

    Payton did not have to follow the rules since he was the leader of the Descent Project with the approval of the chairman Dav in the World Alliance. His team was not so fortunate. They were like rats being locked up and could not even phone their own families or view the hazy, yellowish sky from the surface of the Earth. Their families were informed that their loved ones had been killed in an accident. It was certainly cruel but effective. No one would imagine that the dead was still alive and well in ARC. The money made by the scientists was forwarded into their families¡¯ accounts under the title of ¡°Death Insurance¡±.

    There were recreational centers, however, to provide some kind of entertainment to keep the employees happy and satisfied. Basketball courts, weight rooms, and even pubs were built so that all personages could have a night of fun every Saturday and Sunday evenings. Gardens were planted as well for females who wished to work on something more artistic and serene. Virtual rooms were also available for those who wanted to experience the feeling of walking on Mars or the moon. Over all, ARC had everything and for the most part, no one was complaining.

    Regular civilians who were not working in there had always viewed the facility from the outside as a place where satellite parts were assembled.

    It was the perfect cover for the unsuspected.

    OOOOOO

    ¡°The World Alliance will degrade our society to a level where all we can do is beg like a bunch of dogs! WA is the source of evil. It is Freedom Party''s duty to assure their beloved and treasured innocent people that the TSMS will disappear forever!¡±

    A middle-age man in luxurious blue suit faced the media and the audience. He was shouting into the microphone. He was nearly bold with a few lingering strands of white hair lying lazily on top of the shiny, oily head. His face was red from the excitement in his speech, as veins popped out of his wrinkly hands like several ugly-looking snakes.

    ¡°WA had never wanted to do good for our citizens. In fact, with the new secret project that they are now working on, the human race will perish with all these ''beneficial'' technologies! WA will drain the last drop of precious resources on Earth! WA is our enemy! It is our responsibility to make sure that World Alliance is obliterated forever!¡±

    Payton sighed as he swiped the digital card through the ID scanner. The computer whirred a little and a beep sounded as the dark gray blast door slid open silently. Walking upon the semi-transparent floor with velvety light shining from the bottom, he went through the security checkpoint that was set up near an elevator. The light in the floor had cast a sparkling sensation into the massive hallway that was layered with unique geometric designs.

    The guard with black armor vest and weapons nodded when he saw Payton cleared the x-ray scanner. It was still rather early and not too many people were in the enormous Aurora Sphere. The employees were still sleeping in their quarters somewhere on the upper levels.

    ¡°How''s it going?¡± The security asked with a smile as he looked over the scientist''s ID card.

    ¡°You know, the same, as usual. Getting up early is such an arduous task for me. How''s your wife and kids, Shawn?¡± Payton grinned. He secured his laptop beneath his left arm while he fished out the paperwork and handed to the guard.

    ¡°The same, as usual. John, that brat, keeps on playing with my stun gun and Steph loves to hack computers despite my warnings. Tracy is opening a new shop down at sector four; I heard it''s a fashion shop of some kind. My family life is too busy and crazy. At times like this I wish that I could be you instead of me. Then again, I don''t wanna get locked up in this place like the rest of your team members. Being a security guard has its benefits!¡±

    Payton laughed as he shook his head. He was amused at how his friend had grumbled about his personal life. Payton got back the documents and waved a goodbye as he left for the elevator.

    ¡°It is everyone¡¯s best interest to see our society, our civilization, to continue on without all the present day''s problems. Freedom Party will be the only organization on Earth to ensure that everyone is equal, that everyone is safe from technological hazards! Though our lands have been tainted with radiations, garbage, and pollution, FP has a way to reverse all that! We have the power to change brownish rivers into crisp, fresh, and clean streams. We have the power, the strength, to make trees grow once more in clean, rich, and dark soils. I, as the leader of FP, guarantee that World Alliance cannot do what we do. They will not do what we will do!¡±

    The man in the widescreen monitor, which was fixed on the wall of the meeting room down at level six, blared on and on about the positive prospects of his own faction. People before the stage, where the cameras were, all cheered on as they waved the flags of Freedom Party.

    The old man pointed at his followers and shouted into the mic: ¡°You all have made the right choices following in our footsteps, God''s footsteps. It is the will of our God, it is the will of our free spirits, to see human race crossing that big fracture on the road and into the future. We make the promises and we will keep them! We will not fail our wonderful citizens'' hopes and dreams. WA will become a painful memory of the past and soon, we will strive without any restrictions or propaganda from them!¡±

    Payton grimaced as he stepped out of the lift. Crews who knew him said a greeting and left hurriedly with a load of reports in their hands. Soft, white light had brought brightness into the shadowy areas, as tables and counters with different equipment could be seen behind rows after rows of translucent glass panels.

    One man with nicely tanned skin came up to him; disgust was shown clearly on his face. He was at the same height as Payton yet more bulky with trained muscles bulging outward from his body. He fixed his pallid lab coat as he straightened his back.

    ¡°Jake! Buddy! How are things going down here?¡± Payton slapped his hand on the man''s back happily.

    Tilting his head slightly toward the conference room, Jake Roman muttered: ¡°It was good until that bastard started to bad mouth our organization in his speech. How did he become so wild and out of control? That old man appeared in front of the Reporter Hover Cams and started to bark like a bitch. Now they got this group of ''supporters'' listening to his bullshit.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I heard his annoying voice way before I got down to the fifth level,¡± the leader of Descent Project sighed as he shook his head. ¡°I think I already know why all of a sudden Nelson Fekonson dares to verbal assault WA and spread rumors and stuff around. How low can this guy get?¡±

    Jake leaned against one of the windows and heaved a deep breath. ¡°What''s going on, Payton?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Payton looked up reluctantly.

    Waving his hands in circles in front of Payton, Jake said: ¡°Something''s troubling you. I can see that. You just have this look of¡­distraction.¡±

    Realizing that he could not keep a secret from his colleague, Payton said: ¡°We are getting shut down. Probably within the week the entire team will have to be disassembled. FP has somehow convinced our sponsors that this project is¡­bogus, like¡­useless piece of crap or something like that¡­actually, you know what? Right now, I¡¯m so pissed that I can¡¯t even properly describe what I¡¯m trying to say.¡±

    ¡°So, basically, we just got fucked?¡±

    ¡°Yup! Pretty much. Now everyone has fled like a bunch of chickens. We are crushed like a road kill. If I don''t find a new sponsor to fund this project of ours, we''re finished.¡± He took a brief moment of silence. ¡°And Liam Ope just sold us out.¡±

    ¡°Liam? The chairman of the Space Committee? Why?¡±

    ¡°Apparently he thinks Fekonson is right. He wants to avoid direct confrontation with Fekonson to prevent an all-out war. He wants us to stop and leave the matter be, and yadda yadda....¡±

    ¡°That double-crossing son of a bitch,¡± Jake grumbled as he glanced around the hallways. Although vile words came out of his mouth, Jake did not seem all too concerned. Payton side-glanced his friend quietly.

    People dressed in white lab coats and silver suits appeared around the area. A cart was wheeled around the corner and gone out of the sight at the next turn. People were wearing protective gears within the labs while they mixed some unknown chemicals into crystal tubes. A few engineers were arguing about the possible causes for the failure of their newest tests.

    The floor was kept spot clean; hazy green with uneven black dots embedded within the cement. It was shining with a coat of wax on top allowing squeaking noises to materialize in the air as people were running, walking, turning, and jogging toward their destinations. There was not a moment of peace.

    ¡°Just to clarify,¡± Jake gestured around them, ¡°all of this¡­will be gone? Just like that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, all of this, will be gone. Poof. Out of existence. End of story.¡±

    ¡°Buddy, I''m just one of the workers here responsible for the maintenance of the ventilation systems at this level and of course, you know that I¡¯m also part of the team waiting to board the new ship that, hopefully, will be completed. I don''t have the brain needed to get us out of this mess. You do. Can''t you think of something to screw FP''s plans¡­somehow?¡±

    ¡°Somehow?¡± Payton chuckled with despair. ¡°Everyone¡¯s looking at me like I have the answers to everything. I may be the leader for the Descent Project, but I ain¡¯t the guy that is smart enough to solve all the problems in the world.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you can¡¯t solve this problem, then I guess no one can.¡± Jake gritted his teeth. ¡°God, I wish I can just choke Fekonson¡¯s flimsy throat right now with my bare hands. Hell, if we ain¡¯t getting any sponsors, we should just go out with a bang, like stealing all those fuckers'' money and live a good life, you know? It¡¯s not like we¡¯d be able to live long enough to see the end of the world anyway.¡±

    Payton raised one eyebrow as he glanced at his buddy with blue eyes. Gears were turning in his head, formulating a whole new scenario to counteract the current situation. Lifting one finger, he smiled slowly. ¡°You know¡­you might be onto something here.¡±

    Baffled, Jake tilted his head in puzzlement. ¡°What? You mean choking Fekonson to death?¡±

    Shaking his head, Payton slapped his friend''s back twice as gratitude for the inspiration and started to run toward his office.

    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s going on? Where are you going?¡±

    Not replying back, Payton continued to work out the kinks of the plan that was in his mind. It was a daring, almost suicidal plan. However, if it worked then even the Freedom Party could not do anything to stop him or his team from continuing the Descent Project. Inside Payton''s head, the scheme had carried on with the expansion from the original idea, forming into a larger plan and flowing into the future, a future that had a light at the end of the tunnel.

    After scanning the fingerprint, the door to his office slid open with a chime. With virtual city as the background theme behind the shutters, spherical light bulbs in the ceiling gradually brightened. The floor was covered with silky carpet light green in shade. Several potted plants were placed around the corners. A glassy table with electronic touch pads embedded onto the surface stood near the center of the small room.

    Payton placed his laptop on the side and took a seat on the glossy, black leather chair. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, putting together the final details to his grand plan to save their development.

    ¡°Here we go.¡±

    Payton opened up his personal computer and connected to the Global Server Database. It was a database opened only to the people with highest security clearance. Payton entered a few inputs onto the touch pad on the side and a holographic image of a woman in her late twenties appeared.

    ¡°Jen, I need your help.¡±

    The lady with a long lock of curly, tanned-colored hair smiled. ¡°Payton! It¡¯s so good to hear from you again!¡± Then her smile instantly disappeared, replaced with an expression of disgust. ¡°What the hell do you want?¡±

    The scientist groaned and said: ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re still angry about our date two nights ago? I already told you that something came up at the office!¡±

    ¡°Really? After you and I had planned that dinner for weeks, you ended up leaving me in a super awkward position, alone, in the restaurant, with other couples around me, staring at me!¡± Her voice had gotten louder with every bitter word uttered.

    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m sorry that I was being an ass, a prick, an insensitive moron that didn¡¯t pamper you every minute, okay?¡±

    ¡°Sarcasm isn¡¯t going to make this any better, Payton.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you, baby, I promise. Please, I don¡¯t have much time, I need your Xeon Class security clearance for the Global Server Database. You work for the Central Bank as one of the branch managers, you should have the access.¡±

    She heaved out a heavy sigh. ¡°Why do you even need my clearance? You do know that I can¡¯t just randomly give it out to anyone, I¡¯ll get fired for this.¡±

    Payton leaned forward and lowered his voice lest there was an eavesdropper outside the office. ¡°Remember that ship that I was talking about? Well, that R&D just got shut down. I don¡¯t have any sponsor providing funding anymore.¡±

    ¡°And you want my clearance so that you can look at what exactly?¡± Jen narrowed her eyes and stared intensely at her boyfriend over the holographic display. ¡°I know you, Payton, you¡¯re a slimy, clever fox that always has crazy ideas in your head.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you got that right. Okay, look, I¡¯ll be honest with you. I need to take a look at all the bank accounts that Nelson Fekonson owns.¡±

    ¡°That disgusting old man¡¯s banking information? What good will knowing his bank accounts do for you?¡±

    ¡°That info has some¡­things that I need. Come on, giving me the information won¡¯t get you fired, okay? Trust me on this. I¡¯m just taking a quick look!¡±

    The woman wasn¡¯t convinced. Then she widened her eyes and said: ¡°Oh¡­you wicked devil¡­you¡¯re going to hack his bank accounts, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°What made you come to that conclusion?¡±

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t take me for a fool, Payton. You just said that your sponsors pulled out and you needed money. And now you require my clearance to look at Fekonson¡¯s banking information. Anyone can see from a mile away at what you¡¯re planning to do. No, I will not give you my clearance for this. You are not going to make me your partner in crime!¡±

    Payton almost pulled his hair out in frustration as he was trying hard to convince his girlfriend. Suddenly, a thought had popped into his head. ¡°Okay, how about this then. If you do me this huge favor, I¡¯ll use my skills as a hacker to wipe out your previous records from the Federal Investigation Database. You know my skills with computers, you know I¡¯m good for it.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? I didn¡¯t do anything-¡±

    ¡°Jen¡­I know exactly what you did when you were in your late teens, don¡¯t bullshit me now. You¡¯d think that I wouldn¡¯t do a quick background check of my girlfriend whom I¡¯ll be spending the rest of my life with? You may have fooled the preliminary background check done by the Central Bank with a few helpful ¡®friends¡¯ of yours from the inside, but I know the fraud cases that you did and were charged ten years ago.¡±

    Jen¡¯s look was nothing short of surprise. She did do some activities that were ¡°borderline¡± illegal but it was for a good reason. Her mom was dying at the hospital and at the time her family didn¡¯t have any savings left to provide proper treatments. She was forced to join a group of hackers and falsify documents for powerful public figures.

    ¡°I¡­I didn¡¯t¡­.¡±

    Payton held up a hand to stop the argument. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re a bad person, Jen. That¡¯s the reason why I decided to continue this relationship with you. I know you had your reasons. That¡¯s why I¡¯m also trying to help you as well, by providing you this incentive so that you can also help me in return. Please. Will you help me this one time?¡±

    A long silence had appeared in the room as Jen contemplated the choices. Finally, she answered: ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll give you the clearance but on one condition: You will never tell anyone what happened today, understand? This conversion never happened.¡±

    Payton Lane grinned like a child. ¡°You got it, boss! Send me the clearance code as soon as possible. I owe you one, Jen.¡±

    ¡°You owe me big time, regardless of what you¡¯ll do for my previous¡­record.¡±

    ¡°Love you, honey! I¡¯ll make it up to you with a dinner date later on.¡±

    ¡°Go to hell.¡±

    The call ended and Payton leaned back into his chair with a sigh. Now that part was over, the next step would be a lot more complicated. The screen in front of him suddenly displayed a message with an encrypted algorithm. Payton decoded it and the Xeon Class security clearance code was received.

    Payton chuckled lightly and proceeded to access the Global Server Database. A box appeared asking for PIN numbers. Payton entered the password provided by Jen, the image changed, and an entire row of international banking accounts materialized slowly. He searched the accounts that he wanted and went into one of them. After examine the owner''s information and balance, he opened up a small program that linked to the bank server. The code scrolled up rapidly, seeking the right combinations of letter and numbers in order to create a small portal into the firewalls.

    Payton made a cup of coffee from the machine fixed into the wall on his left as he waited. He grabbed the cup silently and slowly sipped at the rich, silky liquid.

    The coding series ended and a vacant page appeared with an ever-shifting door in multi-colors. They symbolized the main gateway of the super computer''s hacking protection program.

    To normal people, all they could see was the metallic image of a door before them with the background twisting and morphing like a never-ending loop of spatial vortex. But to Payton with the correct coding sequences and programs, he could make those smaller portals to turn up on his screen. These insignificant ports were the essential keys to his success. They were like back doors for hackers.

    Within seconds, dozens of ports started to flash around the door in the center. The scientist grinned to himself as he typed away. Entering the first tiny gateway from the top left, Payton navigated through the maze-like corridors, which represented the linked routes to the clients¡¯ accounts in one of the many banks in the world. By furiously hacking away at all the counter-measures, Payton had successfully avoided hitting the flaring walls that had surrounded him. These walls were the trigger alarms that could instantly lock up his computer and send a tracking bug to his own ISP to get his current location.

    Payton would not make the same mistake twice.

    He was proud of his hacking skill. It was years ago when he had caused an uproar in the online community by getting into the government servers. In the world of Internet, the only way to get famous was to get recognition and to do so was to hack. But it was not a normal hack. A pro would make several different ways to throw the Net Police off their trails. A pro would also set booby-traps just so that it would be precarious and difficult to actually try to track the mastermind that was behind all of the havoc and the destruction in the virtual world.

    By the age of sixteen with his intelligence and techniques, Payton was able to rename all the critical files in the world''s most secure online servers at the time. He had locked up at least two hundred thousand computers and wiped out sixty thousand hard drives. He was going to attack the main Global Server Super Computer but got disconnected before he had the chance, as he had accidentally made one false move.

    Payton was caught, tried, and thrown into jail for six years. After he was released, he learned a harsh lesson: People could still be famous even without doing harmful things to others.

    Payton got into college when he was twenty-two and got a degree in nuclear physics. Joining the military at the age of twenty-five, he was the only one who could actually think of ways to perfect the nuclear weapons. During that time, he just wanted to make those devastating weapons to protect humans, not to annihilate them. Yet in the end that was not the case. At the age of twenty-eight, he got into the ARC hoping to use his knowledge and skill to create something that no one had ever done before. Finally, only in recent years, he had discovered a wormhole and started devising a plan to explore it. He ended up with the idea of a ship. A ship that could transport humans into the far reaches of the universe.

    A beeping sound blasted out from the speakers on his computer when Payton noticed that the codes were completely different than what he had imagined before. They were adapting to the way that he hacked almost like having a mind of their own. Panicking, he doubled his effort and wrote in additional mathematical formulae to block off the firewall programs'' attacking algorithms. His eyes widened when he had noticed that the trail behind him was being eaten up rapidly. There was no backing out now only a dash to the finish line. If the anti-hacking units destroyed the route that he was connected to, he would be caught.

    The route continued to disappear quickly. Slapping his hands on the table, Payton gritted his teeth. It was a Self-Termination Program installed behind the firewalls. Killing off all accessible roads first before the hacker could get through them would be the best option lest all the essential data were stolen.

    Payton''s fingers flew above the keyboard. Clicking and tapping noises were filling the room as sweat broke out of Payton¡¯s forehead and dripped down the sides of his face. He could see the end of the port now. With a few seconds left he threw in all the codes needed and hit the enter key just as the screen went black.

    Payton''s heart raced as he held his breath. Had he done it? Did he win? Did he escape the firewall''s final counter attack? The atmosphere was utterly still as his computer fan whirred in the background. After a minute, the machine clicked and a line of jade-colored words appeared: Welcome to Account 8834298-D23-100. Mr. Fekonson, please choose your options below.

    Slapping his hands together Payton whooped and laughed hysterically. He got in. With the balance value rising before his eyes, his heart was beating like a bursting, raging fire. Six billion credits were there. Changing the rate to the old days it would be six trillion dollars, enough to build three advanced space stations. And the figures were flashing in front of him.

    Payton sighed a relief and leaned back into his chair. With that much money, the Descent Project would not be and could not be halted no matter what. Besides, it was Fekonson''s dirty money. Most of them came from illegal tax collections, briberies and stuff like that. It would not bother Payton at all if the old man had declared bankruptcy after a month or two.

    Payton chuckled as he started to transfer all the money into a hidden account that he had made with several layers of protection added to prevent infiltrators from getting in and tracing backward to capture him.

    Justice was served. The taste of victory was sweet.

    End Chapter 1

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2

    [Year 2540 - July 14<sup>th</sup> ¨C 2:07am]

    ONE of the crewmembers for the Descent Team, Kena Lee, an Asian female who was born in the Metro City at the year 2510, sat in the caf¨¦ lounge with a cup of coffee placed on the table. Her laptop was silently working away with new analysis of the bacterium samples that she had collected from the Stellar Probes that were sent to Saturn a year ago. She had hoped that through the microbes that were discovered on one of the moons would generate a brand-new series of vaccinations where cancerous cells could be prevented.

    Even with medical technologies advancing many times from the previous generations, cancers were still among one of many diseases where no effective treatment had existed. Kena wished that she could be the one to bring an end to the untimely demise of innocent people whom were succumbed to the destructive cellular mutations within their bodies.

    Kena Lee was a well-known physicist. At the age of thirty, she had already earned multiple awards for her theory on cellular fracture mutations that had never been discovered by conventional means. Such fractures were detected after the Nuclear War of 2197 where the combination of neutron, thermal nuclear radiation, and super-charged EMP had generated a strange side effect to the human body.

    Some people had claimed that they could see their family members glowing in the dark. Others had told their family physicians that they could not touch water because it burned their skin. Strange things were happening throughout the world. Previously, doctors had seen cells mutating through chemical and DNA imbalances. As they checked their patients, they could not find anything wrong. They had never understood what had constituted the exact changes aside from outer influences, such as radiations and chemical contacts both externally and internally. The usual chemotherapies were not effective in treating the sick people.

    It was then that Kena had found out the cellular fracture where micro-lines of sub atomic shears damaged the cells overtime. It was as if the cells were living time bombs that would fracture and explode after the exposure of the thermal fallout in year 2197. Many of the people were still living in areas where the nuclear bombs had gone off. The effects still lingered even after four centuries. When Kena¡¯s theory was put into practice, new medicines were created to slow down the cellular fractures. Eventually the sub atomic shears were mended and people¡¯s life expectancy at the affected zones had been increased greatly.

    Kena sat in the comfortable lounge chair and took a light sip from the stainless-steel cup. The fan at the ceiling started to turn when the computer had detected an increase of temperature by point-two degrees. Other workers around the caf¨¦ were leisurely sitting around with their companions. Some were talking about their projects. A few of them were discussing whether if they should hang out at the bar for the weekend. One thing was for sure: All of them were prisoners of the ARC complex. They could not venture outside the boundary of the heavily secured compound. A military institute would not risk sensitive materials being leaked to the outside world.

    Soft, white light from the lighting tubes around the room had cast a faint glow to all corners of the lounge. Angular shadows created by the bends of the light gray tables had draped across the spongy chairs and onto the light milky carpet. The room was deep underground, as with the rest of the facility. Twenty sixty-inch crystal monitors were positioned on the walls. They took their places as windows with different shows and displays projecting from the screens that were less than a quarter-inch thick. An engineer had decided to change the view from a park with sparkling lake to a space image by voice command. The multi-colored nova bent and swirled in space with a neutron star shining like a thousand suns nearby.

    ¡°Hi!¡± A man stood in front of her.

    Kena looked up and saw Payton Lane smiling warmly within the soft shadows. ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°Mind if I sit down?¡±

    She gestured to the seat across from the table. The man pulled out the chair and sat on it with a sigh.

    ¡°So, what brings you here at this hour? Can¡¯t sleep?¡± Kena took another sip from her cup while gazing at the Payton with her dark brown eyes.

    ¡°Oh¡­you know, office politics.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh. Something¡¯s troubling you greatly and don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Payton made a face and said: ¡°What? Now everyone can read my mind? You¡¯re the second person to say that to me in the last few days.¡±

    ¡°You are an easy man to read, my good sir,¡± she giggled and said jokingly. ¡°Whenever you seemed to be annoyed at something or were pondering about some tricky issues, a look of worry and distaste is clearly displayed on your face.¡±

    ¡°Sometimes I don¡¯t know if being as blunt as I am is a good thing,¡± Payton muttered while he told a waitress to bring him a cup of coffee.

    ¡°You¡¯re drinking coffee this late at night?¡±

    Payton smiled. ¡°You¡¯re drinking it too, aren¡¯t you? What¡¯s so special about me savoring this devilish drink of delight?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You just don¡¯t seem to be the coffee-type of guy in my eyes.¡± Kena rearranged the documents on the desk to the side. Folding her fingers together under her chin, she asked: ¡°So rather than sleeping at two in the morning, you have decided to come to the caf¨¦. What¡¯s on your mind?¡±

    ¡°I need a second opinion.¡±

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s a first.¡±

    ¡°Come on! What¡¯s with everyone giving me such a sour comeback lately? First my girlfriend, now you¡­.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m not your girlfriend, therefore, I¡¯m entitled to be a bit scornful.¡± Kena laughed out loud.

    Payton waved at her remark dismissively. ¡°I need you to tell me that I¡¯m not making a mistake, that hacking into Nelson Fekonson¡¯s bank accounts is not something that will land me in hot water, so to speak.¡±

    Ever since the day that he had ¡°illegally¡± transferred the old man¡¯s money, the Descent Project was able to continue its development. However, the sudden surge of funding had raised eyes from the management, and Liam Ope certainly wasn¡¯t happy as he knew Payton must had done something under the table to obtain the huge sum of money needed to build the ship.

    It wasn¡¯t long after a board meeting was called and Liam Ope was being questioned about his subordinates¡¯ whereabouts and actions. After the unpleasant conference with several investigators and shareholders, Liam went directly to Payton who confessed breaking into Fekonson¡¯s bank accounts and committed theft.

    Liam was furious nonetheless, but at the same time, he couldn¡¯t bring Payton in. The stake was too great and letting the leader of Freedom Party know about this little stunt of Payton¡¯s would certainly bring about great repercussions. Naturally, he decided to turn a blind eye to the incident.

    But word somehow got out in ARC and most of the people on the Descent Team had found out about Payton¡¯s little exhibition of modern hacker ingenuity. Still, despite the talks, everyone had respected the scientist and his commitment to the development of the project for the better good of the human race. As such, none of the federal investigators were notified about who the culprit was that had stolen Nelson Fekonson¡¯s money.

    Ironically enough, Payton was now asking one of his team members about the possible ramifications.

    Kena couldn¡¯t contain her laughter as her elegance face was showing a look of surprise. ¡°If breaking into someone¡¯s account illegally is not considered as something that is bad then I don¡¯t know what else to tell you, Payton. It¡¯s true that none of us like that old man any more than you do but you do have to admit, this will result in some kind of reaction from Fekonson, if and when he finds out who did it.¡±

    ¡°You mean retaliation from him?¡±

    ¡°Whether if it¡¯s a big retaliation is yet to be seen but he will do something to get you back. You and I both know he is a man of radical ideals. He will do things that no normal people would do. His wild and audacious behaviors shown in the past had made clear that he¡¯s not a person you¡¯d want to mess with.¡± When she noticed the expression on his face, she quickly reassured: ¡°But, then again, if our team and the entire Descent Project were being threatened to shut down, I see no other choice than to do what you have done almost two weeks ago.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, that really helped a lot,¡± Payton mumbled sarcastically while taking a large gulp of soothing hot coffee. He coughed a little at the steaming heat while Kena was staring at him with amusement obviously shown on her face. ¡°Are you taking delight in seeing me like this?¡±

    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t call it that way. You¡¯re usually very confident about the things that you do. Tonight, it was a rarity, a type of¡­peculiar side of you that I¡¯ve never seen before.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You look¡­vulnerable.¡±

    ¡°And¡­you are happy to see me like this?¡±

    Kena waved a hand and grimaced with a smile. ¡°Oh, come on, Payton. Everyone knows how egoistic you can be. The image of sureness and conviction you¡¯ve always displayed is what had kept everyone working to the best of their abilities. And of course, sometimes you do piss off a bunch of people when you rebuked and challenged their ideas and suggestions during meetings.¡±

    ¡°My God, you sound like Tracy right now.¡±

    ¡°Everyone needs a good counseling session from time to time, my dear boy,¡± Kena giggled and patted his hands.

    Payton sighed deeply and downed the last mouthful of black coffee. Placing the cup on the table, he said: ¡°You have a very keen mind that has proven to be mature and thoughtful. Despite your age, and a very young age for your profession, by the way, you have shown aptitude far exceeding that of a regular everyday person.¡±

    ¡°Why, thank you.¡± Kena beamed.

    ¡°Uh, yeah, anyway,¡± Payton cleared his throat and continued: ¡°I came here to see you because I trust in your ability to analyze things, things that most people would have overlooked. That¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°You could have gone to Tracy and seek professional help.¡± The young female medical officer teased.

    Payton faked an angry frown as he shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think asking another person for an opinion requires a psychologist.¡±

    ¡°Counselor,¡± Kena corrected. ¡°She¡¯s a counselor, not a psychologist. You¡¯re not out of your mind yet.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Whatever! The point is, I¡¯m¡­at a loss. I mean, I¡¯m happy that our work can continue and soon the ship will be completed. But at the same time, I just have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I may have made the wrong decision.¡±

    ¡°You mean you¡¯re regretting stealing Fekonson¡¯s money? Are you currently feeling guilty right now?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­I wouldn¡¯t say I¡¯m feeling guilty.¡± Payton sighed. ¡°But I¡¯m just not sure if the decisions that I¡¯ve made are always correct, that¡¯s all. The past few weeks had made me doubt my own abilities, as it seems that people are not really pulling their own weight and constantly asking me to help them, to make decisions for them. And after the argument with Liam regarding Fekonson¡¯s money, I¡¯m just not sure if I¡¯m still doing the right thing¡­if you get what I mean.¡±

    Kena leaned forward on the desk with her hands crossed on the table. Gentle atmospheric light surrounding the two individuals had casted a curtain of extraordinary effect, as the velvety illumination was enveloping their outlines and providing a blooming dream-like radiant beauty that could only be envied upon by others nearby.

    ¡°Payton, you don¡¯t need me to tell you if the decision you have made is correct or not. You are the project¡¯s leader. As much as I appreciate you coming to me and asking me for my view on things, I honestly don¡¯t think my words can have any direct positive impact upon the actions that you have taken. Truth to be told, I¡¯m still learning how to work with others. I still have uncertainties that I will be required to ask for your guidance.¡±

    ¡°You flatter me.¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s the truth. When you¡¯ve first approached me and asked me to join your team two years ago, I was still a person that secluded herself and shut off from the rest of the world. I was so entrenched with my research that I had forgotten the importance of human contact.¡±

    ¡°You were just dedicated to your work.¡±

    Kena laughed softly. ¡°No. Dedication has nothing to do with ignorance. I may not be as well-educated as Tracy in the field of counseling but I do know the value and the significance of communication. With me spending days and months sifting through thousands of pages of documents and thousands of petabytes of data, the sheer obsession that I have towards my research has caused me to become segregated from the rest of the society.¡±

    ¡°A society that is just as cold and thoughtless as numbers and texts on the screens.¡± Payton corrected. ¡°Sometimes having your own personal space isn¡¯t a bad thing, Kena.¡±

    ¡°True. But there are limitations and there are boundaries which we shouldn¡¯t cross.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t refute against that.¡± Payton nodded solemnly. ¡°In fact, the whole reason why the Descent Project has come to fruition is because our society has become one that¡¯s being succumbed to the nature of information technology. The convenience of personalized computers and quantum chips has forced humanity to become isolated individuals priding themselves with selfish indulgence. The Descent Project is a dream of mine, to explore the stars and to expand the boundary that our civilization has limited itself within. I want to broaden our scope to encompass the true nature of the galaxy because I truly believe there¡¯s something more out there, something amazing that will enrich our tiny mind.¡±

    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s deep,¡± the medical office raised an eyebrow. ¡°And¡­somehow I get the feeling that we¡¯re off topic.¡±

    Payton smiled dumbly. ¡°Yeah, yeah we certainly are off topic. Anyway, forget the things I¡¯ve just said. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with me lately. I find myself mumbling things that have nothing to do with anything.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re just stressed out and needed someone to talk to.¡±

    ¡°I guess.¡±

    ¡°May I recommend, say, Tracy?¡±

    Payton noticed the gleam in the female medical officer¡¯s eyes. ¡°Christ, you just can¡¯t resist, can you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to lighten the mood! I¡¯m not saying that you need therapy!¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait a minute, I need therapy?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say you need therapy-¡±

    ¡°What do I need therapy for? You¡¯re a doctor, you tell me!¡±

    Kena held up a hand to stop the argument. After a brief moment of silence, she calmly said: ¡°Look, Payton, just relax. That was just a joke and I guess I made it at the wrong time. I¡¯m sorry, okay? No need to be defensive about it.¡±

    Payton leaned back and groaned. ¡°God, I hate this. Sometimes, I just wish I can relinquish my role as the project leader and just head out somewhere in rural forest by a lake, spending an entire afternoon just fishing.¡±

    ¡°You have the knowledge, the ability, and the skillset to be the team leader. That¡¯s why everyone¡¯s looked up to you. You just have to trust yourself and stop second guess things that you¡¯ve done.¡± Kena stated with a solid conviction in her voice.

    Now it was Payton that raised his eyebrows. ¡°You really believe so?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s take the hacking incident for an example, whether if that decision is right or wrong isn¡¯t the point; the point is that you need to figure out whether if what you have done is something that you truly believed in ¨C as long as it¡¯s ethically right of course.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say hacking into someone¡¯s bank account is ethically right¡­,¡± the man muttered.

    Kena waved her hand as she gazed deeply into his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s done is done. Besides, Fekonson¡¯s money came from years of exploitation of the general population with dummy funds and sponsorships. The only reason why he wasn¡¯t caught is because of the connections he¡¯s had with powerful political figures. There are people who stand by him and support him.¡±

    Payton heaved another deep breath. ¡°Thanks, Kena. I really appreciate you listening to me rambling about random things.¡±

    ¡°As long as you pay for my lunch tomorrow, we¡¯ll call it even.¡± She laughed as she raised her head and watched Payton getting up, shaking his head and walking away.

    OOOOOO

    Two days later, Tracy Huegard, the Descent Project¡¯s counselor, walked down one of the many corridors within ARC complex. Her slightly chubby figure had not diminished her gracefulness, as she walked down the hallway in the standard silver-colored uniform. In her left arm was a large tablet where a list of patients she was visiting was displayed in light green texts inside a black background.

    ¡°Tracy!¡± A voice called out from behind.

    The short counselor wheeled around, her long, braided black hair followed the motion and lightly draped over her shoulders. Kena Lee ran up to her colleague while waving her hand.

    ¡°You walk too fast!¡± Kena exclaimed while she was catching her breath.

    Tracy grinned and said: ¡°If a person with the same body size as I am can make someone like you so out of breath then it¡¯s obvious you need to exercise more.¡±

    The medical officer scowled jokingly and walked with Tracy down the corridor. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard about Payton¡¯s little escapade on Fekonson¡¯s bank accounts, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard something about that from another worker earlier today.¡±

    ¡°Words travel fast. Luckily all of us here are working on the same Descent Project.¡± Kena shook her head as she folded her arms in front of her chest. ¡°Payton talked to me early this morning at two in the morning.¡±

    ¡°Oh? About what?¡±

    ¡°About the nature of ethics and other things that are too deep for my liking.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a first,¡± Tracy couldn¡¯t contain her laughter as her larger body frame moved along with her chuckles. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that he¡¯s questioning about himself. Knowing him for the last three years, Payton is a man that usually won¡¯t admit mistakes or weaknesses. He¡¯s confident and in a way, proud of himself. But what surprised me isn¡¯t the fact that he doubts his actions, rather, it¡¯s him coming to you to discuss philosophical issues that I¡¯m shocked to hear.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh. I basically winged the entire conversation, all at two in the morning. I almost couldn¡¯t wake up today.¡± Kena grimaced as she took in the mischievous expression of her teammate. ¡°Oh, please, Tracy, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t handle discussions like this. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m surprised at how much he¡¯s changed over the course of last year or so.¡±

    ¡°The project is so close to being completed and the new ship is just about ready to be built. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised to see Payton maturing quite a bit through the amount of stress, workload, and responsibilities that he has as a project team leader.¡±

    ¡°Well, now that you¡¯ve also heard about it, it shows that a lot more people have the knowledge that Payton is the master mind behind the hack. Hopefully, Fekonson won¡¯t hear a word about this.¡±

    Tracy nodded in agreement. ¡°For sure. If that old man finds out, who knows what he¡¯ll do.¡±

    ¡°What is your plan for today?¡±

    ¡°Just visiting a few patients today. One is having a nervous breakdown after complaining something about hearing voices through the walls of his room and the other is feeling the need for family companionship after being stuck down here in ARC for the last five years or so. Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Ah, well, just wanted to see if you are interested in a free lunch today. Payton¡¯s treating.¡±

    Tracy¡¯s smile broadened significantly as she hooked her large left arm around Kena¡¯s thin right arm. ¡°How can anyone say no to that?¡±

    Both women laughed and chatted as they continued down the bright hallway. It was relatively early in the morning and the area was rather empty. Come noontime, however, the cold hallway monitored by the central ventilation system would be packed with workers from different departments. Sounds of activeness would proliferate every corner of the floor, as people went about their businesses while navigating a sea of heads that bopped up and down the long stretch of corridor.

    OOOOOO

    [Year 2541 ¨C March 23<sup>rd</sup> ¨C 11:01pm]

    A few months had passed.

    In a large briefing room that was enshrouded in a sea of oppressing darkness, the only radiance was from the ten massive monitors adorning the wall behind the old man. Nelson Fekonson¡¯s aged face was even more menacing through the angled shadows that were casted upon him, as his light blue eyes shimmered with unannounced schemes.

    The sheer silence was only interrupted by the occasional activation of the air conditioning system that was circulating the air around the room. Velvety carpet of light grey covered the floor creating a perfect complement with the dark brown colored oak desk. The immense surface that stretched out before the flimsy-looking old man was rather prodigious, showcasing a level of class that was unparalleled by any ordinary means.

    The door chimed softly, signaling the arrival of an expected guest late at night. Then a muscular figure walked in.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, sir.¡±

    Nelson¡¯s face was showing more of a displeasure rather than happiness as he grunted. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you executed your plan yet? I don¡¯t want to see Payton Lane and his team completing the ship.¡±

    ¡°I do understand your frustration. After all, billions of credits were stolen from you.¡±

    ¡°And yet, it is you who has come to me to point out the culprit behind the hack. Now that you¡¯ve betrayed your friends and colleagues, I want to know why.¡±

    The man laughed as he shrugged. ¡°Money. What else could it be? They have underpaid me and trapped me inside that forsaken complex for so many years anyone would have decided to seek out alternative opportunities. It just so happened that you are the person who¡¯s willing to pay more, a lot more, to see your enemy destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Killed. I want him killed. I want all of his teammates killed!¡± Nelson pounded the table angrily.

    The man was unmoved by the ferocity displayed before him. ¡°Of course. But you must understand that this takes time. I can¡¯t just wave a gun and start shooting people. After all, I want to live long enough to enjoy the money that I¡¯ve earned.¡±

    ¡°What is your next course of action?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll let Payton and his team finished the ship. Once the timing is right, you and I can attack from both outside and from within. We need to catch him when he least expects it. Right now, he¡¯s on full alert worrying the retaliation that you are about to unleash upon him.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you, Jake Roman, don¡¯t fuck with me. If I see you betraying me, I swear I will do everything in my power to make you suffer.¡±

    The man that was supposed to be Payton Lane¡¯s friend and colleague sneered darkly, completely disregarded the threat. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you are in no position to make this kind of threat against me, Nelson, for I am the only person inside the complex that¡¯s willing to sacrifice everything that he has to help you. If I were to be killed, you would lose as well.¡±

    ¡°That may be but I have many ways to make a person suffer.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a man with a religious belief talking,¡± Jake smirked. ¡°Luckily I¡¯m a business man, and like all business proposals and schemes, as long as I benefit from the initial investment, I am willing to be as cold-hearted as possible.¡±

    ¡°Do entertain me and answer this, Jake,¡± the old man leaned forward with a frown on his aged face. ¡°How do you propose to lure Payton Lane and his confederates into the trap that we¡¯ve set for them? After all, you are still a lowly maintenance worker.¡±

    The man straightened his back and scoffed. ¡°An engineering maintenance worker that has over twelve years of friendship with Payton Lane, I¡¯m sure I have some levels of influence over the dear ¡®old buddy¡¯ of mine. With his trust, I can manipulate him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not a fool, Jake,¡± Nelson cautioned.

    ¡°And I never said he is. The trick is to know how to perform a convincing act in front of everyone to lower their guard.¡±

    The leader of Freedom Party lifted a finger and gently waved at the devious individual across from the table. ¡°You are a very dangerous man, Jake Roman. Very dangerous indeed; sacrificing your colleagues and friends like this for your personal gain.¡±

    Jake lifted his arms and shrugged irrespectively. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s life. Being kind to others won¡¯t put food on the table. Only a fool will believe that compassion can bring prosperity and opportunities to a wearisome lifestyle that¡¯s being overrun by some bureaucratic social system designed to benefit that one percent of the population.¡±

    ¡°Anti-socialism, I like how you think.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I embrace capitalism because history has shown social equality hinders the progress of society. Regardless of how mankind tries to promote impartiality through political, economical and social theologies, the world thrives with inequality by attempting, fruitlessly, to bring balance to the stringent lifestyle of human race.¡±

    Nelson chuckled lightly within the darkness of the room. ¡°If you can¡¯t beat them, join them. Great minds think alike.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Jake. ¡°You and I are nothing alike but due to the circumstance I am forced to partner up with you. Remember, while you are my boss and a certain level of respect will be given, I expect to be paid fully when this is over.¡±

    Nelson Fekonson didn¡¯t reply as he glowered at the figure before him.

    End Chapter 2

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3

    [Net Message #300452333 on 25420811@1120pm ¨C Transmission Code: 14q3kk7464g02 ~ duo encryption enabled]

    Priority One Message to Nelson Fekonson, Chairman of The Freedom Party:

    The infiltrator has reported significant activities within ARC. Possibility of Descent Project continuation is imminent. Secondary base for the assembling of the ship has been located. Coordinates are attached to the current message with Level 9 encryption Calton Code.

    Please advise further actions.

    End Message.

    OOOOOO

    SEVERAL months had slowly gone by ever since the grand theft of six billion credits by some unknown hacker in the virtual world. Police and other agencies were working hard without any sleep, trying their hardest to bring the suspect into custody.

    Unfortunately, even if the Freedom Party had assumed it was the work of the World Alliance, there was not enough evidence to prove their accusations. No one knew where the money had gone to either. No one knew except for one man ¨C Nelson Fekonson.

    Nelson had decided to play along with Jake Roman¡¯s scheme. The plan, though it wasn¡¯t foolproof, was a better choice than to alert the authorities. After all, the World Alliance was still a powerful organization and there was a possibility that federal agents might align themselves with WA instead of helping the Freedom Party.

    Over the course of agonizing weeks with immense stress, the engineering team had successfully installed new sets of Light Engines upon the nuclear reactor cores of the exploration ship. Ammunition experts were finalizing the defensive beam cannons that were just invented not too long ago. With plasma tubes connecting from the central engine compartments, snaking through the hulls of the ship, and gathering together at the base of the turrets, the starship that was going to go through the wormhole was fully armed.

    As Payton watched from the side with an electronic notebook in his hands, he was utterly astonished by how large their spacecraft was going to be. Even though only a handful of people were going on this mysterious and exhilarating journey through space sectors, the ship itself could take in over a hundred crewmembers with enough rooms to spare.

    Upon the specially designed hulls that could withstand fifty times the Earth''s gravity by using rare minerals dug up several hundred miles beneath the planet, multi-purpose shield generators were placed in secured spots along the hull plating. Using the particles in the environment a solid shield could be produced with correct frequency. Cloaking device was also implemented. Millions of tiny high-resolution cameras could take real-time images and broadcast them through the projectors out onto the surface of the metal armor rendering the entire ship invisible to human eye. Electromagnetic disruptors were also installed within the cameras, which were fed into the main system core to further decrease the chance of being spotted by other means of equipment, such as pulse radar.

    All of the work was done at an enormous underground base several hundred miles away from the Metro Dome City. Its location was so concealed that only a hundred people knew about it. They consisted of the group that was going to be part of the expedition and scientists who were building the ship.

    While the ship was being built, the Descent Team had gotten together numerous times to discuss about different parts of space sectors that were waiting to be explored. Everything ranging from nebulas to asteroid belts had been talked about. The main focus, which was the special spatial distortion of a wormhole, had been brought up many times by the team. Payton and the others had gone over every detail, regardless of how miniscule it may be, to ensure that the entire team was fully prepared for the unknown.

    The team would also work with other scientists and engineers to make sure that the ship would be fully functional when it was time to depart. Everyone had a high sense of hope for this was an expedition unlike any in human history, one that far surpassed when Neil Armstrong first landed on the moon in 1969.

    Over the course of several weeks, Jake Roman and Payton Lane had hung out for lunch and sports activities. Although Payton had noticed an increased amount of distaste that Jake had shown towards the ARC and the lifestyle that surrounded it, the leader of the Descent Team didn¡¯t pay too much attention to the change of attitude. Jake, on the other hand, had tried hard to remain positive and as carefree as possible. After all, he was a spy among his colleagues, the same colleagues that had entrusted their lives with him.

    Two months before the final launch date of the ship, Payton had decided to enroll his buddy, Jake, to become one of the official crewmembers. Rather than having just a support role, with Jake¡¯s extensive knowledge of the ship¡¯s life support system as well as the Light Engines, the engineer maintenance worker would serve as a backup for Roy Sen, the ship¡¯s main pilot.

    Little did Payton know that he had given Jake Roman the opportunity that the man was seeking for this entire time and Payton had given Jake literally the access to the ship¡¯s entire critical infrastructure.

    OOOOOO

    [Year 2542 ¨C November 23rd ¨C 12:02pm]

    Sitting in his black, glossy leather chair, Payton was drawing diagrams of the space distortion areas on the star chart. Soft, white light radiated from above was casting blurry shadows around the objects in the room. A mountain of documents had smothered his table with an even bigger pile on the floor taking up most of the office space.

    Jake Roman knocked a few times and stumbled in. Wearing only a plain white shirt and a pair of old jeans with a faded color, the buffed-up maintenance worker leaned against the door. A serious expression was displayed as he chewed the newly imported tobacco. He had not shaven his face yet, which made him looking rather muddled in a way. A strong smell of alcohol could be smelled by Payton. The man was clearly drunk.

    ¡°Have you been drinking on your shift?¡± The young scientist grimaced with displeasure.

    Ignoring the question, Jake asked: ¡°I heard that you stole the money from FP''s account?¡±

    Payton looked up from his work and smiled. ¡°Impressive, no? It was your idea that led to this. I stole the money from Fekonson¡¯s accounts. It''s a simple trick really. Once I got in, all I needed to do was changing some configurations on the numbers-¡±

    Angrily, Jake slammed his large fist on the table. Stainless steel cup jumped up and landed back onto the crystal table with a thud. The tea within it was nearly spilled out. Hot, white vapor twisted and twirled in the air before disappearing into the air silently.

    ¡°The Freedom Party has finally found out that you are responsible for the theft of Nelson Fekonson¡¯s money. We have a bounty on our heads right now according to a friend of mine working at the mines outside the city. If we show our faces out in the public any time between now and the launch date we''ll be dead before we know it. People are out there looking for us, hoping to capture the entire team to get those millions of credits as a reward. This is a gamble that''s too much for us to handle, Payton, and you should know that.¡±

    ¡°Jake.¡± the scientist rubbed his tired eyes as he groaned and stretched. Looking at his friend, Payton said: ¡°I had no choice. I couldn¡¯t simply let our hard work to go down the drain just because of some moron had protested against our plan.¡±

    ¡°You are an idiot for thinking that Fekonson wouldn¡¯t do anything drastic.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m an idiot for not doing anything and relying on the World Alliance and our useless sponsors to fund our project, in the first place!¡± Payton Lane rebuked with minor annoyance.

    ¡°The World Alliance was our only support and without their help, we are defenseless,¡± Jake glowered. He walked closer to his friend while giving out a disgusting loud burp. ¡°You expect us to be able to leave the planet without their help? We are a tiny group compared to the Freedom Party that¡¯s comprised of thousands of powerful political figures and millions of supporters!¡±

    ¡°As long as we can keep our cool and maintain our judgement, everything will be fine. The wormhole isn¡¯t too far away; once we¡¯ve broken orbit, we¡¯ll be gone in a blink of an eye. Fekonson won¡¯t even have the time to preach his falsified mysticisms.¡±

    ¡°And how would we be able to stabilize the wormhole? What would happen inside of the space deformation where the laws of physic are bent in a way that no one can predict the end results? Let''s assume if we can successfully, somehow, alleviate the dimensional quake of the wormhole. What would happen once we get to the other side? Can we even find anything? Will there be anything at all? We could be coming out to a sector of blankness where everything is pure black and nothing else is there. These are only some of the questions that you haven''t answered yet, Payton!¡±

    Payton shifted some documents around his desk then he looked up and glared. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me? You fucking stole the old man¡¯s money and putting our lives at risk! When the bounty has been set on all of our heads by the FP, that¡¯s when I realized what a shit show this is going to be! I ain¡¯t going to become one of the preys that get hunted, Payton. I didn¡¯t expect you¡¯d be so foolhardy to pull such a stunt! And the sad thing is, I was the last to know!¡±

    ¡°Jesus, you¡¯re really losing faith in me. And damn, are you slow at catching up with the news! Heck, everyone¡¯s been talking about my little endeavor for months now, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re talking about it right now!¡±

    ¡°Hey, screw you, Payton! I ain¡¯t here to listen to you lecturing me!¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m not going to stand here, listening to you, bitching about this whole situation!¡±

    Both of them stared at each other in silence for a few minutes. Then Payton breathed in deeply and heaved out slowly. ¡°Look, regarding Fekonson and his bounty on us, who gives a damn? Sooner or later, he¡¯ll probably find some ways to mess with us anyway! And yes, it is true that some of your concerns...I have yet been able to solve. But this is what exploration is about isn''t it? The delving into the unknown, the excitement of not knowing what would happen; there''s more than just surveying deep space for the sake of mankind, Jake. To us scientists, this is a type of enjoyment and pleasure, which no mere man can experience or understand.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± the bulky man gazed at his colleague coldly. ¡°You are asking the team to venture into space without any real preparations.¡±

    ¡°Really? After all these years of project development, you¡¯re now questioning about our preparations?¡± Payton regained his composure, smiled and unfolded one of his giant charts. Pointing at an area on the paper, he continued: ¡°This is where we would go, the No Land Sector, LNS, a region that, for some peculiar reasons, our Stellar Probes could not reach. The magnetic storms are too severe to get any closer for the Probes and they cannot relay any clear photos back to us without having the static wiping out the pixels. The wormhole''s waiting for us, right there.¡±

    ¡°Just how, may I ask you, are you going to conquer these storms with this new ship of ours?¡± Jake rolled his eyes and stood up straight. ¡°Okay, so let''s just supposed we got deflectors also installed. How are you going to stabilize the wormhole?¡±

    Payton chuckled. Shaking his head, he said: ¡°For a person that just recently got promoted to become an official member of this team, you sure ask a lot of questions.¡±

    Jake heaved a deep breath. He walked up close to his friend and stared deeply into the set of dark navy eyes. ¡°In case you are wondering, a years ago, I was part of the engineering team. More than half of my theories on propulsion were used and at least sixteen percent of my work was incorporated into the contraption of the Light Engine. The hull and the weapon system are also part of my design. In a nutshell, I know about this ship as well as you do.¡±

    Payton held out his hands and nodded slightly. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. You aren¡¯t just a maintenance worker in ARC. You were so much more, Jake, before you were caught taking illegal substance during your shift, within the complex, in front of others, six years ago and got demoted. I was the one that saved you, buddy, from getting fired right on the spot. I was the one pulling the strings and convinced the Space Committee that you are a man who deserves a second chance. And you know why I did it? Why I stood up for you and helped you? Because you¡¯re my friend, Jake, so don¡¯t judge me like that.¡±

    The big man stayed silent and didn¡¯t say a word.

    Payton sighed and tried to change the subject. ¡°Okay, you know what? You want to know how we can secure the wormhole?¡±

    Payton took out a small remote controller and pressed a button. Behind them, the once-silvery wall had materialized into a liquid crystal screen with a wide variety of colors swirling inside. A second later an image of a schematic diagram appeared.

    Gesturing the bulky man to come closer, Payton said: ¡°Come here, let me show you something.¡±

    On the wall there was a small sphere around six meters in size with a bluish core in the middle faintly showing through the indentation of the orb. The shell of it was jet black with light chrome visible near the bottom. Antennas extended from the round surface with reddish beacons flashing slowly.

    ¡°You see this?¡± Payton side-glanced his colleague briefly before continued on: ¡°This is the prototype of the refined shield generator that I called: ''Asset Pod''. It''s the same stuff that we are going to use on the ship. Instead of connecting to a large power cell and enveloping an entire area, this thing has its own generator and has a limited distance.

    ¡°What is so special about this is that it can be placed within the body of the wormhole and can extend a wall of force field from side to side. It also imparts signals to other shield probes to activate their own field as well. A small problem to this design is that the maximum time to be able to stabilize the space distortion is roughly around sixty seconds to two minutes.¡±

    Jake lifted an eyebrow. ¡°So that means we have a minute or two of open window, at best? You want to navigate the ship through a region where we have assumed it''s a gateway to another sector of space in less than two minutes?¡±

    Smiling, Payton answered: ¡°That''s right. But there''s one more thing that you need to be aware of. When we go through the supposed space doorway, we will most likely be traveling in semi light speed. In theory, we are jumping space-time. Time for us will be vastly different than the time in real space. We''ll age slower, as time will slow down for us but time on Earth, again in theory, will move much faster.¡±

    ¡°You are saying that we are going through time?¡±

    Payton laughed. ¡°More like riding the river of time during the period that we are in hyperspace. I want to tell you this now because I want you to reconsider the idea of going with us. The entire Descent Project Team has decided to sacrifice their lives here, in order to search for something vastly unknown and possibly greater than any of us could have imagined. Of course, no one really knows what will happen afterwards. Maybe the exploration will fail and we all die. Maybe we will get trapped somewhere along the plains of dimensional space. Who knows?¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    That was definitely not what Jake had imagined. Knowing that by joining Payton Lane and his team on a journey across deep space would sacrifice the life here on Earth, he might as well just tell Payton to pay him and let him leave ARC. What good was Nelson Fekonson¡¯s money if he couldn¡¯t even live to enjoy the luxurious lifestyle?

    Jake stared at the monitor silently while he pondered the profound thoughts that were rampaging in his mind. After a few long minutes without saying anything further he turned around and left.

    Payton looked quietly at the retreating figure, as a stern facial expression was plastered on his young face. Even though the office had air conditioning, the place felt like an oven with a pile of coal sitting not too far away, feeding the raging flames of unsettling mood. He watched the rotating images of the Asset Pods upon the wall and sighed a heavy breath.

    OOOOOO

    [Year 2543 ¨C January 31<sup>st</sup> ¨C 3:40am]

    A loud buzzing noise had woken up the leader of the Descent Project as his silvery lab coat was covering his upper body as a bed sheet. He was in the hallway and was lying across a wooden bench. People around him dressed in white and silver were running everywhere. The atmosphere was intense and petrifying.

    It was the day before the launch of the exploration ship - Solstice Seven - and there should not be this many activities except for the checkups of the ship. Payton yawned as he rubbed his eyes sleepily.

    ¡°What''s going on?¡± He asked with a sleepy voice. ¡°Has something happened?¡±

    Kena Lee who stood beside Payton looked toward the hallway and said: ¡°They found us. Soldiers from the Freedom Party are due to arrive in two hours.¡±

    ¡°Christ!¡± Upon hearing the ghastly news, Payton was immediately wide-awake. He jumped up from the bench and began to head toward his office. ¡°What time is it?¡±

    Kena was trying to match her boss'' pace. ¡°Three-forty in the morning. Payton. If you want to continue with the launch, we have to do it, now!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, I know.¡± He muttered under his breath as he stopped before the door. Wheeling around, he said: ¡°Get all the members onto the ship right now. I''ll do the briefings there. Tell the others to do final checkups as soon as humanly possible. We don''t have the time to clarify the mission statements. And tell the guards to lock down this entire base and standby for the launch sequence.¡± He then reassured Kena with a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Don''t worry. We have ample time to get ready to leave.¡±

    ¡°There is one other issue, Payton,¡± Kena grabbed onto his sleeve and halted him in mid-stride. ¡°I can¡¯t contact Liam Ope nor can I get a reply from the Space Committee.¡±

    Gazing at her in a brief moment of silence, Payton shook his head. ¡°No time to worry about that right now. I have the launch code. We don¡¯t need the approval from Liam.¡±

    ¡°But don''t you think that something is wrong here?¡±

    Payton looked deeply into her eyes. Frowning, he asked: ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Not many people know about this place,¡± the female physician extended both arms and waved them around. ¡°This is a top-secret base that is not even on the World Alliance''s record. How in the world can the Freedom Party''s forces find out about this place?¡±

    The Descent Team leader went silent as he pondered the inquiry. His bluish eyes scanned the translucent glass panels all around them. Aside from computers and test tubes there were not any people working inside the glass-enclosed labs. The hallway they were in was as quiet and desolate as it could be. Everyone was busy at the launch dock trying to get the ship ready for departure.

    ¡°That is indeed strange, Kena,¡± Payton heaved out a deep sigh after a brief moment of stillness.

    ¡°Do you think that someone may have ratted us out? Maybe one of the scientists here is a spy for the Freedom Party?¡±

    Shaking his head, Payton replied: ¡°I wouldn''t know. There''s no way of telling if any one of us has defected to the other side. Besides, Kena, I think it is too late to ask this question. We have to get to the launch pad, right now. Go!¡±

    Nodding, the female scientist followed her team leader through the door that would lead them to Payton''s office.

    OOOOOO

    Eight miles out in the barren desert with the conurbation acting as a spherical shadow in the background, the night sky was serene and beautiful. A small entry bunker was barely visible within the ductile ray of the moon hovering in the dusk. The heaven was a pale blue with a faint glow of the sun streaking across the dim sapphire atmosphere.

    The night silently moved away while the sun forcefully appeared over the horizon. A gust of cold wind rolled the dry dirt with a howl, as several vehicles were bouncing across the ragged terrain with people wearing environmental suits along with military gears.

    Soldiers in full body-armor and heavily-loaded with weapons were at the main entrance that could lead them down to the secretive structure of the Descent Project science team. Bright orange sunlight reflected off their black, gleaming protective gears, as morning was slowly creeping across the land.

    Each man had a blaster rifle in their hands. Their thick helmets enveloping their heads had masked their faces. Small pebbles were cracking and crushing under the weight of the equipment, as the harsh movements of the assault teams had stirred up clouds of blinding sand.

    The commander with a miniature microphone resting beside his mouth gave the signal. One person from the side flipped a switch and the double blast doors were blown apart in a deafening boom. Torrential bursts of air had flung pieces of heavy steel in all directions. Some scrap metals had bounced off the hand-held shield plating that was placed before the assaulting teams and the rest had slid across the barren desert land.

    ¡°Division Six, Ten and Fourteen take point!¡± The leader shouted as swarms of people had flooded through the parted doorway and into the tunnel. ¡°Division Fifteen, Sixteen, and Seventeen go in as backup. Take the fugitives alive. Don''t fire unless absolutely necessary!¡±

    The small concrete hallways with yellowish lights flashing above was crammed with people as sounds of clicking magazines were echoing down the elongated pathways.

    A siren was activated and automatic sentry turrets affixed in the ceiling had zoomed in on the intruders and started to fire red-hot bolts of energy bullets. Each of them was bouncing off the barriers activated by the solders'' combat suits and blew holes all around the walls on both sides. Pieces of shattered bolsters, which supported the overhanging layers of rocks, had ricocheted away from the uneven ground. Screams could be heard when one of the foyers had collapsed, crushing the fragile bodies beneath heavy coarse cements.

    Division Six''s senior officer was about to give out an order to destroy the auto turrets when one of the shots coming from the end of the central hallway had slammed into his skull and spilled out the contents that were inside his head. The man''s back was against the wall as he slid down to the ground without as much as a grunt. A sea of sticky crimson blood was oozing out from the hole in his head and spreading on the floor.

    Another volley of thunderous shots had emerged from the bunker that was surrounded with inch-thick bricks. The snipers who were responsible for defending the base had aimed and fired with precision. Powerful projectiles with amazing velocities had penetrated the armors easily and killed off a trail of invading soldiers under a short amount of time.

    A soldier from Division Fourteen had aimed a pulse bomb launcher from the other end of the corridor. The others had banked to either side, opening up a clear path for the destructive projectile to fly through. The solider pulled the trigger, driving an oval shaped energy discharge through the walls of the bunker and detonated from within.

    The snipers were incinerated within seconds, as a massive fireball in bright yellow light had blasted outward with a deafening bang. The Freedom Party''s soldiers had to use their shield plating to protect themselves from the monstrous fireball that threatened to devour everything.

    More debris had fallen from the ceiling. Soldiers cried out in surprise when rocks had crashed against their combat suits in a series of loud banging noises. When they pushed forward and breached the lower levels, a military hacker had decoded the keypad lock not too far away from the launch pad. The lights went out and an ugly reddish illumination had filled the entire place, as the door slid open silently for the assaulting forces.

    OOOOOO

    [Year 2543 ¨C March 7<sup>th</sup> ¨C 8:56am]

    Payton looked up when a potent earthquake had vibrated the labs, rocked the computers on the tables and smashed the glass tubes onto the marble floor. He raced toward the dock with all his essential tools in two large backpacks. Kena was behind him with her own luggage.

    Nearly all the other scientists had escaped through the emergency exits, as they had decided right on the spot it wasn¡¯t worth the risk to board a ship that was literally a giant target. The only ones that were still lingering around were boarding the Solstice Seven spacecraft and getting ready for the launch. Payton had nearly knocked down Jake Roman around the corner when the muscular man was rushing from the other side.

    ¡°Jake? What the hell are you doing? If you are coming with us then you should head toward the same direction as I am heading!¡± Payton scolded when another tremor had struck the building.

    It looked as if the enemies had taken the upper levels successfully. Payton blamed himself for not preparing enough to deter invaders from breaching the base.

    Jake rolled his eyes in slight annoyance and said: ¡°I am coming with you guys. I just forgot something important and...and I need to get it. Listen, you go on ahead and I''ll catch up to the rest of you guys in five minutes.¡± He started running away when he turned back and held up his right palm. ¡°Five minutes! Don¡¯t leave without me!¡±

    Payton shook his head in disapproval but said nothing else when his pal had disappeared under a thick cluster of smoke. Payton had reached the launch port soon after and saw the light gray spaceship rumbling with enormous energy. Six sets of monstrous landing legs were on the ground. They were taller than a six stories building and thicker than ten houses lining side by side. The four Light Engine thrusters were even bigger as they were suspended in mid-air, mounted solidly onto the ship¡¯s rear structure.

    Workers below were doing the final confirmations on the status of the computers and the central core of the vessel; their body gestures had clearly displayed the desire to flee but they forced themselves to remain as calm as necessary. Miles of electrical lines had connected to the ship¡¯s hull, as supplies were being transported onboard.

    ¡°God damn it!¡± Another explosion had roared through the base. Payton ran toward the hatch and climbed up the ladder that was extending all the way down onto the smooth ground. When he got inside, he was amazed at how much elbowroom he had in the corridors.

    Large panels of reinforced windows were constructed along the curvature of the walls. The floor was well-carpeted. It was slightly fluffy and light jade in color. Lights at the top were long tubes with rich chemicals floating inside of them to produce a long-lasting life span of brightness. They had produced a clear, refreshing illumination throughout the ship.

    Payton got to the command center. It was not large. It was just big enough for seven people sitting at the consoles with hundreds of buttons, switches, and monitors. Five people were waiting for him. They had all dressed in orange space suits. Black belts had strapped tightly across their waist and two of the men had an additional girdle across their broad chests from top left to bottom right.

    There were three females and two males. All of them were born in the Metro Dome City. Aside from Doctor Kena Lee, the other two girls were a mixed-race between Caucasian and African-American. Tracy Huegard was the ship''s counselor and Lina Huegard was the biologist. The two were twin sisters with a slight difference between their physical appearances and personalities. One was slightly fatter than the other. Tracy had a look that was gentle and caring while Lina had possessed a gaze of intensity.

    The two men were both Caucasians. One was taller than the rest and the other was somewhat shorter than Payton. The taller one, Steve En, was a weapon specialist with long, messy golden hair draped across his broad shoulders. The other, Roy Sen, was the ship''s main pilot. Of course, all seven people, including Payton and Jake, could drive the spacecraft. It was a necessary thing to know just in case the main pilot was incapacitated.

    ¡°I''m sure that we have all met each other before, so I''ll cut to the chase,¡± Payton cleared his throat and nodded a greeting to all five people before him. ¡°Time is short and my apology for that. The FP somehow has found out about this base and they are currently attacking us. We all know that this is a foolhardy action made by Nelson Fekonson. A maniac like him could never understand what we are trying to achieve.

    ¡°Unfortunately, there will be no reporters to witness the greatest deep space exploration in human history. What is more important right now is that we need to leave the planet immediately before the military forces of FP could put a blockade in space.¡±

    ¡°We understand and we are all ready, Payton.¡± Steve smiled as he gave a thumbs-up. ¡°Give us the word and we are out of here in the greatest human venture ever conducted.¡±

    Nodding in approval, Payton said: ¡°Good. Let''s start up the engines and say goodbye to Earth. We probably won''t see it anytime soon after this departure.¡±

    Everyone went to their stations as Payton sat on the side, turning on the surveillance cameras that were mounted outside the ship. From the monitors in front of his eyes, Payton could see everything that was happening in the launching dock. A beeping sound had appeared when the gate that sealed off the docking port was imploded from within. Group of armed men rushed in and started to shoot everyone in sight. They started firing at all the scientists that were scrambling to escape in every direction.

    A loud voice was echoing: ¡°Fugitives in the ship! Come out now with your hands up! We have the base surrounded and secured! There is no escape!¡±

    ¡°They''re killing everyone!¡± Steve En grumbled with frustration. He tapped a few commands on the keyboard and rotated the ship''s mounted cannons around. Solstice Seven rumbled as the massive weapons were gradually moving on their rotatory axis. ¡°Roy! See if you can divert power from one of the engines to the cannons. I think I can take them out with one shot.¡±

    ¡°No! Stop! You''ll kill us all!¡± A rough voice had boomed over the commotion as the hatch behind everyone opened and closed with a hiss. Jake had nearly crawled to his seat with sweat breaking out from his forehead. ¡°These cannons are supposed to be used in space! Not indoor! One shot from these cannons will blow a depression six miles wide, us along with it!¡±

    ¡°And how would you know?¡± Steve rebuked with stubbornness. ¡°I''m the weapon specialist here and I know how much damage that the cannons would do.¡±

    Jake wiped away the perspiration on his face. Giving the man a cold look, he said slowly: ¡°The system design is based on the schematics that I had created three years ago. I know more about the energy flux and core converter better than you do. You, as the weapon specialist, should read more about plasma injectors and phase-shift pulse laser theories before you would call yourself a ''specialist''.¡±

    Steve''s eyes were filled with anger when he heard the mockery. Before he could get up from his seat and bash his large fist into the face of Jake Roman, Lina Huegard shouted: ¡°Will you two calm down and keep your male testosterone in check? We don''t have time to argue like kids here!¡±

    ¡°Roy! Start the engines!¡± Payton yelled when an energy bolt from a rifle had crashed against the hull with a bang.

    Lina wheeled around and turned on the environmental controls. ¡°I''ll equalize the pressure and the gravitational generators right now. It''ll be painful since we are still in the Earth''s gravitational pull but it''s faster this way since the engines are firing up.¡±

    The room had whirred in a deep noise, as Roy flipped the switches one by one while doing a list of pre-flight checks in his head. The bridge gradually became darker when the lights were tuned down to a comfortable level during the lift-off sequence.

    Steve enabled the flank shields when another shot had reflected off the surface of the vessel. Jake was scanning the ship with his computer to look for possible fractures and other problems before the ship could fly into space.

    ¡°Let''s go, Roy!¡± Payton shouted with urgency in his voice. ¡°We don¡¯t have all day!¡±

    Shrugging and totally ignoring the massacre happening outside in the dock, the ship''s main pilot said: ¡°An insubstantial check is particularly dangerous especially when we are going to live in space for the first few weeks or until we get into the hyperspace. Be patient. This big girl can handle a few slaps from the outside.¡±

    Another swarm of energy bullets had ricocheted off from the flank shields. ¡°There won''t be a ship left if you keep on delaying the flight!¡± Steve yelled back. ¡°Hurry up and fire those damn engines!¡±

    ¡°What about the rest of the people outside?¡± Tracy asked when she realized that there were still survivors hiding behind large equipment crates as the soldiers had continued to battle with each other. ¡°We can''t just leave them there like that. They haven''t done anything wrong.¡±

    ¡°We don''t have a choice, Tracy,¡± Payton gritted his teeth as he walked back toward his command chair located in the center of the bridge. ¡°Get us up in the air, now!¡±

    She gaped at him with disbelief. ¡°But...that''s selfish!¡±

    The Descent Team''s leader had shot her a gaze of silent rage. Veins could be seen on the side of his temples as his fists were shaking with distress. The ship''s counselor lowered her eyes and a second later she returned her focus to the monitors in defeat.

    Payton knew what would happen to the people out there if the engines were turned on right now. He knew that it was wrong to sacrifice those people. Though he did not want to say it, in his mind it was a sea of frustration, confusion, and a feeling of despair. He just wished there was some way to save those people but with the FP''s invading forces surrounding them, he knew it was futile.

    Roy sighed and made the final surveying before he nodded in satisfaction. ¡°All right. Turning on the first Light Engine and raising power to fifty percent...seventy...ninety-five....¡±

    The entire ship had begun to roar and quiver with a frightening noise. The whining pitch of the nuclear cores had heightened to a point where teams of soldiers and the remaining scientists had dropped onto their knees and held their hands over their ears in intense agony. The first Light Engine was howling with utmost vividness as the pulse laser was activated and the excessive searing heat exited through the mega vents.

    One of the officers screamed as he got dragged into the whirlwind produced by the engine and was burnt to nothing but blacken ashes in less than one-tenth of a second.

    ¡°Switching on the second Light Engine. Drawing power from the first power cell. Raising power to sixty percent...eighty....¡± Roy muttered as he closely view the meters displayed on his own screens. ¡°Turning on the third and fourth Light Engine. Warm-up sequence completed.¡±

    Outside in the launch port no one was moving. The temperature in the port was well over two hundred thousand degrees from the heat generated by the thick beams of lasers. The corpses were either burning with small fires on their clothes or the body armors was melting slowly into a puddle of liquid metal. Solstice Seven was roaring with full strength now. The ship was trembling every few seconds. The crews were nervous as the final firing sequence was initiated.

    Roy glanced at everyone. Green eyes gleaming, he asked: ¡°Ready, everyone?¡±

    Aside from Payton Lane and Tracy Huegard, the rest of the crew all looked at each other. Payton closed his eyes with his fingers crossed in front of him. Tracy looked at him for a minute before she returned to the monitors without speaking a word.

    Finally, Payton said softly: ¡°Launch.¡±

    End Chapter 3

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4

    TWO sets of dual thrusters had roared as Solstice Seven shuddered violently. It was screaming with an incredible amount of force and attempting to pull free of the Earth''s immense gravity with its raw power. With the launch port sealed due to the security protocols responding to the invasion, the air temperature and the pressure were pushed to the limit. Concrete walls and steel overhanging beams were cracking and groaning with rigorous heat. Objects nearby had seemed to be wavering and melting under the gigantic blazes of the Light Engines.

    The crews held onto their seats. Thoughts were racing through their minds as their heartbeats were speeding up with an ever-increasing rate. Monitors around them were outputting new information every second. The ship''s engines were shifting into a ninety-degree angle and were gradually leaving the safety of solid ground.

    Roy muttered to himself while flipping switches and entering commands on the keyboards before him. He was trying to stabilize the spacecraft. Looking up, Payton watched the overview screen above them.

    Dark orange sky with a taint of ash-colored clouds greeted them as an unnatural haze composed of toxic gases had slowly smothered the base below. The sun was gleaming upon them, though it never truly showed the nature of its intense light since the polluted atmosphere had filtered out most of the energy waves that were emitting from the molten orb.

    ¡°Payton!¡± Steve shouted over the rumbling ambient noise that was roaring freely in the background. ¡°Long-range sensors indicate there are three large ships orbiting near us. I guess they are the Freedom Party''s military forces.¡±

    Hearing the news, Lina Huegard turned around and asked: ¡°How come they have so much authority and military power? Where''s the World Alliance? They should be backing us up right now!¡±

    ¡°They cannot use force without a good reason. People won''t agree to that!¡± Tracy added.

    ¡°They can do whatever they want now,¡± Payton muttered under his breath. Looking at his crew members, he continued: ¡°A space blockade being set up so fast and so effortlessly, it¡¯s clear that the World Alliance had been disbanded. Their power had been ripped away from them. Although I do not know how, Fekonson might have done it. He might have won. With the Freedom Party dominating the political power on Earth right now our free way of thinking has been destroyed.¡± Payton sighed a deep breath. ¡°It''s amazing. I could never understand the rationality of human mind. One minute you''d think people support your cause and the next they''d be fighting against you as your enemy. It is as if the human race is destined for self-destruction.¡±

    Lina and Jake both shared a look with each other.

    Clearing his throat once, Jake proposed: ¡°How about we use the cloaking technology? This will be a good time for us to test out the system to see if it''s really effective or not.¡±

    ¡°Too late for that now,¡± Roy looked back over his shoulder. He then checked their elevation status and said: ¡°We are now at a hundred and sixty four kilometers into the ionosphere. With around three hundred or so kilometers to go we''ll be in the exosphere, a.k.a space. Even with us hiding behind a curtain of photo lenses, these assholes would have bio-scanned us multiple times and pinpointed our exact location long before we hit the troposphere of the Earth.¡±

    ¡°We''ll just have to brave the oncoming storm,¡± Payton commented from his chair and gazed at the giant view screen in front of him. ¡°Ready the cannons and prepare to raise the shields to maximum.¡±

    Solstice Seven bounced within the turbulence. Searing atmospheric heat was brushing against the sides of the dense and powerful armor. Normal spaceships could not handle such a drastic push through the layers of gases that had enveloped the entire planet. At high velocity the ships would buckle instantly and crush by the colossal air mass.

    But the exploration ship that Payton and his team were in was not made up of enhanced polyester fabric and other combined materials. The metal hull of the vessel was composed of a rare mineral dug up three hundred kilometers beneath the Earth''s crust. The natural makeup of the chemical compounds used for the hull of Solstice Seven could withstand fifty times the Earth''s normal gravity.

    The internal structure of such mineral was arranged in a way that stress energy could be scattered in less than one-fourth of a second. It was so tough that the miners had to use diamond cutters to extract the material. Even with the hardest substance doing the cutting they had to replace ten dozens of million-credit machines in the time span of a month. Scientists named the newly dug up mineral: Diamonium.

    After what had seemed to be a lengthy journey toward the sky, the Descent Team¡¯s ship was finally free of the Earth''s atmosphere. A black blanket of space was wrapping around them mutely with countless stars surrounding them. A strong burst of luminosity had bathed the ship''s side as the sun bubbled and flared with scorching flames in the distance. Large, jet-colored words of Solstice Seven could be seen clearly on the surface of the hull. Dozens of antennas were protruding from the thick armor, gathering radio and microwave signals from the satellites that were orbiting around the Earth beneath them.

    The Light Engines had compressed the molecules within space and heated them up to a point where intense explosions occurred, providing the necessary thrust to propel the ship to its destination. The vessel''s slick body had slithered into the airless region with the scanners warning the crew of the upcoming threat.

    ¡°Returning the engines to their flight position,¡± said the pilot. Gripping the control sticks tightly in his hands, Roy Sen turned his head around and said: ¡°Payton, the computer calculates that the No Land Sector is around ninety million and seventy-eight thousand miles away. With our current speed we can reach it in around a week or two. Of course, that''s assuming if these morons in our flight path haven''t blown us up first.¡±

    Steve placed a hand on Payton¡¯s left shoulder. ¡°We have visuals on the battle cruisers. After assessing their weapons, level of shields and the amount of people on board, it''s not good. We may have to increase our engines to full power to escape. This is a fight that we can¡¯t win.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn''t recommend going to full power so soon. It''s just too dangerous. Our bodies haven''t adapted to the new environment going into the Evolutionary Stage is inadvisable,¡± Lina Huegard had commented. Shaking her head, she continued: ¡°It''s too perilous to put our cells through such a concentrated shift of molecule metabolism. At worst case scenario our internal organs could explode.¡±

    Sighing, Jake side-glanced his buddy. ¡°It''s up to you, man.¡±

    Payton asked: ¡°Is the gravitational system working?¡±

    Lina lifted her thin eyebrows and replied: ¡°I''ve activated it a long time ago.¡±

    Leaving the comfort of his chair, Payton stretched and hopped around the command center a bit to loosen up his rigid muscles. It was a tough call for him. If he did not act soon and try to escape the pursuers all of them could die. But if he gave out the order to enter the Evolutionary Stage they might suffer serious injuries as well. Either way both choices had staid cons and very little benefits.

    Nodding at Lina, Payton ordered: ¡°Open a channel to one of the cameras outside. Show me where they are right now.¡±

    A large screen had floated down slowly from the ceiling, unfolding itself into a large crystal panel with silver edges. Instantly, an image had materialized, displaying three massive war ships tailing after the explorers in the wake of their engine disturbances.

    Payton did not know that Fekonson would be onto him so fast. He was also surprised that Fekonson would be sending three ships to block them instead of one. He had never expected that their endeavor would be so devastating to the Freedom Party''s beliefs. Then again, stealing the old man¡¯s money was probably the root cause of it all. Fekonson had wanted revenge and he would do anything to get it.

    With only a small amount of time left, Payton really did not have any choices left.

    ¡°Roy, get ready to go full power on the engines. Warm up the cloaking device as well.¡±

    The ship''s main navigator had pulled a profound breath as he nodded without looking back. Roy already knew that going into E-Stage was only a matter of time. In fact, he had already gone over the basic checkups of the boosting sequence the minute that he saw their enemy in the scanners.

    ¡°It''s funny how a normal scientist such as yourself can become a captain, isn''t it?¡± Tracy Huegard said with slight amusement.

    Payton grinned sadly when he realized their counselor was trying to loosen the suffocating mood in the vessel. Payton had become the central support for the team. All the judgments were up to him. He felt that he was only thinking rationally with a good initiative. As time went on, he had contributed his own efforts to the crewmembers by becoming the team leader and captain. But important roles often came with difficult choices and Payton had begun to feel the stress.

    ¡°Heads up!¡± With a shout of warning Steve''s fingers flew across the keyboard and activated the shields.

    Before the rest of people could react Solstice Seven shuddered violently as a thunderous explosion had occurred on the outer hull. Several computers were knocked offline when the electric generators fluttered for a few seconds. A shower of light orange sparks was dancing upon the metal grating of the bridge.

    Invisible shields around the vessel had radiated a swarming color of red, blue, and green where the energy bomb had detonated. Another one had exploded near the side of the ship, sending searing heat and intense reddish light across the area.

    ¡°They are shooting at us!¡± Roy yelled as he fought for control of the spacecraft.

    ¡°No shit!¡± Jake said as he held onto his chair.

    Roy ignored the comment as he said: ¡°I''m going to increase the speed and try to avoid the attacks!¡±

    Tracy wheeled around in her chair and said: ¡°I''ve tried to open a direct communication channel to them but they are not answering.¡±

    ¡°Then forget about talking to them!¡± Lina Huegard bellowed. Her eyes were scanning the star chart that was rotating on the screen. She plotted the best possible route to the No Land Sector. ¡°These morons are crazy!¡± Lina scolded to no one in particular. ¡°Didn''t they know that we are within five hundred kilometers away from the Titan Strike Missile Station? If they hit the station all of us including the people on Earth will die!¡±

    ¡°The force of multiple explosions from the TSMS would be strong enough to deteriorate Earth''s atmosphere. Neutron level would be lethal for the people on the surface.¡± Steve En added solemnly. ¡°Not to mention the EMP waves would be potent enough to knock every electronic on the planet offline.¡±

    ¡°Hold on. The lead ship has just requested a direct communication,¡± the counselor interrupted as she tried to filter out the disruptions caused by the sun''s magnetic storms. ¡°It''s not clear but it should be audible. I''m patching the radio feed right now.¡±

    Payton stood behind Roy. Frustration could be seen on his face. He suddenly looked old and tired despite his age. The stress with this entire expedition had gone beyond his control and right now everyone was depending on him. It was a responsibility that had grown to a magnitude where he was not sure if he could handle it. Payton looked up for a second and sighed, knowing that this negotiation might determine whether or not they could escape alive. It was possible that they might even make some sort of compensations with the Freedom Party. But it was also possible that Nelson Fekonson would rather dispose of them quickly to rid himself of potential problems later on.

    The speakers around the bridge had buzzed for a few long minutes before a distorted voice came through. Although not quite clear, everyone had immediately recognized that it was Nelson Fekonson on the other side of the line.

    Jake gave a weird look to Payton, whom took no notice of, as he excused himself and retreated into the hallway for an emergency maintenance check. Lina gave a disgusted expression when she heard the Freedom Party''s leader over the intercom.

    ¡°Good day to you all.¡±

    ¡°What do you want, Fekonson?¡± Payton gritted his teeth. ¡°Are you here to try to tell us that you are going to stop the team at any cost? Are you going to preach to us about your ideologies? Maybe even tell us a folklore of the ancient past?¡±

    Silence rolled through the room for a second and then Fekonson¡¯s voice appeared again: ¡°Mr. Lane. There¡¯s no need for that kind of attitude. After all, you and I are both grown men that are capable of a civilized conversation, no?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing between you and I that can be talked about. What the hell do you want, you murderous prick?¡±

    ¡°Still with the sour attitude, Mr. Lane. I''m surprised at how you have managed to complete building this magnificent spacecraft from the money that you have stolen from me. You are a very persistent man.¡±

    ¡°Well, that''s what my bosses back on Earth always told me. Maybe I can show you just how determined I am.¡± Payton''s mouth was in a straight line for a minute. ¡°I don''t know how you broke apart the World Alliance, old man, but I want you to realize that this is an important scientific research that can benefit the human society, including you and I. I don''t know why you insist on believing that this is a precarious exploit of nature. We can advance vastly in human knowledge should our mission be successful. We can also obtain new resources for our people.¡±

    Nelson laughed out loud as a wheezing sound could be heard from his throat. The amplifiers crackled a little by the sudden increase of volume. ¡°You don''t see it, do you, my boy? God has never agreed that we humans are to go beyond our homeland and search for other species or wild alien life forms. If He wants us to, He would have allowed humans to have superior technologies a long time ago. Alas, He didn''t. That is why we have to disobey His wishes and invent machines that are literally tearing our ethics down to nothing but blasphemy!The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Our ancestors had ignored the divine teachings. They rejected salvation and embraced destruction. Mankind was nearly wiped out because of technologies. Mankind was nearly extinct because of their ignorance. I will not allow this to happen again. History from the dark ages will not repeat itself. I will see to it that the people of the Earth can ascend to a higher level.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡± Payton paced around the bridge. ¡°This has nothing to do with religion or spiritual guidance! This is also not just about finding extraterrestrial species! You cannot force people who want a better lifestyle by telling them how scientific knowledge is hazardous and how it will degrade our state of minds.

    ¡°You know nothing, Nelson Fekonson, nothing at all. You don''t know how to improve our world and our environment. You don''t know how to encourage people to advance into something that are better than what they are now. You don''t know anything. Anything at all! Yet, here you are standing in that Orbital Class battleship, insulting us scientists who have sworn to bring wisdom to our people regarding to what has existed for billions of years!¡±

    ¡°History has shown that technologies are devil''s contraptions. Had it not been for technologies¡¯ devious effects that corrupt nature, countless of lives wouldn¡¯t have been lost,¡± Nelson countered angrily. His voice rumbled through the speakers throughout the Solstice Seven. ¡°Or are you saying that the War of 2197 didn¡¯t exist? Forty-five billion lives, gone, poof! Just like that.¡±

    Payton shook his head. ¡°And ironically enough, you are standing in a technologically advanced warship. Isn''t that contradicting? Were it not for the war we wouldn''t have advanced to today''s level. The poor decisions of the people from the past had resulted in a better lifestyle that we have today. We wouldn''t have gained as much knowledge had it not been for the mistakes of the past. Don''t you see? Through mistakes we learn; without mistakes we would remain in the same place with poverty threatening everyone.¡±

    ¡°Mistakes are what we should avoid, Mr. Lane.¡±

    ¡°Without mistakes; without doing the wrong things, there wouldn''t be a clear perspective of what is right and what is wrong. We need the darkness to see the light,¡± Payton said. ¡°Look. We can discuss about moral philosophy all we want at another time. Right now you haven''t proved a single thing. You can''t prove that what we are doing is wrong. All you have done is referring to the past without looking at the future. You just won''t admit that the future is brighter if we have the courage and the knowledge to walk its path.¡±

    ¡°What do you know about the future, Mr. Lane?¡±

    ¡°I know enough to walk the path, Fekonson. The question is: Do you know enough to understand the gravity of things and the circumstances that we are in right now? Do you know enough about what our people need and what God really wants?¡±

    ¡°Don''t you dare speak of the Lord without comprehending and admitting your own sins, Payton Lane,¡± Nelson muttered with silent rage.

    It was because of the previous hatred that had fueled Fekonson¡¯s ignorance and irritation, which had promoted him to use extreme force to try and stop the Descent Team. The hatred that was created through the theft of his money; the hatred of unable to weed out criminals that seemed to believe they had the logic, the reasoning to commit unspeakable depravity; these were the factors that contributed to the loathing that he had which clouded his judgement.

    ¡°You and I both know this is going nowhere,¡± the Descent Team leader said sternly.

    ¡°You think you can get away with this, Payton Lane? You think that you and your wicked associates can get away and bring an end to our civilization? You are wrong! As long as I still have a breath in my body don''t even think about winning!¡±

    Tracy had met with people that were similar to Nelson Fekonson''s attitude in the past; such people would never take heed of other people''s words. They had developed a sense of alter ego where they assumed that the world around them was filled with wrongdoing. They felt that the world was not perfect and would need a drastic reformation. They saw themselves as justice, as a knight. They wanted to change the world into a better place to live in regardless of the sacrifice and the bloodshed required.

    The central air control inside Solstice Seven slowly turned the fans to full blast, drawing cooler air into the corridors and the bridge as the temperature gradually had increased. Computers had analyzed the distance to the target in the background and provided proper information to the Light Engines. There was an increase of the vessel''s overall average speed without anyone noticing it. Gradually, the ship was moving away from the three battle cruisers.

    Payton closed his eyes temporarily and rubbed them. ¡°Fekonson,¡± he started out little by little, ¡°You are insane. Before I took you as a person who just has a strong belief in spiritual conducts. But today, I have finally understood at how fanatical, or how should I put it, ridiculous, you are at whatever you believe in. You think that you are the leader of a crusade. You think that you alone can change the world without the need for space exploration, without the need to search for new resources, and without the need for technologies. You believe that mankind can be controlled by sheer faith and idle beliefs that don''t provide any sense of realistic resolution.

    ¡°A mind cannot simply be led by something as farfetched as imaginations. It can only go so far with dreams. It needs physical support as well; the need to touch; the need to see, to feel, to develop and use; actual interaction of objects is important to enable a balanced lifestyle. You think that a spiritual being that is responsible for our existence can save us.¡± Payton scoffed. ¡°I honestly don''t know how to respond to that. And even if I can come up with something brilliant you''ll just brush it away as blasphemy. You will never admit defeat.¡±

    Throughout the long exchange between Payton and Fekonson, Roy knew their captain was buying time, enough time for him to prepare to go into the Evolutionary Stage. Quietly, he was going through another series of checklist and preparing the ship for full power.

    Looking up, Payton spoke into the speakers: ¡°Here''s the thing, Fekonson. We are going to proceed with our plan and you can do whatever you want. However, know this: We are five hundred kilometers away from the TSMS. If you were to shoot us and somehow missed, all of us including the people on Earth will die. There''s at least two million Pulse-Thermal Nuclear Tactical Missiles stored in there. Believe me, when all of them explode at the same time you''ll wish you weren''t nearby.

    ¡°Ask yourself this, old man: Would you be willing to risk billions of lives for your own endeavor of getting rid of us? Would you be willing to go against everything you believed in self-preservation and the salvation of humanity by destroying us along with the TSMS?¡± With that said, Payton gestured to have the connection cut off.

    Steve En quickly raised the shield strength to maximum and brought the newly invented plasma cannons around, locking onto the enemy.

    Back in his battle ship with humiliation invigorating his rage, Nelson had fended off all coherent reasoning and gave the order to fire. The officers were somewhat reluctant because they knew Payton Lane was right. If any one of those shots hit the TSMS the result would be devastating. But after seeing Fekonson pulling out his gun and waving it around in a threatening motion, the soldiers had no choice but to obey their leader¡¯s order.

    Before the Descent Team could respond, hundreds of energy bullets had slung across the shields of Solstice Seven. Each powerful shot tore away a small chunk of the imperceptible buffer that had wrapped around the whole ship silently. A wide array of colors had dispersed as red-hot explosions licked the inner hull furiously. With a rain of projectiles impacting, even the world''s most advanced armor technology could not withstand much longer.

    Inside, the Descent Team''s crew was knocked all over the place. The mainframes had beeped with incredibly loud noises, which were mixing with metals groaning and wall plating snapping. Roy had tried to steady the ship but they were getting knocked off course. Steve coded in the attacking sequences as fast as he could while Lina was attempting to restore oxygen level from deck two to deck twelve.

    ¡°Payton! She is breaking apart! We got to do something fast!¡± Roy yelled over the commotion. A massive shower of electrical sparks had landed near him and the pilot screamed: ¡°Those stupid, self-centered fuckers! They are shattering this vessel!¡±

    Knowing that their lives were at stake the team leader had to think fast. Without any other options, Payton hollered: ¡°Take us around! Go behind the TSMS and use it as a shield!¡±

    Everyone froze in their seats when they had heard the absurd order. If they were to hide behind the Titan Strike Missile Station with millions of Pulse-Thermal nuclear warheads there was an even greater chance of having a major disaster befalling upon the planet Earth. Who knew what kind of impact it would have, if the thermal shock waves combined with lethal radiations combed through the world below?

    ¡°Are you out of your fucking mind?¡± Tracy exclaimed with bewilderment.

    Noticing the baffled expressions on his colleagues, Payton grinded his teeth and said: ¡°Don''t worry about it! Fekonson wouldn''t be stupid enough to blow up the entire station! Do it!¡±

    ¡°You can''t be serious, Payton!¡± Lina exclaimed with a shocked look on her face. Pushing her dark hair away, she continued: ¡°You are willing to risk the lives of everyone? Where''s the rationality?¡±

    The young male scientist wheeled around and frowned. ¡°I gave you guy an order and I expect you to follow it! Unless you want to have a mutiny against me and choose another captain; if so, you''d better do it fast because our shields and hull plating will not last any longer!¡±

    ¡°But, Payton-¡±

    ¡°Carry out my order, now!¡± The man angrily yelled.

    The team members gazed at each other for a long minute. They then started entering commands to maneuver the ship around the TSMS when another shot had exploded upon the hull. A loud metallic snapping sound could be heard as one of the support bars along the hull had fractured and fell off. More sparks had danced across the floor tiles.

    With the Light Engines roaring and scorching white flames exiting from the massive exhaust vents that were attached to the end of the ship, panorama and shadows twisted and spiraled in the heating wake, as flaring particles of the engine debris had shot out from the exhaust ports with astonishing speed and vigor. A blurry effect had smothered Solstice Seven when its velocity was shifting from low to high under a short amount of time. Before the pursuers could act in response to Payton and his crew''s feat, the entire Descent Team was already behind the TSMS, which had contained millions of the devastating warheads.

    ¡°Damn them!¡± Nelson Fekonson screamed when he saw what was going on in the visual screen. He was mad. ¡°Damn them, damn them, damn them!¡±

    While there were still many people willing to follow in Nelson''s footsteps, all of them knew that sooner or later they would have to leave and pursue a different path. With most of the money gone from the Freedom Party''s accounts, it was only a matter of time before the organization entered into a deficit. In a nutshell, even though the FP was looking strong, internally it was hurting bad. Adding salt to the wound was the fact that more than one third of his followers had left after that theft pulled by Payton Lane.

    ¡°We can always wait them out, sir,¡± one of the soldiers suggested from his station.

    Nelson was not even paying attention as he stood up and glared at the view screen. ¡°How could they defy me so? I''m the head of the Freedom Party! I represent all mankind! I am God''s servant! No. I am God! No one is supposed to challenge my will!¡± Fekonson¡¯s face was an angry red with thin blue veins materializing to the surface of his bony neck.

    Pacing around the bridge Fekonson frantically tried to figure out something to draw the rats out of their little hole. If he returned with the news of the sinners escaping his wrath, there would be an all-out riot as people lost their trust in him. The defectors would also blame him for the decimation of the World Alliance since not everyone was convinced and willing to fully join the FP.

    Nelson had nothing to lose anymore. Even the officers around him knew that the infuriated FP leader might do something foolhardy and would result in everybody¡¯s painful death. They were giving each other a look of distrust as they slowly got up from their chairs.

    ¡°Where do you guys think you¡¯re going?¡± The old man glared at each and every single one of the officers on the bridge. Pointing his gun at one of them, he said: ¡°You! Sit down!¡±

    The young officer anxiously looked left and right for a second before sitting back down.

    ¡°Sir, I think we should retreat to a safer distance and formulate a plan.¡± One of the senior officers had summed up his courage and offered his advice.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Nelson Fekonson frowned as he walked up to face the man, nose-to-nose. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear what you just said. Would you be so kind as to repeat what was it that you just said?¡±

    The poor man lowered his eyes and looked at the pistol in Fekonson¡¯s right hand for a moment and decided to remain silent. The ship¡¯s captain was also going to suggest something to Fekonson but when he saw the crazy pair of eyes that were glaring back at him the man could not move his lips or even utter a sound. It was especially frightening when Fekonson had a blaster gun in his old and wrinkled hand with his finger on the trigger, lightly tapping at it.

    Everyone had relinquished their sidearms when they entered the bridge as part of the ship¡¯s safety regulation. Unfortunately, it was this particular policy that had made everyone regretted partaking on this mission with a crazed maniac slowly losing his sanity with every passing minute. To make matters worse, this zealot got the only weapon on the bridge at the moment by ignoring the safety protocol.

    Behind the TSMS, Payton and the others had sighed a relief when they knew that they were temporarily safe. It looked as if the enemy didn¡¯t have the guts to risk shooting at the storage tanks of the TSMS. Although he knew that it was still unsafe for being so near to the station, Payton could not think of anything else to stall their hunters that were hungry for their innocent blood.

    Roy still had the engines charged with one hundred and twenty percent power just in case they needed to get into the E-Stage should things suddenly became perilous.

    Clearing his throat, Steve glanced in a general direction as he wiped his hand through his sweat-soaked, lengthy golden hair. ¡°Well, what do we do now? Even if we have thrusters that are faster than theirs, they still have a chance of hitting us with those gigantic plasma cannons and concussion missiles.¡± Steve lifted a finger slightly while frowning, contemplating the situation. ¡°Although given the current circumstances it really won''t make a difference anyway if we make a run for it now. They''ve pretty much caught us like a mouse in a trap.¡±

    ¡°Payton, regarding to Nelson''s behavior it doesn¡¯t look good,¡± Tracy stated quietly, mostly to herself as she was trying to organize her thoughts. She brushed aside her long, braided hair, which shone like a thousand sun under the soothing light coming down from above. ¡°His attitude cannot be anticipated. It''s too dark. It''s too unpredictable. I think this is resulted from the callous blow that you have done to him and his faction.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Payton was weary. His voice was small. He blinked his eyes slowly and gazed at her with his deep azure-colored eyes.

    Letting out a nervous breath, she answered: ¡°He''ll blow this place up. He''ll destroy Earth.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not possible, no one¡¯s stupid enough to do that.¡±

    ¡°Tracy, Nelson may be fanatic in his beliefs, but he wouldn¡¯t do such a thing.¡±

    Lina and Roy mocked and muttered at the idea of an insane mad man having the capability to mass-murder billions of people.

    Payton was also going to counter that notion when Tracy said louder: ¡°I''m only saying that it is a possibility that Fekonson would do something like this. He has nothing to lose now. I¡¯ve checked a few minutes ago. He has breached the Military Regulation that was created through the consensus of the people of Earth. His use of excessive force without a good cause has broken the law. People will not be happy toward him for wasting precious resources on something as fruitless as a personal vendetta.¡±

    ¡°He still placed a wager on us, Tracy,¡± Payton said softly. Looking into the eyes of everyone in front of him, he continued: ¡°That means he still thinks that he can win against us. He might still have the power to stop us from completing our journey to the No Land Sector.¡±

    Tracy nodded. ¡°This is why we must figure out a plan to escape before he goes berserk. For all we know, he could be arming the missiles on his ship right now and getting ready to fire at the station itself to get to us.¡±

    ¡°I understand. If any of you has any suggestions, I''ll be more than happy to listen.¡±

    Lina searched around the bridge with perplexity. ¡°Hey, has anyone seen Jake? He''s gone for an awfully long time.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Tracy replied as she turned her head around to look at her sister, ¡°he said he is going to check out the ship just in case those shots have damaged the hull that might affect us greatly-¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that I would waste my time doing that?¡± Before Tracy could finish, a loud voice had appeared behind them as a figure was slowly walking into view.

    Jake smirked and nodded to his companions.

    Steve immediately got up but stopped short when a large rifle muzzle was pointing in his direction. ¡°Jake! What is the meaning of this?¡± Bewildered, the ship''s weapon specialist demanded an answer while he had his hands raised up into the air.

    ¡°Jake!¡± Payton gaped in disbelief as he was frozen to his spot. ¡°What the hell are you doing by bringing a rifle onto the ship?¡±

    The others could not do anything. All they could do was stay in their chairs watching the drama unfolds itself before their eyes.

    Laughing with a hint of bitterness embedded in his tone, Jake Roman said: ¡°It''s over. This whole voyage is over. It''s over, man.¡± With that, he armed the weapon and took aim at Payton¡¯s forehead. ¡°I am sick and tired of playing games with you. I''m here to pick up my prize and my money.¡±

    End Chapter 4