The EDP overlay drew him towards Fowler’s desk. As he sat down in the chair, the surface of the desk automatically came to life, with sets of icons floating above its surface. He followed the overlay’s instructions, reaching out to one icon in particular and once again entering Hanover’s code.
Hearing a click from somewhere next to his knee, Saul pushed the chair back to find one of the desk drawers had slid open. He dipped a hand inside and withdrew a single unmarked keycard.
He stared at it dry-mouthed. It looked so innocuous for something that could change the fate of the human race. That caused a momentary flicker of doubt, and he wondered if perhaps Hanover had tricked him deliberately, and the keycard served some other purpose.
Only one way to find out.
He stood up, letting the overlay guide him to a single unmarked door at the far end. The door was locked but a single slot, at waist height, was just about the right size to accommodate the keycard. Saul inserted it and the door swung open with ease.
Saul retrieved the keycard and let the door swing shut behind him. He found himself standing in a functional- looking space that was almost as large as the office itself. Apart from a couple of terminals facing each other from opposite walls, the room was entirely bare.
This, then, was the secret terminal room that Hanover had told him of.
Security menus appeared as Saul walked further into the room. He waved them to one side, while the overlay directed him towards the terminal set against the right-hand wall. He stepped right up to it, more menus appearing around him. He scanned them quickly, then reached out to touch one in particular. Following its instructions, he then re-entered the access code.
With one trembling hand, he placed the keycard into a slot and waited to see what happened next.
Nothing.
Maybe, he surmised, that was the reason the Copernicus–Florida gate had never been shut down. Maybe the paired servers had stayed in contact with each other until it was much too late, and the force devastating the Earth had done the same to Copernicus.
If that was the case, maybe he was going to need someone else’s help after all. He slammed a fist against the wall next to the terminal in fury, nearly weeping with frustration.
At that moment, he heard the sound of movement through the door leading back into Fowler’s office.
Saul gripped the Cobra close to his chest, remembering the speed with which Mitchell had moved inside the lander.
He stepped cautiously back out into the main office, swinging the barrel of his weapon from side to side.
Nothing to be seen.
He licked his lips and moved on past the desk, and towards the ruined door.
From of the corner of his eye, he saw part of the image in the wall-display move, the beach-front houses rippling. The scene looked like it might be somewhere in the Florida Keys.
Too late, he realized it was a trooper with his chameleon circuitry activated. Saul caught a brief flash of an angry face before something slammed into his skull with terrible force, plunging him into darkness.
Saul woke to the smell of smoke and an intensely bright light shining into one eye.
‘He checks out,’ said a voice from somewhere close by. ‘Minor concussion, but that’s it.’
‘Fine,’ said a second voice, as the light receded.
Someone kicked Saul in the shin. ‘Get the hell up,’ ordered the second voice.
With a groan, Saul heaved himself upright. He looked around to see he was back on the concourse that served the Copernicus– Florida gate. Six troopers – four men and two women – stood in a semicircle gazing down at him, where he had been propped against the wheel of an APC. Their faces streaked with grime, their eyes uniformly bloodshot, they looked more like the walking wounded than anything else.
‘Where the hell did you come from?’ asked Saul, rubbing at the back of his neck. He noticed that the owner of the second voice was a man in his late thirties, his sandy hair cropped short above frightened eyes. The UP ident floating next to his head identified him as a Colonel Bailey.
Bailey responded by dragging Saul to his feet, then slamming him hard up against the APC. ‘How about you tell me what you were doing here in a restricted area?’
Saul glanced to one side, at the open back of the APC, and saw that it was loaded with several crates. The top of one had been ripped open, revealing a load of flat, grey bricks that stirred up a mote of recognition. He knew that he should know what they were, but somehow he couldn’t seem to recall.
‘For Christ’s sake,’ replied Saul. ‘You can see my UP, can’t you? I have clearance.’
‘Yeah – and, according to the last update we got before everything went quiet back home, you’re currently wanted for attempted murder, sabotage and terrorism.’
‘Listen to me, will you? There’s a man here planning to kill us all. We’ve got to stop him.’
‘Answer my question, Mr Dumont.’
‘I’m trying to prevent whatever’s happening back home from happening to the colonies as well.’
‘Well, shit,’ said one of the women, ‘that’s exactly what
‘Shut up, Peggy,’ snapped Bailey, before returning his attention to Saul. ‘Prevent it how?’
