Standing in the open back door, thrown into contrast by the hellishly bright mushroom cloud unfolding on the horizon behind them, the commander addressed the shocked passengers of the transport.
“The next person who speaks joins him.”
The convoy continued down the highway.
“Increase speed! We’ll be pulled back in!”
The B-4 hurtled onward, pressed to the limit. Behind it, the two Spears were caught in the backdraft of the shockwave and ripped effortlessly apart. The debris vaporized instantly in the atomic firestorm.
The mushroom cloud shrank until it was nothing but a pinpoint of hellfire on the horizon.
“We’re clear.”
“That should throw them off our trail for a while. Head west. We’ll try to contact Magdalene as we get closer.”
They sped into the setting sun.
Red Room.
Cervera.
She did not believe what she had just been told.
Harkness, Michigan had been nuked.
How had Jennings done this without Cervera’s knowledge? She knew Jennings was scared, but to order a nuclear strike on his own country? She thought Jennings had only meant to use extreme measures at the Guam site, not on Harkness.
The lines of communication were shaky at best at the present moment. No one knew for sure what had happened, but one thing was painfully clear: Harkness was no more, and many American soldiers had been killed in the blast.
War hero or not, Jennings was way out of line.
Jennings was too paranoid for his own good. The Canadians were in no position to start another war. The Styx had made sure of that. Jennings was jumping at shadows. What had started out as probably a meteor shower had turned into a tragedy because of Jennings and his delusions of grandeur.
Cervera loaded her handgun and placed it in her holster.
Jennings had to be stopped.
The sleek, black B-4 sped through the air on a path into destiny. They had won the race against the setting sun.
“Captain, linkup successful. You can speak to her now.”
“Good. Magdalene?”
static.
“Maggie?”
(…yes, reynald?…) The signal was so very weak.
“We’re on our way.”
silence.
“Magdalene, are you still there?”
(…i feel them coming to me again. more ships, more planes. this time they’ll destroy me…)
“They’ll try, but you can’t let them succeed.”
(…jean, my weapons are at twelve percent…)
“Twelve percent? Did you deplete reserve power?”
(…i delegated weapons power to the communications array. i located an enemy on purpose transit. i sent a beacon into the stream to summon a strike force to intercept…)
“Did our forces prevail?”
hesitation.
(…no.)
“Harvest?”
(…soon.)
“And you only have twelve percent weapons?”
(…i won’t survive another attack…)
“If we travel at maximum speed, can we reach you in time?”
(…the approaching vessels are closer to my present position than you are. you won’t arrive in time to save me.. it’s too late…)
“Don’t say that. We’ll find a way to get there before the natives do. Too much is riding on this. We have to alert the fleet of Kilbourne’s plan. We’ll find a way to save your core, at least, and you can be refitted into—”
(…no, reynald. it’s too late for me. they’re so close.. there’s no time for a shadow core transfer… my pattern’s begun to dissemble. my drives are gone. there’s no escape for me, but it’s not too late for you…)
“Are there other Judas in-system?”
(…a force led by judas simon is in transit. his fleet was destroyed at the point, but he’s coming to rescue us. he’ll arrive in several cycles, well after the natives reach me…)
“So now what do we do?”
(…i jettisoned the shadow drive and it destroyed the enemy vessel that attacked us in orbit. a piece of debris from the enemy entered the atmosphere and crashed on a small island near my present position. the island is emitting shadow radiation, the only source on this planet at this time. simon will detect the shadow radiation…)
“Adjusting instrumentation for phase space detection. I see it.”
(…simon will rendezvous with you when the fleet whendrops. It’s now up to you to alert the others of kilbourne…)
“We can still try to save you!”
(…save yourselves…
“Maggie? What’s wrong?”
(…fading. power reserve depletion…pattern…
Reynald was torn. He had never felt so helpless.
“Kilbourne will pay for this. We’ll never forget your sacrifice, Maggie. Never.”
(…the purpose…
“…will be prevented.”
Simon sensed the beacon, accessed it.
The coordinates of an island…A Shadow signature? But that would mean…
No. He traced the beacon to its source.
((magdalene! maggie, this can’t be true!))
(…it doesn’t matter any more…you have to save my crew…it’s too late for me…
((don’t give up! we’ll increase speed! we’ll rescue you!! just hold on, maggie.))
(no time…
((just hold on! please hold on!))
(…simon i love you
((maggie, don’t leave me. i can’t do this without you.))
(…you can
((I CAN’T LOSE YOU AGAIN!))
(…love
((maggie, i—))
(…
((maggie?))
…
((i love you.))
She fell silent as her Shadow faded. She fell silent, forever.
At 09:45 EST, two American Spear warplanes flew over the Mariana Trench near Guam, dropping two hydrogen torpedoes onto the impact site. The Judas Gethsemane Magdalene was no more.
The Enemy tore out of the Whenstream and fell into the gap between the stars.
