Star Trek: The Original Series: The Rings of Time

— adorned the walls to remind her constantly of humanity’s crimes against the Earth. A half-finished mural depicted a deserted Manhattan devoid of people and being reclaimed by wilderness. Tera figured the artist had stolen the idea from that old Will Smith movie, not that it really mattered to her. A furnace chugged noisily in the boiler room down the hall. An armed guard was posted at the door. Tera knew better than to try to make a break for it.

Where could she go?

The compound was surrounded on all sides by barbed wire, sentries, motion detectors, and mine fields. Jase and the others had made it very clear to her that there was no way out. She was stuck here, held hostage by people she had once thought were her friends.

They’re never going to let me go, she knew deep down inside. No matter what they make Dad do.

She perched on the edge of the rickety cot that had been her bed for months, picking at yet another plate of homegrown veggies from the compound’s gardens. Worn yellow sweats hung loosely on her; she figured she’d lost at least ten pounds in captivity. She watched nervously as HEL’s self-described visionary leader paced back and forth across the bunker, working himself up into another rant. She flinched in anticipation.

This was never good.

“Daddy dearest better come through soon,” Jase snarled at her. “Or I’m reducing the human population by one stupid college girl.” He helped himself to another beer from a small portable fridge and slammed the door shut. “Not a bad place to start, actually.”

Although he called himself Jase Zero, she knew that his real name was Calvin Nickels. A rumpled army- surplus jacket was draped over his tall, lanky frame. He had a shaved skull, too much nervous energy, and an intense gaze that, tragically, she had failed to spot the madness in until it was too late. A faded T-shirt bore a graphic of Leonardo’s “Vitruvian Man” with a blood-red slash across it. His jeans needed washing. A nine-inch combat knife was tucked into his belt.

Tera kept her mouth shut. It wasn’t safe to talk to him when he got like this.

“Take it easy, baby.” Simone, his girlfriend and bodyguard, stood by the door. A tall blond woman who looked like a biker chick, she was rumored to have done time in prison. Her black leather jacket had Shepard Fairey’s iconic portrait of Khan painted on the back, and a Glock was holstered at her hip. She preferred guns to knives. “Give it time. That ivory-tower space nut’s not going to let anything happen to his darling little girl. He’ll play ball.”

“You sure about that?” Jase said sourly. “What if — hang on! Maybe this is it!”

A plasma-screen television, tuned to a cable news network, was mounted on the wall opposite the mural. Jase froze in place as a computer animation of Saturn appeared on the screen. He snatched the remote and upped the volume.

“… NASA reports that the Lewis & Clark’s historic visit to Saturn, now in its sixth day, continues to be an unqualified success. Scientists and space buffs around the world are marveling at the astounding new data and discoveries that the heroic crew is sending back to Earth on a daily basis. A spokesperson for the joint international effort, Dr. Emilia Sakamoto, has issued a statement declaring that ‘the Saturn mission marks the next generation in space exploration, opening up a new frontier for all of humanity…’”

“Screw that! The universe is better off without us!” Jase hurled the remote at the screen, then whirled around to shout at Tera. “What the hell is keeping that idiot father of yours? He’d better not think he can dick us around much longer.” He drew his knife and waved it in her face. “Doesn’t he care what we can do to you?”

Cringing, she backed up against the wall behind her cot. The only good thing about Jase’s manic episodes was that they regularly reminded her just how crazy he was, making Stockholm syndrome highly unlikely. But she knew that one of these days, he was going to go too far.

Maybe today?

“You think they’re lying?” Simone speculated. “Maybe he already did it, and they’re just covering it up. You know you can’t trust the media. They’re just mouthpieces for the pro-human agenda.” Her face curdled in disgust. “They’ve got a vested interest in keeping their loyal audiences breeding like vermin.”

Because of its reproductive associations, HEL members abstained from sex. It didn’t improve their moods.

“Give me a break!” Jase barked at her, turning away from Tera for a moment. “How do you cover up the destruction of an entire freakin’ spaceship? We didn’t ask him to scratch the paint job. We demanded a disaster, bigger than both shuttle explosions put together, something that will finally drive a stake through their obscene ‘space program’ once and for all and stop us from spreading the blight of humanity to unsuspecting worlds!”

“I know that,” Simone said. “But does Dr. Daddy?”

“He had better!” he railed at Tera, spittle spraying from his lips. “What’s wrong with him? Doesn’t he love you at all?”

“Leave me alone!” she pleaded, even though she knew it wouldn’t do any good. But she had to speak up, just to keep from getting sucked into their insanity. “You’re fanatics, all of you. You’re what’s wrong with humanity, not my father!”

Tera couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been to get mixed up with these lunatics in the first place. She had never really bought into their whole “voluntary extinction” agenda, which had always struck her as extreme, but she’d been impressed by their passion and commitment and had found their ideas exotically different from the pro- space, pro-science rhetoric she’d been hearing from her parents and their colleagues all her life. College was supposed to be all about exploring different philosophies and viewpoints, right? And the folks at HEL had been so friendly and enthusiastic at first, eager to share their beliefs with her. It had been easy to start hanging out with them, staying up all night to debate the pros and cons of human progress and expansion, sharing pizzas and beers.

Plus, to be honest, some of the guys had been kind of cute.

And look where that got me, she thought bitterly. Now Dad’s being forced to do something terrible, and it’s all my fault.

“Shut your mouth, college girl!” Simone fondled the handgun on her hip. “Okay, then,” she asked Jase, “how long do we wait before we start taking Little Miss Hostage apart?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, pacing once more. He gulped down the last of his beer and hurled the can into a corner. “Maybe — wait a second. Do you hear that?”

He ran over and switched off the TV. A peculiar high-pitched hum was coming from the corridor outside, maybe from down by the boiler room. A sparkling golden glow cast its light through the doorway.

“Crap! What’s that?” He nodded urgently at Simone. “Check that out!”

“I’m on it.” She drew her Glock and cocked it. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Gun in hand, she slipped out into the hall.

“Damn, damn, damn.” Jase went into full paranoid mode. Snatching a walkie-talkie off the top of a filing cabinet, he barked into the receiver. “Zero to Security! We may have company! Any bogies on the perimeter?”

The compound occupied a hilltop overlooking the shore. The surrounding terrain had been cleared for miles around. It would be almost impossible to approach the base undetected, never mind all the mines and motion detectors and guards.

“Negative, Zero,” a sentry reported. “All clear.”

“Well, keep looking!” Jase watched the door, holding his knife out in front of him. His face was flushed and sweaty. Wild eyes scanned for intruders. “Simone? Talk to me, Simone!”

A weird zapping noise came from the hall. A body thudded heavily to the floor.

“Simone?”

The guard did not respond.

“I knew it!” Jase growled. “Your father sold us out!” He yanked Tera roughly to her feet and placed his knife against her throat. His other arm circled her waist from behind as he turned her into a human shield. Months of deprivation and abuse had left her too weak to resist. “I’ve got the girl!” he shouted. “Show yourself, or I’ll cut her throat!”

Tera felt the blade against her jugular. It nicked her skin, drawing blood. She whimpered, not certain what was happening. Was someone really trying to rescue her?

“Last chance!” Jase hollered. “I’m not bluffing here. Human life means less than dirt to me. It’s what we’re out to eradicate!”