Roll ported again. He hoped he was now in line with the trajectory taken by Kowalski. He pulled out the scanner. Nothing.
He ported again along that imaginary vector line but closer to the site of the attack. Something grazed his shoulder. An alarm sounded. The suit was venting air.
Suit satchel, duct tape, that should hold. There was nothing showing up on the scanner. Wait. One o’clock high. A faint ping.
Roll ported. There! A strobing light.
Roll ported to Kowalski. He couldn’t see Kowalski’s face through the solar shielding. It was exceedingly bright in the direct sunlight. He thought Kowalski would be surprised. But he didn’t seem surprised at all.
“Here I thought angels wouldn’t need spacesuits. But there you are, looking all NASA.”
“Yup, here I am. I’m no angel though. Ready to go home?”
“Sure am. I’ve been praying a while for you to come along.”
“I was in the neighborhood. Glad I could stop by. Hold on. You’re going to enjoy the ride. Just saying.”
END TIMELINE DROP. +
***
A DARKSIDE CHAT
September 15th. 09:00 hours. Shockwave headquarters. Main conference room. Information and planning meeting. Topic: Darkside, enemy base, the Moon. Mr. T was in the office early having a one-on-one meeting with the general. I know they were discussing the failed blockade attack. And BugEye. His office was soundproofed, but the window wasn’t opaque. Their expressions were worth the proverbial 1,000 words as I walked by on my way to the main conference room.
There will be more battles to come. And not only with the bugs and the Empire. A battle is already brewing in the large conference room. The mood is tense. Our meetings of late often involve agencies other than Shockwave. It’s good we have a very large conference room. Here come the general and Mr. T. They are working the room, talking with individuals. Next will come the customary 2 minutes of introductions, then the actual meeting.
Here we sit, the youth of Shockwave, with all these important government officials and top military brass. Here we sit in our ... uniforms. Ms. Findley helped with the design and wanted us to look ... tough. Tough, but stylish. And Mr. T had found time, somehow, to get a group of tech guys to work on our uniforms. They’re not at all like regular ACUs (Army Combat Uniforms). I’ll quickly describe my garb as the introductions move along. That should help to keep me awake. Sorry if it does the opposite to you.
We have fitted armor, a carbon nanotube weaving. Stronger than Kevlar. This stuff is able to stop and displace the energy of a high caliber rifle round at least as well as heavy ceramic plating. But it’s not heavy or bulky.
Underneath the armor I’m wearing a full body-sock with leggings that also boast a nanotube weaving which can withstand a good deal of punishment. The sock has the thin but effective ShockCounter padding for knees and elbows. The entire sock is equipped with nano-generators that produce enough power to handle the interwoven heating and cooling system. There’s usually enough spare power to help with the scanner pack resting at the small of my back.
As a fine fashion compliment there is the RealCamo tunic, worn as the outer garb, incorporating, of course, nanotube technology. The tunic can color-adjust to the surrounding environment, providing excellent camouflage. It is wired for multiple gadgets including a throat-mike which can be used for voice masking and amplification.
We have nice military grade earbuds for comms, with sound dampening and auditory enhancement features, small but powerful. Then there are the ballistic helmets. They’re less fun to wear. Those are for field work.
I’ve journaled about the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, our augmented reality goggles that can overlay images and data without impacting viewing of the real world. When opaque, the IV (Ivee) system really does make a good mask.
No doubt, everyone in this room knows exactly who we are.
Still going on with the introductions. Soft music in the background. Oh, thanks Grandad! He included this song just for Para and me. Awe. Oceans. Yeah, with all that’s been going on I need every bit of faith-building I can get. Looks like we’re finally getting ready to start.
***
+ BEGIN TIMELINE DROP.
NOTE: Auto-tracking initiated. Drop conducted by Communal.
Source: A Trollkin Enterprises AI suggestion Drop, from a note left on the suggestion box pad used by one of the Trollkin Enterprises administrative staffers.
The time leading up to a mission was always stressful. It was during such times we would often hear Para and Viz singing a song called Oceans as they strolled through the grounds of the Shockwave compound on one errand or another. They said the song shored up their courage, and their faith. Their signing was beautiful; an encouragement to us all.
END TIMELINE DROP. +
***
That’s quite a change. There’s been a transition in the background music. Is it ... Pink Floyd? I think it is. Quite a mix of music going on here Grandad. Mr. T likes music from the 70s. After hanging around him for all these years, the whole team has an appreciation. I was right. The music is from Pink Floyd’s album titled: Dark Side of the Moon.
A fun inside joke. We’re listening to a Darkside album for Darkside planning. I bet no one else even noticed, other than Shockwave. These government guys are so ... stiff. See there, Para has nodded her head toward the speaker and is smiling. And Grandad just gave us a wink.
There is an official-looking secretary from one government office or another to keep the minutes of the meeting. She pulled paper from a folder marked Top Secret. The secretary is going to take shorthand, I guess. Real pen and paper. When the red light comes on, we must turn off all electronic devices. 30-second countdown. We
