The doors to the bridge whisked open, and Katrina turned as Layla and Michael hurried inside.
“What’s going on?” Michael asked from across the space.
Magnolia relayed another message, answering his question. “I’ve been holed up here for a few hours after we got attacked. One of the vultures snatched Miles, and X went after him. Captain, I found something in the database here—something that you have to hear. It may help humanity.”
“Can you upload it and send it to us?” Katrina asked.
Layla and Michael crowded around the station.
“I’m working on sending this to you via satellite. I was able to hack into the computers here.”
Layla maneuvered up to the radio. “Mags, where are you, and what in the wastes is going on!”
“I’ve found something that explains what happened to the world. I haven’t been able to watch or listen to it all, but…” Magnolia’s voice crackled, masking the words with static.
“Where is my counterpart?” said another voice.
It was Timothy Pepper. His translucent hologram emerged next to the circular table in the center of the room.
“Better question is, where is X?” Michael said. Katrina summoned her captain’s voice, which was firm and just shy of a shout so White would get it even with his bad hearing.
“Everyone, calm down.”
That did the trick for everyone except Magnolia. She continued speaking even faster than before. “I managed to get the satellite dish working here, but I’m not sure the radio I’m taking with me is going to work—assuming I get out of here alive, and assuming the Sea Wolf isn’t too far gone.”
“Slow down, Mags,” Katrina said, lowering her voice. “One thing at a time. Tell me what happened to the Sea Wolf.”
Michael stepped up next to Katrina. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, with strands sticking out in various directions. Purple bags hung under his eyes. Typically, this would be a sign of drug or alcohol abuse, but she knew him better than that.
He was just exhausted.
“The Sea Wolf was damaged yesterday. We were attacked by a really big octopus—” Static again washed over the channel.
Layla looked to Katrina and said, “Did she say what I thought she did?”
Ada’s eyes widened. “What’s an octopus, and how big is a really big one?”
Not knowing how to answer, Katrina just said, “Magnolia, you’re breaking up again.”
“Our radio was destroyed, and we left the Sea Wolf to find parts on this island. But the boat is drifting back into the bay.”
Katrina wasn’t sure how much she had missed, but the last part gave her heart a stutter. “What do you mean, ‘drifting’?”
White noise covered Magnolia’s voice.
“Magnolia, do you copy?” Katrina asked.
A fleeting moment of silence held the bridge, the tension palpable.
“Hold on,” Magnolia suddenly said, her voice as clear as day.
In the backdrop, Katrina heard the same animal grunt she had heard before, and something like an animal digging.
“Shit… shit, shit,” Magnolia said quietly. “They’re almost inside.”
“Sirens?” Layla asked.
Michael’s face turned even paler. “This isn’t fucking happening. We have to do something.”
Katrina could sense his anger, but she didn’t like cursing on her bridge. She shot him a glance.
“The emergency sirens you’re hearing are from the facility, not the creatures,” Ada said.
“Mags, tell us what happened to the Sea Wolf,” Katrina said.
“I’m not sure. X just said it’s been swept back out into the bay. I’m not sure if Timothy is in control of the vessel.”
“That’s not good,” Layla whispered. “Is there a way we can contact Timothy?”
“My duplicate program would not abandon the divers,” the other Timothy said, his voice taking on a firm tone. “I am here to serve and help my human friends; so is my counterpart on the Sea Wolf.”
Michael turned to Dave Connor. “Ensign, can you get a lock on their location?”
“Already working on it, Commander,” Dave replied. He tabbed his navigation system on the screen, tapping his prosthetic leg on the deck as he worked.
“What happened to X?” Michael asked Katrina.
“I still don’t know, but we know he’s alive.”
Michael ran a hand over the back of his neck.
“Okay, done,” Magnolia said. “I’m uploading the data and sending it to you, Deliverance.”
There was another pause, then a shout, gunfire, and an anguished wail.
Ada looked away from the radio equipment, her dark face distraught. “Captain, would you like to take my place?”
Katrina nodded and took Ada’s chair, where she waited impatiently for Magnolia to respond.
“Mags,” Katrina said. “Mags, what is going on there?”
They could hear her breathing over the rise and fall of the siren, but she didn’t respond. The suspense left Katrina and everyone around her even more anxious.
Layla grabbed Michael’s hand. Bronson White balanced himself with a hand on the back of a chair. Ada put her hand over her chest.
Gunfire cracked over the channel and echoed through the bridge, followed by Magnolia’s frantic voice.
“Those things are almost inside. I’m sorry, I have to go and get ready for them.”
“Magnolia,” Katrina said. “Take care of yourself. You have lot of people up here counting on you two.”
“We know, and thanks for reminding us,” Magnolia replied.
Katrina smirked at that. If Mags could joke, she could also fight.
Guttural snorting then gunfire came over the channel. Then static.
Katrina got up and motioned for Ada, who moved over to check the radio. She twisted the knob and then shook her head. “We lost her.”
“Lower the volume,” Katrina said.
Ada did as ordered, and silence fell over the bridge. Timothy’s hologram moved over beside Michael, and everyone including the AI looked to Katrina for orders.
A monitor beeped, and Ensign White, hunched over, walked to his station. “I just received the upload from Magnolia.”
“Download it and let me know when it’s ready,” Katrina said. She glanced over at Connor. “Ensign, were you able to pinpoint their location?”
“Yes, Captain. They seem to be stranded in a bay that is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Bringing it up on the main screen now.”
“Good,” Katrina said. “Update our current map of their journey.”
The hatch to the bridge opened again, this time disgorging Les Mitchells’ tall, gangly frame. He ducked below the overhead, stopping just inside the room. He looked to Layla and Michael, then to Katrina.
“I’ve got the recruits Sergeant Sloan gave us waiting in the launch bay. I thought Commander Everhart and…” His words trailed off as he scanned the assembled faces. “Okay, what did I miss?”
Magnolia suppressed thoughts of her family and friends aboard the airships. They knew she was alive, and she had successfully sent the upload, but if the Sea Wolf really had sailed away, then she would never see them again.
How the hell had the boat ended up back in the bay? The question wracked her brain, but she pushed it aside for now. The best way to stay calm right now was to trust that Timothy wouldn’t abandon them.
For the past hour, she had sat at the desk next to the skeletal corpse, worrying about X and Miles as she scanned hard drives. The hogs from hell were literally at the door, pawing, pounding, trying to bash their way inside. It was nerve-racking, but so far, the hatches, door, and debris pile were still holding them back.