“Go right ahead. I’m sure you have some towels lying around.”
“You think I can walk after what he’s done to me?”
Karina went to the bed and shredded the sheets into thin strips with her knife. After instructing Lobe to keep Fortia back, Karina knelt down next to Album and wrapped the cloth strips tightly around the wound.
With the bandage acting as a tourniquet, the color began to return to eir face. The tension leaving eir body, Album lay on the floor and breathed easier.
“He’ll live for now.” Karina turned to Fortia and said, “But like you said, he’ll only get worse. If you gather the rest of the Rounds, I’ll make sure he gets the proper treatment.”
“How do I know you’ll keep your promise?”
“If you don’t trust me—fine. We’ve got nothing to lose here.”
“All right. Help me over to the terminal.”
Lobe took Fortia to the computer terminal and tapped a few buttons on the panel. Once a channel was established, Fortia sat down in front of the terminal and calmly began to speak. “To the residents of the special district. I have an announcement to make.”
All of the Rounds—in their living rooms, in the garden, and in their beds—waited for Fortia to speak.
It was rare that their leader would make a district-wide announcement outside of the assembly hall. The Rounds instantly recognized that something had happened.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you while you’re all at work, but I’d like you to come to the assembly hall immediately. That means everyone—no exceptions.” Then ey added, “On the orders of the terrorists standing next to me.”
Lobe glared and tried to snatch Fortia away from the terminal.
But Fortia twisted free from his grasp and threw emself against the terminal. “Get out of here, all of you! Tell security the intruders are here in the special district!”
Karina kicked the chair out from under Fortia. The microphone picked up the sound of a thunderous crash and terrible cry.
Across the special district, Rounds who’d already been on the move stiffened and stood dead in their tracks.
Karina’s voice echoed overhead. “Listen carefully. We have taken Fortia and Album hostage. Album’s been shot and is severely injured. One false move out of any of you, and Album dies first. And if you still resist, we’ll kill Fortia too.”
Recovering eir feet, Fortia charged at Karina and staggered back to the terminal. “Don’t listen to them!” ey shouted. “Forget about us and get yourselves to safety!”
Karina hit Fortia with the butt of her gun. Eir knees buckling, Fortia crumpled to the floor. Karina jabbed the Round in the ribs with a kick and turned to Lobe. “Start shooting with the sniper rifle when the Rounds get to the exit. Wait until they’re all crowded around the door. Wolfren should have jammed the lock, so they won’t be able to open the door immediately. That’s when you shoot.”
“Understood. All of the capsules?”
Karina nodded. “Do it.” Then she took one look at the terminal and stared down at Fortia lying helplessly on the floor. “She pulled a fast one on you, Dave. The channel’s been open this entire time.”
“What?”
“She must have hit the switch with her shoulder when she threw herself against the terminal. The entire station must have heard. Along with Kline in the control room.”
Switching off the transmission, she muttered, “You must think you’re very clever, but not so. We’ve planned for every contingency.”
After having heard Fortia’s announcement, Tigris and Calendula gathered their children and rushed outside. Tigris insisted they go help Fortia, to which Calendula replied, “Ey told us to get to safety. Our priority is to follow the leader’s orders.”
“But—”
“I’m not about to let some opposition group from Earth hurt our family.”
A mob was already pushing and shoving each other before the only door in and out of the special district. Unable to open the door from the control panel, some of the Rounds were trying to disengage the lock manually, but the door did not budge.
Tigris turned to Calendula. “I have to go back. The woman said they shot Album. Whoever these people are, they’re armed. I have to help Fortia. You take care of the children.”
“Right now we have to think of the others. It’s the leader’s duty to sacrifice for the sake of the many.”
“How can you be so cold? Because you quarreled with Fortia about the Monaurals?” Tigris demanded. “Are you still bitter?”
“Stop it. That has nothing to do with it.”
“They won’t find me if I go alone. Go ahead without me.”
“Listen to yourself. Are you out of your mind? How do you expect to rescue Fortia when you’re not even armed?” Calendula said.
“I’ll make due with what’s around the house.”
“These are professionals you’re dealing with. What, are you going to fight them swinging a chair and desk?”
Suddenly, there was a tremendous noise as the top of the door was riddled with welts. What looked like shards of glass scattered in every direction at the same time, and something cool rained down over the Rounds’ heads.
The Rounds let out cries and screams. Something ricocheted off a branch of a bush nearby and burst at Tigris’s and Calendula’s feet.
“It’s coming from Fortia’s unit.”
“Bullets?”
“They look like capsules of some kind. There’s something in them.”
Fearing injury, the Rounds fled from the door at once. Being shot at was an entirely new experience for the Rounds. One of the Rounds, panic-stricken at the thought of being hit, began to run, pushing and shoving the others around em. Couples with children tried to get out of the way of the coming stampede. However, Calendula managed to calmly direct everyone from falling over each other, keeping the situation from devolving.
After several moments, the onslaught of capsules died down.
“Are they out of bullets?”
“I don’t know.”
“No one was hit. Were they just trying to scare us off?”
Tigris went to where one of the capsules fell. The ground was wet. The capsules were not metallic but appeared to be large liquid-filled spheroids. Just as Tigris moved closer for a smell, Calendula pulled em back.
“Don’t! It could be toxic. You might be breathing in its vapors.”
“It’s all right. I don’t smell a thing.”
“Whoever they are, they were clearly aiming in our direction. Something’s not right. The tingling sensation on my skin—don’t you feel it? And my throat is sore.”
Calendula contacted the control room via her wearable. “Maybe they’ll be able to open the door from the outside. Quickly.”
Because Fortia had had the presence of mind to switch to an all-station broadcast, Kline and Shirosaki had heard the last exchange.
The transmission from Calendula that followed alerted them to the situation inside the special district.
That was when the security units realized they had been completely duped. They also learned that because a possible toxic substance had been dispersed near the entrance, the Rounds were unable to open the door.
“What the hell happened?” Harding snarled. “SSD won’t like this.”
Once Harding, Arino, and Miles had arrived in the control room, Shirosaki said, “There were eight security staff stationed in front of that entrance, yet the intruders were able to enter the special district undetected. How can that be?”
“We’re looking into it,” Kline replied.
“Can you pull up the station schematic again?” Shirosaki asked Kline.
Kline tapped a button on the controls, and the same three-dimensional schematic of the station Shirosaki had studied at the meeting appeared.
“If they didn’t go through the front door, they can only have used the maintenance shafts,” said Harding. “But we already confirmed that the special district can’t be accessed from the maintenance shafts.”
“This data might have been falsified. Maybe there’s an access point that’s been erased from this schematic,” Shirosaki said.
“You mean someone erased part of the existing shafts and access points from the schematic? We should check a hard copy.”
“Whoever it is was able to overwrite the electronic data. They would have gotten to the paper data too.” Shirosaki asked Kline, “Who on the staff would be able to tamper with the data like this?”
Kline grimaced. “One of the engineers on the maintenance staff.”
“Anyone on that staff that hasn’t reported back since the explosions in the infirmary and lab?”
“We confirmed the locations of all staff a moment ago. We didn’t turn up anyone suspicious.”
“There has to be a leak somewhere. Please check again. Are you still connected with Calendula?”
“Yes,” Kline said.
“Good, keep em on the line. Have em report back everything that’s going on inside the special district.”
“Leave that to me,” volunteered Miles. “Commander, you need to open a line of communication with the terrorists.”
“I’d rather Shirosaki handle it,” Harding said. “I don’t have the patience for negotiating.”
Shirosaki nodded. Going to one of the computer terminals, he opened a channel to the special district.
Shirosaki spoke calmly toward the blackened display.
“This is Commander Shirosaki of the Special Security Division. We have the access door of the special district completely surrounded. Throw down your weapons and we’ll guarantee your lives. Respond.”
A woman’s voice issued forth from the terminal. “The Rounds certainly are a practical race—to abandon their leader so easily.”
“First, tell us who you are.”
“My name is Karina Majella. I’m certain you’ve heard of me.”
Shirosaki couldn’t hide his shock. Harding, Miles, and Arino were all struck dumb with astonishment.
Some of the station staff, sensing the ominous mood, looked at each other despite not recognizing the name.
“Karina Majella.” Miles scowled. “What the hell is she doing here?”
Shirosaki leaned into the microphone. “Why are you here? For what purpose?”
“A little freelance work at the request of a group called the Vessel of Life. I’m not fond of putting on such a display, but this is what my employers wanted. Even this exchange we’re having now is apparently necessary to announce the group’s intentions. And to broadcast what’s happening in real-time back to Mars.”
The monitor in the control room switched on. A woman with a well-proportioned face of mixed Asian heritage blipped onscreen. She appeared to be in her late thirties. She was lightly dressed but armed. She smiled at Shirosaki.
Kline let out a cry that sounded like a shriek. Preda, standing next to her, swallowed hard.
“Calm down,” warned Shirosaki under his breath. “We have no idea what she’s planning. If we play this right, we might be able to end this right here.”
But Kline pushed Shirosaki aside and slammed her hands down on the computer terminal. “What is the meaning of this? Answer me—Von Chaillot!”
Onscreen, an apologetic look came over Karina’s face. “I appreciated our friendship over the years, Kline. Thanks to you, I feel like I know Jupiter-I like the back of my hand. Down to every detail. You taught me so many things. I’m grateful.”
“You fooled me. Was that your plan from the start?”
“Believe me, I didn’t want to do this if I could help it. But I didn’t have a choice. You were a good friend, Kline. I won’t ever forget that.”
Kline’s body trembled, but she could not speak.
“What’s going on?” Shirosaki asked.
“That woman is a friend. Von Chaillot, a biologist researching Europa’s ocean. We’ve been friends for ten years. She’s been traveling back and forth between Europa and Jupiter-I to conduct her biological research. She wasn’t playing the part of a researcher. She was an honest, hardworking scientist. She was going to take me in the research submarine to show me the ocean. She was a kind and intelligent woman. Why?”
“She’s a sleeper,” Harding said coolly. “Ten years is a long time to lie dormant, but a sure way to earn your trust.”
“It’s possible she came to Europa ten years ago as a researcher but was hired to sabotage the station only recently,” Shirosaki interjected.
“How do you know that?”
“Karina isn’t the type to sacrifice ten years of her life to lie low as a sleeper,” explained Shirosaki. “Doesn’t have the patience for it. Besides, she has no prior connection with the Vessel of Life. She said she was freelancing. From the sound of it, she may have taken the job for some reason we don’t know about.”
Ignoring Harding, who was looking none too satisfied, Shirosaki switched on the mic again. “You said you were freelancing—a hired gun. Then why don’t we make a deal? I don’t know what they’re paying you, but maybe you’d like to hear some options in exchange for releasing the Rounds from the special district.”
“Not likely. My orders are to kill every last one of them.”
“Look, you don’t have to answer right away. Let’s you and I work this out.”
“I’m afraid you don’t have much time. I’ve disseminated a certain package in the special district. If you don’t want the rest of the station to be contaminated, I suggest you stop the Rounds from trying to escape.”
“What have you done?”
“That’s for you to find out.”
Had she released a chemical weapon? Some sort of lethal virus?
Shirosaki turned down the audio feed and said to Kline, “We’re going in.”
“But, Commander—”
“Whatever’s been disseminated, we’ll eventually need to send a medical team inside. Or would you prefer to completely seal off the special district and allow the Rounds to die?”
“It’s reckless to open the access door without knowing the kind of biological weapon we’re dealing with,” Preda cut in. “Rescuing the Rounds is critical, yes, but we also have to think of the staff.”
“We can maintain the special district at negative pressure—manipulate the environmental controls so the special district is constantly drawing in air from the outside when we open the door. That way we can prevent the contaminant from spreading. The security teams are already in their environmental suits. As long as the suits don’t tear, they won’t be affected. I need you to lower the atmospheric pressure inside the special district. And do you have any UV irradiation units on the station?”