“Hey Gust, you can communicate with Earth now. We’ll leave shortly,” Ken spoke, breaking the silence before we were set to depart.
“Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. These drones change shifts every Saturday at a precise time. According to leaks, today it's at 5:42 a.m. For ten minutes, they’ll be semi-inactive,” Ken explained.
“‘Semi-inactive’?” I echoed, confused.
“They’ll still handle security and guard against infiltration, but they won’t detect any unknown signals or transmissions. As soon as the clock hits 5:42, you're good to go.”
“But how can you trust these leaks to be reliable? What if it’s a trap?” I asked, uneasy.
Ken grinned. “You really don’t know how this cunning world operates, do you? There’s a lot more that’ll leave you breathless in the future.”
I didn’t know what to make of that, but as we had limited time I established the connection.
A robotic voice chimed, “Please state the one-time code. You will then be directed further.”
“Code?” I muttered to myself, confused.
Suddenly, the voice responded. “Access granted. You will soon be directed to the headquarters.”
“What? The code was literally ‘code’?”
Ken laughed. “Haha! Mine was ‘password’ when I got here eight years ago.”
I facepalmed. Unbelievable.
“Gust? Are you there? Can you hear me?” Hastings’ voice crackled through the speaker.
“Yeah, I’m here. The journey was a bit rough, though.”
“Well, tougher missions yield better results. I remember back in the day how you'd fail at the easiest ones but somehow scrape by the hardest challenges at the last minute.”
I smiled despite myself. “Yeah, I’d love to reminisce, but I don’t have time right now.”
“Understood. You’re headed to Mr. Electron’s base, right? Stick with Ken; further details will come later. Oh, and by the way, Death Glider is healing.”
“Good to know. But what about Maki and Colbert?”
“Colbert might meet you in a few weeks. As for Maki, Mr. Electron will fill you in—after you kick his ass. Oh, and make sure to modify your armor with whatever you get there.”
“Is Nicholas around? I need to talk to him.”
“He’s off somewhere on what he said is a personal mission for your organization.”
I blinked. “Oh right, I almost forgot. Next time you see Nicholas, tell him to brief you on ‘Mission F’. We might need your help with that.”
“Got it. Now, you’d better get moving.”
The line cut off, leaving an eerie silence in the air.
“Let’s roll, Ken,” I said, checking my armor and weapons once more.
Ken powered up his truck.
“Don’t get too caught up in the fight and again forget to use your gear's abilities.” I muttered to myself.
“huh?” Ken said.
“Oh! Nothing.”
As we drove, I asked, “Where are your men?”
Ken explained, “We’re heading towards the mountains, and the ride will take about thirty minutes. A large group like ours would look too suspicious traveling together for that long, so my men will rendezvous at a specific point—not too far, but not too close to Mr. Electron’s base. And remember, we still don’t know his exact location.”
YOU ARE READING
My Glide On Death
Science FictionThe year was 2098. I was a spacecraft and jet pilot during an era of relative peace. No robotic apocalypses, no zombie outbreaks, no meteor showers-nothing of the sort. Humanity had even established a presence on Mars. Yet, beneath this calm, a sini...
