Night Traveller (Gay Romantic Sci-Fi)

Chapter Thirty Four

"Lieutenant Oliver is where?" Captain Spier was almost shouting. Ryan Callan stared at his console unit in surprise. 

"He's on the Rover with Trenwith and Marte, looking for the bomb," he repeated. "Captain Takamoto sent through the co-ordinates for the two most probable locations and I agreed with him it's worth checking out. The Lieutenant volunteered," he clarified, not sure what was bothering the Captain. 

"I'll just bet he did!" she muttered. 

"Sorry?" 

Suddenly cautious, Spier tempered her words. At the moment all she had was suspicion that Oliver was involved with Chang, no hard evidence.  

"Lieutenant Oliver had strict orders to report to me, in Kapunda. Immediately." 

"I'm sorry Captain Spier, but this is an emergency, it couldn't wait. As Governor, naturally I'll take full responsibility for my decision." 

"I only hope you don't live to regret it." She didn't realise she had spoken aloud until the Governor raised his eyebrows. 

"Is there something I should know, Captain?" 

Spier hesitated for a moment. "I've received information that suggests Lieutenant Oliver might be involved in the extortion demand." 

"What? How?" Callan was astounded. What information could she possibly have? 

"I'm afraid I can't tell you any more, the matter is still under investigation, but it's essential Oliver reports to me as soon as possible. He has some serious questions to answer." 

"I don't believe it," answered Callan. "I don't believe Mike is involved in the extortion threat. I'm sure you're mistaken, somebody is lying to you." 

"I hope you're right," said Spier, in a tone of voice that told him she didn't think so. "Is there anyway you can recall the Rover?" 

Callan ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes for a moment. If he called back the Rover, they'd lose any chance of saving the dome. 

He didn't believe Mike was trying to destroy them, but was it fair to Asra to gamble on his own wishful thinking? 

XXX 

Dane brought the Rover back over the top of the dome, having another run at the first possible site. He still thought the object TeeJay had spotted was meant to be there. 

"All clear. Let's try the next one," he decided. 

The Rover was about two hundred metres from the co-ordinates when the bomb went off. 

There was a flash of blinding light for a split second and then darkness again.  

Dane stopped breathing, thank god they had done that last circle around or they would have been over the top of the blast. He waited for the explosive rush of air he expected to come out of the dome. Nothing happened. 

Automatically, he sent a warning that the device had detonated through to Callan, while still staring at the target area, waiting. Shouldn't he be reversing as fast as he could? If it exploded, the blast of air could still send them spinning into space. 

Three slow seconds ticked by. Nothing else seemed to be happening, maybe the explosion hadn't penetrated. Dane was suddenly aware of Mike at his shoulder. 

"Can you get me there? Now?" 

"Are you crazy? It could blow open at any minute!" 

"It hasn't blown yet, maybe it hasn't worked or maybe there's a crack, a weak spot that we can't see yet. In any case, I want to cover the whole area with TeeJay's plasfoam." 

Mike spoke urgently, trying to persuade Dane it was worth taking the risk. 

"I'm in," said TeeJay. "It's worth a shot. But we need to do it right now." 

Dane swallowed. Biting his lip, he flew the ship towards the target, waiting every second for the dome to explode in front of him. 

Down on Asra, Callan sounded the public emergency alarm. It was the signal for everyone to take immediate cover underground, an action they had prepared for in advance. But this time it was really happening. Suddenly he felt calm, the crisis was upon them. He'd worry about Mike's role later, now they just had to get through this. 

He raced out of the building into the street, quickly checking there was no-one left inside as he went. He joined a small stream of people anxiously hurrying towards The Rising Sun, some looked fearfully up over their heads, others just ran. Who knew how long they'd have before the atmosphere was sucked out into space? 

Callan came to a halt in the garden of The Rising Sun, making sure people got safely onto the disk and didn't overcrowd. Times like this they could have used an old fashioned staircase, he thought. He couldn't help glancing up at the dome every so often, trying to see where the damage had been done. All he could see was the pale blue curve, apparently still in one piece. 

The siren was screaming its warning, surely everyone must have heard and taken cover by now. He looked around for any stragglers as the disk carried the last group of people down to the floor below, then jumped on board himself. He wondered what Dane and Mike were doing at the moment. Much as he wanted to call them and check that they were all okay, he didn't want to interrupt their concentration. He knew Dane would call him as soon as he could. 

He pushed the worry to the back of his mind and instead called his contact in each of the underground refuges, to get an update on the evacuation. Luckily everything appeared to have gone smoothly so far, with the exception of a sprained ankle for someone who had slipped over in their haste. Now they just had to wait. 

He looked around at the scared faces huddled together and caught Serra Yoshida's eye. "I think we could all do with a drink! The first round's on me," he offered with a smile. "Tee, coffee or something stronger. Your choice." There was a rush to the bar. 

XXX 

Mike was geared up and waiting in front of the hatch, waiting for Dane's signal that it was safe to open. He was as prepared as he was going to get. He slowed his breathing, pushing everything out of his mind except the task ahead. The green light flashed on at eye level and he opened the hatch, stepping out as quickly as he could. He struggled for a moment to find his footing, the wind howling round his ears, snatching at his feet, before he got them securely on the dome and began sliding forward in an odd shuffle that was more efficient than it looked. 

It was pitch dark. He had the co-ordinates inside his visor which he knew were far more reliable than his eyes, but nevertheless his heart lightened when Dane switched on the ship's docking lights. They cast a hazy glow over the dome, throwing a long shadow which he realised was his own, but it was amazing how much better the light made him feel. Step by step he moved closer to the target area, trying not to think of a possible explosion. He checked the co-ordinates again, not far now. 

He brushed the ice from his mask one last time and eased the canister out of the carry pocket, gripping it tightly with both hands to protect it from the squall gusting around him. One more step. The information in his visor told him he had reached the point of detonation. Bracing his feet flat on the dome, he unfastened the opening of the canister and bent down, just in time to see a crack ripple across the surface in front of him.