Chapter 11: Chapter Seven: Security Breach

Chapter Seven

Security Breach

 

THE ASTROPHEL CHILDREN’S excitement for rotating through the biodome had grown considerably during their second night on Fossil Crater until Scotty learned that the astrobiologists would be supervising the researchers. However, it didn’t necessarily guarantee that he’d run into trouble anywhere in the biodome, after all it was a very large facility. Then his Helix buzzed out of hibernation with an important message that made them all a little nervous. It appeared as though Scotty would be assisting Exozoologist Slade and Aldrich Thompson after lunch in the Geneware server room during the designing phase of a build for the Arcturus honey bees.

             “I can’t believe it,” Scotty said. “He wasn’t kidding around, we’re not gonna last a week. Aldrich is gonna run us out of here.”

            He was hoping to have the opportunity of learning more about Mr. Astrophel’s Geneware during his summer holiday.

            “He can’t get us kicked out, Scott,” Jasmine said with a lack of conviction. “He’s probably not any good at creating builds, and I bet you shame him in front of the doctors.”

            Aldrich had in fact created quite a few embarrassing memories. He was reminded weekly of the day he caused the Alpha Centauri moths to shed their wings after broadcasting a build with data corruption. Then there was the time he destroyed a bumper crop of Epsilon Indi wine grapes by deleting an anti-fungus build from the servers, and of course, none of it was his fault. However, he wasn’t alone, there were others in that band of haphazard researchers. Victoria Spinster created a build that made the Ross 154 rabbits morph from a grey color to a yellow color, and every year she is caught taking more than her fair share of Epsilon Eridani strawberries from the botanical conservatory. One day during the summer previous, Julian Rowe was supposed to create a build to help the Wolf 359 spiders produce sticky silk, as they are only evolved enough to build simple webs, but he instead permanently closed their spinnerets, and they continue to live on the dirt floor of their nocturnal terrarium.

            Then again, the Geneware was a new and coveted addition to the Cybernetics program, and not just anyone was allowed into its ranks. Scotty truly understood why too, because in the wrong hands that technology could be used to do bad things. As long as Galactic Research maintained control of its secrets, the doctors could continue developing its bells and whistles.  

            Jasmine was wary of the extraterrestrial technology, as she’d seen a few of the final products from Scotty’s builds, and her crutches were proof of the program’s infancy. She too understood how important it was to keep the program top secret and under the control of people who knew how to use its power.

During lunch she went on a rant emphasizing the biodome’s importance. She’d played with a Ross 128 flying mouse and was awestruck after discovering it could glide across its enclosure, thanks to a patagium. Joseph was in the middle of telling the hilarious story of using a laser pointer to attract attention to Electra’s butt, and how he’d secretly placed Alpha Centauri harry dragon poop on the floor for her to step in, when Diego’s Helix buzzed into existence.

            Scotty’s Helix had buzzed out of hibernation only twice since Doctor Stryker’s message, and he was glad too because thanks to Diego, he’d learned the night previous that he possessed a level-one Helix; bare-bones and simple. Of course, Aldrich had taken notice of his Helix during his four-hour rotation in the botanical conservatory. Aldrich’s Helix had been upgraded to level seven the year previous, and he intentionally kept it live when not in bed or hiding from work.

            A small holograph spawned into existence before Diego and his level-three Helix. He took it in his hands and showed everyone a unique compass, and its needle was pointing to his right shoulder.

             “It’s a peril finder. A prototype that Artemis created, and Roma is helping develop the builds. He says I might be allowed to help after I breeze through the Cybernetics program this summer and I become a better programmer. But actually, I think I can start now.”

            Diego was about to begin bragging on his latest evaluation when Aldrich, who’d approached the table and stood behind him to eavesdrop, sliced his hand into the Helix. The peril finder disappeared, but not before its needle pointed straight at him. His face was contorted into an expression of anger, and he was sporting a new buzz cut.

            “Hey!” Diego shouted.

            Jasmine and Madison shushed him by placing their hands before their mouths, but Scotty and Jerold both waved Aldrich off with a harsh warning.

“Watch where you put your hands,” Scotty said.

“Or we’ll be fighting,” Jerold said.

            Laughing, Aldrich moved his hand away from Diego’s Helix; the peril finder returned with its needle pointing in the direction of the biodome.

            “Shut up, Geraldine, or I’ll demote you all the way down to where Snotty, Egghead and Freckles are,” he said, and then moved his gaze to Scotty. “And I’ll see you after lunch, researcher.”

            At the Command Table, Doctor Stryker and Doctor Amherst were both standing and watching intently.  

*

Scotty rode a shuttlecraft to the laboratory and managed to find his way to the Geneware server room where Doctor Stratton and Artemis were both staging a build. It was a chilly fifty-five degrees, and his uniform seemed to morph into a blue color as he walked across the concrete floor toward a workstation that was lined with towers and monitors, all of it within an eerie electronic glow.

            Aldrich stood beside Stratton, sneering and providing useless tips. Artemis was more than happy to let Scotty know that all builds broadcasted on Fossil Crater found their host and installed correctly, so the lines of code would have to be written without a blemish.

            Suddenly, both doors swung open and Exozoologist Slade stumbled in with two large cages perched atop a handcart. She wheeled them to the center of the room and placed both cages on a worktable. The Arcturus honey bee queens were inside birdcages, but they were the size of small birds, and they both appeared a bit angry.

            Slade lowered her gaze on Scotty, studying him for nearly an entire minute. “Meet Emerald and Jade. The queens of the Arcturus honey bees.”

            “Nice to meet you, and don’t worry, because you’re in good hands and-”

            “We only have a couple of hours, Astrophel, so sit and get to work. There’s a cheat sheet by the keyboard.”

            Scotty peered into the monitor. The developers’ terminal was something he’d never seen before. The shell contained a command-line interface and an eye-catching graphical user interface.

            “You can see the changes you make as you write the lines of code. I’ll be here if you have any questions, now sit.”

            He did.

            Scotty scanned over the builds and got a good idea of what the director of extraterrestrial care was wanting to do for the Arcturus honey bees. Even though the insects were relatively large, they lacked a stinger, so they had no way of defending themselves. He understood that planet Earth was an alien world and crawling with things that could harm the bees; and what would be the point in bringing extraterrestrial life here to only have it beat up and bullied.  

            Stratton got to his feet and ordered Aldrich to pick up where he left off and reminded him to use all the tools available. Scotty had to fight back laughter when Slade warned him against being lazy and creating dirty builds.  

            “We have to create a defense mechanism for the Arcturus honey bees,” Slade said. “We have to consider that the day will come when they’ll escape again or we’ll be forced to release them into the wild, and in the wild, everything stings or bites.”

            Stratton walked to the queen bees and peered at the name signs. “Thompson, you have Emerald, and Astrophel, you have Jade.”

            Aldrich went straight to work shoring up a chemical defense build so the bees would be able to stink their way out of trouble. Ten minutes into it he broadcasted a simple scent-gland build to Emerald, and she immediately released a foul odor into the air.  

            Slade crossed the server room, but before she could get to the cages, she walked into the powerful stench of rotting garbage. “Oh, no…don’t even…think about it,” she said, and returned to the workstation, her entire face pulled back in disgust. “Just think how bad the biodome will smell every time forty thousand stink bugs get spooked.”

            Aldrich cringed at her anger, but he was mostly embarrassed for being called out in front of a researcher; one who just happened to be a rival too.

            Slade peered over his shoulder; her eyes narrowed down to tiny slits. “No bad smells, and mimicry will never work. So, either camouflage or mechanical defense. Delete everything you just did.”

            She turned to Scotty.

            “I want you both to show us what you’re really made of. We didn’t place you in this program for R and R, and the two of you have a lot on the line, so I advise you to create a build worthy of our praises.”

            Aldrich, his cheeks a rosy color, placed his fingers on the keyboard and went to typing.

            Scotty sat for a minute and thought things over.

            “I have a great idea,” he mumbled.

            Without looking, Aldrich said, “Well, bravo.”

            “Yes, less talking and more thinking,” Slade said. “The both of you.”

            Stratton’s Helix buzzed out of hibernation with an urgent message flashing in its screen. He mumbled something under his breath and walked to the door with Slade on his heels.

            “We’ll be back in a minute,” she said. “Don’t broadcast anything else until we get back, or it’ll be your liberty.”

            Before the door could close Aldrich revealed what he and his henchmen were planning. “So, you have a great idea, Snotty?”

            Scotty said nothing.

            “Well, I have a great idea too. As we speak, Lucas and Julian are taking the carpet lizard to the insectarium. Those useless bees were moved there yesterday, and today they’re gonna have their honeycomb torn to pieces, and most of them will get ate up.”

            “You better tell them to stop,” Scotty said, and went to work on a hasty defense build.

            Aldrich smiled, a dark sinister smile. “When the dust settles, they’re gonna say that Egghead and Freckles did the deed, and I’m gonna tell Stratton and Slade that you were sitting there bragging about it. You’re gonna pay big time for crossing me.”

            “Tell them to stop!” Scotty shouted.

Aldrich opened his Helix and scrolled down to a security camera suite, a feature he wasn’t supposed to have, and located the reptile cage camera. The Alpha Centauri harry dragon was not in its enclosure, and the side door was wide open.  

“Looks like it’s too late, Snotty.”

            He spun around in the computer chair and peered at the live video footage. It did prove the giant lizard was out and about, but it did not prove that Aldrich spoke the truth. Scotty decided to not take any chances and that the time to make another attempt at doing more than changing the way something appears to the eyes was upon him. It would be a lot easier than working from Mrs. Astrophel’s computer repair shop too. The framework was in front of him and the address was there too. All he had to do was write a few tiny paragraphs and then broadcast them to the bees, and the lizard would be sent scurrying back to its enclosure.

            “And don’t even think about packaging anything up. You’ll be sent home for that one. Slade lied about taking liberty.”

            “I doubt it.”

            So, he thought about what to do. The Corroboree ninth-grade science teacher had explained to the class how bees generate an electric charge just by flying around and fluttering their wings, and the charge was as powerful as a static electricity shock. Enough to scare a bee away but what about a large predator; a large hairy lizard? Probably best to supercharge the jolt to about four millijoules, thought Scotty. After about three zaps, even a bear will run away, but a beekeeper’s protective suit will be enough to keep honey farmers from getting shocked.

            “You actually think those two are gonna lay it all on the line for you,” Scotty said without looking away from the developers’ terminal.

            Aldrich sneered at that, but he understood that Julian and Lucas were not his loyal high school cohorts.

            “There’s nothing you can do to stop them, Snotty,” he growled. “So, you might as well just run away and hide.”

            Scotty continued piecing together the build; one line of code at a time. He was waiting for Aldrich to intervene by shutting off the power to his computer or by simply shoving him away from the workstation. After only twenty minutes he’d created an electric insect build by modifying the antennas so the bees could zap a predator and send it scurrying away. He was particularly proud of his work too, and it would be a grand departure from modifying the color of a mammal’s fur.

            “Is Galileo at the insectarium yet?” Scotty slowly pressed the enter key, broadcasting the build to the bees; a queen and twenty thousand workers.

            Aldrich scrolled through the security camera images and found the apiary; it was getting a much-needed expansion. Then he peered at the footage and tried to comprehend what he was seeing. There, under the honeycomb were Julian, Lucas, and the Alpha Centauri harry dragon, and all three seemed to be in a lot of pain, but they appeared terrified. Less than a minute of whatever was going on, all three were running across the apiary to escape the insectarium.

            “Hey! What did you do?”

            “You’re lucky I don’t have my equipment here with me. I’d send that peppermint tooth build to you. Don’t ever mess with me or my family again. I’ll make you regret it.”

            Several moments of tense silence passed as he tried to comprehend all that had happened. Had a researcher just outsmarted an astrobiologist, and one who was a senior in high school?

            “Okay, who did that?” Stratton asked, as Jade buzzed around her cage and zapped the metal rods; genuinely eager to escape.

            Scotty’s heart jumped up into his throat. Slade and Stratton were walking across the server room to where they were standing. Scotty wanted to start crying.

            “What have you done to the bees?”

            Slade’s jaw dropped like a trapdoor as she read the content of the build, and her hands trembled a bit when she adjusted her glasses. “Oh, my. Really…you wrote this?”

            “I tried to stop him, Doctor Stratton.”

            “Silence,” Slade said.

            “But guys –”

            “You stay here and don’t touch anything. Researcher Astrophel, its time we take a walk.”

*

Scotty looked back over his shoulder and spied Aldrich’s expression of satisfaction as he walked to the door, following Slade and Stratton as they escorted him to the Exoplanet Command Post. What had he gotten himself into? He was only trying to protect a colony of defenseless extraterrestrial honey bees. Slade and Stratton were whispering to each other as they made their way down the narrow halls, never once looking his way. What would Joseph and Jasmine say when they learned he’d gotten them all kicked out of Galactic Research. How would he be able to explain to his foster parents what had happened?

            Past the exoculture room, past the quarantine room, and one elevator ride later Scotty was inside an area of the laboratory that was off limits to all researchers. Aldrich probably had never been inside this top-secret location, thought Scotty. His mood only worsened though. Where could they be taking him? What was about to happen? He considered Sparta, how he’d convinced Mr. and Mrs. Robinson to allow Galactic Research to have its turn during the cultivating process. To travel to Fossil Crater and learn things that are complex and hard to understand. Just when everything was going so well, a bully had to go and mess it all up. He pictured his career as a cyborg circling the metaphorical drain.

            Stratton opened the door to an office and pointed Slade and Scotty inside. It was an awe-inspiring office too. On the south wall was a massive digital galactic chart that showed the location of all the Centaurus Boomerang spacecraft that were conducting planetary exploration missions. Along the east wall were five art stands displaying glass sculptures of the most important exoplanets. Alien artifacts and ceramic sculptures of extraterrestrial life were scattered along bookshelves on the north wall. In every corner there was an extraterrestrial plant: An Altair palm tree, a Wolf 359 blue fern, a Ross 154 heart leaf, and a Tau Ceti fir tree. Near the west wall was an Atomic Age boomerang desk boasting multiple screens and star system holograms, and sitting in the Gemini leather armchair was Doctor Stryker.   

            “Chris, he took less than thirty minutes,” Stratton said.  

            “A little over twenty minutes, and we made sure he was being distracted.”

            Stryker’s face twisted into a big, job-well-done smile. “My lands, less than thirty minutes, that is incredible!”

            “Yea,” Stratton said. “My mind is made up. We’re going to make him an architect. We need more of his genius here. He’s got some serious talent.”

            Stryker bounced to his feet, and to Stratton, he said, “Ha, indeed he does.” Then he turned to Scotty. “Was that your first hasty build, Researcher Astrophel?”

            “Yes, sir,” Scotty said. He still wasn’t quite sure about how much trouble he was in, but he understood he wasn’t being kicked out of the Exoplanet program or the Cybernetics program, probably would be sleeping at the residencia after lights out.

            “He wrote a sophisticated build for the Arcturus honey bees and now they can zap predators,” Slade said. “Thompson was trying to create some stinkbug nonsense.”

            Stryker’s smile widened; it appeared as if he’d hit the jackpot.

            “And the rest of em,” Stratton said. “It would have taken a week to write the build, and then it probably wouldn’t have installed correctly.” 

            Stryker moved his gaze to Scotty. “What do you think about having Geneware architect as a title? Your brother and sister will definitely be happy for you, and you can continue with section rotations, and you know, work at the mission control building and the observatory. The architect duty will be as needed. Roger and Sam will make the arrangements.”

            “I’ll notify all the section chiefs and let them know that Researcher Astrophel has been promoted to architect. Everything is moving so fast, and it’s getting harder to keep up. The Exoplanet program is on the cusp of a major expansion, and we must fully develop the Cybernetics program or face dire consequences.”

            Stryker reached out his arm and held his hand before Scotty. He walked around the desk and shook it politely enough.

            “I expect nothing but excellence from you, Astrophel!” Stryker said, and saluted Scotty. Everyone returned the salute. “Ha, and you thought your summer holiday was going to be boring.”  

 

*

Scotty met up with Joseph and Jasmine at the Stargazer Dining Facility that evening for dinner. The dining hall had a special place in the hearts of the researchers, as its architecture was a feast for the eyes. It was a futuristic disc-shaped building clad in white stucco and upcycled by four parabolic arches that looked like something out of a science fiction movie. The interior was mesmerizing with Atomic Age décor, bright colored carpets, purple and green lighting, and large rocket ship lava lamps.

They were sitting at a table with Diego, Jerold, and Madison and listening intently as he told the story of the Arcturus honey bees and the Exoplanet Command Post.

            Diego didn’t like the idea of mixing electricity with bees. “You sent a Geneware build to those bees? And now they can shock us?”

            “It’s not enough to hurt you.”  

            Jasmine and Madison were both so awestruck, they really didn’t know what to say.

            “You must be really good at programming,” Jerold said. “I’m not sure if a researcher has ever been moved to Geneware as an architect.”

            “There haven’t been any,” Diego said, and took a bite of Ross 154 starfish mushroom. He was trying to place the honey bees out of his mind and focus on Scotty and his promotion. “So, are you finished doing rotations?”

            Jasmine peered around a rocket shaped lava lamp and wrapped her arms across her shoulders. “Is our time here going to get problematical? I don’t like that…I can barely say it.”

            “No. I’ll still be rotating sections. I’ll work in the Geneware server room whenever Doctor Stryker needs me to.”

            Joseph pushed his stuffed Procyon pepper away and placed a wedge of apple pie on his plate. “Scott, I’m happy for you, but someone needs to help me get my hands on a box of granola bars.”

            Scotty hit him with a dirty look.

            “Well, if we can get the Cybernetics program fully developed,” Diego said. “The Exoplanet program will be unstoppable. I mean, there will be no limits to where we can send the spacecraft.”

            “Star systems fifty light years away,” Madison said. “So many planets out there. There are only so many star systems within ten light years of planet Earth.”

            “I’m thinking the Andromeda Galaxy,” Jerold said. “Seven hundred eighty kiloparsecs from planet Earth, um, two and a half million light years away, so it will take, um, it will take…”

            “Over eighty thousand years with the current Boomerang propulsion system,” Madison said, but quickly raised her tone. “Way too long, but Galactic Research is working twenty-four seven to develop faster and better propulsion systems.”

            “Well, I need to get back to the fishbowl,” Jerold said. “John Choi believes the missing Centaurus will be returning from Sirius today. It’s probably the one that’s been in the YZ Ceti star system though. Enjoy your evening off.”

            Before Scotty could return his attention to his supper, his Helix buzzed out of hibernation. It was a hologram message sent by Aldrich, so he quickly set the volume to max and was immediately struck with a captivated silence.

            “Snotty, you may have saved the day by rescuing those stupid honey bees, but you won’t be able to do it again, and I’ll make sure of it. In Building Zero are five mangy Tau Ceti pygmy cats. I’m gonna take them to the petting zoo so they can play with the flying mice, if you know what I mean. Good luck trying to stop me.”

            With that, the message ended, and Scotty leaned back in the chair.

            “So, what is Building Zero, and is there alien life being kept there?” 

            “Okay, Building Zero is actually the Astraeus Laboratory, a highly classified facility…above top secret,” Diego spoke in hushed tones. “It’s not listed on anything, it has no address, and no phone numbers. It doesn’t exist. And I’ve heard some weird stories about what goes on inside.”

            Joseph was overwhelmed with curiosity. “Like what?” 

            “The most terrifying one is that GalReach is hiding extra-t life there because they possess telekinetic abilities.”  

            The Astrophel children tensed at that, so Madison said, “that’s just a childish rumor. The exoplanet rovers are programmed to not take anything poisonous or venomous to the spacecraft.”

            Joseph could only shake his head at her take on telekinesis.

            “Well, I’m gonna have to see the cats for myself,” Scotty said. “If they’re in danger, then I’ll report it, and if I catch Aldrich attempting to remove them, I’ll call security.”

“It’s a huge waste of time,” Madison said.

            “No, it’s not,” Diego said.

            “Okay, learn the hard way then,” Madison said, and removed The Ruins of Europa from her backpack to finish chapter seven.

            “Sure, Maddy, whatever you say.”

You are reading story J.C. Warren: Scotty Astrophel and the Star Nexus at novel35.com

            “And we’re going too,” Joseph said, looking at Jasmine.

            “So, where is this Building Zero?” Scotty asked.

            Diego chugged his sweet tea and extended his arm to the doors of the dining facility. “It’s on the east side of the crater. We’ll have to walk in, the whole way too. And since I don’t have a top-secret clearance, I’ll have to commandeer a proper keycard.”

            “Whose are you gonna use?”

            “Well, I know Reuven has a locker inside the Exoplanet Laboratory, and I know he keeps a spare keycard in that locker, so since I’m in the exoculture room today, I guess I’ll sneak down to the quarantine room and use my lock picking skills, and then we’ll –”

            Niles Winter approached the table with a puffy Tau Ceti dragonfly sticker pinched between his index finger and thumb as though he was holding something dangerous.

            “Do you see this! These critter stickers are all over the mirror in the boys’ restroom. And there are a bunch in the restroom at the observatory. Who’s doing this?”

            “I have an idea,” Diego said, and he wrinkled his nose at the puffy sticker. “Probably one of the spaceport bots.”

            “Well, we need to get to the bottom of it. It’s starting to get embarrassing.”

            “I know,” Diego said. “I have to look at them too.”

            Niles dropped the puffy sticker in the trashcan as everyone suddenly surged through the doors of the dining facility to crowd up at the Eclipse bus stop shelter and wait for the shuttlecraft.

*

What a day.

            Scotty saved the Arcturus honey bees, visited Doctor Stryker in the Exoplanet Command Post, and was added to the Geneware development team as a build architect, and it wasn’t over with yet. He was sitting in the residencia’s lounge listening to Joseph and Jasmine go on and on about the biodome while Diego explained how to sneak into the Astraeus Laboratory. “If a quadcopter stops us, I’ll let it scan Reuven’s keycard, then it’ll think that I have access to everything. It’ll just fly away and bug someone else.”

If they were to get caught committing a security breach, the punishment could be severe, but then again there was the message on Scotty’s Helix, and he was only trying to help a litter of extraterrestrial cats. After seeing Julian and Lucas in the apiary today, he was quite sure Aldrich would try framing him again.  

            “It’s getting late,” Diego said. “By the time we get there it’ll be dark.”

            They were wearing their black galactic working uniforms with black leather surface excursion boots; their keycards were attached to lanyards. Scotty and Diego led the way with Joseph and Jasmine on their heels as they walked down the long hall, bounced down the stairs, and shuffled into the empty foyer. A mist of electronic light from several digital posters illuminated the room with artists’ conceptions of what it will be like to live on an alien planet. Scotty pushed the glass doors open to let everyone walk out, and he immediately discovered someone was waiting for them.

            A Helix buzzed and crackled as Madison Reynolds energized it to maximum power. She was standing at the wrought iron bench and glaring at Scotty.

            “Madison,” Diego said. “It’s almost lights out.”

            “You can’t take Jasmine with you. She needs to be practicing coding and reading about extraterrestrial animals. She’s in the Exoplanet and Cybernetics program, all of us are.”

            Scotty shook his head in disbelief.

            “We can’t be caught out too late,” Scotty said to everyone, but to Madison he said, “You’re invited to come along, but you can’t blow our cover.” He walked past the Aero bus stop shelter, minded the shuttlecraft as its metal skin shimmered with counterillumination, and motioned for Diego to walk at his side.

            Madison skipped past Joseph and Jasmine to Scotty to continue pleading her case.

            “Do you understand how much trouble you will get into?” They’ll boot you out of the Cybernetics program, and I want the Beyond phase to be fully developed this summer. I thought you were here to help solve all of the mysteries of the universe.”

            “I am.”

            “Well, I’m an astrobiologist, and I’m ordering all of you to return to the residencia, as this mission is pointless.”

            “Don’t listen to her,” Diego said. “She’s not in charge of anything.”

            “Fine, go ahead and get caught trying to sneak into a top-secret facility, and when you’re out processing tomorrow, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.”

            There was a disturbance near the observatory.

            At first it was only a faint whooshing sound that seemed far away and insignificant, but in a matter of seconds, the high-pitched whistling grew louder. Everyone peered to the north as the noise slowly morphed into a loud crackling explosion; and several bright flashes marked its location. A large security drone was several hundred feet away and one thousand feet above the ground, firing a kinetic weapon into the night and creating a brilliant light show.

            “Now, see there,” Madison said. “The security drones are out in force tonight.”

            Scotty kept his eyes fixed on the cascading fire flowers for several moments. “Cool! What are they firing at?”

            “The spaceport is protected by a defense shield,” Diego said. “The quadcopters test it about once a week.”

            “Well, I’m definitely not walking back alone. So, for the last time, all of you turn and begin walking back to the residencia.”

            Everyone continued the journey to the laboratory.

            “You’re not in charge of us,” Diego said.

            “Well then, I’ll go with you, but remember if a drone orders me to arrest all of you, I will.”

            “She can’t arrest us.”

            More weapon firing, and the light show continued; far away but spectacular just the same. Then unexpectedly, the electricity was cut off, and Fossil Crater was blanketed in gloom. Within a minute it was restored, and all the systems were attempting to get back online.

            Diego could see the top of the laboratory off in the distance. They were close now, but a squadron of security drones were circling overhead like hungry vultures. For a moment, he turned his frustrations on Madison.

            “You’re slowing us down. I wish the Arcturus bees would swarm you and shock you to sleep.”           

            Madison grimaced at his choice of words. “Scotty has already said that they can’t really harm you, so it would be an incredible waste of time.”

            “Not for me.”

            Scotty gestured for them to hurry up. Everyone picked up the pace and rushed onto a street tangled with moonlight and shadows from the ancient crater rim. With Diego leading the way, they scurried to a ten-foot-tall fence and crept through a large turnstile gate one at a time.

            As the squadron of security drones flew in a pattern over the laboratory, they crept to the back of the massive building where there was a small door; the windows were yellow squares, and the grounds seemed alive with strange electronic sounds. Security cameras, motion detectors, and crawler drones were everywhere, and Scotty was forced to reconsider his decision to rescue a litter of extraterrestrial cats.

            “Don’t worry about the tight security,” Diego said. “You’re rolling with me tonight, so everything will go as planned. Seriously I-”

            “It’s getting really cold now,” Jasmine said.

            “We’ll be inside in a second, I hope,” Joseph said.

            Diego giggled, and a sly grin spread across his face. He swiped Reuven’s keycard and pulled the door, and to everyone’s surprise, it opened.  

Scotty was the first to enter, and everyone followed him through a foyer. They huddled together and crept down hexangular accessways illuminated by blue laser lights in the high ceilings, listening for any noises that a terrestrial cat would make – meows, purrs, or hisses – and walked to a massive concourse. There, several Alpha Centauri moth wings floated through the cool air, and Jasmine had to bat one away.

            Scotty gestured for everyone to stop. “I hear something up ahead.”

            “The security system is off-line, so we will have to keep watch until everything is up and running.”

            It was Electra bossing communications android Nyx around. Scotty gestured for everyone to turn and follow him to safety; everyone did. They speed walked to a poorly illuminated accessway where Scotty hoped to find an unlocked office door. Jasmine crutched as fast as she could but turned the corner only a second before Electra and Nyx entered the concourse.

            “I hear footsteps,” Electra said, and then raised her tone. “I’ll make it rain in here, I’ll make you catch a cold.”

            “What’s at the end of this hall?” Scotty asked Diego, but he only shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s go find out.” They raced to a set of glass doors. Electra was tracking them with Nyx at her side, and they weren’t attempting to be stealthy. Suddenly, bars of electronic light pierced the gloom. None of them bothered to turn and look to see who it might be, they just ran.

            Luckily the airlock doors whirred open as they approached, and the five of them ran onto a mezzanine atop a massive bay jam-packed with equipment and hyper sleep pods. Scotty sprang to his right and sprinted to a set of metal doors. With everyone following close he shoved them both open, revealing three flights of concrete stairs, and they ran down those onto another mezzanine atop a subterranean storage bay.

            “We might be safe now,” Scotty wheezed, and unbuttoned his blouse. Joseph and Jasmine were both short of breath, and Diego and Madison were huffing and exchanging expressions of concern. “We have to start looking for the cats.”

            “Now see what you’ve done,” Madison said, taking in big gulps of cold air. “You’re in so much trouble now.”

            “There’s an exit close to us,” Diego said. “We have to get back to the ground level.”

            “No, just a few more minutes,” Scotty said. “If any cats are in this building, we’ll find them.”

            “Researcher Astrophel, there is no such thing as a Tau Ceti pygmy cat!” Madison shouted. “And Diego should have known this. You understand now? This is what happens when you don’t listen. Aldrich made it all up, and the only thing you’re going to get from this rescue operation is a discharge package.”

            Scotty recalled the day Aldrich said he would run him out before the end of week one, and he was in the process of doing exactly that, but Scotty couldn’t allow his brother and sister to get the boot with him.

            “Diego, help me find an exit.”

            They turned to walk through a metal door and ascend the concrete stairs, but before they could take two steps the doors swung open and an android scrambled to where they were standing.

            It was Nyx. Her face was scrunched into an expression of excitement, and she was extending her arms in a stopping gesture.

            “I’m authorized to be in here, Nyx, so leave us alone,” Diego said.  

            A strange sound emanated from the android.

            “I have been reprogrammed to arrest trespassers. Attention, researchers are not authorized access to top-secret facilities. No free pass, no questions asked. I am authorized to take away birthdays.”

            “Wrong, Nyx, I can escort them inside any and all buildings on the spaceport,” Diego said.

            “Surrender, surrender. A security breach has been committed, and I will comply with my new instructions by detaining trespassers and conducting electricity.”

            “Shut up, Nyx,” Diego said. “You and Electra aren’t security robots, so move out of our way.”

            But that only made things worse. Electronic noises emanated from Nyx, and a second later, to everyone’s horror, strobe lights flared into existence. A beeping noise, ear-piercing and terrifying, told them that the intruder signal had been activated.

            They turned and ran to a single metal door. Scotty yanked it open, and all five ran down a narrow accessway to a second airlock, but this one did not open.

            “She’s gonna find us,” Scotty said.

            “No, she won’t. I’ll use Reuven’s keycard.”

            He held it before the card reader, but the doors didn’t move.

            The sound of Electra’s voice echoed across the mezzanine; she was tracking them again.

            “Let me do it,” Madison said. She energized her Helix and digitally downloaded an update to Reuven’s keycard. A minute later she swiped the card and the doors whirred open.

            “You’re not supposed to do that,” Diego said, and then giggled as everyone ran past him with Scotty pulling him through the doorway just seconds before the glass doors clicked together, locking them in the Galactic Map Room.

            An overhead lighting system flickered on and placed them in a ball of bright light. They were standing on a titanium and brass metallic floor that boasted an ornamented white star in its center. The room was oval shaped, and its walls were grey and decorated with pictures of various star systems. There were cameras too, and several androids were standing inside an area delineated by an iridescent light curtain.

            Once again cones of light were piercing the gloom as Electra and Nyx pulled open the metal door.

            “You should have tased all of them,” Electra said. “But instead, you let them go.”

            “I am not programmed to use taser technology.”

            “Yes, you are, you had the weapon installed two weeks ago.”

            “I was instructed to detain and arrest…” 

            Electra held her hand up to the android’s face. “Enough, if they are this close to the astronomical data system, they will truly regret it.”

            “They don’t know where we are, and I think they’re gonna leave,” Scotty said. “So, let’s wait ten minutes and try to find the exit.”

            Then suddenly a terrible noise rumbled across the room, and red laser beams were fanning out in all directions, touching the floor, the light curtain, and the intruders.

            Two massive security drones had shut off their counterillumination and were in the process of locking down a top-secret area of the laboratory. Scotty’s heart leaped into his ribs. He understood their dire situation.

            The security drones drifted to within ten feet of them with every laser beam fixed in their direction. Their weapons were deployed, two weapons apiece: a kinetic weapon and a thermal weapon. The kinetic weapon boasted a large cylinder with six chambers, and the thermal weapon boasted a single barrel attached to a gimbal. 

            They descended a few feet through the cool air, but only because their capacitors were redirecting power to their weapons, and everyone understood the security drones were preparing to attack, the glowing circuitry told them so.

            Both fear and anger welled up from deep within Scotty. “Okay…what do we do now!”

            “How should I know, I’m only in the ninth grade,” Diego said.

            Scotty snatched the lanyard hanging atop his blouse and ran to the airlock, swiping Reuven’s keycard on the first attempt. The doors whirred open, and all five sprinted into the accessway. Scotty looked back over his shoulder to see the doors shut, locking the security drones away in the Galactic Map Room. Electra and Nyx were both in the stairwell, but everyone easily ran around them. Those two were the last of their concerns as they ran down the accessways to the foyer, the exit, and then the turnstile. Once they were on the sidewalk that ran along the main road, they slowed their pace to try and cool their rockets.  

            They walked for several blocks without saying a word. Jasmine grumbled and shivered and was unusually quiet.

            “Why were the quadcopters trying to attack us?” Diego asked. “We didn’t do anything wrong!”

            Madison stepped out in front of them and extended her arms in a stopping gesture. “Didn’t anyone see what was behind them!” She shouted to everyone, and then locked eyes with Scotty.

            “No, I was more concerned with the four weapons pointed at us,” he said, “and not getting blasted.”

            She hit him with a dirty look and stole a few steps in his direction. “Ha, real funny, researcher. There was a massive control room. I peered through its light curtain and saw a gigantic star map.”

            A ripple of wonderment fanned out from Joseph and Jasmine.

            “That’s surely what Building Zero is used for, and that’s what all the security is about,” Madison said.

            “To hide a stupid star map?” Joseph asked.

            “No,” Madison said, and took a step forward. “That is no stupid star map. That was something that I’ve never seen in all of my life. That has to be the Star Nexus!”

            Scotty moved his gaze to the Astraeus Laboratory. “The Star Nexus. It is here.”

            “Well, why should we care?” Diego asked.  

            Madison moved her gaze to him; enthusiasm welling up inside her. “Because there is an ongoing security threat that centers on the Star Nexus. And because it’s so incredibly important to Galactic Research, we’re going to get to the bottom of it all.”

            “Whatever,” Diego said.

            “Now, let’s return to the residencia. Tomorrow is a duty day,” Madison said as calmly as she could.

            As Scotty lay in bed, he thought about the Star Nexus. Why was it hidden, and why did it have its own security detail? What secrets was it concealing? It made perfectly good sense. After all, Fossil Crater was a secret spaceport where research was conducted and technology was created.

            Perhaps the Star Nexus contained all the pieces to the puzzle we refer to as the universe. Perhaps there were people who were attempting to interfere with Galactic Research’s effort to piece together this puzzle. Maybe they were attempting to do something bad. Fossil Crater was protected by security drones and a defense shield, and that could only mean one thing. There were people who wanted to get their hands on the treasures that the robotic spacecraft were discovering and the puzzle pieces Galactic Research was attempting to hide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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