"Terin! Terin wake up!" Sutter shook the Tyoban.
Her
eyes opened half-way: "Wha…What is it?"
"Stay
with us, Terin! We need your voice to shutdown the
core!" Sutter said.
She
attempted to pull herself to her feet but couldn't her eyes began
to close again.
"Terin!"
Sutter's voice echoed throughout the massive control room. "If you don't
do this we'll all be dead…Everyone within the blast radius will be dead do
you hear me?!"
Terin's eyes opened, this time with force…Determination
burned within them…
"No…No
one will die today, commander…"
1
minute 45 seconds
"Computer…Voice
autho…authorization to shutdown core from Terin."
"Voice
authenticated," Said the deep male computer voice. "Please
give vocal access code."
"What?"
Stevenson blinked.
"What
is that, Terin?" Sutter asked.
"I…"
Terin frowned. "I didn't know there wa…was an
access code."
Sutter's
eyes went wide in horror.
0
minutes 59 seconds
"The vocal…The vocal access code!" Terin suddenly exclaimed. "Of
course! I remember now…It was written on a piece of paper…"
"Do you have it?"
Sutter demanded.
"I…Wait,
I'll remember…Just give me a minute…"
"We
don't have a minute!" Stevenson shouted from the bottom level. "We
have fifty seconds!"
Terin frowned: "Gedix always
said it…He was so proud because he had learned it by heart…"
"Forty
seconds!"
Sutter
could feel the heat from where she stood, the humming of the core was becoming
louder and louder with each passing second.
"Sir,"
Marlowe told Stevenson. "I have to tell you something…"
"What?"
He asked.
"I
don't actually hate your songs that much…" She admitted. "I just…Felt
a little out of place, you know…"
Stevenson smiled: "Don't
worry about it…If we get back you'll be the first to choose the song…"
"The
song…" Terin's head snapped to face Sutter's. "The song! That's it!"
"What???"
Sutter blinked.
"Computer!" Terin said.
"Vocal access code: "The moons are brighter without the
other…""
"Access
code accepted." The computer said. "Core shutdown in progress…"
The humming disappeared…The heat
dissipated…The core shut down…
The
threat was gone…
Stevenson
let out the longest breath he had ever held in his entire life…
"A famous folk song?" Sutter asked Terin after taking a minute to collect her thoughts.
"Yes,"
Terin smiled. "Gedix
chose the access code when the power plant was opened…I never thought it was
important to learn it."
"We
were lucky…" Sutter let out a sigh of relief.
Mantion
however, was frowning deeply.
"What
is it, Jennifer?" Sutter asked, calling the tactical officer by her first
name, something people seldom did.
"We
still have a problem…" Mantion answered.
Sutter
followed Mantion's gaze and saw that she was watching the white serpent creatures
closely.
"Let's
get out of here…" Sutter said.
Countdown
terminated…
"Captain!" Greg Eskina exclaimed. "We're
receiving a transmission from Commander Sutter on the surface."
"On
speakers," Kline immediately said.
"This
is Sutter…We've managed to shut down the core, Captain."
Kline
let out a sigh of relief: "Awesome work, Commander."
"Thank
you, sir…But there's still a problem. Apparently the whole central control room
of the power plant has been infested with strange creatures that were the cause
of the bizarre energy that was blocking our systems and who also caused the
coolant tanks to fall…Terin has explained that there
used to be a nuclear power plant in this exact location and the creatures could
have been the result of the radiation leak there had been years ago, which was
the cause for the building of this new power plant. There are hundreds of them
and we can't exterminate them all with what we have down here…"
"What
are you suggesting?" Kline asked.
"I
think the best way to eradicate them is to destroy the power plant."
Kline
blinked then said: "Uh, commander…Weren't you just trying to stop the
power plant from exploding?"
"That's
correct, sir…But since we've accessed the main computer of the power plant, we've
evacuated all the dangerous materials out of the power plant by way of the
power lines. This won't be the same type of destruction as the one we've just
stopped."
Kline
nodded: "Okay…Well then let's do it."
"There
is no risk, Captain. I would guess that a well placed torpedo can do the job.
We'll evacuate the area immediately."
"Right
then," Kline said. "Contact us once the area is clear…Valiant
out…"
* * *
"All
this effort for nothing…" Gedix sighed.
"It's unfortunate…"
"Well…"
Sutter shrugged. "At least we'll have eradicated these…these creatures
from the surface of your planet and you'll be able to construct a new power
plant without fear of them. The Federation can even provide you with
technicians to help you re-build the power plant."
Terin shook her head, smiling: "I think you know that
we prefer doing things ourselves…"
Sutter
smiled back: "That's OK with us…But we'll always be here if you need our
help."
"Thank
you for the help you've already provided…" Gedix
said. "I don't dare imagine what might have happened if that core had
overloaded…"
Sutter nodded: "Well…I guess
that's it. Everyone's evacuated and now we can watch the show."
In
the distance, the power plant still seemed large to the people who had been
evacuated and were now watching. But soon it would be nothing but a memory…
"Sutter
to Valiant…Fire."
They
waited a few moments and the quantum torpedo soon fell from the sky like a tear
fallen from the eyes of space. It struck the central section of the power plant
and the explosion enveloped the entire structure…The walls crumbled and the
ceilings collapsed…
The
power plant was no more…
* * *
"So…You're
on Alpha shift tomorrow morning right?"
"That's
right."
"And
you won't be bringing your earplugs this time, right?"
She
smiled: "No, definitely not this time…"
"That's
good…" Stevenson grinned as they stood up from their seats in the mess
hall and began walking towards the exit. "So…Have you thought about what
music to bring tomorrow?"
She
nodded: "I think so, yeah…"
"And…?" He raised an intrigued
eyebrow.
"You
ever heard of Luciano Pavarotti?" She asked.
"Luciano what…?" Stevenson frowned. "Nope, never
heard of him…"
"You'll
be great…" She smiled at him. "You'll be great."
-THE END-
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