Project Obsidian Moon

Chapter 8: "Don't miss the jump"

"Alright let's lay out what we know so far, First off, Travis' murder. It definitely had something to do with the fact that he'd only just discovered an exoplanet the day prior. Second, this organisation seems to have ties with the crime syndicate and 'Jeremy', and not to mention he seemed to be working at the same place as Travis. This is all definitely connected to the government in some way, maybe they don't want us to know about the planet?" Jenson paced back and forth in his office mumbling to himself. I sat in an armchair in the corner. The office was generously spacious, With enough room for Jenson to have no danger of bumping into anything. In the room stood a single table with a worn out chair positioned at the back of the room. In the corner by the entrance where I sat, were 4 maroon armchairs, they seemed out of touch with reality, almost as if they'd been grabbed out of the past. "Whaddya think about it kid? You're the one with the most info." I sighed, I didn't know what to think. "I couldn't tell you if I tried... We've run out of leads, all but one..." I glanced at him and he already seemed to know what I meant. "The kid eh? I'll see what I can do. Last I heard he'd been locked up in Solitary Confinement until his trial. It'd be hard to find a way to talk to him." I stood up and leaned back against the wall. "So what does that mean? Can you get us in or not?" A sly grin formed across his face as he turned to me, "When have I, Jenson, ever disappointed?" I scoffed and sat back down.

The corridors were empty. I had brainstormed with Jenson all night and finally put together a plan with him. He told me to piss off so he could get some sleep and I was back to being lost. I could go back to my tiny coffin house.... Or maybe I could drown my sorrows away at a bar.. I stuffed my hands in my pockets to keep warm. That's when I felt the note that Sarah gave me. I pulled it out and realized there was a small white quartz card that she had folded the paper over. It was the size of a business card, except there were no writings anywhere on the card. "Wait a minute..." I remembered what it was...

I was lucky I had good memory. I walked down the familiar corridor once again until I reached yet another familiar door. I slid the card across the card reader as the door to Sarah's apartment opened. I walked inside and locked the door behind me. "Thank you Sarah...." I sat down on her couch and looked at the time on my holo-watch. It read 04:12 am. "I guess I can try and get some sleep..." I got back up from the couch and started walking toward her bedroom before I stopped. Do I really want to sleep in her bed? Wouldn't that be weird... Or awkward..? I decided to crash on the couch instead. I quickly dozed off... Mumbling right before passing out, "Her couch is really comfortable.."

I woke up a couple hours later... I felt hot, really hot. I threw the blankets off me and sat up in bed... I yawned and stared down at where I was.... THE BED??? WHY WAS I ON THE BED? Didn't I sleep on the couch...? That's when I heard the sounds coming from her living room... Sizzling and music.. I got up from bed and checked her bedside drawer, and found a small plastic firearm with the magazine already loaded. I grabbed it and slowly walked over to the door. I heard faint humming. I looked into the living room and saw nobody, I slowly stepping forward until the kitchen came into view. I saw a person standing at the stove, cooking something with their back turned to me. As I continued walking towards the person, I cocked the hammer on the pistol, alerting him that I was there. "Turn around.... Slowly". He dropped the spatula he was holding and cussed at me, It was Jenson "Jesus Christ Adam! What the hell do you got that gun for? I show up thinking I'd help you out and make you breakfast and you almost put a bullet in my chest??" Why the fuck was he here, "How the hell did you get in here?" He finally relaxed as I lowered the gun, bending down and picking up the spatula that was slightly covered in scrambled eggs. He pointed at the floor where the spatula had fallen, "You're cleaning that up by the way." I frowned, "Answer the damn question.." He turned back around and continued cooking the eggs. "Ya think Sarah only gave you a copy of 'er key? She told me to make sure you don't end up starving to death, and seeing how you were on the couch motionless she might've been right." I put the gun down on the coffee table as I walked over to the modular kitchen. "Sleeping on the couch was a deliberate choice, I didn't want to sleep in her bed cuz.... Boundaries." He immediately stops stirring the eggs as he slowly turns around, "Boundaries my ass, the minute I plopped you down on her bed, you nuzzled into those sheets like a fuckin cat." I scoffed, I noticed that I smelled like her a bit. Jenson resumed cooking and sighed, "Look kid, take it from the old guy who still goes out on dates, if ya fancy her, don't hide it yeah? Finding someone's hard enough, so don't lose 'er before you tell 'er..." I sunk into one of the chairs at the dining table. "Why're you here Jenson? I know for a fact it wasn't out of the good of your heart." He let out a chuckle as he plated the scrambled eggs and took some bread out of the toaster, which came out completely burnt. He walked over to the table and slid the plate in front of me. "I got some news, my pal over at the detention facility says they're movin our suspect to a secure location closer to the court, I've got the convoy's blueprints. All we gotta do is intercept it, get our guy, and get out." I was surprised he got all that in one night, "Okay... When're they moving him?" He stood up from his chair as he started pacing around the room again, he cupped his hands over his face as he muttered something, loud enough for me to hear it, but quiet enough for me to lose my shit. "Tonight.." I stared at him, "Tonight? You want to infiltrate a government convoy, with no preparation, no information, and absolutely no fucking experience.... Tonight???" He turned back to me and with a straight face said, "Yes." I looked back down at my plate, which was empty except for the completely decrepit piece of toast. We didn't really have any equipment either, I looked back up to Jenson, who continued staring at me. "Listen kid, you trained at the academy for 4 years. Hell, I'm the one who trained ya... You're capable.." I rolled my eyes, "You said you have the convoy's blueprints... where?" He pulled out a small silver metallic cuboid, placing it on the table. The top slid open projecting a holographic blueprint of the convoy. It was a three cart train. The Bunker had sort of a subway-train system, but it was only for government personnel and cargo. It ran in a spiral down most of the upper levels. The blueprints were extremely detailed, from the speed of the train to how many guards were in each compartment. The first cart was the engine.. That's when I saw it, nuclear. The train's engine ran on nuclear fission, if it were to de-rail, it'd be bad news for everyone. The second cart was where they were holding the suspect, he would be chained bang smack in the middle of the compartment with 5 guards surrounding him. The last cart held reinforcements, 12 guards and... "A juggernaut..? Why do they have a juggernaut guarding a regular criminal?" Juggernauts are big exoskeletons that encase a human in 4 inches of titanium steel. To put it shortly, they're invincible walls of metal. "That's what I'd like to know, either way, that guy's gonna be a problem.." I glance back at the blueprint, "..and the 17 guards with guns won't???" He didn't respond, his silence indicated he was thinking. "So.. You got a plan?" I asked. He huffed, "I was hoping you'd be the one with the crazy ideas this time." I held my head in my palms, rolling it back and forth. "Okay do we have a way to access the tracks?" Jenson looked up at me, "The tracks? You want to infiltrate the train after it departs?"... "Yeah, there would be way too much security at the station. Getting in while it's in transit is our best bet. So... Can you get us in or not?" He leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling. After a while he responded, "Absolutely, but.. There's one small problem, we'll have to get in and get out in 4 minutes." I sighed, of course there was a catch. Why couldn't it be easy for once. "Okay we'll make it work, as for equipment, we'll need a blowtorch.... 2 10 meter coils worth of tensile strength steel cabling... And a lot of some sort of cold liquid gas, liquid nitrogen or even liquid oxygen will work." He stared at me, overwhelmed, "That's... Specific, you sure it'll work?" I look back at the hovering blueprint. "It will.."