Of Solar And Dark (2018)

22 [S]

Sebestian Knight

There's no time to waste.

I run along the perimeter of the fence and slip through the entrance, the familiar sight eliciting a nostalgic sense to wash across my chest. As words and ideas begin to formulate in my head, I scan the site for the battleship which I think is the most stable. The more stable the ship, the higher the chance that it has the standard safety protocols, the lower the chance of me dying.

Racing towards the latest set of battleships along the field, I tug the bag closer to my chest. It's funny to think that I would want the bomb close to me but for now, I'm more terrified of anything that may affect its detonation- air resistance, drastic movement. Still, I have no time to lose. Shoving the metal door of the battleship open, the shaky infrastructure swallows me up in its darkness and my shoes melt along with the floor that's swathed in an inky black.

The only lights that provide any sort of illumination to indicate my movements and the rooms are overhead, whimpering as I stomp towards the seat up front- sitiated before a dasboard that is heavily furnished with multiple controls and levers.

Dark energy has never been any good in generating light but for now, it will have to make do. Careful to strap the bag in front of me, I search for the activation button and punch it, causing the engine to roar to life. The sound of a groan rips throughout the length of the structure and I tug on my seatbelt, fear closing in on me.

As I scan the dashboard, an idea hits me. Most battleships have a system which connects them to radios which will allow contact among other soldiers in other ships. It also forms a link with whoever who isn't in a battleship and has the access code who wants to listen in for any updates. What if I manipulated and played around with the control systems in this battleship such that it creates a link to the frequency of the machinery used by the Salvation? Surely, I'll be able to contact Edward and Martha.

The idea sends a thrill down my body, one that sparks hope within me. Trying to recall everything that I learned from the lessons my father forced me to attend on battleships and the control systems, I search for the buttons I'm hopeful will allow me to change the frequency. As my fingers quickly strike against the respective buttons, a low buzz fills the cabin and I hold my breath, as I call out, hoping for an answer.

"Hello?"

A croak comes from the other end, slow and confused, "H-hello? Who is this?" Relief starts to rain down on me as I lean back in my seat, comforted by the familiarity of the tone.

"Edward." The word bursts from my mouth as if I have been holding the two syllable term in my lungs since forever, waiting for the right moment to speak it, to hear his voice and know that I can say it in his presence.

"Luke? Is that you?" I wince at the way he returns my greting. Sooner or later, I know that I have to tell him the truth. He can't be calling me by a fake name I came up with in a moment of panic forever.

"It's me- oh my Galaxy, are you safe? Are you back in the Circinus unit?"

"I- I'm safe. I'm back at the Circinus unit with Martha. We're checking some stuff up in the research room when we heard the strange buzz, saw the connection and decided to link up. We're just waiting for Kirk and Ellie now. Where on Atlanta are you?" The last question sounds less like he's asking to know, painted in a shade that suggests he doesn't care. He just wants to know why I abandoned him at the lighthouse.

Still, now isn't the time for answers.

"Listen, I will explain everything to you later, I promise. You said something about Ellie and Kirk?"

"Yeah. We're going to do something but we need the entire team here to succeed. Martha and I... we were doing something during lunch and when we searched for Ellie and Kirk, they were gone. We're just waiting for their return now."