The Titan Mystery – Part 6

McKinley and Seanna stood there watching as the wirey old McKinley tapped away at the hatch controls. A few seconds later the door halves split open and open outwards. It was dark down there, nothing could be seen.

“Secure that man” McKinley ordered the team that just walked into the room “If he so much as tries to get away, make it so he can’t. Under no circumstances is he to come to serious harm, I have a feeling we will still need him”

McKinley turned to Seanna “I don’t know about you – but I’m dying to see what’s down there!”

“No you don’t sir, I’m going down there!” Seanna replied. Her tone was very strong and direct, in a way McKinley had never heard before.

“Very well, but be careful.” McKnley signed with resignation. With that Seanna turned to climb down the hatch. Just as she got to her waist it was obvious she wasn’t going to get down.

“Hell this hatch is small!” She exclaimed, straining to push herself back out.

McKinley looked down with mild amusement “I’m saying nothing!”

“Shut up you!” She smiled at him “This is no time for your childish humour. Help me out of this suit!” Turning to McKinley he unclipped the retaining fastening at the back. Seanna struggled with the large zip with her gloved hands.

“Help us with this” she grumbled. McKinley pulled at the zip which was stiff, releasing it he slid the zip all the way down her body. Seanna was pulling at her suit as he did. McKinley was admiring the female form of his first officer as she struggled out of her suit. the tight under clothes that needed to be worn under the suits disn’t hude much and although he was about twenty years older than she was he wasn’t too old to admire her figure.

“Getting a good look are you McKinley?”

“It doesn’t happen often Seanna” he replied “So it’s new to me!” Seanna smiled and said nothing. Positioning herself onto the hatch McKinley handed her a plasma rifle, the light on it shining down into the gloom revealing nothing.

“Right, here I go!” Seanna sighed as she mentally prepared herself. Slowly she climbed down into the hatch – McKinley watched as she descended. Seanna was struggling with the rifle, trying to shine the light down and climb, the tight space was not yeilding her any space and the tunnel was longer than she thought. Seanna estimated she was about 5 metres down and only about halfway.

“I still can’t see anything!” Seanna shouted back up, McKinley looking down, searching for some evidence of the bottom, all she could see was darkness and a random flashlight.

“Damn it!” He heard Seanna shout as he heard a clatter. “I’ve dropped the rifle!” Seanna shouted back up. “I can see something, I’m not sure what…” McKinley heard a shriek and then the muffled thud of what he assumed was Seanna’s body hitting the floor at the end. She must have landed over the rifle as once again he could see nothing.

“Seanna!” He shouted “Seanna, talk to me are you alright?”

Jearo and Blake broke away from the group watching McKinley’s wild future self to see if they could assist.

“I could go down!” Jearo offered as she slung her equipment down.

“Not yet!” McKinley replied “She might be alright! Seanna – can you hear me?” After a tense few moments murmuring could be heard.

“Seanna?” McKinley shouted down again.

“Stop shouting will ya? You’re giving me ear ache!” Was the reply from the dark. Seanna was moving the light of the rifle could suddenly be seen again.

“It’s good to see history repeating itself again isn’t it? McKinley’s future self had been quiet until this point but was now looking uneasy, his smile hiding something.

“Are you going to tell us what’s going on now?” McKinley asked him.

“Not a chance!” the wild McKinley shouted, pushing aside the neareast guard and running for what seemed to be a side exit. Withut warning all the guards raised their rifles to fire, Blake was first on the trigger, a shot of blue plasma hitting the rogue on his back and sending him flying into a wall. He fell to the floor lifelessly.

“He should be fine in about twenty minutes!” Blake told the rest of his team “watch him this time will you?” They pulled him into the large room by him arms, his body limp. McKinley returned to the hatch and Seanna.

“What’s down there?” McKinley shouted down.

“I’m not sure what to make of it really. I know one thing – it’s damn cold down here!”

“Shouldn’t have taken your suit off then!” McKinley shouted back.

“You’re so funny!” Seanna retorted. “Hang on!” She shouted up. “Get ready for this, I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”

“Then why are you…” McKinley barely got the words out and suddenly the floor about ten metres away started to part and a floor section sink “Seanna! What is this?” McKinley got up from the floor and stepped back, watching as the floor parted and steps formed down into the cavity below. This seemed to be an access way. “But why only open from the inside?” McKinley thought to himself. He rushed around to the steps, out of the dark Seanna appeared.

“I’m letting you lot in, is what I’m doing!” Seanna replied… answering McKinley’s question. She stood there, far more ruffled and dirty then when she went down, there was  a small cut on her head where she had hit it in the fall.

“Look at this sir” Seanna directed McKinley to some capsules, mist was coming off them like dry ice, this would explain why nothing much could be seen and why it was so cold. “I can’t touch them with my bare hand, they’re too cold!”

McKinley reached out and wiped away some of the ice, it flaked away and dropped to the floor. Something was in there, McKinley wiped away some more. There was something… someone in there. As he wiped away more, his suspicion grew, then the face was revealed through opaque, ice covered glass.

Both he and Seanna looked at each other in shock “It’s you Seanna!” McKinley exclaimed.

“Look over here Sir.” Blake called out, he had uncovered section of a capsule from across the room.

“It’s me!” McKinley exclaimed. “What is going on here?” He asked to himself. He looked across at Seanna and motioned for her to follow him, as McKniley marched back up the steps Seanna followed her commander. He stopped dead at the top, then ran over to the two men laying motionless on the floor. He and Seanna checked their life signs with their suit bio computers. “Dead?” he asked Seanna, she simply nodded.

McKinley looked around “where is he?” Getting up he rushed to the hyperloop car. It was there but the mad man wasn’t.

“There’s nowhere to go around here!” Seanna exclaimed “where would he go?” She went to get onto her intercom then signed in frustation as she realised she wasn’t wearing her suit.

McKinley went to his “Blake – get your people to check out the area, that madman got away and killed Pearson and Roberts. Be careful, see if you can take him alive but if he’s a risk – kill him”

“Right away!” came the response.

“That’s not very nice!” came a voice from behind McKinley and Seanna. They both spun round and there he was, as if he had come from nowhere.

©Simon Farnell 2016

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