Living underground and deprived of all communication, Croft was unaware of either the clash between Sobek and Wafner on the Moon or of Wafner's intent to transfer a small part of the imperial population to Ares to recapture Eden at a later time; and even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. All he needed to know at the moment was that the world was about to be destroyed by a madman and the even madder people following him.

But Croft could avoid it. He just needed to be able to plug the USB stick into the base's main server. From there, Alycia could have made those hell bombs disappear forever.

Evidently the general took his brooding as hesitation, so he tried to reassure him: "When you're done, you'll have to get ready to leave. You have been selected"

Croft was surprised. "Selected for what?"

"To survive. You will leave for Davis and there you will be assigned the position of engineer in charge of the terraforming project and the establishment of cities and settlements" the general answered. "All your efforts will be rewarded. You will have a high position, you will live in comfort for the rest of your life, and you can devote yourself to any project you like"

Ah, so that was it, Croft thought. The bastards wanted to escape from a planet that they themselves would ruin and thought that this way they could buy it. "Have I really been given such a role?" he asked feigning excitement.

"Yes. You have only to complete this last task, and then you will leave with me"

"Thank you immensely! Give my praises to His Majesty the Emperor!"

"You will hand them to him yourself when you become chief engineer"

"If so, I'll get right to work! It won't be long, I promise"

Croft walked towards the bombs. In reality if he really wanted to release them he should have simply gone to the control panel, but to buy time he pretended to carefully examine every single device. As he did so, he quickly reviewed the layout of the room that he had memorized some time ago.

To give Alycia access to the bomb teleporter, he had to plug the USB stick into the main server. He could easily access it from the control panel. Problem: he was being watched by two soldiers. Even if they didn't understand anything about electronics, they surely would have noticed if he had inserted a USB stick into the panel. So, how to get rid of the soldiers?

Answer: create an emergency situation. Feigning an attack by dinosaurs, then behaving like a hero, sending the soldiers away because 'they were more useful elsewhere', while he would run alone to the control panel to 'complete the mission before it was too late'.

But how do you fake an attack? Answer: to blow the electricity. The backup generator would keep the base alive, but it would also set off the alarm. But to get the power off, he'd have to have access to the main generator, located at least three floors below him.

Perhaps, though, he could not worry about the generator. There was no need for the power to go out in the entire base: it was enough for it to go out in the hangar, even if only for a second. This would automatically trigger the alarm and send everyone into a frenzy, and he could begin his act.

And as for how to blow the electricity… he had the answer right in front of him.

Hellfire bombs, being based on the detonation of the core of the Sun, produced neither radiation nor electromagnetic pulses. In the first case, the Empire didn't care: after all, the unleashed disaster would have already been destructive, and then there would have been the other nuclear and thermonuclear bombs that would have released high amounts of radiation. In the second case, however, the Empire had to object: the emperor in fact wanted that with the detonation any electronic circuit would cease to function on the entire surface of the planet. It was a measure to further plunge already exhausted humanity into chaos and division.

Therefore, Croft had come up with a solution. A small device built into the core of the bomb, capable of generating a powerful electromagnetic pulse; when the bomb exploded, the pulse would be amplified and boosted by the detonation, frying any electrical circuits for thousands of miles around.

But now, Croft could use that device to his advantage. Even without the detonation, the pulse would have been powerful enough to fry the electronic circuits within the room. He was unlikely to be able to reach the generators, as the earth covering the base would have protected them, but it would have still caused a brief blackout and set off the alarm, more than enough for what he intended to do.

With this plan well outlined in mind, Croft began tinkering with one of the bombs. Fortunately, the soldiers controlling it knew nothing of how those weapons worked, and the rest of the scientists in the hangar were too busy working to notice.

Eventually, he did exactly what he wanted and set a timer. After that, he put the bomb back and addressed the two soldiers. "I'm done here" he announced. "I need to go to the control panel now"

"We'll escort you immediately" one of them said, and they did it. But after less than a minute, the lights in the room went out. The blackout lasted just a couple of seconds, but when the lights came back on, the alarm was ringing throughout the base.

"We are under attack!" the general shouted. "Quick, seal the hangar! They mustn't enter! Damn, how did they find this place!?"

While the general was yelling orders and the people in the room were running from side to side, Croft addressed the two soldiers: "I have to get to the control panel now! You go and stop the dinosaurs from entering!"

"We can't" one of the soldiers said. "We have orders to protect you"

"You do not understand!" Croft screamed. "If the dinosaurs reach the control panel and destroy it, we will no longer be able to complete the mission! You have to buy as much time as possible and…"

"If the control panel is that important, then all the more reason we have to go with you. Isn't it more likely that he will be attacked?" one of the soldiers asked.

Croft looked them in the face. The two guards seemed adamant. Apparently, he had to alter his plan a bit. "All right. Let's go!" he said starting to run pretending to be out of breath. The two soldiers followed close behind.

As he ran, Croft thought. Maybe, he thought, the plan hadn't gone so badly. At the moment the base was in a mess and he could use it to his advantage. He just needed to act authoritative. As soon as he reached the control panel he pointed at one of the guards: "You! Check the east flank! And you!" and he pointed to the other guard, "check the west flank! Whatever tries to get close, stop it! Eyes on everything and never lose focus!"

One of the nice things about private soldiers was that they weren't trained to think; if someone raised their voice and seemed to have any semblance of authority, they listened to them right away. And Croft's orders, at least from the two soldiers' point of view, seemed perfectly consistent: the scientist was in fact asking them to form a perimeter around him. More than normal in an emergency situation.

So they obeyed, without realizing that in doing so they were turning their backs on the person they were supposed to be watching, effectively leaving him free rein. Croft wasted no time and immediately plugged the USB stick into the computer. However, he soon discovered that something was wrong: apparently, the electromagnetic pulse had also damaged the flash drive! "Shit!" he couldn't help screaming.

"What's going on, sir?" asked one of the guards.

Croft snapped up the first excuse that came to mind: "The blackout damaged the system! I have to restart it or it won't work!" he said. "I'll do it as fast as possible! You keep my back!"

Croft's mind was running a marathon. Through the computer he checked the files on the USB stick. They were damaged, but fortunately not too much. And fortunately, the program seemed to have been designed to rebuild damaged files should the need arise. However, it would take him some time.

Croft checked the undamaged files. The one that allowed connection to RE/SYST was still there, but the one that allowed connection to the main server was broken. He had to do it manually.

His fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard. He heard someone yelling in the distance: evidently the other technicians were realizing what he was doing. It was impossible for them not to notice the sudden flow of data. Croft sweated cold. The download would only take a few more minutes.

"Mr. Croft! What are you doing?". Shit. One of the guards behind him must have known something was wrong. The scientist turned and saw them with their rifles raised. "Get away from the panel! Now!" one of them yelled.

Croft raised his hands. "Guys, it's not worth it! Trust me!" he exclaimed. "Do you have a family? Some friends? Well, if I don't, these people are going to die!"

"I said get away from the panel!" the guard yelled again.

"Why do you think the general wanted to transfer me to Davis?" Croft said, hoping to appeal to their doubt. "This world is about to be destroyed! The whole population will die, including you! Or do you think the Empire gives a damn about private soldiers?"

One of the two soldiers lowered his rifle slightly and an expression of dismay came into his eyes. Evidently, he was beginning to understand. Perhaps Croft still had hope. Just another minute…

But the other soldier was not of the same opinion. He was used to obeying orders. And so he raised his rifle and aimed at the control panel.

He pulled the trigger.

Croft reacted instinctively and lunged in front of the panel.

For an instant, all sounds ceased. No, it all stopped. His senses seemed to vanish, replaced by absolute emptiness. It wasn't until Croft heard the 'beep' that the download was complete did he snap back to reality. He smiled knowing he made it. But soon after he realized that a part of his stomach was tingling, first slightly, then more and more intensely. It was then that he realized that he had made a great oversight in the planning of his plan for him… that is, himself.

He looked down and saw a bloodstain growing bigger and bigger in his abdomen. The next second, his strength left him and he fell to his knees. The soldier who had just shot at him walked past him and fired at the control panel.

But it was too late now. The transporter device activated and all twelve bombs vanished. Despite the pain, Croft found the strength to smile: he had done it. At least in death, he had managed to do some good.

"Tell the general… that I politely decline his… offer of transfer… because of… personal differences…" he said letting out a sob somewhere between crying and laughing. After that, he slid completely to the ground. The other soldier, the one who had looked dubious, ran over to him and tried to staunch the bleeding, but Croft knew it was too late.

However he still had the strength to do something. With trembling hands he touched his glasses and activated the communication device. His vision was fading now, but it didn't matter: he didn't need it to talk. "Alycia… tell Liam… and Darius… and everyone else… that I'm sorry"

And with that said his head dropped and his eyelids closed. And so it was that Malcolm Croft, the man who had unleashed the nightmare of the nuclear apocalypse on the world and who had just given his life to avoid it, met his death.

**********

Just a second after the transporter device was activated, the Hellfire bombs reappeared in space just outside Earth's orbit. They weren't even three hundred miles from the surface, but that was enough.

The explosion happened shortly after. The evil ordnance dissolved and a giant ball of fire expanded from them at breakneck speed. On Eden it would have vaporized entire mountains, but there was nothing there to harm it except the cosmic vacuum. Within seconds, the fireball turned red and then vanished completely.

It was visible from Eden like a star, so bright that it was visible during the day. A brief glint, and then nothing.

In the end, the bombs created to unleash hell on earth were only able to give a very brief suggestive show for the inhabitants of Eden who happened to be observing the sky at that moment.

Surely, it was a preferable result to what they were created for. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on ɴovᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet