The Final Spark Read online

  “Well?” Hatch said.

  “He sees it,” Welch said.

  “You should know I’m a man of my word.”

  “Except when you’re not,” Welch muttered. “Why would we come back just so you could torture and kill us?”

  “If you bring back my Joule, I give you my word none of you will die.”

  “Or be tortured.”

  “Or receive torture,” Hatch said.

  Welch hesitated a moment, then said to the COB, “Turn the ship around.”

  “Smartest thing you’ve done this year,” Hatch said.

  “Cut off all communications.”

  The radio went dead.

  Everyone in the Conn was quiet. After a moment Jack said, “You know he’s lying.”

  Welch looked at him stoically. “Of course I do.”

  “I’m not okay with this. I’d rather die instantly in an explosion than return to Hatch to be tortured, then killed.”

  “He’s right,” Zeus said. “I’m not going back.”

  “I have no intention of going back,” Welch said, turning back to the captain. “Maintain course. I guessed there was a self-destruct on this boat. I just wanted Hatch to reveal where it was so Quentin could neutralize it.”

  “That was brilliant,” Ostin said. “Freaking brilliant.”

  “Can you do it, Quentin?” Welch asked.

  “Help me, Ian,” Quentin said.

  Ian touched a part of the console. “It’s directly through here. It’s wrapped around with wires and stuff. Looks like a bowl of spaghetti.”

  “If it’s as surrounded by electronic junk as the captain says, I may take out something else with it,” Quentin said.

  “You know the circuitry,” Welch said to the captain. “What components surround the detonator?”

  “The sonar.”

  “We can sail without sonar. Anything else?”

  “Nothing we can’t sail without. But if it doesn’t work, you know he’ll detonate.”

  “You prefer to take your chances with Hatch?” Welch asked.

  “At least it’s a chance. It’s better than certain death.”

  Welch laughed. “Don’t fool yourself. It’s still certain death. Your only choice is how you want to take it. Personally, I’m with Jack. I’d take a fast death to a prolonged, torturous death any day. And if you believe Hatch has a speck of mercy in his black, rotten heart, you’re a bigger fool than you know. When you were made an officer, you took an oath to resist capture or die trying. The second you took control of this ship for us, you broke that oath. Hatch will feed you to the rats just out of principle. He’ll make an example of you for the rest of his officers.”

  The COB knew Welch was right.

  “Destroy it,” he said to Quentin. “Before Hatch realizes we lied to him.”

  “All right,” Quentin said to Ian. He pressed his hand against the metal wall. “Right here?”

  “About a hand to the right.”

  Quentin slid his hand. “Here?”

  “Good.”

  “How far in?”

  Ian held up his hand to help him calculate the distance. “About four and a half feet to center.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Sure enough.”

  Quentin turned to Welch. “Go?”

  “Do it.”

  Quentin pressed his fingers harder against the stainless-steel panel, then surged. A light across the room flickered and then went out, along with a row of lights on the console.

  “There goes our sonar,” the captain said. “And the cooling in the bow mechanical room.”

  “How will we know if what Quentin did worked?” Cassy asked.

  “If it didn’t, we’ll never know,” Welch said. “We’ll all be sleeping with Davy Jones.”

  “Who’s Davy Jones?” Tessa asked.

  “He was lead singer of a rock group called the Monkees in the midsixties,” Ostin said. “But Welch was more likely referring to Davy Jones’s locker, a nautical idiom meaning ‘the bottom of the ocean,’ which is where we’ll all be if Hatch detonates the Joule’s self-destruct.”

  “I just hope it happens fast,” Tara said.

  “The explosive device will immediately kill everyone within a seventy-five-foot radius of that console,” the captain said.

  “Why does that sound so comforting?” Jack said, shaking his head.

  “I know, right?” Tessa said. “Our life is so jacked up.”

  PART SEVEN

  13

  A Little Help

  About ten minutes after the last transmission, the Elgen technician tracking the Joule turned back to Hatch. “They’re not turning around, sir.”

  Hatch stepped up to the console. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes, sir. They’re maintaining their southbound course.”

  “Are they still maintaining radio silence?”

  “Yes, sir. Shall we initiate the self-destruct?”

  “Only if we’re at a salvageable depth,” Hatch said. “How deep is the ocean where they are?”

  “I’ll check, sir.” He slid his chair to a computer and punched in some numbers. “Depth, two hundred twenty-seven knots.”

  “Well within our capacity. Is the GPS transmitter functioning?”

  “Let me verify. Yes, sir.”

  “Mark the ship’s location and sink the Joule on my word.”

  “Yes, sir. You will need to type in the code for self-destruct.”

  “Of course.” Hatch stepped up to the console and typed in a string of numbers. A red light started blinking on the monitor.

  “Self-destruct switch is hot,” the technician said.

  Hatch leaned forward. “Blow it.”

  “Yes, sir. Self-destruct mechanism activated.” He pushed the button. Nothing happened.

  “They’ve disabled the self-destruct.”

  “How could they do that? It’s buried beneath six feet of metal.”

  “They could knock it out with a well-placed EMP. If the Glow Quentin is on board, he could do it.”

  “How would he know where it was?”

  The crewman looked up at Hatch sheepishly. “You just told them, sir.”

  Hatch looked at the man spitefully. “What’s the fuel level on the Joule?”

  “They’re running on reserve.”

  “How far will that get them?”

  “Auxiliary reserve will get them about eight hundred nautical miles.”

  “He’s got to refuel. What’s his options?”

  “Fiji and Samoa.”

  “Which is closer?”

  “Fiji.”

  “He’ll go to Fiji. I want you to send out a message and find who of our allies are closest to Fiji. I want to intercept the Joule before she refuels.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Now.”

  “Yes, sir.” Just six minutes later the technician said, “The Philippine Navy is running exercises at one hundred seventy-six degrees longitude, eight hundred kilometers east of Vanuatu.”

  “How long would it take her to reach the north coast of Fiji?”

  “At thirty-five knots, six and a half hours.”

  “We’ve got them. Amon, get me Secretary of National Defense Lorenzana.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Sir,” EGG Bosen said, “the ship is carrying the Glows. They’re too powerful for the Philippine Navy.”

  “Which is why we will send RESAT projectors and RESAT vests to the Philippine ships.”

  “What if they submerge?”

  “That’s what depth charges are for, EGG.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Admiral-General, Secretary Lorenzana is on the phone.”

  Hatch grabbed the mouthpiece. “Secretary Lorenzana. Thank you for taking my call. We have a small problem, one that is rather embarrassing. One of our submersibles carrying an extremely volatile cargo has been stolen. . . . No, not nuclear. But advanced technology. We’ve been tracking their movements toward Fiji. . . . Yes, I�
��m aware that you have ships in the area; that is why I thought to contact you first. We need your help to avoid an international incident. . . . Thank you, Secretary. I knew I could count on you. Let me fill you in on the details. . . .”

  PART EIGHT

  14

  Salvageable Depth

  About an hour after the Elgen’s last transmission, the COB said, “I guess Hatch isn’t going to blow us up.”

  “Either we’re not at a salvageable depth,” Welch replied, “or Quentin succeeded.”

  “We are at a salvageable depth,” the COB said.

  “So Quentin succeeded.”

  “He can still track us,” the COB said.

  “Yes, but what can he do about it?”

  “He’ll think of something,” Quentin said. “Hatch always has a card up his sleeve.”

  Welch slowly nodded. “You’ve got to give it to him. He’s a genius of chaos.”

  “What do you think he’ll do now?” Quentin asked.

  “If I were Hatch, I’d try to intercept us before we refueled,” Welch said.

  “How would he do that?” Quentin asked.

  “The only boat of his we didn’t sink is the Edison, and we’re too far along for him to catch us,” the COB said.

  “No. But he has friends,” Welch said. “Let’s just hope that they’re not in the area.”

  PART NINE

  15

  The Edison

  It had been more than thirty hours since Hatch had slept, and after he hung up with Secretary Lorenzana, he went to his quarters, leaving strict instruction to be disturbed only in the case of a dire emergency. That call came almost twelve hours later from EGG Amon.

  “Admiral-General, we have a crisis developing.”

  “What kind of crisis?”

  “The natives are restless,” Amon said. “They are preparing to attack.”

  “Our island?”

  “Not yet. It’s best I show you. I’m in the war room.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Hatch said. He climbed out of bed, poured a glass of Scotch, and then walked down the corridor to where EGG Amon was waiting outside the door. “What is going on?”

  “We have footage, sir,” Amon said. He walked with Hatch to the side of the room covered with monitors. A third of the monitors were static.

  “Why don’t we have images on Ares or Demeter?”

  “The cameras have been destroyed, sir. But we picked up this footage before they were taken out.” Amon turned to the technician. “Roll Ares videos six and seven.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  One of the screens showed the Vaitupu dock with the ES Regulator approaching. Suddenly men appeared over the side of the ship, pointing guns at the Elgen. “Who is that?” Hatch asked.

  “Tuvaluans. Keep watching.” The dockworkers tied up the ship. Then one of the dockside doors opened and a host of Elgen guard ran out.

  “Our men?”

  “No. They’re Tuvaluans wearing our uniforms.”

  Just then Enele walked out of the boat.

  “Who is that?” Hatch asked.

  “That’s Enele Saluni. He’s the grandson of Prime Monkey Saluni.” Just then one of the soldiers pointed a gun at the camera and blew it out. The video went static. The other video was from inside the dock building. Men began walking inside. They pulled a map from the wall. Saluni pointed toward the camera, and one of the men walked over and shot it out as well.

  “That’s enough,” Amon said. He turned to Hatch. “Saluni appears to be leading them. We’ve lost all contact with Vaitupu. I mean Ares.”

  “Where did Saluni come from?”

  “He was imprisoned on Hades.”

  “So he survived.”

  “He survived and appears to be leading a revolt.”

  “Where are our soldiers on Vaitupu?”

  “There’s no open communication. It would appear that the Tuvaluans have overthrown the island.”

  “Where did they get the boats?”

  “We’ve identified the boats as the Regulator, the Pulse, the Proton, and the Neutron. They’re agricultural ships from Demeter.”

  “Have you contacted Demeter?”

  “Demeter are these screens right here,” Amon said, pointing at more static screens. “Same story. Cameras out, no one’s home.”

  “How many soldiers does Saluni have?”

  “We have no way of knowing how many he took from Hades, but there were a little more than five hundred workers on Demeter. There were limited arms on Demeter, so I’m guessing that he took the people, then commandeered the boats and sailed to Ares for more weapons. If he’s gotten into the Ares armory, they’ll be completely armed.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “We don’t know. We expect that he is preparing to sail here.”

  Hatch turned white. “Where are our soldiers?”

  “They’re coming sir. We expect two hundred by midnight.”

  “Initiate a curfew. Any Funafuti resident seen outside their homes after dark will be shot on sight. Set up patrols on all landing sites. If they try to dock, we’ll blow it up.”

  “We don’t need to, Admiral-General,” Amon said. “We still have the Edison. She’s undermanned but still fully operational.”

  Hatch’s demeanor changed from anger to delight. He laughed. “Of course, the Edison. EGG, this is excellent, excellent news. Here I’ve been worried about the natives rising up against us, and Saluni has done us the greatest possible service: he’s gathered all our enemies together and put them all on indefensible, lumbering, unarmed cattle boats. He might as well have sailed his rebels here in coffins. They’ll be easy targets for our battle cruiser. We’ll blow them out of the water long before they reach our island. We just have to make sure they never reach our island. How are our surveillance drones?”

  “Operational.”

  “Perfect. Send them out. Order the Edison to prepare to sail. Find the Tuvaluan rebels, then alert me.” Hatch turned to go.

  “Yes, Admiral-General. Where are you going, sir?”

  “I’m going back to bed, EGG. Finally I can sleep easy. Vey’s dead. We’ll bury Saluni and his revolution in the sea, and soon I’ll have the Joule, Welch, and the Glows back in hand. Everything is going our way. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Good night, sir. Sleep well.”

  Hatch smiled. “You can be certain I will, EGG. You can be certain I will.”

  PART TEN

  16

  The Elder

  Enele’s boats pulled out of the Vaitupu harbor precisely as he had planned at four a.m. He had no information about the Elgen, and he wasn’t taking any chances that they might have more of a force than he realized. He got less than three hours of sleep before going up to the Regulator’s bridge to coordinate his army’s departure. The boats sailed close together except the Neutron, which held so much explosive capability that an accident near the rest of the fleet could possibly sink all the ships.

  The distance between Nui and Vaitupu was a little more than one hundred and seventy kilometers. Because they were sailing as a convoy, they matched their speed to the slowest of the ships, the ES Proton, an older produce cargo vessel that sailed between seventeen and eighteen knots, so it took the armada nearly six hours to reach their destination, the southernmost isle of Fenua Tapu.

  All the boats except the Regulator anchored a mile out from the island, far from the reef’s rocky, coral wall. The Regulator moved into the small Nui harbor usually reserved for the Volta, the Elgen’s science ship, which, at Hatch’s orders, had sailed to Funafuti only a day earlier.

  Nui was only slightly larger than Hades but very different in appearance and geography. Like Vaitupu, it was not an island but an atoll, so it was far more water than land and was sparsely populated, with more than twenty isles. The atoll was first discovered in 1568 by Spanish navigator Alvaro de Mendana. He named the island Isla de Jesús, Spanish for “Island of Jesus.” The island was not visited by Europeans ag
ain until nearly three hundred years later, when a Dutch expedition came upon the island. They named it Dutch Island, but, curiously, it was also called Egg.

  On Hatch’s overthrow of the nation, in keeping with his renaming of the islands after Greek gods, he had renamed the island Athena, for the goddess of wisdom, craft, and war. It was dedicated to scientific research and was where the Volta, and her seventy-six scientists, was primarily based.

  Prior to the Elgen’s arrival, the Nui atoll had had a population of 521 natives. That number had since dropped significantly as, under the stress of foreign occupation, many of the older natives had died, and most of the men and half the women had been sent to other islands to work. By the time Enele arrived, there were only 172 natives—153 of whom were female.

  Hatch had dedicated the island to research, and science and experiments were conducted on GPs with the MEI and new weaponry. Occasionally the Elgen guard would bring in one of the island residents if they were out of GPs, but that was rare, as the GPs were usually brought in from Hades, and the scientists were uncomfortable experimenting on natives they might know by name or might have seen in the marketplace. As one of the scientists crudely said, “You should never name a hog if you plan on slaughtering it.”

  * * *

  “Where is the elder?” Adam asked, looking out over the waves breaking on the island’s reef.

  “He is on Piliaieve. It is one of the smallest of the islets. He won’t be hard to find.”

  The Regulator docked around noon. Because Enele had no idea if there were any armed Elgen guards on the island, he sent out two of their women with baskets of fish, to walk around and observe. They encountered no Elgen, and when they felt bold enough to speak to one of the residents—a fisherman on the beach who was mending his nets—they were told that the only Elgen guard on Nui were assigned to the Elgen’s large boat (the Volta) and only occasionally came to town looking for kava or women or both. But just a week before, for reasons he didn’t know, the Elgen guards suddenly left the island, leaving only a few to guard the Volta. With the departure of the Volta, all traces of Elgen were gone. When the women asked the fisherman about Elder Malakai, the man turned away and refused to speak anymore.