"What's our plan?" Samantha asked, voicing the question that had been wandering in the minds of the Wanderers for at least ten minutes.
Amanda remained still, her fist clenched. She couldn't believe this was happening. The Cradle. The Rift Gates. The Last Ones. The Collapse. All of it spun in her head like an unknown cycle. Fifteen years had passed since the last collapse, but thoughts of that night had never left her. Everything was repeating again.
According to Samantha, the new collapse would be more powerful than the previous one. The entire Consolidated Nation would fall to the fire wave. Five travelers in the dead lands were their only chance for salvation. The expedition to the Third District in search of the energy disk was over. It was no longer just an expedition; now it was a mission on which not only the Fracture Project depended but also billions of lives. Even more.
Amanda felt the weight of responsibility that had fallen on her shoulders. The fate of humanity depended on their subsequent actions.
She turned to the Wanderers standing behind her. They were waiting for an answer to a question she hadn't even heard. Their faces didn't speak but screamed of uncertainty and fear of the future. Not all of them understood what awaited in the case of a single mistake, and not all could imagine the possible horror. But she saw more than just them.
Somewhere far away, like living memories, stood Sergey, Ivan, and Manuel. Like the past returning from the void that had consumed them. They stood there, just as before: ready to accomplish the impossible. "The impossible," Amanda whispered so softly that she wasn't even sure she had said it aloud.
"If Samantha is right," the woman tried to remain unyielding, as she had been at the beginning of the expedition: firm, tough, self-assured, understanding that she was the commander. But while her actions had once determined the lives of the Wanderers, now every decision brought them closer to the moment of the Rift Gates' launch. "We must hurry before the launch; otherwise..." the woman took a deep breath, "we will have less than half an hour to close the rift."
"But the rift can only be closed..." John began but didn't finish his sentence.
"By means of an explosion. If we're lucky, it will only kill us, and the wave will weaken at the borders of the district."
"But that's if they launch the Gates," Samantha supported the commander.
"So we need to hurry," Alex concluded.
"But when will they start the launch?" James was the only one who partially understood what was happening. All these scientific terms... He barely passed his exams in physics and mathematics.
"Unknown. In a month or two, or maybe next week..." Amanda shrugged.
"Or in a few minutes," Samantha finished.
"In any case," Amanda looked at the lights of the Cradle, "we cannot delay."
"And how will we stop them?" John rubbed his hand. "Even if we stop them, they will rebuild the Cradle and launch the Gates again."
"Not quite," Samantha interrupted him. "The key element of the Rift Gates is the energy disk. If we take it, they won't be able to open the rift. Even if they try to open the rift without the disk, they won't be able to control the energy flows, and... the explosion will destroy the Cradle, and the rift won't be opened."
"So we need to get into the complex, grab the disk, and get out?" Alex summarized.
"On the Hawk," Amanda added, continuing to listen to the conversation and check the perimeter.
"The plan sounds good," John responded. "Easy in theory, but in practice..."
"Then let's go with that," Amanda turned to the Wanderers. "Samantha," the woman addressed the girl, "how long will it take to extract the energy disk?"
"About two to three minutes," the Wanderer hesitated. Everything looked simple on the blueprints, but in reality, they had changed the process during the restoration. "The procedure isn't complicated. I can handle it."
"And your voice is doubtful," Alex noted, crossing her arms over her chest. The girl had faith in Samantha, but her doubts spoke volumes.
"I studied the schematics of the Rift Gates," the girl omitted that for the past few years, she had researched the blueprints of the Fracture Machine, the Rift Gates, and the Apparatus every evening. Her project, known only to John, a project that could return the Wanderers back to their home world, required knowledge of all the scientific works written over years of research into Primordial Space. "It won't take hours to extract it."
"Then Samantha and John will head to the Gates hall. Samantha will extract the Energy Disk, and John will cover her." The woman then turned to the other Wanderers. "James and Alex will hold the entrance to Rift hall to ensure the guards don't reach the Rift Gates."
"And what will you do?" Alex, having agreed with Amanda's plan, asked her.
"I'll steal the Hawk," Amanda said confidently, though with a slight note of anxiety in her voice. There would probably be technicians in the hangar checking the engines. And if they were armed, it would be difficult for her alone to capture and hold the position.
"Very easy."
"I agree with James," Alex replied. "It sounds too easy." The girl lowered her hand to her belt and grabbed the handle of her pistol. "There must be a hundred guards, they have weapons, and they outnumber us."
"Not a hundred, just twenty," Amanda corrected. "Do you think I've just been watching the perimeter all this time?"
"And how many inside?" James stepped forward.
"The thermal imager doesn't show that many. About thirty, and they're in the laboratories. We can conclude that they are scientists who restored the complex."
"Scientists who might also carry weapons."
"That's good," Samantha reported. "Their weapons will become ours."
"Or maybe not," Amanda added. "What do they need weapons for? Raiders won't storm in; they're unlikely to even venture here."
"I'm sure the people of the Old World told themselves this every time they went off to another war," Alexa said bitterly, her voice trembling with emotion. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Amanda. It's either them or the entire country will perish."
"Either that or everyone dies," Amanda replied sharply.
"Understood," John concluded the discussion. "We're heading to the Gates. Alexa and James will cover us while we grab the disk. And you'll steal the Hawk."
"Exactly. Once you're done, head to the hangar. The Hawk will be ready for takeoff by the time you return," Amanda confirmed. "Prepare your weapons. We..." She abruptly fell silent.
"Do you all feel that?" Samantha addressed the others.
The Wanderers stood on the hilltop, feeling the ground tremble beneath them. The sand shifted, and the trees, desperately clinging to the dead earth, fell. A wave of fear coursed down John's spine once again. No one knew what was happening; the last earthquake in the area had occurred centuries ago. But at that moment, a beam of light shot into the sky from the main reservoir. Each of the Wanderers realized that the coming hours would be the hardest of their lives. More importantly, they understood that their journey would end before it even began.
"They're launching the Gates!" Samantha shouted.
"Then why is the ground shaking?" Alexa asked, trying to keep her balance.
"I..." Samantha paused, then continued. "I get it now. It's the result of explosions."
"What explosions?"
"The Convergence Points are detonating all over the Third District, releasing collapse energy. The earthquake is the consequence of those explosions."
"You know what that means," Amanda said to Alexa. "If they're trying to create an Collapse, then..."
"We won't be able to get out of here," John said. His words sounded lifeless, as if he had already lost hope, just as he had lost his home. "It's already too late."
Everyone understood the weight of their next actions. There was no option other than to move forward, even if the next step led them to their doom.
"There's no time!" Amanda said, pulling out her rifle. "We're starting now. There's no turning back."
The Wanderers nodded in agreement.