Doctor Kate Wakefield hurried to finish her work on the Bootstrap device, feeling nauseous. She had been working out of the Tocsin Island base for the better part of two years on this thing. A completely crazy idea that no-one had expected to work... and yet, there was a serious chance of it being pulled off. Kate was certain, in fact, that it would work. This had been a chance to finally prove that her appointment hadn't been a mistake, that a woman could lead a team of researchers. But this goddamn alien invasion had decimated that hope.
She almost felt bad for feeling that way- the aliens had destroyed so many that it seemed wrong to care about her career. It seemed possible that none of them would live soon. The sheer firepower the aliens had displayed meant that they could do whatever they wanted with humanity now. They seemed content on domination, rather than extermination, but who knew whether they would allow the researchers to live?
Kate had been the one to make this decision. To deny them this technology, which they seemed not to have. Once they were on Earth, they apparently relied on local transport. The Boostrap device would give them the ability to invade who knew how many other worlds.
Once she'd been completely flabbergasted by the technology possessed by Aperture Science Laboritories. The portal gun they'd created had been a marvel. Their hiring of her to develop what was at the time only hypothetical had been unreal. The ability to teleport a ship across the world- and potentially beyond- was something she'd never dreamt of. But now this technology was only a liability. Something they had to destroy. She'd already given direction to destroy all the data in the facility, and she'd gotten word that the Enrichment Center was being sealed up as well. With any luck, the aliens would have no idea about their advances.
Finally, it was done, she realised. She'd been working on autopilot as she reflected, but now the device was installed. There were all manner of tests she wanted to do, but she just had to hope that the thing actually worked. If it did, they could recover it later. They'd never find it all the way in the Antarctic, at least not before they had a chance to recover it. Then, whatever kind of resistance formed could find it and use it.
She headed back outside, noting again the cold winter air. She wished she had put something on, but she'd been too pre-occupied to think of it. She almost laughed to think of that concern being on her mind at that moment. She shook her head and continued to the control pad on the jetty that had been set up. They'd been intending on testing it properly the following week, but almost everything had been set up as they conducted other tests. But those tests hadn't been done, so now she found herself staring at the button that would send the ship away.
Her hand hovered over it... and pressed it.
Nothing happened for a few seconds. Long enough for Kate to wonder whether it had just failed. But then, the ship started to shimmer, and Kate found that she could see through it.
"Come on, baby..." she murmured as it slowly phased out of existence.
Soon, all that was left were bright colours in the air- the Borealis that had been noted in smaller tests when things had travelled from place to place. They would fade in a few hours. It was an artifact of the energies that allowed it to travel in higher dimensions. Waste light.
Kate waited a moment, just to make sure, and nothing happened. There was no sign the ship had ever been there. She started to feel the cold again, and decided to head back. She'd oversee the deletion of the data, and then they'd all head home to be with their families. There was nothing else they could do now except try to keep their loved ones safe.
No-one would ever know where they had worked, such had been the secrecy. And the aliens would have no idea that the Borealis existed, until they could find a way to use the technology again and head to Antarctica.
As Kate walked back along the dock, she mourned her future, and hoped she wouldn't have to mourn that of humanity.
