Chapter 26
A space station is like a mini planet. It has to maintain a gravity field for its habitats. It has to have air for the habitats to breath. That is not even taking into account for the waste it has to get rid of and water for the people to drink and use. A station is a complicated thing to maintain and to build. That is not even taking into account the energy that it has to run on.
Considering the function of a space station, a space station can get more complicated. It can be a fueling station for ships. A space station can be a neutral ground for conflicts between planets. A space station can simply be a home. For the space station, Ithaca; it is all of this.
It is the reason why the center of the station is huge. It has to house all of the machinations to run the station. Considering the size of the center of the station, it houses also tools and vehicles for the maintain workers.
The sheer size of this room has to house the air purification system. It also has to house the water purification system, not to mention the waste discharge machine. It has to house every piece of machines at a convenient spot for the engineers to fix the problem.
For security, this is the place that everything can go wrong. Ideally, security's world revolves around this spot. If anything goes wrong in the center of the station, everything goes wrong.
Unfortunately for the security guards lying unconscious on the floor, everything is going to go wrong.
Major Tom has made the space station Ithaca a perfect trap.
Major Tom walks over the unconscious guards and look at the sheer size of the room. He could not believe how vulnerable a space station could be. Yet, a space station has never been attack this way. Major Tom vaguely remembers that there is some sort of treaty that was supposed to have been signed giving a space station that type of neutrality. Luckily for the habitats on the space station, he was not going to kill anyone of them. In fact, they will become a vital component of his trap for Jenny.
Major Tom had the female Time Lord. He had her captured and in a room filled with bars and a single toilet. He had her. Instead, Major Tom lost Jenny again. Somehow she picked the locks. Without him knowing it, Jenny stole his Time Converter. The detail did not matter on how. The result was what counts and Jenny escaped.
Major Tom approaches the air purification system. For a minute, he took in the splendor of the machine. He marvels on how far the human race came from being apes in jungle trying to reach a banana. He is so proud of his species.
Major Tom looks at the device in his hand. Since he verifies that Jenny's ship is still here, Major Tom knew that Jenny will have to return back to his space station. He smiles at his plan that will ensnare the female Time Lord. It will take a miracle for her to save everyone and live. This is his perfect trap.
He focus back on the task at hand and proceed to work his insidious device onto the machine and start to wonder what could the time travel alien try to do in order to escape out of this one.
Jenny dives into the pile of souvenirs. Even she was surprised on how many souvenirs that she accumulated throughout the years. There are stuffs that she simply forgot that she had in this part of the ship. When Jenny picks up the pink statue of a couple in their native wedding garments, Jenny could not help but stare at it. She simply could not fathom how she got it. The statue was grotesques, yet eerily beautiful. She just could not remember what the origin of this statue was. The fact that it is pink disturbs her a bit.
"How did I get you?" ask Jenny to the statue.
She simply stares at it. She stares at the groom as he is kneeling before the bride. The bride simply had her hand over the groom's head like he is patting the kneeling male. Jenny could not tell what the bride's facial expression said. For the life of her, Jenny did not know if the bride had love, sorrow, forgiveness or tired expression.
The answer came to Jenny as she slapped her forehead.
"Of course. The Prince of Kywr'sit gave it to me. I still can not believe it that he proposed to me." said the smiling Time Lord. "I wonder if my father has this problem."
Jenny places the statue off to the side and resumes her digging into her pile of souvenir. What she found was something unexpected. She sits up and looks at it.
It was Chuck's I phone.
She thought that she lost it while saving a planet. Jenny could remember having the phone in her hand while the planet was in flames. She could see the phone slip out of her pockets as she rescued the child from the explosion. Since the planet was undergoing the final stages of its life, Jenny knew that it was lost.
Yet, here it is in her hand. Even now, she could remember how she got the phone.
After Jenny saved Chuck from a kidnapping, Chuck and Jenny had lunch on the roof of the Buy More. After they ate their lunch, Jenny made a decision. She was going to ask Chuck to join her. He became the first and only person to refuse to see the universe. While she felt bad at the time, Chuck tried his best to give the young Time Lord some reassurance.
Chuck reaches inside his pocket and took out his phone.
"Here." Chuck toss his phone to Jenny, who catches it. "That is my phone. Call me when you have something to talk about. Call me when you have a song to sing. You can call me when you are feeling a little crazy. Most of all, call me when you need a friend."
"I thought I lost you." said Jenny to the phone. Her smile turns into a frown. She shakes her head, knowing that she should have done a better job in keeping tabs on her companions/friends. A lot of her problems would have been solved if she did that.
Major Tom got to her former companions in a methodical brutal fashion. By the time, she figured out what was going on; it was too late for any of them. Major Tom changed them so much that they did not even recognize her after she saved them. Chuck is the only one left. It was by sheer chance that he did not take up her offer to see the universe. That sheer chance saved him.
Her smile reappears as she realizes that she had in her hands.
"Of course. What was I thinking? You are going to help me save Chuck." said Jenny to the phone. She places the phone off to one side.
"But first, I have to find the most important thing in the universe." Jenny dives back into her pile of trinkets.
"Found you." proclaims the Time Lord after five minutes of moving souvenirs off to one side. She held up the object of her desires.
It is her screwdriver.
The screwdriver is her making. It took her a while, but she perfected it. It is two sided and extremely powerful. On one end of the screwdriver is the sonic portion. It had saved her many times in the past. It has unlocked doors that should not have been locked. It had warned her of hidden danger.
The other end of the screwdriver…. Is her just in case everything is ending section. There had been times when she needed it. Only by sheer luck, Jenny was able to get out of it. After the thousandth near death experience that nearly destroyed a universe, Jenny decided that she had to stop relying on luck so much. It was the only reason that she constructed this side of the screwdriver. She put her screwdriver in her pocket. She had never used it before. The only reason that it existed because the soldier portion of her brain told her to always be prepared.
Jenny gets up from the ground and pick up the I Phone. She places the I Phone in her other pocket. Her plan in her head is starting to formulate into a clear focus.
"Ship. How is the scanning on the fuel cells?" ask Jenny.
"Scanning has just been completed. All fuel cells are clean. They are able to be used for the luxury cruiser." reply the ship's computer.
"Good. Begin the loading process of the fuel cells. When I get back, we are setting sails." commands Jenny.
"We are still under a level 10 quarantine." reminds the computer to its captain.
"I got my screwdriver. That is not a problem. The main problem is making sure that Chuck does not get himself killed while I am transporting the cells. How is his process?"
"Chuck has just started his descent from the air duct in the ceiling. He is making slow process." Jenny looks up and a video feed appear on a screen. She sees Chuck slowly climbing down a rope.
"If anything goes wrong, he will be like a pinata during a birthday party. I better hurry. Teleport me down to the dock." commands Jenny.
"Teleporting."
Jenny teleports out of the ship and onto the dock. Jenny looks at the base of the ship. It is clamp on by the docks security system. She aims her screwdriver at it and press the button. The sonic portion of the screwdriver activates and Jenny could hear the safety clamps releases its hold on her ship. She smiles at her small success.
Jenny starts to run toward the door of the dock. She reach inside her pocket and takes out the phone.
"Alright, let's see if you work."
She turns it on the phone. However the screen on the phone has the dead battery symbol. Jenny reaches in her other pocket and takes out the screwdriver. She points it at the battery and recharges it.
"That's better." Jenny presses a button and hears the phone connecting.
"C'mon. Pick up on the right year." said Jenny, hoping for a respond.
"Hello, this is the Woodcomb residences." answers a female voice. Jenny stops at her track. Jenny never met the important woman in Chuck's life. She reviews in her head of Chuck's story and had three women that would answers the phone.
"Is this Ellie?" ask Jenny.
"Yesss." answers Ellie Bartowski. Jenny could hear the confusion in the woman's voice.
"Tell me you are the Ellie Bartowski in the year of 2011."
"Yes."
"Fantastic. I need you to answer my question."
"Who is this?" ask Ellie.
"I am so sorry. I did not introduce myself. This is Jenny."
"Wait. What?" ask a surprised Ellie. Jenny felt a little confusion in her.
"Jenny."
"Not THE Jenny."
"Depend by what you mean by THE?"
"The Jenny that contacted my father. The Jenny who needed my father's help to find a watch. The Jenny that my brother told me is an alien. That is what I am meaning by THE." explains Ellie.
"Well, we are all aliens to some cultures…"
"Oh my god!" yells out Ellie in happiness. Jenny could imagine the female doctor jumping in joy by this news. "My brother found you! Oh my God! He found the watch. He did it. I knew that brother of mine could find it. Wait. What are you doing calling me?"
"Actually, you are on Chuck's phone and it is the first number on here."
"OK. What's wrong?"
"What makes you think that something is wrong?"
"I have not seen Sarah, Chuck or Casey in a few days and they are spies. You are calling me and not my brother, which means my brother can't call me. I also tend to worry about my brother. You can see where my train of thought comes from." explains Ellie.
"Point taken. I can see why your brother is so smart. You raised him right. Do you want the truth or..."
"I want the truth." interrupted Ellie.
"Last I saw him; he is hanging upside down on a rope trying to get a device that may save a space station filled with people. The only problem is that everyone on the station is crazed murderous lunatics. So, I do have to make this call short because I have things that I need to do to make sure that everyone is safe and not killing each other even though it is my sheer pleasure in talking to the person who made sure that her brother is smart, funny, and most of all caring. So that is the truth that you need to hear."
"OK. How can I help?" Jenny smile. She likes Chuck's sister.
"It is pretty simple. I need to find Morgan Grimes." Jenny start running toward the door.
"Morgan? He should still be at the Buy More. It is two at this moment, so he is back from lunch." said Ellie, who did not hide her confusion on why an alien would want Morgan Grimes.
"Excellent."
"Jenny."
"Yes."
"Watch over my brother."
"Of course." Jenny hangs up the phone and places it back in her pocket. The dock doors open. Jenny runs out of the docks and in the hallway. She stops running when she came upon the robot.
She bends on one knee and look at the robot.
"Hello, little one. It looks like I am going to need to fix you up. I need your help." said Jenny to the little broken robot as she places her focus on fixing the robot.
As Chuck slowly climb the robe, Chuck could not help but think that he was going too slow. Unfortunately, he did not have a lot of options in terms of plans.
The problem that Chuck was finding is the sheer number of infected people on the station: It is everyone on the station except Jenny and Chuck. Considering that he had not stop and counted how many is on the station, he did not have a number of what he is dealing with. All he knows that it seems endless.
The plans that Chuck had in order to get into the room required more than two people. Since he is separated from Jenny, most of his plans were simply dead in the water.
It left Chuck with one option: Sneak in the room, hit the button and pray that Major Tom was not a lying d-bag. It was not perfect and it was not a pretty plan. Like he thought, it was the only plan that he had.
The first part of the plan is the hardest. Sneak in the room. As he looked over the blueprint, he found that it did not take long to eliminate his option.
The first entrance is the obvious. It was the front door. With most of the infected on the ground staring at the front door, the moment that door opens, Chuck knew an attack was imminent. Survival was a zero percent.
The second entrance that Chuck found is an air duct a few feet away from the door. Same problem: The moment he get out of the air duct, attack would be imminent, only this time, Chuck did not have anyway of running. He would be stuck in the room with them.
There was one entrance left, which Chuck accidentally picked: The air duct that was ceiling. Considering that it is 10 stories above ground, this entrance had plenty of risk: Chuck could fall to his death. Chuck could find himself with not enough rope. Chuck could slip and fall. In the end, it all boils down to death.
Chuck did not want to take this option, but the number simply dictated. At the least, injure himself and still be surrounded by infected people that would treat him like an invader, which may end up with his death.
Chuck had only one move. He had to sneak in while the infected sleep. Considering that the infected people were slowly lying themselves and taking a nap, the window of opportunity is opening up for Chuck. The risk of being seen is lower. None of them were playing attention to the device. If he is lucky, he would be able to sneak in and simply presses the button.
Of course the plan is simple. It was the details that made it complicated.
Chuck had to sneak in via the entrance that was 10 stories above ground. He had to find a way to attach a rope, which may not even be long enough, and climb down the rope without falling down.
Chuck had to find a way to hit the button from wherever he is hanging from. If he is lucky, he had to simply climb up the rope and hope for the best.
Again, the details are the problem.
The rope that he acquired from the security room is definitely not long enough. In order to fix this problem, Chuck had to find the other security rooms in the station and get their ropes. While this did take time, Chuck found that he is getting better in moving in the air ducts.
Chuck is still trying to figure out if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
While he look for more rope, Chuck look for something to attach to the rope in the air ducts.
With the help of the Sabrina computer, which still insist on doing her primary and yet distracting duties, he found it in one of the lockers in the security room. He then looks for potential items that could help him. He found flash bombs and more blasters.
Once he got the items in question, he started the process of getting things set up to lower himself down. What he did not realize was how quick he did everything. Chuck figured that a lot of the time that would have been spent looking for the stuff was eliminated because of the sexy librarian in his pocket. By identifying the items in question and giving him a route to take, it gave him focus and speed.
Of course, there are things that the sexy librarian can't do for him.
That would be slowly climbing down a rope while not making any noise.
That is his current predicament.
Chuck only looks down once and that was when he climbs out of the air duct. He did not like the height but it had to be down.
As he climbs down the rope, Chuck could hear his high school gym teacher laughing at him. Chuck did not do so well in the rope climb in his teenager years. If it was not for Captain Awesome and John Casey, Chuck is pretty sure that he would still have problems climbing a rope.
What seems like forever, Chuck is at the end of his rope. He looks at his goal. He is still a good distance away from reaching the target.
Chuck takes a deep breath and flashes. He takes a deep breath. He had some maneuvering to do.
The end result was that he had to hang upside with his legs holding him on the rope allowing him to use his blaster to hit the button. With the risk of destroying the whole system, Chuck made sure that he changed the settings of the blaster. The result is that the blast would be like a big dodge ball hitting an object. It would be like throwing a ball on the target.
Of course, the end result that Chuck had in mind became reality with all of its problems. Chuck could feel the blood rushing down his face. He could also feel gravity wanting him to come down to the ground. He could feel himself slip a little bit. Chuck shakes his head and reminds himself to actually go to Las Vegas and try to catch the show with the acrobats. At least he could figure out how they did the stunts without running the risk of dying.
What Chuck did not expect is the door of the center of the station to open.
The door did what he thought it would. It did make some noise as it open. Whatever noise it did make, did not wake up the infected people. Chuck shakes his head at his bad guess, but thanks his lucky stars that everyone is still asleep.
What Chuck saw made him sweat and his heart races.
It is the little girl with her teddy bear from the hallway.
"No." whispers Chuck.
The girl looks around at the area. She slowly walks in the room as if she is looking for something. Chuck figure that she is looking for her parents.
"Please don't look up. Please don't look up. Please don't look up." Whisper Chuck to himself.
The girl looks up. Chuck's heart starts to race.
Her red eyes grew when she saw Chuck.
"Oh, no." said Chuck in a whisper.
The girl starts to yell.
Jenny looks at the robot. She made the robot a fully functional robot. Jenny found some spare parts on the docks and made the little robot grow a few feet taller. Knowing what the robot is going into, Jenny reinforced the weak spots on the robot.
She smiles at her accomplishment. The robot is missing one important part. Like most tin men, all it needed is a brain.
She had the only one in mind. Jenny press the button on the I Phone labeled the Buy More and look off to the side.
Jenny found a mirror on the dock and looks at her reflection.
"I do not look a day over 100." remarks Jenny as she smiles at her reflection.
Morgan watches as the two combatant fights for their customers from the Nerd Herd desk. Amber is sitting behind the counter watching them with Morgan. The spectacle simply grabs their attention and is not going to let go.
Lester is encouraging Jesse to go after the customer who is looking at tablets. For Tiffany, she is splashing water on Jeff as he struggling from passing out. Jeff stands right back up with a confused look on his face.
For a while, it looked like Tiffany had this contest. Something happened during Lester's lunch break. After that, Jesse and Lester became a cohesive team. Lester, using all of his sneaky attributes found perfect prey for Jesse. Jesse, in turn, used different selling tactics on them. Jeff, in turn, lost all of his steam. His hair is frazzle and he is losing his concentration.
The score is tie for Lester and Tiffany. Both combatants stare at each with determination that Morgan had not seen since the year of the Tang.
"I did not think it would be this hard." remark Amber as she stands beside Morgan.
"I figure it would be for Tiffany who would have the hardest time. It did seem unfair to pair her up with Jeff." said Morgan.
"Well, Jesse did stall a lot for Tiffany. But something happened. I don't know what it is, but she is genuinely trying to help Lester now." remarks Amber as she stare at them. Jesse is doing something that Amber has not seen out of the future CIA agent. Jesse is using the seductive techniques. She is giggling at the man's poorly executed jokes.
"It's a nail biter." said Morgan as the Nerd Herder phone rings.
Amber picks up the phone.
"Nerd Herd. This is Amber. How can I help you?" answers Amber as she keeps an eye on Tiffany. Tiffany slap Jeff's face with such force that saliva came out of the man's mouth. Amber could not help but feel Jeff's pain.
"Is there a Morgan Grimes working there?" ask a female voice.
"Yes. He is here today. Please hold." said Amber as she places the caller on hold. "Morgan, it's for you."
"Thanks, Amber." Morgan looks at Jeff. The slap did wake Jeff up. He shakes the cobwebs out of his drunken skull and starts to look for customers. Morgan shakes his head at the odd sight that he never thought he would see. He picks up the phone. "This is Morgan, how can I help you?"
"Morgan Grimes. It is so good to hear your voice." responds the happy voice.
"Well, I do have a wonderful voice. I have been told that many of time. May I ask who I am talking to?"
"It's me, Morgan. It is Jenny." reply the female voice.
"Jenny who?"
"Jenny."
"No, seriously. Jenny who?"
"Seriously. I was just there a few days ago."
"Jenny. I would remember….." Morgan nearly fall off the counter that he was leaning on when it hit him. He drops the phone onto the floor. "JENNY!"
Amber places her focus on Morgan. He straightens himself out. His face had a shock look that Amber could not ignore. Morgan bends down and pick up the phone.
"Jenny?" ask Morgan.
"Yep. That Jenny."
"Holy crap. Where's Chuck?" ask Morgan.
"That is why I am calling, Morgan. I need your help."
"Where are you? I'll be there as fast as I can." said Morgan. He looks around the Buy More. While he is in charge over the future CIA agents, Morgan knew that he could count on them to run the Buy More without a hitch. His concern over his best friend overrode everything in his life.
"51st century in a galaxy far away."
"Umm, where is that?" ask Morgan who was thinking of any restaurant, club, or bizarre comic book stores that may have that name.
"In a galaxy far far away." answers Jenny, knowing that Morgan is thinking that she is still in this century. "But trust me, I have a plan."
"OK."
"Tell me, Morgan. Do the Buy More still have that entertainment room with the game system?" ask Jenny.
"Yeah."
"Get over that right now and turn that game system on. Chuck does not have that much time left." command the Time Lord.
Morgan slam the phone down on the counter and runs to the entertainment center. Amber stares at him. She hangs up the phone and starts to follow him.
Morgan run into the entertainment room and closes the curtain. He goes to the gaming system and turns it on. He turns on the television set. Morgan proceeds to turn on the surround sound system.
He watch as it turns on. Amber walk in the entertainment room.
"What's going on, Morgan?" ask Amber.
"That was Jenny." said Morgan as he patiently waits for the game system to load.
"You mean the Jenny that we were supposed to protect?" asks Amber.
"Yeah, that one."
"UH Oh." said Jenny.
"What?
"I hung up on her."
"Amber!" said Morgan as he realizes what Amber just did.
"I did not think that it could have been her. Oh my god!" said Amber. Without a warning, Morgan's phone rings. Without hesitation, Morgan picks up.
"This is Morgan."
"Morgan Grime, do not hang up on me." said Jenny.
"It was a mistake. One of the rookies did that." apologizes Morgan. Amber let out a sigh of relief.
"Do not worry about it. Did you turn on the gaming system?" ask Jenny.
"Yeah."
"What screen are you on?"
"It is asking me what I want to do." said Morgan. "Just the regular homepage."
"Well that is simple. Take the two controls and pressing all the buttons at the same time."
"What?"
"Trust me."
Morgan takes a controller and hands it to Amber. He takes the other controller.
"Amber. On the count of three, we press all the buttons at the same time." said Morgan.
"OK." said Amber wondering what this is supposed to do.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
Amber and Morgan press the buttons at the same time. Both agents look at the television screen as it goes black.
Within a minute, the black screen shows a hallway. Both future agents look at the screen. Neither agent recognizes the hallway.
"What the?" said Amber.
When they see Jenny appear on the screen both individuals jumps.
"Can you see me?" ask Jenny with a smile.
"Holy crap, that's the girl." said Amber as she drops the controller. All the research that the recruits is on the television screen. She is smiling.
"Jenny." Was all Morgan could say.
"Yes!" yells out Jenny. "You can hang up the phone. Thanks to the wonderful CIA, I can hear you. Thanks to advance technology and my brains, you are seeing the hallway of a space station in the future.
"Wait! Did you say a space station?" asks Morgan.
"That is right. You are seeing it through the eyes of a robot." Jenny knocks on the robots head. Morgan and Amber could hear the metal sound. She then picks up the mirror and show the reflection. Amber and Morgan eyes grow when they see the reflection of the robot.
"Wow!" said Morgan with a smile. "That is so awesome."
Amber sits down on the sofa. Her mind starts to piece the information. Amber did not want to say what her brain concludes.
"I know it is, but right now we have a mission to worry about." said Jenny.
"Wait. Does that make you…?"
"That is correct, Morgan Grimes. I am a time traveler." Answer Jenny to Morgan. "Now, you have to focus, because we do not have that much time left."
"Oh my God." said Amber as she absorbs the new information.
She points her screwdriver. Morgan could hear a noise. Without warning, the television screen changes.
The video feed is still the same, but now there is a map on the lower right hand side.
"Morgan, there should be a map of the space station on the lower right hand corner of the screen. Do you see it?" ask Jenny.
"Yeah. It is a little small."
"Let me enlarge it a bit." said Jenny. Within seconds, it enlarges enough that both agents in the entertainment center would see it without blocking the view.
"That's perfect."
"Good, Morgan. This is important and I will not have time to tell you this again. So pay attention, Agent Grimes because this is where you save your best friend's life." said Jenny.
Morgan, the carefree best buddy, place his game face. Amber looks at Morgan.
The first time that she seen Morgan Grimes, all she could think of was what was Chuck doing with this guy. He was short, goofy, and hairy. As time went on, she found out what are the qualities that bind the two friends. They were loyal to each other no matter what. They did follow a code that she seen in her brothers. She could see that when it came to help his friend, he try to put on his best game forward. Amber could not help but smile at the man.
"The people on this space station have been infected with a toxic that made them into crazed blood thirsty lunatics. There is space ship at a distance away from the space station that needs to be refuel but the closest fueling station is this space station filled with murderous individuals. What I am going to do is unload the fuel off of this space station and deliver it to the space ship. The problem is that Chuck is trying to save the people on this space station by unleashing the antidote by himself. Your mission is simple: You are Chuck's backup. You have to protect your friend's back. I have equipped this robot with two blasters. They are guns that shoots laser. The blasters are set to stun so that you do not kill them. The inhabitants are not in the right state of mind, so killing is bad. However, I made sure that you should not run out of energy out of these blasters. I made sure that the robot does not run out of energy. You can make this robot go at its top speed with no worries. The problem that you will have is that his robot can be destroyed. Once that happens, you are no good to Chuck. So be safe."
"Where is Chuck?" ask Morgan.
"Hold on." Jenny step back. The map suddenly receive a red bar showing to the center of the station.
"Morgan. Follow the red line on the map and it will lead you to Chuck."
"No problem. Let me figure out the controllers."
Morgan press one button and the right arm move. Jenny takes a step away from the robot to avoid the line of fire.
Morgan presses another button the left arm move. Morgan then makes the robot go forward and backward. He then moves the head to look up and down. He fires the blaster at the wall.
"OK. Figure it out. How much time do I have?" ask Morgan.
"Not much. The quicker you are the better." said Jenny.
"Well, let's go save my best friend." proclaim Morgan as he made the robot speed off.