It amazes Derek how he remembers most of the coding. Every now and then, like a flash of lightning going off in his head, that bit more comes back. At the time, he thought it was a waste of time. There were already better languages, even then.

Funny how things can work out.

A hand gently lands on his shoulder. He turns his neck. “Are you okay, Maeve?”

She nods. “Are you more like? I would have killed them if they hurt you. You could have trusted me with your problem.”

Looking back at his screen, he replies, “I know, and I was going to tell you. I was waiting for the right time.”

“Love you, no matter what.” She rubs the back of his head and walks away.

For the next five hours, with only the occasional break, he works away. Then bingo. He now has full control of the system.

Turning his chair around, he shouts. “I’ve done it.”

Claps come from the back of the warehouse where they are sitting.

Aaron gets up and runs towards him. “The security and all?”

Derek nods.

“Well then, you’d better join the rest of them at the so we can plan for tomorrow.”

“What about my relations?”

“My contacts will be able to bring them to safety once they get the message to proceed.”

“So, what is it?” Mick pulls out a Lurcha laser gun and points it directly at Derek’s head.

Gasps go out from the others.

“Don’t shoot him anyway. At worst, we’ll keep him prisoner,” James implores.

Derek grins.

“What’s so funny, Derek? You think I won’t pull the trigger?” Mick’s turns beetroot red.

“I think there’s a good chance you would. The blood might destroy some of that lovely equipment though. That would be a shame. And then there’s the whole shooting the person in the wheelchair after he saved the girl. That should go down with the public, really well.”

“He has a point, Mick.” Aaron nods.

“And anyway, I’m on your side. I was waiting for the right time to tell you the full story.”
Mick lowers his weapon. “You better not be lying to me.”

Derek takes a large breath. “Look let me a look at this code for a few hours. And you see if there’s something you can do for my relatives. How does that sound?”

There is silence amid node of agreement.

James speaks. “I know people who could get your relations somewhere safe. I’ll contact them now and see what sort of timeframe they can make their.”

Mick stares at him. “You know what that is, don’t you.”

“What’s going on?” Maeve asks.

Derek drove over to a console on the left of the holographic image. It was full of varying symbols of different sizes.

“How did you know? Like nobody knows.” Derek smiles shaking his head from side to side.

Aaron speaks. “About six months ago, the resistance broke into the Secret Services gaining access to the files of every human being in the system. So, when we heard that you had freed our Maeve, it made sense to learn more.”

Derek’s smile disappears as Aaron continues.

“We know they turned. you. But we also know that you are one of the few people who understand the Tomahaw code that could help us carry this out. To be honest, I found that your a nice guy. So, hopefully we can come to an arrangement.”

Maeves’ hands are up around her mouth. “What have you done?”

Derek goes red in the face and tries to speak. Then, he clears his throat. “It was the only way to save you, Maeve. I swear. I learned Tomahaw when I was young. It’s archaic, obsolete in many ways. That’s why so few know it. She said that she’ll kill my relations if I don’t do as she asks.”

She placed her hand on his shoulder. “Let’s rock.”

Derek spoke in a raised tone. “Okay, everybody, strap yourselves in. And somebody, remind me exactly where we’re going again.”

The others strapped themselves into their seats.

Mick piped up. “We’re going to a place called Fairgrounds. It’s close to the city of Liverpool. Stay close to the ground. We don’t want to attract any attention.”

Derek inputted the coordinates.

The ship shook as the thrusters ignited. The green field slipped from view to a vista of the blue ocean. The ship then propelled forward over the waves. Derek paid heed to Mick’s advice not to fly too high.

Half an hour later, the sea disappeared below, replaced by the greens of fields and trees. There are sparse human settlements. Before long, Derek is weaving his way through the Scottish highlands. There are forests, lakes, and farms.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Maeve says.

“How much longer?” Aaron asks.

Derek shouts to those behind him. “About an hour away.”

The mountainous terrain comes to an end and is replaced by undulating countryside. Then back over sea.

“We’re almost there now.”

The metropolis appears over the water in the distance. Skyscrapers reaching up into the heavens.

A holographic map appeared in front of Derek. The array is on the outskirts of the metropolis, the opposite side of the city to the great Anfield Stadium. The position is heavily fortified and what appears to be an army barracks is beside it.

What could I do to help them destroy this target?

He chuckles.

Perhaps I exaggerated my brilliance a bit too much on the whiskey.

The diagnostic of the ship proceeded smoothly. As expected, there had been some damage, a few laser blasts that grazed the ship. Nothing to worry about.

Derek closes his eyes. Time to rest.

A gentle slap on the face wake him up some time later. It’s Aaron. “Having a kip, were you?”

Derek smiles. “I thought I would get some rest in while I could.”

“Well I’m afraid that the time to yourself has elapsed. The rest of them are following me.”

Chattering could be heard in the distance.

“Here, they are. What took you all so long?”

“Maeve thought she saw some really rare bird,” Mick replied. “But it was a false alarm.”

“Are we good to go?” Maeve asks Derek.

He winked at her. “We’re good to go. The ship has been fully repaired.”

Derek feels something off in the pit of his stomach that has nothing to do with the hangover.

How can I betray these people? They have hearts of gold and have been so welcoming. It feels so wrong.

The ship is exactly where he left. The ramp goes down as he approaches.

“Computer, run full diagnostic test.”

The female voice responds, “A full diagnostic of all systems and the integrity of the ship has been activated. It will take approximately two hours to complete.”

Yeah, that would be about right.

Derek goes to the control panel. It is full of incoming messages, his heart skips a beat.

She will have to wait till I come up with some sort of plan. I couldn’t face talking to her at the moment.

He uses the control panel to search the web. Progress is slow though due to the countermeasures he takes to make sure he is not tracked.

He types in Liverpool and then communication array.

A result pops up about a large array on the outskirts of the city. He reads the accompanying AI summary beside it –

The Liverpool large communication array is a model of modern engineering. It handles all communications between Earth and the outer colonies, including those on the moon.

The lads are already up and eating toast with eggs.

“Look what the cat dragged in, decide it was time to get up?” Aaron asked. The other fellas sniggered.

“Very funny,” Derek replied.

“I’m surprised he’s alive at all. You were really knocking them back,” Marcus intejected.

“Me too. I thought we’d have to delay the mission,” Charles added.

“Thank you all for your concern,” Derek just about managed to reply.

Mick spoke, his tone serious. “You will be able to take part in the mission, won’t you. We need to leave in under two hours on your shipped .”

Derek nods in the affirmative.

The guys talk about soccer briefly before heading out for a walk around the island. It gives Derek time to savor his food, he swears before God it has never tasted so good.

Maeve comes from the bedroom, her eyes drooping. “Where are they gone?”

“Out for a stroll.” Derek says having perked up somewhat after finishing his third cup of tea. “Actually, I’m going to head over now and check up on the ship. I’ll meet everyone over there for the departure.

It’s a sunny, pleasant day outside. There is not a cloud in the sky.

Derek wakes up to a massive headache. His mouth is dry. This is the worst he has felt since he caught the Aurex virus when he was young. He pauses for a moment, wondering how the previous night had ended. Nope, he doesn’t remember.

Maeve is in the bed beside him.

He kisses her forehead.

Her head moves from side to side. “Are you okay?”

“Not really, if I’m being honest. Feeling shit.”

Maeve opens her eyes and smiles. “I think you had a bit too much to drink. Do you remember the last thing you said to the boys?”

“Not really, what?! Derek’s eyes narrowed.

“That we are part of their next operation. Like, you didn’t even ask me,” She let out a mock laugh.

“Ah, no, I’m so sorry. I’ll go and explain that I was drunk.”

“I don’t think so, babe. It wouldn’t go down well. And we’re going to need these people if we are to stay out of prison.”

Derek sits up at the side of the bed. He had a sinking feeling. “I guess you’re right. God, I’m starving.”

With that, he moves back into his wheelchair, eager to get something to fill himself up.

“So, where and what is this?” Derek asks.

Mick smiles. “This, my new friend is our next target. A relay station in Liverpool.”

Derek shrugs. “What is so important about that?”

Aaron interjects, “It’s an important communication portal between Earth and several major orbiting stations. The monetary cost of the damage will be enormous. We’re not going to change everything overnight. It’s about building sustained, prolonged pressure. Ya know what I mean.”

“I understand. Tell me more about the plan. There must be something I can do to help.”

Placing his hand on Derek’s shoulder, Aaron replies, “When I heard what you had done, I said fair fucks. A guy in a chair, breaking our Maeve out. I said that, didn’t I say that, Marcus and Charles?”

They reply in unison. “Yes, you did.”

Aaron looks directly at Derek, “I knew I was going to like this guy. And yes, I think there’s something you can do.”

Animated, they tell Derek about what they have planned. Every few minutes, they encourage him to down another whiskey. Soon, he feels groggy, and he finds it hard to follow what they are saying.

Maeve whispers in his ear. “I think you’ve had enough. Come on let’s get you into bed.”

The drink flows, and Derek feels warmer.

“So, what was it like growing up on the moon?” Aaron asks Derek. “It must have been great to be able to look up at the stars and to see the lunar surface.”

Derek stops to ponder his response. “Most of the time, it was pretty boring, to be honest. It’s like being stuck on a small island where the scenery never changes and where you must justify your own existence.”

Mick rubs his nose and then speaks for the first time. “I take it you’re not a fan of the authorities?”

Grinning Derek replied, “You do realize that you are speaking to probably the most wanted either down here or up there.”

Mick’s jaw clenched, “Can we trust you?”

Gasps went out from those in the room.

“Of course, we can trust him,” Maeve interrupted.

“It’s ok, everyone, I prefer to talk candidly like this. Yes, you can trust me,” Derek says, staring right at him.

“Good,” Mick replied, “We have a lot of work to get through. And some of our best work is done while drinking whiskey.”

Mick takes out a blue and white schematic. “This is our next target.”