Temple of Fire (13 page)

Titan Six

The Temple of
Kalpur-az

 

Quiz held the nuke vertically in his right hand.  LED indicator lights indicated that the detonation sequence had begun.  In fifty-seven minutes, the desert in northeastern
Nevada
was not going to be habitable for man or beast.

“The light from the crystal is too bright,” Quiz said into his COM set.  “I can barely see the hole below.”

“You need to do it now,” said Hawkeye.  “Fifty-seven minutes is not a lot of time to get out of this godforsaken pit.”

Darkening his visor, Quiz released the device and watched it fall toward the hole below.

“
Dammit
!” he cried.  “It hit the limestone next to the circular opening in the earth.  It’s lying horizontally on the limestone, with only half of its length over the hole.”

* Drop something onto the part that is protruding over the hole.  Make it tip over.”

With what?

* Your helmet. *

Quiz realized that this was the only thing he had that was large enough and heavy enough to do the job.  Removing his helmet, the glare from the
Ruba-schal
below was even more distracting.  Squinting, he leaned to the right.

There.  He could barely make out the outline of the nuclear device, but he saw it.  He clutched his helmet in both hands, took aim, and threw it down with every bit of strength he could muster.

A simple helmet was the last chance for mankind to wake up the next day and go about its business, oblivious to the apocalyptic fate that had been averted.

It was falling.

“Hit the damn thing!” Quiz said.

The helmet grazed the cylinder, which tipped over slightly and teetered on the edge of the limestone.

Seconds passed.

“Fall, you son of a bitch!”
Quiz cried.

The device slipped a few inches, tilting ever so slightly.

Fifty-six minutes.

The thermonuclear bomb tilted farther.

“The damn thing’s just sitting there,” Quiz said to Dante.

* You’ve done all you can do. *

A slight tremor caused the cavern to vibrate, and the device slipped into the black hole.

Success.
  The package is delivered, but there’s a problem.

* Yes.  That static line is on fire. *

I hope the line can withstand the vibrations created by the pulley wheel.

Quiz’s index finger pulled back on the toggle switch.  The harness began to slowly move backwards and then halted.

“Quiz!”
Hawkeye called.

There was no response.  Without his helmet, Quiz had no protection from the gas venting from below.

He was unconscious.

 

Ops
Center

Aboard the
Alamiranta

 

“Ops, the harness has stopped and Quiz may have passed out,” Hawkeye said.

“I can’t get a
BioMEMS
signal to him,” Touchdown said.  “The geological activity directly below him is causing some electromagnetic interference.”

Catherine
Caine
paced nervously around the holographic display of the temple of the sun god.

“Can you reel him in manually?” she asked.

“Negative,” said Hawkeye.  “We’d have to shoot a second line towards him and have it catch hold of his harness.  But we don’t have a line.”

“Do the Chinese have one?”

Hawkeye looked up at
Aiko
, who stood a few feet away.  She shook her head.

“No, ma’am.
  I’m afraid we don’t.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” said DJ, “but Beatrice is moving again. 
Due west.”

The voice of Captain
Papagantis
came from the speakers.  “I’m turning to port, but this is going to be close.  I’m fairly certain that the feeder band on the starboard side of the ship is going to hit us.”

“Give orders to brace for impact, Captain,”
Caine
said.  “Mr. Hawke, come up with something, and fast.  Helicopters are already standing by at the northern rim of the crater.  They’ll take you and the Chinese to safety.”

“I’m not sure we have any options down here,” Hawkeye said.

There was a brief pause.

“Then you’ll have to leave Quiz behind,” said
Caine
.  “That’s an order.  Move out. 
Now.”

 

Aft Cargo Hold 6

Aboard the
Alamiranta

 

Pyro
suddenly realized what he had forgotten to do.  Turning the key to abort detonation wasn’t enough.  You had to turn and push.

He reached into the casing, took hold of the key between his thumb and index finger, and pushed.  The key went deeper into the charge . . . and then stopped.

It was jammed.

The digital countdown numbers began to blink.

00:31:26

 

Thirty-one minutes and twenty-six seconds until detonation.

Pyro
attempted to pull the key from its slot, but it didn’t budge.

“Ops, this is
Pyro
.”

“Report,” said
Caine
.

“The key’s stuck.  There’s nothing more I can do.  The torpedo is going to explode.  I highly recommend we push this thing into the ocean.”

“You said it was too unstable for such action!”
Caine
barked.  “You said the gyroscopes would detonate the torpedo!”

“It’s the lesser of the evils at this point,”
Pyro
said.

“Very well then,”
Caine
said.  “Do it.”

“We’ll have to break the seals surrounding the torpedo,”
Pyro
explained. 
“The ones that were put in place to stop the compartment from flooding.
  Water’s going to pour in here pretty damn fast.”

“
Pyro
, I’m sending reinforcements,”
Caine
said.  “Captain, prepare to seal off the cargo bay and surrounding areas in the aft portion of the ship.”

“Understood,”
Papagantis
said from the Bridge.  “I’m sending men to rig some additional pumps before I seal the area for good.”

“Do what you have to,”
Caine
said.

 

Titan Six

The Temple of
Kalpur-az

 

Hawkeye stared at Tank.  He’d lost men before, and members of his team had been seriously injured.  But Quiz — he was a young man who was only on his second mission, plus his keen intelligence made him an invaluable asset to Titan Global.

More than anything, he was just beginning to taste life.  Leave him behind?

Hawkeye would do what he had to in order to save the rest of the team, but it would be the most gut-wrenching move he’d ever made.

“Get ready to move out,” Hawkeye said.  “Even if I could think of a way to rescue Quiz, it would take precious minutes, and we have less than an hour to get clear of the blast zone.”

The members of Titan Six quietly began to pick up their gear.

“I am sorry for your loss,”
Aiko
said.

Hawkeye looked at the Commander and saw that her condolence was heartfelt.

* * *

 

Dante knew that Titan Six would sacrifice Quiz if necessary.  They were already preparing to leave the chamber.

He guided Quiz’s left hand to the toggle switch that made the harness pulley go forwards and backwards, much like the switch on a motorized wheelchair.  He pulled Quiz’s hand back, engaging the motor.

The harness lurched backwards violently, causing it to swing parallel to the axis of the burning static line.

* I haven’t had a body for many centuries.  I need to employ a more deft touch. *

Dante pulled back the toggle switch more gently, causing the harness to slide slowly along the static line.

Fire continued to dance along the line, searing it with heat.

There were three problems: Quiz’s physical condition was deteriorating due to oxygen deprivation; second, the fire was advancing rapidly across the static line, which Dante suspected might snap at any moment; third, Titan Six wasn’t looking at the harness any longer.

The harness continued to slide backwards.

 

Aft Cargo Hold 6

Aboard the
Alamiranta

 

The cargo hold was busy with frenetic activity as crewmembers ran wide hoses to the
Alamiranta’s
built-in pumping system.  All decks had been outfitted with a maze of pipes fifteen inches in diameter that were connected to hydraulic pumps that could discharge a thousand gallons of water per minute into the ocean in the event of a breach.  The elaborate system had not been designed, however, to handle water flooding the vessel as the result of an explosion. 

Pyro
quickly assessed the situation as the last hoses were connected to the cargo hold.  If he and his team could at least get the torpedo dislodged and into the Pacific, the pumping system might be able to handle the water.  If the torpedo exploded, then the
Alamiranta
would be in peril.

“Start removing the seals around the torpedo,”
Pyro
said to the crew.  “And get ready to get the hell out of here quickly.”

He pivoted to face the bomb squad.  “When the seals are off, we’ll push this son of a bitch back into the ocean using the forklift in the corner.”

Pyro
knew that the chances of success were fifty-fifty at best.  Once the seals were gone, the force of the water rushing in would be tremendous.

The crew began removing the metal and plastic sealant that had plugged the jagged hole around the torpedo.  Water started to leak into the compartment.

 

Bridge

Aboard the
Alamiranta

 

Papagantis
had believed that he could make proper course adjustments should Beatrice begin to move.  The feeder band to the east, however, was moving swiftly, now only one half mile from the ship.

He couldn’t turn as sharply as he had before since such a maneuver would tilt Cargo Hold 6 at an angle that would make
Pyro’s
work nearly impossible.

The great vessel continued to veer away from the storm, but
Papagantis
knew that Beatrice was going to overtake the ship in fifteen minutes.  He didn’t have the time he needed.

 

Titan Six

Temple of
Kalpur-az

 

“Move out!” Hawkeye called.  “Tank, you lead Titan Six.  Commander, your forces will follow.  We’ll evacuate your troops if we can get out of the crater.”  Hawkeye pointed to the departing soldiers.  “Lead your men, Commander.”

Aiko
shook her head.  “My men go first.  I’ll leave when I know they’re safe.”

“We have more in common than I thought,” Hawkeye said.  “I admire your dedication.”

The last of the Chinese forces were climbing up the stairway when a loud cry filled the air.

“Hawkeye!” yelled
Aiko
.  “Come quickly.  Your man is almost back to the ledge.”

Hawkeye scrambled to
Aiko’s
side near the opening to the seething cavern below the temple of fire.  Quiz’s head was slumped to the side, but his harness was only ten feet from the opening where Tank had fired the static line.

“Help me, Commander!” said Hawkeye as the harness gently bumped against the ledge.

The two soldiers grabbed Quiz and heaved him into the chamber,
unstrapping
him from the harness.

The static line, fire claiming every inch of the steel cable, sagged and then fell away from the other side of the cavern.  The far end now sank into a glowing stream of lava.

“Look out!” Hawkeye called.  “Roll to the side!”

The other end of the static line, which had been secured in the rock behind them, snapped with a loud crack, slipped through the winch, and whipped across the chamber, the steel whistling loudly as it scraped across the rock floor.

Aiko
, Hawkeye, and Quiz were rolled into a ball to the right of the cavern opening.  The line missed them by a matter of inches.

“Let’s get out of here,” Hawkeye said.

Aiko
and Hawkeye carried Quiz up the stairs, into the chamber above, and then out into the crater.

The temple walls were crumbling, tall columns falling inwards and the expansive roof falling to the floor in massive chunks.

Madison
, surprised by the sight of Quiz, nevertheless waved Hawkeye and the Commander on frantically.  “The whole structure is about to sink into the ground!” he cried.

“Proceed to the EFV!” Hawkeye said above the sound of giant blocks of stone crashing to the desert.

The sound of rushing wind filled the sir.  In reality, it was the sound of the cavern below sucking the stones into a vortex of destruction.

The once-mighty Temple of
Kalpur-az
, where generations of
Nizian
rulers had been conceived, was gone.