?Jones. Your mission is now a top level priority.“, the unfamiliar voice from Elias’ hidden hyperspace comm unit announced seconds into his urgent call to headquarters. It was the second time he was using what was supposed to be an emergency backup communication channel, so exactly for circumstances like this.


    ?Agent Thorne, sir“, Elias answered. There was only one Jones who would use his name as the first word in a conversation within the military intelligence branch.


    ?Report!“


    ?The outpost suffered a complete power failure, most likely an EMP attack. Most small electronics are crashed or fried.“, Elias began, reiterating the recent events on Binary Bloom as succinctly as he could. His military-grade comm unit was likely one of the few personal electronics on the station still operational. It did not have an independent power supply, so he had waited until power had returned and then immediately made the call.


    Norman Jones listened to the report as Elias gave additional details, without interrupting him.


    ?What about the Erulas marines?“, he asked at the end.


    ?Uncertain. I heard some rumors that they retreated to their troop transports when power failed.“, Elias told him. It would make sense to get to a ship. High-energy pulses were common in space and all interstellar spacecraft were shielded against them. Since the solar system Binary Bloom was in had no inhabited planets, there were only a few purely interplanetary ships, shuttles to visit the surface for leisure mostly, one or two asteroid miners. Most of the docked ships were outfitted for interstellar travel.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Jones nodded. ?Nobody drops an EMP on a space station for no reason. And right now the same item is on the mind of many, both human and alien.“


    The intelligence chief did not complete the thought, even on encrypted channels using cautious language that did not spell out details he could assume the other party of the conversation knew.


    ?Understood. I’ll get back to you as soon as I have solid intel about it.“, Elias affirmed.


    They finished the call and closed the channel. Using the hidden comm unit always increased the chance of discovery for Elias, so it was a last resort. He looked around in his private rooms. The mess caused by the gravity field failing was relatively small, at least compared to some of the shops he had passed by on his way here. It could wait.


    Elias picked up a tablet from the floor and tried in vain to switch it on. He had not expected it to work, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. He sighed and dropped it on the nearby couch, then made his way towards the exit. Closing and locking the door behind him, Elias went out again into the station. It was still in disarray, with its residents cleaning up. The way these quasi-outlaws supported each other was visible everywhere as Elias walked past homes, shops and small manufacturing plants. Everywhere, people had pulled together, neighbors helping each other, groups of strangers doing whatever one person could not.


    The atmosphere within Binary Bloom had changed slightly. Not just the literal one, which had a faint smell of stale air to it that slowly disappeared now that the oxygen generators, CO2 scrubbers and ventilation systems were back on.


    Elias moved through the corridors quickly. People were rushing here and there to manage the disorder, so he blended right in. He needed to reach Yezz, quickly.