Chapter 12 - UNCLE ETHANI hadn't seen Ethan in twelve years.
Yet I recognized every movement.
The same careful posture.
The same calm expression.
The same habit of touching his cuff when thinking.
Only now there was no warmth left.
He looked at Thomas.
“You should have stayed dead.”
Thomas raised his weapon.
“You should have stayed invisible.”
Ethan smiled.
“You still think this is about money.”
“It's about power.”
“No.”
Ethan looked at me.
“It's about survival.”
I stepped forward.
“You ruined my family.”
He shook his head.
“Your family ruined itself.”
“You killed my father.”
“Your father isn't dead.”
“Then you tried.”
“Yes.”
He said it without hesitation.
I raised my weapon.
Ethan looked almost amused.
“If you kill me, the entire archive disappears.”
Thomas looked at him.
“That's a lie.”
“Is it?”
Ethan held up the red key.
“This is not a key.”
He threw it onto the floor.
It shattered.
Inside was a small electronic device.
“The key is the authorization chip.”
Thomas's face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“From Kane.”
I looked around.
“Where is Kane?”
Ethan smiled.
“Exactly where he needs to be.”
“Where?”
“On the Resolute.”
The words hit me.
“The ship.”
Ethan nodded.
“Your father built the ship's emergency architecture.”
“And Kane has access.”
“Yes.”
“What is he doing?”
“Nothing.”
That scared me more.
“He doesn't need to.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“The Resolute is now moving toward an uncharted corridor.”
“Why?”
“Because the ship is carrying the last witness.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
Ethan smiled.
“You.”
I looked at Thomas.
“What's he talking about?”
My father closed his eyes.
Then whispered:
“You were never the investigator.”
“What?”
“You were the archive.”
I didn't understand.
Thomas continued.
“When Meridian began, the original records were stored physically.”
“They couldn't be copied digitally without detection.”
“So?”
“I embedded fragments of the archive into your medical file.”
I stared.
“Your biometric records.”
“The scars on my hand.”
“The vaccination data.”
“The childhood medical history.”
“All of it?”
Thomas nodded.
“Your body became the encryption.”
I couldn't speak.
Ethan said:
“That's why they recruited you.”
“Why did NCIS send me?”
“Because they wanted the archive.”
“And Kane?”
“Because he wanted the ship.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“Kane doesn't work for you anymore.”
Ethan's smile vanished.
“Correct.”
That was the first time I saw uncertainty in his face.
“What happened?”
“Kane decided Meridian was too small.”
Thomas stared at him.
“He wants command authority.”
Ethan nodded.
“He believes if the Resolute reaches Anchor Seven, he can activate the military contingency network.”
“What happens then?”
Ethan answered:
“The United States would be forced to deploy emergency assets under his control.”
I stared.
“He wants to control the response.”
“Yes.”
“And create more shortages.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Thomas.
“Then stop him.”
“We need the ship.”
“How?”
Ethan spoke quietly.
“It's already too late.”
A monitor activated.
The Resolute appeared.
Smoke poured from its lower decks.
The ship was listing badly.
Thousands of crew members crowded emergency assembly points.
Then another image appeared.
Kane stood on the bridge.
He was speaking into a microphone.
His voice echoed across the screen.
“Your captain has abandoned you.”
The crew looked around.
Then Kane continued.
“But I have not.”
He smiled.
“Follow my orders, and you survive.”
I stared at the screen.
The crew began moving.
Not because they trusted him.
Because they were afraid.
Ethan looked at me.
“That's how power works.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He frowned.
“Fear is temporary.”
I grabbed the microphone.
“Then let's give them something else.”
Thomas looked at me.
“What?”
“Truth.”
I connected the archive.
Every screen on Anchor Nine activated.
Then every communication terminal aboard the Resolute.
The Meridian files began transmitting.
I heard crew members shouting.
Kane looked up at the bridge monitors.
His expression changed.
He understood.
I was broadcasting everything.
Names.
Payments.
Transfers.
Missing supplies.
Dead sailors.
Hidden facilities.
The truth was leaving the ship.
Ethan stared at me.
“You don't know what you've started.”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
“I do.”
Then every screen went black.
A final message appeared.
ARCHIVE RELEASE: 73%
Then:
COUNTERMEASURE DETECTED.
Thomas whispered:
“Kane.”
The transmission dropped to zero.
May you like
Somewhere aboard the Resolute, Kane had found the kill switch.
And the ship disappeared from every tracking system.
