Chapter 35

The night had been a rollercoaster of emotions and events that could only be matched in magnitude by the night I discovered that I was an Untethered. But the best part of the night, or the worst, depending on how you saw it, was yet to come. As I trailed behind Samuel, I couldn’t help but feel this sense of dread in my heart as my entire attention was captured by the spaceship and the ominous red glow emanating from it.

Destroying such a mammoth structure seemed like a Herculean task, almost too grand in scale. I was interested in finding out the type of teammates Samuel and Eirini recruited and their respective strengths. I absentmindedly followed Samuel until we stopped, where I realised that we were in front of the now deserted bar previously owned by Frost. That brought forth another set of emotions that I wasn’t quite ready for.

Looking around, I saw that Eirini was present there along with three other people, people I had seen hanging around the bar previously. I wasn’t overly familiar with them but had seen enough of them to be aware that they had been Untethered before me.

“Hey, Third-Slotter! Heard you were the other leader of this group. Is that right?” This was said in an obnoxious voice that immediately hit me the wrong way. I turned to face in the direction of the voice and saw a stocky guy around the same age as me with a disgruntled expression on his face. Before I could respond, Samuel interrupted the proceedings, saying, “Broderick, behave.”

I looked at Samuel who looked back at me with a pleading expression on his face as if he didn’t want me to say anything inflammatory in response. I was considering following Samuel’s non-verbal advice when Broderick threw that one out of the window when he said, “Why should I? Unlike Mr. Great One over here, I am not your lap-dog. Or do you prefer the term ‘friend’?”

“Hey, what’s your problem? We have just met. I don’t think I have given you any reason to dislike me.” I was beyond annoyed and was having to mentally restrain myself from physically harming him, reminding myself that we were here for a common cause. But after all the disasters I had already gone through the evening, I wasn’t ready for this hostile attitude from someone who I was supposed to ally with.

“Well, the fact that your stupid mug is plastered all over the news might be one reason. Or the fact that you are the leader of this so-called team along with an alien when you have been an Untethered for no more than a month while we have had to toil and bleed to earn some respect around here, hotshot.”

Again, Samuel tried to mediate between us, saying, “Okay, that’s enough. We all have a common goal here. Let’s not make things more difficult for ourselves by infighting.”

Eirini spoke up at this point. “Agreed, friend Samuel. We have to present a united front to combat the threat that is upon us right at this very moment. I think it’s imperative that we cooperate completely to maximise our strength to the fullest.”

Samuel nodded and said, “Well said. With that spirit in mind, let’s all introduce ourselves and give others a brief about our abilities. That way, we can have a better idea of how to coordinate the attack and what to expect from our team members. Starting with you, Broderick!” He gave a pointed stare in his direction, leaving Broderick to fidget with a disgruntled expression.

“Whatever, man. The only reason I agreed to do this was because of you, Samuel. Anyway, I am Broderick and I can create explosives just by touching a surface of the material, provided the material is inorganic.”

I had to admit that it was an impressive power with the potential for mass destruction. It also perfectly fit in with the requirements for this mission and his power would be very valuable in our mission to destroy the radiating panels.

It was at this moment that the other two members of the team decided to make themselves known. The other male in the team just nodded sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he said, “Ha, ha. I didn’t think the mood would be so tense. My name is Damocles and I can form force fields. It is mainly used for support and defence. I hope to rise to your expectations. Let’s go, team!”

I took the opportunity to look over the overly exuberant member of the squad. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties, although it was hard to tell age in Untethereds. Tattoos adorned both his arms, although I couldn’t see them clearly in the relative darkness.

Finally, the woman decided to introduce herself. “Name’s Angela. Don’t use it too often. Super strength.” Short and stiff. That could describe both the woman and that introduction.

I introduced myself as succinctly as possible before Samuel took over the proceedings, “Okay, now that we know each other, it’s time for the plan. Eirini, go ahead.”

Eirini nodded. “Very well. The plan, simply put, is to blow up the panels entirely off the spaceship. The plan hinges entirely on Broderick and Damocles. Since we can’t be sure if the panels are resistant to Broderick’s powers, we have decided he will form explosive out of adhesive materials that Samuel has procured. We will stick them to the surface of the panels and promptly make them explode.”