Subsequent Fall Part 56: Emergency Protocol

Adam heard the message as he looked at the notes for the emergency plans as he tore out a handful of pages from his notebook and walked to the doorway as he held the pages in his hand. "You four, hold out for as long as possible and form an all out defensive wave with all remaining ships around the planet." Adam opened the door as he started sprinting down the hallway as Astrid and Lucky started to reroute all available ships to the planet's orbit.

"If this battle remains unchecked at this rate, do we even stand a chance?" Shiro saw they had a zero percent chance of winning and an even smaller amount of living. Adam couldn't be distracted by the idea of this as there were several issues.

"No matter how many numbers you crunch, the human and inhuman elements wil bypass all the goals you seek." Adam came to a sliding halt as he entered the hyperlane and started to truly see if all the testing and training from Astral was worth it.

The speed he was able to use was finally on their level, speeding past several different stops along the hyperlane faster than he ever though he could go, is this how Jaimie and Astral always traveled, it felt so free with the movement and natural as he arrived at the core and stopped on a moments notice.

Opening up the access hatch he realized the issue, it was a place where only they were designed to go. Shiro floated next to him as the gravity became weird. "Shiro, which chamber is Cali's?" Adam drew up a quick robotic winged design as he flew around the core, marveling at its beauty and glisten.

"I don't know, Astral hasn't even told us about these." Shiro looked at the handful of black floating orbs, were they decoy's? Adam floated over to one as he entered it and found May, Shiro stuck in her head as May was engrossed on the television, watching Astral in his natural state of combat while other televisions played a camera hovering around the twins.

Adam pulled his head back as he looked across the rest of the orbs. 'They all hold something he can't afford to lose.' Flying over to the next one he found Cali. Peeking in, Adam landed softly and opened his notebook. "They won't respect you as the man they knew."

"But they will respect a man who earns it. I feel like something is troubling if you are here and neither of the other two are." Cali looked around as he felt like he was in the best shape he had ever been.

"In five years, this drone will be released and you can come out to the rest of the world as Deathwish. In this pact, you can utilize a copy of my mask that boosts your offensive output by ten times." Adam handed the mask over as well as a cape made by Hephaen. "The cape will slow falls and help block attacks."

"All I hear are items that would help me lead and become someone who can be followed." Cali looked into his wardrobe as he pulled out three outfits and laid them on the bed. All of them worked in his mind as Adam tore the drone out of the notebook and set it down.

"Once the robot wakes up, it will escort you out of here safely, after doing so, it will begin to repair and replace certain parts of the base if it is damaged and start the replacement of all the losses we are sustaining." Adam looked at the robot as the timer was set for five years.

"And if I'm not needed in these five years, will the robot go away?" Cali asked as Adam shrugged.

"Astral didn't think that far ahead, he is just hoping the station is able to make it through the rest of this fight, and with the current looks of it. We are stretched thin." Adam looked over to Shiro as she held up the numbers of the battle and the current losses.

"Let me help now, I beg of you." Cali pleaded as Adam got ready to exit the orb.

"The reason why we didn't pull you out for the fight in the first place was due to your ability to lead if there is a power vacuum. Airsoft had a lot of notes on your team. He cannot do it himself. I need you to be safe if any of us three die, or worse, all of us." Adam had to face the reality of it, Astral is talented, and yet, he couldn't do it all himself, could he?

"Understood, I see the plan is to make me the leader in a leaderless moment, to unite everyone in the void that Astral leaves." Cali fell onto the bed as Adam left for good. Spreading out drone drawings as some of them went off to a segment of the station. A part where only Astral had been. Adam was perturbed by it as he realized it was way past time for him to be absent from the fighting.

He left the access hatch of the core as he looked down the hyperlane, it was quiet, the sense of dread washing over him. 'You are here, aren't you?' Adam thought to himself as he bolted down the hyperlane.

"Yes." A response echoed after him as fear filled his veins as he sealed the bridge with a drawing. Adam started breathing quickly as the three clones started to look over and realized the issue that was in front of them would be worse than the space front they held together with dreams and prayers.

Adam realized in the moment that even with all of his drawings, with the three clones skills, they were heavily outmatched. "SHIRO, TRANSFER ALL COMMANDS TO ASTRID AND SEND HER TO THE OTHER BRIDGE!" Shiro followed with the command demanded by Adam as she couldn't override him in the moment. "Kayla, do I have the other booklets on me?" His calm voice made the clones tense up as the three of them readied themselves with their weapons and their items as they looked at the door. Thudding footsteps approached the door.

"Yes, I believe in you." Kayla looked through the pages in the booklets on Adam's side, he had everything he needed to prolong the fight.

 "ASTRAL WE NEED YOU!" Adam would shout as the door was kicked down.