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But enough
systems were back online that he should be able to get an update through their
computers.
    Finally the feed he needed cleared and came
online. A beep drew his attention and a red dot flashed on the screen along
with a line of scrolling data. His heart skipped a beat. “What the hell is
going on over there now?”
    He checked the details on the data feed as
it moved across the center screen. His throat grew dry. “Shit. The repair
station’s orbit is degrading.” Without Xylon’s computers to boost its power,
the station was failing quicker than earlier projections had indicated. The
computers on the Ice Moon were trying to compensate but it didn’t look good.
His stomach tightened and fear stabbed at his heart. He had to keep his wits
about him and think fast. He spoke into the computer’s analytical processor.
“How long until the repair station loses orbit and begins to disintegrate?”
    A computerized voice responded almost
immediately. “Unknown.”
    “What do you mean unknown? Explain.”
    “Not enough data currently exists in the
system to calculate exact orbital viability.”
    “I got an earlier projection. What’s the
problem?” Braden’s temper rose.
    “Data degradation continues to be
experienced in the main knowledge base. Repairs are ongoing.”
    “I’m not looking for exacts. Give me your
best guess.”
    “This system does not guess.”
    “Fucking electronics,” he cursed under his
breath. So many of the databanks had been wiped or were still corrupting.
Backups existed and were currently being reloaded. The process would take time.
Meanwhile, the lack of reliable knowledge to feed into the systems had them
working on instinct for many of their decisions. “Can you boost power to the
station?”
    “Negative. Power is already at maximum safety
levels.”
    “The hell with the safety levels!” He was
about to lose his mind. The station was unstable and failing. A small amount of
additional high-level power wasn’t going to bring the Ice Moon’s computers back
down or overload the station’s systems. “Boost the power.”
    “Unable to comply. Regulation 96-90c.”
    Any major power instability issues that
could potentially put a military base in jeopardy were tightly controlled. In
most cases, the computer lock protected against breaches or any other anomaly
that might push the power controls into the red. The computer system was
programmed to be extra conservative of resources in times of warfare. With his
rank, he should be able to bypass the extra security. “Override. Responsibility
of Class 1 Command Warrior, Braden Koll, 121086243084.”
    “Unable to comply.”
    Unable? Damn the regulations! As his mind
and heart raced, he typed in a line of numbers. He’d helped write and engineer
the security years ago with his older sister. He might be able to hack into the
system and change the code. If he could just—
    Damn it. They’d added an hcs-zone security wall to the system. Breaking through would
take days, if he could even do it at all. He needed Torque. His brother was a
genius at breaking code. He tried again, checking the specifications in case
there was a flaw he could exploit due to the corruption. “Fucking hell.” The
coding, as well as the security measures, were too extensive and being
automatically updated on a continual basis. He shook his head and a wave of
fear gripped him. He’d be unable to bypass the programming in time.
    Even though the computer couldn’t get him
the orbital information, given his engineering experience, he could see by the
numbers that the station would most likely fail in the next few hours, unless
he could figure out a way to stop it. “Who has the authority to override
regulation 96-90c?”
    “Override requires key codes from four
Council of Thirteen members.”
    The key codes had been lost during the
attack when the council members were killed. Even Laszlo didn’t know them,
other than his own. There had to be some sort of