Chapter 78 - The Bloodline Override
The red emergency descent alarm began to blare, its mechanical voice droning through the compartment:
*WARNING. DEPTH: 1,350 FEET. HULL INTEGRITY AT 82 PERCENT. CRITICAL COMPRESSION IMMINENT.*
The submarine’s titanium ribs began to sing—a terrifying, high-pitched groaning sound that resonated through the floorplates as the immense weight of the ocean squeezed the vessel. Pop-rivets along the ceiling seams began to shear off like bullets, ricocheting through the dark.
Elena pressed the barrel of the revolver hard against Alistair’s forehead. "How do I abort the descent?"
Alistair laughed, a wet, rattling sound that ended in a sickening gurgle. "The biometric terminal... on the bridge. It requires... a Montgomery pulse. Not a corpse’s pulse. A living one. Julian is dead. I am dying. You... have nothing."
"You're wrong, Alistair," Elena whispered, her eyes dead and cold. "I have your daughter."
Alistair’s smile vanished, replaced by a sudden, sickening realization. "No... no, she’s an infant... the sensor requires a full palm..."
"A thumbprint is enough for the secondary authorization," Elena snarled.
Without hesitation, Elena pulled the trigger.
The gunshot echoed sharply in the confined space. Alistair Montgomery’s head snapped back against the steel deck, his eyes glazing over into permanent, lifeless oblivion.
Elena didn't look down at the dead monster. She spun on her heel, leaped into the open elevator cab, and punched the button for the conning bridge.
The elevator surged upward just as the submarine shuddered violently. A secondary pipe ruptured in the engine room below, spraying high-pressure steam into the space she had just vacated.
*WARNING. DEPTH: 1,480 FEET. HULL COMPRESSION AT 91 PERCENT.*
The elevator doors parted on the command bridge. The room was dominated by a wraparound panoramic display projecting the pitch-black exterior ocean via sonar imaging. In the center sat the captain’s obsidian console, flashing with urgent amber warnings:
**CRITICAL CRUSH DEPTH IN 45 SECONDS.**
**MANUAL ABORT REQUIRES MONTGOMERY LINEAGE BIOMETRIC OVERRIDE.**
Elena dashed to the console. Seawater was beginning to spray in fine, aerosolized mists through the forward viewing seals. The air was thin, cold, and electric with terror.
She unzipped the front of her jacket. Maya had begun to cry—a loud, piercing, furious wail that cut straight through the roaring alarms.
"I know, baby. I know," Elena whispered, tears blurring her vision as she gently took Maya’s tiny, soft right hand. "Help Mommy save us."
Elena pressed the infant’s tiny thumb against the glowing green optical scanner on the pedestal.
The system blinked: *SCANNING...*
The seconds ticked away: *00:00:15... 00:00:14...*
A terrible shriek echoed through the hull as the forward torpedo room buckled under the immense pressure.
*DNA MATCH CONFIRMED: MONTGOMERY, MAYA (OFFSPRING OF ALISTAIR MONTGOMERY).*
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*AUTHORIZATION LEVEL: ABSOLUTE DYNASTIC SOVEREIGN.*
*BLOWING ALL BALLAST TANKS IMMEDIATELY.*
