Despite the operation proceeding smoothly, Nik couldn't shake his unease. His anxiety wove itself into the fabric of his dreams, transforming peaceful slumbers into restless nights. He would dream of drifting on a raft down a serene river. Despite the calmness of the waters, he would see ahead only to realize that he was hopelessly skimming towards a violent cataract, dropping into the jaws of a dark chasm. He would always wake up just as he was thrown over the watery precipice.

  His forward operations base began with only a few personnel but expanded dramatically after a year of ongoing operations. By his count, this location alone supported teams in over thirty countries. That's not including the other staging grounds that continued popping up in other distant parts of the world.

  Silent Echo had rapidly gained momentum, leaving Nik to ponder about a different world where the STM was introduced to the public from the start—a decision held back by Colonel Parker and his superiors, for which Nik still bore a grudge. The tranquil breeze of the Coral Sea filling his nostrils this morning was of little consolation.

  Even though Nik often found himself in Australia, touring permissions never accompanied his visits. His position introduced him to a diverse roster of individuals worldwide, all tied to Silent Echo in some manner. Yet, the true mission of the organization eluded most.

  When inquiries about his profession arose, part of Nik longed to reveal his critical role in managing a concealed global teleportation grid. Regrettably, his official front was far less glamorous. Meet Nik, the IT specialist.

  At least he could boss everybody around. The special reconnaissance teams probably wanted to beat his ass for it, but Nik didn't care. Without his help, they would have to fix their own STMS. Nik imagined them trying to reconfigure a quantum processor in the middle of a bog.

  Today, Nik was traveling to another staging ground. It was somewhere on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The only thing Nik ever saw were the snowy mountains, and traveling there always succeeded in raising eyebrows. Onlookers would catch him walking in the blistering heat of an Australian day dressed in some of the heaviest winter gear he could find. Most people probably thought he was an eccentric lunatic.

  After finishing his morning rituals, Nik donned his winter wardrobe and waddled outside toward the STM compound. In a mere thirty steps, the encroaching heat began to swallow him. No matter how often he made that brief stroll, the searing warmth remained an uncomfortable constant.

  Thankfully, the STM compound was heavily air-conditioned. Nik greeted the guards as usual before disappearing inside the tiny building.

  "Alright, guys, we know the drill." He spoke to no one in particular. "Site four, let's get rolling." He carried himself awkwardly to the STM, resisting the urge to rip off his heavy coat. Once inside, he nodded to the tech at the computer terminal.

  Ten seconds later, Nik was walking out of an STM in another part of the globe. Although the building he stood in was identical to all the others, the air was unmistakably frigid. No one was on duty at this station, and darkness had already fallen.

  Nik looked at one of his many watches. It was midnight in this time zone. He stepped out into the freezing night overlooking the Scandinavian mountains and took a moment to breathe in the crisp air almost ritualistically. He liked this kind of environment, and he had always wanted to live somewhere similar.

  "Well, if it isn't Mr. Nik." A deep voice rumbled through the winter tide silence. Nik turned around to see an enormous silhouette against the dark night. "I didn't know you were back for a visit." The shadowy figure materialized into a large man in a fur coat. A mane of platinum blonde hair formed a sleek mantle over a broad set of shoulders, giving him a wild look despite his cleanly shaven face. A pair of navy eyes regarded Nik closely. Valentine Cooper.

  "I just got in," Nik waved with relief. "What are you doing out so late?" he asked.

  "Doing some late-night maintenance." Valentine was the master at tackling the unending river of minor problems that ebbed and flowed around the staging ground. Being a skilled electrician and handyman made him valuable, so the soldiers didn't bug him.

  Nik's first encounter with Valentine had been on an exceptionally cold evening when Nik’s heater had broken down. Instead of letting him freeze in his shack, Valentine offered a warm bunk for the night, kickstarting their friendship. Something about the guy just made Nik feel comfortable.

  When he arrived tonight, Nik had worried about running into someone who didn't know of the STM’s existence. Fabricating another story about his sudden arrival was a chore that never failed to irk Nik.

  Valentine wasn't exactly on the official disclosure list, but Nik had grown a little too accustomed to their growing friendship as time passed.

  One night, Nik accidentally mentioned the STM over a few rounds of liquor. This slip forged a closer bond between him and Valentine. Nik was grateful for the company, especially since Ari had become scarce after they were drafted into Silent Echo.

  Since Valentine was also an Indigenous guide, he didn't pose a threat to the military officials constantly cycling through the staging area. On the contrary, he was very popular. Valentine continually broke up the monotony with his dramatic retellings of Norse lore and the ever-popular Kubb, an outdoor throwing game that combined horseshoe, bowling, and chess.

  Valentine's imposing stature contrasted sharply with his amiable nature. His perpetual grin and relaxed conversation continuously drew people towards him.

  Nik once had the privilege of overhearing Valentine and a recon team captain discussing the finer points of glass bead jewelry. Apparently, they were swapping ideas about gifts to present to their wives.

  "Well, what are you standing around for?" he asked while delivering a hearty slap on Nik's shoulder. "I have glasses that need filling and a bottle that needs emptying." The two found themselves sitting at a bench table in an empty mess hall a few minutes later. Valentine's hand rustled around one of the bottomless pockets of his fur coat. A moment later, he produced a bottle of Lysholm Linie. Nik wasn’t exactly a fan of potato vodka, but he couldn’t turn down Valentine. From another recess in his jacket, the blonde giant pulled out a lunch box containing butter, cinnamon, a small block of cheese, and some flatbread he called Lefsé.

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  "Do you always go walking around with liquor and food?" Nik asked as Valentine pulled out serving utensils from yet another pocket.

  "Usually just liquor because food goes bad," he chuckled. "One must always be ready for an occasion with friends." Valentine handed Nik the bottle and began to slice the bread.

  "Of course," Nik repeated while pouring the warm spirits into a pair of glasses. The two enjoyed the snacks and drank silently for a couple minutes before Valentine broke the ice.

  "Something on your mind?" Valentine asked while pouring another drink. Nik didn't answer right away. Instead, he polished off his glass for Valentine to refill.

  "I get bad feelings every now and again," Nik admitted, his voice dropping slightly. There weren’t any outside visitors, but discussing anything, STM-related had Nik looking over his shoulder.

  "Bad feelings?" Valentine raised an eyebrow. He set the bottle down and inhaled a large bite of bread and cheese. He waited, quietly chewing.

  "This whole project makes me feel like we're being marched onward, and I'm the only one who sees the cliff in front of us." Nik felt like this ever since Colonel Parker barged into his R&D department over a year ago.

  "A cliff, you say," Valentine said after swallowing. "Maybe we are moving toward a cliff." He leaned back.

  "So you can see my fears?" Nik asked. He could never really put his finger on it, but an uneasy feeling had been festering inside him for a while now. The project had expanded too fast.

  "I happen to like cliffs," Valentine interrupted Nik's thoughts. "They give you some of the best views in the world, and jumping from them into the waters below, I hear, is one of the most exhilarating experiences." Nik frowned. He was hoping Valentine would agree with him. Valentine must have read Nik's thoughts because he quickly followed up. "I can see your fears, friend, but that shouldn't stop you from seeing everything."

  "Then what do you see?" Nik asked.

  "Probably what you've seen already," he replied, taking a sip of Akvavit. "I think this project of yours-"

  "Not mine anymore," Nik interrupted. Valentine waited quietly, making Nik feel bad for interrupting. "Sorry, please go on."

  "This project only has one destination if you think about it," Valentine continued. "Eventually, the world will find out one way or another. But I think that's a good thing and not necessarily because we could finally explore its uses as you intended."

  "Why so?" Nik asked, taking a sip from his own glass.

  "I think it will give us all a chance to come together. People will no longer be contained in their own little worlds. They'll have to interact with other cultures, you know." Valentine produced a little tobacco box from his pocket. He stuffed a wad into his lip before offering it to Nik, who politely declined.

  After another sip, he continued. "Call it whatever you want, world unity, an accord, a peace agreement. I think we can all finally reconcile our differences in the world. Lofty ideals, I know, but I think your creation has raised the bar high enough for us to finally reach those ideals."

  "Then cheers to lofty ideals," Nik said, raising his glass.

  "Sk?l!" Valentine replied with his own glass. Nik hadn't thought of peace. When considering the STM's practicality, diplomacy was never at the forefront of thought. Valentine's words, resonating with optimism and possibility, wove a soothing balm over Nik's tangled worries.

  "Peace would be one hell of a prize," Nik thought to himself.

  *

  "I think we've got it all mapped out now," Ari announced, breaking the concentrated silence.

  At the outset, sharing his workspace with his clone felt deeply unnerving. Yet, as time passed, he found a strange comfort in the peculiar camaraderie. Juggling the secrecy of his clone's existence presented unique challenges, but Ari managed skillfully.

  As for informing the Colonel about his little side project, Ari concluded that discretion would be the wiser choice.

  Of course, the clone couldn't exist at all times. That was too risky. Fortunately, it was also easy to coordinate. Whenever he and his clone had finished the day's project, Ari would update the clone's save state and delete him. Ari suspected they had taken turns deleting each other because, ultimately, they were the same person, and he knew his clone had missed Neorah and Injilah. It was a strange common courtesy, letting the clone visit family. It was necessary, though, for them both to stay focused on the task at hand.

  "Let me see," his clone said. Ari handed over the tablet he had been working on. It had a running algorithm paired with a real-time feed of his clone's brain activity.

  It had taken over a year to complete, but Ari and his clone had finally been able to map out a person's central nervous system in the computer language of the STM. Anyone else looking at the little screen couldn't understand or appreciate what he had accomplished. Still, Ari knew the precise thoughts going through his clone's mind.

  "Damn gorgeous," he smirked, looking over the undulating codework as it updated in real time. "So now we can finally start the engineering process," his clone said as he handed the tablet back to Ari.

  "Yeah, but I haven't thought of where we should begin. It's a lot of data and a bit overwhelming." Ari scrunched his nose.

  "Not to mention, it will basically be nothing but trial and error," his clone added. They both thought silently for a couple minutes. Ari was looking forward to this but secretly dreaded the process. It would be tedious, and he didn't like tedious work. Someone had to do it, though, and Ari certainly didn't want it to be the wrong person. He thought back to the conversation he had with Nik at the pub all those months ago.

  "We had better get started," his clone said. "I'll be damned if the wrong people beat us to the punch." Despite sharing identical thought processes with his clone, there were moments when Ari felt an uncanny sense of his ideas being mirrored as if his clone had peered into the recesses of his mind.

  "Okay, but let's hold off on the complicated parts," he said. Ari wasn't ready to start mucking around with the whole decision-making center of his mind. Instead, he elected to start with the involuntary functions of the brain.

  "Couldn't agree more," his clone nodded. "That's why I've already pulled up the data on the brain stem."

  Ari looked down at the tablet. The most specific parts of the brainstem were also the parts with the most vital functions. "Why don't we start with breathing function and then move on to heartbeat regulation?"

  "You read my mind," his clone replied with a smile. However, before they could delve into their task, an urgent message flashed on the tablet. Ari felt the warmth of his smile drain the moment he took in the words.

  "Nik's probably not going to be happy about this," he said.

  ***Nik***

  "You knew this was going to happen eventually!" Nik's voice reverberated around the conference room. "Now the damage can't be undone, and you only have yourselves to blame!"

  His energy spent from a ten minute tirade, Nik finally slumped into his chair, gulping down air to recover. Ari had been quietly sitting, letting Nik say everything on his mind. Colonel Parker wasn't exactly all smiles either.

  When Ari saw the Colonel’s message, all it read was, "A team has disappeared. Meeting in one hour." The gravity of its implications grabbed his attention.

  A missing team meant they were either captured or wiped out. Either way, one thing became clear. The STM's secrecy was compromised.

  "As of now, we have not had radio communications from them for over ten days." The Colonel finally spoke up. He quickly continued before Nik went off on another rant. "Since they've missed their last three communications windows, we must consider the worst possible scenarios. Either the team has been killed in action, detained, or compromised. In all cases, we must assume that an outside party controls one of our STMs."

  "Do we know who it is?" Ari asked.