Chapter 7: Countdown to the Beacon

Chapter 7: Countdown to the Beacon

The discovery of the temporal beacon sent a shockwave through the lab. The implications were clear: someone had planted it to destabilize the timeline, using Anna's survival as a linchpin. Now they had 48 hours to stop it.

Eli paced the floor, his mind racing. "If the beacon's in the lab, it means someone had access to our equipment-someone who knew exactly what we were doing."

Samara was already busy dismantling the console, her tools scattered everywhere around her. "This place is secure. No one could've gotten in without leaving a trace.

Graves crossed his arms, his sharp eyes surveying the room. "You'd be surprised what people are capable of when the timeline's at stake. We have to assume the opponent is working from a point beyond your estimate."

Eli scrunched up his face. "Beyond our reckoning? You are talking about someone who is working from the future."

Graves nodded. "Or an offshoot timeline. Whichever it is, they're ahead.

Assembling the Plan

Samara's voice cut through the tension. "Found something." She held up a small, innocuous-looking device buried in the console's wiring. It pulsed softly, the rhythmic hum out of cadence with the lab's systems.

"That's the beacon," she said. "It's disguised as part of our equipment. Clever."

Graves stepped forward, his face grim. "Can you disable it?

Samara shook her head. "Not yet. It's not yet fully powered up, and tampering with it before it does could trigger a failsafe. We have to wait until it's powered up-then we'll have a small window to shut it down."

Eli was bending over the console studying the beacon. "How small?"

Samara hesitated. "Seconds. If we're not exact, it could send a temporal shockwave strong enough to collapse the entire timeline.

The room fell silent.

Graves broke it with a curt command. "Then we prepare. We've got two days to figure out who planted this and how to neutralize it without destroying everything.

Investigation The lab was a beehive of activity for the next 24 hours. Samara kept busy with reverse-engineering on the beacon, trying to find clues as to its structure and origin. Eli was glancing over the lab's security chronicle for any indication that a break-in had occurred.

Graves, meanwhile, contacted his superiors at the Temporal Enforcement Division, requesting backup. "If this goes south," he warned Eli, "we'll have to destroy the lab. It's the only way to contain the damage."

Eli glared at him. "That's not an option. We'll stop this before it comes to that."

Graves didn't reply, but his silence spoke volumes.

A Sudden Revelation

As time was ticking away, Samara finally stumbled upon something. The energy pattern from the beacon was of a particular kind of temporal tech in use by a criminal organization referred to as The Chronos Syndicate.

"They're a black-market group," Graves informed Samara when she shared the news. "Specialize in weaponizing time travel for profit. If they're involved, it means this isn't just about destabilizing the timeline-they're after something.

Eli frowned. "What could they possibly want from us?"

Graves nodded toward the lab. "This machine. It's decades ahead of anything even the Temporal Enforcement Division has. If they gain control of it, they can rewrite history on a global scale."

The weight of his words hit home.

Samara turned to Eli, her voice shaking. "What if Anna's survival was just bait? A way to lure us into making the jump and exposing the machine to their manipulation?"

 Eli felt his stomach turn over. "Then they've been playing us from the start."

 Setting the Trap

With only 12 hours remaining, they shifted their focus to preparing for the beacon's activation. Samara rigged a failsafe system that would allow them to isolate the beacon's signal and contain its energy output.

Graves, meanwhile, set up defensive measures. "If the Syndicate tries to interfere physically, we'll need to hold them off long enough for Samara to disable the beacon."

Eli turned to Anna, who'd been standing in the corner, quietly observing. "Anna, you should get to a safe place. This isn't your battle."

She rose to her feet. "My life you're trying to save. I'm not running.

Eli started to argue, but Samara cut him off. "She's right. If the Syndicate is targeting her as the nexus point, she's safer here with us than out there on her own."

Reluctantly, Eli nodded.

The Final Countdown

The hour of doom was almost upon them, and the lab grew still. The pulsation of the beacon was now stronger, and its hum was in the room.

Samara's voice remained composed as she gave out orders. "Eli, monitor the stabilizers. Graves, keep an eye on the perimeter. Anna, stay by the power cutoff in case we need to shut everything down.

Graves positioned himself by the entrance, his weapon drawn. "If they're coming, it'll be soon."

Eli's heart pounded as he watched the countdown timer on the beacon's interface. Five minutes to activation.

Suddenly, the lab's alarms blared. The door burst open, and three figures in sleek black suits stormed in, their faces obscured by high-tech visors.

Graves laid down a withering field of fire, his shots tight and controlled. The invaders fired back with energy weapons, the air hot from crackling energy.

Eli huddled behind the console, yelling, "Samara! How much longer?"

"Two minutes!" she hollered back, her hands racing across controls.

Graves yelled over the din, "Make it one! I cannot keep them off forever!"