Inside the lab, Karter was moving as quickly as his piecemeal body would allow, fetching reels of cable, connectors, and jacks.
“Ma, how are we looking on power?” he asked, glancing at a watch.
“Einen Moment,” Ma replied.
The lights flickered one last time.
“Volle Kraft wiederhergestellt. Jetzt versucht die Schwerkraft und den Umweltschutz wiederherzustellen.”
“Full power, excellent. Skip the gravity and enviromentals for now. Whatever lasers are still working, get them to work helping out Lex. I’m going to need cover in a minute.”
“Ja, Herr Dee.”
“And work on getting English back online, would you? German makes you sound creepy.”
“Säuberung Audio-Puffer. Bitte warten Sie,” she said.
There was a sudden, intense screech from the speakers.
“Audio buffalo purgatory completely. Primary language modular restoration.”
“Still not quite right, Ma,” he said. “Do me a favor and get the big door open.”
“Negative. Power fluctuating have causeway security clearance issues.”
“Then shut down security for now--I need that door open.”
“Are you surefire?”
“Yes, and open all doors and hatches to the roof. And get me an express lift ready to take me there.”