Jaune felt like he was going to fall asleep. He was resting his head on the tabletop, his arms awkwardly outstretched across it. He was tapping his marker on the table with one hand. Ren was in a similar position and Pyrrha was, once again, curled up on the floor sleeping.

Nora was sprawled across the floor, clawing at it as if the boredom had manifested in a physical form and she was trying to escape. "Just 30 more minutes," she groaned.

However, that 30 minutes was about to become 30 days.

Suddenly, a loud beeping was heard that caused everyone to spring awake. Jaune and Ren promptly sat up, the latter getting his marker on standby. Nora scrambled to her feet and stood by one of the computer towers in the room. Pyrrha's eyes flew open, and in a flash she was standing next to another one.

The beeping stopped and a computerized voice began speaking over the intercom. "Incoming message from transmit point Bravo-Four-Zulu-Alpha. Stand by to copy."

"Stand by!" Jaune ordered as he and Ren reached for red binders, opened them, and uncapped their markers.

After a brief pause, the computer began to speak again. "Charlie. Papa. Echo. One. Seven. Zero. Four. Tango. Kilo. Sierra. Authentication: Two. Two. Six. Alpha."

Jaune and Ren wrote down every letter and number they heard. Nora and Pyrrha could only await further instruction, but their hearts were racing.

"This is not happening," Pyrrha whispered to herself.

"I have a valid message! Stand by to authenticate," Jaune said after he finished copying the message.

"I agree with authentication. Standing by," Ren replied.

The two of them got up from their tables and walked over to a red safe that was held closed by two locks. No one paid attention to it until now. Jaune opened the lock on the left, while Ren took the lock on the right. They didn't know each other's combinations. Once the safe was opened, they each removed a stack of small envelopes and a key, then returned to their seats.

Jaune read the printing on the outside of each envelope until he found one that was marked with the authentication code he received: 226A. He opened it, removed a red card inside, and compared the writing on the card to what he had written.

CPE1704TKS-226A.

"This is not a drill," Jaune declared.

"Affirmative, this is a legitimate order to go," Ren replied, a red card in his hand as well. "Time on target calculations underway." He began frantically scribbling various equations in the binder.

"Nora, stand by to dial launch code," Jaune ordered. He turned the red card over and read the code on the backside. "Launch code is as follows: Romeo, Sierra, Whiskey, Bravo, Papa, Yankee."

On the tower near Nora, there were six small wheels, each displaying a letter of the alphabet. Nora turned the wheels until the letters displayed were the same as the ones Jaune had read: RSWBPY. She then pressed a small red button next to the dials, and Pyrrha's computer tower spat out an entry on the paper tape.

Pyrrha read the entry aloud. "Launch code accepted."

At about that same time, Ren had finished his calculations. "Time on target calculation complete." He handed Jaune the paper he used to do the math. Jaune looked at a set of numbers that had been circled:

3-23:38

Jaune pressed a button on the console setting the target to Target #3. The exact location remained confidential. He then marked a clock on the table at 23:38. "Target selection complete. Launch in T-minus 1 minute, 20 seconds." Everyone watched as a clock mounted on the wall ticked.

When there was 30 seconds remaining until Launch, Jaune picked up the key he had retrieved from the safe earlier. "Insert launch keys and stand by to turn on my mark," he ordered, putting his key into a keyhole on the console.

After fumbling the key once, Ren had gotten it into the keyhole on his console. "Launch key inserted. Standing by."

The clock continued ticking, getting closer and closer to the time of launch. 10...9...8...7...6...

"...five...four...three...two...one...mark! Turn keys!" Jaune turned his key to the right. His arm trembled as he felt the resistance from the spring-loaded mechanism.

Ren turned his key as well, holding it in position.

"Hold!" Jaune ordered. After five seconds, a green light on Jaune's control panel illuminated. "You may release."

At that point, the missile they controlled was on its own. Pyrrha's computer tower kicked into action again, spitting out additional entries based on the status of the missile.

LAUNCH ENABLE

BATTERIES ACTIVATED

APS POWER

A bell rang in the office as the silo door opened.

SILO SOFT

GUIDANCE GO

A few seconds later, the four heard a low, distant rumbling.

MAIN ENGINE START

A loud buzzer sounded in the room. Several red lights on the consoles and computer towers flashed, letting the group know that there was a fire in the silo.

FIRE IN ENGINE

FIRE IN LAUNCH DUCT

FIRE IN FUEL PUMP ROOM

FIRE IN DIESEL FUEL AREA

The rumbling suddenly started fading as the missile left the silo. The computer tower seemed to hesitate, then it printed one final entry:

LIFTOFF

Ren sighed, looking down at the floor with a troubled expression. Nora wrapped her arms around him from behind, doing her best to provide comfort.

Meanwhile, Jaune's attention had shifted to Pyrrha, whose face had gone pale. She leaned against the computer tower and hung her head, trying to get the blood flowing back to her brain.

"Are you alright?" Jaune asked as he got up and put a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder.

"I'm fine. I..." Pyrrha took a deep breath. "...no. No, I'm not."

Jaune eased her down onto the floor, getting her to sit on his lap. "What's wrong?"

"I just..." tears welled up in Pyrrha's eyes. "Those people...they don't deserve it."

"No one does," Jaune replied as he hugged Pyrrha tightly. "The fact that I had to use a nuclear weapon on someone will stay with me for the rest of my life."