"Danny," Eugene had said two weeks earlier, working up the courage to approach him, "I... I noticed a pattern. No, more accurately, a series of conclusions from the data."
Danny motioned for him to continue.
"During our routine communications with the prison outpost, signal quality drops at regular intervals around dawn and dusk. It isn't just ionospheric interference."
Eugene began speaking faster, as though rattling off technical jargon gave him a sense of security.
"I monitored the link budget across multiple frequency bands and power levels, then modeled it against the terrain data from several known relay points...
"My conclusion is that our current point-to-point over-the-horizon communications depend too heavily on unstable tropospheric scatter. It's... well, an old and unreliable method."
He waved a sheet of paper covered in scribbled notes.
"Simply put, our signals are like pebbles bouncing through cracks between rocks. Most of the energy gets lost along the way.
"And whenever we need to establish contact over greater distances, like that brief signal we once picked up from Nebraska, remember that..."
"Get to the point, Eugene."
Eugene swallowed.
"We... we don't have a truly reliable signal amplifier or a good way to route the signal.
"Our existing equipment is already close to its power limit. Increasing transmission power any further would barely improve anything. We'd mostly just waste electricity and attract unnecessary attention. What we need is to optimize the system itself."
Danny studied him silently for a moment.
"Do you have an actual plan?"
"I... I have a few ideas!"
Eugene nodded quickly and pulled several even messier sheets of paper from beneath the clutter on his workbench.
"I can modify the existing components to improve the antenna system's gain and directionality..."
"What do you need?" Danny asked directly, rubbing his temples.
"Uh... I... I need permission to access the core communications codebase and the hardware schematics. And some components we don't currently have in inventory.
"Specific high-Q inductors, low-noise field-effect transistors, and possibly a development board for prototype testing..."
Eugene's voice grew quieter with every item, as though he realized how excessive the request sounded.
Danny didn't agree immediately.
"Write me a detailed feasibility report and a full bill of materials. Any changes to the core code need complete backups and a rollback plan.
"If you screw this up and take our communications network offline for even one minute..."
He left the rest unsaid.
The meaning was obvious.
During Eugene's rotational assignment to make amends for what he'd done, he would be personally responsible for the consequences of any mistakes. That had been Calista's requirement from the beginning.
Once Eugene received what he needed, he threw himself into the work as though someone had wound him up and set him loose.
His anxiety over making amends and his desperate need to prove that he still had value kept him at the workbench day and night.
He dismantled several old backup radios and handled the measurements, calculations, and debugging himself.
The greatest challenge was Rock Fortress's antenna system.
The base's primary antennas consisted of omnidirectional whip antennas mounted on the tallest watchtower. They were dependable, but inefficient.
Eugene wanted to replace them with a remotely steerable Yagi antenna array.
The problem was that Yagi antennas were highly directional. To use them effectively, they needed to be aimed toward a known location.
That led to the boldest part of Eugene's proposal.
A mobile relay station.
"Danny, we can't build permanent relay towers in territory we haven't secured," Eugene explained during one of his progress reports.
"But if a deployed team carries a modified radio equipped with an automatic beacon and signal-relay capability, they can briefly activate it from suitable high ground along their route.
"That radio could act as a mobile stepping stone for the signal."
He gestured across a regional map.
"For example, Rock Fortress is more than six hundred kilometers from northern Virginia in a straight line, with the Appalachian Mountains in between. Direct communications are impossible.
"But if the team carries a relay station and activates it along the route, then theoretically, we can use those relay hops together with the improved receiver sensitivity here and the directional antenna array to establish a stable connection."
"Theoretically," Danny repeated, tapping a finger against the mountainous region on the map.
"Y-yes. Theoretically. It needs field testing."
Eugene instinctively drew his shoulders in, but continued.
"Still, I've improved the algorithm significantly compared to the old system. And I've redesigned the preamplifier. That's critical for detecting weak signals..."
Danny told him to build a working prototype first.
Then they would see what it could actually do.
Today marked the final stage of a series of crucial tests.
Eugene took a deep breath, switched to the designated test frequency, and began transmitting a complex test signal.
The signal went out through a temporary antenna and reflected through the structures inside Rock Fortress.
Another radio had been placed at the farthest corner of the communications center to act as the test receiver, simulating a heavily attenuated long-distance signal.
Eugene stared nervously at the receiver screen as the signal-strength indicator constantly refreshed.
One minute.
Two minutes...
The lock indicator gradually changed from a flashing yellow light to a steady green.
The bit error rate fell rapidly from its initial high level until it stabilized at something almost negligible.
"It... it worked?"
Eugene stared in disbelief.
His fingers trembled as he switched through several additional test modes.
The results remained stable.
Danny stepped closer and bent over the receiver, carefully checking the data before comparing it against the transmitter settings.
"What about the mobile relay?"
"The prototype... is right here."
"Good. Get ready to report this to Calista. Your proposal, especially the mobile relay concept, fits perfectly with the long-range operations she's planning."
Eugene seemed to lose all the strength in his body at once.
He collapsed into his chair and removed his headphones, only then realizing that his shirt was soaked with sweat across the back.
He had finally done it.
This time, not by lying.
Not by talking his way out of something.
He had done it with his own intelligence and real technical skill.
...
Calista was equally pleased.
She hadn't expected Eugene's rotations through different departments to produce results this quickly.
"It can reach Virginia?" Calista's gray-blue eyes sharpened with interest. "How far, exactly? And how reliable is it?"
Eugene avoided her direct gaze and instead focused on the wall somewhere behind her shoulder.
"Theoretically, coverage across most of Virginia should be possible. Stability is much better than with the existing system, although it'll still be affected by weather, terrain, and... external interference."
Calista listened carefully.
She glanced toward Danny.
He gave a slight nod, confirming Eugene's assessment.
"How quickly can we deploy it?" Calista asked.
"We already have one working mobile-relay prototype," Danny replied. "Building more will require additional labor and components. Based on current inventory, we can make another three or four."
Calista considered that for a moment.
Her eyes returned to the hand-built prototype, then shifted toward Eugene, who was so nervous that beads of sweat had formed on the tip of his nose.
"Good."
She nodded meaningfully.
"Danny, coordinate the resources and build at least two more reliable relay units. I'll have Zhou and the others take this prototype with them first. We're going to need it for the upcoming long-range operation."
Then she turned toward Eugene and gave him a light pat on the shoulder.
"You did well, Eugene."
Eugene found himself staring at Calista from only a short distance away. Between her striking appearance and the unexpected praise from someone in authority, a strange warmth spread through his chest.
He nodded awkwardly.
Calista said nothing more.
Zhou's squad spent the night resting at Rock Fortress.
The following morning, all four assembled outside the command center, ready to return to the prison.
Calista came to see them off personally.
"Stay alert on the road. Once you reach the prison, give Rick a full report on what happened during the escort, especially... Gabriel's 'experience.'"
She deliberately emphasized the final words.
Zhou smiled and nodded while loading several freshly packed breakfasts from the cafeteria into the vehicle.
"Understood, Calista. We'll make sure he hears the whole story."
Murphy and Leon worked together to carry Eugene's handmade relay unit into the back seat.
Murphy gave a whistle.
"Don't worry, Calista. We could find our way back along this road with our eyes closed. We'll get the relay back to the prison too."
Leslie was already in the driver's seat, warming up the engine.
Calista nodded and said nothing further.
Zhou and the others climbed aboard, drove out of Rock Fortress, and soon disappeared down the road.