He's alive!

Yesterday, Captain Keller held up what he mistakenly thought was the genuine Darwin virus strain 5 containment vessel as a symbol of their total dominance of the human race. The fact is, what he had was nothing but a glorified balloon. However, Rome was unwilling to make a move against him until she secured Aason's release. Little did she know that her son was already safe and sound and right nearby:

     Suddenly, Rome heard Aason’s voice in her head. “Mommy, Mommy,” the little boy said excitedly, “I see you.”
     “What?” Rome replied, eyes wide, looking around. “No, my son, you are mistaken. We will look for you very soon.”
     “I will see you first,” Aason answered.
     “What do you mean?” Rome asked.
     Aason did not answer. Rome opened her eyes up even wider.
     “Rei,” she whispered in frightened tones. “Something’s happened.”
     “What?” Rei inquired but before Rome could answer, the air was rocked by twin sonic booms. Overhead, the roar of plasma thrusters, louder than any jet engine, shattered the air. The acrid smell of ozone followed a hot wind blowing over the landing area. The ground started shaking. Rome whirled in place just in time to see a portion of the sky shimmer and out of nowhere MINIMCOM’s sleek black starship appeared in mid-air. His powerful EG lifters whipped the air, scattering the few people who were directly beneath. Landing gear extended, MINIMCOM settled on the tarmac and sat there menacingly with his “roadgrader” cannons extended, their fanned edges bristling with glowing red tips.
     With a whoosh and a pop, MINIMCOM’s all black livetar appeared beside Rei and Rome.
     “You’re alive!” Rome said, jumping up so she could put her arms around his neck. She hugged the livetar. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Suddenly, she slid off and backed away. “What about the virus?” she asked fearfully.
     MINIMCOM leaned his head forward and spoke quietly. “As I told you before I left, immolating myself was not my first choice. Rei’s idea turned out to be a good one. I needed an autoclave and I realized I could just turn my cargo compartment inside-out. I plunged far enough into the photosphere of the sun to burn off a good percentage of my interior before I escaped. I am completely clean now; however, I did sustain some system damage, including my transmitter. It took longer than I expected to rebuild it. Otherwise I would have called sooner.”

Keller is in trouble now. The very thing he feared was MINIMCOM's presence which has now been realized. But at least he has the weapon of last resort. Or so he thought.