Cascade box set 2, p.67
Cascade Box Set 2, page 67
At the start of the field two snipers and Brad looking through binoculars, stood waiting. Brad was shaking his head. He knew even a high velocity bullet wasn’t going to stop the thing that was about to crash into her.
Abbey could see the creature in her mind, sense its pain, its fear. Clovis had always treated his E.L.F’s like toys to be expended then discarded, and the creature about to tear into her was full of hate for humans, even ones that had been altered by the Cascade.
She opened her eyes and walked forward. Just as the bear like creature was about to meet her, she kneeled on the ground and lowered her head.
The E.L.F skidded to a stop. Then rose up on its hind legs and roared. An almighty sound which shook the nearby trees. Despite the noise reverberating through her, she controlled her breathing and thoughts.
Its front legs crashed back to the ground just a few feet from her. She then felt its breath as it sniffed and snorted towards her.
She looked up and smiled. Then held out her hand. The creature stepped forward and sniffed again, then licked her hand.
Abbey laughed then stood, patting the beast on its head. “You’ll be treated with respect from now on.”
Brad and the two soldiers let out a breath they weren’t fully aware they were holding.
Abbey waved to them then looked back at the creature. “Come on.” She walked with it back to the beginning of the field. Brad and the soldiers shifted on their feet anxiously. “He’s under my control now. Or mostly at least. As long as we keep Clovis sedated.”
“Or we could kill him,” said Brad. “But I know how you feel about that. So, do you sense anything else out here?” He looked around them into the darkness.
“There are a few things, small, they wouldn’t be of any use to us.”
Mo squawked from above then landed with a thud some yards away in the field, he hissed at the large six legged creature nearby. The soldiers grew even more anxious. Abbey walked forward quickly towards her own E.L.F. “Behave Mo. He’s no threat to us now.”
The large winged creature shifted from foot to foot, but quietened down.
“Are we leaving him out here? I don’t think—”
Abbey raised her hand. “He can stay out here. He won’t see anyone from the outpost as an enemy anymore. He’ll even guard us.”
Brad started to walk away with the soldiers. “Good.”
Abbey stroked the creature once more then joined Brad and the others walking back to the gate.
“You should get some rest. We’re going to need your abilities when they arrive,” said Brad.
She nodded.
*****
A distant knocking grew to a crescendo. Abbey woke suddenly. Someone was knocking at her bedroom door.
She sat up. “It’s okay, I’m already clothed. Come in.”
The door opened. A red-faced soldier appeared with a bright hallway light behind them. “Ma’am, Major Hoxted said to wake you. We are picking up movement on the radar.”
Abbey nodded. “I’ll be right down.”
The door closed and she fumbled around on the nightstand to grab her radio, and to view the time displayed on its green display. 7 a.m.
Sun should be up soon.
Swinging her legs around to the cold floorboards, she stood then walked into the small bathroom. Putting the radio down on the top of the basin she briefly turned on the faucet, throwing cold water across her face.
She looked at herself in the mirror, the light from the radio’s LED display giving her a zombie like appearance and absorbed the woman she had become.
Another day, another asshole that needs to die.
She grabbed her radio then headed downstairs. As she walked across the hallway to the basement, she could hear the house was already alive with activity. She also heard it outside. The sound of boots running across mud and gravel.
She quickly descended the stairs to the main operations of the outpost. All the comms stations were manned, and a myriad of soldiers were in heated discussion.
Brad appeared between them and waved her over.
“They’re here?” said Abbey.
“We don’t know yet. The radar is picking up a number of objects about ten miles out. North of the town, so that’s north of us, and also the same distance to our south. Maybe they are just E.L.F’s that are moving through the area.”
“Both north and south of us at the same time?” said Abbey.
Brad nodded. “Yeah, I don’t believe that either. It’s probably Erin or his creatures.”
They both moved closer to Hoxted who was with Shaw huddled around the radar operator.
“The contacts have stopped moving,” the young man said, looking at his screen. “But…” Someone else pointed at the screen. “Yes, there are now more contacts, to our east… and more, approaching from the west. They all appear to stop when they reach the ten mile point.”
Hoxted looked at Brad and Abbey. “Looks like they’re here.” She then looked at Shaw. “We need to know what those contacts are.”
Shaw nodded then started relaying orders to the officers next to him. One of them nodded then quickly left.
Hoxted stood up straight, addressing everyone in the cramped space. “This is it people. We don’t know what’s out there, but whatever it is, it’s coming our way, and it means to do us harm. I want everyone to their posts. We are on high alert.” She then looked at the comms officer nearby. “Get a message to our people nearby, tell them it’s on and then the Texas camp, tell them it’s begun, but we haven’t engaged yet.” The officer nodded and started talking into his headset.
“Where do you want me?” said Brad.
Hoxted smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “For now, right here.”
“I think there’s something I can do that might help,” said Abbey. She turned and sat in the nearby chair. “Whatever happens, just leave me be. I’m in control.”
“Okay…” said Hoxted.
Abbey closed her eyes calming her mind to the urgency around her, instead she searched the skies above the outpost until she connected with Mo. She then went deeper, deeper than she had gone before, trying to become one with the soaring creature, until she was up there in the night sky looking down on the lights of the buildings within the walls. She could feel the wind buffeting her face, and the air currents keeping her aloft. She then looked to the distance, to the north and flapped her almighty wings gaining height, then allowed the drafts to drive her forwards. Over the dark forms of trees and roads she flew, and then the large warehouses of the town until she saw them. A column of heavy tanks and soldiers, gathered off the side of the main road to the town.
“I’m seeing tanks north of the town, maybe five of them, and soldiers, perhaps a hundred,” Abbey spoke hoping her words were actually emanating from her mouth in the room, and Brad and those around her were hearing what she was saying. She then tilted her wings and beat them, building pressure to allow her to fly towards the west. Gaining speed she soared over the forests. She realized if she focused she could even see between the branches and the details of the ground below. More military vehicles came into view. “To the west I’m seeing trucks, more soldiers about the same number, they seem to be setting up some kind of camp at a—”
She felt the air pressure change like a wave washing over her, before she heard the distant clack sound. They were shooting at her. She quickly turned and dived, descending to pick up speed and was soon out of their range. She headed back to the safety of the outpost. When she was above it, she relinquished her grip on Mo’s mind and opened her eyes to the room under the main house.
“Did you—”
Everyone was looking at her in silence.
“That was freaky and amazing in equal measure,” said Hoxted. “Yes, we heard you.”
Brad smiled then briefly squeezed Abbeys shoulder. “So to the north and west, it’s just good old fashioned army units. Not sure if that’s good or bad for us.”
“With the heavy tanks, definitely bad,” said the Major. “That’s why they have stopped at ten miles, that’s a good range for a battle tank.”
“So we’re sitting ducks?” said Brad.
Hoxted nodded.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Abbey danced in front of Zach, her yellow dress flowing in the wind. She looked younger, like her life hadn’t happened to her yet. She smiled. He loved her. Then he smelled them, the dry burned ashes. He turned around and staggered back. The camp was gone, replaced with an inferno. Pieces of homes and people fluttered on the wind, and the heat began to sear his face.
Zach awoke with a start at his desk, knocking his headset to the floor and narrowly missing his coffee mug. His movement also woke his computer and his monitor sprang to life with the frozen video and documents that had been uploaded to the camp’s server by Fuller and his people, and were still sitting positioned as he left them.
Blinking, he rubbed his eyes then looked at the time. It was 8 am.
Sun should be up. Abbey. Outpost.
His mind falteringly began to lose the fog of sleep and he wondered if there had been any messages from Kentucky. A knock came at his office door.
“Yup.”
The door opened and Martin Hoffman, the soldier designated to act as a secretary appeared with a brown pot that was steaming. “I got your morning coffee, sir.” The young man quickly put the pot down and grabbed the one that was already there.
“Any news from the outpost?”
“Err… yes, we got a message an hour ago saying their radar have found contacts, but they had not engaged with—”
Zach got up. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Umm… I didn’t really know you were asleep, I thought you would have already gotten the message. You were working until—”
Zach shook his head. “Its fine.” He grabbed his mug and poured the new hot coffee into it, then placed his headset back on his head. He looked back at the nervous young man. “Anything else?”
“General Trow wants you to attend a meeting at zero nine hundred hours at the Core. It’s about operation Wildfire.”
Zach nodded. ‘Wildfire’ was the designation they had given to the craziest mission he had ever been part of. The fact that he had already been in space didn’t really help.
He looked down at his computer monitor, then adjusted the mike on his headset. “This is general Felton. Comms you there?”
“We are sir.”
“Can you patch me through to the outpost?”
“Doing so now sir.”
A few seconds passed. “This is comms at the Kentucky outpost, what can we do for you General? Over.”
“Put the major on. Over.”
“I think she’s out inspecting the walls and towers, but I can get a message to her to return. Over.”
“I just want a sitrep. Are there any other officers there? Over.”
“Lieutenant Shaw is here and Mr. Crenshaw. Over.”
“Put Brad, I mean Mr. Crenshaw on. Over.”
A few seconds passed. “Hey Zach, I presume you have heard things are a bit tense up here. Over.”
“I missed the last report, can you fill me in? Over.”
“Well it would appear there are about five hundred of Mitchells people surrounding us—”
“Cascaders? Over.”
“So far it seems just to be humans. There are also a number of battle tanks. Over.”
A chill ran through Zach. “Do you have any anti-tank munitions? Over.”
“Yeah, got some. Shoulder launched missile launchers, but we have to be able to get them close enough. I’ve been told those suckers can take us out from over fifteen miles. And they are already closer than that. Over.”
“You haven’t been fired on yet? Over.” Mitchell’s face jumped into Zach’s head together with anger.
“Not yet. The Major, other officers, me and Abbey have been working on a plan to get us out of this jam. We should be able to let you know by tomorrow if it has worked or not. How’s everything down there? Over.”
“We got a plan too, but I don’t want to say too much over this connection. Over.”
“Well whatever it is, I wish you luck with it. Over.”
“You too. Keep me posted. Over.”
“Will do. Over.”
Zach took his headset off then drunk some of his coffee. The vestiges of sleep were still clinging to him, but he stepped away from his desk, stretched, grabbed his jacket then left.
He made his way through the maze of tunnels and was soon at the exit to the surface when he heard someone running behind him in one of the corridors. He paused with his hand on the door to the stairwell, and looked back at the way he just came. Michael appeared in full combat gear.
“Hey…” said Zach.
Michael walked up to him. “Whatever mission you’re planning I want to be part of it.”
“Where’s Megan?”
“She’s fine, she’s being looked after by the day care people here.”
Zach looked away shaking his head. “Yeah, I don’t know Michael…”
Michael’s eyes glistened in the corridor lights. “I need to do something Zach. I need to make them pay. There are rumors that a big Op is being launched, and I want in. I need this.”
Zach sighed then nodded. “I don’t know all the details myself, but I’ll take you with me to the Core, and you can sit in with me on the briefing and make up your mind what you want, okay?”
Michael nodded.
It wasn’t long before Zach was driving a Humvee with Michael as passenger. They moved along the deserted streets of the downtown area of the camp, then east across roads that had only been laid a few months before, and finally into the more rural part of the camp.
“How is she?” said Zach.
Michael wasn’t sure at first who Zach meant. He had spent most of the journey from the bunker with his mind lost in the past. “Megan? She’s okay I guess. Not sure a six year old can really comprehend loss. She keeps asking me when… mom’s coming back.”
“Kids are tough.” It was a cliche, but one Zach was sure was true.
“Yup. How’s Abbey? I heard that the outpost has come under attack from the Boston people? I thought we were all on the same side?”
“We are, but it seems Mitchells been influenced by the Cascaders.”
“Erin?”
“Looks that way.”
Michael looked out at the barren fields passing by. “Shit just keeps on getting deeper.”
The rest of the journey was in silence, although Zach kept looking to the skies wary of what he might see there. It wasn’t long before they were pulling into the parking lot where Klept’s saucer craft descended just eight hours before.
An officer and two soldiers ran up to the Humvee as Zach and Michael got out.
“I’m Lieutenant Mullins. I’m to escort you inside and to the briefing, sir.”
“Lead the way,” said Zach.
They quickly covered the distance to the entrance, and were soon inside the elevator descending into the bowls of the earth. It had been a while since Zach had been back there, and he had forgotten how claustrophobic it felt. The bunker system was deep, but this was something else altogether.
The lieutenant led them through a series of corridors, which Zach was sure were even more expansive than the last time he was there, and finally ended up at their destination. The officer knocked and was told to enter.
The room must have been a new one because Zach had not seen it before. Stretching twenty feet in length and two thirds of that in width, it was already full of people when they entered. General Trow was at the top of the room, with an Ultor that Zach presumed was Klept and behind them both was a large screen.
The crowd hushed as Zach moved forward. Michael found a place to sit at the back of the room.
Trow smiled, almost looking relieved for Zach to be there. “I’ve just been telling everyone about our new friends.” She leaned in closer to him when he stood next to her. “Haven’t dropped the mission on anyone yet.”
Zach nodded then looked around the room. Some of the faces he recognized, others were new to him.
Trow nodded to an older man with a dark beard in the front row, who then stood up and walked forward. He turned to address the room. “As some of you know my name is Adam Fuller. I am the chief technical liaison with the Ultor's.” He briefly bowed his head to the tall alien nearby, who repeated the gesture back. “Before the Ultor’s arrived, we were having trouble understanding the Hulathen’s technology, and their biology especially, however with Klept and his teams help, we have made major strides in those areas. We have a toxin, which was created by Dr. Joshi who unfortunately cannot be with us today, that will attack the Hulathen's immune system making them high susceptible to normal human diseases.” A ripple of murmurs ran around the crowd. “We have taken that toxin and combined it with a common human flu virus, but targeted to the Hulathen's DNA.”
“So we just got to inject the aliens with this stuff and that’s that?” A woman shouted from the audience.
“There is a good chance that if we did that, the Hulathen would simply eliminate that particular carrier. No, we need to infiltrate deeper.”
“Deeper how?” said a man.
Fuller stepped back.
“We have put together a plan for a mission,” said Trow. “To go through one of the cube gates, to travel to a location far from here and to strike the Hulathen were it’s really going to do the most damage.”
The noise in the room increased.
Trow raised her hand. “Yes, that means we have to go into space.”
Anxious conversations passed between the participants.
“I would like Klept to now tell us more about what we need to do, and more about the Hulathen,” said Trow. She looked at Fuller who tapped away on a keyboard linked to a computer nearby. He then walked to Klept and handed him a microphone.
A hush descended across the room.
“Thank you for allowing me to address all of you. As some of you will know, my name is Klept, and I am from a species called the Ultor’s. The Hulathen came to our home world hundreds of years ago, in earth time. They evolved the creatures on our planet, similar to what happened on earth, but with less devastating effect. Some of us tried to fight back against them, but unfortunately, others of my kind took the technological gifts the Hulathen offered them and so our planet was enslaved. Myself and others kept fighting though. And indirectly that has led to how I am here today. The Hulathen, from your human perspective would be regarded as immortal beings. As with most interstellar species they create new hosts for their consciousness, and then when these hosts are ready their consciousness is transferred to the host avatar. We have replicated the toxin your scientists first created, and if injected into the correct place we believe the virus will be able to spread throughout the Hulathen in this region.”
Abbey could see the creature in her mind, sense its pain, its fear. Clovis had always treated his E.L.F’s like toys to be expended then discarded, and the creature about to tear into her was full of hate for humans, even ones that had been altered by the Cascade.
She opened her eyes and walked forward. Just as the bear like creature was about to meet her, she kneeled on the ground and lowered her head.
The E.L.F skidded to a stop. Then rose up on its hind legs and roared. An almighty sound which shook the nearby trees. Despite the noise reverberating through her, she controlled her breathing and thoughts.
Its front legs crashed back to the ground just a few feet from her. She then felt its breath as it sniffed and snorted towards her.
She looked up and smiled. Then held out her hand. The creature stepped forward and sniffed again, then licked her hand.
Abbey laughed then stood, patting the beast on its head. “You’ll be treated with respect from now on.”
Brad and the two soldiers let out a breath they weren’t fully aware they were holding.
Abbey waved to them then looked back at the creature. “Come on.” She walked with it back to the beginning of the field. Brad and the soldiers shifted on their feet anxiously. “He’s under my control now. Or mostly at least. As long as we keep Clovis sedated.”
“Or we could kill him,” said Brad. “But I know how you feel about that. So, do you sense anything else out here?” He looked around them into the darkness.
“There are a few things, small, they wouldn’t be of any use to us.”
Mo squawked from above then landed with a thud some yards away in the field, he hissed at the large six legged creature nearby. The soldiers grew even more anxious. Abbey walked forward quickly towards her own E.L.F. “Behave Mo. He’s no threat to us now.”
The large winged creature shifted from foot to foot, but quietened down.
“Are we leaving him out here? I don’t think—”
Abbey raised her hand. “He can stay out here. He won’t see anyone from the outpost as an enemy anymore. He’ll even guard us.”
Brad started to walk away with the soldiers. “Good.”
Abbey stroked the creature once more then joined Brad and the others walking back to the gate.
“You should get some rest. We’re going to need your abilities when they arrive,” said Brad.
She nodded.
*****
A distant knocking grew to a crescendo. Abbey woke suddenly. Someone was knocking at her bedroom door.
She sat up. “It’s okay, I’m already clothed. Come in.”
The door opened. A red-faced soldier appeared with a bright hallway light behind them. “Ma’am, Major Hoxted said to wake you. We are picking up movement on the radar.”
Abbey nodded. “I’ll be right down.”
The door closed and she fumbled around on the nightstand to grab her radio, and to view the time displayed on its green display. 7 a.m.
Sun should be up soon.
Swinging her legs around to the cold floorboards, she stood then walked into the small bathroom. Putting the radio down on the top of the basin she briefly turned on the faucet, throwing cold water across her face.
She looked at herself in the mirror, the light from the radio’s LED display giving her a zombie like appearance and absorbed the woman she had become.
Another day, another asshole that needs to die.
She grabbed her radio then headed downstairs. As she walked across the hallway to the basement, she could hear the house was already alive with activity. She also heard it outside. The sound of boots running across mud and gravel.
She quickly descended the stairs to the main operations of the outpost. All the comms stations were manned, and a myriad of soldiers were in heated discussion.
Brad appeared between them and waved her over.
“They’re here?” said Abbey.
“We don’t know yet. The radar is picking up a number of objects about ten miles out. North of the town, so that’s north of us, and also the same distance to our south. Maybe they are just E.L.F’s that are moving through the area.”
“Both north and south of us at the same time?” said Abbey.
Brad nodded. “Yeah, I don’t believe that either. It’s probably Erin or his creatures.”
They both moved closer to Hoxted who was with Shaw huddled around the radar operator.
“The contacts have stopped moving,” the young man said, looking at his screen. “But…” Someone else pointed at the screen. “Yes, there are now more contacts, to our east… and more, approaching from the west. They all appear to stop when they reach the ten mile point.”
Hoxted looked at Brad and Abbey. “Looks like they’re here.” She then looked at Shaw. “We need to know what those contacts are.”
Shaw nodded then started relaying orders to the officers next to him. One of them nodded then quickly left.
Hoxted stood up straight, addressing everyone in the cramped space. “This is it people. We don’t know what’s out there, but whatever it is, it’s coming our way, and it means to do us harm. I want everyone to their posts. We are on high alert.” She then looked at the comms officer nearby. “Get a message to our people nearby, tell them it’s on and then the Texas camp, tell them it’s begun, but we haven’t engaged yet.” The officer nodded and started talking into his headset.
“Where do you want me?” said Brad.
Hoxted smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “For now, right here.”
“I think there’s something I can do that might help,” said Abbey. She turned and sat in the nearby chair. “Whatever happens, just leave me be. I’m in control.”
“Okay…” said Hoxted.
Abbey closed her eyes calming her mind to the urgency around her, instead she searched the skies above the outpost until she connected with Mo. She then went deeper, deeper than she had gone before, trying to become one with the soaring creature, until she was up there in the night sky looking down on the lights of the buildings within the walls. She could feel the wind buffeting her face, and the air currents keeping her aloft. She then looked to the distance, to the north and flapped her almighty wings gaining height, then allowed the drafts to drive her forwards. Over the dark forms of trees and roads she flew, and then the large warehouses of the town until she saw them. A column of heavy tanks and soldiers, gathered off the side of the main road to the town.
“I’m seeing tanks north of the town, maybe five of them, and soldiers, perhaps a hundred,” Abbey spoke hoping her words were actually emanating from her mouth in the room, and Brad and those around her were hearing what she was saying. She then tilted her wings and beat them, building pressure to allow her to fly towards the west. Gaining speed she soared over the forests. She realized if she focused she could even see between the branches and the details of the ground below. More military vehicles came into view. “To the west I’m seeing trucks, more soldiers about the same number, they seem to be setting up some kind of camp at a—”
She felt the air pressure change like a wave washing over her, before she heard the distant clack sound. They were shooting at her. She quickly turned and dived, descending to pick up speed and was soon out of their range. She headed back to the safety of the outpost. When she was above it, she relinquished her grip on Mo’s mind and opened her eyes to the room under the main house.
“Did you—”
Everyone was looking at her in silence.
“That was freaky and amazing in equal measure,” said Hoxted. “Yes, we heard you.”
Brad smiled then briefly squeezed Abbeys shoulder. “So to the north and west, it’s just good old fashioned army units. Not sure if that’s good or bad for us.”
“With the heavy tanks, definitely bad,” said the Major. “That’s why they have stopped at ten miles, that’s a good range for a battle tank.”
“So we’re sitting ducks?” said Brad.
Hoxted nodded.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Abbey danced in front of Zach, her yellow dress flowing in the wind. She looked younger, like her life hadn’t happened to her yet. She smiled. He loved her. Then he smelled them, the dry burned ashes. He turned around and staggered back. The camp was gone, replaced with an inferno. Pieces of homes and people fluttered on the wind, and the heat began to sear his face.
Zach awoke with a start at his desk, knocking his headset to the floor and narrowly missing his coffee mug. His movement also woke his computer and his monitor sprang to life with the frozen video and documents that had been uploaded to the camp’s server by Fuller and his people, and were still sitting positioned as he left them.
Blinking, he rubbed his eyes then looked at the time. It was 8 am.
Sun should be up. Abbey. Outpost.
His mind falteringly began to lose the fog of sleep and he wondered if there had been any messages from Kentucky. A knock came at his office door.
“Yup.”
The door opened and Martin Hoffman, the soldier designated to act as a secretary appeared with a brown pot that was steaming. “I got your morning coffee, sir.” The young man quickly put the pot down and grabbed the one that was already there.
“Any news from the outpost?”
“Err… yes, we got a message an hour ago saying their radar have found contacts, but they had not engaged with—”
Zach got up. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Umm… I didn’t really know you were asleep, I thought you would have already gotten the message. You were working until—”
Zach shook his head. “Its fine.” He grabbed his mug and poured the new hot coffee into it, then placed his headset back on his head. He looked back at the nervous young man. “Anything else?”
“General Trow wants you to attend a meeting at zero nine hundred hours at the Core. It’s about operation Wildfire.”
Zach nodded. ‘Wildfire’ was the designation they had given to the craziest mission he had ever been part of. The fact that he had already been in space didn’t really help.
He looked down at his computer monitor, then adjusted the mike on his headset. “This is general Felton. Comms you there?”
“We are sir.”
“Can you patch me through to the outpost?”
“Doing so now sir.”
A few seconds passed. “This is comms at the Kentucky outpost, what can we do for you General? Over.”
“Put the major on. Over.”
“I think she’s out inspecting the walls and towers, but I can get a message to her to return. Over.”
“I just want a sitrep. Are there any other officers there? Over.”
“Lieutenant Shaw is here and Mr. Crenshaw. Over.”
“Put Brad, I mean Mr. Crenshaw on. Over.”
A few seconds passed. “Hey Zach, I presume you have heard things are a bit tense up here. Over.”
“I missed the last report, can you fill me in? Over.”
“Well it would appear there are about five hundred of Mitchells people surrounding us—”
“Cascaders? Over.”
“So far it seems just to be humans. There are also a number of battle tanks. Over.”
A chill ran through Zach. “Do you have any anti-tank munitions? Over.”
“Yeah, got some. Shoulder launched missile launchers, but we have to be able to get them close enough. I’ve been told those suckers can take us out from over fifteen miles. And they are already closer than that. Over.”
“You haven’t been fired on yet? Over.” Mitchell’s face jumped into Zach’s head together with anger.
“Not yet. The Major, other officers, me and Abbey have been working on a plan to get us out of this jam. We should be able to let you know by tomorrow if it has worked or not. How’s everything down there? Over.”
“We got a plan too, but I don’t want to say too much over this connection. Over.”
“Well whatever it is, I wish you luck with it. Over.”
“You too. Keep me posted. Over.”
“Will do. Over.”
Zach took his headset off then drunk some of his coffee. The vestiges of sleep were still clinging to him, but he stepped away from his desk, stretched, grabbed his jacket then left.
He made his way through the maze of tunnels and was soon at the exit to the surface when he heard someone running behind him in one of the corridors. He paused with his hand on the door to the stairwell, and looked back at the way he just came. Michael appeared in full combat gear.
“Hey…” said Zach.
Michael walked up to him. “Whatever mission you’re planning I want to be part of it.”
“Where’s Megan?”
“She’s fine, she’s being looked after by the day care people here.”
Zach looked away shaking his head. “Yeah, I don’t know Michael…”
Michael’s eyes glistened in the corridor lights. “I need to do something Zach. I need to make them pay. There are rumors that a big Op is being launched, and I want in. I need this.”
Zach sighed then nodded. “I don’t know all the details myself, but I’ll take you with me to the Core, and you can sit in with me on the briefing and make up your mind what you want, okay?”
Michael nodded.
It wasn’t long before Zach was driving a Humvee with Michael as passenger. They moved along the deserted streets of the downtown area of the camp, then east across roads that had only been laid a few months before, and finally into the more rural part of the camp.
“How is she?” said Zach.
Michael wasn’t sure at first who Zach meant. He had spent most of the journey from the bunker with his mind lost in the past. “Megan? She’s okay I guess. Not sure a six year old can really comprehend loss. She keeps asking me when… mom’s coming back.”
“Kids are tough.” It was a cliche, but one Zach was sure was true.
“Yup. How’s Abbey? I heard that the outpost has come under attack from the Boston people? I thought we were all on the same side?”
“We are, but it seems Mitchells been influenced by the Cascaders.”
“Erin?”
“Looks that way.”
Michael looked out at the barren fields passing by. “Shit just keeps on getting deeper.”
The rest of the journey was in silence, although Zach kept looking to the skies wary of what he might see there. It wasn’t long before they were pulling into the parking lot where Klept’s saucer craft descended just eight hours before.
An officer and two soldiers ran up to the Humvee as Zach and Michael got out.
“I’m Lieutenant Mullins. I’m to escort you inside and to the briefing, sir.”
“Lead the way,” said Zach.
They quickly covered the distance to the entrance, and were soon inside the elevator descending into the bowls of the earth. It had been a while since Zach had been back there, and he had forgotten how claustrophobic it felt. The bunker system was deep, but this was something else altogether.
The lieutenant led them through a series of corridors, which Zach was sure were even more expansive than the last time he was there, and finally ended up at their destination. The officer knocked and was told to enter.
The room must have been a new one because Zach had not seen it before. Stretching twenty feet in length and two thirds of that in width, it was already full of people when they entered. General Trow was at the top of the room, with an Ultor that Zach presumed was Klept and behind them both was a large screen.
The crowd hushed as Zach moved forward. Michael found a place to sit at the back of the room.
Trow smiled, almost looking relieved for Zach to be there. “I’ve just been telling everyone about our new friends.” She leaned in closer to him when he stood next to her. “Haven’t dropped the mission on anyone yet.”
Zach nodded then looked around the room. Some of the faces he recognized, others were new to him.
Trow nodded to an older man with a dark beard in the front row, who then stood up and walked forward. He turned to address the room. “As some of you know my name is Adam Fuller. I am the chief technical liaison with the Ultor's.” He briefly bowed his head to the tall alien nearby, who repeated the gesture back. “Before the Ultor’s arrived, we were having trouble understanding the Hulathen’s technology, and their biology especially, however with Klept and his teams help, we have made major strides in those areas. We have a toxin, which was created by Dr. Joshi who unfortunately cannot be with us today, that will attack the Hulathen's immune system making them high susceptible to normal human diseases.” A ripple of murmurs ran around the crowd. “We have taken that toxin and combined it with a common human flu virus, but targeted to the Hulathen's DNA.”
“So we just got to inject the aliens with this stuff and that’s that?” A woman shouted from the audience.
“There is a good chance that if we did that, the Hulathen would simply eliminate that particular carrier. No, we need to infiltrate deeper.”
“Deeper how?” said a man.
Fuller stepped back.
“We have put together a plan for a mission,” said Trow. “To go through one of the cube gates, to travel to a location far from here and to strike the Hulathen were it’s really going to do the most damage.”
The noise in the room increased.
Trow raised her hand. “Yes, that means we have to go into space.”
Anxious conversations passed between the participants.
“I would like Klept to now tell us more about what we need to do, and more about the Hulathen,” said Trow. She looked at Fuller who tapped away on a keyboard linked to a computer nearby. He then walked to Klept and handed him a microphone.
A hush descended across the room.
“Thank you for allowing me to address all of you. As some of you will know, my name is Klept, and I am from a species called the Ultor’s. The Hulathen came to our home world hundreds of years ago, in earth time. They evolved the creatures on our planet, similar to what happened on earth, but with less devastating effect. Some of us tried to fight back against them, but unfortunately, others of my kind took the technological gifts the Hulathen offered them and so our planet was enslaved. Myself and others kept fighting though. And indirectly that has led to how I am here today. The Hulathen, from your human perspective would be regarded as immortal beings. As with most interstellar species they create new hosts for their consciousness, and then when these hosts are ready their consciousness is transferred to the host avatar. We have replicated the toxin your scientists first created, and if injected into the correct place we believe the virus will be able to spread throughout the Hulathen in this region.”
