by Frank Carey
"Would someone care to tell me?" Leona said with her fists on her hips and a scowl that could start a campfire.
"Do you want the abrupt version or the long, drawn-out version?" Greg asked.
The scowl deepened considerably.
"Abrupt it is. In 1890, the Alliance of Six along with their faithful companion, Rex, went on a mission and never returned. It is now over 300 years later, and I'm not the Gregory Alabaster that you think I am?"
Leona looked at Rex. "What's he talking about?"
The robot shrugged. "I know it's the future, but no one told me anything about Gregory not being Gregory."
She looked back at the LT. "If you're not Gregory, then who are you?"
"I'm his clone. Think of me as Greg."
"What's a clone?"
"A copy. I am a lab-grown twin of Lord Gregory Alabaster, but with an incomplete set of memories. The chamber I was grown in updated my memories with Gregory's up until the moment the seven of you disappeared. It has been randomly updating me over the years, though there are gaps. For instance, I didn't know about the two world wars that occurred in the early and middle parts of the 20th century."
"There were two world wars?" his companions exclaimed.
"Yes. In 1944, during World War II, a buzz bomb destroyed the building containing the clones of the alliance members. I escaped due to a clerical error..."
"I had a copy?" Leona whispered.
"Forgive me, I thought you knew. Are you feeling ill?"
"Someone made a damn copy of me...?" She stopped when Rex placed his massive hand on her shoulder while glancing at Greg. "Greg, I am so sorry. That... That wasn't what I meant..."
He held up his hand. "I've gotten used to it."
"Greg, what happened to us?"
"I was hoping you could tell me. According to the portal logs, we used it to travel to an unknown destination. When you were eight hours overdue, Lady Penelope activated the recall. Unfortunately, none of your beacons responded and your destination coordinates had been wiped from the device's buffers."
"Poor Penny," Leona said. "Dead these many years. Did she ever remarry?"
"I haven't got a clue. You can ask her when you get back to London."
"She lives?" the two exclaimed.
"Yeah. Something about one of her parents being an Olympian immortal. Anyway, she's a demigoddess with an extended lifetime. She and Wilson are having a devil of a time dealing with my existence. She can't stop staring at me while Wilson wants to put me back in the box. Do either of you remember anything about the mission?"
They both shook their heads. "All I remember was Greg calling us on the wireless. We met in his lab then entered the portal. I remember nothing after that," Leona said.
"My memory banks contain no information from the point when we entered the portal," Rex added. He looked up and saw something flying overhead. "Greg, is that a dragon?"
Greg glanced up. "Yeah. It's a non-sapient herbivore. Nothing to worry about."
"Earth has dragons?" Leona asked quietly.
"What? No, not unless you count the basili... Shit!"
They looked at him.
"We're dozens of light-years away from Earth on a planet called Charlene. How the hell did you get here?" He took out his scanpad and input several commands before pointing it at Rex. "This is a scanpad. It is a multifunction tool which can determine chemical composition among other things. The portal generator is made from the same material as your body, so if one is hidden in this building, I may be able to detect it using this device."
"Are you suggesting we were portaled here from London?" Leona asked.
"Either that or my original built a spaceship capable of faster-than-light travel, got you aboard, then knocked you out before bringing you here."
"I am really beginning to dislike Gregory," Leona said. "Find that damn portal."
While Rex looked to the sky, Greg smiled and patted her shoulder. "Yes, milady." Five minutes later, he got a reading.
CHAPTER SIX
With Leona and Rex standing on either side of him, Greg looked down at an intricate design carved into the floor. It was a picture of a winged serpent wrapped around a ball of fire surrounded by a circular pattern of glyphs.
"We got your message," General Spent said as she and Stryker Team 3 walked up. "Find something?"
Greg saluted, then nodded. "Yes, milady. Remember that ring in the museum?"
"You mean the one about eight feet in diameter that looked like a steampunk doo-dad?"
"Yes. That doo-dad is a portal generator. Alliance members could use them to travel to any point on the map."
"LT, how many of those generators are we talking about?" Colonel Match asked.
"Hundreds. There is one hidden in every major city of the time. Like Rex, the material they're made from is virtually indestructible, so many, if not all, of them are probably still around."
"Who built these portals?"
"My original did. He built a factory in Manchester and staffed it with the finest craftsman in Europe. He paid for them by renting time on them to Scotland Yard's Special Branch. If his memories serve, he turned a tidy profit."
"What does that have to do with this design?" Captain Harcross asked.
The serpent and sun appear on all the portal generators he built."
"What do the glyphs mean?" Sergeant Smythe asked.
"Authorized personnel only. In the event of a problem, contact the factory immediately."
"Wait a minute! You can read that gibberish?" Spent asked.
"Yes, I can," Greg, Leona, and Rex said in unison.
"But what language is it?" Private Tang asked.
"Don't have a clue." Greg said as he knelt next to the design.
"I've got nothing," Leona said as she joined him.
"Neither do I," Rex added.
Greg pressed one of the glyphs. The section of floor containing the design rose up to reveal a large, ring-shaped device made from a material resembling Rex. In front and to one side was a lectern or control pedestal. Behind them, the six members of the stryker team went full stryker and aimed their wrist-mounted weapons at the device. Both Rex and Leona gasped, then placed Greg between them and the strykers.
"What manner of demon are these friends of yours?" Leona whispered.
"They're not demons. They're cybernetically enhanced warriors sworn to protect the people of the League. Neither of you have anything to fear, I promise."
"Is the other you this civilized?" Harcross asked.
"No, he's pretty much a genius who has an ego to match," Leona said. "I've wanted to end his life on several occasions, but Rex keeps talking me out of performing the deed. I find this new version of Gregory Alabaster both refreshing and not a little unnerving."
"Thank you, Leona, I think," Greg said as he walked over to stand in front of the console. "That's interesting."
"What is?" Spent said as she slid over next to him.
"The return buffer contains only two sets of coordinates. Either this portal has only been used twice, or someone selectively erased all the other coordinates which is almost impossible to do, even for my original. The buffers of the Earth portals contained hundreds of addresses." He tapped some controls. "Amazing. Neither coordinate is on this planet. Colonel, do you have a force-field generator handy?"
The colonel, still wearing her adamantine stryker armor, held out her right hand. A segmented sphere appeared in it. "Here, you go." She tossed it to Greg. "What are you planning to do?"
"Open a portal to the first coordinate." Greg placed the sphere against the ring, then activated it, causing it to adhere to the ring's surface while a force field engulfed the entire ring. "Everyone, stand back, please."
Everyone in the room took several steps away from the ring. Once they were clear, and all the strykers had their weapons activated and aimed at the device, Greg initiated a portal. The inside of the ring flashed, then nothing.
"What's wrong?" Rex asked.
"Unable t
o form a portal." He checked the settings. "Since I know the coordinates of the receiving generator, I don't need a beacon at the other end. Diagnostics indicate a vacuum at the receiving end. Let me try something..." He made an adjustment. There was another flash, but this time, an image briefly formed. It was a wall of fire. Greg immediately killed the connection. "There is something wrong at the other end. Radiation levels were off the scale as was pressure and temperature. Let's try the other coordinate."
The ring flashed once more, but this time a totally different image appeared. This one was familiar. "Is that the lab?" Leona asked as a pair of young Katalan children peered at them from the other side. Leona walked over and looked at them in shock as they did the same to her. "What are they?"
"They're a felinoid race known as Katalans. Fierce warriors who dislike any type of dishonorable behavior. Their females are known for their ferocity, especially when they’re pregnant," Greg explained.
"Not to mention that this is impossible. Only an Erdexi Transgalactic portal generator can span such a distance. Is this thing using the planet's core to generate power?"
Greg smiled at the two children, then made motions for them to step back. Once they were clear, he shut down the portal, then removed a cylinder from the side of device and handed it to the general. "That's it's power supply."
Spent said nothing, opting instead to hand it to Harcross. "This is beyond any technology I know of. Did your original create this?"
Greg nodded. "I think I know where the rest of the Alliance of Six are," he said as he took the power supply back and reconnected it.
"Where, pray tell?" Rex asked.
"On this planet. They came through the portal, but never returned. They or their bodies are here. We just need to find them."
"And how do we do that?"
"Leona, do you still have your pendant?"
"I think so," she said while reaching into her blouse. "Yep, here it is." She held it up, so all could see. It was made from the same metal as Rex and the portal generator. On it was an embossed numeral "6."
"That is a beacon used to lock in on an alliance member's position. Press a button and the nearest portal will activate, allowing the alliance member to leave or for a rescue team to find them. Since the beacons aren't working, we can use our scanners to lock in on the alloy they're made from, the same alloy Rex and the portal generator are made from."
"You think they're here, on this planet?" Leona asked.
"Yeah. I think they're here. I think someone lured them here with a false mission, knocked them and you two out, then put you all into long-term storage. They're here. I can feel him lurking just outside the edge of perception.”
"Him? Him who?" Harcross asked.
"The real Gregory Alabaster. I don't know if he's alive or dead, but he is here, on Charlene."
"Greg, one question," Spent said.
"Yes, General?"
"What happens if we find do find him? What happens to you?"
"I guess we'll just have to find out."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Greg locked himself in the cockpit of the Zoetrope so that he could have some privacy. A couple of days ago, he was a simple pilot shuttling people around the League. Today, he's back to being the clone of a genius bent on finding a group of people who went missing over three hundred years ago. Not only that, but one of those people was his original, and he had no idea what would happen when the two of them meet. Greg closed his eyes and sat back in his seat as the panic threatened to overwhelm him.
"Are you OK?"
He opened his eyes and saw an Alue sitting in the seat next to him.
"Lieutenant Wasatch? What are you doing here? I thought you were back on Maeve with the rest of the Marshals."
"Lieutenant Alabaster, good to see you again. No, the crew and I are here to help with the search. Everyone is worried about you. It seems you are the lynch pin of this operation."
"How the hell can I be the lynch pin? I'm just a shuttle pilot who has been cursed with someone else's memories."
"May I offer a suggestion?"
"Sure."
"Put your big girl panties on and man up. You're Space Patrol which means you make the best of the best look second rate."
He gave her a raised eyebrow. "Don't mince words, Deputy. Give it to me straight."
She smiled. "A few months ago, I watched my captain and my friend die, but he wasn't dead, he was just missing in action. When we found him, my heart nearly exploded with joy. What did you feel when you found Leona?"
He smiled. "Even though we never met, I was giddy with happiness, though I could never show it being a proper gentleman and all."
"Welcome to the 23rd century. How about we go outside and see if we can find some Victorian era heroes and heroines?"
He nodded. "Yes, lets."
###
Greg and Max walked up to the Zoetrope's holotable where a woman with flaming crimson hair stood studying a map of Charlene. She turned. "LT! Glad you could join us," Marshal Melinda McKee said as she returned his salute. "Did Max talk some sense into you?"
"Yes, milady, she did."
"Good. Care to see the progress we have made?"
"Yes, milady."
He and Max joined the Marshal at the table. Marshal McKee tapped a control which brought up five flashing stars on the planet's surface. "We scanned the planet from orbit and found the pendant alloy in five locations scattered on Charlene's surface. We also had scans performed on the other three planets in the system, but those were dry holes. We sent the strykers and SWAT ahead to the nearest location to secure the area. Our main problem is resistance from the sentry bots."
"Yes, they were formidable, milady."
She stopped and looked at him. "Those machines nearly took out a stryker team, yet you and Rex destroyed them. How the hell does that work?"
He shook his head. "Adrenaline makes a person do strange things. I wish I could have done something for the others."
She patted his shoulder. "You did more than anyone could expect. Tell me, those pistols you used. What the hell are they?"
"They are semi-autonomous robots with micro rocket motors and antellon ray emitters. They are lethal in the hands of an expert marksman like Leona. They use the same power supply as the portal generator."
"Antellon rays? What the hell is an antellon ray?"
"It causes a disruption in the molecular bonds that bind matter. Hit an object with them and it evaporates in a spectacular fashion."
"Damn. You're talking about a disintegrator ray. We could use a few of those... What's wrong, LT," she asked as he eyes went large.
"The lab. We maintained all our weapons in the lab. I wonder if Wilson ever found the cache in the wall...? Milady, permission to return to Earth. I'll need Lieutenant Wasatch's help."
"Earth? It'll take you two months to get there and back."
"I guess they forgot to tell you. There's a device in the building that allows us to travel to Earth and back in minutes. It forms a gateway between it and a matching device in my... In Doctor Alabaster's laboratory."
"This I have to see," the marshal said.
###
"Damn!" Melinda and Max said when they saw the generator.
"And you can operate this thing?" the marshal asked.
Greg walked over to the control console and initiated a portal. The two marshals peered inside and saw a maintenance mech roll past. "That's really Earth?" Max asked.
"Yes, that's Earth," he said. He then stepped through. He turned back. "Coming, Deputy?"
"Damn, I hate this," she said as she followed him into the lab. "Can we hurry this up?"
"Not a problem." He looked at a grandfather clock near the darkened entrance. "It's just past midnight, local, so we won't have to worry about visitors. This way." He led her over to a large armoire filled with books from the library upstairs. He reached around the back of the piece and pressed something. It swung forward to reveal a small room filled floor to cei
ling with weapons of all description.
Max stared at the collection of firepower. "It was the 1890's. What the hell did you people go up against?"
He stepped outside for a moment, then returned with a book which he handed to her. "This one is mostly true."
She looked at the cover. "Kraken Island... I thought Krakens were myth."
"Yeah, and they would like it to stay that way..."
"What in the name of all that's holy are you doing, Gregory?" Wilson exclaimed as he stepped into the room. "And where did all of this ordinance come from?"
"Lieutenant Maxine Wasatch, I would like you to meet Wilson. He used to have a body just like Rex's, but now he's a little softer, though no less prissy."
"Nice meeting you, Lieutenant, though I prefer being described as proper. Now, as for my questions..."
"The original Gregory Alabaster seems to have been preparing for war. Since you're not using these for anything, I thought I would borrow them," Greg said. He found some boxes which he started filling with weapons.
"I cannot allow you to..."
Max tapped him on the shoulder. "Under general order 18 of the Space Patrol charter, I am confiscating these alien weapons of mass destruction until such time that they can be rendered inoperable. Once that occurs, they will be returned to you. Now, unless you want me to call in my superior, who will probably arrest your narrow, synthetic ass for sedition, I suggest you stand aside and allow me and Lieutenant Alabaster to get back to work."
Greg shrugged when Wilson looked at him for guidance. "You should do as she says. Oh, almost forgot, we found Leona and Rex, and we think we may have found the others as well. That's why we need the weapons."
"You found them? By the beard of Odin, I must tell the Lady Alabaster!"
"Tell me what, Wilson... Gregory? What the hades is going on?" she demanded.
"Wilson will explain everything. Deputy, I think that's everything. We need to get back to Charlene."
"Good idea..." she started to say as she tried to exit the room, but Penelope stopped her.
"Stop! What the hell is going on?"
Greg walked past Max to stand toe to toe with Penelope. "We found Leona and Rex by accident, and we think we've found the other five members of the alliance. They're all on Charlene, a planet circling Ronskin-223 at the edge of League space. We need these weapons to mount a rescue mission. Now, can we please go? People's lives are in danger."
