Universal Code

by William Songy

  There was a great number of people who remained loyal to Zan who refused to comply and fled to the remote jungles or out of Tozan. But most migrated out of the country and were scattered among the nations.

  The message continued, Kasadu moving forces to attack Econ and a planet called Earth.

  Asger sat for a second considering the message. Was it a hoax? He was not too familiar with Earth but wondered how they planned to attack Econ. His mind shifted from the message and he wondered how the Prince had survived. Where was he hiding out? If Sana Kane was alive, could he win the hearts of those who opposed Sieti and mount a rebellion? Could he take back the crown and restore Tozan to its former glory? Would it once again be an ally of the Universal Code and the Baraza Zima?

  Reiahn was within his view. He could take Ningal and offer her as a gift to Sana Kane, if he was there and if he was able to find him. She was as responsible for the death of the nation of Tozan and Zan Kane as Sieti was. But this would only lead to an assault on the planet by the Kasadu in retaliation. It was obvious that sooner or later the Kasadu would realize that Ningal’s pod was intercepted by the Nekark. He had just endangered his crew, who was possibly plotting against him as he sat contemplating. It was his neck on the line now. Asger needed to move before he dealt with a mutiny of his own. He realized that there was only one thing to do. He stood, took a deep breath, and headed for the hanger.

  The walk down to the lower level and through the corridor was unusually quiet. There was no echoing chatter bouncing off the metal walls. Just the clanking of his feet with each step. Asger was alert and kept his hand on the pistol that was holstered on his right side and wondered if it had been wise not to grab another weapon. He released the strap that secured it in the holster and considered retrieving it.

  He entered the hanger and was both glad and irritated that the men assigned to security were nowhere to be found. The crew had willingly left the hanger vulnerable. He assumed why and realized this was the correct course of action? Asger got into the Stur Craft and launched. As he exited the bay, he saw a group of men run into the hanger and began to fire at him. The red and green rounds zipped past him and cooled off as they disappeared into space. The few rounds that struck the Stur Craft were too weak to inflict any damage on the exterior, which was designed to be shot at. He resisted the urge to fire back and throttled the transport as the window of opportunity became increasingly reduced.

  The Nekark had a unique feature that most transports lacked. Since it was a vessel of SINSTER and it was likely to be used for the transporting of prisoners, it possessed a docking port where prisoners could be offloaded from the exterior while still in their cells. This was done to eliminate the need to physically handle extremely dangerous prisoners as they were moved from one location to another. He guided the Stur Craft to the rear and nosed up to the circular hatch and gave the command. Four metal hooks reached out, secured the Stur Craft to the exterior of the hatch and locked on. The electromagnets engaged and the pressure was adjusted. Just as the door was about to open, a light flashed indicating that there was a breach in the room where Ningal was being held. He hurriedly punched the button that opened the hatch and ran to the front of the Stur Craft to guide her in. Behind the cell that housed Ningal, he could see two shadows moving in the room. He fired a warning shot at them, which was quickly answered. He fired off a volley of shots that caused the men to take cover while the motors on the tracks guided the glass cylinder into the Stur Craft. One of the shadows stepped out to take a shot and Asger landed a round in the center of his chest. The man fell. He moved back from the hatch and slapped the lever that closed the circular metal door.

  Asger ran back to the command of the Stur Craft. To his dismay lights began to flash on his display. Two Imil left the bay. Despite being only a few seconds, it seemed to take forever for the cell to move into place and lock down for transport. He ordered the chamber door to reseal. The Stur Craft’s metal hooks released, noted by the popping sound of the electromagnets, which let him know it was time to move.

  He piloted the Stur Craft away from the Nekark and immediately slid under the transport’s belly and waited for the two transports to come into view. He would take a shot the second they became visible. He studied the display on the dash and was surprised when he realized that they were not coming after him. Both were speeding away from the Nekark toward Reiahn. He hovered for a few minutes to make sure that it was not some diversionary tactic to draw him out. Asger was relieved when the two Imil did not turn back and soon faded into space.

  The renegade agent second-guessed himself for what he was about to do but knew that there was no option. The Stur Craft dropped away from the Nekark, gained speed in the direction of Econ, then entered celerity.

  Chapter 26

  Logan needed to gather his thoughts and was no longer comfortable in the building. The walls seemed to close in on him and he was in desperate need of fresh air, even if from an alien planet. A female SINSTER agent showed him an exterior platform overlooking a mountainous region and the river as it cascaded over the ledge creating the waterfall over the hanger where they initially entered.

  From the perspective of nature, Econ was as green, lush and beautiful as Earth. It was difficult to tell the difference from the overview of the landscape. The sky above for as far as he could see in any direction was blanketed with hovering vessels of different sizes and shapes, he assumed were military. The atmosphere inside of the SINSTER building reeked of an impending war, which was one of the reasons Logan stepped outside only to find squadrons of highly advanced military spacecraft flying overhead engaged in training. War was inevitable it seemed.

  He looked down to a lower level and could see military vessels and armed forces congregating that were not initially present upon their arrival. The SINSTER facility was clearly on lockdown. He leaned against a thick stone wall that was serving as a railing for the balcony, which he assumed was designed to provide for cover in the event of an attack from ground forces. Then he wondered, with all the technology they possessed, was there a need for ground forces? Tactically, did they fight the same way as the nations of Earth?

  Sonia’s situation and condition were tough enough for one person to deal with. Having to learn how to help someone who was sure to have unprecedented psychological scarring, while protecting her from aliens that wanted her dead at the same time would certainly prove to be difficult. Now add to the equation that there were kids that could travel through portals and dimensions. It was utter lunacy.

  The real capper, the apex of insanity was that he had been picked by an alien race from across the galaxy for the purposes of reaching and warning the leaders of the United States of an unavoidable impending doom from several unknown races of alien beings from planets no one knew about. No small task. As Logan searched his memory, it was clear that he had exactly zero contacts in the federal government. It would be as easy as jumping the fence and knocking on the door of the White House and asking the President if they could talk over a beer.

  There was no one that could vouch for his sanity. Logan simply needed to convince the leaders of the military, and corrupt, self-indulgent, narcissistic politicians that a war they didn’t seem prepared to win was about to be levied on the world by the very things they had been denying to the American people for the last century. Perhaps the greatest bit of irony was that the very reason the government had kept it a secret was to squelch the mass hysteria about alien invasions, which was in fact about to happen.

  At times, if it were not for meeting Ayla, Logan wasn’t sure how he would have handled the pressure. It was a lot for any one person to bear. He had no clue what was really at Area 51 or even any idea about what the military knew? The totality…the potential finality of the situation would, at minimum, change the lives of all the people of Earth forever.

  Now, after traveling to the other side of the star system while focusing on the possibility of seeing Sonia and attempting to visualize what life woul
d be like to have her back again seemed less important. Trying to visualize the faces of their parents when they were reunited, suddenly seemed like folly. Now, he was thinking about preventing their death. Logan knew that he should control his thoughts and proceed with a bit more emotional caution. Seeing his sister on the verge of death, after twenty years of thinking she was already dead, conjured a wave of anger targeted at both the SINSTER agents that had brought him there and for the heartless criminals that had ultimately abducted her. He had spent twenty years dealing with her loss and now it would be like starting from the beginning again. If she didn’t make it, Logan would have to return to share everything he learned about Sonia with their parents, then tell them the very aliens that abducted her were coming to kill everyone. They would think he was crazy. Perhaps, he considered, it would be better not to say anything at all if she didn’t make it.

  Thoughts of killing those responsible for taking her emerged again. He was no mercenary or vigilante but how could he return home? He would be no more than a coward. Life as he knew it was certainly over. Then, the psychological rollercoaster changed direction and once again he longed to be back home, climbing on a boat and searching for treasure. He wanted to smell the Gulf of Mexico, feel the ocean’s breeze on his skin, which he considered the possibility of never experiencing again. Earth was so far away and he had no control over how to get back or even if he would be allowed to go. All of this needed to just go away. The thought of an impending conflict on a scale that would make the wars on Earth look like child’s play was nearly crippling. The war of the worlds he mockingly thought.

  “You okay?” an approaching masculine voice called out from behind him.

  Logan turned and watched Gunner as he crossed over the stone structure, “Is that a rhetorical question or does it require an answer? If I’m being honest, the answer is that I don’t really know. Only, everything we know and even everything we didn’t know,” Logan spread his arms out over the Viennian landscape, “is about to be destroyed by an enemy, that until a few weeks ago, we had no idea existed. This won’t be like defeating the Third Reich or Japan.”

  “Well…I guess that was a stupid question. I am full of those today. You should have seen Art’s face when I asked him if it was true that aliens helped the Egyptians and Mayans build their pyramids?” Gunner said with a thin smile.

  “I don’t doubt it. What did he say?” Logan leaned on the stone wall.

  “Have you noticed that he does this little raised eyebrow thing. Kind of like my teacher in Kindergarten. He is a tall dude, so he looks back at me and said, ‘Do you really think they could have otherwise?’ Then chuckles for a second before being called away. I am not sure if he was just yanking my chain or if he was serious. That is something that I have always wanted to know.”

  Logan managed a chuckle, “The mysteries of the universe.”

  “But on a serious note, she is tough. She is fighting this—”

  “They called it ‘Dalkhu Mursu. The demon’s disease.’ The first thing I thought of was…they believe in demons on other planets? Seriously? My thoughts are in such a messed-up state that was the first thing that came to mind. Not, is it lethal…will it kill her? Will she recover? Nope…it was ‘they believe in demons here?’

  “I guess all of the hell she has been put through, she would either be tough or a total psychological train wreck. I hope it is not the latter. After some of what Art has told us, it seems that would be the case. It infuriates me to think of what she has been through and all my thoughts are based on assumptions and what I think I know about abductions. I hope to never know,” Logan said.

  “It is a lot to deal with,” Gunner said then decided to change the direction of the conversation a bit, “let me tell you, Ayla is something else.”

  Logan looked at Gunner inquisitively, “She has been through a lot. But, yes, she is pretty special.”

  “Special and fiery. When they took Sonia into the medical facility Ayla wanted to go with her. When one of those huge agents told her no and forbade her to go, she stepped up, got on the top of her toes and looked him in the eyes, jabbed her finger in his chest and dared him to try and stop her. She pushed past him like an angry running back, suited up, and went in. She is in there fighting for your sister. Trying to save her life.”

  “She isn’t a medical doctor,” Logan replied.

  “No, but she knows enough to understand what the Viennin doctors are doing. She overheard them talking about taking off the arm, putting her in quarantine and treating her with some kind of gas or airborne antibiotic thing. One doctor was opposed to it, but he was overruled by a second. Ayla told them they were going to save the arm, then she forced her way in to make sure they didn’t take it off,” Gunner paused for a second, “look, I know you have a lot on your mind, but Art wanted to talk to you. The sooner the better.”

  “Why?” He looked at Gunner and realized that he knew something that he wasn’t saying. “Is it about Sonia?”

  Gunner looked away for a second and then returned to face Logan, “Yes. But not in the way that you may think.”

  “Can’t you just tell me?” he asked.

  “The two boys that…came into the room through the air, or however that works. One of them is called Joseph. He needs your permission to speak to him and to question him,” Gunner said.

  “Why?” Logan asked sensing the answer to his question.

  “While Sonia is in her uncertain state, you are his closest living relative.”

  “She had a son?” Logan asked rhetorically.

  “She did! Congratulations Uncle Logan. Although, there is a lot more that Art said he needs to share with you about Joseph.”

  Logan walked back into the building and passed a common area where he saw two SINSTER agents sitting at a table with the boys as they ate. It was clearly obvious that both boys were abnormally thin and malnourished. He studied the bones of the face and thin arms and returned to his comments about the Third Reich and considered the concentration camps. He was disgusted with the thought of the boys being treated in such a manner. They were robbed of all opportunity to be boys. Abused and forced into a life not of their choosing. He found himself angry again. He stopped and watched for a second then started to walk toward the table.

  He felt a hand on his back, “You really should talk to Art first. There’s some things you need to know,” Gunner said.

  The officers guarding the door to the Director’s office gave no resistance to Logan and Gunner as they approached. The burly Viennians simply stood idly by still and emotionless like stone statues as the door slid open. Art turned to greet them as they entered and motioned toward two antique wooden hand-carved seats.

  He seemed to take a second to consider his thoughts and how he was going to convey them, “Well, I have good news. They were able to treat the disease and extract it from Sonia’s arm. The damages were reversed, but there may be some residual nerve damage that will linger for a while. This may cause limited use of the arm, which may subside in time. But she will recover.”

  “That’s good news,” Logan sat back and exhaled in relief.

  “It’s one of the boys I want to talk to you about,” Art said in an odd tone. Logan didn’t reply, just continued to look at him. “One calls himself Joseph. Sonia was forced to take part in a breeding program or experiment during her captivity. You know how important and valuable human labor is to those on the other side of the Code. Through odd methods and various chemicals, they experimented with the females. The goal was to make a stronger, more productive slave in half the normal time. They wanted to speed the gestation period and cut it in half. They wanted to find a way to fully produce a child in one-hundred and forty days or less.”

  Logan flashed Art a horrified look, “That is insane.”

  “As you can imagine, most of the children were horribly deformed and sickly. Most were killed. But, a few did, for some reason, come out looking normal. These were near term though. They were unable t
o force labor in those cases for some reason. Sonia gave birth to one such child.”

  “So, Joseph is her son?” Logan clarified. He realized that Sonia had lived through some horrific experiences. There were a number of abduction accounts where people claimed to be poked and examined and things implanted in them. This was certainly new. Now there was Joseph. Was the boy normal, sick, or angry? What kind of life did the boy live up until this point? What were his experiences? What kind of psychological distress or issues might he have? “Born in the lab?”

  “Yes. You have a nephew. Now, you must understand that he is quite different from other boys. He is very unique,” Art said.

  “Is he healthy?”

  “They are looking at him now, but he seems to be.”

  “So, what is wrong with him?” Logan asked.

  “He has some very special abilities. We don’t understand how he does the things he does, but—”

  “Is he dangerous?”

  “He can be. And there may be no way to control him,” Art said.