Invaders: The Chronowarp

by Vaughn Heppner

  “Fine,” Jenna told Kazz. “I can grant you a pardon. I will, provided your information helps get us back to Earth.”

  “It’s the chronowarp,” Kazz said. “Philemon stashed it on the island. I know where it is. We can dig it up and recalibrate it. I should warn you, though. The chronowarp is old and almost dry of energy. It uses a different type than anything we knew how to fill. Don’t be surprised if it breaks down before we get out of here.”

  Jenna glanced at me.

  I shook Rax.

  “Let us attempt this,” the crystal said. “I can think of no better method, unless you wish to go through the portal.”

  “Nope,” I said. “Let’s try the chronowarp.”

  -65-

  I watched the caveman like a hawk. Part of me wanted to set the gun down and have another go with Kazz. It was a matter of honor. I didn’t know if I’d regained all of mine for losing the Guard ship to them in the first place.

  Kazz kept telling us about how much of a genius Philemon was. I was starting to get the idea that Kazz was just a simple thug, the muscle.

  He dug up the chronowarp and explained the workings to Rax. After that, I had him give himself the trank. Kazz grinned at me as he did it. He challenged me with his eyes the entire time.

  Soon, Kazz was snoring like a buffalo.

  I made the adjustments, listened to the chronowarp buzz horribly and heard Rax proclaim that it was working.

  In the Guard ship, we left Stone Monument Isle.

  “What about the people down there?” Jenna asked. “Shouldn’t we try to communicate with them?”

  “They have already communicated with us,” Rax said.

  “When?” she asked.

  “When they used the beam weapons against us,” Rax said. “They were saying, ‘Go away. We hate strangers.’”

  Jenna stared at the crystal, finally nodding. “You have a point. Still, what if they’re descendants of people who made it through the Bermuda Triangle?”

  “If the chronowarp remains sound,” Rax said, “CAU can send an expedition here and find out.”

  “Good point,” Jenna said. “Let’s get home first.”

  I piloted. Rax did the scanning. We left the world with the three suns and the freshwater sea. We reentered the go-between realm with the small but intense suns, the flashing comets everywhere and the gray asteroids.

  I flew slowly and carefully through this place. I did not like it. Had Polarions constructed it? Why had that stubborn hatch down in the Arctic Ocean station let me use it? Did I have a connection with the ancient Polarions? Did Argon still live? Was the Earth some kind of Polarion treasure trove? Why had they picked our planet? Why was it restricted?

  I asked Rax. He didn’t answer me.

  Finally, we reached another closing distortion. I sped up. Rax had told me I’d been flying too slowly.

  “We will return to Earth?” I asked.

  “I hope so,” Rax said.

  “Will it be our Earth?” I asked.

  “What kind of question is that?”

  “One you’ve failed to answer.”

  Rax didn’t answer this time either. Instead, the Guard ship shot through the opening.

  We flew onto a nighttime planet. I took the Guard ship up. I had Rax send a signal to the Director.

  “Who is this?” the CAU Director asked.

  I sighed. This was our Earth. We’d made it. I finally answered the man, “This is Logan of the Galactic Guard.”

  “Did you succeed?” he demanded.

  “We sure did,” I told him.

  “Wonderful, wonderful,” he said. “Do you know how to use the portal?”

  “I’ll let you know soon enough,” I said. “I’m bringing you a Neanderthal, but Jenna has granted him a full pardon.”

  “What?” the Director said. “B-But—”

  “Does she have the authority to do that?”

  “I suppose,” he said. “We’ll need to study him first—”

  I cut the connection.

  “What are you doing?” Rax asked.

  “I’m thinking.”

  “Concerning?” Rax asked.

  “Whether I should force the Director’s hand in keeping his word,” I said.

  “Do you want to know my prediction?”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “You will release Kazz because Jenna gave him her word.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “Now which woman am I going to date?”

  “That,” Rax said, “is a mystery, as it is not governed by logic, but by desire.”

  He had a point. As I headed for Jamaica, figuring I’d let Kazz off there, I wondered what I was going to do about Jenna and Debby.”

  -Epilogue-

  First, I suppose I ought to let you know the obvious things.

  Sergei Gromyko got that brain operation. The surgeons removed a cortex bomb and something else. I wasn’t able to learn that part, at least so far I haven’t.

  I believe the CAU people kept both items. The Director had already become a secretive individual. I wasn’t sure how much congressional oversight he had to contend with, or if it even mattered at this point.

  The last I heard, Sergei had entered advanced CAU training. It turned out they wanted him, all right. He gave them the locations of a few caches of items Hap had stashed in various corners of the Earth.

  Field Agent Jenna Jones got a commendation, a medal and no doubt more data in her file.

  I’ve seen her a few times since returning from the Bermuda Triangle. She was nice enough, but thoroughly preoccupied. She loved her job. She was intense in its pursuit and more dedicated than ever.

  She was in the process of gathering a team to go down to the Arctic Ocean station.

  I told her to be careful. I had a suspicion that the place could blow to smithereens. In my experience, Polarions were extremely touchy about people using their technology.

  I’d learned through the grapevine that the Director was hunting for Kazz. CAU wanted the Neanderthal. I imagined the thug had data in his brain that the self-selected defenders of Earth desired.

  The Director had contacted me twice, offering me various inducements to track down and capture Kazz for him.

  I declined each time. The Director did more than offer inducements after that, he added threats, serious ones.

  I decided to threaten him back.

  It was much like I’d done to the Secretary of State six months ago. I had Rax teleport me into the highly secret facility under the Utah salt flats. I had a few extra gadgets with me this time.

  For one thing, I knew about their hidden cameras. The first place I went was to the video chamber. I won’t bore you with details about how I disarmed it, but I did.

  A few minutes later, I materialized in the Director’s sleeping quarters, his real ones, not the fake ones they kept to try to trap me.

  Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have played my hand so obviously. I wanted to make a point, a strong one.

  The Director snored hard in his bed. He had a pretty CAU field agent in bed with him. She slept on the far edge of the bed, as if to get as far away from him as she could.

  In any case, I tiptoed to the Director and taped a small note to his bald dome. On the note, it said:

  BANG!

  GOTCHA

  The underline was to underscore the precariousness of life, his, in particular. I felt like taping a note to the field agent’s head, but refrained.

  I left, and the Director stopped hounding me about Kazz. If they could catch the Neanderthal on their own, fine. I would keep my word.

  I maintained my distance from CAU. I applauded the idea and the effort. Without them, it was more than possible a thousand Eshom would be controlling a thousand different individuals on Earth.

  I was the Galactic Guard rep on Earth. In my mind, I was like the marshal of the territory. I had complete jurisdiction on Earth. The CAU, they were like local cops. I had nothing against them, as long as they didn’t
get in my way.

  I’m sure the Director didn’t see it that way. In fact, I believed they salivated over the idea of snatching my Guard ship from me.

  I made some changes, threw in some fail-safes, and practiced more caution than I had before.

  I debated going down to the Arctic Ocean station, but decided it was better to leave sleeping Polarions lie.

  Rax kept telling me a Guard officer would come to Earth sooner rather than later. I would have to give him an account of what I’d done.

  I believed Rax. Besides, I liked my semi-official status and that I could do what I damn well pleased.

  And what did it please me to do?

  I told Debby I was sorry for hitting her. I wished I hadn’t done that. I told her I’d never kissed Jenna, although I’d thought about it.

  She told me Kazz had made a hundred passes at her. She had never even thought about kissing him, though.

  “Yeah, but what about Philemon?” I asked.

  She hit me in the shoulder, smiling at me.

  I kissed my girl. Maybe we didn’t always get along. Maybe we’d been getting on each other’s nerves for a time. We needed a vacation, and we needed to restart and find what we used to have.

  I took her to Kauai. We stayed at the Sheraton this time.

  As I said, I had fail-safes in place. I had automated emergency procedures to whisk Debby or me away at the first sign of trouble.

  I know it worked, because the teleportation machine snatched me off a surfboard as I rode a wave. It also took the two of us from the middle of a restaurant.

  That one made the news.

  I think after that the Director decided it would be better to stop such public kidnapping attempts.

  Just to be safe, I took Debby to a Jamaican beach. We snorkeled, sailed in the sea and tried to reignite the spark we used to have.

  I wasn’t sure it was going to work. She’d changed from the woman I’d known in Far Butte. And maybe, almost certainly, I’d changed from the guy who had gone there.

  I wondered if maybe that was for the best. I had a feeling this gig wasn’t over. I had a cool ship and an interesting friend in Rax, but that also meant I had a responsibility. I was the Galactic Guard rep on Earth. Maybe I hadn’t asked for it, but it was my post, and as time went by, I was getting more protective of my planet and the people on it.

  THE END

  To the Reader: Thanks! I hope you’ve enjoyed Invaders: The Chronowarp. If you liked the book and would like to see the series continue, please put up some stars and a review. Let new readers know what’s in store for them.

  —Vaughn Heppner