Nexus of Time

by Mark Riverstone

  Without light, they rush through the pitch-black narrow passage, sliding their hands along the walls to guide them.

  "I can't see a damn thing," grunts Agent Strong as she stumbles but doesn't fall.

  "Just keep going. We need to get as far as we can."

  "What if they catch up?"

  Mr. Nix assures her, "They won't come in this tunnel after us. No security is allowed to leave the premises without authorization. That'll take at least twenty minutes. We'll be too far into the city for them to find us by then. We only have to get far enough into this tunnel so they can't shoot us from the entrance."

  As Nix blindly hurries forward feeling his way, Strong gropes her way behind him, following his sound.

  "Where do we go when we get out of here?" asks Agent Strong.

  "Every been to Colorado?"

  At a corner, the two take the turn and disappear from the tunnel entrance view. Moments later, the tunnel door opens. High-powered flashlights shine into the tunnel from the utility room. Guards aim their assault rifles down the tunnel, their laser sights scanning back and forth. Seeing nothing, the guards close the tunnel door.

  Barge In

  Chapter 51

  The Barge, Troposphere.

  Rocketing south across the flat barren Wyoming landscape of sorrel dirt and bare boulders, surpassing sonic speeds and dangerously close to the ground, the Barge flies with unwavering precision. The Barge's strange hyperrectangle shape appears more industrial than aerodynamic, giving the illusion the Barge has no direction, rather the Earth is whipping by below it while it hangs still in the air. The massive ice block mounted between the gigantic docking clamps and the bow of the Barge shines and sparkles, its glossy surface transparent from the sun and wind melting the ice smooth, while dripping beading water reflects the blazing sun.

  A pack of prairie dogs rummaging through the buffalo grass raises up on their back legs, eyes scanning the plain, sensing something they can't see. As the Barge races by overhead, the prairie dogs look up, then panic and disperse when a sonic boom reaches them.

  Inside the Barge bridge, Captain Nemolopolus and the bridge crew sit strapped into chairs while they operate the control consoles. As the Barge passes into Colorado, the navigator calls out, "Only a few minutes until we are outside Denver."

  Captain calls out, "Lieutenant, are you linked into the comm network?"

  "Yes, captain, essential personnel linked in."

  "Very good. Dr. Black, Walter, are you receiving communication and in position?"

  Walter and Dr. Black sit strapped into the pilot seats of the Mantis craft, docked inside a sealed rear launch bay of the Barge, "Yes, Captain Nemolopolus, we are here in the Mantis and receiving communication."

  "Dr. Black? Can you hear?" asks Nemolopolus.

  "I can hear," responds Dr. Black.

  "Excellent. Have you both uploaded your research to the Mantis computers for your transmission in the Arctic?" asks Captain Nemolopolus.

  Walter confirms, "Research uploaded and verified. Everything is in place to send the transmission into the past when we reach the temporal nexus."

  "Very good. Make sure the Mantis systems are on standby for evacuation launch when the time comes."

  "Affirmative, Captain, systems on standby," says Dr. Black, activating the cockpit panels.

  "Walter, you and Dr. Black keep monitoring operation communications in case we need any of your scientific or technical expertise during the boarding. Engineer Evascott, are you in position in the docking bay behind the dimensional clamps?" asks Captain Nemolopolus.

  Evascott and his team of engineering technicians wear fireproof jump suits and welding masks, lined up by the closed docking bay doors that open to the exterior ice block and docking clamps. The engineers have harnesses around their shoulders, with straps bound to the back of the harnesses and clamped to the sidewalls of the docking bay.

  "Evascott here, Captain. My men and I are in position. We are ready with plasma torches."

  "Are your engineers strapped in and secured? When we collide with the Grey craft, there will be an impact."

  "Yes sir, we are strapped in," confirms Evascott.

  "When we dock, you can use the strap extensions to increase mobility distance, but remain strapped. None of your personnel will cross into the Grey craft, and I don't want any of your men falling in the gaps between the ships while they cut through the hull, understood?"

  "Yes, Captain, we will stay strapped in and on board the Barge."

  "Are the detachment charges in place at the base sleeves of the docking clamps in case we need to release and abort?" asks Captain Nemolopolus.

  "Yes, Captain," confirms Evascott.

  "Master Sergeant Smyte, are Ying, Sandy and your assault crew armed and strapped in inside the docking bay as well?"

  Strapped in with harnesses toward the back of the docking bay behind Evascott's crew are MSgt. Smyte, Ying, Sandy and Smyte's assault squad. They are dressed in black uniforms and visor-faced helmets, armed to the teeth with grenades, ammo packs, and holding automatic combat shotguns. Except Ying, whose massive body only wears a black sleeveless stretch shirt and black stretch shorts, leaving most his body uncovered.

  Ms. Smyte responds in her firm authoritative tone, "Affirmative! We are body strapped, magazine clapped, and focus tapped, Captain!"

  "None of your squad should carry traditional weapons, Smyte. Even a backup pistol will be useless extra weight."

  "Double-checked myself, Captain. We're holding nothing but combat shotguns, grenades, and all the smart-ammo we can carry," states MSgt. Smyte.

  "Are assignments split between those who will remain with you guarding the boarding point, and who will continue on with Ying and Sandy into the Grey craft?" asks Captain Nemolopolus.

  "Affirmative, sir! I'll only be keeping one team member with me. The rest of my team will escort Ying and Sandy to the Zeus Box, recover it, and return as mission priority," explains MSgt. Smyte.

  Walter gets on the comm and warns, "Be aware, Smyte, the docking clamps that extend into the Grey craft will not be compromised by ice or cut by engineering, so they will be a visual and physical barrier inside their ship. They may afford you cover in there, but may block your view of any Greys waiting on the other side. Keep in mind, we don't expect the boarding access hole to line up with a floor on the other side. Jumping down or climbing up may be necessary to reach the floor inside the Grey craft, which could expose your team, so be careful."

  "That possibility has been planned for," answers Smyte.

  "Excellent, Master Sergeant Smyte. Stay ready. We are a minute away from docking countdown," announces the captain.

  As the Barge clears the treetops it glides over, reaching the urban outskirts of Denver, an enormous Grey Fabricator ship appears ahead, still and hovering above the ground. Beneath it, mechanical arms wave at frenzied speeds constructing a terra-extracting Deconstructor from the bottom up, as if printing the massive machine in three dimensions with a metallic alloy. The Deconstructor is halfway done being assembled.

  Captain Nemolopolus addresses his bridge personnel.

  "Pilot, reduce velocity to approach docking speed now! What is target's stat?"

  "Target has not changed behavior."

  "Good. We don't want to give away our intentions. Don't take any aggressive measures."

  The Barge instantly slows to a speed too slow for a typical plane to maintain flight. Not changing direction, the Barge drifts toward the bow of the Grey craft. The Grey Fabricator craft stops synthesizing the Deconstructor and retracts its arms into the bottom hull.

  "The Grey craft is taking a defensive stance," announces the tactical officer.

  "Open rail turret doors but do not extend the guns," orders Captain Nemolopolus.

  As rail gun doors open, one on the top of the ship and one on the bottom, they expose two long retracted Gatling railguns. On the Fabricator ship, panels open on the top and bottom hulls, out which large weapon no
des extend.

  "It's extending weapons, either plasma pulse or electro-arc," announces the tactical officer.

  "Hold steady," affirms the captain.

  Inside the cockpit of the Mantis, Dr. Black has a distant blank stare on her face as if lost in her mind, "Walter, something is not right."

  Walter acknowledges Dr. Black concerns, "Their defense weapons should not be extending. We've shown no aggression."

  Dr. Black rubs her face, "There is something I can't remember. Should we tell Nemolopolus something is wrong? The future transmissions told us their defense came after we boarded."

  Walter tries to avail her concerns, "Maybe their defenses won't react. Retreating is not an option. The Greys would chase us. Nemo doesn't need us distracting him. Let this play out."

  On the Barge bridge, Captain Nemolopolus stares at a viewscreen showing the Barge's bow and the ice block bound to the docking clamps nearing the Fabricator ship's bow.

  The navigator calls out, "Eighteen hundred meters...Seventeen fifty... Seventeen hundred meters...Sixteen fifty... Sixteen hundred..."

  "Activate the clamp dimensional rift," orders the captain.

  The dimensional rift activates, creating a dimensional bubble that engulfs the entire ice block and a section of the docking clamps.

  "Sir, I am reading massive energy buildup from their nodes. They are getting ready to fire," informs the tactical officer.

  "Deploy bow plasma countermeasures, all banks! Extend the railguns now!"

  "Deploying port and starboard bow countermeasures," repeats the tactical officer.

  Eight projectile banks drop open on the front of the Barge, firing out eight compact geodesic domes. The railgun turrets on the top and the bottom of the ship extend out and spin to face the Grey ship at lightning speed. As the geodesic domes fly and spin toward the Grey craft, they expand into massive balls, the plates of the domes center mesh fabric held together by a crisscross of cabling, creating a framework for the expanded geodesic domes. The eight domes expand so large that they completely block the view of the Barge as they fly spiraling toward the Grey Fabricator craft.

  With a surge of blue energy building up on the Fabricator ship weapon nodes, the nodes fire electro-plasma arcs toward the Barge, striking the massive floating geodesic balls tumbling toward them. As each geodesic ball is hit, the electrical charge surges between the cables and the plates on the balls until absorbed, as the mesh material between the cabling burns away. After absorbing the plasma strike, each ball loses momentum and drops from the sky. All eight balls are struck down.

  "Target the nodes! Fire on them now! Increase speed! If we don't dock with that ship before they recharge to hit us, we are done. Hurry, Pilot!"

  "Increasing speed, Captain. Better hold on. This will be a rough one," warns the pilot.

  The railgun turrets spin and fires at the Fabricator weapon nodes. The first railgun shots knock holes in the ship shields surrounding the node, then strike the nodes, blasting them apart with energy pops. All that is left of the nodes are the frayed mounting.

  "The nodes are down."

  "Excellent."

  Side doors open on each side of the Grey craft, and small Grey attack fighter ships float out the openings.

  "Sir, they are launching attack ships," informs the tactical officer

  "Target them. We have to take them out now!"

  "Nemo, what's going on? Are they defending before we dock? This is not right. Why is this Fabricator ship launching fighters? The Greys had to know we were coming." says Walter from the Mantis cockpit.

  "I didn't expect them to roll over for us," replies Captain Nemolopolus.

  "But there was nothing in our records we sent back that said they gave any kind of resistance prior to docking."

  "Maybe because...I don't know Walter. It's happening and I'm fighting it. I don't have time to theorize. Tactical, fire on the launching ships."

  Frustrated, Walter turns to Dr. Black, "They are launching fighters against us. If they launched fighters against us in the past, we would have warned ourselves."

  As two Grey fighter crafts exit the side ports of the Grey ship, they thrust away and begin to cloak. The top railgun spins rounds targeting the right fighter craft, taking it down after multiple hits. The left fighter craft begins to disappear, but the bottom railgun strikes the left fighter, causing the cloak to flicker, keeping the ship visible. After a few more HVP strikes from the railgun, the fighter shield and cloak fail and the ship, riddled with projectiles, bursts into pieces.

  "Two fighters down, Captain, but they were trying to cloak. We can't lock on targeting if they cloak," informs the tactical officer

  "Prepare for more to launch. We need to strike them before they cloak," orders Captain Nemolopolus.

  "Should I order the railgun to strike the Fabricator ship hull?"

  The captain rejects the question, "No. Not until all the small fighter crafts are down. We'll waste fire and overheat our guns when we need to be ready for more fighters. Time of impact?"

  "More nodes are extending from the hull of the ship, captain." calls out tactical

  The pilot counts down loudly, "Impact in five...four...three...two..."

  The rift at the front of the ship goes right through the Grey shield and into the Grey Fabricator ship bow as if nothing was there, only stopping when the section of the Barge bow not in the rift collides with the hull of the Fabricator ship not inside the rift. Everyone in the Barge jerks violently forward. Captain Nemo and the bridge crew snap their heads forward, but are securely belted to their seats. Walter and Dr. Black rock sideways briefly as the Mantis is jostled in the rear launch bay. The engineering and assault teams lunge forward but are yanked into place by the harnesses strapping them to the docking bay walls.

  "Close the rift!" orders Captain Nemolopolus. "Open docking bay. Cut that hull and board that ship, now!"

  The docking bay doors open, exposing the Fabricator craft hull inside the block of ice only inches from the bay opening. Held by straps, the engineering team stands at the edge, cutting at the ice and alloy hull with plasma torches. Water from the melting ice drips and runs everywhere. The torches burn through easily. Engineers cut at different sections trying to create a large opening for the assault team to cross through.

  Evascott gives an update into his comm, "Captain, the ice worked brilliantly. We are cutting through their hull without difficulty."

  "Estimated time to completion?" asks the captain.

  "Two minutes max, Captain."

  The tactical officer on the bridge calls out, "Captain, two more Grey fighters are launching."

  "Take'm out!"

  As two fighter craft launching begin to cloak, the Gatling railguns fire at them. One of the fighters is destroyed before it can cloak. The other ship makes a quick evasive maneuver and avoids being struck, cloaking invisible. Four more panels open on the Fabricator hull, where four more weapon nodes extend out.

  "Sir, we got one but the other one cloaked."

  "Dammit! Be ready to take hits. Since our systems won't be able to target it while cloaked, put the guns on manual. Tactical, I want you targeting the gun. The moment the fighter fires on our ship, I want you to fire both railguns at the vicinity of the attack shot, estimating location from moment direction. Eyeball this one and lead your shots," orders the captain.

  "Switching guns to manual. I am taking control," says a tactical officer.

  "Start firing at the nodes that appeared on the hull of the ship."

  "Why aren't the remaining attack nodes firing on us?" asks the pilot.

  "They fire plasma arcs which spread across the object struck. If they used them on us, their ship will be damaged too since the ships are now connected. They won't fire those until the ships separate. So, take the nodes out now with the railgun. It should draw out the cloaked fighter to protect the nodes."

  "Yes, Captain."

  As the Gatling railguns fire on the remaining large nodes protruding fro
m the Fabricator craft hull, breaking them apart, repeated plasma pulse blasts fire on the Barge from the decloaked fighter, which successfully destroys the lower Gatling railgun, sending pieces falling to the ground.

  "We lost the lower railgun," informs tactical.

  "There it is! Take it out!" yells Captain Nemolopolus.

  The top Gatling railgun spins at lightning fast speed and sprays projectiles at the fighter as the fighter disappear again into its cloak. One shot strikes the fighter cloak, causing it to waver and briefly appear. The railgun continues to fire, knocking out the cloak and damaging the fighter's stern near its propulsion, but not before the fighter returns fire, the plasma pulse melting the railgun turret, causing the top railgun to break off and roll across the Barge's top hull.

  "We lost the upper railgun. The ship is no longer cloaked, but our weapons are down."

  Captain Nemolopolus slams his fist, "Dammit! All we have left is conventional weapons. Prep an anti-aircraft missile bank."

  Inside the Mantis cockpit, Dr. Black turns and grabs Walter's arm, "Walter, I know now..."

  "This...this isn't supposed to go this way," stammers Walter.

  "Walter!" yells Dr. Black, trying to get his attention.

  He stops and looks at her. She speaks very calmly, "Walter, I know what is happening. I remember dying in the previous loops. Every time you and I destroyed the Mantis it was after the Greys showed, except the last time. I remember we were out of oxygen, you were already dead, and I was slipping into unconsciousness when I saw a Grey craft appear outside the Mantis window. They must have recovered the Mantis and figured out what we were doing."

  "You're saying they know we have been looping time?"

  "And if they did what we did and sent a message back to themselves, they knew we were planning to attack a Fabricator ship," says Dr. Black.

  "Ying said the Greys don't mess with time travel because of the possibility of creating a black hole," responds Walter, trying to come to grips with this new information.

  "Maybe they are trying to prevent that. Defeating us now and stopping the Mantis from sending a message back prevents us from creating another loop," proposes Dr. Black.