"Prepare to enter atmosphere in one hour and ten minutes," Carver ordered. "Jeff, Batar, come with me."
The three of them left the bridge briefly, floating themselves to the conference room. They shut the door for total privacy.
"Gentlemen, we have a dilemma." Carver stated.
"How to land a craft near the ship without being seen?" Batar suggested.
"They have no land based weapon systems," Jeff said. "What's the problem?"
"Even if we land near the ship, they will be guarding it," Carver suggested. "It's the only way on and off this planet."
"What about the drone freighters?" Jeff asked.
"They're obviously outdated relics from what's left of their civilization here," Carver stated. "You can bet that they're guarding the complex and the ship extremely well."
"I think only the three of us should go," Batar said. "If I can't communicate with them, maybe Major Walker can."
"I'd tend to agree with you," Carver stated. "But Vega is the best marksperson out of all of us. She even beat Jeff on her academy scores by ten points."
"Really?" Jeff asked, in disbelief. "Well maybe she better come along then. Lori insisted on going, but I'd rather she stay here and keep an eye on my boys."
"If I make it an order, she'll have to stay," Carver said.
"Thanks, John," Jeff answered. "I owe you one."
They moved back to the front and latched themselves in, as Carver addressed Batar for the logistics before their descent on the tropical world. "Nitrogen oxygen based atmosphere with two thirds the gravity of human sustainability," he reported. "Volcanic activity in some regions, tectonic plate process in transition. Sensors indicate abundant plant and animal life, including large and small arthropods, arachnids, and invertebrates. Several marine life species, and land based species as well."
"Republic base at coordinates 1099423.7," Wilson stated. "Beginning descent into atmosphere. Anti-friction shields operative and activated. Estimated time of descent twenty seven minutes."
The ship descended into the atmosphere, blanketed with thick clouds and a vast ocean below that contained several land masses. The land area was equivalent to that of Earth, but arranged quite different. The area they were looking for was near the equatorial region, but because of the thick jungle foliage, it would be difficult to find a place to land that was both close to the ship, and smooth enough to anchor the ship on. No matter where they came in, they would probably be seen, and they wouldn't take kindly to a Garlician ship after what happened.
Wilson kept the nose of the craft level as she could while entering the lower atmosphere. It started to glow red, but didn't get hot enough to cause a problem. The jungle like world came in full view when they descended from the clouds. They felt the effect of the increase in gravity, and Dormiton noticed he was anchored to his seat, and no longer get that floating feeling. Jeff peered at the mountain range, looking for a base or landing area.
"There," he said, pointing at the " a huge triangular ship, at least a half mile wide on top of an old caldera. "There it is, the ship."
"How are we ever going to fly that?" Vega asked.
"I don't know," Carver said. "But it's our only hope."
"What are all those things moving around them?" Wilson asked.
"Those, My friends," Jeff said. "Are Zacharians."
"Try to land us in back of the mountain," Carver said to Wilson. "Travel lower than 1000 feet, so the guards don't see us. Where is that base located, Batar."
"A half mile to the south."
"Try to land us somewhere in the middle," Carver said.
"The only thing that's in the middle is a river, and we're too wide to land there," Wilson reported.
"Any clearings in the area?"
"There's one close to the river, but it doesn't leave us much room to land."
"It'll have to do," Carver remarked, as Wilson shook her head in disagreement. She was a good pilot, but even she had a problem with landing in such a small area.
When she proceeded to follow his orders, the clearing came up on them quick, and she tried to slow the engines down as much as she could, but she was unable to compensate. The ship's landing gear broke, the ship tilted to the right, and caused it to crash into the jungle that lay in front of them. The crew grabbed their panels and chairs as the ship rocked, until it came to a stop. The main part of the ship remained in tact on contact, but one of the undamaged engines exploded, and caused the back part of the ship to shatter in pieces. The crew unlatched themselves, scrambled out of an opening to evacuate, and grabbed whatever supplies they could.
Upon leaving, a piece of metal fell on Vega, pinning her to the floor, and gashing her stomach. Wilson and Carver lifted the metal off her, and carried her out the opening, as the blood dripped from her side.
"We're going to have to get out of here!" Carver yelled. Jeff helped the two lingworts out, as well as the women. Wilson grabbed some of the weapons, but was unable to get them all, and Lori and Batar grabbed the three packs of supplies that were prepared the night before.
The crew of eight ran from the ship as fast as they could to about five hundred feet away into the clearing, and fell flat on the ground The ship completely exploded, and sent an enormous plume of fire and smoke into the air. They could feel the heat from the explosion, and the boom was intense, hurting the Lingworts ears. Lori held her hands over Dormiton's ears, and Milgic buried his head into Jeff's chest to muffle the noise.
"Is everyone all right?" Carver asked, still on the ground., while trees burned around them.
"Yea," Dormiton said. "I think so, but my ears are ringing."
"They will be for a while," Jeff said. "Well so much for a quiet entrance!"
Carver leaned over Vega. "Vega, are you all right?" he asked, holding her head up, and realized she was on the verge of death.
"Goodbye, Sir," she said, weakly. "It's been an honor to serve under you."
He began to cry, as she slowly slipped away, and he hugged her tightly. Jeff put his hand on his shoulder to remind him of his present danger.
"We have to get the base before they get to us," he said.
"Isn't the object to talk to them?" Lori asked.
"We want to talk to the Barok," Jeff said. "I'm talking about the Vanatu."
"What's the difference?" Milgic asked.
"The Barok are 'the wise ones," Batar explained. "The Vanatu are 'the old ones."
"The Barok are more advanced, and are members of the Republic," Jeff explained. "We better get moving, or they'll kill us. Come on, that way!"
He pointed toward the jungle in front of them, and ran in that direction. It was very hot on this world, perhaps 110° even in the shade, and they knew they wouldn't last long without shelter of some kind and fresh water. They began to enter into the jungle, when they noticed a large group of greenish insect creatures with spears chasing them about a quarter of a mile away. As they came closer, Jeff glanced back, pulled out his laser and began to fire at them.
"Keep going!" he told them. "I'll hold them off."
"Don't be a hero," Lori yelled back at him. "Come on!"
"Go!" Jeff yelled, and ran behind them.
While the group ran through the thick brush, Lori was grabbed in the leg by a four feet long worm-like creature. Carver, Dormiton, and Milgic grabbed the slimy beast and pulled it off her, threw it to the ground, and Carver shot it with his laser. As it occurred, they noticed that Jeff was no longer behind them.
"Where's Walker?" yelled Carver.
"He started shooting at the Varlu, or whatever you called them," Lori said.
"Stay here," Carver told them. "Vega, Wilson, keep your lasers ready on guard. I'll find him."
"Be careful, Sir," Wilson told him. She handed him another laser rifle, and he ran back about one hundred feet.
He was amazed to see several large greenish-red insect creatures, about eight to ten feet tall, with claws for hands, large blue eyes, antennae, twelve inch mandibles,
and shell like backs. They held spears, and Jeff was fighting them off with a spear he managed to grab from one of them, because apparently, he lost his laser, and had no choice but to do so. Carver started to fire his laser, and shot two of the ten creatures. They began to flee, but as they did, one grabbed Jeff's leg, and dragged him off in the jungle. Carver fired again, and tried to chase them, but they were much faster than he was, and he eventually lost them.
He turned back in the direction of the rest of the crew, uneasy about their safety. Jeff was one of his best friends, and had an obligation to his crew as well as him to get them safely to the Barok's headquarters. The prospect of four canteens for seven people, one of them missing, and not knowing how or if they would be greeted in peace by these creatures was all too much for him to fathom. Batar was there only hope, if he could link telepathically with them, because the translator was now with Jeff. If Jeff just followed orders, he wouldn't have been captured; but then again, did he ever follow orders?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
By this time, Angelica settled into her new surroundings, although she was the most depressed she ever was in her life. At least she had more freedom; although limited, and was able to use the whole laboratory facility and come and go from her living quarters without a guard present. Even though the prison was right next to the facility and where Rollings was, she didn't have access to codes on the doors. She wondered if they had treated him fairly, and gave him food and water at least. He warned her that the Garlicians were notorious for torturing their prisoners, but she had a gut feeling they would treat him a little better due to leverage against her.
So far, she had no luck with her research. It was hard enough to work with aliens, let alone ones you couldn't trust, like Varloo. Every move she made was watched, and she couldn't work that way. Her father left her with complete independence in her research, especially in the production of Cely. To have someone watch her every move made her nervous, and also insulted her intelligence.
Blood samples she obtained from herself and Balta totally confused her; Balta's didn't seem to even be remotely human, and she had no idea how her father could have combined their reproductive genes with humans to create anything. It must have been a puzzle to the Garlicians and Varloo as well, or they wouldn't have insisted on using her to figure out the solution. There was also something about her own blood that confused her as well, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Something she remembered from the years she worked with her father in the lab was trickling in the back of her mind, but she didn't know what it was.
Another problem with Varloo was that he always insisted on being right. Some of the formulas she was working on for production of the Triachilite were inconsistent, and produced poor results. He told Balta that she was nothing but an amateur chemist and physicist, and he made a big mistake thinking Angelica was as intelligent as her father. "Just do as you're told," was his answer, and for the moment, he had to comply.
Angelica could see through those dark eyes of his a sign of hostility and resentment that grew toward his superior. She thought maybe she could use his anger to her advantage, but with him knowing exactly what she thought, that wasn't even an option.
It was also difficult to work with Cely, who now behaved more like a robot than an android. At least before he had a sense of humor; now he was a drab, dull piece of metal, that only followed the orders of his handler. He almost reminded her of some of the quirky guys she used to have to work with at NASA. Except for Thomas, they were all drab and boring to her; it was the science itself that made it interesting, a common bond they both shared.
One of the problems with the Triachilite, the telekinetic and telepathic drug that Balta wanted produced, was that in its pure form, it was useless. No one other than Dr. Avery and the Zacharians knew the real formula, and no one quite understood how he acquired it. Balta believed Angelica knew the key, but the real truth about how he did it was much more complex, and unbeknownst to even him. Angelica inspected its properties under a microscope, and other chemicals that Varloo suggested might be added to form a compound, but none of them worked.
One day they worked in the lab, and Angelica was testing more blood samples, when Balta walked into the genetic research department they were in.
"Good morning, Ms. Avery," Balta said. "How are things going?"
"Very slow, and no progress,” she said. "I'm afraid I'm not much help to you. I'm afraid you'll have to kill me and Rollings, because I don't think I'll ever find your answer. Like I've said before, it died with my father."
"Nonsense," Balta said. "You just need more time. You'll find the answer. I have faith in you and your android. Varloo?"
"Yes, Sir," he said.
"What have you found out about the replication of the android?"
"May I speak freely, Sir?"
"Of course," Balta said. "I've nothing to hide from Ms. Avery."
"Akira and his men have examined him, but there is one crucial device that he possesses that can't be duplicated," Varloo said. "It is an artificial intelligence chip that is encrypted with a code that can't be deciphered."
"Did you try to decipher it?"
"Yes, but with no success."
"Perhaps, you know how to decipher it, Ms. Avery? After all, you built him."
"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. My father was the one who built the AI chip, I just connected it."
Balta became irritated.
"Well, at least the death ray is on schedule," he boasted. "It should be completed in about one month. I received a message from Tacora today."
"Tacora?" Angelica asked.
"It's the third planet orbiting Marlon II," Varloo said.
"Yes," Balta said. "The Republic has declared war, but so far they haven't crossed the neutral territory. Once they do, they'll be attacked. We have a formidable armada, and once the ray is finished, clones or no clones, android or no androids, Triachilite or no Triachilite, we will win."
"More grandstanding?" Varloo jested. "Are you sure you want to tell her everything?"
"Why not?" Balta asked. "She's harmless without her android, or her friend Rollings."
"Why don't you and I go in the arena, and I'll show you how harmless I can be?" Angelica snarled. Balta laughed at her suggestion.
"You are priceless," he said. "Well, maybe before this is all over, you'll have your chance. Varloo, make sure you retest the blood and reproductive samples from Ms. Avery and I every time you take a sample. I want no tampering with the samples."
"Still don't trust me?" Angelica asked.
"Would you?" Balta answered. "Just make sure that there's no mistakes. There has to be a way to reproduce the Triachilite and the cloning process." He then left the area, as other Garlician and Tolarion scientists saluted him as he left.
Varloo watched him as he left, thinking to himself, but Angelica knew what he was thinking.
"Impossible, isn't he?" she asked the gray four feet alien.
"You have no idea," Varloo said. "Well, we better get another blood sample from you."
He pulled out an inch long needle and syringe from a drawer, preparing the area to be prepped. As he went to throw out the swab, he accidentally injected himself with the needle. He quickly grabbed a swipe, and the blue blood leaked from his arm. He threw the needle and syringe in the garbage. "Damn!" He held his arm to stop the bleeding, but couldn't find a bandage. "I'll be right back."
While he left, curiosity popped into Angelica's head, curiosity of who these Andronians were, and what they were. Seizing the opportunity, she carefully took the syringe with the small amount of Andronian blood out of the garbage, put a cap on it, and placed it in her special sterilized suit. She just put it away when Varloo returned. "Where were we?" he asked, as he prepped her arm again, and took a sample of her blood with the needle.
"How many times will we have to do this?" she asked.
"Until we get it right. Why?"
"It's just that if you take too much bloo
d from me, I'm not going to be much help. I'm already losing blood because of my menstrual cycle, and this isn't helping."
"After this sample, we'll give you a few days rest," Varloo told her. "He doesn't seem to be in too big a hurry any way. He thinks he's got the Republic on their knees."
"And what do you think?"
"I think he's too sure of himself, but he won't listen to me anymore, only Akira."
"What about Garlona? Where does his loyalty lie?"
"With me, of course. When this is all over, he and I were supposed to be rewarded well. But then, I've already told you more than I should. You humans aren't any better than the Tolarions or Garlicians. You're all savages."
"Then why are you with them?" Varloo was silent. "Are you going to answer me?"
"Reasons you will never comprehend. Your father understood."
"You knew my father?" He was reluctant to answer this question as well.
"Let's say we shared common interests," he said. "I knew of him, and I respected his opinions."
"Before or after he went crazy?"
"You'll have to figure that out on your own," he said. "Balta gave me his sample earlier, it's there on the counter. I'm going to see Akira, if you need anything, tell one of the others, and they'll contact me."
"Okay," she said, and watched him leave.
She placed a drop of her own blood sample on a slide, and put it under the microscope. As she looked at the sample, she noticed something she didn't see before; unusual cells similar to a virus. She remembered cells that were identical to these when her father became ill, and the same disease killed her mother. She performed a test to see if this was the case, and sure enough, it came up positive. A sinking feeling hit the pit of her stomach as she leaned back in her chair. She was now infected with the same virus that killed her mother, and was also present in her father's blood.
Dimension Lapse II: Return to Doomsday (Dimension Lapse Series Book 2) Page 18
