a message his tampering was going to end here and now.
He went back up to the bridge to check the controls and viewing screen one last time. He checked to see if Varloo placed a protection security code on the self destruct sequence, and sure enough, it was booby trapped. If he tried to engage it, the bridge would automatically explode with him in it.
Abandoning the idea, he decided he better get to the base before his air ran out. He exited the vessel, and watched the military men leave in the distance. When three men who guarded the entranceway saw him, they drew their guns. He fired his laser first, and shot one in the leg. The other two fired back, as Batar ducked behind one of the scout ships.
He carefully moved under the base of the craft, as one of the men
dropped to his side, firing his machine gun. Batar rolled and then fired his laser at him, hitting him in the chest cavity. The other man heard the commotion and fired his gun, as Batar scrambled for the door. As the man ran out, Batar tripped him, the gun fell, and he rolled down the ramp.
He hit the dirt below, and Batar began to chase him with the laser. He ran across the desert, as dust and wind blew throughout the air, until Batar could no longer keep up with him or see him.
The Grey slowed down, pulled out his electromagnetic compass, which pointed him in the direction of the base, and began to walk toward it. He was certain if the man was able to make it back, he wouldn't survive for very long.
Back on the ship, Lori began to get impatient.
"How long has he been gone?" she asked.
"Two hours and twenty minutes," Wilson answered.
"Do you think he found Varloo yet?"
"Not likely."
"Do you think Jeff's still alive?"
"Yes, Batar said he is. Stop worrying, everything's going to turn out just fine."
"I just miss him."
"It's only been about four days. He has to stay here at least two months. I just hope Jeff's friend Barva can survive on Mars that long.
Their air will run out if they can't devise some kind of greenhouse system."
"Is there anywhere else they could travel to within the system?"
"Well, Titan has frozen water, as well as Europa, and oxygen can be extracted from the soil of Mars, but that's insufficient enough to keep them alive for too long. And beyond that is where the wormhole was recorded, but it's since closed up by now."
"What did we get ourselves into?" Lori asked. "Can we really save mankind?"
"I don't know," Wilson said. "Why don't you get some rest?"
"I can't rest," she replied. "Knowing something might happen to Jeff."
"We'll wait until we hear from Batar. If he's not back by tomorrow, we'll suit up and go there. But let me warn you, we could die before that. The radiation alone is enough to kill us."
"If we don't make it, you can tell me you told me so," Lori quipped.
Wilson shook her head.
"What a woman won't go through to keep a man," she snorted.
"Liz, can I ask you something personal?"
"Sure," she said. "I don't have any secrets."
"Are you a lesbian?"
She laughed at the suggestion.
"Why would you think that?"
"Well, you've never been interested in a man as long as I've known you, and I just thought-"
"Ah, no," she interrupted. "I don't like women, I just prefer my freedom. Why, would there be a problem if I was?"
"No," Lori said. "Forget I brought it up."
"Anything else personal you want to ask me?"
"Do you remember when we were first in the academy, and we had the computer programming tests?"
"Yes."
"Jeff cheated on his to impress me."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"I didn't like him then, however. He was kind of cocky."
"And he's not cocky, now?"
"Well, he still is a little, I guess."
"I'm going down to get some rest if you don't mind," Wilson said. "I'm still recovering from the space walk a couple a days ago. Can you handle things up here for a while?"
"I guess," Lori said.
"If Batar contacts you, let me know." She nodded, and Wilson exited the bridge.
Lori waited several hours with no answer from their gray friend. She fell asleep at her station once, but woke up facing the empty desert on the viewing screen. The winds died down now, and all she could see was miles of sand.
She stared at it, wondering if Batar made it to the base without being captured, and whether Jeff was still all right. If they found the Grey, they might assume he had something to do with what was going on and lock him up. As she stared out in the direction of the base, she longed to be back on the beautiful little island, walking along the beach with her husband's arm around her, and dreaming of the moonlit night before she became Mrs. Jeff Walker.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jeff figured by nightfall he could do a little more exploring, so after Kaleigh left for the evening, and another nurse took over, he pulled out the knife he saved from dinner to unscrew the screws. When he stood on the bed, he noticed two of the screws he pulled out were back in place. He looked down the dark vent, and noticed a red light flashing about a foot into it that wasn't there before. He decided it was best not to attempt any investigating at the moment due to the possible camera, and climbed back into bed. It was obvious Carver was still very suspicious of his intentions.
The next morning, Kaleigh came in bright and early with his breakfast. "Good morning, Mr. Barkley," she said. "How are you?"
"Fine," he lied.. He had a very bad feeling; one he couldn't describe, but nonetheless was praying on his mind like a bad headache.
"Something wrong?" she asked. "You look troubled."
"No, no," he answered. "I just think an old friend is trying to tell me something, and I don't quite understand what it is."
"Well," she said. "You'll understand eventually."
"I hope so," Jeff said. "Do you know when the launch is planned for those vessels out there in the hangar?"
"We talked about this before," Kaleigh said. "If you're going to continue to ask me those type of questions, I'm going to have to tell my father in law."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I won't do it anymore. What's for breakfast today, tofu?"
"No," she said, as he placed the tray in front of him. "General Carver thought you deserved a special treat today, so he arranged for something a little different."
He lifted the cover off, revealing eggs, sausage, bacon, and home fries. He thought he'd died and gone to heaven.
"I thought you said meat was hard to get?"
"It generally is, but let's just say, if you know the right people it could
be arranged."
"Did you arrange this for me?"
"My father in law did."
"Well, tell him thanks," he said.
"You can tell him yourself when he comes to pick you up at 12:30. Until then, he wants you down for some exercise and some strength training. There's a suit in the closet your supposed to wear to the luncheon."
"Thank you, Kaleigh," Jeff said. "You've been very kind."
"You're welcome."
As she left the room, he ate his breakfast, and changed into the blue shirt and pants they provided. He looked in the closet at the three piece suit, which was very interesting. They didn't have suits like this in the future, everything was so militaristic; this one had style and class. It was a nice navy blue color, with a dark blue tie, and vest. He couldn't wait to put it on; after a workout, shower, and shave.
He wanted to look at the blueprints he stashed under the bed, but when he skillfully dropped his spoon on the floor to look for them, they were gone. He knew then that Carver was on to him, and he would have to be a little more careful in the future. He was just surprised he hadn't thrown him in the brig already; perhaps he was testing him to find out what his game was.
After exercise, he got ready for the banquet
, and stared at himself in
the mirror. He came to the part when he had to tie the tie, and became puzzled. He struggled with it for several minutes, gave up, and placed it on the bed. Kaleigh knocked at the door, and came in with some fresh sheets.
"Aren't you going to put on your tie?"
"Well, I thought I'd go without it."
"You don't know how to tie, do you?"
"Not really."
"Well," she said, and grabbed the tie. "It's easy. You take this end, go over, and then under, and pull." She did it for him, and smiled, her blue eyes staring at him, and again, he missed his love.
Carver walked in, and saw they were awful close.
"Kaleigh, haven't you got other patients?" he asked. She bowed her
head, nodded, and left the room. "Are you ready to meet Dr.Avery, Mr. Barkley?"
"Yes," Jeff said.
"Shall we go then?" Carver asked, as they both left the room, still followed by the two MPs.
Jeff walked down the hallway, and could sense fear for his Grey friend. He was getting Batar's mind transmissions, and felt something wasn't quite right with him. He could tell he was very weak, and near death, but couldn't tell where he was.
They walked down the hallway and into an elevator, which took them to the room where the event was to take place. Several people stood around it, and this seemed strange to Jeff because it was the first time he saw so many humans in one place since he left Sentros. The MPs stayed at the door, which allowed Jeff a little more freedom. General Carver placed his hand on Jeff's shoulder.
"I'd like for you to meet a few people," he said, as they walked across the room. When he did, Jeff thought he saw a ghost. "Jack Barkley, this is Major Thomas Walker. He is currently in charge of the propulsions laboratory, Dr. Peele here is also working on the project, and you already know Dr. Reynolds."
"Pleased to meet you," Walker said, and reached out his hand slowly.
Dr. Reynolds picked up on Jeff's slow reaction.
"Is something wrong, Lieutenant?" he asked him.
"No," Jeff lied. "Just a little tired today, that's all."
"Yes," Tom Walker said. "I heard you had a little incident on the ISS. Have they found out what happened to the crew?"
"No, " Carver interrupted. "Not yet, but systems are all functioning properly, so I'm sure it's just a minor problem with the communications. Has the team completed the onboard particle accelerator yet?"
"Yes, we're moving to phase two next week."
"I'm curious," Jeff interrupted. "How are you able to use a particle accelerator so small to generate the amount of antimatter needed? I'm not aware of any methods used now capable of such a task."
"You'll have to ask Dr. Avery that question," Major Thomas Walker said. "Mr. Barkley, you seem to be well versed in physics. Where did you attend school?"
"Boston University," Jeff answered. "But you might say I got most of what I know from my grandfather."
"Your grandfather seems to be an interesting man," Major Walker stated. "Any chance that I know him?"
"Oh, I'm sure you do," Jeff said, smiling.
"Well," Carver remarked. "We have other guests to attend to, and the presentation is about to begin. Mr. Barkley, I'd like you to join me at the head table."
"I feel honored," Jeff laughed. "I didn't know I was that special."
"You're not," the general retorted. "But I until I know who you really are, I have to keep you within my sight."
"Is that why you have cameras in my room?"
"Well, you are perceptive," Carver stated. "But we'll talk about it later. Right now, we have to sit down and start the presentation."
He made his way to the head table, which seated eight people. In the middle sat Dr. Louis Avery and his beautiful, but brilliant daughter, Angelica, and her fiancé Tom. She still looked as pretty as the last time Jeff saw her, even after spending weeks in the Garlician prison in the other universe. She, of course, was oblivious to this event because it hadn't happened yet. Her long black hair was styled in a feathered fashion, and she wore a light purple lipstick. He could smell her enticing perfume, as he sat down next to her, and Carver and Dr. Reynolds sat on his right. She
was very different, however, than the militaristic woman he remembered. He glanced at her, and she glanced back and smiled, as Carver made introductions.
"Lieutenant Barkley, this is Angelica Avery, and her father Dr. Louis Avery," he said.
"Pleased to me you, Lieutenant Barkley," Angelica said, extending her soft, supple hand to his. He shook it briefly, and then reached for Louis Avery's, who stood up.
"Please, call me Jack," Jeff insisted.
"Please to meet you, Jack," Dr. Avery said.
"I've heard so much about your theories, Dr. Avery," Jeff said. "They're most interesting."
"Well, thank you," he responded. "Perhaps you might learn something new today."
"Maybe," Jeff said. "I just hope it's something useful."
Carver stood up to address the crowd, as they settled down.
"Now that we're all seated, I'd like to get started with the presentation," he began. "I'm sure everyone other than my guest, astronaut Lieutenant Jack Barkley, knows the goal of our mission, and why we're building two large ships capable of light speed. Our plan is to launch the ships, which will be able to obtain light speed through the process of warping space and time. Dr. Avery will later explain this process better for those who are unfamiliar with it. Although the launch date is still undetermined, we hope to have the project completed by January.
We have a staggering struggle against us. We hoped we might be able to repopulate the world after the radiation dispersed, but this has occurred at a slower pace than we hoped for. Even though we've managed to grow crops and raise some animals underground, we are increasingly running out of resources. We must move to the stars if we're to survive as a race. One possible avenue is Mars, but there is only a thin atmosphere, and limited water sources. In fact, nowhere in our system is there a planet really suitable for life. Our planet finder, the Kepler X, has detected an Earthlike planet which is 33 light years away, orbiting the star of Pollox. By present means, it is an impossible task to even get there, but with Dr. Avery's revolutionary warp drive, we could get there in a matter of a few years, or even months.
In this task, it will take many long hours and a large crew to achieve such a project if we expect to have completion on time. I'd like to thank all of your hard work and diligence at putting this all together. As most of you know, I'll be retiring after this project, due to some health issues. I have worked all of my life to see a project like this become a reality, and I'd like to thank all of my staff for standing behind me, especially Dr. Avery, who has been a detrimental asset to me. If it weren't for him and his daughter's incredible knowledge of physics and propulsion technology, we wouldn't be here today. But you didn't come here for me to compliment of all of you, did you? Or maybe you did, but either way, I'll hand the floor over to Dr. Avery. Thank you."
Everyone clapped loudly, as Dr. Avery rose to his feet. Now, this was the Dr. Avery Jeff heard about, the brilliant scientist with a mission to
benefit mankind. He wasn't really sure where a wormhole fit into all of this, but he was bound and determined to find out.
"Thank you, General Carver," Dr. Avery said, as the crowd noise died down. "I will answer all questions at the end of my presentation. When my father, Dr. Martin Avery, began studying physics sixty five years ago, we still only had nuclear power and liquid fuel rocket propulsion. Since then, we've developed fusion power capable of running all of our bases and installation. And now we embark on using fusion as a base source of fuel to propel our new starships into the solar system, and developing a warp drive to take us beyond that.
When I was just a child, I stared at the heavens, wondering if I would ever get there, and soon I will get my chance. If you told me back then that I would be standing here today with one of the biggest visions of mankind about
to become a reality, I wouldn't have believed it. Yet, here we are, about to test the biggest theory of Einstein's ideas, and I'm glad to see myself and my daughter as part of it.
The antimatter-electromagnetic warp drive engine is a revolutionary device developed by my daughter and myself, under the direction of General Carver and Major Thomas Walker. It is an idea I've worked on most of my adult life, and even in my childhood. It's no secret I was taking college courses by the time I was ten years old. My background in physics is sound; even though my theory may seem a little obtuse.
The way it works is based on the idea the device will warp space and time by creating a bubble or wave around the ship, which will carry the ship through space until it is light years away. Now, I realize this could put a crew of men in great peril from the strain of the ship traveling at such a great speed. This is why we must keep the crew of each ship to a bare minimum of two men, and two androids. Yes, I said androids. The humans will be placed in cryostasis during the trip.
My daughter has developed the first artificial intelligence based android, and soon will have more. We are still working on the AI board, and hope to have it completed soon. Angelica, will you bring in the android?"
Angelica left the room, and returned with a five feet android that walked and looked human. His dark brown hair and brown eyes smacked of realism, and its blank expression on his face reminded Jeff of some of the superior officers he dealt with in the academy. He walked on her command to the front of the room, and then froze still.
Dimension Lapse III: Dimensional Breakdown (Dimension Lapse Series Book 3) Page 10
