by JC Ryan
It was 5pm when the helicopter dropped them off two miles from the Canyon site. They waited until the helicopter disappeared over the horizon before they shouldered their backpacks and fell in behind JR—the only one of them who knew where they were going.
***
When they approached the entrance to the facility, JR stopped at the spot where they buried Robert. “He is indeed gone!” he exclaimed. “These are the stones we piled over Robert’s body and to build the cairn.”
Peter looked around seeing only scattered stones. “I don’t see anything JR. Show me what you’re talking about.”
JR pointed to an indentation in the ground. “We tried to bury him here but hit rock almost immediately, so we swept the dirt away as deep as we could, and laid his body here. Then we piled these rocks over him instead,” he said indicating the rocks that now laid scattered around the area.
Rebecca looked around the canyon and asked, “are you sure this is the right spot; the right canyon JR? It’s been a while.”
“Yes!” JR said almost angrily, then looked around himself to double check. “I’m positive.”
“You’re in the right place mate. Said a voice from behind them.
The three of them yelled in shock and spun around to face the owner of the voice.
“Robert!” JR shouted. “Is it really you or are you still a hologram?”
“It’s really me this time,” Robert replied offering his hand in friendship.
JR paused for a moment and then took a step forward, slowly and cautiously raising his hand to shake Robert’s. He paused again and took a deep breath, before finally grasping Robert’s hand.
Feeling the warmth of human flesh respond with a firm handshake surprised him, and it showed on his face. At Robert’s questioning look he smiled sheepishly, “Guess I was expecting the cold grip of death. You … you’re really a … alive buddy!”
“Yes, my friend. As I told you last night, I am alive. Thank you for coming.” He hugged first JR and then Rebecca and kissed her on the cheek. Then he introduced himself to a scared and shaky Peter.”
“Dear God, how can this be possible?” A pallid Peter whispered. “Are we hallucinating?”
Robert laughed. “No mate, you are awake and sane. This is real.”
They couldn’t help just staring at him.
Understanding their apprehension, Robert said, “I think we will all be more comfortable if we sit down.”
Giving each other a dumbfounded look, they followed Robert to a nearby tree and sat down on the boulders. They felt a bit better once they had settled themselves on the stones and had a drink of water.
Robert smiled at JR, “it is good to see you again, my friend.”
JR nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
“Well, where to begin?” he paused. “It’s as I told you last night, there is Eighth Cycle technology here that remained hidden from our expeditions.
“At the end of the Eighth Cycle, a few of the inhabitants that weren’t killed by the Beast put themselves into what they call the deep sleep.”
“Why didn’t we see them when we were here?” JR asked suspiciously.
“Because they didn’t know who we were, what time they were in, and quite frankly, they didn’t trust us. Brideaux’s actions almost prevented them from re-animating me. Can you blame them for not wanting to make contact with savages like that?”
JR shook his head. “No, I guess not.”
Peter, scanning their surroundings asked, “Where are they now?”
“They are waiting inside to meet you. They are friendly, I assure you. Will you come inside with me?”
JR stared Robert in the eye for a long moment. “Tell me this isn’t a trap.”
Holding his gaze steadily Robert replied, “I promise you, this is not a trap of any kind, and none of you are in danger of being harmed in any way. If you want, you can leave now, and we won’t bother you again.”
“JR, I don’t like this. Let’s get the hell outta here,” Peter said.
Still looking Robert straight in the eye JR paused a moment longer, then, “I believe him. I’m going inside.”
“So, do I,” Rebecca chimed in. “This man is Robert Cartwright. I trust him.”
“JR, Rebecca!”
JR and Rebecca stood and turned to look at Peter. JR said, “we’ll understand if you prefer to stay here and wait for us…”
Peter froze, muttered something that sounded like ‘live to regret this’ and then reluctantly nodded. “I trust the two of you. If you believe him and trust him, then I’ll go with you.”
“Excellent!” Robert replied. “Siasha and Korda will be delighted. They have prepared a special meal for the occasion!”
Peter and JR looked at each other again as they followed Robert to the entrance of the installation.
Robert opened the door to the lift for them and looked at JR, smiling.
“Hang on Robert,” JR said. He pulled Rebecca close to him and put his arms around her. “Becky hold on to me tight. This is the lift I have never told you about… it’s one of the scariest experiences I ever had.”
Rebecca put her arms around JR, looked up and smiled bravely, “I’m in the safest place possible.”
“Peter, buddy,” JR said, “hang onto your skivvies.”
Despite JR’s attempts to prepare them for the ride, none of them, including JR, were prepared as the earth suddenly seemed to have disappeared below their feet. Their earsplitting screams caught up with them only when the lift slowed down and stopped.
“Rebecca, you look like a kangaroo joey in his mother’s pouch,” Robert said as tears of laughter streamed down his cheeks.
Peter was trying to hold onto the metallic wall but found nothing to hold onto that would keep him upright. He slowly slumped to the floor and let out a sigh.
“I am never going back in that thing. Ever.” Peter said emphatically the moment he crawled out of the lift.
“Well, that means you will spend the rest of your life down here then,” Robert chuckled.
“Then I will volunteer for reanimation here and now. Kill me, take my body out, and reanimate me. Just don’t ever make me ride in that thing again.”
“Don’t worry, Peter,” JR said. “It gets better over time.”
“Nah, not for me it won’t.”
Rebeca was still speechless and shaking.
It took a few minutes to get the party moving again.
Chapter 88- How much time do we have?
It felt weird to know that their hosts Linkola, Korda, and Siasha were more than sixty-thousand years old. But Robert was right, they were nice, friendly and looked every bit as human as Robert and the three of them. At first, both sides experienced some uneasiness, but as their conversation progressed JR, Rebecca, and Peter, as well as their hosts, started relaxing.
The first mindbender for the guests was the translator. Robert supplied each of them with a device and told them to hang it around their necks. They were stunned at how seamless the devices translated back and forth once they started speaking.
Siasha and Korda invited them to have dinner. Robert explained that the food was probably going to taste weird but assured them that it was absolutely safe to eat. “It is made from rations, which were stockpiled in this facility sixty-thousand years ago. There’s enough food in storage to feed one hundred people for more than five years.”
As if by prior agreement JR, Rebecca, and Peter waited until they saw each of the hosts dig into their food before they tried it. Their hosts gazed at them inquisitively after they took the first bite.
“Hmm... strange taste,” Rebecca said politely.
JR was a bit more direct. “Army rations.”
Peter smiled. “What can I say… interesting… sort of… old.”
Robert laughed. “You are too modest. All of us here think it tastes horrible, but we have been eating it for so long our taste buds have been numbed.”
That little interlude broke the
ice and they all started laughing.
After dinner, the three guests were taken on a tour of the facility and to say they were overwhelmed would have been a gross understatement.
Rebecca had to be torn away from the medical lab; there was just too much she wanted to know and understand, questions, questions, and more questions.
“Come on Becky,” JR spurred her on, “we have to move on to the Data Center, we need to see what this danger is Robert is talking about.”
Linkola and Siasha promised that they were both more than happy to return and answer all Rebecca’s questions after the visit to the Data Center.
Peter remained very quiet, asking few questions, and shaking his head in astonishment with the ‘deer-in-the-headlight’ look most of the time.
The reanimation process, the end of the Eighth Cycle, the L’gundo, the B’ran, their history, the emergence of the Re’an and their plans … it was overwhelming.
“But, how did you know where to find me?” JR asked the question that had been on his mind since Robert appeared the night before. “How did you do it, Robert? You didn’t even know about Raven Rock or its location.”
Robert grinned. “We discovered your laser communications system and tapped into it…”
“What!” Both JR and Peter shouted.
“You were able to crack the impenetrable laser system? No way…” JR whispered. His face has turned pale. “If you can do it…”
“No one else can, JR. Relax,” Robert interjected. “I can assure you; no one else can, it’s still impervious. Our technology here is the only way it can be done. We’ve been monitoring your system for any breaches. There have been none.”
JR was not entirely convinced but decided to let it go for now.
“So, when we decided it was time to contact you, we only had to track down your mirror satellite phone signal and send the hologram image.”
“You know that you’ll have to explain how you did that to Raj and Roy,” JR said.
“Happy to do that,” Robert smiled. “I miss those two geeks. Hell, I miss all of you.”
They arrived at the Data Center and Robert began the presentation.
JR, Rebecca, and Peter all became aware of the sudden change in Robert’s demeanor. It was as if the good-humored Robert had remained outside the room when they entered. The man in front of them was assertive, military like, humorless, and to the point.
Rebecca leaned over and whispered to JR and Peter, “he’s Tawndo now.”
They stared at her in confusion but then both slowly nodded as they understood that what they were now seeing was the Tawndo part of Robert.
With military precision Tawndo, the general, stepped them through the information which he had gathered since his reanimation... and his presentation petrified them.
“For decades, The Re’an, based at the Tunguska site, have been building an army with the sole purpose of conquering the world.
“So far I’ve been able to confirm one thousand seven hundred soldiers. They have stored another two-thousand in deep sleep, which they have recently started waking up and training.”
“That’s only three-thousand-seven-hundred soldiers. They can’t achieve much with that. Depleted and ramshackle as the US military are at the moment they will run over them during a tea break,” JR stated.
Tawndo paused for a moment. “Before you send out your military, do yourself a favor and consider the following:
“The B’ran scientists have killed, re-animated, and enhanced people, thus creating super soldiers with immensely augmented anatomy, senses, intelligence, strength, endurance, vision, hearing, and much more.
“These are ‘Super Soldiers,’ equipped with technologically superior weapons. Particle-beam weapons that emit high-energy beams of subatomic particles that damage or destroy targets by disrupting the atomic and molecular structure. Depending on the power setting of the weapon it can vaporize targets in the blink of any eye.
“Their soldiers are all equipped with short-range particle beam weapons which would be effective up to a mile or more. They also have long range versions of these weapons that could take out targets in the air and on land—some of them can destroy targets thousands of miles away.
“Their soldiers are protected with lightweight liquid body armor that doesn’t restrict movement at all but will protect them against projectiles fired by any handgun or rifle in use in the Eleventh Cycle.”
“There is much more I can add, but I think you get the idea. Each of these soldiers becomes a one-man army that can easily overcome odds of up to a hundred to one in any battle.”
“Oh, my God!” Peter exclaimed. “We’re screwed. Again.”
JR was staring into blank space, his mind working overtime. Everyone was quiet. Their hosts watched their guests carefully as they absorbed the information they’d just received.
Then Linkola spoke softly, almost whispering. “We can’t stop them by ourselves. That’s why we made contact. We’re hoping that we can work together to stop them. We have the technology, and we understand theirs, you have the people.”
“How much time do we have?” JR asked.
“I can’t be precise, but I can tell you they are mobilizing. Their first target is this facility. This was the Eighth Cycle Head Quarters. From here they will probably launch their attack, first on your country then the rest of the world.” Tawndo replied solemnly.
JR stood, and checked his watch, it was 4am. “We need to get back to DC and talk to Daniel.”
***
Despite Peter’s protestations, he was bundled back into the lift and told that the safety of the world was more important than his phobia.
Shortly after 5am they were outside the facility again. As they headed for the rendezvous, JR pulled out his satellite phone and contacted the helicopter tour operator asking him to come pick them up.
By 8am Peter had the Baron 58 at full throttle, lifting off from Page en route to DC.
JR called Sam and gave him their ETA.
Sam was immediately on high alert. “I thought you and Rebecca needed some time alone. Why are you coming back so soon? Trouble in paradise JR?”
“Trouble, yes. But not between Becky and me. Can’t tell you more. But can you please arrange a meeting with the Rossler Foundation leadership for immediately after our arrival. Daniel must be present. I don’t care what his schedule is; he has to clear it; make sure he’s there.”
Sam tried to coax more details out of JR, but he refused to say anything more than, “Just make sure Daniel and the rest of the Rossler Leadership are there and no one else.”
After the call, he turned to Robert and said, “Okay, now we have about eight hours to prepare how we’re going to break the news of this looming Charlie Foxtrot to them… oh, and explain the fact that you’re alive.”
~THE END~
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