Timelines

by Bob Blink

  It was mid afternoon after we finished in the lab. I explained we would be taking them through a couple more of the tunnels, so they could see the time effect for themselves. We would be keeping them a bit removed from the locals, because they had not been given the shots that would prevent the possible passing of diseases. We would be going to the Roman era, where they would be free to mingle with the people at the residence we had established there. Everyone in the facility there had been inoculated and was fully protected from them.

  We went to Rome. Dave had arranged for transportation to be waiting, and we took them from the tunnel along a route that allowed them to see the city, the people, and then treated them to a lunch in the ancient setting as everyone was starving by now. Afterwards, we made our way back to the complex for a quick visit to World War II. We had considered taking them uptime, but the time from the entrances to where they could see something of the era limited how much could be done in a day. Perhaps tomorrow if anyone wanted.

  By the time we made it back, it was almost eight in the evening. I could tell they were overwhelmed. The questions had slowed and almost stopped as each man tried to absorb as much of what he was being shown as possible. After escorting them back to the residence, I promised to meet with them around 9:00 the next morning so we could continue our discussions and arrange any individual tours they might wish. I knew each of them had secure communications capability with them. I wondered if they would try and contact headquarters. It would be stupid on their part. They were in one of our facilities, and they had to know we had technology that could break any security they had. We would be listening. Maybe we would learn something.

  Tired, I left the residence and headed back to the complex. I wanted to see Naiya. I hoped Doc would release her from the hospital tonight.

  Chapter 50

  Time Complex

  52000 BC

  [Seattle Time: Wednesday, 4 October 2006]

  Unexpected events changed all plans for the following day. Naiya was still resting, but I was up and had just finished showering when Mike arrived with the devastating news.

  “It’s gone!” he said hurriedly as soon as he was able to get me to answer the door. Noting the confused expression on my face, he tried again, this time making it clear what he meant. “The alien ship suddenly came alive, and without anyone at the controls it de-mated from the complex and left!”

  Now he had my attention. I woke Naiya and as I started throwing on clothes he started a more detailed explanation of what had happened. There had been nothing special happening on last night’s watch. The usual activities were underway. Two men were stationed on the ship itself. At the beginning of each eight hour watch cycle, they accessed the ships computer logs for any traffic. Concern had been raised after we explored the vehicle that the mother ship might try to communicate with the ship docked to our station. We didn’t know if there was a check-in cycle, or whether the ships operated independently. If they had a means to display the locations and status of the ships scattered between star systems in real time, you could bet they had a means of communicating over those distances. We hadn’t figured out their equipment, being a little concerned about experimenting with the controls. John hadn’t found any documentation as yet in the files that explained ship operation either. So we listened for any thing that might come across audibly and we checked the computer logs for any recent traffic. Any indication of activity was to be brought to our attention immediately.

  “When did all this happen?” I asked.

  “Just after the 6 AM watch change,” Mike responded. The watch team had just gotten started on their routine when the ship’s controls started changing, the screen’s changed displays, and the airlock door started to close.” He stopped for breath, then added, “Only one of the men made it off. The other was still on board when the door closed trapping him inside.”

  Oh shit!

  “Can you communicate with him?” I asked hopefully. The team all carried radio for internal communication. I didn’t know if the radio would penetrate the solid air lock door or not. We had never attempted to close it after taking the ship. One never knew what might be permanent.

  “Only for a minute,” Mike replied. “We were in contact with him when he said he could see the ship was moving away from the station. Then suddenly, in mid sentence he was cut off.”

  I was at a loss as to what to say. There was nothing we could do to help the poor individual on that ship. Now, suddenly, our somewhat comfortable status quo had been dramatically changed.

  “Another thing,” Mike said interrupting my thoughts.

  I looked over at him expectantly.

  “There was a message. The man that got off reported they had just started the file checks. At least one message had come in since the check eight hours earlier. He doesn’t know if there were more because events started just about that time. So something out there sent something to the ship. We don’t know what because we didn’t have a chance to get a copy before the ship left.”

  “You’re sure it’s gone?” I asked. “Someone has checked outside?”

  “Already done,” he informed me. Now that we could get outside the station we had the ability to see if anything was still on the other side of the closed door. “I also checked the display monitors inside the complex. The local system monitor shows two dots now, the ship and us. It looks to me like it’s moving out of the system.”

  There was no good news here. “What about the others?”

  “I haven’t contacted anyone else yet. You were first.”

  “Okay. I’ll tell Carol and Al. They are both here at the base. John was going back home so have someone chase him down. Also, send someone to pick up our visitors. They should be here for this.”

  “What can they do?” he asked, the surprise showing in his voice. Mike hadn’t expected that. We had dealt with everything by ourselves up to now.

  “We need them to understand the danger we face. They have access to the only means we have come up with to destroy the complex. Maybe this is just the situation that will make them realize that!”

  Naiya had joined us while we talked. She still looked thin. The medicines depleted a lot of the body’s reserves and it would take a few days for her to build them up again. I knew she had been listening while she dressed in the other room. As Mike headed off to arrange for our company, Niaya and I split up. I went looking for Al while she headed over to Carol’s room.

  We were waiting for them in the control room when the group arrived forty-five minutes later. The delay had allowed us to review everything available to us about the ship’s departure. We could at least hold the meeting with all of the available information at our fingertips. Unfortunately, we didn’t know much, and the little we did know was not encouraging.

  “What’s happened?” asked Jeff when he and the others had made their way up the ramp from the tunnel room. “We know there has been a problem, but the driver you sent either didn’t know or wouldn’t tell us anything.”

  It wasn’t the best place for a meeting, but the complex wasn’t set up for a formal conference with this many people. So everyone would have to stand. It made more sense than going down to the base into a sterile conference room. The action was here, and we would want to show them a few items that were only available here. Carol answered Jeff’s question, but in such a way that everyone became aware of the situation.

  “Look down the hallway,” she said pointing toward the airlock door. They looked automatically in the direction indicated, seeing the closed door where yesterday it had stood open, inviting entry into the alien ship. “A few hours ago the ship you all visited yesterday suddenly went into some kind of automatic mode. It shut the airlock door, something we can be thankful for, and then departed. Incidentally, one of our people was unable to get off before the door closed and was taken away with the ship.”

  The silence didn’t last long. “Are you sure it’s gone?” asked army Colonel Thompson. “Perhaps it’s st
ill attached and only the door is closed.”

  “We looked from outside,” I answered. “And the short time we were in contact with the man on board he was able to tell us the ship was moving away from the station. No, we are sure it’s gone.”

  “You’ve lost contact with your man then,” asked the normally quiet Colonel Wilson.

  “Abruptly,” Carol informed him. “We only had communication for a minute or so. Then he was suddenly cut off. We are not sure what happened. We can play the tapes for you if you’d like.”

  “Is there any chance one of the aliens managed to get on board? You indicated yesterday that there is still one alien unaccounted for. Or maybe one has been hiding on board all along?”

  “The missing alien didn’t come back into the complex. We have guards on both the upper and lower levels, and have reviewed the security tapes as well. Unless the aliens have some means of becoming invisible, and undetectable to thermal and motion sensors, then it didn’t make its way back here. As for an alien hiding on board, we searched the ship thoroughly several times. But is it possible a hiding place exists that we missed? Of course the possibility exists. We don’t think that happened. There is no indication of an alien, either from the man that got off, or in the brief message from the one who didn’t. Besides, why would it wait so many days to act?”

  “Maybe one of them could control the ship from below. You showed us the engine area. Perhaps there is redundant control capability down there.” This from the Navy Captain.

  “Again, possible,” I admitted. “If there was an alien. There is something else to consider.” I told them about the message that had come into the ships computers. We didn’t know what the message contained, but all the unusual activity started a few hours later. Perhaps it was a set of instructions to the ship. Perhaps it was a query to the missing crew. We simply didn’t know.

  “Did the station log show a similar message being received?” asked Wilson.

  “No,” I answered. “We checked, but really didn’t expect to find anything. All the files in the station computers have been examined carefully and as near as we can tell there has never been a case of a message being logged from outside. We think any communication goes directly to the ship. It would make sense. The station has no living quarters. It is a work area. If the aliens were here, so was their ship. So all communications would logically be directed there.”

  “Could the aliens activate the ship from so far away?”

  “Again, we just don’t know. They have an incredibly advanced level of technology. We really have only begun to scratch the surface.”

  “I’m not surprised you have created such a mess of things. Maybe if you had encouraged a little help earlier this wouldn’t have happened.”

  I wondered when the snippety Agent Finney would be heard from again. I considered ignoring him, but I was certain he wouldn’t let it go.

  “You’re saying with the help of the government all along we would have been better prepared and this wouldn’t have happened?”

  He smiled at me. “Of course. You’ve spent years breaking the law and bumbling around making only limited progress. You are all amateurs. Your government would have been able to provide sufficient people with the proper skills to better man the tasks needing to get done. Most of the trouble you’ve had could have been prevented if you had brought in the government at the beginning. Now you have us placed us in the middle of a conflict with an enemy who is technologically advanced from us.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He wanted to waste time trying to assign blame when a real threat existed. It was the kind of Washington posturing that made any real progress difficult or impossible. I was debating how to handle the developing situation when Carol exploded.

  “You little prick!” she shouted. “Your skilled people couldn’t even break the code that Kurt Morris left behind! And you think you could have handled the problems posed by this facility.”

  Agent Finney looked confused. “We broke that. There was nothing there.”

  “Actually, there was,” I informed him. “Hidden in the code in a way your people missed was the key that made our understanding of all this possible.”

  He sensed I was telling him the truth. It stopped him for a minute, and just as he started to wind himself up again, Carol dropped her ultimatum. “Not another word. If you interrupt this conversation once more with your crap, I’ll have you escorted out of the facility.”

  Our marine colonel decided to speak up. “You don’t have the authority to do that,” he insisted. “We are representatives of your government here in an official capacity.”

  Carol turned on him. “You just watch my authority buddy,” she said, her eyes dangerous. “I don’t answer to you, nor your government. We are in charge here, not you. If we so elect, all of you will be taken outside. There is no way you can get back in unless we allow it. Think about that for a minute. We would like your help. A specific kind of help. We are not looking for you to second guess us. We have invited you here so you can see why we are pursuing a specific course of action. Hopefully you will agree with what we have decided and will explain to your superiors back in Washington what needs to be done. If so, maybe you will be a help in ending this threat. If you aren’t going to be a help to us, we don’t need you. Don’t ever get the idea that you are being asked to take charge here.”

  He didn’t like that. He was used to giving orders and watching others jump. Having someone totally reject his authority was a new experience for him.

  Carol wasn’t at all intimidated by the man. Her eyes flashed as she continued to stare at him waiting for a response.

  Captain Barlett tried to tone things down. “Colonel, this isn’t the time to argue about who has authority. That is something we can determine in a few days. At some point a joint command will be established and the appropriate service branch will be placed in charge.”

  “No,” I said sharply, causing multiple pairs of eyes to shift toward me. “Carol is telling you something, but you aren’t listening. There is nothing to decide. Who’s in charge has been decided. We are. Period!”

  That didn’t sit well with the navy and marine colonels. There was a less obvious reaction from the air force representative, but I could tell he wasn’t happy at my statement either. I couldn’t read the others.

  I continued. “Forget any ideas you may have, or which your superiors may have given you, that this operation will be placed under your control. It isn’t going to happen.”

  I waited another minute to see if there would be any further outbursts. It was time to bring some focus into what was about to happen. “All the speculation on how and why the ship departed is really secondary.” I walked over to the large screen a few feet away. “You have all seen this display before. We talked about it yesterday. It hasn’t been long since the other ship left, but this display is subtly different. You want to guess what has changed?”

  Jeff already guessed. “The mother ship?” A statement as much as a question.

  “That’s right. The ship is no longer following the track it has been on since we first discovered the display. We are guessing the reason it has deviated from its path is because it is now headed here. Consider what that means. If we are correct this isn’t a small ship like the one you have seen. This is something much bigger and more powerful. Care to guess what that means to us?”

  “How long?” came a quiet voice from the group. I could guess whose it was without looking. Colonel Wilson had immediately jumped to the most important issue confronting us with this new development.

  “Al?” I asked.

  “Based on the distance and the rate it has been moving during the past week we have been tracking it our best estimate is just short of five weeks.” Al took a breath and then qualified his statement. “But it is very possible we haven’t seen the ship moving at full speed. It might be here much sooner. Another day and we will have a better estimate on the speed it is making.”

&
nbsp; We had finally managed to get their full attention.

  “We need to start preparations immediately.” This from the marine. “I can get men on the way here immediately.” The Navy Captain was nodding in agreement.

  “Just what did you have in mind?” I asked him. “You realize this would be your battlefield?” I pointed to the hallway leading to the closed air lock. “Oh, you might have a second front downstairs. Now that we know the one tunnel leads to the surface below, there may be a way they can access it from the surface even if we try and close it. We have suspicions the alien that slipped away into that gate had a specific destination in mind. It seems probable that somewhere down there they have some kind of facility.”

  The marine colonel looked uncomfortable but wasn’t about to be deterred. Not by a civilian.

  “Didn’t you watch the tapes of the last encounter?”

  “You won!” he pointed out. “And you are not professionals. You took some unnecessary losses. With my men we could have. . . . .”

  I interrupted him. “You could have all died colonel. Damn it man! We ambushed them! They came into their own facility just as they had for more than a century. Confident, unprepared, and not expecting us to be here. There were nine of them. Without any sense of fairness or warning we hit them with everything we could. At that we were lucky. Five of them were taken down immediately. Of the four that weren’t, three escaped to the room below. We were lucky they did. The one survivor up here had time to use his personal weapons. Even wounded he did all the damage you saw. He killed several men before we were able to stop him. Even then, the three downstairs could have turned the battle. They probably would have. Except we surprised them again. We had a weapon they didn’t expect. Something that penetrated their shields. A weapon from the future it turns out. Carol’s shot brought one of them down. That shocked the other two. Rather than fight it out, they elected to slip away and consider their options. Good thing too. That was the last charge in her rifle. If either had stayed and fought, he would have prevailed. It would have been simple to take out Carol and the others. Then the alien could have calmly come upstairs and finished those of us remaining. We won because of surprise.”