by Jason Keizer
Arctic
Cold
Jason Keizer
Copyright © 2017 Jason Keizer
All rights reserved.
ISBN:
ISBN-13: 978-1548205843
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
To Christine and Kal-El
The greatest children a father could ever ask for. I love you two more than anything in the ‘Verse.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
i
One
1
Two
10
Three
17
Four
33
Five
47
Six
50
Seven
58
Eight
67
Nine
74
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty One
Twenty Two
Twenty Three
Twenty Four
Twenty Five
Twenty Six
Twenty Seven
Twenty Eight
Twenty Nine
Epilogue
84
90
94
105
114
125
135
141
148
164
173
177
187
194
199
205
220
227
235
242
254
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Tony Hawkins, you are the reason I even went from writing my random crazy ideas to writing this. Thank you so much for believing in me and the very strong encouragement and help.
one
3 MAY 2019
“Hello? Hello?! This is Sergeant Jessica Dunham. Can anyone hear me?... Shit. Sir, I told you this stupid thing doesn't work.”
In the background: “Hey, I’m pretty sure the thing is working. I said you might be able to send a message. I never said anything about being able to hear anything back.”
“Fine. If anyone from Serra is hearing this, this is Sergeant Jessica Dunham of Operation Heat Seek. Only two of us remain. Mission objective has been acquired. Request extraction immediately. Arctics and Skullniks now surround the pick-up site. Please, sur... bring p...” -End of transmission
4 May 2019
“So what do we owe this pleasure? It's not every day we get called into the war room,” says James Matheson.
James is rocking in his chair at one end of a large rectangular table. Four chairs sit to each side of him, one across. At the table, to the left of James sits Oliver Crowley, the team tech expert, and engineer. He also helps in the labs of the science division when he has time. Next to him is Mercy, the assistant to the Head of the Science Department. At the table to the right of James sits Henry Hopkins, the team mechanic, and demolitions expert. After an open chair, sits Joe Riser, the military's inventory supplier.
Across the table from James, stands Major Morris, a behemoth of a man. Standing almost six and a half feet and weighing what has to be over 250lbs in pure muscle, you can even make out the veins of his biceps through his Serra suit.
The Serra suit is a black form-fitting top with small thin tubes crossing every couple inches. The tubes are filled with a new type of antifreeze, which enables the wearer to bear insufferable temperature changes, but only temporary. On the left breast sits the Serra emblem. Two red bars pushing up from a small curve represent the walls and the rivers that border the main cities. Above the bars, it has the name SERRA. Between the two bars is a phoenix, a symbol of hope, the rebirth of civilization, and the raging fire to keep back the Arctics. The pants are tight around the waist, but loosen up as it stretches down the thighs and calves. A large cargo pocket sits to the side of each leg, beneath them, a smaller one on the calves.
“We are all here because of a radio transmission received in Westonville last night. Once relayed to us, we sent out for you and your team Mr. Matheson,” says the Major as he turns on the two television sets behind him. An aerial view of a building with three silos north of it appears on the screens. “47 days ago, a team of seven were sent out on a mission to capture some tech that could help us keep the Arctics at bay and push our borders back to the ocean. 45 days ago they went missing. Thought to have been killed, two of them have survived and made it to the facility where the tech is. They are locked down in that facility, and we need your team to get them and the tech back here safely.”
James cuts the Major off to ask, “What kind of tech?”
“That is something we cannot disclose to you at this moment. The team in place there has the item. We just need you to suit up and travel the landscape to retrieve it and the two remaining survivors from the facility.”
“Well, then you wasted your damn time. I'm not putting my team at risk for some stupid ass tech you think can be useful. That's a week trip into Arctic and Skullnik territories. Depending on where this tech is, we could end up in the middle of cannibal coast. Sorry, but without more information, there is no way my team is going anywhere.”
Henry looks over to James, and with his very slight southern drawl, says, “James, I think we should take this one. Whatever that tech is, it could be useful, and those two need to get back here safe.”
“I'm not having us go out to those parts without knowing if it is worth it. There is no argument on this. So, what's this tech Major?”
Before Major Morris can respond, the door swings open. In walks Dr. Inara Stone, head of the science division. She quickly and sternly says, “Major, give them of any and all information they would like about this mission. They are also cleared to take any equipment they see fit. We don’t need another team getting into stranded without some semblance of preparedness.”
She shoots James a sly grin as she walks past him to the right side of the table and sits next to Joe. James gives her a warm smile as he watches her sit down.
Dr. Stone is one beauty of a woman. Her long black hair sits in a bun behind her head, allowing the slight roundness of her face to show. Glaring blue eyes sit over a small yet proportionate nose. Her lips, somewhat thin, seem to keep a little smile on them at all times. Intimidating to most men, not just for her looks, but for her genius as well. With a Ph.D. in biochemical engineering and a masters in virology, she is one of the creators and is the face of the SERRA Government. She leans back in her chair, clasps her hands on the table, and nods at the major for him to continue.
“Nice save by yer girlfriend,” Henry says under his breath. To which James replies, “I heard that ass wipe.” Henry smiles to himself and turns his attention back to the Major.
The Major goes on to explain, “The last team was sent on a mission to retrieve a version of an ADS system created by the American Military. ADS stands for Active Denial System; it is a wave heat generator. By sending out a high-frequency microwave, it can instantly heat the surface of a target to over 150 degrees. We need the source code from a hard drive as a platform for our new Heat Defense System since it would take years to create it from scratch by ourselves. If we get the origi
nal code for the software, we can modify it to amplify the signal, giving off a deeper and stronger wave. Resulting in a wave strong enough to boil them from the inside out. It is the best way to keep our current borders secure from the Arctics. It could ensure the survival of the human race.”
Dr. Stone cuts in, “That should be enough for now Major. James, I am asking you to do this mission for our cities and its people. I think your team is more than capable of taking care of the planning. Mercy will give you all the information you need, and you can leave in the morning. Just give Joe a list of everything you need. Now if you excuse me, I have matters to attend to.”
The doctor stands from her chair and heads for the door. While walking out of the room she asks, “James, may I have a word please?” He stands up and walks out behind her.
Sitting in the room, Mercy hands Oliver a folder with a large label on the front reading “Hanford Site.” She tells him, “This has all the information we could gather from records and satellite imagery.” Oliver nods his head as he watches Mercy get up and leave the room.
After the door closes behind her Henry says, “Hey, you know if you would stop staring at her and asked her out, you wouldn't have to be so lonely.”
Oliver pays no attention and opens the folder, looks over a couple of pages, and starts to write on a sheet of paper. Henry asks, “Hey, what you writing down there, Ollie?”
Oliver quickly and quietly answers, “A list of needed equipment. Might as well let this guy get going on getting our gear.” Oliver hands a sheet of paper over to Joe and continues, “Everything on that list will be needed. No substitutions.”
Joe looks over the list and says, “That is a lot of ammo you are asking for. Much more than normal.” Oliver nods and adds, “Yes it is, but crossing the river brings something different every time, and if most of a team of seven were taken down, I would rather not chance it.”
Joe looks at the list again. With a few small nods, he says, “Of course. I think I can manage this,” as he stands up and hurriedly leaves the room.
Meanwhile, in the hallway, James and Dr. Stone stand close, facing each other. “James, I need you to be careful out there and keep your head on straight,” she softly says as her hand lifts up to rest on James’ chest. “Just make sure you come back,” she adds.
James consumes her hand with both of his and says, “I will. I always do.”
A few feet behind James, Joe steps out of the room and stumbles past them. Dr. Stone peeks over James’ shoulder at Joe and says, “It looks like Oliver already got the team started. I have to get going to a meeting, but will see you tonight for a proper send-off.”
“Sounds good. See you tonight, Doctor,” James says as he turns around to walk back to the War Room. Dr. Stone quickly responds, “I told you to stop calling me doctor.” Turning his head to her as he opens the door, James gives a smirk and says, “Fine, I'll see you tonight, Inara.”
James goes back into the room and sits down. “Aww shit, first name basis now,” Henry says with a smile as he gives James a small slap on the shoulder.
James smiles back at Henry. “Yeah, kinda like when I stopped calling your mom Ma'am.”
Henry gives James another slap on the shoulder, this time just a bit harder as they both chuckle a little. The Major loudly clears his throat to get the attention of the others.
James stops laughing and asks, “What can you tell me about the disappearance of the other team?”
“Not much. The team of seven went out in a two-vehicle convoy. We had clear contact with them for the first day and a half. Last we heard from them, they reached up to the edge of Sector 16, Montana. They were going to camp for the night and then take the last leg of the trip the next day. They didn't make contact the next morning to check in. Until the message last night, we assumed they were K.I.A. We sent two recon teams out, but the Skullniks kept them from making it far enough for anything useful. No signs of the trucks or the team have been seen by the satellites either.”
James stares at the screen for a couple of seconds and says, “I doubt you will find anything of the rest of the team. If the Skullniks got a hold of them, they are either dead or wish they were. Arctics would have just killed them.” He pauses for a second to scratch his head. “I think we will be able to get up there, though.” James moves his eyes back to Oliver and Henry. “You two down for this? It's going to be a pain, but should be fun.”
Oliver and Henry both nod in agreement. Henry gives a quick smile and says, “Damn right we are taking this mission.”
James turns back to the Major. “Major, is there anything else we can do for you? If not, can you leave us to our planning?”
“Yeah, there is something else you can do. Turn down this mission and let my men handle it. We should be sending in another squad from our military and not some merc team that the science department uses,” the Major replies with a little bit of anger in his voice.
Henry jumps into the conversation, “Well if y'all jackasses could get shit done the right way, people like us wouldn't have to be called in. So, how about you take your Nappa looking ass out of here before I go super Saiyan and beat the brakes off of you.”
James and Oliver start laughing. Trying to talk through his laughter, James looks over to the Major and says, “Careful Nappa, you don't want to mess with Henry. His power level, it's over 9000.”
More laughter erupts from the team. The now red-faced Major glares at Henry, and frustratingly says “You are all a bunch of fucking children.” and storms out of the room.
Once they all calm down from laughing, “James grabs the folder sitting in front of Ollie and pages through it. He looks back and forth between the other two men and says, “Looks like we are heading to sector 17.”
Oliver grabs the folder back from him and starts shuffling through the pages inside. As he shuffles through it, he stops and pulls out a map of the area that used to be the United States. He points to a blue shaded area marked 17, over what used to be eastern Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and says, “You sure you want to go back up there, James?”
James nods his head and replies, “Yeah, why not. I may not be the best with all these new Sectors and stuff, but I knew we would be going there. Besides, with you two assholes with me, what could possibly go wrong? It’s not like I expect things to get too out of control.” Still looking at the map, James asks, “So, we gonna rail or road this?”
Oliver puts his finger on a road and follows it west, and says, “I think we should use the highway until right before we hit Springfield. From there we can hop on the rails, shoot through Springfield, and try to stay on the tracks as far as possible. There are a few small towns that are still somewhat up and running that are considered friendly. We will just have to bring them something in exchange for a room for a night. I asked for a few extra boxes of ammo and medical supplies, which should suffice for a room.”
Henry cuts him off, “Yeah, but some of them towns also have ties with the Skullnik factions that are running rampant through there. We could very well just be supplying them.”
James leans his chair back far enough for the front legs to lift off the ground. He looks up towards the ceiling and says, “From what I can tell, the towns that trade with Skullniks do so only as a defense. They are afraid that if they don't give the Skullniks what they want, their people will be killed or worse, and the town burned to the ground.
“There isn't much we can do in the way of that. We will provide support to them for the time we are there, and that is all. Skullniks on the other hand, are to be killed on site, without mercy.” His gaze leaves the ceiling and moves back to his teammates as he lowers his chair back to the ground.
Oliver adds, “I just don't know what we do when we get to our destination. I'm not very familiar with the Hanford site. I know it used to be a nuke site but was decommissioned after the Cold War. Never even knew they kept using it as a secret testing ground. I don't mind going in blind, but I will try to get some intel o
n the place before the morning.”
James nods his head and says, “I expect it to be a pretty simple rescue and retrieve mission. Kinda like that shit we did in Texas last month when we grabbed those weapon shipments from Fort Hood. Just with people.” He leans over and spreads out a couple of the satellite images, points at one, and says, “You think that could be a runway or something?” The three men look at the picture and see a long stretch of road leading to another building.
Henry shakes his head and says, “I don't think so. Unless it leads to some random building.” He stands up and leans over the table to get a better view of the picture. “That sure as hell doesn't look like any hangar I have ever seen before. The road is probably supposed to go to a new building that was never put up thanks to our frozen friends that took over.”
James nods. “Yeah, but we don’t have much in terms of planes here and would most likely just get shot down. Skullniks wouldn't take kindly to anyone in their airspace, even if they don't use it.”
The three of them spend the next hour or so going through the route plan and a few alternate routes. Then each get up, say “Til morning,” and go their separate ways for the night.
TWo
Before going home, Oliver spends a few hours trying to find information on the Hanford site.
Once, it was a nuclear site, the plutonium used in the atomic bombs in World War 2 was made there. After being decommissioned in 1987, it became a nuclear waste site. In order for the government to keep secret operations at the facility, they released documents stating that the waste was leaking.
A large-scale cleanup was started and allowed for underground facilities to be made. A waste treatment plant was put up as a working front and access point for clandestine operations. Content with his findings, he decides to stop by his lab for a little bit to tinker around with a new type of ammo he is helping create. After a couple of hours, he goes home and rests for the night.
