Damn. I won’t do that again, he thought. Will rubbed his numbed hand that had touched the force field, and after a couple of minutes, the tingling subsided and his sense of feeling returned. Will then slowly entered the maze on the hover pod. Once inside, he stepped off of the hover pod to see if the floor of the maze would shock him as the walls did - better to know now than later. The floor did not react when Will placed his feet on it. However, it was somewhat disconcerting, for although the walls were opaque and dark, the floor was transparent, and Will could see down to the bottom of the canyon, which was at least five-hundred feet deep.
Will returned to the hover pod and continued forward. The maze wound around first to the left and then to the right, often there was an intersection that broke left, right, or kept straight. Each time, Will felt himself pulled strongly in one direction or the other. After about a half-mile, he came to the end of the maze and to another entrance. He dismounted the hover pod, walked towards the opening, and stepped through it. Will had taken about five steps through the chamber, when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Just as this happened, a twelve foot by twelve foot section of the part of the floor that Will was standing on suddenly vanished as if it had never been there! As he felt the floor begin to disappear, Will leaped up and forward and somersaulted to the other side of the hole.
Will immediately regained his feet and started forward. Will had traveled no more than a few steps when again he sensed danger. Will leaped up into the air ten feet just as a solid beam of light, like the one that had destroyed the rock in the wrong passageway, which was the width of the maze, struck where he had been standing! Will executed a diving roll and landed gracefully fifteen feet forward of his previous location, and continued onward.
He continued forward another fifty or so yards. Again Will sensed danger, and a long, heavy broadsword appeared in his right hand. Will looked down at the sword in amazement. The sword appeared to be on fire; a blue-white flame covered the entire length of the blade, but it was not burning his hand. An energy field surrounded the sword instead of actual flames. Suddenly, a huge creature out of a hellish nightmare appeared out of nowhere directly in front of him.
The creature was at least eight feet tall and was covered from head-to-toe in a brass-colored, flexible armor. It brandished a sword similar to Will’s, except its flames were as golden as the sun. The creature’s face was light gray but featureless - no eyes, nose, ears or mouth could be discerned. Immediately the creature charged at Will with the sword held high. The creature struck at Will, and Will parried the blow with his own sword. Will could not believe the strength the creature possessed. The blow knocked him to his knees for a few seconds.
Will tightened his grip on the sword, got up, and went on the offensive. With several lightning fast blows, Will put the creature on the defensive. After what seemed like several minutes, Will ducked under one of the creature’s blows and pierced the creature’s chest with his sword. As soon as his sword pierced the creature’s chest, the creature vanished into the same thin air from which he had appeared! Will stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath. As he turned around, three more of the creatures appeared out of nowhere behind him; each wielding a blazing sword in each hand!
Chapter 26
Nazi Occupied Germany
The Eyrie
1943 A.D.
The clanging of a heavy metal door awoke Tal’pun from his sleep. He sat up on the cot in his eight foot-by-eight foot cell. He then hung his feet over the side and stood up to stretch his wiry, six foot three inch frame, which the eight foot ceiling allowed him to do easily. He began to pace slowly around the floor of his cell, and then he went to the metal urinal and emptied his bladder.
He had been keeping track of the days since he and his crew had been captured by the Nazis after their ship had crash landed on Earth. It had been six Terran months since he and his crew had been imprisoned like common criminals. The Nazis could be cruel at times. He had been beaten by them several times over the months when he had not answered their questions to their satisfaction.
Their captors were still using Tah’soon and Narla’da as their translators. Although he had been able to pick up some of their language over the last few months, he did not let them know about it. Plus, at least it allowed him to know what had happened to his crew. During the interrogations, while the Germans were telling Tah’soon what to ask him, he would ask her in their native language the fate of the others.
He had learned that all of his crew had survived the crash and had been brought to this place. The ones who had been in their cocoons had been revived, and had been questioned on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis as he had been. He also learned that the Germans had managed to bring their ship to this place, which was buried deep inside of a mountain. Most of his crew had maintained their silence and had not spoken during their interrogations, which lead to many of them being beaten severely. If not for their body’s innate capability to heal rapidly, they would surely be dead. He wondered now if that ability was more a curse as it was simply prolonging the inevitable.
Despite this ability, two of the scientists, Nexlan and Tril‘nan, and the Krelian doctor, Jorda‘kre, had suffered severe injuries and had almost died for refusing to answer their interrogator’s questions. Unfortunately, Tah’soon had informed him that the lead Krelian scientist, Valtor, was not as disciplined as the rest of the crew. He had been talking somewhat freely to the Germans to save himself from the beatings the rest of the crew had endured. He had told them where they were from and about the operation of the ship.
Valtor had led them to and opened their weapons vault, and had not only told the Nazis how their advanced weapons worked, but had shown them how to use them as well. Even worse, they had been using their weapons against the enemies of the Germans.
At the thought of this, Tal’pun just hung his head in despair. He could not believe that his people had not sent a search and rescue team to find and free them from this place. The Council had probably given them up for dead. By now it was obvious that the mayday message they had sent had not been received. Tal’pun had looked for any opportunity to escape, but this facility appeared to be an impregnable fortress. The cell doors were secured by magnetic locks that could not be picked or interrupted unless the power went out - but the huge generators he heard humming every second of the day deep in the mountain hinted that this was not very likely. Additionally, his jailers had informed him that powerful explosives lined the doors as well in case an escape or rescue was attempted.
When they moved him and the others to the interrogation rooms, there were always at least four armed guards, and they were shackled around the waist with a belly chain and heavy duty handcuffs, as well as ankle cuffs which did not allow for much more than a slow shuffle instead of a walk. No, their situation looked hopeless unless a miracle happened - and soon.
Chapter 27
The White House
Oval Office
It had taken the president several minutes to get over the initial shock of having a man appear in front of him out of nowhere. After he regained his composure, he told Will why he had summoned him.
“Although I’m still having trouble understanding and believing all of this, my predecessor left me with instructions on how to contact you in the event of alien contact here on Earth. I’m afraid that’s why I’ve decided to contact you.”
The president laid out what had been explained to him by Donovan. He showed Will the photographs taken by the crewman aboard the bomber of the German soldier with the odd-looking shoulder weapon.
“It’s difficult to tell from this grainy photograph, but this weapon definitely looks alien in origin. Without a more detailed photograph I am unable to determine its origin as several civilizations have similar looking weapons that utilize the light-beam vaporization technology you described. I’m sorry.”
“We also have these photos. Maybe they’ll be more helpful.”
The president
showed him the photographs of the alien spacecraft that had been taken by Donovan’s asset.
Upon seeing the photographs, Will’s eyes widened slightly as he recognized the origin of the spacecraft.
A Krelian research vessel, Will thought to himself. As he spoke to the president he kept his voice neutral and his face unreadable. “I’m familiar with the civilization that built this vessel,” he said, not divulging its exact origins to the president. “They are a scientifically advanced race, and I can assure you that their intentions here were peaceful. From the looks of these photos, it appears that their vehicle crashed, which lead to their capture by the Germans.”
Will pointed out the gaping hole in the side of the Krelian ship to the president.
“What about the weapons the Germans are using against us and our allies? If these aliens are so damn peaceful, why would they have such weapons in their possession?”
“Very simple, Mr. President. Just because they are peaceful, doesn’t mean that every alien civilization they come in contact with have the same peaceful intentions. Their weapons are strictly defensive in nature.”
“However,” said the president, “in the hands of a group of humans like the Nazis, they are capable of immeasurable destruction.”
“Unfortunately, your assessment is correct.”
The president was silent for a few moments as he absorbed what he had learned.
“I noticed that you did not mention the name of this alien race. Was that for a reason?”
“Yes, Mr. President…it was. The fact that you know of my existence is enough. I cannot divulge everything to you.”
The president nodded in understanding. Plausible deniability and secrets were a part of his world, also.
“It is my understanding that you have certain…powers that ordinary men don’t possess. Would you be able to destroy the place where the alien spacecraft is being held and recover the weapons the Germans are using? Obviously we are afraid they are going to try and mass produce the weapons and provide each of their soldiers with one of them, which would mean the end of us.”
“You are correct regarding the powers I possess, Mr. President, and it is within my power to destroy this place. As far as the weapons are concerned, there is a way to replicate those weapons with materials found on Earth, but it would not be easy to reproduce them, and it would take years to do it. However, the aliens probably have a large enough arsenal to wreak a lot of havoc on your troops, ships and planes in the interim.
“However, in the unlikely event the Nazis were somehow able to repair the ship, its onboard weapons would devastate this planet.” The president paled at this statement. “But, I find that unlikely - unless one of the aliens show them how to fly it. And, I find that improbable as well, especially considering the damage it sustained.
“However, not only must I try and rescue the aliens and retrieve their spacecraft and weapons, but I must erase any knowledge the Germans have of contact with this alien civilization. Does this asset of Colonel Donovan’s know if all of the aliens are still being housed at the same location, or how many aliens there are, or if they are all still alive?” asked Will.
“To the asset’s knowledge, they are in the same location, and they are all still alive. But, I’m not sure what type of access his asset has to any other information. Obviously I can’t approach Donovan with information of your existence, so I will have to keep my questions regarding his asset general in nature,” replied the president.
Will nodded in agreement and was quiet for a few seconds.
“I would like to find out as much about this facility as I can as soon as possible. I am going to contact the alien’s superiors and find out exactly who was on their ship, and how many. I’ll also determine what types of weapons they had, how many, and their capability. Give me twenty-four hours or less to come up with a viable plan. In the meantime, find out what you can from Colonel Donovan. Perhaps he can task his source to find out the specific information I need before formulating a plan” said Will.
“How do you plan on contacting these…aliens?” queried the president.
“I’ll travel to their planet as soon as I leave here and contact some of their leaders I’m familiar with for some answers,” Will replied.
“You know where their planet is? How do you plan on traveling there, and how do you know these creatures?”
Will smiled at the astonished look on the president’s face. “I intend on flying there, Mr. President. As to your other questions, all I can say is that I spent a considerable amount of time on their planet in the past.” Will did not admit to the president that he had lived with them for almost 200 years.
The president looked shocked. “My God. I’m having a hard time believing all of this is true. You’ve actually been to their planet and spent time there?” he questioned.
Will simply smiled, nodded his head, and said, “I know it’s a lot to absorb, Mr. President, but you are going to have to trust me. I need to get going now and contact them. I will return to your office within twenty-four hours. Please contact Colonel Donovan and get whatever additional information from him that you can. Also, I need the photos so I can make copies of them. I‘ll have them back to you tomorrow.”
The president gave him the envelope with the photos and other documents.
Will stood up and shook the president’s hand, and then he disappeared in front of the president, just as he had appeared. A look of dismay was still evident on the president’s face a few minutes later.
Chapter 28
Nazi Occupied Germany
The Eyrie
One of the lead German scientists responsible for studying the alien spacecraft and weapons and trying to reverse engineer them, was a tall, slim Austrian named Dieter Eckhart. At the moment he was in his room getting dressed when there was a knock at his door. It was one of the administrative assistants, Erika Getman.
As he opened the door, Erika stated, “Dr. Eckhart, I’m sorry to bother you, but I have some papers I need you to sign.”
“Very well, Fraulein Getman. Come in,” he said in an annoyed voice as he stepped aside to let her in.
As she entered the room, she put the documents she had brought with her on a table in the corner as Eckhart came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.
“Why, Dr. Eckhart, what are you doing?!” Erika purred playfully as she turned around and kissed him hard on the mouth.
“Good morning, my dear,” he replied as he came up for air.
Dieter and Erika had been secretly been having a torrid affair for the last two months. Although they were both single, their superiors frowned upon fraternization of any kind between staff members, especially when one was in a position of authority over the other, as was the case with Dieter and Erika. Although Dieter was not one of Erika’s direct supervisors, he still had influence regarding her position at the Eyrie.
However, the personnel assigned to the Eyrie had little opportunity to spend much time away from the facility, and the fact that the closest town was more than twenty miles away, made finding a suitable companion in town a challenge. This led several of the male staff members to seek the companionship of the females assigned to the facility on a regular basis. The brass usually just ignored it - especially since they were just as guilty as their subordinates.
Erika loved to hear Dieter talk about the progress they were having in conducting research on the alien vessel. He got as excited as a little boy on Christmas morning when he talked about the marvels of their technology. Although he was sworn to secrecy, he had divulged much to Erika after their love-making sessions. It seemed to make her happy to hear about the aliens. Besides, he trusted her implicitly.
“So, Dieter, when will you take me to see the aliens?” Erika asked.
“Liebchen, you know I can’t do that without getting in serious trouble.”
Erika stuck out her full, sensuous lips in a pouty, sultry manner, which totally warmed Diete
r up.
“But you promised you’d take me to see them one day,” she said with a frown on her face.
“I know, but I just can’t right now. The SS have been interrogating them on a weekly basis. Most of the time they show up unannounced, and it’s seldom on the same day every week.”
“Can you take me to see the spaceship again then?”
Dieter had taken her to see the spaceship a couple of times, after she had promised him a reward for his efforts. He did and she happily complied.
“Maybe in a couple of days. The technology these aliens have is amazing. They are so much more advanced than us that it’s mind boggling. That ship of theirs can fly faster than the speed of light! Herr Einstein’s theories will have to be completely revised. Their weapons could destroy this whole mountain within a couple of minutes!” He was excited as a kid in a toy store.
“Ooh! That’s so hot to hear you talk about it. Are all of the aliens still here?”
“Oh, yes. The SS is afraid to move them for fear of one of them trying to escape or the Americans or British trying to bomb the convoy. It‘s a shame, though. This is the most extraordinary event in the history of mankind, and the only thing the SS can think about is using the alien’s technology to destroy the Americans and British. It’s such a shame that all of this happened during the middle of a damn war. This should be shared with the entire world, and the aliens should not just be used as tools of the SS.”
“Have the aliens told you anything useful yet?”
“Their lead scientist was full of answers - especially after the SS threatened to kill him,” Dieter said. “The rest of the aliens have kept their mouths shut, even after some serious beatings by the SS.” He paused for a few seconds; his disdain of the SS apparent on his face. “You know, I really shouldn’t be telling you all of this, liebling.”
Erika looked genuinely hurt. “Dieter, now who am I going to tell? I know the SS would kill us if they knew about us. Don’t worry; it’s our little secret. Besides, it makes me so excited just to hear about the aliens. Tell me more.”
Shadow Warrior: Destiny of a Mutant Page 11
