Madias waved his hand, I heard a loud beep, and the door sprung open. The elevator looked brand new, and didn't match the ancient mine we were in. Madias stepped right in, and I saw little choice but to join him. The door snapped shut, and I felt the elevator start to rise. For a few seconds, I stood there, wondering what I'd gotten myself into. Then I felt the elevator stop, and the doors snapped open.
I had expected another nasty mine shaft. What I got was a modern bunker. The place was huge, and I suspect you could house hundreds of people here. We stepped out of the elevator, and started down a large, curved, hallway. Dozens of people were walking around, going through their various tasks. We walked several hundred yards through the place, and then stepped into what was obviously a military command center.
There was a large glass window at one end, that looked out over the canyon below. Sunlight streamed in the opening, and I couldn't resist stepping over, and looking out. There was a tremendous view of the canyon, and I just stood there staring for some time. The window was several hundred feet up the canyon wall, and I could tell we were about halfway up to the rim.
Madias had stepped over behind me, and said, "It is beautiful, isn't it?"
I just nodded silently, and then asked, "How can you build a thing like this? Don't people ever ask questions?"
Madias smiled, obviously amused, and said, "Many people know we are here. This is built on reservation land. We are here with their permission."
"The Indian Nations are aware you have a hidden base on the reservation?" I asked. I was having a real hard time with this concept.
"Have you forgotten the old base we had on the Amazon River?" he asked. "Did you doubt that the natives knew who we were?" I stood there thinking back. He was right of course. "Many people over the centuries have been aware of us here on Earth." Madias quietly said, "Most Earthers fear ridicule, or doubt their own eyes, and simply ignore us. Several major governments are aware of us, and actually work with us from time to time."
"Why don't you just come out in the open?" I asked. "A lot of people believe you're here already. What would be the harm?"
"That day is coming!" he said sharply. I could see it meant something to him by his voice. "The people of Earth shall soon return to their former glory, and with the Madness gone, they will be ready for the truth."
"But for now?" I interjected.
"But for now, we must wait," he responded. He was tense, and I could tell the deception bothered him. He glanced at me, and then said, "The Madness still controls most of the people of this planet. If the weapons and technology of the Guardians were ever available to one of the violent people of this world, it would be an unfortunate disaster. One Guardian could destroy this world with just a few weapons. We can't allow such things to fall into the hands of a contaminated Earther."
"So we're quarantined," I said pointedly. He simply nodded in response. I had been aware of this, but for the first time, I realized how this had affected the Earth going back for countless centuries. Then I almost giggled, and said, "All this, and now you need our help."
"It's not funny," Madias responded dryly. "Long ago, before the Madness arrived, the people of Earth were among some of the finest of the First Ones. They were a race of brilliant people, who dreamed of things you can't imagine." His mood darkened, and he quietly said, "I never thought I would miss anyone, as much as I miss your ancestors. They were a great people. If they were here now, they would help, because it's the right thing to do." I could tell in the link, that Madias was stressing as he talked.
"They sound like they were pretty impressive," I observed quietly.
At that moment, the doors behind us opened, and a small man in a white lab coat walked in. His face lit up as soon as he saw Madias, and he started across the room straight for us. Just as he reached us, he seemed to recognize me. In a heavy German accent, he said, "You are Mike Rutger! I helped work on ze ring you vear!"
I nodded, and Madias said, "This is Professor Bahn. He has been working with us for several years."
"Ya," the Professor agreed with a widening smile. "Unt it haz taught me much!" He handed Madias a bundle of papers and two computer flash drives. Then he said, "Tell Tucker ze plans ve discussed are zer."
The Professor seemed to pause, and stare at me for a moment. Then he said, "Vel! I must get back to vurk!" He nodded at Madias, and bowed slightly as he clicked his heels together. Then he abruptly spun, and started out the door.
As he walked out the door, Madias said, "He admires you! He will talk about meeting you for a week."
"Who exactly is he?" I asked.
"One of the most brilliant men on this planet," Madias answered. "His work on interdimensional travel has led to working transdimensional vehicles." I must have looked confused, because after a moment, he added, "He created a vehicle that moves through space, and other dimensions." I still had no idea what he was talking about, but he started toward the door, and I simply followed him.
We returned to the elevator, and I soon found myself back on the banks of the Colorado River. Madias smiled at me, and asked, "Have you ever been to the moon?"
I looked at him for a moment, and then asked, "Is that some kind of rhetorical question?"
"I'm serious," Madias replied. "Our allies maintain two bases on Earth's moon. Have you been there before?"
"No," I assured him. "I've never been on the moon before."
Madias smiled, almost laughed, and said, "Then prepare yourself, and follow me." He folded space, and was gone. I focused on him, and followed. As soon as I arrived at his location, I saw what he was talking about. We were in a large airlock that appeared to be on Earth's moon. There was a long ramp that lead down into a catacomb of tunnels. Madias started down the ramp without a word. I was mesmerized by the image of the moon’s surface that you could see out the doors to the airlock.
Madias stopped, and looked at me. He said, "It's just the moon! Follow me please!" Then he proceeded to disappear down the tunnel. I almost had to run to catch up with him. I was moving so fast, that at first I didn't see the giants. There were three of them walking up a side tunnel. I had to look twice, to make sure what I was seeing. One of them looked up, saw me, and smiled. I suspect my mouth was hanging open, making me look rather disconcerted.
Madias made a sharp right turn, and started down another corridor as I caught up with him. He was walking rapidly, and I was having a hard time keeping up without running. We suddenly broke into the open as the corridor ended, and I found myself in the largest aircraft hangar I've ever seen.
The place appeared to go on for miles. Every hundred yards, another spacecraft sat on a landing pad. There had to be thousands of them. They went off into the distance, as far as the eye could see. Madias just kept walking, passing one ship after another. Most of the ships all looked the same, but after walking for several minutes, we approached one far different from the others.
Most of the ships here looked rather blunt, and ugly. They struck me as designed for combat, and I could see numerous places where damage was being repaired from an obvious battle. The ship we approached was half the size of the others, and looked as if it was built for speed. It came to a sharp point at the nose, and I only saw four weapons pods, as compared to several dozen on each of the larger ships.
Madias walked right up the ship's ramp, and I followed him through the ship to the control room. The old man sat down in a chair at the control panel, and as I sat down in the seat next to him, he asked, "Are you awake, Shasue?"
A smooth female voice replied, "You know I don't sleep, Madias."
He smiled at me, and said, "Yes, I know. We're ready to go to Signey Octurus. Are you prepared for transport?"
"Yes Madias. I am prepared," the voice answered.
Madias looked at the control panel, and said, "Very well Shasue. We have business to attend to. Please notify Core security of our flight plan, and then initiate the jump engines for a simple approach. I want Mike to see the primary fleet as
we go in."
"Very well," the ship responded. I could hear the ship’s engines coming to life. The ramp came up, and the hatch snapped closed. The hiss of air was heard as the craft pressurized its hull. Then the ship lofted without any feeling of motion. It was obvious we were about ten feet in the air, and in a series of deft maneuvers, the ship worked its ways to an airlock big enough to hold an aircraft carrier.
We paused for a second, and it appeared an electronic shield was dropped. Then the ship surged forward, out into the moon's open, barren, landscape. We started to lift off the moon's surface, and after a few seconds, the ship folded space.
We arrived at Signey Octurus, and approached the planet from the outer limits of the world's solar system. From the moment we arrived, I saw a vast fleet of space craft that blotted out the local sun. There had to be thousands of ships. They seemed to be made from many different patterns, and showed markings I couldn't make sense of.
I got the distinct feeling this was a military fleet. Weapons were visible everywhere, and picket ships intercepted us as we first entered the flight pattern for approaching ships. There was an exchange of computer data between the ships, and we proceeded unmolested.
For about twenty minutes, we worked our way through masses of ships. Many of them were in transit, and it seemed obvious that computers were controlling the confusion. I can't hope to describe the variety of space craft I saw. Everything from single person fighters, to ships as big as mountains were here.
Then, abruptly, we broke into the clear. Our ship seemed to surge forward. The two escort ships broke off, and we raced toward one of the inner planets of the system. For the first time, I got a good look at the planet Madias called Camelot. I must admit, it was pretty impressive.
Madias said, "I want to land on the main field next to the palace, Shasue. Please make sure we are cleared for close approach."
"We are cleared for approach," the ship responded. "Tucker is awaiting your arrival on pad eight. We are on final approach for planetary defense systems, and cleared to land on the palace grounds."
"Very well, Shasue," Madias said. "Please notify Tucker of our arrival ETA."
Shasue simply said, "Acknowledged!" and we started to drop out of orbit, falling toward the surface of Signey Octurus. Masses of clouds covered the surface, and it was several minutes before I could start to pick out details. Heavy traffic was in our flight path, and it was obvious this world was a hub of activity.
There was a sudden change in our path, and Shasue banked hard right to avoid another ship as it worked to gain altitude. Our escort ships stayed right with us until we were almost on the ground. Then they broke, and headed off to other duties.
The ramp dropped, and moist air flooded in. We walked out of the ship, to find a small group of people waiting for us. Two Guardians were there as an escort, and a woman from administration was there. The woman took the materials Professor Bahn had given Madias, and left to deliver them. Madias briskly said, "Follow me!" and walked away as the escort and myself worked to keep up. After walking for several minutes, we left the large open plain the ships landed on. The buildings around us became tightly packed, and we were soon walking through narrow streets.
I looked up, and realized we were walking along a castle wall at least sixty feet tall. We turned to walk in a large gate, and I could tell the walls were at least a hundred feet thick. We came out of the gate, and were in the most ornate structure I’ve ever seen. This was a palace on a scale never imagined on Earth.
At one point, I almost fell over my own feet as I walked and gawked at the same time. Madias glanced over at me with a smile, and said, "Impressive! Is it not?"
"I never dreamed such a place existed," I replied truthfully.
"The kind of place that would inspire legends," Madias noted.
"Yes," I agreed. "I can see why it would be remembered over the centuries."
"From here, we shall finally bring the Beast to its knees," Madias remarked quietly. The comment wasn't really addressed to me. I got the feeling it brought Madias enormous satisfaction to think of finally bringing the conflict to an end.
We passed through one building after another, and finally turned through a set of wooden gates twenty feet tall that must have weighed several tons. Heavily armed Guardians stood at every doorway, and I could tell we were in the heart of the palace. We came striding up to a closed set of doors, and two guards opened them just in time for us to walk through.
A young man sitting behind a desk practically jumped up, and yelled, "Madias!" He moved across the room quickly, and as they met, the two men embraced.
They each stood back after a moment, and Madias exclaimed, "Good to see you my boy!" Then he turned to me, and said, "This is Tucker! He is the son of Satu-Ra, and one of our greatest leaders." Then he gestured to me, and said, "This is Mike Rutger, the Golden Warrior the Magi have spoken about."
I could feel a heavy scan roll across me, and Tucker seemed to take a deep breath. He stared at me for a second, and then said, "I have only one question at this point. Has Madias explained the task he plans to assign you?"
I considered his question, and then told him, "You're going to throw me in a box with a monster, and slam the door shut. Then I'm going to spend eternity ensuring he never gets out again."
Tucker seemed dumbfounded by my response, but he nodded slowly to acknowledge my comment. A slight frown covered his face, and he said, "You realize this will be a nightmare. The beast is never at rest. You will never know a minute's peace."
"And the Earth, and everything I hold dear will be saved," I remarked bluntly. "That's the part I prefer to think about!"
Tucker looked over at Madias, and said, "Father will never allow this. He doesn't tolerate suicide missions, and this is worse than suicide."
"Yet the entire Magi council has confirmed the path in the timeline." Madias said sternly. "Even you can see the nexus that is forming around him. The timeline is far too strong to be misinterpreted. We all can see what will happen if this man is put in place. This is our chance to stop this evil! We must at least try!"
Tucker shook his head slowly, and said, "I'm just telling you, Father will not be happy about this! I see little chance he will approve."
"Perhaps he should ask me what I want," I said, slightly irritated. "All my life, I looked for a way to stop what you call the Madness. Now I find a way to finally engage my real enemy, and you talk of stopping me. You better think again!"
Tucker blinked at me twice as if startled. Then he smiled widely, and observed, "Now, if he talks like that in front of Father, we may have a chance."
Madias smiled at me, and said, "This is your last chance. In an hour you will stand before the greatest leader in the Milky Way Galaxy. Perhaps in the entire Universe. Are you sure this is what you wish? Satu-Ra will scan you heavily! If there is any doubt in your heart, he will see it, and refuse you permission."
I already knew the answer. I had known decades ago that my life was forfeit if I was caught on a mission. Nothing I had ever done had stopped the violence. Now I would finally bring an end to the wars that constantly rocked my world. I wanted this badly, and would fight anyone who tried to stop me.
I simply replied, "I have no doubt! I’d sacrifice anything to achieve this goal."
Madias nodded silently, and glanced back over at Tucker, saying, "We are ready!"
"Very well," Tucker said. "I’ll arrange it."
Chapter 16
Meeting Satu-Ra
It was closer to two hours before we were escorted in to see Tucker's Father. Most of that time was spent talking about events that had occurred since I had joined the Chosen. On several occasions, I could tell I was being heavily scanned. Madias remained silent through most of our conversation. I had the feeling this meeting was for Tucker's benefit. I was being judged here.
Toward the end, Tucker took a more friendly tact, and began to describe what was getting ready to happen. I was told to address Tucker's Father
as John Bridges. Satu-Ra had apparently adopted the name as part of an alias, and preferred to use it for now. I really didn't care what name he used.
I wish I could detail everything here that I was told, and saw. It was all very confusing, since I had no point of reference to draw conclusions. Despite that, I want to note a few things before I discuss my meeting with the man they call John Bridges.
The first is the warrior mentality I saw exhibited here. The entire planet was wired up tightly. They were at war! I saw several large siege weapons as we entered the city. I have enough weapons training to know a rail gun when I see one. These were massive, and would have played havoc with anyone attacking the planet from orbit.
The next thing I noticed was the thousands of Guardians I saw loading both on, and off, the large space craft that were present. In a matter of minutes, I saw several thousand Guardians march into a troop ship, and lift off. This event was happening every few seconds. In the few hours I was there, close to a half million troops were shipped out.
Many of the warriors I saw were barely human. Some I recognized, while others I had never seen before. I was awash in sensory input, and my mind was overloading. With each passing minutes, another event occurred worthy of mentioning. Yet, in the end, it was the meeting with John Bridges that I was here for.
For almost ten minutes Tucker had been briefing me on the protocols for meeting his Father. At one point, Tucker smiled at Madias, and said, "Father is really just a big pussy cat. You’ll love him!"
"A pussy cat with ten inch claws, and teeth as big as sabers perhaps," Madias qualified with a snicker.
They were starting to make me nervous.
Then, a guard showed up, and asked us to follow him. Tucker, Madias, and I all followed the man down several hallways, and out into the open air again. After crossing a courtyard, we went right back into another building. I expected a big room full of people, but instead, I found myself in Satu-Ra's personal quarters.
The Koda Files Boxed Set - Books 1 & 2 Page 31
