by Adam Benson
"Let's check back the other way a bit." One of the men said as he moved his flashlight up the rock behind them and back off into the darkness. "This is like a wild goose chase anyway."
"When are we supposed to be gettin' them dogs out here?" The other man asked as the two moved quickly back the way they came.
But they weren't out of the clear. For the next three hectoChrons the three men searched around in the desert nearby. Their footprints had faintly circled back to where they were currently hiding but went no further. With some level of confusion, the three men circled around and followed them around trying to find where they went to next.
"There's gotta be another path." Mosby said.
“Yeah, it's too damned dark to really see anything. Dog’s will be here before too long,” Harrison replied. "That saucer’s all smashed to hell anyway. They ain't goin' very far."
With held breath, Dayk and Thalia watched as the three men pushed further off into the desert with their lights moving back and forth around the ground. They moved slowly, searching everywhere they could for traces of the footprints that had led them into the desert in the first place.
When they head back let’s follow them back to the crash site. Dayk thought to Thalia.
Back!? She thought with some alarm.
I want to be on our ship whenever they start to move it. Our best bet is to stay with the Chronis until it gets rescued. We'll follow along in their footprints and that should mask our trail.
But isn't it going to be harder to stay hidden? Thalia asked. We can't leave our cloaks on forever! I thought you wanted to hide out here until morning.
I don't believe we'll have to. Dayk replied. Once they finish cleaning out the ship, they'll probably won’t go back inside until they load it onto a vehicle, and at that point we should be able to hide inside without being disturbed.
You don't think they'd have somebody guarding it?
Sure, but not inside of it. Dayk thought. He wished he could see her so she could see how confident he was in his idea, but it didn't matter, it was his decision to make. Thalia, we'll be fine. We won't get captured. In any case, we’ll fare better in the ship than we will out here if they start searching with dogs. The ship already smells like us. Out here doesn’t.
The three men circled back, heading back to the crash site after only a few hectoChrons, and they watched from their hidden spot, invisible to the naked eye, as their flashlights swept back and forth through the desert getting ever closer to them again. Within moments they were upon them, and then continued to move past them back toward the ship.
Dayk waited for them to get at least ten meters away before he made his move. C'mon. He thought to Thalia. Follow their footsteps, try to stay in their path, and let's give each other regular updates when we get to specific landmarks, so we'll know where we both are.
They're still so close! Thalia complained.
Thalia! We have to get back onto the ship if we're going to make it to Roswell. It’s over a hundred and twenty kilometers away, and we won’t survive that on foot! Dayk said, quickly starting to move forward into the darkness. Once we’re inside the hull, they’ll load it up and we’ll be safely inside until we get there.
Yes sir. She said. From her limited vantage point she saw a branch get brushed aside just ahead of her in the dark. Without a moment's hesitation she followed carefully behind, hoping to stay on his trail.
Dayk followed the men as quietly as he could, constantly looking down to where his feet should have been to see if he was leaving any additional prints. He kept looking behind himself to see if new footprints were appearing where Thalia probably was, and from step to step a few new footprints did appear, but for the most part they weren't leaving a trail. He was cautiously avoiding branches and bramble, or from disturbing any of the tall grass that sprung up everywhere around him, but being invisible made it difficult to know exactly where his own limbs actually were, and from time to time he would find himself accidentally rustling the grass or brushing noisily along some branch. Thalia was obviously suffering from some of the same problems, since every so often an unnatural rustle would rise up behind him as well.
Still some eighty or so meters from the ship Dayk suddenly heard a noise that sent his heart into his throat. From some two meters behind him he heard a hard, muffled thud, followed by a very noisy crash into the grass that sent the whole area stirring. Thalia had tripped and fallen into the brush.
"What the hell was that!?" One of the men in front of them said. All three men turned and shined their lights behind them. The beam passed right through Dayk and landed on a patch of pressed grass where Thalia was undoubtedly laying. Dayk froze still as a statue and held his breath as deeply as possible.
Thalia don't move! He thought as loudly as possible. At this distance, through their cloaking devices, he hoped she could hear his thoughts.
Are you kidding!? Came a faint voice in his head. I'm scared stiff! I couldn't move if I tried! Her thoughts came screaming at him.
Dayk suddenly realized his own precarious position. Dhregh! Thalia! I’m right in the way between them and you… I… I have no choice!
What?! She yelled back.
They're coming this way! Get up right now and follow me ten meters due east. Just passed this grass. Follow me. Try and stay in contact, and please! Please, let me know that you heard this!
Are you serious!? He heard her reply. That was enough for him. Instantly Dayk started sprinting through the grass heading due east. Thalia watched as the grass split and something invisible tore across the desert.
"What the...!" Some of the men said and started running after whatever was rustling the grass. Their guns were drawn, and they ran recklessly fast into the desert. With the flashlights off of her for the moment, Thalia took her chance and got up and started running quickly as she could after Dayk, without being able to see him.
The grass and brush around both of them was rustling and crashing as they ran away from the path, they were on in the desert through the dark. The three men behind them were raising a ruckus of their own, crashing toward them. Other flashlights from far off in the desert became trained on the three men as it became clear that they had stumbled onto something!
"Did you see that!?" Calhoun yelled.
"I saw something move. Something's out there!"
"Major!" One of the men yelled loudly out across the desert. "I think we've got 'em!"
Dayk ran out of the grass and into a stonier area about twelve meters from where he had been. He had stayed as due east as he could, and when he got to the flat brushless area of the desert, he stopped dead in his tracks and waited, still completely invisible. Behind him he heard a very nearby rustling in the grass, but he saw nothing there. Thalia! He yelled. Thalia, can you hear me?
The rustling stopped and he saw the nearby grass quickly part, and then sway gently along the edge of the rocks. I'm here! Her voice was incredibly quiet in his head. She was still some several meters away from him at least. He assumed that she must have stopped just on the edge of the grass. He couldn't hear any movement from her, and there weren't any obvious footprints, at least from what he could see through his enhanced vision. Dayk? Her voice came again.
Behind her the grass was rustling wildly, but the source of the chaos was obvious. The three men came crashing through the desert bramble with their flashlights searching back and forth around the source of the noise. In the distance, other men started running their way, making a further ruckus as they crashed through the night toward the excited men that were still on their trail.
"Do you see 'em?" One of the men yelled.
"I think they stopped moving!" Another man said. "Wait, wait! Stop for a second." All three men stopped in their tracks. Other men in the distance were still running toward them but were all still some ways away. Their flashlights combed the nearby desert in a desperate but determined fashion. "Do y'all here anything?"
"I don't see anything." The third man said.
"You're right. They've stopped." Said the second man.
"You sure it wasn't coyotes?" The third man asked.
"That didn't sound like coyotes to me. They're around here somewhere." The flashlights continued scouring the desert. The beams passed back and forth through their invisible bodies as the men searched the area for their prey.
As they searched, more men showed up to help the investigation. After less than a hectoChron all six of the original search team, and an additional three men had shown up to help out in the search. Two bright lights moved all around them in the desert night. Dayk stood as still as possible, looking for a possible escape, but in only a matter of chrons it seemed that all the men had completely surrounded them.
Dayk!? He heard Thalia's faint voice in his head.
I'm here. He replied. Can you see that mesquite tree about twenty-five meters north, north-east of us?
Dayk!! Her voice was slightly louder this time, as though she was yelling for him.
Thalia! He yelled back to her in his thoughts, thinking as hard as he could.
Dayk! Where are you? He barely heard her say.
Thalia. Can you hear me? Dayk thought as loudly as possible. Try and meet me at that tree!
Dayk!!! He heard her yell. She was too far out of range. He could barely hear her, but for some reason her cloaking device was keeping her from hearing his thoughts at all. She must have been further away from him than he thought.
Reserve power: 92%. Eminent Cloak Field: 1.183 Meters. Status: Active. Dayk heard the cloaking device say in his head. As though he needed more stress in his evening. They hadn't even been cloaked for a kiloChron yet, and already his cloaking device was almost ten percent drained. Thalia's would be about the same. It was a brutal reminder that eventually, if they didn't make it away from their pursuers then they would both be exposed and captured without any questions.
All around them the noisy men kept scouring the area for any trace of aliens. Their search had apparently drawn the interest of the men back at the crash site, and one of the large, tall, white spotlights was suddenly turned out into the desert to help illuminate the search area. Still some eighty meters away the spot light was bright enough to light up the area, but not enough to keep the men from needing their flashlights. But having been in virtual darkness for as long as he had, the spotlight blinded Dayk. It was piercingly bright, even at that distance and cut through the night like an unwanted day.
He was quickly growing far more nervous, not only for himself, but for Thalia who was clearly out of mind-shot. The last thing he wanted was this full-on man hunt, but now he was stuck in the desert with no obvious escape route. There were brief moments where he thought he might be able to sneak past the men and make it to the mesquite tree that offered some shelter just about twenty-five meters away, but he had to find Thalia first. He needed a distraction.
Off in the distance, beyond the light, Dayk saw another set of headlights approaching from down the dirt road. Was it more men? Was it the dogs that the other men had been talking about? Whatever the approaching situation, there wasn't much time to act.
"I think I've got some footprints!" Someone yelled from behind him. Dayk turned and looked. The man who spoke was aiming a flashlight very near where Dayk believed Thalia to be standing. He had to do something. He looked around for some way to move the men off, but with the bright light and the moving flashlights, there was very little opportunity to do much of anything.
Dayk! Can you hear me!? They’re coming my way!!
Dayk looked around him and found a large stone, that was basically flat and wide, and without any hesitation he lifted the rock and flung it like a Frisbee off into some grass that was behind him. The rock crashed and thrashed through the grass and stones of the desert.
All of the men snapped their attention to the sound very near to where they were. The distraction worked, but it wouldn't last long. It was only far enough away for Dayk to safely move toward Thalia and try to reestablish contact, and hopefully, give them both the break they needed to make it off toward the mesquite tree, and away from their pursuers.
As stealthily as possible he walked closer and closer to where he believed Thalia to be. Thalia! Can you hear me? He projected his thoughts as loudly as possible.
Dayk! Came Thalia's excited thoughts as he approached. I was so scared!
I was too! He replied. Quick, we don't have much time. Let's get over there to that mesquite tree while we have the chance! Take my hand! He thought to her. In an invisible fumble, they worked through the dark to find each other’s hands and then started carefully walking passed the searching men and off a slight and rocky distance toward the tree.
New Blood
Director Ca’aury stood looking out over the horizon from his office, high aloft on a spire above Aldartal. The sun was setting off in the distance and lit the tree tops with a warm glow that shimmered off into the horizon. It had been almost a year since Dayk had discovered the anomaly, and while the preparations for the mission were well on their way, no one was any closer to determining what the anomaly was, and it pressed on Ca’aury’s mind continually.
Behind him, the Temporal Keyhole Device hovered in the center of his office lounge with the anomaly floating thirty-four years into the future and crossing itself into the past a mere two years from today; the launch date. Ca’aury’s calculations floated holographically throughout the room, all around the multi-dimensional sphere. So far, none of his calculations solved the strange paradox.
Director Ca’aury. Came a thought into his mind. It was the voice of Dr. Fathal, the Engineer and Archivist on the Chronis.
Yes, Dr. Fathal. Ca’aury replied.
May I speak with you privately? Fathal asked from the other side of the campus.
Of course, feel free to come by my office. Ca’aury said.
In a matter of chrons a teleportation flash deposited Dr. Fathal on the top landing of the large office. Fathal immediately walked across the room to where Director Ca’aury stood looking out over the world. “Thank you for seeing me,” he said as he approached.
“Hello Fathal. Beautiful sunset, isn’t it?” Ca’aury asked him.
“Yes,” Fathal replied. “It is very nice from up here.”
“What can I do for you?” Ca’aury asked him as he turned to face him.
“Ca’…” he started nervously. “You and I have known each other a long time now.”
“Yes, we have” Ca’aury smiled.
“This is hard for me to do,”
“What is it, Fathal?” Ca’aury said stepping closer to his friend.
“I think I’m ready to retire.”
“Retire?” Ca’aury said alarmed. “Why would you want to retire?”
“I just don’t want to do this anymore.” Fathal said looking down at the floor. “I still love the Center, and I’ll still teach, but I’m done with the field work.”
“Is this because of the mission?” Ca’aury asked him.
“I’m not going to say it didn’t factor in, but I’ve been considering this for a while now.” Fathal told him.
“Have a seat.” Ca’aury said as he led him down into the lounge around the floating orb in the center of the room. The ancient Ca’aury moved faster than a twelve-hundred-year-old man should have and was plopped down in a comfortable seat before Fathal made it down the stairs. Fathal sat down across from Ca’aury but maintained his posture in the chair. “Look, Fathal. At this juncture, it would be both impractical and unorthodox to change the team in the middle of mission prep. Why don’t you finish this trip, and then retire?”
“I’m sorry Ca’, I can’t.” Fathal said.
“Fathal, you can’t just abandon your team like this!” Ca’aury said trying to be consoling. “They depend on you, and you’ve been working together for over a century now. To quit on them now might be devastating to the mission.”
“This is a suicide mission!” Fathal said raising his voice at Ca’aury. “I’
m sorry Ca’, but I can retire any time I want to. I’ve put in more than my fifteen missions. I’m allowed to retire without question.”
Ca’aury sighed deeply in his seat. “Yes, Fathal, no one can stop you from retiring if you so choose, but I’m asking you now, as a friend, to see this mission through first. Don’t abandon your team.”
“Ca’, I love the Center, and I love what I do here, but I love life even more. If I go on that mission, I won’t be coming back, and I’m not ready to die just yet, so I’m sorry, but I’m taking my retirement.” Fathal stood up and looked down at Ca’aury as he said it.
“You’re putting me in an awful bind, Fathal.” Ca’aury said. He motioned for Fathal to sit back down in his usual calm, inviting nature.
Fathal sat back down, smaller than he had been. “I’m sorry Ca’, I just can’t do it anymore.”
Ca’aury looked up and out of his window with a fresh stress weighing down upon him. “Do you know how hard it’s going to be to vet a replacement for you on this?” He asked rolling his head down at him. “Why now?” Exhaustion was ripe in his voice.
“I don’t want to die.”
“And yet you’re perfectly willing to let some other scientist go to their doom on this.” Ca’aury charged him. Fathal looked away from him. “What about your team mates? What about the next person to take on…”?
“All of us know the risks!” Fathal interrupted. “I’m simply choosing to not take them anymore. My replacement won’t be any different that the rest of us. She knows the risks!”
“She?” Ca’aury asked. “You already have someone in mind?”
Fathal kept quiet. He diverted his eyes up onto the anomaly floating above them.
“Who is it?” Ca’aury asked again.
Fathal looked at him and caught his eyes. “Dr. Thalia. She’s a recent grad.” With a thought and a gesture Dr. Fathal replaced Ca’aury’s Temporal Keyhole Device with a holographic representation of Dr. Thalia. Her personnel profile ID image slowly rotated in the center of the room, while her candidacy prerequisites filled in details alongside of her.
