by J C Ryan
It will be another busy day.
Reaching the door to the Sanctuary, he opened it and stepped inside. The imitation moon, reflecting the lunar cycle on the outside, was full tonight, its light shimmering serenely off the still water of the lake.
Walking to his favorite spot, he sat down beneath the tree stretching his legs out in front of him, leaning back to relax and think. He’d barely crossed his ankles in front of him when he saw the figure walking along the shore. He tensed.
Siasha!
The crux of his problem. Siasha. The woman Tawndo loved with every fiber of his being. Robert felt his body react to her just as if he were Tawndo, but his mind was his own. Wasn’t it?
Do I have a responsibility to Tawndo?
No!
The man hi-jacked my body!
I… am… Robert!
At the same time, he had to admit that as Robert he liked Siasha. She was kind, considerate, intelligent, fun to be around, and very beautiful. He could fall for her.
But she belongs to another man!
If she did come to me, would it be me or Tawndo that she was responding to?
Pulling his knees up, he wrapped his arms around them and rested his head on his knees.
It is all so confusing… so frustrating!
Walking along the shore, Siasha had seen Robert enter and move to Tawndo’s favorite place.
Tawndo! How can I live without you?
Oh, how she missed him. She’d learned to accept him in Robert’s body, but now Robert was back, keeping Tawndo tightly under control, and she hated him for it.
No, that wasn’t exactly true. At times she liked Robert, found him intriguing and fun. But every so often he would say or do something or exhibit a mannerism that was so like Tawndo, and the longing for the man she loved would flare, stirring the feelings of hatred for Robert.
She left the Sanctuary without looking back, returning to her quarters, and fell asleep, cheeks and pillow wet with tears.
* * *
WHILE ROY LAY awake in his bunk, wondering if there was a way to interfere with the Re’an soldier’s chips, ten members of Victor’s canyon team arrived at their designated airports and started on their journey to Flagstaff.
Deciding he would seek out Robert the next morning and ask for data on the Re’an, Roy turned over and went to sleep at last.
CHAPTER 28
Eighth Cycle Site, Grand Canyon, USA
DESPITE A SLEEPLESS night, Robert was already hard at work in the command center early the next morning, removing evidence of tampering and generally cleaning the area up, when Roy found him.
Raj, having arrived a few minutes ahead of Roy, was busy checking the data transfer equipment.
“Good morning, Robert!” Roy greeted. “Sleep well?”
Not particularly. “Good morning. Yeah, I slept great!” he lied.
“Hey, Raj!”
Deep in concentration, Raj simply waved.
Looking back to Robert, Roy continued, “I was thinking last night about how we can stop the Re’an, and I’m wondering if you have any data on their physiology, the microchip, and how they interact?”
Robert paused, and Roy saw Raj’s head come up at the question.
“Actually, yes,” Robert replied. “I have all the files from the L’gundo site in Tunguska. You’ll have to sort through them, though. I haven’t the time and don’t know what you’ll need anyway.”
“He’ll need the medical and technology files specifically related to the re-animation process and the chip. I can help him with that,” Raj offered.
“You’re busy—and needed —to work on this command center relocation,” Robert reminded brusquely.
“It won’t take long to write a simple search parameter program for him, and then he can work on his own,” Raj assured.
“That would be great!” Roy grinned. “Robert?”
Reluctantly, Robert nodded his approval and went back to work. “I’ll make the information available to you when you’re ready.”
“Why don’t we all meet in the new control center in thirty minutes?” Raj suggested.
The others agreed, and he returned to finish what he was doing.
Realizing he could use help with the research, Roy brought Rebecca, Linkola, and Siasha with him to the meeting in the lab. The three had readily agreed to help him, and they were all eager to get started.
Robert made the data files available to Raj who created a new file folder on the hard drive and set a pre-loaded program to run.
Raising his eyebrows, Robert inquired, “What is that and where did it come from?”
Grinning proudly, Raj explained. “It’s a search program I wrote for the Eighth Cycle library when we were dissecting that nasty chip of Brideaux’s—had a feeling it might come in handy and brought it with me.
“I loaded it yesterday in case we needed it. After I finished with the satellite transmission review earlier, I modified it for Roy’s needs. It’s ready to go!”
Roy whistled appreciatively, and Robert managed to look both impressed and irritated at the same time. He wasn’t happy that Raj could penetrate and manipulate the command computer so easily.
“All the relevant data will feed into this folder,” he said indicating the new folder to Roy.
“Great! How long will it take?” Roy asked.
“About… five minutes… and you should be good to go.”
“Excellent!”
“I assume you gentlemen will be continuing to work in this part of the lab throughout the day,” Linkola inquired.
Robert nodded. “On and off, yes.”
“Why don’t the four of us work in my office? It’s big enough, we can bring some portable computers, and we’ll be out of the way there,” Linkola added.
“Sounds like a plan,” Rebecca agreed.
As the four followed Linkola to his office, picking up laptops on the way, Roy looked over his shoulder back at Raj. “Thanks! I owe you one!”
“Find a way to stop these guys and we’ll be even!” he replied. “Let me know if you need anything else!”
“Will do!”
Jack entered the lab in time to hear the last bit of the exchange between Roy and Raj. “What are you two up to now?” he inquired.
Raj explained while Robert continued to work on transferring the satellite link to the lab.
At the conclusion of Raj’s summary, Jack turned to Robert. “It might be helpful to know what Viktor and his soldiers are up to right now. Can you find out?”
Robert turned from the display panel he was adjusting to face Jack. “I’m not sure I can obtain that information without tipping them off to my presence in their systems. So far, I’ve only been accessing information stored in their backup systems, I haven’t been in their live system.”
Raj interjected, “Maybe I can help.”
“Okay, between the two of us, maybe we could sneak in,” Robert replied. “Let’s give it a try.”
With Jack looking over their shoulders, the two got to work hacking into the L’gundo’s live system.
Minutes later, Raj exclaimed jubilantly, “We’re in!”
“Are they aware of us?” Robert asked, concerned.
Double-checking a few items on the computer screen, Raj replied, “No, I don’t think so. Now, you’re familiar with their system, where do I need to go?”
“See if they have a file called World Conquest Plans,” Jack wise cracked.
“Yeah right,” Raj retorted.
Robert looked at Jack momentarily, thoughtfully, before speaking. “Try ‘World Ruler’,” he suggested.
Shrugging, Raj entered the search and was instantly rewarded with a hit. He looked at Robert, impressed. “Wow! How did you come up with that?”
“Tawndo knows Viktor very well and finds his tactics and methods… predictable. Open the file; let’s see what he’s up to,” Robert said.
“One moment, it’s encrypted and flagged to notify him of unauthorized access.”
Within minutes, Raj had safe access to the file and said, “Here we go.”
Information filled the screen at his touch of the ‘enter’ button: weapons specifications, battle tactics, files on individual soldiers, unit orders, deployments, and travel documents.
A warning flashed on the screen. “Shit!” Raj exclaimed.
“What?” Jack asked, alarmed.
“Viktor has another flag set,” Raj replied, typing furiously on the keyboard. “I’ve got fifteen seconds to get out before it triggers an alarm and he becomes aware of our intrusion!” The screen went blank just as he finished speaking.
“The screen is blank! Did you do that? Did you get out in time?” Robert asked, anxiously.
“Yes, with a second to spare,” Raj replied flopping back in his chair and blowing air between his lips with puffed cheeks.
“That was close… too close,” Jack said.
“Can you get back in again?” Robert wanted to know. “We need that information.”
“Yeah, I can,” Raj replied. “But I don’t know if it would do any good. Even if I do, fifteen seconds isn’t enough time to download that much information.”
“We don’t need all of it. Tawndo is only interested in three files: deployments, travel documents, and unit orders – in that priority. Can you get those?”
“I can try,” Raj said preparing to access the system again.
The three of them held their breath as the files were downloading and sighed with relief when it completed after ten seconds. Raj exited with three seconds to spare.
“All right let’s take a look at the data and see what has Tawndo all riled up,” Robert directed.
It took mere moments of reviewing the deployment file to understand Tawndo’s agitation.
“My God!” Jack blurted in a voice mixed with awe and anxiety. “They’re here! They’re already in the States.”
Robert nodded. “Yes, this is what Tawndo feared.”
“I need to get in touch with Daniel immediately,” Jack said. “Please contact JR, Dennis, and Eric. Let them know I need them on the surface immediately,” he added on his way out the door.
* * *
On the surface outside the Eighth Cycle Site, Grand Canyon, USA
JACK BARELY HAD time to settle himself on a rock and place the call to Daniel on his mirror phone, when the three men stepped from the elevator.
“What’s up? What’s so urgent?” JR asked.
Holding his hand up for silence, Jack said, “I’m calling Daniel. I’ll put him on speaker, then I don’t have to say it twice.”
When Daniel answered, Jack appraised him of who was present before saying, “I’d like to put you on speaker phone so everyone can hear this discussion. Is that okay?”
“Sure, go ahead. This sounds important.”
Pressing the button to engage the speaker, Jack got down to business. “Raj and Robert were able to break into Viktor’s live system and track down some information about his plans that you need to be aware of.
“Viktor has already deployed his troops to America…”
“What?” Daniel exclaimed. “How many? Where? When?”
“He has twenty-four of his soldiers, four teams of six each, heading for us here in the canyon and seven-hundred-fifty dispersing throughout twenty-five U. S. cities across the country.”
“Do we know which cities?”
“Yes, I’ll have Raj send you the relevant information shortly. In the meantime, Roy and some of the others have already started reviewing the re-animation process and chip technology to see if they can find a way to stop these soldiers.”
“That’s good. Will your team be ready for them at the canyon?”
“Yes sir, we’re nearly finished with the change in command locations, and our surveillance insects are already in place.”
“Good work. Keep me posted. And may God protect us all.”
“Raj will send you a secure file named ‘Jack Daniels’– watch for it.”
The other three men stared at Jack, stunned.
“We have work to do, gentlemen,” Jack said heading for the elevator. “JR give Robert’s team a hand in finishing up their work and then have them join Roy and the others. Guys,” he said turning to Dennis and Eric, “let’s get the rest of the team together; we’re out of time.”
CHAPTER 29
Eighth Cycle Site, Grand Canyon, USA
HOURS LATER, THE sixteen people at the canyon site gathered around a large table in the dining area for a working dinner.
“We’re expecting company in the next day or two,” Jack started. “According to the information in Viktor’s files, they should be arriving in Flagstaff tomorrow and making their way into the canyon the next day.
“My team is as ready as we can be. We’ve placed some spyders a half mile up the canyon where they will be able to detect and monitor activity.
“Roy’s holographic emitters are in place concealing the elevator entrance, but we aren’t sure that will fool these guys with their enhanced vision. The elevator is temporarily shut down, but again, it’s probably just a delaying tactic.
“Robert has removed access to the command center and pod room levels from the main elevator system—they now require a special code to access. He’s also providing all of us with Eighth Cycle hand weapons and making some additional, more powerful weapons, available to my team.
“Again, with the enhancements made to these ‘super-soldiers’, we don’t know how effective the weapons will be.” He paused briefly. “Raj, what’s the status of the Command Center relocation?”
Clearing his throat, Raj replied, “The relocation is complete. All systems have been transferred to the Lab Control Center and are functioning perfectly.
“The data transfer to the Rabbit Hole completed without any problems. Stuart has set everything up in my lab, control can be transferred there with the push of a button.”
“Excellent work, Raj, well done!” Jack praised. “What about the command center here? What will happen if and when they gain access to it?”
“I’ve put old data on the computers and satellite processors. Everything will appear to be functioning normally. If they try to manipulate it – I’ve programmed a couple of surprises for them.”
“Surprises?”
“Yeah,” Raj said with an evil grin.
JR laughed. “Don’t ask, Jack. The last person who tried to hijack a computer of Raj’s got screens showing ‘the middle finger’, boxes of toilet paper, and enough movies and games to last for years.”
Jack’s eyebrows raised and he grinned. “I want to hear that story sometime!”
“Yeah, well, there is that, but this time if they persist in messing with it, the satellites will appear to blow-up,” Raj informed them.
“That’ll work!” Jack said. “Roy, how is the research going?”
“We’ve discovered that the microchips have a unique identifying code—it’s similar to the Media Access Control, MAC, number on all our modern-day electronic hardware.
“If we could match the soldiers with their chips, we could locate them and track their movements. We’re still working on that. We are also investigating the possibility that Raj could hack into the chips which might give us the opportunity to re-program them or just shut them down.”
“Keep at it, Roy. It sounds like any of those options could give us the upper hand,” Jack said.
Roy nodded.
Raj, do you think you could download those individual soldier files?” Jack asked.
“I’m already on it, but I’m limited to fifteen seconds access at a time.”
“What?”
Raj explained the access limitation and added thoughtfully, “But I might be able to circumvent that second flag. I’m going to give it a try.”
As Raj got up to leave, Roy joined him announcing, “I’m coming with you!”
“Me too,” agreed Robert.
* * *
A FEW MINUTES later, the t
hree were gathered at a computer station in the lab. Raj made a few adjustments to the settings on the computer, accessed the L’gundo system, made a few more adjustments, then said, “Here we go.”
Taking a deep, calming breath, Raj punched the ‘enter’ key. As soon as the file displayed, he accessed it and started the download.
“Damn,” he said when the forty-five seconds remaining dialog box appeared.
Robert tensed. “Can you get it? Were you able to get around the flag?”
“We’ll know in about five seconds.”
When the five seconds passed, Roy looked at Raj. “Well?”
“Well, what?” Raj asked.
“Did you get around the flag?”
“It would appear so.” Raj was smiling.
The download completed without further incident, and Raj exited the system, transferring the file to Roy’s research folder. “There you go, it’s all yours!”
Roy took over the seat as Raj got up. At that moment an ear-piercing alarm sounded, making them all jump.
“What’s that?” Roy yelled with his hands over his ears.
Robert had already stepped up to an equipment panel and tapped a blinking light. “Hi-temp alarm in server room two.” Entering a code on the keyboard shut the audible alarm off, but the light continued to flash.
“I was wondering about that,” Raj said. “We added quite a bit of equipment in there. What can we do to cool it down? We don’t want the servers shutting down just when we need them the most.”
“Linkola isn’t using most of the equipment in the lab. I can shut it down instead of leaving it on standby—that should help reduce the load. We can add some auxiliary power to help the cooling units run more efficiently as well,” Robert replied.
“Good idea. I’ll help,” Raj said.
As Robert began making the adjustments, Raj noticed Roy standing frozen in place.
“Roy? Are you all right?”
Roy waved his hand for silence. Robert and Raj exchanged puzzled glances.