Invaders: The Chronowarp

by Vaughn Heppner

  I couldn’t believe her story. It was too farfetched and the Eshom too cunning with too many deadly powers.

  “Right,” I whispered back.

  I followed the diver, a SEAL, presumably. We went through narrow corridors until he brought me to a deeper cabin. He opened the hatch.

  Green-glowing screens in a dark room gave the place an eerie quality. The operator looked up. He was a geeky-looking individual with thick glasses and oily dark hair. He wore a U.S. Navy uniform and had red splotches on his face. That wasn’t the worst of it. As I peered through his coke-bottle thick lenses, I detected a silvery hint in his eyes.

  “Good,” he said. “I need your help, Logan. I’m having trouble pinpointing the exact site. Come in. Shut the door. Let’s see if we can’t zero-in on our target.”

  -47-

  “You lied,” I told the geek. “You told me you wouldn’t be joining the expedition.”

  The operator frowned, concentrating for a moment. The SEAL pushed me into the room, shutting the hatch behind me.

  “Was that truly necessary?” the operator asked.

  “What is this?” I asked, indicating the green-glowing consoles.

  “Underwater detection equipment,” he said. “We’ll use this to find the old Sumerian site.”

  I sat down. “I thought you feared water.”

  “I’m not in any water. If this person dies, I can easily maneuver through the air to a new location.”

  I nodded. I should have already thought of that. The Eshom hated being under water, not over water.

  “How many people can you control at a time?” I asked.

  “Please. Let us concentrate on the present task. I’m…eager to return home.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “Do not be sullen. I will reward those who aid me. I will punish those who attempt to thwart me. If that doesn’t suffice to elicit your cooperation, remember that I can also punish those you care about.”

  “So, all the BS you told me yesterday—”

  “It is all true. Why are you agitated?”

  “No reason,” I said.

  The operator adjusted the controls. “Just for the record, the CAU is not going to attempt a rescue or try to capture me.”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  “It will be better for all of us if we find the site sooner.”

  “You tricked me yesterday. You…did something to my mind.”

  “It was difficult. You have an uncommonly stubborn persona. I am unsure if that is your core nature or if the Polarions have strengthened it in some way.”

  “Why go through this charade? Why not just force everyone to do what you want?”

  “For the obvious reason,” the operator said. “It is easier to guide minds than to force those that actively resist. I can force your mind, if I must. I know when you’re practicing deceit. Thus, it is futile to lie about the ancient site.”

  “Is there really a precursor Sumerian city down here?”

  “I am almost certain of it.”

  “Then, why did a respected historian tell us such a tall tale?”

  “He has heard it before, and it was germane to our problem. I merely pushed him to tell us all relevant data.”

  “Are you giving him one hundred thousand dollars?”

  “No.”

  “So, that charade was to help guide his mind?”

  “I do not care to answer more questions. You must aid me. If you don’t, I will harm the woman.”

  “I respect your threats,” I said. “Don’t think I don’t. But I’m not Benedict Arnold.”

  “I do not understand your reference.”

  “I’m not a traitor to the human race. You’re going to use the chronowarp to bring more of your kind to Earth.”

  He sighed, shaking his head. “I’d hoped to forgo a mind tussle with you. There are certain facets that aid me in controlling a stubborn mind. I will summon several of the trained fighters. They will subdue you and then afflict pain as you’re helpless.”

  We stared at each other. I believed him. I also noticed a familiar shape on a screen out of the corner of my eye.

  “What’s that?” I asked, pointing at the screen.

  The operator appeared reluctant to look. Finally, he did. He snapped forward, adjusted the screen and brought the image into sharper focus.

  It looked like the Galactic Guard ship cruising underwater. The ship headed down toward the bottom of the Persian Gulf.

  “No!” the operator shouted. “This is inconceivable. How did they learn of this?” He glared at the image. Then, he whirled on me. “This is your doing.”

  “I’d like to take credit, but it’s not.”

  He concentrated. I felt the pressure against my mind. The operator swayed back.

  “You’re telling me the truth,” he said. “Then, how could they have learned? I do not understand. They said they would wait.”

  The operator went back to the consoles, making more adjustments.

  “I see it!” he told me. “Do you see it? It’s on the second screen.

  I switched my gaze. With a start, I saw murky images of ancient slabs and fluted columns on the seafloor. This was crazy. We’d found the ruins of an ancient city in the Persian Gulf. This would revolutionize world history. As I peered at the remains of a long-lost civilization, I saw the Guard ship maneuver overhead. It lowered toward the rocky bottom.

  A second later, a smaller pod with skeletal arms detached from the Guard ship. The pod began heading toward the ruins.

  “You must dive,” the operator said.

  “Are you kidding me? How will a handful of divers defeat the Guard ship? That isn’t going to work.”

  “Torpedoes,” he said.

  “Do you have any onboard?”

  “I can summon bigger naval vessels.”

  “I wouldn’t count on—”

  Before I could finish, the first screen flickered. A moment later, the scene changed. I saw Philemon with his chimpanzee/human face staring at us.

  “I am about to acquire the chronowarp,” Philemon told the Eshom in the operator. “I decided you would be more likely to uphold your end of the bargain if I found it first. Kazz and I trust you. I hope you continue to trust us.”

  The operator licked his lips before smiling. “That we acquire the chronowarp is more important than who grabs it first. I pray you are still heading to the portal afterward?”

  “You bet we are,” Philemon said. “Oh. We do plan on setting up a few safeguards. I’m sure you won’t mind.”

  “That is prudent of you,” the operator said. “Why should I mind?”

  “No reason.” Philemon glanced at me. “Good to see you’re well, Logan. I appreciate the good state of the Guard ship. Thank you.”

  “What have you done to Debby?”

  He gave me a toothy chimpanzee-like smile. I hated him for mocking me.

  “Wait,” the operator said.

  Philemon did not wait. He vanished from view. The screen resumed its watery image.

  The operator looked up at me. Malevolent rage seemed to consume him. “No,” he hissed. “They are not going to do this to me.”

  The operator went rigid. The electrical-looking Eshom oozed out of his back. For a second, the flickering Eshom studied me with its silvery molten eyes. Then, it zoomed upward, disappearing through the ceiling.

  The operator spasmed off his chair, thumping onto the deck. I checked him, putting my fingers against his neck. There was no pulse.

  -48-

  I flung open the hatch and raced through the narrow corridors. I lost my footing as the patrol boat seemed to leap with speed.

  Slamming against a bulkhead, I barely covered the back of my head in time, hitting the metal much too hard. My arm throbbed. If that had been the back of my head, it might have knocked me unconscious.

  I got up, opened another hatch. The patrol boat sped through the Persian Gulf. Crewmen hurried here and there.

  What did I t
hink I was going to do? Some of the crew had guns holstered at their sides. I reversed course, looking for Jenna’s cabin. I tried several hatches, finding a mess area, sleeping quarters—

  “Logan,” Jenna said, jumping up from a chair. She ran to me.

  “The Eshom tricked you,” I said.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s not true.”

  “Philemon and Kazz are below us in the Guard ship. They’re grabbing the chronowarp. I saw the ancient ruins. They’ve already made a deal with the Eshom, but they want to grab the chronowarp first so the Eshom can’t double-cross them.”

  “But the CAU—”

  “The Eshom tricked you,” I shouted, grabbing her arms. “Don’t you understand that it has mental domination?”

  “I…” She shook her head. “I can’t believe it. The sergeant—”

  “Is just a tool of the Eshom,” I finished. “We’re in a trap.”

  “Why doesn’t it simply dominate you?”

  “It can’t, or at least not easily.”

  “You’re special?” she asked angrily.

  “That’s as good a word as any to describe it.”

  She frowned. Then, her eyes widened at something behind me.

  I whirled around and barely dodged. A diver swung a black leather sap at my head. The sand-filled sap hit my left shoulder, numbing it. That pissed me off royally. I was sick and tired of everyone using me. I hit him with a perfect right cross right on the chin. It hurt my fist like the dickens. He flew back and slid down the bulkhead.

  “You killed him,” Jenna said.

  With my arm and now my shoulder throbbing, I knelt beside the man and checked his pulse. It beat strongly. This guy was tough, but he couldn’t match my altered strength.

  I took his sap. It was his only weapon. It would have to suffice as mine for now.

  “What are you planning?” Jenna asked.

  I slapped the sap against my other palm. “What else?” I asked. “I’m hoping to knock out whoever has the Eshom in him and drop him to the bottom of the sea, thereby killing the alien inside.”

  ***

  I crept through the corridors with Jenna on my heels. She hadn’t said a thing since my pronouncement. It was a gruesome plan, as that would also kill the host body. That would make me even more of a murderer. But this murder would also save the human race from Eshom genocide.

  I didn’t see that I had much choice in this.

  I opened the outer hatch.

  Seamen shouted. At that point, the patrol boat slowed. The motion forced me forward out of the hatch and I sprawled onto the outer railing.

  Moving around on a small naval vessel was proving to be harder than it looked. I did not have “sea legs,” that was for sure.

  Scrambling up, I looked around. No one seemed to have noticed me. I hid the sap in a front pocket. With my hands on a rail, I moved along the side of the patrol boat. A glance back showed me that Jenna still followed close behind.

  A shout went up. A klaxon rang. At that moment, a torpedo shot out of a tube, splashing into the sea. The big fish disappeared under the waves.

  I did not want the Guard ship destroyed. Could a mere U.S. Navy torpedo do it in? If the torpedo hit, maybe.

  I moved faster. No one had paid me any attention so far.

  I surged up a ladder and sped for what I thought was the control booth, cabin, whatever it was called. A sailor noticed me as I reached the hatch.

  “You can’t go in there,” he said.

  “He has specials orders,” Jenna told him.

  I opened the hatch. Several men turned around to stare at me. I lunged in, drew my sap and swung before any of them realized they needed to protect themselves.

  I caught the captain—the man I figured was the captain—perfectly on the side of the head. He went down hard, landing on his chin.

  That made the others shout.

  That also caused the Eshom to ooze out of the captain’s back. The others didn’t come at me now. They were too busy ogling the awful spectacle.

  The Eshom went for the nearest man, zipping into him.

  I swung the sap again, knocking the man against some controls. He kept his consciousness, his eyes flickering. I swung a second time, and that put him down.

  Once more, the Eshom oozed out of the unconscious sailor. The creature glared at me with its silver molten eyes. It zoomed through the bulkhead, flying down to a clump of SEALs in wetsuits.

  “Who has a gun?” I shouted.

  The sailors stared at me.

  I looked around and spied one on a man. I rushed him and took the gun out of his holster.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “What was that thing?” another man asked me.

  “An alien,” I said. “I’m an alien hunter. I’m here to kill it.”

  With that, I rushed out of the control area, heading for the SEALs on the forward main deck.

  -49-

  “Jump overboard!” I shouted at the SEALs. “The alien creature hates the water.”

  Three men backed away from another. The ostracized man had silvery-colored eyes. The other three must have just seen the Eshom enter their comrade.

  “The alien is controlling him,” I shouted. “Grab your friend and dive overboard with him. It hates water.”

  “No,” the Eshom in the SEAL said.

  The other three bum-rushed the possessed man. He fought back. Maybe the Eshom hadn’t had enough time yet to gain control over the host so he could practice mental domination over the others.

  In this case, speed of action proved critical.

  “He’s a lunatic,” the possessed SEAL shouted.

  The others picked him up, rushed him to the edge and threw him over.

  I ran to the railing.

  As the man fell, the Eshom wriggled out of him.

  “Shoot it,” a SEAL told me.

  “It won’t do any good,” I said.

  The Eshom in its flickering form glared at us. Slowly, it rose up. Finally, it was even with the rest of us. We watched the thing. I could tell the others hadn’t realized yet that any one of them could be the next host.

  “If it enters one of you,” I said. “The others have to throw him overboard.”

  They nodded grimly.

  The Eshom seemed enraged at that.

  I’m not sure what would have happened next. Would the Eshom have sought out someone else? Did it understand we had a trump card out here?

  Before anyone could say another word, a vast shape exploded out of the water. It happened three hundred yards ahead of us, but it focused our attention just the same.

  It was the Galactic Guard ship. It looked so beautiful. It emerged from the sea and flew up toward the clouds.

  The Eshom made a strange keening sound as it turned to watch the ship.

  I realized the Guard ship’s appearance must mean Philemon and Kazz had found and extracted the chronowarp from the sea bottom.

  The Guard ship kept gaining height.

  “What is that?” a SEAL asked in a stunned voice.

  At that point, something glittered overhead by thirty feet. It was small, the size of a large cell phone. The thing that seemed to have materialized in the air fell toward us.

  It might have hit the deck, but missed by several feet. The thing—it was Rax, I was sure—plunged into the sea with a splash.

  I didn’t even think twice. I grabbed the rail and leapt overboard.

  “What are you doing?” a man shouted.

  I concentrated on the water rushing up, hit feet first and plunged underwater. I opened my eyes—they stung—and spied Rax. He did not go straight down like a lead weight. Instead, due to his flat shape, he went from side to side. That slowed his descent, but that would likely not last. With a strong flutter kick and using my hands as hard as I could, I strained to reach Rax before he sank out of sight.

  As the side-to-side movement slowed, I grabbed him. At that point, I reversed course, heading for the surface.
>
  I was dreading what I would find up there. I just hoped the Eshom was not controlling Jenna.

  -50-

  It turned out the Eshom had fled the patrol boat altogether. The sailors that had seen it dart away had soon lost track of it in the distance. The one thing they all agreed upon was the direction it had traveled: toward Saudi Arabia.

  They had also all agreed that the Guard ship had headed for the upper sky, soon vanishing behind thick clouds.

  The crew of the patrol boat had demanded answers until Jenna had informed them she was a CAU field agent. A special dispatch boat was on its way. They would all have to undergo indoctrination about what they could legally report in public.

  Some of them seemed to understand that could be bad for them.

  “Are you saying we’re going to be interned?” one SEAL had asked Jenna.

  Fortunately for her, several big helicopters had arrived just then. Armed MPs soon swarmed the patrol boat, leading the unhappy and protesting sailors and SEALs into the helicopters. The MPs told the men to remain silent until further notice. Jenna and I were escorted to a separate helicopter.

  Meanwhile, during our chopper ride, Rax and I caught up on what had been happening to each other. The crystal had been in a special case aboard the Guard ship. The case had rendered Rax mute, putting him in a dreamy state. Philemon had taken him from the case a few hours ago, wanting to know how to use the underwater pod.

  Rax had teleported away during Philemon’s preoccupation. He didn’t know anything about Debby. When I told him to teleport us back onto the Guard ship, Rax told me he’d shorted the teleportation unit. He’d done so earlier, too. That’s why Kazz and Philemon hadn’t been able to retrieve me. This time, though, Rax had done something different to the unit.

  “I won’t be able to fix it this time unless someone can physically remove the fused parts and insert new ones.”

  “That’s just great,” I said.

  Then I told Rax what had happened to me. By the time we finished, our helicopter had landed in a bigger U.S. compound inside Iraq. MPs took us to a special area. Jenna informed me that this area was reserved for CAU use.

  “CAU has quarters in Iraq and other overseas bases?” I asked.