Walter replies, "Someone has to keep you on your toes."
"Why is it staying invisible? Nothing seems to be affecting the cloak," observes Burt.
Walter conjectures, "It mustn't be using a field generated cloak. The only logical explanation is the ship is coated with a material that causes rays and waves to go around it or enter the material and pass out it without reflecting or distorting light. A cloaking material. The positive is it requires no power, but the negative is, it will always be invisible."
"I guess they can't forget where they park," jokes Burt.
"So how should we approach this," asks Major Reese. "Is this a contact scenario, a hostile intrusion or a diplomatic territorial infraction."
Dr. Black is very upset, "How can you be so casual about this? It's not human. They infiltrated our base. Our hidden secure Committee base. If Mr. Nix was here, he would blow this tunnel shut! No one has ever entered here without permission, and now you are considering contact or diplomacy with uninvited non-human infiltration!"
Burt tries to calm Dr. Black, "Take it easy, Dr. Black. Mr. Nix isn't here. I'm in charge. I'm well aware of his protocols and beliefs, but I won't be quick to react and lose an opportunity. According to Nemolopolus' own words, this ship's actions protected you. They are not showing hostility at the moment. This could be a beneficial situation."
"You're joking!" says Dr. Black in disbelief. "When a stronger force shows up on the doorsteps of a weakened people, it is always with peaceful appearances. And always finished with the demise of those people. If they had to save our asses, what good could we be to them? And becoming friends with us makes them enemies of the Greys. None of this makes sense unless we have something they want, or they want to use us."
"These are not humans. We can't apply human logic."
"So, you want to talk non-human logic? The Greys directly and indirectly killed hundreds of millions of humans. They are destroying the world we built. The Greys determined our extermination is a means to their ends."
"These being are not Greys either. Walter, Captain Nemolopolus, and I are men of science first. I can't speak for them, but I believe they think the same as I, which is we must first see if an opportunity is being presented here. These beings may help us in our fight against the Greys. Nemo said these creatures saved you. We should give them a chance to explain their intent. And until they give us reason otherwise, deserve the benefit of trust. You are a doctor; you should understand this."
Captain Nemolopolus butts in, "Dr. Black, I agree. If they saved us, we must find out why."
Walter adds, "We are out of options, Dr. Black. We barely got away from the Greys alive. We need more. These beings obviously are capable of more. Look at their ship."
Dr. Black scolds them, "Listen to yourselves! The reason this very facility exists is that Mr. Nix didn't trust anyone. The Greys protected us from other species until the Greys decided it was time to attack us, remember? What about those rogue Black Op squadrons that turned on the Committee? Some even sided against us with the Greys! Mr. Nix understood that intentions and motivations are not transparent. That protecting humanity meant never letting anyone into our secrets, including where hidden facilities were. We can't hide once these...things in there...know where to find us. Trust is proven and earned, not offered and assumed. This is a mistake. Peaceful or not, if we don't seal this tunnel off before this ship or anything inside get out, someone other than us will be able to access this base, and sooner or later use it against us."
Burt tries to diffuse the tension, "I understand your concern, Dr. Black. The fact you worked so close to Mr. Nix; it is understandable you carry his cautiousness. I am being cautious. Armed security is locked and loaded, and explosives are in place toward the runway tunnel entrance. These creatures show no sign of aggression or escape. Therefore, I am not ready to collapse this tunnel and destroy this facility's only vehicle exit, if these creatures have come in peace and wish to make meaningful contact with us."
Just then, an opening appears on the side of the foam-covered alien craft. Out step two creatures, moving slowly and carefully. They are very tall and thin, nine feet high with elongated heads, bearing many human-like features on their bare faces. Their hands have long fingers with extra joints. Their bodies wear outfits lined with devices and components.
The surrounding soldiers aim at the aliens as they step out. Burt move towards them with his arms and hands open. The two aliens and Burt stop in proximity, looking each other over.
Frustrated, Dr. Black turns and walks away, behind the Committee and Barge personnel surrounding and focused on these two strange beings. With no one watching or near her, she heads toward one of the armored security vehicles.
"Ego Anunnaki," says the creature. "Braviimi Anunnaki."
Everyone around just stares, not understanding.
"Volumus loqui," one creature says.
Burt thinks, "What...is it speaking in..."
Walter interrupts, "Latin. It is speaking in Latin."
Sandy adds, "I heard Sanskrit."
Walter speaks out to the creatures, "Quare tu hic. Nos loqui anglicus...English."
"What did you say?" asks Major Reese.
Walter explains, "I asked in Latin why they are here and told them we speak English. If they understand Latin, they were here on Earth a long time ago."
Dr. Black grabs from the security truck's side ammo locker a military assault rifle and a large high-powered grenade. Carrying them at her side, she walks along the wall behind everyone past the alien craft and toward the runway tunnel entrance. The soldiers and personnel are so focused on the aliens, no one notices Dr. Black.
"Phley lafnos ahmrash namredi Anannaki," says one creature.
"Hodiilnih," says the other.
"What are they saying?" asks Burt.
"I have no idea," responds Walter.
"Are they going to say more, or are they waiting for a response?" asks Captain Nemolopolus.
A long awkward moment passes while the aliens stare at Burt and the humans surrounding them, while Burt and everyone else gaze upon these two foreign creatures, both sides waiting for the other to say something.
After jogging within thirty meters of the two medium-sized explosive trucks lining the runway tunnel walls, Dr. Black hangs the rifle over her shoulder by its strap, then holds the grenade with one hand and grabs the grenade pin with the other.
Turning back to face everyone surrounding the alien craft, Dr. Black yells at the top of her voice, "They said they are Anunnaki! Fire in the hole!"
Just as everyone turns to look at Dr. Black, she pulls the pin on a grenade and throws it at one of the explosive trucks along the wall toward the entrance.
Major Reese sees and calls out, "Everyone, take cover!"
Dr. Black runs back towards everyone else, while soldiers and personnel scatter and either hide behind vehicles or dive flat to the ground covering their heads. The grenade rolls under the truck and explodes, causing a chain reaction. The truck filled with explosives rips apart in a massive burst, fracturing the wall next to it and filling the tunnel entrance with a fiery burst that engulfs the second truck and detonates the explosives inside. A second fire ball fills the tunnel entrance, cracking the tunnel walls and ceiling, causing both to collapse inward in a rain of boulders and rubble.
The deafening bang contained in the tunnel and echoing around the walls wipes out everyone's hearing. Tiny pebbles and small rocks hail over everyone and vehicles, scattering across the ground. The tunnel runway shakes as massive boulders toward the tunnel entrance strike the surface and roll over each other, creating a mound that seals off the tunnel entrance. Then a cloud of dust rolls down the tunnel from the collapse, engulfing everyone, compounding their deafening disorientation with dust-blocked vision. The red flashing lights of the security vehicles are the only things cutting through the smoky haze.
As their muffled hearing and ear ringing subsides, Captain Nemolopolus, Burt, Major Reese and MSgt. Smyte step out fr
om cover and look around. In the dusty mist, they catch a glimpse of a dirty limping Dr. Black moving toward the Anunnaki aliens, who lay face down on the ground. As the Anunnaki start to get themselves off the ground, Dr. Black raises her rifle and aims.
"No!" yells Burt.
As he takes a step toward her, Dr. Black fires, shooting both Anunnaki aliens in their heads, causing flesh and fluid to fly out the other side. They both slump to the ground lifeless. As everyone rushed over toward the dead aliens, Major Reese grabs the gun from Dr. Black, tearing it from her grip.
"Why? What have you done?!" yells Burt.
"I did what we needed to do. I did what Mr. Nix trained me to do," says Dr. Black without regret.
"You just started a war with these creatures," adds Walter.
"They are Anunnaki!" states Dr. Black with disgust.
"What does that have to do with killing them in cold blood? Are you insane?!" says Burt with disbelief this just happened.
"No. I am Nix trained. And Nix educated. I implanted all our files on alien behaviors and histories. My mind contains every Nix's document on Greys, Walter's studies from the Roswell Greys, the Committees files on foreign specie relations, and our interactions with other species. The Anunnaki were supposedly wiped out by the Greys at the time of ancient Egypt."
Walter counters, "They are obviously not extinct. And if the Greys tried to kill them, all the more reason for us to side with them."
Dr. Black doubles down, "The Anunnaki were eliminated by Greys because they tried to infiltrate humanity. The Anunnaki tried to interbreed with humans and placed themselves as gods over us. They helped Egyptian rulers enslave humans to increase the mining output of resources for the Anunnaki. The Greys caught the Anunnaki and punished them by destroying their homeworld, and their colonies."
"How do you know all this?" asks Captain Nemolopolus.
"You'd be surprised what I learned implanting Committee archives into my brain. We received this knowledge as part of an information exchange with the Greys," states Dr. Black
"What if the Greys were lying to us? Maybe they told us what they wanted us to think, not the truth," questions Burt.
Dr. Black dismisses his questions, "Human history backs that up. Our records show times where massive numbers of slaves and subjugated people were forced to mine and work, that sacrifices of gold and materials were given to gods who ascended from the heavens, and only appeared to the chosen or blessed. Whether the Greys are telling the truth or not, the Anunnaki were here at a time of terrible slavery and did not help the slaves or teach humanity compassion. They did not treat humans as equals, and they did not help humans advance scientifically or intellectually. All they did was take from us.
"And now? They show up out of nowhere appearing peaceful. Captain Nemolopolus says they saved us. I don't think so. They didn't contact us before we attacked the Grey ship, didn't intervene during the assault, causing us to take so much damage we couldn't fight back. The Anunnaki didn't help us take the ship we lost. They didn't help us until we were about to be destroyed. When intervening was so late and subtle, the Greys would be unaware it was the Anunnaki. And now the Anunnaki approach us only after we suffered so much damage and so many casualties, we could not cause them harm, and felt so weak as to be grateful to them."
"We were grateful," says Captain Nemolopolus.
Dr. Black nods, "Exactly. It was not out of compassion to help us, but a tactic to get us to open to them. The Anunnaki didn't reveal themselves to the Greys. They have no intention to. They will use us, as they did today, as they did thousands of years ago. If we befriend these creatures, we will find ourselves fighting and dying against the Greys with their help, only for them swoop in and claim victory. You must not forget. Humans are alone. All species are alone."
Burt argues, "You are wrong, Dr. Black. What you did was wrong. We had to at least give them a chance. They came here. They presented themselves unarmed."
Dr. Black counters, "And if I wasn't wrong? It would be over, the moment they left here. This way, there is still a chance we can make it on our own."
"We now fight two enemies, not one," says Walter.
Dr. Black responds, "That's if the Anunnaki don't turn on us in the end. The Anunnaki will not make peace with the Greys, and the Greys will not make peace with the Anunnaki. The Anunnaki must now fear we could expose them to the Greys, and if the Anunnaki attack humans, they will only reveal themselves to the Greys. They only have two choices: stay completely hidden, which they can't anymore, or fight against the Greys without us."
"What makes you think you understand what this species will do?" asks Captain Nemolopolus.
"I can't convince you three. I reacted the way Mr. Nix wants us all to react and am not sorry."
"Dr. Black, I...I can't let this stand. It wasn't your place to decide for us, to endanger us all," says Burt.
Dr. Black looks each of the men in their eyes, "I am tired of listening to men who think they are so smart they can solve every problem to their advantage. I watched you, Burt, Walter and Nemolopolus there, make more and more complicated plans that fail more spectacularly than the last. While each of you was brilliantly planning how to make this time loop different from the next, did you ever consider the result of each failed time loop? Our deaths! And I remember my deaths. Each one. Do you have any idea what it is like each temporal loop to relive every death from previous loops, then face death in this loop? Walter believes information can be sent into the past. Ever consider memories, feelings and sensations are information too? And I am exhausted having to die again and again just so the three of you can plan your next brilliant failure. This timeline, I'm through dying, and I'll do whatever it takes to stay alive, whether it is part of your master plan or not. I don't care what any of you think any more. I did what needed done. What none of you had the guts to do."
Dr. Black starts to limp away, then passes out and collapses to the ground, revealing a flesh torn wound bleeding on the back of her leg with a stone shard poking through, and blood pooling around her foot. The back of her hair is also wet with blood.
"Medics! Get Dr. Black to medical. It's an emergency," calls out Burt.
Personnel in fireproof gear rush over to Dr. Black and examine her while ambulances rush out of the darkness from deeper in the runway tunnel, lights blazing. MSgt. Smyte shoulders her weapon and kneels next to Dr. Black while the firemen work to assess her wounds. The ambulance skids to a stop, and medics jump out the back. Medics rush a stretcher toward the firemen helping Dr. Black. The rest of the medics rush to other personnel standing woozy or still seated on the ground, checking them for wounds and injuries from the explosion.
Walter moves to Burt, "What are we going to do now."
"The only thing we can do. Get the scientists up here and let's try to figure out everything about this ship and the outfits these beings wear."
"What are we going to do with them?" asks Walter pointing to the Anunnaki.
"We'll get them on ice and get them looked at as soon as..." Burt stops himself.
"...As soon as Dr. Black can?" finishes Walter. "She's the one with the medical background and biological knowledge to dissect and analyze these beings. We can do it, but she is the better choice."
"Has Dr. Black gone insane? She killed these creatures in cold blood, she went off ranting how she is smarter than we are, and we know that is not true," scoffs Captain Nemolopolus.
Walter interrupts the captain, "Actually, now it probably is true. She's been implanting my notes, scientific knowledge, Committee history and our temporal loop discoveries into her brain with the telepathic implant headset I created. She knows more than any of us right now."
"Why did you let her do that?" asks the captain.
"I didn't. By the time I found out Dr. Black was using the device, she already had the skills to build her own dimensional rift. At that point, all I could do is monitor her. I asked her to supply me with brain scans to make sure it wasn't damaging he
r brain or affecting her thought process. Maybe it has. I did notice over time she was becoming more easily angered. This breakdown here could be a result of prolonged use of the implant device."
Burt conjectures, "That explains why she is so volatile. Dammit! Why'd she endanger us like this? I can't let her do this and get away with it. After she gets out of medical, I'll have her locked in confinement to prevent her from causing any more damage. We need to determine if she is mentally fit to be among the rest of the personnel."
MSgt. Smyte, listening to the conversation, butts in, "Confinement? Why? Because she got angry with how you were handling things and did something about it instead of blindly following? None of you are going to take a moment to consider if what she said is true. Because it means that maybe she is right and the three of you are wrong. Now you want to lock her up as if she is dangerous, even if she saved you from yourselves. I think she is brave to protect us all no matter what happens to her."
As the medics finish loading Dr. Black onto a stretcher and moving her to the ambulance, MSgt. Smyte turns away and walks along the stretcher side, putting her hand on Dr. Black's arm.
Captain Nemolopolus calls out, "Smyte, where are you going? I need you here to assist with the Committees forces. Those are your orders."
Getting into the back of the ambulance with Dr. Black and the medics, Smyte looks back at Captain Nemolopolus. "I'm going to make sure no one mistreats Dr. Black or tries to put her in confinement. And if you try, you will have to be prepared to kill me to do it."
"I need you here, Master Sergeant Smyte. That's an order."
Smyte ignores Captain Nemolopolus as the ambulance doors close. With lights blazing, the ambulance disappears into the runway tunnel darkness.
Walter breaks the moment, "Dr. Black isn't wrong in what she said about Nix. He would have done what she did. The only difference is, if Nix did it, we wouldn't question it."
Captain Nemolopolus says with a strong tone, "She's calling her own shots. My head of security has run off to protect her. There is a chain of command that needs to be followed, or we lose control of everyone."
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