THE BRINK - OPERATION DEEP FLIGHT

by Marshall Huffman

  After the successful launch of the probe, Dr. Farris went on to work for a company called DigiLabs. He was placed in charge of a computer chip project and, with his team, developed the fastest computer chip in the world.

  Peter was the risk taker, the smooth talker, always looking for new challenges. His lifelong friend, Luke was more mature and goal oriented. Luke married while Peter continued to enjoy his free life style.

  At Newport, Rhode Island, a new type of Deep Submersible Vehicle (DSV) was being built under the leadership of Admiral Marcus. Marcus had spent years trying to get the project off the ground. Money was always the major concern along with the Navy not considering the project a priority.

  The project had languished for years with only the concept really alive. All of that changed overnight with the discovery of potential aliens transmitting signals to and from Earth. While the transmission source was confirmed as Titan where they were received remained the big mystery.

  Dr. Long was convinced that the transmissions were going to an area in the Pacific Ocean, near the Sea of Japan. The ocean is at its greatest depth in that area. The three deep depressions that make up the Mariana Trench are located there. If she was correct, something or someone was receiving transmissions from Titian to an underwater base.

  Skepticism ruled as Susan tried to convince both the President and the military leaders that she was correct in her assertions.

  It was decided that the long delayed project called Operation Deep Flight would now be funded and expedited. The DSV was named the Chameleon and would be unlike any other submarine or DSV in the world. Revolutionary in design, it looked more like a huge manta ray with a massive rear spoiler on the back. The propulsion system was unlike anything ever used before. It fact, almost everything on the Chameleon was a new invention.

  The exterior would be comprised of a new material that could absorb sound and make the sub totally stealth when combined with the propulsion system. Large pods would cover the outer skin and were filled with a chemical compound that, when electrically stimulated, could change colors making it blend in to any background environment. Nothing about the submarine or DSV would be conventional.

  When the Secretary of Navy, John Taylor, became involved, he immediately contacted Admiral Marcus and told him that the submarine was to be built as quickly as possible. The Admiral was shocked at the sudden turn of events. For years he had been trying to get the project going and now they wanted it done yesterday.

  To keep the project secret, companies having no former dealings with the military were brought in. Only the brightest of the bright were recruited. Nearly every element on the radical new submarine would be developed for the very first time.

  Admiral Marcus met with the technicians and engineers until he was satisfied that he had the very best brains assembled. Dr. Peter Ferris, working for DigiLabs, was selected to build the air handlers and navigation system. It would be a daunting task. It was made even more difficult by the restrictions on security and the design characteristics of the Chameleon.

  The parameters for the new submarine were:

  Depth: Crush: 60,000feet(10,000 Fathoms)

  Depth: Sustained:40,000feet(6666.6 Fathoms)

  Cruise Speed: 30 knots (34.5 MPH)

  Max Speed: 40 knots (46.0 MPH)

  Length: 150 Feet (not to exceed)

  Beam: 40 feet

  Displacement: 3,100 (long tons)

  Submerge time: 61 days

  Maximum Crew: 21

  Minimum Crew: 12

  Detectability: Total Stealth

  Capability: Cloaking

  Terrain hugging: 360 degree radar and sonar

  Weapons Defensive weaponry (2 Torpedoes tubes aft)

  It was soon apparent to Admiral Marcus that with his time being divided between the submarine and his duties in Washington he was unable to do justice to either. Consequently, he selected Dr. Ferris to act as his executive officer on the Chameleon project in his absence. Each time Admiral Marcus was called back to Washington it seemed new information had come to light about the transmissions from Titan.

  The pressure to get the job done at any cost continued to build. It was ironic that Admiral Marcus couldn’t get anyone to even listen to him a year ago and now he was being offered the keys to the mint.

  Dr. Susan Long was among those also working on the submarine. She had a huge responsibility. It would be her computer system that tied everything together on the sub.

  Admiral Zoren and General Durance were convinced that the alien life forms were here on a mission to destroy the Earth. The fact that subs, ships, and planes had gone missing was considered proof enough to them.

  After a great deal of discussion and debate, the military’s recommendation to the President was to go to the area of the transmissions and use nuclear weapons on them.

  President Beland was considered a weak President by the military leaders. They believed that he had no business acting as the Commander-in-Chief. His unwillingness to let them proceed with their plans was proof to them that he wasn’t tough enough to lead in a time of war. They certainly considered the disappearance of American sailors and airmen as an act of war.

  Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and it was agreed that once the Chameleon was built and had been tested, it would be sent to search for the elusive signal base.

  Progress was rapid as more and more money and materials were thrown into the project. Finally the submarine was completed and they commenced sea trials. After a four day shake down they were brought back to base.

  One problem became apparent as they readied the ship for its first mission. The scientists would be required to go along to help with the systems or stay behind but be sequestered until the mission was over for the sake of confidentiality. Everyone, including Peter and Susan were appalled at the development. The military wouldn’t budge so they decided to go along rather than languish at the base.

  The Chameleon first had to be moved from Newport, RI across the country in a specially designed C5-A, one of the largest aircrafts in the world. It took several days but they finally landed in Guam where the mission was to actually start.

  After a few days of replenishing supplies and rechecking every system, they were underway to search for the reception point of the transmissions being beamed to Earth. They began at the north end of the Mariana Trench and worked their way south. It was in the third depression that they discovered a large tunnel in the side of one of the tectonic plates. While a tight fit, the Chameleon was able to maneuver into the cavern and they found themselves in an even deeper part of the ocean than had been previously discovered.

  At 44,110 feet below the water’s surface they observed a huge dome that was clearly not manmade. While exploring the dome they attracted the attention of the inhabitants and the Chameleon was drawn inside. They were trapped and there was nothing they could do about it. The water was pumped out of the dome and the Chameleon came to rest on a hard surface.

  CHAPTER ONE

  - The Chameleon -

  After a great deal of discussion it was decided that Admiral Marcus, Peter, and the, Okeefer, would explore by going outside of the vessel.

  “I don’t like this much, but I see no other options,” Marcus told them.

  “I don’t either. Let’s just do it and see what happens,” Peter replied.

  “Do you think we can breathe the air; if there is air?” Okeefer asked.

  “Just one way to find out.’

  “Everyone stay her, the three of us are going topside. We may have to come back in a hurry if we can’t breathe the atmosphere,” Marcus to the rest of the crew.

  “Shall we?” Peter asked and opened the hatch. It was tight but all three of them fit in the space and once the lower hatch was closed, Marcus un-dogged the outer door and spun the wheel.

  He held his breath and quickly went up the ladder

  It was pitch black and he couldn’t see a thing. It was time to find out what was going on. He took a
breath.

  “Whoa, it smells like dirty gym socks,” he told Peter and Okeefer.”

  All three were standing on the deck now.

  “Yikes, when is the last time you used deodorant?” Peter said to Marcus.

  “Look who’s talking.”

  “I think it’s both of you,” Okeefer chimed in.

  “So? We might as well get on with it. Marcus pushed his communication button that was their link to the sub.

  “We have air in here so we are going to climb down and see what happens next,” Marcus told them.

  “Just be careful,” Luke replied.

  “You can count on it.”

  They walked to the edge of the sub and sat down and slid off on the floor. It was solid under their feet. They played their flashlights around in different directions but saw only darkness.

  “Look,” Peter said as a row of lights materialized in front of them.

  “I guess they want us to go that way,” Okeefer said.

  “Looks like,” Marcus agreed.

  They cautiously made their way towards the lights and found it was a bridge over a large drainage line.

  “Man, if you fell in that it would take a week to hit bottom,” Peter said.

  “Let’s not hang around to find out,” Marcus said and they crossed the bridge. When they got to the other side the room was lighter. It was still dim but they could see much better.

  “Now what?” Okeefer adked.

  “Hey, they brought us this far. Let’s just wait and see,” Marcus said.

  A round portal slid open a few feet in front of them.

  “I guess we go inside,”

  “Luke, we seem to have been invited to a room inside the dome. We may lose contact with you. Just letting you know,” Marcus relayed to the sub.

  “Are you sure that is a good move?”

  “We are here to investigate. That’s what we are going to do.”

  “Please. Just be damn careful,” he replied.

  “We’ll do the best we can.”

  The three men looked at each other and then started into the opening.

  The room was huge and it was well lit. They could see no walls or distinguishing features.

  “This is weird,” Okeefer said.

  “Like the whole damn thing isn’t?” Peter asked.

  The room filled with a high pitched sound and the three put their hands over their ears trying to block out the noise. It was impossible to do and all three passed out.

  Peter woke first and had no idea what had happened. When he lifted his head he knew something wasn’t right. He was on a table and he slowly sat up. He looked down and was shocked to see that not only was he nude but there was not a single hair on his body.

  He reached up and felt his head. Not only was there no hair but he felt where implants had been placed on his temples and a tube ran to a disc at the base of his neck in the back.

  He slowly put his feel on the floor and saw that a robe of some kind was at the end of the table. He put it on. While he was doing that, he saw Marcus stir.

  Peter sat and waited while Marcus slowly found out what Peter had. Okeefer followed a few minutes later.

  “Well don’t we look…weird,” Peter said.

  “Ugly is more like it,” Okeefer replied.

  “How in the hell are we going to explain this?” Marcus asked.

  “You…Awake,” a voice suddenly said in all three of their heads.

  “What?”

  “Hey.”

  “Telepathy?” Peter said.

  “Why…You…Here?” the voice resonated in their heads.

  “Uh…to make contact with you.”

  “No…You…Come…War…With…Bhakktah.”

  “Bhakktah? Is that what you are called or is that just your name?” Marcus asked.

  “We…are…Bhakktah. We…from…

  Bhakktahra.

  “Bhakktahra. Where is that?” Peter asked.

  “You…Call…Titan.”

  “The moon that circles Saturn?”

  “Yes.”

  “You are wrong about war. We are here to make contact and find out why you are visiting our world. What your intentions are?” Marcus said.

  “Bhakktah…no…you…come…to…war.”

  “No. That’s not true. We are here in peace,” Marcus said.

  “Earthlings…send…probes…our…world.”

  “We didn’t know anyone was on that planet. We were just trying to advance our knowledge of the universe,” Marcus replied.

  “Earthlings..never..come..peace…Earthlings…always…war.”

  “We don’t want war with the Bhakktah. We want to understand you and talk to you,” Peter said.

  “Earthlings…never…talk…always…war…weknow…Bhakktah…been…Earth…1000…your…

  years…always…kill.”

  “You mean we are always at war? Killing each other?” Peter asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you just observing us?” Marcus asked suddenly..

  “Bhakktah…no…want…Earthlings…on…

  Bhakktahra. Bhakktahra…no…let…Earthlings.. Come…Bhakktahra. Bhakktahra…stop…

  Humans.”

  “How?” Marcus asked.

  “Destroy…Earth.”

  “What? Are you crazy?” Okeefer said.

  “No…understand.”

  “He means are you serious? Would you destroy Earth?”

  “Yes.”

  The three of them looked at each other. This wasn’t making sense to them. Why would they want to destroy Earth? We can’t possibly get to their world.

  “Bhakktah. We don’t understand.”

  “You..always..war..You…come…Bhakktahra

  You…kill…Bhakktahra.”

  “That’s not true. We would never start a war and besides, we can’t even get to your world,” Marcus said.

  “You…come…one…day. You…war.”

  “Look. You can’t just destroy the Earth because you think that one day we may come to your home world,” Marcus said.

  “Bhakktah…can…will…destroy…Earth.”

  “Bhakktah, there are billions of good people on earth. You can’t just kill everyone. That would make you just as bad as we are,” Peter tried to reason.

  “Not…same…you…kill…other…humans..we no…kill…Bhakktah. You…come…you…kill.”

  “This is nuts. They want to kill us all because we have wars?” Okeefer asked.

  “No. Its deeper than that. They are saying that all we do on earth is have wars. In the time they have been here there has never been a time when we haven’t been killing each other. They are afraid that if we visit their world we would have a war with them at some point and they don’t want to risk it,” Peter explained.

  “Peter…yes.”

  “You know our names?” Peter asked somewhat startled.

  “Know…all…on…craft.”

  “Wow. So you can read our minds is that correct?” Peter asked.

  “Yes.”

  “So what happens now?” Marcus asked.

  “Go…next…room…lay…table.”

  “Why?” Okeefer asked.

  “You…go…now.”

  A second invisible door slid opened.

  “We might as well do as he says. What else are we going to do?” Marcus said.

  They entered and saw several tables. Marcus, Okeefer and Peter each lay down on one of the tables. A bubble went over them and they fell asleep almost immediately.

  ***

  Peter woke up to find the bubble gone. He looked over and Okeefer and Marcus were still out.

  “Come,” the voice said in his head.

  Peter slid off the table and a door opened. He followed it along as short passage way and was astonished to see a huge holographic image of the earth spinning on its axis.

  The room was huge and another larger portal opened. An enormous creature lumbered out. Peter pulled back.

  “Peter…
no…worry.

  “Are you the voice in our head?” he asked.

  “DaJadar.”

  “That is your name?” Peter asked.

  “Yes.”

  Peter looked at the alien. He was at least twelve feet tall and had massive legs and arms. His skin looked like it had hard gills or some kind of armor. His skin glimmered when he moved. There were only three fingers with huge claws at the end of each. A smaller protrusion like a thumb was the other part of his hand but had no claw. Peter tried to keep his composure.

  DaJadar walked to a panel and placed his huge hand on it. A holographic 3D image emerged in the center of the room.

  “This is our planet. Earth,” Peter said.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. What about it?”

  “Peter…watch.”

  Peter could see hundreds of red dots on the image.

  “What are those?”

  “Devices…destroy…world.”

  “Bombs?”

  “Devices.”

  “Our own nuclear weapons, right?” Peter said.

  “Yes.”

  “Are they on the ocean floor?”

  “Yes.”

  “So if you detonate them it will cause the world to explode.”

  “Yes…Peter…watch.”

  The red dots grew brighter and then the earth started to shake. Suddenly it started to split open and the center of the earth cracked open. The two halves split apart and then started to break into millions of pieces.

  Peter just stood there, transfixed by what he was seeing.

  “Bhakktah…end…earth…wars.”

  “You are going to kill everyone on earth just because you think we may one day come to your planet?”

  “Bhakktah…no...war...earth...destroyed.”

  “There must be some other way,” Peter said.

  “Peter…go…back…lay…down.”

  “Just like that? You won’t even talk about it?”

  “Later,” the voice said.

  “That’s just great,” Peter replied and went back the way he had come earlier. He climbed back on the table and the bubble closed over him.

  They had no idea how long they were out but when they woke up Peter was shocked to find Luke and Susan laying on a table as well. At least everyone was covered he was happy to find. They all sat up slowly and looked around.