"Yes, Sir!"
Carver left him in the hallway, bewildered at what just took place. He decided the best place for him to be was at his apartment in case she showed up back there. Carver went down to the infirmary, and confronted the guards at the nursing station, and near the room.
"Have any of you seen her down here?" he asked them, but none had. "Keep your eyes open and let me know if she does."
He then left, and went back down to the genetic lab, where Varloo and Avery worked on the hybridization process.
"You didn't find her, did you, Carver?" Varloo asked.
"No Sir, not yet. But I will."
"You better, if you want to live," the Andronian said, and then turned to Louis Avery. "Louis, the wormhole generator is almost complete, and the cloning process is going better than I expected. We will soon be in possession of power the Tolarions never dreamed of. Once my race of
hybrids reaches the other universe, I will bring the Republic and the Garlician alliance to its knees!"
"What about Earth?" Avery asked. "What becomes of Earth?"
"It becomes a cold, barren, lifeless rock."
"Isn't it a cold, barren place that I end up on in the future?"
"Not in our future. We'll find a new world to live on. There are several within my galaxy alone, and some more primitive than this one. What's the matter, Louis? Don't you trust me?"
"I have always trusted you, and you've never lied to me. You're the only one who has ever understood me."
"The future has already came to pass, and your future mistake corrected by the elimination of the Tolarions, and now we'll correct your other mistake by eliminating the humans."
"Carver, I want you to begin ordering people to administer the virus, but tell them it's really an anti-virus against an unknown disease," Varloo said, "And seal off the cargo bay area in case Angelica's hiding down there somewhere."
"Yes, Sir."
"She always was so damn stubborn, even when I tried to help her. But she's like you, Louis. I think of you both as my own children, and you deserve better than all this."
"Like father, like daughter," Avery said.
"Exactly," Varloo said, as he laughed. "And soon to be Prince of my new kingdom!"
Carver watched them as he walked away, and began to regain a small sense of control of his own mind. He knew now the actions he recently took weren't his own, and his thoughts were being manipulated by the
Grey. There was little he could do at the moment, however, because he was currently unarmed and undermanned.
While he walked back down toward the infirmary, he began to think back to the day they first found the alien craft, and if there wasn't some way he could've changed things by letting him go in the first place. Then he reminded himself of the reason why the Grey came back -to eliminate humankind.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
During this time, Angelica contemplated how to get to the women out with all Carver's guards wandering about. Carver just left the area, but she knew it would still be difficult. She had three loaded pistols with her, but the soldiers carried AK 47's, and would most likely riddle her body with holes if she didn't kill them first. While she was waiting around the corner from the infirmary, her fiancé came up from behind.
"Angel," he said, as he grabbed her arm. "What the hell's going on? Half the base is looking for you. And you're arm is bleeding."
She hugged him tight and began to cry. "Oh Tom," she cried. "I don't know what to do anymore. My father and General Carver are under the influence of some kind of alien."
"I have to admit they are acting very strangely," Tom said. "They've had my crew working on some kind of wormhole generator."
"The other alien spoke to me through Sarah."
"Your aunt, Sarah?"
"Yes!"
"Angel, that's impossible. Your aunt can't speak. That part of her brain isn't functioning."
"Batar said he used some kind of stimulation to make it work. He said Barkley is out on the large ship in the desert. He and Barkley are being held as prisoners. He wants me to help the two women in the infirmary escape."
"Angel, you're walking down a dangerous path, and I don't like where it's going. You're going to get yourself killed.
"If we don't get them out of here, we're all going to be killed."
"Angel, they've asked me to fly one of the ships. In fact, they've practically ordered me to."
"You can't fly them! You're an engineer, not a pilot."
"I told them that, but they didn't want to listen."
"They're under Varloo's control."
"Look, Angel, I still don't know what the hell this all about, but I know if Carver catches you and I together, he'll court martial both of us."
"You've got to help me!"
"If I leave here, the base will be at their mercy. Is that what you want?"
"No. You need to sabotage the mission somehow, at least delay it for about ten hours."
"How can I do that?"
"You'll find a way. Right now, if you could distract the guards for about two minutes, I can get by them. I managed to round up three radiation suits and oxygen masks and left them down by the cargo bay catwalk behind a garbage can. We'll use the air ducts to get to the outside."
"I'll do what I can, but if they find out, they'll probably kill me as well."
"I have faith in you," she said, and kissed him on the lips. "Barkley was right about you."
"How do you figure?"
"He said you were a kind, gentle man, and you'll make a great grandfather someday."
"That Barkley is one strange guy. How does he even know we're going to have children?"
She laughed, and smiled. "I love you, Thomas Walker. Take care, I'll be back, just wait and see. I gave them false codes on the androids. They won't be able to get them to do what they want them to."
"I got to hand it to you, Honey. I'm so glad I'm in love with such a smart woman."
"You better get going."
Tom nodded, and walked into the hallway. He grabbed a chart from the nurse's station, and ran, as several of the security and nursing staff started after him. When he was far enough down the hall, he dropped it and took off.
During this time, Angelica slipped toward the room, came up from behind, and struck the guard on the back of the head with her pistol barrel. He fell to the floor unconscious, and she entered the hospital room.
"Angelica!" Lori said, as she rose out of bed.
She grabbed the camera wire and pulled it out of the wall, disabling it. "Quickly!" she yelled. "Into the vent!"
She yanked on the grate until it came loose, and discarded it on the
floor. Wilson jumped in first, and then Lori climbed in. Angelica followed them, her pistol pointed at the door as she entered the duct.
"I thought you were going to let us know when we were leaving?" Lori asked.
"There's been a change in plans. Carver tried to kill me, and I felt it was best to leave before he succeeded. I have some suits for us down in the cargo bay; we just need to commandeer a vehicle."
"Won't Varloo know we have gone to his ship?" Lori asked.
"He probably won't leave here now," Wilson said. "He's too close to achieving his task. And he knows we'll be back to stop him anyway."
"He doesn't know I have the code to get inside," Angelica said. "Batar blocked that information from him."
"How does Batar know the code?" Lori asked.
"Batar is a Republic operative. They pay him to decipher codes," Wilson asked. "He must have broken into the ship's onboard system somehow."
They maneuvered through the air duct, and could hear Carver's voice yelling down the duct. "Angelica?" he yelled. "I don't know why you're doing this, but if you come out, we can come talk about it!"
"Keep going," she whispered. "I'll stall him, and meet you at the end."
Wilson nodded, as Angelica handed her a weapon.
"You know what it's about." she told him. "The alien has yo
u under his control, and I can't trust you anymore!"
"The alien has left," he said. "He left with the other alien weeks ago."
"That's what he wants you to believe. His power is weakening, and that's why he couldn't hold a mind meld very long."
"Come on out, Angel, this has gone far enough."
She said nothing more to him, and headed toward the end of the duct. Wilson and Lori already suited up, and handed a suit to her as well.
"How are we going to get a jeep?" Lori asked. "There's guards everywhere. And Carver's on his way down."
"Leave that to me," Angelica said. "When I start firing, you just run to the nearest jeep closest to the door."
She ran behind some crates, and began to fire her Beretta at the
guards, while they returned fire. Lori and Wilson ran to the nearest jeep, and jumped in. Wilson couldn't find the keys at first, but she reached under the floor mat, and then put them in the ignition. The jeep's engine engaged, and Lori jumped out to hit the button which opened the door. A guard grabbed her around the neck, and she struggled to break free. Angelica ran up and hit him in the back of the head, then kicked him in the groin. He fell to the ground, and after the main door opened, they both jumped in the jeep.
Carver came into the cargo bay, as several of the guards opened fire at the moving vehicle, which quickly rolled away. Carver held his pistol up, but realized they were too far away to shoot at.
"Should we go after them, Sir?" one of the guards asked.
"No," he sighed. "At least now they'll have a chance. God help them."
"Sir?"
"Never mind, just tell Major Walker I want to meet with him later."
"Yes, Sir."
The battered jeep traveled across the sandy terrain, and towards the large triangular ship. By the time they reached it, the darkness set across the desert, and the cold set in. Angelica wasn't used to this; she never left the base in her entire life other than on underground trams to other cities. She couldn't believe the size of the craft; all of this was so surreal to her. She stood in awe at the technologically advanced ship, and wondered how it worked.
"The stories are true," she said. "Everything I was told about my father was true."
"You don't know the half of it," Wilson joked.
When they reached the vessel, they walked onto the large cargo bay ramp. When they reached the panel, Angelica told Wilson the code, and she entered it. The door deactivated, and allowed them to enter.
It was very dark inside, so Wilson turned on her helmet light to see through the bay. Angelica stared at the three smaller vessels in the bay, which also impressed her immensely. They reached the next hallway, and Wilson turned towards the two of them.
"What you're about to see is a bit disturbing," she warned them, and opened the door to the hallway. When she did, the women faced the rotted corpse of the reptilian.
"Oh my God!" Lori said, as she turned away in disgust.
"What was it?" Angelica asked.
"It was Garlona," Wilson answered. "He was a Republic double agent who jeopardized his cover to save us. He was a reptilian."
"A reptilian?" the young scientist asked.
"They are also from the other universe, as well as this one."
"This is all so unbelievable. It's like a bad dream."
"Sister, we've been living the dream for three years!" Wilson jested.
They walked into the lab where Batar was strapped to the table. He was now fully awake and aware of their presence. "Batar!" Lori said, as they rushed to unstrap him.
"Yes, it is I," he said, as he sat up. Angelica faced him, and looked at his strange dark eyes with fear and curiosity.
"You're Batar?" she asked.
"Yes, that's what I said."
"I thought you were different."
"You were expecting something more attractive?"
"No, just different."
Lori frantically grabbed Batar's arm. "Jeff? Where is he?"
"He is in the brig, but Varloo has rigged it to explode. We'll have to figure out a way to disarm it. He's weak, but still alive. He hasn't eaten and has had very little water in three weeks. He's lucky to even be alive."
"What are we going to do?" Lori asked. "We'll need him to help us stop them, and that's only two weeks away."
"Relax," Batar said. "There is a high energy serum on board that will regenerate his system. It will give him all the fluid, protein, carbohydrates, and any other nourishment he needs in a few hours. But first, we'll have to
get him out of the brig."
"I short-circuited it once before," Wilson said. "And I can do it
again."
"It's been booby-trapped, Lieutenant," Batar said. "You better let me handle it."
Batar grabbed a syringe with the serum in it, and the four of them headed toward the brig of the ship. When they reached him, Lori began to cry, and buried her head on Wilson's shoulder. He was lying motionless on the floor, and her reaction was to run in and save him, but Batar warned
her of the electric force field. He worked on it for several minutes, until he was finally able to open the door, and shut off the electric field.
Lori rushed in, kneeled to the floor, and lifted his head. "Jeff, Honey, can you hear me?"
He barely moved his eyes, but they did indeed open, offering proof of his existence. He tried to speak, but was unable to. Batar kneeled next to him, and injected the serum into his arm. Angelica stared at the Grey, still unable to believe he was actually trying to help the humans.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" she asked him.
"Of course," he answered.
"What gives you the right to screw with my aunt's mind ?"
"It was necessary, as I told you earlier. I meant no ill will to her, and I'm not the one who put her in that condition."
"I know that. It was that bastard Carver."
"Be careful, Ms. Avery," he said. "Revenge is a poor motive to try to correct matters."
"Who are you, Confucius?"
"I'm not aware of whom he was. Was he a figure from your world's history?"
"He was a Chinese philosopher," Wilson explained.
"Ah yes," the Grey said. "Well, Mr. Walker will be out for at least a few hours. In the meantime, Wilson, you better take some weapons, and guard the door in case Varloo returns. Lori, Ms. Avery and I will try to unlock some of the systems on board so we can at least communicate with Barva on Mars."
"Batar, they destroyed our ship," Wilson said.
"I know," he said. "That's why we have to figure out how to fly this one, and stop the others from entering the wormhole. It's an Andronian reconnaissance spacecraft, and has limited weapons. It is mostly designed for speed, and the ability to withstand wormholes and black holes, which he has already demonstrated more than once."
"Lori, come with me to the bridge. Ms. Avery, if you and Wilson could take Jeff and lay him down until he awakes. Then you can come up with me to help me with the propulsion controls and communications."
After they brought Jeff to the med lab, and Wilson went down to stand guard near the cargo bay, the three of them worked on the controls
of the ship. Varloo was fully aware of what they were doing, but he was too close to achieving his task to be bothered. He would deal with them after he was done, and knew they'd be back to stop him again.
After about four hours, they were able to tap into the communications system, and transmit to Barva. The signal was weak, and there was a lot of static. "Barva, can you read us?" Batar asked.
There was a slight delay, and then an answer. "We read you, but you're signal is weak. We are no longer receiving the transponder signal from your craft."
"Our ship was sacrificed. We're currently on board Varloo's craft."
"Where is Varloo?"
"On the base."
"Oh no," Barva said. "The launch is in less than two weeks!"
"We're working on a plan. Don't worry about us, how are you doing?"
> "We still have some supplies and water, and we've began building a greenhouse facility in one of the lava tubes. We'll be all right, we have a lot of technological know how here."
"Yes, of course. We'll contact you once we're closer to our objective."
"Affirmative," Barva said. "Good luck, we're all counting on you."
"Thanks, but you know my kind doesn't believe in luck."
"Well, good luck, anyway. Is Mr. Walker, there, I'd like to speak with him."
"He's resting right now. He was captured by Varloo and has suffered severe dehydration and malnutrition. I've injected him with serum to revive him. I'll have him contact you when he wakes up, but after that, we'll have to keep the communications to a minimum."
"I understand. I'll be awaiting his message. Out."
"Out."
After the message discontinued, the panel short circuited out. It smoked, and Lori jumped away from it. Batar pushed her back, as he waved the smoke away and inspected the panel.
"Well, so much for communications," he said. "Varloo has rigged this to burn out as well. You better be careful, both of you, every panel on the ship may be like this one. Ms. Avery, do you know anything about anti-matter drive systems?"
"Of course, I helped my father design one."
"That one is much more primitive," Batar said. "If you allow me to
enter your mind again, I can show you how to rewire them."
"What did I say about that?"
"It will only be for a moment, and you will feel nothing but immense knowledge."
"Well, okay. I just don't want you screwing with my head. I've seen what that other one did to General Carver and my father."
He placed his hand upon her head, and within a few seconds, she was amazed. "It's so much easier than I thought," she said.
Dimension Lapse III: Dimensional Breakdown (Dimension Lapse Series Book 3) Page 22