by TS Paul
“Disks, tapes, circuit boards, anything that looks mechanical. We really aren’t sure. If you believe the stories, these people had access to some of the same sort of technology that TQB has.” Jìshù smiled at the local commander. He was his cousin, and they had grown up together.
“Really? Why are we just hearing about this now?”
“Politics most likely. We hear all sorts of strange things in the science division. They have us investigating strange occurrences as well as the supernatural. Some of the stories I’ve read lately would curl what little hair you have left up there.” Jìshù and Jin Lo were constantly ribbing each other.
“Are we in danger here my friend?” Jin Lo’s tone was serious now.
“I really don’t know. Beijing never actually said one way or the other. I assume with a kill on sight order already in place they may be. But, our informant said it was just families and old people.”
“I trust you Jìshù. We will capture these people and let the security teams have them. Then we can get back to our lives.” Jin Lo was worried, but his troops were all professionals. They were set up at the bottom of a local hill as if it were a travel checkpoint. Those were so common most people expected them. Half his team would move in cutting off escape. The other half would arrest the enemy.
The panel van was in a small line of traffic just topping the hill when they hit the checkpoint. The lead car stopped showed their papers and was let through. Only four cars stood between the van and the checkpoint when something spooked them.
“What’s happening?” Jìshù muttered it to himself as the van suddenly backed up and tried to turn around. At the top of the hill, the blockade team moved into place. The van stopped moving and began revving its engine.
Armed guards popped up from the blockade and surrounding woods. They began yelling for everyone to exit the vehicles and put their hands on their heads. Those in the cars complied and began to walk toward the officers. That is when all hell broke loose. The van revved its engine again and charged the blockade!
“Stop!” Jin Lo yelled at the van to stop with his loudspeaker to no avail. A panel van is not a tank or armored car and when struck by hundreds of rounds of machine gun fire the front end dissolved into a pile of broken glass, metal, and people. The troops didn’t stop firing as the rear door suddenly went up, and monsters came roaring out!
Jìshù didn’t know what else to call the giant cat-like creatures that poured from the panel van. They screamed and charged the surrounding troops.
Broken and bleeding the monsters attacked en-masse the soldiers who fired at them with everything they had. Blood and other things better left unmentioned covered the road and vehicles. The women and children inside the van scattered into the woods and brush. Many were cut down as panicking troops fired at anything that moved.
Jìshù was lucky. He was inside the unit’s lone armored car when the attack started. The door was too heavy to open without using the controls and anyway he didn’t know which button to push. All he could do was watch on the cameras as his friend was disemboweled in front of his eyes in bright digital color.
Grenades were used to flush the monsters from the van destroying any hidden technology forever. Jin Lo’s second in command assigned pursuit teams, and the hunt was on.
CHAPTER NINE
“This pod is pretty cool! How come we don’t all have these?” Jeo finished his walk-around of the two experimental five-person pods. Peter sat on a crate while he talked to Bobcat.
“That is… a funny story.” Bobcat leaned to one side looking around Jeo’s body. Peter waved at him. “And… I can’t tell you about it. They are experimental let’s leave it at that, shall we? I can tell you that we are making a standard ten-person pod on the Queen’s orders. These are just a couple of in-between ones we threw together. Please try not to destroy them. We’ve grown rather fond of them. Have fun.” He gave Peter a dirty look as he strutted out of the construction hanger bay.
“He was sort of rude. When he was my boss, we got along pretty well.” Jeo watched as Bobcat left.
“It’s not you. He’s a bit irritated at me. I ratted him and Marcus out. Loose lips sink ships and all that. The Queen was rather put out. We don’t have an intelligence service per se. ADAM takes care of that for us. But he can’t be everywhere. Some things are supposed to be kept secret. You know way too much about things you shouldn’t, and that is an issue. I told the Queen there was a snowball's chance in hell that you would sell us out. But, the temptation shouldn’t be put there. She was forced to have a chat with the terrible trio and a few others here and there. It’s all good. If they say stuff to you, don’t listen.”
Jeo looked at Peter in shock. “Don’t listen? That’s all you can say?”
“Pretty much. Don’t you have a class to teach?” Peter pointed to the entrance to the bay. Five students in space suits stood looking around.
“Over here!” Jeo shouted to the kids.
~~~~~~
Flight time to Earth was only a half hour, but they were too far away to make it without stopping at the QBS Archangel to change controllers. The EI units were limited in the distance they could operate from.
“It looks pretty from up here.” Yana and Tina were in Pod One with Jeo. The boys and Peter all rode in Pod Two.
Jeo peered through the viewscreen down at Earth. “It does. Too bad it’s only a candy coating. Underneath is war, destruction, and doom. We are good to be rid of it. I will miss all the architecture and history. I hope to be back one day, so that is at least a good thing.”
“Are you bringing your family with you? If that is too personal a question, you don’t have to answer.” Tina stared at the young-looking man.
He sighed. “They wouldn’t come. My father, well, let’s just say he doesn’t totally believe in all of this even though he has seen the pods with his own eyes. Mom wants to be with Dad. They are content and fairly well off with his retirement. I signed over my bank account to them.” He saw Tina’s mouth drop open and laughed.
“You are guilty of your own brand of Earth think, Tina. Do we use Earth money in the Empire?”
Tina thought for a moment. “I’ve seen something change hands among some of the staff. Bobcat and Marcus bet with something other than beer!”
“True. They are using small ingots of gold and other precious metals. The Queen has plans for currency, but it hasn’t come to pass yet. I kept some of my earnings but gave the rest away. They need it more than I.”
“Sorry if that was the wrong question.” Tina really did feel bad.
Jeo shook his head. “Not an issue. You really are turning into a small version of your mother. You might consider training to do her job in the future. Just a suggestion really.”
“She’s mentioned it to me. I want to try and find my own way first.”
“How about you Yana?” Jeo allowed the EI to drive and looked over his shoulder at the taller Russian girl.
She looked up to see the both of them staring at her. “Did you speak?”
“What are your goals, or do you not have one yet?” Jeo carefully scrutinized her.
“Finish school and make my father proud used to be one of them. Staying alive has been my strongest goal. Proving to the cheka that I exist and that they missed has been another. Now that I have left the mud ball as Ron calls it, I have different goals. I still want to finish school. This experience has been good for me so far. I don’t have any expectations of the future. Only to live long and prosper.” Both Tina and Jeo burst into laughter at that point.
“Am I funny?” Yana only stared at them.
“No. No. It’s what you said! Have you ever seen Star Journeys the television show?” Jeo tried to stop laughing.
“Nyet. I mean no. Ron blathered on about that to Nestor on the moon. Something about wessels? What are wessels?” Yana frowned as both her teacher and her teammate started laughing again.
Over on Pod Two Maxim and Nestor were asking Peter about the Guard
ians.
“What made you join the Guardians in the first place, Peter? My uncle said you were the first Wechselbalg to take service with the Queen.” Maxim both respected and feared the man in front of him. He was one of the most famous Wolves in the Unknown World.
Peter shook his head. “That honor lies with Nathan. It was he that helped the Queen from the very beginning. I joined as a way to escape all my problems. I broke the one rule that everyone in our world must never, ever break: do not reveal yourself to the humans.”
Nestor’s head jerked up from his tablet. He had never heard that before! Maxim beat him to the question. “Why aren’t you dead?”
“My father took my case before Gerry the leader of the American Pack Council when it still existed. He brought it to the Queen’s attention. If it had been the Archangel, Michael instead of her, I and my father would most likely have been killed. I owe my entire life to her. She had her personal guards take me under their wing and teach me to stand on my own two or four feet.”
Nestor got his question in. “What did you do?”
“Something incredibly stupid. I was young. Just a tiny bit older than the both of you. I got drunk one night and changed shape in front of a couple of girls from town. Human girls. They got video of it on their phones.” Peter shook his head in remembrance.
“Dude you should be dead! If it had been me my own father would have killed us. He would have been too ashamed to take it to Boris. Boris might have banished our family for violating that rule!” Nestor was in shock.
“I know that now. Then, I was the pack leader’s son. I thought I could do no wrong until it all came crashing down. Protect the secret of the UnknownWorld with your life and do not reveal its secrets to humans. I broke the biggest rule there was, and I paid for it too. Her guards ran me to within an inch of my life. In a month, I was a completely different person, and I liked it. So, what is your choice for the future? Have either of you decided yet? Ron too.”
Ron had been listening from the far corner of the pod. It was Wechselbalg stuff, but he already knew a bit of it. Tina really was a font of information. Hearing his name mentioned broke him out of his own contemplation. “Huh? What?”
“What does the future hold for Ron?”
“Not a clue. I thought maybe some sort of tech, but I like flying pods. I haven’t made my mind up yet.”
Peter smiled. “Good answer Ron. Take your time and think it through carefully. What about you two?” He looked at the cousins.
Maxim blushed a tiny bit. “I may go Guardian like my uncle. My own father stayed to fight with Boris. I don’t know his fate.”
Peter raised an eyebrow at that statement. Russia was a bit of an unknown to those in the Queen's service. As a country, it was a mess, and she had vowed to let it be and not interfere there. Her alliance with Boris being her only concession. He could make a few inquiries, but the fate of Maxim’s father was most likely unknown. “Stick with your classes here. Guardians are expected to know stuff. We aren’t just muscle and power.” Peter pointed to his head. “Use this, before you use this.” He pointed to his suddenly clawed fist.
“I think I want to build things. Jeo or Team BMW might be a good fit for me.” Nestor looked to his cousin and smiled trying to give him some reassurance.
Peter nodded. “Before you get your heart set working with those guys, check out some of the engineering chiefs on the QBS Archangel or even talk to Captain Thomas or Wagner. They can give you some help. Don’t give up your dreams.”
The control panel in front of all of them made a small noise. “We are here. Let me set up communications with Jeo.” Peter touched the screen in several places.
“Can everyone see outside?” Jeo’s voice could be heard in both pods.
“As I told you earlier. The Thule society along with the Nazis built a secret underground base in Schwabenland in the 1940s. The technology that was available at that time was primitive compared to now. But they still managed to build something that has lasted the ages. Or at least over seventy years without collapsing.” The two larger pods slowly augured in loops toward the hidden base.
A tone sounded in the cockpit of the Pod Two causing Peter to start typing on his tablet. The students saw movement outside the craft. One of the new Black Eagle fighter pods had moved into a formation position next to them. Peter’s voice was projected to Pod One. “Don’t worry about the fighter. He’s one of several that we have on constant patrol over this area. We are nominal allies with those that live in Schwabenland. The Queen has a commitment to protecting them and not allowing the world to plunder their technology.”
Jeo replied to him. “Thank you, Peter. What you see below us is called Queen Maud Land. It was named by a Norwegian explorer who was the first in the area in 1930. Norway claimed the entire area as their own in that same year. The 1938 expedition by the Nazis claimed a large chunk of the same area. They called it New Swabia which was later called Neuschwabenland. The Antarctic Treaty in 1961 demilitarized the entire continent voiding most territorial claims on it. If they had known about the existence of the Vril that particular treaty may have been different.”
The pods descended to less than ten thousand feet leaving the Black Eagle to finish his patrol.
“The Vril base is located just under those small mountains. Three main rock walls make up the basic structure of the base.” The pods dropped down, so they almost skimmed the surface of the water.
A large hole could be seen near the edge of the ice wall.
“That is the submarine entrance to the base. During the war, they built several new experimental types based upon, we think, a technology that they obtained from the Vril. Many of the designs were never built, but something was using this pen. We may never know.” Jeo paused while the pods moved slowly inside the opening.
“If you look to your left, you can see the outer edge of the base. That chunk of rock is estimated to weigh over one hundred tons. Ask yourself this, how did they manage to move it and its sisters into place using 1940s technology way out in the middle of nowhere? That is an engineering feat for the ages. Alien tech or mental power that is what makes engineering worth it to me. Anyone have any questions?” The pods slowly began to back out of the cavern.
Peter was only vaguely aware of the questions being asked of Jeo about possible construction techniques. They asked good questions. His concentration was on the pods themselves. This was an international hotspot as well as a war zone between Schwabenland and Majestic. He was not supposed to know about the mythical American organization but his briefing notes contained hints, and he could use a computer.
“We will perhaps one day learn the real secret of how this base was constructed, but for now we only have conjecture. Peter, do we have time to make another visit?”
“Where did you want to go?” If Jeo could see Peter, he would know the man was scared of what he was going to say.
“How about Giza? Let’s go look at the pyramids!”
CHAPTER TEN
“You think the pyramids of Giza are some kind of map? Is that what you’re saying?” Tina stared at Jeo in surprise.
Jeo used his hands to punctuate. “Sort of. They align perfectly with three bright stars in the Orion system. How did the ancient Egyptians do that so perfectly?”
“But that would mean they had outside help, right?”
“Yes, Ron. They did. Maybe your friends up on the moon? Just so you know, our scientists think that base and those robots could have been thousands of years old. If not older.” Jeo looked back down at the pyramids. The two pods were hovering to the left and right of the tip of the pyramid of Khufu.
Maxim shuddered. “Don’t mention those things to me. Tough bastards.”
Nestor looked at his cousin with surprise on his face. Maxim hardly ever cursed. He gave him a nudge. “You OK?”
“Yes. I thought we might die on the moon. The robots are not something I wish to remember.”
Nestor nodded. Yes, he too di
dn’t want to remember them. His moment was when they stepped off the elevator into the dark hallway. They opened a door and came face-to-face with hundreds of robot heads. He shivered at the thought of it. Then wave after wave of robots attacked them. Maxim, his cousin, and brother from another mother fought them. Howling as he beat them with an arm torn from one of the larger ones.
“Me too brother, me too.” Nestor patted Maxim on the arm.
Maxim looked up in surprise. ’Brother?’