Dedication
Thanks to all my friends and family, as they made this work possible. Particularly Jan Goldstein, well-known author of fiction, for providing a plethora of knowledge about publishing, cover art, and writing.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my editors Allison Williams, Kelly Lynne Schaub, and Robin Quinn, and my beta readers Dan Krommenhoek and Fartash Moderresi.
Authors Note
This trilogy was inspired by new science created by the author in the field of cosmology known as dark energy. The author thanks Professor Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac for his guidance during his PhD, for his friendship after that, and for his urging and inspiration to work in the field of cosmology.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 Escape
CHAPTER 2 The Mission
CHAPTER 3 The Dolphin
CHAPTER 4 First Contact
CHAPTER 5 Picnic in Paradise
CHAPTER 6 Dinner on the Albatross
CHAPTER 7 Fishing at Sea
CHAPTER 8 Catch of the Day
CHAPTER 9 Trip to Fangataufa
CHAPTER 10 Trip to Tureia
CHAPTER 11 Rescue at Sea
CHAPTER 12 Trip to Tahiti
CHAPTER 13 Hotel Tiare
CHAPTER 14 Trip to Marquesas
CHAPTER 15 Touring Tahiti
CHAPTER 16 Exploring a Lava Tube
CHAPTER 17 Back on the Albatross
CHAPTER 18 Graduate School
CHAPTER 19 Archeology Program
CHAPTER 20 Dark Energy Project
CHAPTER 21 Conflict
CHAPTER 22 Return to Tahiti Nui
CHAPTER 23 Bora Bora Adventure
CHAPTER 24 Return to Tahiti Iti
CHAPTER 25 Lacy
CHAPTER 26 Trip to Montreal
CHAPTER 27 Poe
CHAPTER 28 Love
CHAPTER 29 Leaving the Gambier Islands
CHAPTER 30 Engagement Party
CHAPTER 31 Depression
CHAPTER 32 Mystery
CHAPTER 33 Summer in Tahiti
CHAPTER 34 Extraction
About the Author
Copyright
CHAPTER 1
Escape
Near-hurricane force winds battered the Society Islands at the ocean’s surface, but a mile below sea level there was only a hint of the turmoil above. The advanced sensor arrays of the undersea leviathan Unicorn showed waves up to fifty feet high.
Supported by the Council of Five, the Secret Society team had left the previous day from Pacifica Anthozoa, a magnificent city floating on the ocean’s surface. Orchids above Captain Jennifer Hero’s command panel reminded her of the citrus, star fruit, guava, papaya, candlewood, and various nut trees in the floating city’s parks and orchards that she had strolled among only a few days earlier. Jennifer had been sorry to leave the beautiful eco-experiment, an enormous city with a skyscraper two miles high in the center surrounded by four equally spaced high rises one mile high in the center of open farmland.
The Unicorn was carrying fifty members of the SS to their newest laboratory beneath the atoll of Moruroa, about six hundred miles south of the city. The Natural way of life was in danger and Jennifer needed to act now.
The door of the compartment opened then shut behind Jennifer’s deputy and sometime lover, Kylie Brown.
“Commander Brown, I want you to own these plans in case something happens to me. You must complete the mission. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Humanity’s survival depends on the success of this mission. No matter who finishes it.”
Kylie took a deep breath and set her mouth. “I will do my best, Captain.”
Kylie was new to command, as she had just been promoted to her post as Jennifer’s deputy a few months ago, and for a moment Jennifer was seized with misgivings. But Kylie was gifted with practical experience from leading an expeditionary force to Mars to rescue thousands when natural disaster struck Colony Six, back when she served in the Australian Astronaut Corps. She is a natural leader and my best friend, Jennifer thought.
Jennifer’s planned action caused a knot in her abdomen but she held steady, gritting her teeth to hide the pain.
“Will you carry out this mission regardless of what happens?” Jennifer asked.
“Captain”—Kylie’s voice softened—“I understand it’s a one-way trip to the twenty-seventh century. I am committed to this mission.”
Jennifer turned away from her second-in-command, contemplating the ZONAR screen again. Abruptly, she asked, “What do you know of the virus?”
“I know this virus will correct the moral compass in the DNA of the Syndos without harming them. I know what can kill it. I know how to spread it by direct touching, injection, or consumption in food or water. I do not know its structure or how to create it. But as second-in-command, I know who created it—your grandfather.”
Jennifer ignored the personal note. “Have you committed the plan to memory?”
“All sixty-seven pages have been memorized over the past three months, Captain.”
“The Council meeting is in an hour. I’ve broken us into ten teams, each with four members and a leader. You will lead Team One. I will be on your team as a member and as overall leader. But if something happens to any team member we must put the mission first—do you understand?”
“Aye-aye, Captain.”
“Each team will have a preferred way to infect the young Syndos, but can adapt as required. Some teams will become teachers, recreational coaches and trainers using direct contact. Cleaners, plumbers, food and water suppliers, and janitors will use indirect injection in water and food. Business owners supplying various services will supply the world’s best bottled water.” Jennifer paused and hid her own uncertainty by barking out, “Any questions?”
“When we use the time machine, what are the effects on us?”
“Dr. Helenski’s the expert on that one. He thinks trans-time should not affect us in any significant way. Physically, you will feel like you’re still in the thirtieth century. However, you will be in the twenty-seventh century and you will be undercover with twenty-seventh century identification.” Jennifer eyed the firm line of the young woman’s jaw, her glossy brown hair swept off her face in regulation style. “Commander, I do not want you to ask questions in front of the Council. So if you have anything else, ask it now.”
“Permission to speak freely, Captain?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you recruit me over other qualified members?”
Jennifer looked deeply into Kylie’s brown eyes. “You are my best friend, and for many years I had to lie to you continually. When I finally told you about my undercover job, it was not to recruit you but to lift the burden of guilt from my mind. You immediately wanted to join. Thank you for joining and serving in the SS.”
Kylie smiled. “I love you.”
Jennifer smiled gently and considered her next words. “I think you are the most qualified to lead the team on this mission. I do not believe that you must be a descendent of the original scientists and engineers who created the Syndos to care about the future of the Naturals, and I want to open the SS to all Naturals. We need a larger organization—and all Naturals have a stake in the outcome.”
“Can you tell me why I was promoted?”
“You were the first to tell me we had a mole in our organization. More importantly, you suggested a way to use the spy to our advantage. That demonstrated leadership, brains, and humanity. We—the SS—believe in non-violence, even toward a traitor like Ben Alabaster.”
K
ylie shook her head. “Ben Alabaster believes we will all commit mass suicide rather than surrender. And he knows enough to lead the Syndos to us but prevent them from getting too close. We will have time to trans-time everyone to the twenty-seventh century before we trigger the ten-megaton explosion.”
“Noted, Commander. Anything else before we head to that meeting?”
The communication system beeped. “Captain, the nine other team leaders are waiting in the conference room.”
“Coming now,” Jennifer said. “Let’s go.”
“You think we will complete the trans-time mission?”
“I have hope and confidence in this team, Commander.” Jennifer grasped Kylie in a hug, which Kylie returned. “Thank you for your personal friendship all these years. You have been very special friend to me.” The two walked side by side to the conference room.
* * *
Idle, nervous chatter came to an abrupt halt as Captain Hero strode into the conference room, Commander Brown following close behind. The seated team leaders stood and offered brisk salutes. Jennifer stood at the head of the table and took a moment to observe the nine other officers assigned as team leaders. She saw worry and fear in their expressions, but most of all she saw their determination. A pang of guilt shot through her before she returned their salutes.
“Please be seated. You each have a copy of the mission details in digital format but it cannot be carried with you to the twenty-seventh century. It is of utmost importance to commit the details to memory. Also, you all have been issued a watch communicator, but be warned. Do not ever take it off or it will self-destruct.”
The team leaders blanched, the dangerous nature of their mission weighing on them.
“Is that understood?” Jennifer asked, once more gaining their attention.
The team leaders around her responded in unison, “Yes, sir!”
“It will be your responsibility to convey what is discussed here to your team members and to adhere to the agreed-upon mission parameters.”
Lieutenant Jones asked, “Does that mean we can tell our teams the top-secret information regarding the Syndos extinction plan now?”
Jennifer answered, “Feel free to tell them everything except how I got the information.”
The team leaders fell into whispers at the mention of the genocide looming over them all. Jennifer turned to Kylie, standing behind her, and gave a terse nod. Again, addressing the operatives, she announced, “To assure that we all fully understand our situation and the mission, Commander Brown will begin the briefing.”
“Yes, sir,” Kylie said. She surveyed the team leaders and began calmly. “Our captain has been waiting for this opportunity to deceive the Syndos since the assassination of Nobel Laureate Professor Zexton Ho five years ago. As you know, their enhanced DNA allows them to outperform the average human across many fields: strength, speed, stamina, and reaction time, but not creativity. The Syndos’ DNA is defective because it lacks a moral compass. They think of Naturals as a vestigial species.” Kylie smiled grimly. “In the messages we intercepted, I believe the exact phrase was ‘inferior trash.’”
Kylie continued. “Recently we’ve learned that the Australian Syndos-run government has developed a water-borne prion that will exterminate the Natural human race once and for all through widespread sterilization. It is virtually undetectable once diluted into the water supply.”
Jennifer watched the team leaders’ reactions as Kylie reaffirmed their plight. As she suspected, those she chose had anticipated bad news, their expressions grim rather than surprised.
Kylie regarded the operative leaders for a moment before she continued. “Our mission is to save the Naturals from extinction. We will use the Trans-Time One invented by the late Zexton Ho, and created by the SS engineers and scientists, to travel back to the twenty-seventh century. Following Professor LeVe’s earlier development, our engineers have replicated his virus V7 that will correct the genetic error present in the first Syndos that prevented them from developing a sense of morality. The introduction of this virus to those early Syndos as young children of the twenty-seventh century will prevent their aggressive behavior against humanity while keeping to the SS non-violent policies established by Zexton Ho. The distribution and absorption of the agent is designed to take place over four years, with multiple stages of infiltration.”
While Kylie used the holographic command interface to illustrate the plan to the team leaders, Jennifer found her thoughts drifting. She already knew the plan. Hell, she’d written most of the mission herself, alongside Zexton—but familiarity wasn’t her distraction. Guilt pulled at her thoughts. Zexton was gone, and this world had given her nothing but scars. The past was to be her redemption, not just to save the future of humanity but perhaps to save her psyche as well.
Jennifer again looked to Kylie standing before the room. She’s strong. She’s commanding. Though she is new to command, the others will follow her.
“We are approaching the docking port and will arrive in forty-five minutes,” Unicorn’s AI announced, interrupting the meeting.
“Once we arrive, we won’t have much time to activate the device,” Kylie said. “That traitor Alabaster has the Syndos tracking us—they will be on our trail right up to arriving at Moruroa. Only the base’s disruptive armaments are deterring the Syndos from approaching closely enough to stop us. The information I leaked to Alabaster and the Syndos forces is that we are protesting the government through some act of mass martyrdom. They’ve no idea about Trans-Time One or that it is located miles away from the Moruroa hideout.”
“Good work, Commander,” Jennifer said.
Kylie kept her expression stoic, but pride shone in her eyes as she turned to Jennifer. “Thank you, Captain.”
“Everyone else, return to your teams to fill them in and get ready to disembark,” Jennifer commanded. “Dismissed!”
The leaders stood and offered salutes to their captain. Jennifer returned her own as the operatives filed out.
* * *
The next hour flew by in a blur. The Syndos repeatedly hailed the Unicorn, promising aggressive military action if they did not surrender immediately. Once the SS arrived at the Moruroa base, the members of SS swiftly disembarked there. Within hours, Syndos forces had the atoll surrounded. With the storm still raging, the base sensors had a hard time picking out enemy surface vessels from the surges. Klaxons rang out in every hallway.
Taking the vac-tube deep below the base known to Ben Alabaster, ignoring the red alert, the members of SS held steady. Jennifer Hero led them to the center of the trans-time facility, located 5,500 feet from the surface of the ocean and about two miles away from where the atoll’s steep walls reached the plateau. The benthic facility was the crown jewel of her and Zexton’s and the SS team’s years of work. After she punched a code into the security pad, the two large doors released unseen hydraulic locks and opened to reveal the chamber housing the Trans-Time One.
“Quickly now, inside the sub-caps.” Jennifer ushered in awed operatives seeing Zexton’s legacy for the first time. The engineers and scientists who built this prototype knew it well but all was on a need-to-know basis; the clandestine branch knew very little about this monstrous machine.
Above them, the Syndos released a large disrupter blast; the station shook as the teams moved into their sub-cap chambers.
“Not a direct hit,” Kylie said, eyeing a handheld hologram of the facility. “Captain, the automated defenses intercepted a missile from the north side. Likely a warning shot. The Syndos will start moving into range soon.”
“Agreed,” Jennifer replied. “Kylie, make sure everyone is prepared. I’ll start calibration.”
“Yes, sir.” Kylie started toward the assembling teams then stopped.
“Captain,” she said, turning back to Jennifer, “do you need any assistance with—”
“No!”
Kylie looked as surprised as Jennifer felt at her own outburst.
“No,” she
continued more softly. “It’s important for everyone to stay focused on the mission. I can handle the controls. Thank you for offering.”
“Sir.” With a nod, Kylie left to rally the members of the SS.
Guilt pained Jennifer as she sat at the Trans-Time One’s controls.
Hiding the truth from my best friend. Again.
Two more explosions vibrated through the base as the device warmed up with a high-pitched hum. Jennifer’s hands were a blur as she maintained control of the system and brought it to life. Hand in hand she’d designed and built this device, first alongside Zexton and then for last five years with the engineers and scientists. Even with him gone, she could still feel his hands with her as she moved through the familiar system-check procedures. Trans-Time One represented to Jennifer the closest thing she and Zexton had to a child. While rigging it to be destroyed pained her, they could not afford for it to fall into Syndos hands. Tom Page had the schematics back at the secret SS base a mile beneath Pacifica Anthozoa, with the mission to develop two-way travel through time. Jennifer wished him luck.
All operations read green as she put in the final activation code. The device in the center of the room emitted a bright pulsating light as it came to life.
“Captain!” Kylie shouted over the Trans-Time One’s pitch. “All teams present and ready!”
“Team Ten sub-cap into position!” Jennifer ordered, motioning toward a small dial in front of the device’s light.
Kylie had Team Ten’s sub-capsule in position. Jennifer maintained control of the temporal field and extended the field to engulf the sub-cap containing the five operatives of Team Ten. The sub-cap disappeared in a flash as Jennifer checked to make sure they were safely held in the field. To her relief, their readings were on target.
Another blast rocked the facility as Jennifer’s holo-interface alerted her to multiple missile locks. The base’s anti-missile weapon system fired automatically to intercept these missiles as the Syndos forces fired underwater assault missiles in vast numbers to seal all the entrances. Jennifer had predicted they would do this to seal the anticipated radiation within the bowels of the atoll’s undersea mountain. Jennifer felt the floor shake more than two miles from a massive depth charge explosion. She thought it likely their systems had read the base’s increased power output required by Trans-Time One and initiated the attack earlier than she’d expected with far more powerful explosions.
30th Century: Escape (30th Century Trilogy Book 1) Page 1