by Ben Winston
“When did they try to kill them?” Ned asked a little frightened.
“The Mederos Incident. Those ships Greg told us about were Drellian, but they were looking for Greg and Mandi,” Jared said. “Abraxis, what can we do to keep them safe?"
“Agent Jared Adams, I am here to train them; to help them to reach their ultimate potential. Once trained, it will be their purpose to protect you, this planet, and this sector from the Drellians. What you can do is support them, advise them, and help them do what they need to do,” Abraxis explained.
“But how do we stop all this? From your explanation, it sounds like we need to figure out a way to destroy or stop Abraxis Prime,” Jon asked.
“How?” Sharon asked. “It was designed to not be stopped. Aren’t you part of the Abraxis system? How do we know your systems haven’t been corrupted as well?
“You are correct Agent Sharon Adams; this facility is part of the original Abraxis Defense System. However, once the virus was discovered, the technicians at my installation took steps to ensure I would not be corrupted. You are also incorrect; Abraxis Prime was not designed to run forever. There was a failsafe built into the base programming of the Prime Core. One of the original Abraxis programmers had been stationed at the node in the Tigris system of the Vega Sector prior to his passing. In his notes, he mentioned that the secret to shutting down the Abraxis network had been placed on a backwards planet no one had ever heard of before. It was a counter virus he called ‘The Abraxis Code’.”
“I guess we don’t have much of a choice but to help them. What do we need to do?” Jared asked looking at Abraxis.
“Hold on a second! There are other choices! We need to call Carl and get him in on this. We’re going to need the government’s resources and backing in order to do anything! Then we need to get the kids to a more secure location ...” Jon said, almost panicking.
“Mr. Grien, I don’t mean to disagree with you, but that would be a huge mistake, and could very well mean the destruction of the entire planet,” Greg replied. "If we get the military involved, the first thing they are going to do is try to confiscate all the technology, so they can tear it down and figure out how it works. The secure location they will move us to is likely to be a lab where they will do the same thing to us that they’re going to do to the equipment. They will completely ignore the threat Abraxis has warned us about while they use the technology to take over the rest of the planet. Before we know it, we have a new Drellian Empire only this time, the seat of power is Earth.”
“I think you’ve seen one too many conspiracy movies, Son! The government would never ...” Jon began.
“Jon, he’s right.” Jared said, trying not to insult him.
“Huh? That stuff doesn’t happen! It’s just sensationalist science fiction!” Jon replied.
“Jon, why do you think Sharon and I are here?” Jared asked. “You damn good and well know what our jobs are, so ask yourself why would the agency put us here?”
“But Carl said that ...” Jon began, but Jared just shook his head. “The agency took Carl out of the loop when he covered up Jolene and Isabella. They assigned us here to make sure nothing else got covered up, and all tests were run to accurately, and to completion.”
“So they know about Bella and Jolene?” Ned asked turning pale.
'Well, yes and no. They knew that Carl had warped the tests to reflect that the girls were in fact normal. However, the results they saw showed them as only slightly above the optimal performance profile for gifted humans. They believed that, since the comparative data was ‘dated’ to say the least, perhaps the girls weren’t anything more than the new benchmark for ‘gifted’. Since the agency doesn't like to let potential assets slip through their fingers, they moved us here to make sure their assessments were correct, and that nothing else was being hidden,” Sharon explained.
“No, way! You two are spies?” Mandi said. “Way cool!”
“You know I love you, Mandi, but sometimes, you’re kinda slow,” Greg said grinning at the girl.
“You didn’t know either!” Mandi accused, and slugged him in the shoulder.
“What about Greg and Mandi? Both of them are ‘gifted’ too, don’t they know about them?” Ned asked.
“Not that we’re aware of. Also, neither one of them have really done anything that would make them stand out,” Sharon said.
“Anyway, Sharon and I planned on writing our report so that it shows Carl acting for the good of the agency in that he down played the test results because he believed that the hype of the original tests was influencing the final test results. We’ll make sure the agency doesn't look too close. So, the question then becomes; do we trust Abraxis to train our children so they can defend themselves and us, or do we run and hope these Drellian assholes forget the whole thing and go home?” Jared asked.
“Would they go home if they couldn’t find them?” Carla asked hopefully.
“I’m afraid not, Ms. Blane. In point of fact, they would become more and more violent in the search. More and more people will be killed. It will become harder and harder to cover-up each of the incidents. Until finally there will be no way to cover it up because they nuked an entire city trying to kill Fighter Greg’s team,” Abraxis said. “Case in point is Fighter Greg and Fixer Mandi's former school. As soon as the Drellian Agents discover the ruse that was set up for them, I imagine they will be taking out their frustrations on something; most likely either Colorado Springs or Peterson Air Force Base.”
“I guess that means they’re getting trained. Any idea’s on how to go about this?” Jon asked.
“Finder Jolene suggested a most fortuitous location on the edge of this community. I believe she said it was an abandoned silver mine. I’ve scanned the area, and find that it would be very hard for the Drellians to see anything either inside or under it. The amount of ore in the area provides a lot of interference making it easier to hide things underground, and will greatly benefit us in the manufacture of replacement parts for the team’s equipment,” Abraxis said.
“That’s all well and good, but how do we get the mine, and how are we going to turn it into a viable training area for the kids?” Beth asked. "I know I’m not that good with a shovel!”
“Once Fighter Greg decides on an area, I will dispatch their equipment package. In it, there are several remotes that can be used to create the areas needed without disturbing the surroundings. I took the liberty of tracing the current owner of the mine.
“State of Utah records have the sole owner of the Gerrymander Mine listed as William Andrew Rice, Jr. Mr. Rice currently resides in Denver, Colorado. Do you wish to have his contact information?” Abraxis said.
“Yes, thank you, Abraxis,” Jon said. “I’ll see if Mr. Rice is interested in selling the mine.”
Jared nodded agreement with the rest of the adults. “Sharon and I’ll try to supervise their training. We do have some money saved up, so when you find out if he’ll sell, we’ll chip in what we can.”
“Agent Jared Adams, Engineer Grien, your planetary data net lists Mr. Rice as a professional gambler. The purchase records for the mine say that Mr. Rice paid one dollar for the property. The Assessor’s office has the tax value listed as one hundred ninety-four million dollars. It is pending seizure for back taxes owed. That amount is ten million, two hundred, thirty-seven thousand, three hundred and eighty dollars,” Abraxis added. “You currently do not possess the requisite amounts in your collective accounts. Do you wish for me to correct this?"
Momentarily stunned by the monetary amounts Abraxis was telling them, Jon was about to agree, when Jared stopped him. “Abraxis, how would you correct that?”
“I have located several large accounts in the names of men that are known criminals and fugitives. Most of which are in other countries. I would simply use that money since criminal accounts are the property of the public in general. We need the funds to build an agency to protect the people, therefore the money in question is the logic
al answer," Abraxis explained.
Jared nodded. “Perhaps you should work that out with Sharon, since she specializes in covert corporate dealings.”
“I’ll get with you later, Abraxis,” Sharon said, to which Abraxis bowed to her in agreement.
“If Carla agrees, we can make sure everyone’s healthy, and try to put a trauma kit together for emergencies,” Beth said, while Carla nodded agreement.
“I would like to help get them set up, and make sure they have everything they’ll need from the outside world,” Ned said. "Besides, I’m dying of curiosity to see this ‘equipment’ Abraxis keeps talking about."
“Abraxis, do we know what these Drellians look like? Would they be able to question someone, or are they too alien to risk global panic?” Jared asked.
“Like Rangers, the Drellians are drawn from a large range of races, human and human-like among them. I would assume that those sent here would be humanoid and at least passable as human in appearance,” Abraxis replied. “Of course, there are ways to extract information that would leave the individual without memory of the event.”
“Okay, what I don’t get is why they are trying to kill the kids in the first place. Shouldn’t they be trying to recruit them?" Carla asked.
“They can’t recruit in this sector while I am still active. So they have to kill all the candidates they find,” Abraxis replied flatly. "If they knew my general location, then they would simply track down one of my trusted terminals, like this one, and infect me. Then Earth and all the free planets in this sector would fall to them. By trying to kill as many potentials as they can, they hope to triangulate my position.”
“I don’t follow, how could they triangulate your position by killing us?” Greg asked.
“Because, I would act to protect you. When I dispatched this interface unit, I had no idea your team was incomplete. When the Drellians attacked the Mederos High School it surprised me, but the odds of two teams being this close together are not as high as one would think. However, in order to triangulate my position, they would need one more planet in this sector to produce guardian candidates."
“That means that there are other teams in this sector then?” Ned asked.
“Correct Doctor, there are other teams in this sector,” Abraxis confirmed.
“Well, can’t they protect us, then?” Carla asked fearfully.
Sharon put her hand on Carla’s shoulder. “No, because they need help. I don’t know for certain how large an area of space a sector is, but I imagine it’s pretty damn big. Although he didn’t come right out and say it, I don’t think the traits needed for becoming a ranger are all that common. We have to support our kids in this. There really isn’t another choice. Besides, in addition to protecting us, they will also be looking for this code that will shut down the Prime Core.”
Carla closed her eyes and nodded reluctant agreement with Sharon. “I know, I’m just terrified by the thought of our kids in combat, especially space combat."
“I’m not thrilled with it either, but if they’re the only ones that can do this, then we have to let them try,” Sharon reasoned.
“I just had an idea,” Ned said, snapping his fingers. “Abraxis can you scan the area in the vicinity of a place called 'The Valley of the Gods’? You should find it in the southeast corner of the state.”
“Certainly Doctor, with your permission Fighter?” Abraxis asked.
“We’ll have to set up an access priority system for later, but for now, please try to answer everyone’s questions. Also, please drop the Fighter before my name, I'm just Greg.”
Very quickly, everyone else agreed that formal titles should only be used if the situation demanded them.
“The scan will be completed in ten minutes, Ned.” Abraxis said.
“Okay, we’re all decided to help the kids out. But, I feel the need to point out that, all of them are legally adults, and as such, have the right to make their own decisions. I think this would be a good place to start letting them do just that," Jared said.
“They really don’t have much experience with that,” Carla replied.
After some discussion, the parents decided to let Greg and the girls handle their own lives for the time being. The decision was timely in that Abraxis announced he had completed the requested scan of southeastern Utah.
“Did you find any areas that were shielded in a similar fashion to the mine?” Ned asked. “I remember watching an old TV show called ‘Airwolf’ and the main characters hid the fictional super-chopper there.”
“The shielding is of a different type, but yes, there is actually a larger area that is shielded from orbital scans. In fact, the only type of scan that can work in that area would be a neutrino pulse, but that would require a receiver on the far side of the planet. Still, because of the structure of the planet, there would be many false positives. There is sufficient area to construct a substantial base, and still remain invisible to scans,” Abraxis reported.
“Aha! I knew it! It isn’t really all that far away either. We could, as a group, buy the land and hopefully the mineral rights, get a permit from the state, and open a gold mine out there. We’re far enough out in the middle of nowhere that if we are discovered, there would be fewer casualties if the Drellians attacked.”
“Excuse me, Ned, but the information was incomplete. Building a base for the team out there would make it easier for the Drellians to locate, and attack the team. The lack of collateral loss of life simply means that they do not have to be careful and make sure of the kill by identifying bodies. Thus, they would use what you would call weapons of mass destruction," Abraxis explained.
“Just to kill four people? That’s criminal!” Jon spouted.
“The Drellians have no consideration for the value of life, Jon. They would simply consider this an abject lesson for when they do return and take over the planet,” Abraxis said. “The other reason we cannot use that area is because portions of that area are already in covert use.”
“Really? I wonder by whom?” Jon asked.
“It sure as hell isn’t the Chinese, Jon!” Jared grinned.
Low Orbit
North American Continent
Earth, Sol System
“The Immortal Emperor is most displeased with your progress in this mission, Fen’ness. Why have you failed to locate the Emperor’s quarry?” the sepulchral voice drew across the being’s mind.
“It has proved elusive and cunning, Abranix, as you well know. The only reason they escaped the initial attack is that these ... humans,” the disgust was clear in his voice. “Seem to be more resourceful than we were lead to believe. This will be a most challenging hunt. Perhaps M’lord Emperor would care to track this prey himself? Or perhaps your own vaunted Prime Nexus would care to assist us more directly?"
The next voice the being heard almost froze his heart and caused him to crash.
“Prime Nexus is online.” A voice like that of the mythical demon, Gra'Ga'Dems the Destroyer, himself risen from the void, entered his mind. “Do not assume that we are leaving this mission to a mere minion, fighter. You will accomplish your objective or we will suspend your access and send others that are capable of fulfilling the directive. You have one local revolution to achieve this. No other consideration may supersede this directive.”
“I understand Prime. But if I may, why is this mission so important? What is one human to the Empire as a whole?” Fen’ness asked.
“You do not understand, Fen’ness. If you did, you and your mates would already be floating through the void on the way to Horfus. Returning control to local node.”
“I’ve been thinking about this, and I don’t think the human team is complete yet,” Tyarn'D said. His mates hadn’t been privy to the conversation he’d had with the Prime. Which is all to the good, since they would most likely panic anyway.
“What makes you so sure we’re hunting a Ranger Team on this tiny mud-ball?” Not'Cern asked. Abranix only told us to destroy that building, the
n to go through it to make sure we’d killed whoever we were supposed to kill.”
“Well, that’s just it. The damn computer wouldn’t tell us exactly what we were looking for, so we must have been looking for more than one. Especially since we didn't find whatever it was we were supposed to find,” Tyarn'D replied. “Now it won’t even come up with a suggestion on where to look next.”
“What I don’t understand is why we just don’t crater this dump from orbit and move onto the next mission?” Not'Cern asked. “Fen’ness, has that damn computer given you any more information yet?”
Regaining his composure for his mates, Fen’ness took a deep breath and replied. “You both have gotten soft! We rely far too much on the Nexus for our information. Our Emperor has given us a great gift! We will finally have a challenge to hone our hunting skills once again, and bring glory and pride to our clan! We do not hunt for the rogue computer or the puny half-trained rangers it trains; instead, we are hunting for a single individual in a herd of billions. We have been given the scent, now it is up to us to bring this prey to the table!”
Both Tyern'D and Not'Cern growled and roared the traditional challenge of the warrior clans. He had them focused; now he just needed them to do what they both did so well and perhaps they would actually survive long enough to be allowed to breed.
Blane Residence
Shermandale, Utah
North American Continent
Earth, Sol System
While the group had been talking, Bella’s phone received a test message. Glancing at it, she frowned, and put it back in her pocket. Seconds later, it went off again, and once again she looked at it. But this time she typed in a short message, sent it, and then put it back in her pocket. Again, seconds later, it went off again. This time, everyone stopped talking and looked at her.