The Grand Master

by Bill Stenlake

  She can feel the movement of the vehicle as it crosses the field. The journey is less bumpy after that, as they drive for twenty minutes along the roads. When her eyes meet light again, she is in a large warehouse. Her craft is lifted out of the truck and then pushed into a large cage in the middle of the warehouse. They then construct another cage round the craft, made of a finer mesh, and then another beyond that one. Effectively she is on the inside of three cages. Bar is then brought in. He is still in his cage and is put separately. He also has another two cages built outside the one he is in already. The floor of the building is solid. Another cage is constructed around Bar and Vee and they put the three dogs in that cage. Outside the cages, the warehouse is filling with soldiers. Some of them are the ones who were in the field earlier, but others are obviously of higher rank. They appear to be waiting for something or maybe it is someone. Nothing happens for a while, other than the soldiers form a guard around the cages. From where she is, Vee does not have a direct view of Bar. They have put up a steel screen which blocks out their direct vision.

  Bar is relaxed in his cage. There is no point in being anything else, as his situation as things stand is hopeless. Vee is in a better position, other than for the fact she cannot take the craft anywhere.

  Eventually the person they have been waiting for arrives. He walks round the cages and talks to the officers and the soldiers, before stopping directly in front of Vee.

  ‘I do wish you would come out of there. We have no intention of harming you. We just want to know what is happening. Vee does not respond. He moves to the side a few feet and talks to Bar. ‘Can you please ask your friend to come out of the craft?’

  Bar decides to respond to the man.

  ‘We have not come here to cause any trouble. We have come to try to sort out some of what may have been left behind once the other craft, particularly the first one, left.’

  ‘What do you believe has been left behind for you to sort? Is it something that we should know about? Is it something that will be bad for the people on the planet?’

  ‘To be honest we are not sure’ Bar continues, on not hearing any protests from Vee. She could have done so, even from the inside of the craft. ‘The first craft came here to take someone away with them. He was not originally from this planet, but had been brought here to try to avoid being caught. That has obviously not been successful. However there appears to have been someone, at least one person, here already who assisted them. We also believe there may be as many as another two, but on a different part of your planet.’

  ‘I think we have already met one of them. He was injured at the time the first craft was here. We took him to a hospital where he was guarded.’ The man stops and spends a few seconds thinking before he continues talking to Bar. ‘He then manages to escape from the hospital and his guard.’

  CHAPTER 87 MARIO & TZ

  Maria swings the vehicle round the back of the barns. It doesn’t look as if there is anywhere for them to go. She stops in front of the coral gate and tells Mario to get out, to let them through. Once she is in the coral, Mario shuts the gate and runs across to the other side. It is only because Maria tells him that there is a gate there, that he finds the catch to swing it open. Once through, he shuts it again and picks up the brush to erase the tyre tracks in the dirt. When Maria reaches the grassy part, she pulls up and waits for him. There is a faint track on the ground but nothing really obvious. Maria is making for a bank of trees, but is not doing that directly as she says that will leave them too exposed in the open. The track keeps close to the edge by the hedge. Maria stops the vehicle short of the trees. She tells Mario to take over the driving while she finds the way out through the hedge. It is not easy to find. Mario follows her slowly, until she signals him to stop. The ‘gate’ is just a segment of hedge grown and folded over. Mario quickly drives through the offered space and Maria tidies it up after he is through. He slides back over to allow Maria to drive again.

  The only tracks through the trees are animal tracks, but Maria appears to know where she is going. To Mario it does not always look as if there is enough room between the trees for her to take the car through, but of course there is. When they have gone maybe fifty yards or so into the woods, Maria stops the car. They both go back to have a look. It is easy to see the dust being kicked up by more than one vehicle making for the ranch. What neither of them is happy about is the sound of a helicopter approaching. Maria runs back to the car and opens the trunk. She takes out her binoculars and a gun case. She uses the binoculars first, before unpacking her 050BMG rifle and assembling it. Mario stands back and lets her get on with her job.

  When she is ready, she moves back to the edge of the trees and finds herself a log to use as support and cover. She settles down into position and starts to train the sights on something, but Mario is not quite sure what; until she fires that is. The helicopter has been hovering over the coral, while two or three vehicles speed into the yard. Mario hears the gun fire, but his eyes are looking at the ranch. Without warning the helicopter goes into a short spin and crashes into the barn, bursting into flames as it does so.

  Maria quickly packs away her rifle and then they are off through the trees again. They follow the same path as before, eventually coming out onto a dirt track which they follow for a few miles, always in the direction away from the ranch. Maria tells Mario to keep an eye out for any more helicopters, but none come. They soon turn onto blacktop and shortly after that join the highway. Then they start their journey south.

  TZ and Buzz join up with another vehicle as they speed through Boston. Just as they are approaching the airport tunnels, they are joined by two more. Buzz is busy talking on his cell to the others. Just as they reach the airport side of the tunnel, the last of the vehicles screeches to a stop ending sideways, blocking the traffic across the lanes. Four armed men jump out of the truck and aim at the drivers who are now queuing behind them. If they could these cars would back off, but the traffic takes only a few seconds to build up behind them. One of the men lets off a few shots and indicates the drivers should get out of their cars. A second short burst convinces those who have not taken heed the first time. Warily but quickly, they all back off and run away back down into the tunnel. One of the men jumps into the leading cars and turns them one by one across the road to block it, before piling three cases of explosives by the cars. Another quick burst of gunfire ensures that no one comes back to stop them. The charge is set and all four men jump back into their truck and drive after TZ and Buzz. One of the other trucks has driven round to the outgoing tunnels and done the same thing there. There are no foolish souls to try to stop them, although their truck is going to be lost to the cause.

  Two huge explosions rip the roof off the ends of the tunnels, bringing tons of masonry crashing down, blocking the tunnels. The occupants of the second truck waste little time hijacking a replacement vehicle, joining up with their colleagues shortly after they have burst through the perimeter fencing onto the airfield.

  The first thing taken out with their armour is the control tower, quickly followed by the fire station trucks. The planes are sitting ducks and they take them out at will, firing also at the terminal buildings. The security personnel are no match for their weapons and can do little in response. It takes little more than fifteen minutes to bring total destruction to the airfield, which is just before the warplanes come swooping in. By that time Buzz and TZ have made a hasty retreat, leaving the airfield by the route they came in by.

  CHAPTER 88 SPIRIT

  Spirit looks up at the ceiling above the console desk. At first look there still doesn’t appear to be a way out there. Spirit is quite confident though, that if there is a place for the hatch to be, this is it. He climbs easily onto the desk and takes a closer look. It is seamless metal on the ceiling. It would be much nicer to have a handle which says ‘pull’ on it, but that isn’t going to be the case here. He drops back down to the floor again and takes a closer look at the console. He checks
underneath to see if there is any form of release catch, but again gets no result. He checks and double checks all over and under the console, but there is nothing there for him to find. He climbs back onto the desk and starts tapping the ceiling. A constant metal ringing sound meets his endeavours. He gets to the end and turns round, making his way back to the other end all the while tapping the ceiling. Still there is nothing. He reaches out beyond the end of the desk and taps the ceiling as far away as he can. He then goes to the other end and starts to do the same there. Instantly he feels and hears something different. There is hollowness to the sound and there is some give in the ceiling. He feels round the area where this is the case. Then he pushes at the nearest edge. The ceiling doesn’t break but something beyond it does give. It makes Spirit step back, because he is uncertain just what it is that he has done. The edges of a trap door melt before his eyes. When three sides are done, a ladder pushes down through the ceiling all the way down to the floor.

  Spirit jumps quickly down, realising how smoky the room has become. If he had been human, he would probably have been overcome by the fumes by now. He climbs the ladder quickly, in to a small space above the ceiling. There is only one way to go and that is into the pipe he can see. Not knowing what is at the other end, it makes sense to go feet first. The journey isn’t a long one. He isn’t travelling very fast either. His feet come into contact with the end of the tunnel and he stops. He feels around him, trying to see what to do next. His hands come into contact with a handle grip. He pulls it and the end flips open, allowing him to move out of the tube.

  He finds that he is in the launch pad, but things are not good in here either. Streams of smoke are coming into the area from all directions. There is very little visible from his position. There is also a fair amount of heat, but he isn’t sure where that is coming from. Then suddenly he is aware. It is coming up through the floor and it is getting hotter by the second. This is not a good kind of heat. This is the kind of heat that is going to destroy everything around it.

  Spirit calculates where his craft should be and hurries over to it, rather misjudging how far away it is and banging into the side of it. No harm done, he opens the door and gets in. He doesn’t waste time doing up the belts first. His aim is to get the engines started and the craft moving as fast as he can. The way out is behind him, so he does a 180 and then presses the buttons, bracing himself as much as he can against the acceleration. He shoots out into the open and as a precaution does a swift bank to the left, just in case someone is waiting for him. He is untouched and no one has fired at him. He slows the craft, securing his belt as he does so. He moves a bit further away as he sees that Luvus is starting to glow a little, particularly round the open areas like the launch pads. The glow gets redder over the next couple of minutes before it seems to stop, but only a fraction of a second before the whole place explodes. The shockwaves speed over the distance between Spirit and Luvus, buffeting him wildly and pushing him along in their path. The force is excessive and it takes several minutes before he feels they are no longer pushing him unwillingly away. When he has recovered the controls, he realises he has gone quite a distance. He moves up higher and zooms in the cameras on where he has just exited. There is nothing much left. He can see only a burning pile of twisted metal, with palls of smoke spiralling up into the sky. The frame has buckled and in some places disappeared. He gives it a few minutes in case there are going to be any more explosions, before he ventures back down closer to the ruins.

  He circles round and flies lower each time. There is going to be nothing salvageable there that’s for sure. Now it is time to turn his attention onto what it was that has made a getaway from the land cargo bay. He has to go virtually to the ground before he can pick out a twisted door by the far side of Lupus. Running away from the doorway is evidence of some tracks on the ground. It would have been hard for the vehicle to not leave any on the dusty surface.

  Spirit lifts up a bit higher, trying to see how high he can get and still be able to follow the tracks. He isn’t keen to be caught flying low and not being able to spot any danger ahead of him. Now he knows which way the vehicle has gone, he tries to see if he can see it, or evidence of it in the distance. That would be a no then.

  CHAPTER 89 THE GRAND MASTER

  GM6 and GM7 are equally baffled by what is happening before their eyes. For as long as they can remember this place has been their home. It has always been the home of the Guiding Masters. Now, right in front of their eyes, it is saying on the console that they have to leave along with The Grand Master. O has disintegrated and now the base here is going to too.

  The Grand Master appears to be taking it all in his stride. He has thought that at some stage his plans would meet with some resistance. He is only surprised that it has taken up to now for that to be the case. As a former Guiding Master, he was fairly sure that it hadn’t been going to come from his two colleagues. So far he has been right in that. The two places he had expected resistance at the very least, The Watcher and The Keeper, have so far been disappointing almost. It has all been too easy for him.

  But then he thinks about his conversation with The Keeper a short time ago. There had been something in there that has showed up. There is something about him that sets him aside from everyone else. He is not sure what it is, but it is there alright. Maybe The Keeper does have powers and is able to do something about restoring The Balance of the Universe. Maybe The Keeper just isn’t aware of what he can do, what he is capable of doing, what he should be doing.

  The Grand Master is brought back to the present, by alarm bells starting to ring out. He isn’t aware how long he has been in a dream world, but it is probably only a matter of seconds.

  ‘You need to exit as soon as possible. The final countdown has started and now it cannot be stopped. Only when The Keeper, GM6, GM7 and you are on your craft and locked in to your seats, will it be released from here. You are already cutting it fine, time wise.’

  The Grand Master gives the instruction to the androids to lead his guests to the craft. When they are all in and locked in their seats, they are able to leave the base. On the console of his craft, The Grand Master is able to read the final words from the home of The Guiding Masters and O.

  ‘The Universe as we all know it has come to an end. What it has to do now, is somehow it will have to find a new level. There will be a new beginning. It will be decided by the players in the game. Everything changes in time and there is no right way and no wrong way. It will be the way that it is. There is no good way and no bad way for things and people to be. They are what they make themselves. Everyone has the capability to change what is around them. Some will manage to change things for the good of all around them. Others will look to take advantage of a situation and only look to benefit themselves and the close ones around them. Neither is right or wrong, as everyone has the opportunity to carve out their own individual place in the Universe. Some can be bothered to do so and some cannot. Some can be motivated to do so and others cannot. What will be will be!’

  The screen goes blank again. When the picture appears on the screen there is a moment of sadness in them all, as they are seeing a great explosion. It only lasts a second maybe and then there is nothing to be seen. Not one particle remains of The Guiding Masters’ base.

  The Grand Master moves GM6 and GM7 to the travel pods. He is not in the mood to even have to look at them. His first instinct is to dispose of them, like he has done with the others when he left Earth. Something deep inside him tells him that is not the wise thing to do. There is a reason why he has been made to bring them with him and although the base is now nothing, he has the feeling that he is still being watched. O is gone, but then O was gone before that last message had come through onto the console. Maybe The Keeper is right and this is all part of a larger game. Maybe he is not as free as he had thought or hoped. Maybe someone is still holding him on some sort of string, allowing him to think he is in control. Maybe when the time comes he will be tu
gged back into line. What will happen to his plans then?

  He is interrupted in his thoughts by the android pilot asking for instructions as to where they should be setting their course for. He doesn’t answer straight away, as he isn’t sure. He had been hoping to get some more information out of the systems. He had really been hoping that he could have used that as his base. Maybe he should go back to Earth and establish a base there. There could be worse places in the Universe to have a base.

  He decides to set course for Earth and informs the android of this. It will be interesting to see how Ricardo, Mario & TZ are doing with their low level upsetting of The Balance. In many ways the people of Earth are quite backwards in their behaviour. They have a long way to go to catch up with the inhabitants of some other planets he can think of.

  He sends The Keeper to his travel pod and sits back to watch the journey on their way to Earth.

  CHAPTER 90 THE BADDIES

  Valpar continues on his journey to Torlech 74. The fact he has just taken over Torlech 72 might lead you to surmise that Torlech 74 would be relatively close by. This is not the case by any stretch of the imagination. Torlech 72 and 74 were discovered by the same person, along with some other uninhabitable asteroids which bear his name and numbers.