“Yes. Teely,” she said, her voice became hard. “I've made a breakthrough in surveillance and information gathering, finally, by carefully watching him and his agents.” Her expression darkened. “He was necessary in order for me to finally figure out what these alien were doing. He was less careful than the others close to my father. Before Teely I was in the dark. He was supporting one of the shadow groups I've been keeping tabs on. Teely, or Abor, was part of the second wave of a group of alien loyalists who had come to Earth ahead of the much larger wave that's on their way now. They and the first wave who came many decades earlier are preparing the earth for an invasion. There are a number of corporations today that I believe have been taken over by aliens disguised as humans. Their knowledge and manipulation of biotechnology is amazing, really.
After the debacle with the last android project, I made it my business to buy out the company and take it over. I had planned my move for a long time but you inadvertently forced my hand. I'm glad you did. I think I was too cautious. I should have acted sooner. Vartan Inc. lost a lot of money and resources because of Abor. But I don't know if it would have saved my father.” Her gaze drifted off toward some point in the office before she returned to me.
She seemed both like a child and like a very old woman. But the power and grit in her voice suggested her uncommon strength.
“After that ouster, my dad seemed to lose his ability to think straight. He had a breakdown. I quickly took over the assets and put him under the care of a nurse. When I saw how proactive you were, how courageous you were chasing that snake all the way to Mars, I knew it was time to act on my larger plan and I wanted you to be part of it. I've started, run and sold enough of my own businesses over the years that I had developed a strategy for wrestling the company away from the enemy's hands. Or tentacles, if you will,” she chuckled grimly. I smiled. “I would often work for my dad here as an intern when I was in college, way back in the Bronze Age. That's the short version. I suppose you have questions for me,” she said expectantly.
“First, I'm honored to be working in accordance with your plan, Ms. Vartan. Thank you! But, something's changed, hasn't it?” I saw it in my dreams and somehow my mind understood that fate had turned a corner. Ellen clasped her hands together again and let out a slow, measured breath. Her hair was white as snow and cut into a soft bob around her ears. Her wide set eyes were electric blue and she possessed a strong Roman nose and a small rosebud mouth. She was short with a matronly figure. I was reminded of my prescient grandmother long ago. But her voice was much deeper than expected from a woman and I got the feeling that she could command armies with it. She had a steel in her, a power that most did not see unless they were unfortunate enough to disturb it.
“Oh yes. The game has changed. Things are accelerating. I sense things are on the move now, Robert. I mean the stargate they have been trying to build from the plans they stole long ago. Their agent Teely, among others, was sending raw materials for them to make critical key components in order to build this gate. He was part of a conspiracy to steal this information to use in building other gates to help bring their species to this solar system within the next few years. They call this plan by another name,” she said darkly.
“You mean Project Blackguard?” I asked. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“You are full of surprises, Robert.”
“I've learned a lot out there on Mars. What other name are you referring to?”
“I'm sure you've heard of it as well. The Rebirth Initiative.” I felt a cold pain eat through me.
“The Sacred Way.” A concept that at the time I'd first heard it seemed as distant and far removed as the stars of Cygnus.
“Funny that Robin didn't inform me that you knew about it.”
“I didn't tell Robin.” She gave me a knowing look.
“You like to keep your cards close to your chest? I understand the desire. But now it is imperative that we share what we both know. It will do neither of us any good to keep secrets any longer. And now to the reason why I asked you to come to my office. Do you know of the Dark Energy project?”
“I've heard about it. It was supposed to enable the U.S. military to use black holes to fuel future space travel and that the aliens stole this information from one of the foremost energy companies in the world, Sunsee. I think the stargate project that came out of Futura Technologies evolved into this bigger, secret project.”
“Almost. It's first name was Project Destiny. The original founders were a small group of scientists, engineers and software programmers, most worked for Sunsee or Futura Technologies that used their free time outside of work to create space faring technology for the benefit of all humanity. The information was supposed to be free. I don't know if I would agree it should have been but their intent was based on ideals I agree with. Science and technology should benefit all humanity. Sunsee eventually backed the project, naming it Dark Energy, and they really began making huge strides in using the energy created by tiny black holes. At the same time, at Futura Technologies, the foundation for building the very first solar gate had been worked out. Soon after, the founders and their associates had mysteriously disappeared and the project was shrouded in secrecy. Those who tried to investigate these disappearances or what happened to the project also disappeared. I found that this happened right about the time that both companies had appointed new CEOs. Sunsee chose one from within their ranks, Futura Technologies recruited one from outside. Both I suspect are aliens. Tell me, how did you find out about this?”
“I have a friend on Mars who had a boyfriend who worked on Project Blackguard. I think that by then it was leaked by hackers into the hacker community trying to find out what happened to the original project and how it had been changed. And I tried to help the guy who was fleeing from Abor and his gang, to hide the plans and schematics on how to build the gate. I suspect that what happened to Taylor Richmond also happened to Genevieve's boyfriend. All the people who worked on these projects were either killed or never found, like you've said.” She regarded me steadily for a few seconds.
“All of that is washed away with the first wave of loyalist plans. They've gotten what they wanted out of Sunsee and Futura Technologies – the best technology to create more stable wormholes for travel through the stars and how to build the stargates they need to get here much, much faster. Their infiltration of other corporations on Earth enabled them to siphon off the materials their compatriots hiding in the solar system need to fuel, build or repair their ships and stations and strengthen their armed forces. Project Blackguard started out as Project Destiny twenty years ago, a bright future for humankind, a way for us to find better ways of traveling to outer space, beyond the solar system, eventually beyond the Milky Way. It's lost now. How they've twisted this on us! They have entered the second phase. I can feel it and the information reports I've been monitoring say this is is so.”
“What does this second phase look like?”
“Now that they have infiltrated human society they plan to open a doorway to allow the rest of their kind into our solar system. The new stargate has already been built. However they've managed to keep this hidden, they did an excellent job. Not even my sources could find this out before now. I only just found out about it because of the recent commercials and news feeds. ” OUR solar system. The stress on the words was harsh as her eyes turned dark with the emphasis.
“I feel like everything I've done so far is a waste.”
“But it wasn't. You've done a great deal to buy us all time, Robert, and now I turn to the second phase of our own plan. I had a feeling they were working on something big and I prepared for it. I've obtained copies of the information files on Project Blackguard which you'll need. The stargate is going to be activated in one month. It'll happen at the annual Science and Technology Conference. This year it's here in Seaport. They will activate it on Thursday, October 31st. It's their Trojan Horse.” I was stunned.
“I will have access to the Blac
kguard Project?”
“It's imperative that you do.”
“So quickly.” I was stunned. That conference was almost upon us. I knew there was a reason why I hated those ads.
Then she asked a question that floored me even further.
“I think that we two have something very much in common. It's why I feel you are such a good man for the job.”
“What do we have in common?”
“When I was a girl I remember being a part of a secret experiment, a failed one. Before he succumbed completely under their control my father sought to save his family from the alien invasion by striking a deal with a man, a German scientist who had killed and collected alien DNA, using it to transform a few humans. I was given alien DNA to transform me. It didn't work. Or at least not in the ways it was supposed to. It was all very hush-hush and there are a lot of dark things that happened to me and my family during that time. He later founded a prestigious genetics research lab. I sense that somehow you are like me. There's something about you that is different. I feel it on an instinctual level. That you know when. . . they. . . are around.” I was silent for a long time. She merely stared at me, her eyes bright but her voice gentle.
“Yes,” was all I could manage. I wasn't prepared to talk about my experience on Hussa.
“Don't be afraid to use it as a gift. Even if it doesn't feel like one. We have a huge advantage over others, over the alien spies even. A critical advantage. Soon we'll have another advantage. I've formed a small group of agents working with me on St. Anthony, our “rebel base” if you will. Our plan to wage war is only just coalescing and I want you to meet with them, work with them. One of the things I'm doing is having some of them study the creature you discovered at Hussa. She is powerful. If we can master the alien's DNA splicing and the bio-tech they use and combine it with current military technology we'll have weapons that will rival that of the Black Fleet. We all need to unite and work together in a concerted effort.”
“I'd love to meet them! I could use some help!”
“And you'll get it.”
“Why don't we get more together on this? Add some of these agents helping you on St. Anthony to aid me?”
“One of them already is. But I feel it's best for this particular mission to be a very small one. A large force will alert them that humans are aware of their existence and what they're doing. They feel complacent down here on Earth. I don't want their focus to shift on U-net. We need to stay small, for now, to stay under the radar.”
“Do you still have. . .her. . .here? Somewhere?” She nodded. Somewhere in this, I couldn't help feeling that this was a dangerous path to walk. We could become like the loyalists if we weren't careful in using living beings as science experiments. Even villains like the Fiorjah creature.
“She speaks to me you know. In my dreams.”
“I can sense her communicating but she doesn't speak to me. What does she say to you? If you don't mind my asking?” I sighed, shifting in my seat.
“Well, perhaps we should talk of her communications at another time,” she said gently.
“I'd like that. I just can't talk about it right now. Why do you keep her alive?”
“Because she may be useful to our cause in the future. As a weapon.” I wasn't sure I liked that idea at all. For various reasons. I had no love for the creature but somehow that seemed too cold-blooded, even after all I'd been through.
“She's a living creature-”
“Who wants our destruction. Who views us as mere animals beneath her.”
“No, not exactly. I mean, yes her plans were destructive to human genetics but her motivations were different from the other aliens. And she isn't a loyalist alien by any means.” Ellen Vartan gave me a dubious look, the lines around her mouth turning down into the barest frown.
“Well, while I don't doubt you, the point is that her intentions were dark at best and her methods lethal. We can't afford to lose the ball on this. Any who aren't rebel aliens is the enemy. And even then, who says that even the rebels might not turn on the human race one day? Look, my experiences with them, what my family and I have been subjected to has colored my attitude. I admit it. Hopefully, your own family can remain safe from this threat. But it requires your complete confidence in my plans. No doubting.”
“So how do you intend to weaponize a living being?”
“We're working on it in the lab.”
“You mean at Vartan?” I asked in disbelief.
“No. I have a private lab. Secret, and privately funded just for problems such as this. And we're getting close to a weapon for the final war when they come. I'll have you tour the lab soon so you can see for yourself.”
“I just wonder, who is who?”
“Use your sixth sense Robert. It will tell you. That's the one overriding advantage we have that they don't know anything about.”
“So, tell me about this year's convention. How are they going to carry this out?”
“Futura Technologies will be one of the most prominent companies and sponsors present. You may have heard all about the exciting new breakthrough about the stargate. It's been all over the news lately.”
“Ad nauseum.”
“A new stargate, an actual working, ready to be ported to space will be revealed at this convention. A demonstration on how the gate works will be held. Everyone who is anyone in science and business will be there. High security. Big media. It's the news item of the century. But this is a trap! People are unaware of what is actually going to happen there. My alien “sense” is fading as I get older, but over the years, I've used this weak power of mine to search out and study the forces arrayed against us that hide in the dark. And when I can, thwart them. The Blackguard Project is one of these dark plans and it culminates with the gate at this convention.”
“Black holes,” I said quietly, remembering. “Of course! That's been it all along!”
“What?”
“The black holes! On Jupiter, I mean. A great deal of unusual activity surrounding black holes is the issue. I think they're trying to open up a doorway through Jupiter. My dreams were telling me all along what they were doing. I just couldn't understand them until recently. They are using Jupiter as the opening point for the Black Fleet! I would imagine that any activity signatures that occur they might be able to hide or, at least, blunt under cover of the planet's powerful storms. . .” My voice trailed off as the realization of the tenacity and the speed in which they were moving hit me. Ellen sat quietly, listening, her eyes bird bright and unblinking.
“Go on. What else have you figured out?”
“My God, I just thought they were bad dreams.”
“But they were premonitions.”
“Oh yes.” I felt light-headed. “Is it too late?”
“If it were we wouldn't be sitting here now. But time is running out. Let me tell you what else I know. At the demonstration, thousands will attend and millions, billions, will be watching live by holo-vid stream through WSEL and other major channels. The problem, from the sources I have, is that this gate is not entirely stable and their first attempts at using it in trials according to the BG files resulted in catastrophic loss of life. These trials, which were never meant to be carried out as quickly as they were, got swept under the rug by the alien interlopers who took over the project and murdered the original founders and participants. The time table's been moved up. They are going ahead with the demonstration anyway because they have made some improvements in the technology. I also think that they are desperate. Perhaps these approaching fleets are in dire need of resources. They're planning to let part of the Black Fleet through that day. And I suspect these ships that will be coming first will employ ghosting technology, otherwise, such a move wouldn't work. I have people on the ground joining in the protests and we plan to interrupt the convention. I haven't been successful in circumventing or interrupting their plans for the gate in any other way so this is another tactic. I don't know how effective it will be. It wou
ld only work in conjunction with a better plan to stop it.”
“And I'll be the guy on the inside again.”
“You do seem to have the remarkable ability of the cat in these things. In those files is information that is key to disabling the gate, destroying it permanently. If this doesn't work, I have an agent in reserve with another plan.”
“What plan is that?”
“If we can't destroy it with minimal loss of life we'll use a bomb.”
“Good lord.” I said, stunned. “You know they'll label us as terrorists, don't you?”
“If they find out who did it, which they won't. We can sense them, they can't sense us.”
“Speaking of that, I recall that when I took my family to Kipling Park that someone was following us. I sensed an alien presence there.”
“I asked one of my contacts to watch over you and your family. I should have told you. I apologize.”
“Why?”
“Things are about to become more dangerous. You must be protected, Robert. You and your family. If you are okay with it I will have him contact you. He knows all about Blackguard. And he's saved my life on more than one occasion which is why I trust him. He's been one of my most trusted intelligence agents spying on earthbound loyalists.”
“In order for their plan to work, they would need more than one gate, an entry point, and an exit point. The gate on Earth must be the exit point. Which means-”
“The second entry point is somewhere out there. I suspect it's on either Enceladus or Jupiter.”
“How in hell's winds are they even able to get something like that on the planet without it being torn to pieces?”
“That's what we need to find out. There's definitely more than one gate in this system. Has to be.”
Mission: Blackguard Conspiracy Page 3