by John Jr. Yeo
With that outburst, I was ready to come to my senses again. Major Baltrin spoke once more, and this time I was more focused.
“Did you hear me, Emily?”
“I’d like the timey-stoppy gizmo," I said, very simply and as emotionless as I could manage. "May I have it, please?"
Major Baltrin, Eric and Cass exchanged worried looks, as if this was exactly what they had been expecting me to say. It wasn't going to deter me, and I asked again.
"It's not that simple anymore," Baltrin began.
"The hell it isn't, Major. He's got my son."
"If we handed the last fully functioning array to that alien, he could raise an army with it. You saw what a few of those clones are capable of, do you want that sort of bloodshed on your hands?"
"He doesn't have a power source to make it work," I reasoned with him. "The Dome and CERN are both guarded now, so it'd be useless to him, right? I'll fly in, have my son released, and then you can go charging in with every---"
"There's a third power source that he could use," Eric said, cutting me off with a hand on my shoulder. "Among the many cities that was attacked, there was also a strike on an air force base in Nevada. I recognized where he was communicating from, I’ve seen it before. He’s stolen the starship that he and Ambassador arrived on Earth in. That’s where he was calling you from."
All the exotic technology, foreign script and otherworldly robotics that had surrounded Sens'r while he was talking to me. That’s what it was. An alien spaceship. My hope for my son began to sank.
"I thought that ship was broken?"
"The warp engine was damaged when it arrived in our solar system, so it can't fly at faster than light speeds," Baltrin explained. "But it still functions. It's been docked, quietly and securely, at Edwards Air Force Base for the last twenty years."
"Area 51?"
"That’s never been the base's official name," Baltrin said quietly, as if saying the name out loud was some sort of breech of classified information. "It may not be able to leave our galaxy, but it still can outmaneuver anything we have in the air, and it has a devastating array of weaponry and a force shield impenetrable to anything we could throw at it, conventional or any catalogued enhanced abilities. It's fueled by a nuclear engine that could power an entire city."
"He actually stole it from Area 51?”
"The clones can be programmed with whatever Sens’r wants them to know," Baltrin nodded sadly. "While you were conversing with our alien friend, I spoke to General Shatwell at the base. While the world was watching the clones annihilate all those cities, another one was quietly breaking into the base. It killed fifty soldiers without blinking, and then it flew off with the starship. It was the real reason Sens'r attacked, not just to show a threat of force, but to get back that vessel. The ship’s batteries would be more than enough to power the array, and we know that only half of the cloning tanks he acquired were at CERN. The rest of them are probably already on that ship, waiting for you to bring him the array.”
“So what are you trying to tell me? My son is…”
“Emily, please listen carefully to me,” Baltrin told me carefully. “I am not authorized to let you deliver that object into an alien terrorists’ hands. It’s the last link of the puzzle he needs to continue raising an army that will allow him to walk all over every government in this world. He’s at his weakest right now, and we need to keep that bastard there. Just stay here, and let the rest of us handle Sens’r.”
This was just too much for me now. Every logical, sensible thought in my head told me that the life of one human being shouldn’t be used to give the alien the leverage he was after right now. But it was my boy. It was my Caleb. I leaned back and slammed my good hand against the wall, and I would have done it again if Eric hadn’t gripped my shoulder.
“Emily, we have a teleporting agent,” he told me. “You saw him bring in other registered enhanced people. When he touches the photograph of a target, he can teleport right to him. I’m very certain we can get your son back safely.”
“You can’t guarantee that,” I shot back. “You can’t guarantee that she won’t kill him as soon as she sees someone coming…”
“We can’t guarantee that they won’t kill you and your boy as soon as you bring him what he wants,” Baltrin shot back, losing his patience now. “This monster just declared war on the entire human race, and we have to think about the big picture. If you want to go with our teleporter to rescue your son, then go. But we’re not giving that freak the last working, functioning Chronal Dampening Array!”
That was when it hit me. That was when the only possible alternative finally hit me. I knew what had to be done.
“Emily, come on girl,” Cass said gently, tugging on my shoulder. “Let’s let the military handle this one. You always told me there were jobs that the police and the soldiers should handle. Let’s let them do their job.”
I took a step back from Major Baltrin and Eric Quincy, as they started discussing the possible options they had in tackling this problem.
“We have a speedster,” Baltrin pointed out. “Perhaps she could sneak in a small bomb before they could track her?”
“She’s fast,” replied Eric. “But that ship has shields that would possibly withstand a nuclear strike. Our speedster can’t phase through solid matter.”
“Any chance of a supernatural attack?”
“Lord Maroon is the only one who might have a chance, and he’s never cooperated with DSA protocols. We’re not even sure where he’s living these days.”
“The Mirror Man?”
“He has Ambassador-level strength and endurance, but he’s an alcoholic burnout these days. Unpredictable as hell.”
The more they spoke, and the more options they shot down, the surer I was. I stepped back at last, and followed Cass around the corner. As we walked together, I discretely told her what I was thinking, hoping that she wouldn’t screw me over and tell the others.
To my surprise, she didn’t. Without a moment of hesitation, she guided me towards the heavily guarded lab in the center of the complex.
We found the door to the Genome Lab guarded by two massive looking Marines. They weren't particularly looking anxious or concerned, but they looked like they weren't going to be messed with either. We were on the far end of the hallway leading to the corridor, where they could see us, but not hear our voices. Uniformed soldiers and scientists in white lab coats were bustling in and out of the place, all showing proper credentials, as the work continued to officially shut down the Dome.
“This is never going to work," she complained. "You can't just hand him a broken array, you know. He'll scan it to make sure the power source is intact. If he sees it's unusable, he'll order your boy to be killed."
"That's why I'm not bringing him the broken array," I reminded her. "What part of my plan doesn't make sense to you?"
"The part that's bat-shit insane. I really should turn you over to Major Baltrin right now."
“You haven’t busted me yet,” I pointed out. "Will any of their other plans work? Before his deadline?"
"There's not too many organized super-hero teams out there to run an assault," she admitted. "Not on the Infinite League's scale, anyway."
"Which is why I need to do this. Sens’r will open the shield for me. And then he's going to be sorry he did. I just want you to promise me that you are going to save my son."
Cass looked at me for another moment, bit her lip thoughtfully, and finally shook her head resignedly. Then she started walking towards the guards at the end of the hall. I kept pace, my heartbeat starting to pick up.
“This is crazy,” she decided.
"You'll do it, Submission?"
"I'm not Submission anymore," she replied. "I think it's time we all started a new chapter in our lives."
"I won't let you down," I promised her. "And when I come back, I fully expect a hero's welcome, my record to be cleared up, and I want these damn things off my arms."
She quietly nodded at me, but I could tell she was harboring no illusions that I was going to come back from this mission. I knew trying to convince her that everything was going to be fine would be futile, so I kept my mouth shut and just smiled back at her. This was for my son, and for the rest of the world as well.
"You're one insane chick," she said as we reached the door.
"And you taught me sometimes there's a time to be a cop, and there's a time to be a super-hero.”
"Civilians aren't allowed in this section," the shorter guard told us as we approached the door. "The holding area for you civilians are back up on the main floor, please just wait there until the base commander can give you further instructions."
"We're not lost," Cass explained, making direct eye contact with the guard. "I need you to pick up the Chronal Dampening Array and give it to my friend."
"Right away," he said blankly, quickly vanishing into the room.
The taller guard jolted, calling after his companion. "Danny?"
"Sgt. Yavin, I'd like you to go into the room,” she ordered. “People are going to try to come after us. You need to use any means short of lethal force to prevent them from coming out after Danny. In five minutes, you'll forget everything that happened here and then you'll take a nap."
"That sounds like a great idea," the taller guard replied. He went inside the room and gripped his weapon, aiming it towards the number of scientists that were trying to stop Danny from leaving with the array. Danny emerged a few moments later, as we hoped, and handed the array to me.
"Good boy," she complimented him. "Now, forget what I told you, and go to the longue down the hall and take a nap for about an hour."
"I am a little sleepy," he decided. "Have a good night."
Then the guard walked down the hall, yawning as he went. The scuttling and yelling inside the Genome Lab was starting to get louder.
"The hell are you waiting for," she barked at me. "Any moment now, someone's going to hit the alarms and this place is going to go on lockdown. Move your ass, girl."
I wasted an extra five seconds to hug her, tearing up as I did.
“Please save my boy,” I told her. “Don’t let that woman hurt him.”
You should be the one going to help him. Are you sure you won’t let someone else do this?”
“You heard Major Baltrin. If we want this guy beaten, we need to get past his shields. I’m the only one he’s going to lower the shield for. He’s at his weakest right now…this is the time when we need to kick him in the balls.”
“He’s an alien,” she reminded me. “His balls might not be where you think they are.”
In spite of everything, I laughed. “He made it personal, Cass. He threatened my boy.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she told me. The sirens went off after that, and the corridors lights began to flash red, and she suddenly appeared as if she was about to change her mind and try to stop me. I took a step back, and tried to look as confident as I could. I gripped the array a little tighter with my good hand, and gave her one last smile. I couldn’t have done this without her help.
“Thanks for being my hero. I’m going to try to be yours now. Just do what you promised, and maybe we can put this guy down.”
I ran down the hall, towards the main hangar. It would have been the last door to fully seal shut because of the large bay doors. Flying wasn’t easy, with one hand clutching the accelerator and the other hand missing, but I somehow managed to slip under the hangar door without being caught by the guards trying to block me from leaving.
As I took to the air, I could hear Major Baltrin’s voice screaming frantically on the loudspeakers. He was pleading with me not to do what I was planning on doing, but I didn’t look back. I couldn’t let myself be talked out of this.
I was going off to face the alien dictator one final time. If I had to choose the last person on Earth I would see before I died, this guy would be pretty far down the list. But I was nearly one hundred percent sure that’s exactly the fate I was flying towards.
I pushed myself hard. I flew faster than I’d ever flown before.
28
Face to Face
Monday, June 3 – 9:50 p.m.
I was given three hours to make it to the Back Allegheny Mountain, located in the Appalachian mountain region of West Virginia. I made it there in one hour and forty minutes.
The alien was right. You really couldn’t miss his big spaceship. It was the size of a four-story building, and it was clearly surrounded by a barrier of transparent energy that you usually only see in sci-fi movies. By this point, there were a few military helicopters observing it from a safe distance, but they didn’t dare come any closer. As strange as it was to see an actual alien spacecraft, the military must have been made aware of the defensive capabilities of the vessel. Too many people had died already.
I landed on the ground fifty feet from the edge of the ship. At this distance, it was close enough to actually see the shimmering layer of energy that the protective shield was made up of. I kicked an acorn on the ground towards the shield, and watched it bounce off the wall of energy. When it bounced back, it was on fire, and I stamped out the fire with my shoe.
Punching the energy shield would be a mistake, I realized.
A few moments later, I saw two figures flying towards me. They were clearly both clones of the Ambassador, wearing the black armor that identified them as warriors of the army of Sens’r. Their masks were off, and their faces were pale and blotchy, as if they were suffering from some type of flesh eating bacteria. They were nearing the end of their life cycle. They would soon decay into dead tissue, but they were still dangerous.
“Is your master to much of a coward to face me?” I taunted.
“Show us the array,” one of the clones demanded. “If you do not produce it, your son will die.”
Direct and to the point, just like good little monsters. I reached into my satchel and held the array with both hands. The clone with the less decayed cheek produced a small device from his belt, and scanned the object for a few moments. With a smile, he nodded at his twin.
“Lord Sens’r, this is an active array,” the other one reported, speaking into a radio. “The lithium tachyons are intact.”
“Is the casing sealed?” responded their master’s voice.
I glared at the clone, but rotated every side of the array for them to see that the hatches on the device were completely sealed.
“The casing is sealed,” the clone reported back.
There was a moment of silence, followed by a short three-tone burst of beeps on the radio. The ugly clone started to reach for the array, but I jumped backwards, placing the array back in the satchel.
“I want proof that my son is still alive,” I shouted, threatening the bag with a burning hand. “If you don’t want me to turn your time widget into melted garbage, you’re going to let him go!”
They probably could have taken the bag from me without much of a struggle, but they thankfully didn’t. There was a shimmering disturbance in the air as the shield vanished, and the clones escorted me towards the ship. Once we had moved closer, the great energy barrier returned, protecting the ship from outside attacks.
I resisted the urge to light the clones up, I really wanted to. They were so badly decayed now, they couldn’t have more than a few hours of life left to them. But I had come this far, and I really did have a plan. Throwing a little hissy fit too soon might be a fatal mistake for millions of people.
The vessel itself was shaped like a smooth triangle, covered with black tiles and alien script. The engines must have been on, because it was hovering ten feet above the ground. Strangely, I couldn’t hear much noise from the craft apart from a soft whisper of humming.
“This thing must have some amazing mufflers on it,” I quipped.
Not surprisingly, the clones didn’t respond. They marched me into an open ramp at the rear of the ship, and I was soon walking inside my firs
t alien space craft.
While the outside of the ship looked smooth and elegantly utilitarian, the interior was a cluttered mayhem of wires, metal, and narrow corridors. Bulkheads and pipes forced you to stoop constantly, and the doors separating each area were only four feet high. It was as if it had been designed for dwarves.
The halls were bustling with activity, as lots of men rushed around doing their errands. They were all wearing those identical black leather suits, but they weren’t bothering with the masks anymore. I still couldn’t believe how many humans had pledged to help this psychotic alien overthrow the world.
I was lead into a large room filled with monitor screens, each one showing news coverage of one of the many unfortunate locations that had been attacked by the clones. There were six other uniformed guards in the rooms, all armed with M-16 automatic rifles and side arms.
As I watched the screens, one of the Ambassadors snatched the satchel from my shoulder.
“Hey!”
“Wait here,” the less decayed clone told me. “If you attempt to leave, you will be shot.”
As if in reply, three of the larger guards cocked their weapons and pointed it towards me. They didn’t have to worry. I wasn’t planning to run off just yet. I was prepared to accept that this was a suicide mission, but I wasn’t ready to bite it just yet.
As the clones walked out of the room to deliver the array to their master, a couple more uniformed guards walked in with another prisoner. Unlike his captors, he barely had to stoop when he walked through the undersized door. I wasn’t sure if I was disappointed or relieved that he was still alive. The old doctor was directly responsible for this global crisis, but he did save my life back in Switzerland by convincing DeathTek to help me escape.
“You brought him the array? What the hell were you thinking, you stupid girl?” As always, the tone he used when speaking to me was condescending and impatient.