Comes Great Responsibility

by Chuck Kienzle

  Mandisa swatted them away from her face, They could not bite through her skin, but I was sure they were annoying.

  “You know that the base personnel who saw you lift me are going to wonder what was going on?” John said.

  He was still worried about the fact he had last his extreme powers would go public. I understood his, and the Agency's concerns, but I did not have time to worry about that. Given the priority that the base had for security, it thought was likely they would block that information form getting out, at least for the time being. If we did not find a way to restore John's extreme powers soon, whether that loss became public or not was mute.

  “Ms. Tarlock, this is Director Tenneth,” I heard over my comm link.

  “Director, something does not feel right? We are not being told the whole story,” I said.

  “I agree. Unfortunately, we don't have much choice. They have the gold,” Tenneth said.

  “True. We discovered that they have, at least, three extra or extreme powered individuals in a hidden area on the base,” I said.

  There was a pause for almost ten seconds, then Tenneth said,” That is not our Intel. Do you know who they are or what are their abilities?”

  “No. Mandisa found them in a shielded room under the viewing portal. She can sense that they have extra abilities, but not what they are,” I said.

  “If we had secured communications from the base, she could “look” at a display of known extra-powered people here, but that won't be possible in this case,” Tenneth said.

  That was something that John and I did over the years. Just as John could “attend” a meeting remotely, we could “see” and “hear” information from the Agency from a distance. It was something that I had taken for granted.

  “Do we have anything on the black ops group that is running the base or on Jacobs and Torres?” I asked.

  “We traced the group back to President Bradford. He wanted means to counter what he saw as the powered threat. This group's official mandate is scientific investigation in the nature of powered people. It seems that its real purpose was to find ways to combat powered people,” Tenneth said.

  Bradford was President five years ago. He was elected on the anti-powered hysteria after the Cleveland Disaster. Fortunately, his policies were so extreme that he was not re-elected. John took a far more public stance during that time.

  “I have directed that a contingency plan be in place when you get back or if you don't get back and the arrival of The Destroyer is imminent,” Tenneth said.

  That was not very reassuring. Yet, it was the best we could expect.

  “Control, tell the base that we are going back,” I said.

  I took the two under their arms and lifted up. I did not like the situation. I did not trust Rosenstein, Jacobs or even Doctor Torres. We would just have to watch our backs.

  Chapter 17 Saturday, July 24, 8:00 AM Alaska Daylight Time

  At eight AM the next morning, we were in the transit portal building. Mandisa was in a white combat suit that was modified for space use. It had a backpack unit the supplied both power and the environmental support. John wore his uniform, without his cape. He had a similar backpack, which I was sure he wished he did not have to use. I had a smaller unit on my hip. Although I needed the oxygen supply, my bio-shield eliminated the need for other environmental support. Mandisa held her helmet under her arm. John and I had not put on our masks.

  Jacobs was there, with several support personnel and two guards, armed with energy rifles. I wondered who they were afraid of. I and Mandisa had scanned the entire area and found nothing amiss. Jacobs had just arrived and walked over to us.

  “Everything is ready. We will activate the viewing portal in two days at noon and mid-night. We will repeat that everyday until we see you, then we will generate a transit portal. The portal will only be open for ten seconds. If you miss the opportunity, it will take us at least two months to rebuild the portal unit. The seats have been adjusted to accommodate Apollo's and Ms. Mandisa's backpacks. We have stored an environmental suit for the healers use,” Jacobs said.

  “That is nice of you. When is the portal activation scheduled?” I said.

  “We will activate it about fifteen minutes after you are buttoned in,” he said.

  I “felt” someone appear behind me and slap something around my neck. It was a nullifier collar. I felt my bio-field fade and as I reached up to try and rip the collar off, it emitted an electric charge and everything went black.

  I slowly woke up. My bio-shield was back and I sat in a seat. I felt off. I “looked” around and I was in the lifting body. I was in the center seat and Mandisa was in the seat to my right. The seat to my left was empty. Mandisa looked more relaxed.

  Mandisa shook my arm and said,” Ms. Tarlock, Clarissa, please wake up.”

  “What happened?” I asked Mandisa as I released my seat belts.

  “A teleporter put the nullifier collar on you. You then screamed and fell to the floor. Apollo moved to help you, but he guards stopped him. Jacobs said there was a change of plans. Fifteen minutes later, Doctor Torres arrived with more guards. They took Apollo away. They put a collar around my neck and told me to get into the lifting body. I did not have any choice. Then they put you inside and Doctor Torres followed. The portal activated and we were thrown through it. Once the portal closed, Doctor Torres checked the instrumentation and then manually deactivated your nullifier collar. She then got out of the lifting body.” Mandisa said.

  I reached up to crush they collar when Mandisa grabbed my hand.

  “Doctor Torres said that if we do not have the collars on, they would not activate the transit portal.”

  I took my hand down and said,” How do you feel?”

  “Good. When I was on your world, everything seemed a bit off. Now, I am home,” she said.

  “That is nice. Let's get some answers,” I said.

  We both left the lifting body and I walked over to Doctor Torres. She turned, and for the first time since I met her, she smiled. She looked relaxed, just like Mandisa.

  “How does it feel to be home,” I said.

  Doctor Torres looked surprised and then said,” How did you know?“

  “I didn't, but you are smiling, like you were home again,” I said.

  “Yes, Forty-Five and I came from here,” Doctor Torres said.

  “Forty-Five?” I said.

  “The Warriors created by the Northern Hegemony were given numbers, not names,” Mandisa said.

  “They created gods and knew no better than to refer to them as numbers,” Doctor Torres said disgustingly.

  “gods?” I said.

  Mandisa explained that there were several groups of people who viewed extra powers as divine gifts. Many saw Warriors as virtual gods. Like any religious belief, the cult of the Warriors was banned in the Hegemony. The Warrior Forty-Five publicly announced that he was a god and would save everyone one, after he ruled the world. The Hegemony captured him and killed him.

  “No, we escaped,” Doctor Torres said.

  She explained that she was a child progeny who specialized in multi-dimensional theory. She was assigned to a project to design a multi-use transit portal. She was, also , a member of the Cult of Forty-Five. With the assistance of other Cult members, she arranged to use the just completed project's portal to allow Forty-Five to escape. Unexpectedly, he pulled her through the portal too.

  The story that the public was told by the Hegemony was a lie designed to end the Cult. With its god dead, the Cult would collapse. If they knew they god was still alive on another world, some would await his return and others would try to return him. For the government, it was better that his was dead.

  “We were in the middle of the desert. We were found a road and a vehicle stopped. I had learned English and asked him to help. He as a member of the Air Force and took us to his base.” Doctor Torres said.

  “And you told them everything,” I said.

  “Forty-Five told th
em that we were from another timeline. It was an accident that were arrived. After several weeks of debriefing, we were given the option to help in building a transit portal. I told them that we could not do it alone and that the technology did not exist on their world. That is why we were given new identities and were enrolled in college. During the time it took to get my doctorate, I would publish my theories and recruit the best and brightest to work on the eventual development project,” Doctor Torres said.

  “What did you tell them about your world?” I asked.

  “We were mostly truthful, except about Forty-Five's true nature. The government was especially interested in, not only advanced technology, but about the nature of powered people on our world. Forty-Five knew that his only chance to regain his godhood was the healer, Vala Grein,” Doctor Torres said.

  “So, why didn't your god come with us?” I said.

  “He wishes his godhood restored on your world,” she said.

  Great, I thought. Just what we needed was a superman with delusions of godhood.

  “So you intend to allow the Vala Grein to heal John and myself?” I said.

  “Of course, after she returns Forty-Five's godhood and we return home,” she said.

  Somehow, I did not believe the all of that. Jacobs had delusions of grandeur. Maybe he would allow the healer to work on us, or maybe not. And, why return to a devastated world when he had a perfectly good world to rule.

  “OK. Why should we help you? And, by the way, what is your real name?” I said.

  Torres laughed and that made me very uneasy.

  “Toris Sirus, and if you don't help us your Agency will not have Apollo or you to stop The Destroyer. Unless Forty-Five sees the healer with us, he was not open a transit portal,” she said.

  “And why shouldn't I leave you here while we go to the Moon?” I asked.

  “Because she is not on the Moon. My lord Forty-Five knew the Warrior Malko. He was the result of an experiment by the Southern Alliance to create a more powerful Warrior. Malko's power levels were variable. He could only match or exceed normal Warrior levels for a short time. He could not even achieve low orbit. He could never have reached the Moon, especially with a passenger,” Toris Sirus said.

  I looked at Mandisa and said,” Is she telling the truth?”

  “Knowledge of the exact powers of each Warrior was classified. I only knew, for certain, those I “watched.” Malko was never one of my targets. Vala Grein disappeared before I became active. Once, I was asked to find her, but failed. I was given more pressing matters to look into. Even with my abilities, the world is a big place,” Mandisa said.

  He vitals indicated that she told the truth. However, I had could not trust that she had not controlled her autonomic functions. I chose to believe her.

  “If she is not on the Moon, where is she?” I asked Toris Sirus.

  “That is your task to find her,” she said.

  “How did you expect to find her without us?” I asked.

  “We had assets that we believed could find her, but your and Mandisa's arrival presented us with a better chance,” Toris Sirus said.

  So, they were just lucky that we showed up. I “looked” at the Moon. I looked the same as the one I always saw, except I could “see” evidence of more extensive human activity, a large base near the south pole and a couple other ones near the equator. Unfortunately, my “sight' was distance limited, I could not see the details. I would have to go much closer to “see” into the bases.

  “Mandisa, can you “see” any details in the lunar bases?” I said.

  She “looked” down, since the Moon was on the other side of the planet. She squinted her eyes, as if to “see” better. She shook her head.

  “I can 'see” the outside of the bases, but not inside,” she said.

  “You can waste your time checking out the Moon, but do we really have that time?” Toris Sirus said.

  That was the question. We only had two weeks before The Destroyer came through. I knew from my previous trips to the Moon that I was limited to one g acceleration, assuming I did not want to get there exhausted. I did not know the full extent of Mandisa's powers, but I thought it would take me, alone, at least a day to do even a surface scan.

  “Mandisa, I am sure that your government tried to keep track of someone as important as Vala Grein. Do you know where we might find that information?” I said.

  “I know of more than one secure information locations, but data access was secured by location. I doubt we could get access,” Mandisa said.

  “You could force people to help get you access,” Toris Sirus said.

  “I doubt that any of those locations are still manned. However, I might know someone who might help us, assuming, he is still alive,” Mandisa said.

  “Can you find him?” I asked.

  Mandisa turned and looked south. She moved her eyes back and forth. She narrowed her eyes and then said,”I found him. He is on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.”

  “How did you know where to look?” Toris Sirus said.

  “It is one of the places I found where people went to hide from everyone,” Mandisa said.

  “And, you did not tell your handlers,” I said.

  “By that time, I knew they were not to be trusted with such information,” she said.

  “Can we expect to be tracked once we get airborne?” I said.

  I could go into stealth mode and be invisible to electromagnetic detection, but it is usually limited to myself. I could extend the effect through my TK field, but it took more energy, especially when I had to cover something as large as the lifting body.

  Mandisa shook her head and said,” Even if there was someone left to detect us, they would not care.”

  “Then I can carry the lifting body. All aboard. Mandisa can direct me from inside. Oh, by they way, Doctor, what do you preferred to be called,” I said.

  “Toris will do,” she said.

  The two got into the lifting body, closed the hatch and strapped in. I went to the back of the craft, picked it up and lifted off. I accelerated at 2 g. I scanned the surface in the seven minutes it took to reach orbit. I guessed that there were only a few thousand people scattered in the central and southern Alaskan peninsula. The few towns I saw were mostly abandoned and any damage was from the weather. I “scanned” where the major urban areas should have been along the Pacific coasts. The cities I “saw” along the Asian coast and the Japaneses archipelago were all in ruins, as were the cities on the North American coast. There were still people on the ground, but in the thousands rather than the millions. The climate was colder, the result of the amount of soot in the upper atmosphere. The city that sat at Beijing's location had a large crater at the center of the damage. I “looked” closer and sensed increased radiation.

  “There is a city on the Asian mainland that looks like it was hit by a nuclear blast,” I said over my comm link.

  “A nest of rogue Warriors took over the city. A missile with a nuclear warhead was intercepted by the Warriors, but it was a distraction. A loyal Warrior used the distraction to get into the city and detonate a nuclear device,” Mandisa said.

  “That Warrior died? And, how many casualties were there?” I said.

  “He gave his life to eliminate the rogues. He was called a hero. As for the number of casualties, I don't know the exact amount, but they were considered acceptable loses,” she said.

  The powers that be on this world thought it worth the deaths of, at least thousands, to kill the rogue Warriors. One of the loyal Warriors was willing to sacrifice their life. What kind of world had I been born on.

  I decelerated as we approached the south central Pacific. Because of the controlled decent, we did not encounter substantial re-entry heating. Mandisa directed toward a small isolated island group in the middle of the Pacific. I was surprised to realize that we were headed to Pitcairn Island. There were about a thousand people scattered around the island. The island was mostly rock with
little beach area. I landed the lifting body on a small beach beach area near a small port. The boats were almost all sail boats. The other few were powered by electric engines powered by, what I assumed, was some sort of advanced battery.

  After I put the craft down, Toris and Mandisa got out and we stood on the beach. Pitcairn Island was no a Pacific paradise. It was more a big rock in the middle of the ocean. I quickly scanned the island. Most of the people were in the village. I saw a few at the valley farms, which looked like they were tended by automated equipment. This was not a paradise, it was a refuge. There was no one on the beach or the port area. Those I “saw” beyond the beach moved quickly away.

  “Friendly people,” I said.

  “You are seen as a Warrior. People are here to hide from them,” Mandisa said.

  We followed a path up to a small town. The buildings looked hand made, but I could tell that they were all printed. There were underground electric power and communication lines to each building. What I did not “see” were any wireless communication devices. What I assumed were computers or phones were all hard wired. I “saw” a few small trucks and the equivalent of golf carts. In the middle of the only street, stood an old man.

  Since I knew that everyone on this world was powered, I was surprised to see anyone that looked that old. Unlike the world I knew, people here with extra-powers, also, had standard-powers and should, therefore, age slowly.

  The man was dark skinned, with a crown of while hair around his bald head. There were laugh lines at corners of each eye, wrinkles on his forehead and slightly sunken cheeks. Despite that, his body “looked” fit, but I can “see” deterioration inside his body that indicated an age of, perhaps, eighty in a non-standard powered person.