Quantum Armageddon
FROM THE FILES OF
THE SPECIAL OPS FORCE:
Temporal Time
reference 02.01.2218
Commander Robert
Tucker Reporting.
The
Minarian Tribunal has convicted Bwentani Rebel Leader Rillius of multiple war
crimes, including murder and endangering the Galaxy by allowing the Cho'Kai to
enter our dimension. He has been given the death sentence and he is awaiting
execution at the Penal Colony on Kurai III.
Former Celestus Council member Jen'Pway has
also been convicted of all charges. He has been sentenced to life without parole
on the penal asteroid in the Minarian system.
Former Earth Defense Force Colonel Todd
Myers was granted immunity in exchange for testimony against Rillius and
Jen'Pway. Myers disappeared shortly after wards and is presumed a casualty of a
Zenaren death squad.
The Zenaren attacked the Minarian detention
center, liberated their leader, Traxis and have hidden him somewhere in their
territory.
They refuse to hand him over to the
Minarians to stand trial and they have been declared a threat to Galactic
peace. Preparations are underway to bring him back, by force, if necessary.
With the help of Palonius, the Celestus
Council has elected a new leader, Prasin Astra of Venpari. Palonius and Astra
have signed a non-aggression pact, a trade agreement as well as a training
program for the newly appointed Celestus Guardians – the Kurai.
The Galactic Fighter training Academy
Commandant Harry Benson has arranged for Training Officers Ryan Dickinson and Samantha
Benson-Kensington to train the Kurai instructors who will in turn teach their
fighters and ground troops about military tactics, defense strategies and
intelligence gathering.
The Special Ops Force has remained an
independent component of the Earth Defense Force. Our mission is to monitor and
intervene on any attempted alteration of the galactic timeline, engage in
covert ops against any threat to the members of the Terran Alliance and
Celestus Order as well as provide security to the Minarian Tribunal since the
Zenaren attacked the detention center.
We have been placed on high alert due to
the fact that Rillius is going to face execution in the near future.
Report filed by
Special Ops Commander Robert Tucker
01 February, 2218 @
1600 hours
Robert Steven
Tucker Robert
Steven Tucker
CHAPTER 1
Special Ops Command Center – Earth temporal time
reference 02.18.2218.0930
Robert
Tucker and Special Forces Commander Dave Walsh are going over security
protocols with Intelligence Chief Miguel Herrera and Assistant Chief Paul
Foster.
They received a message from the Minarians
that convicted mass murderer Rillius' execution is scheduled for later that day
and he is to be escorted from the maximum security penal colony on Kurai III to
Minari Prime, where the execution prescribed by Minarian law will be carried
out.
They are going to have two teams of Special
Forces Operatives escort Rillius. Miguel, Paul and Bat'ai will be monitoring
the route and a squadron of Special Ops pilots, led by Squadron Commander
Zerellus, will be escorting the two WA-01s piloted by Robert and Ray Watson.
The Ops team finishes their preparations
and gets ready to leave the command center, when an alarm goes off and a
message appears on the screen:
Quantum incursion
Kurai III, level 10 breach.
“What the hell is that?” Robert asks.
“I am not…”
The screen glitches and a fuzzy image
appears: Bat'ai from the dimension Ray returned from is on the screen.
“Ray, come in,” ‘Bat'ai’ says, weakly.
“I'm here, son. What the hell happened?”
“Rillius stole a quantum slipstream device
and detonated an anti-matter weapon in our atmosphere. We have lost
almost
all of our city-ships and only a handful of us have
survived.
He traced your quantum signature and he is after
the
Rillius in your reality.”
“Why is he after Rillius?”
“He needs Rillius'...”
The screen suddenly goes blank.
“Paul, git him back!” Ray shouts.
“No time. We need to get to Kurai III PFQ
(Pretty Fucking Quick). Alert One, scramble all units!” Robert orders.
“Yes sir,” Paul replies and hits the alarm.
Robert, Dave, and Ray grab their gear and
go towards the hangar to assist their other dimensional friends.
Penal Colony – Kurai III
Inside his cell, Rillius is pacing, having
been informed by his former subordinate, Kaleel, that the Terrans were en route
to escort him to Minari Prime.
A buzzer goes off, then a door leading to
the cell block opens and someone enters the corridor.
Rillius collects himself; he does not want
to give the Terrans the satisfaction of seeing him admit defeat.
The cell door opens. Rillius is about to
speak, but stops and stares in complete shock as he sees himself with a weapon
in his hand. He thinks his double is breaking him out of the penal colony.
“Are you here to set me free?” Rillius
asks.
“You can put it that way,” his double
replies, with a gleam in his eyes.
He fires the weapon, killing the other
Rillius.
He
takes out a hypodermic needle, sticks it into his double, draws some blood and
injects himself.
The other Rillius' DNA stabilizes his
quantum signature.
The cell block door opens and the Special
Ops Team enters with their weapons drawn.
“You!” ‘Rillius’ hisses when he sees Ray.
“Commander Psycho,” Ray replies.
‘Rillius’ aims his weapon and fires,
causing the Ops Team to dodge the energy weapon.
“Return fire!” Dave yells, and the Ops team
aims their weapons at ‘Rillius’, who activates a personal shield.
The energy weapons have no effect on him.
He has a sadistic gleam in his eyes as he
pulls out a device. “Your time is soon,” ‘Rillius’ threatens then hits a
button. He shimmers and disappears.
“That's the Rillius you fought in the other
dimension?” Robert asks.
“Yeah, but that sum'bitch is ten times more
dangerous than the last time I saw 'im,” Ray replies.
“Looks like he got into your toy
collection,” Dave says.
“We had nothin' like that. He must've
jumped between realities,” Ray replies.
Captain
Darrel Henderson checks the other Rillius and sees a puncture mark and a little
bit of blue liquid pooled on his neck.
“Sir, take a look at this,” Darrel says to
Robert.
Robert walks into the cell, followed by Ray
and Dave. Ray examines the wound around the neck.
“Looks like blood,” Ray says.
“Was
he injected with something?” Dave asks.
“No, I think the other Rillius took his DNA
to assimilate himself into this reality.” Robert replies.
“I think yer right, Bob,” Ray replies. “We
better git back, I gotta take a trip.”
“Where?” Robert asks.
“I’ll tell ya when we git back.”
The
Special Ops team collects Rillius' body and leaves the cell block, with Robert
and Dave grilling Ray for information about Rillius and what kind of threat he
poses.
The team returns to the WA-01s and gets in.
Paul's voice is heard calling Robert.
“Bob, come in.”
“Go ahead, Paul.”
“I received a message from the other
Bat'ai. It appears to be some kind of calculation.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“We're working on it.”
The two WA-01s take off. Robert opens a
portal and they return to Earth and prepare to take on their most dangerous
enemy to date.
CHAPTER 2
Special Ops Command Center – 1100 hours
Robert, Dave and Ray return to the Command
Center.
“Allison. Get a hold of Doctor Burke. We
need an autopsy on Rillius PFQ.”
“Yes, sir,” Communications Chief Allison
Foster replies.
Robert walks to Paul and Bat'ai, who have a
long and complicated calculation on the main monitor.
“Report,” Robert demands.
“We're close to figuring out what it is,”
Paul replies.
“I don't suppose it's the other Bat'ai's
phone number.”
“That’s not too far from the truth.”
“It appears to be the formula to open a
quantum portal to his reality. We are running simulations to be sure.” Bat'ai
replies.
“Whatever it is, you two need to figure it
out in a hurry,” Robert says.
“We also hafta figger out where the hell
that sum'bitch is hidin',” Ray adds.
“Have Doctor Burke get a sample of Rillius'
DNA. We can run it through the Quantum scanner and get a fix on his location.”
“I shall assist him,” Bat'ai replies.
Bat'ai leaves the Command Center. Robert
turns to Paul.
“Paul. Can you trace where the transmission
originated?”
He inputs a command and runs a quantum
level scan for radio waves or abnormalities. The computer beeps and ten areas
with quantum abnormalities appear on the screen.
“That sum'bitch has been busy,” Ray says.
He pauses then tells Paul, “Use the quantum scan Bat'ai took o' me when I got
back an' match it with the areas that were affected.”
Paul calls up the scan, then uses it to
pinpoint where the signal originated from. “Found it. Allison, try to
re-establish contact.”
“Channel open. Bat'ai, this is Allison
Foster from Special Ops Command. Come in, please.”
Bat'ai once again appears on screen.
“You have received my transmission. You
must hurry. We do not have much time.”
“What the hell happened, son?” Ray asks.
“Anti-matter radiation is ionizing the
atmosphere. Our shields will fail in a few hours. Have you located Rillius?”
“We're trackin' 'im now.”
“Has he killed the Rillius in your
reality?”
“Yes. He took DNA, too.” Robert tells him.
“That
means he has already adapted. Rillius has already jumped ten times. The quantum
barrier is beginning to weaken. If he is not stopped, I fear in a short period
of time, the barrier will fail, resulting in …”
“Quantum Armageddon,” Ray replies. “Do ya
know when did he attack ya?”
“About twelve hours ago,” Bat'ai replies.
“Is the quantum slipstream still
operational?”
“Yes.”
“Then it ain't too late. Ya should be able
ta reverse what Commander Psycho did ta ya.”
“I am the only senior officer left. I
cannot activate the quantum slipstream by myself.”
“Kin
ya open a portal ta git me there ta help ya?”
“I have just enough power to bring you
here. Ray, I cannot guarantee your safe return if our efforts failed.”
“Son, that reality was my home fer almost
two hunnred years. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let y’all die like this.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
“Try ta keep this channel open. I'll let ya
know when I'm ready,” Ray tells him.”
“I will be waiting.”
“Allison, get a hold of Doctor Burke.”
Robert orders.
“Yes, sir,” Allison replies.
She contacts Doctor James Burke, Chief
Medical Officer to brief him on the situation.
Robert turns to Ray. Before he can even
open his mouth, Ray tells him in no uncertain terms, “Don’t even think 'bout
tryin' ta stop me.”
“I wouldn't dream of it. We're going to
have Doctor Burke
put a tracer on us so Paul can…”
“Yer goin’ with me?”
“It’s too dangerous for you to go by
yourself.”
“Yer right. What ‘bout Commander Nutjob?”
“Dave’s team will track Rillius and attempt
to apprehend him.”
Allison receives a transmission.
“Sir. I have Ambassador Kensington on
Channel one.”
“I’ll take it in my briefing room. Rico,
come with me. Ray, go to medical and have Dr. Burke develop a counter agent to
the anti-matter radiation.”
“Ya
got it, son,” Ray replies.
He leaves the command center. Robert and
Ricardo go to Robert’s personal briefing room.
He goes to a communications panel and
pushes a button.
“What’s going on, Lyle?”
“Good news. Prasin Astra has informed me
that the first group of Kurai operatives are ready to assist in the hunt for
Traxis.” Lyle informs him.
“Great, I’ll get started,” Ricardo replies.
“Aren’t you going to lead the search, Bob?”
Lyle asks.
“I can’t. Rillius has appeared from an
alternate reality and has already caused damage by igniting an anti-matter
weapon in the reality Ray came from.”
“I’ll take it from here, Bob.”
“Thanks, Rico.”
“Good hunting, Bob,” Lyle tells him.
“Thanks,” Robert replies, then leaves the briefing
room.
Special Ops Force Hangar
Robert, Ray, and Zerellus are in the
hangar, preparing for their jump into the alternate reality.
Darrel is briefing his Special Ops team on
their role in the upcoming mission.
“We have modified the WA-01 with temporal
shielding Ray developed in the alternate reality,” Zerellus reports.
“Good. You and Captain Henderson’s team
will stand by in the Widow Maker while Ray and I assess the situation and, if
we can, reverse the damage done to the other reality.”
“Yes, sir.”
Bat’ai and Doctor Burke enter the hangar.
Burke is carrying a case of vials. He. injects each member of the team who is
going to the alternate reality.
“This will protect you against the effects
of the radiation for 24 hours. I have synthesized the antidote for those who
have already been infected, to be delivered in gaseous form.” Burke informs
them, pointing to the canister.
“How many doses?”
“According to my counter-part in the other
dimension, enough for the citizens of the ship,” Bat’ai replies.
“Once their medical staff is cured, we
will assist them in
producing
enough for all the affected ships.”
“Thanks,
Doc. We’ll let you know if we need more; or if we need a medical team,” Robert
tells him.
“I’ll have my team standing by.”
Burke leaves the hangar.
“I will establish contact with my
counter-part and let you know when we are ready to open the dimensional
vortex,” Bat’ai tells Robert.
“We’ll be standing by,” Robert replies. He
turns to Ray, Zerellus and the Special Forces team and says “Mount up; we’re
Oscar Mike (On the Move).”
They climb on board the WA-01. Zerellus
gets into the pilot’s chair, Ray co-pilot, and Robert the tactical station. The
Special Ops team loads the antidote onboard then gets inside and secures
themselves in the jump seats in the main compartment.
“Ops One to Base. Ready for deployment,”
Robert reports.
“Roger, Ops one. Stand by for Bat’ai,”
Allison replies.
“Robert, we are ready to open the dimensional
vortex,” Bat’ai states.
“Open it.”
A
short time later a vortex opens in front of the fighter. Zerellus pilots the
Widow Maker into the dimensional rift and disappears.
CHAPTER 3
City Ship New
Mexico – 02.18.2218.1145
Ray and Robert make their way to the
command center. When they enter they see most of the Command Staff either
slumped against their consoles or on the ground. A quick check by Robert and
Ray verify that most of them are dead.
Ray
stops and has a split second look of disbelief at seeing ‘himself’ lying on the
ground near his station, dead. A look of guilt crosses his face, remembering
that he was the one who sent ‘Ray’ to this dimension at the same time he
returned to his native quantum reality.
“Sorry, son.”
Robert checks ‘Bat’ai’, who is barely
conscious and gives him the antidote for the anti-matter radiation.
A short time later, he recovers and helped
to his feet by Ray and Robert.
“Thank you, my friends,” ‘Bat’ai’ says with
gratitude, but sighs and says, “I fear it is too late for the rest. They were
overcome by the radiation before our doctors could inoculate them.”
“We may not be too late, Bat'ai,” Robert
replies.
“We kin help ya use the quantum slipstream
an’ go back before the blast an’ stop Lord Psychopath from doin’ this.”
“We can send ourselves back in time one
Terran cycle. I shall see if I can determine at what time Rillius detonated the
device.”
‘Bat’ai’ goes to his console types in a set
of commands, to scan for anti-matter radiation and when it first appeared in the
atmosphere. The computer beeps and displays the time that the detonation
occurred. A look of sadness appears on ‘Bat’ai’s’ face.
“What’s the matter?” Robert asks.
“Initial detonation occurred at 1030 hours
yesterday. We did not detect the radiation until eight hours ago and activated
the shields, by then everyone was already exposed. I fear we cannot stop
Rillius from setting off his device,” ‘Bat’ai’ replies.
“We can inoculate everyone, minimize exposure
and buy you some time to find a way to
neutralize the antimatter.”
“Why don’t we go back an’ git the bastard?”
Ray asks.
“Our council has ruled that our Defense
Force is not allowed to interfere with the natural course of events.”
“Even though that sum’bitch bombed the hell
outta ya?’
“Yes. That is also why we were not allowed
to go back and prevent the meteor that caused the flood in 2035. It would set a
dangerous precedent. Other worlds would resort to this in order to change their
history.”
“That ain’t right,” Ray grumbles.
“They have to respect their laws, Ray. We
go back, help minimize the impact and have their Defense Force contact the
council and get assistance.”
“An’ what do we do?”
“Try to pick up Rillius’ trail and track
him from here.”
“That’s it?”
“For the record, yes.”
Ray sighs, reluctantly agreeing.
Robert and Ray assist ‘Bat’ai’ to set up
the quantum slip stream device. He suddenly finds a major malfunction.
“Robert, Ray. I fear we may not be able to
make the time jump.” ‘Bat’ai’ states.
“Why not?’ Robert asks.
“The radiation is preventing the proper
calibration of the shields in order to enter the quantum slipstream.”
“Kin ya compensate?”
‘Bat’ai’ scans the shields, and then types
in a set of commands to compensate for the antimatter radiation.
“I was able to set the shields for a ten
hour jump.”
“What was the condition of your command
staff?”
“They were starting to feel the effects of
the radiation, but they were still able to perform their duties.”
“We can inoculate the Senior Staff and the
medical staff, then release the gas into the environmental controls, after
which your staff can continue making the antidote and distribute it to the
other ships.”
“We
are almost ready to start. Robert, I suggest you and your team stay in the
plane with your shields activated. The time shift could affect your quantum DNA
signature.”
“What ‘bout mine?” Ray asks.
“You have enough of this quantum DNA to
protect you. I require your assistance to activate the quantum slipstream
device,” ‘Bat’ai’ replies.
“Ya got it, son.”
“Be careful; and good luck,” Robert says to
them.
He leaves the Command Center to return to
the WA-01.
“Ray, I need you to assist me in aligning
the shields to facilitate the jump.”
“All right.”
He goes to a console and accesses the
quantum slipstream program. He studies the layout of the orbiting satellites,
then begins to set up the proper alignment for the leap. He notices a phase
variance and corrects it.
“I
bought us another thirty minutes. Ain’t much, but every little bit helps.”
“Well done. I am activating the quantum
slipstream. Event
horizon
in thirty seconds. I suggest that we brace ourselves, it may be a turbulent
ride.”
Ray and ‘Bat’ai’ grab the sides of their
console and watch as the timer counts down to zero.
The city ship begins to slowly shake and
their vision blurs as the quantum slipstream is activated. They hang on tight
as they feel like they are being drawn into a void, straining at the g-forces
produced in the artificial rift they have opened.
“Aaaaawww
shiiiiiiiit,” Ray’s distorted voice calls out as they feel like they’re
drawn into a bottomless pit.
Moments later they slowly settle back into
‘normal space and time’ as the rift is closed.
‘Bat’ai’ recovers then sees what time it is
on the city ship:
02.17.2218.0137
“We did it,” Ray says, then sees the senior
staff staring at him, some of them having weapons drawn and pointing at him.
“Who the hell are you?” ‘Robert’ demands.
“Bob, it’s me, Ray.”
‘Robert’ goes to say something, but
‘Bat’ai’ stops him.
“Sir, we have no time to explain. An
anti-matter device has been activated in our atmosphere. We have to activate
the shields and alert the other city ships immediately.”
“Do it,” ‘Robert’ orders.
‘Bat’ai’ activates the city ship shield and
‘Allison’ sends a general alert for the rest of the city ships to follow suit.
He calls Robert to bring in the canister
with the serum.
Ray hands out vials to the Senior staff.
They take the antidote and a short time
later recover from the radiation poisoning.
Robert and Darrel enter, bringing the
canister with the
antidote.
‘Bat’ai’ motions for them to bring it to him. He hooks the canister to the
environmental controls and inputs a command to distribute the antidote to the
rest of the ship.
“Not to sound ungrateful; but will somebody
please tell me what the hell is going on?” ‘Robert’ demands.
‘Bat’ai’ and Ray quickly brief ‘Robert’ and
the Senior Staff on the situation: Rillius activating an anti-matter device and
how they were unable to detect it until it was too late.
“Our doctor was able ta develop an antidote
fer the anti- matter poisonin’.” He hands him a vial. “Have Doc Burke use this
ta make more serum an’ the gas ta help cure the rest o’ the city ships.
“Carlos, bring this to Doctor Burke, ASAP.”
‘Robert’ says while handing him the vial
and a pad with the formula.
“Yes, sir,” Colonel ‘Carlos Montoya’
replies.
He goes to bring the vial, Robert stops
him.
“Good to see you, old friend,” he says,
slightly emotional.
Carlos was killed during a battle against the
Cho’Kai in Robert’s native dimension.
“You, too, Bob,” Carlos replies, confused,
then leaves.
Robert sees some other staff members that
were also killed in the Cho’Kai War: Colonel Alberto Sanchez, General Ed
Kensington, and his wife Colonel Jacqueline “Jackie” Foster-Kensington.
Robert is emotional about seeing her,
remembering the short term romantic relationship he had with her when they
first disappeared.
She sacrificed herself to prevent Keith
Sykes from being killed while battling the Henoki in the original timeline.
“Jac… Colonel, how are you?” Robert says,
trying to maintain his military bearing.
“Fine, sir,” she replies, slightly confused
by his reaction.
“Forgive me, but ... you were all killed in my reality.”
They state they understand, then shake
hands with the
alternate
reality double of their commanding officer.
“How are
you able to open a portal between the realities?” ‘Robert’ asks.
“Your Bat’ai worked with ours to create a
quantum portal. We can’t stay here too long, but we were able to reverse time
just enough to stop the radiation from killing you.”
‘Robert’ sighs and tells his double, “Our
Temporal Prime Directive has been broken.”
“Your directive was broken by me. We could
have gone back further, but we restricted ourselves to the use of your
technology, so in essence your Directive has been upheld.”
“That is how I see it, sir. Lord Rillius
exploded an anti-matter device in our atmosphere, breaking the directive. I
called in our counter-part to… minimize the damage.”
“But I do have to report this incident. We
are responsible for protecting the integrity of the timeline and any kind of out-side
interference, no matter how well-meaning it is, may have unforeseen
consequences.”
“Yer welcome, I guess,” Ray tells him.
“You above everyone else should know the
reason why we enacted and enforce the Temporal Prime Directive,” ‘Robert’ tells
Ray, with a slight hint of anger.
“What did you do?” Robert whispers to Ray.
“Tell ya later, son.”
“I am grateful for your assistance, but to
prevent further contamination of our timeline, I must insist that you leave immediately.”
‘Robert’ tells his counterpart.
Robert and Ray shake hands with their
counterparts.
The two ‘Rays’ are hesitant to do so, both
of them remember watching a time travel movie while growing up and what
happened to a character when ‘the same matter occupied the same space at the
same time.’
“What is the matter?” Bat’ai asks
“If we touch each other, it might… ya
know,” ‘Ray’ says.
“Turn
us ta quantum jelly,” the other Ray finishes.
“That is what you Terrans call an old
wives’ tale.” ‘Bat’ai’ responds.
“Too many time travel movies growing up,
Ray,” Robert says, teasing them.
The two Rays hesitate, and then shake
hands.
Robert and Ray finish their farewells and
walk back to the Widow Maker accompanied by ‘Ray’, ‘Robert’ and ‘Bat’ai’.
They walk to the WA-01. The alternate
reality Ray and Robert are amazed that the former RAH-77 Blackfoot Helicopter
has withstood the test of time.
‘Ray’ whistles and says “Two hunnred years
an’ she’s still runnin’, damn impressive.”
“We had ta press ‘er inta service, the
Celestus Council confiscated the WA-12s when we left the council.”
“Why did you leave the Council?” ‘Bat’ai’
asks.
“They
were being assholes; the undersecretary, Jen’Pway, was secretly helping Rillius
undermine galactic security. You may want to keep an eye on him.”
“The Rillius in our dimension is in
custody,” ‘Robert’ replies.
“Sir, we received a report that Rillius was
found dead in his cell shortly before the attack,” ‘Bat’ai’ replies.
“Why the hell wasn’t I informed?”
“At first they believed he was killed by
another inmate. It wasn’t until an autopsy revealed he was punctured with a needle
and some of his genetic material was taken. The report came after we were hit
and incapacitated.”
“He was last seen in our dimension. We
don’t have a solid lead, but if we can pick up his trail here, we are more
likely to discover his whereabouts.” Robert tells him.
“Good luck,” ‘Robert’ replies.
He leaves, followed by ‘Bat’ai’.
Robert and Ray climb into the Widow Maker.
“Was I always that much of an asshole
here?”
“Nah. He got a meteor shoved up his ass
after one of my pranks shortly before the shit hit the fan.”
“What did you do, hang the council by their
underwear in the courtyard?”
“Nope, the Booger Boy gag. But this Keith
doesn’t have much o’ a sense o’ humor. He got all pissed off an’ left the
Covert Defense Force. He took his family back ta Seattle. Yer daughter an’
Keith’s son didn’t git married. It
caused a major upheaval in the time line. Had ta go back an’ fix it.”
“This is why they’re such sticklers for
time travel?”
“Yep.”
“Something to think about before you pull
anymore gags.”
“I know.”
They go to the cockpit and get into their
seats.
“Do we return to our reality, Kemzeh (Father-in-law)?” Zerellus
asks.
“No, adjust shields … and set temporal
coordinates to arrive before Rillius detonates the explosive,” Robert replies.
“What ‘bout their Temporal Prime
Directive?” Ray asks.
“They’re bound to it, we’re not.”
“They’ll have our asses if they find out.”
“Find out what?” Robert says as Ray sets
temporal co-ordinates to ten minutes before Rillius detonates the anti- matter
device.
Everest Historical Landmark 02.16.2218.1020
Zerellus has landed the WA-01 in a clearing
next to a monument that commemorates the peace accord between the
Henoki,
Bwentani and humans in 2049.
He has activated the stealth shielding to
keep the fighter from being detected by Rillius or the Time Defense Force.
Robert has deployed Darrel’s team to
observe and if the situation presents itself; capture the renegade Bwentani
leader.
His other goal is to attach a tracking
device to Rillius’ vessel to keep tabs on him and determine where his base of
operations is located.
A vortex open, then Rillius’ ship appears
and lands near the monument. He gets out, walks over to the monuments which
names the signers of the peace accords: Robert Tucker the second and his sister
Sarah Tucker-Sykes, Maiok and her husband Quennok, representing the Henoki
people and Zerellus’ father Berellus and Rillius’ father Palonius, representing
the Bwentani people.
Rillius stops and looks at the monument
with disgust registering on his face. He spits on the plaque.
“Traitorous Dach (swine).”
He goes to the ship, brings out a container
of anti-matter and sets it next to the monument.
Robert has a split second thought of trying
to apprehend Rillius, but feels it would be too dangerous. He gives hand
signals to Darrel, ordering him to place the tracking device on Rillius’ ship.
Darrel and a small team cautiously approach
Rillius’ ship. His team stands watch while Darrel attaches the device onto the
ship, then slip back into the surrounding trees undetected.
Rillius sets the time to go off in ten
minutes, gives one last look of contempt, gets into his ship and takes off.
Robert
waits a moment, then signals Ray, Zerellus and the Special Ops team to converge
on the anti-matter device.
“Miller, see if you can disarm it,” Darrel
orders.
“Yes, sir,” Explosives Expert Denton Miller
replies.
He checks the device for the timing
mechanism as well as any traps that could possibly set off the device.
“It’s a no-go, sir. We have six minutes
until detonation.”
“Back in the WA-01, we’re gonna tow it out
of here and detonate it into space,” Robert says.
The team quickly returns to the Widow Maker
and gets in.
Ray goes to the tactical station, targets
and activates the Immobilizer beam. Zerellus pilots the fighter off the island.
Robert opens a portal and they fly into it.
The portal opens in a deserted section of
space between Mars and the Meteor Belt.
“Ray, release the canister. Z, get us the
hell out of here.”
“Ya got it, son.”
Ray releases the Immobilizer Beam. Zerellus
accelerates the WA-01, trying to put some distance between themselves and the
canister, which the timer has reached zero.
This sector of space is suddenly filled
with a blinding light and a shockwave emanates from the point of detonation.
Ray sees the shock wave closing in on the
Widow maker.
“Ya better kick ‘er in the ass, son, that dad-gum
thing is catchin’ up ta us.”
“Ray, maximum shields,” Robert orders.
A few seconds later, the shockwave hits.
The WA-01 is rocked by the force of the shock wave, but sustains minimal damage.
Robert opens a channel to their Base.
“Ops One to Bat’ai, mission accomplished.
Open a portal.”
“Yes, sir.”
A vortex opens and Zerellus pilots the
Widow maker into the dimensional opening.
CHAPTER 4
Edge of Zenaren/Kurai space 02.18.2218.1345
Ricardo leads the Special Ops fighter
squadron and two teams of Special Forces Operatives to a rendezvous point to
team up with the Kurai forces, led by Kaleel.
“Ops Two to Kurai leader, come in,” Ricardo
says.
“This is Kaleel.”
“Good to hear from you, amigo.”
“As it is with you, shuvag (friend).”
“We are proceeding to rendezvous point.”
“We are right behind you.”
The two forces land near a Kurai outpost.
They get out of their fighters and exchange greetings.
Captain Anamiok (Ana) Tucker, Strike team
Commander and the rest of her pilots talk with their counter-parts while
Ricardo and Kaleel walk away to speak alone.
“What is the latest intelligence on
Traxis?”
“Our operatives have narrowed it down to a
system near the Quenvarus Nebula. The interference makes it impossible to track
ships in and out of the system.”
“Then we should be able to get to him
undetected.”
“It is not that simple. Rillius has spies everywhere.
No one on the Celestus Council is aware of this
mission except Prasin Astra and your
Ambassador.”
“We
sent modifications for your shield settings to your Engineering chief. Were
they installed?”
“Yes.”
“Any further contact with Rillius?”
“Not since he attacked the penal colony.”
“He has acquired quantum slipstream
technology and attacked Earth in an alternate reality. Commander Tucker is
leading a team to prevent the disaster and try to catch that murdering
bastard.”
“Rillius killed his alternate reality
double. Do you know why?” Kaleel asks.
“We think he needs the quantum DNA in order
to adapt to this reality. We don’t know what his plans are, but his past
patterns suggest that he is trying to destroy his enemies.”
“I fear my people may be next, because I
betrayed him.”
“I agree. We have to stay alert. We also
have to figure out a way to counter the technology he acquired.”
“Commander Tucker and his team have that
task, ours is to bring Traxis to justice,” Kaleel states as a reminder.
“Good point. We also have to ensure that
Rillius doesn’t share that technology with the Zenaren or their mercenaries.”
“We should proceed with our mission. Here
is the latest intelligence we have on Traxis and the Quenvarus system.”
Ricardo and Kaleel go over the intelligence
reports and formulate a plan to apprehend Traxis, at the same time assess the
Zenaren offensive capabilities and determine if Rillius has allied himself with
them and established a base in this reality.
Perimeter of the Quenvarus system 1400 hours
The
two forces have each sent a team into the system to track down and apprehend
Traxis. Ricardo and Kaleel are waiting results from their Operatives.
“Ops Two to SF One. Status?” Ricardo asks.
“SF One to Ops Two. Quenvarus Three
negative, we are moving on to Quenvarus Five, Ricardo.”
“Understood, Dave.”
“Kaleel to Bavakus. Report on Quenvarus
Four?” No reply. Kaleel repeats his call to his Ops leader.
Bavakus replies, with the sounds of weapons
fire in the background. “Kaleel, we are under attack from a regiment of Zenaren
forces and an unknown vessel. We cannot penetrate the shields. It is …”
Bavakus’ transmission is cut off by the
explosion made by a highly advanced energy weapon.
“Bavakus, report.”
There is no response from Kaleel’s second
in command. He is about to send reinforcements when a blinding flash emanates
from Quenvarus Four, at the same time an urgent call comes in from Allison.
“Ops Two, come in.”
“Go ahead Allison.”
Sir. An explosion just occurred on
Quenvarus Four, there is a shock wave and debris heading in your direction.”
“Debris? From what?”
“Quenvarus Four, sir. It’s gone.”
“All Units evacuate Quenvarus system, I say
again, all Units, evacuate Quenvarus system.”
Ricardo motions to Kaleel and they return
to their fighters and the strike force takes off and enters a portal just as
the remains of Quenvarus Four hits the Kurai out post.
Rillius’
battle cruiser – inside the Nebula
The Senior Bridge Officer, Tibernius
watches as the two teams enter the vortex.
He is about to communicate with Rillius
when he enters the bridge.
“Report.” Rillius demands.
“The weapon destroyed Quenvarus Four.”
“I am aware of that, you kavak (idiot). Did the plan work?”
“There was a Kurai team on the planet.
However, Kaleel and the Terrans were on an outpost and … escaped.”
Rillius becomes furious, utters a Bwentanian
curse, and then turns to Tibernius, who has a look of anxiety.
“It was the perfect ambush, they were
supposed to attack with all of their forces,” Rillius says, angry about wasting
his last anti-matter weapon.
“The Terrans are cautious; they send
advance teams to assess enemy strength…”
“And you did not feel this was important
enough to tell me?” Rillius snarls, at the same time pulling out a knife.
“But, sir … I did…”
Tibernius stops and gasps in pain as
Rillius plunges the knife into his abdomen, and then brings the blade up with a
quick, upward thrust. He lets out a last gasp before dropping to the floor,
dead.
“So you did, my mistake,” Rillius says
nonchalantly as he puts the knife away.
Two bridge crewmen pick up Tibernius’ arms
and legs and drag him off the bridge,
with no questions being asked.
Traxis walks onto the bridge, walks to
Rillius and salutes.
“Is the transformation complete?”
“Yes, Lord Rillius. The Traxis occupying
this reality was most accommodating.”
Rillius lets out a sadistic chuckle, and
then asks “Has the other part of the plan been carried out?”
“Yes, but it was not easy. He put up quite
a battle, killed half of my men before we could render him unconscious.”
He
pauses, then asks “Are you sure this Terran can be trusted? The reality we took
him from, the Terrans are barbaric and forged an empire spanning half of the
Galaxy.”
“I am aware of that, which is why I wanted
him. We need to capture a couple more Terrans from that dimension, and then we
will be able to implement my plan. Where is he now?”
“Being put into stasis.”
“Show me.”
“Yes, Lord Rillius. Follow me.”
Rillius and Traxis leave the bridge and
walk to the medical bay, where they see Traxis’ alternate reality double lying
dead on the examination table with a puncture mark in his neck.
Traxis motions to a medic, who walks to the
stasis chambers and turns on the lights. They see the alternate reality Robert
Tucker they had just captured in one chamber, Ricardo Pasqualle in the other.
There is a chamber with Ray Watson’s name on the top of it.
“The Terran named Watson is very
resourceful and I feel he holds the key to making my plan successful. We should
focus our attention on capturing him,” Rillius replies.
“They will be on guard against an ambush.
How will we proceed?” Traxis asks.
“He has ties to an alternate reality where
he was trapped for two hundred Terran years. I set off an antimatter device to
lure him in, but he brought reinforcements and they were able to reverse what I
did. I must come up with a way to get to him without arousing suspicions.”
“What is the plan to capture the Terrans?”
Traxis asks.
“Our contact stated he is a member of an
elite team, we may be able to set up an ambush and isolate him,” Traxis
suggests.
“Yes, that could work. Get a hunting party
together, go to the alternate reality and capture Watson, after which we get ahold
of our contact and initiate the plan.”
“Yes, Lord Rillius.”
Traxis salutes Rillius then leaves the
medical bay.
Rillius looks at the alternate reality
double of Robert and says “As for you, my barbaric friend, let us see if we can
make you more cooperative.”
He will have his Chief Medical Officer
insert a device into the captured Terrans make them obey his commands.
In their reality they are part of an
extremely violent and sadistic empire, which has destroyed entire planets and
their inhabitants for their ‘entertainment.’ Rillius has placed doubles that
have the device implanted in their heads so they will do his bidding and give
Rillius control over that reality in addition to his native reality.
He orders the doctor to begin the
procedure, and then leaves the medical bay to put his plan into operation.
CHAPTER 5
Headquarters of the Terran Galactic Empire –
Imperial time reference 02.18.2217.1600
Supreme Chancellor ‘Lyle Kensington’ is
sitting at the head of a table with his senior commanders: ‘Robert Tucker’,
‘Ricardo Pasqualle’, ‘Ray Watson’ and ‘Ed Kensington’.
They are discussing the spoils of their
latest conquest: The Henoki.
“They were unworthy adversaries, I suggest
you use the thermalitic weapon and get rid of them,” ‘Ed’ says.
“An’ lose test subjects? Are ya outta yer
cotton pickin’ mind?” ‘Ray’ counters.
“I see no use for…:
“He is right, son. Our technological
advances depend on viable test subjects. You can have the women, children and
elderly to entertain the troops in the arena.”
“Yes,
father, thank you.”
He leaves the table. ‘Lyle’ turns to
‘Robert’ and ‘Ricardo’, who have been unusually quiet lately.
“You have nothing to report, Bob?”
“My sector has been quiet,” ‘Robert’
replies in a monotone voice.
“Mine too” ‘Ricardo’ states, equally
docile.
“What is up with you two?” ‘Lyle’ asks,
disturbed by their seemingly tranquil state.
“They haven’t done any lootin’ or pillagin’
lately. I got what they need.” ‘Ray’ says while pushing a button.
A
couple of heavily armed guards bring in two Henoki
women:
‘Linaiok’ and ‘Liaok, who are married to ‘Robert’ and ‘Ricardo’s’ in the alternate reality. They
both show signs of being physically abused. The guards shove them towards
‘Robert’ and ‘Ricardo’.
They have a split second look of confusion,
shake their heads slightly, after which they eye the Henoki women up and down,
then a sadistic grin crosses their faces.
“Grab one for yourself and we’ll make a
party out of this.” ‘Robert’ tells him.
“Ya got it, son,” ‘Ray’ replies.
‘Robert’ and ‘Ray’ grab the Henoki women,
who scream and struggle to free themselves. They slap them and leave the room.
‘Ray’ starts to leave, when ‘Lyle’ stops him.
“Before you embark on your debauchery,
Doctor Burke discovered something about the Henoki which I think you’ll find
interesting.” He presses an intercom button and says to Burke “Doctor, relay to our Chief Interrogation
Officer what you discovered about our latest conquest.”
“Sir, I have discovered the Henoki possess
a thin membrane on their skin that allows them to extract oxygen from the
water, allowing them to breathe under water without the aid of SCUBA
equipment,” ‘Doctor Burke’ says.
“That’s all well an’ good, but why would
that be o’ interest ta me?” ‘Ray’ asks.
“They possess time travel technology that
we can utilize. This membrane makes them vulnerable to the Neural Shock Device
you just developed and would make the perfect test subjects.”
“Sounds good ta me Doc. Have (Paul) Foster
report ta my lab an’ have ‘im test the device on their leader, I have some …
business ta conduct.”
“As you wish, sir.”
‘Ray’ ends the transmission. He turns to
‘Lyle’ and asks
“Ya wanna join us? I brewed up a special batch
o’ Imperial Hellfire fer celebratin’ our victory over the Fish Heads.”
“No,
you go ahead with your fun; I’ll stick to mine.”
“I’ll have one standin’ by jest incase ya
change yer mind.”
“Maybe later.”
“Tape it fer me, I may wanna have some
laughs later.”
“Will do.”
‘Ray’ leaves the room. ‘Lyle’ turns to a
large screen on the wall and turns it on. There is a live feed of an arena. He
hits a button on his chair.
“Yes, father?” ‘Ed’ asks.
“Begin the entertainment.”
“Yes,
sir.”
Arena
A gate opens, then a dozen Henoki women, children
and a single adult male: ‘Quessok’, are forced into the arena by heavily armed
guards. They escort the Henoki to the middle of the arena, then turn and
quickly exit.
The sounds of vicious dogs snarling and
barking are heard from behind a gate. The children are screaming and crying,
which sends the dogs into a frenzy.
The gate very slowly opens and the dog’s
paws are clawing underneath the gate, trying to get out.
‘Quessok’ holds his arms out, trying to
keep the women and children behind him, telepathically telling them to stay
calm, at the same time focusing his attention on the dogs, who squeeze under
the gate and charge the group.
The women and children cringe, trying to
suppress their fear of the rapidly advancing dogs, which are growling and
salivating, preparing to attack the group.
The dogs stop, rear back and get ready to
pounce on them.
‘Quessok’ continues to stare at the dogs
and assumes a non-threatening posture.
They slowly stop growling and then sit.
He cautiously approaches the dogs and pets
them, they yip and hop up on ‘Quessok’ and lick him. He motions to the women
and children, who approach and pet the dogs, some of the children laugh and hug
the dogs.
Lyle’s chambers
‘Lyle’ is furious, slams his fist on his
chair then punches the intercom button.
“Yes, father?” ‘Ed’ asks.
“Do you see what those incompetent mutts
are doing out there?” ‘Lyle’ replies, barely able to contain his outrage.
“Yes. I… don’t know why they did this. They
have never acted this way before.
“You go in there, shoot those mangy
mongrels and send in a fresh pack of dogs to tear them to pieces. Now!”
“Yes, father.”
Arena
‘Quessok’,
along with the women and children continue to pet and play with the now
tranquil attack dogs.
A gate opens, then ‘Ed’ leads a squad of
guards, with their weapons trained on the Henoki and the dogs.
‘Quessok’ thinks the guards are there to
kill them.
He telepathically
orders the dogs to attack their former masters.
The dogs growl, begin to bark menacingly
and charge ‘Ed’ and the guards, who are taken by complete surprise.
They pounce on them and begin to tear them
to pieces.
The parents of the children shield them
from the carnage caused by the dogs attacking their former masters.
Lyle’s chambers
He is in shock at this turn of events.
After a moment, he nonchalantly shrugs his shoulder and picks up his drink. He
watches his son and the guards being mauled, satisfied that he got to witness
some carnage - not caring if it was his own son and troops being attacked.
As soon as the last one is killed, he turns
off the screen and pours a drink, then lifts his glass to salute those who died
in his service.
Arena
‘Quessok’ mentally orders the dogs to
return and provide security for them as they exit the arena.
He picks up a weapon, and then orders the
women and older children to take them off the guards. He also grabs a key to
unlock the cells to free the Henoki who survived the massacre.
They leave the arena. A couple of guards
see them and go to shoot, but they are quickly dispatched by the dogs. They
proceed to the holding area, where the men are being held.
‘Quessok’ opens the cells, frees them and
has the women and children give them the weapons.
“Where is my father?” ‘Quessok’ asks.
“They have taken him for interrogation, Hes’tok (Uncle),” his nephew, ‘Quevok’
replies.
“Find a terminal and locate him.”
‘Quevok’ finds a computer terminal, hacks
into the system and pulls up a layout of the Supreme headquarters.
He locates their present position, where
Quennok is being held and an exit near the holding area.
“Nem’tok
(Nephew), take the women and children out of and get as far away as you can. I
shall lead the men to rescue my father.”
“Yes, Hes’tok.
May Ama’diok guide you to safety.”
“And you as well, Nem’tok.”
They shake hands, then ‘Quevok’ motions to
the women, children and half the men to follow him out of the holding area,
taking half of the dogs as added protection.
‘Quessok’ studies the layout, finds the
shortest route to where his father is being held, then motions for the men to
follow them, with the remaining dogs providing an escort.
Interrogation chamber
The
Henoki Kia’mok (leader) Quennok, is
strapped in the Terran Empire’s latest means of torture: The Neural Shock
Device. He has wires hooked to his head, neck and other areas where the water
breathing membrane is exposed on his skin.
Assistant Chief Interrogation Officer ‘Paul
Foster’ is in a booth standing by the controls for the NSD. ‘Doctor Burke’ is
monitoring vitals, to ensure they don’t kill Quennok until they have the
information they need to utilize the advanced Henoki technology they
confiscated, most importantly: their time travel technology. Once the Terran
Empire understands how to use this means of time manipulation, they will be all
but unstoppable.
‘Paul’ turns on the NSD, sending a wave of
pain through Quennok, who grimaces in pain.
The rest of the Henoki people suddenly
react to the painful
stimuli
because of their telepathic connection. The adults are able to block the pain
but the children begin crying until their parents assist them in forming a
mental barrier.
“You will give us the plans for your time
travel device,” ‘Paul’ says in a calm, but sadistic tone of voice.
Quennok is in excruciating pain, but
refuses to answer.
‘Paul’ turns up the intensity of the NSD,
causing Quennok to cry out. ‘Burke’ sees that his vitals are becoming erratic.
“Sir. You must turn down the intensity.”
‘Paul’
turns to him with a look of anger.
‘Burke’ points to the screen and states
“The shock is too much for his nervous system. It could kill him in a matter of
seconds.”
‘Paul’ hesitates, and then turns down the
NSD to a point where Quennok’s vitals stabilize.
He
slumps in the chair, losing consciousness.
“Give him something to revive him,” ‘Paul’
orders.
“Yes, sir.”
‘Burke’ goes into the chamber, walks over
to Quennok, takes a syringe filled with a general purpose stimulant off a table
and injects Quennok, who becomes more conscious.
“I highly advise you to cooperate; as a
physician I can only keep you alive for so long.”
“Then I would advise you to kill me now,
for I will never allow you to use our technology to enslave the rest of the Galaxy,”
Quennok says in a hoarse, but determined voice.
‘Paul’ hears this, gets extremely angry,
then goes to turn the NSD all the way up, but stops when he hears dogs snarling
and barking outside the chamber.
He gets a sadistic grin and decides to let Ed
use his attack dogs get information from Quennok the ‘old fashioned way’:
by
letting the dogs take bits and pieces out of him until he cooperates – or dies.
He walks towards the door to tell Ed to
bring one of the dogs into the interrogation chamber. He opens the door and he
is ‘met’ with a weapon pointing in his face and the dogs are growling and
poised to attack, only being restrained by ‘Quessok’s’ telepathically ordering
the dogs to stand down.
“How did…”
Quessok’ sticks the barrel of the weapon in
his face.
“Where is my father?” ‘Quessok’ demands.
“He’s ... he’s in the other room,” ‘Paul’
nervously replies.
“If he has been harmed in any manner…”
The threat is backed up by the dogs
growling ferociously.
“He has not been harmed.”
‘Quessok’ motions to a couple of Henoki to
check the room, keeping his weapon trained on ‘Paul’, in case he’s lying and
his father has been seriously injured – or worse.
They open the door and see ‘Burke’ by
Quennok and aim their weapons. ‘Burke’ is startled and puts his hands up.
“I am a doctor, I have not harmed him,”
‘Burke’ tells him.
“Release my father immediately,” ‘Quessok’
demands.
‘Burke’ complies and takes the wires off
Quennok and the two Henoki help their leader out of the room.
“Have
you been harmed, Hu’Neh (father)?” ‘Quessok’ telepathically asks.
“The
Terran tried to torture me for information, but I am unharmed, Ke’Neh
(son).”
‘Quessok’ turns to ‘Paul’ with a look of
fury, goes to order the dogs to attack, but stops, because he has a better
idea.
“Bring the Terran to the chair, strap him
in and allow him to experience the device for himself.”
The Henoki grab ‘Paul’ and drag him into
the chamber, shove him into the seat, strap him in and attach the wires onto
‘Paul’, who is struggling to escape.
‘Quessok’ grabs ‘Burke’ and brings him into the booth,
points
to the device and tells him “Show me how this works.”
‘Burke’ hesitates, then turns on the device
and turns up the intensity.
‘Paul’ grimaces in pain. ‘Quessok’ takes the
knob and turns up the intensity until ‘Paul’ screams in pain. ‘Quessok’ breaks
the knob, knocks ‘Burke’ unconscious, and then motions for the Henoki to leave,
Quennok is being helped to walk.
A few minutes later ‘Burke’ becomes
conscious.
He shakes his head, gets to his feet, looks
into the room and sees ‘Paul’ in the chair, his body contorted in pain, his
eyes bulging and his mouth open all the way.
‘Burke’ goes into the room, goes to remove
the wires from ‘Paul’, but receives a shock. He goes to the back of the chair,
pulls out the connectors, then checks ‘Paul’.
He is dead from neurological shock.
‘Burke’ goes to the booth, activates an
alarm, then pushes a communications button.
Ray’s quarters
‘Robert’, ‘Ricardo’ and ‘Ray’ have been
drinking Imperial Hellfire and engaging in lewd acts with the captured Henoki
women.
A button beeps on a console near ‘Ray’s’
bed. He stops what he was doing, pushes the Henoki woman off the bed, and
pushes the button, visibly annoyed at being disturbed.
“This had better be dad gum important or
I’ll have yer nuts in a vice!” ‘Ray’ snarls.
“Sir, the Henoki have escaped and they
killed the Assistant Chief Interrogator.”
“What?! How in the cornbread hell did that
happen?”
‘Ray’ asks, while motioning to ‘Robert’ and
‘Ricardo’, who also stop what they’re doing, at the same time discreetly
drawing their weapons. ‘Robert’ hits a button on a device.
“They somehow escaped the arena, and forced
their way into the interrogation chamber. I have sounded the alarm.”
“Inform Chancellor Kensington an’ git the
Shock Troops assembled on the dad burn double!”
“Yes, Sir.”
‘Ray’ ends the transmission. He turns towards
‘Robert’ and ‘Ricardo’, who have their weapons aimed at him
“What the hell are ya doin’, Bob?”
“You are being replaced,” ‘Robert’ replies.
Ray goes to ask what he meant, but he is
grabbed by a couple of Bwentani soldiers. ‘Ricardo’ walks over to him pulls out
a syringe, puts it in ‘Ray’s’ neck, and draws out some blood. He is rendered
unconscious
‘Robert’ motions to someone who has been
waiting out of sight. The alternate reality Ray Watson walks over to them.
He is injected by ‘Ricardo’, which
stabilizes his DNA. The procedure is repeated on the captured ‘Ray Watson’.
‘Robert’ pulls out a communications device.
“Lord Rillius, subject has been subdued,
getting ready to transport back to headquarters.”
“Excellent. Proceed with your mission to
overthrow the Empire,” Rillius’ voice replies.
“The Henoki are planning an insurrection as
we speak. Should we stop them?”
“No.
Win their confidence and form an alliance. They are reported to have advanced
time travel technology which we can use to achieve our plans.”
“Yes, Lord Rillius.”
‘Robert’ motions to the soldiers that are
holding ‘Ray’ up to return to their native dimension and have him put in
stasis.
They comply, and then leave.
He
motions to ‘Ricardo’, ‘Ray’ and the remaining Bwentani soldiers to follow them
as they continue with the next part of their mission.
Lyle’s chambers
Lyle is in a robe, ready to turn in for the
evening with one of his mistresses, when the chamber door is kicked open and
‘Robert’ enters, leading ‘Ray’, ‘Ricardo’ and the Bwentani soldiers, each with
weapons trained on the Imperial Commander.
“What is the meaning of this,” Lyle
exclaims, outraged.
“Isn’t it obvious? You are going to retire,”
“I will have you …”
‘Robert’ takes a knife and slashes him
across the throat, causing ‘Lyle’ to gag and hold his throat, trying to stop
the gush of blood. He falls to the ground, dead.
‘Ricardo’ takes out a comm device and
radios Rillius.
“Lord Rillius, we have taken control of the
Empire realm. We will sign an alliance with you and have our troops at your
disposal.”
“Excellent. I shall contact you when we are
ready for the next stage of our mission.”
“Yes, Lord Rillius.”
‘Ricardo’ puts the comm device away, sees
the young woman in ‘Lyle’s’ bed and says to ‘Robert’ and ‘Ray’ “Isn’t it nice
for Lyle to leave us a present?”
“Indeed,” ‘Robert’ replies. He says to the Bwentani
soldiers “Return to Lord Rillius and await further instructions.”
“Yes, Lord Tucker,” Quinvillus, the troop
leader replies.
He motions to the other Bwentani troops to
leave the Palace and return to their scout ship.
The
new leaders of the empire turn their attention to the young lady, who cringes
at their advancement towards her.
