Darwin's Soldiers: Card of Ten.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Thank you for the review! I admit I was surprised; it had never really been written for anybody but my fellow RPers from Darwin's Soldiers.
However, your point is a good one; a little background information probably should have been provided at the start. I just didn't expect anybody but the people from DS to even be interested from the get-go.

If you'd like some background on DS: The RP chronicles a terrorist invasion of a government research station called Pelvanida, in the deserts of Nevada. A team of scientists, security guards, and the animal experiments fought them off, but not before the terrorists created an Einstein-Rosen bridge; a gateway though space and time. Card of Ten takes place very soon after the events of the RP.

I hope that helps, and I'll post this at the beginning of the thread, in case others show up later who would be in your situation. I'm surprised you read the entire story even without knowing what it was based off of. Thank you for the review!

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

I'm leaving for a week, and this post (I think) leaves a better cliff-hanger than the last. The story's wrapping up, but you'll have to wait a while for the bit of the story that everything has been building up to!
______________________________________________________________
“Werner,” said James. “Will you be able to get or weapons back?”

“I’ll get my people on it right away,” said Werner. “Somebody will know where they are.”

“What about the Blended Time Paradox?” asked James. “Have you heard of that?”

“No. Sounds complicated. But where we’re going, I know somebody who will.”

“Where is that?”

“The Union Underground. It’s where we camp out.”

“The Union?”

“That’s the name we decided on. The Gamans who oppose the Sapaar.”

“Wow, you’ve certainly gotten stuff done while we were away,” remarked Shelton.

“Thank you.”

They exited the building, sneaked through back alleyways, and climbed down a set of steps into a basement. A dirty, disheveled man pointed a butcher’s knife at them.

“It’s okay, Menken, they’re with me,” said Werner, waving the man aside. He led them into a dark, arid basement.

There was activity everywhere. People were everywhere: sleeping, talking, crafting weapons, or just sitting staring off into space.

“The Sapaar have brought much sadness and tragedy with them,” said Werner. “I had thought we wouldn’t be ready for another year, but we’re going to have to try now.”

He clapped his hands. “Everyone, listen up! Here with me isó”

“The intruders!” a man exclaimed, jumping to his feet. All o them leapt up, weapons at the ready.

“Wait!” yelled Werner. “They are on our side!”

“They kill and attack innocent people!” cried a woman. “I’ve heard the stories!”

“Since when have we believed what the Sapaar have told us?” Werner countered angrily. “At least half of you have told me that I’m one of the few people you trust! Well, trust me now! These men are on our side, against the Sapaar!”

“What can they do?” shouted one man. “There are only six of them!”

“There were fewer than a hundred Sapaar when they conquered Gaman! It is not numbers that matter, friends, but technology! And these men have powers the Sapaar can only dream of!”

The crowd was silent. James could tell Werner was winning them over.

“But, friends, this gift comes with a price! These men cannot stay far much longer! The uprising must occur today, or our advantage will be lost!”

Gasps and mutters rippled through the crowd. “Today!” one man yelled. “We cannot hope toó”

“We have known for some time that Sapaar spies are in our ranks! Any uprising with a preplanned date would be doomed to fail! And the Sapaar have ignored us, thinking that they can wait until their spies report activity, but we will not give them that time!” Werner took a deep breath. “Though we number few, I know for a fact that most of the city sympathizes with us! Spread throughout the city, and tell those who you know will listen that the time to fight is now! To victory or defeat, the uprising will occur inn one hour! Disband!”

The people started leaving, slowly at first, then in a wave. Soon, the only people left in the room were James’ team, Werner, and a man Werner had plucked from the crowd.

“James, meet the Professor. This is  his hose we meet under. He might know the answers to your time problem.” Werner turned to go.

“Where are you going?” asked James.

“To spread the word and to retrieve your equipment,” Werner called back.

“Wait,” said Hans. “I’m coming with you, son.”

Werner looked back.  “We’ll have to change your outfit,” he said.

“I don’t care. I’m not leaving you again.”

“Are you sure, dad?” asked Werner.

Hans walked over, and patted him on the back. “Odd as this is, you and I are the same age now. If you can do it…”

Werner grinned. “Thanks, dad,” he smiled, hugging him. Without another glance, the two left.

[f-22 "raptor" ace]

I wonder what's gonna happen? This is a better cliffhanger than the last one.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

I'm back!
___________________________________________________________

James extended his hand. “Professor, pleased to meet you.”

“I wish I cold say the same,” the old professor replied, not returning the gesture. “Unfortunately, my memory runs a bit longer than most people’s.”

“I’m sorry. We were under attack.”

“I don’t care. The only thing I care about is that Werner trusts you. So, I’ll tell you what you need to know, and then I’d like you to leave my premises.”

“We’ll do that. What can you tell us about the Blended Time Paradox?”

“An academic pastime, no more. For intellectuals with nothing better to do than occupy their time.”

“Do you know what the numbers were at the point the numbers changed patterns?”

“It would be somewhere in my office, on one of the many books on my shelf.”

“James,” said Hawkeye, “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to head around the front of the house and stand guard.”

James nodded, and then he and the others followed the professor from the basement to a study. After grabbing several heavy volumes of his bookshelf, he sat down and started leafing through them silently.

After five minutes of strained silence, James said tentatively, “Professor?”

“Yes?” the old man said, turning the page.

“Again, I can tell you’re mad at us, and I can’t really blame you, but we’re doing what we can to fixó”

“It’s too late. What’s done cannot be undone.” The man sighed. “Forgive me, but everything you see around you was caused by your arrival. You showed up, sauntered around, killing people, left behind the trump card for the Sapaar to oppress the rest, and then you return, asking me for help.”

James was silent. He had nothing to say.

The professor flipped another page. “Here it is.”

The next page had nothing but lines of numbers separated by periods.

2.31.09.11.34.25

“February 31, 3009, at 11:34,” Dr. Joe repeated.

“That must be the time the machine was taken through the gate,” said Shelton. “Now that we have the time then, we just need the time we came back here. I’ll be able to compute that if Werner can get me my flashlight.”

“Is that all you need from me?” interrupted the professor.

“We need a copy of the page,” said James.

The professor ripped it out. “Now leave. I trust you can walk yourself out.”

James and the team left the professor’s house and walked onto the street. Hawkeye was there.

“James,” said Hawkeye, “I’m receiving a message from Hans. They’ve retrieved our weapons and radios.”

“Let me talk.”

Hawkeye unclipped his earpiece and handed it to James.

“Hans? Are you there?”

“Yes James. Did you find what you needed?”

“We did.”

“Good. Do you know where in the city you are?”

“Not really. We’re at the professor’s front door?”

“The original road where the bridge will appear is down your road to the left. From there, can you make your way to the nuclear power plant?”

“Yeah.”

“Then do so. Quickly. The uprising is about to begin.”

[f-22 "raptor" ace]

Nice! The main event is about to begin.  Welcome back LB&T!

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

James and his team used the back roads to approach the nuclear power plant. On the main roads, they could see most of the Gamans on the road had the same destination.

“If all the roads have this many people coming to fight, we’ll win for sure,” said Dr. Joe.

“Let’s not get cocky,” cautioned James. “The Sapaar sense something’s up. They’ve sent guards.”

Down the road a ways, a team of four guards were blockading the way to the plant. Dissent was stirring among the crowd.

“What are you blocking the road for?” a man yelled angrily.

“Go back to your homes, all jobs are shut down for the day!” a guard yelled back, brandishing his rifle.

The crowd was starting to back down.

“This isn’t good,” muttered James. “Hawkeye, with me.”

The two darted silently through the crowd, approaching the front.

“By order of Chief Executive Jacade, anyone caught outdoors in one hour will be severely punished!” the guard yelled out, pointing his rifle at the brewing crowd.

A second later, James found himself at the front of the crowd. Gritting his teeth, he charged the guard, who fired a shot that flew past his ear. Delivering a ferocious left hook, James sent the guard spinning right into Hawkeye’s grasp. Grabbing the rifle and rolling out of the line of fire from the two guards to his left, James spun the rifle, hitting the other guard in the mouth with the butt.

The third guard got two shots off before James shot him in the shoulder. The fourth guard was hit from behind by Hawkeye, who retrieved his weapon.

The crowd cheered, and surged forward past them. James saw Shelton, Dr. Joe, and Lockdown making their way to them.

“Do you have any sort of self-respect?” asked Shelton, shaking his head.

“You’re welcome.” James handed him and Dr. Joe rifles. “Well, now that the roadblock is gone, let’s forward march.”

“Wait,” said Shelton, examining the first guard’s face. “I want to check something.”

“What?”

“The black eyes. See why they’re like that.”

“Can’t it wait? There’s a war about to go on!”

“The Sapaar lived underground,” said Dr. Joe. “Maybe it’s the way their eyes evolved.”

“You’re part right,” gasped Shelton, lifting a thin black circle out of the guard’s eye. “They’re contact lenses!”

“They’re all wearing contact lenses?”

“Heavily tinted contact lenses. Because of what you said, Josephine. Their eyes weren’t built to stand prolonged direct exposure to the sun.”

“Where’d they figure out how to make contact lenses?”

“I left a pair behind with the equipment. I took them out to use the retinal scanner. They must have used it as a blueprint to make tinted ones.” Shelton shook his head in wonder. “This is a miracle. These Sapaar are really sharp.”

“Good for them. But does this help us?”

“Of course it does! That’s why it’s so brightly lit in that plant, and probably why you didn’t die when you took on four armed guards just now. The tint in these lenses is so thick they’re practically blind.”

James thought about that. “Okay, that is definitely something we can use.” He pointed his thumb in the direction of the plant. “Slight change in plans. I’ll explain on the way.”

[f-22 "raptor" ace]

This keeps getting more exciting with every update.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

From a rooftop overlooking the plant’s main entrance, Werner looked back, relieved as he saw James, Dr. Joe and Lockdown trot up behind him. “I was wondering what was keeping you! Where are Hawkeye and Shelton?”

“Doing something else for me,” said James. “The party will have to start with out them.”

“I have what weapons I could recover here.” He handed out radios. James got a second rifle, which he slung over his back, and a pistol, which he clipped to his side. Dr. Joe also got a pistol. “And here is Shelton’s flashlight. The timer was still running when we retrieved it.”

“Good.” James pocketed it. He looked at the guards pocketing the front entrance. “When do we attack?”

“As soon as we eliminate those guards from here.”

“All right, then. You give the order.”

“No, James,” protested Werner. “You’re the leader.”

James smiled. “It’s your revolution, Werner. But okay. Fire.”

James, Dr. Joe, Hans, and Werner opened fire. The guards went down in a hail of bullets.

From all around, there was a cheer as the people of Gamas came charging down towards the entrance, armed with knifes, pitchforks, clubs, and, in some cases, firearms.

One such case, James, was the first through the entrance. In the main lobby, guards had taken posts from the inner doorways, and were firing in the revolters’ direction. James returned fire, diving behind a table for protection.

James saw Werner advance ahead of him, sniping on the run. “Keep the charge going!” Werner yelled to the men around him. “We need to take more than just the lobby!”

James ducked under the table and strafed the east wall. He was starting to regret sending Hawkeye with Shelton.

After brutal fighting, the guards conceded the lobby and retreated deeper into the complex. Werner, Hans, and their men chased after them.

“James!” yelled Werner, as he disappeared down a corridor, “take a group and rescue the workers in the oil refinery!”

James kicked the refinery door down and led the way in. This room had multiple floors, and the guards had taken sniping posts. James shouldered his secondary rifle, which had a scope, and dispatched a guard from the closest catwalk.

Dr. Joe was laying down cover fire from beside him. “The workers are all in the middle of the room, and unarmed! If we make our intentions clear, the snipers will target them too!”

James dispatched another sniper. “Then we need to get rid of the snipers! Take the staircases!” he yelled to his men.

Vaulting a tall crate and rolling under the catwalk, James sprinted safely to the closest staircase and started up. Laying down blind fire, he prevented the snipers from firing long enough for Gamanian forces to reach James’ position and clear the catwalk.

James and his men cleared the lowest catwalks, and then the middle catwalks. Peering down, he saw Dr. Joe and the others rescuing and arming the workers.

 “Look out!” somebody yelled. James looked to see barrels of oil rolling off the top catwalks, raining down on the ground troops.

“Maintain fire on the top levels,” he ordered, and quickly scaled steps back down to the bulk of his forces, which hadn’t been as lucky as the men on the catwalk. Slipping on the oil-slicked floor, James smashed empty oil barrels out of his way, until he located Dr. Joe safe underneath a scaffolding.

“Are you sure this was a good idea?” she asked, panting and rubbing her knee. “I don’t think we’ll be able to get anywhere while this is going on!”

“We need to get away from the fighting so we can find our way to Shelton and Hawkeye.”

“Great, but which way?”

“There’s a side door down this wall. If we can just take the roomó”

“Sapaar reinforcements!” the cry rippled down the ranks. More snipers appeared on the top floor, picking off the Gaman survivors.

James pulled Dr. Joe to her feet and ran for the door. Sliding it open, he peered into a deserted hallway. “Empty. Once you’re clear, make your way to the contact zone.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going to find Werner and the others.”

The attack on the oil refinery had been short lived. James retreated with the survivors back to the lobby.

Lockdown was there with some men hiding, for some reason, from outside.

“Somebody’s hiding in a tree!” Lockdown called to James, ducking as another Gaman fell from a sniper shot. “Don’t worry; we’ll spot him!”

James took note of the angle the man fell from, and sprayed the nearest tree. A cry issued out, and the sniper fell to the ground.

“Don’t forget what we’re here for!” James helped Lockdown to his feet. “We want to win the revolution, but we need to stick to the plan!”

“Right, right, find a way to Shelton,” nodded Lockdown, eyeing the trees in case any more fire rang out.

“At the first chance possible!” James reloaded his rifle. “If you need something to do, we’ve got snipers holed up in the oil refinery!”

James left the lobby and made his way down a hallway, to where he saw Werner and some men pinned down in the crossfire between two offices. From his vantage point, James sniped the guards in the doorway, and then rolled into the hallway, diving up against the wall before retaliatory fire flew inches away from him. Werner and his men, now free, advanced and cleared the room.

“Thanks, friend,” said Werner, wiping his brow.

“How’s the battle going? We weren’t able to take the oil refinery.”

“I was supposed to provide cover fire for Hans’ men, but got caught up in an ambush. You can come with us.”

James looked at a different doorway. “Listen, the team and me have a plan to end this rebellion quickly. We’re meeting with Shelton and Hawkeye before finding a way back to the bridge. You’re of course welcome to come with us.”

Werner shook his head. “My place is here. The Gamans trust me and have sacrificed much for me. I can’t abandon them, and I’m sure Hans feels the same way.”

James nodded. “I understand. You’ll still always be a part of this team.”

“Thank you.” Werner saluted him. "And I will always remember you as my leader."

James smiled, then continued down the next hallway.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

After leaving Werner, James ran up a staircase to the next level. After dispatching two guards at the top, he found he was out of ammo. Discarding the rifle, he advanced with his pistol out into the hallways above the nuclear reactor. On the other side, guards opened fire on his position.

James ducked behind a corner. He couldn’t risk a firefight, not around a nuclear reactor.

Doubling down a different hallway, James peeked around a corner, and found himself staring at the directory map Shelton had read from. From there, he made his way to the T-junction, down several hallways, until he reached a locked door. Shooting the handle off, he walked in, pistol raised, to see Jacade at his desk.

Jacade looked up, and smiled slightly. “Ah, James. I must say, this is a surprise.”

James didn’t lower the pistol. “Order your men to stand down.”

“This was the trick you tried on King Gamas, no? I’m sorry, but no one life is more important than all of Sapaar.”

“All right, then tell me where Seska is.”

Jacade’s smile didn’t falter. “I’m curious, how did you evade the guards? I thought the security had been improved.”

“You didn’t answer me. Where is Seska?”

The man’s smile widened. “My turn to avoid answering questions.” He looked out the window, and his tone became more reminiscent. “Have you ever thought much about the old stories? Gamas? Sapaar? What would they do if they were in your place?”

“Just tell me where Seska is.”

“You’ll shoot me regardless.”

“No, I won’t.”

“You’ve lied before.”

James sighed, chucking his pistol against the wall. “There. Happy? Now where’s Seska?”

The man continued staring to the window.

“Tell me!”

“The weapons development room. Alone.”

“Where’s that?”

The man sighed, got up, and started pacing the room. “It all seems so petty when one looks at the grand scheme of things. Why does it matter who wrote them? Gamas or Sapaar? We follow the same writings regardless. Why can’t the two mindsets make peace over a trivial matter hundreds of years dead?”

“Look, I don’t mean to be callous, but I really need to knowó” James broke off. Guards had just entered the room.

“Here is why,” Jacade said suddenly, whirling around and staring eye to eye with James. “Because the Gaman refuse to admit that Sapaar is even a real person. We freely admitted that their hero once lived, yet they refuse to do us the same favor. If you ever found a country,” he warned, as James was being led out of the room, “Remember this. People are much more willing to hear that their god was wrong, than that he never existed.”

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

“Sir, we’ve lost the left hallway, and enemy reinforcements are invading the front lobby!” Hans yelled to Werner.

“Can we retreat?” someone yelled.

“We’re surrounded!” Hans replied, letting off a burst down the left hallway.

Werner pointed back down the hall. “Let’s punch our way through to the others in the front lobby! Then we can regroup with the others there!”

Under heavy fire, Werner and the surviving Gamans ran towards the front lobby. They were met in the doorway by a small band of survivors, Lockdown among them.

“More guards came from the oil refinery,” Lockdown gasped. “We were mowed down.”

Werner looked back, where guards were pouring in from all directions. “Well, they won’t take us without a fight. Men!” He raised his voice. “Fight like you’ve got nothing to lose!”

As a rallying cry rose from the men, James was being led at gunpoint two floors up by over a dozen guards to an undisclosed location. James knew he couldn’t take on that many unarmed.

Suddenly, he heard a beep from his radio. He snatched it up. “Do it!” he yelled.

The lights went out. “Roger,” Shelton reported. “Lighting dimmed to 30% power.”

James barreled through three guards, all of whom were now stumbling blind. “Good job, Shelton,” James said. “Meet much resistance?”

“Practically none. Hawkeye was extremely disappointed.”

“I’ll bet.” James clicked on Shelton’s flashlight and looked around. “Dr. Joe, Lockdown, this applies to you as well. Start heading for the weapons development room. ASAP.”

“Uhh…why?”

“There’s one more thing we need to do before getting out of here.”

James made his way back to the directory, then followed its directions to head for the weapons development room.

___________________________________________________________________

Two floors below, pandemonium was ensuing, as everyone found themselves deprived of sight.

“Don’t worry, men!” Werner cried. “Your eyes will adjust, theirs won’t! Let’s take this base!”

Behind him, Hans patted him on the back. “We’ve won, son. We’ve won!”

“Thanks to you and your friends, dad.” As shapes a silhouettes starting forming in his vision, Werner looked around for Lockdown or any other teammates. “Hey, where are they?”

____________________________________________________________________

James turned the final corner and saw two figures running for him. “Shelton, Hawkeye, is that you?”

“Yes.” Hawkeye stopped in front of James. Shelton came to a halt, panting, his hands on his knees.

“You sure got here fast,” remarked James, struggling with the door to the room. “You were like three times as far away.”

“It was Hawkeye,” gasped Shelton. “Put red tint over his eyes before coming in so his night vision wouldn’t be affected by the blackout. I almost lost him three times by running into walls.”

Hawkeye crushed the door knob and opened the door. James led the way in.

This room had a large window, letting the light of the city illuminate its cavernous expanse. Seska sat on a chair in the middle, facing the window. She turned around. “James!” She rushed over. “You came for me!”

“You’re welcome, but now we have to get out ofó”

“James,” said Hawkeye. “Above us.”

In a glass-paneled room on the next floor, a tall thin figure peered down at them.

“Jacade,” called James. “You’ve lost. Don’t you see?”

“Oh, I do see,” Jacade replied, but through James’ radio. “In this dim light, I have no need for my eye slips, and can see just fine with my naked eyes.”

Behind him, James heard Dr. Joe and Lockdown enter the room.

“Your men are incapacitated. Your city is in revolt. It’s over.”

“Indeed it is. But if I have lost, you have not won.”

A giant shockwave emanated from the ceiling. James and his team were knocked to the floor.

“Look outside, James.”

Through the window, James saw rockets fall from the sky, and hit the city in clouds of fire.

“We will not return underground,” Jacade continued. “This world will exist under the Sapaar, or it will not exist at all.”

“James!” yelled Shelton, as another shockwave ripped through the walls. “The band is too thin! The planet can’t take much of this!”

“Follow me!” James yelled, leading the way out of the room.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

“We need to get back to where the bridge will open!” yelled Dr. Joe.

“We will not make it in time,” noted Hawkeye.

James clicked the flashlight on, and ran down several hallways. Another shockwave hit the building.

“Here we are!” James yelled.

They were standing in a blank room. Four white walls sat around a white floor. Nothing else could be seen.

“You’ve taken us here?” exclaimed Shelton. “There’s nothing here!”

James borrowed Hawkeye’s rifle and shot a circle out of the floor. Another room could be seen below them, glittering with rows of chips and wires.

“How’d you know this was down here?” gasped Shelton, as the team dropped down.

“Well, the Sapaar had nuclear power plants, contact lenses, and bombs, so I figured they had other high technology. That white room didn’t seem to do anything, so I guessed it must be an entranceway to somewhere else.”

“So there was probably an elevator or something, but you chose to get in Schwarzenegger-style?”

“Pretty much.”

The wired room led to a control room similar to the one overlooking the weapons development room.

“Look, James!” Dr. Joe pointed out the display window. “A ship!”

In the hangar below, a small shuttlecraft-sized ship sat.

“This is their escape hatch,” breathed Dr. Joe. “They were planning on leaving the band planet.”

“Or maybe conquering other planets,” said Shelton. “It’s possible all the neighbors were as primitive as this one before we showed up.”

“Let’s get down there,” James ordered.

They ran down to the hangar door. There was no handle.

“How do we open it?” asked Lockdown.

“Here,” said Shelton, pushing a button. The door clicked open. The team ran in.

In the ship, James checked the controls of the ship, “Hawkeye, think you can fly this thing?”

“Let me hook up my cybernetic implants with the ship’s computer,” Hawkeye replied. He attached himself to the dashboard with wires. “Yes, I can. I’ll need a copilot.”

“Dr. Joe, do it.”

Mild thumping could be heard on the floor above. “People coming this way,” Hawkeye reported.

“Shelton, we need to seal the doors!”

James and Shelton sprinted to the doors leading into the hangar. “Can you jam it?” asked James.

“They’re not electric; it’s just a door. Shoot the wall here.”

James did so. A lone wire was visible. Shelton reached in.

“Carefuló” James stopped as Shelton snapped it. Fluid leaked onto his fingers.

“It’s water,” Shelton explained. “You press the button, the water pushed the lock out of the way. Until now.”

“Great. Let’s get back.”

They got back into the shuttle.

“James, we have a problem,” said Dr. Joe. The wall in front of us is actually the hangar bay doors. They need to be opened.”

“So?”

“From the control room.”

There was silence.

“We just cut the only way to the control room,” said Shelton.

As if on cue, men started pounding on the door into the hangar.

“What now?” asked Lockdown.

[Serris]

Oh wow. Interplanetary travel! I did not see that coming!

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

“All right,” said James, “here’s what we’ll do.” I’ll wait by the door, and when they break it down, I’ll fight my way to the control room. I open the door, you get out of here.”

“James, no,” started Shelton. “That’ll never work.”

“James, don’t,” cried Seska.

“You got a better plan?” James asked.

“That’s not a plan, that’s suicide!” protested Dr. Joe. “What if you don’t make it!”

“We don’t even know how many of them there are,” said Lockdown.

“Look, I’m the leader, and the leader sometimes has to make toughó” James began, but was cut off when Hawkeye walked in from the cockpit.

But Hawkeye looked different. The cybernetic implants from his head had been removed, leaving pasty unformed skin behind. He walked jerkily past the others, and climbed onto the roof of the shuttle.

“Hawkeye, what are you doing?” demanded James.

“Let him go, James,” said Hawkeye’s voice from over the ship’s speakers. “I am here.”

James looked from the speakers to the man atop the ship, which was maneuvering itself just underneath the control room window.  “Hawkeye, what did you do?”

“I downloaded the mechanical part of me into the ship’s computers.  I am this ship now.”

“Hawkeye, what about the organic you?”

Outside, Hawkeye’s body had punched the window, shattering it.  He climbed through.

“Hawkeye, stop!”  James ran for the ship’s exit, but the doors sealed and locked.

“James, my job as security officer on this mission is to protect the other team members at any cost.  This is the only way none of you will be harmed.”

“But you’ll be killed!”  James banged on the door.

“The organic me.  But I will live on in this ship.  I am still here.”

“James, hangar bay doors opening,” said Dr. Joe from the cockpit.

James, Shelton, Lockdown, and Seska were thrown against the side wall as the ship lifted off and flew into space.

Outside, the outer side of the band planet could be seen. It was barren black rock, stretching on for miles.

“I guess they lived underground,” said Shelton.

As they watched, holes started opening in the rock, showing blaring sunlight. Debris was sucked out the holes.

“Hold on to something,” Hawkeye ordered. The ship shot towards the nearest opening.

The second the ship reentered the atmosphere of the inner band, sounds rushed back. Screams filled the air, and more rockets were still barraging the surface. Hawkeye dodged one falling too close for comfort.

“Hawkeye, scan for high energy readings!” yelled James over the roar of the engines.

“The bridge has not yet reopened.”

“No, look for more of these hidden ships! There must be more!”

“I am picking up energy signals similar to this ship’s throughout the city.”

“Transmit their coordinates to Hans’ radio! So they can escape!”

“The bridge will be reopening in ten seconds,’ said Shelton, reading his timer.

“If we fly into Pelvanida in this thing we’ll kill anyone in the room on the other side!” yelled Dr. Joe.

Outside, more and more pockets were opening. The planet was falling apart.

“There!” A patch of space-time fabric wove into existence up ahead of them.

“The angle’s too steep!” reported Dr. Joe.

“We’ll have to loop around to reduce velocity,” said Hawkeye.

“Wait,” said James. “We need to get one of us into there first.” He flattened himself against the back door. “Fly as low as you can, and when the time’s right, open the door and suck me out into the bridge.”

“That’s not advisable,” said Hawkeye. “Pockets of space are everywhere. Total atmospheric vacuum will occur in less than a minute.”

“I trust you, Hawkeye! Do it!” James shouted.

There was a pause as the ship flew closer. “Very well,” Hawkeye said. “Prepare yourself. Everybody else, it is absolutely vital that you hold on to something.”

The ship skimmed the top of the bridge. At the last second, the ship’s door flew open, and James was sucked out of the ship, spinning like an ejected apple core into the bridge.

After a brief travel through nothingness, James landed on his feet in Pelvanida base.

“James!” exclaimed Zachary. “Where are the others?”

James leapt to his feet, and also saw Vic at the bridge controls. “Out of this room! Now!”

Fueled by his intensity, the three sprinted to safety, as behind them the ship came through the bridge, crashing into and collapsing the front wall.

Once the smoke cleared, James, Zachary, and Vic walked back into the twisted room. The damaged ship lay before them, powered down.

“You certainly have an interesting story to tell us,” said Zachary.

James saw his team stagger out of the ship. “You don’t know the half of it."

(OOC: Remember, these are antimatter duplicates. The real Hans, Werner, and Hawkeye are alive and well on Earth.)

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

That afternoon, James walked into the projector room, to see Shelton hard at work. “Hey. Vic’s overseeing the repairs on the ship. Hawkeye and the ship’s databanks seem to have survived.”

“Good,” said Shelton, stopping his scribbling to rub his head. “I need his internal clock to figure out the difference between our second and the Gaman second.”

“. . . And you’re happy because Hawkeye’s alive.”

“Of course, you know that’s not what I meant!” snapped Shelton. He massaged his temples furiously. “You don’t understand how strenuous this is!”

“Sorry. How’s it coming?” asked James, pulling up a chair.

“Marginal, even with Ender McThair’s help.”

“Who?”

Shelton held up what almost looked like a calculator. “A customizable unit converter. Found it in storage. McThair was one of the scientists who used to work here, it says he built it.”

James looked at all the calculations. “Forgive me, but I don’t see why this is that hard. I mean, we know how long in Gaman time it had been. And that’s equal to 50 t-coordinates, right? So can’t we just convert?”

“No, we don’t know how long it’s been on Gaman. That’s what I need Hawkeye’s onboard clock for. And then we have to convert our years into Gaman years.”

“So?”

“Did you factor in that in this universe the months with 30 and 31 days have flipped?”

“No.”

“How about the fact that on Gaman a year is only nine days?”

“Really?”

“Kepler’s laws of planetary motion,” Shelton snapped. “Did you think of that?”

“No!”

“I didn’t think so!”

“Sorry,” James stood up. “I’ll leave you to your work, then.”

“That’d be great.” Shelton didn’t look up.

James left the room and headed for the bridge room. Vic and Dr. Joe were working inside the ship, Kagetora and Zachary outside.

“Hey, James, how’s Shelton doing?” asked Vic, his head inside a ceiling panel.

“He’s stressed,” answered James, stepping into the ship. “He’s doing some serious math in there.”

“I don’t envy him.” Vic lowered himself down, wiping his brow.

“How are repairs doing?”

“Remarkably good. We're about to test the radios."

Dr. Joe handed him a tuned radio. He put it to his mouth. "Ground Control to Major Roy."

A few seconds. Then Hawkeye responded. "I'm not a major, Dr. Summers."

Vic grinned. "They work! This'll make things much easier. Before we'd only been able to communicate M2M. I think this ship will even be able to fly again.”

“Really?”

“It’s been a great help having Hawkeye inside the machinery. He knows everywhere that’s damaged and how bad.”

“That’s good. Keep up the good work.” James turned to leave.

“Hey, James,” asked Dr. Joe. “Do you think Werner, Hans, and some of their followers were able to get away?”

James shook his head. “There’s no way to know. I hope so.”

Outside the ship, Zachary was repairing the engines. “Are you well, James?” he asked, as James exited the ship.

James nodded. “I’m thinking about Werner. Wondering if he escaped.”

“Werner is extremely resourceful. If he was capable of escaping, I’m sure he would have succeeded.”

James nodded again. “He looked at the side of the ship. ëG.S.S. Hawkeye had been painted on the side.

“I would have liked to meet him again,” said Zachary.

James started walking away. “You would have been impressed. He wasn’t a follower any more. He was a leader.”


(OOC: Thought I'd add the McThair reference to tie the two RP's together loosely. The Furtopia RP is the antimatter universe, and this one is the matter universe. That's how they both exist! )

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

That night, Shelton addressed the entire team in the bridge room, so Hawkeye could be present as well. Even Neku was there, as his regenerative properties had successfully healed all damage.

“First, the extremely good news. I’ve been able to calculate how long each t-coordinate is, so we can return to Earth.”

A cheer rose up from the team.

“However,” said Shelton, “Not all of us will get to go home.”

There was no whooping this time.

“The problem is energy,” he continued. “The shield protecting this base is almost completely depleted. There are safeguards already in place, which we’ll need to bypass.”

“Why?”

“The safeguards are designed to prevent the shields from depleting too quickly. If the energy levels for the get too low, the safeguards shut down all other systems to keep the shields up. That will include the bridge.”

“So if anyone’s transporting over when the safeguards kick in…”

“Their life signs get erased when the bridge shuts down.”

“Is there any way to get rid of the safeguards?”

“Not completely. They can however be blocked manually. I’ll show you.”

Shelton unrolled a map of Pelvanida Base and pointed at four small rooms at each corner. “These are the shield generators.  Each room has a one-burst energy pulse ready to be fired off towards the central processing unit. Once all the shield generators fire their pulses into the CPU, every other system shuts down.”

“So we need to stop those pulses.”

“In case of emergency, there’s a small reflective piece of metal attached to each shield generator, designed to reflect the pulse back to its origin. But the pulse will rebound back and forth, so the pulse is only stopped while that metal is held in place.”

“Someone needs to stay behind and hold the metal.”

“Four people do.”

There was silence. Then, everyone started talking at once.

"There's got to be a better way," said Neku.

“Some of us won’t get to see their families?” asked Zachary.

"They're not even your family!" exclaimed Shelton exasperatedly. "You're an anti-matter copy!"

“Easy for you to say," spat Vic. "You don’t even haveó”

“All right, people, let’s not jump on each other’s throats!” interrupted Dr. Joe, cutting through the racket. “Shelton didn’t choose this, he’s just telling us!”

“You know I’ve explored every possible option,” protested Shelton.

“Do we have time to fashion a stand or something to hold the metal?” asked Snow.

“In fifteen minutes, the power level will be too low to maintain the bridge long enough for anyone to get back to Earth.”

“So no.”

“No.”

“How do you expect me to pick four people to stay behind and die?” asked James.

“I didn’t think you could, so I put all of our names on slips, and hid them in my lab coat pocket. You draw four names right now.”

James shook his head. “I can’t do that.”

“I volunteer to stay behind,” said Kagetora.

“No,” said Dr. Joe. “Pick four slips, James. It’s only fair.”

“Do it,” agreed Shelton.

James looked at his team. “Are we all okay with this?”

They nodded.

James looked at the pocket. “Okay. Four names it is.”

[Serris]

Oh wow. Nice cliffhanger!

Can't wait to see the resolution and the other story. Speaking of which, what's the basic plot outline?

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

(Aaand, after eight months. . . . . . the conclusion! This is the plot twist I came up with that inspired me to write the whole story.

And Serris, the plot of the new story involves one of our number disappearing, and the other's effort to get him back. As this story and Schroedinger's Prisoners took the "defensive" theme of the original RP, my new one follows the spirit of DS 2, putting our characters as the attackers.)

James slowly got up, and reached into the pocket. He withdrew the first name. “This person gets the furthest shield room from the bridge.” He unfolded the slip. “Myself.”

He drew another. “This person gets the shield room to the left. Kagetora.”

He drew another. “This person gets the shield room to the right. Vic.”

He drew the last slip. “This person gets the closest. Lockdoó”

“Wait,” interrupted Seska. “Let me be the last one!”

“That’s not fair,” protested James. “You weren’t picked, so it can’t be you!”

“I actually didn’t put a slip for her in there,” said Shelton.

“Well, I nominate myself,” Seska said, folding her arms. “I want to stay here with you!”

“Seska, we need you to go to Earth.”

“James,” said Zachary, “Earth might not be the best thing for her. There have been many attempts in Earth’s history to ingratiate primitive people into a more technologically advanced society. It rarely works.”

“Let me stay here, James. Please,” Seska pleaded.

James was torn.

“We now have ten minutes,” Shelton reminded him.

“Okay, fine!” James relented. “But you get the closest one, so jump through when you have to!”

“Okay,” she said.

“Those who are going!” He ordered. “You all have five minutes to get packed. In five, I want every shield room occupied, and the rest in the bridge room!”

“James,” said Snow, trotting up. “Wait up. I have something to ask of you.”

“Is it important?” asked James, irritated.

“Neku and I aren’t returning to Earth.”

“You’re not?”

“We have no future there. Hawkeye had agreed to provide passage for us away from this planet once you have all left.”

James didn’t really care at that point. “That’s your decision. Regardless, get packed.”

And he left the room.

____________________________________________________________________

“James, this is Shelton. Do you copy?”

“Yes,” said James, from the far shield room.

“Are you in position?”

He was crouched over the generator, holding a credit-card sized rectangle of shiny metal in the path of a thin chute leading into and through the wall. “Yes.”

“All four of you are. I’ll be turning on the bridge in thirty seconds.”

“Understood.”

“Three of the four remaining radios are with you, Vic, and Kagetora, and I’ll give this one to Seska soon, so you four will be able to communicate right up to…I mean, for as long as…uh…”

“I understand, Shelton. Thanks.”

“Okay. Good luck, James.”

“You too. We’ll get you and the others home, don’t worry.”

“I won’t. Powering on the bridge, this place’ll get a little shaky.”

Tremors ripped through the walls and ceiling around James. Dust filled the air.

“We’ll tell Earth about you, James. See you soon.” The radio cut out.

Another rumble hit the room. James kept the metal steady, waiting for the pulse to shoot out.

“This is Vic. Do you all hear me?”

“Yes,” Kagetora radioed in.

“Hey guys,” said James. “It’s been an honor serving with you.”

“And you, James.”

A third rumble tore through the walls. Cracks started forming.

“Keep those cards steady,” said Vic. “The others should be about a third of the way through,”

“When will the power levels set off the pulse?” asked Kagetora.

“We don’t know. Be ready for any timeó”

There was a flash of light, and a jolt of orange-yellow light shot from the shaking machine. It crashed into James’ hand, sending every bone in his arm rattling, then rebounded back, crashing repeatedly back into his hand almost as quickly as it had left.

There was a cry across the radio. “Kagetora! Vic! Was that you?”

“Not me. I’m still holding,” replied Kagetora.

“Me too,” said Vic, in a strained voice.

“Seska! Are you there? Say something! Seska!”

“I take it we lost the first energy pulse?” asked Kagetora.

Seska may be injured; I don’t know if she can get to the bridge!”

“Go check on her James,” said Vic.

“I’ll lose my pulse! It’ll only be you guys!”

“We can hold. Just do it.”

James dropped the metal card. The pulse shot through the wall. “Seska? I’m coming, just hold on!”

“Ow…” he heard through the radio. “Ow, ow, ow…”

“Seska! Hold on!” He was tearing down hallways, making for the bridge room.

“My arm is tiring,” Vic panted through the radio. “Is it possible to switch arms?”

“No,” responded Kagetora. “You must find your inner strength.”

The base shook again. “I lost it!” Vic cried. “My concentration slipped!”

James burst into the other shield room. Seska lay on the ground, cradling her right arm.

“Seska, get up.” James helped her to her feet, and with his support, started walking her out of the room. “I’m going to try to get Seska back to Gaman! Kagetora, can you hold on that long?”

“I will not let go,” he responded. His teeth sounded gritted.

In the bridge room, James dropped Seska in front of the bridge, and hurried to the controls. “Switching coordinates to Gaman!” he yelled.

“Don’t forget to lower the t-coordinate, or else you’ll reemerge in the future, after Gaman’s destruction,” reminded Vic over the radio. “Kagetora, I’m coming to assist you.”

“There is no need,” Kagetora replied.

“Then I’ll keep you company.”

The bridge flared to life. “It’s open,” James reported. He helped Seska up. “Ready? 1…2…”

The bridge died.

“What happened? Kagetora!”

“I did not let go. The pulse dissipated.”

“The shields have run out,” Vic said gravely. “The base is out of power, and we are now being flooded with radiation.”

All of a sudden the bridge flared to life.

“What happened now?” asked James.

A fourth voice came over the radio. “This is Hawkeye. I am diverting power from my engines to the bridge. James, take Seska and go!”

James grabbed her and dove through the bridge.

He tumbled out the other side, Seska beside him, as the bridge dissipated in seconds.

He got to his feet. The sun shone directly above him, high noon. Its rays cast an orange glow upon miles and miles of rock, dirt, and lichen.

Beside him, Seska stood up. “Where are we?”

“We’re back on Gaman.”

“We are?”

“We went too far. I don’t think human life has even evolved yet.”

“James,” said Seska, undoing a bag tied around her arm. She handed it to him.

He opened it. Inside was the copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

“You brought Shakespeare?”

“Not Shakespeare. Sapaar.”

“Sapaar…Shakespeare? Sapaar is Shakespeare?”

“Time can do things to a name,” she said.

He looked around. “Then where is…” he stopped. Stared at the miles of empty lifeless world around him. Stared at the book. Stared at her.

“I’m Gamas, aren’t I?”

[Serris]

Now that is an awesome conclusion and a major twist ending... Dr. James Zanasiu is King Gamas!

In all, a fitting end to a high octane thriller.

May your career as an author take off well!