PARADOX - Chapter 80

Chapter 80

May 22, 2012 – Arianni Base – Near Eclipse Island – Australia



“We’ve finalized a plan of action.” Monday glanced around the table at the tired and bleary eyed Team. “We’ve decided to divide into three separate Teams because of the three different but equally important missions that must be undertaken.” He stopped to pour himself a large mug full of hot black coffee, then poured one for Daria, half asleep in the seat next to him.

“I will command Alpha team, which will consist of myself, Daria, Dom, Henri, Weps, Scout, Lofton, Ensign Sean Murphy and three SEAL Team members. Our mission will be to go back in time to find Mueller before he can do irreparable damage to history.” Monday glanced around the table at the faces of each of the names he mentioned.

“You’ll be needing a medic,” Bones sighed, placing a dollop of Jack Daniels in his mug to medicate his coffee.

Monday glanced at the list again and rolled his eyes. “You’re right Bones, you’re with me, I just overlooked your name. Sorry.”

“I will be in command of Bravo Team.” Dorbec rubbed his eyes. With me will be Claude, Lars, Ms. MacKenzy, Lieutenant Beartalker, the two EOD men, Lieutenant Al Cummins, and three SEAL Team members. Our mission is to penetrate the New Berlin Base using one or more of the Arianni ships and destroy the Bell Device, which is creating the Earth Crust Displacement.

“I would like to be part of your Team?” Ariana looked up from the table where she had been resting her head. “You will need a better pilot than yourself.” She received chuckles from the expression of doubt on her face, an expression signifying that Dorbec was not a very good pilot.

“Love to have you,” Dorbec muttered.

“I will lead Charlie Team,” Chester stated. Our job is to make contact with General Jones and assist him in locating the members of The Brotherhood and counter their moves, and at the same time we will try to locate and rescue our families. We will also provide any assistance we can to the General in combating the Nazis. Hopefully, we can keep them off balance enough to give Dorbec and his Team a chance to slip into their base. With me will be The Geek, Oddball, Lieutenant Floyd Garnier, and six Navy SEALS.”

“Some of my people have requested to be included on your missions.” Ariana glanced at Monday. “Although they cannot personally harm anyone, they can provide invaluable knowledge or technical support.”

“If you can explain what possible use they may be to us, we will consider it,” Monday agreed. “Although, having them with us will create additional danger to out Team members. If they get in the way and expose us to enemy fire, they are more of a liability than an asset.”

“These volunteers are mostly historians and museum curators,” Ariana smiled.

Dom cleared his throat. “Any historian with expertise in the time period we are going back to might be an asset.” He glanced at Monday, who nodded in agreement.

“Can’t see what use any crusty old museum relic would be,” Oddball muttered in his usually untactful manner.

Ariana bristled at his remark but did not get angry. In addition to being an excellent paleontologist, her father was one of the greatest museum curators the Arianni possessed. “In one of our smaller museums we have some ancient weapons on display that may help. I know you are at a disadvantage to the Nazis when it comes to technology and weapons.”

“Don’t reckon spears and bows and arrows are gonna help us, little lady,” Oddball chuckled. He could sense that he had disturbed her with his earlier remark. “But if you got some of those nasty green lasers on display, they sure would come in handy.”

“We have weapons more advanced than the lasers,” Ariana responded. “Weapons we outlawed thousands of years ago.”

Dorbec glanced at her in astonishment. “Do they work?”

Ariana nodded her head. “I don’t know, to us they’re museum pieces, just curiosities. They may work but only a curator would know how. My father is the curator at that particular museum.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I suggest we get off our backsides and pay a visit to the museum.” Monday could see a gleam of hope in the eyes around the table. Although they were all exhausted, they knew that time was working against them.

Half an hour later they gathered in a group in front of a distinguished looking gentleman. He appeared to be in his mid to late fifties, sporting salt and pepper hair with a gray goatee. He was tall and had a sparkle of intense self-assurance in his crystal blue eyes. Monday could see no resemblance between him and Ariana; perhaps she took after here mother.

“My name is Alem. Ariana has asked me to show you a selection of our ancient weapons,” the man sighed. “Having full knowledge of what you intend to do with them depresses me, however, I am also aware of the alternatives. What the Nazis have in mind for the world is far worse.”

Dorbec immediately took a liking to the man. There was a hint of reserve in the man’s voice, but his eyes held nothing but truth and empathy.

The first thing Alem showed them was a cloaking device, a small machine no larger than a deck of cards. “This device works on the same principal as our time ships.” He picked it up and pushed a small button on the side.

Alem disappeared!

Everyone looked at the place where he had stood just moments earlier. Monday took a step forward and reached out his hand. He met something solid.

“I’m still here,” a voice chuckled. “The cloaking device renders the person holding it invisible to the naked eye, but infrared and other devices can still pick up my signature.”

Alem reappeared as quickly as he had disappeared. “The problem with this little device is that the power is limited, it only lasts for about an hour before the energy is gone. Battery packs are available but there is another drawback. If a person uses it too many times, something changes in their personal electromagnetic field. Men have gone mad and others have experienced complete physical breakdown.”

“How many times did they use it before that happened?” Henri asked.

“The average was four times. Some experienced difficulty after the third shift, others went as far as seven or eight shifts before feeling the effects. We stopped using the device because we did not know what the long-term effects might be. Those affected never regained a full mental or physical recovery.”

“Might be good for one use,” Dorbec stated. “Do you have any of these things that could turn an aircraft invisible?

Alem nodded his head. “Unfortunately no.”

“What is this baby here?” Weps pointed at a shoulder-fired weapon that resembled a futuristic rifle. They strode over to where he was standing.

“That is a nasty machine,’ Alem replied. “It was built around thirty thousand years ago and used during one of our ugly wars. Basically, it expands protons and neutrons until an object falls apart.”

Everyone looked at him with puzzled expressions.

“If you used that weapon on a solid object, like a person, the effect would be hideous. The person would expand and turn into mist and dissipate like a cloud of vapor.”

“How large an object would it effect and at what distance?’ Monday asked. “Could it evaporate an aircraft or vehicle?”

“It has a range of about a hundred meters and could evaporate an object the size of an airship. Once again, the power source is limited. Several shots and the power would be drained unless it is tied into a much greater power source.”

“Like the airship’s power source?”

“It’s possible,’ Alem replied.

They walked over to another display case containing an item that resembled the headset that Ariana had used to control the airship.

“Here we have another dangerous device.” Alem opened the case and removed the object, which resembled a small pilot’s helmet. “We call this a mental transponder. The Council wanted to destroy it, but for the sake of history we persuaded them to keep it in the museum.”

“Doesn’t look very dangerous,” Chester stated. “What function does it have?”

“When connected to an energy source it has the capability of freeing the mind from the body. A simple explanation would be is that it creates an out of body experience. A person wearing this headset can leave their physical body and travel around in space and time.”

“Fantastic!” The Geek blurted. “You mean a person could project his mind anywhere even through time?”

“Precisely,” Alem answered. “Once again, there is a serious drawback. People using this device have a reluctance to return to their physical bodies. One of our most eminent scientists, between transition, said that the user experiences such freedom of movement and thought that the very concept of returning to the body is extremely repugnant.”

“I can see why that might be,” Dom mused. “If I could travel to any place I wanted and see the incredible mysteries of nature, or even travel through time and see the past for myself, I’m not sure I’d want to be tied down to my body either.”

“That’s exactly what happened,” Alem continued. People, who used this device more than once, failed to return to their bodies. We assume they were lost in space/time. The scientist I mentioned left a note prior to his last transition. The note stated that he would never return to his useless body, and he never did.”

“What happened to his body, or their bodies?” Daria asked.

“The bodies eventually grew old and died from natural causes. We do not know if the mind died with the body, or if it joined the universal consciousness.”

“List this one as a possibility,” Monday stated. “If we have to use it, it will be as a last resort.”

A messenger walked up to the group and talked to Alem in a low voice. Alem cleared his throat. “There is some bad news that you need to be made aware of.” He halted to get their full attention. “The Nazis have attacked the American homeland. Considerable damage and loss of life has been reported.”

“Weps, Lofton, Lieutenant Cummins, if you will continue the tour with Mr. Alem to see what possible use some of the other devices may have, the rest of us will return to the conference room to see what damage has been done,” Monday stated. “It looks as if the Nazis have started their push.”

Back in the council room, Ariana adjusted the monitors to pick up a live broadcast from several of the cable news networks. She focused on one that was just starting a rehash of the latest events.

“Reports coming in are dire.” the newscaster portrayed a sad face. “The loss of life at Fort Hood has so far reached into the thousands. Most of the armor and aircraft have been destroyed and the base is in flames. A large number of civilian casualties have also been reported. Conditions at Whitman Air Force base are similar but the loss of life is less due to a smaller population of military and civilian personnel. All the bombers were destroyed as well as the aviation fuel reserves and maintenance and repair facilities.”

While the news anchor was talking, cameras from low flying aircraft and helicopters provided an aerial view of the devastation. Billowing clouds of white and black smoke filled the air, burning buildings, exploding ordinance, and bodies were scattered everywhere. The sight was horrendous.

“There is one spark of good news amid this incredible devastation,” the news anchor continued. “The attack on the American supercarrier, USS John C. Stennis, and its battle group was a one sided victory for our Navy. According to Naval reports, at least two dozen of the enemy fighters were shot down before the enemy broke off the attack. One of our fighter pilots sustained damage but parachuted safely into the ocean.”

“The Nazis have an Achilles heel,” Chester stated. “They may be able to hit slow moving or stationary ground targets, but when they encountered our fighter planes, who have both speed and maneuverability, they screwed the pooch.”

The news anchor took a deep breath and continued. “The most damaging news I have to report is that we have identified the people who conducted this horrendous and premeditated assault. US Navy personnel rescued one of the enemy pilots from his downed aircraft. He has been identified as Major George Thomas Huff of the US Air Force Special Operations Command. During his interview with the Captain of the USS Stennis, Major Huff informed him that he was a member of General H.H. Jones new command, and they were in league with people called the Arianni who gave them the advanced aircraft and weapons they used. As reported earlier, General Jones, the old Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has turned rogue and assumed command of the majority of the United States Special Operations Forces. It seems incredible that the cream of America’s military forces have joined him in his attempt to overthrow the government of the United States, but, this is undeniable proof of his culpability.”

Everyone watching the news anchor was in shock. They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Nazis had conducted the attack.

“Clever.” Dom remarked. “The Nazis have cooked up a plot to pit our military forces against each other.”

“We reported earlier that unknown hostile forces had destroyed McMurdo Research Base in Antarctica,” the news anchor continued. “We have since been advised that members of General Jones’ rogue command conducted that assault. The President of the United States has placed the full might of the rest of the military on alert for a possible counterstrike. It is now known that General Jones and his traitors have taken over command of a US Airforce Base in New Mexico. The President has also ordered the Captain of the USS Stennis to transport the traitor, Air Force Major Huff, to D.C. for further questioning.”

“The President, as a leading member of the Brotherhood, is definitely in bed with the Nazis,’ Monday stated. “My bet is that this Major Huff is also a Nazi or Brotherhood plant.”

“Yeah, and he’ll quietly disappear from the scene,” Chester replied. “Next time we see him he’ll be wearing a different uniform.”

“What in Sam hell is going on with the media?” Lt. Beartalker blurted. “They’ve had plenty of time to digest the material that Megan sent to them. There’s enough material there to destroy the Brotherhood.”

“The media is very selective on what they report and when they report it,” Dom replied. “Earth Crust Shifting, UFO’s, Nazis on the moon, time travel, plots to kill Jesus,” all must sound like Science Fiction to them.”

“Within days, the Earth Crust Shift will become very apparent,’ Megan cut in. “No one will be able to deny the facts then.”

Monday glanced over at Chester. “You need to take your Team and move out now. General Jones is going to need all the help he can get.”

“We’ve got something that might help,’ Weps stated, as he and the others entered the room. Monday nodded his head for him to continue.

“We found a shielding device. According to Mr. Alem this device can create a circular shield around a fixed object that will prevent offensive weapons from getting through. He said they used it thousands of years ago as a mining shield when they were mining asteroids in space to guard against meteor strikes.”

“How much area will it protect?” Dorbec asked.

“He says it can cover a circular area as wide as ten kilometers.”

“Will it stop artillery and missile strikes?”

“If it’ll stop or deflect million ton rocks, it should?”

“What about the power source?” Monday asked.

“That’s the beauty of it,” Weps continued. “It had one of those jewels inside so the power is unlimited. Mr. Alem and the other curators didn’t even know the jewel was there until he showed us the device.’

Monday glanced again at Chester. ”You have three hours to load five of the airships with what you need and move out. As soon as we get you on your way, we’ll concentrate on my Team mission. Dorbec still has a lot of planning to do before he can launch his operation.”

Megan stood. “I am no commando and I will likely be in the way on any mission requiring those skills. I do not have the technological background to stop a machine like the Bell, so, it will probably have to be destroyed if possible. We do need to get media attention to fight the Brotherhood and prove our innocence. I have the scientific background for that mission. I request that I be assigned to Chester’s team so I can work from General Jones’ command center.”

“I must accompany her,” Beartalker added.

“Make it so,” Monday replied. “We’ll assign two additional SEALS to accompany Dorbec’s Team.”