2288: The Skotadian Experiment Read online

  With the weight of the world upon his shoulders, and while walking around the park, he got a call from Little John. Oh god, what is it now? Parker thought to himself. He was in no mood to deal with that man.

  “Parker where in the hell are you!?” Little John said almost through his teeth.

  “In the small park at Project 21 HQ.”

  “Get to the car park there. ASAP! And don’t waste time!” Little John snapped back.

  “You could have at least told me which level,” Parker said out of frustration. When Parker got to the car park he noticed that Little John was waiting for him and was motioning for him to hurry it up.

  “Didn’t I tell you not to waste time?” Little John asked him.

  “But I . . .”

  “Shut up! Why in the hell did you have that damn chamber moved when there was no need for that!?” Little John angrily responded.

  “Well I thought that . . . I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know shit do you? What the hell did you do to cause it to stop transmitting to the Wol’ga’cons?” Little John asked him.

  It was at that point that Parker realized that he’d made a horrible mistake. With concern in his eyes he turned and hurried back to the chamber. As each minute passed his fear grew, causing even more regret for what he had done. After five minutes he started to walk even faster. Three minutes later he was nearly running. When the two of them finally got there Parker noticed that the chamber was open. He stood there knowing that was the end for him.

  “Why in the fuck did you throw that liquor bottle over there!?” Little John shouted at Parker after he used his right hand to hit the right side of Parker’s face with his hand gun. When Parker looked up he was near tears and didn’t care if Little John killed him. He almost wished that he would.

  “I didn’t mean to,” Parker responded, his eyes heavy with fear.

  “Yeah. Just like I didn’t mean to either. Now you tell me exactly what she took or so help me God I swear that I will shoot you,” Little John ordered him. Parker then did as he was told. Little John, using his cellphone, took a picture of everything that was taken[4].

  “And that’s it. I swear,” Parker responded after he showed him the last item.

  “Now take me to your office,” Little John demanded.

  Nobody wanted to look at Little John when they saw the two of them walking down the hallway in an urgent manner. It showed the level of fear and intimidation that he had over the people of the city. Only Susan Baruch, Parker’s secretary, didn’t act like the others. It should have been suspicious to Little John, but he never saw her reaction[5].

  “Now send a message to the Wol’ga’con ship Tilloose. Tell them that I need to speak to their chief of security Vyni’no,” Little John ordered. Parker was standing in front of a panel that had secure access to the starbase in orbit. The flag ship Tilloose was the only Wol’ga’con ship docked there.

  “What can I do for you?” Vyni’no asked.

  “I need to speak to General Zell’tlaxx at once,” Little John responded.

  “Go ahead,” General Zell’tlaxx stated.

  “We have a critical incident involving Mrs. Ydxx’od’omaa. She escaped.”

  “When?” General Zell’tlaxx urgently asked.

  “Maybe within the hour.”

  “Any ideas on how she got out?”

  “The fool with power standing beside me accidentally let her out.”

  “Understood. I need you to contact Fleet Captain Lenkov. And Little John,” said General Zell’tlaxx. He then said something in Wol’ga’con and put the call on hold. Little John then walked behind Parker, raised his right hand, and hit Parker in the back with the butt of his gun.

  “Why did you do that for?” Parker cried out in pain and frustration.

  “Because he told me to,” Little John responded. He then had Parker contact Lenkov. It was at that moment that Parker understood that he had just committed treason. Well, isn’t that what he wanted?

  “Alert! Illegal message being sent to Skotadian ship Hammer of Doom,” the computer female voice stated. Little John then had Parker deactivate the message alert system, causing the security measures to send an alert to the starbase. The Hammer of Doom waited until after the starbase had received the alert before it hacked into it, placing a virus into the computers so that when the conversation was discontinued the video that was created by the message alert system would be erased.

  “First thing’s first. Let’s deal with the Hive before we deal with the fool,” Lenkov stated after General Zell’tlaxx continued the call. Zell’tlaxx spent that time having Tilloose weigh, anchor, and move to a safe distance from the starbase, making certain that the Hive did not spread to his ship or to the starbase.

  “Do you think that we should use Colnynol?” General Zell’tlaxx asked Lenkov. He was referring to their Hive-destroying vessel. It was close to a modified version of a planetary assault ship, and it could carpet bomb a wide area in a short amount of time.

  “No. It’s too much of an overkill. Besides, the fool gave me an idea. We will let the Hive spread to where we wish it to and let Project 21 deal with the results,” Lenkov mentioned. He wasn’t being cold hearted. All he was doing was taking what was given to him, seeing an opportunity within it, and making certain that any blowback that comes to Skotadi, the Wol’ga’cons, or the Mafia is kept to a bare minimum, and that lives were saved.

  “How do we get Project 21 to clean up this mess?” General Zell’tlaxx asked.

  “You don’t know how the human media works. They’re basically vultures,” Lenkov responded. It caused Little John to chuckle.

  “A what?” The General asked.

  “A bird that feeds upon dead flesh,” Little John responded.

  “So how does that benefits us?”

  “Everyone has an opinion. All opinions are considered equal no matter how outrageous they are. Your species is a victim of another species’ oppression. Even if they’re not. Your species can do no wrong. The species who oppresses you can do no right. And therefore you must always play the victims card,” Lenkov responded.

  “Yeah. Now you know why we call them vultures. If it bleeds then it leads. It means that it is only considered news worthy if there is blood and not something like honor,” Little John added. It caused the General to shake his head.

  “It sounds so irrational like something that only an insane person could come up with,” Zell’tlaxx mentioned.

  “Well, in a universe so irrational, who’s going to notice? Not all of our media outlets are like that, and those that are, are just a form of entertainment to those of us with brains,” Lenkov said.

  “And you don’t worry about trying to play the victim card. I’ll teach you everything that your people will need to know,” Little John added.

  “Your people playing the victim card is how we lure Project 21 into this trap. Now let’s move on to securing our interests upon this world. Ryan (Parker), I need you to place that starbase on quarantine lockdown immediately,” Lenkov stated.

  “This is Commodore Parker and I need you to put your starbase on quarantine lockdown immediately,” He informed the starbase.

  “Sir is everything alright? Sir we also detected a hack and . . .” the officer was saying.

  “Shut up! Mynik’ny’nuta Ydxx’od’omaa escaped! Now do as I say!” Parker snapped back. He just wanted to hurry up and end the call.

  “Yes sir,” the officer responded and then ended the call.

  “Before I turn it over to you, General Zell’tlaxx, I need to deal with Parker first. Ryan, I’m going to put you under the care of Little John. You will assist him in his efforts not to allow the Mafia’s interests to be greatly undermined by either the Hive or Project 21. If you make any attempts at contacting Project 21, you will be liquidated. Once all interests have been secured, and with Little John’s blessings, you are then free to go. Furthermore, you are dismissed . . . citizen. Over and out,” Lenkov informed him
and discontinued the call. Parker was relieved to hear the word citizen.

  “I’m sending a clean-up crew to assist you. Nyunatu Ynuo’stole is our chief scientist who specialize in dealing with the Hive. He must be kept on your starbase for his own safety. La’jyn’eu Ikkry’o codename Double Shock has already left and is most likely on the hunt. You need to rendezvous with him and give him this list of the clean-up crew. He will take over from there. Over and out.” General Zell’tlaxx informed the two of them. He then discontinued the call.

  “Come on we’ve got to go. That guy moves fast.” Little John stated as he began to leave. He then noticed that Parker wasn’t behind him. Turning around, he saw that Parker was taking off his insignia. He threw it on his desk and left.

  (10)

  In the year 2296, Little John had an important announcement for Parker and needed to see him ASAP. When Parker got there he was given a new life on some distant world. He finally got what he wanted for so long. As he was leaving to get on the shuttle that would ferry him to the ship that would take him to his new life, he turned with a smile on his face and looked at Little John. He wanted to say thank you so very much.

  “What you are you, my lap dog? Go on, get out of here,” Little John said to Parker.

  Parker was able to land a successful career and he became wealthy. He found the woman of his dreams and gave her several children. He couldn’t be happier and felt so blessed by his new life. But he had to return to Roscadia to thank an old friend and to introduce him to his family. When Little John saw him all he said was “woof.” Reminiscing about the old days, it reminded them about how much had changed since then. But not once did they ever bring up the events that occurred upon Golden Hyperion. How could they, knowing what they know?

  On that fateful day when Parker was no longer serving under Project 21, and after learning that the Hive had been let loose upon that world, Admiral Lowenthal of Space Core had rushed to the scene, but it would almost take a week for her to get there. In the meantime, Little John and Parker hooked up with La’jyn’eu Ikkry’o and they established a base of operations. The Wol’ga’con Bru’dyno, who is a specialist in anti-Hive weapons, arrived to teach the Mafia how to use these weapons. Tsk’llk, an anti-Hive shock trooper, along with Nany’skl, a specialist in Hive mentality, arrived and began to go to work. Llyysta (wife to Tsk’llk) was the last to arrive. She was a specialist in anti-Hive guerrilla warfare tactics. The mafia was well prepared for dealing with the Hive once Admiral Lowenthal arrived.

  Admiral Lowenthal was no match for the Wol’ga’cons when they were playing the victim card. She tried her best in getting them to do more but to no avail. With the Hive spreading at a cautious rate, and the people demanding greater action, the Admiral nearly had to scream at Project 21 to do more. Project 21 was reluctant to get involved since they smelled a Skotadian trap. Given the growing PR nightmare that it was creating, Project 21 had no other choice but to do more. Project 21’s token efforts at dealing with the Hive only made matters worse. It also didn’t help that the Hive left the Mafia alone and vice versa. It was not stupid. It knew, or assumed, that both the Mafia and the Wol’ga’cons were working together. And then they came. Skotadian birds of prey—seven Destroyers and three Light Cruisers, and they were not alone. One single luxury liner filled with reporters from all over the galaxy. The Skotadian birds of prey were there, as they informed the media, to guarantee that the Hive would not break quarantine.

  At this point in time it was becoming obvious that Admiral Lowenthal had lost all control over the situation and needed urgent help. Project 21, along with anyone who could provide help, had to get far deeper into the effort. And that meant that they had to get bogged down, and those who came were no different. But it also meant that no help would come to the rescue for those on Golden Hyperion. No matter how bad it got.

  Hope: The Cruelest of Delusions

  (1)

  Not much was ever known about the birth of Joseph Lenkov, let alone Sayaka Omori. The only thing that was known was that he was born in the year 2165, and she was born in the year 2176. Although some people suggested that they were clones, there was no evidence to suggest that was the case. If true, then clones of who? No one knew. Even Dark Core had no idea. Nor did they care. Why should they? Clones ran amuck in the late 22nd century. It was all the rage. “Want to live forever? Become a clone today,” is how the advertisement went.

  The human race was becoming so bizarre that it lost all true meaning of what it meant to be human. But something was different about Lenkov and Omori. They seemed to have come from a different time period. Not even they could put a finger on their sense of self. It was as though they were much older than what their age suggested. Or like so many other people, they were a “down-shifter,” meaning they were no Luddite, but they didn’t care too much for the latest fad.

  Lenkov would join the police force in his youth and would later become a detective. But he never would date or seek another woman’s company. It was obvious to all who knew him that he was a strict heterosexual. So they couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t seek out the companionship of women. It was in his early thirties that they got their first clue. He started to take a likening to Japanese women. But still he wouldn’t date. All of that changed when he entered his forties.

  While in his late forties, Lenkov decided to join the Skotadian military. He was then sent to Valkyrie, and that is where he met Omori. The two of them fell in love with one another. Both spent so much time together that it nearly ruined their careers. But there were those who saw that gifted talent that the two shared in common. They were a force to be reckoned with, when and only when they were together.

  (2)

  “What do you mean, ‘you get fractal out’?” Omori asked her friend Sakura Sanjo.

  Those words would forever haunt Omori’s perception of life and death within the context of the existence of the Dark Id. General Vaughan ordered Sakura to go into the Dark Id to investigate why an entire science team would commit suicide after coming out of the Valkyrie version of the Dark Id. The only thing that was known was that what they discovered would later be called the “bridge,” and Sakura, being a VERM Intel officer, was sent in to investigate. Sakura’s SIN was so badly corrupted that she had to be downloaded into an android body.

  Omori would never get the chance to ask her friend what she meant once she came out of the Valkyrie Matrix, nor did she care. She was more grateful that her friend would live, even if it would be in the body of an android. But those words “fractal out” would cause her to look at the universe, including both her and Joseph’s existence, much differently. On the day that Omori finally figured out what it meant, she also knew that the only person who would ever listen was Joseph. So she kept it to herself. From that point forward, Omori learned to tell Joseph, and only him, her theories, for nobody else would ever listen. Not even her best friend Sakura. What did her theories state?

  The Dark Id does not exist in a server farm but rather the quantum universe. From what could be ascertained from the Valkyrie ET version, this so-call bridge led to another version of the Dark Id. But no other version existed. There were many theories as to what this dualistic version could be, but the bridge made it impossible to figure it out. Omori saw it as a psychological barrier since the real world dealt with the physical but the Dark Id dealt with the mind. Nobody wanted to believe her. Since the Valkyrie version was showing strong signs (to Omori) that it was slowly breaking down and becoming more corrupted over time. General Vaughan became obsessed with not only figuring out this new version of the Dark Id but also controlling the bridge between the two. Omori called it a fool’s errand since she correctly saw the bridge as the Krell hypothesis (1956 movie Forbidden Planet). This meant that you would merge with technology and the demons from your subconscious mind would then use that technology to destroy you.

  If it wasn’t for Lenkov and Omori’s arrival upon that world, or at least Vaughan’s obsession, the rebe
ls could have won[6]. Vaughan’s obsession was the sole reason why it took so long for him to join Dark Core. So why was he allowed to join? If asked (and who would), Omori would have stated that out of shear madness of obsession Vaughan was able to download some type of entity (or demon if you like) from that bridge into some type of a clone. And what did that mean? Dark Core would have a strong desire to test them on someone.

  (3)

  Lenkov and Omori’s arrival on Valkyrie was uneventful since nobody thought that they would last that long. Both were seen as two individuals whose potential had already reached its peak. But it didn’t take that long for everyone to be proven wrong. Lenkov noticed that his superiors had the attitude that it was the Fall of Saigon, and they were looking for a way out before it was too late. Being an Ensign at the time, Lenkov wanted control over the Skotadian forces in an effort to ensure that his superiors could retreat to a safer place. They agreed. Now in command (temporary) of all Skotadian forces within the sector, he began to go to work.

  The Skotadian forces within that sector were on a large peninsula and had a large Navy submarine base on it. It also had two Air Force bases, one in the north and the other in the south. The ground forces were mostly in the north where the only access into the peninsula was. He had 2/3 of the submarines to stay in defensive positions around the peninsula and the other 1/3 he had seeking out targets of opportunity, doing a hit and run. With the Air Force he had them protect the borders and the submarines. He had the ground forces build defensives in strategic locations that were reminiscent of the German Atlantic Wall of WWII. The only major difference was that Lenkov added an underwater submarine base at those strategic locations. He also designed everything to be a trap that would severely deplete any invading force.

  Northeast of the Skotadian peninsula was the main rebel group that was responsible for all military actions against Skotadi. To the northwest, without an adjacent border, was the rebel group whose threat was predominately political. They were also the most neutral of any of the rebel groups. North of these two groups was the rebel group that handled all of the industrial capacity for the world. (The people who founded the Valkyrie colony were excused as being hippies who hated all forms of industry.) These three rebels groups, along with the Skotadian sector, formed the “continent” on that part of the world. To the north-by-northwest was the most northern continent, and upon it were the remnants of the old, dead Valkyrie ET civilization. The colonists, out of respect for the civilization, never attempted to settle the area. South-by-southeast of that continent and starting at the equator was the largest continent upon that world. This was where most of the population on Valkyrie lived at. In the southern hemisphere was a medium-sized continent where most of the rebel military could be found.