Scrapyard Ship 4 Realms of Time (17 page)

Jason turned as the last of the team entered 2214 A.D., a mere two hundred years into the future. The SEALs spread out, taking up a defensive perimeter position.

Before them were vast fields—endless crops reaching to the far horizon. Not wheat or corn, or any other crop recognizable to Jason. These were odd-looking: ten-foot-high purple stalks, with thick pink pods near their tops.

Wide swaths appeared in the fields as crops were cut down by hovering twenty-five-foot-diameter disks. Obviously drones, each disk was comprised of three razor-sharp, rounded, concentric segments. The segments, with a scissor-like action, were constantly spinning in opposite directions to one another. They were the cutting machines. Other drones, big and bulky, lumbered along on the ground, gathering and bundling the harvest.

Orion moved to Jason’s side and raised her own visor. “Your planet looks a lot different in two hundred years. Organized harvesting. The air smells good … the future’s not such a bad place.”

Jason didn’t respond. Something seemed off-kilter here, but he wasn’t sure what it was. In the distance a vehicle was approaching down a narrow road, some kind of long hovercraft. Jason signaled for everyone to move out of sight, get closer into the high stalks, and take cover.

“
Everyone stay here,” Jason said. “Billy, Rizzo, you’re with me.”

They headed off down one of the recently cleared swaths in the direction they’d spotted the hover vehicle. It took ten minutes for them to reach an intersecting clearing that led to the road. Jason had a problem getting a sightline; the purple stalks were too high to see over and trying to move between them was virtually impossible.

“
Like a field of rebar. Can’t believe we’ll be eating this stuff in the future,” Billy commented.

They reached the end of a cleared swath and Jason peered around the last of the strange stalk crop to the small road on the rise ahead. The hover vehicle was on the ground—it looked similar to a bus; probably used to transport day workers. He heard distant voices but couldn’t make out the conversation. Crouching low, Jason signaled Billy and Rizzo to follow behind him. They scurried forward and, one at a time, ran up the rise, taking cover on the far side of the bus. Down the road, past the end of the vehicle, was another recently cut clearing. Still keeping low, they moved forward. Jason took a quick look down the swath.

“
What did you see?” Billy asked

“
Link to my helmet cam,” Jason said.

He peered around the corner again, this time studying the scene a few seconds longer.

“
Holy shit!” Billy said.

“
Looks like eight of them,” Rizzo said.

Jason didn’t reply, trying to take in the implications of what he’d just seen. Yes, they were indeed day workers. But they weren’t human, or even machines, for that matter. They were Craing. Why would the Craing be tending fields on Earth?

He had little time to contemplate further. He was being hailed by Orion.

“
Go for Captain.”

“
Cap, we’ve got a problem,” she said, sounding out of breath.

“
What’s up?”

“
The disks, those hovering mowers. Well, there’s a lot more of them now and there’s no place to hide or get away from them. Hold on …”

Jason started running back toward the team, with Billy and Rizzo close behind. In the distance, he saw the hover disks up in the air. At least ten of them. They didn’t look to be harvesting. They were attacking.

“
Orion, get to one of the cleared swaths where they’ve already harvested.”

“
That was the first thing we did! It seems they’re coming for us.”

Jason heard her rapid breathing over his comms.

Jason connected a comms channel to the entire team. “Shoot them, shoot them out of the air.”

Plasma fire erupted from up ahead and two hover disks were instantly hit. Jason saw the closest of them falling, and it looked like it might land right on top of them. Not waiting, he brought up his multi-gun, quickly changed his HUD setting to tracking mini-missiles, and fired. Billy and Rizzo, apparently having the same idea, also began firing mini-missiles at the targets. Three hover disks exploded and were vaporized. The remaining disks, evading the same fate, had descended back down into the fields.

Led by Orion, Jason saw the rest of the team entering the clearing and running toward them. One of the rhinos was in the middle of the pack, carrying the young Cheyenne female, Chameli. Her face was taut with fear. Jason did a quick head count: Orion, Dira, eight SEALs, Chameli, and two rhino-warriors. Where the hell was Bristol?

Checking his HUD, Jason saw Bristol’s life-icon located a hundred yards away. He was still alive, but definitely not moving. The noise around them, like a thousand buzz saws, filled the air. The first of the hover disks to enter the opened swath was flying low to the ground and heading directly for Orion’s team. Before Jason could raise his multi-gun, she fired and destroyed it.

Almost at once, four disks appeared from multiple directions, cutting new twenty-five-foot-wide swaths in the surrounding fields. As the disks broke into opened areas and sped toward them, the SEAL team reacted appropriately. Too close for missiles, they used rail munitions and shredded the disk mowers into burning slag. Still, half a football field distance away from them, Jason felt a sense of pride in how Orion, the SEALs, and the rhinos had again handled themselves in battle.

Jason watched as four new mowers appeared in the open area. Then two more mowers surprised the distant team by moving down on them from above. By the time Jason raised his weapon and took out one of the high-flying disks, the second one had descended on top of three SEALs. They were shredded to their knees, leaving only boots and leg stubs behind. As the disk rose up, Orion screamed something unintelligible and shot the disk into oblivion. The remaining SEALs and rhinos continued to fire until the last of the disks was destroyed.

By the time Jason, Billy, and Rizzo reached the others, Dira was attending to the injured. Orion, obviously angry, strode directly toward Jason.

“
What the hell is wrong with our HUDs?”

It hadn’t even occurred to him that those disks hadn’t shown up on their HUDs. If they had, the three dead SEALs might have had a fighting chance.

“
I don’t know, Orion. The truth is, you know more about our battle suits than any one of us. At least any of those here.”

She stared back at Jason, her anger dissipating. “This was a clusterfuck, Cap. Those boys didn’t have to die.”

“
No, Orion they didn’t.”

Jason heard the now familiar buzzing sound in the distance. “Incoming!” he yelled.

Everyone crouched low, quieted down, and raised their weapons at the ready. Then Jason noticed the young Cheyenne woman. She lay shielded alongside the bulk of a protecting rhino-warrior. Her eyes were wide, not comprehending the horror she’d witnessed. Jason bet she regretted her decision to come along with them.

This was madness … They’d only made it halfway to the drone. And they hadn’t yet reached what would probably be the most dangerous realm of all, the Jurassic period. Jason thought about the two remaining advanced technology, nearly impossible to detect, drones. Was there another way, other than trudging along on foot like this? The shuttle instrumentation had proven to be far too inaccurate to be effective from the air. The best he could do was keep at it with Bristol’s equipment and keep the shuttle close.

He hailed Grimes.

“
Go for Grimes.”

“
Pack up. We need your help.”

“
Aye, Cap. Um, I’m actually at the controls now. The drone’s position is not showing up at all. I’ve been trying to track your movements. With all the shifting time realms, I’m not getting a definitive lock on your position.”

“
Then we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way. I’ll give you visual directions. But you’ll need to move it—we’re under attack.”

“
Aye, Cap. Where do I head first?”

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

It took less than five minutes for the shuttle to arrive—and not a second too soon, as more mowing disks were attacking. Although they hadn’t suffered any more fatalities, exhaustion was setting in. As the Magnum came into view from the south, its dual plasma cannons easily eradicated the remaining disk mowers.

The shuttle hovered overhead and soon descended onto the open swath where Jason’s team waited. Once on the ground, the shuttle’s gangway lowered and the team quickly moved inside to safety.

“
You ready to get out of here, Cap?” Grimes yelled over her shoulder.

“
Not yet. Bristol’s still out there somewhere,” Jason answered, as he joined her, taking the passenger seat. He pointed to a blinking life-icon on her nav display.

“
I see him.” Grimes brought the shuttle up and turned her around one hundred and eighty degrees, and slowly moved her forward across the fields.

“
There!” Jason said, pointing to a cleared section of the field. Toppled stalks covered the ground. “I think I see a leg.”

Grimes brought the shuttle down nearby and lowered the gangway.

“
Dira, you’re with me,” Jason said, moving through the cabin. She grabbed up her MediKits and followed.

Walking over the toppled stalks was tricky. Both Jason and Dira fell several times before reaching Bristol’s location. They quickly started to pull stalks away from his body. Both hesitated. Bristol wasn’t moving. Face down, the back of his battle suit was sheared in several spots, as were his helmet, pack and rear end.

Dira leaned in and cleared more debris from around Bristol’s helmet. Jason could tell he was still alive; his life-icon on his HUD still indicated strong life signs.

“
How you doing in there?” Dira asked, peering into his visor.

“
Oh, let’s see. I’ve had spears flung at me; arrows shot at me; been trampled by too many buffalo to count; and now, nearly shredded to death by maniac flying saucers. I couldn’t be better.”

“
Well, then, why don’t you try to get up? You seem to be in one piece.”

Bristol slowly moved. First one arm, then the other. Then his legs. Sitting up, he looked at Jason. “I quit. No more. I don’t fucking care if you find those drones or not.”

Dira stood. “He seems to be okay. At least physically.”

“
Thank you, Dira. Go ahead and head back. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

She nodded, picked up her MediKit satchels and moved off in the direction of the Magnum.

“
You’re right. You’ve been through a lot.”

Bristol shakily got to his feet and looked at Jason. “Damn right. Enough is enough. Get me back to the Minian.”

“
Well … the truth is, I have no more need for your services. Now that you’ve quit.”

“
What’s that supposed to mean?”

“
It means you’re free to go. Make a life for yourself. Good luck, Bristol. You’ll need it.”

Jason turned and walked several paces away.

“
Wait, what the hell are you doing? You can’t just leave me here.”

“
I most certainly can. Remember, Bristol, I have zero compassion for you. If it weren’t for you and your brother, Nan would still be alive. You’re lucky I haven’t snapped your neck. Truth is, there was only one reason I didn’t. You were useful.”

“
I’m still useful. For God’s sakes, I’m the most useful person around. And how will you get close enough to the next drone? No, you absolutely do need me!”

“
Look, I don’t like you. I don’t like your sniveling. I don’t like that I just lost three good men—men who gave their lives for this mission, while you constantly dribble complaints. You’re a self-serving little boy. And the truth is I don’t trust you.”

Jason continued toward the shuttle.

“
Wait! Wait! Will you just wait one second?”

“
What?” Jason barked back.

“
Let me prove myself. Okay? I mean, I can’t promise to be perfect or anything, but let me try. Come on, for shit’s sake, I’m going to die out here!”

Jason continued several more paces, then, without turning back, said, “Find your equipment; hurry up, before I change my mind.”

* * *

The mood on board was somber.

“
Billy, I’m sorry. Those three were the real deal. The best of the best … everything that being a Navy SEAL meant. McMillian, Brown, and Scotty were nothing short of stellar.”

“
Aye, Cap, that they were. So we owe it to them. We need to complete this mission.”

Jason scrutinized those who were left. They looked like they’d been through hell and back. SEAL battle suits were gouged. Faces behind visors looked tired. The rhinos were showing the effect perhaps more than the others. Their hides were streaked with blood from deep lacerations—far too many to count. Rizzo sat in the back row of seats with Chameli sitting next to him, her arms wrapped around his arm. Meeting Jason’s eyes, Rizzo smiled and looked confident. Gazing at Chameli, Jason was surprised to see she wore a similar smile. Perhaps she was tougher than he’d first thought. Off to their right Bristol was working away at equipment that looked as battered as his battle suit, with sections of the case sheared away.

“
Equipment still work?”

Bristol looked ready to give him a flippant answer but seemed to catch himself. “It’s not one hundred percent, but it’s operational. I’ll make it work, Captain.”

Jason nodded, then caught Billy’s eye. He shrugged and gave a look of surprise at Bristol’s proper use of the title Captain.

“
Cap, shall I lift off?” Grimes asked.

“
Yeah, but I don’t want to leave this realm quite yet. Let’s take a look around here first. There’s something we need to verify.”

“
You mean like this planet now being part of the Craing empire?” Billy asked.

All heads turned toward Billy.

The SEAL next to Billy, Petty Officer Chris Myers, glared. “That’s not funny. Don’t even joke about that.”

“
Unfortunately, it’s no joke, Myers,” Jason responded. “Let’s just see what we see, all right?”

Grimes lifted off and kicked in the thrusters. Staying low, the Magnum moved across the fields and banked left over the rise, flying over the bus and the Craing day workers. Cresting a hilltop, a deep valley came into view where a modern, strikingly white city encompassed much of the valley floor. Towering spires reached into the sky where flying vehicles were circling like bees around a hive. Midway into the city, another great aurora borealis-type curtain rose into the sky. Like the others, this one too marked a separation between time realms.

“
Stay on the outskirts and circle the city,” Jason told her.

More city detail came into view. Jason felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He’d seen this type of architecture before. But not on Earth. He’d seen it on Halimar. Halimar of the Craing worlds.

“
Over there, Cap,” Billy said, leaning forward and pointing a finger toward the far side of the city. “Looks like an airfield.”

Jason gestured for Grimes to head in that direction. As they approached, familiar shapes came into view. Hundreds of spacecraft. They were, perhaps, of a more modern, sleeker design, but they were definitely Craing heavy cruisers. Jason used his HUD optics to zoom in on a group of people standing on the airfield. Sure enough, they were all Craing.

“
Let’s get out of here,” Jason commanded. “Take us back, Grimes, on course to find the drone.”

“
Captain, over there—toward the curtain. That’s the direction we need to go,” Bristol said, looking up from his equipment.

A flash caught Jason’s eye and he turned to see a ball of flame burst through the curtain. Two small crafts followed, one of them trailing smoke. Seconds later five large birds flew inside the curtain.

“
Those are Pteranodons, Cap,” Rizzo said, smiling from ear to ear. “They lived during the late Cretaceous  geological period in  North America. Look at their wingspan, it must be thirty feet.” 

“
Looks like Craing City will be having some visitors,” Orion interjected.

Jason nodded, watching the massive birds head for the circling aircrafts above. “Take us in, Grimes. Bristol, once we’re clear of the curtain, get us the drone’s rough coordinates as soon as possible.”

Chapter 27

Chapter 27