Scrapyard Ship 4 Realms of Time (9 page)

Within half an hour, three large fires were blazing. One by one their tent-like enclosures, called Retractable Camp Modules, or RCMs, unfolded and took position in a circular perimeter around the fires. No less than five SEALs and five rhino-warriors were assigned revolving four-hour sentry duty shifts. The rhinos were all business, first helping with the fires and then preparing the game to be cooked on the open fire. Jason hadn’t noticed they’d been hunting along the way. Three antelopes, skinned, disemboweled, rubbed with oils and seasoning, then skewered from end to end, were being positioned over the centermost fire.

As the meat popped and sizzled, its juices dripping into the fire, dark smoke rose into the air. The aroma was spectacular and Jason felt his stomach growl. The rhinos had brought in large rocks for everyone to sit on. Everyone sat, helmets off but within easy reach. Jason was the last one to take a seat and found himself sitting between Bristol and Rizzo.

Rizzo gestured toward the distant rocky ridge. “Cradle of humankind.”

“
What’s that?” Jason asked.

“
Taung Child …”

“
I’ve heard of that,” Jason replied.

“
History major in college,” Rizzo said, taking a bite. The meat’s juices dripped off his chin.

Jason hadn’t considered that Rizzo was academically oriented. “Where’d you go to college?”

“
Columbia. Always loved anything to do with history and archeology.”

“
So what’s this about the Taung Child?”

“
This place is considered by many to be the birthplace of humanity. A child’s skull was discovered in caves near Johannesburg somewhere around 1924. When it was realized the skull’s characteristics weren’t ape, and had divergent humanistic properties, this area, Taung, became a hotbed of activity for archeologists around the world.”

Jason was handed a platter and began to eat. He already knew the rhinos were skillful at preparing game and he thoroughly enjoyed his first bite of antelope. He looked around to the others and saw Dira sitting across from him, mostly obscured by the blazing fire at the center of the circle. She was talking to one of the SEALs Jason didn’t personally know and was animated, using her hands to describe something. When she noticed Jason staring at her, she furrowed her brow and turned her body to the side. She was obviously still mad about something—Jason couldn’t even remember what.

Bristol was done eating and flung a large bone into the fire. Others followed suit and when Jason finished, he too pitched his bones into the blaze. As the sun disappeared below the landscape and darkness crept into the camp, the horizon began to brighten with fluctuating colors, not unlike an aurora borealis, but this night display was constantly moving, wavering.

Bristol said, “You’re looking at the nearest time flux. Not visible during the day, they’re like curtains separating realms of time. If we sit here long enough, we’d find ourselves in another time period.”

Jason nodded and continued watching the sky. “It’s beautiful.”

Bristol glanced toward the anomaly, scratched at something on his back and abruptly stood. He stretched and said, “I’m beat. My bunk is calling.” He fetched up his helmet and disappeared into one of the RCMs.

“
Odd kid,” Jason said.

“
Oh yeah. Creepy loaner,” Rizzo added.

One by one everyone left the warmth of the fire and made their way into their RCMs. Jason wasn’t tired and walked the perimeter of the camp, every so often crossing paths with one of the SEAL or rhino sentries. A SEAL and rhino-warrior stood together in the distance, both looking out toward the dark plains.

As he approached, Jason asked, “What’s caught your interest?”

The two turned toward Jason; both the SEAL and the rhino-warrior were unfamiliar to him.

“
We’re seeing movement, Captain,” the stocky SEAL replied.

Jason glanced at the name tag on his chest. J. Parker. “Any signs of aggression, Parker?”

“
Not so far, sir.”

Jason replaced his helmet and was able to see what the two were looking at. Infrared heat signatures showed what appeared to be thirty men walking single file along the rocky ridge. Then, one by one, each heat signature was gone.

The rhino made a deep grunting noise, then cleared his snout with a misty snort. “They go beneath the rocks.”

“
Captain,” Parker said, “this is Fast Like Wind. He says they were following us and were watching our camp.”

Jason momentarily considered the rhino’s name and wondered if he was in fact a fast runner. “Seems like they’re turning in for the night. Let me know if anything changes.”

“
Yes, sir,” Parker replied. The rhino grunted again.

As Jason turned toward the cluster of RCMs in the distance, a laughing cry from a distant hyena wailed mournfully into the night. The camp was quiet, with a flickering amber light moving along the back of Jason’s camp module. Coming around to the front, he saw that the zipper-like flap was partially open. He pulled his sidearm and tentatively stepped inside.

“
We need to talk,” Dira said, looking up from her seated position on his cot.

She was out of her battle suit and wearing a spacer’s jumpsuit with the top portion hanging loose, exposing a small white tank top. Her arms were crossed over her chest. The small overhead lantern cast a warm glow over her violet skin, accentuating her softness—her curves.

“
I wouldn’t recommend removing your battle suit in this environment, Dira.”

She bit her bottom lip and raised her eyebrows.

“
So what is it you want to talk about?” Jason asked, sitting down next to her.

“
You know exactly what I want to talk about.”

“
I honestly don’t,” Jason replied, pulling his helmet off and placing it down at his feet.

“
With what you’re going through, Nan’s death, feelings of loss … I know you’re angry. Angry at Stalls, his little brother, and probably everyone else. I want to be there for you, Jason. But you seem determined to push everyone away. I didn’t expect to be one of those people.”

Jason let her words hang in the air for several moments before speaking. “I am angry. Angry my little girl will grow up without a mother, angry that I can’t be there for her right now. And I’m angry I won’t be allowed some form of retribution against Stalls.”

“
At least, from the sounds of things, he went out with a bang,” she said.

Jason’s mind envisioned Captain Stalls as he was literally crushed to death beneath a goliath space vehicle. The ends of his mouth slightly pulled up, eventually giving way to a smile. “I guess that’s one consolidation.”

Dira pulled one of his hands free and intertwined her fingers with his. “You’re an amazing man, Jason. I can’t pretend to understand what you’re going through. The loss that you feel. My heart aches for you.”

She brought his fingers up to her mouth and gently kissed them. He watched as her lips brushed against his hand and he felt familiar emotions stir. Emotions he had buried deep beneath others, including those of anger and hatred. Now, looking at Dira’s closed eyes and her long, spectacular lashes, he let his feelings for her reawaken. Overwhelmed, he abruptly stood up.

“
You should go, Dira. We have a big day tomorrow.”

Chapter 12 

Jason awoke with Dira still on his mind.

Showering in an RCM’s cramped bathroom enclosure was surprisingly effective. It actually didn’t use water at all, but heated pulsating streams of cleansing nanites. After several minutes, when the nanites completed their task, they recirculated back to the nozzle above where they’d be used again when needed.

Jason emerged from his RCM in his battle suit and triggered the module’s collapse. Most of the other RCMs were gone, stowed into individual’s backpacks. Traveler and several other rhinos were scattering what remained of the three campfires to ensure there were no hot embers lying about.

Jason hailed Ricket to see how things were going on the Minian.

“
Go for Ricket.”

“
Good morning. Status?”

“
Good morning, Captain. All is quiet here. I have the first three drone pairs ready for you. Have you located the first one?”

“
I believe we’re close. From what Rizzo tells me, we’re at a location referred to as the Cradle of Humankind. Early man evolved in this general location.”

“
According to my historical database, that very well could be true. At two point five million years in the past, yes—you’re at a pivotal point in your species’ evolution.”

“
Stand by. Once we have the exact coordinates of the drone, I’ll contact you.” Jason cut the connection and joined Billy and several other SEALs. They were again looking toward the rocky rise in the distance.

Billy’s visor was up and a stub of a cigar filled the corner of his mouth.

“
Our friends are back,” Billy said.

Jason put his helmet on and used his HUD to zoom in on the distant ridge line. Thirty men, all naked and hairy, stood as if keeping vigil over the exact location Bristol had indicated the drone would be located.

“
They’re armed,” Rizzo said.

“
Spears. Basically sharpened sticks. That too much for you, Rizzo?” Billy asked with a smirk.

Rizzo nodded, then said, “Considering those few beings just may represent the birth of mankind, are you sure you want to kill even one?”

Bristol joined the group, his helmet held in the crook of his arm. His hair was oily and plastered to his head. Drops of perspiration glistened on the back of his neck. He huffed as he looked over to Rizzo.

“
You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about. Once the drones are all paired and deactivated, time here will revert back to its relative reality.”

Rizzo bristled, “How do you know? And by the way, you have a big mouth.” Rizzo then shrugged and smiled condescendingly.

“
Explain,” Jason said.

Bristol turned and scowled—looking as if the energy needed to reply was more than he was willing to exert. “The drones aren’t really time machines.” He thought a few seconds and continued: “Their original purpose was to set the calendar back one hundred years, right? What they were doing in actuality was creating a network that projected a multiverse representation of how things were one hundred years ago in the past. But once the drone network is deactivated, time continues on from where it left off.”

“
So you’re saying all of this, what we’re experiencing, is nothing more than a multiverse projection? None of this is real?”

“
No, that’s not what I’m saying. This is perfectly real. It’s just not our reality specifically. And that’s what is important, isn’t it? Kill those hairy bastards on the ridge, have the rhino-freaks skewer them up for lunch if you want; I don’t care—it won’t impact our own time reference. Got it?”

Jason didn’t answer. He used Ricket’s PTCC and rewound Bristol’s commentary. Satisfied he had it all, he used his HUD settings to message it off to Ricket.

Bristol looked quizzically at Jason, “What? Do I need to talk slower? Maybe draw pictures in the sand?”

Before Jason could reply, Billy’s fist caught Bristol on the chin. Now all arms and legs, Bristol cartwheeled ten feet backward and landed on his hands and knees. He grabbed at his jaw and started to weep.

“
I think it’s broken. You broke my jaw.”

Ricket was hailing and Jason turned away from Bristol.

“
Go for Captain.”

“
What you sent me, Bristol’s commentary? It’s basically correct, Captain. You’re not impacting our own time while there, not in the least.”

“
Got it. Thanks”

Jason hailed Dira.

“
Hi there!”

So much for comms protocol, he thought with a smile. “Can you bring your medical bag? Seems Bristol took a mean fall.”

* * *

On the move again they approached the ridgeline. The hairy figures were gone and the South African plains were relatively quiet. Bristol, checking his instruments, was clearly on edge. Several times Jason saw Bristol out of his peripheral vision, watching him, assessing him. As long as Bristol kept his mouth shut, he’d live through the day, Jason thought. They moved up into the rocks, slowing their pace. Halfway up the ridge, a hidden valley dipped down into an area the size of three adjacent football fields. Jason’s eyes were drawn to several caves.

ping, ping, ping.

“
Yeah, it’s definitely here. Like close,” Bristol said.

“
Can you tell which one?” Jason asked, now seeing four caves of different sizes—two against the hillside and two cavernous openings on the ground before them.

“
Um, let me see …” Bristol moved forward, stopping every so often to check his readings. “If this fucking thing would stop blinking out …” Several steps later he moved off to the left toward one of the caves on the hillside. “Well, it’s probably this one.”

“
Probably?” Billy said, not even attempting to hide his disdain.

Bristol looked up but held his tongue.

“
All right, we’ll check it out.”

Jason turned and signaled for Traveler. As he approached, Bristol took a tentative step back.

“
We’re going in; we’ll need several sentries out here. Same with you, Billy,” Jason said. Billy and Traveler turned and gathered their teams.

Jason approached the cave and realized that it was the one most often used. Nearly all the hillside grass had been trampled away, leaving clear-cut pathways into the dark void ahead. Hearing running feet behind him, Jason turned to see Orion jogging up the hillside in his direction.

“
Cap, I was thinking.”

He waited for her to reach him and nodded for her to continue.

“
Maybe we should set our multi-guns for stun or heavy stun. Just seems overtly cruel to come into their home and start killing everyone. Even if they do attack.”

“
Agreed. Go ahead and spread the word.”

Orion opened a channel and spoke the directive. Each of the SEALs stopped and seemed to stare off in space, accessing their HUDs and making necessary changes.

Standing at the mouth of the cave, Jason realized just how immense it was—guessing it was one hundred fifty to two hundred feet wide. Turning, he saw five rhinos and five SEALs taking up positions around the valley. With one exception, the rest of his teammates were headed up to join him at the mouth of the cave.

“
Bristol, you’re going to have to move quicker than that. Get up here and help direct us.”

The team cleared a path for Bristol as he made his way to Jason’s side. Still looking at his instruments, he pointed. “In there.”

“
Really? You’ll need to do better than that.”

Bristol continued forward and veered off toward the right, eventually disappearing into the darkness. Echoes bounced off the rock and into the black void above. Their helmet lights came on and Bristol came back into view. Both Jason and Billy hurried to catch up. There was something in the far distance, something—a flickering light—a campfire. Billy communicated to the team to spread out. Jason thought it strange that he’d yet to see any cavern walls. This was even bigger than the cavern beneath the scrapyard. The ground was definitely sloping down now and he found himself having to check his forward momentum. They walked for close to an hour in the darkness. He’d been aware of the growing number of red icons appearing on his HUD. Hundreds of them.

“
Cap, I’m feeling uneasy about this,” Billy commented.

“
Just take it slow. So far I’m sure we’re just a curiosity to them,” Jason said, trying to sound calm.

The cavern they were in suddenly closed down to a ten-foot-wide roughly hewn archway. The area beyond was brightly lit and there were excited voices, some yelling. Jason and Billy stopped at the entrance and tentatively peered in. What Jason saw caused him to hold his breath. A cavern expanse, easily the size of a football stadium, had fires along its periphery and a larger one blazing in the middle. Groups of ape-like people were congregated. Some were holding spears, others baskets; some were bare-chested females. But it was what he saw above them that captivated Jason’s attention. As high as the eye could see were switchback paths, like catwalks, angled upward toward some dark, unseen pinnacle above. Hundreds more of the apelike people were traversing the narrow walkways, some going up, some coming down.

Bristol stepped into the cavern still looking at his instruments. Jason reached for him, but he was already five feet ahead. Still looking down he held out an arm and pointed straight up. As if realizing he’d walked off by himself, he looked up and around. The hordes of apelike people had stopped and were now facing in their direction. Spears came up amid a growing sound of angry murmurs. Spears flew from all sides and above. Jason sidestepped one, only to walk into the path of another. Their battle suits easily shielded them from harm.

“
Where’s the drone, Bristol?” Jason asked.

“
All the way to the top,” he replied, never taking his eyes off the crowd in front of them. The rest of the team were filing in behind. When the four rhino-warriors emerged, frightened shouts erupted from the crowd of apelike people. More males with spears moved forward, while females, some quickly picking up small children, skirted off in the opposite direction. Jason watched as a spear pierced Traveler’s thigh, blood spraying into the air; it seemed an artery was severed. Dira went quickly to his side and began working to stem the flow of blood.

Jason visually followed the contours of several switchbacks above until he found one that eventually egressed onto the cavern floor.

“
This way. We need to keep going,” he said, pulling Bristol along with him and hurrying off toward the path. Jason pushed Bristol forward. “Go. Don’t stop till you get to the drone. Billy, take your team and stay with him.”

Traveler had apparently lost too much blood to get back into the fight; Jason saw that he was alive, lying against the cavern wall by the cavern entrance. The two remaining rhinos stepped forward and created a defensive semicircle. No more spears were flying, but they seemed to have an ample amount of rocks to throw. Dira carefully moved in close to Jason and looked up at him.

“
How’s Traveler?” Jason asked.

“
His internal nanites are working overtime but that cut artery makes me nervous,” she responded. “He’ll be okay once we get him into a MediPod.”

“
Good.” He saw something in her expression. “What?”

“
You have to admit, they’re fascinating. The ape-people. To think you’re looking at the your own evolutionary beginnings.” She smiled. “I have to say, I see a definite resemblance.”

Jason didn’t reply, giving her a brief smile. Turning his attention back to the ape people, several of the males had tentatively moved forward. They were becoming more vocal. One male, taller, maybe five and a half feet, stood in front of the rest. His face, albeit covered with hair, was humanlike and didn’t have any of the Neanderthal characteristics Jason had seen numerous times depicted in books. His voice, sounding like a jumble of unconnected sounds, was now becoming intelligible as Jason’s nano-devices started to translate his speech. Although the utterances were primitive, the ape-man was definitely talking. Jason held a hand up, signaling Dira to stay put. Slowly, he walked past the rhinos and stood several paces before the talking ape-man. Moving cautiously, he brought his hands up and unclasped his helmet and pulled it off his head. The prehistoric crowd hushed, then more excited murmurs rose around them. Jason, although he’d seldom used it, quickly configured his nano-device so he could speak directly with them.

“
I am called Jason,” he said.

Again, absolute quiet, then more murmurs. The ape-man spoke. “I am Pawn.”

“
We are not your enemy. We do not wish to fight.”

“
You must leave here. Now,” Pawn replied, his face bunching into an angry snarl.

“
Soon. Very soon. We need to find something.” Jason used the muzzle of his multi-gun and drew a crude picture of the drone on the dirt floor. Pawn stepped forward, tilting his head from side to side, and looked back up at Jason. With eyes wide his face filled with fury. He jumped toward Jason with unexpected agility. Jason was bowled over and on the ground as clenched fists hammered at his face. He tasted blood in his mouth and his vision started to tunnel into blackness. Then, just as quickly, the ape-man was off him, suspended in the air—arms flailing and legs gyrating. Jason, catching his breath, sat up to see one of the large rhino-warriors outstretched arm—a hand clenched a fistful of Pawn’s fur on his back.