Episode VII – Duplicitas Se Gero
Duplicitous Conduct
It’s the end of the world as we know it (And I feel Fine)
R.E.M
(1987)
The end of the world is one of the things that haunt the human psyche because we can conceive of a time when the Earth will be no more, or some cataclysmic event that will wipe out all life on Earth
Some wonder how it will happen, and many a myth has arisen, for instance impacts by celestial bodies, such as asteroids and comets. As recently as 1910 people believed that comets might have poisonous compounds in their tail, as Halley ’s Comet made it’s periodic return. People were advised to lock themselves indoors to be safe from these nonexistent toxins.
But these fears are not totally without foundation, as there are, what astronomers call NEOs out there, or Near Earth Objects. Many times a year large objects cross the path of the Earth’s orbit, but we are safe because the Earth is not there at the time.
But sometimes that is not always so.
In 1908 we had the Tunguska event when a vast area of Siberia was flattened by what is believed to be a comet. Nobody was killed, but it is said that if it had hit a few hours earlier, a major city could have been obliterated in a second, such was the force.
Many attribute the death of the dinosaurs to a single collision of an asteroid in the Gulf of Mexico, and movies such as Deep Impact and Armageddon play on these fears. Some have even produced computer simulations of what could happen should a massive asteroid were to hit us, such as this one originally done in Japanese, to which one person added the song “Casino” from “Run Lola Run”
Thankfully such collisions are rare
However, at RAF Welford, the temporary home of the remains of the Inter Dimensional Control Agency, the analysis of the remains of an old Soyuz space craft that ended up on the parallel world of the Mystical Realms, has yielded evidence that is chilling. The evidence suggests that the Magnus Timor, the figurehead leader of a dangerous sect that, with stolen heavy weapons from Earth, has initiated a coup de tat in the Mystical Realms, intends, when all the moons around that world have aligned on the same side of the planet, causing the spell forcing him into eternal slumber to be at it’s weakest, to open up a massive wormhole, in order to smash the planet of the Mystical Realms, into the Planet Earth. This is to wreak revenge for his banishment from Earth and imprisonment on the Mystical Realms
And there are only two days to the alignment, and the sect is firmly entrenched.
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RAF Welford
Berkshire / Wiltshire Border
England, Earth
Two day to alignment
[img=600x400]http://stratojetman.googlepages.com/HQBomb.jpg/HQBomb-full.jpg[/img]
“Two days to the end of the world?” Kathryn asked over the video link
“Yes Mam” Sue-Lim replied, “That is when all of the moons around IDW01 all line up”
“That’s not a lot of time to hunt for him” Kathryn then said
“Which means” Samuel interrupted, “We need to get started”
Pete then interrupted, “Dobian?”
“Yes?” the drow replied
“Back in our 1969 when the space ship passed through his large wormhole and closed it, would he have known what had happened?” Pete asked
“I would believe he would” Dobian replied
“I can not believe” Hadal the elf snarled, “That I would be agreeing with a drow, but I would have to concur. The Magnus Timor would have known his wormhole would have collapsed and that the much smaller object than the world of the Realm of Mortals had come through”
“What are you going with this Pete” Samuel asked
“Colonel, Madam Chairman” Pete began, “We have established that if an object goes through the wormhole opened by the Magnus Timor, it collapses the wormhole”
“Yes” Samuel said slowly
“Well” Pete continued, “What he had not reckoned with was the advent on Earth of the Space Age, and if he knew, before he was sent to sleep again, the nature of the space craft, he would have to assume we were putting such objects into orbit around the planet”
“Meaning?”
“Colonel” Sue-Lim broke in, “What Pete is pointing out is that if the Magnus Timor were to open the wormhole in this universe again, it would be shut down as soon as it encountered a fairly large satellite or piece of space junk, so he would have to do it the other way around. Send IDW01 through a wormhole to hit the Earth”
With an air of realisation Samuel replied, “Because those on the Mystical Realms don’t have a space programme”
“Exactly sir” Pete cut in, “So we need to get a space ship, launch it in our world and using one of the extended size wormhole generators, send it into orbit around IDW01, so it is the opposite side to the moons.
“So that is why the alignment is so useful” Mark cut in, “The moons are all on one side leaving the other side free to bring in the wormhole as it were, to that side”
“One problem Peter” Samuel said, “Where are going to get a space ship, even with the extended size wormhole generators, the space shuttle would be too big”
“Not to mention the stress on the vehicle of the travel through the wormhole” Mark added
“Why not do what was done in 1969” Pete chimed in, “Use another Soyuz, like the ones they use to visit the
International Space Station, that would be small enough”
“Is there one ready to fly though?” Kathryn asked.
Pete thought for a moment, then shook his head, “No Madam Chairman, the next flight on the launch pad according to one website is that of a
Progress Space craft”
“But that’s just an unmanned re-supply craft” Mark responded
“Yes” Pete confirmed, “But even so it does have a pressurised forward module and it is still small enough. All they have to do is remove the cargo, and retrofit a flight seat, but we have to get them to do it now”
“Why?” Mark asked, “Are you planning on flying it”
“Well it has to be manned, we have to have someone who can steer it to wherever the wormhole begins to appear” Pete explained
“Why not get one of their guys to fly it, after all they will have trained with that technology” Mark then asked
“Would they know what to look for? I do” Pete insisted
Samuel turned back to the video link, “Do the Russians know of our IDEC programme?”
“Well if I can get the help of G2 special unit, we could”
“Mam” Sue-Lim spoke up, “They would need two seats”
“What do you mean?” Samuel asked.
“Colonel, we have only two of the extended wormhole generators and they need an operative with them. One has to be used for the Mystical Realms assault team and the other for any spacecraft we might use”
“Well train someone up” Samuel insisted
“With all due respect sir, Mam” Sue Lim insisted, “there is not time. Only Charlene and I know how to work these things as we have been working together on them”
“So you want me in the space craft Sue-Lim” Charlene asked her
“Charlene, you may know about string and M theory, but you do not speak Russian” Sue-Lim told her, “I do” Then Sue-Lim turned to Pete and gently stroked his face, “I love you Pete, I so wanted to be with you and yes I would marry you like you asked last night, but Mark is right, I don’t want you flying this mission, it has to be a trained cosmonaut”
Next Sue-Lim turned to the colonel, to head off any objections, “And Colonel, I don’t care if my father is Mr Vee, Double-you Ex, Why or Zed, I have to fly that mission, I am the only logical choice”
“Is there another option?” Samuel asked, “We could try and take out the Magnus Timor before he can do anything”
This time Dobian interrupted, “That is all very noble colonel, but the female is right, you can not count on getting to him before he opens that wormhole as you put it, and even if you did, you may still not be able to stop him. Colonel, what ever your feelings for this female, prudence demands you have a back up plan”
“NO!” Pete insisted, “The progress space craft does not have re-entry capability, they are designed to burn up after leaving the space station. If you get stuck in orbit around IDW01”
“Pete” Sue-Lim interrupted, “We will have the wormhole generator that would get us back to orbit around Earth, and we just rendezvous with the ISS”
“But Sue-Lim, honey” you wont have the fuel or the trajectory” Pete insisted
“Mr Smith” Dobian broke in, “You may love her but as I just said, she is right, there is no option”, then the drow turned to the video link, “Madame Chairman” he addressed her, “You must get this spacecraft contraption”
“I will do what I can” Kathryn replied.
At this Sue-Lim got up, “I need to pack and try and get a flight to
Baikonour”
“If you wait a moment Sue-Lim” Hogan told her “We can get a leprechaun to take you there, especially as we not only have to convince the Russians, but placate them for keeping the Mystical Realms from them”
“But they weren’t” Dobian cut in
“But we never told them about you” Kathryn cut in
“But we did” the drow replied, “The Drow High Council after the end of the civil war when they saw how effective your United States of America was, decided to make overtures to the other superpower on your world, just in case we ever ran up against you”
“This is news to us” Kathryn responded
“Well you kept them out of your little alliance, what did you expect?” Dobian asked
“So” Hadal muttered, “The treachery of the drow extends beyond the Mystical Realms”
“I would not say treachery, my dear elf friend, I would say prudence, and I must add, Madame Chairman, just pass greetings from Raxon our leader of the Drow High Council, then I am certain you will find the Russians more amenable to our request for one of their space ships”
“Thank you Dobian” Kathryn told him, “But I must add, since we are working together we appreciate all your co-operation on saving our two worlds .Looks like we all have a lot to do”
With that Kathryn signed off
Everybody stood up to go to their assignments
Suddenly on the table, Shamus McTuckle appeared, “I’m here to take Miss Wang to Baikonur in Kazakhstan” he announced.
.
Pete gave Sue-Lim a big hug, “I love you Sue-Lim” he uttered
“You just stay safe, here on Earth” Sue-Lim replied. With that she went and took Shamus’ hand, and was teleported away.
Jenny Green and Commander Mark Johnston walked up to the Colonel, “We’ll suit up and be with you in half an hour Sam” Mark told him
“Make that twenty minutes” Samuel replied, then he turned to Jenny, “Remember twenty first century Amazon look, I want you wearing more than just a skirt”
“I’ll still bring my short bow Samuel” Jenny told him, “It seems to be the most effective weapon I’m good at sir”
“Maybe Jenny, I just wish I had been able to get you up to speed with the M16” Samuel told her
“Is that much different from the
SA80” Jenny asked, then added, “Before my fiancé Darren died, when I visited his barracks once, he showed me one and I had a chance of pulling the trigger after he removed the ammunition”
“Did you get a chance to actually fire one on a range with live ammo?” Samuel asked
Jenny shook her head
“Jenny, there is a world of difference between
dry firing and live firing” Samuel told her softly, “Now go and get ready”
“Yes sir” Jenny replied and left the briefing room with Mark as they locked fingers as they left.
Another two leprechauns appeared, “I’m here to take Hadal and Charlene” one of the leprechauns said
“What about the wormhole generator” Charlene asked
“Already there” the leprechaun replied
Charlene went to take the leprechaun’s hand, but first spoke to the colonel, “I can not believe, that for years I have been protesting about military involvement and now I am a key part of it?”
“And it’s because of military involvement down the years Miss Henshaw that gave you the right to protest” Samuel replied.
With that Charlene took the leprechaun’s hand and along with Hadal was teleported away.
“I will wait outside to go with your expedition with Hogan” Dobian said, and the two left.
All that were left in the room were Samuel, Pete and the Troll Clan Chief of the Manjura.
“What can I do?” the troll asked
“Like I said, sit tight here at Welford” Samuel replied
“But this does not seem right, you, the commander Jenny, Hogan and even that drow are going into battle and me hiding away like a coward” the clan chief objected
“I feel the same way” Pete chipped in.
“Look! I have already lost several non combatants” Samuel replied, “I do not intend to loose any more. Clan Chief, when this is over, if we can stop the Magnus Timor, you will be needed to help bring governance back to the Mystical Realms. Pete, you can co-ordinate with the Russians via the MTAC here on Earth. That’s my decision, and it’s final”
With that Samuel walked out of the room leaving Pete and the Clan Chief to look at each other and sigh. It was as if there was a big party, and they had been told they were not invited.
* * *
Charlene sat in the co-pilot gunner position, in front of the first Apache helicopter as it hovered near the ground at the marine camp, and dialled in the controls on the extended wormhole generator, they had to appear five miles from the city.
They were ready to go, they just needed the signal. Several other wormhole generators needed to be set in motion as decoys to try and swamp anyone in the Mystical Realms who might be detecting them.
“We have a clear to proceed” came a voice through her headset in her helmet.
Charlene engaged the extended wormhole generator, and a massive green vortex appeared in the air in front of them. Slowly the lead helicopter inched through.
After what seemed like a massive green-wash in the helicopter, the Apache emerged in what seemed like a mountain pass, but Charlene was not looking at any of the scenery, as she was closely monitoring the wormhole generator to keep various readings in equilibrium to allow a safe crossing.
The second Apache emerged from the vortex, and the one with Charlene set down on a flat piece of ground whilst the second one remained in a high guard defence.
Four armoured troop carriers drove through the wormhole, followed by one Abram’s tank.
At this point Charlene switched off the wormhole generator.
A man got out of one of the troop transports and ran to the helicopter Charlene was in and opened the cockpit so Charlene along with the wormhole generator could get out of the helicopter and allow it’s gunner to get in place.
Charlene handed him the helmet, it was cramping her platinum blonde hair anyway.
As the helicopters flew out towards the city, Charlene carried the wormhole generator back to the troop transport the gunner had got out of, to be met by Hadal.
“I am impressed with your heavier than air machines” Hadal told her, “And you are sure they do not use magic spells to fly”
“Nah we don’t use magic” Charlene replied, “It’s pure physics, chemistry and aerodynamics”
The two them stood watching the marines get ready to mobilise, until Hadal was called to get into one of the troop carriers heading for the city.
The plan was simple for the first attack; the helicopters were to locate all the machinegun mounted jeeps being used by the sect and to take them out.
Should any dragon riders show up, well the helicopters had been armed with an anti missile defence system, plus the cannons would make mincemeat of any attacking dragon.
The pilot and gunner of both aircraft had been kited out with amulets of protection from spells, made by both Hadal and Dobian, and Hadal hated the fact that he had had to work with a drow, a dark elf, the sworn enemy of all elves.
Usually, Charlene had heard the next tactic would have been a bombardment of the city with a multi launch rocket system, but due to the high number of innocent civilian casualties that would generate, it would have to be hand to hand fighting, although they were to be joined in battle by the Troll clan of the Yataxal, now clear of the crack cocaine that they had once been addicted to, sold to them by Columbian drug dealers who had found an orb of dimension jumping.
The tank was to lead the way, for fire power, and hopefully to psyche the humans who had joined the sect from Earth into surrendering.
One of the armoured troop carriers was to hold position where they were, this was where Charlene was to stay, away from the combat zone and hopefully out of harm’s way.
Hadal was to go into battle, to defend against any unexpected spells.
It was not how the Americans usually did things, normally they would have more for “overwhelming force“ but even the extended wormhole generator was limited, and besides, apart from the heavy calibre machine guns and the missiles, the sect did not have the kind of weapons the Americans usually came up against.
Clover the leprechaun who had collected her from CERN got out of one of the troop carriers and made her way to Charlene.
“I’m your backup my dear” she told Charlene, “in case we need to get you and that wormhole generator gizmo out of the way”
“Clover” Charlene began, “I spent ages studying string theory and M-theory, theorising the possibility of parallel worlds”
“And now you off to war in one” Clover completed, then added, “Life’s funny like that”
* * *
Ivan Alekseev entered the room where Sue-Lim was being suited up, “So you must be the specialist“ he told her in Russian
“And I believe you must be the pilot“ Sue-Lim replied, also in Russian
“Where did you learn your Russian?“ Ivan asked
“The Soviet Embassy in England” Sue-Lim replied, “My father abandoned us in England and my mother could not afford a child minder when she got the cleaning job there, so she took me along and I picked it up”
“And now you work for British intelligence” Ivan observed
“Not quite but close enough” Sue-Lim answered back in Russian
Just then they were interrupted by the person suiting Sue-Lim and another person who wanted to suit Ivan up.
“I have to leave you now and suit up as well” Ivan said, “I understand they were not happy working through the night to retrofit the Progress to carry two people as there was no time to replace it with a proper Soyuz” with that he left, not bothering to wait for a reply from Sue-Lim.
It took a further hour for both of them to be suited up, and then it was time for the ride to the Progress craft sitting atop the Proton rocket in the twilight. This was to be a night time launch, as they had no time to loose. It would be this rocket that would be taking them in to orbit, except, during the launch it would be Sue-Lim’s job after the final stage separation to activate the other extended wormhole generator, to send the progress craft into the universe of the world of the Mystical Realms, so it would be in orbit around that world.
This would not be as straight forward as any other deployment of the artificial wormhole generators, as they would have to make sure their speed after exiting the wormhole would be suitable for the higher orbit they were due to land in. This was to save fuel, so the Progress craft would have fuel to briefly break orbit and head for any rip in space, should one occur, and if one should not, then after a return through another wormhole the plan would be to make it to the International Space Station, dock and shelter aboard the station until the USS Endeavour could collect them.
Sue-Lim did her breathing exercise as she was strapped into her seat, the engineers had done an excellent job, but it was still a retro-fit. If only a Soyuz had been ready to fly, they at least could return safely to a planet surface, whether it be Earth or the Mystical Realms.
“This will be my third mission into space” Ivan said to Sue-Lim, again in Russian
“Only three times?” Sue-Lim countered
“Why Miss Wang, how many times have you been into space”
“I haven’t, I just thought I would be getting someone with more experience”
Ivan thought for a moment as the pre-flight checks were being carried out, “Unfortunately they all thought this would be a suicide mission” he joked
“And why are you flying it” Sue-Lim asked in Russian
“Because I want to see another planet before I die” Ivan replied, “I would not miss this for the world”
After another moment Ivan then said, “In the briefing I could hardly believe what I was hearing, until that sprite appeared with you and disappeared in front of us”
“You mean Shamus McTuckle the leprechaun from the Republic of Ireland’s special diplomatic service” Sue-Lim replied
“Yes Miss Wang”, then he said, “Do you know what my favourite bit was?”
“No?” Sue-Lim said, questioningly
“That Armstrong was only able to walk on the moon because in 1969 it was the Russians who saved the world”
“Well, it looks like it is down to the Russians again” Sue-Lim suggested.
Ivan Grinned, “Just like in World War two, it is down to us to save the western world’s butt”
“As long as some one does” Sue-Lim commented.
Then it was the final moments until the launch.
Just before the Progress ship took off, Ivan yelled in English, “Good Luck”
Then the flight was off
It seemed like a perfect textbook launch, mostly because until the last separation it would be controlled from the ground, as a Progress space vehicle was normally unmanned.
Sue-Lim then found it hard to work the controls of the wormhole generator as she fought against the G-forces of the launch, but she was persistent and the machine started to build up power, as she entered the co-ordinates and the speed and velocity the wormhole was to put them in the other universe. She was also tense as she monitored the energy and radiation levels, which were more critical than on the smaller versions.
If anything went wrong, because of the early launch, they were in the wrong position to get to the ISS.
Finally the last stage fell away and immediately Sue-Lim engaged the wormhole generator. In front of the space craft a massive green vortex appeared, and the Progress craft sailed through. Both Sue-Lim and Ivan experienced a green wash as they passed through the wormhole.
Suddenly they were through, and were looking down from a high orbit at the world of the Mystical Realms, above them were the moons, as they were beginning to line up. By the time they did, the progress craft was due to be on the other side, to intercept any rip in space. The main anxiety had been, if it were to occur, would it be in time, or would they be travelling away from it in the orbit and unable to reach it in time to close it, before it swallowed the planet to send it crashing into Earth.
Just then there was the sound of something shorting out.
To Sue-Lim and Ivan’s horror, the wormhole generator had fused.
They were now trapped in orbit, unable to make landfall as the Progress craft was designed to burn up and unable to return to Earth, should the rip not appear.
* * *
An undisclosed location
Washington DC
United States of America
Kathryn sat at the desk of her temporary new office and stared into the distance. She hardly noticed when the figure of General Keith Jackson entered the room
Kathryn noticed him and looked up, “This is the second time we have sent people into action”
Keith just nodded and approached Kathryn.
“We lost just about everyone the first time” Kathryn went on.
Again Keith seemed strangely silent.
Kathryn looked up at the general, “Are you ok Keith?” she asked
Keith grinned, and suddenly morphed into the form of Kathryn, “Time to replace you and call off your pathetic forces” the new Kathryn sneered in Kathryn’s own voice. The new Kathryn darted at the original Kathryn and grabbed her right arm in a vice like grip before she could activate the panic alarm.
“Don’t worry” came a metallic sounding voice, “I will be quick in killing you”, and then it placed another hand above Kathryn’s head, ready to twist her head of and snap her neck, although this hand had morphed into a claw.
BANG, BANG, BANG
The sound of a rifle split the office as the new Kathryn released it’s grip on the original Kathryn and stumbled backwards and collapsed against the wall of the office.
Suddenly it was not Kathryn’s shape but suddenly looked like some grey skinned and tall skinny creature
Then no sooner had it changed into this form, did it spontaneously burst into flames, while Kathryn looked on in horror.
Then she turned to look at who her saviour was, an elderly man, in an old style coat, and holding a semi-automatic rifle so that it was pointing up.
“Armour piercing bullets” the elderly man said, “The only way to stop an HIDE47”
“A what?” Kathryn replied, still in a state of shock.
“A Doppelganger Assassin, they come from IDW01” the elderly man replied, “I went to see the general and found his body, with the classic tell tale signs of one of these creatures, so I grabbed this” at this he waved the rifle, “From his office and headed over here”
“Keith’s dead?” Kathryn uttered.
“I’m afraid so” the elderly man replied, “Somehow whoever hired the assassin knew where he was and where you are, we have a leak”
Suddenly three armed military policemen arrived at the office, the elderly man handed one of them a rifle and showed a pass with the other hand. “We just had an assassination attempt on our chairman” The elderly man told them and pointed to the pile of ash where the doppelganger had been, “But the situation is under control, please take care of this rifle”
One of the MP’s looked towards the much shaken Kathryn, bit Kathryn just nodded in agreement with the elderly gentleman.
The man then told the MP’s where to find the general’s body and that he had been killed by an HIDE47
The MP stared at him blankly, before the elderly gentleman explained further what it was.
After the MP’s were satisfied and left, the elderly gentleman closed the door.
“Well Mr Vee” Kathryn opened with, “I suppose you are going to say I told you so”
“And why would I say that Kathryn?” the elderly man replied in a polite manner
“You were sceptical of the intentions of those from the Mystical Realms” Kathryn explained
“So I was” Mr Vee responded, “but it would be churlish for an I told you so’
“I hear you dealt with Mr Davies who hijacked our organisation” Kathryn then said.
“Let’s just say I terminated our relationship with extreme prejudice” Mr Vee smirked, “He was loose cannon”
“So now you save my life, so I don’t ask you for your resignation” Kathryn countered
“Oh Kathryn, Kathryn, Kathryn” My Vee muttered, “You are so cynical” Mr Vee added, before pausing and coming back with, “There’s hope for you yet”
“You didn’t come here to just save my life, I know you, what do you want?” Kathryn asked him, then before he answered, “And before you ask, no I will not be interning the former minor spirits of virtue”
“Well saving your life was just an added bonus; I just wanted you to know of my continuing loyalty to you, the committee and this wonderful country, as for those former minor spirits of virtue, I have no further interest in them, now it is quite clear from the examination of the one in New York, that they are completely divested of their powers, though if we ever found one, do you think we should be so quick to turn them into normal humans, if they have powers we could”
“NO” Kathryn cut in, “That was not the deal we cut with the trolls, if they continue to have their powers here on Earth; the trolls would consider them guilty of meddling in our affairs and have them arrested to face trial on IDW01”
“With all due respect Kathryn” Mr Vee pressed, “The rules of the game have changed, the trolls are not in power at this time, once we deal with that sect, we could put our own people in”
“Our people will be the troll government” Kathryn insisted, “And they will be grateful to us for putting them back in power and keeping them there
Mr Vee thought for a moment and then smiled, “OK Kathryn, I see you do know how to play politics after a fashion. Well I better go away and start looking for a new aide, one that is less ambitious than the last one”
Just as Mr Vee was leaving, Kathryn said to him, “Just one thing, outside of this office, it is Madame Chairman”
“As you wish Madam Chairman, As you wish”
As he left, Kathryn sat down, she could not believe it, not only had a doppelganger assassin killed her friend the general, it had almost got through to her. As bad as that was, the situation was worse, they were facing almost certain death from a planet being about to be smashed into the Earth, and people in the know, in DC were still playing political games.
Including her
* * *
A goblin village
The Mystical Realms
[img=600x400]http://gwvault.ign.com/images/Guides/preapocascalon/Ashford_Village_big.jpg[/img]
The lone figure of the hooded man stood out in noonday suns among the other hooded figures of troglodytes, gnolls and disaffected elves, as he carried his favourite Kalashnikov rifle by his side.
They were leading two goblin younglings who were near to adulthood, a male and a female who had been forced to carry a wooden cross beam on their shoulders.
Behind them drove a jeep with a 50mm machinegun attached
Other goblins looked on, some crying, some shaking their heads. None of them wanted to be there to witness another execution of goblins picked for no reason. Yet again they would be forced at the point of the “metal rods that spat death” as they called them, to watch as metal nails would be used to drive through the hands and feet of goblins would then be hoisted up on wooden staves, with the wooden crossbeams affixed. There the victims in immense pain would take hours to die of shock and suffocation. Crucifixion the human’s had called it.
The man Jack positively delighted in having goblins tortured in this way, he was a sadist after all.
They reached the place of execution, and the two goblin younglings were forced to the ground and the wooden beam was fixed to the long stave that would be hoisted up. The female goblin was in hysterics, a good sign for the members of the Magnus Timor sect. The more fear induced, the stronger the Magnus Timor would become.
The troglodytes brought out the nails and then forced the two goblin’s hands into position and placed the nails over their wrists. The gnolls brought out the hammers to the troglodytes, who took them, and then with glee drove the nails through both wrists of both goblins simultaneously and into the wood of the cross beam.
Then while both goblins were screaming in pain, the troglodytes grabbed their legs, and forced them down against the long stave so the feet were held together.
More nails
This time the nails were put in position on the ankles.
BANG, BANG went the hammers to drive the nails through the goblin’s ankles into the wood.
More screaming
Now with the goblin victims, screaming in pain, the staves were pulled up, into the vertical position.
“Behold” Yelled Jack above the screams, “Two more offered to the Magnus Timor. May their terror as they die be an acceptable offering and provide sustenance to help bring vengeance on the treacherous worlds”
Suddenly the jeep exploded as a rifle grenade hit it in the gas tank.
Jack turned round to face the direction where the shot had come from. Coming through the village was what looked like a
British SAS officer
Jack reached for his Kalashnikov, which turned out to be his last ever action as the SAS officer shot him dead.
The goblin villagers took advantage of the confusion to flee
Two more SAS officers came from the other direction, and some of the gnolls and the troglodytes scattered, into the waiting arms of a squad of trolls from the Delethon clan, armed with cross bow bolts as they stepped out of a green vortex that suddenly appeared.
The elves stood their ground and strung their bows, and fired at the SAS officers. The arrows hit them, but failed top penetrate the Kevlar they were wearing as part of their body armour.
A second later the elves were cut down by the bullets from the SA80’s carried by the SAS officers.
Another group of gnolls turned up out of a green vortex to deal with more fleeing sect members, cutting off their avenue for retreat from the trolls.
Faced with the pincer movement, and loss of their leader, their surrender was swift.
One of the SAS officers identified himself as the commander and called over two of the trolls and ordered them to lower the staves with the two goblins nailed on them to the ground.
The SAS commander felt on the necks for pulses as the goblins had just about passed out, while the troll’s then pulled out the nails from the ankles and the feet.
Just then another elf emerged from the village carrying a satchel, and ran up to where the SAS commander was with the goblins.
“There still alive, barely” yelled the SAS commander
The elf reached inside his satchel and pulled out two green vials
“Administer this to them” the elf told them, “It is healing potion”
The SAS commander looked puzzled
“It is as he says” one of the trolls said as he took the potion from the elf, opened it and put it to the lips of the male goblin for his reflex swallowing action to kick in.
The SAS officer did the same for the female goblin.
Then they watched as the physical injuries miraculously healed as if they had never been.
Then the elf got between the two goblins, placed a hand on each of them, “I am removing the memory of the crucifixion” he told the SAS commander
Then the elf asked, “Why did you wait until these two had been nailed up before acting”
“Sorry sir” the SAS commander apologised, “We had to wait for the GO signal that the trolls were ready”
The two goblins recovered and hugged each other, thanking the SAS commander, the elf and the trolls at the same time.
The commander of the troll squad then called for one of his trolls to escort the goblins home.
“This village has suffered badly”, the elf then said to the commander, “Their leaders were butchered by the sect, so we may have to stay until they can set up new...”
Suddenly his words were drowned out by the sound of a new explosion, as several of the trolls along with some of the prisoners were incinerated by a fireball.
There was the flap of wings as out of nowhere, a dragon with a rider swooped down.
Then the SAS commander and the elf was brought down in a hail of machine gun fire as the dragon rider shot them as he flew passed them, with his machine gun.
The remaining SAS officers opened fire at the dragon and the rider, but he was skilful and flew down below some of the buildings.
Two of the trolls still left picked up the goblins and rushed to find cover.
There was more flapping of dragon wings, coming from somewhere, as two of the SAS officers grouped together and tried to workout from where the dragon would be coming.
Suddenly it reappeared, as if from thin air, and let loose another deadly ball of flame at the SAS officers.
Direct hit – they were incinerated in seconds
Just then another dragon rider flew in and joined the battle
The remaining sect members took this as an opportunity to overpower the gnolls that were guarding them.
With in a short space of time, the two dragons whirled around in the air, finding trolls and gnolls, and either incinerating them or allowing their riders to cut them down with machine guns.
The trolls with the two goblins were among those incinerated.
One remaining SAS officer found partial cover, and was about to go to grounds as his training had taught him, when he found himself unable to move.
“Looks like” said the voice behind him, “We will have today’s crucifixion after all”, then he said into what sounded like a radio, “This is Zathan, our inside contact was right, bring down the others, and arrange for ten more crucifixions to punish the village and to show we mean business. I have other business to attend to”
* * *
Central City expeditionary force landing site
The Mystical Realms
Charlene looked around at the mountains that surrounded them as she walked briefly outside the troop transport, with Clover following close behind. It seemed quite peaceful, if somewhat cold, and in the distance she could see various exotic avian creatures flying over the mountains.
“I wonder how the others are doing” Charlene asked, “It should be a walkover for the Americans”
“Don’t forget the Yataxal” Clover responded, “This is a joint operations”
“Yeah I know” Charlene answered, “But we are talking about near medieval technology against twenty first century weaponry”
“Once they take out the armed jeeps” Clover noted.
One of the marines called out that they had managed to pick up the communications traffic from the helicopters, the tank and the other troop transports that were entering the theatre of operations.
Charlene and Clover got back into the troop transport and sat down to listen to how the battle for Central City was going.
“This is Sky-Bird One to Sky-Bird two” came the report from one of the Apache helicopters over the radio, “The Jeeps seem to be moving in the alleyways between the buildings so we are finding it difficult to get a clear lock without the risk of collateral damage here”
“Same here Sky-Bird One” the other helicopter reported over the radio, “Any sign of dragons”
“Negative Sky-Bird two”
“That’s odd” Clover commented, “The report from Hogan was that there was at least three dragons in patrol at all time”
“Maybe they have realised that they are no match for an Apache” replied one of the marines assigned to the base camp.
“This is Abram’s one” came the sound of the tank over the radio, “We are nearing the city limits and getting ready to deploy the”
Suddenly the transmission was cut short
Next over the radio, “My G-D, this is Transport one” came a voice with panic in its tone, “The Abram’s was just hit by a” and then that transmission was cut short.
“You better get that wormhole generator back on line” Clover told Charlene.
Charlene went to the device, and started the power up procedure. Suddenly there was a smell of smoke and it fizzled out. Charlene asked the marine for his knife and used it to open the generator up to look inside.
“That’s not supposed to be in there” she exclaimed and took out a blackened crystal that was five centre meters in length.
Clover took it from her, “I recognise that” she said, “It’s a crystal of heat, we use them in G2 as they can be enchanted to go off under certain circumstances or at certain times”
“The generator’s fried” Charlene stated, “We are stuck here”
“Somebody’s sabotaged us” Clover said forcefully, then to the marine in charge of the radio, “Get them to pull the forces out, it’s a trap”
“This is Sky-Bird one” came the sound of the helicopter over the radio with an urgent tone, “We’ve detected a missile lock, are taking evasive manoeuvres” then “This is Sky-Bird One, we have been fired upon, We have been fired upon”
Clover grabbed the radio, “This is Clover, pull out, this is a trap” she said as she keyed the mike
Then they heard over the radio, “This is transport three, The Abrams and the first transport have been hit by an EID, am pulling back, has any one heard from base camp”
“Clover” Charlene whispered, “We aren’t transmitting”
All they could do, it seemed was listen to the sounds of the expeditionary force as it was picked off
“THIS IS SKY-BIRD ONE, the Missile counter measures are not working, they are not”
Then static
“This is Sky-Bird Two, to anyone, Sky bird one is down, Sky-Bird one is down We are pulling out.
“This is Sky-Bird Two, someone has locked a missile on us, am”
Static
Suddenly the marine pointed out side, through the hatch, Charlene could see the figure of a dragon coming through the mountains with a rider on it.
Suddenly, a streak of white left it.
Clover Grabbed Charlene’s hand and Charlene found herself and Clover high up one of the surrounding hills, as they watch in horror as the troop transport they had been in, as it was destroyed by a missile, killing all the other marines in it and destroying what was left of the sabotaged wormhole generator.
The dragon swooped over the crash site arched around and as it flew off, appeared to vanish
“Oh My Lord!” Clover exclaimed, “Someone has been using invisibility magic, just like”
BANG
Suddenly, Clover collapsed as a bullet ripped through her head
Charlene in a panic scrambled away from Clover’s body, half running and half running down the hill.
BANG
Another shot rang out as a bullet just narrowly missed her
She noticed a boulder and ran behind it as yet another shot hit the ground just behind her.
There Charlene waited, for three may be five minutes with the sound of the mountains and the burning troop carrier. Whoever shot Clover was still out there, and was now either waiting for Charlene to move, or moving to find a shot to take her out, once and for all.
Suddenly Charlene felt a hand on her shoulder, but before she could turn round, everything went black
* * *
The Fire Mountains
South of Karam Tag Chou
The Mystical Realms
Samuel and Dobian seemed to be trying to out do each other as they hiked through the mountains amongst the dormant, but still active volcanoes.
Mark said that he could easily keep up with Sam, but as he was the only other member of the part trained in the use of an M16, he needed to stay behind with Jenny and Hogan, plus he was also carrying on his back a launch tube for an anti-tank weapon, the one thing they thought could kill a dragon sized creature.
“How do we know which of these fire mounds or volcanoes, as you call them, this Magnus Timor is supposed to be held in?” Hogan protested as he puffed his way.
The air was heavy with the smell of sulphur as they picked their way through cinder cones. Jenny was feeling quite warm, due to the combat suit she was wearing, as well as the heat from the volcanic action. At least she had been allowed to bring the short bow along with a good selection of arrows; there were even three that had been rigged with exploding arrowheads. The last time, she had been on some kind of pursuit on foot, was at the Facility in London, well before it had been destroyed by the truck bomb, when they had been stalking a doppelganger assassin, but it had not been as strenuous as this was. Some of the time, because of the heat, she caught her self actually wishing to be dressed as she was then, in a short skirt, with nothing else on, not even underwear, or Amazon style as it became known as.
Hogan had a point, for most of the time the residents of the Mystical Realms had treated the Magnus Timor like the mythical bogey man on Earth, only a legend. Now they had been told it was a real entity capable of real power, great enough to rip a planet size hole in space and charismatic enough to inspire followers both in the Mystical Realms and on Earth.
“Colonel” Jenny shouted above the noise of the volcanic action around her.
“What?” Samuel shouted back.
“How do we know which volcano he is in?” Jenny asked at the top of her voice.
Dobian and Samuel stopped walking
This time it was Dobian the drow who answered before Samuel could speak, “What do you mean child, which volcano is he in”
Jenny was slightly miffed at being called a child, but she remembered that elves and drow lived a lot longer than humans, so to them she might as well be “a child”. “Hadal said he was imprisoned under the fire mountains”
“Hadal is a fool” countered Dobian, “It was under the shadow of the fire mountains he was imprisoned, not in them”
“That would make things easier” Hogan retorted
“So” Samuel asked him, “how do we find this overgrown lizard”
“Well for one thing my good colonel” Dobian went on, “He may not be in the shape of a dragon, we drow believe he merely took on that form as it induced fear, which is what he feeds on”
“Whatever” Samuel answered back, “How do we find him and take him out”
“Have a bit of patience my dear colonel” Dobian replied, “We have yet another rise before we drop into the Deadly Valley, where according to the accounts, the cave where he is kept is located”
While they were standing, Mark took the opportunity to scan the horizon with his binoculars, in the distance he could just make out the Citadel of Karam Tag Chou, by now the smoke had cleared. It was not certain if the sect had taken it over after they had cut down the trolls with machine guns after they took it. However Mark was more interested in dragons, even the wild ones, not under the control of the sect could be just as dangerous.
The sky seemed suspiciously absent of them.
“Dobian” Mark asked, “How much cover will we have going over the rise”
Dobian grinned an evil grin, “Why we will be terribly exposed, until we go into the valley”
“Great” Hogan chimed in, “And you drow would like that I suppose”
“Dobian squatted down to be at eye level with the leprechaun, “Oh my, you are mistrustful of me”
“As I am with all drow” Hogan countered
Dobian stood up, “But contrary to popular belief, we are not evil” he insisted, “We just have a darker complexion, work underground instead of the forests and have a pragmatic philosophy of survival, which means in the past we took advantage of various situations in pursuit of our own interests”
“We don’t have time for this” Samuel cut in, and continued in the direction that Dobian had indicated.
Jenny just kept quiet and held on to Mark’s arm
The climb to the top of the rise was nerve-racking, as they continued to watch out for dragon riders, surely there must be some, and the previous reports indicated that they had been criss-crossing to main population centres, maintaining control by the sect.
For some reason, they still had plenty of armaments, well beyond the known ones that had been stolen from Earth. Hadal and Dobian had suggested that the sect leader, Zathan, may have cast a replication spell of some sorts. Hogan and Samuel had wondered if they were still getting further weapons from Earth, like they had tried to do in the warehouse in America.
For the moment the only sounds they were hearing were those of the tremors and the volcanic activity from some of the craters.
Jenny ran up to Dobian and he acknowledged her presence, “What may I do for you my child” he asked.
“Do dragons normally come over here?” Jenny asked
“Not normally my child” Dobian said in his condescending manner, “dragons fly where their prey is and if you notice, the terrain is not that conducive to the elk they feed on”
“Dobian”
“Yes my child”
“A year or so ago, you threw in with the orcs so you could be rulers of the Mystical Realms, how come you did not make use of the sect to do the same”
“Simple my child, we want to rule the Mystical Realms, the sect and the Magnus Timor want to destroy it with the Magnus Timor supposedly ruler of a new world and not us.”
“Oh” was all Jenny could say
“I do find it odd to be on the side I am on” Dobian went on, “As do my fellow drow, and even odder that we are trying to raise some kind of resistance, such as it is”
It took an hour to clear the ridge before descending down into a valley, made dark by various gasses that spewed out of the volcanoes.
Samuel pulled out a testing kit, “CO2 is ok, we’re good to go” he shouted
“CO2?” Dobian asked Mark
This time though, it was Jenny who also knew the answer and cut in before Mark could speak, “That’s Carbon Dioxide, it’s usually a gas, we covered it when I did GCSE Science” she proudly stated
“Yeah” Samuel chimed in, “In some volcanic processes large amounts of CO2 gas can be given off, and it usually sinks and
becomes toxic and kills”
“Would we not see it?” Dobian asked
“It’s invisible” Mark explained, “You can’t see it, hence the detector and the gasmasks just in case” Mark added as he showed the gas mask and small oxygen cylinder assigned to him
“Which is probably why they called this area the Deadly Valley” Dobian observed
It took about two hours before they reached the base of the valley, and there was hardly any vegetation. Jenny could see evidence of ancient lava flows, and dotted here and there were hot springs and hot mud.
“We’re here Dobian” Samuel told the Drow.
Dobian looked around very slowly.
“We’re waiting” Hogan insisted, “Or have you lead us on what the human’s call a wild goose chase”
“Your faith in me is most touching” Dobian retorted, then shouted, “Over there, that is the cave of fire rock where he is meant to be”
Mark went up to Samuel, “Looks like an old lava tube to me” he whispered
“So that is what you call them” Dobian said, then added, “Commander, there is no need to whisper, drow have the same excellent hearing as elves”
“I’ll bear that in mind” Mark replied.
The group headed towards the lava tunnel, which took about twenty minutes in that terrain. Finally they were standing at the entrance.
There was another violent tremor, and it was all they could do, not to be thrown to the ground.
“Are these tremors due to the alignment?” Jenny shouted
“That theory was debunked on Earth” Samuel shouted back, “The mass of the moons even on one side of the planet is not enough to cause stresses on the tectonic plates”
Samuel switched his electric torch on and entered the lava tunnel, torch in one hand with his side arm in the other.
As they walked in, the heat was becoming stifling
Five minutes into the cave, they found a large iron door that had been fastened shut with a large iron bar.
“So this must be where the Magnus Timor is” Hogan said
“It’s so unguarded” Jenny observed, “Why did they not just come here and rescue him?” she asked
“Because my child” Dobian answered, “This is the Deadly Valley, maybe because of this Carbon Dioxide gas you speak of, that keeps the curious away”
“Any way we can shift that” Samuel asked the drow as he pointed to the iron bar on the door
“Well” Dobian suggested, “If Hogan and I join spells, we might be able to use a moving object magic, I believe you humans call telekinesis”
“Well do it” Samuel ordered.
Suddenly a bolt of energy came from the direction of the entrance and hit Dobian, throwing him to the ground.
Samuel and Mark moved to either sides of the Lava tunnel and pointed their side arms to face what had sent the energy blast. Hogan ended up with Mark, While Jenny was behind Samuel, as she strung an arrow to her short bow.
“Sorry about that” came what sounded like a familiar voice from the entrance. Then an elf walked into view, “I did not want that drow to defile our Lord and Master’s confinement area”
“Hadal?” Mark asked as he lowered his side arm, “I thought you were supposed to be with the attack on the city” he added with confusion.
“But I was” came another voice from the entrance of the lava tube, and in walked Hadal, looking identical to the other elf.
“I’m sorry” said the first elf, “Did I forget to introduce myself, I am Zathan” then he clicked his fingers and both side arms were wrenched from the two marine’s hands, and the weapons flew towards the first elf and landed at his feet.
Jenny turned around briefly and quickly unstrung the short bow and rested it against the side of the lava tube, then turned and faced the entrance again. It seemed that the elf had not noticed.
The first elf then continued, “I am Hadal’s twin brother”
“He was born first” Hadal told them, “So naturally my brother had the seat on the High Council of Elves for our family, while I worked as an elven tutor to the troll emperors”
“So backward looking of the High Council of Elves” Zathan cut in
“Indeed my brother, we should both have had a seat on the council” Hadal continued, “So I bided my time”
“Until” Zathan cut in, “It was time to awaken our Lord and master”
“Oh by the way” Hadal came back in, “That pathetic expeditionary force you had sent to try and retake the city has been swatted like a flying insect, I saw to it that the magical protections would not work”
“Along with your futile attempt to liberate that insignificant goblin village” Zathan added
“What do you mean” Samuel demanded to know
“Observe” Zathan grinned, and there in front of them on the floor were played out the scenes of the two helicopters being shot down, followed by the destruction of the tank and two of the armoured troop carriers just short of the city limits, and then the one at the landing site. Then the scene shifted to the goblin village, of the road lined with crucified goblins and one human, an SAS officer, and then the dead body of the SAS commander strung up by the feet.
“Why are you doing this?” Mark asked in disbelief.
“Fear” Zathan smiled, “The fear as these humans who believed they were invincible, suddenly realising they were being snuffed out en mass, with not a thing they could do to stop it. Your fear at how you would explain this to those left behind on your wretched Earth”
“But how could you overpower the might of the US Marines” Hogan asked
“I did my bit” Hadal smiled
“And I did mine” came a third voice from behind them, “I got the sect the weapons it needed and gave the dragon riders the secret of invisibility, the British and the Americans never saw what hit them until it was too late”.
The remaining group turned round to see the leprechaun, Paddy McGurty, standing there with a machine pistol in his hand.
“You traitor” Yelled Hogan
“Call me what you like Golden Boy O’Brian” Paddy retorted, “But I’m the one with the gun now, and I’m the one that will be the leader of all the leprechauns on the new world of our Lord and Master the Magnus Timor.
“But Paddy, why?” Jenny asked in disbelief
“I was always being passed over by Hogan here, the golden boy, when they wanted a leprechaun to serve at the Facility, I was in the running, until this golden boy stuck his nose in and took even that from me. That was when I signed up”
“And a good little sleeper agent he was” Grinned Zathan, “Not one of you suspected”
“I even arranged to quote save your wretched lives close quote that night when your car was shot up the other night as part of my cover” Paddy went on, “I could not believe Golden Boy here did not see through me. Maybe he’s not so golden after all”
Suddenly the cross bar locking the door flew off and smashed into the side of the lava tube, and the door swung open with tremendous force. As they peered into the darkness, two yellow-green dots stared out at them.
“The spell is broken” came a voice sounding like a raging fire and rushing waters combined; “I am free to wreak my revenge at last” it added
“Ah” Zathan said out loud, “The Magnus Timor, has awakened” and moved forward, stepping over Dobian’s body and walking past the group to meet his leader
“Zathan” the Magnus Timor said with what could sound like joy, “You have been my most faithful of servants, ever since my first attempt to break free of this accursed spell”
“It was an honour to serve” Zathan said as he knelt down.
The Magnus Timor finally walked out into the light, but instead of looking like a dragon, his appearance was like that of a Minotaur.
“You will all be rewarded for your loyalty” the Magnus Timor said, then lifted his arms, “And now I will place all of you my loyal followers into suspension, plus those who have fallen in my name” Then the Magnus Timor turned to look at Samuel and Jenny, then at Mark and Hogan. “As for you” he snarled “I will rip open space and thrust this worthless rock into the other worthless rock and we will have as you say in that human language you have called Latin, Orbis Terrarum En Concursus”
“Worlds in collision” Samuel muttered.
To be concluded