“Come on space marines, let`s finish this here and now and avenge our fallen marines.”
The appearance of Colonel Bragg and Trooper Ryan at the androids rear took the androids by surprise, and now they in turn fell to the floor blackened and smoking from another fusillade of Phaser energy bolts and this without any of the remaining marines being hit. Even so there were only eleven troopers left standing after the team of eight androids was finally brought down by the heavy Phaser fire from the space marines. The inside of the barracks building was blackened from the bursts of Phaser fire; the beds and other personal equipment were mostly in ruins or on fire.
Colonel Bragg, after delegating two of his depleted team of marines to put out the fires and to care for their fallen comrades, led the balance of nine marines over to the Laboratory, now the marines were wearing their full body armour to protect their bodies from the worst effects of any further Phaser fire. They were soon through the door at the entrance to the Laboratory and progressing slowly down the stairs when Phaser fire flashed out from the Time room, heavily stunning a further two of Bragg`s marines who might have been dead if the shots had not been ricochet`s from off the corridor wall before reaching them. Ryan narrowly escaped death when a Phaser blast whizzed by his body to blast into a unit in the corridor. Bragg returned fire against the two androids guarding the doors, his fire taking out one of the androids and Trooper Ryan accounting for the second one. Bragg then led the charge down the stairs that led into the Time room.
Inside the Time room the remaining two androids fired at the marines as they burst through its doors. Luckily for the other marines the two androids both chose to fire at Cassidy, a tall bronzed Canadian with startling green eyes. It was Cassidy that lost the battle for the androids, with his immense powerful frame combined with his extra strong body armour that he had purchased himself from Clarkson`s. He had been scornful of the body armour supplied by the Corps and thought that Clarkson`s, the leading manufacturer back on Earth, made better quality armour. His new body armour was able to soak up the power of the Phaser aimed at him by the remaining androids before he fell to the floor, heavily stunned from taking so many Phaser bolts. Bragg and Ryan now had time to aim their Phasers and they fired together. Ryan destroyed the android closest to him and Bragg took out the last android. Unfortunately this android fell back into one of the vast bank of computers that controlled the Time Machine. The dead android exploded against the valuable machine sending sparks of electricity everywhere, they filled this area of the room and made the marines hastily duck once more for cover. The dead body of the android was now a burning twisted piece of machinery, and Bragg could no longer see where the android`s body finished, and the damaged computer started, as the two merged and crackled together.
The leader of the final group of androids waiting with the technicians aborted his part of the attack; he decided to return to the sleek spacecraft that had brought the androids to Orion.
Chapter Two
Time Storm
Colonel Bragg soon located the scientists, and finding that the key to the door was still in the lock released them from the store room.
“I think that the attack is over Jameson, but shut the facility down now, and please keep your team under cover here in the Laboratory until you are told by me that it is safe to come out.” Bragg said to the scientist.
Jameson called his team together, but he didn`t need to stress the urgency of the situation, or the need to shut down the facility immediately, for smoke from the Laboratory quickly filled the corridor where the scientists stood. There was so much smoke that it was causing many of them to choke, and it seemed that they would not be able to work, however, Rogers managed to turn the air conditioning unit on full and it blew most of the smoke away. Their joy at being released unharmed turned to panic as the smoke slowly cleared and the crackle of electricity from the Time room reached their ears. It was the sparking amid an electrical fire over by the main computer, that and the smell of its burning electrical components now filling the corridor with its acrid smell that caused their panic. Added to this the Laboratory`s alarm system was screaming out its own message of mayhem. Bragg as unfazed as ever snapped at Jameson and his team as he sought to bring the scientist`s quickly out of their various states of shock.
“Jameson, get your men working on the damage,” and then complaining about the noise that the alarm was making, “and turn that bloody alarm off.”
Bragg`s commanding voice had the effect of snapping Jameson and his team out of their temporarily dazed state, and back into action. The scientist delayed no longer and rushed into the Time room en masse, they soon saw the extent of the damage caused during the brief exchange of Phaser fire amongst their valuable, but delicate instruments and computers.
Although their initial actions had been slow, as they fought their way out of the dazed condition that events had put them into, they were quickly transformed back into a professional team. Jameson, his three fellow scientists and the four auxiliaries ran to the bank of computers and other machines with fire extinguishers and quickly brought the fire under control. Peter Simmonds, the electrical engineer of the team isolated the computer that had the android buried in it, and he slowly extracted those parts of machinery that were a part of the destroyed android from those which were part of the smoking computer.
Brian Goddard was a nuclear physicist whose expertise had expanded since he began working with Jameson on Orion some twenty years ago. Now he was more of a research scientist, and he could turn his hand to many of the various scientific fields that they had encountered while perfecting the Time Machine, and also a few other earlier projects. He had been to university with Jameson so long ago and was now forty four years old. He was of African descent, short and stocky with wiry black hair and dark brown eyes which normally showed a sleepy expression but which were now fully awake.
“My God, look at the energy that we are currently using Richard!” Goddard exclaimed.
He was studying one of the numerous readings on his computer screen upon the wall behind the work console that was his desk. Goddard`s face still showed some of the obvious shock that he was feeling from the androids assault on the Laboratory, only now added to this was the shock he received from looking at the data that his instruments were giving him. From this data he knew that something far worse was happening at that very moment.
“Richard, somehow the Time Platform has been sent away from the main unit, and my god just look at the speed the platform is moving at!” Goddard exclaimed.
The Time Platform was normally situated in the large empty space that the other scientists were now looking at in amazement.
Tracy Goddard was a computer genius and it was she who had written the software for the program that ran the Time Machine. She sat at the desk next to her husband and her face showed a mixture of the fear inspired by her husbands` panic filled voice, and the damage that she could see all around her. She hurriedly checked the instrument dials on her own large computer screen set upon the wall behind the narrow worktop that was her work area.
“No wonder Brian, the reactor is working at one hundred per cent capacity.” Her eyes expressing the fear she now felt, and very adequately so. She called across to Jameson. “We must bring down the power levels Richard, or god knows what damage it might cause to the Time Machine.”
Another voice now joined in. “It will be some time before this computer is fully functional Richard, it certainly won`t be functioning while the Time Platform returns across time and space to Orion. There is no knowing what signals it sent out to the Platform, you should perhaps consider dumping the Platform while it is safely on the other side of the galaxy.” Peter Simmonds called across the smoke filled room. Jameson looked at him and took vital seconds before replying, for his answer would affect the lives of everyone within the laboratory.
“Ok Peter, I will consider doing just that, but not until I am sure that no other option exists.” Jameson said grimly.
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Jameson stood before a vast bank of dials and switches, he was already battling with the computer to try and bring down the power levels but without any success.
“Something must have been short circuited by a stray Phaser shot.” He said angrily. He then looked over at Peter Swanscombe the tall blond New Zealander, an auxiliary, who had also been with the team from the start.
“Peter will you run across to the reactor building and ask them to reduce the power to just twenty per cent, and also tell them that they should be ready to reduce the power output to even less at a moment`s notice from me.”
Swanscombe was soon scooting out of the room, his long legs carrying him quickly up the stairs.
Josiah Parkes was serving as one of the auxiliaries, he was the youngest of the team and a relative newcomer following the unusual death of one of Jameson`s original party some three years earlier. Fear showed on his thin gaunt bearded face as he pointed towards the display in front of him, it indicated the many places that the machine was touching down.
“Look it has made multiple landings, almost like a pebble skimming across the water.”
His skin looked even paler now behind his bearded face as he looked across to Jameson, perhaps in the hope of seeing the master scientist pull a rabbit out of the hat and make it all right.
“It is because of the damage to this computer Richard, there is no knowing just how many times the Time Platform is programmed to drop out of subspace.” Peter Simmonds said grimly.
Ivor Johansson, the team’s second expert on theoretical Physics, the first being Richard Jameson himself, was seated at the far end of the room. He was franticly pressing buttons to gather much needed information. It was his high alto voice that now added to the alarm present amongst the scientists.
“The holes in subspace Richard, they won`t be being sealed; there is no telling what sort of damage we could have caused to the space time continuum.” Johansson shouted out, fear clearly evident in his voice.
Barry Rogers sat opposite Johansson. He had been monitoring the radiation readings constantly since the team had re-entered the control room.
“No, No, Johansson, the sensors attached to the transportation platform have recorded enormous amounts of Microwave Radiation, if these figures are correct then the holes are being sealed almost before they are being made. The automatic safety override must be working correctly.”
Jameson then came to a decision that would change a certain twenty first century man`s life forever. His name was Tyler Burrows and he lived on the planet Earth.
“We must try and stop it from going any further, in fact we must try and return the platform back to Orion.” One reason for trying to get the platform back rather than just severing their ties with it and leaving it to disintegrate in the depths of space was the considerable cost of the Time Platform; it could quite literally bring the research to a grinding halt until such time as they found some new funding.
The rest of the team although still mostly in various degrees of shock, agreed shakily, and they all moved to their allocated places to start on the procedures that would bring the Time Platform back to Orion.
A minute later it was Jameson who exclaimed with delight. “The recall system for the Time Platform is miraculously still undamaged. Josiah, stop its rampage across time and space and initiate the return of our runaway buggy.”
Parkes looked up at Jameson in alarm as he read the year that the Time Machine had reached. “The time date recorder is saying the platform has gone back some fifty thousand years, surely it is impossible for it to travel so far back in time?” Parkes gasped out, not believing the data that the computer supplied him.
“Never mind that now Josiah, just stop its rampage through time and space and bring it back home.” Jameson ordered.
“Ok Richard, I will try.”
Thankfully, Parkes was able to stop the movement of the Time Platform back through time. Then he initiated the recall system that brought the runaway Time Platform forward in time, and back through space towards the planet of Orion. All seemed to be going well until Parkes spoke again.
“The Time Platform is still making touch downs as it comes back home, surely that isn`t supposed to be happening, oh my god it has touched down on twenty first century Earth now. The area that is being moved through time and space is immense Richard, if these readings are correct then the approximate amount is 64000 cubit miles, and it is not empty space that is coming back.” Parkes exclaimed loudly, and in full panic mode.
“What do you mean, not empty space, what are we bringing back here to our facility?” Jameson exclaimed.
“If these reading are correct then an awful lot of solids, so maybe we should turn off the power and lose whatever it is in subspace before it reaches us and destroys this facility, and the town.” Parkes replied. His answer although consisting of a large dose of panic also had a large dose of logic within it, considering the danger presented by the Time Machine.
“But all that cannot fit onto the Time Platform?” Jameson queried.
“With the amount of power the Platform is receiving from the fusion reactor I would say that anything is possible until proved otherwise.” Parkes said shakily, and then he added another thought that had just occurred to him, fear ever present now in his voice.
“Maybe it`s not on the Platform, maybe with all the power that is being sent through to the Platform it is being pulled after it by magnetism, a very large dose of magnetism at that.” Parkes replied.
“Can that be possible Jameson?” Bragg demanded, he had returned from checking out the base to ensure the scientists were obeying his instructions to power down the Time Machine, and he had been listening into the conversation.
“I don`t know Colonel, but something is making these readings on the dials.” Jameson answered, uncertainty creeping into his voice for the first time since he had left university. “When are those technicians in the Fusion Reactor going to do something about the amount of power being sent to the Time Platform?” Jameson cried out in exasperation.
It did not take the scientists too long to decide on another solution to their problem. Jameson asked another of the Auxiliaries, Adrian Powers a blond Australian, to go into the corridor and turn off the electricity supply to the Time Machine at the main power unit. They had no choice now, they would have to dump the Platform and live with the consequences. The unit was situated against the wall next to the store room that the team had recently occupied, but what they didn`t know was that the unit had received a glancing shot from a Phaser during the brief fire fight. The insulation that sealed the metal of the outer casing of the unit from the incoming power supply was damaged, it was an accident waiting to happen. As Powers hand moved up to the lever that would disconnect the Time Machine from the reactor, a bolt of electricity arced out and threw him bodily back against the wall. There followed a large explosion and the unit fused into one solid sparking mass, with the fusion reactor still pushing the full amount of power through it. Thankfully the walls and floor about this mass were made of a new material that insulated even this amount of power from the rest of the complex, or the whole place would have exploded. Now instead of the power being cut off as was supposed to have happened, the power continued on its mad way. Bragg rushed over to see to Powers, but even before he had reached him Bragg could see that Powers had been killed instantly by the large amount of electricity that had surged through his body
The Time Platform was still travelling towards them in the midst of the time storm that it had created, and the fact that main power could now only be shut off from the reactor building sent Bragg up the stairs to see why nothing had been done to turn the power off at source. Bragg returned two minutes later.
“The reactor is not responding to orders, the controls to the reactor were damaged during the fire fight and it might be hours before they can power down.”
Nothing it seemed could stop the Time Platform from returning to Orion, the only good news was t
hat in all probability most of it would miss them directly and arrive spaced out over a large area of Orion, between the complex and up to five hundred miles away, out over the Aruba jungle area. Impact time was in ten minutes, and these minutes soon rushed by.
Bragg took this short time to send a short message to the President of Earth informing him of the abortive attack by the androids, and also to request more troopers be sent to reinforce his reduced force of marines. He also asked that a warship be also dispatched to stand guard over the planet, just in case. His message was to President Michaels and not the marine headquarters on Earth. The reason for this was because Bragg realised that the President would not want an Earth cruiser that was not under his direct orders coming here at this moment in time, as the President had plans of his own, and an Earth Cruiser of unknown loyalties could prove to be an inconvenience.
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One of the colonists from Earth had a farm that lay just behind a tall hill that overlooked the complex. Robert Lambert was now sixty eight years in age with sparse grey hair and a slightly stooped body that had one time measured six foot in height. After living on a frontier planet for almost fifty of those years his body was old and tired. His wife Lucinda had died just four years earlier in a farming accident. He had a daughter Marcia, who was now a young woman of eighteen years with the blondest of hair, bleached all the more so by the Orion sun, her blue eyes showed her excitement as she walked up the hill to look down upon the complex in the hope of seeing marine John Cassidy. Marcia was a farm girl with full figure and skin tanned by the sun, and dressed in a light blue linen frock. When she got to the top of the hill she stretched her five feet six inches of her body as high as it would go in the hope of seeing him. Down below she saw the wounded and dead marines and almost fainted from shock. She stood there breathing deeply, and waiting until her heart beat slowed. She watched as Doctor Springer moved amongst the wounded men and tended to their injuries. Marcia fought off the desire to scream and instead she tore down the hill in search of John. She found him lying unconscious in the ruined barracks with the colony`s nurse, Wendy Springer, tending to him, thankfully for Marcia, the bodies of the dead marines had already been removed.