Overrun: Project Hideaway (15 page)

Barnes quit rubbing the back of
his neck and rested his hands on his lap. Both were colorless and shook
slightly.

"Begin holovid
message," Parker commanded.

"Message begins," the
machine answered him. The holovid screen became dark.

When it lit again, there was a
white middle-aged man sitting in front of what looked like a busy military
operations center.

"Gentlemen," the man
in the message began grimly. "I am speaking to you from the command center
of Science Dome 15. It is my unfortunate responsibility to inform you that upon
viewing this message, you are ordered to consider the United States at
war."

"Oh my God," Barnes
said quietly.

"This message was prepared
to brief you on such an eventuality," the holovid continued. "My name
is Colonel Samuel Allinson of the newly created Vulture Squad."

Parker looked away from the
screen and scrutinized a spot that didn’t exist on the side of his leg.

"Vulture Squad, Captain
Parker, began with many of the same men in your first flight unit," Parker
raised his eyebrows at the mention of his name. "Many of those that you
surpassed to pilot the Hideaway were recruited soon after you left in
2258."

Barnes looked over at Parker but
didn’t make a sound.

"At the time, this was
considered the world’s ultimate mission. Safeguarding our lifesaving technology
out in space. We needed high-caliber individuals to carry something like this
out. You were of that caliber. As were they. However, you two were the most
suited to pilot the Hideaway.

“The rest of these men became
the originators of the Vulture death squad. A unit secret from the rest of the
world created to implement a new world order. One ruled by the United States. A
safe world.

“In 2260 the Vulture Squad
became a hard-nosed reality. Upon its assembly, the ministry of war released
the details of Plan Zero, a defense plan war officials have been working on
since the technology to make the beam cannons was discovered in 2251.

“As you are aware, the beam
cannon technology offers an alternative to what we have now, giant domes that
only protect an elite citizenship. This technology takes us past that. The
ability to protect all of our citizens does exist. It works. And you are
carrying it."

Parker turned to look at Barnes.
Barnes stared coolly back.

"Since that first
technological breakthrough in 2251...," Colonel Allinson continued.
"…we have diligently worked in secret to create, build and do our best to
perfect this technology, technology the J.G.U. has never seen.

“We’ve been ready for some time,
however, implementation has always been a problem…until now. The time has now
come for us to forge ahead.

“Technological implementation
has always held us back, because it just cannot exist without more room. The
beam cannons once in place will occupy lots and lots of land. Some will be the
size of some of the smaller ancient land states. This land has to come from
somewhere. Someone or something has to be displaced.”

Parker rubbed his forehead.
Barnes remained still in his seat.

“We need back the land outside
the domes. The land occupied by the diseased. The sick. The ones waiting in the
sun-scorched rabble for some easy way to die.

"Millions must be removed
to begin construction. Some are calling this an ‘extermination’. Others a
‘genocide’. Regardless, I am here to tell you this is not for you to decide.

“Great men of the United States
scientific community have come up with this plan. Every scenario and contingency
has been simulated and thought through. Nothing has been left
undiscussed."

Barnes shifted his weight around
in his command chair. Sweat rolled slowly down his face and onto his flight
suit.

"The blood of these people
will be on their heads. Not yours."

Barnes turned away from Parker
and blew a mouthful of nervous spit against the equipment on the wall near his
side.

“I bet he truly believes that,”
Barnes said turning back.

"I’m thinking of things
that may be coming to your minds at this point,” Colonel Allinson continued to
speak. “When I went into dome service, only a small portion of my family was
given clearance to come live with me. I had to leave many on the outside. Many
are still out there. Many also have died. And I still believe in what we are
trying to achieve."

Parker stole a quick look at
Barnes whose mouth hung open and lips moved as if to speak.

"I assure you all lives
sacrificed have a purpose and serve a common good. For many sleepless years I
pondered the reality of that statement. These sleepless nights are not yours to
endure. We have undertaken this moral responsibility, not you. In return for
this, however, you must understand your mission orders must be carried out
unconditionally. Regardless of what you personally feel or what they might
ultimately be."

"We’re going to goddamn
die, aren't we Jed?" Barnes asked hoarsely without taking his eyes off the
screen.

"Your mission to safeguard
the crucial technological elements of the beam cannon technology was launched
as a precautionary measure before Plan Zero had been completely drawn out. As
of this recording, it has not been fully implemented.

“We've been waiting for a
situation to present itself. Since you have activated the emergency war
procedures, you most likely have been released from hibernation and not able to
establish planetary contact. That situation has probably finally arisen.
Implementation in all likelihood has finally begun.

"Plan Zero and the Vulture
squads are a means of clearing the countryside for the beam cannons and
destroying as much of the J.G.U. armed forces in the process. In the event of
an armed J.G.U. invasion."

"One it sounds they’ve been
hoping for," Parker commented slowly.

"The commencement of Plan
Zero will be immediate. Vulture soldiers will set high powered explosives
throughout the cities of the outside to eliminate the J.G.U. ground forces and
prime vast areas to construct the beam cannons."

"Holy mother of God,"
Barnes said. "Those people…Jesus, Parker."

Parker again swallowed hard and
fought back a twitch in his left eye.

"Gentlemen, one of the
reasons you were chosen for this mission was because of our confidence in your
psychological soundness. Your perceived ability to operate in the most dire of
circumstances. And your rationale regardless of the events that may surround
you. Please keep this all in mind as I continue."

Parker let out a loud breath and
sat back. His hands rested stiffly on the sides of his command seat.

"We discontinued your
twice-monthly awakenings back in 2264. The risk was becoming just too great. It
wasn’t so much there was yet a threat to you being discovered. It was more that
any risk, any chance of your being discovered at all, was just too much. A dark
ship with its pilots in hibernation is obviously much less susceptible to
inadvertent detection.”

“It has been no secret that
within Japan's Great Union the technology and the minds to create it are
dwindling. People are starting to die. Important people. Skilled people. Those
that furthered their scientific communities and knowledge. There aren't new
minds to replace them. Their country is finally beginning to perish from the
Earth.

“We saw this happening in 2264.
And we still see it happening now in 2280. They are on the verge of cultural
extinction."

"2280?" Barnes asked
incredulously. "What year is it Jed? Jesus Christ."

"There is panic in the
J.G.U. Uncontrollable panic. And it is spreading. That is where we were when we
created this message for you. In preparation for war. Upon viewing this
message, consider the situation arisen. They have attacked.”

The Vulture colonel paused and
looked down. After a brief second, he looked back into the holovid. "We
are forging ahead to save the human race."

"They’ve manufactured a
global war,” Parker said slowly. "They’re running a scenario to reinvent
the globe. It’s already over and done in their minds. They’re just maneuvering
around to set it in motion.”

“Jesus Christ,” Barnes said
again.

"In 2290 your life support
looked good. Hibernation indicators showed you were still in perfect health.
The situation we were looking for began taking longer than we thought to
present itself. It was decided to maintain your hibernation and preserve your
youth. Keep you at your biological best until the time came for you and the
ship to be needed. Gentlemen, that time has finally come.”

"2290?" Barnes voice
cracked. "Son of a bitch. We’re now up to 2290? I can't believe this. Son
of a fucking bitch."

"Your families have been
told you are dead," Colonel Allinson said evenly, immediately putting a
stop to Barnes’ tirade.

"Oh, no," Barnes
choked softly. “Oh my God, no.”

Parker closed his eyes.

Barnes leaned his head back. His
eyes were blank. The material of his seat crunched quietly beneath his weight.

"You two pilots were picked
for this mission based on many things. One of them being your ability to handle
this kind of psychological stress and fight through the feelings you are
experiencing now."

"Can anyone begin to think
what we are experiencing now?" Barnes ran both his hands through his hair.

"You’ve both been selected
due to the strength of your unique traits. Strength, leadership, technological
expertise. Regardless of which of these you possess, you’ve both been deemed
competent to be able to understand what is now required to be done and what
failure to comply and act accordingly could bring about…for all of us."

Barnes shifted uncomfortably
again in his seat.

"Captain Jediah Parker.
Major Jeffrey Barnes. A job has been entrusted to you. Refusal or incompetence
will not be accepted. The blood of many covers our hands. And more must be
spilt to preserve the birth of a new world."

Parker remained completely
motionless. His hands were still folded across his lap.

"Any deviation from the
emergency mission plan will be considered an act of mutiny on your part. You
will be considered a traitor. And you will be punished. Horribly."

Parker turned his head slightly
to look at Barnes. Barnes leaned back, closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

The holovid picture of Colonel
Allinson faded to black, and then a white square room appeared on the screen.

Two men in same-colored flight
suits sat at a single table in the otherwise barren chamber. An ancient clock,
with hands to mark the time rather than a digital readout, hung in the
background. The circular clock was half the size of the men in the room. Its
black hour and minute hands stretched motionlessly across its face. A red
second hand paced ominously around its center.

The holovid picture zoomed in to
reveal a Science Dome 15 Penitentiary insignia stenciled across the backs of
both men.

The men appeared healthy and
physically strong. Neither showed signs of radiation sickness or scarring
common of those living on the outside.

“Dome military prisoners,”
Parker said quietly with a slight chill in his tone.

One of them paced about the room
while the other sat motionless at the table with his hands folded. Every few
seconds the man at the table glanced nervously at the clock. His hands shook
despite the obvious effort he took to keep them still.

There was no sound other than
the narrating voice of Colonel Allinson.

"These two men have been
convicted of treason,” Allinson continued. “Of selling dome locations and
technological information to the J.G.U. They have been injected with RCC’s,
radiation controlled caplets. The same ones that you have just been injected
with."

The image cut away to that of
the same two men strapped to separate large chairs similar to the command
chairs onboard the Hideaway. The chairs rotated around until their sides faced
the holovid transmitter.

When the chairs had stopped
moving, two familiar looking black cylinders appeared from the command console
behind them. Both of the prisoners grimaced. One of the men started to scream.

At the end of long silver
tentacle-like arms, the two cylinders stretched towards them. When they were
about twelve inches away, one after the other the cylinders shot through the
air and bit at the back of their necks. Each left a bloody welt the size of a
dime across their naked skin. Both men winced from the sudden sting of pain.

"Oh, Jesus H. Christ!"
Barnes thrashed violently around in his chair. Using the dull reflections
offered by the cockpit window and the equipment consoles, he tried to get a
look at the back of his neck.

“Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my
God!” Barnes’s voice was nearly a shriek.

Parker didn’t move. He kept his
eyes riveted on the holovid screen. He tried to ignore the panic threatening to
overtake his body and fought the urge to scratch at the object under the
surface of his skin.

Sweat from his forehead slid
into his eyes making it difficult to see. A sickening feeling washed across his
stomach. He could feel the recently injected object pulsate like a faint
heartbeat in the back of his neck.

"You probably recognize the
procedure," the Vulture colonel’s voice continued.

"Son of a bitch!"
Barnes’ voice cracked. Terror raged from his body like liquid fire into the
small space of the cockpit.

Parker fought hard to resist it.

"As you will see with these
prisoners, the caplets once armed will release enormous doses of radiation
directly into the bloodstream. A dose large enough that death is imminent and
certain, but not so lethal the subject will die right away. The experience is
prolonged and quite horrible."