Dirias’ Mistake Part 4
“What do you mean he said no!!!” The General slammed his fists on his desk, the force knocking the black desk phone handset off of the receiver and causing cracks to form under the solid metal. The general stood up, his anger seemed to grow with every heartbeat, veins still popping out of his neck and forehead, beads of sweat forming on his white brow.
The Ensign stood at attention, his black uniform lined with gold, perfectly donned to perfection. His brown hair was the epitome of military grooming standards, his shoes shined. His left hand held a clipboard with the orange letters “TOP SECRET” on a white cardstock cover page concealing the operational plans that may be the only chance for humanity's survival. The Ensign’s demeanor was not going to allow the General's uncontrolled theatrical antics break his military bearing.
The Ensign
2 years before the rift: The Ensign’s Graduation
“Congratulations Ensign on graduating the academy! You truly are one of the best students, (if not the best), that has ever come through our school house of interdimensional space time!” Dr. Highenburger took the Ensigns hand with his right hand shaking it vigorously while giving him a diploma that only 90 people were able to obtain during the 20 years the school was first open.
“Five students were enrolled, and you were the only one to have the dedication, drive and aptitude to not only complete this challenging endeavor, but did so with flying colors!”
“Thank you Doctor,” The Ensign replied, calmly, with no smile, no emotion.
It was the Ensign’s gift and curse. Emotion was absent, his soul seemed empty, void. That was what made him that much smarter, as his IQ was already off the charts. Coupled with his emotionless demeanor, no matter what type of material, or how many steps had to be memorized to solve for the specific place in the time continuum, he was able to do it. No stress, no anxiety to distract him from his mission to learn, to perform.
That was the gift, the curse? His heart was cold. Morality was absent. Science was his god, and like science, he lacked humanity.
Present time
“He doesn't work for the Government sir, and therefore we have no way of making him do anything,” The Ensign calmly told the General, who normally would have anybody that stood in front of his desk trembling.
The General
The General was a Genetically Enhanced Humanoid (GEH). Made in a lab to fight in the World Breaker Wars that almost wiped out humanity 200 years ago. He was the only one that didn't turn. All 99,999 out of 100,000 GEH soldiers turned mad, and killed everything. They slaughtered humans and animals, friend and foe unbiasedly. The War cost countless lives, but the GEH soldiers almost wiped humanity's existence from the Earth.
The General stood nine feet tall, his white hair was in a high and tight military cut. His khaki uniform was specially tailored for his massive body which rippled with muscles, his eyes were black as coal. Nobody knew how long the GEH would live when they were created. Their creation was a shot in the dark, as project Spartan was rushed. They didn't care about the repercussions, it was their last ditch effort to push back against the robo force that were decimating their defenses at an alarming rate. So not much was known about them whatsoever, except that they were durable, 15 times stronger than a regular human, they were agile and fast. Luckily before they turned, they defeated the enemies they were designed to defeat.
Back To The Story
The Ensign continued, “furthermore, our government is so fractured right now due to our massive losses, that I don't think we would have the ability to force him to do anything.”
“Who the hell would have thought that loser of a scientist actually had the smarts or ability to tear through the interdimensional veil,” the General turned, and rested his hands on both sides of the window and looked outside to a red unnatural environment whose clouds moved as though they were alive. The General knew that it was hell, he was looking at hell and death unleashed by Dirias.
He laughed, “the stupid bastard, he was a prodigy, but started saying crazy crap. What scientist would study magic? Is that even a thing?”
“Magic is just another form of science that we don't fully understand,” The Ensign answered, “he did try to warn us. He came directly to your office, and you turned him away.”
The General glared at the Ensign, he wanted to kill him, (GEH’s were known for their compulsive rage), and would have if he wasn’t such an important asset. The Ensign wouldn’t have been the first he had killed for making him angry, but he had unlocked so much in the studies of time physics in different dimensional space, his brain, (if Dirias doesn’t help them), is the only other hope that they had to save what little humanity was left.
The General knew that with all of his strength, he was no match. This was a different enemy. An enemy from the depths of Hell itself. This was the first time he felt hopeless in over 200 years, even when facing inconceivable odds, against his own GEH brothers, out numbered, out gunned, he was somehow stronger and smarter. He defeated tens of thousands of GEH soldiers. The General was the weapon that saved humanity from extinction. But that didn't matter, his strength was nullified. Sure he could eliminate the smaller demons, but there were things that lurked out in the darkness whose very presence made the General feel faint.
The General breathed in to try to gather his composure again, then asked, “If he doesn't help us, what are our options?”
“We have a pilot ready sir,” the Ensign calmly lifted the clipboard and opened the cover page, “Captain Orian will be part of ‘Operation Still Time.’ He is the only pilot that we have to operate our time ship, the U-C-T-S Chronicle. Captain Orian has developed a technique to keep the Chronicle in a state in which the ship can sustain its position at a single point in time. I also took the liberty to install project, ‘Recover, Reincarnate, Adjust, Monitor,’ also known as ROM.”
“Okay? What the hell is that supposed to mean for the survival of the human race?”
“I was just about explain sir. I’ve briefed Captain Orian about our dire circumstances,” the Ensign began to explain but was abruptly interrupted.
“You did what without my permission!?” The General slammed the desk again with his hand, causing more cracks to form on the concrete floor.
“We don't have time to follow the chain of command formalities. Hell is right outside sir, we need to act swiftly. Decisions need to be made, not briefed nor explained.”
“I suppose,” the General begrudgingly concurred, “but I order you to keep me abreast of all other purposes and or developing operations.”
“Understood sir,” the Ensign diverted his attention back to the clipboard to continue. “The U-C-T-S Chronicle has the ability to open up rifts to hell. And upon further observations that I have made, it seems that the rift between our realm and hell is 1000 times bigger than what Dr. Dirias was capable of accomplishing.”
The Ensign flipped a page then took out a picture from the clipboard and handed it to the General.
The General squinted at the picture. “Explain, what am I supposed to be looking at?”
“In the center of the picture, there appears to be a stone that is amplifying the effects of whatever Dr. Dirias’ experiment that caused the tear. Captain Orian’s mission is to take the U-C-T-S Chronicle, set a time loop, navigate Hell and retrieve the stone. It is highly probable that he will be killed, that’s where ROM comes into play.”
“What does ROM do exactly?”
“It is an artificial Intelligence that will be accompanying the Captain. It is able to reanimate him after retrieving his corps from hell. The Captain will more than likely fail and will have to learn to navigate the labyrinth within hell, and the probability that he will get killed during that process is 100%.”
The General looked at the Ensign, his right eyebrow raised, “and you told this poor bastard that he’s going to endure this over and over again…and he’s still going to go through with it?”
“Yes, he is a soldier and he knows what's at stake. Nobody really knows the paradox of reanimation, if the person who is reanimated with all memories is actually that same said person, or just a clone that mimics that person.”
The General opened a drawer and pulled a pen out and jotted a quick note, “give a MOH to Captain Orian…” He looked back up at the Ensign, “continue.”
“My theory is that it will cause such a disruption…”
“Your theory?” The General interrupted. “We need more than just a theory, we have limited resources. Why not go back before that damn crazy scientist opens the tear?”
“I say theory because I have to, since we have never encountered this type of technology before. I’ve run over one hundred different analyses, and each one comes to the same conclusion. That stone is the source. The energy readings from this object also match the disturbance that the tear is causing through our, what we in layman’s term call, ‘dimension’. Sense it’s a direct correlation, I’m ninety-eight percent sure, when the stone is commandeered by the Captain it will make the tear collapse, sending the hordes of hell back to where they belong.”
“I’ve asked before, why don’t we go back and stop Dirias? Why are we just trying to remove the stone?”
“There is a barrier that we have never encountered before, it is preventing us on utilizing our abilities to navigate back further than two weeks after the attack. I’ve attempted multiple times to circumvent around this, what I would call, ‘wrinkle’ in the time continuum. It's almost like it was purposefully put there. The best that we can do is the two weeks after.”
The General sighed, “that would mean that millions are out of our reach to save, two hundred years…it wasn’t enough time to replenish the human population…” he sat down slowly, his head barried in his hands, he then ask quietly, “what’s the other option.”
“Operation 33.”
The General’s head popped up, his eyes wide. “That project was canceled…He’s still alive?”
“Yes, very much so. It seems as though he has tuned,” The Ensign paused, his face almost showing a hint of curiosity. “Into something…else.” The Ensign put the clip board at his side again, “he is the only one that we have successfully sent to…hell and back, and he was able to keep some of his sanity. We were able to stop him from teleporting uncontrollably when he reappeared into our lab. He has had ample training to retrieve the target and bring her here. She may be able to convince Dirias to assist.”
“Well…” The General looked back at his desk, ”make it so”
“Yes sir.”
