Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

[LostNFound]

32 RIFLES AND DARTS AT THE RITZ

“The weapons being made in Washington will be like hypodermic needles only with a range of 200 yards and we will control all of it from here”….. (Colonel Polanski)

The team had been given a download of the mission to Banner Wyoming and what had transpired at that base. Carolyne and Bill both had told them about the chemicals and the biological germs that had been introduced into the concoction. They had been told about some kind of new weapon the ARMY was making at the State of Washington facilities. No one knew exactly which base was making these weapons so they had tried the Waitsburg base first and found it to have been destroyed by the people. What they had found in the destruction was the Darts and parts for the rifle that would shoot the darts.

They all had the distinct feeling that the Ritzville base was manufacturing the rifles and they also may be creating the chemical Darts also. The chemicals they had found in the few darts matched the description and after testing the stuff it matched the composition of the poison. After talking with the locals they had found out enough information to know that the rifles and the poison darts had already been tested and suspected the next stage would be to arm the personnel and send them out to create destruction. As for the control systems at the base of Banner, it had all been destroyed. Someone other than the Colonel had been given the control system also and it had been foolish of that Colonel to think that he would be the only one to control the slow burn of destruction on the American people. It seemed that another, perhaps more loyal person to the Emperor, had been given charge of the project and it was unknown at this point who that might be and how much the Emperor himself was involved in this very deadly game.

Samuel flew the chopper at 200 yards above ground over the city of Ritzville. The earth out here was like down in Waitsburg, it was flat for a long distance in any direction full of wheat and corn and potato fields. They could see the mountains far to the North, the west and even some to the east. They cruised over the City and headed to the North and slightly to the East looking for the base. It did not take long before they saw the fenced off area. It looked like a few square miles. Samuel took the chopper up another 100 yards as they approached the base. They saw 4 guard towers at each corner as they flew over. The base was laid out in a perfect square and the road in was the only one that approached a shack that controlled the gates. They saw the Quonset hut buildings in rows and a two story square block building in the center of the Quonset huts. All the buildings were aligned in a square system around the two story building with parade grounds and roadways built in a pattern of squares. There was a runway and some leer jets at the south end of the base with more of the Quonset hut type buildings and control tower. Mary noticed the choppers setting to the west of the runway that ran north and south. She counted them and ticked off about 7 setting in a nice straight row.

The leer jets were setting outside a large hanger building on a tarmac. Just to the east of the field was a parking area with trucks and Humvee’s. The trucks were troop carriers and some had tanker trailers attached. There were also at least three trucks with low boy trailers. Mary had worked her gear and said that the fence was a minimum of 10 feet high and was electrified. The Barb wire at the top was angled out so that meant that they were keeping people out. There was some empty land to the west and south of the air field and in-between the air field and the main building structures to the east.

Samuel said “if I had to guess as to where the entrance to the underground area is located I would venture to say it is that two story block building and it could be in a basement”. Jonathan spoke and said “did you see that gun range”? It was to the east and south on the base. I saw the posts in a line along the burms. That is set up like those old execution style posts for firing squads. We could be dealing with a very bad contingent of military at this place and it looks like it is going to be quite tough for us to get in. I haven’t seen any dogs yet but I would bet that they have them.

Samuel and Mary were looking for a place to land the chopper where it would be safe and kept away from anyone discovering it by accident or otherwise. Flying the chopper to the North of the base had been a lucky guess. They came in over a huge cornfield and the ground opened up in a large canyon, at the bottom was a large reservoir full of water and to the south of the lake was a fairly large stretch of land that rose from the lake and looked to be about 10 to 15 feet higher than the lake. Mary twisted her dials and measured the size of the canyon from wall to wall. She said that the size appeared to be around 500 to 600 yards from one side to the other. The lake was almost the same size. On the west side of the canyon was a carved out path of some kind and looked like it ended at the lake edge where there was a small row boat. The beach or level area had huge clumps of willow brush that looked as if it grew right up to the cliff edges. Sam flew down into the canyon and hovered above the willow brush looking for a safe place to land. Mary said “look over there against the cliffs” that looks like a big enough area we can land that will safely conceal the chopper”

Samuel dropped the chopper into the clearing and shut the rotor down. The cliff edge rose straight up around 200 feet to the top. The Willow brush looked so thick that it appeared no one could get through and indeed who would want to? Samuel left the Dispance cloak and the stealth gear on and they all climbed out to explore the area. The brush was quite thick and no one could find a way in or out of it to the lake. They did find a cave entrance in the cliff side and the rock looked like granite or close. Samantha who had Geology training was looking very intently at the rock and said it was indeed a granite material. She also told them that there were limestone veins in the cliff. She started to enter the cave entrance but Samuel asked her to hold off for now until they discussed the plans for entering the base.

They would have to fly up to the top using the jet belts and the base was at least a few miles away. Samuel said that he and Jonathan would go up and over to the base to explore some more before they could plan a way in. The two women would stay and explore more of this canyon as best they could. They all had agreed on that idea and stayed close to the chopper as they talked more about the plans. Lunch was a delicious meal that Samantha had stepped into the garden and retrieved for them all. When she returned Jim and Christine came through and they all sat around the edge of the lake after flying over the brush and setting up an area to eat. The lake was crystal clear and the beach area was pure white sand.. There was an area that cut through the rock ledge that separated the level area with the lake that allowed them to walk down to the small beach at the waters edge. The water was very cool but the sun beat into the canyon and it was almost like an oven at the waters edge.

[LostNFound]

33 WARTSNOUT

The picnic was a welcome relief to the stress of the previous mission. It was early afternoon when they all finished eating and talking about the changes happening in the world. The sun was just passing the edge of the western side of the cliff. Jim and Christine had filled them in with some more of what had happened recently and told them about Michael, Susanna, Theresa, Daniel and Nancy leaving this very morning for Texas. “We will keep you informed of their progress as it comes in”. Just as she spoke a large splash occurred in the middle of the lake. They all stopped and turned to see what might have caused it. They all saw the ripples moving outward like something large had fallen into the lake. Samuel gazed up to the top of the canyon to see if someone might be up there but could not see anything. He turned and told everyone to move back up the pathway to the area above the water. The all gathered everything and moved very quickly to the level area away from the lake. Go back to the chopper and get it hot, we may have to move from this place.

Samuel took Jonathan and they both cloaked themselves and lifted off out over the water. With the sun shine fading the water became dark and unclear. They both got out over the area where the splash had occurred and hovered above the water about 30 feet or so. Jonathan was trying to see into the water when something large sprang from the water and shot straight up at him. Fortunately Samuel had been watching the water also and as soon as the water broke he jetted to Jonathan and grabbed him. He pulled him away at a very fast rate moving upward and to the side. The creature had cleared the water and rose straight for Jonathan. Samuel in his hurry to save Jonathan had only glimpsed the thing. His minds eye saw the shape of a very large Crocodile. He had never seen anything as big as that and his spooky sense made him want to leave this place immediately. He took Jonathan and flew back to the level area and over the bushes to the chopper.

Landing next to the chopper the two men looked as white as sheets. Mary grabbed Samuel and hugged him tightly. “We saw that thing jump at you”. Samantha wrapped her arms around Jonathan and just hugged him also. Jim spoke up and said “I think you all might find a different place to hide your chopper, they all agreed with that completely. Mary then told them what she had discovered. When we were coming back I noticed a large pile of white stuff just to the north of here. I did a small detour and found a big pile of bones and there were human remains in the pile. I mean human skeletons. What ever is in this lake is eating what is fed to it plus what it might catch in-between it’s feeding. There is something that is a major secret here I suspect. Samantha spoke then. “I ventured into that cave right after we got back and I am afraid whatever is in that lake is living in there. I suspect that there is a waterway to that lake from inside there

Wartsnout had been brought to this large body of water when he was very young. A two legged creature threw him a great distance and he landed in this cold body of water. He was already around 10 feet long but he was so young and inexperienced it took him many times to try to eat what was here. The two legged creature would come every so often and feed him chunks of meat and even throw live creatures at him. These things tasted different but he continued to grow. Any one seeing him now would note that he was somewhere around 50’ long.

He had seen the big bird come into the canyon and land over where his resting place was. He was chasing and catching the other smaller birds that landed on the water at this time of his feeding cycle. He had been catching them for a long time now and at least once every few days or longer the two legged creatures would bring him one of their kinds and put them in the thing that moved across the water and then push them in so he could feed. It had seemed that he was being fed these two legged things more and more these times and he looked forward to that feeding. He would lie on the sand in the heat until he became hungry and then slip into the water to eat. The dark place that he had discovered by entering the hole between the sides of the lake had become his place to sleep during the dark hours. He had ventured out of the dark hole one time but nothing was ever there for him so he left it alone. The time of now when he saw that huge bird land over by the dark hole had given him hope of eating a very large meal.

When he had jumped up and caught the snack he had noticed the two legged creatures on the sand bar and thought he would have a complete meal. They had all left and two of them were skimming the water. He thought to snag one in the air like he did with the small birds but they both escaped his grasp. He saw them move towards the dark hole and swam towards his entrance. He meant to come out and grab them and have a nice feast. He had come up and entered the walk way of land that ran out of the darkness into the open area to chomp on anything that moved. Coming out of the hole he was snapping and moving sideways to grab anything but leaving the hole there was nothing there He looked up and saw the large bird disappear over the canyon edge. His teeth hurt from chomping into air and his mouth was bleeding. He turned and went back to his resting place thinking about his next meal.

The team had heard the splashing and growling coming from the cave and they all climbed into the chopper and lifted off quickly. When they reached the top they saw the very large creature exit the cave and chomp around. It was in a fury as it moved all over the area that they had just vacated. Samantha looked at every body and said “that would be a very good present for the Emperor don’t you think?” Everybody just smiled and Jonathan said “When we finish this mission maybe we should come back and make this lake safer for humans.” Jim and Christine hugged every body and opened the portal back to the Garden.

[LostNFound]

34 JANX

Once over the top Samuel steered the chopper to the west of the base. About 1 mile from the edge of the base was a small grove of trees. They looked like Cottonwoods with a few evergreens dispersed among them. Samuel hovered over the stand and they all saw a clearing in the center where they could land. As the chopper dropped into the trees a huge murder of crows fluttered up from the ground and from the trees and flew to the north. Mary noticed a number of fox move out through the western side into a corn field that grew within 10 feet of the tree line. Once the chopper set down and Samuel shut the rotor down keeping the stealth gear and the dispance cloak active, they all looked around in a 360 degree view. The trees appeared to have been planted in a circle and were quite thick at the base. There were clumps of brush and willow bushes growing around the big cottonwoods and in towards the center area. Samantha had opened the hatch and climbed out so she could see the tops of the trees. The tops reached into the sky about 100 feet or so it seemed and the limbs were thick and in full bloom with leaves so a denser canopy was created. The hole that Samuel had dropped through was just big enough for the bird to get through without destroying any of the trees. As Samantha stood looking up in amazement there was a crashing of brush and a sound of hooves on the soil. She turned just in time to see a very large bull come crashing through the brush and headed straight for her. She raised herself up very quickly to keep from being gored by the creature. It stopped suddenly when she lifted off and looked up at her with a very quizzical expression.

Mary was standing in the open hatch when the bull started to charge and the noise startled her. She saw Samantha rise and actually heard the bulls frightened and angry thoughts that a large bird and humans had invaded his sanctuary of the day. She spoke into his mind immediately and asked him to halt his charge. That is when Samantha had lifted off and he came to an abrupt halt. He listened with curiosity and began to shake his head. Mary jumped from the hatch and deliberately walked straight at him. She heard his name and spoke it out loud as she approached him. “Janx you must settle down we are not here to harm you or even take your place from you. In fact we are glad to see you”. Janx waited for her to get closer, He was really curious now because the human spoke his name. The human walked up to him and touched him on the head like the human that he grew up with did years before. He closed his eyes and stood in wonder at this human thinking that it might be his human sister that he grew up with.

When Mary first read the mind of the bull she saw the sorrow and loneliness in him from the loss of a close human that had raised him from birth. She had been killed in a tractor accident when she was just becoming an adult and Janx had been sold to an auction house to be sold to the highest bidder for breeding. He was a pure bread Brahman and farmers from all over the country would come and pay for his service to their cows. The Auction house received a very high bid and he was shipped to a farmer in the North Country. He stopped his breeding practice and the farmer took him out one day to put him down. The farmer was one that could not kill an animal so he was taken to the south and let go on some open area in the plains. His instinct led him towards the south and after months of wandering he found his way to this ring of trees on the farm where he had grown up. Marna and he would come to the place during the day and she would sit in the middle and talk with him as he grew. She loved him and he loved her. The tree circle was a secret place and Marna’s father and her brothers would never come here and they never cut anything down. The farm was all around the circle so the food was always there for him. He was old now but he was still healthy. He had been living in this circle of trees for years and always grazed the fields for his food. The farmer had died a few years back and the children had taken it over. They had always thought that the circle of trees was haunted or some such and never came into it.

Mary asked Janx if he had ever ventured over to the tall fence that had a lot of humans behind it. Janx said when they first came and began to build the fence he had went there at night through the tall corn stalks and watched them do the things they did to the earth and put up that tall wire fence. It had cut off his route to the sweet grasses and the fruit trees that lay beyond the corn stalks. He had watched them dig very deep holes and saw the steel beasts take the dirt to some other place. The humans began to walk dogs around the tall wire thing and one night they began to bark at him even though the humans could not see him so he stopped going there and stayed further back in the corn stalks eating and enjoying the foods that he found. He heard the rumbling in mother earth for what seemed like a long time but then it stopped and all he ever heard after that was the distant barking or speaking of the dogs.

Mary had heard the story and asked if he could show them a secret way to get close to the tall fence. Janx said he could but he tried to warn her that it was not a good idea to go there because he had sensed the danger a long time ago. Mary told him that they understood and new how to take care of the dangers. She then asked him if he would meet the others that were here so he would know them when they came and went since they would be here for awhile. Janx said he would like that and that he could guard them and keep them safe while they were in his sanctuary. The team all met Janx and he became quite timid with them. Jonathan had opened the portal to the garden and went to retrieve some dinner for them. He also brought back some of the sweet grass that grew in the orchards and when Janx ate it he lay down and had a wondrous far away look in his eyes. After they had all eaten a very delicious fulfilling meal, Janx spoke in the mind and said he would show them how to get to the fence area without being detected.

Janx stood and walked towards the eastern direction of his sanctuary. He reached a thicket of willows and cat tails and slipped between them as he proceeded towards the trees through a well worn path. Jonathan had wondered where all this vegetations was getting its water from when he began to see small pools of water within the willows and the cat tails. He inquired to Janx and the bull told them all that there was an underground river that supplied the trees and the sanctuary. Once he reached the trees Janx walked between two large trunks and stopped at another ring of willows and cat tails. He gently poked his head through and looked both ways. A few seconds later he pushed forward and the team followed wearily. Stepping through the willows and cat tails they found them selves standing in a bare strip of ground that appeared to be 10 feet or so wide before the corn stalks started. They all stopped and stared at the wall of corn stalks. Most of them were around 8 feet tall with a few that they could see being around 6 feet. The grass was growing in-between and it was around 12 inches high. Janx walked a little ways to the south although most would not know that was the direction he was going. They all followed still gazing at the corn when Janx stopped and waited for them to catch up.

The corn rows were planted in a circle around the trees. When they caught up to Janx he turned and headed directly into the stalks. They saw him disappear and heard him mind speak telling them to hurry because he could hear something flying over head and he knew it was coming from the fenced area. They all ducked into the stalks and heard the chopper sound shortly. Janx told them that the machine often flew over his sanctuary area and he had to keep in the willows when he heard the sound. He had almost been caught one day while he was feeding on the corn close to the fence but had managed to wind his way into the corn plants and lost what ever was chasing him. He almost became lost trying to find his way back to the sanctuary but popped out on the bare strip after hours of moving his way through the field. The farmers used that bare strip to turn their tractors to other areas of the field during plowing, planting and harvest times. The plowing and planting times were hard for him because he would have to travel a great distance for food during those times. The team had thought about bringing him to the haven where he would never be hungry and there would always be company for him.

Janx took a winding path through the corn and it was visible enough that the crew could follow. While walking through Janx would stop ever so often and pull a large corn cob off a stalk and munch away. The smell of fresh corn was almost overwhelming and Samantha began to pick some large corn until she had quite an armload and handed it to Jonathan and filled her arms once again. She finally stopped and asked everyone to wait a few minutes. Janx heard her mind speak and stopped also. When he turned Samantha had opened a portal to the garden and her and Jonathan stepped through and unloaded the corn on a table and then stepped back into the field. Janx was very curious about what he had seen but he kept his thoughts to himself for the time being. After walking for about 30 minutes Janx stopped abruptly and every one almost tripped trying to stop before they ran into him. When they all stopped they heard the talk of men and the sounds of machines. Janx told them that the fence was around four running strides at the end of the stalks. The end of the stalks was around 10 feet in front of them and Samuel crept close enough to see the fence and base through the stalks without being seen. The fence was close to 30 or possible 40 feet from the edge of the corn field. As he scoped it all out he saw a guard walking the perimeter close to where they were. He noticed something shinny moving in front of the guard so he focused his sight on that and saw what looked like a robotic dog creature or something. He pulled his field glasses from his vest pouch and zeroed in on the thing. Sure enough it was a metallic looking dog. He kept looking and noticed the guard had some kind of remote in his hand with a small antenna on it. He figured that the guard was remotely controlling the robot as the man and the thing moved along the fence. While he was looking the dog thing stopped and looked straight at him. The eyes were a deep red and sparked as it looked at him. He held very still and the guard walked close to the fence and looked out at the corn field. Samuel heard the guard speak and say something about that damn cow being in the corn again. The guard clicked a button on the remote and the dog thing turned and started walking along the fence again.

The forest green bus pulled into the recharge station just at the western end of the main street of Ritzville. Tyrone and Sooki climbed out of the rear door and moved to the charging station and plugged the bus into the large socket. They both then moved toward the store where the food was located. Each of them had a small pouch of fruit and meant to change the fruit for the service and other items they could use. Montgomery had exited the front door of the bus and stood looking at the city lights and stared off towards the North. Kalista approached him and said “They are up there now aren’t they”? Montgomery turned and looked at her and then looked back and said in his mind to her. “Yes they are in the corn fields as we stand here and the one called Janx is with them” They will be going back to their chopper and making the plans to enter that very dark place”. “There is a very bad person that is plotting the destruction of that place and he is close to beginning his achievement. We must go to a place that has a large lake and free the creature that was in the dream before we left the haven. It will create the diversion we will need to help Samuel and Mary and the other two accomplish their goal to destroy the bad things that have been created here.

We will release Janx from here and place him in the haven. Remember, Greybark told us about him and how he would become a very close being with the haven folks. There is one that has reincarnated and she is called Joanna. She was called Marna before and she will remember Janx for she is the one that named him at birth. They have brought a female of Janx’s species to the haven and they will be together and create children that will join us in paradise. The bus pulled out and took a back road to the North crossing several farms.

[LostNFound]

35 DOGS OF METAL

Samuel had been spooked when the metal dog thing stopped and looked straight at him He wasn’t sure if the thing had actually seen him or was just taking video with the two camera eye lenses. He had seen something similar in its beginning stages a few years back when he had been transferring from the base in New Hampshire to California and had a layover of two weeks at Fort Dodge Wisconsin. The robotics was just becoming very usable in all sorts of things the ARMY was experimenting with and he had seen a prototype of this thing. Robotics had been around for years and years and the only thing the ARMY did with it was make arms that would run conveyer belts and mass produce weapons parts When the AI stuff started to get more usable the ARMY began to experiment with implants into human beings and then there was that weird stuff they did with humans and dogs. That gave him shivers, thinking about the Montana base. Apparently they found a use for the robotics and the AI module at minimum usage for guard dogs. From where he was lying he could not see the guard towers at each corner of the base on this western side He moved back to the team and told them what he had seen.

When he got back and told the team of the metal dog thing, Janx was lying down and munching on a cob. After Samuel finished talking Janx then spoke up and said “I had some rather bad experience with one of those things. I thought it was a dog also at first until one of those humans let it through a door or gate in the fence and it came straight for me. It was so fast that I had no time to turn and run so I stood my ground and when the thing got close I saw those red beams on its head. I put my head down to gore the thing but it darted around me. The human standing at the gate was holding something and moving around making strange sounds. They sounded like what my sister friend used to make when we were playing and running I almost headed over to him but the thing ran up and bit my hind leg. It hurt very badly so I turned real quick and shook it loose. It flew in the air for a distance and landed.

When it hit the ground I heard the human yelling so I ran at the thing and stomped on it. Something sparked from its head and the lights went out in its eyes. The human began to shoot at me like the farmers did when they would hunt the flying creatures. There were things hitting the dirt around me so I turned and ran into the corn field and finally made it back to the sanctuary. That human never came after me so I figured he got lost. From that time on I did not let them see me and stayed deeper in the corn stalks. I don’t know what became of the thing that bit me but those humans would not let them out into the corn stalks anymore. There was one other time that I approached the fence and left a meal on it. The human that was in the high place came down screaming at me as I made it back to the corn stalks. He was the same one that had let the metal thing out to bite me.

Mary had touched Janx on the forehead and felt his pain in memory of the incident and comforted him. Janx had begun to shake when he talked about the thing and began to calm down after Mary had touched him. Samuel said “well looks like we can disable them but it might be hard and dangerous. I still am not sure if those things can see us while we are cloaked but I do feel that they have some built in mechanism that makes them sense something may be there and that probably activates the video cameras. Samuel sent Jonathan to the north while he went to the south to get a view of the guard towers. When he reached an area where he could view the tower he scoped it out with his binoculars. As he continued looking he saw one man in the tower but the man did not seem to alert. He watched the man stand and then sit back down so he could only see the top of his head through the large windows. The tower was around 25 feet tall to the eave of a roof and on the fence side it had no barbed wire but rather just a smooth wall with the window that turned the corner to the south direction. So the towers there only had large windows on the two sides of the corner. From what he could see the interior corners or sides just had small windows and a door that
led to a stair way.

Bertram (Butch) Lamont had joined the ARMY to get away from his family and the swamps of Louisiana. He had grown up being a barefoot swamp rat and hated the life. He had dogs and always took them out into the swamps around their poor farm that was located on the border of the swatchacoon parish. His dogs were always running off and never came back. He would look for them days on end until his father would beat him for not doing his chores. When he turned 17 and the ARMY came to the small village where he lived, they showed visions of technology that he had been hoping to get someday. The dog like robotics where shown and he was told that the ARMY was working on them and that they soon hoped to have them in operation. So after two years of being in the ARMY he had been transferred to this base in the middle of farms. He did not like the area and always got into fights with the locals when he would go to the small town. The robot dogs were put into use shortly after he arrived and he became a recluse to any friendships and almost stopped going to the town. His main time was spent on guard duty and learning all about the robotic dogs..

When he first arrived, the other men in his division told him all about the large bull that roamed the western borders of the base in the corn field. They had tried to catch the beast a few times but it was quick and one man had been gored. So they left it alone after that incident and the robot dogs would give warnings whenever the beast was in the fields close to the fence area. The base commander had talked with the farmers and told them to not plant their crops within 40 feet of the fence. So that left a good buffer zone around the base. The day that Butch had been walking the perimeter and the Bull had walked out of the corn field, he had thought about killing the beast so all his compatriots could have steaks for dinner. He watched the bull feed on the corn for awhile and then opened a small gate in the fence and let the robot dog go for it. The dog ran at it and then all hell broke loose. The bull stood its ground so he guided the robot around towards its back side. The Bull saw him standing just outside the fence and started to run at him. He guided the dog into its hind leg and made it chomp on the lower part. The bull let out a bellowing roar and twisted so fast that Butch hardly knew what happened next. His robot dog was thrown from the beast and landed on a rock that was protruding from the dirt. He started to yell at the bull but it ran up and stomped on the dog. The robots head caved in and the remote went dead. He dropped the remote and started shooting at the bull. It turned and disappeared into the corn field. He was going to chase it but when he approached the dog all he could do was pick up the destroyed thing and bring it back into the base. He vaguely heard the bull crashing through the corn stalks but his eyes watered up from the destruction of his favorite robot.

[LostNFound]

When he got the metal mess back to the guard shack his superior wanted to know what had happened. He lied about how he had turned the robot loose on the bull and said the bull had been close to the fence when he walked close and the creature had stuck the robot with its horns. He wasn’t believed but his companions stuck up for him and the base commander gave orders that the robots were not to be released ever again outside the base. Butch was summarily busted to private from sergeant and told that he would not be using the robots for at least a 6 month period. His main duty became sitting in one of guard towers for that duration. He was devastated by that act and one night he was put to a test. As he sat in the tower he thought he spotted the Bull and told one of the fence guards to be on the lookout. The Bull walked out of the Corn and looked straight at him up in the tower. He thought about shooting the critter but knew if he discharged his rifle that he would probably wind up in the stockade. As he watched the bull walk close and turn and spurt a large patty on the fence he became infuriated and rushed down the stairs.

He was screaming and the fence had shorted out for a minute. As he approached the area where the bull had done the deed, the stench of burnt cow pie made him wretch. One of the robot dog things had come up and held him off from getting any closer to the fence. He knew the man that was controlling it was keeping him away. He threw his rifle in the cow poop that was on the side of the fence he was standing and ran at the man. As they collided the robot dog bit him in the calf muscle of his leg and the other man told him to get up and took him to the infirmary. The next day he was court marshaled and sentence to 6 months in the stockade. From that point on he plotted his desertion from this place and how he was going to blow up the center building on his way out. The robot dogs were all parked in one of the Quonset huts on the east side of the command headquarters and he also planned to turn them all on and let them go after he reprogrammed them to kill the base personnel. His vengeance was a rage within his being and he wanted to see the death of all at this place. He had been sitting in the Stockade for 4 months now and had gone over and over in his mind how he was going to do what he wanted.

This last month more than half the company that was stationed here had been pulled out to go into British Columbia to fight a large group of insurgents. This made his plans all that much better because it left less than 80 personnel in the camp. He knew about the deep level under the base and the experiments with the chemicals and the weapons that were being made to deliver the poison darts. That one level had been carved out first when this base was made. While it was being constructed the farmers surrounding the area were instructed to not come here and told that if they did they would be subject to deadly force. The huge boring machine had been brought in and the elevator shaft had been carved. The hole had been made big enough to fit the boring machine down and after a few hundred feet or so the labs and manufacturing facility had been carved out. He had heard all the stories of how long it took and how many local people had been destroyed. There had been talk of a large reservoir to the north that had a genetically modified Crocodile living in it and how people were taken there and thrown in to feed the monster.

He knew about large gators from his home state and how that could be quite gruesome and he plotted to dump the personnel from this place into that lake. Butch knew that his time in the stockade was getting shorter but he had become very anxious when the personnel were pulled out to fight up in Canada. The personnel left would be so much easier to control and get rid of now and he felt that his time was running out. The scientists down in the underground level would be easy to deal with once he took care of the ground forces. He had created his own software for the robot dogs and had managed to implant it just before he was court marshaled. He had stashed the control mechanism and when he escaped he would retrieve it and set the hounds of hell loose on the base. He knew that he would have to be off the ground while the robots were doing the destruction and then he would open a gate and set them loose into the corn fields. Maybe they would find that damn cow and eat it. All these thoughts went through his mind while he was plotting his escape. Soon he thought, soon.

The team had returned to Janx’s sanctuary and discussed their next move to enter the base. Samuel had suggested that they fly over head using the jet belts and come down on the roof of the center two story building. There they would or could find an entrance and hopefully those metal dog things would not notice them before they could get inside and find their way to the entrance of the underground lab and manufacturing areas. They all thought that would be the best way and Samuel said they could fly high in the dark so perhaps the dogs things would not be alerted. Jonathan being the one to question things asked what would be the contingency plan if the dogs did spot them and alert the base. Mary spoke then and said that they would have to send the robot dogs to someplace else and in fact they should start sending them away as they saw them anyway. She though that Vinnie’s little palace would be a very good place. They all agreed that would be a good thing but Jonathan still had another question, “So if we send them away what happens when the guard who is controlling the thing becomes alarmed and then sounds a base wide alarm?” Jonathan answered his own question as they all thought the same thing. It was agreed that the robots and the controller would be sent to the white house in Denver for now.

[LostNFound]

36 INVASION

The team flew up about 100 feet above the sanctuary and silently moved towards the base. The time had just clicked past 1am and the night was dark without the moon. Janx had wanted to go to the fence and create a diversion. He said he could get the dog things stirred up. The team had agreed to not take him to close to the base because he could be shot so Janx was saddened and said he would stay and guard the bird for them. They came over the two story building and proceeded to lower themselves toward the roof. They had seen two of the metal dog things with guards but the things did not seem to be alarmed.

Butch Lamont had managed to hide a fork under his mattress in the cell and at this very moment he was calling for the guard to bring him something for a pain he was having in his stomach. When the guard showed up and asked him what his problem was, Butch told him that he was having some sharp pains in his lower abdomen. The guard told him to hold on and he would see about getting him something. When the guard left the cell block, Butch retrieved the fork and hid it up his sleeve/ He did not want to hurt the guard because the man had been good to him but his goal was to get out and over to the hiding place of the remote. He meant to retrieve it and climb a guard tower before setting the dogs loose on the base. The guard tower would be a perfect place to watch and control the dogs from and he would be safe. The man in the tower was going to be told to go down.

The guard showed back up and had a bottle of pepto bismal. He approached the cell and started to hand the bottle through the opening when Butch grabbed his arm and pulled him hard into the bars. The Man dropped the bottle and tried to reach for his weapon when Butch stuck the fork into his neck. The man went limp and Butch had to hold him and let him slide silently to the floor. Once the man was on the floor, Butch pulled him close enough to get the keys and his weapon. After opening the cell door, he drug the man into the cell and put him in the bunk. He then covered him with a blanket and noticed the blood on the floor. He grabbed a sheet from a cubby and began to wipe the floor. The blood just kept smearing so he filled the sink with water and began wiping everything, soon he had the blood cleaned up and took the sheet and stuffed it into the toilet bowl. He did not want to flush it because it would clog up the bowl and water would flow out all over. He was dressed in his fatigues and did a quick look around to make sure no one would get suspicious. He walked out and shut the cell door and locked it and then headed for the exit. Once there he took a side door and began to walk across the compound to the hiding place of his new remote controller. On his way he stopped and opened the door to the Quonset hut where all the robot dogs were parked and then hurried to the storage unit to retrieve the remote.

To the north of the base a forest green bus pulled to a stop shortly before a cliff edge and Montgomery and Kalista exited the front door while other children followed and exited out the rear doors also. It was very dark and the bus had stopped just short of going over the edge. The children had been shown the canyon through the mind thoughts of Montgomery by his reading the mind thoughts of Samuel and Mary and Jonathan and Samantha. They clearly saw the carven path to the bottom and the small boat. They all saw the cave where the very large Croc was resting. Montgomery had told every body that he and one other would go down the path and arouse the croc so the creature would come into the lake and show him self. Once they could get a good sight and hold of him they would need all to levitate him from the lake and he showed them where they would put him. It would take all their effort to get the creature to the base. They all had the clear thoughts and prepared them selves.

At the bottom of the path, Montgomery and Ian stopped near the little boat and looked out over the lake toward the cave area. Montgomery picked up a large rock from the landing area and threw it as far as he could out into the lake. Ian untied the rope that tethered the boat, climbed in and rowed it toward the middle of the lake.

In the cave across the lake Wartsnout was awakened by the loud splash. His eyes opened and he listened intently. A few minutes later he heard the splashing of the little boat thing as someone was pushing it out into the lake. He moved toward the water tunnel to get to the lake from his den. He thought that some human had brought another meal to him even though it was an off time for feeding but he would go and eat any time so away he moved with the hunger in his mind only.

Ian took the boat about halfway into the lake and waited for a short time. His keen sense of hearing alerted him that the beast had left its lair and was moving into the lake. He had received a night sight when he was just 6 months old and could see in the dark as if it was daylight. He was watching the water where the tunnel entrance came into the lake for any sign of the beast. As he watched he did see the water swirl and waited some more.

[LostNFound]

Wartsnout came out of the tunnel entrance and swam toward the surface. He was prone to swim a distance from that entrance and then surface with only his eyes. His stealth had rewarded him with some very delicious dinners in the past and he had even eaten the humans that brought the ones that he was supposed to eat, such was his craftiness. When he surfaced off to the side of where he had swirled the water, he saw the boat thing and one small human sitting in it. He was disappointed at the size of the meal but even that would allow him to rest easy. He began to scoot across the water in a very stealthy manner while he kept his eyes on the little human.

Ian saw the swirls and then looked around from side to side as Montgomery had told him to. When the crocodile’s eyes surfaced about 200 feet to the west and just rested there for a short time Ian almost cracked up laughing. But he had to remain serious so they could catch this critter and place him in the base compound. He continued to watch and when the eyes began to move his way he waited some more until the eyes went under water. That is when he levitated up from the boat.

Wartsnout had surfaced and watched the boat and the little human and then began to move toward the boat. He kept watching and about 100 feet out he went under hoping to surprise the human and get a good mouthful of living meat as was his want. He went deep and could see the boat from below as he swiftly shot up. He hit the bottom of the boat hoping to knock the human into the water where he could quickly grab a mouth full. The boat flipped over and lay on the surface upside down. Wartsnout quickly searched around for the human but could not find any sign of the being. He swam around frantically searching and then surfaced. The being was no where to be seen.

Ian was floating in the air about 30 feet above the lake when the boat flipped up in the air and landed with its hull floating right side up. He watched as the water churned and roiled and then fairly soon the crocodile surfaced and began to swim around the boat. Ian watched the creature move around and bump the boat. It looked confused so he called out to it. Wartsnout heard the small human yelling so he stopped moving and looked around the lake. He saw nothing but the noise was still coming. He rolled over on his back quickly and saw the little human floating in the air above him like the bird snacks did. He completed his roll and dove down. He turned and with all his power began to move toward the surface. He meant to leave the water with a powerful jump and grab the snack.

Ian knew what was coming and Montgomery had joined him. They both moved to a higher position and split to the sides of where they knew the croc was going to surface. When the croc came out of the water it was moving very fast and with such force that it completely left the water with its full length. The creature was actually about 58 feet in length. Montgomery and Ian both threw a levitation field around the reptile and it froze in the air. It tried to twist but there was no inertia or solid footholds for it to grasp to. Its eyes spun to the sides and witnessed the two humans as they all floated up toward the top of the canyon. The feeling of weightlessness was even more to Wartsnout than the water provided.

Reaching the top of the canyon Montgomery and Ian floated the Croc to the south and the other children all floated up and provided their levitation skills so that all of them had a good hold on the Croc. They all moved off toward the base. Montgomery told them all that they would gently put the Croc down inside the base and it would fight with some metal beasts. They would then have to rescue a bull named Janx. The bull had left his sanctuary and was moving toward the base with the intention to help Samuel and Mary. If they did not reach him in time he would be shot and killed by the mad men on the base. They were going to open a portal and let him run into the Cherry orchard where Greybark was. Greybark would console with him from that point.

[LostNFound]

The team had landed on the roof of the two story building and found a roof door that led to the floor below. When they had reached the second floor level they turned off the dispance cloaks. Two officers came from a room down the corridor and stopped abruptly when they saw the team. Samantha pushed the button on her TMG and the men disappeared. The team then moved to the stairwell and got inside just when another man entered the corridor and walked to another door and went in. The team moved down the stairwell and Samuel looked out the window that was in the door leading to the main floor. There was no body in the corridor so they all moved down the stairs toward the basement. Reaching that level Mary walked over and looked out the window in the door. She saw a garage that was quite large and it had a number of cars and trucks parked in it. In the middle of the garage was a large block structure that had two elevator doors. One looked like it would hold human passengers while the other looked like it could hold a lot of freight. As she continued to look she did not see any humans at first then two guards walked from behind the block structure and moved around the garage as if they were inspecting all the vehicles and any thing that might be suspicious. She did not see any of the dog things but that did not mean they were not around. As she continued watching the two guards went back around the block structure and the human elevator doors opened and two white coats stepped out and headed to a newer scrammer. She watched them get in and drive over to a ramp and disappear. Samuel asked if she could see another stairwell but she said not on this side but there might be something on the other side of that block elevator structure.

Janx had lain down after the team had flown away. He felt so alone and forlorn after they had left because the humans had given so much love just like Marna had done. He wanted to help them at that nasty place where the humans hurt each other and those metal things they had could hurt animals and humans. He became very anxious and wandered around the giant bird and around the circle of trees. He even went to the outer edge and looked into the corn stalks hoping to see them coming back. It had been quite awhile when he made up his mind to go and help. He knew he had told them that he would keep watch on the big bird thing but his heart ached to help and he did not want to see any of them get hurt. His memory of Marna had been drug up and it hurt him so bad to think of her again. It had taken years for him to let her memory sink deeply into a hidden place. When these humans came and the one called Mary had touched him the memories had come back and she had made him feel very wanted and loved again. As he paced back and forth the pains began to well in him once again so strong that he could not stand to just lay around waiting for them to come back It was when the pains overwhelmed him that he moved through the trees and into the corn stalks.

When he was getting closer to the fenced area he began to here the dog things making growling and barking sounds. The closer he got to the fence the louder and harsher the sounds became. He began to run through the stalks wildly thinking that the dog things were attacking his new found brothers and sisters. As he ran crashing through the stalks he entered a hole of some kind and bumped into a rather large tree. It knocked him back and he wound up sitting on his haunches. The tree had said something when he hit it. He thought it was a very loud OUCH!! He looked up after shaking his head and the tree had eyes and a mouth. Bulls may have vivid imaginations and they may see and hear wondrous things but looking at the tree and seeing it looking at him made him stand and turn to run away. He was still shaken as he stood and turned and began to run when the Tree spoke his name. JANX! WAIT, YOU MUST STOP AND WE MUST TALK. Janx thought it might be a human behind the tree but as he turned he could see the tree smiling. Please lie down and eat some of this very tasty grass. I know you have had it before and this is where it came from. We must talk about Marna and Mary and Joanna. Janx grew solemn and lay down. The grass was so sweet and he had so many questions for this life force.

The Children brought the giant Crocodile in over the compound and set it down gently. They all let their grip on him go and the croc began thrashing around. In one of the Quonset huts Butch had retrieved his remote and turned it on. He aimed it toward the hut that held all the robot dogs and began punching the pads. The metal dogs all came alive and began to rush out the open door. As soon as they got into the open the other dog things that were being controlled by the guards rebelled and turned on them. At that time a giant Crocodile dropped into the compound and began to thrash about. Butch heard the growling and the hut he was in was bashed from the side and the windows broke. He looked out one of the broken windows and a giant snout breathed a putrid stench on him. He turned and threw up and fell to his knees. He was holding the remote as he crawled towards the end door. The hut took another hit from whatever was out there and the side walls caved in. He heard the cacophony of noise and had just enough time to program the robots to attack the thing out side the hut before the entire structure caved in on him. His dying eyes saw a large piece of corrugated metal fall and slice into his body.

The men on the base began to shoot at the dog things and then began to shoot at the giant Croc. Down in the basement stairwell the team could hear the noise above them. The sounds reminded Samuel and Mary both of the war zones they had been subjected to. Mary was looking out of the door window when the guards came around the block structure and piled into the elevator. There were four altogether. The doors shut and they all could hear the sounds above getting louder. They knew that something very devastating was going on up above but their mission was to destroy those weapons below so they piled out of the stairwell and moved toward the elevator. The human car was locked at the top so they opened the freight elevator and took it down to the lab/manufacturing area.

Wartsnout had waited patiently while he was carried to the place of humans. He could do nothing while he was being carried. When he was set on the earth and released the first thing he did was start thrashing about. His large tail began to hit things that made loud noises as they fell down. He turned and saw a small human inside one of the things he was crushing. His thought was to eat this one first and then he began to see more of them coming out of the things he was crushing. He stopped for a very brief instant and saw a bunch of shinny things come running at him from one of the things he was crushing. They looked like tiny crab creatures that he had seen in the water and on the sand bar where he had lived. As they gathered around him they began to bite him so he spun in a giant circle knocking them all over the area. They kept coming until he would step on them with his front and hind feet and legs. The humans began to shoot little pop pops at him and the shinny things. When those things hit him they hurt and stung. He thought to do what he did in the water, he began to roll and thrash all the while snapping with his jaws and swishing his tail. The big things began to fall in and the shinny things were being crushed as he rolled and thrashed. The humans turned and ran away from him while still using the pop pops. He had rolled around and destroyed a bunch of things when some more humans came out of a large structure. He rolled their way and then with almost lightning speed he jumped at them and crushed them all under his belly

[LostNFound]

He wound up on the big structure and continued to thrash as it began to crumble. The shinny things were mostly crushed and some ran away. He started the thrash once again to destroy the big structure more when he found himself in the water with the little boat thing floating away from his fury. He was bleeding all over and the stinging made him furious. He dove under the water and headed toward his tunnel entrance to his resting place. Once in the cave he lay in perfect stillness and silence for days and days.

When the freight elevator opened there were three guards sitting at a station. Samantha sent them all to the white house and Vinnie’s office area. The team moved to the entrance past the guard station and entered the giant manufacturing/lab area. When they entered they saw three white coats at the far end of the area. In between were racks and racks of the rifles. It reminded Samuel of the large magazines the ARMY had in various places throughout the country. As he gazed around he saw another area full of racks that held boxes and on the side was the word Ammunition cartridges. Mary took her TMG along with Samantha and they began to send the weapons and ammo into the sun where it all belonged. The three white coats looked up in startled disbelief and began to yell at the top of their lungs. Vinnie looked up in a very agitated way and told them to shut up very loudly. The white coats stood in horror at where they were and turned and ran for the door. Vinnie began to scream once again. With all the people and other things just materializing in his office and around the white house he began to really think he was crazy. He followed the white coats out into the corridor and yelled at the secret service people to arrest them and put all of them in the cells on the basement level. First it was three military soldiers and now three scientists. He was going to get to the bottom of this even if he had to torture everyone.

The team cleaned the manufacturing/lab area of everything. When they were done the large cavernous area was totally empty. As they all stood around they heard a rumbling sound in the earth and decided it was time to get out. The portal was opened to the chopper and they all stood next to it. Mary was looking for Janx but he was nowhere to be found. They all walked around the tree circle and could not find him. Mary was on the verge of tears when Evelyne and Eryne floated down and told them to get aboard because the next place would be a very important one for them. Mary asked if they knew what happened to Janx. Evelyne told them that Janx was at the haven and would soon be meeting Marna again only in a re incarnated body.

When they climbed into the chopper the ground was shaking. Samuel raised the chopper up through the trees and when they reached 200 feet they could see the remains of the base. The air field and the leer jets were falling into a crumbling heap. The destroyed buildings were shaking apart even more as the earth began to rise. The guard towers crumbled and fell against the side of a rising mountain or so it seemed. The team watched as the entire perimeter of the base rose and heaved towards the sky. It was still dark but the explosions and lights showed the entire destruction as if it was daylight. Samuel turned the chopper towards the south and headed toward Nevada. Bill had spoke in the mind to all of them and told them that the next most important target would be the old Area 51 in Nevada and they would all meet at a certain place just to the east of that very large base. They were notified that a platoon of military patriots would be meeting with them and they had to be there within a few days.

The next morning as the sun rose in the east there was a very large hill in the middle of the corn fields. It almost resembled a pyramid with 4 points at the base and a very high center point. The farmers all knew it was where the military base had once been but it was told that an unknown fault had been activated under the area and had created the pyramid looking mound. The farmers sowed their crops around the base and built a road with their tractors to the top and leveled it enough to create a park and they would all come together at a certain time of the year to celebrate what they called the freedom day of Ritzville. They had created a large sign that said “PUTTIN ON THE RITZ” and planted it on the side of the hill toward the town of Ritzville.

Three days after the incident, a forest green bus pulled into a small rest area in southern Idaho and recharged the power plant. There was a small restaurant/café and 40 children entered and sat down to eat a good meal. The woman that ran the place was a very motherly type and she piled on the food for the children. Montgomery and Kalista with some of the children planted an orchard and vegetable garden for the folks that owned the rest stop and within two days there was a bounty of fruit and vegetables for anybody that stopped at the rest area. The motherly women painted a sign and renamed her restaurant/cafe the “The Café of paradise.”

[LostNFound]

37 THE ROAD TO MENTONE

Michael, Susanna, Daniel, Theresa and the latest member Nancy had spent time at the haven after their last mission and Nancy had shown up. Michael and Susanna had refitted the Chopper they had taken from the Georgia Base and Daniel and Theresa had brought the suburban back for later use. The Chopper had all the new gear and had been outfitted with the Jet system. They had left early the morning prior and flew toward Mentone Texas. Daniel had listed this base in his initial reports but he did not know what was being created and experimented with at this place. They were essentially flying blind into this place but it had or was being used for something. The Military was there and in the country of Texas illegally but that did not stop them so it was going to be up to someone from the outside to put a stop to whatever it might be.

Mentone was located in Loving County in the western part of the State. The County had always been the least populated county in the entire country and Mentone was so small it was hardly on a map. The land was flat for ever around this area and the people had dug in and it seemed were ignored when the country became a total dictatorship and major police state. Hardly no one went to this God forsaken, barren place except the ARMY it seemed.

In 2017 Sherman Grey wolf Alexander became the county Sheriff. He was 20 years old then and the people of the county liked him. At the time there were only 267 good folks living in the entire county. Sherman believed in the 2nd amendment and stood by the people on that principle. It was known that he had guns and ammo shipped in just before he was voted in and every man, woman and child that was old enough to hold a rifle and shoot was armed. In essence Sherman deputized the entire County. When the White house in DC was nuked and the country went into the military lock down Sherman called everybody together at the community center in Mentone and made sure that they all understood that no government agent was going to take them away or any thing they owned. The people had one scrape with the military/police force in 2021 and managed to chase them off under threat of death. After that it was decided by the Emperor himself that this worthless piece of dirt was not worth losing his men over. The good folk of Loving County were ignored and left alone after the disaster of Mentone as it was called by the propaganda news service. The entire State of Texas had been fighting for secession since the early 2000’s and finally succeeded in the year 2025 which caused the State of Texas to become its own country. Meanwhile the ARMY had snuck in and built the small base 25 miles to the northwest of Mentone. They kept to themselves and never bothered any one outside of their base so the people ignored them for the most part but always kept a weary eye on the activities. Sherman, with the consent of the folks had told the small company of soldiers that if they were willing to swear an allegiance to Texas the county would allow them to build the small base. The first commander did just that and his men decided to secretly become part of the Texas Militia.

In the year 2033 a small contingent of troops under the leader ship of the new base commander, Major Willard Storky, tried to take Mentone to control the County. Sherman had caught wind of the coup by some of the men on the base and had notified the entire county. By the time the troops had arrived at the small town, the entire county including children old enough were waiting. So when the troops rolled into town they became surrounded by the people. Sherman had made sure that the people were armed with the same weaponry that the military had and the contest became a no contest. All the troops that were captured were locked up in an old FEMA camp that was located just across the county line. Sheriff Andrew Jackson and the Texas Rangers that were stationed in that county took those soldiers into that camp or prison and if there is still some there no one knows. The original commander Major Oscar Leroux who had been recruited into the Texas Rangers when the other commander had shown up and took over the base, Was re assigned back to the base and the Militia and patriots took over. The people of the County welcomed them and the base became a meeting place and recognizance place. The soldiers new all the folks and Mentone became a good place for R&R.

Michael dropped the chopper into a prairie area about 1 mile east of the base. As they set in the chopper they scoped the base to see how they might enter. Daniel had been looking through his Binoculars at the fenced off area and told everyone that the base was not all that big. He ventured to say that the fenced in area may only cover around 5 acres at most. He could not figure what may be happening there but as he watched more closely he could see only a few buildings. There appeared to be only a few vehicles and he could not see any tanks or aircraft but rather a few Humvee’s with one dual axel troop carrier. He did see a couple of skimmers setting near a single story block building and figured it would be the headquarters. As he continued to watch and move his binoculars around he saw the dust cloud coming from the east and then saw the Sheriff’s scrammer moving fairly fast toward the base. Daniel continued to watch while the scrammer pulled through the gate and drove up to the building they all thought would be the headquarters. The sheriff and two deputies jumped out and hurriedly entered the building. Daniel kept watching but did not see any more activity.

Michael had shut the rotor down but kept the stealth gear and the dispance cloak active. He told everyone to hold their positions while he and Susanna flew over and scouted the area closer. He stood and walked to the hatch with Susanna and they all activated the Jet belts cloaks He meant to exit the hatch on the hidden side of the chopper and he and Susanna would fly over and get a real good look of the base. When he opened the hatch there were two men in uniform and a dog standing just outside holding their rifles at the ready pointed directly at them. The dog gave a slight whimper and tried to move forward. One of the guards held the dog back. “We know you are in there so you all can decloak and follow us” Sergeant Mitch McConnell said to them. Michael turned and told everyone to decloak and do as the sergeant said. They all jumped out of the chopper and began to follow the sergeant while the other man brought up the rear.

The team and the two uniformed men and the dog entered the base through a small gate and two more soldiers with dogs met them. The dogs did act nervous but rather quite friendly towards them all. Mitch noticed this and said “this is quite peculiar; usually these dogs are very aggressive toward outsiders. They continued to walk toward the block building and finally reached it and entered a door on the side. They were all marched into a large room that reminded Daniel of a conference room and asked to have a seat. The team all sat down waiting for the next move when one of the dogs broke loose and ran to Nancy. Nancy was a lover of dogs and this dog ran up and put his front paws in her lab and laid his head down. Nancy began to pet him and calm him. She spoke something softly to him and the man that was his handler said his name and told him to come back. Ketchin, you get back over here this instant. The dog ignored him and Nancy spoke to him so quietly that no one could hear what she said but the dog hopped from her lap and went back to the man. He started to scold him when Nancy stood and looked straight at him and said “you do not need to be rough with him he was just saying hi and giving me a welcome. The man settled down and patted Ketchin on the head.

Major Leroux and Sheriff Alexander walked through a door and came close to the team. Oscar looked at Michael and first asked if he knew him and then asked what they were all doing in the sovereign nation of Texas. Michael looked at the Major and said “yes Oscar, I was in the company you were in when you were just an ensign and we all shipped out to the Mexico skirmish.” Oscar kept his cool and then looked at Susanna, “And you Lieutenant, were you not the adjutant to General Shifty?” Susanna looked surprised but also knew this man and said, “Yes Oscar you spent some time on that base and we both know that you were connected with the underground patriots. Could it be that you still are and this charade of questioning can come to a mutual end and agreement?” “Yes Lieutenant Suzy I think we can come to some agreement but first we have to be sure that you are not part of that emperor and his minions. So do you mind answering a few questions?” The team looked at each other and Michael said “Oscar we will answer any questions you have but you have to answer some for us also.” Major Leroux stood to the side and whispered something to one of his men and then said “Okay fair deal you may ask yours first.”

The man left the room and Michael asked his first question, “How did you know where we landed and how could you see us.” The Major said “that is two questions but since they are related I will tell you how and why. First we have dogs and they can see through the dispance cloak even if it is the latest version created by a Major John Ballard.” Theresa kept her silence, at the mention of Bill’s Name. Oscar looked directly at her and then at Daniel also. He turned back to Michael and told him that they had been warned of a secret mission to come here and had been told that a new cloaking device and stealth gear had been created. “We have the old detection device of the stealth gear and it works in a limited way to detect the newest with help from some of our brighter men. So we were on the alert by some good folks from North Carolina and we had our dogs trained to spot anything that came in. Well Ketchin was the first to spot you and where you landed. We have all kinds of tunnels leading out to about two miles in a circle around this base. It is to your major advantage that Ketchin sensed you were not enemy combatants. We have had a number of attacks by the emperor’s people since that mishap in 2033 and we do have to be on guard constantly. Okay you get one more question before it’s my turn.”

Daniel spoke and asked, “Why was this base created in the first place and what was being created here?” Major Leroux looked at Daniel with a big smile and said “now that is the 64 million dollar question Lieutenant Ripper.” Daniel smiled also and said “Well I am glad to see you remembered me Oscar.” “Yes Daniel I remember you and what you were doing for the patriots.” “Now let’s see what the emperor had in his sick mind. Who here does not know that the sick little car salesman is the one that set that nuke off in the original DC capital?” He waited for a brief moment and then continued. “Good old Vince the Insane, as we all called him and we still do, was going to stock pile ready to fire missiles in this sovereign country and he got real sneaky about it. So in a perfect circle around this base are silos. None of them were ever loaded. That is why that insane Major Storky tried to take Mentone so he could bring in the missiles and keep it hush, hush. Well we put a stop to it all and now this base is inhabited by the patriots both in the military and with the militias. Sheriff Alexander here, he turned and said let me introduce you to Sherman, keeps us all informed of any activity in this county and the good folks are all part of our forces.”