Shadow Warrior: Destiny of a Mutant (14 page)

Now, several years later, Hitler was ecstatic upon learning of the alien spacecraft and the aliens and the way the
Eyrie
was being used to unlock its secrets. He planned to visit the facility one day soon and see the spacecraft and aliens in person.

In the side of the mountain was a set of large bay doors that could open and close hydraulically. If the Nazi scientists were able to repair the alien spacecraft so it could be flown, it would leave from these doors. However, they were a long way from that point.

Planet Altrusia

1480 A.D.

Portak had fallen into a fitful sleep not long after entering his chambers, and he did not awaken for several hours.

Upon waking up, he showered, changed his clothes, and proceeded to return to the command center. Commander Nik’sah was still in the command center.

“Good morning, sir,” the Commander said to Portak upon seeing him enter, “I hope you rested well.”

“Yes, I did. Thank you, Commander,” replied Portak in a less than believable voice. “What is the status on the Terran’s progress?” he inquired.

“Sir, it…it’s…incredible! Not one being on any of the planets who have ever been through the selection process has ever come close to achieving what the Terran has! He has surpassed all of them in all facets of the challenges he has faced.”

The Commander listed Will’s progress and successes, up to the current ongoing battle with the three, double-sworded creatures. Portak listened intently and tried to look as impassive as possible, but it was impossible to hold back the smile that kept cropping up on his weathered face.

“Thank you, Commander. Continue keeping me informed of his progress.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sagarmatha: Inside of the Maze

Within seconds of the appearance of the three faceless creatures, a second flame covered sword appeared in Will’s other hand as well.

Immediately the creatures began circling Will. Will began moving in concert with the creatures, trying to anticipate their next move. Without a discernible face, he was unable to read their expression or observe what their eyes were focused on, which often revealed an opponent‘s intent.

The creature in front of him struck savagely with several blows from each sword. Will stepped back to parry both of the swords and the multiple blows that were raining down on him. With considerable difficulty, he managed to successfully block most of them. One of the creatures managed to cut the upper part of his left arm, causing him to almost drop the sword. Will ignored the pain and dripping blood and continued the fight.

Will sensed movement behind him as the creatures to his rear both struck at the same time. Will’s blades were a blur of motion, as he both attacked and defended himself from the creatures’ blows. Will was starting to tire of this game, and as the first creature came at him, he jumped high in the air, and while his momentum carried him forward above the creature, he struck out and decapitated it with a swift blow from one of his swords.

As soon as this happened, the creature vanished as the first one had. Undeterred and emotionless, the two remaining creatures attacked simultaneously, and put Will on the defensive. As one of the creatures prepared to deliver a death blow to Will, he suddenly flattened himself to the ground as the creature was swinging the sword. Instead of hitting Will, the sword struck the other creature that was behind Will.

This creature vanished without a trace just as the other two had.

The remaining creature raised his swords and moved in for the kill. As soon as the creature raised its blades, Will moved towards it swiftly and sliced across its body with powerful horizontal strikes with both of his swords, above and below its stomach area, cutting it in half. The creature vanished in front of Will just as the others had done.

Will waited for almost a minute to see if anymore of the damn things would appear before him. When they didn’t, he dropped his swords on the ground and tore off a piece of his shirt and wrapped the gash on his arm as best he could.

Will realized the hover pod was too far behind him to retrieve and started to walk forward, when it suddenly materialized in front of him. He climbed back on it and continued forward to the next opening.

***

The next several parts of the maze did not test Will’s physical powers or stamina but his mental prowess. Will was put through several tests to determine his acumen in physics, engineering, linguistics and languages, higher mathematics, and numerous scientific disciplines. Each time Will easily rose to the challenge, and he confidently completed the tasks or solved the problems he was given.

Planet Altrusia

1480 A.D.

Commander Nik’sah had just finished briefing Portak regarding Will’s successful completion of all phases of the test.

“I must inform the Elders of these developments.” The Commander gave Portak a slight bow as he turned to leave.

It is time
, thought Portak,
to offer the Terran the opportunity to join us. Now I just need to convince the others of this as well
.

Sagarmatha: Inside of the Maze

Will had come to the end of the maze and had come full circle to where the entrance to the workshop began. Will sensed that he had finished all of the challenges he had been tasked to do. But to what end? Will reasoned that Portak had not simply put him through all of this for the hell of it.

Will felt that all there was to do now was wait. Plus, he was physically and mentally tired, and he was injured. Will sat on the floor, crossed his legs, and began to meditate.

Planet Altrusia

Portak had just finished briefing the Council of Elders on the Terran’s progress. All of them were shocked and dismayed at Portak’s report. Many of them found it impossible to believe.

“How is this possible?” asked one of the Elders.

“Explain this to us!” demanded another.

All of the Elders began murmuring amongst themselves, debating and absorbing what they had just learned.

“My fellow Elders,” Portak continued. The Elders quieted immediately so they could hear the rest of his report. “As incredible as it may sound, the Terran has indeed accomplished the impossible. Which leads me to only one conclusion,” Portak paused. “I believe the Terran is a
nephak-tan
!”

At the utterance of this word, several of the Elders gasped in dismay.

“Impossible!” several of the Elders said loudly, a couple of them coming to their feet to protest Portak‘s assessment.

“As difficult as it is to grasp, my brothers, all evidence points to one logical fact: only a true
nephak-tan
could have accomplished all that the Terran has accomplished. Therefore, I propose that we give the Terran the opportunity to join us. I feel we would be foolish and derelict
not
to do so,” Portak said solemnly. He remained silent for a few seconds to let this sink in. “He has earned the right.”

Before the Elders could answer, Portak continued. “I know that up until now the Terrans, as a species, were not deemed ready to be contacted by an alien race. They foolishly believe that they are the only sentient, intelligent beings in the entire universe, and until they had progressed and matured to a much greater extent, it was best to let them believe this.

“However, the Terran in question is unique among their species. Indeed, among most species due to his mutant blood. And, if he is in fact a true
nephak-tan,
which I have no doubt that he is, he could in fact be one of the greatest Guardians in our history!”

Again, the Elders murmured at Portak’s oratory.

“Therefore, it is my desire to approach the Terran and make this offer to him immediately; with your consent of course, my brothers.”

The Elders spoke among themselves for several minutes. Finally, one of the more senior Elders, Nim’jah, spoke on behalf of the group.

“Portak, although we have reservations about this, we do agree that it would be foolish to overlook all you have told us and not give the Terran the opportunity to join us. Therefore, you have our consent to do as you ask. Keep us apprised of his progress.”

“Thank you, my brothers. You will not regret this.” Portak bowed to the Elders and left swiftly.
I must make contact with the Terran immediately!

Chapter
31

Planet Krelios

Kappa Star Sector

1943 A.D.

In his role and guise as a Guardian, Will traveled to Krelios soon after leaving President Roosevelt’s office. Once he was there, he asked to meet with the Krelian High Council, and they granted his request. He was allowed into their Council chambers for a meeting with its members.

“Good morning, Guardian,” said Tor’lon, who was the head of the Krelian High Council, “how may we be of service to you?”

“Thank you for granting me an audience on such short notice. I would not be here if it were not an urgent matter. I’ll get straight to the point: Is one of your research vessels missing or unaccounted for?”

The members of the High Council looked at each other, and they spoke in hushed tones.

After a few moments of discussion, Tor‘lon answered. “Not that we’re aware of, Guardian. Why do you ask?”

“I have information that one of your research vessels crash-landed on the planet you know as Terra, and its crew is being held hostage by a group of humans known as Nazis. They have also salvaged the ship’s cache of weapons, and are using them against other Terrans with whom they are currently engaged in war.”

All of the High Council members began murmuring loudly and some raised their voices in disbelief. Tor’lon held up his hand to quiet them down. One of the Council members whispered in his ear.

“We do have a research vessel, the
Triinaala
, in that quadrant which was on a six year mission to map and study that part of the galaxy for research purposes only. What information do you have that this crash occurred and that the crew is being held against its will?”

Will could not disclose his Terran origins and his meeting with the president to the Krelians, so he dodged the question.

“I’m afraid I cannot divulge that to you, but believe me when I tell you that the information is indisputable, lest I would not be here wasting your time or mine. When was the last time you heard from the ship and its crew?”

Tor’lon conferred with one of his aides for the information.

“It has been approximately six months since we last made contact with them. At the distance they are from our planet, it is not possible to contact them very often. The captain and his crew are very experienced, and we have the utmost confidence in their skills. However, we know that you would not be here if your information regarding their situation was not accurate. What can we do to help you?”

Will nodded his head. “I need to know how many crew members were on that ship. I also need to know the ship’s specifications and the type of armament it was equipped with, as well as an inventory of its hand and shoulder weapons. I will attempt to rescue the crew and recover the ship before any further damage is done.”

Tor’lon shook his head. “I will have this information for you in a few minutes. Please do all you can to bring them back to us. I know the captain, Tal’pun, personally. He is the great-grandson of one of our greatest leaders and scientists, Volnar, who was a direct descendant of Noltran.”

Fortunately Tor’lon could not see Will’s face behind his mask, or he would have seen the shock he displayed at hearing the captain of the ship was one of Volnar’s great-grandchildren. Will immediately thought of Sareena, but just as quickly he put her out of his mind and focused on his mission.

“Thank you. I will do my best. Before I leave, I need to speak with any of your engineers who are familiar with the vessel.”

A few minutes later Will met with the Krelian engineers who gave him the information he needed. Tor’lon then provided him with a holographic data disk which contained the information he had requested.

Before returning to Earth, Will traveled to Altrusia to brief Portak of the situation and to formulate a plan for rescuing the Krelians from the Nazis.

The White House

Oval Office

In the twenty-four hours that had passed since Will had met with President Roosevelt in the Oval Office, the president had been busier than usual. He had contacted Donovan for an update and to have him task his source for additional information. Donovan was a step ahead of the president as his source had already provided additional information.

“Mr. President, my source has learned that the spacecraft is being held in an underground part of the facility several stories below the surface - level ten to be exact. The aliens themselves are being held on at least two different levels in individual cells that have magnetic locks and are booby-trapped with explosives that will set off a chain reaction that will destroy each cell in case a rescue or escape is attempted. It seems the Nazis would rather kill the aliens than have them fall into the hands of the Allies.

“The Nazis are interrogating the aliens on a weekly, if not more regular, basis with the help of two of the aliens who somehow speak several Earth languages. The interrogation wing is located on yet another level of the facility, probably the sixth level. They are testing the weapons they found in the alien’s ship on a separate level, as well as storing the weapons in a heavy duty vault on a different level. Apparently one of the aliens is cooperating with the Nazis and showed them how the use the weapons. Also, sometime in the near future, they plan on bringing the Nazi high command to the facility to view everything and will then remove the aliens to Berlin. Hitler
himself plans on making an appearance at some point to tour the facility as well.”

“Jesus, this just goes from bad to worse,” said the president.

Donovan shook his head. “This place sounds impregnable. Unfortunately I see no alternative but to drop an atomic bomb on the damn place.”

“Well, we both know that’s impossible at this point. Besides, can your source be positive regarding everything he knows of the facility? You said before that your source had limited access to the place. He may not know exactly if everything he’s told you is accurate or not.”

“Unfortunately, you are correct, Frank. The source is well-placed, but does not have complete access to the facility. It seems hopeless, I’m afraid.”

Unwilling to divulge anything about Colonel Clark, the president simply said, “We’re not done yet. Keep pressing your source for information. We need to come up with a plan to deal with this sooner than later.”

“Yes, sir.”

The president looked at his watch. “Well, I have another meeting in a few minutes. Let’s meet again tomorrow around 10:00 a.m.”

“Ten o’clock it is.” Donovan stood up, shook the president’s hand, and left the Oval Office.

Within seconds of Donovan leaving, Will returned unannounced, startling the president.

“Jesus! You scared the shit out of me!”

“Sorry, Mr. President. I was waiting for Colonel Donovan to leave. What did you learn during your meeting with him?” Will didn’t tell the president that he had overheard everything that was said with his super hearing.

The president laid out everything that Donovan had told him. After a few minutes, the president had finished and Will stood up and paced around the room, his face indicating he was deep in thought.

“It sounds like it will be difficult to accomplish this mission,” Will said calmly.

“Difficult? That’s an understatement if I ever heard one. Completely impossible is more like it. Even for someone with your abilities I’m afraid it would be impossible. It appears that destroying the place is going to be our only alternative.”

Will was silent for a few moments, when an idea came to him.

“It will be difficult for me to accomplish this mission successfully alone. However, I have an idea that might work.”

Will then explained his idea for a rescue mission. After he was done several minutes later, the president said, “Damn, if you can pull that off, it might just work. What do you need to get started?”

“I need your people to identify military personnel who have commando and explosives training, as well as native level fluency in German. The men who are chosen cannot initially be told what the mission is about, just that it is dangerous and they will be working behind enemy lines. I prefer them to be unmarried, but finding American commandos with native level fluency in German will be difficult enough.”

“Do they necessarily have to be American commandos? What about Allied commandos with the same skills you‘re looking for?” asked the president.

Will considered this for a moment before he replied.

“If enough qualified American commandos cannot be found, then I’m willing to utilize Allied commandos as well. However, with the time constraints and need for mission secrecy, I think it best to keep it with one country at this point.”

The president nodded at Will’s logic.

“I will review each candidate’s military file and qualifications. I may decide to interview each of them as well to determine which ones will be suitable, and then make the determination as to which ones I want for this mission. I have some specialized training I will put them through, but time is short and I want to put this plan into action within a few days.”

“I will call the Secretary of War today and have him review their files for suitable candidates immediately.”

“Also, what about Donovan’s source? Once we begin this rescue mission it will be too dangerous for him to remain in place, and he should be extracted immediately as well. Do you have any information about the source?”

“None. Donovan is keeping that information close to the vest. If I ask him for too many details regarding the source, he will become suspicious. He needs to remain in the dark on this matter.”

“Any idea where he would keep information regarding such a valuable source?” asked Will.

“Knowing Donovan he would keep the source’s file in his office safe where only he would have access to it. Why?”

“I think it would be a good idea to know who the source is and what his motivation is as well. Plus, it would be easier to extract the source if I knew who he was and what he looked like. I can’t exactly go asking for ‘Condor’ when I arrive at the facility where they’re keeping the aliens.”

“No, I suppose you can’t. Please keep me updated.”

“Thank you, Mr. President. I will contact you at the same time tomorrow.”

“How do you plan on getting into his office? The OSS office building is very secure.”

“I haven’t had much difficulty getting in here,” Will said with a straight face.

The president cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “No, I guess you haven’t. Look, tomorrow Donovan is coming over here in the morning at ten o’clock for a meeting. No one should be in his office at that time.”

“Thank you. That information is helpful.”

With that, the air around Will shimmered and he vanished again into thin air.

Damn, I wish he would stop doing that!

Roosevelt picked up the telephone in his office. His secretary answered on the second ring.

“Yes, Mr. President?” she asked.

“Contact Henry Stimson at the War Department. Tell him I need him in my office within the hour,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

I sure as hell hope he knows what he’s doing,
thought the president.
If not, we’re all dead.

The president quickly mulled over his options. After a few seconds, Roosevelt called his secretary again.

“Yes, sir?”

“Contact Oppenheimer in Chicago. Tell him I need him on a plane to D.C. today.”

“I’ll take care of it immediately, sir.”

Chapter
33

Sagarmatha: Inside of the Maze

1480 A.D.

Will had been meditating for approximately three hours and taking advantage of the down time to rest his mind and his body. His injury had almost completely healed.

“Will Essex of Terra.” Will awoke to the voice of Portak. However, this time instead of just hearing Portak in his mind, Will turned and was face-to-face with him.

Will’s eyes widened with surprise at the sight of the strange being in front of him.

“How is it possible you are here?” he inquired.

“I’m not physically on your planet. You are viewing a solid-light hologram projection of me. I am currently on my home planet of Altrusia, 10,000 light years from your planet. Because of my planet’s technology, I am able to project this image to your location. I can see and hear you as well as you can see and hear me,” Portak explained.

Will shook his head. Although he was able to understand the principles of what Portak was describing to him, he was still fascinated to see the incredible image before him. Will thought back to the creatures he had fought in the maze, and he realized they must have been products of the same technology.

“We have been closely monitoring your progress, and quite frankly we were astounded by your performance in all of the areas in which you were tested,” Portak stated.

“I still have many questions. Foremost among them is why was I being tested?”

“For millennia, my species has been responsible for maintaining balance, order, and peace in the universe. We are one of the most technologically advanced species in the cosmos. However, considering the size of the known universe, there are too few of my kind to accomplish this daunting task, and although my species is technologically superior, we are not as physically superior. Therefore, we must train and equip other species with the tools necessary to assist us in our guardianship of the universe.

“Primarily, we look for members of species throughout the universe that are highly evolved - both physically and mentally - and try to recruit them to assist us in our mission. Depending on a specific planet or quadrants’ needs or problems, we tailor our recruiting efforts to be mission specific. Most of the species we train are mutants like you and have either superior mental or superior physical skills that we can enhance, if needed, in most cases. Few species have both physical and mental skills to an advanced degree. However, you are the first Terran, and, in fact, the first sentient being in more than 5,000 years, to have all of the skills and attributes that you possess.”

At this revelation, Will looked somewhat stunned. He was trying to take in all he was being told by Portak. His mind was reeling.

Portak continued. “After evaluating you and your skills, it is our desire to ask you to join us, and become one of our Guardians.”

Will’s eyes widened somewhat in surprise, but he said nothing.

“To become one of our Guardians would mean leaving Terra and coming to my planet for your training, and using it as your base of operations,” said Portak.

“Does that mean I could never return to Terra, or Earth, as it is called by my people?” Will asked.

“I do not know at this point,” Portak answered.

Will thought for a minute then said. “Although I have certain skills and abilities, I am still only human. How could I possibly be of any use to you and your mission?”

“If you remember, a few moments ago, I mentioned something about ‘enhancements.’ Let me explain what those are.”

Chapter
34

Altrusia

After hearing Portak’s explanation of the ‘enhancements’ he had mentioned that were possible, Will’s mind was racing with all of the possibilities that had been presented to him. One thing that concerned him was that the enhancement procedure he had mentioned had never been tested on a human, and Portak freely admitted that neither he or his fellow scientists knew exactly what would happen if Will was subjected to it.

Portak had given him several minutes to think about his options, of which there were really only two. Option one was to return to his village and live out his days as a farmer, never realizing his full potential, and having to hide his abilities for the rest of his life. If Will chose this option, Portak also told him that he would have to erase Will’s memory of contact with him to prevent any unintentional exposure as humans were not ready to know of the existence of extraterrestrial life forms.

Option two was to travel to Portak’s home world, join the ranks of the Guardians, allow them to perform the enhancements Portak had mentioned, and hope for the best.

Although it was risky, Will knew that he could never return to England and be content with his former life. From what little he had seen and become aware of since being contacted by Portak, he knew his destiny now lie among the stars. Besides, since he had told Sherpa Surya to leave with his horse, it would be one hell of a long, cold walk back to Kathmandu.

“I have made up my mind, Portak,” Will stated. The look on his face said it all.

Portak nodded his head. “I am pleased Will Essex of Earth. To accomplish your travel to my planet, go to the entrance of the maze and activate the portal key with your hand.”

Will did as he was instructed. Will placed his hand on the portal key, which was identical to the one he had previously used to open the passageway into the mountain. The portal key hummed to life and the symbols began to glow. A portal appeared and began to shimmer with a fantastic display of lights that ebbed and flowed, changing colors every few seconds, where a moment ago there had been nothing but solid rock.