no hamsters

8/6/2019 No Hamsters

1/125

LOOK-NOHAMSTERS! No.1 IN A SERIES OF CASTOFFS FROM

BOBS WORLDTHE CASTOFFS SERIES IS ALL ABOUT REALITIES THAT BOB (FROM

BOBS WORLD) ENGINEERED AND THEN DISCARDED ON THE WAY TOCREATING HIS OWN WORLD. CASTOFFS, GEDDIT? THEYRE ALL A BIT

ODD - SOME MORE THAN OTHERS...

Albert had owned the Snakes Arms forsome fifteen years, now. Just about everyonein the village of Umpton knew the friendlybartender, and all appreciated his well-keptpub - not to mention the beer, of course. Itwas a quiet Thursday evening, the six-or-

seven regulars were quietly chatting overtheir pints or watching the TV, and Albertwiped the bar as he watched the news comeon. There were a couple of general-interestheadlines, then an item came on which madethem all take notice.

Police are concerned about a recentspate of arson attacks against pubs and otherdrinking establishments, the artificiallycheerful female newsreader began; They are


2/125

Robert Preston

in fact baffled by the apparently motiveless

attacks, and - amazingly - have yet to findany sort of clue at any of the crime scenes.Police are appealing for anyone who can helpto come forward. If you have any informationfor them, the number is: 0800...

One of the older patrons turned to the

bartender.What dyou think o that, Albt? he said.Albert shrugged.Someone with a grudge, I guess. Look, hecontinued, as a map of England came up,showing all the incinerated pubs; theyre all

miles from here, anyway.Everywheres miles from here! piped up arelative newcomer to the village.Well were not likely to be bothered then,are we?, Albert retorted.

What the hells that??, said an olderman, who was sitting next to a window.Albert and the others came over and lookedout into the darkened car park.What? Albert said, seeing nothing. The oldman pointed through the glass.There was something there just now - anorangey sort of flash, like; er...

How many of those have you had?said someone nearby, gesturing to his cider.

There was a ripple of laughter around theroom.

7


3/125

No, really, I - there it is again!! The others

looked out again, and saw a rapidly fadingorange glow - evidently from a recent flash.Well Ill be... Albert walked to the frontdoor. Just as he opened it, there was another,longer flash. As it faded a few seconds later,he found he was still opening the door; as if

he was aware of the time that had elapsed,but could do nothing while the light waspresent. Another flash - now the intervalswere getting shorter, and the orangey glowwas staying longer each time. Albert stop -started as the glow faded and returned, panic

welling up inside of him. Turning to look intothe pub, he saw the others moving in thesame staccato fashion, stopping each timethe light returned. Seemingly taking an age,he turned once more to look at the glow inthe car park, and just as his eyes fell upon it,the light came again, and this time did notfade.

It seemed to be originating from thecentre of the car park, although there was novisible source. As the light intensified, Albert,his eyes locked, could make out dark shapeswithin the orange halo. He couldnt move,only watch, terrified, as the shadowscoalesced into hunched three-foot tall formsand their edges became sharper and moredefined as the light now faded for the last

7


4/125

Robert Preston

time.

Suddenly, the car park was plungedback into darkness. Albert, who found hedfallen to the floor, quickly stood up andlooked outside. Blinking furiously, his eyesstill half-blinded from the light, he couldntsee any of the strange shapes hed observed

in the glow, but he knew they were there -strange noises, shuffling, clicking, and otherunidentifiable sounds came from theforbidding darkness.

The back of his neck tingling, Albertturned and slammed the door shut, before

locking and bolting it. Inside, everyone wasstaring wide - eyed at each other, andsomeone asked the obligatory question:

What the hell was that?! Beforeanyone could answer, there were three slow,measured knocks on the door. Afterexchanging more terrified glances with eachother, someone half-heartedly suggested:

It could be a neighbour, whos seen ittoo...Dont be stupid, Albert snapped; ournearest neighbour lives two miles away - heprobably wouldnt have seen it, and hedefinitely couldnt have got here that quick.Besides, would you knock like that if youd

just seen what we did and you were out therewith... whatever that is? No, he answered his

7


5/125

own question; Youd be hammering the

bloody door down, wouldnt you? He pausedfor breath.Im not opening it, he added. No one

seemed to disagree, and he pushed a chairunder the handle, too.

Just then, there were another three

slow, measured thumps on the door, harderthan last time. Albert jumped back, and oneof the other men scrambled on all fours to awindow to see if he could see who was outthere. Raising his head slowly, he peeredover the windowsill. At first, he could see

nothing, as his eyes adjusted to the dark. There were the stars high above, blocked outby... something. With a shock, he realizedthat the shape was much closer than hedthought, and as he looked closer, he saw...eyes!! Three or more pairs of evil - lookingeyes were staring back at him from the otherside of the glass.With a shriek he dropped to the floor andscrabbled above his head for the curtains. Ashis hands touched the cloth, he grabbed holdand yanked the curtains closed.

What?? What is it? Albert said, rushingover. He and another man helped thetrembling man to sit up as he replied:Eyes!, he stammered; Theyre watchingus! Albert looked at the other windows,

7


6/125

Robert Preston

which were in the sides of the main lounge,

and saw vague shapes skulking past,silhouetted against the midnight blue of thesky.

Theyre watching us, the manrepeated, quivering.Shut those curtains, Albert said, pointing.

Another two of his customers sidled up to awindow each and jerked the curtains closed.What do we do now? one of them

asked.I know what Im going to do, said Albert,standing up and walking behind the bar; Im

calling the cops. The others expressed theiragreement, and Albert picked up thereceiver. Hed dialled three numbers, then hetapped the switch and tried again, beforehanging up.

I dont believe this, he said. At thatmoment, the lights went out, and the steadyhum from the beer - coolers died.They cut the power!! They cut the power!! ,someone shouted hysterically.

Shut up! Shut up!! , Albert shouted,and the man fell silent. It was now almostpitch dark in the pub, and the only noise wasthe still-trembling man sat by the window,who was still mumbling:Theyre watching us, theyre watching usover and over again.

7


7/125

Okay, said Albert, picking up a torch

from under the bar and playing it on himself;You, he shone the beam temporarily on oneof the men, break a couple of chairs, andwell take a leg each. At least we can armourselves. He shone the torch again as theman complied, two heavy mahogany chairs

quickly being reduced to firewood. The legsmade pretty satisfying clubs, and as eachman hefted one, a little confidence seepedinto them from the primitive weapons.

Suddenly there was a crash, and thehuge oak front door burst open, its bottom

edge in splinters. For the next few moments,hell seemed to rise up and engulf the Snakes Arms . Explosions boomed in the confines of the bar, accompanied by brief, intenseflashes, during which the terrified men sawdark shapes rushing around the lounge area.Shouts and screams of pain came out of thedark, and those who could laid about wildlywith their chairlegs, swinging blindly asAlberts flickering torch added to theconfusion. It soon became evident that thesmall, dark shapes that had invaded the pubwere armed with some kind of explosiveweapons, and they seemed to be firingrandomly at both the men and the pub itself.Soon, small fires were blossoming all over thebar area, and Albert noticed that the shouts

7


8/125

Robert Preston

and cries of the others had ceased.

The patches of flame were beginning to join,and soon anything that wasnt in pieces wasalight. In the flickering glow of the fire thatwas quickly engulfing his livelihood, Albertsaw the others, either broken and bleeding,lying in unnatural poses, or already burning

as the flames crept closer. The firelight alsogave him his first good look at the creaturesthat had caused all this. They lookedstrangely familiar, although in completely thewrong context...

Suddenly, one of them leapt onto a

barstool in front of him, holding a Thermos

Coolbag . Staring levelly at Albert for amoment, it then opened the bars icebox andtipped the contents into the bag, beforehanding it to one of its comrades. Lookingonce more at the barman, it shook its head

and pointed a firearm at his face. Albertlooked into its cold, dark eyes; and then therewas an intense, white flash.

------------------------

7


9/125

CHAPTER 1

FEDERAL TEMPORAL MONITORING SYSTEM - STATION ALP(2076)

Main ops was a huge open room full of consoles, at which sat up to thirty people.Behind them was a low balcony from whichthe supervising team could observe theirworkforce. At the front of the room was animmense video screen displaying anoverview of the data being received, and thewhole area was dimly lit by intense bluelights in the ceiling, high above.

Karen Finch, supervisor for section C,stared intently at the screen in front of her,watching various readouts scroll up thetwelve sections of her display. She didnt likethis work, but until shed completed heradministrative service, she wouldnt beallowed back out into the field, where her realpassion lay. Suddenly, a readout caught hereye, but before she could push the commsbutton, a voice crackled in her headset:

Supervisor, c-seven. Good, shethought, hes awake.Go ahead, she replied.Picked up another one, sector g-fifteen.Okay, I have it too. Thanks, Jim. Karen then

7


10/125

Robert Preston

transferred the data to the tactical station

over at Fort Arnold, TEMP-APPS headquarters,noting that her report was in a directory withsix others that had not yet been opened. Sheshook her head.

So many, we cant keep up, shemuttered. Looking at her watch, Karen

realized that she had less than five minutesbefore her shift was over.Soon enough, her replacement arrived,

and she gratefully handed section C over to amiddle-aged man she knew only as Bert.She signed out and left main ops.

As she stepped from the darkenedcontrol room into the brightly-lit corridoroutside, she paused for a moment to let hereyes adjust. Blinking, she made her way to anearby cafeteria, picked up a cup of coffee,and sat down at a table towards the back of the room. Resting the back of her head onthe wall, she closed her eyes to thefluorescent glare and forced herself to relax.

---------------------------

Louie stepped nervously from one footto the other, alternately biting his fingernailsand twiddling with his jacket. He made aquick, nervous gesture towards the man infront of him, who was standing stock still, anicy calm emanating from his eyes.

7


11/125

Come on, Louie was saying; I gave

you the stuff yesterday.We need time to test it, the cool manreplied calmly.How the hell long do you want, man? Comeon, Frank, I need that money!!

Louie was standing in front of a desk,

with Frank the other side. Louie was dressedin a shirt and slacks that had apparently notbeen introduced to a washing machine, andan equally tatty and stained old beigerainmack. Frank, by contrast, was cleanshaven and stood in a long black leather

coat, impeccably dressed underneath in anexpensive all- black outfit. His hands werefolded behind his back to conceal from Louiethe silenced 9mm pistol he was holding.

Behind Frank appeared to be a largeopen area inside the warehouse. None of thelights behind Frank were on, and Louie couldbarely make out some indistinguishableshapes in there - he presumed they werecrates, or something.

I need that cash, man, Louie added,after Frank didnt reply to his last demand.Frank sighed, and said:Ill ask the boss. Louie noticeably paled -hed heard many stories about Franks boss,none of them good...

Frank pushed the button on an intercom7


12/125

Robert Preston

on his desk, and spoke into it.

Louies demanding his money beforeweve finished testing the goods - what dyouwant me to do?I-I wasnt demanding; I was just- Louiestopped as he saw movement behind Frank.Several - what hed thought - separate

shadows moved together, coalescing into asingle pitch-dark mass. What hed assumedwere a couple of piles of crates, he could nowmake out as the edges of a huge chair -whatever the figure sitting in it was, it wasbig. The silhouette sat forward in its chair,

and two piercing pale red eyes glowed fromabout twelve feet above the ground. Nowhed got it in perspective, Louie startedshaking. The figure, if standing, wouldvebeen the best part of ten feet tall and nearlyfour feet broad at the shoulder.

As it looked at him, the eyes reddeepened momentarily, then returned totheir pale, backlit scarlet. It sat back in thechair, and a voice rumbled out of thedarkness, a voice rich and deep, full of theimplication of restrained power, and with abooming resonance that echoed around theconfines of the warehouse:

Kill him, it simply said, the awesomesound almost enough to kill Louie on thespot. Torn between curiosity, greed, and

7


13/125

abject terror, Louie didnt know what to

shout. What the hell is that, But its notmuch, and Please dont kill me all struggledto get out of his head; but all three werestopped by something hard and fast thatentered his head through his left eye. Hecollapsed on the floor as Frank blew a tiny

curl of smoke from his pistols silencer,before reholstering the weapon.If you could catch in a bag the sound of

a jet aircraft passing overhead and let it outslowly inside a building, youd have a noisevery similar to the chuckle that now

emanated from the darkness behind Frank.Thats what I like about you, Frank,the awesome voice continued; the efficientcarrying out of orders - it is most satisfying.Well lets face it, Dennis, Frank replied;who in hells gonna argue with you?In Hell? Dennis sounded amused.Well, okay... who on earth is gonna arguewith you?No one, Dennis replied, in the absolutecertainty that it was true.

----------------

UMPTON (1998)The Snakes Arms was now just a

blackened pile of sooted bricks and charredtimber, several fires still eating at what little

7


14/125

Robert Preston

there was left to consume. The crackling

flames lit the area with a morbidcheerfulness, their brightness a sharpcontrast to the sad pile of blackened rubblewhich for decades had been the proud socialcentre of the village.

Suddenly another light flashed across

the scene. Then again - an eerie orange glow,which seemed to freeze the dancing flamesmomentarily. Soon it returned again andagain, the fire moving as if in a poor flickbook, stop-starting as the orange light cameand went.

Then the flames stayed still as theorange glow stayed, getting brighter andbrighter, the fire seemed like a coiled springwaiting to be released; then, suddenly, thedarkness returned and the flames once againleapt into action, rising from the ruins andcasting a blood red glow over the pubscarcass.

Just then, lances of blue-white lightpierced the darkness. Six, eight, ten beamsshone onto the ruins of the Snakes Armsfrom the direction of the car park. There wasa hiss of radio static, then a tinny voicecarried across the tarmac:

Okay, people - move in and well see if we cant get a signal.

The white light beams moved as several dark7


15/125


16/125


17/125

I hope so, the general replied; The

Emperor is not as accommodating as I am.Coming from a penguin whod once shot acorporal for coming into his office withoutknocking, this was a touch intimidating - butthen, it was supposed to be.

Besides, the general continued, with a

more upbeat tone; Were on the verge of striking a deal that will end your problemswith the human task force, permanently.Really?I cant say any more at present; only thatrecruitment wont be such a pressing matter.

Oh, and day missions will soon be out of thequestion. The colonel frowned at that,wondering what he meant.

Excuse me, general, sergeant White-arse stepped up and looked at the colonel.Go ahead, the colonel instructed.Sir, squad nine have just reached 2018, andare moving in on the Pony&Trap.Excellent - keep me advised. The sergeantsaluted, turned, and left.

Well Ill leave you to it, the generalsaid; And Ill let you know as soon asanything happens.Thank you, sir, the colonel said as thegeneral turned and walked out of the door.

The colonel turned back to hismonitoring station, wondering what sort of a

7


18/125

Robert Preston

deal could yield all that the general had

hinted at... ------------------

7


19/125

CHAPTER 2THE PONY AND TRAP PUBLIC HOUSE, TUESDAY, MARCH 62018, 14:16

The Anti -Pub Penguin Squad (numbernine) materialized with the now-familiarorange glow and the time-stuttering, (createdby the dissipating temporal instability fieldwhich had carried them through time), finallyappearing behind some bushes near the edgeof the pub car park. It being daylight, theflashes had drawn little or no attention, andthe squad grouped together, checking theirweapons. When he was satisfied that histeam was ready, the squad leader led theway out of the bushes.

APPS 9 had barely waddled two yards,however, when they were surrounded by

purposeful-looking men in dark blue combatuniforms and body armour, who were holdingvery large guns which were aimed veryparticularly in their direction.

One of the penguins snapped a shot off,missed, and was promptly cut to shreds by

three of the Anti Anti-Pub Penguin SquadSquad, before their sergeant stopped them.

Youre coming with us, the sergeantsaid to the penguin squad leader.

7


20/125

Robert Preston

We want our damn ice back, the penguin

replied, staring levelly at him.Its not your ice!!, the sergeant shouted athim; Pub ice is made artificially from tapwater!Youd like us to believe that, wouldnt you?the penguin retorted coolly.

Weve showed your lot the machines weuse; the sergeant vainly tried to reason.It was a trick!! Theres no way you humanscouldve developed that kind of technology!

The sergeant gave up, shaking his head.Alright boys, round em up and lets go

home. A couple of minutes later, there wasan almost blinding orange flash, and thebushes were suddenly deserted.

------------------

Karen Finch had just finished her last-ever shift as a section supervisor at TEMP-APPS monitoring station Alpha, and she wasfeeling good about it. She strolled down thecorridors with a kitbag and a happy smile,humming a little tune to herself.

Suddenly, she caught sight of an oldfriend.Craig! she called, ran up to him, and gavehim a playful punch on the arm.Hiya, Karen, he said. Hey - I hear theyreletting you back out into the field again?

7


21/125

Thats right! she said, doing a little dance;

I cant wait!Well I hope youve learned your lesson, hesaid with mock sternness, before breakinginto a genuine smile. Itll be good to haveyou back, he said. She gave him a cheekylook.

Yeah, lucky you, eh? They both smiled atthat.Listen, I gotta go - catch up with you

later, okay? he said.Yeah, sure. See you around! Craig walkedoff around a corner, and Karen continued on

her happy way to the holding area. Now thather passcard had been reactivated, she onceagain had access to all the departmentswithin the complex, and was going to have alook at the new prisoners.

Why we bother taking them alive, Idont know, she murmured to herself as sheapproached the holding area. The guardexamined her passcard and let her through.

There was no one at reception, so shewandered through to the detention area anddown a central aisle between the rows of cells. She approached the cell holding thelatest captives, and peered through thebarred door. Six penguins were huddled in asemicircle around a seventh, who had hisback to Karen, and there was a lot of

7


22/125

Robert Preston

muttering going on. One of the six spotted

her watching, and nudged the one in themiddle, who turned and saw her.You!!, it shouted.

Sorry, should I know you? Karen asked;you all look the same to me...We have extensive records, the penguin

said, ignoring her dig; and you were heavilyinvolved in the capture - or elimination - of alarge number of our first-wave squads.I know, I was there, she replied. I justthought you might like to know: Im back. Thenext squads your people send out have no

chance. You may as well give up now.Well never give up until you ice-thieves payfor your crimes!We dont steal your ice, Karen said calmly.Your constant denials dont alter the truth!

Your pubs will all burn!You wont listen to the truth, you stupid bird!And we wont let you burn any more pubs,dammit; in fact, your squads are beingcaptured as we speak!Youll never stop us, human! Youll all die!No, youll all die, you pathetic, waddling...bastards!!, Karen shouted, as two guards,alerted by the noise, pulled her away.Come on, madam, one of them said quietly.Thats it - lock her up!, the penguin calledafter them.

7


23/125

YOURE MESSING WITH THE WRONG

SPECIES, FISH - BREATH!! , Karen shouted, asthe guards dragged her off down the corridor.-----------------

Frank nodded to the guard standing bythe door to a large warehouse-type building,

and stepped inside. His black leather coatwafting gently behind him, he ascendedsome steps, stopped outside another muchlarger metal door, and waited. Presently, heheard a voice inside his head, a rich, powerfulvoice that simply said:

Come in, Frank. The huge steel doorclanged loudly as a massive bolt thuddedopen, and with only a quiet creak from theoversize hinges it swung open, seemingly of its own accord. Frank stepped forward to apainted line on the floor, barely visible in thelight from behind him, and waited as the doorslowly shut and bolted itself, closing out thesunlight. All he could see now were twoglowing points of light, red like hot coals,about twenty yards ahead of him, and fiveyards up. Slowly, at the far end of the vasthall, lights dimly came on and graduallybrightened until Frank could see enough towalk safely. Frank knew that the lights wereonly there for his benefit - Dennis preferred(and could see just as well in) the dark.

7


24/125

Robert Preston

Dennis also liked the effect, and Frank too

had been impressed at first - with the lightsbehind his throne, all you could see of Denniswas a night-dark shape and his glowing eyes.

Approach, his awesome voiceboomed, and Frank did so, stopping at theprescribed place.

O Mortashlok, Lord of Darkness, mayyour reign be long and your servants many,said Frank, using the greeting hed beentaught.Ive known you for some while now, Frank;you are released from having to use the

traditional greeting - when you are alone,Dennis voice crashed.Thanks, Dennis.How are the penguins coming along?Dennis thundered.Good. I think theyll be ready to sign up soon- they seem pretty fanatical about this wholeice thing. After a pause, Frank continued:May I ask something? Dennis nodded hishorned head, and made an ask awaygesture, so Frank went on:Why are the penguins so important to you?I need their souls, Dennis uttered.Their souls? Frank said. Dennis face brokeinto a rare genuine smile, and Frank couldsee the white of his many sharp teeth in thedim light.

7


25/125

You dont think I became this size through

eating Shredded Wheat , do you?, theimmense voice echoed. It was a terrible joke,but Frank had to smile - coming from Dennis,that was funny. They are sentient beings,Dennis continued; however that happened,and their souls are as yet unclaimed. Once

they join me, they will add to my strength.And once you have them? Frank asked.You are well acquainted with my plan tocontaminate the rest of the worlds watersupply, it was a statement, but Franknodded politely anyway. Dennis went on:

With all the souls in my domain, plus thoseof the penguins, and with the rest of theworlds population temporarily incapacitated,I will be powerful enough to take on - anddefeat - the Overlords of the other threerealms. Then, when the people reawaken, all

the souls on the planet will be mine! I will beMortashlok, Lord of Darkness, and Ruler of the World!! He had raised his voicesomewhat by the time hed got to the end of his speech, and Frank had his hands over hisears as the echoes faded. As silencereturned, he let his arms drop, and took adeep breath.

Thats... a good plan, he said.----------------

7


26/125

Robert Preston

CHAPTER 3

TEMP-APPS SQUAD DESPATCHMENT FACILITY (2076)Karen opened her locker, and smiled.

It had been awhile since shed last worn herfield-combat gear, and shed missed it. As theother nine members of her squad filed intothe changing area - six men and three otherwomen - she greeted those she knew, andwas introduced to the new faces. Theformalities over, they stripped off and begankitting up.

Wherere we heading? someoneasked.Florida, replied Mitch, the sergeant.Summer gear, then? asked Karen, to whichthe sarg nodded. Some of the squad optedfor the shorts and combat vests, while otherschose the blue camouflage trousers and t-shirts. Still others went for various differentcombinations. All wore standard issue bootsand combat belts.

In three minutes the squad was ready,and inspected by the sergeant. Satisfied,Mitch led them down to the mission launcharea. They followed him double-time downonto the pad, and formed up in two rows of five, before halting. Mitch saluted the

7


27/125

temporal displacement control officer - Tony -

and there was a flash of bright orange lightfollowed by a brief period of disorientationand nausea, before the world coalesced intoa nice picture of sunny Florida, circa 2023...

---------------

FLORIDA (2023)Karen pushed her sunglasses back upher nose - perspiration had made them losetheir grip again - and once more surveyed thearea. The bright Florida sunshine beat downon her, and she was glad of the baseball cap,

which shed decided to bring at the lastminute. Loose strands of her dark hair thathad escaped the hat were blown about by ahot wind from the north, which was alsokeeping tumbleweeds (and a fair amount of dust) moving along the nearby road. She sat,

her weapon slung over one shoulder, on asmall boulder a little way back from the road. To her left and her right were the rest of hersquad, sitting on rocks, or the ground,waiting. Theyd been waiting for nearly anhour now, and there had been no unusualmovement at the remote bar over the otherside of the dusty highway. In fact, the onlymovement at all had been over half an hourago when two men had arrived in an old redChevy pickup, which still sat outside Joes

7


28/125

Robert Preston

Bar&Grill.

Karen took an insulated flask from herbelt and had another swig of cold water.Suddenly the comm net crackled, and Mitchsvoice said:

Okay guys, well do one more sweep, incase we missed anything. Karen pushed the

TRANSMIT button on her headset.Sir? If theyve already been and we missed itlast time, we wont pick it up now - itll havedissipated. There was a moments silence.Okay, well just hang on a bit longer, then.Come on sarg, someone objected; We had

a ten-minute window for their arrival, andthat went by forty minutes ago! Theyre notcoming, man! Mitch sighed.Yeah okay, youre right. I just didnt want togive up. Fair enough, though, lets go back.

There wasnt much cover, and theycautiously picked their way backwards,withdrawing to a safe distance from the bar,and possible observation. Once they wereassembled, Mitch activated the TDFG, therewas a bright orange flash, and they weregone.

----------------

TEMP-APPS SQUAD DESPATCHMENT FACILITY (2076)Colonel Jeff Thomas greeted Karens

squad as they stepped down off the TDFG7


29/125

pad.

Hi Mitch, he said; Missionaccomplished? Mitch shook his head.No - they didnt show, he said. The colonellooked taken aback.Not even a trace? he asked.Not a damn thing, said Mitch; Which is

very odd, because we had a good fix on emthis time - a ten-minute window is moreaccurate than we usually get.

Surprise, curiosity, and an expression of deep thought all fought for room on Colonel

Thomas face, the latter finally winning. Mitch

watched all this bemusedly.What? he said; What is it? In thebackground, Karen nudged the woman nextto her, and muttered:Someones been screwing around with ourtimeline, again. The colonel continued,oblivious to Karens (accurate) comment:

Umm, we only had it pinned down to atwenty - minute window, here...What times? Mitch immediately asked. Thecolonel quickly checked a small notebook.2214 to 2234", he replied. Mitch looked upto the ceiling, and sighed.We had 1512 to 1522", he said, looking backat his C.O. There was a brief pause.

Shit, the colonel commented.Have they discovered historic monitoring, do

7


30/125

Robert Preston

you think? someone asked.

Who knows? replied the colonel; Theirtechnology has come on in leaps and boundssince they first became sentient, back in 54;the dwarf bastards, he added.

They must have changed their plans inthe exact moment we left, Karen surmised;

Thats why we didnt spot the discrepancy.Anyway, said Mitch; for the time being,our next mission is the same one again, butat a quarter past ten at night, yeah?, heasked the colonel, who nodded.Yeah, just keep trying, he said. He clapped

Mitch on the shoulder.Good luck, he added.----------------

Personally, I recommend that youstay hidden, for now. Dennis turned andlooked at Frank.The people of Earth will all see their rulerone day - I am certain that if one or two seeme now, it will not matter, came histhunderous reply.Still, if word gets out, the other Overlordsmay guess your plan...If they do so, it will be too late. Besides, Iwould like to do this one personally, Dennisrumbled. He turned away once more, and thehuge steel door swung open seemingly by

7


31/125

itself to reveal a dark landscape outside, lit

only by the stars. His black, muscled skinglistening in the starlight, Dennis giant formmoved like a panther through the streets, animmense, foreboding shadow.

Resignedly, Frank followed.--------------

7


32/125

Robert Preston

CHAPTER 4PENGUIN ICE RECLAMATION PROJECT SUPREMHEADQUARTERS (2076)

Vampires?! , Colonel White-tipsexclaimed. General Red-beak simply nodded

in reply, and there was a short pause as thecolonel considered this.

Cool! he concluded.Of course, this means some modification tothe mission structure, the generalcontinued; No more day missions, for

example.Hmm, commented the colonel.But think of the advantages, the generalwent on; immortality, for one thing.So, the colonel said; Well reschedule theJoes Bar&Grill raid for about ten in the

evening, then? The general nodded.Yeah, just make sure its well aftersundown, he said, turning to walk away.Um, the colonel continued, causing thegeneral to stop and turn back to face him.Were now immune to energy and projectile

weapons, too, right? The general smiled andnodded.Good, isnt it?, he said, and still smiling, hewaddled out of the door.

7


33/125

The colonel smiled, too, as he

considered this.Damn good, he agreed.----------------

FLORIDA, OUTSIDE JOES BAR&GRILL 22:10 pm (2023)Karen switched on her night-vision

glasses, and surveyed the area. Through theoptical enhancer, the terrain looked much thesame as it had two hours earlier. A smallmeter in the lower right-hand corner of herdisplay showed polarised temporal fluxparticles - there were none, as yet.

Cautiously, she moved out from behindthe low rock, which shed been using ascover, and slinked towards a nearby bushwhich offered more effective concealment.Her midnight-blue camouflage trousers anddark blue vest - the eighteen-degree night

temperature made any heavier attireuncomfortable - disguised her well; in fact,the only part of her that was visible from anydistance was her arms. Well, she reasoned,the bush and the darkness were camouflageenough.

Suddenly off behind the diner, there wasa series of orange flashes, which silhouettedthe building. The comms net crackled, andMitchs voice came over:

Okay, this is it - lets move in. To7


34/125

Robert Preston

Karens right and left, the other nine squad

members left their cover and began closingin. Karen unshouldered her rifle and, holdingit at the ready, moved in with them.

Just then, to the right of the bar&grill,there was a flash, and a door exploded in ashower of sparks. In the light of the flames

that licked at the doorframe, three-to-four-foot tall shadows could be seen rushing intothe cafe.

Lets go, lets go!!, cried Mitch, andthe squad broke into a run, quickly coveringthe open ground between themselves and

the diner.Karen covered two of the others as theyburst through the doorway, then followedthem while Mitch and someone else coveredher own entrance. They established a smallbeachhead just inside the doorway, and onceeveryone was inside, they split into threeteams of three, Mitch staying behind to co-ordinate the attack and cut off the penguinsescape route.

Unfortunately, this was as far asstandard procedure would get them. Karenburst into the dining area, dropped to oneknee and pumped five shots into the back of one of the feathery creatures, before takingcover behind a countertop. Her back to hertarget, she watched as the other two

7


35/125

members of her team - a man and a woman -

entered the room and each loosed a volley of fire in the same direction.Suddenly the man dropped his weapon, andKaren looked up to see his headless bodycrumple to the floor. At the same time, thewoman lost an arm, and screamed horribly.

What the...?, cried Karen, but before shecould move to assist, the girls chestdisintegrated before her eyes, and thebloodied carcass fell alongside the mansdecapitated corpse.

Shocked, Karen froze for a moment,

then snatched up one of the fallen weapons. Jumping up, she retreated out of the door,firing a rifle from each arm. As she left, shecounted the penguins in the cafe: five. Sameas when shed entered. Surely her fallencomrades couldnt have completely missedall of them? And shed definitely hit one of them five times, herself...

Elsewhere, the rest of the squad wasfaring no better. The second team of threehad kicked the kitchen door down, and stoodfiring at the four penguins inside. Afterloosing about thirty rounds each to noappreciable effect, they stopped and lookedat each other bemusedly; at which point thefour penguins raised their own weapons...

Karen cautiously backed down the7


36/125

Robert Preston

corridor towards the entrance, keeping an

eye both in front of and behind herself. Sheeased past the kitchen door, and saw a pileof fresh meat on the floor, dressed in theremains of three TEMP-APPS uniforms.

Oh my God, she whispered, looking atthe remnants of her friends. What was going

wrong? TEMP-APPS had a great fatality record- an almost one in a thousand chance. In fact,the last death had been nearly a year ago.What was happening??

No, Karen groaned as she saw morebodies in the lounge area. She couldnt

believe what she was seeing.As she re-entered the lobby, however,new terrors awaited her. Mitch was on thefloor, being pinned down by severalpenguins, and as she watched, another onestood over him and plunged its beak deepinto his neck. Mitch cried out, a strangled,gurgling noise. Karen lined up a rifle and shotthe evil creature square in the back of thehead. The inertia of the bullet knocked thebird over, but instead of exploding, the headturned to face her as its owner stood upagain.

Do you know how much that hurt??, itshouted at her. Unable to believe what shewas seeing, Karen frantically shook her headand grabbed both guns. Her fingers

7


37/125

convulsively jerked at the triggers, and she

pumped two clips of hot lead into thepenguins, knocking them all down before therifles ran dry.Running over to Mitch, she checked his pulse:there was none. Karen, tears streaking herface, looked down at her friend.

Im so sorry, she whispered hoarsely.Out of the corner of her eye, she saw thepenguins around her beginning to get upagain. Dropping the two empty rifles, shesnatched the TDFG from Mitchs belt and ran,crying, out of the door. She didnt stop

running until she was out of breath, somethree hundred yards out into the desert.Sobbing and gasping for air, she collapsed tothe ground and shuddered, as sheremembered and grieved for her friends.

Minutes went by, and eventually, Karenlooked up again at the bar&grill. It was wellalight now, and the high flames illuminatedthe desert for some distance all around.Karen set her jaw, a cold fire burning in hereyes which had nothing to do with thereflection of the burning diner, and shedeliberately programmed the TDFG. Twentyseconds later, with a bright orange flash, shewas gone.

--------------------

7


38/125

Robert Preston

LONDON CITY RESERVOIR, 23:15pm (2076)

Frank and a few other members of theinner circle - those of Dennis organizationwho were allowed immediate contact withhim - stood by and kept watch as Dennisnight-dark shape flashed its claws andgrasped the five-ton tank of chemical agent

which was to be emptied into the citieswater system. As Dennis lifted the tank, hishuge muscles tensing, one of the other menturned to Frank.

I dont like him coming out like this, hesaid; but whos gonna stop him? Frank

watched as Dennis raised the tank over hishead and began pouring the chemical intothe reservoir, his mighty arms high.

Well, said Frank, after a minute; Itsaves us having to hire a crane, I guess.

Elsewhere, all over the country, Dennisorganization was hard at work; at eachreservoir a huge tank of the same highlyconcentrated chemical was being emptiedinto the water supply. Also in the AsianRealm and the Indonesian Realm, workingto a strict timetable, Dennis men were doingthe same. It was a big job, a long time in theplanning and organizing, and now, tonight, itwas all coming to fruition.

As gurgles came from the tank, and thelast of the liquid poured into the reservoir,

7


39/125

Dennis laughed and threw the tank to one

side. His booming laughter echoed backacross the artificial lake, and his red gaze fellupon Frank and the others.

This is it, he thundered; In thirty-sixhours, the world shall be mine! He beckonedthem closer and, with an effort of will, he

transported himself - and them - back to theAmericas.-----------------

PENGUIN ANTI-PUB SQUAD MESS ROOM, ANTARCTICA (2076All of the squads that were not on duty

were gathered in the mess hall to celebratetheir new status, and a big cheer went up assquad four entered the room.

Howd it go, boys? a sergeantshouted.Were all here, arent we? replied one of

squad four; Which is more than we can sayfor the humans! They all had a good laughat that.

Were they surprised, do you think?asked someone else.You shouldve seen the looks on theirfaces! another squad four penguinanswered. Me, Alan, Jeff and Carl were in thekitchen, right? And these three humans kickthe door down and burst in, all businesslike,and let off about fifty rounds each at us,

7


40/125

Robert Preston

yeah? Of course, we just stand there and

they realize nothings happening, so theystop firing at us and just look at each otherlike this, he turned briefly and lookedblankly at his colleague; Then we just blewtheir heads off! Another laugh went aroundthe room.

Thats nothing, another squad fourpenguin interjected; Five of us were holdingone down while the sarg here took a bite outof his neck, when this woman arrives andspots one right in the back of his head, yeah?Sarg falls over and of course, this woman

thinks hes dead. Then - the sarg stands upagain, turns around, and says- the penguinwas struggling not to laugh now; and saysyou know how much that hurt??! There wasanother wave of laughter, then he finished:And shes just sitting there like a goldfish,he mimed with his beak. Penguins all aroundthe room were in tears, now.

I cant wait myself, now! cried a squadseven bird.Hang on a minute... said a squad four,feeling under his chest feathers; Heresanother one!, he said, pulling a bullet outand holding it up, to the cheers of the others.Whats that make it? shouted Carl, alsofrom squad four.Forty-four, the other replied.

7


41/125

Ah - Im still two ahead of you!

Yeah, yeah.When are we off again? someoneasked a major.Tomorrow, he replied, tolerantly watchingall the levity; Youll all be out tomorrow.

------------------

TEMP-APPS SQUAD DESPATCHMENT FACILITY (2076)Karen, covered in sweat, ash, and

blood, her uniform in tatters, materialized onpad four and promptly collapsed. Colonel

Thomas quickly came over and helped her to

her feet. He supported her as they madetheir way to the medical station.My God, Karen, how bad are you? He

didnt ask where the others were - if Karenwas back by herself, that meant that theothers couldnt get back, and since none of

the squad would ever leave their comradesbehind, Karen arriving by herself could meanonly one thing - that the rest of the squadhad been wiped out. Thoughtfully, the coloneldidnt ask, so as not to open the fresh woundin Karens memory. Plus, she didnt look asthough she was capable of holding aconversation right now. She simply hungalmost limp in his arms, dragging her feetalong with a grim determination that wasevidently nearly exhausted. The medics

7


42/125

Robert Preston

spotted them and rushed to help, and the

colonel let them take her. As she was laid ona stretcher, he pulled a doctor to one side.Keep me informed, he said simply.

The doctor looked at his nametag andnodded, before rushing off up the corridor tocatch up with his patient. The colonel

watched them all disappear around a corner,and sighed heavily.--------------------

THE J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING (FBI HEADQUARTESECTION Q (2076)

James Polaski knocked on hisdirectors door and waited, listening.Come in, said a voice inside the office, andPolaski entered, closing the door behind him.Hi, Jim, the director, Harvey Kingston,greeted him.

Good morning, sir, James answered.So whats this youve got to show me?Harvey inquired.Well, sir; it seems TEMP-APPS have run intoa spot of bother. An entire squad of theirs hasbeen wiped out, and the one survivor insists

that the penguins have suddenly becomebullet-proof. Harvey considered this.You suspect vampirical activity? he

asked.Its a distinct possibility, and the verbal

7


43/125

evidence given is quite compelling. The

people at TEMP-APPS are usually prettygood.The witness is reliable, then?Yeah, she was pretty shook up when shereturned from the field, but theyve releasedher from the infirmary, and shes been fully

debriefed.Okay, get her interviewed, and if it allchecks out, send a ghost squad toinvestigate. The last thing we need is a loadof frickin vampirical penguins running aboutthe place - weve had rumours of something

big going down lately, as it is. I wonder if itsrelated... He tailed off briefly, thinking.Anyway, he continued; find out what youcan, and if it merits it, notify me of the ghostsquads findings, okay?Yes sir. James Polaski stood up and lethimself out of the office of the director of Section Q, before heading back to his ownoffice, thirty yards down the corridor.

------------------

7


44/125

Robert Preston

CHAPTER 5

FLORIDA, OUTSIDE JOES BAR&GRILL, 22:10pm (2023)One of four men holding scanners

looked up. In the bushes opposite thebar&grill, one of the TEMP-APPS squad had

just switched on their night-vision goggles. The four men were standing in the roadbetween the anti-penguin squad and thecafe, seemingly unconcerned withcamouflaging themselves.

Suddenly, off behind the diner, therewas a series of orange flashes, whichsilhouetted the building. The four men pickedup the TEMP-APPS squad leader saying:Okay, this is it - lets move in. Immediately,ten figures in midnight-blue camouflage burstfrom cover and ran across the road to thecafe, passing between the four observerswithout even noticing them.

Just then, the cafes front door explodedinwards with a shower of sparks, and theframe caught fire. In the firelight, the fourmen saw a squad of penguins rushing insidethe restaurant.

Lets go, lets go!!, the TEMP-APPSsergeant shouted, and the four men beganwalking over to the door as the TEMP-APPS

7


45/125

squad entered the building in an efficient -

and obviously well-rehearsed - manner. Asthe last one went inside, the Ghost squadfollowed them.

Ten minutes later, the one surviving TEMP-APPS soldier - a woman - went running out of the cafe, her combat gear ripped, soiled and

bloodstained. The four members of the Ghostsquad also exited the building, and watchedas the woman collapsed, quite a way out. Bythis time, the bar&grill was well alight, andthe tall flames lit up the desert for somedistance. The Ghost squad, though

completely invulnerable to the heat,instinctively walked a few paces from theburning building. Looking back to the woman,they saw her program a TDFG and, twentyseconds or so later, she vanished in a flash of orange light.

A couple of minutes after that, thepenguins emerged from the flaming cafe,laughing and pushing each other playfully.Amidst the babble, the Ghost squad caughtsnatches of boy, did that surprise em!, seethe look on their faces!, and other similarcomments. Several of them had blood ontheir beaks, and others were displaying andbragging about the bullet holes they had. Asthe penguins left, the four men looked ateach other - theyd seen enough.

7


46/125

Robert Preston

-----------------

DENNIS LAIR, LOS ANGELES, USA (2076)Frank watched for a while as Dennis

amused himself with a game of gladiators. This was a simple game where Dennis placedtwo men in an arena which was full of axes,

swords, maces, and so on, and thenpossessed one of them. He was sure of agood fight, that way.

Frank observed as Dennis man gavethe other bloke a solid pounding with a ball-and-chain, before taking a stab in the chest

from the other mans sword. Dennis chapstaggered back a couple of steps, thengrabbed a nearby spear as the other blokestood up. Just as he was reaching for an axe,Dennis man hurled the spear mightily. It flewthrough the air between them, picked the

other man up off of the ground, and carriedhim seven or eight yards backward, beforepenetrating the wall behind him and pinninghim up there like some bizarre wall-mountedornament. No mortal could have thrown thespear as hard as that - especially not one asbadly cut, beaten and exhausted as this onewas.

As Dennis withdrew from the mansbody, it collapsed from its injuries, dyingslowly on the hard dirt floor. Dennis own

7


47/125

mighty body, until now sitting dormant in its

throne like a huge statue, suddenly beganbreathing again. The horned head slowlyrose, and the eyelids snapped up, the eyesbehind them black, like pieces of glass overpits of darkness. A deep crimson glow slowlybecame visible somewhere behind his eyes,

and seemed to increase in brightness and getcloser to the glass. Soon they were back totheir familiar, and yet still somehowdisconcerting, red glow. They looked down onFrank.

What is it, my friend?, the awesome

voice rumbled.Nothing important, Dennis - me and the ladsare just having some lunch, and I wondered if you wanted anything. Dennis didnt need toeat, but he liked to, sometimes...

Thank you, the Overlord said; I willhave one of your fried-egg sandwiches, Ienjoy those.Coming right up, said Frank. He wasnt tooconfident about cooking ostrich eggs, but thelast couple seemed to have been alright...

Ten minutes later, Dennis finished theoversize sandwich, and expressed his thanks.It mustve tasted okay, then, Frank thought,mentally chalking it up as a success.

--------------

7


48/125

Robert Preston

TOP SECRET STAGING AREA, SECTION Q, FBI HEADQUARTE

(2076) General Joseph F. Wisenger sat at atable with Colonel Jeff Thomas (of TEMP-APPS) and Harvey Kingston. After theintroductions, the general said:

Well colonel, TEMP-APPS seems to have

hit a problem...Yes sir, colonel Thomas replied. Sir, if youre holding out on me at all, Id reallyappreciate you letting me know. The generalsmiled at that.We think we know where your trouble lies,

he said; Ill let Harvey here fill you in. Ten minutes later, an incredulouscolonel Thomas sat back in his seat.That is just absolutely incredible, he said.On the contrary, Harvey replied; we havemuch evidence to support it. There was a

pause as the two parties already familiar withthe information waited for a reaction.So what happens now? the colonel

asked, finally.Harvey is going to assemble a team from FBISection Q to come over and brief your teamon the situation, and your lot will then beissued with all the necessary hardware tocontinue your operations.What, like holy water pistols and garlicneck-ties?

7


49/125

Come on, give us some credit, said

Harvey; Weve developed some veryadvanced weapons over the last couple of years. Some of them are pretty cool, too.Okay, sorry. Im just finding this a littledifficult to come to terms with.Thats understandable - I felt the same when

I first heard, the general said.So, said Colonel Thomas; When areyour boys gonna come over?Yesterday, said Kingston, smiling as thecolonel gave him a querulous look. You boysat TEMP-APPS arent the only ones who can

time-travel, he continued; And itsimperative that we stop these penguinsbefore they do too much damage -remember, they pose an even greater threat,now; one which we think may be linked tosomething even bigger. The colonel nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, Colonel Thomas,Harvey Kingston, and a group of men fromSection Q stood on a TDFG pad next to alarge stack of boxes and crates.

When am I going to find out whats inthe boxes? the colonel asked.Later, replied Harvey. Then, after amoments thought, he said: Or rather,earlier.Time travel, chuckled the colonel; Itscrews your tenses up, eh?

7


50/125

Robert Preston

It has screwed them up, you mean.

Or its going to.Um, you guys ready? the TDFGoperator inquired.Yeah, go ahead, said the colonel, at whichthe man nodded and pushed the ACTIVATEbutton on his console. Then, with the familiar

orange flash, they vanished. -------------------

TEMP-APPS HEADQUARTERS, FORT ARNOLD, IOWA (2076)Karen had been in intensive briefing

sessions nearly all day since her release from

the infirmary. It seems that their featheryfriends have somehow been transformedand are now of the undead. That explainedthe horrific outcome of her squads lastmission, but it still seemed a little absurd.

Vampire penguins, Karen mused;

What next? she strolled down the corridor,numerous plasters and stitches holdingvarious cuts together on her face and arms,and hummed a little tune to herself. Shedmissed all this - briefings, combat, minorinjuries - and was enjoying herself immensely.

On her way down a corridor, she saw aname she recognized on a door: CraigMarshall, a good friend of hers. She knockedand put her head round the door.

7


51/125

Hi Craig! Still fighting from behind your

desk, eh? I was just... She tailed off - therewas no response from her friend, who satslumped in his chair. Karen rushed into theoffice and shook him.

Craig? Craig, wake up! Still there wasnothing from him. She checked his pulse - it

was normal and regular, as was hisbreathing. His eyes, however, when sheopened them, were dilated and glassy.

Concerned, she resolved to go andreport his condition. She was just about toleave when a thought struck her, and she

strolled through into the adjoining office.Surely they wouldve noticed?She stopped short upon entering the

room - the man behind this desk alsoappeared to be asleep, and there was awoman, probably a secretary, snoring on thefloor. Karen checked them both, just to besure - their symptoms were the same asCraigs. Frowning, she stepped back out intothe corridor.

She was worried, now, and noticed forthe first time how quiet it was - she hadnt infact seen anyone since shed left the briefingroom. The briefing room - perhaps the otherswere still there! It would be good to havesomeone to talk to. Perhaps theyd be able towork out what had happened. She rushed

7


52/125

Robert Preston

back down the corridor the way shed come,

looking in office after office, panic building inthe pit of her stomach as she saw Craigscondition repeated all throughout the facility.Sprinting, she tripped on something, almostfell over, and ended up crashing into a fireextinguisher to stop herself.

Stupid girl, she castigated herself. Shewas panicking, and that wasnt going to help.She stopped for a moment and caught herbreath.Come on, calm down, she muttered,bringing her breathing back under control.

There has to be an explanation, shethought. But what? It couldnt be a blanketdrugging, say, through the air system, orshed be out too. So what was it, then?Baffled, she began to continue on to thebriefing room, walking this time. Seeing afountain, she stopped for a drink of water...

-------------------

UNDER SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (2076)Dennis had a deep, gnawing pain in

the pit of his stomach, but ignored it, puttingit down to the excitement of the situation.Here he was, walking up the front steps of Darok, the Overlord of the Indonesian Realm,with the sole intention of relieving him of hisimmortality. Dennis smiled evilly and

7


53/125

knocked on the door, before kicking it down

and bursting into the underground lair.Darok stood up to meet him as hestormed into the throne room and stopped infront of him. Darok was almost a carbon copyof Dennis, although tonight, he looked heseemed somehow smaller and more feeble...

We had an agreement, Darok said.Fuck the agreement, Dennis said, drawinga mighty blade, hooked, barbed and razor-sharp, from his side.Oh, its like that, is it? said Darok, pullinghis own sword out. Dennis laughed at him.

You think you have a chance? he said,his voice thundering.You think I dont? Darok replied, defiantly,but unconvincingly so.I can feel your weakness, said Dennis, thered glow in his eyes getting deeper; Nowyou feel my power! He raised his free hand,and a bolt of raw energy ripped through theair from his hand like purple lightning andslammed Darok backwards into the side of his throne. Stunned, Darok feebly raised hissword as Dennis bore down on him, anunstoppable nemesis in black. Dennis simplyslapped the sword away, laughed, and hewedDaroks head from his body in a single swingof his huge blade.

Now the world is one-third closer!, he7


54/125

Robert Preston

said, his moment spoiled only by that

nagging pain in his chest... -----------------

PENGUIN ICE RECLAMATION PROJECT MISSION CONTR(2076)

Major Yellowbelly stood at the rear of

the mission control room, in a separateobservation area behind some glass, whichprevented the grunts hearing what the bigbirds were talking about. He surveyed thetechnicians, hard at work preparing for theupcoming missions, with a satisfied smile.

Just then, General Red-beak entered theobservation room. He walked over and stoodnext to the major, also looking out at theactivity in the main area.

Quite an event, eh?, the general said.Yes sir, the major agreed; This will be the

biggest operation in our history - despatchingand co-ordinating all twenty squads at oncewill be quite an achievement.I hear one of your squads will be going backsome way...?Yeah, weve decided to take out a pub in the

late nineteenth-century - we found out thatthe owner later spawns a whole chain of twenty or so, so we can wipe em all out withone hit.Excellent. The general observed the

7


55/125

penguins in main ops again, purposefully

going about their business.Seems to be a good bunch of penguinsyouve got, here, he said, after a minute.Yeah, they work well together.When does the operation begin?, thegeneral asked.

2200 hours, the major replied. The generallooked at his watch: 1754', it read.Right, he said; Keep up the good work,and Ill see you around quarter to ten. Major

Yellowbelly did a quick salute as the generalleft, then turned and proudly watched his

team at work once more.Yeah, were gonna kick some ice-theivin butt, this time, he said.

-----------------

UNDER HONG KONG, CHINA (2076)

Dennis clutched his chest and limpedtoward the entrance to the lair of Mau-Sin,the Overlord of the Asian Realm. Dennisbreathing was shallow, and he winced as heraised a leg and kicked the door down. Bynow he knew something was wrong, but hewasnt willing to let this opportunity pass himby. If he didnt strike now, while the otherswere weakened... well, he didnt want tothink about inter-Realm relations after theydfound out what hed been trying to do. No, it

7


56/125

Robert Preston

was now or never, and he was damned

(literally) if he was going to let an upsetstomach deprive him of his rightful place asEarths Ruler.

Mau-Sin, an eighteen-odd-foot-tall red-skinned crossbreed of man and dragon,looked up as Dennis lurched into his throne

room. Apart from his obvious discomfort,Dennis looked as big and powerful as he everhad done, if not more so. Mau-Sin, on theother hand, was thinning and haggard. Hestood up to meet Dennis, looming over him.

What have you done?, Mau-Sin

rasped. Despite the pain, Dennis smiled.I have manoeuvred events, he wheezed;so that I may kill you.Kill me ? You do not look well enough forthat , my friend. Anger burned in Denniseyes - he had always hated Mau-Sin and hiscondescending manner, and now he ignoredthe pain and unleashed a furious attack,claws flashing and sparks of energy cuttinginto the red giants flesh as he screamed withrage.

Mau-Sin staggered backward cut,bleeding and stunned by Dennis ferocity.

This gave Dennis time to once again draw hismighty blade. A vicious side-swing fromDennis brought Mau-Sin to his knees, (quiteliterally), and Dennis just had time to swing

7


57/125

the blade again before Mau-Sin fell over. With

a smile, this he duly did, and the headlesscorpse of the red monster sank to the groundbefore him.

As the detached head of Mau-Sin hit thefloor, Dennis clutched his stomach onceagain and collapsed into Mau-Sins throne,

gasping for breath. His vision was blurring,and he struggled to fight the pain.-------------------

NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE (2076)Bert Williams , British liaison for a

major US pharmaceutical company, put histelephone receiver down, again. Seeing hisbewildered look, his colleague at the nextdesk leaned over and spoke to him.

Whassup, Bert?, he asked. Bert shookhis head.

I dunno, he replied; London seems dead -the FTSE just... hasnt come on. And nobody Iknow in England is answering their phone.Youre kidding? When Bert shook his head,his colleague said:Its not your phone, is it?No, its not linked to the computer - plus, Ican reach anyone in the States with it.

The Han Seng index is down, too, saidsomeone in a nearby cubicle, whodoverheard.

7


58/125

Robert Preston

China?, asked Bert incredulously. The

woman nodded.Not a peep. Just then, a man from two desks down

approached.Uh, hi, he said; Could I borrow someonesphone? I dont seem to be able to raise

Australia on mine... They all looked at eachother, struggling to comprehend what washappening, but at the same time, not wantingto...

The pregnant silence was finally brokenby Bert, who voiced the question they were

all thinking:What the hell is going on??--------------

UNDER LONDON, ENGLAND (2076)Dennis paused this time, still holding

his chest tightly. His breathing was shallowand laboured, and bile from the last time hedbeen sick was burning his throat and makinghim cough erratically. Each rasping barkbrought a tiny thunderclap from his mightychest, and a mouthful of his blood, which hespat onto the ground. He was determined notto give up now , so close to his goal, althoughhis earlier enthusiasm had evaporated,replaced by an irritated realization that hewas weakening by the minute. Still, hed

7


59/125

never get another chance like this, and he

hauled himself up to the door of the abode of the Overlord of the Africo-European Realm,still referred to by some as the RomanEmpire.

Wheezing, he struggled to grasp thehandle, failed, and fell inside as the catch

flipped open. Pale but bright, his red eyesflashed with pain as he gritted his (many)teeth and crashed to the floor. He couldntbelieve that hed come so close to victory,and yet now seemed so far from it. Hecoughed again, the blood spattering on the

floor in front of his face, and he looked at itdespairingly, wondering what it was that wasdepriving him of his moment of triumph.

His breathing suddenly becameshallower and faster, as the agony jumped toa new level and held his chest like a vice,each breath a conscious, agonizing effort. Hefelt his mind darkening, and caught himself

just in time.Do not give up, he thought defiantly,

even though escape from his torment wasseeming less and less likely.

Through the mist of pain, he saw thefeet of his intended victim crunch to the floorin front of him.

Well, well, well, he heard a voice asthough far off say; The best laid plans of

7


60/125

Robert Preston

mice and cast-down overlords, eh? The

sarcastic voice was far from sympathetic.Dennis struggled to answer, but thecombined pain in his chest and throatstrangled his attempt to speak, and hemerely began a fierce bout of coughing, hisonce fearful frame thrashing on the floor,

blood and bile from his ripped throat flowingonto the ground.Its a shame, really, the Overlord

continued; it was a pretty good plan. But Ithought we were getting along quiteamicably. He sighed theatrically. Now, I

guess, the worlds all mine! Thanks to you.He chuckled and looked down at the patheticfigure on the floor.Whats the matter, disease got yourtongue? he laughed. And just look at themess youve made in my porch - you could atleast have had the courtesy to die outside.As an immortal, Dennis would haveeventually recovered from the disease thatwas afflicting him; except for the fact that hisrival Overlord now brought out his sword anddecapitated him with one vicious stroke.

Dennis now felt Deaths talons closingaround him, and as the blackness engulfedhim, at last he felt numb - the pain and theagony ceased, and a familiar entrancewayappeared before him as he fell away from the

7


61/125

ruined body in the world above. He drifted

down, and as he passed through the twisted,blackened gates and saw the eternal flamesbeyond, he heard a voice more terrible thanhis own, which sounded inside his mind.HELLO AGAIN, OLD FRIEND , it said.

The Overlord of the Africo-European

Realm looked down upon the lifeless body,and nodded.Salmonella poisoning, he noted; I did

warn him about those egg sandwiches. Hechuckled. Well, I guess thats it, then:Mortashlok, Mau-Sin, and Darok, all dead! I

didnt think this would happen so soon. TheWorld of Men is now mine! Like wet clay, it ismine to mould as I please!! He laughedagain for a bit, then stopped and thought.

After a moment, he absent-mindedlygestured toward Dennis corpse, and itvanished, reappearing on Dennis throne,back in Los Angeles. The Overlord thought fora moment more, then said to himself:

So what am I going to do with theworld, then? He walked into a nearby room,approached a globe, and spun it around,gazing contemplatively at the sphere as itrotated. Suddenly he stopped it, and smiled.

I think perhaps the first thing on myagenda, said Bob; should be to dosomething about France...

7


62/125

Robert Preston

-----------------

PUBLIC LIBRARY, MUNICH, GERMANY (2076)Hermann Schmidt sat down at a desk

in the dimly lit reference section of theMunich library and clicked an angle-poiselight on, casting a warm yellow glow over his

little study area. Raising one of the volumeshe had brought to the desk with him, he heldit to the light and examined the cover.Seemingly satisfied, he laid it on the deskand opened it up.

Hermann had made it his hobby to do

research into public houses. He enjoyedlooking into the history of pubs, and, of course, visiting them. The volume he waspresently perusing was a record of all thepubs in Germany from the late eighteenthcentury right up until the present day.

As he carefully leafed through the book,however, it began shrinking. Hermann,though, did not notice as the book becamethinner and thinner, pages suddenly notexisting - from Hermanns perspective, eachtime the book changed, it had always beenthat way. History itself was the culprit, forsomeone, somewhere, was altering thepast...

Hermann had once made it a goal of histo memorize the name of every pub in

7


63/125

Germany. As he flicked through the booklet,

however, he saw that there had only everbeen the three that he already knew of. Hefinished the leaflet and sat back in his chair.

Oh well, he thought; Time to find anew hobby, perhaps. He switched off thelight, plunging the desk back into the semi-

darkness of the library, and disappeared intothe gloom of a nearby aisle.----------------

7


64/125

Robert Preston

CHAPTER 6

TEMP-APPS HEADQUARTERS, FORT ARNOLD, IOWA (2076)Karen opened her eyes, and her brows

knitted together in a frown. The wall in frontof her seemed to have a metal rectanglefixed to it, which protruded in front of her atabout head-height.

Strange, she thought in her drowsystate; Why put that there? Peoplell hit theirheads on it.

She was leaning heavily on the wall toher right, and it felt quite cold on her face,which was pressed onto it. She turned herhead to the left and saw a tap at the end of the puzzling metal rectangle, and alsonoticed that the wall off to her left had afluorescent light in it...

Just then, another one of her senseskicked in, and she sat up; the walls slowlybeing recognized as floor and ceiling. Sheshook her head, and re-examined theenigmatic metal pillar with the tap now ontop.

Oh, right, she mumbled; Fountain.She rubbed her eyes and looked up and downthe corridor. Seeing other people movingabout, she also realized that shed been

7


65/125

hearing them for the last minute or so, too.

She frowned again - she wasnt used to hersenses letting her down like this. She shookher head again. Just then, a man in a whitecoat came up to her.

How do you feel? he asked quietly.She was almost fully awake, now, though she

still felt like the morning after somethinginadvisable.Im okay, she replied, unconvincingly.What happened? Everyone was asleep, and Iwas going to get help, and then...Were not sure - theres guys working on it

now, though. Here, drink this, itll help yourecover. He passed her a plastic squeezybottle with a straw in the cap, which wasfilled with a pale orangey liquid. Sheaccepted it and began drinking. The man, his

job done, moved further down the corridorwith a trolley full of the plastic bottles.

Karen stood up, stumbled a little, andshook her head yet again before slowlyheading off down the corridor in anappreciable facsimile of a drunken stagger. Ashort distance down the hallway, she bumpedinto Craig, who was just stumbling out of hisoffice. Karens face lit up.

Craig - youre alright! She rushed upto him as quickly as she could and grabbedan arm.

7


66/125


67/125

have hell to pay.

He pushed the door experimentally - itwas open. Stepping inside, he made his waythrough the gloom to the mark on the floor,and waited again. There was no movement inthe darkness, and the lights did not come onbehind the throne.

Frank couldnt see in the almost blackness,and desperately wanted to; so he went backto the door and, for the first time in the threeyears of Dennis occupancy, he flicked themain light switch. There was a loud hummingfrom several locations overhead, as a dozen

or so of the twenty sodium-vapour lightscame to life with a pale glow. Over the nextminute or so, the lights warmed up and gaveoff their characteristic intense orange light,which amply illuminated the convertedwarehouse.Frank could now see Dennis, who appearedslumped in his throne. He approachedcautiously, and climbed the steps to Dennislevel. The eyes were open, but were a cloudy-grey colour, a neutral, dead shade. There wasno pulse, no breathing, and dried blood andbile caked the chin and mighty neck of thecreature, which was as thick as a tree trunk.

There was also a line across Dennis neck,which Frank was sure hadnt been there lasttime hed seen him...

7


68/125

Robert Preston

Even though all the evidence seemed to

be pointing that way, Frank couldnt beabsolutely sure that Dennis was dead - afterall, the Overlord had displayed some prettyimpressive powers, and Frank suspected thathe hadnt seen all of them. Besides, to reallymake the most of the situation, Frank would

have to make it appear obvious that he hadkilled Dennis himself...He reached down and managed to haul

Dennis massive sword out from his side. He just managed to lift the heavy weapon, onehand supporting the blade. Poking Dennis

horned head, rather gingerly, he was stillsurprised - despite his suspicions - when itslid off of his mighty shoulders with a wetsound and thudded loudly into the floor nextto the throne.

Well, I guess he is dead, then, Frankmuttered. Aiming the giant sword carefully,he pushed the point into Dennis chest andleaned on the handle with all his weight,sinking about half of the five-foot blade intothe black skin.

Just then, another member of the innercircle entered the throne-room.

Frank? Whats going... he paused mid-sentence as he took in the scene before him....on?, he finished. Stepping closer, hestarted again:

7


69/125

What the hell - how did you do this??

Frank calmly drew the sword out again,disguising the effort. The barbs on the bladeripped chunks out of Dennis flesh on the wayout. Holding the weapon by the handle, Franklet it swing down and stood its point on thestep below him, before turning his gaze upon

the other man.If I told you that, Frank said; youdbecome as dangerous as he was, he noddedto the huge, headless corpse; and I wouldkill you. The man just stared at him, an atleast worried look in his eyes. Frank leant

the sword against the throne and steppeddown to the other mans level.Best for you not to know, Frank reassuredhim, patting him gently on the arm.

So, the man continued, after amoment; I guess well be taking our ordersfrom you now, then?I guess so, Frank replied.What are you going to do? Frank paused fora moment, gazing around thoughtfully.

The first thing is to get that body out of here and clean the place up, he said.

An hour later Dennis large body hadbeen unceremoniously dumped from theback of a truck into a nearby disused gravelpit, and no one dared venture an opinionabout what had happened.

7


70/125

Robert Preston

Frank now stood alone in the huge Lair,

and looked around again. His gaze driftedaround the warehouse, and eventually settledon the throne. He walked over to it, and afterclimbing the steps, he turned and sat down. Itseemed to fit him rather well, curiously...

-------------------

TEMP-APPS HEADQUARTERS, FORT ARNOLD, IOWA (2076)Karen was running late for the briefing,

and ran down the bases corridors, gettingdressed on the hoof. Her relaxing bath hadproved a touch too relaxing, and shed dozed

off in the tub. She told herself that it was dueto residual effects from her drugging, andresolved to use that excuse if anyone asked.Sparing only a few seconds to towel herself off, shed jumped into a pair of combattrousers, pulled some boots on and grabbed

a shirt, before bursting out of her quartersand pounding down the corridors, slipping theshirt on and doing the buttons up as shedodged other people on the way down to thebriefing room.

Spotting a stationery trolley, sheskidded to a stop and hunted around thepens and staplers until she found someelastic bands. Taking one, she sped off oncemore.

Arriving at the door to the briefing room,7


71/125

she reached up and bunched her still-damp

hair into a ponytail, before slipping the elasticband on and looping it a couple of times. Shewas also using this time to catch her breath,as she was still panting from her dash downthe corridor. She looked through the glasspanel in the door and saw that everyone was

already seated. Taking a deep breath, shequietly eased the door open and went in.As the door closed, a few heads turned

momentarily. She smiled engagingly, andinched her way between the rows to anempty seat, which was - typically - near the

centre of the room. Turning to face forwards,she saw Colonel Thomas standing at the frontof the room.

When were all quite ready...?, hesaid, looking particularly at Karen.Sorry sir - still groggy, she venturedhopefully, before sitting down. The colonellooked away with the barest trace of a smile.

Which is, of course, what were here totalk about, he said. We believe weveidentified the cause - a chemical agentintroduced to the water supply. Its beinganalysed as we speak, but early testsindicate that it shouldnt cause anypermanent damage. It appears simply tohave been a sedative. Whoever did this-As if we cant guess, someone said, a little

7


72/125

Robert Preston

too loudly.

The penguins? What would they gain from it,though? Even if they launched their attackwhile were out, we can still go back asplanned, someone else countered.Thats right, said Karen, turning in her seat;It doesnt matter when we go back from, its

when we go back to thats important.Excuse me! , the colonel said loudly.Everyone fell silent.This is a briefing, not a damn chat show, hecontinued. However, Finch is correct - itswhen we go back to that matters. We have a

new plan: were going to send a wholeplatoon to Antarctica, to arrive before theirbig launch began - thats right, theyvestarted their big push. Monitoring is nowpicking up masses of activity coming in from

just about everywhere. He paused.Were calling this Operation

Icebreaker, and youre all in on this one, hecontinued. Sergeant Jones here will go intothe details. The colonel stepped aside and,after thanking him, the sergeant outlined themission structure and assigned the squadstheir various duties. This was the big one:finally, theyd found the penguins nervecentre, the launch station itself, and theywere going to take it out once and for all.

It wasnt until the briefing was over and7


73/125

everyone was leaving that one of the girls

told Karen her trousers were undone.---------------

7


74/125

Robert Preston

CHAPTER 7OPERATION ICEBREAKER

ROSS PENINSULA, ANTARCTICA TEMP-APPS had issued them with

arctic camouflage on this trip - for obviousreasons - and Karen was dressed in a thermalsuit which both insulated her from the cold,and masked her infra-red heat signature.

Although only one squad at a time couldfit onto the TDFG pad, the operator (Tony,again) had programmed it so that they allappeared together in the target area at thesame time, and as Karen looked around, shesaw the other squads as they zeroed in onher teams position. The camouflage wasvery good, and she only spotted them whenthey got within forty feet or so. There was a

light snowfall, but nothing serious enough to jeopardize the mission; soon all four squadswere assembled at the rendezvous, abouthalf a mile from the penguin base. Eachsquad was commanded by a sergeant, andthe whole platoon was co-ordinated by a

lieutenant, who was attached to Karenssquad.

Crawling up the face of a largesnowdrift, the lieutenant brought out a pair of

7


75/125

high-tech binoculars and peered through

them towards the west. Most of the penguinsfacility was buried underground, and the parthe could see through the falling snowappeared desolated. He sighed, lowering hisfield glasses. They had very little intelligenceon the base, and he was completely isolated

from his superior officers, (this mission wouldnot even be thought of for another couple of days), and yet he was expected to just strollin there and take their time-displacementequipment off-line. Well, that was why TEMP-APPS officers were the best - they had to get

the job done in these kind of circumstances.And that was why hed volunteered. Hecrawled back down the snowdrift and turnedto the four sergeants.

Okay, he said; Were still go for planAlpha. Jones, Bennett, you take your squadsand drop down the ventilation shafts to thenorthwest. Vickers, you lead your squadstraight through the main entrance to thesouth. Ill go with you, Smithson, and wellenter through the skylights to the west andtake out their TDFG, or equivalent device. Allcomms to channel five, and switch frequencyrotation to pattern C. Got that? Good. Setyour chronometers... now. They all clickedstopwatches on, which would give them areliable, synchronized base to work with. The

7


76/125

Robert Preston

radios automatically rotated their frequencies

every two minutes, to a set pattern - this wasin case the enemy broke in on them andcould listen to their transmissions. Therotation would a) only give the enemy twominutes to find the frequency, and b) if theydid get lucky, itd only give them a maximum

of two minutes listening time.Youre all okay with the carbon guns? thelieutenant asked, to which the four sergeantsnodded. Just remember: go for their chests.

The bullets, made of re-formed carbonisedwood, would have the same effect on the

vampirical penguins as a wooden stake, if driven through their hearts - and they were alot easier to use.

Lets do it!, the lieutenant said, and Jones, Bennett and Vickers trotted off to theirrespective squads. Vickers squad set off first,the ten men melting away into the snowfallat about twenty paces. Jones and Bennettthen left, the twenty men disappearing off ina north-westerly direction, headed for the airvents. Smithson and his squad, with thelieutenant, sat tight and waited.

Plan Alpha involved three squadspenetrating the base and drawing off theenemies defences, leaving a fourth squadfree to enter the base surreptitiously a coupleof minutes later, and (hopefully) have

7


77/125

minimal interruption in their search for, and

subsequent disabling of, the penguins time-travel capability. The explosives experts werewith Karens squad, under Sergeant JohnSmithson; he, Karen, and the other twosquaddies were there to protect them. Thissquad was the only one with an eleventh

member - the lieutenant - and (obviously)they had to protect him as well. Three minutes later, Jones, Bennett and

Vickers all called in to report that their teamswere in position. With a pre-arranged signal,the lieutenant set them off, and kept an eye

on them through his binoculars as theyentered the base. Jones and Bennetts squads jumped one

at a time down the air shafts, whilst Vickersteam simply shot the doors up at the mainentrance and just bundled in there enmasse.

Smithson moved his squad in,penetrating the wire fence and waiting by theskylights. After two minutes of listening tothe other three squads excited commschatter, Smithson radioed the othersergeants to let them know that he was onhis way. Shooting out one of the glass roof panels, his squad attached ropes to the steelframework and rappelled down into a large,seemingly deserted area. The six grunts

7


78/125

Robert Preston

quickly formed a circle around the bomb

experts and the lieutenant, who checked upon Vickers:Vickers, come in. There was the sound

of gunfire and shouting, then:Yes, sir!Hows it going?

Plenty of resistance, so far - theyre stillcoming on strong.Excellent - contact you again later.Yes sir, Vickers out.

Seems to be working, Smithson noted,to which the lieutenant nodded.

Alright, lets move out, he said. Twosquaddies took point, with the sarg and Karenfollowing. Behind them were the fourbombers and the lieutenant, and last of allthe other two soldiers. Together, they left thelarge room theyd dropped into, and madetheir way down a corridor to where theythought the penguins time-displacementequipment was.

This place is huge!, remarked one of the soldiers, as they saw the corridor stretchaway in front of them. Suddenly a door aheadof them opened, and a penguin stepped outand began walking away from them. One of the men next to Karen lined up a shotcarefully and fired. The carbon bulletthumped into the penguins back, ripped

7


79/125


80/125

Robert Preston

Yes sir, over an out. The lieutenant smiled

- Jones nearly always got a scratch. He wasa real leader, he commanded from the front,and his men liked and respected him. Thelieutenant liked him, too - he was a goodofficer, and invaluable on missions like these.

Sir? said a voice. He turned and saw

Sergeant Smithson, who was smiling andpointing at the wall. The lieutenant followedhis finger and saw a sign, which saidTEMPORAL LAUNCH FACILITY and had anarrow beneath it, which was pointing downthe corridor in the opposite direction to the

one they were travelling in. The lieutenantsighed.Typical, he said; a fifty-fifty choice,

and we make the wrong one.At least we know where it is, now, thesergeant observed, still smiling. Thelieutenant smiled, too.Come on, then, he said, and the squadabout-faced and cautiously made their wayback down the corridor.

As they walked past the piles of dustfrom penguins theyd killed earlier, theykicked them, scattering the powder acrossthe floor - the section Q guys had told themthat the vampires could regenerate from theash-state, (though they couldnt explainhow), and Smithson and the others didnt

7


81/125

want that happening behind them.

Sir, come in!, suddenly crackledacross the lieutenants headset.Go ahead, he replied.Vickers here, sir. We think weve found thecontrol room - any instructions?Just trash what you can, Vickers.

I heard that! Over n out!Thats good then, eh? said Karen,whod overheard.Yeah, agreed the lieutenant; With thecontrol centre smashed - as Im sure it willbe, if I know Vickers - and with us, hopefully,

taking out the actual generators, it should putthem out of business for a while.Should do, agreed Smithson.

------------------

General Red -beak stormed from hisoffice into the main control room, after notingthe obvious confusion and excitementtherein.

Whats going on? he barked at Major Yellowbelly, who dumbly pointed at somemonitoring screens which were displayingimages of his troops being shot up byhumans in arctic camouflage gear.What the... where did they come from?Some poured in through the main entrance,and while we were concentrating on them,

7


82/125

Robert Preston

some others got in through the ventilation

shafts. They also seem to have weapons thatcan kill us - and I mean really kill us. Thegeneral stared angrily at the monitors, andtook a moment to consider the situation.

Shit, he concluded.Thats as far as Id got, sir, the major

agreed.Well, seal off this area - we cant have themin here. Well have to- Just then, the doorshook, as someone fired at it from the otherside. They looked at the screens - abouttwenty humans were outside main ops.

Get some troops up here - that doorwont hold for long!, said the general.If it comes down to it, we can escapethrough your office, the major said.I

no hamsters

Documents