Conspiracy: Unseen Things, #14

By Duane L. Martin

With the help of some very close friends in the nathalis intelligence services, Commander Arthwal's investigation into the mystery surrounding the deaths of Alarwyn's parents leads to a revelation that could rock the very foundations of the nathalis political system. Unfortunately, it also leaves him in a position where he must put his career on the line in order to give Alarwyn the justice she deserves.

Also, the hybrids are aging rapidly, and time is running out. In his desperation to save their lives, the colonel turns to Derek and Jarrod for help. Their plan to get the hybrids off the base however hits a snag when an administrator named Wilcox starts throwing some nasty accusations at the colonel, leaving them with no other choice but to expose themselves if they're going to save the lives of both the hybrids, and the colonel as well.

Finally, when Tina, Sarah, and Jarrod kidnap Heather from the house in Scotland so they can take her out on a little adventure to a random dimension, they thought they were going to end up someplace exotic, or maybe even run into yet another strange species that they'd get to document and study. Unfortunately, the random dimension they happened to choose didn't provide them with any of that. Instead, they find themselves in a parallel dimension, standing in the living room of their old house while they try to have a conversation with a parallel version of Patricia, who has no idea who any of them even are.

Conspiracy is book 14 of the Unseen Things series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Duane L. Martin
• Release date: Nov 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9780991612581

Duane L. Martin

An avid reader since he first discovered the Hardy Boys books in the second grade, Duane L. Martin spent years being educated by some truly great authors. In 2013, after years of dreaming about writing a novel of his own, he finally hit upon a story idea that would ultimately turn into the 22 book Unseen Things series. Currently, aside from the series, he's also published two standalone novels. Cindy's Story, which is a humorous private investigator novel, and a superhero story called The Accidental Hero, which is both humorous, and quite dark at times. Aside from his writing, Duane is also a musician. He took his first bass guitar lesson in 1987 and has been playing bass ever since. He also plays some guitar, and a little keyboard and some percussion as well, with a particular focus on hand drums. As he's always been a great lover of music, he often has it playing quietly in the background while he writes. Born and raised in Northern California, he would later move to Idaho, where he lives the quiet life of a relative hermit with his wife Sharon, and their two dogs.

Book preview

Chapter 1

All right colonel, I'm gonna keep this link open with you while you head back to the base.  Just before you meet up with whoever you need to talk to, you let me know, and I'll start looking through your eyes so I can get a good look at him.  That'll make it easier for me to link with him and take care of everything, Derek thought.

You can do that?  I mean, you can look through my eyes?

Yeah, I can.  I could make you shit your pants too if I wanted.  Wanna see?

Please don't.  We don't have time for that, the colonel thought as he got into his SUV and started the engine.

I was just kiddin'.  I couldn't...well...actually yeah, I guess I could.  I never really thought about it before.  Oh man, we're gonna have some fun with that later, Derek thought to him with a great deal of amusement.

Yeah well, we can deal with your scat fetish some other time.  Right now we gotta get those hybrids taken care of.

So, who are we gonna be talking to? Derek asked.

His name is Wilcox.  He's not military...or at least, if he used to be, he's not anymore.  I doubt that's his real name either, but it's the name he uses.  I honestly don't know how he got mixed up in this whole thing at such a high level, but he's one of the two higher ups there at the base that calls the shots on stuff like this, the colonel thought.

What kind of a guy is he?

He's not overly personable.  He's one of those people that's all business.  He doesn't give a fuck if you've had a bad day, or what your golf score is.  All he wants to know is what you've got to report, and then if he's got anything to say to you after that, he'll say it.  If not, then you're dismissed, and that's the end of the conversation.

What are the odds that he'll give you the authorization without my having to do anything to him? Derek asked.

I honestly don't know.  Like I said, he's not very personable, so it's kinda hard to get a read on him.  If he cares whether they live or die, then he'll probably authorize it.  Then again, he may see it as an unnecessary risk of exposure, so it's kinda hard to say.

All right, we'll try it the normal way first, but if it turns into a big discussion, or it looks like he's gonna turn you down, then I'll just do my thing on him to speed things along.

Ok, sounds good.  I'll be back at the base in about ten minutes, and then it'll take me another ten minutes or so to get inside and get down to his office.

What if he's not there? Derek asked.

Then I'll leave him a note and take 'em anyway, the colonel said.  I'm not lettin' those folks die just because he wasn't at his desk.

Aren't you gonna get in some deep, serious shit for that?

Probably, but you know what?  I don't care.  I've spent my life lying to people and making 'em feel like they were crazy for claiming to see the things they'd reported seeing.  Do you have any idea what it feels like to have to do that to people?  I joined this whole thing for what I thought were good reasons, but if they're so jaded that they'd let three innocent people die just to avoid a practically non-existent risk of exposure, then to hell with all of it.  I might just end up retiring sooner than expected.

Do you have anyone you could trust on the inside that we could use as a point of contact if you do? Derek asked.

Yeah, there's a few options actually, but I have one guy in particular in mind.

Well then, don't worry about it.  If things go south on us, then you can just disappear for a while, and then after you've had the serum and we've trained you, you can link with someone like I'm doing with you right now, and make whatever arrangements you need to make.

Serum? the colonel asked.

Oh...shit.  Well, I guess it doesn't matter now, so you might as well know.  We get our abilities through an injection that you get one time, and then it's self-perpetuating.  It's something the zeth came up with originally, but Charles and Richard modified it, and their modifications are what gave us all these abilities.

Hmmm, interesting.  In any case, we'll just have to see what happens.  Hopefully it won't come to that.  It'll be a lot cleaner for everyone if I can just retire the legit way and be done with it.  At least then they wouldn't be coming to look for me.  If I just disappear all of a sudden, they gonna have an all-out manhunt goin' on.  Not because they care about me, but because of what I know.

You know...they wouldn't find anything if you just disappeared completely, Derek thought.

What do you mean?

Well, if it came to it, we could just acquire some donor DNA and change you into someone else entirely.  At least, physically anyway.  You can't find what doesn't exist, right?

I don't know Derek.  Things would have to get pretty desperate for me to resort to something like that.

Hey...just throwin' out options.  You know, Jarrod and I were having a discussion the other night, and we were kinda talkin' about exposing ourselves someday, and what it'd be like if we did.

Exposing yourselves?  You mean like to the government, or the population in general? the colonel asked.

Yeah well, we were kinda goofin' on the idea of putting on superhero outfits, and flying ourselves into the middle of town so we could put on a little show.  You know, plasma balls, lightning bolts, and all that kind of stuff.

Yeah, I'm sure that'd go over well, the colonel thought.

Yeah, I know.  We were just jokin' around about that part of it, but the part about exposing ourselves was actually serious.  I mean, there may come a day where we have to.  What do you think the government would do if they knew about us?

Honestly, it's hard to say.  It could be anything from trying to establish friendly relations with you, to trying to capture or kill every last one of you.  I guess it all depends on who gets involved, and who's making the decisions.

You know, it wouldn't work out well for 'em if they tried to hurt us, or anyone we cared about.  I mean, they could drop a nuke right over the house, and we'd just shield ourselves from it and send the radiation back out into space so it wouldn't hurt anyone.  See, that's why we never wanted to risk exposing ourselves, and why I was so firm in telling you how our relationship was gonna be when you first showed up at the house.  We don't know who to trust from the outside.

"Believe me Derek, I understand.  If I'm being honest, I don't really know who to trust sometimes either.  I will tell you this though.  When I found out what you all were capable of...I was kinda scared.  No, I wasn't just kinda scared.  I was scared shitless.  Then, after you had me over for that first barbecue and I got to know you all a whole lot better, I wasn't really scared anymore.  The thing is, you can't have the whole government over for a barbecue.  If they knew about you and your abilities, they'd be scared shitless too, and I can pretty much guarantee they'd see you guys as a potential threat.  I mean, what do you do with the school bully?  You either make friends with him so he leaves you alone, or you beat the shit out of him in hopes of achieving the same result.  I think if they knew about you guys, it'd end up either being one way or the other.  The problem is, there's really no way of predicting which way it would go."

Sucks that things have to be that way.

Yeah, it does.  I guess you could make it simpler if you were to just have a sit down with some of the higher ups and introduce yourselves formally, but even then I don't think it'd be all that great of an idea.

Yeah well...oh my god!  What the fuck? Derek though suddenly.

What? the colonel asked.  Derek's sudden outburst into his mind caused him to swerve on the road, and he had to quickly correct himself.

Just a sec, he thought.

Ground control to Major Tom...brrrawk!

Hey, Patty.  I think you lost something! Derek shouted as he reached up to where Squawks had just landed on his head, and got him to jump up onto his arm instead.

Shit.  Sorry about that.  Brian opened the door while I was cleaning his cage, and he flew out, she said apologetically as she came trotting into the living room.

It's ok.  Why don't you just let him fly around for a while to get some exercise?

All right.  Just make sure no one leaves any doors open.

Ok, no prob.  Here ya go little fella, Derek said as he put his arm down onto the coffee table so Squawks could hop off.  I'll keep an eye on him.  Just come get him whenever you're done.

Thanks, I really appreciate it.  I hope he didn't interrupt anything, she said.

Nah.  He's not even at the base yet.  He should be gettin' there in the next couple of minutes though.

Well, tell him I said good luck, she said as she turned and headed off back down the hallway.

I will, Derek called back over his shoulder.  Hey, Patty said to wish you luck.

What happened? the colonel asked.

Her parrot Squawks got out of her room while she was cleaning his cage.  He came flying in here, landed on my head, and then started singing that David Bowie song about Major Tom.

Oh jeez.  You know, it's really weird.

What's weird? Derek asked.

You guys.  You literally have the power to wipe out entire civilizations, and then something like that happens, and it's all just so normal and ridiculous.

Yeah, that's us in a nutshell.  Normal and ridiculous, Derek thought with some amusement.

I'm serious.  If I didn't know you guys were the kind of people you are, I'd be scared to death of you.  The thing is, you're all just so totally normal.  How do you manage to stay that way?

I don't know.  I guess it's all just a matter of being a good person to start with.  That's not something you lose if it's always been a part of you.

Yeah, and I guess it's not something you lose as long as there's no one forcing you to lose it.  You'd be surprised what some people are capable of turning into if they're pushed far enough, the colonel thought.

No, I wouldn't be actually.  That was something else that Jarrod and I were discussing.

What's that?

The fact that there may come a day where humanity's just not worth caring about anymore, and how we'll need to find ourselves a new place to live if that day should ever come.

You guys could change all that you know.  You have the power to do it, the colonel thought.

Yeah, we probably could.  We could kill all the bad guys with a simple thought, and then blank everyone in the world and give 'em an impulse to be good to one another, but what would really be gained from that?  It'd all just be fake, and it's not like we can just blank every baby right out of the womb and fix them too.  Over the years, the world would just start turning bad again.  Humanity has to change itself, and the only way that's gonna happen is for things to get so bad for 'em that they actually want to change.  It's sort of like with Tina's mom.

Tina's mom?  You mean Barbara?

No, her biological mom that ran out on her and Billy when she was six.  She was a hardcore alcoholic for most of her life, but just recently she hit rock bottom and got help for her addiction.  Now she's trying to stay sober, and she even wrote Tina an e-mail to apologize to her for everything she's done.  I think that's what it's gonna take to straighten the world out in a way that's actually meaningful.  Things are just gonna have to hit rock bottom before people start waking up.

Jeez Derek, are you always this cheerful?

Nah.  You just caught me on a good day.

Man, if this is a good day, I'd hate to see you on a bad one.  Hey, I'm just pullin' up to the main security gate.  Hang on a sec...

No problem.

Colonel, one of the heavily armed guards said as he pulled up.  Wilcox would like to see you.  He asked that you meet him down in the medical section.

Well, that's a coincidence.  I was just on my way to see him, the colonel said while the other guard opened the back of his SUV to check for intruders, and then got down and checked the underside of the vehicle as well.

All clear, the guard said as he got back to his feet.  The first guard opened the gate, and then they both saluted the colonel before he went inside.

That's gonna be a problem on the way out, he thought to Derek.  They're gonna check the vehicle.

Don't worry about it.  I can always just make 'em not see the hybrids.

"Yeah, I forgot.  There's not much you can't do, is there?"

Apparently.  Still, it's pretty fun figuring out new stuff, and new ways of using the stuff we already know.

"All right, I'm parking now.  Once I'm inside, I'll need to go through three security checkpoints and a retinal scanner before I get to the elevator that'll take me down to the medical lab."

All right, no prob, Derek thought, and then he went silent while the colonel made his way through security.

Here ya go, Jarrod said as he sat down on the couch next to Derek and handed him a bottle of water.  How's it goin'?

Hey, thanks bro.  He's just goin' through all the security and stuff now.  Apparently this guy Wilcox that he needed to talk to is already waitin' to talk to him down in the medical section.

Oh Yeah?  I wonder why?  Hey Squawks, Jarrod said as he reached out and stroked his feathers a few times.

No clue.  I guess we'll find out in a bit here, Derek said as he opened the bottle, took a long drink, and then let out a heavy sigh.

Something wrong man?

I don't know.  I was just kinda tellin' him about what we were talking about.  You know, that whole thing about exposing ourselves, and he basically thinks the government would either try to kill us, or to make friends with us because they'd be afraid of what we could do to them.

Which is pretty much how we figured it'd be all along.  Why's that got you upset? Jarrod asked.

I'm not upset.  I'm just...I don't know.  Depressed?  No, not depressed.  Disappointed?  Yeah, I guess that's a better word.

Disappointed in what?  The government, or the world in general?

Well, like this thing with the colonel for example.  He has to talk to this guy Wilcox, and he's not sure if he's gonna get the authorization to take the hybrids off the base or not.  So he's tellin' me that, and I'm sittin' here thinking to myself, what kind of an ass hole would let three innocent people die just to keep a secret that wouldn't be exposed anyway?  I know there's still some good people out there, but when the world is run by people like that behind the scenes, it really just makes you wonder how things are gonna end up.

Well, look at the bright side.  Maybe he won't deny him.  You don't know for sure one way or the other yet, Jarrod said.

We'll find out soon enough I guess.  He's on the elevator now, on his way down to the medical section.

So, what if he does deny him?  What then?

I'm supposed to blank him and make him give the authorization.

Supposed to..., Jarrod said, looking at him suspiciously.

I don't know.  We'll see what kind of a guy he is first, and then I'll decide what to do from there.

All right man, whatever you decide, you know I'll back you up on it.

I know you will bro.  You always do, Derek said as he shot him an appreciative look.  Damn, how the fuck far underground is this place?  He's been on that elevator for a hell of a long time now.

Makes our new storage facilities look pretty shallow, huh? Jarrod asked.

Man, no kiddin'.  Oh, hey.  It just stopped.  Just a sec, I'm gonna start lookin' through his eyes.

Ok man, tell me what you see.

All right.  He's off the elevator now.  There's a big, main area full of medical equipment, and it looks like it's sealed off from the surrounding area.  I think it's one of those clean room type of things where it's all sealed to prevent anything bad from gettin' in or out.  There's a couple of guards by the door.  He just exchanged salutes with them, and now he's walking down this walkway to his right.  It looks like the walls are lined with hospital rooms, and then every so often there's like a nursing station or something where they keep different medical supplies.

Is he looking in the rooms at all? Jarrod asked.

No, not really.  Not the ones he's passing anyway.  He's mostly just looking at this one area in particular that looks like it's bigger than one of the normal rooms.

That must be where they've got the hybrids.

Hey colonel, is that where the hybrids are?  That room you keep looking at? Derek thought to him.

Oh, you're looking through my eyes now?  Yeah, it is.  See that guy in the suit over there talking on his cell phone?  The one that looks like he's got a half a dozen sticks shoved firmly up his ass?  That's Wilcox.

Yeah, that's a good description of him all right, Derek said.  That guy looks uptight as all hell.

Let's just say he's never invited me to a barbecue, the colonel thought back to him.  Anyway, you ready for this?

Yeah, I'm ready, Derek thought.  "He's gonna talk to that Wilcox guy right now bro, and that is the room with the hybrids he was lookin' at."

Oh, ok.  Cool, Jarrod said as he reached out to pet Squawks again.

All right ya little shit.  You got a nice clean cage now.  Let's get you back so we don't have you flying out the door when someone comes walking in, Patricia said as she came to retrieve her pet.

You should bring him to hang out with us more often, Jarrod said as she picked Squawks up on her arm.

I thought he annoyed you with all the singing.  Well, that...plus all the dirty sex talk he picked up, Patricia said.

Yeah well, the sex talk is pretty funny actually.  I don't know.  I just think it'd be cool if you brought him out more, that's all.

Ok, I'll start doing that after things get settled down a bit.  Is everything goin' ok with the colonel?

Yeah, he's just about to talk to the guy now, Jarrod said.

Oh, all right.  Well, I'll leave you to it then.  Hope it all goes ok, she said as she took Squawks and headed back to her room.

I have no doubt it'll go ok for the colonel.  Not so sure about Wilcox though, Jarrod said quietly as he looked back over at Derek.  He talking to him yet?

Yeah, hang on bro...

Morgan out at the gate said you wanted to speak to me? the colonel said after Wilcox ended his call.

Yes.  Where have you been?

I was off base.  Why?

I know you were off base.  That's why I asked where you've been, he said tersely.

I was making contact with my people to find out if they could help with the hybrid situation, the colonel said, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy about the direction their conversation seemed to be heading.

And that's all you were doing?

Yeah, why?  What do you think I was doing?

I don't know colonel.  You've made several trips off base where you seem to stop in unusual locations for various lengths of time.  Can you explain that?

I stop when I need to make contact with them, the colonel said.

So you say.  How do we know these people even exist?  How do we know that you're not in contact with someone else entirely? Wilcox asked.

Are you questioning my loyalty?  You think I'm selling secrets or something? the colonel asked with a sudden flash of anger.

I didn't say that.  You did.  You got something gnawing on your conscience colonel?

Look, I've been in frequent contact with them because we've been sharing information back and forth about different things.  These people saved the whole damn planet from being destroyed for Christ's sake, and you're honestly gonna sit here questioning my contact with them? he asked angrily.

Again colonel, all we have is your word on that.  Your contact with them in the past was both limited and indirect at best, and now all of a sudden it seems as though you're disappearing quite often for various lengths of time, during which you say you're in direct contact with them.

Well, things have changed.  Look, we don't have time for this.  They can save the hybrids, but I need to take 'em off base with me so they can be treated.  They're gettin' older by the second, so if you don't let me get 'em outta here right now, then they're all probably gonna be dead by the morning.

You expect me to allow you to just hand over three hybrids to these people we know virtually nothing about?  Out of the question! Wilcox said firmly.

So you're gonna let those poor folks die just because you don't know who's gonna be treating 'em?  The fuck kind of a monster are you? the colonel demanded.

The kind with a job to do, and I'll remind you of your place here colonel, or do you no longer wish to serve in the program?  Perhaps you'd like to go and join your new friends instead?

You know what Wilcox, that's soundin' better and better all the time, but right now there's more at stake than this program, or all the bullshit secrets it keeps.

Oh, well then...by all means, why don't you just take them and go?  Parade 'em down main street in every town you come across, and then we'll throw 'em a big ol' coming out party.

It's not like that Wilcox, and you know it.  These people are discreet, and they've got the ability to save their lives and make 'em young again, the colonel said.

And how will they manage that little feat? Wilcox asked.

They won't tell me, and I don't care.  It's their secret to keep, just like we've got our secrets.  The point is, they can save their lives if you'll just let me take 'em out of here, and then as soon as they're treated I'll bring 'em back home again.

And what if they were to get treated, and then just happened to escape?  No colonel, it's out of the question.  They've lived on this base, and this is where they'll..., he started to say, but before he could finish, a portal flashed open next to him, and Derek and Jarrod stepped through it.

We don't have time for this shit, Derek said as he cocked his arm back and punched Wilcox so hard that he slammed into the wall and fell unconscious.

Derek!  What the hell are you doing? the colonel asked, his eyes wide with shock as the alarms started blaring and every guard in the place came running.

Saving their lives colonel, and you know what?  From the sounds of it, we might just be saving yours too.  Now, help us get 'em in the portal, Derek said as Jarrod ran into the room, blanked the medical staff, and then picked up one of the hybrids."

Stand down, now! one of the guards shouted as he arrived on the scene and pointed his gun at Jarrod.  Suddenly, the gun went flying out of his hands, and he shot to the side, slamming into the wall hard enough to knock him senseless.  Derek stepped in and grabbed another one of the hybrids and was carrying him to the portal when more guards showed up.

Better blank all the guards on this level bro, just so we don't have to worry about it.

Don't worry, I just did, Jarrod said as he helped the hybrid he'd been carrying into the portal.

Get the third one colonel, and then come with us, Derek said.  Don't worry about the guards.  We're not gonna hurt anyone.  We've got all the cameras covered, and we'll make everyone on this floor forget what happened before we go.

Derek I...

Colonel, it's decision time.  You can save these guys and come with us, or you can stay here and work for this ass hole, and probably end up dead or in prison.  It's up to you.

All right, I'm coming, he said as he ran into the room, grabbed the third hybrid, and carried her over to Jarrod, who gently helped her into the portal.  What about Wilcox?

He can live or die.  It's your decision, but make it quick.  Remember what we were talking about earlier though...about ass holes like this running things from the shadows, Derek said.  The colonel looked down at Wilcox who was just starting to wake up, and hesitated for a moment.  When Wilcox opened his eyes and looked up at the three of them however, the time had indeed come to make a decision.

Kill him, and then let's get the hell outta here.  I guess today's the day I retire.

All right, Derek said as he looked down at Wilcox, whose head suddenly twisted around and bent at an odd angle as his neck snapped.  Let's get his body into the portal too.  We'll dump him in the insect dimension after we drop the hybrids off in the lab.  Bro, take care of the memory wipe for us.

I'm on it.  Go ahead and get in.  I'll take care of everything.

Come on colonel.  We're goin' home, Derek said as he put his hand on the colonel's back and pushed him gently into the portal.  Once they were inside, Jarrod remote viewed the security people who were watching the security cameras, and then blanked them all.  He then left them with an impulse destroy all of the surveillance footage that was taken that day.  Once that was done, he turned his attention to everyone he'd blanked in the medical section and wiped their memories before he stepped into the portal with the others and disappeared.

As soon as they were back at the house, they got the hybrids up to the lab as quickly as they could without hurting them.  They were frail and weak, and would have been lucky to have lived for another twenty-four hours at the most.  Charles and Richard blanked them, and then had them all lie down so they could start the preparations for the transformation without delay.

Don't worry colonel, we'll take care of everything, Richard said, thinking that the look on the colonel's face had to do with his concern for the hybrids.

Yeah, I know you will.  I just hope it all turns out ok, because saving their lives just cost me mine.

I'm sorry? Richard asked.

Colonel, why don't we go downstairs and have a drink, so they can get on with things here? Jarrod suggested.

Yeah, I could use one right about now, he said as the three of them stepped out of the lab.

Once they got downstairs, Jarrod got them three glasses of reptilian booze, and then they all sat down in the living room together.

You ok colonel? Derek asked.

Heh...  I'm not sure yet.

What do you mean?

I guess I just sorta figured out that all the lies I've been tellin' people over the years...well, it wasn't just them I was lying to.  I was lying to myself that I was actually doing something good for the world, but now I see that's just not the case.  Wilcox didn't give two shits about whether those poor folks up there lived or died.  I knew the man was cold, but I never pegged him as being someone who was that utterly callous.  The thing is, I spent most of my life doing everything that ass hole and the others told me to do.  I had no life of my own.  I was just a peon in this little conspiracy to keep the world ignorant about what was really going on around 'em.

You really think it's so bad to keep that secret? Jarrod asked.  You do realize what all the ignorant ass holes of the world would do if they suddenly found out there were aliens visiting us, don't you?

Yeah, I know, but it goes deeper than that.  For these guys, it's almost like a religion to keep this secret.  You know, a while back I worked with a guy named Davies.  He started not feelin' all that right about what we were doin', so he went to ask Wilcox for a transfer.  That was the last I ever saw of him.  Wilcox told me his transfer got approved, and he left while I was out on an investigation.  Knowing what I know now though, I'm pretty sure they killed him.  I never heard from him again, and this was a guy that I'd worked with for years.  We were friends, and then all of a sudden he was just gone.  I mean, I always thought he was just the cold, administrator type, but after what he accused me of today, and his total lack of concern for the lives of those folks upstairs...

Bro, go get the serum please.

Ok, be right back.

You sure about this colonel? Derek asked.  "You could go back you know.  We'd just have to get your car out of there, and then make the appropriate people remove all trace of your presence."

Go back to what?  Go back to working for people whose secrets are more important than people's lives?

Do you know how to contact the friendlies? Derek asked.

Yeah, but we won't have access to the satellite we were using to get the signal out.

You know the frequency and everything though, right?

Yeah.

Ok, that shouldn't be a problem then.  I'm sure Charles and Richard can rig us up a way to contact 'em if we should ever need to.  What about someone else on the inside?  Do you know anyone who could feed us information if something bad happens?

Major Rickman.  He was kinda who I had in mind to pass things off to when I left.  He's a good man, and an honest one too.

Can you contact him at some point without anyone finding out about it?

Well, I guess I'll be able to do that linking thing after you guys teach me how to do it.  So, yeah...

Oh, right.  Duh..., Derek said with a grin.

Here ya go colonel, Jarrod said as he came walking back into the living room with a syringe full of blue serum.

So this is what makes the magic, huh?

Yep.  It was originally developed by the zeths.  Charles and Richard stole some when they escaped, but it wasn't until like a few decades ago that our tech here in this dimension finally reached a point to where they could reproduce it.  A while back they developed what we call version two, which is what gave us all the extra abilities, Jarrod explained.  Now, just roll up your sleeve, and stick your arm out here.

Hey guys!  Everything go...  Uhhh...   Why's there a dead body in the living room? Tina asked as she and Sarah came walking in from the hallway.

That's Wilcox.  He's an ass hole.  Totally deserved it, Derek said matter-of-factly as Jarrod stuck the needle in the colonel's arm and depressed the plunger.

Yeah well, I guess it doesn't matter what it says on his mailbox anymore.  The question is, what's he doing here?

He's waiting for you guys to drop him off in the insect dimension, Derek said with a grin.

Oh gee, thanks.  I see the colonel's joining up.  I take it things didn't go so well, and that's why this guy's lying here? Sarah asked.

Yeah, somethin' like that.  Sweetie, would you see if you can borrow some clothes from Billy to tide him over for a couple of days?  We're gonna have to go shopping tomorrow and pick him up a whole new wardrobe.  We had to leave all of his stuff back at the base, so he's basically gonna be starting from scratch.

Ok, no problem.  You know, we should contact the mob and see if they'll pay us to dispose of their bodies for them, Tina said with an amused look as a portal opened up next to her.

"Either that, or we could just become cannibals, and dispose of the bodies that way.  Our motto could be, You kill 'em, we grill 'em," Sarah said.

Wouldn't be the worst thing we've ever eaten, that's for sure.  Ok, you get his shoulders, Tina said as they picked up the body.

Ewww!  What'd you guys do to him?  His head's floppin' around all over the place, Sarah said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Ok miss rip someone's arm off and use it to beat someone else to death," Derek said, grinning at her obnoxiously.

Yeah ok, fair enough.  Let's go, she said with a laugh as she and Tina carried the body into the portal and disappeared.

"All right, that's it colonel.  You're one of us now, or you will be in thirty-six hours when the serum takes full effect.  You'll start getting younger too, but that'll happen over the course of the next week or so.  I figure you should probably just lie low for now and hang around the house until then.  If they go looking for you, they'll be looking for the old you, not the young you.  I think your hair's gonna grow out pretty fast too while