Infinity's Gateway, page 10
“How is that even possible? From what? Was there some kind of explosion?”
“No sir. Apparently, Lieutenant Sahir thought the same as you, but Argos immediately confirmed that the energy source was not from any kind of explosion, or ordnance, that we’re familiar with.”
“I don’t understand,” said Fairfax. “You say the energy levels were significantly higher? Something that powerful just can’t materialize and come at us from out of thin air. Was Argos able to pinpoint the source of the energy?”
“At first Argos reported that the Eclipse was right on top of it, whatever it is. Then Argos corrected its initial report, indicating that the source had repositioned, forming up all around them. As to identifying what it was, or what was creating this enormous amount of energy, there were no definitive readings. Not long after that, all communications with Argos went silent. My guess would be that your call with Commander Colton ended at the same time.
“Sir, the Hornets have just arrived at the Eclipse’s last known position,” reported Miller.
“Have they spotted the ship?” asked Fairfax.
“No sir. They’ve made three passes and there is no sign of the Eclipse. It’s dark, so they’re having trouble getting a visual, but they have not been able to pick the ship up on any of their equipment. They’re going to start running a grid pattern to see what they can find.”
Fairfax looked at Ramirez and asked, “Do we have any other ships in the area?”
“At present we have two cruisers en route. Shall I alert the Coast Guard?”
“Yes, immediately,” said Fairfax. “Get everything we have out there. I want that ship found!”
“Miller, contact the Coast Guard,” said Ramirez. “Give them the last known coordinates of the Eclipse and let them know that we have a ship in trouble.” He then turned to Admiral Fairfax. The admiral stood there, staring at one of the large screens in front of him, but Ramirez didn’t think he was seeing it. Nothing in the room now seemed very real.
“Admiral,” said Ramirez, softly. A couple seconds passed before Fairfax acknowledged Ramirez. “I need a word with you sir.”
Fairfax nodded his acceptance and followed Captain Ramirez to a small conference room off to the side. “Would you like some coffee, sir?”
“I’m already having trouble sleeping, Captain. Coffee’s the last thing I need.”
Ramirez gave a grim smile to his commanding officer. “Understood. Have a seat, Admiral. This may take a while.”
“No, I think I need to take this standing up,” said Admiral Fairfax. “If what you’re about to tell me is half as bad as I’ve already guessed, then we’re in trouble. So please, Captain, tell me what you know.”
“There’s no way to paint a good picture on this,” began Ramirez. “Although our analysis is in its preliminary stage, we’re all but certain it’s the same phenomenon that we recorded two months ago. It occurred in practically the same location and data we’ve collected matches up almost identically to what we collected and analyzed the first time.”
“Do we have any guess as to what we are dealing with?”
“There’s been nonstop, detailed analysis taking place on the data ever since we first collected it, as well as the energy readings that Argos took when the Eclipse first arrived on scene. Despite that, we have nothing definitive that we can point to. Everything we collected was fed into Argos. Although I know this is hard to accept, our most probable hypothesis is still the many-worlds theory that was originally suggested,” said Ramirez.
“Your ‘hole in the ocean’ theory,” said Fairfax, fighting to keep his frustration, and especially his temper, reigned in.
“Not really a hole, sir. Think of it as being more of an entrance, or gateway, if you will, into another dimension.”
“You cannot possibly expect us to go to the White House and report to the president, let alone the Joint Chiefs, that we just lost one of our best equipped, most well-armed, black ops ships to a hole in the time fabric. Oh, and by the way, the ship we lost just happens to contain Argos. If we’re lucky we’ll be locked up in an insane asylum without the courtesy of a hearing.”
“As always, sir, I will be proud to accompany you when you give this report. Together we’ll be able to walk them through, in detail, the data that has led us to this conclusion. Data, I might add, that has been confirmed and reinforced by Argos. The results of our research are indisputable.”
“Very brave of you, Captain. Hate to have to drag you down with me.” Fairfax turned and began to pace back and forth, his head bowed in thought. “When the Eclipse arrived on the scene, was the phenomenon still active? Were we still picking up the same data?”
“No sir,” answered Ramirez. “When the Eclipse first arrived, things were all clear, except for traces of the high energy levels that Argos detected. However, those energy levels quickly dissipated.”
“So, to be clear, it seems that we may have two separate events going on in the same area. Coincidence, maybe, but still two separate events. Unless we can prove that the phenomenon and the energy levels are connected, wouldn’t that put a bit of a chink into your many-worlds hypothesis, Captain?”
“As I mentioned earlier, we have continually fed all the data we’ve collected, along with the analysis we’ve completed, into Argos. We’ve been as thorough as possible, but even so, didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. We wanted to see what conclusions Argos would draw from the same material. We also asked Argos if the energy levels could be connected to the phenomenon in any way.”
“And?” demanded Fairfax. His gut told him he wasn’t going to like the answer. The good news, if there was any, was that at least Argos would provide a nonbiased, strong level of credibility to the theory they’d settled in on.
“Argos confirmed our findings. In fact, Argos determined that to open such a gateway, it would take an extreme amount of consistent energy to make it functional. Argos surmised that the energy readings it picked up were probably residual energy traces left over from the initial event. Tonight, the phenomenon and the energy levels reappeared at the same time. There’s no doubt sir, the two events are most definitely tied together.”
A light tapping at the door interrupted them. Ramirez got up and opened it. Miller looked at him and said, “Sir, we have an update for you.”
“What is it Miller,” snapped Admiral Fairfax.
“One of our two cruisers is now on the scene. The captain just reported that they’ve not been able to find anything regarding the Eclipse. We’ve also completed our first pass at the data from the two satellites that recorded the entire event. One moment the Eclipse is there and then it seems to fade from sight.”
“Our birds were able to maintain a visual on the Eclipse?” asked Fairfax, finding that hard to believe.
“Via infrared, yes sir, they were. The Eclipse has a very distinct heat signature,” answered Miller.
“So, what are you saying?” growled Fairfax.
“Sir, we’re not quite sure how to interpret the data we have. I mean, we don’t know if this is good news or bad news, but so far we haven’t been able to find any evidence that the Eclipse was even there,” said Miller.
“Miller, that’s ridiculous,” snapped Fairfax, “I’m in no mood for riddles. The Eclipse was there. We know that. Get to the point.”
“For the Eclipse to have just vanished from our screens like it did, we were expecting the worst. There could be no other explanation. But instead of finding evidence of the Eclipse’s destruction, there’s nothing there. There’s no oil slick, no debris, nothing that would point to something catastrophic having happened. The search is just getting started, but all things considered, we thought this was a rather significant development.”
“Thank you, Miller,” said Captain Ramirez. “Return to your post and keep us informed as soon as you get any other updates.”
Fairfax stayed where he was, staring at Ramirez. “I guess I’m being a little slow on the uptake, but is Miller suggesting that the Eclipse and her crew are okay? I pray to God that’s true, I want it more than anything, but ships that size do not just vanish.”
Ramirez had walked over and picked up the phone on the conference table. “Miller, forward the infrared feeds from the satellites into the conference room.” Ramirez waited for a moment and then said, “Yes, from both satellites. Thank you.”
“What are you looking to find?”
“For the moment, I want to see what Miller and the team saw. For all my years in the navy, I’ve never watched a ship simply vanish.”
Ramirez worked at a rapid pace with the keyboard in front of him. The large monitor in the room lit up. The feed was dated, time stamped, and gave the exact coordinates. The screen was dark except for a cylindrical form that had variations in color ranging from dark orange, to red, to a deep, purplish red. “That would be the Eclipse,” said Ramirez.
“What’s causing the bright red coloration midship?” asked Fairfax.
“The Eclipse is nuclear powered. That would be the reactor you’re seeing.”
The screen suddenly began to brighten, giving the appearance that the waters directly under and around the perimeter of the Eclipse were on fire, glowing with a bright, orange-yellow tone.
“It was an explosion,” muttered Fairfax. “Look at that.”
As the two men watched, captivated by what they were seeing, the light began to expand outward from the Eclipse, growing in brightness and morphing into a tight ring around the ship of nearly pure, white light, speckled with faint traces of pale yellow. The ring of light continued to brighten, growing in strength. The monitor then appeared to blink. The brightness of the ring diminished significantly but held the same white-hot color as it had before.
“What just happened?” asked Fairfax.
“All of our satellites have the capability to take pictures of anything out there, including the sun. To protect the cameras from being damaged, they have filters especially designed to kick in and filter out light if it becomes too strong. One of those lenses just activated.”
“And Argos was measuring all of this?”
“Yes sir. As we discussed, Argos immediately sent the new readings to us and they were impossibly high.”
“How could that be?” While the question may have been somewhat rhetorical, Fairfax would have given anything for an answer.
The light continued to grow, spreading out within the circle, closing in on the Eclipse. Soon the Eclipse was totally enveloped by the light. The infrared signature of the Eclipse could still be seen but was beginning to grow fainter. For a few more seconds everything remained the same. Then it happened. Ramirez and Fairfax watched as the Eclipse slowly faded from view.
Once the ship had completely disappeared, the light that had engulfed it retreated back to the ring that had surrounded the Eclipse. Then it too began to fade and was soon gone. All that was left now was a black screen.
Fairfax dropped down into a chair, continuing to stare at the monitor. “What just happened?” his voice barely above a whisper.
“I don’t know, sir. At this point I can only speculate,” said Ramirez. He, too, was as shocked and numbed as the admiral by what he’d just witnessed.
“Speculate.”
Ramirez cleared his throat. He needed water badly. “My guess, and that’s all this is, is that one of two things happened to the Eclipse. Either that ship, and all aboard, were disintegrated by a powerful explosion, or . . . .” Ramirez stopped; it was too fantastic even for him. To talk about it and theorize was one thing. To actually see it happen brought a chilling reality to him that he wasn’t ready to accept.
“Or what, Captain?”
“Or we just watched one of the finest ships in this man’s navy pass through a portal into another dimension,” answered Ramirez. “May God be with them.”
The gentle rocking of the ship let Colton know that he hadn’t yet left the land of the living. For some reason his eyes were shut and at first, he couldn’t remember where he was. Surprisingly, he was still standing. Upon opening his eyes, he found that he had a death grip on the wall and just as tight of a grip on the navigation console in front of him.
The pain in his head was intense. It kept pounding away, so bad that it felt like his head was getting ready to split down the middle. Colton’s stomach was in equally bad shape, feeling just like it had the day after he’d graduated from SEAL Qualification Training Class 348. But he was alive!
Things had changed, he could feel it, but couldn’t grasp exactly what had changed. Slowly, his mind began to sift through things. The air was thicker, far more humid than it had been, laced with a strong, pungent odor that wasn’t helping his stomach at all. His mind struggled to nail what could be causing this smell, but he just couldn’t identify it. It was then he noticed the chaos around him.
If he’d blacked out, it had only been for a few moments. It was still night. The storm, or whatever that had been, had passed, and the Eclipse now rested in relatively calm waters. MacKay was on the floor, sitting with his back to the helm. There was a small cut above his left eye, the blood having stained his uniform. He, too, was just coming out of it and looked up at Colton. “What happened?”
Although not yet that steady on his own two feet, Colton leaned over and helped MacKay up off the floor. As best as he could tell, everyone on the bridge had sustained some kind of injury. Like him and the captain, the rest of the crew on the bridge were just coming around, all of them acting dazed and disoriented. “I have no idea. One minute we’re about to be wiped out by a monstrous wave and the next thing I know the sea is as calm as a bathtub,” replied Colton.
“My head is killing me,” said MacKay. Reaching up, he gently touched the cut on his forehead, winced, and left it alone. Looking around the bridge, it was easy to see that several of his men had been bounced around. He asked if anyone was seriously injured, but other than some minor cuts and bruises, everyone was okay. Hatfield, the sonar operator, was cradling his left arm. Looking at Colton, MacKay said, “You don’t look so good, Commander.”
“Back at you. But then, you didn’t look all that good when I first came on board,” Colton said, trying to craft a smile. “My head feels like it’s splitting in half.”
Petty Officer Hatfield had ridden the storm out at his station. Somehow, he’d kept himself from being thrown out of his chair, but had nonetheless injured his arm. Although his head throbbed like everyone else’s, and his arm ached terribly, he was distracted by something much more disturbing, something that didn’t make any sense at all. Hatfield’s expression drew Colton’s attention and watched as the young sailor fought one-handed with the various dials and controls in front of him.
“Mr. Mercer, you in one piece?” asked MacKay of his first officer.
“I think so sir, but my head feels like a new recruit returning from his first shore leave. Apparently, my head hit the deck hard, but it doesn’t seem to have broken the skin.”
“Good. It appears we’re all in one piece. Get me status reports from all stations. I’ve no idea what that thing was, but it seems to have left us intact. Find out how many casualties we’ve sustained and get me an update on our operational status. Dr. Severin is going to be a very busy guy over the next several hours.”
“Aye, aye, Skipper,” said Mercer.
Colton walked over to Hatfield and stood behind the young crewman. “Problem, Petty Officer Hatfield?”
The young crewman didn’t take his eyes away from the screens in front of him. “Sir, I’m just not sure. It looks like our sonar, as well as even our navigational controls, are totally hosed.”
“What’s going on?” asked MacKay, joining the two men.
“Sir, I don’t get it. When that wave came at us we were in four thousand feet of water. The readings I’m getting now say that the bottom is only seven hundred feet below us. I don’t see how that’s possible. Could we have been carried by that wave into much shallower water?”
“I rather doubt that,” answered MacKay. “It has to be your instruments. Have you run a system check?”
“Yes sir, twice. I’ve even rebooted the entire system and I keep getting the same readings.”
“Stay with it, Petty Officer Hatfield. Let me know what you find.” Picking up the phone, he entered Sahir’s number. It took several rings before Sahir answered. He didn’t sound good at all. In fact, he sounded as if he was barely hanging on, slight traces of panic evident in his voice. “Mr. Sahir, is everything all right in your area?”
“No sir, I mean, yes sir, my team is okay, although crewman Hightower fell, and it appears may have broken her arm. She’s on her way to sick bay. We have some other minor injuries, but that’s about it,” said Sahir.
“You don’t sound like yourself,” said MacKay. “What’s going on down there?”
“Sir, Argos has completely shut down! That’s never happened before and frankly, sir, it’s not supposed to be able to happen. Ever. Under any circumstances. We’re trying to get it back on line, but something has either destroyed its programing or caused Argos to shut itself down, both of which are nearly impossible scenarios.”
MacKay looked at Colton and said, “You need to hear this. We may have lost Argos.” He put the call on speaker, replacing the phone in its cradle. “How could this happen?”
“If it turns out that something shut Argos down, then, at least for now, I’m as in the dark as you are. There are no external forces out there, at least none we’re aware of, that could accomplish that. As systems go, Argos is as close to being impregnable as you can get.”
“And yet, here we are,” said Colton. “So, if Argos turned itself off, why would it do that?”
“That would only occur under the most extreme circumstances and would be a defensive move if it were to implement such a protocol.”
