|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:27 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:35 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:39 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:39 am
 |
|
|
|
CHAPTER ONE
Major Steven O’Niel sat silently on a lavish leather sofa in the spacious central briefing room of the United Federation Space Station Serenity, a top-secret military facility in a desolate sector of space. His ice blue eyes scanned a report of an earlier mission as it scrolled down the screen of the data pad that he held in his bionic hand. Steven sighed and set the data pad aside, “Come on, Jamie.” He muttered under his breath, “You’re late again.”
Seconds later, a woman dressed in a black jumpsuit burst through the lounge’s double doors, her long blonde hair reflecting the white deck lights. “Got a scanner hit!” she exclaimed with a grin, “The B.A.T.’s just confirmed it. We’ve found a Time Crystal!”
The Time Crystals were the experimental super energizers of the TimeSplitters, an evil alien race that is able to travel back in time and rewrite civilization’s history in seconds. The TimeSplitters’ most recent piece of technology, called the “Time Portal”, used the Time Crystals to form its power source. Unfortunately, during a human raid on their base, most of the TimeSplitters escaped, taking with them pieces of the core and hid them throughout mankind’s past and future. After the base was retaken, the Bureau of Advanced Technologies (B.A.T.) set up a top-secret organization at the base with a mission to hunt down and retrieve the Time Crystals from the past and future. So far, they had been unable to locate any Crystals, until now.
“Really? Where?” Steven asked as he bolted off of the sofa.
“The Wild West era.” The woman (a.k.a. Jamie Banes) answered as she moved a strand of hair from in front of her fair-skinned face, “Boss wants us to go in.”
Steven rolled his eyes. “Of course he does.” He said sarcastically as he strode out of the room and towards a nearby armory door. Steven punched in a code on the door’s keyboard and it hissed open, revealing racks of rifles, pistols, boxes of grenades, and suits of armor. He walked inside, grabbed a suit of armor, and started to gear up. Makoto joined him moments later and retrieved her precious sword from its special corner of the armory.
As Steven slid a clip into his favorite X-44 Assault Rifle, his mind rewound to when his first teammate, John Sanders, was alive. Steven and John were on a standard recon mission on the distant jungle planet of Verana when they walked into a TimeSplitter ambush. The blue bolt that morphed out of the jungle missed Steven by inches. John, however, wasn’t so lucky and took the full force of the bolt and ended up ten feet away, dead. Steven never fully recovered emotionally from that day and it wasn’t until a year afterward that his Commanding Officer (C.O.) told him of his new partner, Private First Class Jamie Banes. For the past year and a half, Steven and Makoto went on several missions as teammates and survived many encounters with the TimeSplitters, but never a high priority mission like the one that they were about to embark on.
Steven hastily slipped on his armor and helmet. “Okay,” he said to Jamie, “Let’s go.” Then he walked out of the room and headed for the hangar bay with Jamie close behind. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:40 am
|
|
|
|
CHAPTER TWO
Jamie Banes quickly sheathed her sword in its red leather sheath and followed Steven through the winding corridors towards the hangar bay. Her blood raced through her veins as she thought about the mission that she was about to go on. Jamie mentally forced herself to calm down and to focus on the mission ahead.
A narrow door hissed open and Jamie and Steven entered a huge, 75-foot long hangar bay. Jamie gazed around the bay and her green eyes finally came to rest on a cylindrical, 20-foot long shuttle that seemed to glow and reflect any light that came in contact with it. She whistled in awe and Steven glanced over his shoulder, “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” he asked, “The B.A.T. engineers just developed it. It’s called a T.P.T., or Time Portal Transport, and was designed to fit through the Portal and provide extra mobility and firepower on missions like this.”
Jamie ran her hand across the T.P.T.’s hull, “Feels like glass.” She commented, “Sleek, too. Are we taking it?”
“Yep.”
“Sweet!” Jamie exclaimed as she rushed into the cockpit, “I call shotgun!”
Steven chuckled as he boarded the ship and sat down in the pilot’s seat, “Control, this is Viper One.” Steven said into his COM headset, “We are go for launch.”
“Roger that, Viper One.” The man on the other end replied through the ships speakers, “You are clear to proceed. We will dial up the Portal when you have cleared the bay.”
“Copy that, Control.” Steven said as he gently guided the T.P.T. through the force field and out into space. Jamie watched as a portion of space ahead of them transformed into a purple and blue aurora that expanded slightly like water on paper. The control man’s voice came over the COM once again, “Portal established, Viper One. Good luck.”
“Thanks, Control. Viper out.” Steven replied.
Jamie nervously took a deep breath and settled back in the co-pilot’s seat. Steven gave her a sidelong look, “Ready?”
Jamie nodded, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“I’ll have to cloak the ship once we’re out of the Portal so we don’t attract attention.” Steven said.
“This thing has cloaking technology?” Jamie asked, flabbergasted.
Steven laughed, “Yeah. Along with a bathroom, AM-FM radio, reclining seats, a coffee machine, the works! Don’t even ask me what this ship is worth.”
Jamie smiled, “Wasn’t planning on it.”
Steven pressed a few controls on the dash, “Okay,” he said, “Here we go…” He pulled back on the yoke and the ship jumped forward into the Time Portal. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:41 am
|
|
|
|
CHAPTER THREE
The bright sun greeted Steven and Jamie as they exited the Time Portal’s vortex. Steven immediately cloaked the ship and angled towards the outskirts of a tiny, rural, Western town that was little more than a speck from their high altitude. Steven carefully set the T.P.T. down and shut off the engines. Jamie stood up and walked towards the back of the ship, “General Nadeen told me that our disguises for the mission were back here.” She said as she searched the cargo bay. After banging around for a while, Steven heard her exclaim, “Aha! Here they are!”
Steven joined her and found Jamie staring at an 1853-style dress in disgust, “You have got to be kidding me.” Jamie said in a crestfallen voice, “I go through a full year of brutal boot camp and risk my neck every time we go on a mission just to wind up wearing a dress?”
Steven laughed and grabbed his outfit off of the shelf, “It’s better than nothing, Jamie.” He stated.
Jamie sighed in defeat and grudgingly took the dress and headed for the bathroom, “I’ll be right back.” She said over her shoulder.
Meanwhile, Steven busied himself by taking apart his rifle and testing the antique Garret revolvers that they would primarily use as their weapons. He set down the last revolver just as Jamie opened the bathroom door and stalked out. Steven looked at her with a smirk, “You look nice.”
Jamie glared at him, “Say another word, and you die.”
Steven smiled, shook his head, and went to change. Several minutes later, the two of them walked out of the cloaked ship and onto the dry, sandy ground. As they made their way to the town in the distance, Steven adjusted his burlap knapsack that held his cut down X-44 and fingered the revolver on his hip nervously. All those years of fighting hordes of TimeSplitters gave him somewhat of a sixth sense, and that sense was telling him that something was wrong, very wrong.
Unbeknownst to either Steven or Jamie, a black form peeked out from behind a nearby rock and silently followed them. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:42 am
|
|
|
|
CHAPTER FOUR
The town was deathly quiet as Steven and Jamie walked past the first few buildings. Jamie couldn’t help but give a slight shudder as the wind whistled through the streets, making some of the doors and windows eerily open and close. Steven stopped and held up a hand, “There’s music coming from the saloon.” He said in a low voice. They entered the saloon through the swinging doors and to Jamie, it was like walking into an old western movie. The music that had been playing suddenly stopped and every man in the bar turned towards them. Feeling rather self-conscience, Jamie gave a weak smile and took a seat at the nearest table. “ Well, that was awkward.” She commented when Steven joined her.
Steven nodded, “Yeah. Good old western hospitality.”
A waiter with a scruffy beard walked up to their table, “What can I get ya?” he asked in a heavy Texas drawl.
“A beer, please.” Jamie said.
“I’ll have the same.” Steven agreed, “and I’d like to speak to the owner of this place.”
The waiter frowned, “I don’t reckon that he’ll be up for talkin’, but I’ll tell him anyway.” The man walked away, gave their order to a barhand, and headed towards the back room.
Jamie watched him leave, “How’s asking a bar owner gonna help?” She whispered to Steven.
Before Steven could respond, the barhand appeared next to them and set their drinks on the table. “It looks like he’ll be the only person of authority around here.” Steven said after he took a swig of the beer, “He just seemed like the perfect person to ask about the Time Crystal.”
“Ah.” Jamie said, “I get it. Start from the top and work our way down.”
Steven gave a slight nod as a door near the rear of the saloon swung open and a tall, heavy-set man strode out. “Which one of you nitwits wanted to see me?” he hollered over the commotion of the bar.
Everyone in the bar stopped talking and the music, which had started playing again only minutes before, fell silent once again. Steven stood up, “I did. My friend and I would like to speak to you.”
The bar owner sighed, “Alright. Come on in.” he said as he beckoned to them.
The man’s office was quite small and cramped when Steven and Jamie first walked in. A brown rug lay in the middle of the room and blended in perfectly with the dark brown wood that made up the floor. The bar owner sat down behind the simple chair that was placed behind a small desk on the far left side of the room. The owner leaned forward in the chair and put his thick arms on the desk, “Now tell me,” he began, “What can I do for you folks?”
“We need some information.” Steven told him.
The owner shrugged, “I don’t know how helpful I’ll be, but go ahead, shoot.”
“We’re looking for something that someone in the nearby gold mines might have discovered.” Steven said, “Do you have any records that might make reference to something unusual?”
The man shook his head, “I ain’t heard nothin’ about no unusual findings. You folks are barkin’ up the wrong tree, if you get my meaning.”
“Are you sure?” Jamie questioned.
“Pretty darn sure.” The owner said, “Is there anything else you folks need?”
“No thanks.” Steven said, “Thank you for your time.”
“My pleasure.” Jamie heard the man say as they exited the office.
The orange sun was setting in the west when Steven and Makoto came out of the saloon and onto the dusty street. “He’s definitely hiding something.” Jamie guessed, “The way he didn’t hesitate in his answers was a dead giveaway.”
Steven nodded, “Before we left, I noticed that he had a couple of file boxes near his desk. I have a feeling that he’s got something that we can use.”
“So what’s the plan?” Jamie asked as they made their way back to the ship.
Steven smiled, “Did you bring the ski masks?”
Jamie gave Steven a questioning look, but as Steven’s idea caught on, she smiled mischievously. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:43 am
|
|
|
|
CHAPTER FIVE
It was nearly pitch black by the time Steven and Jamie returned to the town. Now clad in all black, they blended into the inky night. They silently moved towards the now empty saloon and headed for the rear entrance. Steven covered Jamie while she expertly picked the lock on the door, and a few minutes later, they were inside. Steven quickly opened the first file box and sifted through its contents wile Jamie kept watch through the window. “Got it.” Steven said quietly moments later.
“Just in time.” Jamie said, “’Cause we’re about to have company.”
Steven slowly peeked out the window and watched as several bright torches morphed out of the darkness outside. He hastily put the file inside his pack, “Okay, party’s over.” He said as he made for the office door. It suddenly swung open and the bar owner walked in, wielding a revolver. The man’s eyes were glazed over and it seemed that he being directed by some unknown force. He aimed the gun at Steven, “You are not supposed to be here.” He said with a zombie-sounding voice, “You have disturbed the rest of the Olden Ones. You must be terminated.”
Jamie drew her pistol, “I don’t think so, buddy.” She said, and pulled the trigger.
The man fell with a thud. Both Jamie and Steven then ran out of the saloon and almost got shot by incoming bullets. Steven fished out a smoke grenade from his armor, pulled the pin, and tossed it into the street ahead. Smoke immediately began pouring out of the grenade and soon the two of them had suitable cover behind the thick cloud of smoke.
“Phew!” Steven said when they reached the ship, “That was close.”
Jamie tiredly plopped down in the co-pilot’s seat, “Yeah, too close. What’d we get?”
Steven retrieved the file from his pack and leafed through it, “A mining report of some kind.” He read, “It says here that these miners were mining for gold when they discovered a green jewel.”
Jamie pulled off her mask, “Sounds an awful lot like our Time Crystal.” She commented.
“It also mentions that they also uncovered a creature that was buried along with the Crystal,” Steven continued, “and that the creature was still alive.”
Jamie gave Steven an alarmed look, “I think I have a pretty good idea what that is.”
“A TimeSplitter.” Steven concluded, “That would explain what happened in the town earlier.”
“Oh, you mean almost being killed by zombies? How’s that?” Jamie asked.
Steven removed his mask and sat down, “Sometimes,” he explained, “when TimeSplitters, or the Olden Ones as they like to call themselves once in a while, want to protect something, but don’t want to reveal themselves, they brainwash innocent civilians to do their bidding. They’ve done this several times during the war, and the results are often devastating.”
Jamie cringed, “Lovely. Where was this mine by the way?”
“North of the town and up in the mountains.” Steven replied.
“Well, let’s get going.” Jamie said, “I’m starting to miss our own time period already.”
“No argument there.” Steven agreed as he slid into the pilot’s seat.
The T.P.T.’s engines warmed and it took off and accelerated into the night. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:44 am
|
|
|
|
CHAPTER SIX
“Those two should be here any minute now.” 27-year-old Aili Jordan said to herself as she sat silently behind a boulder near the mine, out of sight from the road. She had been waiting there for several hours for those two people that she followed yesterday. Walking back to their ship, Aili overheard them mention something about a “Time Crystal”, and she was sure that something like that would get her a lot of money if she sold it. So she decided to go on ahead of them and meet them at the mine that Aili presumed they were headed for, make them take her to the Crystal, and take it to the nearest salesman.
A slight whine of engines caught Aili’s attention. “Right on time.” She smirked as she watched a ghost-like ripple of the cloaked ship flying by overhead.
“There it is.” Steven said as the entrance to the mine came into view.
Jamie stood up and strapped her sword onto her back as Steven guided the ship into a tiny grove of trees. Once they landed, Steven strode to the rear of the ship, loaded his X-44, and pressed a button on the side of the rear hatch, causing it to lower slowly. Jamie and Steven jumped out and scanned the immediate vicinity. “Clear.” Steven said and motioned for Jamie to move out. She nodded and they both cautiously walked towards the open maw of the mine.
They were five feet away from the entrance when a voice suddenly said, “Hold it right there.”
Steven and Jamie whirled around and found themselves on the receiving ends of two revolvers, held by a brown-haired, five foot-eleven inch female. Jamie slowly put her hands in the air, “Uh…hi.” She said nervously, “Why don’t you just put those guns away, and we can talk this over like civilized people.”
The newcomer smirked, “Not going to happen. I heard you talking about something called a ‘Time Crystal’. You are going to take me to it.” She replied.
“Listen,” Steven spoke up, “this Time Crystal isn’t something that you can keep or sell. It’s part of an alien weapon that our superiors need to rebuild that weapon. If you keep it, the aliens that made the weapon, or the TimeSplitters, will hunt you down, kill you, and take it back. If you sell it, the same thing happens. Either way, you’re signing you own death warrant if you take the Crystal for your own.”
The woman turned to Steven, “I’ll take my chances.”
“The TimeSplitters aren’t something you can face alone, and they will not just forget.” Makoto broke in, “They won’t rest until you, or anyone else that has the Crystal, is either dead or horribly mutilated beyond all recognition.”
“And I’m just supposed to take your word for it?” The woman questioned, raising her guns a bit higher so that they were level with Steven and Jamie’s faces.
“Yes.” Jamie replied matter-of-factly.
The woman faltered for a brief moment before finally lowering her weapons, “I suppose you could be right. If I did take the Crystal and those TimeSplitters do what you say they do, I’ll more than likely never be able to forgive myself.”
Jamie sighed with relief, “Now that’s better.” She stated.
Steven held out his hand, “Name’s Steven O’Niel.” He told the woman, “And this is Jamie Banes.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” The woman said as she shook Steven’s hand.
“And you are?” Jamie asked as she shook the woman’s hand.
“Aili.” She answered, “Aili Jordan.”
“Well, Aili.” Steven said, “We’re kind of tight on time. You can come with us if you want to.”
Aili nodded, “Sure, why not. Got nothing better to do.”
Once Aili joined them, they began their decent into the mine and the darkness that lay beyond. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:45 am
|
|
|
|
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jamie’s detector beeped methodically as the three of them made their way through the dark mine. “Aili,” Jamie said, “If you don’t mind my asking, are you from this time or from another time?”
“I’m from another time.” Aili answered, “I was exploring an undiscovered planet for treasure when I was caught in this strange aurora of some kind. Next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground in the middle of the desert, Once I found out what time period I was in, I figured that there was probably no way back. So I waited for some kind of rescue party so I could go back to my own time.” She chuckled, “You can imagine how lucky I felt to see you guys show up.”
Jamie nodded, “Yeah, I can imagine.” He detector suddenly began beeping faster, “Steven! I think it’s down this corridor.”
They walked down the seemingly endless corridor, only to come to a dead end. “Great.” Jamie muttered, “I hate dead ends.”
Steven strode up to the wall ahead of them and tapped on it with the handle of his combat knife, “It’s hollow.” He informed, “The miners probably walled it up after they found the Crystal.”
Jamie looked around the floor and picked up a two-by-four, “Do you think this’ll work?” she asked.
“It’s better than our fists, I guess.” Steven replied. He took one side of the log and Jamie took the other side. With one giant heave, they swung the log like a battering ram towards the fake wall and it crumbled, forming a hole big enough to crawl through. Steven grinned, “After you, Jamie.”
Grinning excitedly, Jamie crawled through the hole, followed a short time later by Aili. Steven crawled in after them and was instantly bathed in an eerie green glow. There, in the center of the room, hovered the Time Crystal. The faint light from the corridor glinted off of its smooth, green surface as it floated over a five-foot tall, octagonal pedestal. Jamie whistled in awe, “Whoa! That’s some rock.”
“It’s beautiful.” Aili agreed.
Steven shook his head as he removed a containment case from his pack, “As much as I would love to stay here and drool over it, we need to get moving.”
Jamie nodded and snatched the Crystal form the pedestal, “Why do I get the feeling that this was too easy?” she asked as she handed Steven the Crystal.
“I know. I’ve got that feeling too.” Steven answered as he carefully placed the Crystal into the black styrofoam that would prevent the Crystal from being knocked about. Not long after he locked the case shut, an icy-blue bolt came through the fake wall and impacted behind them, scattering rocks and dust in every direction. Aili quickly drew her revolvers, “What was that?” she exclaimed.
Steven slowly peeked out and what he saw filled him with dread. Several slate-gray, six-foot tall aliens with hooked arms were advancing on their position, their mandibles opening and closing, longing for the taste of human flesh. Steven ducked back into the room, “We’ve got four TimeSplitters headed our way.” He said in disgust, “Lock and load.”
Jamie drew her pistol and her sword while Steven caulked his rifle, and prepared to fight for their lives. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:45 am
|
|
|
|
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Okay, here’s the plan,” Steven said as another bolt flew by, “We throw a couple of grenades at them, then make a beeline for the ship while trying not to get shot. Got it?”
Jamie and Aili nodded. Then both Steven and Jamie took a grenade from their belts, pulled the pins, and chucked them down the hall. A flash of light and unearthly screams were seen and heard seconds later. “Their friends might have heard that.” Steven remarked, “Let’s move.” With that, he sprang up and sprinted out of the room.
Jamie and Aili ran after him and later found themselves emerging from the mine and out into the evening sun. “On our six!” Jamie exclaimed. Steven spun around and saw more TimeSplitters making their way down the steep cliff face.
“Jamie! Cover the rear until we get to the ship!” Steven yelled as he peppered another TimeSplitter with the rest of his clip.
Jamie gave a thumbs up sign and continued pouring countless shots into the horde of aliens. If one got too close, she used her sword and hacked them to pieces. Steven sprinted into the T.P.T., set his rifle to full auto, and gave Jamie a hand as she ran at top speed towards the ship. Jamie dove into the cargo hold just as the hatch started closing, breathing heavily. One TimeSplitter attempted to squeeze in after Jamie, but was shot in the head by Aili’s revolver.
Jumping into the pilot’s seat, Steven gunned up the engines and took off, leaving the remaining TimeSplitters in the dust. “Well,” Jamie panted, “That went pretty good, don’t you think?”
“Don’t get your hopes up yet.” Steven warned as he checked the rearview camera, “Great. We’ve got flying ones on our six.”
`”Ugh!” Jamie groaned, “Every pilot’s worse nightmare.”
The skyline rocked back and forth as Steven struggled to avoid the blasts from the TimeSplitter. “Doesn’t this thing have any weapons on it?” Aili asked.
Steven shook his head, “If it did, someone would have told me.”
Aili looked over the controls in front of Steven. After a few moments, she picked a button and pushed it. A mechanical whirr was heard and the computer stated, “Defense turret activated.”
Steven gave Aili an amazed look, “Nice.”
“Thanks.”
“Jamie,” Steven said, “Get up in that turret and keep that TimeSplitter off of our back.
Jamie saluted jokingly, “Aye, Aye, captain.” She said and climbed up that ladder into the turret.
Steven reached out to the center console and activated a few controls. Immediately, the Time Portal’s vortex appeared several yards away. “Control, this is Viper One.” Steven yelled over the rat-a-tat of the defense turret, “We’ve got the package, I repeat, we’ve got the package.”
“We read you, Viper One.” Came the response, “We are deactivating our turbolasers.”
“Negative, Control, negative.” Steven said, “We are under attack by an airborne Splitter. Target it as soon as we exit the Portal, over.”
“Copy that, Viper One.”
“Brace yourselves!” Steven called. He then accelerated into the vortex and in moments, they were back in their own time. Steven maneuvered out of the way just as the base’s turbolasers blasted the following TimeSplitter into dust. Steven breathed a sigh of relief as they entered the hangar bay and floated gently to the floor. Jamie bounded down the ladder, “That was fun!” she exclaimed.
Steven chuckled, “Yeah. It was a good way to pass the time.”
Aili, however, was not so perky, “What’s gonna happen to me now?” she asked.
“Well,” Steven said to her, “I have been begging the B.A.T. to assign another person onto my team.” Jamie cleared her throat, “I mean our team.” Steven said sheepishly, “Anyway, if you want, I think I can convince them to let you stay on and possibly join the team.”
Aili’s face brightened, “Really?”
“Yep.”
She smiled, “When do I start?”
Steven and Jamie laughed as they walked with Aili out of the ship. “You know what?” Jamie said cheerfully, “I think we’re gonna be a great team.” |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:46 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
