Prolouge
05:00am
General Kirk walked down the long corridor to the control room at Project Tic-Toc.
General!" cried Dr. Swain, directing his attention.
"Hello, Raymond. Is everything ready?"
"It took longer than expected to assemble, but it's ready."
"Good, good. Let's see it."
Dr. Raymond Swain led General Kirk to the command center and the Time Tunnel itself which now had a Chinook helicopter within it.
"We had a devil of a time getting it down here," Dr. Swain explained in the otherwise empty room. "Apparently the boys should have paid more attention while taking it apart…"
"So long as it's altogether now," General Kirk reassured him. "Sure you won't come along? It's not too late."
Dr. Swain sighed, "I'm afraid it's a little too late for this old lab boy to join the field team."
General Kirk nodded, and they heard the sound of footsteps as Dr. Ann McGregor came in.
"Hello, all!" She greeted them and sat down at her work station. "The boys are trickling in, better get ready."
General Kirk checked his watch, "You're right, I'd best get changed." He excused himself and quickly disappeared into the shadows.
10,000 feet below the desert, in one of several lockerooms within Project Tic-Toc, roughly a dozen men were changing from their street clothes into khakis and military boots.
"What are these, World War I surplus?" one man groaned, trying to walk in his ill-fitting boots.
"Korea, actually," came the matter-of-fact answer from Doug Phillips.
"Ready for your first trip, Jerry?" Tony Newman asked Jerry, a technician.
"Hm? Oh. Yes, very much," answered Jerry unconvincingly. It was plain to see he was nervous with anticipation.