Simon caught the expression. He looked towards the screen and read through it. "What's the matter?"
Khalon pointed to a paragraph. "Read here."
It read:
Earth time September 07 1989.
Allo has mysteriously disappeared again. That fool. I should have never trusted him. Well I don't care about him anymore. We'll be leaving soon shortly and I'll be gone from this forsaken outpost...
Simon skimmed down to the paragraph Khalon pointed to.
...We've all agreed to keep silent about the Secret Scout incident. We just want to get home and get out of any attention it sounds like we've been getting back home. Home? No, it doesn't sound like home anymore. Things have changed a lot since before and during the War...
Khalon placed both hands on the sides of the keyboard and sighed. "I'm going to have to do more reading..." He rubbed his eyes and stood up straight. "After I get some sleep."
Simon looked off at the other equipment. "Yeah, and after we get some food. We've traveled for about, what, seven or so hours? I'm starved!"
"Yeah. Let's check to see if they've got any rations left."
"You mean, dry, crusty break-like substance with nasty tasty paste?"
"I dunno. Rations have changed over the years."
They approached one of the doors next to the door leading to the power room. Khalon pressed two fingers against the door and it opened. Since the door was so close to the other two it fitted into a slot carved into the wall inside the walkway. The two entered and were soon into a storage room. Several sealed metal containers lied on the bottom of a shelf while a few weapons of some sorts lay in empty racks. A few pistols, and a single rifle. On some shelf in the middle of the room was a piece of some equipment. Khalon's attention went to the metal containers. One was slid out and onto the cold tiled floor, and the plastic straps were undone with his boot knife. "Here we go..." He opened the container and handed Simon a large package.
"Is this it?"
"Yep." Khalon picked one out and tore it open. He sniffed the packaging. "Eh. Better than nothing."
Simon opened the package just like Khalon did. He took out a smaller package of squareish proportions and opened it up. Some type of crackers. His stomach caught up with his mind, and he devoured them. "Dry and somewhat stale, but better than nothin'."
Khalon began to tear on some type of beef jerky from the package. "Yeup."
After their meager 'dinner', Simon went out to explore Lavadome Two while Khalon read the logs. One of the doors opposite the power and storage room eventually ended up in some kind of hanger. The hallway went deep into the mountain away from the main room. The hanger was surprisingly large for being just inside some line of mountains.
The far end of the hangar contained two large craft. One was sleek and very aerodynamic while the other was more angular. Tucked in the corner were a few small one-seater crafts that resembled motorcycles, except they did not have any wheels. Simon sat down on one that caught his eye. He grinned widely over the new finding. He presumably began to test different buttons on the bike until one made it whine to life. A small ergonomic screen, tucked under the front plexiglass shield, lighted to life. The screen displayed various gauges.
"Full tank?" He questioned to himself. His eyes trailed over the sides and rear of the bike. A thick power cord ran from the rear of the bike to a power supply on the wall. A green light was blinking on it while a red one remained unlit. "Couldn't have been on all these years. Sucker must charge quick."
Down the hall and in the Main Room, Khalon was busy reading logs. All of them except for the last one apparently were written by Teryx. A claw pressed the old creaky button and a log popped up on the dusty screen.
November 15th, 1988
The weather is bitterly cold outside; activities were confided to inside Lavadome II. Not much activity spotted from the Tyrranos. Apparently our previous attempts at stifling the Tyrranos the weeks before had payed off. Perhaps we should use what these earth people call Guerrilla tactics more often. Dimetro has been tinkering with a new device he has conjured up with what we have: a tractor beam device. Though these are incorporated into much larger ships, I thought that it would be a good thing to have. Who knows; stealing a small hoverbike or two might convince the Tyrranos to leave Earth for good. I wouldn't mind leaving either. But our current assignment is still to counterbalance this small residue of the war.
Khalon propped an elbow against the overhang of the keyboard. Nothing unusual in the log. The rest was specific technical details about the tractor beam device, and something about the fusion reactor being updated with a new one. And also a mentioning about the old fusion reactor being used for the tractor device. It was signed by Allo. He skipped a few and opened up another written by Allo.
November 26th, 1988
The snow storm has subsided - for the while. The slight increase in temperature has given hiatus to everyone's shared cabin fever and so all traversed the snowy landscape. Demitro's tractor beam device was tested on one of our own hoverbikes. It does not have enough strength to carry that much mass yet. A few tweakings may be needed, he said. The reverse polarizer on the cardium generator burned up. I had to work on that for most of the day since my craft has been designated the one for emergencies - in case something drastic happens on earth or else if Lavadome II is to be discovered; or even worse, but highly improbable, the Tyrranos would gain a big upper had against us. But that seems too bleak. Their failed attempt at trying to set an outpost up on the nearby Mount Crested Butte ended up in them being seen by humans. This will definitely go on their record; according to the Ruling Council of Species, it was agreed upon that no contact or spotting by humans is to be made - intentionally or unintentionally. The Secret Scouts are a different case, though. At the time when we arrived, we needed them to help keep eyes and ears out in the towns for any buzz about strange happenings in the mountains of Colorado.
"So this place is in Colorado..." Khalon scrolled down to the next page.
The RCS had made the ruling a few months after we had arrived since no one even thought of going near earth before. Because, no one had a need too. Unless they were up for inter-galactic capture, which is another thing the RCS overruled. And speaking of things at home - contact has been hard to make due to the United State's government's new specialized satellite system. We have decided to use a really old code system that works from these old machines in Lavadome II. The problem with that inlies the fact that Reptilian must have changed code systems in the past millennia because the humans are advancing. Slowly, though.
Khalon skipped a few more days and ended up reading a log from the next week.
December 1st 1988
The Tyrranos' plan has been eradicated. They were planning to dig into Lavadome II. Fortunately for us, we have sensitive equipment. The boring vibrations were picked up and we quickly found out where they were coming from. They were planning to bore a hole underneath the land from Mt. Crested Butte to Lavadome II. When our radar picked up they had left we went over to investigate. What was found we did not expect. A Cerylian-Apollyon transport ring. Those have been outlawed for many decades because of the rumors associated with them. Some say those are for the destruction of the earth, while others say the RCS is just sucking up excuses to outlaw a Tyrranos created tool. A tool that could be beneficial for transporting goods faster than any ship can. Supposedly. But intermolecular transportation devices is a physical impossibility. My opinion is it will never occur. These things are just conjurations made by... those Earthlings. Something called 'Star Trek'? Some minor, faint rumor came up about these Cerylian-Apollyon transportation devices being linked to some kind of genetics. But that rumor died down very quickly for some reason or another. Whatever the reason, we took it and it was quickly removed and hidden deep within Lavadome II. The Tyrranos do not have the recourses to make another so they won't be pulling any tricks behind our backs. I must say this plot was successfully overthrown.
More pointless details. Specifics of the Cerylian-Apollyon transporter, and a few mentionings to more personal things. A slight change from the norm of Allo's protocol-only logging style. Khalon moved on to the next one. It was smaller in size than the others.
December 28th 1988
Earth holiday "Christmas" the 25th.
The twenty-fifth? Wouldn't the mentioning be made during the twenty-fifth and not three days after? Khalon minimized the window and looked back at the log. A grouping of days seemed to be missing between the first and the twenty-eighth for whatever reason, with several days missing in between the large gap and the end of the month. Khalon shrugged and continued reading.
Secret Scouts stayed at nearby town Crested Butte. Demetrio is still working with transport device. Claims it will make the trip possibly faster on the way home.
Mmm. Mebbe Allo doesn't have too much of a knack for responding to jokes? Sure was more chipper in the earlier logs.
Not much else occurred.
Well, obviously. Lack of text equals not much happening... Khalon rubbed his red-rimmed eyes and sighed. He looked over towards the clock. Though it had the wrong time, that wasn't what distracted him. The screen with the clock displayed also a radar. Apparently some type of vehicle was entering the radar screen; with the edge of the radar displaying where he and Simon had been earlier.
Ethan? Possibly. Khalon left the computer screen and went off to look for Simon. The grouping of four doors suddenly looked like a maze. He shook his head and chose the first door on the right. The hallway led to a small room branching off into several other doors. He was about to embark into one when the sign above the door caught his attention. It was cracked in half, with the second left piece laying on the ground. He took a double glance at the part of the sign still up on the door: He recognized the name. The other piece on the floor was turned over with his boot - and he took another look at the piece still on the wall. Allo. He stood back a distance from the door, pondering to himself.
"Should I go in?"
The door answered him. It slid open; Khalon jumped back and was on the alert. His pistol was pointed at the doorway. "Come out! Don't make me come in there!"
A gut reaction. Instinct. He waited there for a moment until his racing mind cleared. Then he proceeded inside.
The room was barely lit at all. In fact, the only light coming in was from the darkly lit room. He searched for the light switch on the wall by the door and clicked it on. Nothing happened. And suddenly the door closed on its own for whatever reason. Khalon stammered back into a corner and tripped over something. He fell backwards and landed on something soft; like a sheet, except it felt like small spots were covered in dried, crusty paint. Then the lights flickered on. His eyes searched wildly about the room. A small room. With a computer on a table crammed into the corner, whatever cords appearing to be wired through the wall. And a now bent lamp. Must have tripped over that. Now for the sheets...
"Gah!"
He leapt up and gawked. He had landed on a bed with a blood-stained sheet. The sheet was covered in red, dark blood. His imprint was left lightly in the old sheet on the bed, and had cracked off some of it from the sheet. He searched his body for any stab wounds, or hidden cuts or bruises, or anything. But nothing. Nothing showed up. He then noticed the imprints of fists on the wall at the head of the bed; and some other streams and claw marks. It added up in his head. A fight. But in Allo's room? The closet lay half open, automatic door ripped off of its hinges and lying in that corner of the room with a nice sized dent in it. As for the contents there were nothing except for a single object. Khalon picked up the small plastic-encased videodisc and held it up to the light. The plastic case was completely shattered but still intact. Trusty rubbery plastic coating. He pocketed that and went over to the computer.
The computer was surprisingly the only thing really intact in the dilapidated room. With trackmouse, keyboard, screen, and computer, it stuck quite out on the grey table. Red and gray, at that. A few blood streaks were on the left of the metal table with apparent streaking and a large dent in it. Khalon took the moment to eye the blood suspiciously.
He pressed the power key. Nothing happened. He tried again, and again, and a fourth time, but still nothing. A slight hit to the computer was given, but still no results. He peered up over the top and into the network cable and hole going into the wall. The cord was stretched to its full capacity against the plastic ring around the hole. The computer table was then slid over a little bit and something swung out and his arm. A light tap or something. A cord. Fraying at the end, and apparently cut or chewed in half. The cord went into an outlet into the wall and he thus frowned. No power, no computer. No answers for the time being. But the videodisk. What would lie on it?
Khalon left the room as quickly as he returned. He looked over his shoulder as he left the larger entry room. Blood. On the walls, the table, the sheets. And signs of a fight. What could it all mean? Yes, it was a fight. But out of any and all rooms, why Allo's?
Khalon tried a few other doors unsuccessfully. One led to bathrooms and showers. The other down some long hall to a winding staircase that went up into the mountain to some lookout. And finally the last one led to where Simon was. But he found Simon in an unexpected situation. He was sprawled on the floor in the hangar, hoverbike floating innocently to the left of the entrance. The front of the bike proved that it had struck the concrete wall. But that didn't matter to Khalon at the moment - his attention was on his only other sociable creature at the moment.
"Simon!" Khalon rushed forward and slid to a stop. "Are you alright?"
No answer.
Khalon checked his pulse. Good. He sighed for a moment, kneeling there. Try waking him, possibly? "Wake up Simon!"
Still no answer.
Khalon looked over his neck for any broken bones; upon finding none that would prove possibly fatal, he flipped Simon onto his back and took a look at him. The elbow of his once white lab coat was now ripped off, and covered in dust and dirt. A bruise was on his chin and cheekbone. He picked up Simon carefully but stopped walking. He glanced instinctively towards the hangar doors, the far end of the room, and over to the entrance. And shook his head. One too many battles.
Once past the hallway and into the main room, Khalon set down Simon on one of the only non-dusty parts of the room. The white circle in the center of the room. He then went to the sleeping quarters area to pick up a spare cot or something. He successfully found one in what apparently was some guest room for the Secret Scouts or whomever. Thoughts raced through his mind as he tucked the fold-away cot under arm and passed Allo's room. That broken sign seemed to stare right at him - ominous, and daunting.
Simon was still unconscious in the main room. He set the cot up next to the center circular object and placed Simon on there. Now all he had to do is wait. He could just sift through logs; or check out Lavadome II even further; or possibly get some sleep for himself. Sleep seemed nice. And since Simon's now crushed watch read ten-thirty PM since last workable. The anthrosaur had a change of mind, and left. He made his way to the guest room in the quarters and was soon off to sleep.
Ethan was blindfolded. Temporarily. The car had seemed to turn ever direction ever thought possible - obviously except up and down - and had ended up in a sweet smelling, slightly misty place. Tall grass in places. And the smell of flowers and the scent of woods. Once inside the blindfold was taken off and he was led to a small holding room through brightly lit hallways, all complete with sterile looking white floors and metal walls and ceilings. He was left alone in the one-light halogen room with two chairs, table, and "mirror" on the wall.
Boring. He got up and stretched his arms and legs and back, and walked around the room. His interest shifted to the reflective glass and he stared close at it. He narrowed his eyes and tapped on it. "Why are you-"
The door to the room opened. Out came three agents - and a fourth soon trailing in with a video camera and tripod stand. The fourth spoke with the middle agent briefly and left. Door closed, video camera and tripod left.
"Ethan. Please have a seat."
Ethan took a seat in the hard metal chair. A silence settled between the four. He was the first to break it. "You guys sure remind me of that movie made years ago... The Matrix. You guys seen that? You sure would fit in that!"
Either the agents were wanting to get down to serious business, or else they had no sense of humor. The middle one sat down in the chair opposite Ethan with a slight frown. "Now Ethan. We want to ask you some questions pertaining to the occurrences that happened at your father's-"
A frown. "Uncle."
"-Uncle's farmhouse," He continued seamlessly. "Now. What did the creature look like?"
Agent one took notes while three recorded on a video camera. Ethan eyed the glaring red light on the camera. "Before I answer any questions, I want to know one thing. No, two."
The agent hesitated, sighed, and said, "Well alright. What is it?"
"First off ,what time is it, and second off, when am I going to be able to leave?"
"It's..." A look at his watch. "...Eleven forty two. AM."
Ethan rubbed his eyes and looked expectantly. "Well?"
"You will leave after we are done questioning you."
"Alright."
The agent continued. "What did the creature look like?"
Ethan described him. Large, strong, muscular, tooth-and-clawed. And very much like a dinosaur, except walks like a human. Agent continued again. "Did it threaten you in any way?"
A pause. "No."
"Ok. Did he say where his planet, or country of origin was?"
"Country? Why country? It's obvious he's not from here."
"He could be from Earth. Loch Ness Monster. Lachubacabra. You know."
"I thought that La-something was caught already."
A sigh. Apparently agent two was irritated. Something buzzed on his radio but he ignored it. "Alright. Next question."
The agent questioned Ethan for quite some time, about until Ethan was showing signs of fatigue. He then was led off to another small room with a bed, locked in, and was left alone once again. He immediately took to the bed and was off to sleep.
Khalon woke up to a start. The door to the guest room opened, and in its doorway was Simon. Unsteady, hand against wall. "Hey, what happened?"
Khalon rubbed sleepiness from his eyes. "You took a spill. You should sit down."
"I'm fine. For now. Just my head hurts."
"From being out cold I can imagine."
Simon plopped down on a bed opposite to Khalons. He leaned forward and rubbed his eyes as well. "All I remember is getting that hoverbike thing to move, and then I remember leaning over too far, loosing control, and then everything went black."
Khalon propped himself up with an elbow. The pillow was stale smelling and old. "Huh. Those hoverbikes must be old-generation. Must've been the gyro that went out on it."
"Oh." Simon shifted and winced. "I think I'll lied down."
"I would do the same myself."
Simon carefully lowered himself down on his back. "You had bad dreams?"
"What?"
Simon looked over. "You've got a sweat."
Khalon wiped a hand across his forehead. Wet. "Oh. Yeah I guess."
Simon stared back up at the dark ceiling. The quarters were lit dimly for whatever reason. "Does your kind dream?"
Khalon shrugged. "Yeah. I guess as much as humans do. So says some black-labeled tests. Turns out the Tyrranos did abduct some humans and mistakably published their findings."
"Who were these humans?"
"I have no idea. The whole thing went under quick and disappeared like dust in the wind."
Simon closed his eyes. "Huh. Interesting." Then he went silent. Heavy breathing.
Khalon looked over curiously. "Simon?"
A jolt. "W-What?"
"Oh. Sleeping?"
"Yeah."
Khalon smirked and roused out of bed. Simon stayed where he was with eyes closed again. Khalon left the quarters room and went out to the main room.
The cot was still in its place, except the deflated pillow was resting on the dirty floor. The large computer screen was on and had some logs opened. Out of general curiosity he went over to the computer and began reading the logs. But a smear caught his attention and he looked closer to it. A human finger print with a traced line. Khalon frowned. The log was scrolled up to the beginning and he began to read. It was authored by Allo.
Tyrranos successfully muzzled. I personally took great lengths to see that they were hindered from doing any more major attempts at being annoying.
Khalon's frown ran deeper. Odd change of emotion. Then it hit him: The first fingerprint and line ran from the word muzzled down to another word: Officer.
Idle inactivity has caused the Dinosaucers team to become irritable as well. Possibly, its time we all went home. Hopefully that officer will know when the best time to leave is - as in, leaving now... ...Officer becoming annoying with us. Let's leave now before our sanity is drained completely. It's only been three weeks - isn't that enough time to "check up" on things?
"
"Officer...?" Khalon thought aloud. Was someone promoted to Officer? The log was dated February second, nineteen ninety. "Five months before they left earth." He opened up the log dated six weeks back. It was strangely not authored by Allo. It was by Teryx. "Supposedly."
January 12th 1990
An officer came to visit us. Saying that he was sent to check up on the current situation and assess the situation so he can relay it back to Reptilian. This might explain why we have had radio silence over the past few months since last contact. They cut us off or whatever and then all of the sudden they're interested in us. Yeah, thanks Reptilian. No wait - I mean radio silence for the past year... ...The young officer seems friendly and unusually eager to meet the crew. Seems like those Reptilians at home force fed the poor guy appraisals of us at the Military Training Compound back at home. If it still exists. Which I hope it doesn't. Fools. Allo keeps insisting on going solo when we all venture out to see what the Tyrranos is up to. He better be careful. He's gonna get killed one of these days and no one will know about it. And then he came back with some suspicious marks on his neck. Not bruises. I think Allo is hiding something... It seems unusual for him to just keep leaving for whatever reason. And strangely enough, his dissapearances have increased in length and frequency after that officer asked some innocent questions.
Not promoted. Just a young officer coming to check up on the situation. Not much to be promoted at those at Lavadome II. The second to the last sentence he read made himself smirk. "Yep. Force-fed." The log ended after a few minor details about some craft being repaired. He scrolled to the next log, authored by Teryx yet again.
March 14th 1990
Things are running along smoothly despite some major occurrences. The officer and Allo were found to have fought, and no word yet on the Secret Scouts. I nev
The log suddenly cut short. Khalon had to take a double take to really figure that it was either just at typo, or someone just deleted the rest of it. But why would they want to delete it? Khalon went to the next log. Strange occurrences suddenly got weirder. It was authored by Dimetro.
March 26th 1990
Blasted Allo. I could never have trusted that creep. Why would he take advantage of us like that? And that officer? Doesn't that freak named Allo have any conscience? Fool is going to be court-marshaled for this little stunt. Unless he disappears mysteriously again for the tenth-billion time and never returns, which I wouldn't be too sad about.
Khalon's jaw dropped. What! Demetro and Allo were good friends. Supposedly, though.
...Teryx is taking over. Allo has been labeled as a traitor for making contact and spilling secrets to that rotten female raptor. All for the name of love and child my scaley butt. Ha! I liked the look on his face when Teryx interrogated him. It was as if he was pulling things out of his butt. Here's my reenactment of the whole mess:
"That officer hit me first! Fool was busy messing up my plot to get vital information out of the raptor!" Very funny, Allo.
Teryx: "And what kind of information would this be?" Allo: "It was... It was about the Apollyon transporter."
Me: "Yeah? And you don't see me complaining about my 'worthless girlfriend.' Hey - at least I can keep someone of my own species!"
Allo: "You don't understand! I had to befriend her-"
Teryx: "Befriend? Having relations of another species on this level isn't good. It's bad. It's disgraceful to all Reptilians and the Dinosaucers. You knew all the rules, laws, regulations, and traditions like your life depended on it. What's the deal with the change, Allo? Where's the old friend I used to know? Where's that old Allo with a backbone of a Reptilian history book?"
Allo: "Screw Reptilian traditions! Reptilian is already different and changed since we came back here."
Me: "Oh yeah? Did your girlfriend explain how things are going back in the ol' home? Those Reptilians sure know how to get around! Slutty slutty. I bet you even promised to marry the witch!"
Teryx: "If I was that raptor, I wouldn't be even half-brained to know not to stoop that low to you."
Allo: "You don't understand. You'll never understand. Besides, my personal life is my own business."
Teryx: "So this so-called rumor about a child is just hot air too?"
Allo: "Can it! That's my business too!"
Teryx: "Your life is the Dinosaucers, and this mission's business is our personal lives. You couldn't have gotten into the Dinosaucers without going through your head! We need to know where you are - you're the leader, and we depend on you, and on a personal level I'm afraid one day you wont come back."
Allo: "Tcha, yeah. You just rambling on because you wish you could bear children."
Teryx: "Allo! I would never-"
Silly Allo. Never mess with two women. Even one even. You'll just get yourself into trouble, and your head banged around. Trust me. At least I know how to keep a women. I don't forget idle comments. You know, because I'm just not some thoughtless, unnoticing tech officer?
Khalon stared at the computer screen, jaw still dropped in shock. He reread the log again. And again. And again for a third time, just for extra measure.
"But... Why?" were the only words he managed to pull out of his brain. Just then Simon walked in. He sported a great big smile, and a clear plastic bottle filled with a clear liquid.
"Hey! You'll never guess what I found!"
Khalon looked after a long moment. He gave Simon a blank, slightly frowning expression. Simon turned the bottle around, label facing Khalon. "Pepsi Crystal! This stuff has to be worth some money on Ebay! It's got to be over thirty years old. Don't wanna drink it though - it's probably really nasty."
Khalon still did not respond. Not caring, or else lost in thought. Or both. Simon came over to the computer and placed the bottle on the counterspace of the computer keyboard. But it accidentally pressed some button along the edge of the keyboard. A bleep sounded, and some window popped up. Before Khalon had time to say something or push the bottle off, a video popped up in the window.
It was Demetro.
"Hey kiddies. I'm just here sitting on my duff doing nothing. Yeah. Well I hope this video makes it back to Reptilian because Sergeant Wind-In-My-Head doesn't know how to press a few buttons and converse one-sidedly with a video. It's fun. You guys should try it. Yeah, I'm out."
That reminded Khalon. The videodisk.
"Demetro here, by the way. Things are going smoothly and we are getting prepared to leave hopefully shortly. See you soon! Oh, and love to my girlfriend." Wink. "Bye."
Khalon narrowed his eyes. He spoke aloud to himself. "Demetro looks waaay too unhappy to be really meaning that..."
Simon cocked his head. "What? His girlfriend... Oh. Heh, one time I hooked up with this girl... but it didn't get too far. She didn't dig my 'geek' look and since the government had restrictions on me -."
"No. Demetro. The tech officer... It just doesn't make sense."
Simon looked from the screen, to Khalon. And the cola bottle. He picked the cola bottle up and shrugged. "Well, what doesn't make sense?"
"Allo. He apparently had some relations to a raptor."
"So? What's wrong with that?" Simon ran a finger on the faded plastic wrapping of the bottle. "So... why not marrying outside your own 'species'?"
Khalon looked up at Simon. "That would be considered to betray Reptilian. Your own kind. Kind of like, giving out military secrets, except its on a more personal level. ...It has a lot to do with the history... Of Reptilian."
"Mmm. Well can't you all just get along together? I would think since you guys got all this technology you would advance on bare level stuff, at least."
"In earth people's perspective, no. Just because we're light years ahead of you all doesn't mean we've advanced with... ego's. Technology and time only complicates things. But this situation with Allo is more complex than interracial relations. Apparently he may have given out secrets of the Dinosaucers, and possibly given something more. But I dunno what else."
"So that video that I uh, accidentally popped up... That's a lie?"
Khalon nodded. "Yeah. Or else it was recorded before but..." He scrolled down to the end of the log. Video attachment. "I dunno. Just doesn't make sense. We were told that Allo died peacefully somewhere out there, and that things went smoothly. Just... Not enough details given back at home. Very vague and very general." A sigh. "I guess this explains it all. Except for one thing."
"What?"
"The blood in Allo's quarters."
Simon looked over to the group of doors. "I didn't see that."
"It's bad. And it looks like someone had a fight in there... There's fist punches in the walls. And I found this in there." He withdraws the videodisk. "Old technology but rated to survive millions of years."
Simon plucked it from Khalon's hand and took a look at it. "Huh. You know which slot in all these machines to put it?"
"Yes actually. The people's well paying tax dollars is spent to good uses even in learning obsolete technology."
Simon handed it back. "I wonder what's on it? More messages that never made it? Or just... random strings of data?"
Khalon searched over the face of the large computer screen. "Here it is..." He slipped the videodisk in the slot and a window popped up on the screen.
The videodisk whirred and the video popped up in the window.
Laughter. And some female raptor. The video clip suddenly stopped and switched to Allo in his room, alone. "Testing. One. Two. Three. Four." The video clip switched again to the raptor female. Allo's voice came from off camera. "He can't be that smart, can he?"
The response, a fair feminine voice. "Possibly. I got some insider information."
"He is really planning that stuff?"
"Has been. For who knows how long."
"Years?"
"Decades, possibly. I'm not sure how long. But whatever it is, and when it'll happen, we better be ready."
"But our child. What if he finds out?"
The female raptor shrugged, sighed, and looked off. Trees and bushes surrounding. "I dunno. I'm three weeks pregnant. I'm glad the Tyrranos don't do physical checks that often."
Allo heed. "Yeah. Well I better get going before-"
The clip switched to Allo, alone in room. "It's sometime in March." A sigh. "I'm leaving Dinosaucers. And that's final. No one is going to stop me. I'm about to leave - just gather up a few things here, and I'm outta here." He raised some sack from the floor and offered a slight forced smile. "I've packed enough in my ship to let me survive to the next outpost. And hey - I might join up with the Tyrranos, mebbe."
Khalon frowned. "The Tyrranos have hated him. They wouldn't allow him to do that."
"I just have to convince Her. She'll let me go on."
The clip switched. The female raptor spoke. "I don't know! You can't just slip in undetected. They'll find you out and then that'll be the end of you."
"Not if I can get to that genetic lab."
A slight gasp. "You know about that? How?"
Allo laughed softly. "Tyrranos have a way of talking before they die."
The raptor shivered. "Well.. no one is going to die." She looked at Allo with great concern. "Our child won't. You won't, because your not coming."
"I am. Please. It's not going to be hard to just - Let met slip in. Dressed in a disguise mebbe."
"No, Allo. Please! For the sake of our child - once they know about it they'll... they'll... "
"What?"
"They'll kill him. And mebbe me if I don't survive... At the least they'll kill the baby, make me have an abortion."
The clip switched. Allo again in room. "You see... Reptilian is just too much of a big headache. From what my friend has told me things have drastically changed. First off, the whole economy. The government promotes its socialistic, proud to be Reptilian crap. I hate that. Just like I hate being in the Dinosaucers, and how much I hate those who I am teamed with. First off Teryx, you can die happy. Please really. I insist. Ichy, I never really knew you too well so all I can say is don't get polluted by this garbage these Dinosaucers talk about. Dimetro. A chip off the 'ol block that officer called you. Such a sucker you are for staying here. I gave you a chance to leave with me but now you will know the consequences."
A voice sounded off screen. Dimetro. "Consequences of what?"
Allo looked disturbed for a moment. "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing? I thought you were gone! Ha! Consistency isn't your thing, is it?"
Allo stood up and walked off camera. "Don't make me."
Suddenly, Allo and Dimetro rushed into camera view. Allo was slammed up against the wall. "You killed those Secret Scouts, didn't you! You heartless scum!"
Allo lashed out with claws. He got Dimetro's face. "Shut it!"
Dimetro's hands grappled at his face as he growled. He sent a kick out for Allo's knees. "No! I'll never-"
Allo sidestepped the kick. He clamped his two hands together and sent a blow at Dimetro's temple. Dimetro took the hit and crumbled onto the floor, Dimetro falling off camera. Allo withdrew a knife from his boot and raised for the kill. Dimetro's hand suddenly shot up and grappled Allo's hand with the paw. "Dimetro, goodbye. Any last words?"
Dimetro's other hand punched at Allo's stomach. Allo didn't flinch. The dull thunk of flesh against armor sounded. The knife was gaining on Dimetro; Allo was obviously the stronger one. His eyes grew with an intense hate and his breathing increased rapidly. "Allo! Don't! Think through this man, you're gonna regret it!"
The tip of the blade went off camera. A slight shout came from Dimetro. Allo grimaced. "I'm gonna silence you like I did those Secret Scouts!"
Dimetro was struggling for his life. Gasping, and breathing for air against the blade. A slight gurgling noise. And Allo was kicked in the side where his armor gaped. "Never!" Allo contorted and Dimetro scrambled to his feet. He sent a kick for Allo's face but Allo was prepared. The serrated blade slashed for the back of Dimetro's exposed ankle and sliced through the tendon. Dimetro instantly cried out in pain and stumbled reflexively onto that foot but crumbled. Allo leaped for the kill but was parleyed by an uppercut, making the blade fling off camera and fall with a metallic clang. Allo fell to the ground and pressed a button on his large arm cuff and two long blades extracted from the cuff. They were fastened to it, and the cuff to his arm.
Dimetro gawked at the two long blades. "What! That's Tyrranos technology!"
Allo didn't respond. He made a fist and swung the blades making two sizeable gashes across Dimetro's chest and his arm and front shoulder. Dimetro stumbled back against the wall. "Allo...!"
Allo still did not respond. His eyes were ablaze with hate, and fury flaming in his fist. The blades were slashed again and made two more cuts. Blood started to soak into Dimetro's clothing and other things.
Reality hit. Khalon winced and was about to look away when the clip changed to something else. Allo and the raptor.
"But why? You can-" Allo was interrupted.
"I'm sorry." The raptor turned to leave. "I just can't help you I'm sorry!"
A sigh, and a soft grunt. "One of these days we'll catch up then I guess..."
"I dunno. Hey look - I gotta go before they spot us together."
Allo embraced her tightly, all the while the camera appearing fastened to Allo's suit somehow. "Ok. I love you."
"I do love you two Allo. Do not forget that."
"Before we go... Let's name him."
The raptor sighed and took hold of Allo's hand. "You name him."
He shrugged slowly. "I dunno. It's just..."
"Then I'll name him. But please, I don't want to. I want you to name him."
"I can't think about a name right now, all I think about is you."
The raptor shook her head and looked away. "Let's name him..."
The clip switched to Allo and Dimetro. Dimetro was bleeding in all sorts of places, and he was again forcefully shoved up against the wall. With fist and blades. He cried aloud as they hit home once again. Allo responded by shoving him around against he wall. "Dinosaucers are over! They're gonna die! Just like the rest of everyone on Reptilian, and all of the Tyrranos!"
Though painfully aware his life is in the brink, Dimetro gave Allo a confused look. Allo growled. "Consider this a favor. I'm sorry."
Dimetro's hand went out and grappled the fist with the blades. The blades came closer to his neck. "Allo..." Coughing, and heavy, shallow breathing. "Whaddya mean?"
"I mean everyone is going to die! They took David and Sarah, and David's a test subject. Genetic testing. We're all going to die eventually... Same goes for everyone on Earth, since they got David! Everyone is going to die under the claws of Darien! He's got us all tied up. Our lives are in his hands. We're going to suffer." The blades made contact with Dimetro's throat. "I'm sorry..."
Dimetro ignored the blades while he flayed his hands to push the arm away, cutting them badly. But Allo overpowered him. Dimetro fell to the ground dead.
The clip switched back to the raptor and Allo.
Allo: "I dunno! I can't really think right now."
The raptor sighed again. She appeared to be more nervous and was constantly looking out into the woods and brush. "Please Allo. For us, and for our child."
Allo sighed and shook his head. The noise in the background suggested he was fidgeting, or shuffling his feet. He responded after a long pause. "Let's name him Khalon."
Khalon suddenly gripped the arms of the chair tightly and held his breath. Khalon. Khalon. The name rung in his head.
Allo suddenly turned around. "There's someone there!"
The raptor shrieked. "They've found us!"
A blade flashed from the form of Allo. "Not if I can help it! Stupid Tyrannos fools are gonna die!" As the blade swung, the two cries of teenagers wailed out and both slumped over. Secret Scouts. David and Sarah.
Khalon gasped and stumbled back out of his chair. It fell loudly.
The raptor cursed and rushed over. "Now they can't go back! You'll get busted. I'll take them."
Allo sighed, exasperated. The two Secret Scouts were rolling and wailing in shock and pain from the blade slash. David had a gash revealing his ribs and Sarah across her neck and over her face. She was bleeding the worst. "Alright, alright! Go!"
The raptor scooped up the two and disappeared into the forest. And there was a crack behind the bush. The young officer stood up with a complexion of dismay, and turned to run. Allo growled and lunged at him, expression on the officer's face a look of surprise. A fist slammed into the officer's skull and the video clip ended.
Khalon was shaking his head with a dismayed look of disbelief. "No. It can't be. No it can't be!"
Simon just stood there, out of place. With coke bottle. Look of perplexity.
Khalon stumbled around a bit more. He thrusted his palms onto his face and rubbed his eyes hard. And after shaking for a moment, he glared at the nearest computer screen. A fist instantly went into it, sending a shower of glass and sparks at himself. He retracted his fist and yelled in pain. His fist was cut from the thick glass and he did something odd. The hand was raised into the light for a moment, trickling blood glistening in the bright lights. The hand was suddenly clutched into a fist and shook violently. Khalon then stumbled off and disappeared into one of the doors.
Simon peered out from the computer he had hid behind. The human shuddered. The halls carried the echoes of fists against metal and yelling.
Ethan was disturbed by the door opening. He rubbed his red-rimmed eyes. "...What? Where am I?"
It was Karle. "Good morning." He sported a kind smile and a steaming tray of eggs, bacon, and ham. "Sleep well?"
Ethan looked suspiciously at the tray. The barn. Khalon. It all came back to him and memory came back to him. "Been better." Cold response. "I sleep best at home."
Karle seemingly ignored Ethan's comments. "Don't worry, you'll feel better after you eat. Here." The tray was set on the small table across from Ethan. "Good southern cookin'. Made it myself."
Ethan looked over to the tray and up to Karle. He cocked his head and folded his arms. "I'm not too sure if I like southern cooking, really."
For a moment Karle's cheerful expression broke. But it quickly came back. "Don't worry, you'll like it. Since southerners like it so salty."
Ethan shrugged, still looking oddly at the tray. And at the happy Karle. "I dunno. I guess it's just more of a personal taste than where you are from."
"You mean you don't like southern cookin'? C'mon." A chuckle. He exited the room and shut the door. Ethan was left with his own peace of mind. And that tray of food. Hunger enveloped him and he decided to eat the meal.
After he had his fill on the breakfast he remembered again of Khalon. Where is he? The cell opened and he was led out. Karle was nowhere in sight. Ethan was led to a simular room as the night - er, earlier in the morning.