A/N: OK, first and foremost, I AM still alive! I know it's been a while, and I wanted to explain. I've recently been in negotiations to begin a new job, and that required my attention. Hopefully now that's over, I'll get back to updating regularly. As a treat, while it'll be a while before I begin my Dino Charge stories properly, hopefully this chapter gives you a little something of a taste to look forward to. Thank you all for your patience, and your continued support.
In a laboratory, many miles from Harwood, a young woman pulled up in her car, into the space marked out for her. She killed the engine of her BMW, stepping out, and heading for the doorway direct from the garage into the building. She pulled out a security pass, and swiped it, which opened up a panel giving her access to the retinal scan. To the outside world, this building was just a simple laboratory, a pharmaceutical company as its cover, but the security she had to go through very quickly betrayed the truth of the matter. It was just the way her boss wanted it.
Anton Mercer was well known to be eccentric. He had been described as everything from quirky to completely paranoid. Dr Morgan had known him long enough that she wasn't overly concerned though. Her six figure salary and the lifestyle it afforded her meant that he could be as paranoid as he wanted with his research.
Stepping into a small room, the door closed behind her, and a box opened up, allowing her to put her cell phone inside. Once she had, and sealed the box, beams of light scanned her, searching for any form of recording technology or weapons.
"Submit to voice recognition." A voice told her.
"Dr Kiera Morgan." She answered. The door at the other end opened, allowing her into the entrance way, where there were security guards waiting. Three of them in the lobby were armed with MP5 sub-machine guns; the guy at the desk had a Sig in a holster at his hip. He smiled as he saw Kiera.
"Dr Morgan, you're looking lovely today as usual." He complimented her.
"Thanks Glen." She responded. "How's the shift been?"
"Pretty quiet." He answered. "The other lab guys haven't burned the place down yet, and our guest has been pretty quiet."
"Our guest is a ten thousand year old ice cube." She chuckled. "I'd be surprised if he did cause any problems."
Just then, one of the lab guys came in, looking around. He saw Kiera and immediately ran over.
"Dr Morgan, I'm so glad you're here." He rushed out. "You really need to see this!"
She furrowed her brows as she made her way with him into the main laboratory. There, lab workers were rushing around, checking on machines. They were analysing results of tests running day and night, but the most prominent thing in the room was a huge chunk of ice, inside which was a frozen, human body. It had been cut with lasers as close in to him as they dared, and he was being scanned and analysed constantly. One of Anton's dig teams had found him in a glacier in Alaska, and he had already spent a small fortune on tests ever since he had discovered that unlike many other frozen specimens...this one still registered signs of life.
"OK, so what exactly are we looking at?" She asked.
"We were running tests on this." He told her, gesturing to a secure box which contained a strange, glowing gem. This was the reason that Anton had sent her to his unit in New York instead of retaining her on the island with the rest of his research team. He hadn't been clear about exactly why he had moved this research all the way out here, he had only told her that if he was right about what he had found, then he didn't want to be too close to it. He didn't trust himself with the power he might have found.
The gem he had found emitted a strange form of radiation. It was deep purple, and would glow constantly. The radiation, they had established, wasn't harmful to humans or plant life, but it was unique, and suggested that it housed a source of incredible power. Anything with that kind of power had the potential to change the world, either for the better, or to cause devastation.
"Have you managed to synthesise and harness the power yet?" She asked. He shook his head.
"Not yet, but we did find something completely by accident." He told her with a smile. He picked up the gem, and bringing it over to the man they had jokingly taken to calling 'Bobby', after Bobby Drake, the character of Iceman from the X-men.
"What are you doing?" She asked. He held the gem closer to him, at which the machines around him started to go haywire.
"What the...is this...have you seen these readings?" She asked him. "His heart rate, his brain waves, his metabolism...all of them jumped into normal ranges!"
"Exactly." He stated. "That was when I did a much closer scan of his whole body for radiation, and I found this."
He showed her a cut-away image on a computer screen, which showed that in his hand, he was holding something that couldn't be penetrated by the scan, something the same size and shape as the gem in his own hand.
"Glen...are you saying...?"
"We have a second gem." He told her. "I think the energy from that gem is what kept him alive all this time. He must have grabbed it all those years ago before he was frozen, that's why he's still alive now instead of...well...you know..."
"Close proximity seems to have an effect." Kiera surmised. "I'm calling Anton."
"You're calling Dr Mercer?" He asked. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that if we play our cards right, we could end up with a second gem, and successfully de-frost the first cave man." She told him. "So after this, do you want to wait on the nomination or call the Nobel society direct?"
It had been a long road trip out of the city to the reservation. Orion was sitting in the back seat of Troy's car with Emma, while Troy and Jake were up front. Jake was playing around with the radio, trying to find a station, but all he could get was static.
"Jake, we're out of range of all the local towers." Troy groaned.
"Come on, surely there's at least one station out here." Jake suggested. "Orion, haven't any Andresians started broadcasting yet?"
Orion didn't answer. He was just staring out the window at the road ahead of him. Emma could see how nervous he was. It wasn't normally like him to let things get to him, but she knew that it was a pretty big deal. He was going back to his friends and his family to tell them he wanted to pull out of the arrangement they had made for him. It was an important part of his culture that he wanted to walk away from. He had to tell Centuri, a man who had been a father to him for most of his life that he wanted to form his own path. Emma took his hand gently.
"You know, there are a few musicians in the village." She reminded him. "It might not be a terrible idea. I'm sure we could help them start a radio station."
Orion just continued to stare out the window.
"Just think, with the boost in the signal from a radio mast, it could really help communications too." She continued. "They could receive broadcasts from other cities..."
"I guess we could always suggest it." Orion replied. Jake finally gave up on the radio and just switched it off.
"You weren't kidding when you said this was off the beaten path." Troy replied in a sigh, staring at the road stretching out before him. "Where's this turn-off again?"
"It's the dirt track just up here on the right." Emma told him. "Just by that gnarled old tree up ahead!"
"You call this a road?" He asked as he took the turn. He checked the mirror to check that the car behind them had seen the turn and followed them. "I thought the Andresians were building up the area."
"They must not have started on the road or the rail network yet." Orion answered. "I think they're working mainly on the village infrastructure, getting the mine and the farms up and running."
"It's really beautiful out there." Emma told them. "You guys are going to love it, trust me."
Just then, Emma's cell phone rang. When she answered it, Gia was on the other end.
"Emma, are you sure we're going the right way?" She complained. "This looks like the ass-end of nowhere!"
"We're going the right way." Emma assured her. "How are things going there?"
"There's only so long you can play I spy before everyone gets bored." Gia assured her. "Especially when we passed the last thing of any real note about 10 miles back."
"I hate to say it, but she has a point." Jake replied.
"It's only a few more miles alright?" Emma repeated. "Come on guys, take it as an adventure. Remember what Noah said. It's a great chance to observe..."
"Noah's asleep." Gia grumbled, holding the phone close to the Blue Ranger so that she could hear him snoring. "I guess even he lost interest."
"We'll be there soon." Emma answered. "In the meantime, save your battery."
As Emma hung up, Gia just groaned.
"Trust Emma to end up with the guy that lives out in the wilds." She complained. "No offence Cass, but the sooner your village gets on the grid the better."
"It is a long journey." She agreed. "There is talk of renovations to the road and rail links, but so far I haven't heard when they're intending to begin."
"I'd have thought they'd be eager to get started on that as soon as possible." Cat commented from the driver's seat. "Surely they'll find it easier to trade if the access routes are easier."
"I couldn't comment." Cass answered. "The village elders make the decisions regarding the renovations."
"Wait...I think I see something up ahead!" Cat stated, pointing up ahead. Gia's mouth hung open in disbelief.
"Oh my God." She gasped, shaking Noah awake. "Noah, you are not going to believe this place."
The reservation was set in an old mining town, far from most of the modern cities. It was a town that had been abandoned after a mine collapse in the latter part of the 1800's. For a while, it had been a historical site, but time and a lack of interest had caused it to fall into disrepair. When the Andresians were looking for somewhere to call their own, it seemed to a natural solution. The mine had collapsed, but the mineral seams in the earth were still largely untapped. The soil was rich, and the climate was more or less the same as Andresia, allowing them to create an environment not entirely dissimilar to the one they were used to. The Andresians had made short work of getting the businesses and homes back into a good state of repair, and creating a new home for themselves.
"Wow, this is...amazing." Noah commented. "It's like being in a time warp."
"I'm sorry?" Cass asked. Noah realised what he had said, and had to think quickly. He didn't mean to insult Cass or her people, but by the looks of the environment they had created for themselves, it seemed that Andresia, or at least the villages, were at a technological level a good way behind what Earth was used to. It was like stepping back into the days of his ancestors, the frontiersmen that had forged the country.
"It's...nice." Noah told her. "I just...it's not what I expected."
As they pulled up and parked, they could see there weren't many other vehicles in the village. There were a couple of trucks, presumably for trade purposes, but other than that, they didn't seem to have any personal vehicles. No cars or motorcycles that would suggest the citizens ventured out of the village particularly often. Orion got out of the car and approaching the village entrance, where there were two Andresians standing, keeping an eye on the road. As he approached, they started to make their way forward to intercept. As they saw him though, one of them just smiled.
Before any of them knew what was happening, he let out a huge yell and ran at Orion full-speed, tackling him off his feet.
"Orion!" Cat called out, running towards them as the two men wrestled on the ground. She grabbed a stick from the ground to help, but Emma stopped her.
"Its fine Cat, he's alright." Emma assured her. "Orion, stop messing around already!"
Orion jostled for position, but the other Andresian managed to shift just the wrong way, catching him in a painful arm-lock. He held him face-first to the ground.
"It looks like you've gone soft Orion." The other Andresian teased him, helping him up as Orion laughed. Andresians were naturally a little more robust than their Earth counterparts, and placed a lot of stock in physical strength. It was not uncommon for them to enjoy physical pastimes like wrestling. Orion just looked to the other Andresian.
"I have been driving for the last couple of hours Libra." He reminded him. "We all have."
"Cass! How is my baby sister?" Libra asked as he grabbed Cass in a rough headlock, ruffling her hair. Cat looked a little uncomfortable, but Emma shook her head to indicate it was alright. It seemed that their fondness for rough physical greetings didn't know any gender bias. Libra was a huge guy, standing head and shoulders above Orion, and quite a bit stockier in his build. He flashed a bright smile at the others. "So, would you prefer if I spoke English?"
"It would help." Gia answered. "We all came to visit with Orion. Is there somewhere we can stay?"
"Oh...well...I suppose...the tavern has rooms above it." He told them. "We haven't cleaned them up, but I guess we could let you have them."
"We don't get many visitors." The other Andresian explained.
"I'll bet." Jake answered. "It's not exactly the easiest to get to."
"I need to speak with Centuri and your father as soon as possible." Orion told him. "There is a private matter of some discussion we must discuss."
"There will be plenty of time for that." Libra said, slapping Orion on the back so hard he almost knocked him off his feet. "Come, my shift is nearly over. Let me take you to the tavern. While we prepare your rooms, you can tell us all about what my baby sister learned on her journey."
As the Rangers started to gather up their stuff, Noah couldn't help looking to the other Andresian at the entrance to the village. Cat just looked to him curiously.
"Noah, what's wrong?" She asked. "Aren't you coming?"
"Yeah, sure." Noah told her. "Say Cat, doesn't it seem an awful lot like those two were sentries?"
"Sentries...you mean like guards?" Cat asked. "Why would they post guards at the entrance to the village? You're just being paranoid."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Noah answered as they started to follow Libra to the tavern, but he couldn't help feeling like something was amiss.
Meanwhile, back in New York, Kiera was grabbing some lunch when an alarm sounded. She was more concerned when she saw security guards running past her.
"OK, this can't be good." Kiera grumbled, before running after them. She felt worse when they ended up going into the main laboratory. The entire place was filled with thick, dense steam, reducing visibility to virtually nothing. She bumped into Glen as he rushed around some consoles.
"What the hell happened?" She asked.
"I don't know, I was doing the analysis of the gem like you suggested." He told her. "I brought it to within six inches of our guest..."
"Six inches?" Kiera shrieked. "I said no closer than sixteen!"
"Next thing I know, everything's going nuts!" He told her.
"Alright, open the vents; I can't see a damn thing in here!" She responded. "We need to..."
Just then, one of the security guards flew past them unconscious. As he slammed into the wall, another guard hit the floor hard.
"What the hell?" She said as more guards flooded into the area. "Can we please get some visibility in here? Glen, what's happening with those vents?"
She then looked aside to see Glen was also unconscious. Before she knew what was happening, she was grabbed roughly from behind, and thrown over the work bench. She felt someone grab her, and turn her to face him. She wasn't prepared for what she saw.
"You...you...you're the..."
"Out!" The caveman uttered. She was unarmed, and she could tell that he was stronger than her. It was nonsensical to try and restrain him herself. She figured it would be a lot easier if she let him go, and had the guards retrieve him later.
"OK, I'll let you out." She assured him. The caveman let her up, but kept a tight hold on her as she took him to the door. Opening it, she let him out, at which he ran to the nearest window. He slammed into it hard, and looked at it startled, but as he got up, he figured out how to open the window, and leapt out into the night, escaping into the streets of New York.
Kiera dialled her cell phone, taking a deep gulp.
"Uh...Dr Mercer, we have a problem." She told him. "Our guest has...escaped."