Old Washington, DC

"What do you mean, it didn't work?" Berger asked in surprise.

"I mean exactly what I said; the fail-safe didn't kick in." White replied, "There's too much power running through the system. We installed over two dozen of those Cells. You can't just flip a switch. It has to be done in a very conservative manner. The shutdown margins must be precise to prevent the cells from going subcritical."

"What's the downside here? What happens if I simply shoot this stuff and force the fail-safe to kick in?" Berger replied. "Is that dangerous?"

"Not necessarily" White said, "Not to us anyway. The cells are designed to manage their own reactivity. We wouldn't be in any physical danger but they would eventually exhaust themselves. So, to answer your question; no, it would not be dangerous. However, it would be highly stupid. This trip or any future one would be a waste. The virtual interfaces and imaging relays would fry. There are a dozen other issues that would arise but I won't bore you with all of it."

"There's no way to salvage anything from the abandon shelter?" Berger asked.

"We can't build spare parts, Lieutenant." White stated "We've collected this material over several decades. See that thing there? It's a pieced together satellite signal sensor. If it gets damaged we'll drop all GPS …for good."

White walked over to one of the machines she installed and continued, "And it isn't a given that shooting the equipment will resolve anything. We are only one-third of the way though the process. Power is going to the shelter, not a lot, but some of it is going there. The central mainframe interfaces are in a controlled reboot. If that's interrupted the source code will become corrupted"

"Regardless, this changes things." Berger stated "We need to get top-side. The shelling has stopped. By now Voss's soldiers are almost certainly searching for survivors. We may have wounded up there too."

"Or they're waiting for us to pop our heads out there so they can finish us off." Ogden added.

Berger looked at the ape and said "Come on Sergeant, follow me. It's much easier to make a decision based on facts. Shooting the equipment may not be the answer but shooting those SOBs, up there, is". Before they departed Berger gave Captain White specific instructions that he'd indicate his return by tapping the rail. "You fire at anything that comes through that door without signaling." White shook her head and the two soldiers headed out and upward.

"Captain" Grazot said looking at White. "Is there anything here that will give us a tactical advantage? If not, is there anything that can be done to protect the equipment if we do get into a conflict?"

"Nothing here will help, General. And most of this equipment is critical as I stated to Berger" White answered. "We need to get to the old government command shelter. Once there, Norman can reestablish the CDC interfaces. Like I said; this isn't like turning a doorknob. We're dealing with sensitive equipment, routines that need to be written, and your basic mechanical repairs. Like it or not it's going to take time and a lot of it at that."

They both stopped and turned as March moaned his way back into the world of the living.

*** On the Surface

Colonel Rence drove the dagger deep into the shoulder of General Narr. The gorilla howled in pain as the cold steel cut into his flesh. Narr managed to kill the other two simians but Rence had flanked the General in the process. He'd used the debris and terrain to gain height and dropped on Narr, like a spider drops on its prey.

The General tried to counter but Rence twisted the knife, multiplying the ape's pain enormously. He smiled and twisted the blade in the opposite direction. "We warned you about consorting with those furless pigs. That makes you worse than traitor, in my eyes. But don't worry little monkey, in a moment your troubles will all be over!"

The Colonel pulled the knife out and drove it back in as quickly as he could. The blade sliced into the simian's chest as if it were butter. Narr grabbed at Rence's wrist but went limp and fell unconscious. The Territorial soldier lifted his boot and pushed Narr backwards. "Pathetic waste of fur" Rence mumbled. The gorilla twisted the ragdoll and fell to the dirty ground with a thump. The Colonel wiped the flat edge of his knife on the tattered uniform of General Narr. "Supreme General" he huffed in a long drawn out mocking tone. "More like a clay pigeon". The ape looked around, realizing that he needed to cut the victory celebration short and evaluate his predicament. Someone was approaching but they spoke up before Rence had time to react.

"Sir, it's me." Kutos shouted "I'm coming forward and I have a prisoner".

Rence swung around as the body of Hayes flew through the air and tumbled on impact with the hard dirt. The plan had been relatively easy. Hayes would play possum while Kutos got the ape to drop his guard. However the sight of the dead General Narr changed that plan in midstream.

Rence had his attention on Hayes when the small green ball of light hit his thigh, separating his leg from the rest of his body. The sudden imbalance caused the soldier to drop to the ground. It happened so quickly that Rence went into shock. The wound didn't even bleed. The energy blast immediately cauterized the injury.

The stunned ape reached for the leg as Kutos stepped on his paw. He didn't make a sound as the gorilla killed him at close range. He snorted and turned his head as the stench of burned flesh and fur filled his nostrils.

A dusty and slightly battered Hayes rose to his feet and said "I thought the plan was to have him drop his guard …possible take him prisoner. Not ride in with guns blazing like a John Wayne movie?"

"John Wayne? …It doesn't matter, the plans changed as soon as I saw him. Besides, captured alive or shot dead, the threat has been taken care of" Kutos said pointing to Narr. "These savages have killed everyone from my Contingent. I've been waiting for this moment."

"That's lovely" Hayes replied picking up a rifle. "You couldn't have decided that, before, you tossed me down the alley like a bowling ball?"

Captain Hayes quickly checked the weapon and knelt down next to General Narr. "Wow there's a lot of blood, but his chest is moving up and down. I think he's still alive."

Kutos took a stride towards Narr as Berger stepped out of the shadows with Ogden. "Drop that weapon and turn around slowly."

It took a second to explain but Hayes did his best to fill the Lieutenant in on what was really going on. Ogden was also able to vouch for the gorilla.

"You strangers from far off sure do seem to come out of nowhere" Berger said looking at Kutos. "I'm no medic but let me see what I can do for him". The Lieutenant picked up the knife that once belonged to Rence. He cut pieces of the Colonel's uniform and dresses Narr's injuries the best way he could.

"Troop Sergeant Kutos, how did you manage to survive?" Ogden asked. He almost didn't believe his eyes.

"We've been stuck out here for months." Kutos stated. "…Seems like it anyway. When these butchers sent our Contingent on that suicide mission against this city's …magic… Colonel Arris assigned a few us as support personnel to the Territorial Command. Probably because I was a courier when I held the rank of Corporal, back home. Ninety percent of the soldiers died when we tried to flank the ruins of the old capital but Voss was still obsessed with getting inside."

"That still doesn't explain how you survived" Berger added.

Kutos sat down on a slab of concrete and scratched at his side. "There were fifteen of us when we started. By the time we spotted and shadowed your unit we were down to seven. When we shifted our initial movement towards these ruins, soldiers began to die instantly. It was like something invisible was reaching out and snatching bodies like a frog slapping its tongue at a fly. It would have eventually killed us all but Sergeant Major Aden stumbled across a crevasse. It was larger and deep. We took refuge in it. Voss called it a dead zone. He sent out patrols to try and find a way to navigate back to Ceasera but if they ventured too far, they were struck by those invisible blasts of heat."

"And what about food and water?" Berger asked with some suspicion. "You can't live on …"

"Rats mostly and few leaves and bugs" Kutos replied picking up on the doubtful tone. "The cave was full of them. In fact, after some time it was evident where the dead zone ended and the death trap began. Even the rats died if they moved out too far. Water was a problem. We rationed what we had but were running dry. If your detachment hadn't shown up we would have eventually died. We shadowed your rear element through the use of binoculars. Eventually, one of the officers, a Colonel Philonus, noticed rats crawling well beyond the safety zones. We broke camp and ambushed the rear unit. Voss tortured information out of the survivors and we made our way here. They're obsessed with this place."

Berger struggled with feelings of wasting Kutos where he stood. Sergeant Franks was a pain in his rear but he'd been a competent soldier and a friend. The ape had just admitted to slaughtering him and killing the others. I'm sure he had no choice in the matter, but it doesn't change the facts. Berger's anger rose even higher as he listened to him explain how he'd refused to fire on Narr and Grazot. Sure, he contemplated deep down; kill the filthy humans but …

"You ok Lieutenant?" Hayes asked. "You look like some one just insulted your wife."

"Huh?" Berger replied feeling like his thoughts had just exposed him. "Considering that I just lost an entire platoon … No Sir, I'm not 'ok'. Look, why don't you and the Sergeant here sweep the area for both survivors and any hostiles that might be hiding?"

He paused as he glared at Kutos. "Ogden and I will head back and get Captain White. She's a technical wonder but she has some medial experience as well. I'll have her tend to the General."

"Sounds good to me, Lieutenant. I need to talk with her anyway. Please see that Tom …um, I mean Major March comes up as well."

"I'll see what I can do" Berger replied with a casual salute. "Come on Sergeant let's get going."

"Human, wait." Kutos said. "There's more. Colonel Rence sent a soldier back to report on the situation."

Berger's expression became severely grim. "Back?" he asked. "Back to where?"

"Their capital, I believe." Kutos replied.

"Forget those last orders." The Lieutenant stated. "We're heading back to the tunnel right now"

The Flatlands – Three days later

Philonus crouched quietly in the tree as the human patrol passed by. This was the third one today. He pondered what had transpired in his absence. How had the humans managed to gain a foothold so close to the capital? Under normal conditions he'd have been home long ago but the human presence had slowed his progress considerable. He'd taken to the trees when he'd noted that the second patrol was laying mines and mapping the terrain.

He quietly scurried down the trunk of the thick oak as a couple of the human soldiers slept, nuzzled in a bed of leaves. Off in the distance two soldiers were surveying a piece of land and discussing the various facts of their mission. The Territorial soldier paused halfway down as one of the men opened his eyes and yawned. He rubbed at his nose, rolled over, and fell back to sleep. The remains of their rations were scattered about but the ape was most interested in a canteen lying next to the human soldier. Philonus worked his way out on the branch that was just above the two men. The ape then used his lower paws to hang from the branch while grabbing the canteen with the upper appendages. He pulled himself up, drank it dry, and set it gently down where he'd found it.

Minutes later a third human soldier woke the two sleeping beauties with a gentle kick, informing them that they'd be leaving shortly. He barked, shouted and pointed at the trash lying around. "Why don't you just send up a flair?" He stated crumbling a piece of the rubbish in his hand and tossing into the chest of the closest man. "Police it up…now! Bradford, once we move, you're on point". The men cleaned up their garbage and moments later the small unit moved through the foliage and eventually disappeared out of sight.

Lieutenant Colonel Philonus waited a little longer, just to make sure there was distance between them. He munched on a few leaves and scratched his body on the hard dry bark. Once he was convinced it was safe he bound through the trees making his way home. The closer he got to Ceasera the less he had to conceal himself. By mid-day he'd reached a sentry post. The sleeping Private got the scolding of a lifetime as Philonus walked up unchallenged. Once the butt-chewing was finished, he rested a bit, mounted a horse, and headed towards Ceasera.

"Great …Just great" the Private said as Philonus rode off on his steed. "First he eats my food and drinks my water and now I have to walk back."

Caesarea

The soldier lifted Sullen and placed him in the front of the wagon. Other apes were busy loading equipment and supplies into the back. Ulysses stood on the edge of the capital building steps talking with Polk and another officer. Fifteen minutes later Ulysses was given the signal that they were ready to move out. He instructed the senior NCO to confer the official marching orders and the medium sized militia headed out towards the desert.

Captain Sarref, an officer of the three-seventy-second, turned to Polk and said "If there's nothing else Sir. I'd like to conduct my rounds. My apes are all well trained but we're no longer in Tepoc City and they need to stay sober of that fact."

"Of course, Captain. Please carry on." Polk stated.

The gorilla saluted and shouted to a couple Lieutenant's off in the distance. Polk snickered at the ape's dedication. He's certainly efficient, Makes my life easier, that's for sure The Major thought. Ulysses knew what was he was talking about when he recommended the ape to fill in for Lant.

Slowly but surely things were beginning to stabilize. Priority had been given to reconstructing the munitions factory. Some of the automated processes had been repaired and it was estimated that it would be fully operationally by the month's end. Some of the smaller, less damaged buildings had already been refurbished. Support troops from the Devoir and Tepoc arrived earlier that day. They were in-processing and being backfilled where gaps existed. It was turning out to be a very satisfying and productive day. Unfortunately, it was about to end as Polk heard the shouting of his name over and over.

"Major Polk … Major Polk" the soldier cried out though his winded voice. "You've been ordered to the Staff Command Post."

"The Staff Command Post?" Polk repeated in confusion. "We haven't used that in months".

Polk rubbed his brow and then looked at the soldier. A small light went off in his head, signaling that something wasn't right. No one in Ceasera out ranked the Major. Who would be so bold as to order him anywhere? "Ordered? … by who Corporal?"

"Colonel Philonus, Sir. He rode into town about forty-five minutes ago." The soldier answered.

"Philonus" Polk repeated once more, what he'd just heard, as he tried to get his brain to catch up with what was going on. "…forty-five minutes ago. Why am I just being informed about this now? They're back? They're alive? Is General Voss here too?"

"The Colonel was alone, Major and he's fit to be tied. He entered through the southern gate. He was heading for the capital building but went nuts when he saw the damage. Half of the regulars don't know if they're coming or going. And the replacements we backfilled from sixty-ninth and the three-seventy-second are all that and more."

Philonus, Polk whispered quietly, of all the apes on the staff, why him?

The two simians had a long history. Philonus was direct and dealt with issues in a very punitive manner. Polk was stern and stubborn but he wasn't so quick to pull the trigger. If the Major had a need for someone he'd find a way to make excuses for them. Philonus wasn't as forgiving. It had caused friction in their relationship. Both apes were staff officers under General Voss's command and more than once they'd butted heads on procedural issues.

Polk took in a deep breath and shook his head. His mind was already running through a series of scenarios and excuses. Philonus had the authority to order his execution and he needed rock sold explanations or his so-called productive day was also going to be the last one on the planet.

"Corporal, please tell the Colonel I'm on my way." Polk instructed. "I just need to finish up a couple of things and I'll be right there."

When Polk arrived Philonus was talking with the munitions factory operations manager. The supervisor was pointing and waving his paws around as he explained the work-around that was in place. A few junior officers and an NCO were doting around the Colonel in an attempt to calm his temper. It was chaotic.

Polk didn't wait for a pause and simply spoke up once he was close enough to the chattering mob. "This is certainly a big surprise Colonel Philonus. We thought you were long dead. I'm happy to see things were not as we perceived" Polk had a respectful but superficial grin on his face. Philonus turned, giving his full attention to the ape, but he wasn't smiling back. "Excuse me gentleapes but I have some things I need to discuss with Major Polk. Walk with me please, Major"

The Colonel was mildly pleasant until the two were outside. As soon as the factory door closed the entire demeanor of Philonus changed. "Riots Polk? …Here in Ceasera … Humans walking right into our capital and sabotaging our production facility… And what's all this about some Visitor orangutan helping them? Do you know that they're mining and mapping the Flatlands while we have apes sleeping at their sentry posts?"

To his surprise Polk did not know that but he kept that information to himself. He knew they were probing the city but he had no idea engineer units were laying mines.

"At the rate they're going, in a few months they'll have us pinned in." the Colonel went on explaining "They know we out number them but they're slowly neutralizing that advantage. If we don't control the Flat Lands this city will be seriously compromised"

Polk didn't flinch "Sir, I'm not trying to put this off but wouldn't it be better to call the staff together and address this formally? I have just as many questions as you do. I can also give you explanations on everything you see."

Polk paused as his curiosity rose "Where are the General and Colonel Rence? And what about the rest of the staff?"

The Colonel ignored the question and bantered a moment longer until he finally conceded. "Ok Major, you make a good point. It would certainly be easier to explain things once, rather than tell the same tale a hundred times. Set things up and we'll meet tonight, right after evening chow. But you'd better have some very good answers because I'm going to ask some equally pressing questions. You should have shot Ulysses, Polk.

"Sir, I'm curious, what about the others?" Polk asked again as he ignored the last declaration.

"You never were a patient one, Major. Philonus stated plainly. "Voss is dead. Those dishonorable savages shot him right in the face during a truce."

Polk squinted in bewilderment. "We've always honored an armistice. It's just basic military courtesy. They have to know that an action like that would lead directly to war. A war they'd never win."

"I guess it proves that God created the ape in his own image." Philonus replied "Only a creature without a soul would stoop that low. Aden and Cyrus were killed too. Rence ordered an immediate attack and sent me back here to pull reinforcements. Unfortunately, I got bogged down in both the High Hills and the Flat Lands. I should have been there and back by now. Besides we're going to eventually have to make a push due to the increasing human presence on our boarders. There's more Polk and that's why I'm meeting with the staff tonight and not waiting until morning. The reason the humans are acting so boldly is because they've found a way into the ancient capital. That's where I came from."

Polk stopped dead in his tracks. Suddenly his differences with the Colonel seemed to evaporate. "The city? There's a way in, Sir? I couldn't agree more; we need to gather as many apes as possible and push towards the old capital. If they secure those ruins it won't matter if we control the Flat Lands, the High Hills or half of the planet. We'll be finished."

Old Washington, DC

The gorillas grunted as they pressed their backs against the object and pushed off with their legs. A few feet off in the distance, Hayes pulled on the rope running through the makeshift pulley system he'd thrown together.

"It's working," Hayes grunted out as he tugged harder. "A little more … keep going … Ok, there … get it stable …" The astronaut gave a few more instructions and occasionally consulted March. Once he was satisfied he ended with "Alright, that's it! It's up"

"Nice going General." Hayes said as he slapped Grazot on the back. "I might just let you stay on …as my personal slave, of course." He added, followed by a laugh.

The winded gorilla smirked and raised an arm like he was about to return the favor, except with much more force.

"As soon as you two adolescents are finished I'd like you to look at something" March interrupted looking at Hayes.

"Sure Tom" Hayes replied "What is it?"

March waved him over to the pod they'd just unearthed. Once Hayes rounded the edge the Air Force Major pointed into what looked like a midsized cockpit. The expression on Hayes's face changed as he noted the faint colored lights. Without speaking Hayes stepped inside and swiped away the dust and soil. He instinctively blew on the panel once most of the dirt was gone.

"Oberon; Pod-3" the man read aloud. "…United States Air Force" He turned his head back towards March and said, "Tom, it's American and it still has power."

"I know. There are faded markings on the side as well" March replied "But it's decades beyond anything I've ever seen, including the Dreadnaught. Think it'll fly?"

"I don't know. Probably not like this" the man guessed. "You're right about one thing though, it's definitely advanced. These relays are one hundred percent computer driven. I'll say this; if there's even a point zero, zero, zero two percent chance it will get us off this rock, I'm willing to take it."

"What's your analysis? What do you think it will take to find out?" March asked.

Hayes scratched his head. "I'll have to figure out the power source, its internal workings, and things like that. Look here, the fuel ratios are high. Whatever the internals of thing are, they're pretty solid. It's certainly preserved the fuel in those tubes. The object itself looks fairly in tact too. I'll have to check with White. Maybe she'll have some kind of insight."

The two men turned as Lieutenant Berger came into view. He passed them both and went directly towards the gorillas. He looked up at the group and simply stated "General Narr is dead. He'd lost too much blood and Captain White thinks some of his internal organs may have been pierced. She did what she could but in all honesty there wasn't a lot she really could do. I'm very sorry."