Old Washington, DC

"Ten Days." Berger stated. "I'll be back in ten days with enough troops to secure this place tight. …I hope. The problem is that you'll most likely have company within the next week. If Karen can't patch into the Orbital Defense Net, you're going to have to figure something else out. The area is too large to secure."

Berger was correct. The ruins went on for miles. It would take months to explore and catalog. Setting up defenses with a handful of people was next to impossible.

"Good luck, LT" March said as he shook the man's hand.

"Yeah, stay safe out there." Hayes added.

"I should say the same to you. Try not to blow up the city, or what's left of it anyway." Berger replied with a smile and a sloppy salute. "Oh, and it'll be nice not having to look at your ugly face anymore" he added turning to Ogden and slapping the ape on the back.

"It's no much the face as it is the smell." March said, joining in on the jest.

"Pretty clever …for a couple of officers" the ape replied. "So, what do I have to do to get you to leave; throw a stick?"

"In all seriousness, I probably should head out" Berger responded. "I could take the route we came in on, but with the fail-safe offline I can save time using a more direct path. The problem there is; it takes me very close to Ceasera. If I leave now, I'll pass through that area in the early morning; better cover and less chance for capture"

"Here" Ogden said as he pinned his Contingent's crest on the man's chest.

Berger gave the gorilla a puzzled look.

"It's kind of a tradition we have back home" Ogden replied. "Soldier's from different Contingents often exchange such things when they part ways. It's meant as symbol of comradery"

Burger fumbled through his pockets and pulled out an old, tarnished circular object. Long ago it had served as a timepiece. Now it was just a worn piece of metal. He handed it to Ogden "Here, I found this when I was teen. I've always carried it for luck."

The Lieutenant checked his gear and rations one last time before he headed out towards Rockwell. Normally a couple of the senior enlisted soldiers would report back but everyone else was dead. And time was simply too critical. Deep inside part of him was glad to be leaving. The man had gotten used to having apes around but a lifetime of intolerance towards the species was hard to extinguish. He genuinely liked and respected Ogden but he'd fought a growing urge to somehow kill Kutos. After all, if the situation was reversed and Sergeant Franks had lived, Berger was sure he'd be screaming; revenge, from the grave.

"Ok everyone," Berger said with a wave "I need to move out."

The others repeated their good-byes as the man walked off. He eventually disappeared from sight. Within minutes their thoughts drifted back to the more immediate problem.

"Any luck on that network feed?" Hayes asked Captain White.

"No. And I'm doubtful I'll ever be able to patch into it." She replied "The damage is extensive and the subroutines that aren't corrupted are hyper-encrypted. Complete circuit relays are melted or fused and entire sections of the Sat and wireless feeds no longer exist. It's a mess. However, I have some unrelated good news. I'm pretty sure I can power up that contraption you uncovered."

"You're joking" Hayes replied with enthusiasm "Did you find a way to adapt the Nuclear Cells?"

"No, whatever powers the pod isn't nuclear" White said "…well not in that sense anyway. It uses a solid propellant to produce an ion thrust which electromagnetically pushes out of the sides of the craft. But the energy rods that control the weapon you found are not only compatible but completely adaptable. They can be fitted to the power nacelles quite easily."

Hayes cocked his head in confusion. "How did you figure that out? I've been messing with the onboard computer for two days and haven't even…"

"I modified one of the rods" White jumped in "and I was able to access the engine schematics. I was going to tell you but I have other things to worry about right now. I was actually trying to test the interfaces. See if I could link into the ODN system though the ships controls. That field-pad you gave me is too basic. It's more designed for navigation and positioning via GPS."

White stopped as she took a drink of water from a canteen. She wiped her mouth and changed the topic. "I'll be honest, Captain. I still find this, lost in time, saga unbelievable, but on the other hand your, um …familiarity with these ruins and certain historical data has me somewhat perplexed. If you want to fly away on some delusion, I'm not here to stop you. The Orbital Defense Net is my number one priority. If that's up, it's worth a hundred of those vessels. However, that ship has great tactical potential. Once General St James hears about it, your trip to the stars will be cancelled and he'll have that thing gutted and reverse engineered. And I haven't even gotten into what he'll do with that energy weapon. It's beyond any relic we've ever discovered. And if you get in his way, it will be the last thing you do. Trust me on that. St James is interested in one thing and that's winning this war. If you sway from that agenda, you'll pay a heavy price"

"I can understand that." March answered for Hayes. "He has his agenda and we have ours. But I agree on one point; we need to get back to the more immediate situation. What are the options if we can't link to the ODN? If we don't have a defensive plan in position by the time that ape army arrives, the only place any of us will be flying, is to the pearly gates."

"Jonny, go with her and see if you can provide some insight." March continued. "I'm going to get to some high ground and see if I can't figure something out. Where are Grazot and Kutos, anyway?"

"They burned the remains of General Narr earlier and I think General Grazot is out looking around. He's gotten used to repeating rifles but he's still somewhat obsessed with all of this. I'm not sure where Kutos is. Probably out there with him" Hayes replied.

*** 60 minutes later

General Grazot sat crouched on a buckled piece of concrete. His thoughts drifted off to his fallen comrades as he surveyed the demolished airfield around him. He found himself oddly thinking of his wife who'd he married strictly for political purposes. In a small way he genuinely missed her, though he had no clue as to why. Their relationship had been anything but passionate. Still, she'd always been kind and a good helpmate. He wasn't getting homesick but was feeling a strong urge to leave all of this. The gorilla longed to get back to something more familiar…more stable. With the death of Narr, he was now the senior General. He wasn't so narrow-sighted on acquiring advanced weapons as he was when the men first arrived. He'd seen and experienced too much to stay in that world, but it was in his nature to lead. His ache for power was still flickering. With Sullen gone or dead or whatever, he could assume command and build a society with realistic foundations.

"Muskets" he sarcastically mumbled under his breath. He shook his head in disgust. Grazot wasn't one to pretend when his instincts told him differently. Those apes were a grave threat but so were the humans. Berger's mannerisms, towards Kutos, hadn't escaped his notice. It was funny though, at least the humans seemed to be men of their words. They could be tolerated but only if the balance of power was equal. Or better yet, tipped in his favor. Once things are secure, I'll pack some of those repeaters and munitions and head back. He decided deep down within.

"Ok, I'm just about ready. Remember it's going to be heavy" March said to Kutos.

Grazot turned his attention to the two below. He asked if he could help but March shook his head and said "Not right now anyway."

Kutos had no idea what he was looking at. Most of the airfield remains were extremely damaged and scattered so far across the landscape that they seemed to blend in with the rest of the scenery. Rusted metal and mangled steel lie half buried in dirt and rock as if it had been there since creation. Oddly enough though, a small part of an old craft had caught the attention of his human ally. The nose, cockpit and the entire port wing, of a damaged plane, was still recognizable. Of course to the gorilla none of it looked familiar.

March directed the ape, here and there, as he struck the metal latches holding the missile in place. It popped out and dropped a half inch as they both steadied the projectile and pulled it completely free. The man and the gorilla gently placed it on the ground next to the other they'd just removed. It all seemed unnatural to the ape. The human possessed a strange familiarity with the contraption. March was climbing and examining the mechanism as if he'd built it himself. Man is a mystery, that's certainly a fact, the ape thought.

"It isn't going to be fun, but we have to get these back." March stated.

They examined some of the additional wreckage. March occasionally collected other items of interest. It took a few trips but they ultimately brought back what he said was needed.

Ceasera – Approximately 1:15 am

Sullen cursed under his breath as he put pressure down on his leg. The pain was still present but steadily becoming manageable. Thanks to genetic manipulation done to his species centuries ago, his immune and recuperative abilities were well beyond what they'd normally be. However he'd still walk with a small limp the rest of his life. Some damage couldn't be repaired.

He cursed again when he thought of having to return to this mad house. He'd have avoided it completely but circumstances beyond his control made that idea unrealistic. If Polk hadn't sent a dispatch to Ulysses, he most likely would have avoided the city altogether and headed directly for the nearest EOC, (*Electronic Operations Center) signal. The courier had implicit instructions to recall the entire group, by order of Colonel Philonus.

While the soldiers busily made ready to break camp, the Prefect managed to secure a stallion, a few supplies, and the EOC computing device. Their field cook had come across a nest of rattlers he was going to fry. Sullen, very subtly, 'liberated' a couple of the serpents. One was tossed into the tent housing the small militia, as they slept. The other he'd used to spook the horses pulling the supply wagon. The Prefect slipped into the darkness and rode off as the chaos escalated. He was hours away before anyone noticed.

Unknown to Polk or Ulysses was a little fact that he'd kept very much to himself. As a child he'd been forced to memorize the authentication codes for the location of weapons that were tagged and hidden. But not all of them were physically placed by his ancestors. Many were secured much earlier by humans.

The last half century of human dominance was riddled by war, skirmishes, and terrorism. It finally ended in an exchange of nuclear, atomic, and conventional bombardments. Ground warfare became so precise that the US placed transponder chips in every rifle built. It decreased accidents due to friendly fire but was also very convenient at targeting hostiles that illegally acquired the weapons. The EOC, he now possessed, housed every code of every weapon ever constructed.

The news the courier brought had every ape in the camp talking about the mysteries buried within this magical wonderland. The computing device was mostly useless without the technical manual but Sullen still had a few tricks up his sleeve. Just after he'd lifted it, he'd used what his father called a soft-ping. The ape manually entered an authentication code. Once recognized and accepted, it pinged all transponder codes within its range. The closest were three large crosshairs over what had once been Maryland, Virginia, and The District of Columbia. But it also picked up signals from Ceasera.

A month earlier the Prefect promised himself he was going to rebuild his civilization; even if he had to start with just himself. He knew his chances were slim and he knew he'd probably die but he wasn't going down without trying. Securing those weapons would greatly help his odds. But first he needed to slow down Polk, Ulysses, and this new ape Colonel who'd surfaced. And he had an idea on just how to do that.

The city was relatively quiet but there were several pockets of soldiers and the occasional civilian spread throughout. Random patrols walked the streets but things appeared to be routine. Most of the soldiers were near the factory and adjacent buildings. A few pubs were open and apes wandered in and out. The Prefect composed himself as a couple of young chimps rounded the corner and saluted.

"Oh, I beg your pardon Sir. I didn't see you" one said as he moved around the Prefect.

Sullen was in a uniform wearing the rank of Lieutenant on his chest. He'd randomly grabbed it along with a few other items when he'd vacated the campsite. The ape looked a little old to be playing Lieutenant but the dark morning sky, accompanied by the fact no one was really paying much attention, nicely hid that truth.

He glanced down at the device. One tiny green arrow was leading him towards the lab where he'd been shot in the knee. It took some doing but he managed to make his way there. Just what the doctor ordered, Sullen thought to himself as he glanced at the guard sitting on the chair struggling to stay awake. He stood back in the shadows trying to casually blend in, as he waited for the soldier to nod off.

Alright Prefect, do your stuff, the orangutan thought. Sullen offhandedly glanced around to make sure no one was in the area. Once he was convinced it was safe, he fought the pain, crouched down and leapt to a ledge two-thirds of the way up. He worked his way to the roof as quickly as possible. Once on top, he looked around one last time to insure he hadn't been spotted. The soldier below was snoring away as he dreamed of better days with a lovely female companion.

The skylight was boarded, covering the broken glass caused by the factory explosions earlier that month. The ape pulled the planks back as gently as possible and peered in. The building was vacant. Below he noticed the table where the lab tech had retrieved the rifle and just beyond was the spot where he'd been shot. The floor was still stained with his blood.

Sullen sized up the situation. Using the rafters, he shimmied his way down to the top of a large cabinet on the opposite side of the room. The ape extended himself as far as he could and clumsily dropped down. The sound seemed to be louder than normal as it echoed through the open space. The Prefect cursed under his breath wondering if it had disturbed the guard. It had. Mumbling accompanied by the sound of a latch turning confirmed the Prefect's fears. He pressed against the side of the cabinet so tightly that he felt like part of it.

"Bloody rats" the soldier mumbled as he took a quick glance around the room. The ape took a couple of steps inside, turned left, and then right. He was about to leave as he noticed the light shining on a particular spot in the adjacent room.

"That's weird" The chimp said to himself as he scratched his head.

He strode through the door and towards the light, stopping just shy of the beam. He heard a slight crunch that caught his attention. He moved his boot back and squatted down. "Glass" he said. It sounded more like a question than a statement. He noticed a few more small pieces and then automatically gazed upward. Two of the boards were missing. "Hmmm", he muttered. "I wonder what …"

As if a light switch had been flipped inside his mind, the Private's brain immediately put all the pieces of the puzzle together. He stood erect and reached for his weapon but never finished the gesture. An odd sensation had set in. It was pain. His vision spotted, then went white and finally black.

The soldier fell over as Sullen clubbed him a third and then a forth time with the metal stool. The Prefect turned his head and emotionally prepared himself as he used the piece of furniture to finish the ape off. All or nothing, he told himself as he crushed the life out of the ape. No loose ends

Sullen was shaking as he removed the blood spotted lab coat hooked on the wall. He wiped blood from his boots, hands, and face and then draped it over the dead simian. He wanted to move faster but was having a hard time focusing. "Get it together" he told himself again and again.

He steadied his paw as he quietly spoke the authentication codes and pinged for the rifle. He followed the signal to the large wooden cabinet he'd dropped on earlier. It was locked with a steel latch. It took some work, but he managed to pry it loose using the metal leg of a second stool that was close by.

Inside were a number of crates. They ranged in size and depth. Sullen removed a few of the larger boxes and placed them on the table. He slowly passed a finger over the surface as he read the inscriptions. "Field … Reconnaissance … Munitions … Unknown … ah here it is, Weaponry". He unbolted the latch and removed the cover. The box contained several sections of a dismantled M-16. The various pieces were tagged and labeled. He moved his paw through the sea parts.

"That does me no good" He stated. The Prefect paused as ideas flashed through his mind. He took the EOS and moved it above the crate. Nothing he noted "I must be too close."

Several minutes and several searches later he found what he was looking for in a box marked; Working Model. He didn't have time to celebrate. Sullen collected the rifle and turned to the carton labeled Munitions. He knew just what to take and his timing could not have been better. Just outside he could hear someone screaming for the guard who was no longer at his post.

"Private Kadon, where in blazes are you?" the voice shouted as the already cracked door opened exposing the bloody corpse on the floor.

"I'm right here." Sullen replied, startling the ape.

The soldier had no idea what was happening as the invisible Cobalt Disruptor raised havoc with his central nervous system. The gorilla twitched as Sullen smothered the simian with the blood soaked lab coat. Once the job was done, the Prefect gathered his supplies and walked out the front of the building.

He worked his way back through the city, intentionally avoiding the factory. It took some finesse but he eventually made it to the outskirts of town and through the open field just beyond. Getting around the sentry post was trouble-free. The two guards were awake but playing a game of cards. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he was back where he'd tied his horse.

His plan had worked. Ulysses was probably less than an hour behind but it didn't matter. He'd secured what he'd come for and now all that remained was to execute the last stage of the scheme. Sullen popped the magazine into place and flipped the switch to, HE. The mechanical magazine clicked and locked the round into place. Next, the ape sighted on the sentry post and squeezed the trigger. It went up in a large ball of fire. Without hesitation he gazed through the scope. The auto-targeting schema signaled a lock. Sullen fired again and again. Multiple explosions went off in succession. At this point, the ape picked a few random buildings and fired yet again.

Faint cries and shouting began as the small barrage ended and the fires began. Back in Ceasera, Captain Sarref was doing his best to maintain order. The captain was bleeding from a head wound but in much better shape than the other soldier. The High Explosive rounds had killed most of the platoon stationed around the factory. More than two-thirds of the factory now covered their bodies.

"There …at about two o'clock" a soldier shouted "That's where he is. I saw a muzzle flash."

"A muzzle flash?" Sarref replied "That was artillery, you moron."

"Was it, Sir?" the Sergeant shouted through all of the chaos. "Did you hear any heavy gun fire from their howitzers? Besides, there's no way the humans could navigate that kind of equipment through that kind of terrain."

Captain Sarref paused. The ape had a point. But it had to be artillery. Half of the city was ablaze. Small arms fire wasn't capable of doing one tenth of the damage he was witnessing.

"Grenades" he concluded. "We've been raided. Ok Sergeant whatever it is, it doesn't matter. I don't care if you have to swim through the flames. You make it to the closest Artillery unit and bring down everything in a thousand meter radius. I'll round up survivors here and search for intruders. They couldn't be hiding too far."

The ape didn't reply. Instead, he leapt over some rubble and headed for the support unit, as ordered.

Back on the hilltop the gloating simian inspected the city through the starlight scope on his recently acquired rifle. The Prefect peered through in amazement. It not only looked like daylight, but he felt that he could actually reach out and touch the flames. He watched the apes scurrying about. How could a species so highly intelligent be equally as lethal? He wondered. Sullen considered firing a few more round but he didn't want to waste ammunition. He couldn't resupply and besides, he'd just stuck a knife in their industrial heart.

"How do you like that you pragmatic, condescending, bag of wind?" the ape rhetorically directed at the absent Major Polk.

Sullen was a politician, not a military strategist. If Grazot, March, or Hayes had fired on the city, they would have all been long gone by now. The ape was too busy gloating in ignorance. After all, he was well beyond their reach. He'd won. What could they do him now?

The answer came in a loud whistle followed by an ear shattering boom; then another and another after that. They were far enough away and only peppered him with dirt but it came close enough to scare him sober. His horse wined and broke free from the branch it was tied too. The steed galloped off into the darkness heading directly for the city.

The explosions shocked the Prefect so suddenly that he squeezed the trigger and sent another HE round directly into city. That mistake almost cost him life. The forward observer noted the muzzle flash and signaled adjustments to the combat support unit. They, in turn, shifted their trajectory and fired several more shells from every gun in the battery.

Sullen crouched as explosions went off just in front of his position. Fear and animalistic instincts overrode his reason and intellect. The Prefect darted through the darkness in the opposite direction as fast as his appendages would take him. His heart was beating rapidly and his lungs gulped in the oxygen. So much adrenalin was coursing though his system that his bad knee was temporarily acting as his good knee. He ran for what seemed like miles using both the ground and the trees …whatever was handy or convenient. Faster … faster, shot through his mind.

As if out of nowhere he sensed something to his front. Sullen hit the object at full speed. He lost balance and tumbled several feet before his simian dexterity took control and steadied his fall.

He quickly rose and swung around. There on the ground lying unconscious was a stinking human.

Ceasera – Approximately one hour later

Philonus woke to the sound of distant thunder. He rubbed his face trying to push the fatigue away. He was still half asleep when the pounding on his door started. What could be so darn imperative at this hour, the ape thought? His response came in the form of more pounding followed by the shouting of his name.

"Come in, Come in" he yelled back. This had better be good, he thought.

The door swung open and Philonus squinted as the light from the oil lamp filled the room, temporarily blinding him.

"Get that blasted thing out of my face" the ape snarled. "And tell me what's so dreadfully vital that I have to be woken from a sound sleep with an artillery bombardment on my bedroom door"

Polk laughed at the irony of the statement but kept it to himself. He ignored the ape's demeanor and sternly stated "We're been attacked, Sir".

For the next several moments, the Major filled his commanding officer in on what had transpired. Philonus took in what he could but was simply overtired. He'd been out late finishing his rounds. Instead of coming home, having a hot meal, and going to bed; the workaholic stayed up reviewing several days' worth of progress reports. He was now paying the price for that foolish decision.

"Why aren't you out there seeing to things? You should have sent a messenger" the Colonel barked out.

"With all due respect, Sir, it's you who should be out there." Polk responded bluntly. "I've tasked several details. Graves Registration is tending to the dead. There are medical personnel attending to our wounded and one of the officers' onsite had our eastern Artillery Battery pounded the daylights out of their escape route. Patrols are searching for enemy saboteurs but I need to stress again that we're crippled."

"You saw the factory, then?" Philonus asked in calmer but serious voice.

"No Sir, I saw what was left of it." Polk replied. The statement would have sounded humorous if it hadn't been so true.

"Tell me Major, how long could we maintain an offensive attack?" Philonus asked.

"One, maybe two days, Sir" Polk replied. "But the factory is gone. It will be six months to year before were … Well, you know what I mean"

As if he were reading the Colonel's mind the ape did his best to nip the butt-chewing in the bud. "Sir," he continued. "It's my opinion that the humans hit us with some kind of relic; probably from the old capital. The city is suffering damage on the scale of a fully Artillery onslaught, but no howitzers were seen. It's like the buildings ignited by themselves. A few muzzle flashes were all that anyone saw."

"You get boots on the ground and confirm that. Do you hear me?" Philonus ordered.

Polk nodded and the Colonel continued; "Next, you let some of the junior officers and senior NCOs handle the damage and clean up. Get the staff and every senior officer together. We're going to assess this and hit back. I'm tired of those furless fleas biting at my pelt."

They'd had their differences but Polk was in full agreement. This was becoming like a plague.

If it wasn't contained and dealt with, everyone was going to die.

"I wonder what kind of relic could fire invisible artillery shells" Philonus mumbled as he fumbled around for his clothes.

Polk's mind flashed back to the weapons demonstration Lant had given with the confiscated weapons. Oh no! shot through his head …the lab. I have to get to the lab

He dismissed himself and headed out towards the opposite side of town.