"Ma'am, we have excessive rift activity at the Agricultural Experiment station." Kyra said, standing in the doorway to Avery's office. Her voice soft, trying to hide the worry and excitement it carried.
"Send some men to check it out." Avery said looking up from the stacks of papers scattered across her desk. She rubbed her eyes, red and swollen from sleep deprivation.
"They are already out there, Ma'am. The activity started off as a small ripple two days ago…"
Avery straightened up ignoring the aches and groans of her stiff body, a sign she had been sitting for far too long. "You're telling me that we detected rift activity two days ago, and I'm just finding out about it!"
"Yes Ma'am. I figured…"
"You figured you would handle things on your own." she said cutting the wary Welsh girl off "All activity is to be passed through me here on out, do you understand?" Kyra nodded her understanding, "Nothing and I mean nothing leaves this building without my knowledge."
"Yes Ma'am" Kyra straightened her back, standing taller, trying to show that the boss's annoyance didn't bother her, but the worried look gave her away.
"Now, tell me about this activity."
"Ma'am, the men have declared it a code red. They claim things have come out of it." She held something up that made Avery leap out of her seat to grab it. "Ave…" Kyra cleared her throat as Avery looked at the young Welsh girl and smiled a gentle smile. "Ma'am, this isn't like any activity I've seen."
Avery's eyes widened with curiosity, "How so, Ky."
She smiled softly, "They've been sending men through…" She paused at the look she got, hesitating, but continued when Avery nodded, indicating it was okay, "It seems to be a doorway of some sorts. They are calling it an Anomaly." She nodded to the black box that now sat on the desk, "The men have recorded their findings, but Ma'am, every time one of them went through, the other side changed. The only thing that stayed the same was the world they came back to."
Curiosity coursed through every vain in Avery's body as she opened the black box. A holographic image appeared in the middle of the room. At first everything looked cloudy, but as it began to come into focus you could see the makings of a whole new world. It looked like a paradise; it looked as if everything was peaceful. You could see a waterfall, flowing into a crystal clear pond to the left and an arrangement of buildings to the right. Rocky Mountains covered the land. A smile spread across Avery's face, but it didn't go all the way to her eyes, it seemed to be a saddened smile. The land reminded her of a planet that once was, but was no longer. The soldier began to walk, they hadn't made it very far when a horrific growl came from behind them. They slowly turned to see the cause; Avery's face fell at the sight of the creature lunging at the soldier. She slammed the black box down on her desk, a little more forcefully then she intended. She took a few deep breaths trying to regain her posture, sitting on the edge of her desk she smoothed the wrinkles out of her black dress, her eyes averted towards the floor "How many people have we lost?"
"Three. Ma'am"
"Tell Captain Phillips to stop sending soldiers through the anomaly. If one man even puts a suit on, they are all fired!" she snapped.
"Yes Ma'am"
Kyra made a dash for the door, but before she could make it all the way through Avery spoke, "Ky, have my car brought around. I would like to go check out the site. I'm also going to need a change of clothes." She nodded and muttered something into her head piece, "Oh, and Ky, get you're things ready, you're coming with." Kyra tried to hide her grin, but failed horribly as she ran through the door.