(Part 4 - Finale)

"Yes, Colonel... Those are the latest results from Project 'Golden Rainbow'... Go ahead? Yes. Of course."

'Hap' hung up his desk phone. He had his orders to proceed with the next and greatest test. To get to Alpha Centauri.

The nearest star to the Sun and Earth. About 4.5 Light Years away. Maybe just 4.5 hours away... For Mike Greenfield?

#-#-#

"Alright Hap. I'll take her to the limit. Or what I believe is the limit. Though I'm not sure there really is one?"

Mike replied, after his new orders had been approved. "Where No Man has gone... Before!" he then thought.

Yes: 'To reach the unreachable Stars!' Where had he heard or read that very line? Oh yes: 'Man of La Mancha'.

#-#-#

"Power... Full Spectrum!" "Ion Generators at Maximum!" "Gyros all Steady... Ready... Go!" said the engineers.

Hap and Kal watched in the Control Room... On the big, main monitor screen. The Ship blinked... then was gone!

"Are we still tracking him... Anything on the radio telescopes out at Goldstone and elsewhere? Where is he. Where?"

This from Kal. His words echoed in Hap's mind and thoughts. Did Mike make it... To the nearest Star... However far?

Slowly some type of resonance, reverberation effect slowly grew. And grew. The Control Room started shaking slightly.

Then more and more, like a giant's hand had grabbed the building with thick, humongous fingers. And the Sky, outside...

The Sky had been clear blue... Baby blue... But it now was a deep shade of purple. And still 5 hours before Twilight Time!

#-#-#

Two days later...

"I don't understand, Colonel. Where the Hell is the Base? Are we at the right coordinates? God damn, where's the Base!"

This from a 3-star general, as he and a Colonel Blake stared down from their helicopter at 3000 feet above the desert floor.

"General, do you want a closer look?" asked Blake. The General nodded.

"Captain... Land by that rocky outcropping just ahead" ordered the Colonel to the chopper pilot.

"Yes, Sir!" the pilot responded. They landed on the naked sands. They soon noticed some odd plants nearby.

The General was curious. He was no gardener, but those plants reminded him of something from his school days.

"Colonel... Those plants... They're a bit like what I recall from an old textbook on ancient animals and plant life. So odd!"

The Colonel looked and noticed as well: "Yes, General... I see what you mean. How very odd. How odd indeed!"

Suddenly there was a roar... Like an African Lion. Up on top of the rocks, now, a great beast. The pilot immediately

drew his service pistol. An old classic .45 caliber '1911' remodel. He shot 3 rounds, lightning fast. And good he did.

The three men looked on in wide disbelief, at the now dead large cat. One of the most dangerous, large cats ever!

"My God... That's no mountain lion. Is that what I think it is?" asked the General, dumbfounded and deeply stunned.

The Colonel spoke slowly, as if trying to convince himself: "If you are thinking what I'm thinking... Yes, General...

That looks exactly like the classic image... of the long gone, but here now... Saber Tooth Tiger! Oh, yes!"

(THE END... Or a new Beginning?)