Chapter 3: Questions
Martin sat in his car for what seemed an eternity, the events mulling in his brain. He could still hardly believe what had transpired. First there was the Super X, an impressive and ultimately effective feat of military technology. The General had touted it as the best defense we had and it delivered. But that's what brought the second, most intriguing thought to bear. A Titan had shown up, just as the EDF was unveiling their newest creation. That could hardly be a coincidence. He knew he was probably not the only one thinking it but the display would be more than enough to assuage others from questioning the matter. And thirdly, what was it he saw on the General's face. The hesitation. Had he really considered ending the titan right then and there? Was that really the M.O. of the EDF or was it truly for the defense of mankind as the General had so eloquently put it? If it weren't for what he'd just seen, he wouldn't question the sincerity of the General. Perhaps he did believe it and just had a moment of pause? So many more questions began to pour into his mind like an overflowing sink. He snapped out of it just enough to notice two figures run past his car. He turned and clocked them as they ran down to the press area. Dr. Mark Russell and his daughter Dr. Madison Russell. He knew them briefly from the few times they'd spoken to the media. He was even present at some of the engagements. They must've been the two empty seats he'd seen on stage. Fashionably late it would seem. Or maybe they were late intentionally? More questions invaded him as he felt something compelling him to stay.
The Russells both arrived as the press was packing everything up and departing. General Gordon had already returned to the back and the crew was in cleanup mode. Madison was the first to find him in the back. She practically ran him over.
"What the hell was that General," Madison shouted as her father came up behind her to keep her from steamrolling the General.
"That, was an effective demonstration of the Super X. Just the EDF doing what we said we were going to do," he replied, keeping his composure.
Madison shrugged her father off as she continued.
"You know exactly what I mean! How did you do it? How did you bring Behemoth here?"
Gordon looked at her puzzled.
"I don't like what you're implying here Dr. Russell."
"I believe what Madison is trying to say is that you know as well as we do that Titanus Behemoth is an herbivore and non hostile by nature. Not only that but it's seldom ever wandered into any city or public area, preferring it's solitude."
General Gordon chuckled.
"So you're thinking I somehow lured a big cow of a monster here just to shoot at it? Oh please. You think I'm gonna shoot down Santa Claus next?"
Madison couldn't resist the urge as she smacked the General across the face. Immediately several other military personnel drew in. The General held up a hand to stop them.
"Given the positive reception of this reveal to the world, I'm going to let that slide," he said as his eyes narrowed at them both. He continued.
"Let me make this perfectly clear to you both. Neither I nor the EDF had anything to do with that thing showing up today. And you know I'm telling the truth. Think about it. You eggheads at Monarch think you know so much. The only way to lure a titan anywhere is to use an ORCA to do so. Your research and words, not mine. And had the EDF had access or used an ORCA, which your directors have denied us access to, your monitoring systems would have shown that, correct? And as per the report the EDF received not only was there no signal detected but Monarch didn't even know that monster was here until it made landfall. For a group of scientists who are supposed to be monitoring these things constantly you've had not only a major lapse in your observations but you're also trying to accuse us of inciting this whole mess. Sounds to me like Monarch dropped the ball yet again. Luckily the EDF showed up to pick up your slack. We may not be there next time."
The General took a breath and nodded at them.
"Now if you both will excuse me," he said as he began walking off. Madison stopped him once more.
"Didn't you say yourself the EDF was here to "protect" us from Titans? Sounds to me if you're not here next time you have your own agenda."
The General looked at her with a smile.
"The fact that your organization is always late to these events like you were today, is the reason why I have an agenda," he said before turning away once more.
As the General left, Madison growled in frustration as she exited the back area and sat down on the platform. Mark hopped down and stood before his daughter.
"Madison you can't lose your temper like that, he could've had you locked up for that."
"Dammit Dad, you can't just lay down and let them walk all over us. There is something going on that he's not telling us. I feel it and I know you can too."
Mark sighed and turned from her, thinking to himself before looking at her once more.
"Yes something feels off. But you looked at the report and saw the same thing I did, the same thing the General did. You need a lot more than a gut feeling to prove that kind of thing."
"Luckily for you both, I kind of specialize in that department," a voice interrupted.
They both turned and looked in the direction of the voice. Steve Martin stood there, a hand reaching out in greeting.
"And just who might you be pal," Mark replied with a look of suspicion. Steve withdrew his hand.
"Someone who feels the same way. My name is Steve Martin. I'm a journalist out of Chicago for United World News. And I know exactly who both of you are. Dr. Mark Russell and his daughter Dr. Madison Russell. I've seen you both before on television and even attended one of your daughter's lectures on Titan energy and how it can be synthesized for applicable uses. I'm sure a lot of other folks here felt the same way we did about how convenient all this was. But a show like that is easily able to allay fear and worry. People see decisive action and that's what they hold to."
Madison hopped off the platform and extended her hand to Martin. They shook as Dr. Russell groaned.
"Seriously Maddie? He said it himself. He's a reporter. All he's interested in is stirring up trouble."
"You just agreed with me that something's off Dad. Now someone wants to bring it up and you're quick to dismiss. You said we need evidence and maybe Mr. Martin here might be able to help."
Steve pulled out a card and gave it to each of them.
"We can discuss this more at a later time. This has my cell number on it. I'm catching a flight later this evening back to Chicago. We can talk after I land or you're welcome to come out. We can talk proper about everything then."
The Russells each took a card as Steve thanked them for their time. He turned and walked off just as quickly as he had appeared. Mark's mind raced. This guy couldn't be as forthcoming as he was. What was his angle? Madison thoughts included giving thanks to a higher power for someone else to have a clear head unlike her Dad.
Godzilla's eyes lazily opened and closed as it adjusted it's massive body to become more comfortable. It lolled it's head to and fro as it adjusted it's body. The pain it was feeling made it's whole body ache and the creature itself was more exhausted than it had been in a very long time. It let out low growl as it struggled to move. A sudden, gut wrenching pain passed through it's body making it groan and convulse slightly. This new feeling was unwelcoming to the Titan. It spent a few more moments adjusting before the pain grew and shot through it's body once more. Godzilla let out a roar as the pain increased momentarily before settling once again. Godzilla's body relaxed once more as the pain became a dull thrum. Within minutes, the King of the Monsters fell back into a troubled slumber.
Hollow Earth-2 Days later
Franklin Harmon pushed his glasses up as he continued watching the monitor. His shift had just started the day prior when Dr. Ilene Andrews and her daughter returned with the other crew to the surface to look over the matters of Behemoth's behavior. The job paid well but he hated how long they were. Each shift consisted of a week and a crew of 3 to 4 personnel at a time. He was shacked up with Len Piqua, Diane Ladd, and Clive Sullivan. He didn't much care for the others, preferring to work in solitude but there was so much to look over and monitor that it required multiple hands on deck. Gone were the lazy days where it was just the job of the Hollow Earth crew to watch over Kong. Now there was even more to watch out for. After the other Hollow Earth Outpost had been destroyed and with the discovery of new Titans, the newest outpost was fitted with even more advanced technology than before. Now there were even more cameras, frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar as well as ground penetrating radar, and even drones to cast a wider net all across the Hollow Earth. Drones were sent on daily scouting missions as well as to follow Kong's tribe as they continued their daily hunts and exploration. There was even an array of drones that sent information back to Hollow Earth Outpost 2 on Shimo, who had gone off and claimed an area for itself close to a series of mountain ranges far to the east. They kept their distance due to the sheer nature of Shimo's power but every few days the drones would return to recharge and a new set would be sent out to replace them. The last thing that was done to ensure coverage of all the areas they had mapped in the Hollow Earth was the deployment of an interior satellite. While not a satellite in the traditional sense, the Hollow Earth Accumulation Transponder (HEAT) was floating platform that hovered high in the air close to the cavernous ceiling of Hollow Earth. It allowed signals to clearly be transmitted to and from the Hollow Earth Outpost as well as transmission of data and communications to the surface. This complex but necessary setup is what kept things running smoothly. And smoothly required a proper crew.
Franklin himself kept watch on the radars. The FMCW could detect velocity, distance, and direction of various creatures while the ground penetrating radars made sure there wasn't anything sneaking or digging through the ground. It was also used to find openings within the ground itself, similar to the void that was discovered just two years prior. Sullivan handled the drone work, everything from creating the various paths and programming needed for daily operations to downloading and uploading the reports they gave regularly to Monarch on the surface. Diane was in charge of monitoring all the behaviors of the Hollow Earth residents and responsible for recording any changes or social interactions they came across. Lastly Len was the person who kept everything running. A tower goes down, monitor blips out, or a drone gets damaged and he was there to get it back up and running. He also watched over the cameras that weren't focused on Titans and maintained a vigil of the area surrounding the outpost. 4 people with individual jobs kept the whole place running smoothly. Every night one of them would draw the short straw and have to watch while the others slept. Luckily the living quarters could adjust lights for the crew since Hollow Earth stayed consistently bright at all times. But even through all of this, Harmon wished he went it alone.
He took a sip of his coffee which may or may not have been Irish as he continued looking over the radar. Once more nothing of note other than Kong's tribe going about their usual business. He let out a yawn as he looked over at the others. Only 5 more days of this boredom then back to the surface he thought to himself. BEEP. He turned back to the FMCW, his eyebrows raised. BEEP. There it was again. He took another drink and eyed the radar closely. BEEP. He saw it. Approaching from a southwestern direction a large object, easily moving at a speed of 150 miles per hour. He couldn't tell what exactly it was but he knew it was approaching fast.
"Sullivan! I got something here! Looks like something big and new is coming from the southwest. Can you get eyes on it?"
"Yeah, gimme a sec," he responded, immediately typing into his keyboard.
One of the drones left it's charging bay and lifted into the sky above the outpost. He watched the camera feed from the drone as it continued rising. As the drone crested over a nearby hill he saw it. A mass of dust and dirt being torn from the ground or tossed up. Something was moving hard and fast. Sullivan zoomed in, trying to get a better look.
"Something's coming but I can't tell what it is. What kind of timeframe are we looking at?"
Len and Diane came over to Sullivan's station, each one trying to gauge what was approaching.
"It's a little over 80 miles out and should be here within the next 40 minutes, give or take. It doesn't look like it will hit the outpost but it is in the path of the Kong hunting grounds."
Len came over to Franklin's radar and looked over the feed.
"Look at that," he said pointing the ground radar, "It's registering on there even at this distance? Whatever this thing is, it's got to be burrowing."
General Gordon flipped through papers on his desk, his eyes scrolling once more over the sentences therein. Captain Storm stood at attention in front of his desk as the General finished reading the reports. He looked up at Storm.
"Excellent news Captain. Everything appears to be on schedule. And according to this report we've already gotten not only additional funding but bulk orders for the Super X from various other countries. Money will no longer be a factor in any of our operations."
Captain Storm nodded though slightly tense.
"True sir. However, and I hope I'm not speaking out of line with this, as the EDF is trying to protect not just our country but others shouldn't we be allowing them access to our technology so they can develop Super X weapons of their own?"
The General smiled which eased Storm's tension.
"As a matter of fact Captain, that's not out of line at all. I asked you to notify the team to begin mass production for a reason. We're going to be shipping out several units to each of our allied countries. No charge, just doing our part to keep the planet safe. But these orders we've gotten are for more than what we are giving to them. It's all going to be extra coming in. So we're succeeding in both our fronts. We're helping to arm the world and secure our financial future so we can continue to do so. The American way."
General Gordon watched on as the Captain seemed satisfied with the answer. He cleared his throat.
"That will be all Captain. I appreciate everything you've done and all that you've given to our cause. Keep up the great work son. Dismissed."
Captain Storm saluted and left. General Gordon pulled out his phone and dialed.
"Yes," a voice answered.
"General Gordon here. I need reports on Project Atragon and Project Millennium within the hour. It's imperative that I know how long until we can prepare Phase 2 and begin deployment."
"Yes sir, that shouldn't be any trouble at all. I should let you know now though that Project Millennium is reliant on Phase 2 to be fully functional," the voice replied.
"You let me worry about that and keep working as needed. If we're going to solidify our might, we need both ready ASAP. Give me an estimation if you must but I need a timeframe."
There was a sigh on the other line. "I'll have a report sent to you immediately General."
"Thank you Dr. Mafune. I appreciate all your efforts. Without you, the EDF wouldn't stand a chance against the Titans."
Gordon ended the call and set the phone down. He looked over at the screens and saw the team hard at work building more of the Super Xs. Another screen showed a group of soldiers training in simulated flights of the vehicles. It was all coming together. He looked at the feed from Monarch. He started scrolling through once more, looking at each one. In his mind he assessed each one and how they would compare to the Super X. Most of these Titans wouldn't be able to match it's maneuverability but some had attacks of their own that might render the EDF's weapon as useless. While the weapon was designed to take direct blows from Titans, it wasn't invincible. He cracked his knuckles as he continued scrolling. It won't be much longer now, he thought with satisfaction.
