TERRA NOVA THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES

TERRA NOVA: THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES While Commander Taylor, and camp staff, would have thought that they had cut themselves off, from the future, when Hope Plaza was destroyed, by the dinosaur, what no one had thought to count on was the back up plan, created by the same rulers, who had turned 2149 into such a wasteland. With the discovery of the sailing ships prow, new questions, would be raised, about WHO had access to the past. While the military would suggest that Hope Plaza had a back-up site, in case of emergency, members, of the seventh, eighth, and ninth, pilgrimages, would report hearing word, in 2149, that another group had been working to access time travel. The difference was that, with the military, and political, leaders, controlling Hope Plaza, that another group. A group, which some referred to as "terrorists", was attempting artificial time-travel. Allegedly, their goal was to SAVE the past, by preventing the future from poisoning the past. This left the question of: If there was more than one, time, portal, HOW could the worst, of the future be prevented passage, while allowing the worthy to transit? Over the next, two, weeks, since the cop had returned, from the future (after the dinosaur wrecked the time portal), Commander Taylor had ordered a complete inventory, of ALL of Terra Nova's supplies. Not so much against theft, as to keep watch on when supplies would begin running low. The commander knew that the FIRST things the group would run short of, was fuel cells. The second would be medication. Then, something, totally bizzarre, would happen. Without rhyme, reason, or warning, the colony would bed down, for the night, one night, while contemplating their future. Come morning, the compounds perimeter soldiers would sound an alarm. And with good reason. When Commander Taylor would look about the crates, he had to wonder HOW these crates could have gotten past security. When the commander called in the overnight patrol, demanding to know the HOW, and WHY, that no one reported the crates being delivered, all that he found was that, before sun-rise, the compounds center area had been as empty, as it was, at sun-down. When Commander Taylor asked "Then, WHERE did all of those supplies come from?" The soldiers would, only, say "I dont know sir." To this, Taylor would tell the day-shift "Until they decided to talk, throw them in the brig." Taylor would, then go, to his window, while asking senior staff "HOW did they get all of this inventory inside the compound without anyone even HEARING them?" His lieutenant would correct him, asking "Shouldn't the real question be: Without a portal, HOW did they get the supplies to this dimension?" All that the people, of Terra Nova, cared about was that someone had delivered enough supplies, to keep the colony active, safe, and healthy, for six months. What Taylor could not shake was the question of "WHY?" Who would do this? While it would take the colony DAYS, to secure the supplies, what no one expected was for a "sixer" to come to the compound, begging for help. When Taylor had the "sixer" placed under armed guard, then asked the rebel "Just WHY did you come here? We KNOW you had a camp, outside the wall. Why come to us?" The "sixer" would say "Food, and water, then I tell you all you will WANT to know." Taylor was about to say "No deal." but only until a member, of his security team would suggest "Lets hear him out. If his information is bogus, we can dump him outside. Make a nice dinner, for a raptor." After the "sixer" "scarfed down" three plate-fuls, of food, and four goblets, of water, Taylor would say "Okay, start talking." The "sixer" would say "For some reason, our support units were not assigned, JUST to take Terra Nova. They had their sights fixed on another, bigger, target. This is why, when they did not find, what they sought, here, at the colony, they set off, towards the north.." Taylor would add "...to the bad lands. The question is WHY?" The "sixer" would say "All they would tell us was that their "prize" would make Terra Nova seem like a failed experiment." When Taylor would ask "And, HOW would they KNOW about this "prize"?" The "sixer" would say "They claimed that they had evidence, back in 2149, that "something important" was here." When Taylor would ask "Did any, of you "sixers" think to ASK?" The "sixer" would say "One, of our scouts DID ask." When Taylor asked, the "sixer" would say "The soldiers shot my scout, then asked if anyone else had any questions." When Malone would ask "Why did you abandon, the "sixers", and make a run, for Terra Nova? Why not make for your own camp?" The "sixer" would look at Malone, while saying "Unlike your "precious" Terra Nova, here, our leaders said we had to stay mobile. That is why general man here" indicating Taylor, "could, never pin-point us." When Taylor would say "Thats only PART of the answer. WHY did you come, running, to us?" The "sixer" would say "I doubt you would believe me, if I told you." When Malone would ask "Now, why is that?" The "sixer" would say "Because I was THERE, and I, still, dont know what was real." Taylor would say "Okay, here's the choice. You can ROT, in the brig, or you can take us to where this "thing" happened." The "sixer" would say "ONLY if you take ALL of your fifty cals, rocket launchers, and anything else you have." When Taylor would ask "If we refuse?" The "sixer" would say "Send me to your brig. Atleast I will be safe, there." During the following conference, Taylors staff would admit "Sir, we know very little about this place. Who, really, knows WHAT is out, in the bad-lands." Taylor would say "Right now, I would give a months salary, for some U.A.V.'s." Malone would be the one to ask "If you suspect a trap, then WHY would the "sixer" ASK us to take our most powerful weapons?" A lieutenant would suggest "Maybe, the "sixers", or their buddies, ran into something, that they could not deal with, without heavy weapons." Malone would ask "Why not put us at ease. SAY they found a city. They want our help, with cataloging. Wait until we get to them, then close the trap." Taylor would, only, say "The "sixers" are clever. They would not alert anyone unless they HAD to. Whatever is out there, in the badlands, I suspect that neither the "sixers", nor their partners, were prepared for it." When Malone would ask "Since we have the same intel, and weapons, are we not at a similar disadvantage?" Taylor would say "Since we have a "friend", to show us where the danger is, I would say that we have the advantage, of preparation." Citizens, of the colony, KNEW that the convoy would not be back, soon. Especially after every member took the time to say goodbye. The convoy THOUGHT it was prepared for "anything". What it was not prepared for was what it discovered, just two days into the badlands. Namely, overturned, and demolished, "sixer", and military, vehicles. When Taylor asked the "sixer", "Just WHAT did you see?" The "sixer" would say "I dont recall SEEING anything. All I remember is seeing trucks, and cars, flipping over, like a person, flipping hamburgers." When Taylor would ask "Didn't the soldiers return fire?" The "sixer" would ask "At what?" While Taylor suspected a "sixer" trap, Malone was not so convinced. This man had seen something, which they could not explain. Since the pilgrims were in a new time-line, didn't that mean that the same rules, as Earth, 2149, did NOT apply here? Taylor was not a believer, at all, until after he sent out a patrol, to find any hidden, booby traps. Taylor became a believer when he witnessed SOMETHING, grabbing at his patrol, swinging the patrol about, and riping away guns. The worst part was that, no matter what setting the scanners were set on, the only thing, that registered, were the soldiers. When Taylor gave the order "Open FIRE!", His soldiers asked "At what?" It would not be until the medic went forth, to find out if the patrol had survived "it", that the medic made a curious discovery. While using a laser, to close a wound, the medic noticed a shimmer, nearby. The medic noted that the shimmer only lasted as long as the laser was active. When the medic would suggest trying to "map" the thing, using the laser, that Malone had asked Taylor "Why not?" When Taylor would mention "This is the only field medic that we have. If anything hapened, to them..." Malone would suggest "Send me, instead. You have plenty of soldiers. I wont be missed." Taylor would say "Your wife would have my scalp, head, and other, body, parts, if she found out." Malone would ask "How will she find out. I have no intention of telling her." Taylor would say "Just dont make me send your body home, in a bag." Using the medical scanner, as a sort-of "perimeter scanner", Malone would verify that this "thing" had a definite size. To everyones surprise, it, also, had a definite, energy, signature. Whatever it was, the energy signature did not match any Earth signature. All the scanner could read was "Unknown." Since the ground, on either side, of the path was not very "stable", Malone would have to chart the most "solid" course, that he could. Still, on the far side, of the "thing", Taylor was amazed at how much energy it would have taken, to toss the armored transports around. Someone did NOT want "company". Maybe a day, further up the "road", the Terra Novan's would hear not just a fire-fight, but someone shouting "Conserve your ammo. Remember!" While Taylor would ask his team "Remember what?" and his soldiers would suggest "Remember where we are?" Malone would suggest "Maybe, remember that we are not in 2149? We cannot re-supply?" Taylor would say "If that IS the case, then we have another advantage. Thanks to that shipment, we have all of the ammo that we need." When a lieutenant would suggest "We wait until they run out of ammo, then take them?" Taylor would suggest "Almost right. We wait until their ammo, AND FOOD, is gone." When another soldier would ask "What good will that do? No army travels, without rations. Re-supply at reg..." Taylor would say "Precisely. They are cut off, from re-supply. All they have is what they are carrying." Still, this left the question of "WHO were they fighting? WHO could live, in the badlands?" This is when Malone asked Taylor "I wonder how CLOSE, to the EDGE, of the badlands, that they found the ships prow?" This was a question, which not even their "guest" "sixer" could answer. What the Terra Novans DID do was to relax, and just listen, to the distant gun-fire, for nearly twelve hours. It was not until several voices called out "I'm out", followed by "Me, too.", that Taylor sent out a two-man patrol, just to see if this was a "ploy", or "ambush". When the patrol reported "We think they ARE out of ammo. We saw them making weapons out of what look like tree branches." Taylor would say "Only one way to be certain. Squad one, on ME. Squad two, on Malone. Lets move out." To the surprise, of the Terra Novans, the military looked shocked that the civilians had weapons. When a soldier tried to rush Taylors squad, which returned fire, the military commander would ask "WHERE did you get ammo?" When Taylor would say "The Good Fairy", the military leader would say "Impossible! We did not leave a single shell behind." Taylor would say "Yet, here we are, guns, fully loaded, and you, ammo depleted." IF what the soldiers, from 2149, said, was true, then the "thing", which attacked the convoy was not just after ammo. The senior officer would say "I dont know what it was, but it ate our rations, like it had not eaten, in months." When Taylor would say "Yet, you made it, here." The officer would say "With what our vests could carry." Malone understood the reason why Taylor denied the soldiers any rations, until they disclosed their mission. What both Taylor, and Malone, found hard to accept was that there were OTHER portals, in this land. The soldiers had hoped to use one of these to transit back to 2149. When Taylor would ask "HOW do you KNOW that any portals, out here, would lead back to 2149?" The soldier would say "We must have faith. After all, no unit goes into action, without a back-up plan." The ONLY reason why Malone asked Taylor to allow the soldiers to join the patrol was because, if Malone reported, to his doctor/wife that he had left ENEMY soldiers out in the "cold", to die, he KNEW his wife would have him sleeping, on the couch, for months. Back in Terra Nova, the entire population would be surprised when more supplies, suddenly appearred. Either someone was taking care, of the Terra Novans, OR this was a trap. Even the doctor agreed to have every box, in each shipment, scanned, before delivery. (No one wanted to fall victim to a "Trojan Horse") The problem, with the badlands, was that the place was so wild. Most "sixers", and Terra Novans, who entered this area, did not report back. The military suggested that this was because of rumors, in 2149. Rumors, which stated that people, from the past, had been taken, for interrogation. When Taylor asked about PROOF, all the future forces could say was "just stories". It would be Malone, who would ask "IF 2149 has a back-up gate, in the badlands, WHY haven't they sent re-inforcements, by now?" The military would, only, say "Prior to incursion, our officers were told that, if things went side-ways, the back-up plan could be located, in the badlands." When Taylor would remark "At WHAT coordinates?" The soldier would say "We were just told to head here. No rendezvous point, just this area." This is when a "sixer" would ask the soldier "Do you KNOW how HUGE this place is?" The soldier would say "We were hoping for a marker, or a beacon." Taylor would say "Let me guess. So far no luck." The soldier would shrug. When the soldier would ask "WHAT is out there?" indicating the badlands. Taylor would agrree with the "sixers". "As far as anyone knows, there is just mile after mile, of mile after mile." When the soldier would ask "No cities? No signs, of civilization?" Taylor would say "As the first human, to arrive, here, the only evidence, of civilization, is back at Terra Nova." When the soldier looked confused, Taylor would say "Face it, son! You were set up! Big Time!" Then add "Sent on a fools errand, to secure who-knows-what." The soldier knew that the commander was right. Promises, of "bonuses", and "promotions". All designed to encourage volunteers to step through a portal, into another world. When the soldiers second-in-command would come forth, asking the Terra Novans "Does this mean anything, to you?" Both Taylor, and Malone, would look at the drawing, and suggest: "Someone MUST have aerial recon. That is the only way this map could have been made. Based upon aerial recon photo's." This is when a Terra Novan soldier would remind the commander "Remember that Terrodactil, which sweeps the colony, at intervals? I wonder...." Taylor would ask "Why go to the trouble, of making a drone look like a dinosaur?" Malone would suggest "To keep other dinosaurs from attacking the drone." Taylor would, then, ask "Drones run on fuel cells, just as everything else does. If there are drones, where are they kept? How are they charged?" Malone would say "More important. What are they doing, with the intel? I dont see a large market, for black market intel, in prehistoric times." Taylor would add "Unless..." and the soldier would add "Someone else has a portal. Maybe more than one." When Malone would ask "Wouldn't Hope Plaza KNOW of other portals?" Taylor would say "All Hope Plaza cares about is its OWN portal. The one our dinosaur destroyed. I doubt that the government would even be searching, for additional portals. They thought that THEY controlled the process, from start to finish." When a "sixer" would ask "If they find out that someone ELSE has portal tech?" Taylor would say "Most likely, the government would DESTROY the portal, and claim an accident. The "powers that be dont want ANY "competition". " This is when the soldiers would ask "Then, WHAT DO we do?" Taylor would ask "Who is up for some sight-seeing. Just a couple of days worth. If we find nothing then we go home." Taylor was happy when everyone, present, was ready for the task. Before beginning the journey, however, Taylor would ask the soldiers "Just WHAT were you shooting at, back there?" The "sixers" would say "They LOOKED like baby terradactils. odd thing was, they didn't seem to flap their wings, for flight, either down, or up. It was like..." and a soldier would say "They flew like U.A.V.'s Just noise-less." Taylor would say "So, someone, else, here, DOES have fuel cells. Question is, Why have they made no effort to say "Hello"?" No one had any answers. (Not in this time period, anyway). Taylor was just about to suggest a return to base, when a soldier spotted something flashing at the group. Taylor responded "Weapons HOT!" then, once weapons were active, Taylor said "Move out!" While the "sixers", and the soldiers, had nothing more than spears, everyone agreed that this was better than nothing, at all. Six hours later, the convoy found what they could not believe. It was a beacon, alright. Just not of a type, developed before 2149. While Taylor would agree to be humanitarian enough, to share food, with the "sixers", and the millitary, he told the military commander "When your soldiers go out, on patrol, ALL they take is your own weapons." Two hours later, the soldiers would return to report "We have found what we THINK is another portal." When their officer asked "What do you mean, you THINK? Cant you tell a portal, when you see one." Taylor would ask the soldier "In WHAT way does this portal seem different?" The soldier would say "Follow us." Sure enough, inside a mountainside cave, the commanders found what, essentially, LOOKED like a portal. Taylor saw the difference, immediately. This device did not just anchor two points, in time, and space. Not with a programmable console. Taylor noticed how even the "sixers" looked upon the device, asking "I thought that time travel was "fixed", between 2149, and here." Taylor would say "By the looks of this, I would say that someone found a way AROUND that RULE." When even the "sixers" would say "You cant be serious." Taylor would say "As serious as a heart attack." This is when Taylor had a revelation. The sudden appearance, of supplies, inside Terra Nova. Could this, also, be evidence of controlled time/space travel?" It was not until Myra would suggest "Can you set this, for 2149? I want to see my daughter" Taylor would say "No one is going anywhere. Not until we find out just how dangerous this thing MIGHT be." When Myra said "I would be willing, in order to see my girl, again." Taylor would have to "bring her down", asking "How do we know WHERE this leads?" When a soldier would say "It looks programmable." Taylor would say "And you LOOK intelligent, when your mouth is closed." A full month, of research, later, and all the best minds, in Terra Nova, could say was "It does resemble a stable portal. The problem is that its metal content is not registered in our database. That, and the fact that we have seen no such portal tech, before. Both Malone, and Taylor, KNEW this was correct. Especialy since the portal, from the 2100's, had NO input pad. It was fixed on Hope Plaza. Then, an engineer made a startling comment. "What IF the reason why we neither recognize this device, nor its tech, is because it is NOT from 2149." When Taylor would ask "IF its not from 2149, then WHO sent it, and WHY?" The engineer would ask the 100 million dollar question: "HOW do we KNOW it is from 2149?" When Taylor would say "Spit it out. What are you suggesting?" The engineer would suggest "Un known material, and key pad controls. MAYBE, just maybe, this device is from beyond 2149?" When Taylor would say "Son, as far as the experts have predicted, by 2160, Earth will be dead. Anyone, NOT, already in Terra Nova, will be dead." A science researcher would say "Commander, that is what the LEADERS have been telling us, for decades, however, HOW do we know that it is the truth? HOW can we be SURE." Taylor would ask "Lets take a vote. Find out who is willing to step through, MAYBE to 2190. See WHO is willing to step onto a possibly DEAD world." It would be Malones rebellious, son, who would say "I'll do it." When Malone would say "Not even with a hazmat suit. We dont even know whats there." His son would take on that defiant tone, again, as he reminded his father "I am NOT a kid, anymore. You CANT just TELL me what to do." When Malone would say "You are, still, my son." It would be Malone's daughter who would come up, with the compromise. She would ask Commander Taylor "What if we set a recall in place. My brother goes through, with enough air, in his tanks, to last six hours. We recall him, in three hours." Taylor would look at Malone, saying "Your kids. What do you say?" When the Malones went to speak with Mrs./Dr. Malone, and she started in on the "age old" line of "I have taken care (of you, since the day you were born)", her son would remind his mother "I am NOT five years old, anymore. I dont need help, crossing streets." When Mrs. Malone looked to her daughter, asking "Are you SURE you can bring him back?" Her daughter use her fathers patented phrase: She would say "Only two things are certain, in life. Death, and Taxes." Malone KNEW what was coming, next and was prepared when his wife said "If our son does not return, safe and sound, I promise..." And Malone would say "I sleep, on the couch, for the next five, or ten, years." While the whole family watched, as the teen suited up, Malone was not surprised, at all, when his son grew annoyed with the endless re-checking. Malone remembered this from his days, with the Chicago Police Department. Every time the police raided a suspected, chemical, lab, every cop had to wear a suit. The drugs, which were available, in the 2130's, and 40's, were becoming toxic that, IF a person were not, already, an addict, the chems would cause a blood clot. Still, Malone remembered all the time he spent, in prep, for each raid. While the family watched the suiting up, Malones daughter was working, with an engineer, on the recall program. Once this was done, sister would remind brother "Remember, you have ONLY three hours. After that, we drag your ass back here." Her brother would say "Yes "mom"." With fingers crossed, the engineer would activate what he THOUGHT/HOPED was a "link", to 2190. While the vortex DID appear, watching the teen, dressed in the red, hazmat, suit disapppear, into the portal, was an emotional experience, for all concerned. All anyone, in Terra Nova, could do, was watch the count down, from three hours. Finally, after more than thirty minutes, of hearing her mother asking "What happens if it does NOT work?" the eldest daughter would say "I need some air." When her mother would say "I need my son back!" Malone would say "Have confidence, in her. She IS your daughter. Just let her breathe." Three hours later, while the machine re-activated, as it should have, Mrs. Malone, nearly went "ballistic", when her son did not step through. Malone knew what would happen, when his wife would NOT stop harrassing their daughter with "Where is he?" Malone knew that shouting, at the girl, would do no good. The girl needed time to think. This is why Mrs. Malone went off, to one area, of Terra Nova, while her daughter went in the opposite direction. For nearly two weeks, the biggest question, at Terra Nova, was "What happened to the young Malone?" This question was only answered when the latest portal appearred, inside the compound, and out stepped the Malones son. When Taylor noticed that the young man was not wearing his hazmat suit, but was wearing a containment suit, of a completely unknown design, the commander would ask "Son, what happened to the suit we sent you through in?" The young Malone would say "That thing was about as "comfortable" as a suit of amour. The others gave me THIS." When Taylor would ask "WHAT others?" The young Malone would say "Those, who developed time/dimensional, travel, outside of the law." Later, at the Malones home, Taylor, Malone (and company), would listen as the young Malone would say "They come from Earth. When the planet began going what dad likes to call "side-ways", they left Earth, and set up, on another planet." When Taylor would ask "If they left Earth, HOW did they..." and the young Malone would say "I said they LEFT Earth. I, never, said they abandoned the planet." When Taylor would ask "Meaning what, exactly?" The young Malone would say "While Earth, as we knew it, is, now, un-inhabitable, to anything, that we know of, the human race, still, monitors the planet. Oh, and one more thing. They KNOW about Hope Plaza. They showed me a recording, of that dinosaur, which, almost, ate my dad." When Taylor would ask "Why were you not at the gateway, when we reactivated it?" The young man would say "As I said. They KNEW I was coming. I went with them, to do what dad calls "collecting evidence." When Malone would ask "What evidence?" His son would say "Evidence that they, actually, are observing Terra Nova." When Taylor would ask "HOW are they "observing" us?" The young Malone would say "All I know is that I was able to watch mom throwing a fit, at my sister, when I did not come back, immediately.." When Taylor asked "Why did you not return, when you saw this. An event, which happened almost two weeks ago." The young Malone would say "I wanted to collect evidence, that what I was seeing was REAL." When Malone would ask "Alright, son. WHAT evidence DID you bring back?" His son would say "Sorry, dad. That suit was all I could "get away" with." This is when Taylor would ask "If what you say IS true, then WHAT do they want, with Terra Nova, and why have they not made contact?" The young Malone would say "They are monitoring us. If Terra Nova survives, they will know how to colonize other worlds. When Malone would suggest "So, we are guinna pigs, or lab-rats?", then ask "Just HOW CLOSELY are they monitoring us?" His son would say "Not THAT closely. They dont care what you and mom..." Malone would say "I get the point." When Taylor would ask "How LONG will they keep us supplied?" The young Malone would say "Until we have that new portal operating, and can resume pilgrimages." When Taylor would ask "I thought you said that Earth was dead." The young Malone would say "Right. Earth is dead." Taylor would say "If Earth is dead..." The young Taylor would say "The last, of Earths people are in what I can only call "storage". They will continue pilgrimages once we are ready for the new arrivals." When Taylor would ask "HOW much time, and how MANY, this time?" The young man would say "No more than we are prepared to handle. They WANT Terra Nova to thrive, as an example to what is left, of mankind." When the military, from 2149, would ask "What is the status, of our ability, to re-join our command?" The young Malone would say "From what I gathered, the military dispersed, once the government made it known that ONLY techs, and support crews, would be joining the pilgrimages. You have no command, to report to." When the military offiicer would say "Ridiculous. The orders were given, in 2135. All military were to be transitted." The young Malone would say "This should answer your doubts." The young man would produce a copy, of a general order. When the officers saw the wording, which stated "The military is to be TOLD that they will be transitted. This should prevent mutiny, until all "essentials" are transitted. After that, it wont matter." This is when the military would realize that they had been "used", just like the public. Now, the question was "What was this unit to do?" It would be Malone who would say "It looks like we have our work cut out, for us, for quite some time, to come." It would be his son, who would add "This portal is NOT the only thing, waiting, in the badlands. The future suggests that we proceed, cautiously." And, life goes on, in Terra Nova...