The Sands of Time Ch 24

 

There was smoke everywhere, people choking and screaming. He could feel blood in his eyes. Maia was looking at him but he couldn't hear anything. Through the haze he could detect movement... most of the techs were running for the exit. The ones that were still alive, anyway. He couldn't tell where the soldiers were. 

"Joon." Someone was calling him. Maia? Or was it Mallory? He still had his comm, and he was hanging on to Hillier somehow. Was she alive? She appeared to be, she was in rough shape. The Gate controls looked fragged. Most of the monitors were out. 

"Joon. Did you survive?" Mallory's voice. 

"We did. Maybe. What... was that?"

"A little insurance policy. Sorry to just drop that in there. Seemed timely."

"Wait a minute." Joon wanted to assess the situation before carrying on. Looking around, he could see a lot of damage, some dead bodies, and a lot of fleeing techs. Howie was over by Maia, keening but not as agitated now. Hillier was mumbling and she had sustained some minor injuries as well as a cut and some minor burns. They relieved the dead soldiers of their weapons. Maia looked over the Gate controls- the whole console was smoking- and just shook her head. 

"Joon!" Mallory cried. "Tell me the Gate controls are operational!"

"I... don't think so," Maia took the comm. "She blew it all up."

"Damn," Stella's voice. 

Hillier choked and tried to move but Joon held her in place. She smiled through bloody teeth. Joon noticed that the soldiers were still men- they had not reverted back to Intruders. So apparently not everyone following Hillier was alien. 

"Hope you're happy," Stella was saying, apparently directing her words at Hillier. 

Hillier mumbled something unintelligible. 

"Stella," Joon asked, "how did you get that grenade here?" 

"Well, it's funny you ask. We captured Intruders and confiscated their little teleportation thingies. It seemed like a good moment to try one. We... persuaded one of them to show us how it works." 

Hillier snarled and lunged but Maia held the comm away. 

"Spare me," said Mal. 

"You've killed lots of people, don't expect us to get soft hearted," added Stella. "Now. Is the Gate mechanism scrapped?"

"It appears so," said Maia. 

"Okay. That's not good frankly. That means we can't slow down the Gate. Unless someone has an idea. We were hoping the Hub would be the answer. Is the Hub secure by the way?"

"Well, as secure as it can be with the two of us." The techs were gone now. Maia went to guard the door. 

"I should send some people there to take over. I don't know if there's anything more you can do."

Joon didn't reply. 

"We have no plan. I can't shut it down here and the Hub is fried. I need to get her under guard," she said, referring to the captive Hillier. "You may as well come back, I suppose." 

"Why don't you use one of those teleportish things to bring us back?"

"That's not a terrible idea. Let me get some people and I'll send them over. They can show you how to use these things and you can come back."

"Oh, and by the way," she said. "Without any failsafes we may have to... evacuate the facility."

"Maybe you should tell him," Mallory suggested. 

"Tell me...? Joon replied. 

"Tell what?" Stella snapped. 

"Let me guess... I'm out of the loop." 

"Fine," sighed Stella. 

"Joon," Mallory came on, "we've had teams going through the Gate for some time. Collecting artifacts, specimens... exploring. You knew that. You also knew not everyone came back. However, what you didn't know is that our efforts were a little more...robust than previously revealed." 

"How robust?"

"Well, we can get into that later. But there's a lot we don't have all the answers on."

"I can help," sneered Hillier. 

"Shut up." 

"If the Gate blows or something bad comes through," said Stella, "we may not be able to hold the complex."

"Is the Earth safe?" asked Maia, who had come back over. 

Joon looked at her. 

"Seriously. If we have cryptids running around and aliens, couldn't they wreak havoc on Earth, too?"

"We have some reports that may be happening," Stella said primly. 

"If we just abandon this facility," Maia mused, "won't the Gate and our friends here just run crazy?"

"That's the issue." 

"Are there any other ways to manage the Gate?" 

"Well."