Apollo Versus the Timekeepers

By Chuck Keyes

'Apollo Versus The Timekeepers' is the second exciting novel within Chuck's Apollo Trilogy. This thrilling sci-fi adventure finds Apollo and his elite team of humans and aliens challenging an alien race that wants to eliminate the human race and inhabit the earth. The timekeepers plan to time transport the humans into the past, four months before the giant dinosaur killing meteorite strikes the earth, thus insuring a human extinction while salvaging the human's worldwide infrastructures.

Apollo must time travel sixty-five million years into earth's past to save his beloved Pollyanna along with hundreds of Navy sailors. The dangers near the end of earth's Cretaceous period are mind staggering.

Apollo and Polly's love magnificently grows as they struggle to save the human race. Their escapades are filled with mysteries, surprises, and comedy. You will meet new team members and strange alien villains that'll make your skin crawl.

Will Apollo and his elite team of humans and aliens save the human race without altering the timeline?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chuck Keyes
• Release date: May 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452487021

Chuck Keyes

Chuck Keyes has published six science fiction books, short stories, articles and a book of his unique poems, known worldwide for his unique, creative style. Chuck Keyes is a Medical Engineer who has always enjoyed the human creativeness of not over your head, exhilarating science fiction. Chuck currently resides in beautiful Athens, Texas, a thriving medical device-manufacturing town. Chuck enjoys his relaxing hobby as a sci-fi novelist, offering readers exciting stories filled with imagination.

Book preview

Chapter One

"I love this luxurious high-rise home, voiced Pollyanna Stanford as she excitedly twirled around viewing the huge living room. This solid oak bar looks as if it’s stocked with more booze than most Texas honky-tonks. I adore these four long cozy couches facing the stadium size flat panel television. The huge rock face fireplace makes me feel like I’m in a mansion. Wow…a Dolby surround sound system with speakers built into the walls. This place is too rich for my small Texas town upbringing."

Grant Sagone designed this twentieth floor luxury suite to impress his women friends, said Tommy Horton.

Polly giggled. Mr. Grant must have had a serious shortcoming if he required such expenditures to bed women.

After a pause of thought, Tommy laughed at what Polly was implying. Polly, I know we just met this morning, but would you mind if I ask you a personal question.

At the moment you are my personal Sagone Pharmaceutical tour guide, which is a better excursion then sneaking in here during the night and stunning the armed guards to sleep using an alien medical device, so feel free to shoot your question.

Why do your eyes keep changing color? I’ve seen light blue, dark blue, yellow, gray, and a real strange bright orange. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Polly laughed for a moment, and then she deeply sighed. My eyes change color to match my emotions.

Really…your eyes are like a mood ring?

I’m afraid so. Polly nodded. My first weekend with Apollo, and behold, I received this unique side effect, although it really wasn’t his fault. Apollo didn’t think the genetically implanted roman love-tool would affect a human female. He feels bad about what happened, and I love him too much to make him feel worse. That’s why I’m not hiding my weird colorful eyes behind dark sunglasses, Polly paused to blink her eyes on purpose. Actually, being different is somewhat enjoyable.

I don’t understand.

It’s a genetic roman marriage counseling tool that allows loving partners to view or telepathically read each other’s emotions. During a first kiss involving intense love for each other, saliva intermixes, genetically altering their body’s byway of programmed nanos within the saliva. The roman women display their emotions through the color of their eyes, and it also gives them a telepathic ability to read the male’s emotions. However, I have not yet received any telepathic abilities. Roman brains are more evolved than our human brains, so I probably never will be able to telepathically read Apollo's emotions.

Okay…I understand, Tommy nodded his head in thought. The concept allows roman partners to always know each other’s true emotions, thus eliminating any deception. I wish I could’ve read my wife’s emotions during our dinner date last evening. About five months ago, Dr. Mors reprogrammed my brain to force me to leave my family, and last night was my first date with my wife. I couldn’t tell her the truth, so I had no choice but to plead temporary insanity due to a mental breakdown.

Did she accept your plea of lunacy?

Audrey wants some time to think about it.

Did she kiss you goodnight?

Yes Tommy blushed. Next weekend she’s going to allow me to visit my son and daughter.

Don’t worry. Polly waved her hand. I think she’s probably going to take you back.

I hope so. Tommy pauses, noticing Polly’s eyes are now deep blue. Do you know what color matches each emotion?

I don’t know all of them. Polly shook her head. Apollo claims he doesn’t know the colors either, but that may be what he considers a good lie. The notion of Apollo reading my female emotions is not a pleasurable thought. I suppose you have to give the roman scientists some credit for solving a mystery earth men have been trying solve ever since the beginning of time…and that mystery is female emotions. Over the past day, I’ve learned that dark blue is happiness and red is anger. She took a moment to giggle. I’m going to have to control my anger because red eyes make me look like the devil’s blond-headed floozy. I suppose I’ll eventually learn all the colors. Apollo is planning to have Zeeper and Fiskgilla program roman nanos that’ll return my eyes to normal, but right now our priority is to learn if the timekeepers exist.

Yes, the idea of time traveling aliens hiding underground, preparing to attack us, scares the bejesus out of me.

It worries me as well. Supposedly, the timekeepers have the ability to make their enemies disappear by sending them someplace in time.

Tommy shakes his head. One of my favorite HG Well’s novels is 'The Time Machine', where the main character travels many thousands of years into the future, and it isn’t a place I'd want to visit.

Julius doesn’t think the timekeepers will send any humans to the future because they want the future for themselves, along with our mother earth and our entire infrastructure.

Do you think these alien timekeepers sent the crew of Liberty Two through time, possibly millions of years into our past?

I don’t know, but Julius strongly believes the timekeepers had something to do with the crew’s disappearance.

Julius looked pretty comfortable this morning in Apollo’s arms. He must be adjusting well to his new dog body. I actually thought about thanking him for saving my mother’s life, but I’m still upset with him for messing around with my mind.

Polly’s eyes became bright yellow. How did Julius save your mother’s life?

Actually, it was Julius’s Virugod capsule that saved her life. My mother lives in a nursing home where she contracted the swine flu, and being that she’s a seventy-six year old type one diabetic, I don’t think she would’ve lived through it.

Virugod has probably saved over a million lives. Julius is quickly adjusting to his little doggy body, and from what I know of his unbalanced past, he's considerably saner, but he’s still a strange roman character, and at times he can be pretty funny. Yesterday, I walked into the living room to find his head turned upside-down while watching an old science fiction movie on the television. I questioned him about it, and he told me his inverted dog vision makes the flying saucers appear more realistic.

Tommy chuckled. Someday when we have more time, I’ll tell you some funny Julius stories, especially the ones involving his Virugod test subjects.

Yeah, I’d like to hear them, but right now I’d like to meet Fiskgilla.

Okay, follow me. Zeeper and Fiskgilla are down on the eighteenth floor.

Polly walked with Tommy out to the main hallway heading toward the twentieth floor elevator alcove. I heard about Zeeper’s bizarre mating dance.

Yes, it was certainly a unique dance. Zeeper and Fiskgilla have been inseparable ever since his performance. I can’t tell if they’re just good friends or more than good friends. Although I can’t imagine anything more because they’re so dissimilar.

Polly stepped into the elevator cab and stood next to Tommy. Friends or more than friends, I’m happy Zeeper has found a female companion.

The doors slid open and they stepped out of the cab, walked along the hallway until Tommy stopped in front a pair of stainless steel doors. He opened the door on the right and held it open allowing Polly to enter the lab."

Thanks.

Zeeper and Fiskgilla are at the far end of the lab, working together packing some vital laboratory equipment into two alien anti-gravity totes.

Polly paused to stare at Fiskgilla. The female alien’s hairless light gray skin does appear to resemble porpoise skin. Polly noticed Fiskgilla’s unusual double eyelids, joining together like double doors every time the alien blinks. Her large round blue and yellow fish-like eyes are strange in a pretty way. Her human-like mouth has dark gray lips, giving the female alien comical cartoon characteristics.

Zeeper’s left eye independently scanned the lab. The crab-like alien noticed Polly. He ran over to her and deeply bowed at his jointed mid-section to show he’s happy to see her.

Hi, Zeep, said Polly. I want to thank you for transforming my Apollo into a handsome roman. Polly wrapped her arms around Zeeper’s hard alien body and kissed him on his right cheek, right below his protruding hermit crab-like eye. You are a good friend.

Zeeper forms some hand symbols that Polly understands.

I know you love all of us. Yes…please introduce me to Fiskgilla.

Zeeper wrapped his long fingers around Polly’s hand and guided her over to Fiskgilla. His hands clicked symbols for Fiskgilla.

Hello, Polly, I’m very happy to meet you. Zeeper has told me a great deal of wonderful things about you.

Hi, Fiskgilla. How are you adjusting to your life of not being mentally controlled by Julius?

Thanks to Zeeper’s help, I’m adjusting very well. I’m slowly becoming my original self-being. Zeeper and I have been packing some necessary supplies. I’m very excited about today’s journey. The eightieth floor has been my only world for the past five months, and before arriving here, Julius kept me secluded aboard his ship for over five roman years. The anticipation of swimming in an ocean similar to the ones on my home world is a wonderful thought.

I’m excited too, said Polly. I’m a Texas country girl who has never been on a large yacht.

The Infinity is actually a deepwater science ship, said Tommy. The one hundred and seventy foot vessel was constructed for deep ocean research. The party who paid a hefty down payment to have the ship constructed, recently had their government funding yanked out from under them, and they couldn’t make the final payment. I think everyone is going to be surprised to see the Infinity. She’s a very beautiful ship, and she’s well equipped for deep-water research. She has a fully equipped wet Lab, machine shop, and a modern galley with two walk-in cold storage units. She’s also outfitted with deep water cable robots containing dark site cameras, a Dolphin One mini sub, and a heliport pad with tie down cables.

Do you know what the sleeping quarters look like? asked Polly.

They’re small cabins, but somewhat luxurious. The Infinity has sixteen passenger cabins and six crew cabins, all with in-suite bath and shower. The captain’s cabin is the largest, and it has a computerized monitoring station so the captain is never out of the command loop.

Zeeper’s twelve fingers clicked a few dozen symbols.

Zeeper wants to know what powers the ocean surface ship, voiced Fiskgilla.

The Infinity has two large Fairbanks Morse diesel engines offering a maximum cruise speed of thirty-two knots.

Zeeper again signed his silent speech.

Fiskgilla’s large eyes rapidly blinked. Zeeper says he can probably enhance the combustible engines to produce more power and speed.

How many miles per hour is thirty-two knots? asked Polly.

About thirty-seven miles an hour, replied Tommy. That’s about eleven miles an hour faster than a big cruise ship.

Polly shook her head. To me that seems slow. Now I know why Apollo said it might take weeks of searching before we find anything. Although I’m amazed how fast you found and purchased the exact type of ship Professor Lockland suggested.

Tommy laughed. With enough money you can move a huge mountain in twenty four hours. Actually, I was lucky to find the Infinity, docked right here in Texas at Port Houston, where a potential buyer was looking her over, but I intervened and the ship’s builders couldn’t resist my generous offer.

Polly glanced at her wristwatch. Apollo and Morgan should be back soon. I’d like to know if they were able to wake up our Twin Spring deputies, Hector and Charlie, along with all the other police officers Julius cryogenically stoned.

Zeeper and I make a good team. I’m pretty confident the design changes we made on Julius’s multi-weapon will reverse the effects of the cryogenic nano ray, said Fiskgilla.

I hope so, said Polly, noticing that Fiskgilla’s movements and personality are very human-like. They’ve been frozen like stone statues for almost five months. Their wives and children miss them. Hector’s wife, Margarita, visits him twice a week, and she says the only thing she can do is dust him off with a feather duster.

Tommy chuckled. That’s funny in an awful way.

I know what you mean, Polly said while rolling her grayish blue eyes upward. Hector’s wife was serious when she said it. It took all I could do to try to hold back my laughter. She’s a lot shorter than Hector, so the first thing I imagined was Margarita climbing up on a stepladder to dust the bald spot on the top of Hector’s head.

Apollo, cradling Julius in his arms, walked into lab with Morgan by his side. It worked, he announced along with a smile. The police officers are awake and they’re healthy. They were all amazed that five months have passed by. I really don’t think they believed us.

Fantastic, voiced Polly.

That’s great news, added Tommy.

Fiskgilla happily clapped her hands. I knew the altered weapon was going to work.

More than half of them fired their guns as if they were still standing in front of the bank, said Morgan.

Apollo, did you enjoy piloting the company’s Bell four twenty-seven helicopter, asked Tommy?

It was certainly different than piloting a roman air-wing vehicle, replied Apollo. I would’ve felt more comfortable if the helicopter was equipped with safety anti-gravity shields. If your primitive combustible engine fails, the anti-gravity shields will prevent the helicopter from crashing onto the surface of your planet.

I was nervous when we lifted off the building, said Morgan. But Apollo piloted the helicopter as if he’d been doing it for years.

Did you have any trouble getting into the warehouse, asked Tommy?

No. Morgan shook his head. I radioed the State Police to explain we have a cure to wake up the cryogenically stoned police officers, and they cordoned off a section of the driveway to allow us to land right in front of the warehouse.

I’m still upset, said Julius, ears drooping along with a deep sigh. I hate flying in human constructed machines. Although, I am happy the human police are awake. I was mad because they were shooting metal projectiles at me, so I set my cryogenic weapon to eighteen roman years.

Eighteen roman years are longer than earth years, said Polly. Hector and Charlie’s kids would’ve been grown up and married long before they woke up.

Yeah, Morgan voiced with a nod, and their wives would’ve been about twenty-two earth years older and plumper, which would’ve been an awful family reunion.

Polly huffed, are you saying all women gain weight with age?

I believe a majority let themselves go to the dogs.

I don’t know how the hell Addison puts up with you, Polly said, glaring at Morgan through bright red devilish eyes.

Morgan smiled. She knows my truthfulness is based on reality.

Yeah, your demented sense of reality.

Apollo chuckled, and then he kissed Polly on the center of her forehead. I don’t think you two are ever going to get along. There’s really no time for arguing. We need to get ready to fly to the Infinity. Janus and Addison should be arriving at the dock with our luggage and supplies in a few hours.

I’m ready, said Polly. Do you want me to carry Julius?

No, he’s not heavy, he’s my brother.

Polly rolled her eyes. That’s what I deserve for making you listen to my music collection of oldies.

Zeeper grabbed the anti-gravity tote handles and nodded that he's ready.

I’m more than ready to journey to the Infinity, voiced Fiskgilla, offering everyone a wide smile.

Let’s go to the roof, said Apollo. Tommy, we’ll keep in contact.

Good luck everybody. I hope you can all figure out what happened to the crew of the Liberty Two. From what I’ve heard on the news, the Navy doesn’t have a clue.

We’ll give it our best, said Apollo. If the timekeepers exist, we’ll find them.

I’ll handle everything here, voiced Tommy. Contact me on my cell if you need anything, and I’ll make sure you get it.

Thanks, Tommy.

Tommy, thanks for the personal tour, said Polly.

After a short walk along the eighteenth floor main corridor, Apollo’s team boarded the elevator cab and traveled up to the roof.

I have dibs on the co-pilot’s seat, Polly shouted as she steps up into the helicopter and plops down in the co-pilot’s chair."

That’s why you pushed me out of the way, voiced Morgan.

Morgan sat in the seat behind Polly, next to the seat Apollo sat Julius on. Julius grumbled a few undetermined words, and then he curled up to go to sleep.

After loading and securing the anti-gravity totes, Zeeper and Fiskgilla sat side by side in the rear bench seat.

After a few minutes of warming up the twin Pratt & Whitney engines, the Bell helicopter lifts off the pad. Here we go, and may our mission be successful, said Apollo.

Polly, through yellow colored eyes of curiosity, stared down at the city of Dallas. The vehicles look as if they’re insects traveling about without a notion that flying in a helicopter over their heads are four extraterrestrial beings and two humans heading off on another secret mission to save the human race.

Chapter Two

Polly looked down at the Infinity, tied to a long wooden dock in the Houston bay. Wow, she’s beautiful. This is going to be a new and exciting experience living aboard a ship.

The Infinity is an attractive ocean vessel, Apollo voiced as he pushed down on the collective lever to descend the helicopter."

Do you know how to maneuver a hundred and seventy foot ship?

No, I’ve never piloted an ocean vessel as large as the Infinity, Apollo relied as he slowly shook his head. Tommy Horton said the Infinity is controlled by way of a sophisticated computer with a global positioning system, a marine navigation program, and a ship automation package. The ship doesn’t require a large crew to operate the computerized controls. We’re going to have to learn how to pilot this vessel. I’m assuming it’s not going to be more difficult than piloting a large spacecraft. Today is the first time I’ve piloted a helicopter, and I’m not having any troubles. Apollo gently set the helicopter down on the center of the raised heliport pad.

Apollo’s team stepped out of the helicopter, filed one by one down a short metal stairway, and paused in a group to stretch their legs on the Infinity’s deck. The smell of the ocean filled their nostrils. A flock of screaming seagulls flew overhead under a clear blue sky and bright scorching sunshine.

The feeling of being outside under your sun is wonderful, said Fiskgilla. The beautiful blue ocean water is like a magnet, drawing me to enterer its life giving world of wonders.

As soon as we leave the bay and enter into open water, you’re welcomed to dive in, said Apollo as he offered the porpoise-like female alien a warm smile.

Zeeper’s fingers rapidly clicked symbols.

Yes Zeeper, I know you’re an excellent swimmer. You’re welcome to join Fiskgilla as soon as the Infinity is beyond the bay. I suggest we familiarize ourselves with the Infinity by starting with grand tour.

I want to see the galley, said Polly. If I’m going to be doing some of the cooking, I need to familiarize myself with the kitchen.

On a boat the kitchen is called the galley, Morgan chimed.

Galley, kitchen, it’s still the same thing!

Polly, can you teach me how make your Italian spaghetti and meatballs asked Fiskgilla. Zeeper told me it’s one of his favorite dishes.

Oh yes, I’d love to teach you how to make it.

Morgan shook his head. I guess it doesn’t matter how a female evolves, or what planet she came from, they all seem to have similar characteristics.

Two hours later, Janus, Addison, and Carrie showed up with Morgan’s truck, packed full of luggage, food supplies, alien weapons, and many of the alien devices Apollo confiscated from Julius’s spaceship before it self-destructed.

Addison, I thought we agreed Carrie was going to stay at your brother’s ranch, Morgan said in a huffy tone."

What…no hello, no kiss!

We agreed. This may be a dangerous voyage.

We could be out to sea for weeks searching for aliens that may not exist, and Addison didn’t want to stay at Joeys’ pig farm.

Pig farm, Morgan repeated. I thought Joey had a cattle ranch.

Not anymore. Joey decided there’s more money in pork, so he sold off his cattle and bought a few hundred pigs. Joey’s ranch smells worse than his feet.

Morgan scrunched up his face. I remember Joey’s feet when he lived with us for six months. I didn’t think anything on the world could smell any worse.

Believe me, we were there, and his ranch stinks to high heaven. If you had seen the sad look on Carrie’s face, you wouldn’t have left her there.

Morgan shook his head. I’m not happy about this. Did you inform Apollo?

Yes. Addison nodded. He wasn’t happy about it, but he did say Carrie’s a smart youngling, and she’ll almost certainly be helpful.

I wish we had more of those alien anti-gravity totes, Janus said as he picked up a plastic tote filled with canned food. I’m going to be exhausted after we unload this truck."

Morgan sighed as he removed a tote out of the truck’s bed. We’ll discuss this later. We need to get these supplies aboard the Infinity. Apollo and Zeeper have already figured out the Infinity’s computerized controls, and he wants get underway as soon as possible. I’ve been aboard many ships when I was a Navy Seal, and it’s hard to believe the Infinity is controlled by a little joystick attached to a computer.

Hi Dad, Carrie voiced as she approached the truck to grab one of the smaller totes.

Hi to you, my only daughter…we’ll talk about this later. Morgan stepped up on the ramp to board the ship carrying two heavy totes.

Carrie whispered. Mom, is he mad at me?

Yeah, but he’ll eventually get over it.

Maybe he’ll feel better after he realizes how helpful I can be aboard the Infinity. I’ll mop the poop decks.

Just like me, you’ve never been aboard a big ship. I don’t know how much help the both of us are going to be. The only thing I know is the kitchen is called the galley.

Carrie pointed at the Infinity. The front of the ship is called the bow, the back is the stern, and the bridge is the room in which the ship is piloted. The floors are called decks, the hull is the main body of the ship, and rooms people sleep in are called cabins. Last night I did my ship learning homework on Google."

Addison shook her head. So last night you had a pretty good idea I wasn’t going to force you to stay at Joey’s pig ranch.

Carrie shrugged. The idea had crossed my mind.

After they unloaded the supplies, Morgan parked his truck in a long-term harbor parking lot, and then Janus helped him to detach the six lines mooring the Infinity to the old wooden dock.

Morgan walked onto the Infinity’s bridge, followed closely by Janus. Apollo, the mooring lines are detached and I spoke to the harbor master. We can proceed at a speed no greater than ten knots until we clear the harbor channel.

Apollo smiled like a child playing with a new toy. The twin engines are idling smoothly and we’re ready to get underway. Zeeper, Fiskgilla, and I have made some maneuvering improvements by reprogramming and adding a few alien components to the ship’s computerized system. The start of our ocean voyage makes me reflect on my roman history. A great roman scientist named Calvin Neptune, ventured into the universe aboard a spaceship having the same name as our ocean vessel, the Infinity, and he discovered a giant ocean world in the Volturnus Galaxy. Calvin redesigned the Infinity to travel under the surface of the water. He spent many years of his life exploring the wonders the ocean world offered. Twice, Calvin almost lost his life when the Infinity became trapped in a violent giant whirlpool created by a massive surface storm.

Morgan chuckled. Now I know why you described your doggy-plunge into Polly’s toilet as an experience of Neptune’s watery pit of death. It’s funny how human history has twisted the names of your roman scientists and their stories into what we call Roman-Greek mythology. Who’d ever thought Neptune’s first name was Calvin. I wonder how much of our human history has been twisted by your visiting roman scientists.

That’s why we never returned to your earth. Calvin Neptune also designed and oversaw the construction of the first encapsulated underwater city. Today, millions of roman beings have colonized Neptune’s ocean world, which he named Pacifica.

Julius, who is lying on a long metal shelf underlining the bridge windows, raised his head to speak. I've visited the water world of Pacifica several times. The underwater cities are amazing. The exterior walls of the cities contain thousands of large diamond-glass windows offering beautiful underwater views filled with colorful aquatic life.

Yes. Apollo nodded. I remember your visits to Pacifica, and with each visit hybrid nano technology was stolen.

I didn’t say my visits were only for pleasure.

I’d love to visit your colonized water world…Pacifica, said the professor, but I’m afraid I’ll be long dead before the human race voyages beyond our galaxy. Maybe, in a few hundred years…the human race will locate a water world to colonize. Actually, any acceptable world that’ll allow the human race to spread their seed would be wonderful. I’m just one those scientific thinkers who believe it’s not a good idea to keep all your eggs in one basket. About sixty-five million years ago, a large meteorite struck the earth near the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Many scientists conjecture that huge amounts of water and dust entered the atmosphere and snuffed out the sunlight for years, cutting off the life-giving rays the plants required. Without sunlight, the plant life died off. Almost all the animal groups living during the Cretaceous Period became extinct, which included the great dinosaurs. A large meteorite could strike the earth in our future, thus making the human race extinct.

I understand your worries, said Apollo. Roman scientists have located many planets where past intellectual races have become extinct because of similar catastrophes. The universe is vast, and to make a guess, I’d say less than four percent of the universe has been explored by my roman race. As far as I know, no intellectual race has ever reached a boundary of the universe.

Janus smiled. It’s nice to know there are many unexplored galaxies for the human race to explore and possible find an inhabitable world to colonize.

The number of uncharted galaxies is so large I wouldn’t even dare to make a guess. Apollo turned toward his alien friend. Okay, Zeeper, let’s get underway.

By way of what resembles a computer gaming joystick, Zeeper maneuvered the Infinity away from the dock. The ship’s speed slowly increased to ten knots as it moved along a wide path lined on each side with ships of various types. Cargo ships, cruise ships, tankers, harbor vessels, naval ships, yachtsbarges fishing vessels, tugboats, and many more.

Apollo slowly turned around three hundred and sixty degrees to scan the Infinity decks through the bridge windows, hoping to see Polly. Where are the females?

Morgan shrugged. Obviously, they believe the galley is more important than watching our departure. I’ll bet you a hundred bucks they’re putting away the groceries, organizing the pots and pans, and planning our first meal aboard the ship. At least we don’t have to worry about going hungry.

Once we’re out to open sea, we can set the automatic pilot, Apollo said as he gazed out at the docked ships. Our radar array will warn us if a vessel is in close vicinity. Shortly After nightfall, we’ll reach the area where the Liberty Two was found adrift. Tomorrow morning we can begin our search utilizing the Infinity’s underwater equipment.

Earlier today, I spoke further with my friend Admiral Hugh Corbin. Hugh claims the electrical and computerized systems removed from the Liberty Two were done in a surgical manner, as if the components are being salvaged. The bulkheads and wires were surgically cut with what his investigators call a hot knife. Their description of a hot knife makes me think of the hand held alien laser Zeeper used to cut through the passageway doors aboard Julius’s spaceship.

I agree with you. Apollo nodded while rubbing his square chin with the tips of his fingers.

Admiral Corbin also said the Coast Guard is working around the clock searching for the missing Liberty Two crew. It seems that the Liberty Two is not the only unexplained mystery. Over the past few months many smaller vessels within the Gulf have been reported as missing, but the reason these smaller ships are missing could be blamed the increase hurricanes passing across bay.

Does the Navy have any conjectures as to what happen to the Liberty crew, asked Morgan?

Yes. Janus nodded. They believe the crew was kidnapped, possibly by a rebel force in South America, and their waiting for some kind of ransom or demand.

A logical assumption, said Apollo. Has anything similar to this occurred in the past?

Besides a history of airline passengers being kidnapped and the piracy now occurring off the east coast of Africa, nothing like this has ever happened in the Gulf of Mexico. Nor has two hundred and eighty-three Navy personnel ever been kidnapped off a modern warship as large and powerful as the Liberty Two. Janus paused in thought. I’m starting to believe these alien timekeepers are involved.

I know the timekeepers were involved, said Julius. "On the world they attempted to seize, the timekeepers tunneled underground with lasers and constructed a huge hidden complex housing their stealth mother ship. I was told they used the complex to construct stealth time traveling devices, which they placed in low orbit around the planet. Supposedly, these devices were programmed to affect nuseian beings only. If the timekeepers had not been stopped by the highly advanced nuseians, the orbiting devices would’ve transferred all the nuseians somewhere in time, presumably millions of years