Convergence

By: Punisher

The Brotherhood

That cult would never die until the stars came right again, and the secret priests would take great Cthulhu from his tomb and revive his subjects and resume his rule of Earth.  The time would be easy to know, for then mankind would have become as the Old Ones were, free and wild and beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside and all men shouting and killing and reveling in joy.  Then the liberated Old Ones would teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel and enjoy themselves, and all the Earth would flame with a holocaust of ecstasy and freedom.

The Bishop clutched his crucifix in his hand so tightly it drew blood.  He had cause to be afraid.  More cause than the billions of people around the world who were beginning to feel the first tinges of true maddening terror.  Many of them would die never knowing the true cause of their deaths, and the others...well insanity and il-lucidity had some benefits after all...they might not care.

But he would know.  As indeed he should.  He was the General in a Jesuit Order so secret that only the top men in the Vatican even suspected its existence.  He was the head of the Brotherhood of the Sleeper.

The Order had started when the Church, after banning Wormius'  ungodly translation of the hideous Arabic tome (members of the Order never allowed themselves to speak the names of the creatures and objects they studied and hunted), had begun to investigate some of the various pagan rites associated with the Arab's text.  And found that there was more truth to some than the Church, or undeniably, humanity as a whole, would have liked.  The Brotherhood of the Sleeper was founded to investigate further and gather tomes and grimoires for safekeeping in Italy.  These texts in the wrong hands...

But the Brotherhood had done all these things, sometimes through a secular guise via several sympathetic souls linked to Miskatonic University.  He had fasted and prayed and done what was required of him and yet he failed to understand.

The dreams were starting.  Getting more powerful now.  Everyone in the Brotherhood had them simply because of the knowledge they were connected to.  But soon everyone else would have them.  It would begin with the insane and weak minded, then the artists and visionaries, and finally the entire populace.  And by then it would be too late.

He shook these thoughts from his head and placed his aging feet on the coarse wooden floor.  He could hear the other monks beginning their Matins chants as the first rays of light slipped into the room.  He watched the dust flecks dance about for a moment, then moved to the window.  The sun was just peeking over the horizon, as if it was afraid of what the coming day would bring.  Above it two other suns hovered in the sky...much dimmer but there all the same.

He had read in a magazine that the appearance of the other "suns" was due to two large supernovas appearing in the sky.  (See Message #20).  The scientists were calling it an incredible stellar event because the light from the supernova would have left millions of years ago and were only now reaching the Earth.  And for two monumental events to occur at the same time...well that was simply too much for the scientists -- they were elated.  He could remember how it must have felt.  He had been one of them once until his reality had been turned upside-down by an encounter he knew he must not recall for fear of losing his identity completely to madness.

Supernova indeed!  The scientists would still be trying to explain things as the Old Ones rampaged over the planet.

He knew what was in store.  In a matter of days primordial jungles would reclaim the land where the cities of man had stood for centuries.  The Lost City, like lost Lemuria and Atlantis, would again rise from the depths and instead of bringing a Golden Age as described in the Atlantean legends, the miasma spreading from it would only bring madness, chaos, and for the lucky, death.  He supposed some degenerate islanders would be spared - having kept up their rites and religion through the aeons.  But mankind in general would be doomed...But there was always hope.

He tried to brush the dark thoughts away again and moved to the closet.  He put on the coarse brown cloak that distinguished monks from others and in doing so accidentally disturbed some parcels.  As he replaced them in the proper order a small non-descript case caught his eye.  He picked it up and brushed the dust from it, his fingers leaving dark lines on the finish.  He hadn't opened this box in decades.  He pulled at the tights clasps on either end and the box creaked open.  Its contents were just as he had left them.  Pristine, as if he had placed them there yesterday.  He smiled as he ran his fingers along the etched metal of the cylindrical handle.  He checked the power cell.  It was still good after all this time.  The crystal was still in calibration.  He turned it on and the energy crackled forward with a hiss.  The device emitting the characteristic hum associated with its operation.  It was indeed an elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.  I may have to use this again he thought.  He looked back out the window.

Supernova indeed! The appearance of two other "suns" could only mean one thing.  The stars were right again.  And from that he inferred the terrible truth, which his dreams had already told him.

The Sleeper had awakened.  It was indeed time for Armageddon.

The Council of Enemies

Grand Admiral Thrawn could do little but feel ill at ease as his shuttle loomed ever nearer the gigantic Mon Calamari cruiser.  The escort shuttles peeled away leaving his craft to approach alone.  Thrawn would never say he felt fear towards the Rebellion, but he could not deny that he suffered a healthy respect for them.  When the Empire had expended as many resources towards something as it had to snuffing out the Rebellion...well, normally things simply did not survive.  That the Rebellion not only survived but flourished was a testament to his adversaries' resourcefulness.  And therein lay the sole danger; some conniving underling could easily dispatch Grand Admiral Thrawn.  And in so doing rid the New Republic of one of its greatest threats.

Yet still Thrawn was going to meet with them.  The Emperor's latest sojourn into the pure dark side of the Force had forced the Octorg back a healthy distance.  Both the Rebellion and Empire forces had quickly asked to parley.  Thrawn wished he could meet some of the people who had stood with Skywalker and wounded the Emperor, especially the pale-skinned alien who had moved so quickly- lethally wielding the Jedi weapon.  The Rebels had informed him they had perished, assimilated by the Octorg.  And that they now did Great Cthulhu's bidding.  He found the fact regrettable.  They were warriors to the last, and in that respect, they were kindred.

Thrawn was actually looking forward to the meeting with the Rebels.  If nothing else it would grant him the chance to meet personally with the beings he would be fighting alongside in the future.  And in the best case scenario, it would grant him valuable insight into the thoughts of his foes.

The Rebel escort fighters closed in formation around his shuttle and guided it to the docking bay.

"Captain Janeway?"

  Paris stood at the door, a look of deep trouble clouded his features.

"Yes? What is it Paris?" She didn't mean to snap at him but she was in a deep meeting with Commander Chikotay and Tuvok about the Voyager's present predicament.

"Ma'am it's a problem with Seven of Nine.  She's lost contact with the Borg Collective."

Chikotay looked deeply troubled.  "I wasn't aware that she was in contact with the Borg collective!"

"I am not, Commander." Seven moved into the room.  Chikotay had to admit that normally Seven would be a very striking, if not beautiful, human woman, but for her Borg tendencies.  But now...frankly she looked like shit.  Her skin seemed to hang off of her and it seemed that she was weighed down a great deal, as if gravity itself was too much a burden for her to bear.  The Captain noticed.

"Seven what's wrong?"

"Paris has already told you.  I am no longer in contact with the Borg collective." She cut off the objections from the Voyager crew which she knew were coming.  "You have impeded my communications protocol with the Borg, but never severed it until this moment.  There are certain 'housekeeping' functions which the Borg implants need to upgrade while recharging...for instance...rest and recharging protocols, providing sustenance.  In order to ensure that a Borg does not continue using outdated protocols, the protocols delete themselves from the core memory and that of a separate Borg.  Normally, the protocols are replaced instantly even as the old ones are being erased."

"But in your case this is not happening.  Are you telling me that you cannot eat or sleep without these protocols?"

"Effectively yes."

"Then perhaps the Voyager has moved out of range of Borg subspace communications." Chikotay offered.

"I am still receiving communiqués on traditional Borg frequencies.  However those communications are not Borg.  It is as if in someway the collective itself has somehow been assimilated."

Everyone fell silent.  Tuvok looked highly energized.  He stood and approached Seven.

"Intriguing.  What is the exact nature of the communications on the Borg bandwidth?"

"At best it is undecipherable, at worst...." Janeway swore the Seven shivered in horror, when she spoke even her Borg monotone could not conceal the revulsion, "...at the worst it is the sound of pure chaos.  I fear the Borg have finally received clarification regarding the nebulous meaning of 'good' and 'evil.'"

"Fascinating.  Events have indeed come full circle.  It is beginning."

That was too much for Chikotay.  "Explain yourself Tuvok!"

"Commander.  One of my first roles in Starfleet was onboard the U.S.S. Excelsior"

"Under Captain Sulu...I'm aware of that.  What has that got to do with Seven's problem?"

"In such a capacity, I became privy and party to a sequence of events, which even now, I am only dimly aware of.  There are proceedings between powers and principalities which are simultaneously occurring but along different timelines, and indeed in different times."

Janeway looked a little lost.  "Happening simultaneously in different times? That doesn't make any sense Tuvok.  Explain yourself!"

"I am sorry Captain.  But I cannot.  To do so would be to perpetuate an already expanding paradox."

"Well Thrawn this is a pleasure.  It's this way to the conference room."

"I detect a note of sarcasm in your voice General Solo.  However, it is a pleasure for me to finally meet so worthy an adversary."

"Save it Thrawn.  We're only here because the Octorg have forced us into this position.  Otherwise we'd be at each other's throats."

  "True.  Yet there is no need to behave in an uncivilized manner." Thrawn examined the ship as they moved through its corridors.  If any of his fleet captains maintained their vessels in a similar manner he would have had them killed.  It was indeed impressive that such a slipshod force had been such a thorn in the Empire's side.  Still, he reminded himself, they were emerging from a serious battle.  Perhaps the state of the vessel was not standard for Rebel operations either.  He convinced himself it wasn't.  He was wrong.  "Should you need to address me in the future Grand Admiral will suffice."

  "Well your Grand Worshipfulness...try any funny stuff and I won't hesitate to blast you."

  Thrawn ignored the barb.  "Both myself and my party have arrived in good faith and are unarmed.  There is no need for your bravado.  I have studied you General Solo and I am well aware of the image that your persona entails.  I am also aware that you fancy yourself a noble underdog, and in a such a capacity, I am hard-pressed to believe that you would shoot an unarmed man."

Solo acquiesced, "You're right Thrawn.  But Chewie here has no such compunctions.  Isn't that right buddy?"

Chewbacca's roar actually startled Thrawn.  The Wookie had actually managed to stay unobtrusive throughout their walk to the conference room.  Thrawn had to agree with Solo.  The citizens of Kashyyyk had much for which to repay the Empire.

They proceeded and reached the conference room with no further conversation.  The guards stepped aside and as the conference room's doors slid open.  Thrawn was greeted by Luke Skywalker.  He felt none of the trepidation he felt when meeting with the Emperor.  Skywalker greeted him pleasantly.  Thrawn did not see it as weakness and had no doubt the young Jedi could dispatch him with all the impunity of Palpatine himself.  But Thrawn understood that sometimes one has to be stronger to show restraint, than to not.

"Commander Skywalker.  Shall we get this council underway so that I may decide what is of value to return to the Emperor?"

"You cannot return to the Emperor, Admiral."

Thrawn suspected treachery.  He was angry with himself for not having the foresight to see it.  "So this was an elaborate ruse for a kid-napping?"

"On the contrary, this was a rescue mission.  We'll need your expertise of Imperial strategy if we are to prevail.  Palpatine has been in communion with an unspeakable evil.  He is now the enemy of order and life itself! Everyone in his way will perish.  Save your questions.  Admiral Ackbar is about to start a briefing.  His people, having lived within the same medium, are familiar with the Deep Ones and their ways.  They've even warred with them from time to time.  He knows more about this than any of us."

Thrawn now had about a hundred questions which he wanted to ask but even as he opened his mouth a protocol droid interrupted him.

"Gentle-beings of the galaxy, I present to you Admiral Ackbar of the Mon Calamari."

Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for the Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,

In Z'ha'dum where the Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In Z'ha'dum where the Shadows lie.

The Wearer of the Ring

"Damage Report!" Sulu bellowed over the cacophony that had become the bridge.  He looked back and realized his tactical officer lay bleeding on the floor.  "Sickbay.  We have a medical emergency on the bridge! Ensign Tuvok, man the tactical station and get me a damage report.  Ours and theirs!"

He pointed at the screen where a large black ship endowed with spiny tentacle-like appendages continued to assault them.  Sulu was convinced that only the Excelsior's agility had saved it thus far.

"Captain.  Shields are at twenty percent but holding.  The Warp Core is still offline.  Torpedo tubes 3 and 4 on the starboard side are irreparably damaged.  There is more.  Our enemies damaged report is unknown.  Our sensors are barely able to register their presence."

"What? Hard about! Make a quick pass at full impulse.  Tuvok I want you to calculate the best point in our trajectory and then let them have it.  I want all available weapons, fore and aft, firing at that thing!"

"Aye aye, Sir!"

  The Excelsior swerved gracefully through space, dodging and dancing nimbly between the lancing blasts from the Shadow ship.  Sulu could appreciate the talent his helmsman had.  He knew more than anyone that it wasn't easy to maneuver such a massive ship.  The closed to range.  The phasers lanced out followed quickly by a torpedo barrage.  As the Excelsior swerved past the Shadow vessel, the aft photon torpedoes and phasers fired.

  Sulu was sure that he had dealt his adversary a devastating blow. 

  "What's their status?"

  "Captain...I cannot explain this.  It appears as if our weapons passed directly through them."

  "Captain, two more ships to Starboard."

  Sulu sank a little in the center seat.  He didn't know what to do.  He began to feel a sinking feeling of despair, like he had in his quarters.  Then he remembered the woman.  He turned she was still there.  Standing on the bridge, as if she was a part of the bridge and not really on it.  She noticed him and moved forward.  Everyone else on the bridge was startled, as if they were seeing her for the first time.

"Captain, do you mind if I try something?" Lyta Alexander asked. 

Sulu shrugged.  "I don't see what possible harm it can do."

Lyta moved forward to the middle of the bridge.  She relaxed, closed her eyes.  Instantly the Shadow ships reacted as if struck.  And retreated!!

Sulu could hardly believe his eyes.  He was elated and realized that all feelings of despair had left him.  He felt like himself again.  Tuvok reassured him.  "Sir the enemy ships are disengaging."

"How...How did you do that?

"Easily....I'm a telepath...They don't like me."

"I'm assuming that you know who They are?  Would you care to enlighten us?  And another thing, how did you get on my ship?"

"I'll answer all your questions in due time Captain.  But not here."

"Why not?"

"Because some things hitched a ride with you from Z'ha'dum.  Shadows. 

You have never been alone since you left that accursed place."

Delenn moved into the Narn ambassadors quarters.  She always found that she could clear her thoughts...ironically by speaking to the volatile G'Kar.  She didn't dare take the information she had received to the Minbari Grey Council.  Their very name implied the fact that they could not be trusted.  G'Kar looked more haggard than usual.  Delenn quickly scanned his quarters.  Marcus and Lennier had already arrived.  They exchanged greetings.

Various scrolls, books, and datapads were strewn about.  Pages from G'Kar's book had been magnified and were scribbled over with countless notes.

"I believe I am on the verge of a breakthrough," G'Kar announced.

"In understanding the Book?" Delenn was genuinely impressed.

"It is well known that no one may fully understand the Book, but I think that I am closer to comprehending the intent behind its meaning.  I fear we are on the verge of a dimensional convergence.  It seems here," he indicated some passages, "that there is to be a great confrontation between the agents of Chaos and those of Order the final outcome of which is unknown.  Listen:"

He read from the Book. 

And the great anarchy, the Daemon Pandemonium, shall break within from without, And cast his shadows upon all the world  And the world will recoil and join with its brethren and fight the Outside as one, It shall be as it was of old, and enemies within the order shall band to fight those from the other side, And Pandemonium will call up it's allies and they will come forth, They who walk between the angles obeyed by the beings of control, And a war to (undecipherable) shall be fought And the shadows, (undecipherable)inions and those who guard Time(undecipherable) the namesake of the isle of mist from the then to the now and from to be to the nowshall fight and the (undecipherable) from the Cold Waste will return and (undecipherable)once again(undecipherable) to the (undecipherable) R'lyeh(undecipherable) (undecipherable) can eternal(undecipherable)In strange aeons...

  "The rest of that passage is too garbled to make sense of.  I think what it is telling us is that there will somehow be an invasion from outside this dimension...some of the other references elude me.  I would like to run them by our visitors from the Excelsior when they return."

Delenn kept some of the meanings she interpreted to herself.  The reference to the Time Guardians seemed obvious.  "If they return, they have gone to visit a very evil place.  I fear that dark times are ahead for us all.  I have received this coded communiqué from an ancient trusted ally.  She is using the name of an old Minbari legend, Gil-Galad.  But it has been so long since I have read the ancient script that I fear her meaning eludes me."

"Well what is the legend about? I am unfamiliar with the majority of Minbari legends."

Lennier answered, "A great evil from a distant past had once again arisen.  It shielded itself in a pleasant guise and put forth the ruse that it wished to reform its ways.  For a time it even took up the cause of good.  But all this was a trick to learn the hidden arts, which the ancient ones knew.  And once it learned enough of the ancient arts, it created a talisman of great power--formed to subjugate the talismans of the Ancients.  And returned to its evil and selfish ways.  When it had once again amassed a sizeable army it attacked and brought horrible war over the world.  Gil-Galad was a great king and fought with the great evil being.  The legend is pretty vague here, but in one version Gil-Galad strikes the talisman from the Evil and then he kills it and is in turn slain."

Marcus looked a little puzzled.  "But why would the Lady of the Wood send such a message as this?  Does she mean to imply that a great ancient evil is again resurfacing?  Or that someone wearing the guise of good is actually evil?  Or is it about the talismans?  In any case, why would she not send a more direct message?"

"Perhaps she could not.  Perhaps she fears observation."

Delenn added, "It is indeed so.  G'Kar's prophecy mentions the 'guardians of time', I am aware of entities which perform just such a function.  They could, in theory, observe her unnoticed."

It was G'Kar's turn to ask a question.  "But how would this Lady of the Wood be alerted to this information in order to warn us?"

"She has a great mirror, that sees much," Lennier answered.  "And she is keeper of one of the ancient talismans.  She would detect if evil influenced it in any way."

 G'Kar scrawled down several more notes.  "This is indeed beginning to bear fruit.  Lennier perhaps you should review the book and see if you can find many inferences related to Minbari legend."

 Marcus interjected, "I have an additional input...the passage in the prophecy you read had a line about the isle of mist."

  "That is correct, 'the namesake of the isle of mist' exactly."

  "Well from an old Earth legend about King Arthur.  When King Arthur was mortally wounded he was taken to the Isle of Mist.  A place the ancient Britons called Avalon."

  Delenn looked visibly shaken as the name struck a resonant chord.

  "But that can't be...that would mean..."

  "Well here we are Sam.  Weathertop!  But where's King Aragorn?"

  "Well since we're more than two weeks late I don't imagine I would wait around for us either.  Especially with a kingdom to run and Lady Arwen waiting for him.  You should have found that note sooner Frodo."

"Oh be quiet Merry," Frodo playfully chided.  A brief part in the overcast night allowed the moon to shine briefly.  They could see a lone figure standing near the ruin of the tower.

"Oh look there!" Pippin shouted.  "That must be him there!"

"Good old Strider...waited for us after all." Sam began running up the hill, Merry and Pippin in tow.  "Come along master Frodo!"

But Frodo stood rooted to the ground, "I don't know Sam...somehow it doesn't feel like Strider."

The other hobbits slowed.  Frodo reached for Sting its hilt always offering him more security.  He drew it tentatively from its scabbard the blade shone bright and blue in the dim moonlight.  Then Frodo looked back at the figure on the hill and shivered.  For just as the clouds covered the moon again, Frodo recognized the figure for what it was.  And Frodo knew a wraith when he saw one.

Sam, Merry and Pippin balked as eight more figures joined the one near the tower.

"Ringwraiths!"

"Nazgul!"

"The Nine!  The Nine are again abroad!  Doom on us all!"

The hobbits fled back down the hill as fast as their little legs could carry them.  But the nine were too fast.  The wraiths formed a ring around the hobbits and began closing in.  Frodo readied himself for the end.

Then the fair Elven voice of Legolas rang through the night as the first of his shafts sang through the air and burrowed itself into the neck of one of the Ringwraiths.  "A Elbereth! Githloniel!"

Orcs.  Great Goblins.  The largest the Uruk-Hai could muster stood guard at the gates of Orthanc, the darkened tower of Isengard.  The laughed crassly as they gulped down mouthfuls of their putrid blood wine.  Dark things were afoot and they knew it.  There would be plenty of fighting and feasting to come.  And orcs...all orcs... loved that.

Klauhizz, Corporal of the Guard, slapped one of the other orcs on the back of the head.  "Silence! Listen.  Someone is coming."

"I hear nothing!" the orc he hit was resentful.  Klauhizz smashed him in the face.

"Do not question! Grimha! You are the youngest.  Do your eyes see nothing in through the mists of my master?"

"I see nothing."

Klauhizz drew his scimitar for effect.  "Keep watch.  My ears do not deceive."

The orcs stood silent.  One of them took another long pull at the bottle.  Klauhizz slapped it from his hand and it shattered on the rounded stones with a crash.

"Be quiet!!" Klauhizz hissed.  The other orc stared at him and for a small moment they glowered at each other in a test of wills.  Grimha's whisper broke the silence.

"I see something...

...An old man I think."

In a moment all of them could see him as he wavered and stumbled as he walked up the hill, leaning a little too heavily on his staff.  His once white robes now dirtied to a dismal grey.  His voice cut through the mist.  Weak but with an edge.

"I have business in the tower.  Let me by!"

For a moment the orcs thought they looked on their master.  But this one was different.  Klauhizz stepped forward.  So close to the man that his foul breath moved his long white beard.

"Who might you be that wishes to hold council with Saruman the Great?"

"I go by many names.  Stormcrow and Mithrandir, Greybeard and Merlin, but Gandalf suits me best."

At the name 'Gandalf' Klauhizz drew back a sharp breath and his eyes became as saucers.  The other goblins drew their weapons and leapt to smite down the old wizard.  But weak as Gandalf was he raised his staff.  There was a bright flash and a bang and the lingering stench of ozone.  And all the orcs lay dead.

Gandalf pressed on.  He coughed blood as he walked.  The Greys' poison worked on him making him ever weaker.  He reached the great tower of Orthanc and passed within.

Saruman sat on a great chair, like a throne, not at all surprised to see him.

"Ah, Gandalf, my old friend and helper!"

"Saruman!  He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom!"

"You need not speak to me as to one of the fools that you take for company.  I have not summoned you hither to be instructed by you, but to give you a choice." Hearing no response from Gandalf he continued.  "The Elder Days have gone.  And now the Middle Days are passed.  The Elder Days are returning.  A new power is rising.  Against it the old allies and policies will not avail us at all.  There is no hope.  This then is the choice before you, before us.  We may join with that new power.  It would be wise Gandalf.  Its victory is at hand and there is sure to be a rich reward for those who aid it.  As it grows, its friends will also grow, and the wise, such as you and I, may learn eventually to control it and bend it to our wills."

Gandalf laughed.  There was no joy in it and indeed it took much effort and pain for him to laugh even as the Grey poison worked within him.

"Saruman, you are a fool.  You know nothing of this new Power.  It cares not for friends or enemies, for axis or ally; it cares simply to bring disorder to that which is ordered.  It is chaos.  You and all the allies, which you have gathered throughout time, cannot stand against it.  In fact, I encourage you and your forces to seek its friendship so that it may destroy you and thus save me the labor."

Saruman grew angry then.  "Very well Gandalf.  I hardly expected you to be wise, even if it was on your own behalf.  I have given you the chance to aid me willingly."

Then Saruman cast a great and terrible spell, and of the evil spells cast throughout time and space this was the eighth worst.  And Gandalf fought him, but the Grey poison worked against him and within him, and perverted him so that while he did not become entirely evil, he was bent to Saruman's will.

Saruman rose triumphant...gloating as he readied to release his greatest weapon into the time stream.  "Now you dog.  You bark for me!"

Mysteries of the Mythos

Fort Meade, Maryland 2424 feet underground.  0842hrs.

Scully barely had time to inhale before the Grey leapt through the air at her.  Sharp and deadly talons converged on her soft throat...And never connected.  The Grey bounced harmlessly off of a force shield.

 A voice at Scully's side startled her.

"Yeah...he doesn't like that.  Tough shit fucker!" The man taunted the Grey as it hurled itself against the force shield again.  "You know, we should give him an anal probe just for the hell of it."

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"I am Adam.  I am the head of Delta Green.  What's left of it?  That's all you need to know about me.  You're at a secure military complex called Area 42."

Scully smirked, "I thought it was supposed to be Area 51?"

"That's for hardware.  This place is for..." Adam glanced at the struggling Grey," software.  All right boys.  I think it's had enough fun.  Tag it and bag it."

Immediately, the open sides of the wall which were covered by the force shield were close with a transparent plexiglass-like material.  The chamber the Grey was in began to fill with a clear gelatinous syrup.  The Grey continued to struggle but the syrup must have had some form of sedative since its movements became slower.  Finally it slopped over and lay trapped like a fly in amber.

Adam began to narrate, "That stuff is called Astrogelä.  It hardens in about thirty seconds.  NASA developed it for long term spaceflight.  It puts the subject in a form of hibernation.  Problem is that they couldn't revive more than half of the test subjects.  No good for spaceflight.  Suits our need though."

As Adam talked laser cutters came out of the ceiling and carved a small niche around the Grey's immobile form.  Then a large clamp came out and pulled up the slab.  It looked just like the thousands of cocoons Scully had seen.  It suddenly occurred to her that something...someone was missing.

"Where's Agent Mulder?"

"He's still in the O.R.  He lost a lot of blood.  A whole lot.  If our response team hadn't arrived when it did.  Well...you two are lucky to be alive at all.  We lost seven squads that night.  Only six people, including you two, out of the original group made it out.  Delta Green suffered a severe blow.  We don't exactly have a lot of manpower, being so secret and all."

"You sure have the budget...Look at this place."

"You think we built this?" Adam laughed, "Agent Scully, Frankly I'm surprised.  This place has been here since before the dinosaurs."

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