Chapter 23

Cameron's group just crossed the colorado river and began driving onto a dirt road. Once the main road was out of view they exited and gathered their bags. They stood off to the side waiting to trek up the mountain as Cameron meditated.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Megan asked.

"Just give him a minute." Jordan examined Cameron closely.

'At this point, the only way we can live in peace is to get out of here. I can't let them down either. That pain was unbearable, and they experience it daily.'

Cameron's hair gradually shifted white, but the weather remained the same.

'If I can't keep it under control we won't survive.' Cameron carefully lifted his hand towards the car.

Gradually the vehicle froze and crumbled into a pile of shavings. Cameron tried to revert his form, but it remained the same. It didn't go as expected, but he still considered it a success. He started burying the remains of the car and covered it with his foot.

"Let's get going." Jordan began trekking up the mountain.

Cameron and Megan walked side by side as they scanned the area. The open terrain was making them uneasy, but they would never expect them to go on foot. With Cameron's abilities still resonating any tech, they would use to spy from above was rendered useless.

One of their pursuers still possessed the means to track them. They only stayed idle at the moment to assess the situation. The display with the skinwalker and the vehicle just now made them unsure about containment.

Standing in a room with a metallic sphere are tall beings with grayish skin. They have narrow chins, black eyes, and elongated fingers. Each of them was roughly six feet tall and possessed a slightly larger head in comparison to a human's.

They were wearing grey jumpsuits, and women made up the majority. Unlike their male counterparts, they possessed hair as white as snow. The crew was crowded around a woman with a platinum emblem on her chest. Her name is Aria and she was leading the discussion on sending another drone.

"It's not that erratic this time and could be our only chance for readings."

"If we lose another drone the empress will skin us all." Aria cautioned.

"They seem occupied with their footing at the moment, and we could use the star for cover."

"That could work, but if we're gonna risk that we should continue our research. How much time to the next merger?" Aria inquired.

"Two hours, but it's a large one."

"Tell them to prep the excavators." Aria returned to her seat.

Aria established a mental link with her pilot. Receiving the orders from his commander he trailed his hand over a platform as symbols appeared. Several lit up as the ship jumped to the next mountain ridge.

Standing in front of Aria was their head researcher Enki. He was a bit shorter than the rest of the crew and was wearing human clothing. In his hand was a synthesized big gulp.

"I'm curious about him too, but there's no guarantee we can analyze him," Enki stated.

"We just need enough to prove his existence," Aria replied.

"I understand the merit of a discovery like this, but it won't make up for losing Nissa." Enki cautioned.

"Let me worry about that." Aria scolded.

Enki didn't wanna rock the ship too much but needed his opinion heard. As Enki approached the metallic wall it became see-through revealing a hallway. Stepping through the doorway two soldiers in black flight suits were waiting for Enki.

They were only three feet tall and possessed a similar grey skin. The only difference was the reptilian-like texture. The one on the left had a metallic emblem on his left shoulder. His name is Enkara and he stepped forward to salute before making his request.

"If you have enough time could you run diagnostics on my blaster? There was a slight delay between stun in the last corral, and I lost a subject because of it." Enkara requested as Enki motioned for him to follow.

"Are you sure you've been getting enough rest?" Enki inquired.

"With the extra competition this cycle we can't afford it. I get what you're insinuating, but there's no delay in my abilities. I believe it was damaged in the last skirmish." Enkara said respectfully.

"I'll check it out just to be safe, but I recommend making a sleep schedule," Enki suggested.

On Enki's way to the lab, the others greeted him politely. Enki had the respect of the entire ship as was the custom for intellectuals. Aria only retained command for tactical reasons to ensure their research team's survival.

They reached the end of the hallway where a large archway appeared revealing the laboratory. One could see researchers scattered across the room hard at work. The majority of the team was running the algorithms to determine which planets could overlap this time.

An elite team was determining the potential elements that could be created upon the merger and began prioritizing them for the extraction crews. Huddled around the center of the room was Delta team. Each member possessed a similar appearance to Enkara and was in charge of security.

Humanity's tech has come far enough to make working in obscurity difficult. If they deployed ground forces it would be picked up on satellites. To avoid this they mark a perimeter with dropships and form a link that combines their gravity fields. This allows them to amplify their cloaking device into a barrier around the area.

"We had a close call last time, but we can't afford to fail here. Every cycle the humans discover another gateway, and it gets that much harder to avoid conflict." Enkara announced.

The leaders of each team stopped to listen to the briefing as their subordinates continued working.

"To ensure this doesn't happen we will commit the majority of Delta team to secure the outside of the barrier by two clicks in each direction. To ease your concerns my squad will personally defend the equipment." Enkara addressed the leaders.

"We also have to operate away from the anomaly. I will personally oversee his analysis to ensure we don't alert them. Besides that, it's work as usual." Enki dismissed the leaders.