Extinction

Chapter 1 Arrival

We were already a hundred miles or so from the nearest land and my head was ready to explode from the headache that seemed to get no better with each passing hour. I really don't know what it was about air travel that I hate so much, being cooked up in cramped and confined spaces, or the change in altitude and air cabin pressure with being so far up.
For the last couple of hours I had been confined to my seat, going over the statistics of my mission. We had no idea of the location we were headed, only that it was of the uttermost secrecy and that everything we find and see at our destination is to remain secret and that we tell nobody.
Secrecy was one of the things that I am always sworn to in my line of work. Being the head of a special forces unit that works above any government in the world, we do the kind of jobs that everyone hates, the downright dirty and dangerous. You could say that we are like Black Ops, but I would put us in more in line with SAS or Navy Seals, though the weaponary we pack is more state of the art.
I've been trained all my life to be the perfect soldier on land, sea and air and yet, I still get air queasy on long trips, especially with the travel accomodation. I wouldn't call sitting in the cargo hold of a cargo plane fun, but I have been in worse and so have the men and women on my team.
They are sat in their seats, some of them gazing out the windows, others fast asleep. We are a small team comprising of five, including myself. We have Piotor Putrove, our main member who packs heavy firepower with the chaingun he carries. He is a giant of man, with muscles so thick, you could easily pass him off a bodybuilder. He is Russian in Nationality and is the oldest member of the team.
Looking across at him, I could see that he is polishing his gun and checking the ammunitaion even though he has done it several times over during the trip. I could see that he treats his weapon as if it was a part of him.
Beside him is Dreiber, Daniel Dreiber, our communication and navigation specialist. He is short of build, with geekish looks. With short brown matted hair and dark olive skin, you would think he has spent one too many days on a beach under the hot baking sun. He hails from Norther California and is a whiz on computers. I once heard he can hack any government database without so much breaking a sweat. He might not look like he is suited for the battle field, but looks are always decieving and Dreiber is a man who has the skills and fighting prowess of a Navy Seal.
Takesihi Takamoto, sits opposite me. Fast asleep in dreams. He's even shorter than Dreiber and looks more like a teenager who has just come out of hight school. But again looks can be decieving. Takeshi is our sniper specialist. Focus and concentration are his key traits and so accurate is his firing technique that he can hit a squirral rght between the eyes from three miles away with his state of the art, A34B long range sniper rifle. Beside this, he can also use anything as a deadly projectile, even a pencil. Hence we gave him the nickname Bullseye, as named after the comic book villain in the Daredevil stories.
Sitting a few chairs away from us is our only female member of the team, Lana Blonski. She is American by nationality, but she was born in Moscow, Russia. Her father is Russian and her mother, American. Both work for the CIA surprisingly, her father is apparently head of the Russian CIA division. With long, dark, reddish hair, light olive skin, Lana certainly has the looks to turn the heads of any men, but she is one the most deadliest members of our team. She was a CIA spy, and was trained in seven different styles of martial arts. So deadly is her fighting prowess that she can use anything as a weapon, which certainly is warning to any man that dares cross her. I once saw her take out three guys in quick succession during a martial arts demonstration and she was tied to a chair. She prefers light weapons like an Uzi 9mm, and packs two of them, specially made from titanium steel. She calls them Ebony and Ivory and both guns can fire thirty bullets in the space off three seconds. She does not talk much. Prefers to keep to herself and meditate.
Sitting next to me is my second in command, Daniel Dietriech, a young American hotshot, fresh out of the Navy Seals. He looks more like an American high school student with his boyish looks, and like Lana he has light dark olive skin. His hair is jet black and long and he ties the end into a pigtail. He's bare chested as if showing off his muscular physique. It's well sculptured which indicates many hours of training in the gym, but I sometimes fail to know just who Dietriech is trying to impress. Lana finds him repulsive with his arrogant and narccisstic attitude, and come to think of it, I do find that Dietriech loves himself too much. He might have graduated at top of his class in military school, but his personality is nothing short of irritating. I mean, the guy practically does not stop talking. The only time he ever shuts up is when we are in combat.
He sits right next to me, and for the past several minutes, he has been trying to nosey in on the mission statistics that I have been studying on my laptop.
"So what is this mission?" he asks me, only for the upteenth time. "Is it seek out and destroy? Are we rescuing someone?"
"You will know soon enough," I told him, trying to keep my frustration of him hidden. Dietriech really was the kind of guy that just got under your skin in a bad way. I don't know what it was that made him so frustrating, but to many, it was the fact that he asked too many questions.
"Dude, the suspense is killing me," he said, shifting in his seat. "I've been crammed in this shithole space for too long! I wanna see some action!"
"Why don't you just relax," Putrov said to Dietriech calmly. "Enjoy the rest while you can".
"Rest is for dead people," Dietriech huffed. "Plenty of time to rest when you are dead. Dude, I was born for action. I was born for the field of battle".
Putrov chuckled to himself as he carried on shining his chain gun.This made Dietriech sit upright and give Putrov a nasty glare.
"What you find so funny?" he asked Putrov. "You don't like the fact that I 'm a naturally born warrior?"
"I don't doubt your courage," Putrov told Dietriech. "But I cannot believe a young man like yourself knows only violence in his life. Not unless he are trying to gain attention for himself".
"I 'd secure any shit you got for me Ruski," he said in a threatening tone. "I'm not the kind of guy you wanna fuck with".
"Language please," said Daniel Drieber, reclining his chair as if to take a few winks. "We all know you are a tough guy Dietriech. No need to prove anything".
"I can say what I fucking want," Dietriech said. "And right now, I'm fired up and bored shitless. I don't even know what the fuck our mission is, only that we are going to some remote island in the Pacific". He turns back to me. "I just wish you would tell us what all this fuss is about. I hate fucking secrecy".
"Like I said, you will know soon enough," I tell Dietriech again. "You know I will brief you all two hours before arrival. They were the orders from the Council".
"The Council?" repeated Dietriech. "There is that name again, the Council. Our so called shadowy employers, the ones we know Jack-fucking shit about because our captain here won't tell us".
"They pay us well. That is good enough for me," Takeshi says. "I don't care who the Council is, as long as I get my pay to feed my family".
"Is that all you care about?" Dietriech says, shifting again in his seat. "That makes you nothing more than a merc. We are much more than that. We were selected because we are unique. We are above the average battlefield soldier, above any special forces unit".
"So what are we?" Lana suddenly says.
"Didn't think you were awake," Joked Dietriech. "Tell me sweetie pie, how's the view down there? Don't you want to sit next to us grunts. Or is it because you know there is a real man here with the biggest dick of them all, a dick even you can't resist".
Lana grins and shakes her head slowly. She does not say anything more and just closes her eyes as if in deep mediation. Again, Deitriech asks me about our mission and who our employers really are.
I would really like to tell him what our mission is, and who the people who employ our services really are, but like myself, they would have a hard time believing it. I would not know how Dietriech or any of my team would react if he knew that the island we are headed too is not on any map and that it is man made, and has been, for the last forty years, been used as a testing facility for a new form of energy that had been discovered in the 1940's shortly after world war 2, an energy that could twist and bend the very fabric of time and space itself to create gateways and portals to other places and moments in time. I would wonder how they would react if I told them that a week ago, a distress call was sent from the testing facility of this island because of an accident had occurred when an attempt to capture dinosaurs and other creatures from different periods of the prehistoric era had gone horribly wrong. It was a project called the Ark, it's purpose, to capture specimens from a bygone prehistoric era to study at the facility with the purpose of developing medicines and drugs for the future. It seemed evident that the project was successful in bringing back specimens, but containing them was another thing entirely.
I was told that a few days ago, communication was lost with the facility. A distress call had been sent out, and it was reported that there was a containment breach. Our mission as far as I knew it, was to go in and find out what had happened, and find as many survivors as possible.
The day the distress call had been sent, they had sent a large military unit in of fifty marines in five choppers. They were soldiers from Fort Colen in Alaska. The general in charge of this deployment was a William T Sadler. I've met him a few times before. He's a rugged war veteran who has served four presidents during his long career in the military, decorated hero in the Iraq and Afghan wars, not to mention various tours in Libria and Syria. I know that his soldiers are some of the best in the United States and its not like Sadlers team to go missing like this. Its been three days with no contact from the facility and Sadlers unit which I guess is why they have sent us in. We are a smaller unit and one that can move fast. If Sadler and his unit had encountered some hostiles, like prehistoric creatures from another era, it is easy to assume that he and his men did not fare well against them. In my line of work, we have to assume the worst.
In about an hours time, I will have to brief my unit on the mission and it's background and I wonder how they will take it, especially Dietriech. Dinsosaurs are something one would expect to be extinct, and the idea of time travel is the stuff of science fiction. At least I thought it was until I discovered it was science fact....
"So lemme get this straight," said Dietriech, trying to get his head round the information I had just told him and my unit. "You telling me we are going to an island located somewhere in the Pacific, one that is not found on maps and that there have been top secret experiments conducted to travel back in time and capture live dinosaur specimens?"
He tried to keep a level face, but could not help contain his laughter. To Dietriech, the whole thing sounded like science fiction to him.
"I never thought time travel could exist, except in books and films," said Putrov. "It all sounds science fiction".
"But not beyond the realms of science fact," came Drieber. "I had been hearing for years that the military have been experimenting with Stargate style techology".
"Stargate?" repeated Dietriech. "Aint that a TV show". He shook his head in disbelief. "Sheesh, you are not telling me they have developed technology that allows them to go to any point in time. Man, this shit keeps getting better and better. I'd be taking it more seriously if we were going somewhere like Syria, Iran, or Afghanistan, but time travel, dinosaurs? Gimme a break!"
"The technology has been around for centuries," I told them, reading off the information I was holding on my IDF Touchscreen Tablet. "We didn't make it. The ET's did. All we did was discover it as well as a butt load of their knowledge. The biggest achievement has been the creation of this new energy, or should I say discovery".
"And this energy is what powers these stargates?" enquired Lana.
I nodded my head. "Since the 1940's, the military of all the major superpowers in the world, America, Russia and China, have been using this energy to travel to various times in the past. I honestly do not know what they have been doing. This project, Codenamed The Ark, is the only one I know of".
"And they have been taking dinosaurs from the past and bringing them to this island?" said Takeshi. "For experimentation?"
"God knows what they have been doing," I said, shuddering at the thought. "But our mission is to go in, find out what has happened and see if there are any survivors. It is assumed that there was a breach of some kind, so we must assume the worst, especially with the first unit that had been deployed before us".
"Sadlers team," said Dietriech. "You wouldn't think they got eaten by dinosaurs?" He almost chuckled at the thought but kept his laughter in.
"How many people worked on the island?" enquired Putrov.
"One hundred and fifty scientists, most of them well known physists, biologist, palentologists, all top of their field as well as Dr Ame Laurigan, the scientist who discovered this new form of energy. Apart from the scientists, there was around five hundred military personnel. Project Ark was one of the biggest and most secretly funded projects on this planet".
"What specimens did they bring back?" asked Dietriech curiously.
I tapped a few commands on my tablet to see if I could find any information. Nothing came up on the display. I sheepishly looked up at my team who were looking on expectantly. "There is no information regarding what specimens they were using," I said to them.
Dietriech stood up and threw his hands in the air. "Great!" he exclaimed, a hint of humour. "Here we are, a small rag tag gang of soldiers going to Kong island and we don't even know what monsters we will be facing. Besides, if five hundred military personnel could not handle the containment, I'd love to know how our employers think we can handle the problem. If we got big dinosaurs like a T-Rex, how do you think our weapons would fare against them? We'd be like mice with pea shooters against an elephant. This is bullshit man!"
Without another word, he moved back to his seat, slumping into it. He took out his Playstation Vista console and began playing Tekken on it. It was clear that he was bored and had lost interest in the whole thing.
"We are a small team, we can move fast," said Lana, filing her fingernails with a seven inch serrated knife. "I assume we are not here to engage any hostiles?.
"Yes, that's correct," I confirmed. "We are in and out. We find what has happened, see if there are any survivors, collect any data and get out. The plane should drop us near the beach. The island is five miles wide and fifteen miles long. The whole land is sectioned off by seventy foot high electric fence. There is a cave on the beach which leads inland to a monorail system. The monorail goes three miles underground before breaking the surface and will travel two miles to the facility. It should be safe because the monorail is sixty feet above the jungle floor. It should be straightforward, providing there is still power on the island".
"And providing we don't run into any trouble," said Putrov.
"We go in and out, fast and furious. A small unit should attract less attention then a small army like the one Sadler brought in," I told them. "Lets get this one over with so we get our paychecks and those vacations we deserve".
All the members of my unit nodded in agreement. Dietriech did not say anything. I looked across at him expectantly. At times I could tolerate his attitude, but sometimes he was irritating, like a child needing discipline.
"Dietriech!" I shouted across to him. "Are you in agreement with this!?"
Dietriech did not say anything.
"Dietriech!" I shouted across to him again. "Did you hear what I said!"
Dietriech raised his hand without even taking his eyes off his handheld console. "Yeah, yeah, I heard you loud and clear boss".
"One thing I am curious to know," came Putrov. "This island facility we are going to is top secret and there will be information and technology we will come across and learn about, that we are not meant to see. Are we going to be sworn to confidentiality?"
"No, they are going to kill us all once we complete our mission," joked Deitriech. "Hell, I betcha my bottom dollar, they got someone amongst us who will kill us off, perhaps separately or one mass megakill".
"Are you finished Dietriech?" said Lana, clearly not impressed by his immature attitude. "Don't you even take these life and death missions seriously?"
Dietriech lowered his handheld console. The shouts, groans, and bone crunching blows coming from the small device stopped as if Dietriech had just pressed PAUSE to his game. "I take all missions seriously toots," he told her. "I just joke like this to take the edge of any missions I go on. Hell, you never know, when you enter the field of battle, whether you will come back. Any mission could be your last which is why I like to go out in style. Having fun is a damm sight better than dreading your mission. Lifes too short babe".
Before Dietriech could get back to his game, he was taken by surprise when the knife Lana had been using to file her nails was thrown straight at him. It embedded itself a few inches from his face into the fabric of the chair he was sitting on. Dietriech was taken back by this but kept his cool composure.
Everyone else on the team, including myself was clearly surprised by this.
"Oh babe, now that was cool. Though if you want to kill me, you should not hesitate".
He pulled out the blade from his chair and handed it back to Lana.
Taking the blade from him, Lana grinned at Dietriech. "Next time I will," she said in a seductive, yet threatening tone in her voice. "Watch your back kid".
Clearly seeing enough, I switched off the tablet and coughed to get everyones attention. "Alright, enough playing about," I said to them. "I want this mission to go smoothly and by the numbers. About half an hour before touchdown on the island, I want a complete ammunition check".
"But we already checked our munitions before we set off," protested Takeshi. "Don't you think that is pointless?"
"No excuses," I told him. "I want a more thorough check. I have copies of our mission objectives and any information the Council has chosen to share with us. I suggest you use whatever time we got left to go through with it, so you can familiarise yourselves with the island and what we need to do. The Council invested a lot of money in hiring our services".
"It better be worth it. I don't take kindly to being called back after a long deserved vacation," Dietriech said.
"Don't you think we all feel the same," I said to Dietriech. "We were all called back from our absence of leave. I suggest you drop that game you are playing and your attitude and get ready. Because where we are going, you are going to need all your skills and training you got..."

In the cargo hold of the plane, both Dietriech, Putrov and Drieber are conducting an inventory of their supplies and ammunition. There is only three quarters of an hour left of their journey and within fifteen minutes they know they would have to prepare themselves for landing. While Putrov holds the supply manifest with Drieber checking through the ammunition and supplies, Dietriech is sat atop one of the crates, sharpening his seven inch serrated shark knife.
"So what do you make of this mission then?" he asks both Putrov and Drieber.
Both of them look up at him, neither of them impressed by his inhability to help out.
"It's a mission like any other mission," Drieber says to him.
"Yeah but what about the dinosaurs?" says Dietriech, taking a cloth to polish his knife. "I mean, do you seriously believe we are going to run into dinosaurs on this trip".
The big Russian, Putrov, does not say anything, but the young man called Drieber, looks away, his head in thought.
"I don't know what to believe," he says to Dietriech. "But if we run into any dinosaurs, we ain't got enough firepower to take a giant down. There is barely enough ammunition and supplies here. The food is only enough to last four days tops".
He opens up a small black bag full of shotgun shells and proceeds to count them fast, giving Putrov the total. The Russian writes down each number Drieber gives him.
"The boss wants this to be quick and fast, in and out no questions asked," Putrov eventually says to Dietriech. "You heard what he said, that we are to avoid confrontation with any hostiles".
Dietriech shakes his head at this, chuckling lightly to himself as he sheaths his shark knife. "I think its all bullshit personally," he said. "But if we ever meet a giant lizard, I'd love to know what plan of action he has got. Granted, I know the reason we have less supplies and ammunition is so that we can move fast. But if I was going to a place that resembled anything like Kong Island, I'd make sure I had a whole batallion with me. I mean fucking tanks, the works".
"I'm sure that was the idea when Sadler went in with fifty of his men, all armed to the teeth and ready for action. But all contact was lost with them," pointed out Drieber. "Besides, I don't think it would make much difference no matter what large numbers of soldiers you have. If you got an island where there are giant and fierce reptiles, it will be like laying out a buffet to them".
"Bullets would be useless against a dinosaur," added Putrov. "And you would need a lot of explosives to take down just one. I think their hide is quite thick and hard to penetrate".
Dietriech made a short sigh and leapt off the crate, turning to face both men. "You two sure are a bundle of optimism," he told them both. "So literally, we are fucked if we ever run into a giant lizard with teeth, unless the boss has a plan. Talking about the boss, you trust him?"
Both Drieber and Putrov looked at one another. Like Dietriech, they had served under the captain for two years.
"He is a good leader, and he knows what he is doing," Putrov said.
Drieber nods as if in agreement to this. "He has led us out of some sticky situations. You remember Somalia, when we were under siege, outgunned and outnumbered? You remember how he got us out?"
Dietriech smiles to himself when he recalls the moment, that very moment he thought he was going to die, how the captain formulated a plan to get them out of the house they were trapped in. Though Dietriech did believe it was luck that got them out of that scrape as the captain had a map of the entire surrounding area, and had memorized every street and alley way. He knew exactly where to go, where to turn when they eroupted from their hiding place, all guns blazing. It almost felt like the finale of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, though in this story they did not die, but came close to it.
Despite this he had to admit, his boss was a great battle stragetist. If they had stayed in that house any longer, they would have surely died.
"Granted, he has his good points," says Dietriech. "But I don't entirely agree with his new choice of team members. Takeshi seems a nice enough guy but that babe, Lana, even though she looks fit, gives me the heebee jeebee's".
"How so?" asks Drieber, curiously.
"She's secretive, quiet, mysterious," said Dietriech. "There is something about her that I cannot quite put my finger on. You might think me fucking paranoid, but I am quite sure she is working for someone else, perhaps has other motives".
"And you think she will kill us all on the mission?" said Drieber. "Think you are being paranoid there Dietriech".
Dietriech grins at this. "We'll see," he says to Drieber. "We'll see".

END OF CHAPTER 1 Arrival