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The Tomorrow Man
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Contents
Title Page
Before You Start...
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Continue The Adventure!
Also by Percival Constantine
About the Author
Copyright
TITLE PAGE
A time traveler from the future has arrived with one goal in mind—prevent an impending alien invasion! And his targets…are Vanguard? Who is this mysterious Chronos, how is he connected to the creation of the specials, and why does he believe attacking Vanguard will preserve the future?
VANGUARD #13
THE TOMORROW MAN
By Percival Constantine
BEFORE YOU START...
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CHAPTER 1
Across the far reaches of the galaxy, a warship moved through the stars, with smaller ships flanking it. The light from one of the nearby suns reflected off the black, metallic surface of the hull. Past the long window stretched across the curved bow was a very active bridge.
The bridge was split into two levels, with the main one a bustle of activity. Humanoid beings with orange skin and bright yellow hair moved about to perform the daily duties, dressed in black and gold, form-fitting suits. Just above that level stood a commanding officer in armor at the railing, looking out over his charges.
“General M’Lak!”
He turned and the lower-ranking officer saluted him, patting his right fist against his left pectoral and bowing deep. M’Lak returned the salute, but his bow was more like a tip of his head. In the Kotharian culture, the depth of the bow depended on the difference in station between the two. And as general, there were few people M’Lak bowed deeply to.
“Lieutenant H’Lor,” said M’Lak. “You have something for me?”
“Yes sir, if you would follow me to the war room?”
M’Lak nodded and H’Lor led him from the bridge and down the corridor. They came to a closed door that opened on approach and descended a staircase to a circular platform. The rest of the room was dark but after H’Lor entered some commands on the keyboard, holographic lights surrounded them in the round chamber.
A three-dimensional projection of a blue and green planet appeared between them. Bright lights dotted the green masses on the planet.
“This is the human population of Earth,” said H’Lor. “There are around seven billion of them existing on this planet.”
“Seven billion? On one planet?” asked M’Lak.
H’Lor nodded. “Yes. And all of them have signs of the Chaknaar in their system. But it only seems active in less than one percent of the population. Of that number, though, they exhibit some truly drastic differences from us.”
“What do you mean?”
H’Lor went to the console and entered in some commands. The image of the Earth vanished and instead, holographic screens appeared all around them. They showed footage from Earth of different humans displaying a variety of powers and abilities.
“This is the footage we obtained from Captain J’Karra’s transmission,” said H’Lor. “The transmission was incomplete and it appears to have been damaged in transit. But from what we can see, the Chaknaar has effected them in a manner that’s quite different from how it affects us Kotharians.”
“How’s this possible?”
“Even among the same species, Earth creatures appear to have genetic differences that could account for why so few develop any abilities. And why those who do develop quite differently.”
M’Lak rubbed his chin as he studied the footage. He saw a man in white and blue battling a woman in white and red. A man made of energy fighting a man with metallic skin. A humanoid man-beast of some kind attacking a woman dressed from head to toe in white, who kept him at bay with the power of wind. And he saw footage of J’Karra fighting an entire group of these Earthlings.
There were many more feeds. But one consistent factor was the presence of a group of these superhumans. M’Lak watched them carefully and pointed at some of the screens.
“These individuals, do we have any information on them?”
H’Lor shook his head. “I’m afraid not, General. There are some references to them, but that could be the part of the transmission that was lost.”
“I believe we’re looking at Earth’s defenders, Lieutenant,” said M’Lak. “These are the individuals we must defeat if we’re going to bring this planet under our control.”
“Within the Captain’s message, we also discovered data she sent about a scouting mission for Earth decades ago,” said H’Lor. “I checked the archives, there was indeed a scout sent to that system. They vanished, never heard from again. Presumed dead.”
“And J’Karra believes Earth is responsible?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good, then we have cause to prepare the invasion. Return to the bridge, instruct the crew to prepare to make the jump to light-speed.”
“By your leave, General.” H’Lor saluted and bowed before leaving the chamber.
M’Lak went to the console and entered some commands. The holograms vanished and the room darkened considerably. He knelt down in the center of the platform, his fists resting on the ground by his knees and bowed his head with closed eyes.
“My Matriarch, I am but a humble servant ready to receive your word.”
A series of holographic projections appeared around M’Lak, each one dressed from head to toe in robes that concealed their entire body. These were the priests who communicated on behalf of the Matriarch, the ruler of the Kotharian empire.
“The Matriarch has passed the word through us, General M’Lak,” said one of the priests. “You may rise.”
M’Lak stood upright with his legs together, tilting his chin towards the ceiling and clasping his hands behind his back.
“We are preparing to make the jump to light-speed,” he said. “Within a short time, we shall be within striking distance of Earth.”
“And the information sent by Captain J’Karra?”
“Incomplete, but it is enough to give us an idea of what sort of opposition we will face,” said M’Lak. “The primary foes are a group of Chaknaar-enhanced humans who appear to act as the planet’s defenders. They will provide the strongest resistance.”
“And the humans’ potential to wage war?”
“Almost catastrophically single-minded,” said M’Lak. “They use weapons that could very well end their entire existence. These humans are a suicidal race. But the benefit is they do not seem to possess any long-distance space travel capabilities. So any threat to the empire is minimal at best.”
“Very good, General. The Matriarch has given the command. Go forth and conquer, in the name of Kothar. The humans will learn what it means to steal from us.”
***
The man called Chronos was born in slavery. At a time when the Kotharians had conquered the planet and kept humans alive as a labor force. He remembered the camps. Remembered the back-breaking work they had to conduct.
He had no name, just a number. That number was the only identity any of the humans in the camps were ever allowed to have. And the number was…
It was…
He couldn’t remember the number. But he remembered escaping the camp. Remembered being inducted into the resistance. And with the help of technology they stole, he and his companion were sent on a mission into the past.
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He remembered the moon. Remembered his friend releasing the energy into Earth’s atmosphere. But why couldn’t he remember that man’s name?
Then he was in the future. No, not his future. It was the past. Things were different, yet somehow similar. Something went wrong. He was successful and yet he failed.
Chronos screamed and gripped his head. He sat in an alley, struggling to make sense of his memories.
“Come on…” he muttered to himself. “Get it together…”
Why couldn’t he remember? What was this flood of images he saw in his mind?
“You must know something before we begin. There is no telling what sort of effect chronal disruption will have on the human mind.”
Who told him that? What did it mean?
Another image came through his mind. He remembered standing in a room, facing a man with a thin mustache whose body was paralyzed and encased in metal. The man’s eyes had a strange, psychedelic color to them as he spoke.
“Chronos, this is a message implanted in your memory, to be triggered upon arrival. It is up to you to stop the Kotharian invasion, you are the only one who can hope to succeed. But in order to do that, someone has to die—a key player in the pending apocalypse. A Kotharian warrior named J’Karra.
“In this period, she is being held in a prison called the Island. It is a ship that is constantly on the move to make escape more difficult. To locate the Island, you’ll need to be able to track its movements. The only way you can acquire this information is from Vanguard. The coordinates of Atlas, their base of operations, have been implanted in your mind. Go there, download the information you need, and stop J’Karra from destroying the world.”
The memory ended there. Chronos slowly stood from the cold asphalt. He held his arm in front of him and entered a few commands on his gauntlet. A holographic map was projected by his visor into his retina and he could see the distance he needed to travel from his current location to reach Atlas in the Adirondacks.
Armor components on his legs moved down, forming a platform beneath his feet, a platform that was able to levitate above the ground. He rose up between the two buildings, and once he had a clear shot, he flew off into the distance.
The name the old man told him—Vanguard. It was familiar, somehow. He couldn’t quite determine why. But he had a feeling he could trust the memory.
CHAPTER 2
“Oh come on!” cried Koji Asano, throwing down the video game controller. On the large screen television set, he watched as his character’s body lay on the ground, its head held by his opponent.
Koji cast an angry glance at Lee Parker, who leaned back on the couch beside him, a smug grin on his face.
“You’re cheating.”
“What?” asked Lee. “Am not.”
“Bull. That’s ten matches in a row! Only way you could be that luck is if you’re cheating.”
“And how would I cheat?”
Koji scoffed. “Right. How would Lee ‘I-Can-Talk-To-Machines-And-Make-Them-Do-Anything-I-Want’ Parker be capable of cheating at a video game?”
Lee shook his head. “Oh for the love of… do you really think I’d be so petty as to use my powers to convince the game to let me win?”
Koji crossed his arms. “You tell me.”
Lee pointed at his teammate. “You know what your problem is?”
“Yeah, I’m being hustled.”
“No, you’re a bad loser.”
“Am not.”
“Ever consider the possibility that maybe you just suck at this game?” asked Lee.
“I do not suck!”
“Then how come I keep kicking your ass?”
“Because I know a hustle when I see one, and this is a hustle,” said Koji.
Lee chuckled. “Come on, Koj. We’re not even playing for money. Why would I be hustling you?”
“That’s just what a hustler would say.”
Lee shook his head with a snicker and exited the game, going back to the main menu. “Okay fine, how about we play something else? Rock Band?”
“Nah, I’m not in the mood.” Koji leaned forward and picked up his beer bottle. He leaned back into the couch and sipped as he watched Lee scroll through the games.
“Fine, wanna watch a movie then?”
Koji just shrugged.
Lee sighed and looked at him. “What’s with you tonight? Think you’d be happy now that you got that cast off your arm.”
Koji looked at his arm. It was broken in battle with the Exemplar and though he healed fast, he still had to wear a cast for a period of time. The cast just came off a few days ago and yet, Koji still seemed melancholy about something.
“Don’t feel like talkin’ about it.”
“Have anything to do with Erin?” asked Lee.
“Did I freaking stutter or something?” asked Koji. “I said I don’t wanna talk about it.”
“Come on, what happened?” asked Lee.
Koji shook his head. “Hell if I know. It’s like every single time we have a moment, something happens to get in the way. First there was that time you interrupted us at the pool. And then at the lake a few weeks ago, we’re just about to kiss and she pulls away.”
“Maybe your problem is hanging around bodies of water?”
“You’re a funny guy.”
“What do you want me to say? Maybe you’re just going about this all wrong,” said Lee.
“Maybe I shouldn’t go about it at all,” said Koji, looking in the direction of the TV. “It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? This whole back and forth? It’s like I’m right back in high school.”
“Well…” Lee looked at Koji. “She is seventeen.”
“Exactly my point.” Koji raised the bottle to his lips and took another drink. “This probably isn’t worth the trouble.”
They heard the sound of throat clearing. Koji and Lee both looked over the couch and saw Erin standing in the doorway. Her arms were folded over her chest and her yellow eyes were wide and beginning to grow glassy.
Koji felt a lump in his throat. He opened his mouth to say something but only a few unintelligible sounds came forth. Erin shook her head and turned away, going back to the elevator. Koji just stared at the spot where she’d been standing.
***
Jim Ellis grunted as he pushed up on the handles of the bench press machine. His face was red and his muscles tensed beneath the weight. When he returned the handles to the neutral position, he let out a sigh and sat up. Jim moved his arms to relieve some of the strain he felt on them and a bottle of water was held out for him.
He took the offering from Dominic Vaughn and pulled open the top of the squirt bottle with his teeth before taking in some of the liquid. He handed it back to Dom, wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, then clapped his hands and laid down on the bench.
“Okay, time to go again.”
“Ease up,” said Leonard Thorne, also standing by the weight machine.
Jim shook his head. “No can do. Gotta keep up.”
“You’re gonna give yourself a hernia or something,” said Dom.
“He’s right, you’ve been through the ringer,” said Thorne. “Don’t push yourself too hard.”
Jim sighed and sat back up. “Guys, I’m fine. Whatever Bradshaw’s drug did to me, it’s gone now. But that doesn’t mean I want to slack off. I gotta keep up my training.”
“Let’s not rush this,” said Thorne. “Up until a few days ago, you were still in detox. There could be after-effects we don’t know about yet.”
Jim rubbed his face. “I gotta stay active, okay? If I’m not doing something, I…I get restless.”
“Restless how?” asked Dom.
Jim stood from the bench and paced around the gym. “Hard to explain.”
Thorne approached his team’s leader. “Your body’s craving the adrenaline rush, isn’t it?”
Jim stopped pacing and placed his hands on his hips. But though the pacing ceased, he now tapped his foot repeatedly.
Jim’s head snapped up. “No!”
“If you’re cravings have gotten this bad, it could impact your performance in the field. I can’t have you taking any unnecessary risks while you’re out there, you could jeopardize the safety of yourself or your teammates.”
Jim scoffed. “Leo, I’ve spent my entire adult life in war zones. I can handle myself, okay?”
“Not like this,” said Dom.
Jim turned to his teammate and pointed a finger in his direction. “If I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you.”
“Don’t be a dick, we’re trying to help you.”
“You need some more time,” said Thorne. “You’ve got to ween yourself off these cravings. So just pace yourself a little.”
Jim sighed. “And who’s gonna lead the team while I’m kicking back? Him?” He pointed at Dom.
“How about we worry about that when we have to?” asked Thorne.
Jim shook his head. “Whatever. I’m going downstairs for a swim.” He took his leave and walked to the elevator, leaving Dom and Thorne alone in the room.
“He’s not playing with a full deck,” said Dom.
“I’m not sure which scares me more,” said Thorne. “Jim’s condition or the fact that you and I agree on something for once.”
***
Anita Jordan sat cross-legged on the floor of her room, her hands resting on her knees. Her eyes were shut and her back straight as she focused on her breathing. It was her hope that meditation techniques might help her get a better sense of the visions she’d been having as of late.
She slowly took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then exhaled. Cleared her mind of any distractions. She focused in on one thing and one thing alone—J’Karra.
The mysterious alien warrior had first met them as an ally, but then became an enemy. But during their association, it was J’Karra who helped Anita unlock her latent telepathic abilities. That connection had created a kind of bond between them. Anita felt like there wasn’t a person she knew better than the Kotharian.