The Guardian Collection (End of the Sixth Age Book 2) by Col Bill Best

Author:Col Bill Best [Best, Col Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-20T06:00:00+00:00

33. RELOCATE

Roger finished his pre-flight about the same time the hangar door opened. He stepped to the back wall inside the hangar and watched as an airman drove the fuel truck into what appeared to be an empty hangar. Randy Holmes carefully followed the thick chalk marks Roger had drawn on the floor with a marker he had found in the hangar supplies and had “converted.” The lines allowed the truck to come close—but not too close—to the aircraft that couldn’t be seen. The driver stopped the truck with the front tires on the double chalk line as ordered.

Continuing to follow orders that made no sense, Randy set the brake, jumped out, and partially lowered the hangar door, leaving a ventilation gap of three feet. He then jogged back a hundred yards to join the security team, guarding an empty hangar.

Roger had no idea how long it would take the truck to “convert,” or whether it would need to. Could the nozzle and part of the hose convert enough to connect to Guardian while the rest remained in “their” world? The fuel itself had a low molecular density, so it should quickly convert even as it traveled through the hose.

Roger would wait awhile and then find out. To simplify matters, since his upcoming flight would be subsonic, there was no need to worry about fueling the scramjet/ion drive.

He wasn’t a fueling technician, but the general had the information sent to Justin, who then forwarded it to Roger using ordinary but classified email. As long as possible, Justin and Roger would keep the Enigma codec as their personal off-line communication link. And Justin already decided that he wouldn’t surrender his Multiphone unless ordered to. Something didn’t seem right, and he needed to maintain that direct, private line to Roger.

After thirty of “his” minutes, Roger held his hand against the fueling nozzle. It finished “converting” in just a few more minutes.

Okay. Now let’s see what happens when I pull it away from the truck.

As he did so, it was much heavier than he had expected, like he was pulling a large fire hose. But eventually he was able to drag it over to the aircraft and insert it into the main tank.

“Good Lord!” Roger exclaimed. His sudden realization of what might have happened sent a cold chill down his spine. Instead of a gradual, linear conversion between “realities”—what felt to him like a very heavy hose—what if the hose had broken, spilling fuel and filling the hangar? With the fuel truck running!?

Both our realities would have gone up in flames!

Roger breathed a long sigh of relief and made a strong commitment to think things through better in the future. With 20-20 hindsight, he realized he should have first experimented with a garden hose and water.

After a silent prayer of thanks, he began filling the main tank.

So…at least inanimate objects can transition smoothly.

He had already positioned aircraft transfer valves to “Open,” so auxiliary tanks would gravity-fill off the main tank as long as he was patient.

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