Smallville: Annual

Chapter 8

4/16/05 - 10:52AM - Observation Room - Fort Riley, KS

        Sam Lane set his phone on silent and passed it to Colonel Napier.  "Is the situation room prepared."

"Yes, Sir." replied the colonel.

        Lane turned around was surrounded by his staff alongside Major Charles as well as other officers.  Joining him in the makeshift briefing room was a Major Nathan Hardy, General Hardcastle's aide from his days in the air force who was flown in from Washington after having confirmed the whereabouts of his former commanding officer.  Joining him was the first off duty air force intelligence offers he could find roving around the Pentagon, a Captain Steven Trevor.  Alongside him was a fresh-faced air force lieutenant named Ferris.  These officers stood with several others around a giant computer screen at the opposite side of Lane's corner of the room containing the image of several Admirals and Generals, the most significant were Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Philip Blankenship, USAF. Along side him General Slade Wilson one of the top men in the army, Major General Joseph Swanwick a high ranking officer with a bright future in his own right as he stood along side Major General Jason Hardcastle who couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Sam, what the hell is this? Hardcastle responded.

        Lane could only stare taking in the features of his old friend this time being much younger than when he last saw him.  He had a strong military bearing but, his face was well tanned and with far less wrinkles, a full head of brown hair, but even more stronger was the vibrate eyes.

"Its in the brief I wrote down, I know this is bizarre but we must act on this as soon as we can." said Lane.

"I think we need to hear this from the beginning General Lane." replied Blankenship.

"Last night at approximately 2211 hours an intruder identifying himself later as General Jason T. Hardcastle infiltrated the base via as he referred to a time machine embedded inside his body.  My men were alerted after he appeared into the base in which he appeared just inside the perimeter by the main entrance to the facility. According to him the machine was an experiment based on alien technology that allowed him to appear at the exact time he desired."

"Where is this machine now?" asked Blankenship.

"According to him its inside his body." said Lane.

"I beg your pardon?" queried Blankenship.

"He's allowed us to examine his body and through X-Ray pictures we have here..." Lane gestured to a technician who started to transmit to another monitor at Lane's end linked to her computer.  "Images of an endoskeleton structure of cybernetics far complex than anything we have ever seen."

        Lane saw the pictures and couldn't believe that all that metal was substituting his friends muscles, bones, nearly his entire nervous system and most of his organs.  The only organics that remained where his skin, heart and his brain.  General Lane had seen some terrible things before but he never felt so numb and shocked in all his life.  For the first time in a long time he wished he could forget this.

"Good God, Sam how is this man like this?"  Lane looked into his friend's eyes and realized he was truly afraid, he had never seen him like this before.  Before he realized he had seen that look on his face the same face that looked at him in the commissary the previous night.

"According to him fifteen years from now an alien menace came down and unleashed a war of destruction.  It was an alien known as I believe he called it Darkseid blasted him leaving him for dead only to be revived by LexCorp scientists.  The technology took years to perfect but he survived and came here with technology stolen from said alien who summoned Darkseid in order to save our world as well as himself."