Chapter 2, Man or Mouse?
�There�s no reason to be scared Robert, we aren�t traveling by air plane anyway. The island has no landing strip.�
Professor Claimmor said to his student who was sitting on the other side of his desk.
�I understand your scared of flying.�
�And boats too��
�Those too, but we are taking a helicopter ride there, it�ll be fine. Do you really think I would let my daughter go with us if there was any un surety that it wasn�t safe.�
�I know that, its just. I don�t know. You remember what happened to the last research vessel that traveled to Setto island, ended up at the bottom of the ocean.� Robert stared straight at his feet while saying that. However old he was, he had always been a afraid of everything. So naturally he was terrified at the idea of traveling above, or on the water�s surface.
�That�s not true, they just never found the boat that�s all.�
�But the island is suppose to be cursed.�
�If you don�t want to go Robert I understand.�
Robert knew he had to go, how would he look in front of Melissa if he didn�t. Not to mention he needed the money, bad. He was stuck in a damned if you do damned if you don�t kind of situation.
�No, I�ll go.�
�Glad to hear that my boy, we�ll have a great time and maybe go down in history.� The middle aged professor said with an overly optimistic smile on his face.
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Jet opened the package left for him. The strange black vehicle took off as soon as it relieved itself of the burden. Jet stared at the paper work with in it, and pulled a single letter out, hand written.
Dear Jet
I hope you will accept the offer I am about to hand you. An offer to redeem yourself, to become the hero you where meant to be. Mankind needs you, will you answer its call. This is your chance Jet, your chance to no longer be thought of as a nothing but as something. With in this package is a disclosed one time use phone number, call it if you accept this offer.
Your Friend,
Georgy Boy.
�Hemmingway�� Jet muttered to himself. He instantly searched for the phone number and reached for his phone. His almost trembling fingers grasped it as he dialed the number. To get to see his long time friend after all these years would be great. He smiled as he continued to dial the number, remembering all the great times they had in school, and even basic training. The last time he saw him was the day of his honorable discharge, the day Hemmingway was promoted to lieutenant. Suddenly Jet�s stomach turned. He remembered one very important thing. One sickening factor.
Hemmingway got Jet discharged. He was quick to say that Jet was more then incompetent, but insane. But� why would he want to talk to me now if he spent all that trouble gaining Jet�s rank? This was something Jet would have to figure out over the course of his quickly dialing fingers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
�Daddy, where do you want the reference dictionary?�
Melissa, an attractive young girl asked her father.
�I�ll carry it in my pack.� Her father, Professor Claimmor replied. The older man was packing for a trip that he had been anticipating greatly. His daughter, a short dark haired girl wanted nothing more but to travel with her father to Setto island.
�Just think daddy, we could be the first people in hundreds of years to enter those ancient ruins. We�ll be on National Geographic, this is going to be great.� She spoke in a perky voice to her father who was more concerned with packing at the moment then any magazine cover.
�Hey Prof, should I bring my CD player?�
Craig, a taller man, nearly six foot five said as he peeked his head through the door. Craig too wanted nothing more but to get the hectic preparations of packing. Craig was a more courageous man, however his intelligence was greatly dwarfed by this. His thick curly hair and bushy eyebrows made him a little less attractive, but there wasn�t a nicer guy on the planet.
�Hi Craig.� Melissa said while waving, her long sleeved shirt taking a few seconds to reveal her small delicate hands.
�A portable one would be better Craig, we�ve got to pack light. It�s a helicopter, not a first class private Jet.�
�Got ya.� And with that note Craig headed down the hall. It had been nearly three days since the wonderful news. The packing was going great, and an old friend finally was reunited with someone he hadn�t seen in years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
�So Jet, how was the chopper ride?�
Asked Supreme Officer Hemmingway.
�Uneventful, though the sedatives you guys pumped me with gave me some nice tittie dreams.� Jet smiled in return, wiping his eyes groggily.
�Sorry about that Jet, but we have to insure you don�t relay the information upon the trip.�
Jet looked around, his eyes coming into focus. The sound of a roaring rotors flooding the area. He looked to one side then the other, nothing but water.
�Yeah, everybody knows I can map the ocean like the back of my hand.�
Hemmingway�s expression dropped.
�So, you think your ready for what you are about to see?�
�Just so long I don�t have to keep no stupid secrets.�
�Ah, Jet, this entire meeting is nothing but one big secret.�
�Whatever Hemmingway.�
�Address me as a superior officer, Jet.�
�Why, your military kicked me out years ago.�
�It�s no longer neither of our militaries, bub. I work for something a little more meaningful.�
Hemmingway replied, smiling.
�Like what? The Canadians?�
�You�ll see Jet, you�ll see. Until then fallow me.�
Jet fallowed his old school buddy over a large circular landing pad built completely on an island nearly half a mile long. In the center of the island was what appeared to be a prison, or at least that is what the UN called it. But Jet would find out it was something more.
The gray door swung open after Hemmingway swiped an ID card. The two men stepped inside, and saw nothing but an empty wear house. Jet blinked as he looked around. Hemmingway led him to a specific part in the floor. Staring up at what appeared too be a common reflective half orb on the ceiling, a red light shined down. The light passed over Hemmingway�s face and then it disappeared. A strange clicking sound, like the noise a fork lift makes before lowering was heard through the wear house. Suddenly the floor dropped as round guard rails sprung up on either side of the men. Jet immediately took hold of one and struggled to hold his lunch as the elevator made its way down. It was no time before it stopped and the two men stepped off.
�Now Jet, everything, and anything you are about to see is strictly confidential. If a word of this gets out, and we find out it was you who flapped your gums� well, lets just say life wont be as easy as it was before.�
�As if it was ever easy��Jet muttered under his breath as Hemmingway slid a ID card through a terminal. He pressed a few numbers and a rumbling sound was heard. A huge steal door slid to the side revealing a massive circular room. Massive computer screens on the wall, smaller monitors along the sides, several people from every nationality typing away.
�Welcome to the United Nation�s Godzilla Control Center, or the UNGCC for short.�
Jet stood dumbfounded.
�A control center?! How long has this damn thing been here?!�
�Since the nineteen sixties.� Hemmingway replied.
The two stepped through the door and Jet looked around. �What the hell do you do here?�
�That�s for me to know and you to find out.�
A uniformed officer approached Hemmingway, lifted his hand and saluted him, Jet could see the young man was of Japanese decent. �Sir, the docking bay is prepared for your tour, the engineers have been told to cease activity until you are done.� Hemmingway just nodded, the two saluted and walked on. Jet fallowed, watching the young man sit down at one of the computer terminals and begin typing rigorously. He saw at least twenty people either monitoring something or playing solitary.
�Jet, if you would fallow me this way.� The words snapped Jet out of his trance and he fallowed his friend to another steal door, another code was typed in and it opened. A quick gust of almost musty air hit jet, there where no air stabilizers in this room for it was massive, cold like a basement. �Why the hell is it so cold in here?� Jet asked.
�We are about five hundred feet below sea level that�s why.� Hemmingway replied, Jet blinked as he stared into the darkness. Hemmingway barked a command and suddenly the entire room was lit up by thousands of burning florescent bulbs. And Jet saw it�
It was massive. The giant statue like thing in front of him stood at least two hundred feet tall. His jaw dropped as his eyes scanned over the humanoid machine. Its body was cold silver, colorless white eye like receivers on the oval shaped head. At the top of the head was pointed, a diamond like crescent centered in it. The diamond seemed to be the center of attention. He stared down at its chest that was probably the largest feature of the machine. His eyes made note of its ball like shoulders that connected to arms that where easily more then a hundred feet long. At the end of each arm was a disproportionably large fist, curled. He saw its feet, which where equally disproportioned, with pointed steal feet. He could only make his mouth to say one thing as he stared at the many steal catwalks around the machine. �What the hell is that thing?�
�What you are looking at is the result of four years of research trial and error. The Jaguar.�
�What the hell is it for?� Jet approached one of the machines feet, he couldn�t make it past the guard rails and he looked straight up, the ceiling was nearly twice the length up from the machine, he was baffled.
�Well, Jet, its our newest weapon in anti Godzilla war fair.�
Jet couldn�t believe his eyes.
�And how long have you bastards had this thing?�
�Only for the past year Jet, it was finally finished. The designer of the machine has since gone abroad.�
�How� how the hell did you build such a thing?� Jet asked, his jaw unable to connect with its other half.
�Well, you�ll find out soon enough my friend.�
Jet was too busy staring up at the gigantic humanoid machine to even wonder what he had to do with all this. �C�mon Jet, I�ve got to talk to you in private.�
Jet fallowed Hemmingway into a small room with a table, the entire walk to it was clumsy because Jet could not take his eyes off the giant Jaguar. �Take a seat Jet.� Jet sat down in one of the chairs, resting his arms on the table, his mind racing. �Now its time you find out why I called you here.� Jet raised an eyebrow. �You see, Jet, I brought you here to redeem yourself. Because you are my friend Jet.� Jet narrowed his eyes, knowing this sick twisted military talk. The same kind of seductive words that had convinced him to join the military in the first place. He kept on his guard.
�It nearly broke my heart when I had to report you as instable. I couldn�t bear the idea of you being killed on the battle fields because of your condition.�
�Yeah, I got you that nice little seat on the board of ass kissers didn�t I.� Jet said cockily.
�Think what you want Jet, but I promised myself if I ever had the chance that I wouldn�t not let you fall through the cracks. Jet I�m giving you a great chance here, don�t fuck it up.� Those words tilted Jet�s mind a little, he hadn�t heard Hemmingway talk to straight since high school.
�So what does that big pile of metal have to do with me Hemmingway, be truthful. You need a test pilot don�t you?�
Hemmingway smiled, chuckling before he replied. �No, I need a real pilot. I need you Jet. I need you to pilot the Jaguar.�
�Me? Yeah right. If I am too incompetent to serve in America�s military, what makes you think I�m competent enough to pilot your hunk of junk?�
�Because Jet, this hunk of junk requires a special kind of pilot, you have the skills to fly it Jet.�
�Oh really?�
�Yes Jet, because� because I remember how you could kick anybodies ass in our squad, you where respected, even by the colonel, he knew he couldn�t even whip ya.�
�So?�
�Jet, the Jaguar is piloted in a completely revolutionary system. That is why it is built in the shape of a human. You see, the Jaguar has an amazing control system built into it. A motion capture bionic nerve system if you will. You will have full control over it, if you punch, it punches, if you kick, it kicks. You and the machine will be one��
Jet grunted. �There�s more to it then me being a good brawler.�
�Yeah Jet, you�re my friend. And I want you to have your chance, dragon slayer over would be?�
Jet�s tone changed, he stared down at the table. Everything was happening so fast. His mind clicked images of Godzilla, and fear and confusion swelled in the pit of his gut. �And what if I say no�?�
�Then we find another pilot, you still get paid for your trouble and your salience.�
�I�m going to need some time to think this over.�
�We don�t have time Jet�� Hemmingway shook his head. �We need an answer by tomorrow.�
�Why?� Jet asked smugly.
�That�s confidential.�
�This whole place is confidential, tell me why Hemmingway.�
Hemmingway couldn�t take it, he looked at Jet with a mixture of respect and disgust, and then sorrow, and guilt. His best friend begging him for answers.
�I�ll tell you what Jet, you stay here for tonight, you sleep on it, have an answer for me in the morning and all will be clear.� With that note Hemmingway stood up, Jet did too. And for the first time in years the two saluted each other, Hemmingway led Jet to where he would be staying. All that night Jet would lay staring up at the ceiling, sleep would not come as his mind would race, unanswered questions tugging at his sleeve, yes or no? Man� or mouse.
