The Forbidden Temple of Khyber Gorah – Chapter Four: Facing The Enemy

Sara struggled to right herself as the screeching sounds of the train’s brakes awoke her from her dazed reverie. Upon doing this, her hand touched the cold metal of the long forgotten pistol lying on the floor of the smashed car.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sara grabbed it and fired the gun rapidly, emptying it into the car door’s window. The glass cracked but did not break. The train sounded like it was right on top of them. Sara used her feet to repeatedly kick at the damaged glass, until it finally yielded. First, Sara pushed out the unconscious attacker out of the window before exiting herself. Seconds later, the train, unable to stop in time, plod through the damaged car.

Hours later, Sara sat in the police station’s waiting room. Her injuries, though minor, were already tended by the paramedics who had arrived at the scene of the wreck. She sat silently, engrossed by her inward thoughts and worries. Detective Daniel Russell entered the waiting room. The years of detective work wore heavily on his face. He, like Sara, had seen more than his share of death and despair.

“Did she talk?” asked Sara, not even turning around to face him as he approached her.

“Her name’s Cynthia Rogers. Various aliases. A number of violations and felons. But kidnapping’s not her game.”
“She’s just hired help. Who’s she working for?” asked Sara.

“Wouldn’t say.”

“Let me talk to her.”

“I can’t. You’re a private citizen now. I could lose my job if I did.”

Sara sighed inwardly. “I understand,” she said at last. “It’s just that they have my friend hostage.”

“Look, you’ve been through a lot,” said Russell. “Go rest up. If there’s any news, I might be able to pass it along to you.”

Sara stood up and gave him a small bow. “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I can’t make any promises.”

Sara awoke to the sound of the phone ringing. She was sprawled out on the hotel room bed. She must have crashed there soon after arriving back at her hotel room. She had being running mostly on adrenaline since the accident, and it soon caught up with her. She stumbled with the phone as she cleared her mind of any fatigue.

“Yes?” she said.

“Sara?” It was Russell. “I haven’t much time. She finally broke and gave out the name of a local hideout. We’re getting a warrant right now, so I figure you’ve got about an hour before we get there. Unless of course the Attorney General gets wind of it, that is.”

“Why’s that?”

“He’s been running on a strict no-crime policy, and I mean strict.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Sara as she scribbled down the address he gave her.

“One more thing, Sara.”

“Yes?”

“We’re even now.”

The line went dead.

Sara drove her car up to the disheveled warehouse that matched Russell’s address. A tall chain fence circled the building. She pulled the car into a shaded alleyway. After cutting the engines, she got out of the car and opened the trunk. She removed the thin carpeting to reveal a secret compartment underneath. From the compartment, Sara pulled out a tan utility vest; its pockets stuffed with tools and gadgets. She put it on and then replaced the compartment. Sara made sure the car was secure before approaching the fence.

Sara walked along the fence until finding a nice dark area away from the nearest streetlight. After satisfying herself that the fence was not electrified, Sara pulled out a pair of clippers and started making a small hole in the fence. Once she squeezed through the hole, she ran for cover behind the large dumpster. From her hiding spot, Sara watched a guard walk by, an automatic rifle subtly hidden underneath his jacket.



After he was gone, Sara climbed up onto the dumpster and jumped across onto the fire escape. Her jump was not quite high enough, and she had to clasp onto the metal railing to stop herself from falling. She pulled herself up onto the fire escape just as the guard came around the corner again. She stood in silence as he walked by beneath her.

Once he was gone again, Sara turned her attention to the door, locked as expected. Sara took out a pair of lockpicks and slowly started to work at the lock. After painstaking work, the lock finally yielded and Sara gained entrance to the building. Once inside, Sara took a look around. She was on the upper level of the warehouse, but it looked like everyone was on ground level. The criminal’s layout was quite extensive. It looked as though they had set up a large laboratory within the confines of the warehouse.

But Sara’s main concern was for Zoey’s safety. Her eyes darted about, searching for any clue as to where they were holding her friend. Determined to get a closer look, Sara went looking for the stairs leading downward. She went down them as quietly as she could. Ducking behind some crates, Sara continued to spy on the busy criminals. She did not want to be here when the police or the Attorney General raided the building, but Sara was unsure where, or even if, Zoey was here. Unfortunately, her decision would soon be made for her.

“Who the hell are you?” came from behind her. Sara spun around, her fist slammed into his face. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. Unfortunately, this was enough to bring her to the attention of the other dozen of heavy armed criminals, none of which were the least bit hesitant to point their guns at an unarmed woman.

Sara raised her arms in surrender. “I don’t suppose you’d want to talk about this?” Sara paused, glancing behind her. She could have sworn she heard something. “Well, you might as well get this over with.”

Gunfire echoed throughout the vast warehouse.

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Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.

The Forbidden Temple of Khyber Gorah – Chapter Three: Hotel Mayhem

Hours later, the criminal dubbed “Scarface” by Zoey sat down in his posh hotel room to talk with Doctor Zeitgeist over a secure line via the secret transmitter in a false bottom of his briefcase.

“Pretty smooth thinking, boss,” said Scarface. “Nobody would look for a kidnapper in a five star hotel.”

“Focus, Anton,” spoke Zeitgeist. “Have Rogers and Lynch reported in yet?”

“No, not yet. But what’s one broad going to do that they can’t handle?”

“Don’t underestimate her. It’s her ingenuity that I need. If she didn’t give the two of them any trouble, then I’d have no need for her at all.”

“But we got her friend hostage. She don’t dare do nothing,” replied Scarface.

“Yes, that’s why I’m counting on you to keep her in check,” said Zeitgeist. “And watch those double negatives.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And you made sure you weren’t followed?”

“Yes. We drugged the girl and rolled her out in the large luggage trunk. We could have rolled it right by Sara, and she would have been none the wiser.”

“See that she stays that way.”

Zoey rolled her eyes as the two schemers continued their discussion. She was more worried that they were making no effort in disguising their identities or intents. “That means,” Zoey muttered to herself. “That I need to get out of here before I’m no longer useful to them.” Not that she could go far with her hands handcuffed behind the bed’s headboard. Scarface had only undone the cuffs twice since she woke up here. Once to let her use the bathroom and other to eat a modest lunch.

Zoey was surprised they weren’t starving her, but perhaps they were going to continue to move around, and for that, they needed Zoey to have her strength. Zoey closed her weary eyes and went over her options. What little she had, that is. There was no way for her to get free of the handcuffs, unless they released her. But then what? Make a run for it? Zoey didn’t even know where she was, much less where help could be found. She tried a simple breathing exercise in order to calm herself. She could feel her enhanced mind reach out to the surrounding net of electronic data.

She was jolted out of her reverie when a large hand clasped onto her shoulder. Her heart quickened with fear as Scarface looked down at her. “Still a little drugged up, huh, girly?” he asked with a wolf’s grin. “Don’t go anywhere.” He went out onto the balcony and started lighting a cigarette.

Zoey closed her eyes again, trying to still the panic within her. Blocking out the familiar stench of tobacco, Zoey returned to her mind’s eye with the flow of data all around her. She couldn’t find anything useful in the room around her, so she let her consciousness expand outward. Frustration welled up inside of her as her options looked bleak. Then, she noticed the fire alarm system.

The alarm had a traditional pull lever action, but it also featured a sensor measuring the temperature around it. If Zoey could mimic the signal, she could trigger the alarm, allowing her a small chance to escape. After a few moments of struggling, she was rewarded with the rattling sound of the hotel’s fire alarm.

Opening her eyes, Zoey saw Scarface toss away his cigarette. “What the hell?” he shouted.

“Oh my God,” said Zoey trying to sound genuinely scared. “That’s the fire alarm. I just know it is! We got to get out of here!”
“There’s no fire,” said Scarface. “Where’s the smoke?”

“Do I look like I want to find out? We’re like on the twentieth floor!” Zoey played up the “damsel in distress” act in the hopes that Scarface would buy into her ruse. “Get me out of here! I don’t want to be chained to a bed in a burning building!”

Scarface hesitated and then undid the cuffs, only to quickly snap them on her other wrist after untangling them from the bed. “No trouble, okay, lady?” He showed her the holster under his coat. “Any funny business and it’ll be all over.”

“Can we just leave already?” said Zoey, wondering if she was overdoing it now. “I don’t want to die.”

“You’re just lucky my boss agrees with that,” replied Scarface as he opened the door. The hallway was considerably vacant, considering the current situation. Zoey was hoping for more of a crowd that she could slip away in. “This way, to the elevator.”

“Are you crazy? During a fire?” replied Zoey, carefully taking two steps backwards.

“I said there was no fire. It’s probably some nut who set it…” His voice trailed off, and Zoey watched his beady eyes narrow to slits. Zoey took a deep breath and went into action. She slammed her elbow into his face and then kicked him in the stomach, sending him to the ground. Zoey, then, made a break for the stairs on the other end of the hallway.

Scarface had the wind knocked out of him, but that didn’t stop him from reaching for his gun. Unfortunately, he had to hastily tuck it back into his jacket as a pair of bewildered tourists came out of their room. He pulled himself up and went after Zoey who had already made it to the stairwell.

By the time he reached the door and peered down the stairwell, Zoey was already half-running, half-falling down three flights of stairs. Scarface cursed to himself and went back to the elevator to cut her off at the lobby.

Meanwhile, as Zoey neared the bottom, she slowed down, flushed from the exercise. Slowly, she tried to regain her breath as she opened the door to the third floor. And ran into a strange man covered in a white padded suit.

“Are you okay?” came the man’s muffled voice. She couldn’t see anything but his blue eyes from a thin slit in the suit. “Did you see any fire?” Zoey tried to respond to the firefighter but nothing came out between her gasps of air. She took a step forward before collapsing into the confused man’s arms.

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Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.

Comments on Chapter Two

So, we meet up with Sara yet again, but she's different from when she was in the Rick Daring serial. Principal change would been her outfit, which is more futuristic and alien. Her greying hair is to indicate not only age but the amount of experience Sara has gained since we've last seen her. The high-ranking title which Sara quit just before the start of the serial is not the same position Sara held during the Daring serial. Obviously, she climbed her way to this position only to have quit it due to a mysterious encounter that we don't quite know about yet.

Hopefully, most won't mind jumping back and forth between the women's various perils before their two storylines finally merge. I'm particularly proud of this cliffhanger though. I don't remember many Republic cliffhangers involving trains, but then again, I could be wrong.

The Forbidden Temple of Khyber Gorah – Chapter Two: Again, The Woman in White

Sunlight peered through the rundown window, illuminating the equally dilapidated hallway. There, sitting in the hallway, was Sara. She wore a two layered jumpsuit: the bottom half was her tegarei, a black secondary skin that covered everything except her head and fingertips. Over that was her typical white jumpsuit with the sleeves and leggings rolled up. Her dark hair was trim short with graying strands dangling in front of her distant, green eyes. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The reporters erupted from their hiding places and flooded the entrance of the derelict building as Sara came out. Microphones were shoved into her face as questions buzzed from all around her.

“Did you retire from being Ambassador of Harmony because of the current political climate on Nagostia?”

“As an original member of the Interventionists, how do you feel about a new group using the same name?”

“Isn’t this whole Solid Matter nonsense just a hoax and a waste of the taxpayers’ money?”

Sara declined to say anything. She just shook her head as she made her way through the swarm of reporters and into the awaiting limousine. The second she shut the door, the limousine shot out into traffic.

“Troublesome, aren’t they?” said sole occupant besides Sara. He was Louis Demark, local governor of the region. “And I would know, right?”

“I appreciate your assistance back there,” replied Sara. “But a man of your importance must have better things to do than taxi me around.”

“You were once a person of importance. That is, until you threw it away and resigned. Why?”

“The same reason anyone changes their profession.”

“You’re not serious about that Solid Matter Phenomenon junk you’ve been spouting, are you? I thought that was just a smokescreen.”

Sara gazed out of the smoked windows, watching the world whiz by her. “I saw something years ago, something impossible. I thought it was a one-time deal, an oddity. But it’s still happening, on a much smaller scale, but with increasing frequency all over the galaxy.”

“But do really expect people to believe what you’re claiming? That inanimate objects are taking on characteristics of the living? That goes beyond the laws of physics.”

“All the more important why I should find out why it’s happening.”

“Why you?”

“If not me, who else would do it?” countered Sara. “You?”

The governor let out a rumbling laugh. “Of course not. But maybe it’s something no one should be messing with.”

“Perhaps.” Sara’s eyes turned to meet his. “But don’t you have more important things to do than debate my dubious goals?”

“In fact, there is something of some importance I need to talk to you about.”

“Oh?”

“That derelict building you just left? The one you claim to have one of these Solid Matter Phenomenon.”

“Yes?” answered Sara patiently.

“Did you know that it was scheduled for demolition, to make room for the new parking structure?”

“Well, it’s not going to be, now that it houses a scientific oddity that needs to be examined by a team of experts.”

“Did you know about the three hundred vagrants that lived there that would have become homeless nobodies had the parking structure been built?”

“Are you suggesting that I perpetrated a fraud using my own scientific theory, which most already consider to be a lie, to help three hundred people I don’t even know?” There was a hint of a smile as the corners of Sara’s lips pointed upward. “Do I really look like I’m that kind of person?”

The limo came to a stop. “Here’s your stop, and don’t feint ignorance. You may have gone out of your way to hide your car, but I have my sources, so don’t insult my intelligence.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” replied Sara.

“Under the windshield wipers is a ticket with a destination of your choice. The sooner you leave the better.”

“Dear Louis, I am very touched. I hardly have the words to express my admiration of your thoughtfulness.”

“Sara, everyone knows your reputation. Trouble follows you wherever you go, and I’d like to you to get you as far away from here as soon as possible.”

Sara opened the door and started to exit the vehicle. “I appreciate your honesty, but if I had known you cared for me so much, I’d have visited more often.” She punctuated this by slamming the door shut. She watched the limousine merge into the traffic and disappear over the metal horizon.

Sara crossed the street and down an alleyway. There, shrouded in shadows, was her white car, and, just as the governor had said, there was a white envelope underneath the left windshield wiper. She plucked the document, opened the door, and slid into her car.

Inside, with a press of a button, a small LCD screen popped up, and a number of messages started to scroll down the screen. Using the buttons on her steering wheel, Sara went through each one, until she came to Zoey’s message. It was written in rush, because of some obvious typos that were unlikely for Zoey to leave.

Basically, the message asked her to meet Zoey as soon as Zoey got off her stop at Alabastir. While the message seemed genuine, it felt very convenient that she would receive this message after her meeting with the governor. To satisfy her suspicions, Sara ran a number of programs to verify the origin of the message. Moments later, the program came back, stating that the message came from where it said it had.

Sara looked grimly at the ticket. “I guess you’re going to get your wish afterall.”



While it took some considerable effort, not to mention calling in a couple favors, Sara managed to beat Zoey’s train to Alabastir. Sara waited in the station as the train from Imitatia exited from the artificial wormhole. As the bustling crowds flooded out of the opening doors, Sara patiently scanned the crowds for her friend. The hairs on the back of her head started to prick up as the crowds started to thin out, and there was still no sign of Zoey. She started to make her way to the train to see if Zoey was still on it, when something stopped her. Or, more accurately, someone. A large hand firmly held onto her arm as another one poked a gun into her back.

“This isn’t really necessary,” said Sara, tilting her head to the left in an attempt to get a peek at her detractors. “I’m sure we can talk about this without sticking a gun into my ribs.”

“Relax,” said a female voice. “Your friend is safe, for now. She’s entertaining our boss, but if you don’t come with us, we can’t guarantee what will happen to her.” The large hand crushing her arm spun Sara around to see her two captors. The first was a large, burly man who reeked of cigarettes. His shaven head glistened with sweat. His partner was a tall, thin woman with short, spiky hair. They wore identical dark suits. “In fact,” she continued. “If you let us take you for a ride, we might even let you see her.”

Sara measured the two up and calculated at least three possible escape scenarios. Unfortunately, they were in a populated area, and there was too great a chance that some bystander would get hurt. Sara sighed inwardly and said, “I guess you have me right where you want me. Lead on.”

And lead her they did to their nondescript car awaiting in the parking lot. Before putting Sara in the back seat, the woman bound Sara’s hands behind her back. She shoved Sara into the back of the car. She then reached in and pulled the seatbelt over Sara and snapped it into place.

“How very thoughtful of you,” said Sara as the door slammed shut. The woman sat in the passenger’s seat as her bulky partner started the engine. As they started to travel through the city, Sara struggled and squirmed at her bindings. Seemingly giving up, Sara stopped and asked, “What do I call you two? I’d hate for this trip to be boring.”

“Just keep quiet,” said the woman sharply.

“At least tell me where you’re taking me.”

“No,” said the two thugs said in unison.

“Hey,” said Sara. “I didn’t know he could talk.”

The woman turned around in her seat. “How about you do us a favor and shut up, before I do it for you.”

Just then, the seatbelt snapped off and whipped up and off of Sara. “Oops,” said Sara. They had just started to cross over a bridge and were slowly coming to a stop at a red light. The already frustrated woman started to lean back to redo Sara’s seatbelt. Suddenly, Sara’s hands were free. Sara’s right hand grasped the woman’s belt, pulling her into the back of the car, while her left hand reached into the woman’s jacket and pulled out the gun. The female thug landed face first into the back. As she struggled to right herself, Sara pointed the gun to the large man’s head.

A long time ago, Sara was very versatile with guns, though she had not used one in centuries. It was, however, the first time someone had pointed a gun at the man’s head. He panicked and sped through the red light. The sudden speed pushed Sara against the seating. Blind from panic, the man crossed over into the on-coming traffic.

A large semi truck hit their car head on. The front of the car was smashed in, sending it sprawling backwards. Out of control, the car sped off the bridge and crash-landed onto the ground below. The jarring screeching of tearing metal was Sara’s first clue that she was still alive. Searing pain was the second. She struggled to sit up and take stock of what happened. The female thug was lying unconscious next to her. Sara craned her sore neck to see the front end of the car a mess of twisted metal. There was no way the burly man could still be alive.

Sara leaned down and checked the woman’s pulse. She was alive as well, but barely. Sara clasped her head, pain screaming out. No, not pain. A train. Sara looked out the rear windshield to see that they had indeed landed on train tracks. A distant light was slowly growing larger, as an all too familiar whistle sounded. Sara tried to open the door, but the metal was twisted, and the door wouldn’t budge. Quickly, Sara went to the other side and to try that door but met with a similar failure.

Frantic, Sara started kicking at the door, hoping to dislodge it. The light was growing larger; the whistling was becoming more and more frequent. Her ringing ears were now assaulted with the squealing of brakes. Sara took one last look out of the windshield to see the light blotting everything out.

There was no way the train would stop in time…

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Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.

Meet Zoey Walker (Comments on Chapter One)

Almost one year later and a new serial has started. For this one, I'm straying some from the Republic standard and pulp prose. It'll definitely be more sci-fi and will be closer to my own writing style. I will say that it will be a "jungle" serial, though it won't take place in a jungle.

This take places at least five years after the first serial and is a sequel of sorts, though it will be awhile before we see the relation between the two. The main heroes of this serials will be women, and it's a shame that there weren't more of them back in the day. In chapter one, we meet Zoey Walker, Sara's companion whom she met between serials and have been estranged for the last year. Sara is returning as well though she's changed since we last met her.

As for Daring and the Brilliant 5, you'll have to wait and see what role they play in this drama...

The Forbidden Temple of Khyber Gorah – Chapter One: Opening Gambit

Sunlight barely peered through the smog filled sky and into the window of the darkened office. At the desk, with his back towards the dim light, was Doctor Zeitgeist, leader of the Cabal. Not much was known about him even by his closest colleagues. His body was kept alive far beyond its natural limits by transplants, natural and artificial. Not even his face was his own. The one he wore now was just the latest in a line of plastic surgery used to keep his age and identity a secret.
Zeitgeist sat his desk, going through the latest digital information gathered by the Cabal. The Cabal’s livelihood was secrets, mainly technological secrets. It horded frightening new technology, waiting for the right buyer with a large Swiss Bank Account. Some could say this was a natural extension of capitalism. Others still insist that it was plain extortion. Perhaps, because of the latter, secrecy was of the utmost importance for members of the Cabal.

To Zeitgeist’s right, a wall of screens came to life. On each screen was a member of the Cabal, equally cloaked in shadows. Zeitgeist waved off his assistant, Ragdin, and waited until he left the room before speaking.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” spoke Zeitgeist with a gruff voice. “What an unexpected surprise. What’s on today’s agenda? I hear the Xians are designing a new propulsion system.”

“You know why we are calling,” insisted one of the members.

“It concerns your latest project,” said another.

“What of it?” asked an impatient Zeitgeist.

“It’s consuming a large margin of time and expense. We are beginning to worry that it will not be profitable for us to continue your endeavor.”

“Patience, gentlemen,” assured Zeitgeist. “The thrill is in the hunt, is it not? Why did we create this illustrious organization if not for the thrill of it all?”

“Spare us your romantic drivel,” retorted the first commenter.

“We have not been able to contact the expedition for ten cycles. We should write this off as a lost cause,” remarked a female member.

Zeitgeist got out of his seat and walked over to a table with a finely crafted chessboard on it. He picked one of the pieces, the white queen, and examined it. “I’ll have laid your fears to rest by the end of the week,” he said. “I have set into motion a chain of events that will bear us the fruit that I… we desire.”

Far from the shadowy dealings of Dr. Zeitgeist lay the planet Imitatia, home of the Imitatians. The Imitatians were known galaxy-wide for their dead-on impersonations. If anyone needed a body double or a celebrity impersonator, then they usually turned to an Imitatian. Even the cities they lived in were great duplicates of famous of cities across the universe. One such city was New New York City.

The Imitatians thought their cities lacked authenticity without actual participation from residence from those cities, and New New York City was no exception. Working in the faux arcade was a young woman named Zoey Walker, who had a special knack with technology. As a youth, she spent a lot of time in arcades such as this, and it wasn’t strange to find herself once again in one, albeit a copy of one. But this was not why she had such a bond with all things digital.

That occurred years prior, when, for a large sum of money, she and a group of others went to Mars for some human testing, unbeknownst that the “testing” involved among others, brain surgery. Being the sole survivor to these experiments, Zoey awoke from the experiments with the innate self-awareness of all electronic data around her. In simpler terms, she could mental communicate with computers and other digital units.



A woman named Sara helped with Zoey’s recovery, and for awhile, she traveled with Sara to see the universe outside of Earth and eventually found herself here, having not seen Sara for a year, though they still communicated with each other. But right now, Zoey had other things on her mind than her past, mainly the innards of one of the arcade machines lying on her lap. Kintu, one of the Imitatians that Zoey had befriended, looked over this with great curiosity.

“This is a barigunt,” explained Kintu, her stone head floating above her stocky shoulders. “Great conversationalist, rather lousy manners though.”

“Reminds me of a boyfriend I once dated,” said Zoey, not looking up from her work.

“And this is a recce,” continued Kintu, who now looked like a large statue with a fine marble finish. “Sentient rocks, you know.”

This did not elicit a response from Zoey. Kintu frowned at this. “And then there’s the elusive humans from the planet Earth. Known for being fat, rude, and lazy.” Recognizing the voice, Zoey looked up to see herself across the room. Kintu had done an amazing job replicating her right down to her messy, blond hair and dark brown eyes.

“Are you calling me fat?” asked Zoey.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” replied Kintu. Zoey took a closer look at “herself.”

“My mother probably couldn’t tell us apart,” said Zoey. “She’d probably not be happy if we were twins.”

“Why?”

“Twice the trouble.”

“For whom?” asked an uncertain Kintu. But a buzzing sound interrupted their conversation. Zoey scrounged around the mess of technological junk until she found what she was looking for. The compact holoprojector fit nicely in the palm of her hand. The device activated, in which a figure of light grew up and out of it. The figure sharpened to reveal a small, transparent version of Sara.

“Sara?” asked Zoey. “What’s up?”

“Zoey,” said Sara. “Sorry to interrupt, but something urgent’s come up, and I need your help. Take the next available departure to Alabastir. I’ll meet you at the station. I’ve downloaded any additional information you’ll need.”

“Slow down, Sara,” said Zoey. “I thought you were out of the skull-and-duggery politics-and-intrigue game. Weren’t you investigating those solid matter incidents?”

“It’s very important that you get here as soon as possible. It’s all very abrupt, I know, but please trust me. And hurry.” The signal kicked out and the image faded away.

“That was…” started Zoey. “Brief.” Zoey gave a brief shrug. Sara had at times come off a little eccentric, and in times of emergencies, she did tend to be a little curt with others.

“That was pretty good, not excellent, but pretty good.” Zoey gave Kintu a quizzical look.

“What, this?” Zoey asked indicating the holoprojector. “I thought everyone had one of these.”

“No, no. I meant the performance.”

Zoey was still unsure about what Kintu was talking about. “You mean Sara?”

“No, the person pretending to be Sara.”

“Wait a minute,” Zoey said. “‘Pretending?’”

“It wasn’t a bad likeness, but they got the posture all wrong.”

“And how would you know…?” Before Zoey could finish her sentence, she found herself staring at “Sara.”

“Sara used to be a very public figure. Her mere presence had helped smooth out many rough situations,” said Kintu in Sara’s soft voice. Zoey had to admit that Kintu was a remarkable Sara, capturing Sara’s uniquely aging hair and strangely beautiful green eyes.

“But if that’s not Sara, who was it?” asked Zoey.

“Who knows? But it’s best not to get involved.”

“Like hell, it’s not,” snapped Zoey. “If they were after me, they could also be after Sara. I’ve got to meet with this fake Sara and find out what this is all about.”

“Aren’t you going to warn Sara about all this?”

“Good idea,” admitted Zoey. “I’ll give Sara the same coordinates and if two Saras show up, one of them will have a lot of explaining to do.” Zoey paused, noticed a bemused look on Kintu’s face. “What?”

“You don’t really seem fazed by any of this,” explained Kintu.

“Are you kidding? I used to do this kind of thing all of the time with Sara,” replied Zoey.

Hours later, Zoey was feeling a little less confident sitting in her seat aboard the trans-planetary train. She had sprung for the first class cabin, though not sure why. She closed her eyes as they finished the preliminary work on the train. In her mind’s eye, she could feel the amount of raw data dancing around her like musical notes during a concert.

“Attention,” came a voice from the loudspeaker. “This is 10:30 trip to Fulmar with stops at Richmond, Alabastir, and Tylia. We will be traveling via wormhole, so be aware of the time deficit for your designation. We will start moving momentarily, so place remain seated.” There was a familiar jolt and the train started move away from the platform.

Zoey awoke sometime later, lulled by the train’s rhythmic movement. She looked out the window only to see the wormhole’s psychedelic swirls. She got out of her compartment and walked around, soon finding herself in the dining car. She sat down and ordered some food. She felt the unusual sensation of someone watching her. Glancing around, she could not identify anyone familiar or suspicious looking.

After finishing her meal, she got up and started to make her way back to her compartment. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man get up and follow her. She cursed herself for making an amateurish mistake. She was so concerned about the trap before her that she hadn’t considered the idea that there may have been agents placed on the train to insure that she complied.

Zoey quickened her pace without trying to be too obvious about it. She slowed only to squeeze past a happy couple in the narrow hallway. A nervous smile spread across her lips as she finally reached her compartment. Now, she only had to lock herself within the cramp cabin until the train exited the wormhole.

Only the door opened of its own accord, and a large hand grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her into the compartment. Zoey was about to scream for help, but the other hand clamped over her mouth. The coarse hand smelled cigarette butts and gunpowder. The other hand twisted her arm behind her back. A second individual, just out of sight, closed and locked the door.

“So,” said the man watching all of this. “You’re Zoey Walker, huh?” He was a tall man with a muscular build hidden under a striped suit. His rough face featured a long scar going down his right cheek. He idly played with a switchblade. “And you’re going tell us everything you know about Sara?” The cold blade was pressed against her throat.

“Right?”

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Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.

Review: G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra Soundtrack

It was a relief for Alan Silvestri's fans to see him back scoring a action film like G.I. Joe. It's actually no surprise that Silvestri would re-unite with director Stephen Sommers. And the results? Mixed, I'm afraid.

There are two main themes in Silvestri's score. The theme for G.I. Joe is most proudly announced in the movie's end credits, a standard two-part theme with a bridge to bring the music back to the beginning. Unfortunately, this is the only time you will hear the full theme. Sure, the first part of the theme is used fairly well throughout the soundtrack, but the second half is heard only once during the whole score, and it's a quiet piece even. The Cobra theme is introduced in "King Cobra," but its use is much more subtle. You really have to listen for the small infections of the theme throughout the album. This leads us to the main complaint about the score.

The complaint being that the themology of the score is very weak, and the themes underused. I'll admit that I was expecting to hear the theme blast during key action scenes, and was disappointed when they didn't, but the themes are used, moreso with the Joe theme, albeit more subtler. "General Hawk" and "Deploy the Sharcs" both have a great energetic version of the Joe theme, but a little hampered by what most score fans hate: synthesizer sounds.

Like his recent Tomb Raider score, there are some synth mixed in with the overall orchestral sound, but unlike Tomb Raider, I don't really feel this score needs it. The electric guitar wail introducing the Joe theme on "General Hawk" is cool, but the heavy percussion and militaristic sound Silveresti has already sculpted with the orchestra fits into the GI Joe movie. The synth stuff feels like he's trying to make it sound more "summer blockbustery." I.E. Hans Zimmer.

But the synth is not too overbearing, and most of the score has a traditional Silvestri feel to it. "Delivering the Warheads" and "The JOEs Mobilize" are my two favorite tracks (besides the end credits, of course) They're both long, action suites which Silvestri manages to keep interesting with motifs and his usual energy. "Warheads" actually ends with my favorite variation of the Joe theme. Unfortunately, "The Pit Battle" may work well in the movie, but sounds a little directionless on the score. Also, "Rise of Cobra" is a surprising quiet track with not much in the way of big, evil music.

Overall, all Silvestri fans should listen to the exciting end credits. As for the rest of score, I enjoy listening to it, but it took awhile to warm up to it. B

Recommended Tracks:
3. Delivering the Warheads
6. King Cobra
7. What Happened to Her?
13. The JOEs Mobilize
16. Deploy the Sharcs
18. Just About Close Enough
20. I'm Not Giving Up On You
21. End Credits