Chapter 3: The Port of New York and New Jersey

“We must, therefore, be confident that the general measures we have adopted will produce the results we expect. Most important in this connection is the trust which we must have in our lieutenants. Consequently, it is important to choose men on whom we can rely and to put aside all other considerations. If we have made appropriate preparations, taking into account all possible misfortunes, so that we shall not be lost immediately if they occur, we must boldly advance into the shadows of uncertainty.”

– Carl von Clausewitz

Red Hook Pier 12-Brooklyn Cruise Terminal:

“Be very careful as you go up the stairs. Wait before you climb up more than half way. Allow the water to drain from you, wipe your feet. You don’t want to have tracks appearing behind you while you are cloaked!”

“Yes Sgt. we will do as you say. Can you indicate where the lifeforms are located, we can’t see them from here.”

“There are twenty-two lifeforms a hundred yards that way. There is a police patrol that comes this way nearly every hour. You need to move quickly if you’re going to capture them.”

Twenty-five armored seals from Dhoom swam under the water from the shuttle to the stairway. They paused until the water drained from their armor before they made their way along the pier to the homeless group. As one of the seals stumbled awkwardly over a piece of masonry in the dark, a young man in his mid-teens was startled awake.

He slept very lightly and remained acutely aware of his environment as he had recently been attacked and abused. He sensed danger, scanned around himself, first crouched then launched himself from his resting place and ran towards the buildings. A seal raised a stun rifle and fired but he was too slow as the boy dodged and zig-zagged, behind the columns and benches. The seal missed, but did not chase him, instead concentrated on the people that remained.

“We have stunned them all. Pick them up and bring them back to the shuttle as quickly as you can, we do not want to alert the authorities. Come on people move your tentacles as fast as you can, the shuttle detected a patrol approaching. The police patrol is five minutes early and we need to be away as quickly as we can. Our shuttle is surfacing and is waiting right next to the stairway.”

Each seal carried one person and moved as fast as they could along the pier down the stairs and into the shuttle. The shuttle door closed and they moved beneath the surface minutes before the patrol arrived at the docks.

John, the fifteen-year-old hailed the patrol.

Sgt. Desmond Doyle opened his window to see the panting and distressed young man, whom he recognized as the youngster he had picked up two months ago after the vicious assault. He looked over at his partner who shrugged, saying, “Sarge we did arrange placement for him in a foster home, but I heard he ran away. I wonder what his story is tonight, he is in a bad way from what I can see.”

Doyle saw John recognized him and was trying to regain control of himself. John breathlessly tried to speak then stopped, paused and tried again.

“I was sleeping over there,” John said and pointed towards some blankets, bags and clothing. “Something startled me, I don’t know what it was but I heard a sound and I woke up. I wasn’t going to wait around and be attacked when I was lying down. I saw some hazy stuff in front of me but couldn’t understand what it was and ran away from whatever it was.” John said panting. “I hid behind a pillar but heard nothing coming behind me. I slowly crept back. I looked around a pillar. Then I saw the unconscious bodies rising up. I knew you guys were coming so I decided to look very carefully. They looked as though they were being put on the shoulders of people that I could not see. When I looked really carefully, I saw some kind of hazy cloud beneath them. You could see through it but it looked like a hot air haze. The bodies moved along the pier just curled and hanging.

“I saw you guys coming in the distance, so I moved back towards the blankets and I saw this flying saucer submarine appear near the stairs at the end of the pier. All the bodies moved to the stairs and then down them and I could see them going into a round door. It then submerged. I ran back to the pillar next to the road so I could tell you what I saw. Sgt. Doyle, those people were just taken away.”

“John I would like you to come with us back to the station to make a formal statement. Let me tell you the good news and the bad news. The good news is; I’m not going to force you into foster care. The bad news is that this is happening all over New York in areas near the water. That means that if you are going to choose to remain on the streets, you’re going to face a big risk. Yours is the clearest description we have had to date, but the lieutenant says thousands have disappeared.

Galaxy Albos Planet Grorkin; Reftufessel the Capitol:

Room of Conquest – Meeting room of Pericles.

Merwynd Shreftsigt, the Grork General stood up and addressed the gathering.

“Colleagues it is my unfortunate duty to convene this meeting and it is with regret I inform you, I am highly dissatisfied with the recent outcome of the attack on Charassa. The attack was a disaster for our allies. It is not the fault of the Dhoom. They are reliable and predictable and share our beliefs and needs. We both face similar problems. You are all aware that we expended considerable effort to improve their technology and to provide them with resources that would allow them to successfully attack the Collective. In every area they have delivered for us.

“We liaised with the Ghoul Queen and together we ensured that the Coven and the creatures of Dhoom work together rather than be at each other’s throats. The Ghouls have become highly dissatisfied with the Coven as not only have they not delivered, the Ghouls have lost ships, which like us, they can ill afford, as a result of the ineptitude of the Coven. In this current battle the Dhoom and Coven had superior ship numbers, yet they did not succeed. We also lost one of our own fleets. I can barely go through a day without feeling the pain of the loss of so many of our fine colleagues and friends.

“I have looked at the after-action reports and my only conclusion is that we were betrayed. I cannot determine who betrayed us but I know it is unlikely to be our friends, the creatures of Dhoom. They fought heroically and with determination and resolve. They fought a good fight. They were determined and professional. They escaped several traps and dealt a devastating blow to the enemy. Our own fleet was identified and attacked by our ancient and implacable enemies, the Parzool, led by Queen Parayekt and her misshapen beasts. They systematically destroyed our precious fleet, ship by ship. They have continued to improve their weapons and we are unable to keep up. Similarly, our colleagues the Ghouls lost four capital ships to attacks from the Warriors of the Apocalypse. My only conclusion is that we have been infiltrated and our plans have been released to the enemy. Our oldest enemies have taken the opportunity to destroy us and our allies. We analyzed the technological level of our enemies’-weapons and shields. They ambushed us and struck us with weapons of unprecedented power.