10 Downing Street, London, August 2058
Benjamin Parker had resorted to pinching himself to confirm that he wasn’t trapped in an everlasting, nightmarish dream. His tenure as Prime Minister had barely lasted seven months when the Cosmic Overseers whisked him away to their vessel, revealing the imminent fate of humanity.
These sudden developments proved to be a trial by fire in every sense, consuming – understandably – most of his thoughts and energy. As a result, he had few resources left to handle the day-to-day responsibilities of steering the country away from recession, addressing soaring unemployment rates, and keeping his party content and united.
Now, just one month later, he was on the verge of interviewing his top candidate for the role of leading the team assigned to use the time travel technology. He had rehearsed his speech countlessly, and with each repetition, it sounded more and more surreal.
How do you share a story involving aliens, abductions, spacecraft, the approaching destruction of Earth, and time travel without sounding insane? Benjamin’s selection as the head of his new clandestine organisation was Victor Kingsley, and he was about to discover the answer to this very question.
Benjamin first crossed paths with Victor when he assumed the Prime Minister’s role, necessitating his participation in anti-hostage training with the Special Air Service (SAS). This distinctive training, offered exclusively to notable figures such as the Royal Family and influential politicians, served a dual purpose. It aimed to instil vital survival techniques for hostage rescue scenarios while showcasing the adaptability of these skills in potential future situations.
Victor served as the liaison officer bridging 22 SAS, 10 Downing Street, and Buckingham Palace. His role encompassed preparing politicians and members of royalty for anti-hostage training, ensuring their mental and physical readiness.
He hailed from the British Army, retiring as a Major from the Intelligence Corps at the youthful age of forty-two, just three years before. His extensive résumé wasn’t just a compilation of achievements; it narrated the captivating journey of a seasoned soldier, which included active service in the five-year conflict between NATO and the United African Coalition from 2045 to 2050.
A member of the British Army’s 20 Air Assault Brigade, Victor had successfully completed the challenging Pegasus Company course, earning the coveted wings that distinguished him as a trained parachutist. While not the most rigorous course in the British Army, it boasted a high failure rate, demanding exceptional levels of fitness and fortitude for success. Victor took pride in maintaining the same level of fitness at the age of forty-five as he had during those earlier years.
Despite Victor’s assurance that the anti-hostage training was safe and he would remain unharmed, Benjamin couldn’t shake off his fear. Stepping into a room where a glimmer of light filtered through a small window, he was instructed to don black overalls and take a seat on a metal chair beside a table surrounded by life-sized wooden targets resembling terrorists.
He was told to expect the training to be brief but very loud and to maintain – at all costs – absolute stillness. Shortly thereafter, the SAS executed a rescue mission, using live ammunition. The soldiers stormed into the room amidst the deployment of flashbangs, creating a controlled whirlwind of chaos.
The flash bang was a cylindrical matte-black device, about the size of a beer can, but its innocent exterior belied the powerful force it contained. On its surface were raised ridges and a series of perforations designed for maximum fragmentation and dispersal of light and sound.
Benjamin held an ineradicable memory of the experience; his recollection began with a blinding flash followed by a deafening explosion that drove the breath from his lungs. The brilliance was so intense that it pierced even his closed eyelids – as it was intended to do – leaving a haunting afterimage etched in his sight. At the same time, a powerful shockwave surged through the air, hitting his chest, while a piercing, high-pitched shriek intensified his disorientation.
After the initial explosion, Benjamin found himself in a confused state, disconnected from the developments around him. The wooden targets, stark and splintered, stood as solemn testimony to the surgical precision of the assault. Each one exhibited the scars of multiple punctures, a witness to the onslaught of high-velocity rounds. In a real-world scenario, any terrorists would have experienced nothing more than the initial flash of the explosion before instantly, succumbing to the lethal aftermath. The precision and violence of the attack allowed for no room to evade or respond, serving as a stark tribute to the efficiency, and reputation of the assailants.
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