Justification For Killing

Chapter One

FLIGHT TO BANGKOK

Cathay Pacific Flight 6073’s path of flight was directly over the North Pole heading toward the setting sun. Its blinding rays were directly in the pilot’s eyes - even the polarized sunglasses did not offer much protection. How long before we make a course correction and turn south over Russia? I’ll be glad to get this blinding sun out of my eyes, complained Captain Haskell Hunter, a veteran pilot of over twenty-eight years.

The young co-pilot, Donald Walker, sitting in the right seat, turned to the old flier and remarked, Captain, we have more to worry about than the sun in our eyes, just received an urgent weather alert - there is a large, weather system moving across Russia. It will move directly across our route as we fly south, and by the reports I’m getting, it’s a mean one! Oh! To answer your question Captain - course correction in twelve minutes, twenty seconds.

Can we go around the storm?

Afraid not Captain. I’ve just checked the International Flight Route Agreement. We are only allowed a deviation of fifty miles from our scheduled flight plan. This monster of a storm will swallow fifty miles and spit it back at us. What about going over?

Negative, cloud tops are above six oh thousand (60,000) feet. We cannot get above four three thousand (43,000) safely as you know Donald.

Yeah, right Captain, just thinking out loud trying to convince myself my numbers might be wrong. I guess we will just batten down the hatches, and fly through the beast the best we can.

It had been an hour or so since the Captain had announced their entrance into the Russian airspace on their way to the People’s Republic of China. All the passengers in First Class, Business and Economy, were settled back watching movies, reading, snacking, sleeping or toying with their laptops. Their world was warm, peaceful and quiet - up front in the cockpit a totally different scenario was beginning to play out.

COLLISION! COLLISION!

Around 8 p.m. the storm had totally blanketed the Chek Lap Chuk airport in Hong Kong. A growing backlog of planes circling above waiting to land had continued to increase. A couple of planes, both from Cathay Pacific also, had made requests for emergency landings, as they began to run dangerously low on fuel. A number of other aircraft from different carriers were being diverted from Hong Kong to airports on the Chinese mainland and to the island of Taiwan, northeast of Hong Kong.

At that moment in the skies above Russia the same beast of a blizzard was taking a tremendous toil on Captain Hunter’s Triple Seven as the Boeing 777 was called. It was being tossed from side to side like a rag doll. One moment the plane was flying level, the next it was yawing at a forty or forty-five degree angle. The passengers were hysterical. Someone yelled, We are going to die! Another and another could be heard praying out loud... Our Father, Which Art in Heaven... A couple more had their rosary beads in their hands.

As soon as the Captain could gain control and steady the aircraft another blast of turbulence would cause the plane to drop hundreds of feet. The aircraft then caught an updraft and just as swiftly ascended a couple of hundred feet. The passengers were scared; they weren’t the only ones, Captain Hunter and Co-pilot Walker were sweating bullets too.

Without warning, if the turbulence, thunder, lightning and snow weren’t enough, the computerized female voice of the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) cockpit alarm began blaring out an emergency ‘Traffic Advisory’: Warning! Warning! Execute evasive maneuver immediately! Warning! Warning!

Sam Lin and Si Lei Kim’s Fight 6073 was on a direct head-on collision course with an Airbus A330 in-route from Hong Kong to New York.

Captain Hunter immediately switched on his landing lights, hoping the on-rushing pilot would be able to see his Boeing 777. Both Captain Hunter and Mr. Walker peered intently through the snow-covered, windshield searching for the source of the TCAS warning. The co-pilot scanned the radar screen. There he is! There... there, pointing with his finger at the display as though that would enable Captain Hunter to see the on rushing plane. Captain Hunter was scared; he brow was wet, and a bead of sweat had formed at the tip of his nose. Yes, he was scared, not so much for his own safety, but he had 350 souls on his Boeing’s manifest and there were, at least, another 300 plus on the Airbus. Combined, the count was over 650 passengers and crew, hurling toward each other on a deadly collision course in the skies over Russia. No one had ever survived a crash between two jumbo jets at their altitude, and at their speed. He knew the result was going to be an instant, painful death to all the passengers and crew on both planes.

The planes were now less than five miles from each other, and the distance between them was closing, and closing fast. The distance between the two blips on the radar screen was getting closer and closer to each other as well.

For some unknown reason, the oncoming Airbus’s TCAS alarm was not working properly, or there was something terribly wrong with its crew. Possibly they had taken a direct lightening strike. The reason was unimportant at this very moment. What was important – a head on collision was imminent.

Both airliners, the Cathay Pacific 6073 and the Airbus, feature electronic or digital instrument displays known in the industry as ‘glass-cockpits’. These cockpits take the form of large LCD screens, not the old style dials and gauges. The earlier, traditional cockpits relied on mechanical gauges for information. No such gauges on these modern cockpits, they look more like something from a video game. Flight information is displayed as needed; however, Captain Hunter knew over fifty blackout incidents had occurred in the Airbus with glass-cockpits since the Airbus fleet came on line. A serious glass-cockpit blackout can cause the loss of half of a plane’s Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor (ECAM) system. The ECAM monitors the aircrafts functions and relays them to the pilot, it will also display failure messages. In certain cases, the pilot is instructed as to corrective procedures, which must be taken to correct the problem. It affects all displays as well as all radio, transponder, TCAS, and altitude indicators.

Was losing ECAM bad? Bad was not a serious enough word to describe this life or death situation! A jet airliner, hurling through the air at over 400 mph, the results can be catastrophic. At this speed, the two planes were closing the distance between each other at the rate of a mile every five seconds. Captain Hunter realized a head-on collision was to occur within seconds, and he and his co-pilot were going to be the first on the scene. That was an extremely unsettling thought.

Switching on the ‘Fasten Seat Belts’ sign Captain Hunter grabbed the intercom and yelled... yes yelled. He knew the manual said to remain calm, but the author of the book had never been in the cockpit of a 300-ton missile flying over half the speed of sound, which was aimed directly at another missile of equal size and speed. Prepare for collision!! Prepare for collision!! He yelled loudly. In the passenger compartment, flight attendants, recognizing the tone of the Captain’s voice, literally dropped trays of food and drinks, and began running up and down the aisle instructing the passengers in the proper crash positions before impact.

Needless to say, the Kim brothers were now wide-awake. Shaking with fright Si Lei yelled back, Sam Lin! Did the Captain say collision?

Without answering Sam Lin began grabbing their winter coats from the overhead storage bin. Put your coat on immediately, fasten your safety belt tightly, put your pillow in your lap and bend over and place your head on it. Now!! Do it now Si Lei!!

Back in the cockpit Captain Hunter could see the oncoming Airbus in the flashes of lightening and blowing snow. He pushed hard on the yoke and right rudder causing the giant aircraft to begin a descent and a roll to the right, but Captain Hunter had been flying too many years - he knew a collision was inevitable - the plane was just too large and cumbersome to avoid crashing head-on into the oncoming Airbus. The moment of impact was just a couple of seconds away. Captain Hunter realized the inevitable. Turning toward his co-pilot he softly said with a degree of finality and calmness in his voice, It’s been an honor flying with you Donald! May God be with you!

The words had barely left his lips when an object appeared off his three o’clock. It was heading toward them at an incredible speed. The Captain later estimated it had to have been traveling in excess of 3,000 miles per hour. It passed directly between the Captain’s Boeing 777-300 Cathay Pacific flight and the oncoming Airbus. Captain Hunter got a glimpse of it, but it was so fast a mere blink of the eye and he would have missed seeing the object altogether.

The Captain could see the object was glowing as if it were hot. The surface appeared shiny. The craft was round and saucer shaped. He estimated it must have been at least one hundred feet in diameter. Donnie, did you see that? Was it a UFO? There was no response. The co-pilot was sitting in his seat with a death grip on the yoke, a blank stare on his ashen face. Don! Don!

He muttered an answer. So softly Captain Hunter barely could understand, Uh-huh... Uh-huh... Yes I did...Yes I did...Y... Yes...

Don! Don snap out of it!

PREPARE TO CRASH! PREPARE TO CRASH!

At that precise moment, a tremendous turbulence struck the battered 777. It was like running into the backwash of a hundred jet engines. The Captain could not maintain control of the plane - it immediately began to roll over... once... twice... on the third roll he began to get control and slowly leveled the plane, but the airliner was descending, descending fast. So fast Captain Hunter could not pull the yoke back to slow down the plunging aircraft. Donald! Donald!

Snapping back to his senses, the co-pilot answered, Yes! Yes! I’m here Captain. I’m here!

Help me Donald, we’re going down, I can’t hold her any longer. Prepare to crash! Prepare to crash! As they dropped down through the storm, the unmerciful blizzard was not abating. If anything, the snow intensified. Captain Hunter was watching the altimeter - 19000 feet - 18000 - 17000 - 16000 - 15000 - 14000 - 13000...

Landing gear? Landing gear Captain? yelled the co-pilot. Without waiting for the Captain to answer Mr. Walker flipped the landing gear switch. At the same time, he was practically standing up pulling back on the yoke as hard as he physically could pull. His efforts combined with the same efforts exhibited by the Captain were beginning to take effect - the descent was beginning to slow.

He now could see the ground - everything was white - white in every direction, 1200 feet - 1100 feet... Without realizing the wheels were already down and locked the Captain answered, Roger Mr. Walker let the landing gear down. I can see ahead, it seems fairly flat.

At 500 feet, the planes landing lights were brightly illuminating the glistening white snow to their front, but Captain Hunter barely could see ahead. It was a blinding snowstorm. When he got an open glimpse the terrain seemed flat, suddenly the plane’s wheels touched, and it began to slide for what seemed like an eternity. The snow had cushioned the landing. The wheels, packed with snow, were not turning they were sliding. On and on they slid. Captain Hunter could see nothing out the front windshield, but a thick blanket of snow. He kept thinking any moment they would crash into some unseen obstacle which would cause the 777 to erupt into a fiery fireball. The fate of the airplane was out of the Captain’s hands, but he had never believed in fate – he placed his believe in a Higher Power. All he could do was hang onto the yoke and pray God was now hearing his desperate plea. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the plane stopped moving.

There were no fires. The plane seemed to be intact.

Of all the foolish things Walker said to Captain Hunter, I couldn’t have done better myself.

All Captain Hunter could say softly was, Thank you... thank you!! as he looked toward the Heavens.

Both the engines were still running - why? How is this possible, Captain Hunter thought? Reaching for the throttle controls, he cut the power to the two-turbofan engines. Their tremendous roar began to decline to a decreasing whine and then finally they were silent - no sound could be heard notwithstanding the screams emanating from the passenger compartment. The engines may have been quite, but the raging, howling blizzard heard through the planes metal walls was not silent. Before switching off the landing lights Captain Hunter, looking out the front, could see nothing but swirling, blowing snow. The snow wasn’t falling straight down it was being blown horizontally. Another time, another place this scene might actually be beautiful, he thought, but they were on the ground, where? Where he did not know. He only knew they were alive. Donald, white as the snow, which enveloped them muttered, Well... well... any landing you can walk away from is a good landing, right...? Right Captain?

Get the passengers off Donald! Get them off now!

Donald grabbed the cold steel handle to the door separating the cockpit from the passenger compartment - he did not know what to expect. Opening the door wider, he saw a mass of confusion in the dim glow. Once the engines were shut off the interior lights were operating off batteries. Panic and fear were running rampant among the passengers. People were screaming, babies were crying, and mumblings of prayers could be heard throughout the compartment. After two complete, 360 degree rolls, the cabin was a mess of objects - debris from the galley, personal belongings from the overhead bins, items from under the seats, and from their recesses over each passenger seat all the small, yellow, plastic nosepieces had descended to provide oxygen. Now they were all dangling, swinging and swaying. Suspended by their clear plastic tubing, giving an eerie appearance to the whole interior. In the semi-darkness, Mr. Walker shuddered, for a moment he thought they resembled hundreds of spiders - big, yellow spiders suspended from their webs on thin ropes of clear, plastic tubing. Taking a further look at the oxygen mask Donald thought to himself, ‘a shot of oxygen might do ME some good about now too.’

As the co-pilot continued his slow walk down the aisle, he continually tried to calm the passengers, Everything is okay, we are okay, please everyone settle down. Get back into your seats and bundle up. His actions exhibited a calming effect on the passengers who now were beginning to quieten down and respond to his commands.

The flight attendants were beginning to move to the emergency hatches. Those hatches were equipped with the large inflatable escape slides. They were getting ready to open the doors in an effort to get the passengers out. This was by the manual – Standard Emergency Procedures.

Seeing this, Walker screamed, Hold on! Hold on! Catching the first flight attendants by the arm he explained, There are no fires, the engines are not running, we have not broken apart. Turning to return to the cockpit he looked over his shoulder and remarked, Let’s give this some thought before opening those exterior hatches. It has to be minus forty or fifty below out there. I need to speak to the Captain about this. Loudly he yelled as he opened the door to the cockpit, Until I get back, please, please DON’T open those hatches!

Returning to the captain’s side Walker helped the Captain shut down the final components of the aircraft before he could speak. The Captain turned to his co-pilot, Is everyone getting off okay?

That’s what I came to talk to you about Captain - the plane is okay - there are no fires, and I do not believe we are in any immediate danger. He proceeded to explain how he thought they should stay on the airplane and not deplane the passengers. He emphasized that it had to be close to minus fifty degrees outside. And even if they got out they had no idea were they were or in which direction to travel. He thought most of the people would freeze to death before being rescued. His suggestion was to just stay put. What do you think?

The Captain shut his eyes contemplating Mr. Walker’s report and their current situation, after a couple of seconds he spoke, Good advice Don... leave them on the plane. That is the better of the two evils. We can’t survive out there, you’re right. Good... that’s good. Tell the flight attendants to have everyone bundle up - put on as much clothing as they can, and when the sun comes up maybe we’ll be able to assess our situation better.

A few of the passengers had scrapes, cuts and bruises from the rollovers, but luckily a couple of doctors were onboard as passengers, and they immediately began first-aid treatment. Approaching one of the doctors Walker asked if any of the passengers seemed critical. The doctor replied that the worst cases were nothing more than a couple of cuts and scrapes, which they handled with the aircraft’s first-aid kit, and a couple with mild concussions. But, surprisingly, everyone was in reasonable decent shape. No one had any broken bones. This was good news. Turning from the doctor he informed the flight attendants of the Captain’s decision to keep the passengers on board.

Standing at the intercom station, Walker spoke, Attention everyone! Attention! I am Co-pilot Donald Walker. Captain Haskell Hunter is still in the cockpit assessing our situation.

At the mention of Captain Hunter and Donald Walker’s name the passengers all broke out with enthusiastic applause in appreciation for their handling of the plane. Especially since they were now on the ground, alive.

"Thank you, thank you very much. I’m sure Captain Hunter would appreciate your show of appreciation, but right now I need to fill you in on our situation. To begin with we almost had a catastrophic encounter with another passenger airliner. To avoid a head-on collision Captain Hunter had to take emergency evasive maneuvers, which I’m sorry to say you had to suffer through; however, we are on the ground... the bad news is we do not know exactly where we are, but the good news is we ARE on the ground, and still in one piece."

Another round of spontaneous applause broke out.

Trying to raise the passengers spirits he offered a bit of humor, Well, we may not know precisely where we are, but I assure all of you we are not lost... we know we are somewhere in Russia. That brought a slight under the breath chuckling and more applause by the passengers.

"Seriously though, we should be able to better evaluate our situation when morning comes. Until then, Captain Hunter wants you all to bundle up the best you can. It’s going to get cold in here, and without the engines, we have no way to provide heat. Try to eat and drink as much of the food in, or lying around the galley. In a couple of hours, it will be frozen solid and of no use. The Captain and I will be in the cockpit, so if we can be of service, please let us know. We have a couple of doctors on this flight. They have been considerate to offer their services, and we appreciate their help. If you need their assistance they said they would be more than willing to attend to your medical needs. Until morning try to stay warm and I will talk to you if we have any further news." Replacing the microphone on its cradle he turned and re-joined Captain Hunter in the cockpit.

Needless to say, they were in a quandary. Captain Hunter turned on the auxiliary power, which only supplied battery power to the ‘glass cockpit’ when the engines were not operating, and checked all the instruments on the front panel. He then checked the fuel gauge and saw they still had about half of their initial fuel load. He reasoned, could they restart the engines if the cold became unbearable. He also thought, what if we are here for days, maybe weeks. What will we do for food? Speaking to Walker, who had returned to the cockpit, the captain ordered, Donald return to the galley section and find the emergency kit. We will need to go outside and set off one of the flares if we hear the approach of an airplane. We may not be able to get our bird back into the sky, but possibly another aircraft such as a helicopter could rescue us. Meanwhile, I’ll try to get an SOS out. I know the radio is not working, but I’ll see if I can find out what’s wrong with it; regardless, we can’t give up.

MORNING... FINALLY!

Captain Hunter had finally drifted off for a few hours of much needed sleep - the interior of the aircraft was extremely cold, but fortunately the airline had provided plenty of pillows and blankets for all the passengers, so there were more than enough to keep everyone bundled up during the long, cold night.

The following day came and went without incident, everyone stayed wrapped up and made the most of the available items they could salvage. Most had placed containers of edible food and bottles of water inside their garments. The heat from their bodies kept the items from freezing; therefore, no one was being deprived of food or water – yet. Food was not as plentiful, but the water was more than adequate to supply their needs. The restroom facilities were another matter. Sometimes necessity IS the mother of all inventions. One of the passengers, an electrician, unhooked the heater in one restroom from the planes’ normal power source and redirected it to the emergency, battery-powered circuit. It did not perform at peak efficiency but was warm enough to allow passengers to ‘attend to business’. When not being used for ‘official business’ individuals took turns inside the tiny room warming themselves. It might not have been a dainty sight, but it allowed for a few minutes of warmth – there were no complaints.

No news of rescue today!! No sounds of a rescue plane had been heard either. The temperature outside was still in the forty to fifty degrees below zero range, so trying to walk to find civilization and help was out of the question. The life of anyone leaving the confines of this downed aircraft would be measured in minutes, surely not as long as an hour. The extreme low temperature was just too brutal.

The morning of their third day, a bright light suddenly awakened Captain Hunter! His first thought was fire, but it was not fire but snow! Blowing, drifting snow had totally covered the cockpit windows. The brightness was... was... it was the sun’s rays penetrating the blanket of snow lighting up the interior of the cockpit.

Donald! Donald! Wake up. The sun is shining. And listen, the wind is beginning to diminish its howling. Come on let’s get outside and see if we can determine where we are?

Huh? Huh, what’d you say? What time is it? Were the co-pilots muffled responses from underneath the blanket and coat he had used to cover his head. Removing his wraps he was amazed. Is it Captain? It is! It’s really sunlight! You’re right, we need to get out and see where we are.

You are correct Don, but how? How are we to get outside? We can’t use the doors to get out; opening those exits would let the forty below air on the outside come inside. My side window is useless it is frozen tightly shut. The emergency batteries are providing power to our communication system, I could not reach anyone, see if you can try to contact the International Airport at Hong Kong again. While you are working on that I will try to figure out how we can get outside.

"Captain, as you know, the radio frequencies are on a digital display. The display is not on the emergency battery circuit, so I cannot view it!

Right you are Donald, okay, use the manual setting and adjust to the 135.37 MHz frequency.

Setting the radio’s frequency Don squeezed his headset microphone and tried the radio one more time before he and the Captain tried to get outside, Cathay Pacific 6073 declaring an emergency... come in Chek Lap Chuc... Mayday... Mayday... Cathay 6073 calling Hong Kong... Cathay 6073 calling anyone... anyone reading this station! Respond, please! Sorry Captain, I’m not being received, or I might not be broadcasting. It appears we are... but I have no idea."

Thanks, you can try again later.

The time was 8:04 a.m. local, Thursday morning.

Chapter Two

A FEW HOURS EARLIER

The time was 7 a.m. Eastern Standard Time Wednesday November 21, 2012. Brothers Sam Lin and Si Lei Kim, both members of the secret black ops program in Washington, D.C., known only as SCAR (Studies Concerning Antiquated Records), were snuggly buckled into their seats on American Airlines Flight 4446 scheduled out of Washington, D.C. to New York’s Kennedy Airport. At New York, they were to change planes and depart on Cathay Pacific 6073. This flight was scheduled to arrive the evening of the 22nd at Hong Kong. Hong Kong is thirteen hours ahead of New York’s Eastern Standard Time. After a two-hour layover, they were to depart Hong Kong heading to their final destination: Bangkok, Thailand. Total travel time approximately eighteen hours twelve minutes.

Sam Lin and Si Lei seated in the Business Section of the Boeing 777-200LR waited anxiously as the jumbo jet gained speed down the tarmac of the Kennedy Airport. The two enormous turbofan jet engine’s whine began to change to a lumbering moan as the twelve gigantic Goodyear tires lifted from the black asphalt. The monster of steel, plastic and rubber began its eastward and upward ascent towards the towering cumulus clouds 16,000 feet above. The morning was cold but pleasant for a November day in New York. At least, thought the Kim brothers, it’s not snowing.

Si Lei turning to Sam Lin asked, Can I open my eyes yet?

For goodness sakes Brother, you’re a grown man, act like it!

I can’t help it, I’m terribly afraid of flying.

"Well you should not be afraid of flying. This plane does a very good job of ‘flying’. You should be afraid of this airplane falling out of the sky."

Now you’re getting the picture Sam Lin! Seriously tho’, I know Captain Scarburg is head of SCAR Operations, but why do you suppose he decided to send you and me to Bangkok to investigate Mr. Ryan Rousseau?

It’s simple - he knew we worked with Rousseau in the Bangkok CIA office, in the ‘60s. Besides we know the lay of the land, and still have a few contacts we might be able to use.

But, Brother, Mr. Rousseau is Chief of Experimental Design at SCAR Headquarters. He has been with the Captain since SCAR was established in the ‘60s, isn’t that right? I thought he was the Captain’s friend.

Yeah, you’re right, but Captain Scarburg knows what he is doing, just trust his judgment. There is something about Ryan Rousseau that is bothering the Captain. We’ll get to Bangkok and do the job we were assigned. Now don’t worry about our mission, and for goodness sake quit worrying about this steel bird falling out of the sky.

Sam Lin was still chuckling as the massive aluminum skinned machine turned its nose from the direction of the rising sun and began a slow, deliberate, left turn. It was beginning a northern flight path. What’s happening? Why are we turning? Is something wrong? Asked Si Lei.

No, we have to turn north since we will be flying over the North Pole to Hong Kong.

You’ve got to be kidding - we’re flying north to go west to Hong Kong?

That’s right, it’s the shortest route.

But won’t we be flying over Russia?

Sam Lin knew Si Lei was confused, so he explained their flight route. He began by saying the flight will skirt the eastern edge of Canada, go across the tip of the Hudson Bay, past the western end of Greenland and up and over the Arctic Ocean. They will fly a few thousand miles across the Arctic Ocean then slowly turn south across eastern Russia, Mongolia and pass over China and finally the plane will land in Hong Kong. This route will cut a twenty-one hour flight to only fifteen and one-half hours. Simple huh? Asked Sam Lin?

Simple? Simple? What does this pilot think? That we are a flock of geese migrating back north? And you say this is the shortest route? What if this sucker runs out of gas somewhere up there in the Godforsaken frozen north? I just believe I wouldn’t like whale blubber!!

Run out of gas? Are you kidding? This thing holds over 52,000 gallons of fuel and has set a flight record of 11,000 miles, non-stop, from Hong Kong to London. Running out of gas is the least of our worries.

Okay, Mr. Know-It-All, I’m not asking you anything else. When do we eat? replied Si Lei.

Thought you were not going to ask for anything else?

Gentlemen, said the attractive young flight attendant. Could I get you anything?

Yeah, how about getting our pilot a map and a compass! exclaimed Si Lei.

With a surprised look, the flight attendant slightly tilted her head, frowned and was about to question his response, but was quickly stopped by Sam Lin...

He asked the attendant for coffee, just a plain cup of black coffee. He also asked if she could, please bring Si Lei a cup of hot tea and some type of pastry? He explained Si Lei gets irritable if his blood sugar drops. Looking to the young lady taking their orders he added grinning, More irritable, that is, than usual.

In a few minutes, the coffee, tea and a cinnamon bun were sitting on their tray tables. Knowing their flying time from New York to Hong Kong was over fifteen hours, Sam Lin was in no hurry - he sat sipping his coffee looking out his port window at the soft, fluffy clouds miles below slipping slowly beneath their wings.

A while later, Sam Lin had finished watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster as Si Lei sat enjoying a pleasant lunch, consisting of salad, a main course of beef, potatoes and asparagus. Watching Si Lei shovel food into his mouth Sam Lin decided he could eat a bite too. He placed his order for the lighter serving of cantaloupe, melon slices and strawberries. Si Lei finished his meal with a slice of cheesecake while Sam Lin tried the non-alcoholic Cathay Delight, a kiwi-based drink that turned out to be rather pleasant tasting. Both with stomachs full and eyes heavy with sleep grabbed a few hours of shut-eye. The pilot would come on the intercom from time to time and point out fascinating features on the ground. Off to our left, ladies and gentlemen, you’ll notice a large body of water, that’s the Hudson Bay. A couple of hours later, Just wanted to let you know we are now over the Arctic Ocean. Temperature outside is a warm minus fifty-two degrees below zero. With a slight grin, both brothers fluffed their pillows, pulled their blankets up snuggly and resumed their naps.

Chapter Three

A TIME MUCH, MUCH EARLIER

This unbelievable story must begin, in the past – No! Not the past. Then it must begin now, the present – No! It isn’t exactly in the present either. How can this be? It surely cannot be the future. No! Thank goodness it isn’t. It began with him of whom much is known, but an explanation is still needed. Who? The Captain, of course – Captain Robert Edward Scarburg, Junior!

CAPTAIN ROBERT EDWARD SCARBURG, JR

Captain Scarburg had a nickname ‘Little S’. This had been his handle since his days in Vietnam when he held the rank of Captain in the Intelligence Branch of the 5th Special Forces. His father, Master Sergeant Robert Scarburg, Sr was also in Vietnam. He too, with the 5th Special Forces Group, but he was a medic. He was known as ‘Big S’. The family just called him Papa. No, they weren’t Big and Little S because of the Scarburg name.

Papa Scarburg had long been gone when this story happened, and everyone connected with this story had sworn himself or herself to remain silence on the matter, but the fact was clear – this extraordinary saga had to be told.

Also, going public with this information could be an embarrassment to our government. Some of the things are criminal if the Statutes of Limitation have not expired; however, there are no time limits to murder. Finally, the public has a right to know if the truth hurts so be it.

Robert Edward Scarburg, Junior, a.k.a. Little ‘S’, the one called Captain or Grandpa was present and participated in it all; he was a witness first hand.

Even today parts of this story are hard to believe, but he certified to the truth of it all. If you doubt for a minute what is about to be told is not factual, quit reading, for what follows will forever haunt your memory. If you think what you are about to read will make you feel terrible just wait until you have read this entire chronicle, you are right - you will feel even worse! You will think about it while awake, and it will be the last thoughts you have before Mr. Sandman arrives. If you decide to venture on, good luck in the future! You may need meds only available from your local physician. All right you have been warned, if you are ready lets proceed.

Robert Edward Scarburg, Junior – yes the Captain; to his grandchildren he was just Grandpa; to his old Vietnam Special Forces buddies he was known as Little S - sat facing the rear wall of his office. His left hand gently rubbed the short stubble of the beard on his chin, contemplating – was he daydreaming or did he have something particular in mind?

He brushed the smoke from his latest Cuban (he would insist Puerto Rican) cigar from the air. With the right hand he reached for a book in his bookcase as he began to spin his red Corinthian leather chair back around to face his office. All things in his place of business seem to convey the prestige of his position - it tended to accentuate the Captain’s stature.

Was the Captain unquestionably an influential person? Directors of the FBI, CIA and the NSA would tend quickly to agree. The Captain was head of a most unusual group called the Studies Concerning Antiquated Records (SCAR). Was it a Department, a Bureau, a Division, who knew? SCAR was not on any governmental organizational chart. No, it was none of the above. SCAR was a black ops type operation buried deep within the National Security Agency or was it the Department of Defense? Even personnel within SCAR were not quite sure who their bosses were. Why so clandestine? Well most people don’t need or want to know what their missions were. They were known simply by the acronym ‘SCAR’. All covert operations within the U.S. Government knew the name - enough said.

ANHUR

Retrieving the book from the bookcase, the Captain spun around to face his massive, mahogany sea captain’s desk. A pint-sized, not quite five-foot tall person startled him. This small ‘person’ was standing directly in front of his desk. Where did this mysterious person come from? Captain Scarburg’s office door had not opened, nor had his Chief of Staff announced any visitor on the inter-office Personal Communicator System.

The diminutive individual was dressed in a brown overcoat and a black fedora hat. A beautiful, ornate, silver medallion hung lazily around his neck. An oversized pair of dark, ebony, sunglasses covered two similarly hued, almond shaped eyes. Huge black eyes that overpowered a grey face the color of dry cement, a face that appeared as if it had never been exposed to the warm rays of the Earth’s sun. In his hands, he carried two objects. In one, a large black umbrella, although the day was warm and sunny with no chance of rain; in the other a device, which reminded the Captain of a chrome motorcycle helmet with a shiny, metal looking full-face shield. On the front was inscribed an unusual circular emblem. This emblem, about three inches in diameter was divided equally into four sections. Each section contained a symbolic drawing. In one quarter was a face of a man; the second a lion, the third a bull and the final section contained an eagle. Captain Scarburg immediately recognized this circular design. He had seen it before in Cambodia. It was like the Stars and Stripes to the U.S.; this was the planet Sunev’s national ‘flag’.

What the... ANHUR! Is it you? Is it actually you?

Yes, Captain Scarburg my old comrade, it is me, Anhur indeed, the diminutive fellow replied.

Anhur and the Captain had known each other over forty years since their chance meeting at a place named Pac Toul in the jungles of Cambodia in 1967 during the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. By his appearance he obviously was not an American – Anhur was a foreigner. He was not even a European, in fact, he was not even human - he was an extraterrestrial!!

Yes, a spaceman, a space being, a visitor from another planet, a planet by the name of Sunev, located in the Constellation of Orion. Yes, he was indeed a foreigner, a real foreigner.

Anhur was one of the ‘good guys’. Although Pac Toul was the first place the Scarburgs were introduced to him, he has since befriended most all the members of their family at one time or another. He was instrumental in preventing the crash of an airplane carrying a SCAR team that included brothers Bud and Forrest and their sister Olive Marie as they were on their way to an archeological site in Mexico. And he was there to give support to Lou and Gabby when SCAR had an eventful expedition in Egypt.

Anhur, I never got to thank you for saving that planeload of passengers bound for Mexico back in 2005. Especially I thank you for my grandchildren Bud, Forrest and Olive Marie who were on that flight.

Grandpa Scarburg had a total of five grandchildren. They all worked for SCAR. Forrest was the oldest. Born July 14, 1984, a year before brothers Lou and Bud and sister Gabrielle. They were all born July 25, 1985, triplets, yeah, - triplets. Olive Marie, five years younger, was born July 8, 1990. July was a fantastic birthday month for those youngsters. Their Mom Krista and Dad Robert, with all the children’s birthday’s hitting them at the same time, did not quite see it that way.

Robert Edward Scarburg, III, also know as ‘Trey’ and his wife Krista took advantage of it though and lumped all their children’s birthday celebrations into one large to-do. The children felt like Papa Scarburg (the Captain’s father) sometimes - his birthday was the 29th of December. He would insist his family not combine his birthday with Christmas, and they didn’t. Papa Scarburg always had a cake, and of course, more presents for him on ‘his day’. Bud, Lou, Olive Marie and Forrest had no such clout. They always had a collective birthday party.

Anhur continuing with his story to the Captain explained that after the airplane incident, his Sunev leaders thought long and hard about his, as the Captain said, involvement with that plane. Its destiny was to crash and, yes as it is now known, Anhur intervened and prevented the disaster. He detailed how the leaders on Sunev believe when fate is preordained in an event on Earth, all leaders and workers alike are specifically ordered not to intercede. There were no orders given for Anhur to interfere, and he knew the rules, but he interjected himself into the fate of the Mexico flight anyway. Disobedience to the rules by workers was punishable by death.

Anhur continued to explain in more detail. He said on Sunev they have two classes of beings: leaders and workers. The workers have only one duty, and that duty is to take orders from the leaders and obey these orders without questioning why. He said on Sunev they do not even have the word ‘why’ in their vocabulary. Orders are to be followed by the workers. Anhur was a worker. He knew the aircraft’s ultimate fate was to plunge into the murky depths of the churning sea below. He was not personally ordered to do so, and was not at... at... struggling for the right word said, liberty, yes the word he used was ‘liberty’, to change the Mexican bound airplane’s fate.

Anhur explained to the Captain it was a mistake he appeared on the Mexican flight, and in doing so referred to Captain Scarburg as his dear friend. He explained further that ‘Friend’ was another word that was not known on Sunev; there the leaders are leaders and workers are, well, what he called them - simply workers. Anhur noted to the Captain that he had learned to appreciate and honor that word since he had met the Captain and his family.

Friend’, my dear Captain is such a beautiful word. A word you Earthlings should love and cherish.

Trying to explain himself Anhur told Captain Scarburg he simply could not allow the Captain’s family members to die such a horrific death, and he did not. But after the plane was safely on the ground, he was ‘arrested’ by Sunev ‘police’, returned to Sunev and subjected to a trial. He was knocking on Death’s door when the Supreme Council had mercy and spared his life. He had always wondered why. Today, Anhur said he had found out their reason - they had another mission for him.

After his exchange with the Captain Anhur talked about the Zapruder film that Papa Scarburg, the Captain, Spook and Tinker watched at Pac Toul. The Zapruder film was a 26.6 second eight-millimeter home movie a man by the name of Abraham Zapruder filmed in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. He shot this film the day the attempt was made to assassinate President Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

Dr. Spurgeon Loo Kim was a CIA operative by the name of Spook. Using the Sp from Spurgeon; the oo from Loo; and the K from Kim; Captain Scarburg’s Special Forces A-team in Vietnam had given Dr. Kim the nickname SPOOK. It had been suggested Papa Scarburg had a fetish: ‘to make a nickname of everyone and everything!!’ It doesn’t stretch the imagination much to see Papa Scarburg had a hand in selecting Spook’s name too. His fingerprints are all over that one, but it has stuck to this day - he is still known as ‘Spook’.

Tinker was Dr. Spurgeon Kim’s wife and a former Taiwanese university student. Her given name was Ling Lu – Papa Scarburg at work again.

A couple of other relevant fact worth mentioning - Dr. Spurgeon Loo Kim had been one of the Captain’s closest friends all those years and was also Sam Lin and Si Lei’s older brother.

Continuing Anhur said to the Captain, As you watched the film of the attempted assassination of your President John Kennedy you and the rest of your group were totally amazed you had heard four weapons fired instead of the three shots your history books have always reported as facts. It was I Anhur who caused your President Kennedy’s life to be spared.

Shocked the Captain asked Anhur to explain.

Notice I am carrying a large black umbrella, Anhur said snapping the device into an open position.

Anhur, no! It is unlucky to open an umbrella inside.

What? Surely Captain you make a funny statement?

Just a silly superstition Anhur... sorry, please continue.

Anhur began by stating he stood on the curb in Dealy Plaza in the city Dallas, Texas on that, November 22, 1963, morning on the north side of Elm Street as President Kennedy’s automobile drove by. A man, whom he later identified as Abraham Zapruder, was standing on a concrete pedestal behind and to his right taking moving camera pictures. He explained how he opened this devilish same umbrella and held it high above his head causing Mr. Kennedy to turn his head and look directly at him. At that exact moment in time, the shooter on the roof of a building fired a powerful weapon. The projectile missed.

Anhur continued, "This weapon’s violent noise caused the government agent guarding your man Kennedy to jump on the rear of the black motor vehicle just as the assassin fired his weapon again. This second projectile struck the government man in the back and wounded the President and your state of Texas’s man Mr. Connally.

Almost at the same time, another person located on the grassy area back behind the sidewalk where I stood fired a large hand weapon. This projectile smashed into the side of the President’s head, causing considerable injury, but was not fatal. The shooter in the building fired once again, but it was too far a distance, and the aim of the old military weapon was faulty, he hit nothing. Again, that was my first attempt at interfering in your world’s destiny and, obviously, I was not particularly adept at it.

Okay Anhur, let me see if I understand... you opened your umbrella causing President John Kennedy to turn his head to his right and look at you; next the turning of his head caused the first shooter to miss. After that, the gunman on the sixth floor fired the second shot and wounded the Secret Service agent, the President and Governor Connally. Then a shooter with a handgun fired from the Grassy Knoll a third shot, which hit the side of President Kennedy’s head. Finally, the assassin on the sixth floor fired the forth shot, missing his target entirely. Is this the way it happened?

Yes, that is the way I believe the firing of your world’s primitive weapons at your president happened, and the opening of my umbrella did cause your President to turn his head, but the turning of his head was not what caused the first shot to miss.

Okay, I just have one question - the first shot - what did it hit?

It was the key to the whole shooting attempt - when the assassin fired, the noise of the first explosion caused the government man, who was guarding your President, to jump on the back of the black vehicle, which put him in the direct line of the projectile of the second man in window.

I’m following all this, but what happened to the first gunman’s bullet?

It hit a pigeon!

What? Did I hear you correctly Anhur – the bullet hit a PIGEON?

You are correct - I cannot lie, we are not allowed to make these things up. Lying is forbidden also!

Okay... okay... all right, said the Captain. If he shot a pigeon what happened to the pigeon, it should have fallen from the sky onto the street.

It fell, not in the street, but into the grassy park like area south of Elm Street. The place you refer to as Dealy Plaza.

You mean to tell me no one saw a dead pigeon just suddenly fall out of the sky?

Oh yes, many people saw the pigeon falling to the ground but the pigeon was not killed - only wounded. Witnesses thought the pigeon just landed in the grass.

Okay, so the actual turning of the President’s head did not cause the shot to miss, right? You’re thinking your umbrella dance resulted in President Kennedy to only receive wounds, right?

"Yes you are correct Captain. Head turning did not cause the first shot to miss. The first shot hit the pigeon. Whether this was due to my action, is still not clear. At least at my trial, on Sunev, leaders were not sure either, but they believed, and so do I that the President turning his head caused the shooter in the bushes to hit only a glancing shot to his head.

"Remember my friend we have the ability to travel back in time but are not allowed to interfere with events taking place on your planet that would result in one of your Earthling remaining alive that should have been killed. Nor are we allowed to influence actions that result in dead Earthlings being brought back to life. Either of these two events can cause catastrophic results to your planet. My interference kept one of your Earthlings alive who should have been killed - your President, the one known as John F. Kennedy.

"I knew my interference in the crash of the airplane was prohibited. Our leaders knew I prevented the plane from crashing, but it was learned Sunev had a rogue leader that had determined to crash your family’s plane. Sunev’s Supreme Command knew the plane was not destined to crash, so I was not charged with saving lives in that action.

I admit, at the time, I thought my actions in Dallas would result in the best outcome for your country and the whole world. I was extremely selfish. I tried to impose my own will on the shooting of your President Kennedy - I was wrong - terribly, terribly wrong. The result is you now live in the wrong Parallel Universe.

What...Parallel Universes? What in the devil are you talking about Anhur?

Anhur began to explain that this world of Captain Scarburg had thousands, if not millions of Universes running simultaneous and parallel to the one the Captain currently lived in; however, this one may change within the next few minutes, it is never known. He said Earthlings sometimes know what causes the space/time continuum to shift, but most times it just changes unnoticed - the Supreme Council had a name for Captain Scarburg’s present universe, but that name was unimportant. What was notable was the fact Anhur caused Earth to shift Universes!! He knew exactly when the shift occurred – it was precisely at 12:30 p.m. November 22, 1963, on the north side of a place known as Dealy Plaza, in Dallas, Texas.

The Captain knew since that fateful day in November 1963 the United States became involved in a war, in Vietnam. This became bigger and bigger until it mushroomed into a horrific war with the countries of Russia and China. Back then it was referred to as the Viruchi War. A name derived using Vi from Viet Nam, ru from Russia and the chi from China. During the remainder of the 1960s and all of the 1970s, this terrible war continued with massive loss of life to all the participants. The dead and wounded were in the millions.

This devastating war finally ended on July 4, 1982 with the Russians exploding a nuclear device over South Vietnam’s capital city Saigon, making South Vietnam uninhabitable for the next one thousand years. Retaliation, six minutes later, by the U.S. military was swift and just as destructive... it annihilated the Russian capital Moscow. After the detonation of these two nuclear devices, all parties finally saw the possibility they were playing with the extinction of your human species, and they sat down and drafted a peace plan. Peace in the Viruchi War was officially declared on January 1, 1983. Shaky at best, but a peace agreement never the less.

Captain Scarburg knew, a slight spark could ignite the whole turmoil once again.

Through those years up to the present there have been sweeping wars, famine, pestilence, plagues and politicians who cared more about enriching their own pockets than the welfare of their country. And do not forget the Southwest Asian War from 1998 through 2008. Over 20,000,000 died in a ten-year period with the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The countries of Iran, Iraq and Syria, unleashed against the Allied forces of the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Israel germ warfare along with the deadly use of poisonous gas. This same germ warfare Saddam Hussein of Iraq released in 2007 is still killing people worldwide.

In the early 1960s, Earth’s world’s population was nearly three billion people - at the time Anhur was talking to Captain Scarburg it was only two billion. If the events of the last half of the 20th century and first part of the 21st had not occurred, the Earth’s population would now be close to seven billion. The Captain’s world had lost five billion souls!! Anhur related how those on Sunev thought of all the art, music, literature and inventions that might have been produced if those five billion people had not been killed or in millions of cases were not even given the chance to be born.

"I have accepted the blame, the Supreme Council has already put the weight directly on my shoulders, but they have given me one last attempt to set things right on your planet and help to redeem myself with my Sunev leaders.

You noticed when I arrived I was carrying a device that can be placed on the head... if you would be so kind to place it on your head Captain.

Captain Scarburg had been sitting behind his desk, leaning back in his chair, absorbing all Anhur had been saying. "I heard your explanation about