The only good thing to come out of, what was dubbed by all, the biggest failure of a US Presidency since William Henry Harrison, the Quayle Air Force Base was somewhat of a joke in political circles due to it's top secret status. No one except a select few knew of it's existence and that helped to cast an even greater shadow on the overseer of a dark, four year chapter in American History.

  The economic prosperity brought by the work of William Jefferson Clinton was quickly followed and boosted by an even greater economic boom during the Presidential Administration of Albert Gore. Higher wages and lower taxes among the lower and middle classes allowed for a greater spending base that fueled an electronic and educational revolution. The reemergence of the United States as a major technological exporter helped bring about the unification of the greater economic powers and establish a global economy.

  The choice of the New Yen as the monetary standard was due to a bet on a thumb wrestling match between the Americans and Germans. The Americans lost. The Germans chose the New Yen to appease the Japanese and seal the acquisition of the rights to a state-of-the-art virtual reality system from the Datadyne Corporation. The Germans have since become the world's leader in virtual pornography software.

  Yet, despite all of the sweeping advances in social and economical reform, Al Gore, like Clinton before him, was unable to achieve a lasting treaty between the Israelis and Palestinians. The Gaza Strip had degenerated into a religious warzone that the United Nations vainly attempted to control with economic sanctions and military actions against both sides.

  In the 2008 elections, tired of committing vast resources and man power to keeping the peace, the American people widely chose Daniel Quayle over Joseph Lieberman due to the, fairly racist, Quayle/Thurmond campaign slogan, "Haven't we had enough from those damn Israelis?"

  Like other Republican Presidents before him, and despite an anti-conflict policy, he waged costly secret wars against a vastly underestimated adversary. US military plots were continuously uncovered, soldiers lost, even greater sums of money spent; all throwing egg on the face of the American image. The impending crisis was brought to a sudden and screeching when over forty-five thermonuclear weapons were detonated over the entire region, irradiating Jeruselum for thousands of years to come and wiping out hundreds of millions of holy pilgrims.

  Though the White House maintained it was the work of Muslim terrorists, purchasing the bombs from bankrupt former Soviet blocks, it was quickly discovered that the final decision had lay with Quayle himself. The United Nations condemned the United States for it's abhorred actions and set both electronic and oil sanctions on the country, enforcing trade embargoes on American and companies. Oil reserves were depleted within weeks and the resulting economic chaos sent gas prices skyrocketing and Nasdac tech-stocks plummeting. America entered it's Second Great Depression, lasting for almost a decade until it was brought to an end with France's invasion of Great Britain and the start of World War Three.

  President Daniel Quayle was ousted from office and left in disgrace. He is currently living out his golden years in the outskirts of Berlin.

  The increased military spending left in his wake brought back the over-inflated glory days of the Eisenhower Military Complex and the blind eyes of Ronald Reagan and George Bush. This meant more ludicrous and useless fiascoes such as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the Paveway Bomb that promoted stale military careers and lined the pockets of government contractors with millions of New Yen.

  But there was still the Quayle Air Force Base, an updated version of Area 51, that was funded by a healthy chunk of that increased spending. With a near unlimited black projects fund, the US Military built this state-of-the-art secret outpost on one of the forested Japanese islands and used it to develop new and more destructive weaponry and to analyze captured enemy technologies.

  The base was on the verge of sunset when Psi's shuttle began to make it's descent. The retro rockets lit up the surrounding forest as it disappeared into the foliage.

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  Private Travis looked around the landing pad. The fringes were littered with spare cannons and lined with soldiers, close to twenty, all holding heavy arms and explosives. All of them were on full alert to be ready for whatever came out of the landing cargo ship.

  None of them knew what to expect; the brass, General Sweet in particular, had kept them in the dark and rumors were starting to run wild. Travis personally thought it was a failed bio-gen experiment from their genetics labs back in the states. Something that was dangerous, but that the government wanted to keep around just in case. It was a beastly something, he was sure of that, something with four arms, sharp talons and huge fangs. It was very exciting.

  The ceiling began to peel open, yawning to accept the landing ship. Everyone cocked their weapons, checking the needle clips on Gauss Rifles and high-powered Tazers. The wind buffeted down, blowing debris and hair around the pad. The ship touched the ground with a metallic thump, settling down on it's own weight, and the engines powered off. There was a slow whirring as the ship completely shut down and then silence.

  Travis felt his heart beating in his chest, the excitement was running his body wild and the suspense was echoed by everyone in the room. Soon their questions would be answered. Whatever was waiting for them in there was soon to come out.

  No one said a word, they just kept their weapons trained on the ship, waiting for orders to proceed or stand down. In the far wall, the doors to the landing bay opened, steam venting out of the exposed rotors. Travis jumped, feeling his finger flinch over the trigger to his Gauss Rifle. He set the safety back on and turned an eye to the newcomers that intruded on the big unveiling.

  "Attention! General on deck!"

  The collective sound of booted feet stomping the ground and heavy arms dropped to one's side thundered in the hollow room. The ceiling overhead began to close, drowning out the deep reds of the setting sun as the pale white fluorescents of spotlights pointed onto the floor.

  General Sweet nodded in admiration. His men stood proud and ready for whatever he asked them to do. Blind loyalty and rigid training was an impressive sight to behold. He motioned to the six Privates that accompanied him. They each held part of a thick, metal chain and leg cuff assembly; the kind used to secure elephants at any local circus. The shining bands were strong and ready to bind what they saw fit to lock in them.

  Travis smiled, his excitement stepping up a notch. It was a dangerous creature of some sort. Something the base scientists were going to have a field day with; a new biological weapon to use against America's enemies.

  General Sweet dropped the half-burned cigar he was puffing on the ground and snuffed out the smoldering embers with his boot. He smacked his lips a few times and glared about the Landing Pad.

  "Listen up men! We have received word that our assault team has set up base camp and will be securing the Necronomicon shortly. That renegade ship will soon be ours!"

  The room exploded in a rumble of cheers. Soldiers held their weapons above their heads and whooped it up like inbred idiots after running over a possum with their Chevy truck.

  "Now, for our first wave of prisoners."

  Travis frowned; apparently they weren't here to capture a monster after all, just a few normals. But what were the large chains for? They seemed to have numerous sets, but they were too big to fit on anything human. Trained animals maybe? A bear? General Sweet motioned to some of his men.

  "I need two teams flanking the cargo hatch and ramp. Set your Tazers on highest voltage. Cuff teams, prepare the leg irons."

  They were leg irons? For what? Maybe it was bear, or a gorilla. There were four sets of them with each team holding two pair. The first of the pair had bracers over five inches in diameter and the next were slightly larger, closer to six inches.

  The soldiers put themselves into their positions, trembling with their own excitement as they hoisted up their weapons. Some of them jumped with a start, clicking off their safeties as the cargo ramp began to extend. The doors remained closed and General Sweet pulled out another cigar. He lit the end with a zippo lighter, a faded joker engraved on it's side. He took a few puffs, allowing the wisps of smoke to curl from the edges of his cracked mouth.

  "Teams ready. I want non-lethal force, rifles on my signal only. Open the cargo hatch."

  This was it, the moment of truth. The secret was about to be revealed and all of their question were going to be answered. Travis raised his Gauss Rifle once more, flicking off his safety and setting the scope into place. A lone soldier stepped forward and set about opening the hatch. He plugged a portable computer into an access port and began deciphering the locking code, bypassing the security.

  Something clicked. The hatch unlocked. He stepped back, quickly moving away. Everyone held their breath. There was a slight rush of wind, the sound of air pressure equalizing. A number of thick metal bolts disengaged, followed by a moment of silence. The hatch opened.

  The inside of the cargo ship was dark, the lights of the cabin turned off. Something creaked from the gloom; something that couldn't be aimed at. General Sweet, standing at the end of the Landing Bay, took his cigar between stained fingers and adjusted his hat. He took in an impatient breath.

  "All right! Come out of there with your hands up. You are completely surrounded and there is no chance of escape. Make it easy on yourselves and you won't be harmed."

  He was answered by silence. Some of the soldiers glanced at each other, not sure of how to proceed. General Sweet took in another breath and was about to say something else when the ship rocked slightly. Travis pushed his rifle further forward as one of the landing struts strained under an immense and shifting weight. The red dot from his sight jumped along the ramp in his anxiety. Whatever it was, it was coming out. Something pierced through the darkness, an enormous limb of a muscular beast as it walked forward. Travis's eyes went wide, his jaw opened slack.

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