“Either way, I must send out a sighting report as well to get the troopers mobilized.” the boy thought as he opened a comm line on his computer.  “Computer activate voice modulator and lock picture frame as unknown.  Secure the line; then contact headquarters,” he commanded, turning to face his computer on his right.  The computer replied, “Activating voice enhancement….    Activating voice distortion….   Activating visual lock, file unknown….  Securing comm line channel 43 locked….  Activating anonymous protocol….  Activating top secret priority….  Opening channel.”  The boy then slowed his speaking to show no signs of excitement.  He also spoke slowly to hide any trace of an accent or dialect, and said, “This is Dr. Archive, a very strong ghost signal has been picked up near the Pasadena, California area.  Coordinates 34.156113, by -118.131943.  Send a team to investigate.  End transmission.”  “End transmission" was also the key phrase to the computer to cut off the comm line and it did so.  “Well, that should have been enough of an alert time to at least keep things from going too bad too fast,” the boy thought to himself, leaning back in his chair.

It was at that very moment that several alarms went off on several of the boy’s computers.  He began looking over the various monitors and thought, "What now?" “Whoa! What is with these readings?!  The sensors are completely off the charts!” the boy shouted, leaning forward to get a better view of the computer screens.  No sooner than the sensors had gone off the charts, the signal from the sensor in the Pasadena area went out completely.  “What is going on here?!  Computer launch drones and show satellite images of 34.156113, by -118.131943!”, the boy yelled, frantically typing on separate computers with each hand.  The computer replied, “Launching drones 291 through 304.   Bringing up satellite footage.”  “What the heck is going on?!  The entire city of Pasadena is gone!  Leveled in an instant!  This is unprecedented!  We knew they were getting stronger but this is on a whole ‘nother level!,” the boy shouted, looking over the satellite footage.  “This can’t be real!,” he thought with a grin coming to his face and laughter bubbling out of him as if he had gone mad.  “I’ve got to ask for more funding!  This is exactly what I needed to test my newest inventions!  All I need now is for the militaries of the world and those worthless BM troopers to fail at killing this one.  Then I can come in and save the day; thus, proving my tech is best!” he thought to himself while grinning and giggling.  “This is so perfect!” he shouted, as he began frantically typing a message to Mr. Bairon.

A  short time later, “Scramble units 30 through 50 out of the Pan-Am’s old folks home.  We got an alert from Dr. Archive that a ghost has been spotted.”  Commander Faraday ordered, motioning towards Private Minton.  “Yessir!” Private Minton replied, turning towards his computer and openning up a comm line.  “Headquarters to Pan-Am West.  Pan-Am West, we have a confirmed ghost sighting at 34.156113, by -118.131943.  Dispatch units 30 through 50.  Have units fan out and cover grid sectors in the area.  Area is densely populated.  Avoid civilians if at all possible.” Private Minton stated, then paused awaiting a response.  A voice on the other end of the comm line then replied, “Pan-Am West, we copy.  Dispatching units 30 through 50.”  Private Minton then looked over at Commander Faraday.  Commander Faraday nodded back in agreement.  “Begin launching observation drones over the Pasadena area.” Commander Faraday ordered, standing up from his chair.  After working at his computer for a few moments, Private Minton said, “Drones launched Sir.”  Without acknowledging Private Minton, Commander Faraday turned and walked back to his office and turned on his computer.  “Time to see what kind of ghost we have this time.  It's too bad that this one had to appear in a high pop area.  There is no getting around it.  There will be some casualties this time.” Commander Faraday thought to himself as he sat down in his chair to a still steaming cup of coffee.  

That day.  I will never forget it.  It was a routine ghost call to HQ or so we thought.  Yes, it was in a highly populated area, but we took precautions and sent extra units in to help out.  Too bad, that all we did was send troopers to their deaths, along with the entire population of Pasadena.  If we had only known beforehand.  Heck who am I kidding.  Even if we had known, I am not sure there is a thing that we could have done differently.   We simply weren’t prepared for the carnage that was about to come.  Looking back on it, we were probably lucky that things didn’t end out worse than they did.  

~Excerpt from Commander Faraday’s Journal Entry 8153

Meanwhile at Bairon-Midley West Pan-American Sphere Base, things went along as per normal ghost protocol.  Units 30 through 50, minus units 37, 38, and 43 which were out on patrol, were prepped, briefed, and sent out for their mission.  As practiced, the prep and briefing were done in the epitome of efficiency, a time frame of less than 10 minutes.  Once prepped and briefed, the first 20 units were on their way.   It was shortly after their departure that a second alert came in via a mass emergency comm line.  This message was from the Governor of California, Richard Palto.   Governor Palto was a balding short, heavy set man with brown hair and blue eyes.  He had tufts of gray hair starting to show along either side of his face.  As if giving away his age, the stress of his job, or perhaps both; his gray tufts were very prominent in his comm message.  Sweat was running down the wrinkles in his face, which had barely begun to show.  He was obviously tired and out of breath as he gave the following message.  “This is an emergency, repeat this is an emergency!   The city of Pasadena is under siege!  Please send military back up!  Repeat, The city of Pasadena is under siege! Possible ghost involvement.  Please send help immediately!”  The message then began repeating again and again. West Pan-American Sphere Base and the United States Military both picked up on the transmission.

The Pan-American military was immediately deployed to the area.  They began moving as many forces as could be spared to the California area.   Shortly after the Pan-American troops were sent word to deploy, the message from the U.S President came in to Commander Faraday.  “Commander Faraday, We need Bairon-Midley’s G.E.T team immediately.  As you have deduced from the emergency message, there is an incident in California that requires your expertise.”  The president stated.  Commander Faradayimmediately stood in front of the screen in a sign of respect and replied. “Yes sir Mr. President.  We have already deployed 20 units to investigate the area; and we are preparing another 100 units to be deployed to the area, Sir.”  “Very good commander.  We are sending in the military to set up blockades around the entire area.  Also, they will be evacuating any civilians they can from the surrounding areas.  The perimeter set up should be complete in a few hours to allow your people to use any means necessary to get rid of this ghost.” the president hurriedly stated. “Yessir," Commander Faraday replied.  “Furthermore, I want regular updates to the situation going on inside the blockade.  Should we encounter whatever this ghost is, we will send you any information we can.” the president stated.  “Yessir,” Commander Faraday replied.  The comm line closed without any formal goodbyes or farewell procedures.  It was as if both men knew that the coming days were going to be hell on Earth.  

Commander Faraday then opened a comm line from his computer.  It was an emergency access line sent to all Bairon-Midley facilities.  “Attention all bases.  We are reinforcing West Pan-Am base.  Send twenty units from each base to West Pan-Am base.  Each base will send at least two medical response units to aid the U.S. military with civilian evacuation and casualties.  You have exactly 24 hours to arrive at West Pan-Am base for further orders.” Commander Faraday ordered with a professional and unwavering voice.  He then cut the comm line and sat back in his chair.  His hands were shaking as he tried to bring the still hot cup of coffee to his lips.  He took a small sip then set the cup down, thinking to himself, “It is exactly as he predicted.  They are getting stronger and coming more frequently.  The only question is, will we make it through this one?”  

He then leaned back in his chair and said, “computer, open a priority one secure line to Mr. Bairon.”  The computer replied, “Opening comm line..... comm line open.”  Yvimerr Bairon then appeared on the screen.  He was a very large man, standing at 242cm tall and weighing in at almost 237 kilograms.  He was clean shaven with a shaved head with green eyes that would pierce your soul.  He was always well dressed in the finest suits money could buy.  His fine clothes did not cover the fact that despite his above average height and weight, he was a very muscular man.  In his deep voice he said, “Yes Commander!  What emergency brings you to calling me at this hour?”  Despite being over a comm line, a still slightly intimidated Commander Faraday replied, “Have you received word of the “California Incident?”  Mr. Bairon leaned forward closer to his computer screen and replied, “No, I haven't.  I have been tied up with the accountants all day, dealing with our “Financial issues.”  Since you are calling on my emergency line, I am assuming that this “California Incident” as you put it is a major emergency?”  “Yessir, Mr. Bairon, it is.  It seems that a ghost capable of destroying a major metropolitan area has descended on Pasadena, California.  Needless to say the city is in ruins, and the U.S. President has contacted us to eliminate it.  The details are being sent to you now.  We have sent in twenty units and they should be reinforced by another 100 within 48 hours to assess the situation.” Commander Faraday stated, clinching his fist under his desk to calm his nerves.  “Good, Commander, see to it that I receive updates to the situation as they unfold.  Also, Commander, see to it that I do not receive any unnecessary communications until this matter is resolved.  I have no time to mess with these countries’ bureaucracies during a situation like this.  Send any such communications to my advisors to handle.  They will know what to do from there.  Good day to you.” Mr. Bairon said just before closing off the comm line.   

Mr. Bairon then opened the door to his office and walked in. He took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack just inside the door.  The lights came on to the room as he crossed the threshold of the door.  His large frame cast an even larger shadow over the meeting table in front of his desk.  He walked around the table clearly in thought.  He then walked around to the back of his desk and sat in his oversized chair.  The chair creaked under his weight but did not give.  He then reached under his desk and pressed a button which brought up a computer monitor from a hidden compartment on the desktop.  It was completely invisible even upon close inspection unless left open.  He then began typing on the computer for a few minutes.  Only the soft clacking of the keys could be heard over the otherwise deafening silence in his office. He then closed the monitor much like one would close a laptop, and waited for the hidden compartment to close back again.  “Computer, open a comm line to Dr. Simms.  I need to have a chat with him.” he said loudly, looking to his left as if someone was in the room.  The computer replied, “Opening comm line... comm line open, Mr. Bairon.”  "Felix? Are you there?  Felix?” he said, waiting for a reply but none came.  He then shouted, “FELIX! WHERE ARE YOU?!.”  Still there was no response.  “DAMMIT SIMMS! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!  You had better contact me or else!” he shouted, closing the comm line.  

"It seems like everytime there is an emergency, he is never around. Nevermind that.  Computer, open a comm line to Dr. Archive,” he said in a much calmer voice.  “Opening comm line... comm line open, Mr. Bairon.” the computer responded. “Dr. Archive? Are you there?” Mr. Bairon asked in a much friendlier voice.  “Hey, Mr.B.  How are you today?” the boy responded, already hard at work on his computer.  “I am doing well. Have you heard about the emergency in Pasadena today?”  Mr. Bairon inquired.  “Oh yes I did.  In fact I sent out an early warning to HQ just like you said I should do.”  the boy responded very proud of himself, while still not looking up from his computer.  “Good work,” Mr. Bairon replied.  “And what do you make of the situation now?” he then asked.  The boy went silent for a moment and then responded, “Well, I don’t think that our troopers will be able to handle this one. I mean look at the reports.  Pretty much all of Pasadena was gone in an instant.  I mean what can mere humans do against that?”  the boy replied in a strangely upbeat manner given the situation.  “I take it, based on your tone that you have come up with a solution to our problem then?” Mr. Bairon inquired, playing along to encourage the information out of the young doctor.  “Yes, Yes, I have a solution.  Many.. I mean many solutions to this and future problems.” the boy said excitedly.  “Good, then tell me what you need to proceed from here.  I would like to reassure the world that we at Bairon-Midley can and will continue to solve the ghost problem.”  Mr. Bairon said, switching to a very businesslike and professional voice.  The boy then replied, “All I need is about 50, no 100 volunteers to try out my newest invention.  If we can get even a few of them to synchronize with them, then we should be more than capable of dealing with this ghost as well as any others that may apear.” the boy said excitedly.  Mr. Bairon then asked, “Good. Do you need males or females? Do you want better or worse physical specimens?  Do you want those that scored higher in the written tests?”  The boy immediately responded, “Any specimen will do.  If they can sync up with the prototypes, then they will do the rest.”  “Good to hear it.  Have a good day and keep up the hard work.” Mr. Bairon replied, appearing pleased at what he had just heard.  “Sure thing Mr. B. Buh bye now.” the boy replied, returning all his focus back to what he was doing.