A Wintering of Evil; Book One; The Pandora Affair ebok

Pandora…. the historical truth behind it. The project was begun during World War II in the Ukraine by Joseph Stalin. His idea was to build massive and extensive underground tunnels to hide his army divisions. He could disappear armored troops from one place, and have them reappear kilometers away to strike the enemy by surprise. After World War II...known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia...construction of Pandora continued, only now the focus shifted to hiding mobile nuclear-tipped missiles. Pandora’s construction escalated after the dangerous confrontation with the United States over nuclear missiles in Cuba, only ending when the Soviet Union backed down, leaving their Politburo leadership humiliated. Now, installations were included to house members of the Politburo and other senior members of the government deemed useful to a post-apocalyptic world. Construction of this underground command center, Sanctuary, was overseen by the long-time head of the KGB, Yuri Andropov. Only a few Politburo members were privy to knowledge of Sanctuary's existence. Over time, these Politburo members with knowledge of Sanctuary aged and died, until only Andropov knew Sanctuary existed. With Andropov's death, Sanctuary was forgotten until the discovery of an old file by a frightened Dr. Svetlana Rumanova. By the 1980's, Pandora had grown into a vast underground system of three major complexes connected by tunnels and serviced by trams. But once again, the focus of Pandora had shifted. Backed by powerful, rich men in Moscow, General Nikolai Petrosky has been brought back from disgrace and a dead-end assignment and placed in charge of Pandora. His mission, to capture a creature once thought to be only a myth. A Krailiak. Proof has come into Petrosky's hands that the Krailiaki are not myth, but very real. They are highly intelligent bipedal Predators who pre-date mankind. Krailiaki can heal even major wounds very quickly and their life-spans are measured in centuries. Pure predators, they shun technology and view humans as little more than something to be hunted and killed. Krailiaki hunt humans the way an African lion hunts gazelle. Petrosky is determined to capture one and unlock their secrets. For Petrosky, uncovering these secrets is the road to the wealth and power he craves. Krailiaki have life spans measured in centuries and incredible healing abilities, as well as other abilities. The deadly predators have a chameleon-like skin that works well to hide them in low-light environments and at night. Tough, armored plates protect vital organs. Krailiaki use no technology and despise it and the human race. As Mankind multiplies and spreads across the planet however, the Krailiaki species is forced into hiding. While humans multiply, they also continue to develop more sophisticated weapons. Weapons that can harm or even kill a Krailiak at a distance. During an incident in Sweden when a Krailiak boards a Soviet submarine, killing all of the crew in the process, Petrosky moves quickly and captures it. The creature is transported to the Wellspring Complex, just south of Pripyat and the Chernobyl Power Plant. In the underground levels of Wellspring, testing and research is done on biological weapons. In Wellspring, the creature is held with electronically-operated restraints while horrendous experiments and surgeries are performed on it. The Krailiak’s healing abilities make it nearly invulnerable to anesthesia. The Krailiak captive endures the tortures and his hatred grows and grows. At this same time, Petrosky's attention is forced more and more into Pandora operations. The sheer scope of the system is daunting. It takes up much of General Petrosky's attention, Topping Petrosky's list of priorities, the experiments overseen by Dr. Raoul Mendez in Cave Nine's laboratories. Using tissues ripped from the Krailiak and brought from Wellspring before the disaster at Plant 4, Petrosky's scientists have managed to create their own version of mutant, named the Howler. Nearly as large as a Krailiak, they are deadly creatures in their own right. The Howlers have electronic brain implants placed during their development that allows Pandora's scientists to control them to a large degree. The idea, is they are to be weapons. Petrosky's personal weapons. When Plant 4 at Chernobyl goes critical, power is cut to Wellspring and the Krailiak escapes, wreaking havoc on the underground lab, releasing numerous deadly pathogens into the air circulation system of the seven underground levels of Wellspring. The outbreak even reaches the surface through exhaust vents. Every human below ground and above ground at the base dies. The Krailiak is free. His healing abilities easily handle the deadly pathogens filling the air and killing every living thing in the base. There will be a price for what has been done to the Krailiak. He is an Elder of his species and is going to make the miserable little human-things pay for what has been done to him. His is a long-lived race and he will spend the next few years learning everything he can about Pandora's sprawling underground facilities. When the time is right, he will issue a call for a Gathering. Once the rulers of the Krailiaki, known as the D'mina Eight, know what has been done to the Elder, they will approve the Call to Gathering and warriors will come.