E-Day

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

  Akira and his team were here to make sure that happened without incident.

  When the launch was over, a cable car from Sector 220 would descend, and Akira would be reunited with Kichiro for the first time in a month.

  He was anxious to see what Chloe and Apeiron had done, but he was also anxious about the chaos in the megacities. Three months to go before the cannons destroyed Hros-1, and the violence was threatening to destroy the cities and refugee camps. Despite all assurances that Hros-1 would be obliterated, the masses seemed to expect the end of the world.

  Akira was glad his brother had agreed to stay with his family at his small condo in Megacity Tokyo. They were safe there, and with Kai discharged and the Droid Raider season over, they had no reason to go back to Megacity Phoenix until after Hros-1 was destroyed.

  He just wished he could be there with them.

  Even with Dr. Cross in prison off planet, Shadow Squad continued to be deployed to deal with hot spots around the globe, leaving Akira little time with his family.

  Capturing the doctor had caused a chain reaction, inciting terrorist attacks at various locations from a group called the Red Wolves.

  Riots and civil unrest in the megacities threatened to spiral out of control. In the Capitol of Tokyo, hundreds of thousands of citizens had taken to the streets when news leaked about Life Arks being built in secret. It reaffirmed the irrational fear of the masses that the asteroid was a bigger threat than what was being reported.

  Akira linked to INN and watched as shuttles launched across the globe. Ten every hour, some with only a few people on board, all wealthy and heading to new homes at Kepler Station on the Moon to ride out the coming storm. If the asteroid was destroyed, they would return to Earth. If not, they would become permanent residents.

  “Captain, be advised, Doctor Crichton is en route to supervise the launch,” Apeiron said to Shadow Squad’s chips.

  “Brazen move,” Frost said. “Guess he isn’t worried about getting killed.”

  “He has you and the Canebrakes,” Apeiron replied.

  “This site is even more of a target if his location is compromised,” Akira said.

  “Which is why no one but a select few know he is coming,” Apeiron added.

  Short Sword fighter jets patrolled in the distance, rumbling through the clouds. The Navy was here too, with three warships that had escorted the barges with the four cannons.

  Shadow Squad crossed the tarmac and joined three Canebrakes. The eight-foot war machines monitored the Engines with glacier blue eyes. Okami trotted over and growled. He didn’t seem to be a big fan, and he wasn’t alone.

  “The fuck are they looking at?” Tadhg asked.

  “These droids constantly scan for threats,” Akira said.

  “I don’t like it,” Tadhg said.

  A stealth MOTH descended from the lumpy clouds and the Engines spread out to create a perimeter. The wings rotated to vertical, lowering the craft to the ground. Out of the troop hold came an army of AAS guards, led by a Black Hummer Droid with segmented arms ending in serrated blades.

  “That’s new,” Frost said.

  “I have made some upgrades,” Apeiron replied.

  Dr. Crichton also had a new look. He appeared in white armor with ribbed abs and barreled chest plates, looking like an ancient Greek God.

  “Captain Hayashi, good to see you again,” Jason said, extending a glove. “Thank you for being here. You’re about to witness history.”

  Akira shook using his robotic hand.

  “We’re honored, Doctor Crichton,” he said.

  Jason led his entourage to the command center. The three Canebrakes followed, their blue eyes scoping for danger.

  Akira motioned for the squad to start the patrol in the jungles surrounding the base. Ghost took Perez and Frost north, into a thick canopy blocking the view of the hills.

  Tadhg joined Akira on a cliff overlooking the base. He launched Blue Jay into the air, and Okami took off down a trail.

  Akira moved across the cliff to an outcropping with a direct view of the rockets, now secured to the circular elevator car. Hundreds of black and yellow Hummer Droids worked on finishing the exterior hull of a new platform, buzzing up and down with their thrusters.

  “All clear in Sector 4,” Frost said over the comms.

  The other squads sounded off, reporting the all clear.

  Tadhg kicked at the dirt as Perez, Ghost, and Frost emerged from the jungle.

  “I don’t like babysitting, know what I’m sayin’?” he said, sounding agitated. “If this is what the future holds, I’m going back to smashing droids.”

  “Go for it,” Frost said, “then I won’t have to listen to you run your mouth.”

  “You’d prefer to be a glorified security guard and standing sentry with one of those tin cans?” Tadhg gestured his cannon toward one of the Canebrakes.

  A rattling echoed from the machine, and a warning sensor flashed across Akira’s HUD. “Sergeant Walsh, lower your weapon,” he said firmly.

  The Canebrake rotated its fan head, the shoulder mounted cannons on each shoulder rotating toward Tadhg.

  “Sergeant,” Akira said.

  Tadhg moved the barrel.

  “I wasn’t going to shoot it. Frost got me all riled up.” Tadhg looked at her, then back to Akira. “But what if I did shoot it? On accident, I mean. It’s just a machine. Not like I was pointing at a person.”

  “Engines don’t have accidents,” Perez said. “You know better than that.”

  “To answer the sergeant’s question, the Canebrakes will defend themselves against any hostile, human or droid,” Apeiron replied.

  “Wait, what if we accidentally hit them in combat?” Tadhg asked.

  “Perez already answered your question,” Ghost said.

  “Right, but say I did…”

  “Enough, Sergeant,” Akira said.

  The smooth voice of the mission control officer came over the comms: “Ten minutes to launch.”

  Akira scanned the hills, creating a two-dimensional overlay that divided the terrain horizontally into thirds. Nothing moved in the dense jungles. He tapped into the view from the command center. Dr. Crichton stood at the front window, a team of staff and droids behind him, all working as the countdown clicked down on a holo-screen.

  With one minute left, the launch platform rose off the pad, the Poseidon cannons secured to its center.

  Frost pinged a section of jungle.

  “You got something?” Akira asked.

  She lowered the barrel. “Nah…”

  Akira kept one eye on that sector as the platform ascended. Inside the command center, the launch team was already clapping in celebration.

  One step closer to destroying Hros-1, Akira thought. He let out a sigh of relief, ready to see Kichiro again. “Okay, that’s a wrap. Let’s move, Shadow Squad.”

  Suddenly, a white light flashed in the command center’s feed.

  Akira whirled toward the tower. Flames belched out of the viewports.

  “Shadow Squad, in the air, now!” he yelled.

  He launched off the cliff and flew toward the explosion, his mind tried to grasp what had happened. Had they missed a drone? A rocket?

  Akira realized the truth as he flew closer to the burning tower. The roof was gone on one side, leaving a gaping hole where the blast had blown outward.

  It was a threat from within… he thought.

  There was little doubt that the explosion had killed Dr. Crichton. No one could survive a blast like that, even with the titanium armor.

  Akira passed over a dozen Canebrakes galloping toward the tower. As he came in from above, he raised his wings and dropped right through the blast hole, flames rushing around him. Bodies burned inside, none moving.

  “Over here,” Apeiron said.

  It took Akira a moment to notice that her voice wasn’t coming from his chip, but from a Hummer Droid in the corn
er of the room.

  He rushed over, finding Dr. Crichton in a fetal position behind the remains of the droid. Apeiron had tried to shield him, taking the brunt of the blast.

  “Doctor Crichton,” Akira said. “Doctor, can you hear me?” He reached down with his robotic hand and gently pulled the doctor up. His new armor seemed to be spared from any damage.

  “He is unconscious,” Apeiron said. “Carry him to the following coordinates.”

  They flashed on his HUD.

  Akira picked up the doctor and ran. He leapt out of a window, his jet pack activating and blasting them away from the tower. The other Engines surrounded him in flight. They landed outside of a warehouse with a fleet of APCs stored inside. A group of Pistons stood guard as Akira carried the doctor through the open doors.

  In the center of the warehouse, a black Hummer Droid waited with two Medical Droids and a team of five Canebrakes. Akira gently set the doctor down in front of them.

  “Please step back, Captain,” Apeiron said.

  Akira did as ordered while the Medical Droids gently moved Dr. Crichton out of the room.

  The threat was never from the outside, he thought again. That meant anyone could be a suspect, including Shadow Squad.

  The Canebrakes spread out. Their fan-shaped heads and blue eyes on each side focused on the squad. Akira instantly thought back to the question that War Commander Contos had posed in Megacity Paris.

  Is Apeiron our enemy, or is she our friend?

  The Canebrakes surrounded the Engines in a wide circle. Perez brought out his shield, holding it up to defend himself, and Ghost pulled Frost back.

  “Easy,” Akira said. “Everyone, take it easy.”

  “The hell is this?” Tadhg asked. He lifted his weapon slightly, prompting the plasma cannons on the shoulder mounts of the Canebrakes to rotate toward him.

  “Sergeant, lower your weapon,” Apeiron said firmly. “Do not provoke them.”

  Akira could feel the situation sliding out of his control. Frost readied her rifle, and Ghost moved a hand closer to his sword.

  “Sergeant, lower your weapon now, and everyone else, freeze,” Akira said. “That is an order.”

  “Bosu, they…” Tadhg began to say.

  Clanking came from behind them and Akira slowly rotated toward the entrance of the warehouse, expecting to see more Canebrakes.

  Out of the shadows came a sight that calmed his nerves.

  Standing eight feet tall, Kichiro walked inside, hooves clanking against the floor. He was flanked by two Hummer Droids. The mechanical animal let out a whinny when the cool blue eyes fixated on Akira. Tadhg finally cradled his large cannon and the other Engines relaxed, but the Canebrakes remained in a circle around them.

  Akira cautiously walked over to the horse, careful not to make any sudden moves. Despite being thrilled to see Kichiro, he remained emotionless on the outside and climbed up into the saddle.

  “Apeiron, are these Canebrakes going to stand down?” Akira said.

  “As long as they do not perceive you as a threat, they will not attack,” she replied. “They are merely executing advanced security protocols due to the imminent danger presented to Doctor Crichton.”

  “Can’t you tell them we aren’t a threat?” Perez asked.

  “Of course, and I have,” Apeiron said. “However, Sergeant Walsh has contradicted me twice now with his very large weapon.”

  “Know what I’m…” Tadhg let his words trail.

  After watching the war machines for another few seconds, Akira jerked his helmet toward the exit.

  “Let’s go, Shadow Squad,” he said, willing calm into his voice.

  He gingerly gave his horse a kick to the flank. Kichiro snorted at the Canebrakes blocking the way, as if to say, ‘back off’ as he trotted forward.

  Another beat passed before two of the Canebrakes finally backed away, opening a doorway for the squad.

  “That’s right, ya metal assholes,” Tadhg said, lumbering through the opening.

  Frost shook her helmet and Ghost let out a nervous chuckle.

  Akira simply patted his horse again, grateful to be reunited with his loyal companion, but unable to shake the feeling that Kichiro had just saved him and his squad once again—this time from other machines.

  ***

  Red lights blinked across the missile-shaped Poseidon cannon.

  The MOTH carrying Jason Crichton and his entourage of Darnel, and AAS staff members, roared past one of the cannons in orbit. They were close enough Jason could see the AAS logo on the side of the elongated weapon.

  “Magnificent,” he said.

  “Indeed,” Darnel said.

  “The great swords of civilization,” Apeiron added.

  The pilots pulled up, leaving the cannon behind on the final approach to the star-shaped Nova One space station. Switching to the vertical thrusters, the pilots cruised into an open hangar, setting down next to another MOTH.

  Securing his helmet, Jason was the first one down the ramp. He wore the same white armor that had saved his life a month earlier at the command center of Spartan Base. While he was not a soldier like the Engines or Pistons, he had quickly grown used to wearing the armored suit after the tunnel attack in New York City. It had saved his life at Spartan Base, but it had not saved all the staff members who had lost their lives in that tower.

  Thankfully, Darnel had not been there that day, due to a fourth surgery to fix his spine after the Red Wolves’ attack in the tunnel under Megacity New York, which had left him paralyzed from the waist down. Now, wearing an exoskeleton to help him walk, he followed Jason into the command center with Apeiron.

  The bowl-shaped tiered room was a hive of activity from some of the most intelligent scientists from AAS and officers of the Nova Alliance Intelligence Division.

  Everyone stopped what they were working on and stood stiffly as Jason passed their stations. He nodded and made his way to the viewports overlooking Earth.

  North America was visible from this vantage and Jason took a moment to admire the view from hundreds of miles above the Earth.

  The Midwest was turning green again, the former wastes that had turned into dusty, dried surfaces were slowly coming back from AAS water projects.

  He searched for Megacity New York, hardly visible with the naked eye. His family was down there, deep beneath the surface in Life Ark 12. Safe from the Red Wolves.

  After the attack in Honolulu, Betsy had begged him not to come here, but the second attempt on his life had taught him something.

  He could only trust one thing besides his family and Darnel, and that was Apeiron. She had found the culprit of the attack, a mid-level programmer named Mike Hook who had tried to kill Jason after his own family had been abducted by the Red Wolves. Their ultimatum—Mike’s family would die if he did not kill Jason.

  The explosives were inside of his body, undetectable.

  Jason didn’t exactly blame Mike for trying to save his family. It was Dr. Cross who Jason blamed. He was responsible for the death of Mike and everyone else in that tower.

  The hatch opened in the command center, and General Chase of the Nova Alliance Intelligence Division entered. Tall with a thin, stern face, he was in charge of Operation Burning Skies and was here to supervise the first test of all ten cannons.

  He joined Jason and Darnel at the windows.

  “All systems are ready, Doctor, and the cannons are primed,” Chase said.

  “Excellent,” Jason said.

  He stepped close to the viewport, locating one of the missile-shaped cannons on the horizon. So much work had gone into making the weapons and deploying them in such a short time. Now, they would find out if they worked.

  “Ready when you are, Doctor,” Chase said.

  “Fire,” Jason said in a confident voice.

  All sixty staff members stared anxiously at the glass. Their tension was almost palpable in the seconds it took for the cann
ons to activate. Darnel and Jason exchanged a quick glance. Everything boiled down to this moment.

  Just as Jason turned back to the viewport, a brilliant red burst exploded out of the closest cannon in orbit. Nine more lasers streaked out of the other cannons. Crimson beams ripped through space.

  The sheer amount of power left Jason and everyone else in the quiet room in awe.

  The Poseidon cannons worked all right.

  They worked beautifully.

  The lasers continued toward the sparkling stars as if they would slam into the distant suns. Jason pictured Hros-1 racing toward Earth. Soon, it would be destroyed, hammered into so many fragmented pieces, just like the Coalition.

  After a few minutes of a constant stream of the lasers, the cannons shut off, the red glow vanishing.

  General Chase studied a holo-screen and then looked up, nodding proudly.

  “Confirmation of a successful test,” he said.

  Applause broke out in the command center from the staff members who had worked tirelessly over the past few months to make this moment happen.

  The general reached out to Jason, and they shook hands.

  “Well done, Doctor,” Chase said.

  “You too, General.”

  Jason left the room feeling more confident that they were finally prepared for Hros-1, and with two months to spare. The Life Arks were almost complete, and the restoration sites continued to recover. But none of that meant anything if the megacities continued to descend into anarchy, or if the Red Wolves continued to launch terrorist attacks, further fueling the fear of the masses.

  Boarding the MOTH to return to Megacity New York, Jason took a deep breath and strapped into his seat.

  “Your family is going to be happy to see you again,” Apeiron said. “Betsy is—”

  “I’m not going home yet,” Jason interrupted.

  “Take me to Sector 199,” he said.

  “What?” Darnel said. “Sector 199 is—”

  “The holding block for Doctor Cross,” Jason said. “I’m well aware. He tried to kill me and my wife, and you. I want to talk to him and find out why.”