“Yes, why?” Strong asked.
“Then buckle up,” Jeremy said as he approached the cockpit from behind the captain. He pointed his hands to the air in front of the plane.
Storm clouds quickly formed, and within seconds, they were flying through a heavy rainstorm. The storm was so fierce, Strong had a difficult time controlling the plane. Jeremy was thrown around, but once he saw that the flames were extinguished, he stopped the storm.
“That was amazing,” Strong said. She looked at Jesse. “You have a lot of tricks up your sleeves, don’t you?”
“We do,” Jesse responded. “So again, why did you change out of your uniform?”
“I changed into civilian clothes to be more a part of your team,” Strong replied. “I asked Sergeant O’Rinski to do the same. As you know, we’re now part of a special team, Alpha-6. I’d like to get special uniforms made. That will help everyone we come in contact with to recognize us. Would that be okay with you?”
“What do you think, Matt?”
“I’m good, “Matt answered. “I suppose it depends on the design.”
“Yeah, I’d like a mask like Batman,” Jeremy said.
“I want to look like Superman, cape and all,” Steve said.
“That’s really good, Steve,” Jeremy said. “I can’t wait to see you in tights.” He started laughing uncontrollably. “Blue tights? You’d look great.”
“Okay, okay, I wasn’t thinking about superhero outfits,” Strong said. “I was thinking of two different designs: one for battle, brown camouflage, and the other more casual, along the line of tan trousers with white polo shirt. I would put a small logo on the front over the heart and a large patch on the back. I was thinking the one on the front could be a replica of each of your Symbols, and the larger one on the back could be a patch that symbolizes the Alpha-6 team. I have a good friend, Jon, who’s a great graphics artist. I talked to him already, and he’s willing to create the designs and get the clothes ready for us by tomorrow. The only thing I need is to send him pictures of your Symbols. Here, take my phone, pass it around, and take pictures of the Symbols. I’ll send them to Jon.”
The Alliance passed the phone and took pictures of the four Symbols.
“Instead of the Alpha-6 patch on the back,” Jesse said, “we should have the Alliance coat of arms. I have a picture of it in my phone.”
The V-22 was on autopilot while Strong sent the pictures and clothing sizes to Jon. It was nightfall before they reached Travis.
“We’ll be getting together with Central Command in the morning,” Captain Strong said as they got into the military vehicles waiting for them. “The Alpha-6 team will be bunking together tonight.”
Chapter 12
UFO
One of the queen’s high priests, Kondyk, was with General Tyd on their way to the Broward Region, traveling in the high-speed shuttle.
“You’ve lived a long time, haven’t you?” General Tyd asked.
“Yes, I became a high priest right after the queen recovered from the battle in Africa,” Kondyk answered. “I’ve been here since she started the technology revolution. It’s been interesting, rewarding, and dangerous.”
“I’ve heard little stories here and there about how it all got started, but I’ve never heard the story from someone like you who was here from the start,” Tyd said. “Would it be too much to ask? Would you tell me the real story?”
“We have a couple of hours before we reach the Broward Region. It’s an interesting story I rarely have the opportunity to tell. I suppose I could tell you what I know.” The high priest sat back in his seat and stared out the window at the orange sky of Gandoral. The two moons hung low in the sky, and the sun was about to set in the west.
Kondyk looked back at General Tyd and began the story. “It was 1865 in Earth time when Torron returned from Africa. She was almost dead. It took her high priest Smalik almost two years to get her fully recovered. During those two years, she was difficult to deal with. She would send generals and servants alike to Skornes-Tarude without warning for the tiniest infraction. It was dangerous to be around her then. The only person who could calm her down was her son, Drake.
“She was obsessed with the guns that the Alliance had used against her and her army. A few were brought back to Gandoral by soldiers as souvenirs. She had them all brought to her and had them taken apart and analyzed. It was clear that Gandoral didn’t have the technology to compete with Earth. She decided the next meeting between the Torron army and the Alliance would be different. She would have the technology edge and all the weapons she needed for victory.
“In the Earth year of 1880, Torron sent Drake to the United States under cover to learn as much as he could about making steel. He learned about the Bessemer process and came back with the idea of creating the Broward Region east of the Longline Region. The plan was to create an environment that the earthlings could survive in. We covered the region with a dome and explained to the people under the dome that they cannot breathe the air on Gandoral and that they must stay inside the dome. Gandorians cannot breathe the air under the dome, so we wear breathing masks while inside the dome.
“After Drake and Torron had created the Broward Region, he went back to Earth and convinced three engineers to come back with him to start a new venture in a new world. He promised them great riches and all the funds and support they needed to get the technology to Gandoral. The engineers and their families were the first settlers of Nagsherd. Nagsherd was the name of the original city that’s now known as New Cambridge. It grew as more engineers and scientists were lured to Gandoral. In the early 1920s, Drake began bringing scientists from all disciplines to Gandoral. Engineers and scientists from Boeing and Lockheed came in the 1930s. Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists started being brought in the 1940s. Through the years, scientists and engineers continued to flow into New Cambridge from all technologies—only the brightest and the best.
“The city continued to grow. In order to keep the population satisfied, Drake built a model city for them to live in. They had everything they needed, but they couldn’t travel outside the Broward Region. For the most part, that restriction hasn’t been an issue. Everything they need is within the region.
“The Horkins come to the city as servants to the population, and the Humongers serve as the cleanup and maintenance crews. Great farms were located across the expanse of the region. Drake has created an environment that mimics the one on Earth. The two populations are kept apart because of the breathing issues within the two environments.”
“There is no discontent?” General Tyd asked.
“There is on occasion, and those who aren’t satisfied are taken away,” Kondyk said.
“Taken where?”
“The people in the Broward Region believe they’re able to simply return to Earth,” Kondyk said. “In all reality, they’re put to death.” He looked out the window at the Broward Region walls and main gate. “We’re here. Put on your breathing mask.”
~~~
The next morning, General Tyd and Kondyk were standing on top of a tall building overlooking a huge airfield, with masks in place.
“Is the fleet ready to travel to Earth?” Tyd asked.
“Yes, sir,” the general in charge replied. “We have two thousand five hundred Oar-7 attack ships and thirteen Krak-4 mother ships ready. They’ll head toward the portals once you give the order.”
“Begin moving to Earth,” General Tyd said with authority in his voice. “What is your estimate for the time to get all the equipment to Earth, General?”
“We’ll be flying just above the soldiers through the portals,” the general said. “We’ll send thirty-six per day per portal. They should all be there, including the mother ships, in five days.” He smiled. Even though he knew Kondyk had knowledge of the fleet, the general began to boast. “The Oar-7 is the seventh-generation attack ship. It’s the main fighting craft in the Torron air attack. It’s armed with laser, rocket, and bomb
capabilities. The Krak-4 is the fourth-generation mother ship. It’s where the attack ships will get repaired and rearmed. It’s also the location for the control room for each individual dome in the battle to protect the West Coast. The protective shields will give the mother ship and the attack craft unmatched capabilities. They’ll be able to hold off the attack from Dastor.”
Tyd and Kondyk watched as the first Oar-7s rose into the air and headed toward the portals.
On the way back to Torron’s castle, Tyd turned to Kondyk. “Dastor?”
“Oh yeah, that,” Kondyk said. “We’ve made the people in New Cambridge believe Earth is being invaded by an alien army from the planet Dastor. They believe we’re sending help to Earth. Otherwise, why would they create such magnificent war machines if they thought we would be attacking Earth?”
~~~
I hope there’s some organization to what’s going on, Jesse thought as the Alpha-6 team crossed the air base in a Humvee. It looked like organized chaos. They had never had to fight Torron on multiple fronts before. I don’t think any Alliance of the past has had to face such an aggressive Torron. I’m not so sure we know how to defeat her this time.
“You look worried,” Strong said to Jesse. “You’ve faced her before, right? With your experience and our military, we should have no problem.”
“I’m not as confident as you are,” Jesse admitted. “We’ve faced her four times in the past.”
“Yeah, and all four times we faced her, we got lucky,” Steve said. “It’s been sheer luck that got us through those battles.”
“This is the ultimate test, the ultimate battle,” Jeremy added. “We’re not sure how to advise the Central Command on what to do.”
“I wasn’t there, but you’ve faced her four times,” Strong said. “You’ve learned a lot about her and the monster army she has. Given all your experience, you’re the experts.”
“I don’t know about that,” Steve said. “Experts? That’s a leap I’m not sure we can take.”
“Look, it’s only common sense,” Strong continued. “No one else has the experience you have. No one. You have insight the military doesn’t have. You can bring a unique perspective to the generals, something they currently lack. Remember, draw strength from the trials and successes of the past. It’s going through the tough times that makes us strong. Draw from the strengths you’ve created to defeat the queen.”
“Okay, how do we get the general to listen to us?” Jeremy asked.
“Answer the questions that General Wisecoff asks,” Strong said. “Also, let him know when you think he’s making a mistake based on your previous experiences battling this evil queen. Together, we should be okay.”
“Like Jesse said, you’re more confident than we are,” Matt said. “We have no idea what she has up her sleeve. Since 1865, the last time we faced her, the technology world has taken off. We expect that her abilities and technologies have also progressed. The problem is, we don’t really know what she’s bringing to the fight.”
“Yeah,” Steve confirmed. “We could be bringing a knife to a gunfight.”
~~~
“Tell me a little about the Oar-7,” Kondyk said. “It’s a pretty slick-looking craft.”
“Well, there were more than six generations of aircraft leading up to the Oar-7,” General Tyd began. “Once we had a good design and it maneuvered well here on Gandoral, we took it to Earth for test runs there. Only a few flights took place on Earth before 1950 Earth time. In the ’50s and ’60s, we made quite a few test flights there. We tried to keep the flights secret, but on occasion, our test flights were seen and some were recorded. Our flights were called UFOs.”
“UFOs?” Kondyk asked.
“Unidentified flying objects,” Tyd explained. “We had tried different shapes of crafts until we settled on the Oar-7 design. It has been equipped with all the latest technology, including the latest in weaponry. When their shield is up, nothing can bring them down and nothing can outrun them. We’ve watched the technology advances on Earth, and with Torron’s magic, the gravity issues were solved decades ago. No energy goes into keeping the craft in the air. All the energy goes into maneuverability and speed.”
“It sounds like we’re finally ready to take over Earth,” Kondyk said.
Chapter 13
Caroline
Alpha-6 walked across the tarmac toward Central Command Headquarters. Military vehicles and personnel were moving in all directions. Planes were landing and taking off one after the other. It was almost frightening how close together they were.
“There are personnel from every branch of the military here,” Strong said. “We’ll meet with General Wisecoff at zero nine hundred hours. We’ll get some food first, and we can talk about what to say to the general.”
~~~
“I don’t see why these knapsacks are so important,” O’Rinski said. The sergeant held up Jesse’s knapsack. “You haven’t let them out of your sight since we first met.”
“All of our stuff is inside,” Steve said.
The sergeant looked inside Jesse’s sack. “I only see a small bedroll and a half-eaten sandwich.”
“Look again,” Jesse said as a smile crossed her face. She looked at Strong. “Take a look in Steve’s sack.”
“Nothing here except a bedroll and an apple,” Strong said. She handed the sack back to Steve.
Steve put his hand down into the sack so deep that it seemed it had to be going below the bottom. Strong and O’Rinski watched wide-eyed as Steve pulled his large sword out of the sack and laid it on the table in front of Strong. At the same time, Jesse pulled the map folder out of her sack and laid it on the table.
“How did you do that?” Strong asked as she picked up the large, heavy sword.
“We don’t know how it works,” Jeremy said. “All we know is that we can fit pretty much anything in the sack and no one but the four of us can see what’s inside.”
“Captain Strong, all of our weapons and souvenirs from our four treks are in our sacks,” Matt said. “We believe that the solution to defeating Torron is in these sacks and in our heads. We don’t know yet what that solution might be because until we get a clear picture of Torron’s army and what advances she has made, we won’t be able to figure out where her weaknesses are and how to take advantage of them.”
“First,” Strong began, “you can drop the ‘Captain’. I want you to call me by my first name: Caroline. We’re a team and are on the same level. I have experiences that you need to lean on, and you have experiences that the sergeant and I need to lean on.”
“Okay, you can call me Jack,” Sergeant O’Rinski said.
“Here are the new Alpha-6 team uniforms,” Captain Strong said as she handed each team member two uniforms. “This one is for around the base.” She held up khaki trousers and a blue polo shirt. “This one is for battle.” The second uniform was a brown camouflage shirt and pants. Both uniforms had the Alliance A shield on the back and the four small Symbols arranged in a circular pattern over the heart on the front of the shirts.
The Alliance changed into their new uniforms.
“These are great,” Jesse said.
“I wanted us to look like superheroes,” Jeremy said.
“You’re an idiot,” Steve said.
“Knock it down a notch, Steve,” Matt said.
“We have to go,” Caroline said as she got up from the table. “It’s almost zero nine hundred hours.”
~~~
This is really intimidating, Jesse thought as the Alpha-6 team entered the large conference room. I see top brass from every branch of the military here. There were fourteen areas set up around the room, each with a large table with maps laid out and several monitors with live satellite and drone videos being displayed. I wonder if they’ll give us any measure of respect. We’re only sixteen years old. They have decades of military service. “Caroline, how will we be able to get their attention?”
“Don’t worry,” Caroline said. Sh
e led the team to the largest table in the middle of the room. “I know General Wisecoff personally, and I know he’ll listen to you.”
The general stood with his back to them as they approached. He and other top officers were concentrating on the table in front of them, which held a large computer and TV display. On the screen were a number of smaller screens with satellite images. The Alpha-6 team stopped short and waited for a few minutes.
“How are the evacuations going, Colonel?” General Wisecoff asked.
Colonel Smith pointed to a bank of screens on the left. “It’s slow, too slow. Every road heading east from the coast is clogged up. The major problem is fuel. The cars are running out. People are abandoning them and walking eastward.”
“Go to every interstate highway heading east from the coast and set up temporary fueling stations every three hundred miles,” Wisecoff said. “We have to keep the people moving.”
Someone on the opposite side of the table got the general’s attention and pointed at the team.
The general turned around. “Oh, my heavens!” He gave Caroline a great big hug. “I heard you were on your way with the Alpha-6 team. I haven’t seen you since your graduation from the Air Force Academy. I’ve been keeping an eye on you and your career. And now you’re out of uniform. Why?”
“Sergeant O’Rinski and I have a special assignment,” she said as she turned to the team. “This is the Alpha-6 team you’ve heard about. We’re here to advise and help with the war effort against the alien invaders.”
“Everything is under control,” Wisecoff said. “They’re landing their forces in preparation for a battle. We’re sending a peace delegation to try to avert an actual confrontation.” He turned to the massive screen on the table. “As you can see, there are thirteen invasion points. All except one are at airports. We haven’t figured out why they selected airports other than there is open space for them to organize. Currently they’re not overtly attacking. What I mean by that is, they’re expanding the protected zones slowly. We’re evacuating civilians fast enough to keep them out of harm’s way. The problem currently is that as the protective domes expand, they demolish everything in their path. Buildings and vegetation are reduced to ash as the wall moves across the area. You can watch it in the satellite images on the screen.”
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