“Colonel,” Jack asked, keeping his hands out as he scanned ahead, “why were you so adamant about bringing Abel with us?”
Brown breathed in deeply, avoiding his gaze while he adjusted the light clipped onto his rifle. “My folks… they were killed in a shooting when I was young. They caught the guy, but it really messed me up inside, and I didn’t have anyone good to take care of me after that. After a few bad foster homes… I went on my own in the middle of winter. I would’ve froze to death if this stranger hadn’t found me and taken me in.”
Brown glanced at Jack. “With the invasion going on, I can’t give Abel much… but we’ll be able to restock the cars here, and I want to give him the best chance of survival I can.”
Jack nodded solemnly. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that happened to you colonel. And I do think he’ll have the best chances of survival dow-” Jack stopped short as his scanning beams locked onto the dark farther down the tunnel and flashed yellow. “We’re not alone down here. I’m detecting human heat signs.”
Brown adjusted his grip on his gun and called out, “We know you’re out there. We didn’t come here to hurt you.”
After a few moments of silence, a woman’s head peeked out from behind a rock. She called out, “Why are you here?”
“We can to see if there were any more survivors from the attack,” Jack said, taking a step forward. “We found a boy near the city. A boy named Abel.”
She timidly stepped out from behind the rock. “Abel? Where is he?”
“Do you know him?”
She nodded. “I’m a friend of his Samuel, his father. I’m Adana. He’s here, with some other survivors.” She gestured deeper down the tunnel. “I’ll take you to them.”
Brown glanced at Jack. “You sure the coast is clear?”
He nodded. “I’m not detecting any Ribiyar down here. Just more heat signatures.”
“Alright. Go on ahead, I’ll give the team the all-clear and get Abe.”
Brown jogged back to the entrance, while Jack and Adana walked deeper in. As they walked, he caught sight of some light ahead of them, and they eventually walked into a massive room, with battery powered lamps spread all over the place. About five dozen people were scattered around the room, and Jack’s presence drew all of their attention, murmuring quickly growing between them all.
“Everyone,” Adana called out, “this is Jack. He’s a friend, and he’s found Samuel’s son. Please, don’t be afraid.” Her statement calmed them somewhat, and for the most part they went back to their own business.
Adana brought Jack over to a dark-skinned man lying on some blankets near a wall, his chest was bare and wrapped with bandages, and he also had several other bruises and cuts across his torso.
“What happened to him?” Jack asked, visually inspecting his injuries.
“When the attackers arrived, Sam was one of the people who fought back. A number of shots hit him and he was knocked him unconscious, and I was able to get him to safety.” Her lower lip trembled. “I didn’t know what had happened to Abel. I wanted to look for him but I was trying to treat his wounds, and they would have killed us if we had stayed. Once we got back, the people who were armed said they would go back and look for anyone else who survived but… they never came back.”
He gently put his hand on her shoulder. “You did the best that you could. Is he going to make it?”
She nodded slowly. “He should. But he hasn’t woken up ye-”
“Dad!” A voice called out, and Abel rushed past Jack to his dad. “Ms. Adana, is dad going to be ok?”
She started to respond, but a groan cut her off as Samuel’s eyes flickered open.
“Dad!” Abel cried out, holding him tight. “You’re ok!”
“Of course I am,” Samuel said weakly as he coughed up a laugh. “You may want to lighten up on your hug though, son, you’re getting so strong.”
“I’m so glad you made it, Sam,” Adana said, letting out a sigh as Brown walked up. “I wanted to introduce you to Jack and Colonel Brown. They were the ones who found Abel and made sure he got back to us.”
Samuel’s eyes welled up as he locked gazes with them. “Thank you. Thank you for bringing me back my boy.”
Colonel Brown nodded, flashing a small grin. “Of course, sir.”
The four of them continued to talk, while Jack pulled back, his hearing catching a small noise clicking off the floor, and he turned to see Blitz bolting into the room and running to him. The cat meowed quickly several times, running through Jack’s legs and pacing between the entrance and him.
“Colonel Brown,” Jack said quickly, “I think we need to get back to the surface. Something may be wrong.”
“Oh great,” Colonel Brown muttered as he unholstered the laser rifle from his back and glanced at Adana. “Do you have any other way out of this cave?”
She nodded. “Yes. There’s a smaller tunnel that lets out closer to the ocean.”
“Alright. Get the survivors moving. Once the situation has been dealt with, we’ll try to get the message to our base. If you can make it to the cost, they can bring you to safety.”
She nodded again. “We can do that. We have some supplies from the store at the entrance, so we should make it there just fine.” She gave Brown and Jack a quick hug. “Thank you for everything.”
Colonel Brown quickly led Jack and Blitz up the cave, making their way to the entrance.
When they made it out, they found themselves in the middle of a warzone, as the E.V.A.N.s ferociously unloaded their weaponry at the swarming combatants.
The Ribiyar had returned.
And they weren’t taking prisoners.
Chapter 12
Date: July 14, 2132
Location: Southern Africa
Jack wasted no time engaging the Ribiyar.
Deploying his machine guns, he mowed down Ribiyar soldiers emerging from the depths of the forest. Following his lead, Blitz lunged into combat, tank cannons obliterating everything in its path. Leaping through a plume of smoke, Luna took up position by Blitz’s side and fought with reckless abandon. The rest of the team attacked as well, staying close to the entrance of the cave to ensure that the survivors weren’t followed.
Though the Ribiyar kept coming, the Defenders were prepared for this battle. A barrage of sniper shots barreled through a cluster of Ribiyar’s heads. As the machines collapsed, Jack saw Longshot taking part in the battle on one of the branches of the nearby trees. A metal slip covered the cat’s left eye and his right red eye now showed a target iris. A long gun barrel was lifted out his right shoulder, smoking lightly from use. Other Ribiyar shot into the tree as they tried to even the score, but the swift cat had already moved to another tree and resumed attacking them.
“Vade!” Colonel Brown yelled out, “incoming at nine o’clock!”
Jack spun and saw a squadron of Ribiyar fighters flying towards them, with a Destroyer leading the group.
Victor shot Phantom Blades into the sky, cutting down several fighters and crippling the Destroyer’s engine. Smoke trailed behind it as it moved to circle back around and attack. Jack activated his jet pack and shot into the sky. He managed to grab onto the Destroyer as it rocketed past.
Using magnetic padding across his body, he secured his position as the craft tried to shake him off. Holding on with all his might, he deployed his laser cannon, and he used it to bore into the alien’s hull as the ship barrel-rolled like a cyclone. Right as he was thrown off, the laser hit a vital system, and the Destroyer dropped out of the sky in another small clearing near the rock formation. Jack tried to regain his balance as his thruster ignited. A plume of dirt shot into the sky, but as he roughly hit the ground running, he saw the Destroyer standing up and turn to face him.
Jack deployed both of his V-guns, setting them on full blast. The air thundered as they activated and he fired both of them at the Destroyer a
s fast as he could. Its chest rocked back as the energy slammed into it, but the damage to it was minimal.
“You will be purged!” the Destroyer roared as it fired its cannon at him.
Jack jumped to his left as he tried to dodge it. The blast whizzed by him, missing by mere inches, and hit the ground a few feet away. The ground rocked beneath him and sent him sprawling. He stumbled to his feet but several Ribiyar soldiers opened fire from the thick vegetation and shot him down.
His armor chipped and strained under the attack. He could hear the air buzzing as the Destroyer revved up its energy cannon. Jack managed to get back to his feet while the aliens continued firing, and his V-guns charged up for another barrage.
Suddenly, Luna charged out of the forest to his right and jumped with the power of a catapult. She landed on the Destroyer's upper body and then back-flipped off of it. The motion caused its gun to misfire, the blast flying past Jack and incinerating a cluster of trees behind him.
Jack continued to fire his V-guns at the Ribiyar. Luna gracefully landed on all fours and turned her head towards the aliens. Her massive jaw clicked wide open, and a powerful laser beam erupted from her mouth, slicing down the soldiers. The beam shut down as the tiger closed its mouth, thin streams of steam escaping from the sides of its lips.
Jack grinned from the tiger’s display and gave it an impressed nod.
Wish I could fit that into Blitz’s weaponry…
The Destroyer struggled back to its feet, aiming its arm cannon at them. Jack brought his hands up, ready to once more engage the behemoth, but Luna suddenly lifted her head upwards, letting loose a thunderous roar, almost shaking the ground with its intensity. The tiger’s front paws shot upwards, then slammed deep into the ground, her back rippling as a large area along her spine broke open, and two large metal poles emerged. They spread out about a foot from each other and clicked into place as a rocket-shaped object lifted between them.
It’s a railgun, Jack thought, his eyes widening as he realized it.
The weapon’s poles rattled as electricity shot between them, magnetic forces quickly building as the Destroyer stood upright, aiming its weapon directly at them and shimmering as it built energy.
An ear-splitting shot rang out as the railgun fired. The weapon shot so fast it shattered the alien’s spiked gun and detonated as it struck the head, taking much of the upper chest along with it. The Destroyer collapsed in a heap, finally coming to a rest.
The railgun clicked back into Luna’s back, its fur settling back into place. The E.V.A.N. glanced back at Jack and moved its head, almost nodding at him, before dashing back into the trees to rejoin the battle.
Okay, that was awesome, Jack thought to himself as he activated his jet pack and soared back to the battle. He may have survived that skirmish, but he still had to find a way to help his team survive this fight.
And… how to work a railgun into his arsenal.
Location: Aboard the Atlantis, at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean
“This is simply amazing,” Chief Lexton whispered herself as she was escorted through the massive super-ship that was the Atlantis.
Everything sorted out between the Vice President Hunter and Captain Syvon, the crew were given the green light to assist with operations on the vessel. Chief Lexton had at last been brought aboard, with Chief Payton, Lieutenant Commander Stone, and the captain in tow. While Lexton agreed they needed to continue debating how they would use Atlantis, she knew there was still work that needed to be done before the super-ship was ready. Her skills were aimed toward mechanical engineering; she had little experience in arguing with the vice president and had no wishes to do so.
“She is rather amazing, isn’t she?” Vice President Hunter responded, overhearing her comment. “This vessel is the most advanced vessel humanity has ever built. Research, designs, and equipment from nations of all around the world have gone to use in creating this.”
Lexton, Hunter, Stone, Payton, and several Atlantis soldiers walked through the corridors, traveling deeper into the vessel to the engine core. The interior of the ship was made out of titanium alloy, coated aqua blue in keeping with the Atlantis of myth and legends. Lanes of white and green carpet lined the floor, in attempts to make it a little homier, and florescent tubes were placed in crevices between the corners in the flooring and ceiling, efficiently lighting the ship.
At least all our tax dollars were put to good use.
“If you don’t mind me being blunt, Vice President,” Chief Payton stated, “what exactly is keeping the ship here? From the glances I’ve had at diagnostic displays, it seems that you’ve finished building the ship, so what are you waiting for?”
Though Lexton noticed Hunter’s annoyance at the interruption, he answered coolly, “It’s the power source. The ship’s over fifty stories tall, and three and a half city blocks long. You can’t run something that big on an ordinary fuel source.”
Intrigued, Lexton posed the question on everyone else’s mind. “So, what did you use?”
“Though it took several years to design, we are using what we call a tri-core, three connected nuclear reactors.”
“Three nuclear reactors?” Stone asked, the other Thunderfox’s crew equally surprised. Though Syvon looked like he already knew the fact beforehand, he still looked intrigued in the prospect nonetheless. “Doesn’t that seem a little… overkill?”
“You got any other bright ideas on how to power this beast?” Hunter replied, a slight edge in his voice. “And while it may seem excessive to you, it’s far from the truth. The engines, at full power, would take the force of one and a half of the reactors. Coupled with our cutting-edge weapons, computer systems, flight controls, and numerous other systems, yes, it would take the remaining quantity of power produced.”
The group finally reached their destination – a large rectangular door, securing the tri-core chamber behind. Hunter approached a small letter keypad by the door and Lexton was surprised that he didn’t try to hide the code as he typed it. But she was even more surprised by how long the pass code was - over two dozen characters! - and the rate of which he punched the buttons. Even if she had been trying to remember the code or get a glance at it, she wouldn’t have been very successful.
Lexton felt a small breeze as hydraulic locks disengaged, and the doors slowly slid into the wall. Her eyes took a moment to adjust with the change in light. The engineering chamber was very industrialized, no space taken for granted, and nothing out of place. Most of the inner corridor was about twelve feet wide, and eight feet tall. Displays, measurements, and readings of the ship’s systems ran the length of the corridor, keeping the crew up to date on anything that they would need to know. At the end of the corridor, there was a massive circular area enclosed behind another set of heavy doors.
“The inner chamber is what we’re going to need your help with, Chief Lexton,” Hunter explained. “There has been trouble with connecting all three reactors through what we call the Bottleneck, which stores and channels the power throughout the ship. Each reactor is about the size of a semi-truck and stored in a separate location, so one lucky hit won’t take us down. Even if the Bottleneck is taken out, the cores will route the power through their own routes, though not at the best strength.”
Hunter entered a similarly lengthy code for the inner door and went through the entrance. In the circular area, three large pylons connected to a hexagonal structure held between them. The ground slopped downwards, exposing more of the pylons for maintenance and modifications. Additional equipment and displays ran both the upper level and the working levels down by the pylons.
“This is where I will leave you to your work, Chief Lexton,” Vice President Hunter said. “Check in with Chief Harmonds, and he’ll show you what he needs.”
Hunter briskly turned and began walking back out of the core chamber. Stone and Payton nodded toward her, conveying their support and trust
in her, before leaving with Hunter and the other escorts.
Let’s see what today’s puzzle will bring.
Before the doors finished closing, Lexton felt a hand suddenly on her shoulder and heard a southern accent say, “So, you’re one of the newcomers, huh?”
Shrugging off the hand and turning, she faced a man with trim, amber hair, with a few freckles dotting his face. He wore a black metal eye patch over his left eye, suspended with a band running around his head, and a light blue uniform over the rest of his body.
He swallowed. “Sorry, ma’am. Didn’t mean to startle you.” He straightened his posture and stuck out his hand. “Let me start over. I’m Chief Engineer Alex Harmonds. I make sure everything here runs smoothly, and I was told that you can get these nukes to talk to each other and work properly. Think you can do that?”
“I’m not sure I can fix your problems, but I did spend over a year as an engineer of a nuclear sub. I do have a bit of experience with them.”
Harmonds clasped his hands together and pushed them forward, cracking his knuckles. “Well, let’s see if we can get this party started then.”
Chapter 13
Date: July 14, 2132
Location: Southern Africa
Finally, some action to spice up this mind-numbing trip, Victor thought as he shredded through the Ribiyar soldiers. Most guys he knew would feel anxious and freak out during these kinds of showdowns. But not him - they brought him the closest piece of calm and concentration since his dad had left in his late teens.
Since his dad was killed, Victor corrected himself, fury flashing in his chest. He could never let himself forget that distinction. The anger only made him stronger.
“Victor!” Colonel Brown called into the team’s radio channel, “You need to stay near the cave entrance. We can’t-”
Galactic Defenders- Perseverance Page 8
