The storage room was only twelve feet tall, but it was filled to the brim with long, cylindrical containers held in horizontal rows of three stacks. Lighting panels on the wall illuminated the room, casting a white shimmer on the silvery metal.
“Why would they keep these materials here?” Law asked. She walked through the room with Vade as he scanned the containers. “This base in general seems pretty insignificant. It’s out in the middle of nowhere and little strategic value.”
“It’s likely they’re just using this to store the samples they collect here. I’m detecting traces of a lot of minerals and isotopes but also animal material and…” he trailed off, “human organs.” He shuddered. “Who knows how far these aliens have spread? They're likely collecting it all in case what’s common on Earth in case it isn’t found anywhere else in the galaxy.”
His beams flashed yellow and centered on a container in the middle of a stack.
“Here it is,” he called out.
“I’ll get it,” Law said.
She pulled out a small bag from a pocket in her uniform. It unfolded and the strong, stretchy material expanded to hold all the uranium they needed.
She pressed a small button on the bottom of the Ribiyar storage unit, but it didn’t open. After trying a few times, Jack stepped up and pressed the button himself, giving it a small shock. A section of the lower container began extending outwards, showing a collection of solid, gaseous, and liquid materials.
Law glanced at him quizzically, to which he shrugged.
“They’re alien robots aiming to destroy organic life. Makes sense they’d put organic sensors on their devices to keep us out. With me not being human anymore…”
His voice trailed off. He wasn’t easily comfortable with the subject and from the widening of Law’s eyes, it wasn’t something she was used to hearing. He had forgotten she didn’t know about the accident. He waved off his thoughts and quickly started grabbing unrefined chunks of uranium.
Less than a minute later, Jack and Law had retrieved it all and filled their bag.
As they turned to leave, he saw Fu’Lyl standing before him.
“Leaving so soon?” It snarled. The alien virus slammed its fist into Jack's chest. The pain felt like he was being consumed in flames. “This place will be your tomb, organic fool.”
Losing his balance, Jack grabbed onto the empty container shelf to keep his balance.
“Vade!” Law spun around, not seeing Fu’Lyl as he faded away.
Blitz rushed to his master’s side, standing by his right leg and looking up at him, his eyes losing their red glow. There was nothing the two could do. They could only watch him slowly relax as the pain ebbed.
Law glanced at the edge of the shelf where Jack had gripped it and saw how mangled it was from the hold. A softness entered her previously rock-hard demeanor.
“I’m sorry you’re going through this,” she said as she put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. “Are you able to keep going?”
He slowly nodded. “For now. But it won’t be long until I can’t fight the virus off.” He looked at her directly. “I need to get you and everyone else back to safety… while I still can.”
Location: Aboard the Atlantis, at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean
The corridors of Atlantis were a blur as Lexton was rushed through the inner-workings of the ship. The officers kept a steady brisk pace, creating a human barrier around her. They kept a steady pace, and Lexton did her best not to slow down with the recent-surgery making it difficult to keep up.
Vice President Hunter must really be concerned about keeping me alive, Lexton realized as she hurried. There wasn’t any other reason apparent to her. Though she knew it was likely because of her experience with nuclear energy cores, she admitted that she liked feeling so important.
Lost in her thoughts, she was surprised when the group stopped suddenly. She bumped into the lead officer in front of her, who held up a clenched right fist in the air as he listened.
“I think I hear something up ahe-”
A blast hit him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Several Ribiyar appeared from a bend up ahead and charged forward, as more aliens followed behind them.
Though his chest smoked where the blast had burned through his armor, the officer wasn’t dead yet.
“Get her out of here!” he yelled as he grabbed his laser rifle and rapidly fired.
In the commotion, the officers scrambled to get her behind them in the three-way intersection, but in the commotion they couldn’t coordinate well enough to do so. She was shoved into the corridor on her left as the officers began to fall.
Without extensive combat training or any weapons, she had no choice but to obey the officers’ directions. As the soldiers fought, Lexton flew down the corridor as fast as she could, the wound in her side flaring up in pain as she desperately tried to get away. There was a large door in the way, and Lexton, unable to slow down in time, slammed into it. As she reoriented herself, she quickly found the keypad by the door.
Straining to remember the code Chief Harmonds had given her, she punched it in as fast as she could, right as she heard the firing stop. Lexton swung the door open, and as she did, she glanced back down the hall.
The officers all laid in a heap on the floor, unmoving. Several Ribiyar came into sight, and she froze with fear. The machines examined the result of their attack, and then turned its head to her.
As it raised its weapon and fired, she closed the door and ran, knowing she was only delaying the inevitable just a little longer.
Location: Aboard the Ribiyar Warship Ji’Co, in orbit of Earth
Patience.
The word and its associated actions echoed through Cha’Hawk’s mind. Through the never-ending pain and torment, he had found a small crevice of his mind where he could escape, if only for a few moments at a time, and focus on what he needed to do.
Patience.
The warrior that prevails is the one who has the will to wait until the time is right.
Patience.
For Ribiyar, beings who can live a potentially infinite amount of years, waiting is one of our most advantageous tools. Having the ability of outwaiting empires as they rise and fall, allows them to charge the enemy when they are the weakest.
Patience.
My time will come.
Everyone thought that Cha’Hawk’s threat had been nullified, locked up in the Oblivion Chamber as his mind slowly grew feral and abhorrent. But that only gave Cha’Hawk the element of surprise he would need.
Patience.
My time will come.
And Ki’Ra will fall.
Chapter 21
Date: July 15, 2132
Location: In the Control Tower of Freedom Bound, the Defender-controlled Holding Facility positioned in the Atlantic Ocean
“The Recon drone has entered the central engineering chamber,” Anderson reported behind Hayley as she worked the control on the console in front of her.
Both of them were on the upper balcony, remotely piloting several drones from their stations. On the main screen in front of them, a video feed of a darkened Ribiyar structure was dimly lit by the drone exploring one of the three downed Ribiyar cruisers that had been disabled with the EMP attack during the battle.
Hayley nodded. “Good work, Anderson. The other drones are right behind yours. Captain Rickman, do we have the go ahead?” She glanced back at her superior behind her.
Captain Rickman nodded. “No point in waiting. Go ahead, commander.”
“Right away, sir,” Hayley said, signaling for Anderson to proceed.
Rickman walked closer behind her, monitoring her work and the video feed on the screen. “So we’ll be able to take control of the ships with the Omega Virus? Like what Jack did with the Defender?”
“Exactly like that, sir,” Hayley said, feeling anticipation rise in her.
>
With these three extra ships at our disposal, we’ll be able to do so much more. We might even stand a fighting chance now.
On the screen, Anderson’s drone latched onto the central console, and it slowly lit up as power was transferred to it. The drone was soon joined by the eights others as they latched on and connected to the console.
“It will be slightly different without Jack here to fight off the system’s defenses, but I believe we compensated fo-”
Hayley was cut off as the screen footage suddenly blinked off, and she lost connection with her other drones. What going on? she asked herself.
“What’s wr-” Rickman started, but his voice was over-shadowed by a vicious rumbling that shook the entire base.
The main screen automatically activated and showed a towering geyser of water shooting upwards a short distance from Freedom Bound and large waves rolling towards the base.
“Commander, what happened?” Rickman shouted over the blaring alarms.
“From what the station’s sensors are telling me, the ship somehow self-destructed, sir!” Hayley said.
“The Ribiyar weren’t taking any chances,” Anderson said, slamming a fist onto his console. “That ship must have somehow been conditioned to detonate its weapons if we tried to take it over.”
“Was the fleet clear of the blast, commander?” Rickman asked.
After checking her instruments, she let out a small sigh.
“Yes, sir. They were all at a safe distance. No damage or casualties reported. However, with the size of that blast, all three of the disabled ships were destroyed.”
Rickman nodded. “It was worth a try, anyway. But without those reinforcements, it’s all up to Colonel Brown and his team to get us that extra firepower now.”
Location: Southern Africa, near a Ribiyar storage base
“Here we go!” Jack yelled as he fired his laser cannon at the ceiling.
He used the weapon on full blast until its power cells ran out, but it did the job. The laser cannon retracted as he deployed both of his V-Guns and blasted away at that spot. Weakened from the laser, parts of the ceiling fell to the ground beside them, opening a hole to the sky as a loud explosion sounded by the entrance.
“Grab on!” He said as he held out his right hand to Law.
She held the bag full of uranium tightly to her chest as the doorway collapsed. Law took his hand, and he drew her close to his chest. Blitz jumped into his left arm as Jack deployed his wings. His thruster lifted them through the hole into the open air just as Ribiyar entered the room and fired at them.
“Get us as far from here as y-” Law started.
A lucky shot from the Ribiyar clipped Jack's thruster. Smoke sputtered out of the device as they spiraled away from the building and plummeted to the ground.
At the last second, Jack managed to flip himself over and take the brunt of the impact for Law. Slamming into the ground, he felt himself jarred, but as his systems settled, he knew he wasn’t out of the fight.
Not yet.
“Vade!” Law cried as she scrambled to her feet, shaken. Blitz meowed as he glanced at the chaos around him and nuzzled close to his master. “Are you alright?”
Before he could answer, he heard a familiar voice.
“Oh look, the power-couple of the year finally decides to show up.”
Glancing up, he saw Victor swinging around as he sliced through a few Ribiyar about to attack.
“Good to see you too, Vic,” Jack managed to say as Law helped him back to his feet.
His wings struggled to close, but after some sharp metallic ringing, they were able to clamp shut.
Guess I won’t be flying any time soon.
They had landed near the wrecked Enforcer Pods and he saw that most of the team had taken hits from the alien blasters. They were still doing their best to stay in the fight. Victor was in the worst condition, with several holes in the armor along his arms, chest, and legs. He moved with obvious pain yet still managed to swing the Phantom Blade.
“Please tell me you got the material!” Max River shouted as he shot at the Ribiyar.
“Yeah, we got it,” Law yelled back as she and Jack worked their way to the wreckage. She swung the bag onto her back and fastened the straps.
“Then what the heck are we waiting for?” Victor remarked as he sliced down another group of Ribiyar. “This fight is going south fast. Whether you order it or not, I’m getting out of here. Now.”
Victor kept fighting as he began running towards the jungle, and seeing no reason to argue, the rest of the team raced after him. Blitz ran at Jack’s feet, as eager as the others to get to safety.
“Jack,” Brown radioed on the comm channel, “Instruct the E.V.A.N.s to stay behind and buy us some time. They should be able to catch up with us on their own once we're far enough away.”
“Right away, Colonel,” he responded, as he shot down another Ribiyar soldier.
He sent out a signal unique to each of the E.V.A.N.s and gave them their orders. Blitz looked up at his master, meowed his affirmation, and charged back into the fray.
“Agent Law,” Colonel Brown continued, “Do you have eyes on your soldiers? We haven’t had any word from them, and I’m not sure they ever began their attack on the other side of the base.”
“What are you talking about?” Agent Law demanded. “Carton, where are you? Anyone? Are you alright?”
Law glanced at Jack.
“Nothing.”
Jack glanced back at her and then back at the base. “We don’t have time to go back for them, Law. There’s nothing we can do for them now. I’m sor-”
“We all knew the risks when we came here,” she said sharply, cutting him off as they charged into the vegetation. “That’s just the way these things are. And I’ll make sure to return the favor for them.”
Making the best time they could, they all went deeper in the jungle to get back to their hidden vehicles, as the Ribiyar gave chase.
Targets neutralized. Continuing rapid-engagement protocols.
In Blitz’s mind, there was only one desire pressing on him – to protect his master, no matter the cost.
If that meant fighting a horde of aliens to do so, he would without hesitation.
His world was a blur as he fulfilled his purpose, relentlessly killing Ribiyar after Ribiyar. His weapons fired almost non-stop, struggling to keep up with everything around him. And though he dodged most of the shots, he was slowly taking more and more damage. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long until he was overwhelmed. But even then, he would fight until his last processor sparked with energy.
He jumped onto a Ribiyar, blasted its head off with his machine guns, and leapt off the collapsing body as he searched for his next target.
Something latched onto his back and slammed him into the ground. Struggling to get to his feet, black stealth Ribiyar picked him up and slammed him onto the ground again, pinning him down under its four-fingered arm.
“Commencing purge,” the alien droned as its weapon powered up.
Blitz strained against its grip, but he was caught. The weapon fired and struck the side of his face, cracking it and exposing the paneled circuitry underneath. Before the enemy fired again, a three-pronged spike deployed from the end of Blitz’s tail, and a grappling hook shot out and wrapped around the weapon.
The hook began to retract, pulling the weapon to the right as it fired. The blast’s momentum lessened the Ribiyar’s grip on him and the grappling hook yanked him toward the weapon. Kicking off of it as the hook retracted, Blitz fired the machine guns on his front arms, bring the foe down as he jumped from him.
But as he fell to the ground, a number of shots from a squadron of Ribiyar pummeled his form, ripping the tank cannons off his back and damaging his forward machine guns. His feet a flurry of movement, he managed to launch seven grenades into the air, neutralizing the threat. As he finall
y came to a stop, he almost dropped to the ground. His front leg was injured, but he forced himself back onto his feet.
While the other E.V.A.N.s continued their attacks, he saw numerous Ribiyar breaking away from the fight and plunging into the jungle.
My master… he needs me…
A Ribiyar fighter crashed behind him, and Blitz turned around, seeing Luna standing strong, though her fur and armored plating was heavily battered. They locked gazes and Blitz glanced at the retreating Ribiyar before looking back to Luna. The tiger’s gaze shifted after them as well, she gave a sharp nod, and jumped back into the fray.
With his comrade’s approval, Blitz rushed into the forest after the invaders, no one able to stop him.
Chapter 22
Date: July 15, 2132
Location: Southern Africa, near a Ribiyar storage base
Though the virus continued to wreak havoc on his systems, Jack did his best to keep up with the rest of the team. Brown led the way, with Jack, Law, and Victor bringing up the rear. They scrambled through the vegetation, desperate to put some distance between them and the Ribiyar, but no matter how far they ran, Jack’s sensors told him they were barely making any progress.
If we’re going to make it, Jack thought to himself, his resolve hardening, there’s only one way to make sure we complete this mission.
Brown grabbed onto a tree, signaling the rest to stop, as he hungrily breathed in air. “There’s a fork in the path ahead. One path will take us over a nearby river that is very deep and difficult to cross. The other will be less difficult, but some of the area will leave us exposed.”
“Colonel,” Jack spoke up, “the Ribiyar are quickly gaining on us. If we’re going to make it back to the vehicles, some of us need to stay and hold them off.” He lifted his right fist and deployed his V-gun. “I’ll buy you as much time as I can.”
Galactic Defenders- Perseverance Page 12
