Reclaim: Books 1-3

by J. A. Scorch

  Porter sighed as he clutched at his hair. "I guess so."

  "Don't overthink this. We need to sneak three ships inside the Cyclones and detonate some nukes. Nothing else."

  "That easy, huh?" he muttered. "And how do you plan on doing this?"

  "Oh, I've got a good idea. Get comfortable, because you're not going to want to miss anything."

  Porter left the comm room ten minutes later with Rivera's plan locked away in his head. The Lieutenant had a rather dangerous idea in mind for the mission, but Porter agreed it was the best option to take, given the importance of avoiding an open assault with the Zeal.

  With only one hour to prepare for the next stage of the operation, he decided to find Briggs and unload some of the thoughts rattling around in his mind. He trusted him not to say a word to anyone about the stealth ship and Garcia's mess.

  Porter checked Briggs' schedule using one of the wall-mounted tablets scattered around the ships. Each soldier's program was marked and tracked to make individuals accountable and easy to find. Currently, Briggs would be having down time in his quarters. Porter hadn't slept in the room for several days, missing the comfort of having his own setup.

  When he arrived at the door, he found it locked. Briggs only ever bolted the door for one reason: he had someone keeping him company. Porter decided to wait it out and not ruin Briggs' day. He understood how important it was to relieve some stress, now more than ever. The next few days could send the MAF down many paths, each one more disastrous than the last.

  Ten minutes later, the door opened to a shirtless Briggs. One of his cadets stepped out and scuttled away before anyone had a chance to say anything.

  "Porter," Briggs said. "Wasn't expecting you. Come on in."

  With a smile, he walked on through with his hands behind his back. "So, giving the cadet some private tutoring after class I see."

  "Yeah," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Just needed to go over some flight data. You know how it is."

  Porter slapped him on the arm and moved inside to sit down on his rack. "Good to be home," he said.

  "Speaking of, I thought you were living in the brig these days."

  "I was, but you know how it goes around here: one minute you're facing bullshit charges, the next you are assigned to a super important mission."

  "So it is you," Briggs said, putting a singlet on. "Man, I was hoping Garcia would pick you for the job instead of wasting your skills in the brig."

  "You know about the mission? Damn, I can't keep anything from anyone. Cannon's running the primary assault and you know everything about Garcia's secret mission."

  Briggs laughed and looked away. His smile faded with his next lot of words. "I knew about the mission because I'm going to be a part of it."

  A wrinkle creased across Porter's brow. "What do you mean? Like are you helping to plan it or something?"

  "No. I'm on it. I'm going to be flying on the away team to give you the time you need to deliver the nuke."

  "What?" Porter asked, leaning forward. "Why would you do that? It's suicide. The losses are estimated to be eighty percent on the outset."

  "I know. I volunteered for the mission. And don't lecture me about suicidal missions, you're the one flying a damn stealth ship into a Cyclone. That's ten times riskier."

  "But it needs to be done. You dying out there now does not need to happen. Why would you volunteer for this?" Porter could hear Garcia's mantra bouncing around his head. She had convinced him of things he never thought he would believe.

  Briggs paced around, rubbing the back of his neck. "I want to do this. I have to be part of the mission that might save the lives of thousands of pilots."

  Porter smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "Garcia got to you, didn't she?"

  "She has a way with words, right? I don't know what it is, but one minute I'm happy to be in the big fight, then suddenly I'm signing up for the most dangerous mission I've ever faced."

  Porter dropped back into his bed to rest and realized he would be coordinating Briggs, issuing orders to him that had the potential to guarantee his death. He tilted his neck toward him and said, "You're doing a brave thing. It's going to be a rough sortie. You'll be outnumbered twenty-to-one at the very least. Are you sure you want to do this?"

  "Hey, more of them to kill, I say. And don't you be worrying about me out there. You need to focus on getting that nuke inside the ship. Let the Stalkers get you in and out in one piece."

  Porter shook his head as he faced the ceiling of their quarters. He studied the dust built up around the corners of the airtight room, seeing the small ventilation slots that let air in. "This isn't fair. None of this is right. Why do we have to give up so much for these aliens?"

  "Nothing is ever fair," Briggs said. "But what else can we do but fight? If it all goes to hell and we fail, at least we'll die knowing our lives were worth something." He dropped down into his bed and lay on the mattress. The fold out bed squeaked as his weight pressed it down with the aid of the ship's artificial gravity.

  "I guess in a short time from now we'll find out which way this all goes. Either way, it's been an honor to serve with you, my friend."

  Briggs sat up in a hurry. "No screw that. No goodbyes. We've got this. We didn't survive a million delivery runs to die now. That's not how I'm going out of this thing."

  Porter sat up fast and stood tall, letting Briggs' words resonate through his core. "Exactly. We're not dead yet. Screw the Zeal and screw anyone that doubts us."

  The two locked forearms in a firm handshake they each followed up with a slap on the back. "We got this, Porter. Let's go out there and train. We've got some Zeal ass to kick."

  "We've got this," Porter repeated as they both headed for the door. The pair moved down the hall, arms around each other's shoulders. Porter did what he could to keep up the facade Briggs had given him. In less than forty minutes, they would most likely be dead. For once, he truly accepted the feeling and welcomed it.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The four Stiltz continued to surround Teve while X guided him along. The hybrid's bladed armor retracted back into his body like an array of knives, allowing X to place his arm around Teve's shoulders.

  "What is this place?" Teve asked as a set of large, thick doors opened ahead in the sewer network. X walked him through to a room that stretched up as high as his eyes could focus.

  "This, Tevey, is the inside of the Zeal base you've stared upon for so many years, secretly longing to know what existed within. But this is so much more than a mysterious tower in the sky. It is our new home. It is the future of this planet."

  "No, this is a Zeal mess. It can't be the future. It's their creation."

  X scoffed. "The Zeal. The name is beneath everything they stand for." He used his firm grip to guide Teve farther into the base.

  Teve stared up and around the layers upon layers of purple infrastructure. The intricate mesh cylinder spiraled up into the sky, glowing with each breath X took. The space seemed rather open considering the number of Zeal that thrived in the city. He wondered where they all went to rest and sleep considering the lack of facilities the tower held.

  "You can sense it, can't you? The connection. We are as one, functioning under one existence, under one light, under one reality."

  Teve's vision faded momentarily with X's words. "Why are you telling me this?"

  X laughed, his voice a blend of his own and a darkened undertone. He reeled his head in close to Teve and said, "This is all for you. Everything you spy with those spheres in your head you call eyes was built for you."

  Teve tried to push X away as he stumbled. "No, this wasn't all for me. It can't be. I'm nobody."

  "But it is. You can feel this world coursing through your life force right now. It called you here. You are connected to this place as much as I am or any of these soldiers. These beings you call the Zeal have no individual desires: they are one."

  Teve held up his hands, sensing the goo streaming throug
h his veins, removing his humanity one strip at a time. He knew this place couldn't be for him, but he would soon be like X and believe everything he did. Soon he would become a Zeal soldier and lose everything that made him who he was: the UEF, his planet, Mish, his memories. Nothing would ever be the same. He would die and be reborn as a single mind, a single body, a single letter.

  "Don't fight, T," X said, dropping his name down. "The more you resist, the more painful the experience."

  "No, I have to fight. I can't lose who I am. I have nothing else. This war is all we have left to die for. I won't let you take that from me." He lunged at X, knowing he would cut himself the second he connected with X's body, but something stopped him in the air. An invisible force blocked him from harming X, but nothing held him back.

  "You can't hurt me, T. If you harm your own this close to home, you will endure the pain. Your weak mind won't allow this to happen."

  Releasing his fist, Teve let out a lungful of Zeal-coated air and fell to his knees. "What did you do to me? What am I becoming?"

  X towered over him and placed a hand over his head. "You are becoming the new species of this planet. You are evolving to greater possibilities."

  Teve tried to crawl away from X along the intricate flooring of the base. He moved back toward the exit, knowing it was the only way to free his mind of the invisible influence the structure had over him.

  "Where are you going, T? We are not done."

  "I'm leaving. This is not my home. This will never be my home." He rose to his feet and stumbled farther away from X. Four Stiltz stepped in the way, their hulking mass blocking his path with ease.

  X yelled. "You cannot leave this place. You need it now more than ever."

  Teve shook his head. "No. You left this place. I found you out there trying to be human again."

  A growl erupted from X's throat as he shuffled over to Teve, his blades expanding and retracting as he moved. "Those were his weak moments," X said. "Those were his trials."

  "What do you mean his? You are him. You were human. Look what they did to you." Teve eased back past X, closer to the middle of the open, round space. A giant glowing sphere the size of a Humvee elevated up from a hidden section, buzzing away as if it were the center of the universe. Without thought, Teve gravitated toward the object. The further his body moved toward the humming ball, the more his head hurt. He yelled out at the top of his lungs and came to a stop.

  "This is what you seek, T. Not some false freedom out there, but the wisdom and beauty found within our collective being. This is the Orb."

  Teve clutched at his head. "It's killing me." A clawed hand grasped his shoulder and moved him a few feet away from the sphere as the Orb descended into the depths of nowhere again.

  X turned him around and stared into his eyes with his own purple glowing irises. "You are not ready to take on this much energy. Your weak human body needs time to transform into greatness."

  "No," Teve shouted, swatting X away. "I won't change. I'm not like you. I'm not one of them. I'm—"

  He stopped moving when he noticed something. Above, on every layer of the base, slow twitching limbs moved as one in perfect harmony, protruding from the walls. He studied one of the arms and saw that it belonged to a human body, strapped in and connected to several purple wires. He stood and stumbled toward them, spinning around to find thousands more just like it, swaying in a breeze that Teve could not sense.

  "They are your family now, T. They are transitioning into the new world just like you, becoming one. Soon they will rise as one and go beyond to unify your armies."

  The soulless eyes of a conquered man caught Teve by surprise as he stepped closer to the captured people. A purple glow pulsated back at him, connecting with his mind until he could hear every thought coming from the man.

  "Stop it," he yelled, grabbing at his head. "Get out of my head. I'm not like them."

  X moved over to Teve in the blink of an eye. "You will be. I was once like you: weak and pathetic, still holding on to my former self. But the feeling will pass. You will welcome this world with open arms. You will become who you were destined to be."

  Teve ignored his voice and ran back to the exit. "I will never be a part of this world."

  The Stiltz stood in his way again until X told them to step aside. "Let him through. We'll see how far he gets on his own." The massive bots shifted in perfect synchronization.

  Teve brushed past the group back toward the sewer network and down the narrow hall. He didn't look back for one second, but in his mind, he could see it all. Once he reached the edge of the transitioning base, every step felt a thousand times heavier than the last. He collapsed to his knees as a tugging yanked at his chest, pulling him back. "No, I have to keep going. I—"

  A silence ripped through the air. Suddenly he couldn't sense sound anymore as the world around him faded to black until only one thing filled his mind: the Orb. Teve turned around and stumbled back toward the Zeal base.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  The cockpit of Porter's X90S Stalker glowed as he completed his pre-flight checks and let out a long huff.

  "Board is green," the launch tech said. "Slingshot in five minutes."

  Porter flicked a few buttons and brought up Briggs on one of his screens. "Five minutes until we do the impossible. Are you ready?"

  "I could ask you the same question. But yeah, I'm ready. We’ve got this, right?"

  "We've got this. Time to kick these aliens in the balls."

  Porter felt the vibration of the Andromeda as it continued to burn to the front line through space. In less than five minutes, the ship would drop out on top of the lead Cyclone and launch a small team of fighters, Porter included. The surprise attack would happen simultaneously with the Centaurus and Triangulum as they each attacked the other two Zeal carriers.

  "Slingshot in four minutes," the launch tech said.

  "All right, people," Porter said addressing sixty fighters loaded into the bays. "In four minutes, we launch through the gates of hell into pure chaos. You all have your objectives. If we do this by the book, we won't just be coming back from a successful mission; we'll be coming back from a defeated Zeal carrier, knowing we wiped out one of their biggest assets once and for all."

  A few cheers burst through the comm followed by some shouts of aggression directed at the Cyclone.

  "For too long now, we have merely survived the Zeal, scurrying through one skirmish to the next without any plans for tomorrow. Today we hit back. Today we make them sit up and realize we are not to be ignored."

  Another wave of yells broke out as the launch tech declared there were only three minutes left. Porter disconnected the global comm and addressed Briggs. "You think that worked?"

  "Maybe. Might have distracted them all for a few moments."

  "How about you? Did I convince you to fight the good fight?"

  Briggs chuckled. "Porter, you couldn't convince me if you tried. You know why? Because I don't need a reason other than to have my wingman's back."

  Porter smiled until he thought about the crazy plan they were about to execute. The idea was dangerous at the very least, but it was the best one they had.

  "Slingshot in two minutes."

  The Andromeda decelerated hard on its final approach. All Porter hoped for was accuracy from the ship's navigation system. If their calculations were off by the slightest amount, the ship would plow straight into the Cyclone and explode into a mess of destruction. If they came up short, then the rest of the plan would be ruined.

  His mind drifted to Nicole without realizing it. Her soft smile filled him with more hope than anything else. He had no choice but to succeed.

  "Time to kill some Zeal," Briggs said as the clock ticked down to five seconds.

  "Slingshot in three, two, one. Mark."

  Porter's ship shot out of the battle carrier a half second after the other fighters to keep him at the rear of the action. His stealth modules kicked into gear as the Zeal carrier appeare
d in front of his eyes, taking up the entire view. The Andromeda had dropped in the perfect location and immediately began withdrawing from the oversized alien craft.

  The Cyclone responded with a hail of fire, blasting PDTs and lasers in all directions as the Stalkers scattered to add to the sudden chaos of the attack.

  The Andromeda fired concentrated bursts of missiles and flak back at the Zeal ship, focusing on the Tritons as they came flying out of the opening hanger bays. At the same time, the carrier continued to burn away from the ship with all shields diverted to its broadside. There was no way it could stay there any longer than necessary given the Cyclone’s size.

  Porter pulled a quick e-burn up and over the Zeal ship as it took a pounding itself from the smaller MAF carrier. More fighters than he had ever seen before poured out of the Cyclone below, filing out from all sides of the round ship.

  "Punching bag has taken the bait. All fighters, proceed with Alpha-Seven-Seven." Porter engaged a few tactical displays and brought up a panel with information on his payload. A small, yet powerful nuclear bomb capable of leveling a city block sat on the screen in the form of a symbol encased in a pair of claws. The device was ready to release once he got inside the Zeal ship.

  "Control-Actual. This is Porter. I'm dropping in below."

  "Porter. This is Control-Actual. Copy that."

  He pulled another e-burn and shoved his stick forward, spiraling down toward the Zeal ship, aiming for the nearest hanger bay as more and more Tritons blasted out of the Cyclone. There had to be at least a few thousand of them giving chase to the sixty scattered MAF fighters. Porter zeroed in on Briggs' Stalker on one of his arrays, seeing him still alive. Ten of the sixty had already died according to his readout.