Slade grabbed Andrea’s arm, pulling her in front of his body. He unholstered his gun and pushed it against her temple. Andrea tensed under his grip. “Let me out of this room or her brains are all over your faces.”
The MP’s glanced at the senator.
Ken’s face slackened and he motioned for them to move out of the way.
“Smart move,” said Slade, wrapping his arm around Andrea’s upper chest and guiding her through the doorway, her body as his shield.
He turned her around when they entered the hallway, his eyes widening in shock. Several military men and women, in full regalia, weapons drawn, lined the walls. “Hey, boys.” Did Ken have the ship’s entire Space Marines on his side now?
Slade gave them a deadly stare, one by one, as he walked by them. “Didn’t think you’d have the guts to turn on me. I was wrong.”
“Weapons down,” yelled Ken, slowly walking behind Slade, doing his best to keep his distance, yet close enough to keep Slade in his sights.
Slade looked over his shoulder. “Where is the president?”
“Safe and away from you. We know what you did to his wife. You need to give up his daughter.”
“Good luck with that, Senator.”
“Please, Slade. She is just a child, a baby.”
“You stupid man.” He rushed down the hall, tightening his hold on Andrea. “You think I’m giving up my biggest bargaining chip? I don’t think so. I’m going to notify the Fleet Admiral what you’ve done. He won’t be happy with your actions.”
Ken gave a quiet chuckle. “We got communications back online and I already let him know what you did. He’s seen the tape of Craig’s wife’s murder. Turns out, Lon wasn’t too enthused about it.”
Slade came up to an elevator and pressed the button. He spun around, his back to the elevator doors.
“Why aren’t you using your powers?” whispered Andrea, fear in her eyes. “Knock them out, or something.”
“I don’t want them to know...yet.”
The elevator door opened and Ken stopped five feet from Slade. “You won’t be able to run very far. There is a camera around every corner, thanks to you.”
Slade backed into the elevator, pressing Deck 5, one of the lowest decks on the ship. Some of his loyal troops were there – if they hadn’t been turned yet. The doors began to shut. He pushed Andrea out of the elevator, knocking her to the floor. He thrust his gun at Ken, aimed, and pulled the trigger.
Ken’s head jerked back and he fell on his back, lifeless, a bloody hole between his eyes.
The doors shut and the elevator started to descend.
“Round two of the mutiny. Slade one, mutineers one.”
38
Planet Taiyo, Sector 9 ~ Galactic Arm, Milky Way Galaxy
Jaxx brought his craft back into the sky, his body not yet one with the craft, and pulled into a hard left, corkscrewing past several Agadon fighters.
Kiyo-zan’s energy signature or vibe, something Jaxx couldn’t quite put a finger on, came to him and surrounded his heart like a storm rising. Had Kiyo-zan died? Was he trying to communicate to Jaxx from beyond the grave?
A weapons lock sounded on his display accompanied by a long beep. A missile was on its way and coming in fast. He spun his craft about, targeted the missile, and shot tracer and laser rounds. The missile lit up, sending a bright light of fire, then broke into a thousand pieces and fell like rain toward the ground, smoke trailing the debris.
Jaxx flew through the smoke, looking around for any sign of Kiyo-zan. The guy had the most distinct starfighter, black and white with shark-teeth under the nose of his craft. There were too many fighters though, too many explosions filling the sky, too many Agadon wanting to end his life.
“Kiyo-zan, where are you?” He didn’t know why he needed to speak with him, but something was pulling him, something was wrong. “Is he even alive?” Dread washed over him. Kiyo-zan, was his buddy, the only right-hand-man he had, or thought he had.
A combat-mech flew in front of Jaxx and fired a slew of missiles, then sped off, landing those missiles on another Agadon star carrier coming through the clouds. The missiles sidewineded and smacked into the large ship’s starboard, barely cracking the ship’s fresh energy shields.
A beam erupted from the carrier, fast and blinding, passing through Taiyonian starfighters like knife into butter and connecting with the combat-mech, ripping its torso in half, sending sparks and chunks of armor flying. The mech’s shoulder cannons caught fire and flared, blowing the head and neck completely apart, leaving a shroud of exhaust around the mech before it began falling to the earth.
Jaxx pinched his lips together and narrowed his eyes, bringing the Chi force stronger within his body, and began to meld his consciousness into his Air Wing. The carrier, somehow, had to pay and pay dearly.
“Jaxx-zan, watashi wa jimen zi iru.”
Jaxx came back into his cockpit, his consciousness separating from his craft. “Kiyo-zan, you’re on the ground? Well, get back up here.” He looped away from the carrier, avoiding several photon bolts.
“Nishi zo miru,” said Kiyo-zan.
Jaxx turned his fighter around to face the west and flew above the battle, doing as Kiyo-zan had just ordered. “Holy mother of all that’s wrong.”
A giant ship, bigger than any X-class nebula craft in the Secret Space Program’s fleet, pierced the atmosphere, casting a dark shadow in the west.
Jaxx’s legs became restless and his chest tightened. “We have to send all forces to intercept and down that thing.”
“Jaxx,” came Abdu. “That thing will obliterate the majority of the cities on this planet with one shot. They aren’t coming to take us as slaves or mine this planet’s precious and beautiful resources. They are coming to end us once and for all. It’s the Agadon way. The Agadon are all about spreading destruction and despair. They will use our obliteration to send a message to the stars: we will not be stopped or stayed. We are the Agadon. Fear us.”
“That’s why we need to –”
“Get on the ground. We need you at coordinates 29.9792 degrees north, 31.1342 degrees east,” interrupted Zara. “We have to get you out of here. You’re our hope, Jaxx.”
Jaxx shook his head, “No. We can defeat these guys.”
“You have no idea who these guys are. They are much stronger than you imagine. Get to the coordinates or more planets like Leonia and Taiyo will be exploited, their inhabitants used as slaves, and their worlds utilized for asset building. The Agadon are just one of the Negatives flowing through the open portals. Battles like this are raging across all known worlds. If you do not return to the portal and meet your destiny, more worlds than you can count will be like this planet, completely destroyed,” replied Zara.
Jaxx clinched his teeth, squeezing the control stick with all his might. “This planet isn’t destroyed yet.”
“You are not listening!” roared Zara. “Get down here, now! If you don’t, then the rest of the galaxy is at risk. This planet is done. Let those who perish today, and all the animals on this planet, die with glory and dignity. You must understand that there is always a higher plan, always a higher reason and it’s not for you to judge. Your job is to serve and protect this galaxy. That’s your deal.”
“My deal?” Jaxx hesitated, then punched in his coordinates. A knot in his stomach and throat formed. He didn’t like this one bit. He didn’t know if it was because he felt like he was the cause of this entire fiasco – of losing planet Leonia and Taiyo – or if he understood that deep down he had to abandon this battle, this raging war, and get to ground level and take on these Agadon forces someplace else.
He lowered his craft, then shot straight toward the ground, like a falcon to its prey. “What am I to do when I get on the ground?”
“We teleport you through the pyramid network back to Callisto. We have nine of your earth days left to close up the entire network or chaos reigns across the galaxy again. Imagine the wars on your planet times ten, yet
spread throughout the galaxy, interrupting the evolution of every species and race that inhabits the Milky Way. It will be a huge step back in galactic consciousness.”
Jaxx pulled his ship out of the dive and skimmed the top of the jungle, heading toward the coordinates. He tapped on some holographic buttons, telling his ship to prepare for a landing. The skids extended downward and clicked in place.
Up ahead was a massive hill, covered in trees, brush, and grasses. Kiyo-zan’s starfighter, along with several cargo ships, transports, and two combat-mechs sat at the base of the hill.
He slowed and hovered, preparing for a landing. “I’m here. Where is everyone?” He lowered his ship. It jostled when it touched ground.
Zara spoke. “You’ll see an entrance into this hill. Come inside.”
Jaxx opened the cockpit and hopped out of his Air Wing. He fell when the ground rumbled and a thunderous roar echoed across the sky.
He stood and glanced up, seeing the giant planet-killing ship coming in closer to the city, starfighters and combat-mechs sending projectiles and energy beams in its direction, hitting the behemoth but doing very little damage.
A red, fiery energy began to grow at an indentation beneath the ship’s midline, creating a ball of energy. A few fighters targeted the ball, sending missiles and tracers, only to be met and repelled by a focused shield.
It wasn’t looking good.
Jaxx pushed on, as instructed, going against the impulse in his mind and body. He longed to stay, fight, and die with these wonderful Beings trying to save Taiyo. “Who are these Agadon?” he asked over his helmet’s comm line.
“They aren’t from our galaxy, that’s why they are so dangerous, Jaxx. They have been locked out until now. But they were waiting, amassing,” said Abdu.
Jaxx rounded the hill and halted when he saw an entryway, built with white and red stone. Abdu was standing to the side of the doorway, hands crossed in front of him like a calm, happy monk. “They want to prevent you from helping the Atlanteans ascend.”
Jaxx hurried to the entrance. “Ascend?”
“In time you will understand that word. It is our hope that you will help the Atlanteans to ascend, the homo sapiens sapiens – your mixed Atlantean-human race – to also ascend, and in that way, the rest of the galaxy will follow suit, doing so from your examples. The problem is, the Atlanteans were too hasty, too greedy, too eager to ascend that they forgot one vital component – one must be an anchor to a group in order for a group to ascend. Your anchor went missing. We have to find him or her.”
Jaxx entered the hill, not completely understanding what Abdu was saying, but knowing who the anchor was. “It’s a her and her name is Bogle.” He stopped, awed by his surroundings. “Whoa, is this a pyramid?”
“Yes, now up the tunnel.”
A tunnel, the same type of tunnel in the pyramid on Callisto and in the pyramid on Leonia, went up and likely into a king’s chamber. “You’re serious? This is really a pyramid?”
“It is hidden well, and has been here for hundreds of thousands of years.” He grabbed Jaxx by the arm and they hunched over, moving up the white stone passageway, passing spheres of blueish-white lights hovering every ten or so feet on the walls, lighting their path.
Coming to a platform, they rushed into the king’s chamber.
The Taiyonian queen, Emi-zan, stood beside a sarcophagus, a coffer, her eyes weary, sad. She dipped her head.
Kiyo-zan stood next to her, along with Zara.
“Ganbarou,” she said.
“Good luck to you too,” replied Jaxx, bowing to her.
They braced themselves as a growl consumed the world, shaking the pyramid. Then a brief, silent pause, then the world hummed, dirt and dust fell from the ceiling, and an earthquake jostled the room back and forth.
Abdu helped Jaxx to the coffer. “Put your hands on the edges.”
Jaxx wrapped his fingers around the edge of the coffer, just as another explosion rocked the earth.
Emi-zan gasped, taking her hands off. “Watashi wa hitobito za hitori ze kurushimu koto wa dekimasen.”
“Your people are dying. You leave us now, you die with them,” explained Zara. “Now, put your hands on the coffer. We can save your line if you do.”
Emi-zan backed away, shaking her head. She dashed out of the entrance and around the corner. Kiyo-zan jerked away and ran after her.
“No,” yelled Jaxx. He lunged for Kiyo-zan, grasping the back of Kiyo-zan’s shirt and yanked him to the ground.
Kiyo-zan kicked his legs, breaking loose from Jaxx’s grip.
“Not enough time,” said Abdu. He pounced, taking both Jaxx and Kiyo-zan by the back of their shirts and lifting them over and dropping them inside the open sarcophagus. Abdu clasped both hands together as the pyramid continued to shudder, the ceiling breaking apart, dropping clumps of rock on the ground, coating Abdu’s and Zara’s fur.
Abdu and Zara nodded, then closed their eyes, thrusting their hands onto the ceremonial coffer.
A wave of sharp energy shot through Jaxx. His chest lifted toward the ceiling, just as it had the first time he’d been on a granite slab inside a pyramid, his back arching as they floated off the ground.
A flash of light covered Jaxx’s sight and penetrated his cells, widening them, expanding them in precisely the same way as before. He felt his body drifting upward, too light for planet Taiyo’s gravity, his hands and feet went numb, his spine firing synapses to every area of his body, activating suspended DNA, connecting him to the pyramid. A vast network opened up like a map before him, those glorious golden beams connecting planet to planet, pyramid to pyramid. This time, however, he understood something he hadn’t before. He could pick and choose which line, which beam he’d like to cross, and to which planet or moon he’d like to travel.
He floated as if he were in a sea of water, with no sound, no movement other than his own, and pressed a beam that connected to his own Solar System, the one where he was born and raised. He slid his finger across the line, pushing Neburu, Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn out of the way, and pressed his palm against Jupiter.
Jupiter grew large, displaying the moons that orbited it. He grabbed Callisto like a marble ball and pressed it against his heart.
Then, the inevitable darkness.
And rainbows, colors penetrating every aspect of his soul until his arms started to tingle, then his face, neck, and finally, the rest of his body.
He took in a deep, cleansing breath. He was in Flood of Dawns’ Great Pyramid, back on Callisto. And one by one, Zara, Abdu, and Kiyo-zan materialized in front of him.
Zara eyed Jaxx. “Let’s get moving.” Her eyes moved to the chamber’s exit.
Jaxx gathered himself, then ran to the platform just outside of the room and slid down the tunnel. His feet hit the cold, desert-like terrain and he popped up. He took a few fast strides then stopped.
His shoulders drooped and his hopes fell like a thousand perfectly placed dominoes.
Fire raged across the city, its glass dome broken in several places, Atlanteans strewn all over the land between the pyramid and the city.
Flood of Dawn was no more.
39
Edge of J-Quadrant, Starship Atlantis (Slipping Further Away from Jupiter)
A man, clad in all black led Craig’s daughter down a hallway. Her tears blurred her vision so she didn’t know exactly where she was going, and if they hadn’t been blurred, the memory of her mom’s brains smeared across the wall, blood splattered over her and the bed, replaying over and over in her head would have fogged her sight anyway.
Right now, all she knew was to trust her father’s words, “I’m having this guy take you someplace safe, darling, until we can eradicate the threat.”
Her eleven- year-old mind didn’t comprehend threat. She understood that her mother was dead, shot right in front of her eyes and maybe that was the threat? Or, the man who shot her mother was a threat? It wasn’t computing. All that was computing was an emptiness
in her chest, a hole full of misery and fear in her heart.
“Stop, Miss.” The man in black touched her back, halting her. He turned her in front of an orange, rusty door, three times the size of the regular doors on Starship Atlantis. A small, round window was atop the door, too tall for her to see through, even on her tip-toes.
He slid a card down the control panel, then typed in a code. The door slid open.
The man held her by the collar and bent down on one knee, a strong minty smell coming off his breath. He had an accent. A really bad, fake accent and all she could see were his eyes. The rest of his face and body was covered in a black jumpsuit, a military vest wrapped around his back and chest. “You’ll be safe in here. Be nice to the people inside. They are doctors and may need to poke and prod you, but they will not harm you. Do you understand, Claudia?”
Claudia nodded her head up and down, her innocent eyes betraying her doubt.
“Don’t do anything that your dad wouldn’t want you to do in there, Claudia. Okay? Be a nice little girl. These are your dad’s people. They won’t harm a hair on your head.”
She nodded her head again and the man stood, tapped on her back a couple of times to push her forward and through the entrance into a large room filled with rusty walls. To the right, Claudia could hear some commotion and movement, but they were out of view.
“Claudia, go.”
She held her ground.
The man nudged her forward. “Get going, Miss.”
She didn’t budge, shaking her head, adamant. There was something about this room that creeped her out, that caused goose bumps to rise on her skin.
“I’m sorry, but I have to do this.” He picked her up and walked through the entrance, taking a sharp right and set her on the ground.
Claudia gasped. “Sissy!”
Her sister was sitting in a chair surrounded by several men and women in white, scrunched in by monitors that spouted numbers and graphs across the screens.
Atlantis Quadrilogy - Box Set Page 65
