Slade handed Craig his gun. “Put this next to my temple when we walk through Deck 4’s doors. A person in a clown mask, walking next to you isn’t going to fly too well in the eyes of politicians.” Slade took a few steps up the stairs.
“Wait,” said Craig. “When someone sees me with a gun to a clown’s head, I just tell them to have a good day?”
Slade thought for a moment, a smile slowly appearing on his face. “Exactly.” Slade hurried up the stairs.
Craig followed. “That isn’t going to work.”
“You’re the damn President of the United States. Whatever you say, they’ll go with. Trust me.” Slade put the clown mask on and leaned back against Craig. “Put your arm around me and the gun against my temple.”
Craig complied and pressed forward, using Slade’s body to open the doors.
“Mr. President?” said Gloria Avanoe, the Representative from Nevada. “What in God’s name are you doing?” Several other people were walking in another direction, toward the launching bay, although this woman was the only one who noticed Craig.
“Have a nice day, Gloria.” Craig side stepped her, flashing his shiniest smile, and ducked into a public restroom.
“Let go of me, Craig,” said Slade.
Craig let go and Slade kicked open a stall. There was nothing there but a toilet. He kicked open the next stall. “There it is.” A black duffelbag.
He grabbed the bag, unzipped it, and dug through, pulling out a Space Marine jumpsuit, a pilot’s helmet, and a pilot’s vest. He undressed and slapped his new clothes on quickly. He pulled the helmet over his head and shoved it on, pulling down the visor to hide the majority of his face.
“Sir,” said a man’s voice. “Are you in danger?”
Slade poked his head out of the bathroom stall.
A Marine stood next to Craig, concern in his eyes.
“Calm down there, soldier,” said Craig. “I’m fine. Is something going on?”
“Yes, Mr. President. We have a situation a few floors down. Please get to your room for safety. I’ll escort you up there.”
Slade walked out of the stall. “No need, Lieutenant. We’re getting the president off this bird.”
The Marine shuffled in place, clearly uncomfortable with this new information. “Well, uh...I’ve not been notified. I should...uh...”
“Marine, you are taking up too much of my valuable time,” said Craig. He put his hand out and the Marine took it. “Thank you for your service. What’s your name?”
“Lieutenant Buffington...Jared Buffington.”
“Well, Jared. I’m going to let your superiors know about your good deed today. I’ll make sure they look at you in a different light. I’m sorry if you weren’t informed, but I’m leaving on account of my and my children’s safety. I assure you, where I’m going will be safe.”
“Where are you going, Sir? I’ll notify the Fleet Admiral.”
Craig smirked. “I’ll contact him myself. It’s time for you to leave.”
The Marine nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
A crackle came over the Marine’s comm radio. “We need you on Deck 5, ASAP. We’ve got them secured, but we need more bodies.”
The Marine clicked his comm line. “On my way, Sir.” He turned, saluted the president and ran out of the bathroom.
“Being the president must be nice,” said Slade. “You can get away with anything.”
Craig’s eyes twinkled. “It’s better than nice. Let’s go.”
They made their way out of the bathroom and into the hallway. They followed the signs on the walls that pointed to the launch bay until it opened up into a large lobby where two large, metallic doors hugged a wall.
Alarms blared on this floor. It took some time, but the starship’s central ops eventually pressed the high alert button. The Kelhoon were on board and of course, the alarm was a great distraction Craig and Slade were waiting for.
Craig punched in his code into the control panel. It beeped and the doors slid open, displaying a bay full of pilots and technicians chaotically moving around on high alert, rushing orders back and forth from one sector to the next. Several Space Marines ran in, protecting the perimeter, just in case the Kelhoon made it up this far.
A transport ship sat in the middle of the bay. Slade jabbed a finger at it. “That’s our ride.”
“Excellent.”
They hurried over to the transport. It was much wider and longer than a starfighter, though slower and less maneuverable with practically no armor.
The transport hissed and the back portion of it opened up, clicking as it descended onto the bay floor, creating a ramp for Craig and Slade to enter.
“President’s go first, Mr. President,” said Slade.
The President formed a steeple with his hands and pressed them to his lips. He wasn’t a man of God, but it was as close as he would come to prayer. He needed this to go right. “Off to our new home. Congratulations, Slade. It’s finally done.”
The president walked up the ramp and Slade followed closely behind, their steps clanking against the ramp’s tough metal iron alloy. Slade slapped a round button just inside the transport’s cargo deck and the ship quavered, the ramp lifted. He stood, arms clasped around his stomach, and watched the ramp shut the entire way, letting Craig make his way to the bridge on his own.
“So long, my friend. You were a good ship to me.” He gave a quick salute to Starship Atlantis and spun on his heels, and paced through the enormous carrier – past boxes of supplies and a few cargo hatches – until he came to a door. He typed in the code and the door opened.
Two wide-eyed girls stood next to Dr. Andrea Cross. They screamed in unison, “Uncle Slade!” and dashed over to him, hugging his legs.
He patted their backs. “Hey, girls. It’s great to see you.” He took a couple pieces of gum out of his pocket and handed it to them, feigning an overly exaggerated smile. “Chew up.”
They popped the gum into their mouths and sat down on some chairs, swinging their legs back and forth, giddy, as if they were heading to Disneyland.
Craig appeared behind him.
“Daddy! Daddy!,” said Rose. “Uncle Slade let us have candy!”
Craig whispering in Slade’s ear. “I see they have a new uncle now? Congratulations.”
“Yeah, I thought you’d like that memory implant. They actually think I’m a nice guy.”
Craig chuckled. “Well, give them some time. They’ll see through it.”
“Where is your secret service?”
“Crew quarters.”
“Well, let’s get this show on the road.”
Craig walked over to the command chair. “Girls, follow Andrea to the entertainment area. I’m about to launch us to our new home.”
Andrea grabbed their hands and pulled them off of the chairs. “Let’s go, darlings.” She led them past Slade and down a set of stairs beyond the ship’s bridge.
Craig swiveled in his chair. “Get out of view, Slade. I can’t have them seeing you, compromising our mission.”
Slade hid behind a beam, then slid down to the floor, making sure he was outside the vidscreens vision.
Craig brought the flight deck up on the screen.
A man in white, observing calculations on a data hologram came to attention. “Mr. President.”
“Please open a tube. We’re ready for a launch.”
The space controller looked over his launch bay status screen. “Opening tube 5. Please proceed.”
“Thank you.”
The vid bleeped off and Craig rolled the craft forward. “I never thought it would be this easy.”
The vid screen bleeped back on. “Mr. President, Fleet Admiral Lon Vernadore here. What in God’s black-space and everything in between are you doing?”
“I’m getting out of here. I have my kids, safe with me. Please don’t worry about my safety. I’ll be back ship-side as soon as you notify me the coast is clear.”
“Where are you going?”
&n
bsp; “Out on a stroll until everything eases up, Admiral. I couldn’t help but hear all the commotion on Decks 5, 6, and 7. I hear enemies are on board. We have to leave now.”
The admiral eyed him like a wolf, analyzing his every word.
Craig knew Lon. He’d been looking for a crack in his story.
“The threat is neutralized, Sir. Are you still wanting to relieve yourself from this ship? If you don’t return, eventually, I will take over all controls of Starship Atlantis.”
“Why wouldn’t I return?”
“Because there is something you’re not telling me.”
The vid screen split, showing tube 5’s inner doors opening. Craig moved the craft closer. “Are you calling the president a liar?”
“Stop your ship, Mr. President. Like I said, the threat is neutralized.”
Craig continued to move the ship forward. “You do not have executive orders over me. I’m putting this bird in space.”
Craig turned off the comm link and Lon blinked out. The screen changed from the split screen to the tube.
Slade eased himself into the co-pilot’s chair as soon as the holovid was off. “Initiate Adaptive Boost. We need that space Doppler system to find the nearest portal.” Slade opened the comm line, typing in 5-1-0-0-8 into the radio frequency, making the ship itself into a massive receiver.
“Initiating launch,” said Craig, pressing the holographic thrusters, throttling them up. The ship started to move faster. The launch tube’s exit doors opened and in a matter of seconds, they blasted out of the tube and into space.
A large cruiser, cannon turrets at rest and offline, was a ways in front of them. Craig veered the craft to one side, missing the cruiser, and sped through an alleyway of fleet ships.
The Doppler system beeped and a map pulled up on the vid screen’s upper right portion, showing a spinning energy source close by.
“We go through that and they know we are up to something. They’ll see us disappear right before their eyes.” Craig glanced around the map. “Is there another portal farther off?”
“No.” Slade had no reason to look for another portal or any care to. He wanted to get away from Lon and his fleet as fast as he could. No more waiting, no more ducking, dodging, and setting conspiracies in motion. “We go through that vortex.”
Craig let out an exasperated breath. “They need to think I went down in flames somewhere, Slade. That was the plan. They need to think I crashed into an asteroid a way off in the distance. We have the detonations set and we can drop them, crack a meteor in half, ‘cause a big stir, then blast into the next portal – a portal they won’t see us disappear into. I don’t want them following me. I want a clean break. A way out.”
Slade unholstered his weapon. This time it wasn’t a fake, a ruse. He’d pull the trigger if he had to. “Fly through that portal now.”
“That phaser is becoming your best friend, Slade. Be wary of what you consider a friend.” He adjusted his navigation to the nearest portal and changed to Sub Light 3.5, moving the ship at a much faster speed than any fleet ship was currently traveling. “We’ll be leaving the fleet in four seconds, entering the portal in six.”
Slade watched space, the stars all around it. He couldn’t see an actual portal or vortex or any energetic doorway that would lead him and this ship into another quadrant, but he knew it was there, waiting, wanting him, daring him to jump from this quadrant to the next.
A static-sound erupted and the transport ship shuddered like a house during an oncoming tornado. Slade gripped the armrests, digging his fingernails into the leather, and held his breath. Blue, yellow, and orange lightning streaks twirled inside and around the ship. An orange-lit tunnel opened up before them, sucking them in, like lint into a vacuum. The tunnel rotated, spun, pushing them at an incredible pace.
The ship rattled and the holographic instrument panel shorted in and out as the ship blitzed through.
“What the fuck is happening, Slade?”
This was the first time Slade had ever heard the president cuss. “Just hold on.” Slade had no idea if they were heading straight for a brick wall or the actual quadrant he hoped for – J-Quadrant, just outside of Callisto orbit.
Their craft suddenly buffeted and spun, lights of every color shrouded the cockpit, clouds of electric gases and more lightning erupted, creating a swirling array. The static-sound stopped and they heard a low, deep rumble like thunder. Another lightning bolt cut through the gases and then shifted, blanketing them with clouds of pale whites and reds.
Silence filled the cockpit, until Andrea, Craig’s daughters, and a few Secret Service ran up the small staircase and onto the bridge.
Andrea, nearly out of breath, held onto the kids like a mom to her own children. “What happened?”
Slade couldn’t see anything outside the window except the colorful clouds. He flinched when another crack of thunder rumbled around their transport ship. He checked his holovid, pulling up the radar. “Nothing bad. We are...” He smiled. “We are near Ganymede, a Jupiter moon. Along with Europa, Io, Lysithea, Elara, Autonoe, and bang! Callisto.”
“Where are we now?” asked Craig, standing, making his way over to his children.
Slade brought up their exact location and about fell out of his seat. They were in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere.
“Everyone, sit down and buckle up. Gravity will be a bitch, so this isn’t going to be a smooth ride. We will be heading out of Jupiter’s atmosphere and exosphere.”
With that, Slade pushed the throttle forward. They were heading to their new home on Callisto to head up a new business. Life was looking good. The plan had been perfect.
He smiled. “We’re going to live like kings.”
“Cheers to that,” replied Craig. “Cheers to that.”
44
Flood of Dawn, Callisto’s ~ J-Quadrant, Solar System
The Callisto sky was filled with ash and black clouds. Thunder and lightning split the heavens like a gong and fireworks show.
Flood of Dawn was ravaged and scorched, the trees were black with leafless branches, the homes burnt to soot, the crystal domes and palaces resembling charred coal.
The glass dome, which had given Flood of Dawn its pristine environment, was in pieces throughout the city, glass everywhere. A saber-tooth tiger lay on its side, breathless and dead, dried blood covering its face.
And everyone was gone. Other than the many dead just outside of the city, where had everyone else gone? Where did they flee to? Was there safe haven some place nearby?
Jaxx took a step, crunching glass beneath his boot, Zara and Kiyo-zan behind him.
Jaxx looked over his shoulder, eyes sad and dreary. “Where are they?”
“We can’t fulfill the prophecy without them, Jaxx,” explained Zara. “Abdu is looking for them.”
Jaxx tightened his fists. “I know.” He picked up a charred piece of rock and chucked it at a blackened crystal dome. It ricocheted off and tumbled down a small hill, the hill’s grass brown and dead.
“Nani shiyou za?” asked Kiyo-zan, his cape whipping in the breeze.
“What are we going to do?” Jaxx dropped his head. “I don’t know.” He closed his eyes, searching for Rivkah’s energy field in his mind’s eye. He perked up when he saw a faint, reddish-purple trail of ethereal smoke. It led over a desert hill, over a mountain range in a place he’d never been before. He followed it to a base in the northeast. Kelhoon ships surrounding the base. Several Atlantean starfighters and battle tanks had been broken and torn apart from what must have been a battle. A battle the Atlanteans had most certainly lost.
In his mind, he saw a Kelhoon standing over a dying soldier with golden armor, holes pierced through it, blood oozing out. He was crawling away, moving to what he thought was safety. The Kelhoon leapt, landing on the Altantean warrior’s back, then knocked his helmet down into a ravine.
The Kelhoon roared and threw his weapons to the ground and widened his mouth, lunging at the Atlanteans head.
Jaxx opened his eyes before he saw the death bite. Kelhoon ate people, ate just about every Being out there, as long as they were pristine, healthy, untainted. Atlanteans and children were as close as Kelhoon could get to their most desirable flavors.
It was sick and Jaxx needed to end this, end this for all those who suffered under their rule and torment. They were savages, plain and simple.
Jaxx bared his teeth, anger piercing his eyes. “Rivkah is alive. If Rivkah is alive, then maybe Bogle and Fox are as well. There might be a chance.” He spoke through his teeth. “Those Kelhoon must die, if it’s the last thing I do. Abdu indeed went in the right direction to find them.”
“A fine arrow separates a killer from a warrior, Jaxx,” said Zara. “One is swayed by reason. The other by purpose. A warrior fights to live and stand up for those less fortunate. A killer only lives to fight. You’re not a killer, Jaxx. Don’t become one. If you do, it will be like throwing you to a pride of starving lions. There is no telling which lion will consume you first.”
Jaxx looked past Zara and toward the east, the Chi rising up through him, fire coursing through his veins. He thrust the energy at a dome and cracked it in half, the sound echoing across the valley. “Throw me to the lions then. And I’ll return leading the pride.”
Zara stepped forward, smacking Jaxx on the back, interrupting his visions of conquest. Her purple eyes sparkled. “Every day I’m liking you more and more, Jaxx.”
An engine roared across the sky. Jaxx dropped to one knee, glancing to the heavens. An Agadon carrier, along with their combat-mechs and starfighters, came barreling through the atmosphere, blue fire from their boosters glowed upon the darkened sky. It was a sight that had become too familiar. Rage burned in his chest. He harnessed it. Didn’t matter if the power came from good or bad sources; power was just power.
“They found us,” said Zara. “They ended planet Taiyo.” She gave Kiyo-zan an apologetic look.
Kiyo-zan bowed his head, staring at his feet. “Watashi zo hitobito wanaku natta.”
“Yes,” said Zara. “Your people are no more but the spark inside your heart. Do not lose it. It will guide you strong.”
Atlantis Quadrilogy - Box Set Page 68
