Cyber Viking 1

by Marcus Sloss

  “You said the short answer in a long spiel and the long answer in one word. Just saying,” Eddy said, and I caught Dedric snickering.

  “You got me. I guess we deliver that idea to the council. If they approve, we can send a team out to give our offer. I personally would not risk it until they come to us. I bet the Colonel sends them flooding our way to relieve his problem now that they know we exist. It is best if we do not cross Aspen territory lines unless we are desperate.”

  “You think a turf war can start?” Perci said. I knew she was listening to the command channel.

  “One already has. We have a turf war with humans, alien bugs to our west, and then the Xgates. This is exactly why I am so desperate to forage now. The moment we get home, the teams are going back out to looting close range locations. Aspen will one hundred percent stop sending hunting parties this way if everything is picked clean. We have only been gone for five hours. I need more drone operators. I will wake up Peterson at six so we have more coverage. Mitchell, we’re twenty mikes out on the dirt road.”

  “Roger,” Mitchell said.

  “I just want to be clear. If someone says they want to go to Aspen, what are we saying to them?” Bradley the firefighter asked. I frowned, not realizing he was on the channel. It made sense to make him an officer since he was in charge of eighty plus people. “Hard facts or soft truths?”

  “One moment.”

  ‘Aspen has a stronghold and a standing militia. They have solar power, probably water, and a military leader. They also are not accepting new people. Most of Denver flooded into Aspen, seeking fancy homes to squat in. I bet they have tons of space we do not have. They are already desperate for food. The source of information we have is that new recruits have to establish themselves with five raids for Aspen before they are allowed in. I am guessing here, but those raids will include alien planet raids once the surrounding area is picked clean. We are working with their leadership to establish trade and potentially joint raids. If you decide to go to Aspen, we at Stronghold Mansion will not stop you. You can leave with what you brought with you. Just know, you will very likely be scorned and denied entry. We already lost one good man who was trying to swap sides; he now has a widowed wife and two kids. There is a lesson here. Lastly, I get more information tonight. If anything new is established with Colonel Reinhardt, I will pass the message to you all.” - Captain King Eric

  “So Cap, I hear you like Cap the most,” Bradley said hesitantly. “I got a team wanting to recon the area. Our own vehicle, our own men risking their necks.”

  “The great thing about our stronghold is there are very few vulnerabilities. If your men squeal it, won’t change that we have a hundred troops on the walls at all times. So yes, they can go. I would like the intel myself.”

  “I am not going, my wife would kill me if I led her to a concentration camp with starving refugees. She has friends here, our kids are running around asking to keep new dogs, and we don’t have to look over our shoulders for bad guys. I see why some want the grass to be greener on the other side. A mansion per family makes a person lick their lips. Except that is probably not the case anymore. Thanks for the approval. I will relay what I learn. Fire-annihilator out.”

  I think Bradley’s group had the only people curious to leave, because that was the last I heard about Aspen. Twenty minutes later, we rolled through the gate. I hopped out of the RV, flagged down the driver with the tavers, and hopped into the bed of the truck. The driver stuck his head out questioningly. Definitely one of the Mitchell brothers, as he had the same features. He saw my confusion.

  “Erik with a k. Where to, Cap?” Erik Mitchell asked.

  “Hi Erik. Going to take a while to memorize everyone’s names. Take us to the river. Turn north for the lake and stop when you can go no further.”

  I used the slow drive to inspect the work. I saw the road behind the barn leading to the cave from the height of the truck bed. The path was narrow, the dirt in the area coated the grass, and our dozer had cleaned up the mess. I shifted to see the bunny pens were built now. They were just sticks in the ground in sectioned off squares. A few branches covered the small pens to keep predators out. Or maybe to keep kids from grabbing them.

  Numerous kids kneeled down, trying to feed the rabbits grass with parents chatting not far away. I shifted my gaze to our lemon lot. There were homes in between cars now that we had orderly rows. I saw a road sign that read ‘Denver 90 miles’ on it. I immediately began typing.

  ‘Acquire road signs. Metal is money, they are flat, and can be used as temporary instant covers.’ - Cap

  Gary and the woodworking crew were furiously working. Electric chainsaws were drowned out by firefighter axes smashing limbs off trees. The progress was crazy. We spent an hour getting Desmond this morning and then four more hours on the mission. The entire first home was done. It even had a door with hinges. The problem was that the size was only a thousand square feet or so. A separate crew was installing windows. If you couldn’t move a whole house, you sure could piece one together.

  The next projects were not something resembling a traditional home. Log poles were embedded into the ground. Trusses were slid into sawed out ‘U’ shapes on the top of the logs. The trusses were then layered with limbs to provide temporary roofing. The open barn was two hundred feet long and thirty feet wide. The roof would need more limbs, but about a hundred people were building bundles or putting them on. Our first viking longhouse was being built, roof first. The tile Slister had mentioned last night was here. Older kids helped parents while they laid tile on the ground. It was far from perfect. It was not a mansion in Aspen. But it was the start of a home and a place to safely sleep. I saw Clive helping move tiles, which meant an extra toilet house had probably been put on hold, and I was okay with that.

  Of course, the moment we drove by with a horse trailer full of aliens, people paused to watch us pass by. We rolled to where the river met the woods and stopped with a growing crowd. Before too many people could crowd us, I did the honors of lowering the steel door until it became a ramp.

  I grunted and waved for the tavers to follow me. They waddled forward in a race to the river and jumped into the water. Their powerful tails allowed them to dart deep down. When the tri-toothed animal rose, they did so with mouths full of water vegetation. They were starving and oblivious to us observing them. I decided to give them space for now. Guard team leader Mitchell approached to study the animals.

  “I will add them to the rotation. The guards stuck on the wall have been bitching for excitement. Rookies, I tell ya. This will give them something to do. I will report our findings. I take it you want them to be left alone to recover for now?” Mitchell said, swinging a friendly arm around me. “Oh hey, Erik.”

  Mitchell’s brother approached us to join our little chat. “How about we let some of the guards go looting? I know I could use some boring time.”

  “I doubt we will have any boring time in the coming days,” I said with a scoff.

  The three of us shared a tense laugh. My Gpad pinged.

  ‘Let’s be friends. I am honored to have the ‘Captain Moostache’ as a neighbor. We have over four thousand refugees in need of homes. We cannot feed them. Please share intel and I will stop sending crews into your area. I know you are lacking in infrastructure where we have plenty of it. In exchange, we could use some food.’ - Colonel Reinhardt

  ‘Deal. I will send a crew with some MREs as a gesture of goodwill. Do not expect a lot. I have many mouths to feed. It will be enough to say sorry and hopefully work toward common solutions. As for the refugees, I simply have no room right now or means to feed them. Soon, I hope. We have clean water we can hand out daily. I am hoping when the gates go golden, we can trade for sustainable animals, fruit trees, and new types of seeds. Also, I have a drone up at all times monitoring the Xgate. I will allow a scout team to view it in a sign of peace. That way, if the buxen or deermen, come charging your way, you have a warning.’ Captain King Eric


  ‘Wow that is impressive. I thought you would threaten us and be a dick. I watched your videos from Saudi Arabia. I read the reports. You do not accept defeat. Exactly the kind of officer humanity needs. No wonder Linda Growlen literally gave up half the food of Fort Carson for you.’ - Reinhardt

  ‘We got lucky at our gate. I have a radio you can reach me on through your scout. Feel free to set up an outpost, and Colonel — good luck.’ - cap

  ‘So send the refugees. I seriously cannot take them.’ - Reinhardt

  ‘Do they have water?’ - cap

  ‘Yes, clean and fresh. No food. They are starving.’ - Reinhardt

  I looked at the tavers and then shook my head no. The Mitchell brothers were eyeing my communication. I elbowed them both to give me space. I screamed into the heavens with my entire lung capacity. This earned me stares, but I did not care. I knew the council would not have a good answer if I did not. I called Perci.

  “Go for your queen,” Perci said.

  “MRE count?”

  “We got five pallets in total. Roughly fifteen hundred left.”

  “Cancel cracker program for the ducks. Perci, I am sorry,” I said, and hung up.

  ‘Give them this offer. There are homes in the area that are not defended and have been looted. We have hunting teams scouring the area. I saw a bunch of fish on that other planet. Also, we buried the dead flapions. If I had known there were starving people, I would have saved them. Sorry, distracted. Send them here to check the gate for food daily. If we have extra, we will hand it out.’ - cap

  ‘The price?’ - Reinhardt

  My Gpad was going crazy with our food updates. Apparently, the local looting had more food spoiling than we could eat. I guess we could hand food out now.

  ‘No price, colonel. Human decency. My Mother Hens, (S1/S4) say we can hand out food tonight. Send them over for meals for now. No promises on long-term food.’

  ‘Thanks Cap, Colonel out.’ - Reinhardt

  I turned to the two Mitchell brothers. “I blame you both for this. Never mention being bored. Reduce the guard to half, have the other half looting or building.”

  I had a lot of work to do and very little time to do it. We needed to be ready for a massive wave of starving people desperate for salvation. My guess was Aspen had stolen all the good fighters already too. Still, if you can train an ex-con, an ex-con can train a regular citizen.

  ‘Dear residents of Stronghold Mansion, and Stronghold Cornerstore. Four thousand hungry mouths are coming this way. They are not going to be let inside the gates. They are to be treated with respect until they deserve punishment. We are going to try to keep them alive until the golden gates. That means extra looting, fire pits for cooking, and preparing to hand out a lot of soon-to-spoil food. I sent this area-wide because I do not want violence. Protect what is yours, but know we are watching.’ Captain King Eric

  With that message sent, I went to find Perci. Torrez stopped me on the way. “Hey Cap, got a rough sketch of the layout. The scale is off, we have a lot more land than this but a small overview well help the community at least get an idea of what is where,” my friend said before bounding away with his mechanic legs whining. I glance at the paper and saw –

  CHAPTER 19

  From noon to sunset, I hauled rocks out of the river. The entire time, I was barefoot, fishing for rocks. The tavers fled up the river to the lake, so they were no help. Mary was curious as to why I was braving the chilly waters. I said if we did not have paths to walk on, then tonight, when it rained, our paths would be mud. My work attracted two things. Dogs and kids.

  Both were fantastic to have around. The first path I built was the mansion to the river. The kids, with their watching parents, converted a messy pile of stones into a flat surface. The river itself had a nice flow to it. I would drag a big rock up the bank to get access to a section, and small stones would tumble into the unleashed current.

  I only spent the first twenty minutes in the water. A backhoe came over and dredged rocks onto the shore when it was able to. The kids loved to watch the machine in action. Hell, even I got a kick out of the way the water cascaded off the mechanical arm. Or the sploosh nose when it dove to fetch rocks.

  I would be visited as I worked. Slister helped me haul rocks, while giving me updates on our medical patients. The mom who lost her husband was grieving, but not suicidal. At least she thought so. Suzanne, the girl we recovered from the Xgate, was at the range being trained. She was healthy, adapting, and ready for vengeance. A man broke a finger with an auto hammer. We giggled at that one because the ads we used to get bombarded with would promise users that they’d never smash a finger again. A girl tripped running, which resulted in a broken wrist. People were getting hurt, but it was minimal. Later, Becca stole the gear that I had piled aside with a thank you. Perci would say hi, get some attention like cheek kisses, and return to her organization for tonight’s food hand out. I think she enjoyed seeing me on her breaks. Jevon asked for a detailed report and then went to find the tavers. Peterson arrived shortly after with her goggles around her neck, telling me she had two drones in the air and was testing more candidates.

  Those who bothered me did so with simple news. We found a hundred road signs. The area a team went to was already looted. The tavers are very alien looking. Are the tavers dumb? Stuff like that.

  Willow joined me not long after she went shooting. We stole longing glances at each other. She got to talking with Jill, Maria, and a few of the other moms. She fit right in. When I would get caught watching, she would tuck her loose hairs behind her left ear with a rosy smile. The little game of teasing glares helped pass the time.

  The setting sun cast an orange glow between the coming storm clouds. I was done moving rocks for today when my Gpad pinged an alert. I glanced down. The coming tide of those hungry for food rolled from Aspen. The Colonel had given us more than enough time to prepare. I retrieved my .308 from a high tree branch; Mary asked to play with daddy’s gun four times, so I stuffed it high while working. Willow hip-checked me playfully when I left the area.

  “Why not use the trail!?” Willow asked sarcastically.

  She had a point. There was no path from the river to the gate. Always more work for another time.

  “I am confused. I only see a dozen cars coming,” I said. I sent a signal for Peterson to view further. “Oh shit, that’s why.”

  Willow looked at my Gpad. Thousands of people were walking north for us. I watched her reaction. She held her shock in check. I beamed proudly and she may have tackled me to the grass. We rolled around while passionately kissing until we both blushed red. I realized we were getting a bit worked up over each other. We giggled when I pried us apart.

  A new alert hit my wrist. I clicked on the other drone feed. The flapions were active again. I sent out a message to all the teams.

  ‘Drop what you are doing and get home now. Potential aliens coming’ - cap

  “You missed a period or a comma, cap!” Torrez shouted from the stone path he was helping build with Maria and Jasmine.

  I sent him a friendly wave, keeping four fingers up to join my middle one. We passed around the mansion and I was shocked. We had three longhouses partially built. There were no walls and the third one needed most of its roof to be added, but I was stunned. Bundles of branches were being taken off building one. I watched the 550 cord being undone and handed to crews joining street signs together. It made sense then. We were running out of string, rope, and twine. I was proud to see them adapt. The entire sight brought me joy. The first longhouse was packed with sleeping gear and the second was filling up. A steady flow of people moved items from the mansion to the second longhouse.

  The Mother Hens were breaking up a meeting near our entry gate to Stronghold Mansion. I glanced down at my Gpad. So far, only a few flapion scouts were entering Earth. Nothing to be too concerned about, but it would not go well if those seeking food were defenseless. Perci arrived, placed a hand over the image, and ga
ve me a kiss when our eyes locked. Her brown hair with blonde streaks twirled when she spun to leave the stronghold. Her tight, firm butt snapped in her yoga pants. When I stood flatfooted in distraction, she snickered.

  “Come, husband. I need to show you something,” Perci said and I was escorted outside our gate. A large assortment of food was lined up on tables. I instantly twisted my face in concern. Pallets created a feeble half-wall. “I know, I see that look on your face. When you start thinking about how to control thousands of hungry people, well, this was the result. We were going to let them in without weapons one at a time at the spot where the dirt road ends. Then tunnel them into this pallet-line so we could control the flow. I called the Colonel seeking help.”

  “Oh, I saw you take the radio earlier. What did he say?”

  “I asked if he could release the people in waves. He replied he had no…” Perci paused as our Gpad alerts flared with a code red.

  The entire community looked to their Gpads. I was expecting a few hundred flapions. Nope. Gargoyles the size of an RV stepped out of the shimmering blue portal. That was the best way to describe them. A dozen muscled, four-legged creatures with large heads were shown roaring as they left imprints behind where they stepped. The roars reached our ears miles and miles away. These beasts had muscular bodies like a panther, wings like a dragon, and heads like a mastiff. Based on the video, they were at least twenty feet long and eight feet tall.