by Saxon Andrew
Summer shook her head, “That’s things bigger than the biblical ark!”
Jimmy nodded and Rachel said, “When that field disappeared, it fell away in stages. I think those long rods on the sides and top are what emit it. Take out one of them and I think we’ll disable their stardrive.”
“Get a defense satellite to target one,” Jimmy ordered.
The satellite Commander nodded and began issuing instructions.
• • •
The Alien Vessel moved over the terminator and came to a stop. Two defense satellites used some fuel to move into range; the ship had moved into a space between the defense-satellites that wasn’t covered. Suddenly, a huge port in the side of the giant opened and two small white-colored ships flew out at high speed and moved over the planet.
Ed was watching his monitor and sat straight up in his chair, “Those are some kind of warships!!”
Jillian looked up from her monitor, “How can you tell?”
“Their speed and how fast they changed course. They’re warships, make no mistake about that.”
• • •
The Lead Alien saw the four Agents were shocked by what they were seeing. Their mouths were open as vast bodies of water passed out of the terminator. The Lead Alien smiled as he saw their greed clearly exposed on their faces. He glanced at his top associate and nodded. The associate lifted his connector and whispered into it. One of the agents saw the two white ships accelerate away and asked, “Where are they going?”
“I need to collect more images for my sales brochure.”
The Agent shook his head, “I don’t think you’re going to need it.” The Lead agent smiled and continued to watch the vast oceans pass below.
• • •
Rachel said, “Don’t lose those ships!” Four monitors picked up the feeds of other satellites as the two ships flew around the planet and split up. Jimmy stared at them and said, “What are they doing?”
The two white ships moved out over the opposite side of the planet from the Freighter and one of them made a radical reverse turn in orbit over Australia and came roaring back. It stopped and everyone in the control room saw a small object ejected from under it. Rachel screamed, “IT DROPPED SOMETHING OVER THE AUSTRALIAN COLONY!!”
One of the satellites locked in on the drop site far below the white ship and a brilliant light suddenly appeared. Jimmy sighed, “They’re blasting the survivors.” The white ship accelerated away and another monitor showed another brilliant light in India.
Summer looked at Rachel, “TAKE YOUR SHOT!! WE HAVE TO STOP THEM!!”
Rachel shook her head, “The defense satellites aren’t in range yet!”
“TAKE IT ANYWAY!!”
Jimmy took Summer in his arms and softly said, “If we attack them now, that giant is going to run away. We have to stop it first or we’ll lose this war. I should have forced them to come to the cities.” Summer was crying on his chest as Jimmy held her tight.
• • •
Jillian watched a feed from the satellites and shook her head. Why were they not being allowed to attack? She heard Ed say, “If we go after those small bunny rabbits, the hare will jump away and come back with several thousand of them; you know how they reproduce.” She looked at him and he raised his shoulders, “I saw you shaking your head.”
• • •
Six more communities were blasted over the next hour and then Rachel said, “Target the top three rods on top of that ship.” Juan Alverez watched the three rods move slowly into the targeting systems of the defense satellites and then they had to readjust as the giant ship moved slightly. Two more communities died before Rachel yelled, “TAKE THEM OUT!!”
Three beams flashed out and three tall rods on top of the monster ship melted.
• • •
The Lead Alien saw the beams flash over the top of his ship and his mouth opened. Before he could say anything, the pilot softly said, “We’ve just lost three stardrive emitters!”
The Lead Alien whispered, “Can the system work without them?”
“No, it cannot.”
“Move us away from the planet and recall the Urrik Ships!”
The four Agents were so focused on the view of the planet, they never saw the beams flash in from the sides of the ship. The giant began moving away from the planet and six-brilliant beams flashed across its bow. “Order the Urriks to find the devices that are firing on us and to remove them.” His associate nodded and began speaking.
• • •
“LAUNCH, LAUNCH, LAUNCH!!” The eight Strikers left the moon at maximum acceleration and turned toward Earth. Captain Gallager said, “Boyer, you and Grant prevent that large ship from escaping. Herman, Soles, Edwards, Hamsul, and Brown will follow me; those two white ships are moving back to defend it against our satellites!”
Jillian saw Ed shaking his head and knew he was right about Gallager, he was going to either be a hero or die as one. She followed Ed toward the giant starship and he stopped fifty-miles away from it. “Uhhh…don’t we need to move between it and open space?”
“That thing is slow!” Jillian’s eyes narrowed and Ed sighed, “Look at its magnetic drives on the rear. That thing is built to haul freight, not win speed competitions. We need to stay here and try to save as many of our unit as we can.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’ve been watching those ships maneuver around the planet. They’ve made twenty-g-turns.”
“WHAT?”
“Just be ready and remember what I’ve taught you.” He saw Jillian start shaking and he said, “FOCUS, JILLY!! YOU CAN DO THIS!”
“How are they able to make those turns, Ed?”
“There’s two possibilities; one, they have some kind of gravity compensator. Or two, the pilots come from a planet with heavy gravity. Either way, they’ll be a tough nut to crack. Just do what I tell you and, for God’s sake, don’t ask why, just do it.” Jillian nodded and tried desperately to slow her heart rate.
• • •
The two white ships came roaring over the planet and Jillian yelled, “I’M DETECTING A SCANNER!!”
Ed winced and turned down the volume on his ear-buds, “NOT SO LOUD!!” Jillian winced and lowered her volume as well.
• • •
The two Urrik Ships split up and moved in at high speed toward the two defense-satellites. The satellites fired on the incoming ships hitting them on the sides with no visible effect. The two ships suddenly turned and fired an intense magnetic beam at the satellites, exploding them. The large vessel began moving again as the six-strikers roared in on the two white ships. One of them turned so fast it was behind them in an instant. The other made a radical turn and broke left. Four strikers flew after the escaping Urrik as the other moved in and opened fire on the two Strikers it was chasing at high speed.
Ed shook his head, the two-Strikers should have separated but they held their wingman formation and it got both killed. The magnetic beam was wide enough to hit both ships and after a pursuit of one-minute, both exploded. Ed sighed, so much for being a hero. “Jillian we’re going to pursue the ship that just killed the Captain. He’s going to join up with the other ship that is allowing the other strikers to chase him. Once they’re together, they’re planning to take out the rest of the unit.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We’ll come in from behind them just as they join up. You will take the one on the left and do your damndest to stay on its tail. Failing that, you’ll run like your pants are on fire. Don’t hesitate to use thirty-gravity turns if you must, just don’t fly a straight route, keep turning randomly until I can come help you.”
“What are you going to be doing?”
“I’ll try to take out one of them. If I lose the fight, get back inside the defense-satellites and head for the planet. You can’t win against two of them. Ready?” Jillian nodded and Ed smiled, “Let’s do this.” Ed went to full speed and headed toward the victorious white ship w
ith Jillian just off his portside.
• • •
Mark Herman yelled, “THE CAPTAIN’S DEAD!!”
“SHUT UP AND TAKE A SHOT!!”
“I CAN’T GET IT LINED UP.”
The four strikers twisted and turned behind the white ship but it stayed just out of their ability to line up their blasters. Suddenly, it whipped over their heads and joined the second white ship. Now the hunters became the prey. Keith yelled, “SPLIT UP, SPLIT UP!!”
The four Strikers broke apart in twos and saw the two white ships behind them suddenly turn and go in different directions as they saw a Striker move in behind each of them. They watched the dogfight evolve into a series of high-G turns and knew they stood no chance against the aliens. They turned and went to head off the giant starship moving away from Earth.
• • •
Ed knew the white ship that killed the Captain was the better pilot of the two. That’s why the other pilot was just keeping the others busy chasing him. He followed the white ship and worked hard to keep the ship in front of him; it was a huge struggle to do it. Hard left, hard right, vertical turn with a twist, then back to the left. He kept his hand steady on the control lever and began to get the rhythm. He fired his blaster and scored five-hits but whatever that ship was made from, it just shrugged them off. He realized there was only one thing to do. He deliberately made an error and the white ship was behind him in an instant.
“All right old chum, let’s see what you’ve got.” Ed flew his ship making hard turns one after the other. The white ship hit his Striker eight times but couldn’t keep Ed in his beam. “ED, HE’S GOTTEN BEHIND ME!!”
“DON’T STOP TURNING!! HE’LL HAVE TO KEEP YOU IN HIS BEAM FOR A MINUTE. JUST KEEP HIM GUESSING!!”
Ed broke hard left, then right, then left again. The white ship anticipated the last left turn and Ed smiled. Another right, another left and Ed pulled the control hard right. He shut off the rear drive units and hit the front thrusters; the bow of the Striker whipped around and Ed’s Striker was flying backwards as the white ship turned directly into it. Ed opened fire into the viewport on the front of the white ship and the blaster beam tore through the glass and vaporized the pilot. Ed hit the center thrusters instantly as the white ship flew over him and began to slow.
Ed whipped the ship around and saw Jillian fleeing in front of the other white ship a hundred miles below him. “Jillian, now listen closely and keep your cool. Make a short-left turn and then make a thirty-G turn to the right. As soon as you come out of it, go vertical and hold your course!!”
“But…”
“SHUT UP AND DO IT!!” Ed turned the bow toward the left and went to full speed. He saw Jillian make the thirty-G turn and immediately go vertical. The white ship was slightly slow in making the vertical turn and a small gap had opened between it and Jillian’s Striker. Jillian’s Striker was flying a straight course as she fought to recover from the thirty-G turn and the white ship flashed behind her and opened fire. Ed came rushing in from directly above it and fired into the White Ship’s viewport. The ship blew up in a massive explosion as Ed flew over it. Ed said, “Slow down, Jilly. Move on my wing and let’s join the rest of the unit at the Freighter.”
Jillian saw the white ship go up in an explosion and she turned left and saw Ed moving away from the explosion. Jillian was shaking violently as she looked and saw the giant starship off to the right far below her position and turned toward it. She caught up with Ed and moved in beside his Striker. Ed said soothingly, “Take a nice, long, slow breath. It’s over and you’re safe. That’s right, nice and slow.” Jillian heard his soothing tone and her shakes began to slow.
• • •
Jimmy listened to the voice traffic from the Strikers and looked at Juan, “Who is that pilot?”
“That’s Edward Boyer, Jimmy.”
“The one I tried to make you kick out of the service.”
“That’s the one.”
Jimmy shook his head, “I really glad you don’t listen to me.” Juan smiled and listened to what was happening next on the Striker’s frequency.
• • •
They arrived at the four Strikers holding position in front of the Freighter and Mark Herman said, “What do we do now, Ed.”
“Hey, all of you out rank me! You decide.”
Jillian said over the frequency, “No! I’d rather trust your judgement than any of us. Tell us what to do, Ed!”
Ed sighed and heard the others agreeing with Jillian. Ed moved up in front of the giant vessel until his Striker’s bow was almost touching the giant viewport. He saw Aliens staring out of the viewport and he motioned for the ship to turn around; he saw no motion out of the Aliens staring at him. He activated his blaster, raised the bow of the striker slightly, and fired a brilliant beam just above the glass over the top of the giant vessel burning another emitter. The bow of the giant ship immediately turned back toward Earth. Ed said, “I guess they understand blaster-speak.”
Jillian started laughing and, soon, they began hearing gibberish over their speakers. The Aliens had moved inside the communication range of the Community’s translator. Ed moved behind the giant and the five surviving strikers stayed in front of it and led it back into orbit. Images were taken of the five Strikers leading the giant vessel and they became immediate heroes.
• • •
When the two defense satellites blew up, the four Agents attention was taken from the planet instantly and then the two Urrik Ships blew past them at incredible speed toward a group of six grey ships moving toward them. An Agent turned to the Lead Alien and said, “What are those?” The Lead Alien shrugged. “Where did they come from?”
Another Agent said, “That’s why you haven’t registered this planet; there’s an advanced civilization on it!”
“There was no advanced civilization on the planet when I discovered it. None of them lived off the planet.”
The first Agent said, “You know they don’t have to live off the planet. If they have space travel they are considered an advanced Society.”
“They didn’t have Space Ships. If you look at those ships closely you’ll see they were developed from a shuttle and portable blaster I had to leave behind. I am clearly within the laws.”
“You need to get out of here and take us back. I’m not going to get embroiled in a possible violation of major laws.” The Lead Alien stared at them in silence and the richest of the four said, “You need to start moving.”
“Uhhh…welllllll…it appears those satellites shot off three of our stardrive emitters.”
“WHAT?!”
The Lead Alien held up his hands and said, “We can make repairs. We just need to move away from the planet.”
‘WELL, DO IT!!”
Thirty minutes later, four of the grey ships appeared in front of their vessel and forced them to stop. Then later, two more showed up and one of them fired a blaster at point-blank range slightly above them. The Lead Alien yelled, “TURN AROUND, TURN AROUND!!”
An hour later, the speaker activated and they heard a voice speaking in their language, “I’m glad you accepted our invitation to come back.”
“What would have happened if I refused.”
“Don’t be a party-pooper and ask impolite questions. We’ve been preparing a big welcome for you since you dropped those asteroids on our planet and left.” The Agents looked at the Lead Alien and he waved them to silence. “You killed ninety-eight-percent of my species with your actions and we’ve been waiting for you to come back so we could show our appreciation.”
“What are you going to do?”
“We’re still discussing that. However, you will do as we order or we’ll punch more holes in that ship than a computer can track. Do you understand?”
“But…”
“There are no buts. You killed us indiscriminately and we won’t hesitate to burn you to ashes and enjoy watching every moment of it!”
“You should think twice about that. There
will be others coming to check up on us.”
“That won’t take away from the pleasure of seeing you fry.”
“What do you want?”
“Everyone on your vessel will board your shuttles and follow our ships to the planet’s surface.”
“Why should I do that? You’ll just kill us there.”
“We won’t kill you immediately, if you do as you’re told. You will die in the next two-minutes if you don’t.”
The Lead Alien sighed, “I’m ordering the ones on board to enter the shuttles. It will take some time to make that happen. We’ll all need to put on water-suits to go to the planet.”
“We are currently scanning your vessel. If the power to any system other than your hangar doors changes, you’re dead.”
The Pilot looked at the Lead Agent, “Should I disable the controls?”
“Will it change the power readings?” The pilot nodded. “Leave them as they are.” The Agents were glaring at the Lead Alien and he said, “You’re welcome to stay on board.” One of them hit the Lead Alien between his two bulbous eyes and stormed off the giant bridge.
Six hours later, every Alien on the giant ship were on a shuttle being escorted by five-strikers to the planet. The Lead Alien knew he was in deep, deep, trouble.
• • •
The survivors of Jillian’s Unit led four shuttles out of the giant ship toward the planet and they homed in on a beacon located on the big island of Hawaii. Jillian and the four other strikers held position above the four shuttles until they were relieved by two-units of Strikers and ten military-jumpers that disgorged a battalion of heavily armed warriors.
Her unit was ordered to the community. They landed in their assigned launch cave, exited their ships, and saw their Strikers instantly dragged to the far end of the cave. Major launch operations were in progress and the Day Officer told her the Strikers were going to search for the two white ships they took out earlier. Jillian looked around for Ed and saw there was no possible way to find him in the madhouse of Launch-Operations. Butch looked at her with raised eyebrows and she said, “He’s probably already here and either having lunch or being debriefed. Let’s go check the cafeteria.
