by Sam Hval
There was a higher power, but no one, not even Devil, knew who it was. Who was pulling the strings? Who was it that was responsible for creating one of the most powerful armies in the whole system? Devil only knew that it was a man. She had heard babblings of he's and him's.
She not only wanted to know who it was, but why he was keeping his identity a secret. A bad past maybe? Perhaps, maybe he was keeping the secret for his own personal amusement?
Whoever it was, Devil was hoping he would be proud of her accomplishments. Complete destruction of an entire Sector had never been done before, nor even attempted.
She stood outside of the former Ullicar watchtower and witnessed the grand finale of her work. Fire burst out in waves. The core shook and burned its prey, spewing out half burned chunks that eventually fizzled out.
"My lady, the King has sent up his scouts," The archer behind her declared.
"What? Let me see," She took the scope and look through it. She could see the faint outlines of snipers lying on their stomachs atop the scaffolds.
She continued to watch, until a bright glint shone right at her.
***
"Oh my god..." Angel managed to spit out.
William just stared out at the gigantic fireball of death. He could almost hear the voices and screams of the hundreds of thousands of innocent people having their lives taken from them. Their screams were faint and vague, but they were there.
William looked down at his controls and sat in silence. Angel had her face in her hands, sobbing her heart out. William was puzzled. He just couldn't fathom how this could have happened. How do you blow up an entire sector?
He took the stick and turned the ship around.
"Let's go kid. I don't want to -" Then, the entire ship swung to the side, throwing William and Angel out of their seats. They slid across the floor and landed hard against the right wall of the cockpit.
The ship continued to spin in circles for a few more seconds before another impact on the other side of the ship caused them to spin in the opposite direction. William and Angel tried to get up, but stumbled as the ship was bounced around by whatever was hitting it.
"Find somewhere to hold on!" William shouted, as he stumbled his way over to the controls. Before he could sit down, an even larger impact struck the front of the ship. The blow came right under the spherical cockpit and flung William upside down. The ship rotated around in all directions now. It was constantly being bounced and rattled by whatever was flying into it.
Angel slowly made her way to the metal closets next to the cockpit door and shut herself in. She closed her eyes, and prayed to whoever was listening.
William crawled his way over to the seats and held on for all it was worth to the leather armrests.
The cloud of debris from Sector 3 pummeled The Whiskey out into space, with the presence of Sector 5 approaching in the distance.
***
What was once just another typical day of patrolling the city streets at night became a chaotic nightmare for Verden. He tried his best to guide the swarms of people into the deep tunnel entrance to the Morridia Undergrounds. He wasn't alone though, he had his best friend and fellow guard, Kasa, at his side.
They waved the crowds into the entrance, and threatened those who overreacted or were becoming a nuisance. It seemed like hours.
"I hope this isn't a misunderstanding," Kasa told Verden.
"Tell me about it. If no one attacks the city, I'm keeping these people down there. Not worth the hassle of getting them back out."
Kasa chuckled and flashed a warning stun bolt at a man shoving his way through the crowd.
All seemed to be going along nicely until a small glow above them caught Verden's eye. The orange glow gradually became larger and larger.
"Kasa?" Verden said.
"Yeah?"
"What's that above us?"
Kasa looked up at the starry night sky and noticed the unusually large object flying down towards them. Her eyes widened when she noticed three more of the same glows rapidly approaching.
"Holy-" She managed to say before the wave of heat flashed across the streets.
***
Devil stood still and watched as the wooden catapults arched back and shot forward, launching boulders smothered in smoldering hot material. This interesting combination of ingredients caught fire as air penetrated it.
It took less time than she thought for the buildings surrounding the entrance to the Undergrounds to catch fire. Hopefully, those who couldn't make it inside were now trapped, and even better, dead.
***
Corridan ordered large cargo ships to fly over the city and dump water on fires below. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Who knew that that old of a method of attacking would work so effectively. The entrance to the Undergrounds was placed in such an open area, it almost seemed like bad luck. Corridan hoped that the walls surrounding the main parts of the city were tall enough to prevent any more catapults.
"When do we kill?" Red asked him.
"We already ordered the scouts to pick off anyone they see," Corridan replied.
"It is not enough," Red protested
"It is for now. We can't bring out our formations until they begin attacking the scouts or the outer walls."
"We need to kill."
"Not now."
"They are killing us, so we kill them."
"Red, we must think tactically. This is a battle of wits at the moment. We save the brute force for later."
Red nodded, and looked out at the raining buckets of water dropping from the ships above.
***
Varik stood out on the rocky overlook in the mountains. He looked out at the dusty desert plains in between Ullicar and Corridia. He watched the red core peak its way up on the horizon, and absorbed its heat. Everything was going as planned.
The Oldies had the advantage before the battle even began. He felt the power surge through his veins. He looked at his wrists and watched the yellow blood flow through his skin.
Being a hidden and mysterious leader was harder work than he thought. Sending messages back and forth was a chore. Luckily, he had trustworthy second in commands to do the dirty work for him.
Devil was doing her job well, and Varik couldn't wait to see what she was going to do next.
Chapter 9
William blinked. His body ached all over. He placed his hand on his head and felt something wet. Pulling his hand back down he squinted and saw it covered in blood. What the hell happened?
He mustered enough strength to pull his body up and looked around. He was still in the ship, but the cockpit was completely separated from the rest of the ship. He looked at the rest of his ship. Pieces and sections were spread out over the sandy hills.
William grabbed on to the broken seat lying next to him and used it to stand up.
”Angel!” He called out.
He yelled once more but heard nothing. He climbed out of the cockpit and stumbled through the sand.
He looked at the large resting room and noticed it was on fire. There was no way she made it out alive. His ear twitched, and heard a muffled cough. William’s eyes instinctively darted over to a row of large metal closets lying to the left of the cockpit, among a pile of debris.
He limped his way over to it and gripped on to the handle. Upon tearing the door off, he saw Angel, battered and bruised. He pulled her out and flung her over his shoulder.
"Don't worry," William whispered. "Everything's gonna be okay."
***
"What in the bloody hell was that?!" Corridan shouted.
"It appears that one of your cargo ships crashed," One of the castle guards replied.
"Any idea how it went down?"
"We have no idea. It just plummeted down to the surface."
Corridan wondered how it could of been shot down by the Oldies. All they had were arrows.
"I want to make a decision. Red, you'll be happy," Corridan said as he glanced over to Red. "I want
our formations out on the front lines now. Just as we practiced."
***
Varik continued to lounge on the cavernous overlook and watched the two small figures climb out of their crashed cargo ship. He thought it was quite odd how randomly it fell from the sky, and how it landed in such a strange area. Who shot it down? Why did they only shoot one down? There were too many questions at the moment. War was beginning, and Varik felt his focus needed to be honed in on winning.
Suddenly, four openings along the tall, elgonated wall in front of the main entrance to the city burst open. First it was dozens, then it was hundreds of soldiers sporting red combat gear. Varik thought they looked ridiculous. Their fancy weaponry and armor was no match for the brute strength, melee combat, and metal armor of the Oldies.
The numbers continued to rise in the thousands. They had more infantry than Varik had thought. The thousands of red soldiers formed a unique pattern. There were several large, protective mounds scattered across the desert plains in between Corridia and Ullicar. He had seen the troops set them up earlier. In squads of about thirty or forty each, the soldiers piled themselves up behind the mounds.
After the red soldiers had set themselves up, the openings on the wall expanded. Big, purple, spherical vehicles rolled out. Varik estimated almost one hundred. They looked almost like rubber balls with heads on top, except the flat heads stayed in place, as the body underneath rolled.
The head consisted of two small tubes that extended out the front. Varik suspected that the firepower came from there. The fast movement of them shocked him. They were so big that, at first glance, one might assume they would travel slowly.
The circular vehicles were smart, mobile, and packed a punch. Several other kinds of purple colored vehicles came out of the holes as well. One type looked almost like metal dragons. They had a rectangular middle body with four legs sticking out. The metal legs appeared stretchy and long, and could maneuver in any way. The head of vehicle was attached on top and in the middle of the body. The head seemed similarly constructed to that of the rolling spheres.
Varik eventually lost count, and looked up at the top of the wall protecting the city. He saw the rows of dark blue colored snipers and scouts lining along the wall.
This was going to be quite a show. He couldn't wait to sit back, relax, and gaze at the explosive array of death before him. But first, the Oldies needed to come out as well. Where were they hiding?
***
It felt like it took days of sweating and walking to find someplace safe. William dropped Angel's body on the orange ground and dragged her under a rocky, cavern-like archway. The red core was coming up behind the rock, so luckily they wouldn't get too hot.
William positioned her head up, and leaned her on the back of the rocky wall. He plopped down next to her and let out a breath of relief.
"You all right?" William asked.
Angel wheezed and coughed before saying, "Does it look like it?"
"Well, no. But I just thought I'd …"
"It's okay," Angel cut him off. "I'm just giving you a hard time."
William chuckled, "Well I guess I deserve it huh?"
"Why do you say that?" Angel asked, puzzled.
"Well besides from the fact that I almost just killed both of us -"
"You had nothing to do with a bunch of debris, Will."
"I could of found a way to fly outta there. Besides, I brought you into this mess," He looked down at the ground.
"You didn't. I brought myself into this."
"You had no choice though. Your grandparents tried to take over Parker, and would've killed you if you disagreed with their motives."
Angel placed her hand on his shoulder and looked at him. "Will, you saved me."
William looked back up at her and saw the innocence in her eyes. "I didn't want to. I still don't want you around me. I'm a loner. I do things my way, and by myself."
"You're hurting Will. I can see it in your eyes," Angel said.
William had thought things were getting too emotional.
"No."
"Come on. Tell me who that man was. The man who was shot."
There was a slight pause, then William gave in.
"His name was Paul. He took me in when I was young."
"So he was sort of like your father?"
"In a way, yes."
"Did you know your father?"
"For a time, then he left. I don't where."
"What about your mother?"
"I never knew my mother. Probably died."
"I'm sorry Will. I know what it's like to lose someone close. I lost both my parents."
"I'm fine... It's just. I wish that... He could've been around a little while longer," William started to choke up. "So I could... So I could..."
"What is it?" Angel asked softly.
"So I could tell him how much one small loaf of bread means to a man like me."
Angel put her arm around William, and looked out at the orange, barren desert slowly being lit by the glow of the red core.
Chapter 10
Wilhelm Cross crouched down next to his fellow squad member behind one of the stacked mounds on the battlefield. Besides the chatterings of fellow soldiers and allies, and the occasional sound of cranking metal, a strange silence surrounded the field.
"Why do you think they sent us out so early?" Cross asked him. "I don't see any Oldies."
"Word on the street is that a cargo ship was shot down," Goldan, his squad mate and second-in-command, said.
"Warning signal, maybe?"
"Perhaps. You're the squad leader, why didn't they tell you?" Goldan asked, confused.
"All I was told to do, was to go down in standard formation."
"Well, I'll tell you this. I am not gonna sit around and wait for the Oldies to strike first. We don't even know what they're planning! No guesses, estimations, predictions, etceteras. We're going in completely blind."
"What else are we gonna do? That was our order and we're gonna follow it," Cross replied.
"We could plead for a different tactic."
"Last time we pleaded for something Corridan sent us out to a mindless cult who almost skinned us alive I would rather stay where we are."
"Fine. I'll go ask myself just in case," Goldan started to walk off.
"You're staying here Goldan! That's an order!"
He stopped and turned around. "I don't care about any of these damn orders! If it risks the lives of our whole infantry I don't stand by it!"
He stormed off to the gate.
***
"Hey Cross! Come over here, I wanna show you something," Aliah, the scout in the squad, said.
Cross strolled over. His red armor bustling around as he did. "What is it?"
"Looks like the Oldies are setting up some Archers," She said. Cross knelt down next to her and peeked through her scope. Several rows of archers were marching outwards from Ullicar.
"Let's send word down and let the King know."
***
"Goldan? What are you doing in here? You need to be out on the front lines!" General Terren shouted, as Goldan stepped into the Armory.
"Q-Squad has a suggestion for you sir," Goldan said with a raised voice.
"Spit it out."
"We ask that we not stay stationary and would be welcome to new duties."
Terren cupped his bearded chin in his hand.
"Well, I don't have any other duties for you. Just stay where -"
"Sir! Sir!" A courier yelled, cutting Terren off. "Word's just gotten in that the Oldies are setting up archers!"
Goldan was shocked by the news. Just earlier, the field was completely empty.
"What?" Terren said.
"This is what I was worried about..." Goldan said.
"All right I got it, now get out," Terren told the courier.
"Goldan, now that it appears they are willing to strike, I can tell you I lied."
"I don't understand, sir."
"I do have
a mission for you. I had saved it for another squad, but since you guys seem so antsy I'll give it to you."
"No problem sir. What is it?"
"I want you to find a way into the Oldie compound and find out what the hell is going on in there."
"Any specifics?" Goldan said, startled by the vagueness.
"I trust Q-Squad to figure it out. Move out soldier!"
"Sir yes Sir!" Was all Goldan could spit out. Was General Terren really asking Q-Squad to break in to the Oldie compound in Ullicar? He didn't know whether Cross would be happy, angry, or annoyed about this.
He walked out at a brisk pace and began to plan what exactly they were going to do.
***
"What was I supposed to say? No?" Goldan began to argue. "He's General Terren! He doesn't take no for an answer."
"I don't care who he is. How are we supposed to do this? It's gonna be impossible to get in to that compound without getting caught!" Cross argued.
"I don't disagree with you on that, but like you said before, an order is an order. There isn't anything we can-”
"It's not impossible," Aliah said, cutting them off. "They're sending out their army right now. We can surely find a way to sneak in while they're prepping."
"But that doesn't explain what we're gonna do once we get inside," Goldan pointed out.
"I don't want to worry about that right now. We need to figure out how to get in first," Cross said. "Aliah, got any ideas?"
Aliah looked down in thought. "I can go finda vehicle. Then, I’ll find a safe spot to do some scouting."
"Sounds good to me," Goldan said.
"Alright. But hurry, who knows when the Oldies will attack."
Aliah got up from her position behind the mound, packed up her rifle, and headed out to the purples vehicles scattered out behind them.
***
The smell of rusted metal, oil, and dirty rubber was something Stelly would never get used to. He tried his best to slide out of the seat in his personal combat hover vehicle. Although his gut was still expansive, it was easier than usual to get out. Must be all that training, he guessed.
