by Frank Carey
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Josh ran down the stairs into the depot level of the basement. He found the door open, probably by the Princess, so he walked through and used his datapad to lock it behind him, sealing both of them inside. Oddly, he felt no fear nor regret knowing he would probably not see daylight again. He only wished he could have told Tayla how much he loved her, but he knew she would have seen to it that he was stunned into unconsciousness before he could carry out his plan.
As he hurried to the computer center, he passed by the bioweapons vault, so he stopped to check its status display. He was shocked to see that, though the main entry was sealed, a program was attempting to open a service door in the roof of the vault, a door which led to the conveyor system. Further inquiry showed an active conveyor running from the vault to the computer center. "What the hell? Why deliver bioweapons to the computer center?" he asked aloud. Receiving no reply, he continued on to the center to find out what the hell was going on.
He arrived at the center and found the door wide open. "Not good," he said quietly as he powered up his staff. As he approached the door, the remaining BORIS unit walked out to greet him. "So, creature, do you think you can destroy me with your little stick?"
Josh looked at his staff, then spun it like a baton. Without warning, he threw it up in the air. For just a moment, Senta's attention was drawn to the whirling blue lights as the staff headed to the ceiling.
"Actually, I planned to use these," he said while drawing his pistols and shooting the BORIS in the head and the torso, destroying the unit instantly. "Sensei always told me to end a fight before it began," he said as he ran into the computer center, past the smoldering ruins of the unit. He came to a stop when he saw Senta's hologram floating in front of him.
"Nice work, Dr. Gray. Kudos on your technique," she said.
"Princess, why do this? If you release the bioweapon, you will only kill me. Everyone else is gone. I have to say I'm flattered, but I just can't figure out why you would kill someone you hold in such contempt," he said as he walked over to lean against a wall console while holstering his guns.
The wall behind her dropped into the floor to reveal a hanger containing some kind of warship. Above it, a hangar door embedded in the ceiling. "I have no intention of killing you. I am loading the remaining canisters of the fire virus into that ship. Once the load is finished, I will transfer my consciousness into the ship's computers and fly her to my home world where I will crash into it, releasing the pathogen, killing them all; every single Jarrion living there. Only then will my vengeance be complete."
"Is there any chance I can talk you out of this insanity?"
"No, and your weapons are no match against my ship's shields. I will leave you to witness my departure," she said as the ceiling doors opened, revealing a shaft leading to blue sky above.
"Princess, I have grown tired of thwarting the insane and the power-mad. Sure, at first it was fun, but it quickly grew old. You know my Aunt, the woman who raised me, the woman who was my true mother, once told me a bit of wisdom I have carried with me through time and space."
"What is that, Dr. Gray?"
"Never let your opponent stand between you and the self-destruct switch," he said as he turned and hit the red mushroom button on the wall behind him. He leapt toward the door as all hell broke loose around him.
Senta screamed as ordinance stored around the ship exploded, destroying it while throwing Josh clear. Charges, weapons, and ammunition throughout the depot exploded, including the scuttle charges Josh had set earlier. As Josh watched, the floor beneath the computer center gave way, dropping the computer and its occupant into the caldera below. He looked over and saw the same fate befalling the bioweapons vault. He laughed until he realized his leg had been broken when he had been thrown clear, making it impossible to make it back to the door in time to escape the destruction of the depot. He remembered his comm was still active.
"I hope someone can hear me," he said as the air filled with the scent of sulfur while section after section of the depot fell into the lava below. "This is Joshua Gray, late of Earth, but now a citizen of Alyson. Princess Senta is dead, the bioweapon vault destroyed, and the rest of the depot is now falling into the volcanic caldera below it. Mission accomplished. Unfortunately, I can no longer make it safely out of this tomb. Thank you all for what you have done for me during my brief stay here. I'm sorry for dying like this, but it was either that or live knowing I helped kill billions of Jarrions. I..." He stopped when he saw a large demon from Earth's past fly down from the opening in the roof to land next to him.
"What in the name of..." he said as he stared at an eight-foot-tall Minotaur with a jet pack. As he watched, the creature knelt down while its chest opened to disgorge Tayla. "Tayla?"
"Hey, Joshua, how are you doing?" she asked as the depot crumbled around them.
"Good, good, except I seem to have broken my leg..."
She pulled something from a pocket in her pant leg and wrapped it around the break. The pain immediately disappeared. "Better?"
"Much. Um, why are you here?"
"Silly! I'm here to save your ass?"
"In a flying demon?"
"Yep. This is a new model Minotaur. It flies and seats two. That Gloria is thinking up new shit on a daily basis." She helped him up and showed him to his seat inside the Minotaur. Once she had him squared away, she got in, then sealed the suit. "Now, we just fly out of here..."
The shaft leading out of the depot collapsed in upon itself, sealing them in.
Tayla started swearing in old Sokuhl. "Activating emergency beacon. Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Tayla Hardy aboard experimental Minotaur suit XM-1. Two souls total aboard. Heading to alternate extraction point, over."
"Alternate extraction point?" Josh asked.
"The seal we originally used to enter the depot. Any better ideas?"
"I'll let you know," he said. While she got underway, he pulled out his datapad and began searching the records downloaded from the central computer.
"Hang on," Tayla said as she dodged a piece of ceiling that fell directly in front of them.
They rounded a turn and found the seal blocked by several tons of debris while more fell from above. "Not good. It looks like the whole industrial section of the city is going to fall in on top of us," she said. "Any ideas?"
"Yes. Head right. About a click in we hit a thin spot in the ceiling. Is this suit equipped with weapons?
"Lasers in the horns and tail; machine guns in the arms. I like a proactive approach," she said as she turned the unit and headed toward the thin spot.
Minutes later, they found themselves staring at a section of ceiling similar to any other section of ceiling. "Josh, you sure about this?"
"The records indicate a building with a very deep basement once stood here. The ceiling is only twenty meters thick here. It's also bereft of any conveyors or any other machinery which might slow us down."
Tayla thumbed the mic switch. "This is Tayla in Minotaur XM-1 at the following coordinates..." She reeled off a string of numbers. "We are proceeding to dig our way out. Fire in the hole!" The Minotaur's horns and tail aimed up and ahead where it hovered as beams of intense laser light shot out and impacted the metal above. Melted metal rained down on the deck in front of them as a tunnel formed. "Josh, we should be out of here in no time..."
Something large and angry swatted XM-1, throwing it into one of the few remaining vaults. Alarms sounded as the suit's systems screamed for attention.
"Josh! Are you hurt?" Tayla yelled as she released their harnesses.
"No, I'm fine, though I think we've got a fire..."
Tayla slapped a button above her head, causing a set of explosive bolts to ignite. The back of the suit blew off revealing a scene from hell...
Complete with an angry BORIS unit standing over them.
"Computer! How many of these damn things did you build?" he muttered while pulling out a pistol and firing it at the unit. It
dodged the beam and took the pistol from him before he could get off another shot.
"Surprised to see me, Dr. Gray?" the unit said as the depot came apart around them.
Josh helped Tayla out of the Minotaur then down to what remained of the deck. "You know, Princess, you are really getting on my nerves. You do realize you have nowhere left to go. The computer's gone and our ride is dead, so unless you have another BORIS laying around, this is it. I estimate we only have a few minutes of life left, so what do you do? Destroy our only way out. Good job. Win-win!" he said as he gave her two thumbs up.
The unit glared at him. "I cannot die, fool! I am immortal."
"Yadda yadda,' he replied as he placed himself between Tayla and Senta. "I've met your type, Princess. Those who can't create, destroy. I am sooo freakin tired of people who solve problems with an ax instead of a scalpel. Frankly, my dear, you make me physically ill," he screamed as every pent up frustration released in one surge of emotion.
"How dare you speak to me like that, creature!" she screamed as all four tentacles emerged, their red glowing tips aimed directly at him.
Instead of begging for his life, he pushed Tayla out of the way while screaming, "Oh, we're back to 'Creature,' now. Bring it, you ten thousand year old bitch!"
The BORIS exploded as a thousand high-explosive rounds tore through it. As Tayla and Josh watched, a small battle shuttle sidled over and lowered a ramp. Inside stood Jenna beckoning them to come inside. Tayla grabbed Josh under an arm and literally dragged him into the waiting shuttle as the final pieces of floor dropped into the volcano below. In seconds, the shuttle had cleared the depot and was heading back into space.
With Jenna's help, Tayla got Josh into a seat, then grabbed a first aid kit and started to tend to his wounds. She looked over and saw her brother flying the ship while a second mobile was sitting at the gunnery station with her arms crossed. "Kylie?"
"You're damn right its Kylie," she said as she moved over to the seat next to her son's. "What the hell were you thinking, young man?"
Josh sat back and closed his eyes as the meds Tayla gave him took effect. "I couldn't take the chance that our new friends would balk at evacuating the colonists. Then Senta told me her intention to kill her entire race. I had to stop her."
"Your spin was sloppy," Kylie said, "though that distraction you pulled on the second BORIS was inspired."
"Thanks, and you're right. I've got to work on that spin."
"And you called a Princess a bitch? Really?"
"It seemed appropriate..."
Kylie leaned over and kissed her son's head. "You did good, kiddo. Real good. And you, young lady," she said to Tayla, "Thank you for saving my son's life. I owe you big time."
"He's just too damn cute to die," she said. Everyone in the shuttle, including Jacob, stared at her.
"Jenna," Josh said, "thanks for getting my mom to safety."
"Hey, my pleasure. I always wanted a friend to share clothes with."
They laughed as the shuttle docked with the station where their friends, both old and new, waited.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Alex sat at his desk and sipped tea as he read the treaty the Jarrions and Zexx had presented to him for review and approval. This was his second read-through of the document and he hadn't found any gotcha's.
"Governor, Mr. Pereara is here to see you," Felicity announced over the intercom.
"Send him in, Ms. Zarn. Please join us if you would."
The door opened and Felicity brought Mars in, leaving Charlie and Quint waiting outside, each carrying rather large firearms. Alex smiled. Either one of them could tear Mars in half without breaking out in a sweat.
"Have a seat, Mars. Drink?"
"Yes, thank you. Can you make a Unicorn Fart?"
"Ms. Zarn can make one by just looking at it sideways," Alex jokingly replied. Felicity gave a slight bow before heading to the bar at the back of the office. "Mars, what the hell am I going to do with you?"
"Kill me?" he suggested. He knew the Governor had few choices in the matter.
"Yes, that is a possibility. I've been told that Lucien nearly did that before sending you here."
"Yes, the Ambassador was a little miffed at me."
Felicity handed out drinks then took her place behind and to the right of the Governor. Mars was under no illusion that she would kill him if he posed even the slightest threat to Alex.
"Mars, have you ever been in the military?" Alex asked as he sipped his tea.
"No. My father tried to get me enlisted, but I failed the psych test."
"I see. Well, we don't give tests here on Alyson. You are hereby remanded to the custody of Charlie and Quint. They, along with all the other colonists, including your Adrestia friends, are going to teach you how to be a soldier. The hope is you will become a useful and productive member of Alyson society."
"Will I survive?"
"That is up to you. Now, if there is nothing else..."
"Alex, you and the other elves have changed. You're not the people I recruited into Adrestia. Was it something in the sleep teaching?"
Alex looked at Mars. "A stranger showed us a kindness. Now, off with you. I hear the mess has a few tons of spuds in need of peeling." He signaled Felicity who called Charlie and Quint into the room to take charge of Mars. "Be careful with him. He's what's left of Lucien's project."
"Aye, sir," Quint said. "We'll take care of him like he was one of our own."
Once they were gone, Alex sat back and asked Felicity, "Have I made the right decision?"
"I think so, sir. All 175 colonists have been briefed, and Mars poses no threat to any of them. Hell a fully-armed mauler suit poses no threat to them."
"True, very true. I..." The intercom interrupted him. "Go for Alex."
"Sir, this is Talus. Three League cruisers just decloaked around the station. A Fleet Commodore Thurgood is demanding to speak with you. She may think you're being held captive."
"Commander, didn't you call Ventos Prime and give them an update?"
"Yes, sir, I did. This may be just the commodore's way of confirming that all is well."
"Copy that. Put her through," he said as he spun around to face the room's main viewer. "Damn nonsense."
The screen lit up with the image of Fleet Commodore Angela Thurgood, hero of the Martok Incident and one of the most decorated officers in the League Space Navy. "This is Fleet Commodore Angela Thurgood of the League of Planetary Systems. Identify yourself."
"Alex, Governor of the Planet Alyson. IDent Adrestia."
"Caesar."
"Et tu, Brute."
"Who is that with you?"
"Lieutenant Felicity Zarn, Ventosian Century Ship Valera, IDent Tiger Girl," Felicity said.
"The sun rises in the west."
"Only after a second round of Unicorn Farts."
"Governor, what the hell is going on down there? We've had reports of phantom cities, not-dead races, and bioweapons." Angela said.
"Yes, about that. I think we need to talk in person. An explanation will be complicated..."
"I'm coming down," Lucien said as he walked into view. Behind him stood a rather large elf male in an EMEF uniform and a petite elf woman with gold hair who resembled the big one.
"Ambassador, welcome to Alyson. Please, join me for drinks and stories. I promise, my sister won't try to kill you this time."
"Half an hour," he said before moving out of camera view.
"I'm glad to hear you're all right, sir. Protector out."
"Oh, this is going to be fun," Alex said as he grabbed Mars' unfinished drink, draining it in one gulp.
###
Lucien sat and stared in disbelief at Alex as the Governor finished his report. Standing behind him were Gloria and members of EMEF Team Eight.
"Let me get this straight. You knew about the entire deception, yet you didn't try to escape. Instead, you and your people worked your asses off to get this town ready for the coming winter. Why would
you do that? Alex, you've changed. Hell, all the Adrestians have changed. Bryntana is actually hyperprotective of Jacob and he loves it. It's something in the water, isn't it?"
"No, nothing that simple. It was Joshua. He spent two hundred years locked inside a primitive suit. He comes out of stasis, and he’s immediately given a choice of saving Valera or saving himself. He chose Valera. He dies, returns, and what's the first thing he does? He befriends a bunch of space aliens who tried to destroy his planet, a planet he died saving in the first place. Lucien, Tayla explained the whole 'destroy Earth' thing to him, yet he walked over and joined us. Hell, he told stories and sang songs with us. Do you know how powerful that is?"
"You mean getting a second chance shoved into your face? Yeah, I've been there. Still have the scars. I guess this all makes sense now..." he stopped when he felt someone tapping his shoulder.
"Dr. Aymar, the bathroom is down the hall," Alex informed her.
"No, not that. I need to see Dr. Gray."
Royce rolled his eyes. His sister could be petulant at times.
"Ah, yes. He's sort of a hero for the people in your profession, is he not?"
She nodded vigorously.
"Felicity, where is Joshua working this morning?"
"He's with Tayla in field nine. They're planting strawberries."
"Could you escort the good doctor to field nine."
"Sir?" Nayla said to Royce.
"Yes, Major, you may escort Gloria and Felicity to field nine," he said.
"Thank you, sir," Nayla said with a salute, which Royce returned.
After the three left, Alex handed Lucien the treaty he was reviewing. "Since you are the Ventosian Ambassador at Large and this is a treaty..."
Lucien took it and skimmed through it. "You negotiated this?"
"Yes, using the standard techniques of veiled threats and vague promises, of course."
"Nice work. Very nice work. Planning on a dinner party, tonight, with the Jarrion, Zexx, and Nordican representatives?"
"I wasn't..."
"You are now. The three League cruisers I brought along--Hermes, Protector, and Septar--all have League-class chefs aboard them. Royce, what about Captain Letain? Think he's up to representing Earth cuisine?"
