by Paul Moxham
“They’ll be killed!” Lucy cried out.
Frank gazed through the binoculars. He moaned in relief as he spotted the group huddled behind a huge chunk of rock. “They’re fine for the moment.”
“But for how long?” Lucy shouted. “We need to do something. I can’t sit here and do nothing, knowing that the one I love is going to get killed.”
Frank hesitated. “I don’t know.”
“If you’re not going to do anything, than I am.” Lucy hurried toward the Striker.
As the teens followed her, Frank sighed and followed. “Okay, we’ll try something.”
As soon as the Striker powered up, Frank pulled the controls up and the aircraft started gaining height. “There’s only one thing that I can think of, but it may not work,” he muttered.
“Just try it!” Lucy said, strapping herself down. “I can’t see them surviving for much longer.”
Derek looked through the binoculars and saw that the group was still being blasted by red bolts. He kept his eyes glued to the people as they raced across the snow, swerving to and fro as they tried to avoid the red bolts. As they fell, he cried out, “Oh no!”
“What happened?” Lucy asked, worried.
“Someone got hit. I can’t see who it is at the moment. Just wait while …” Derek lost sight of the group as the Striker continued climbing.
“You’d better sit down,” Frank suggested. “I’m going to give this aircraft some serious speed.”
Derek hurried back to the others and sat down. He had just put on his strap when the aircraft shot forward, climbing upward.
“How come you’re climbing so high?” Lucy clutched her seat and kept her eyes dead ahead.
“The higher I go, the greater chance I’ll have of hitting the other craft when I shoot,” Frank shouted back, finally leveling off.
“What does he mean?” Molly asked, looking at Lucy.
“I … I’m not sure.”
“Hang on tight!” Frank pushed the controls down as far as they would go. With a sudden burst of speed, the aircraft tilted on a sharp angle before hurtling downward.
Far below them, a speck in the sky, the other Striker, was just visible. Frank pressed a small round button on the controls and held it down. Red bolts shot out from the front of the Striker and tore through the air, heading for the other aircraft.
The aircraft shook from side to side as he headed downward and gradually gained speed as it reached Mount Shasta.
“We’re going too fast!” Derek clutched his harness until his knuckles burned white.
“The controls are stuck!” Frank shouted. “I can’t turn left or right.”
“We’re all going to die!” Molly screamed.
“Do something!” Lucy shrieked, shutting her eyes.
Frank did the only thing he could think of. He pressed a small, green button. “This is going to be close.”
Everyone gazed downward at the other Striker as it came closer and closer. Suddenly, a missile-type object appeared and shot toward the enemy aircraft. It hit the Striker in the same spot that had been damaged by the red bolts.
Everyone waited for something to happen as Frank desperately tried to get the controls working again.
“It didn’t work!” Lucy screamed. She watched in horror as the Striker began to fill up the screen. In just a few seconds, they would collide.
Before Frank could reply, the enemy Striker blew up, producing a massive explosion. The aircraft split in half and crashed toward the snow.
Frank desperately tried to pull the controls up as their craft shot through the space where the other aircraft had been moments earlier. Just as the snow came into view, the controls responded.
“Yes!” Frank cried out as the Striker leveled out, just barely missing the snow below. For just a second, he caught a glimpse of the others huddled next to a rock.
Molly smiled from ear to ear. “We’re alive!”
“Thank God,” Lucy said. “I was really worried.”
“Me too. If that missile thing hadn’t worked …” Derek edged closer to Lucy. “Why didn’t you use it earlier?”
Frank waited for a moment as he slowed the craft down to a standstill. As soon as it was hovering on autopilot, he jumped up and stretched out the cramps in his palms. “Now that was tight!” He shrugged at Derek. “I only had one left and wanted to make it count. Also, I had to weaken the armor first for it to be most effective.”
“Hey, we didn’t see if everyone is all right,” Lucy said. “Can we check?”
Suddenly, a red bolt shot toward them. Before they could do anything about it, it slammed into the glass screen. The armored glass held, but the bolt caused a small fracture, one that kept growing.
“What was that?” Derek said, glancing down.
Frank hurriedly scanned the nearby area and cursed as he caught sight of one of the weapon emplacements hidden deep in the mountain. As he watched, another red bolt screamed toward them. “They know we’re here.”
“Can you take them out?” Lucy asked.
“I could try, but if …” Frank spotted another red bolt, this one coming from a different direction. “We have to flee.” He adjusted the controls, spinning the Striker around. The aircraft shuddered as two red bolts struck the back of the aircraft.
“How many hits can this machine take?” Lucy asked, not sure how worried she should be.
“Plenty. Just not too many in the same place.” Frank maneuvered the Striker until it was out of harm’s way.
Frank had just slowed the aircraft down to a hovering position when Molly pointed to an aircraft that had appeared through the clouds. “Look!”
“It’s the same one that appeared over San Francisco,” Lucy said.
“A Conqueror,” Derek muttered.
Lucy frowned as she studied the sleek, black aircraft as it slowly made its way across the sky. “How did you come up with that name?”
Derek studied the aircraft. Similar in shape to a B-2 Stealth Bomber, it was the length of three football fields and triangular in shape. It was also taller as well, perfect for carrying cargo. “I didn’t. Kenneth did. We saw one at Lake Tahoe one night and he called it that.”
Lucy stared at the aircraft. “The Conqueror is a good name for it. It looks like it could conquer anything.”
Frank nodded, his face grim. “It’s an impressive aircraft.” He adjusted the controls and the Striker started to climb.
“What are you doing?” Lucy asked.
“Getting out of here. That aircraft could blow us out of the sky,” Frank replied.
“But what about the others?” Molly said.
Derek leaned forward. “We can’t leave them behind.”
Frank put the aircraft on autopilot and twisted in his seat. “What do you want me to do, Lucy?”
“Go back and rescue them! You can lower some kind of rope, and—”
“But they haven’t finished their mission yet,” Frank muttered. “Mike would want—”
“If the military is wiped out, what’s the point of blowing up the emplacements?” Lucy asked. “Won’t your people rebuild them?”
“Yes, but Mike and I made a promise to stick to each other until the very end.” Frank hesitated. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but in light of the circumstances, maybe I should.”
Lucy glared. “What? Is there something you and Mike are keeping from us?”
Frank reluctantly nodded. “Mike and I suspect that someone at Mount Shasta is building something deadly.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, it’s what you humans would call a chemical bomb,” Frank explained. “It’s released into the atmosphere, and at a certain altitude it explodes. A shower of dust particles is then spread over a huge area.”
“What’s so deadly about that?” Molly said. “Dust isn’t harmful.”
“The particles are toxic. If someone breathes it in for a sustained amount of time, they’ll die.” Frank looked into t
he shocked faces of everyone. “Now the only reason we’re not sure if this is being built or not is that this type of weapon hasn’t been used for a long time. But if this is used, it will kill everyone in a massive area.”
“How large of an area are we talking about?” Lucy asked.
Frank hesitated. “It depends on how big the bomb is. If it’s small, it might only kill a few thousand people.”
Molly gasped. “What would a big bomb do?”
“Well, it all depends. It could vary from a million to twenty million.”
Lucy’s blue eyes bulged as she thought about what this could mean. She gingerly sat down. “How big a possibility is it that this weapon is being developed at Mount Shasta?”
Frank shrugged. “I don’t know, but we can’t take the risk. There’s no way peace can happen if something like that occurred.”
“You’re right. Absolutely right.” Lucy stood up and stared at the Conqueror. “Can that aircraft hover over the same place for long?”
“You betcha. In fact, it hardly ever needs to land. Why?”
“Is it just me, or is it heading for Mount Shasta?” Lucy asked.
Frank muttered to himself.
“What’s wrong?” Molly asked.
“Look, if that aircraft is heading for Mount Shasta, it’s all over.”
“What do you mean?” Derek said.
“Once that aircraft is in place directly above the mountain, no one, not even us, will be able to get close to Mount Shasta. The weapons on that thing are vastly superior to everything around, including the mountain’s defenses. And don’t forget they can also call in as many smaller aircrafts as they need to destroy us.”
“Maybe our military can take out the Conqueror,” Lucy suggested.
“No,” Frank said. “That ship is impenetrable. For one thing, the armor is too thick. And when I say thick, I mean like a flying tank. The chance of a human ship, or even an armada, knocking it out of the sky is one in a billion.”
“Then we’ll have to attack it ourselves,” Derek said.
Molly stared at her brother. “Are you crazy?”
“No, I’m not,” Derek replied, defending himself. “I want to find Mom and Dad after this, and I can’t do it if the air is thick with toxic dust. So if I have to blow up that aircraft before I find them, I will.”
Molly hesitated for a moment and then nodded. “Your right, but I’m coming with you.”
“Wait, hold on.” Frank put up his hands. “No one is going anywhere. Attacking that monster of an aircraft by ourselves would be madness. Utter madness.”
“But what if it’s the only way?” Lucy questioned.
“I’ll contact the members of the Alliance and see what they have to say. We should be able to organize something in twenty-four hours—”
“But it might be too late by then,” Derek interrupted. “If that chemical bomb is nearly finished, we four might be the only shot to stop it.”
Frank stared at the teen in disbelief. “Are you serious?” He gawked at Lucy and Molly. “Do you really think that we have a chance at destroying it?”
Molly and Derek eyed each for a long moment. “If my brother thinks that we do, then I’m going to stick by him.”
Frank looked at Lucy. “And what about you? Are you as foolhardy as them?”
Lucy looked at the teens. “I don’t know. I haven’t known them for that long, but from what I’ve heard from Logan, they’re great children. Children that would do anything to find their parents. And for that, I have to admire them. So, foolhardy or not, I have to stick by them.”
Chapter 14
Frank paced back and forth, pausing every now and then to stare at the trio standing side by side. “We might have a chance if we had five or six Hybrids. No, instead we have two teens, a woman, and myself. Not exactly SEAL Team Six here. How the hell can a team like us attack—”
“We blow it up from the inside,” Derek said. “It’ll be easy. Well, not easy, but way easier than trying to pierce through the armor. What if we blow up the control room? Then they won’t be able to control the aircraft and it will crash.”
Frank shook his head. “That won’t work. There are too many guards that we’ll have to pass before we can get there. Besides, the armor in and around the control room is very thick.”
“What about the armory? Isn’t there some place where all the weapons are stored?” Lucy asked.
Frank nodded. “We do have such a room—”
“So we blow it up,” Derek interrupted.
“You’re like a broken record. Do you have some explosives stashed around, ’cause I’m fresh out!” Frank patted his empty pockets and threw up his hands.
Derek’s face fell. “Well, I guess we’ll have to think of another idea then.”
Frank stopped cold and stared off into the distance. “Hmm, actually, that idea might just work.”
“But you just said—” Lucy said.
“I know what I just said.” Frank sat back down and placed his head in his hands. “Just let me think for a few minutes.”
The others were silent as Frank mumbled to himself. He then got up and walked to the other room. When he returned half a minute later, he smiled. “It’s going to be tough, but we could just do it.”
“Did you find some explosives?” Molly asked.
“A small amount. It’s not much, but if I get setup just right in the middle of the weapons pile, it could be enough to blow the nearby rooms.” Adjusting the controls, Frank banked toward Mount Shasta. By now, the Conqueror was almost at its destination. As they watched, one of the side panels of the aircraft slid open.
“What are they doing?” Molly questioned.
“What they always do whenever the aircraft is going to stay for a period of time.” Frank glanced around and, spotting a bank of clouds, aimed the Striker right into them.
“What are you doing?” Derek asked.
“What I should have done a long time ago,” Frank muttered. The Striker shot up toward the clouds and went through them. As soon as it reached the other side, he slowed to a standstill and worked his jaw. “Several crafts, the same type as ours, will be flying out of that ship within moments. They’ll then do a search of the surrounding area.”
“And you don’t want them to see us,” Lucy said.
“I don’t believe the person in charge of that thing knows we exist, but I want to make certain.”
“But one Striker looks the same as another Striker,” Molly said.
“Yes, but there’s an identification number on the rear of the aircraft,” Frank explained. As he stood, a Striker flashed below them. He wondered if it would notice them. It didn’t appear to.
“So what’s the plan?” Lucy asked.
Derek suddenly grinned. “I think I know. You’ll wait until they all fly back to the Conqueror and then you’ll join them, hoping that no one will notice that there’s one extra aircraft going back with them.”
Frank nodded, his eyes glued to the aircraft down below. “As soon as this one turns, I’ll follow.”
“So once we get into the hangar, what then?” Derek asked.
“I’m still thinking, so bear with me,” Frank muttered. “I know that …” He paused as the other Striker swooped around for another pass. “Okay, here we go.”
The others waited in anticipation as the Striker flew below them. As soon as it did, Frank pushed the stick down, and the aircraft swung down through the clouds. They emerged on the other side a few seconds later, heading straight for the Conqueror.
Frank slowed down and let two of the other Strikers pass him. Lucy and the others held their breaths as they closed in on the massive ship.
~*~*~
Logan finished bandaging Jet’s leg. “It’s not that serious, but if you’d rather walk back—”
“I’m not leaving now,” Jet interrupted, standing up, defiant. “I came to help you and that’s what I’ll do.” He looked at Mike. “How long until we reach the entrance?”
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“Not long. About five minutes,” Mike replied.
“Let’s get going then.” Jet took one last look up at the sky to make sure that no aircraft was in the nearby vicinity before he followed Mike.
Kenneth trudged along at the back, looking around every minute or so. He felt that he was partly to blame, as he hadn’t spotted the Striker earlier, and he didn’t want that to happen again. Luckily, they reached the secret entrance without any further disturbance five minutes later.
Mike felt along a portion of the rock in front of him and pressed a particularly smooth, recessed stone. The boulder creaked open about a meter. Stale, but warm air poured out. Letting the others enter the dark chamber, Mike gazed at the Conqueror. “Let’s move!” He put his arm behind the rock once more, snapping the fake boulder back into its original position, and then switched his flashlight on like the others.
“How long do we have until this tunnel merges?” Logan asked.
Mike switched on his flashlight as he answered, “Five minutes of brisk walking should get us to the first intersection. From there, we’ll head right and continue until we reach a cave where my contact should be waiting for us.”
“You didn’t tell us we were meeting someone,” Kenneth said, surprised. He glanced at Logan, who only frowned and stared at Mike.
“Can this contact be trusted?” Logan asked.
Mike advanced down the tunnel. “I’ve known him a long time. I’m confident he won’t betray us.”
“Confident? How confident?” Jet called after him in his loudest whisper. “I thought we were going to come here and blast everything apart so that the military could get in. Not to rely on someone—”
“He isn’t just someone,” Mike interrupted. “I’d trust him with my life. Now, if we’re quite finished discussing this, I need to talk to you about where to place the explosives, okay?”
“Okay, okay, no need to get all worked up,” Logan replied. “I just like to know what’s happening.”
~*~*~
The Striker flew inside the Conqueror and slowed down as it followed another Striker through a fairly wide area. Frank found a quiet enough landing spot between two other battle-scarred ships.
