by Kip Hartzell
“find something?” Jay asked.
“No, just admiring the workmanship. Hermes and Despin-A are true artist.”
Jay had not seen her like this before, it made her seem more-human. “Yes, they are.” He took a sip of a new drink. “Want a sip?” He held it out to her. “It’s non-alcoholic.”
She stopped studying the artifact, looked at him suspiciously, and then took it from him and drank. She handed it back, now studying the taste. Samm slowed. The controls had been moved to the deck. Xen and Draco were reading readouts and pointing. John and Athene-A stood nearby gazing at the blue planet. The vehicle stopped and hovered. Draco and Xen walked off the edge, and sank out of sight. Athene-A and John strolled over to Rhe-A and Jay, and sat down. “It shouldn’t take long,” Athene-A assured. “Where do you think, the hunt will lead us next?”
“Gramps, was crazy smart. He did a lot of traveling. He said, he liked the cruises. Could be anywhere.”
The water splashed, and in a second Draco and Xen were on the deck, sifting through a bag. He pulled out a small box. This one was sealed. He slipped his ring into the slot and it popped open. A pinch between his fingers revealed five medallions.
A loud whistling noise got everyone’s attention, as alarms rang out. The explosion rocked the boat, sending all to the deck. E-Suits formed, as they scrambled to their feet, dashing below just in time to feel another explosion almost in the same spot. John got to the main controls first, and zipped away. Quickly getting up to speed, the boat zigged and zagged to avoid the exploding shells being lobbed at them.
“Why can’t we go faster?” Jay excitedly asked.
“We’re encountering the same jamming affect as the temple,” John said, as he quickly ran through the diagnostics. The speed boat settle on the water. “The gravity stabilizers are out, cloak is out. The engine is running at only a fraction of its power. Switching to manual to conserve energy.”
The boat hopped on the water, jarring bone and teeth.
“Sporadic readings indicate a US Destroyer class warship is attacking us,” Athene-A informed them.
“How appropriate,” Jay remarked between jolts. “Can we out run them?”
“Not now,” John called out.
“Call for back up?”
“Comm systems are jammed,” Rhe-A added.
“Aidan will realize something-” an explosion cut Jay off, launching the boat into the air. It landed nose first and dove under water, and then back to the surface, slowing their progress, “is wrong, and send help.”
“That could take some time we may not have. They are zeroing in on our position.” John continued to maneuver erratically.
Jay reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone. “Low tech is your best bet. I’ve got a signal.”
“Good, we can order pizza,” Draco sarcastically said, between jolts.
“Hello, hello, Abigail, Jay, we are under attack by a US Navy Destroyer, call him off.”
“Where are you?” came her voice.
Rhe-A, quickly rattled off longitudinal and latitude coordinates. Jay repeated them, and waited.
“They’re gaining on us,” John stated, as an explosion sprayed water over the vehicle.
“Jay, Jay,” Abigail said over the phone, “that Destroyer left port yesterday with only a partial crew. The Captain is considered rogue. There’s a small carrier task force in the area. We’re sending help. Buy yourself some time.” The static was too much, and Jay hung up. “You heard the lady, buy time.”
John got that determined look on his face. “I need a mental shield in the next five seconds.
The Atlanteans were focused just as the shell made a direct hit. The shock drained them all and pushed the boat under the water. It popped back up and almost came to a stop. John pushed the boat forward as fast as it could go.
“We can’t survive too many more of those,” Athene-A said, glistening sweat. They looked over at each other. “John, you’ve got that look.”
He whipped the boat around, causing a shell to go way over them. He charged the Destroyer. “Alright, people, I need you to levitate this vehicle when I say.” He took the yoke and pressed a few buttons. “Cabin is pressurized, and sealed.”
The gun couldn’t be lowered fast enough, letting the shells go over them. The ship could now be seen coming fast, head on. It loomed large in the screen, when John gave his metal signal. The Atlanteans began to chant. Bullets could be heard ricocheting off the boat’s memory metal as it went up and over the top of the ship, along its keel. Missiles came out all ports, but since the little ship was so close, they didn’t have time to lock on, so harmlessly swished by them. The boat dove passed the stern, and vanished under the water. The Destroyer ceased firing and began searching.
“How long do you think we can hid here?” Jay asked, looking out of the window at the hull of the Destroyer.
“Hopefully, long enough,” John replied, not quite as confident as he usually was.
Jay looked over at Rhe-A. She had a strange look on her face. “John,” she said with a shaky voice, “You know I’m susceptible to Destroyer influence. I can feel them...calling me.”
“Hang on, Rhe-A, a little longer,” John said, as soothingly as he could.
Jay reached over and took her hand. “Hey, look at me.” She slowly turned and focused on his face. “There, concentrate on me, okay, I have a thousand really bad jokes, don’t make me use them.” She smirked, and started to relax a little. “Say, you’d think after being exposed to them, you would be immune, like chicken pox, right?”
She swallowed hard. “One is easy to handle, but when there’s more, it’s much more difficult.”
“So, you’re strong, resist. While they’re using your weakness against you, try to find theirs.”
Her eyebrows raised, as if having an idea. “John, if you help me, I might be able to break their hold.”
“Of course, everyone join in.”
The cabin filled with a low chant, as they concentrated together. Jay tightened his grip. Their mind connection began to bleed through. He could see through their mind’s eye. Stars raced by, planets exploded, solar system were washed away. The lines started to blur between dimensions and reality. Jay couldn’t tell if he was holding his breath, or not breathing. Brightness almost blinded him, while sliding by a couple of black holes. A new star pattern emerged. He could feel the other minds, say, this is the Andromeda Galaxy, is time rolling back, or is it just memory. He wasn’t sure if he said that out loud, or just thought it. Solar systems raced by like fireflies. Suddenly the movement stopped in front of a blue-green lush planet. He could hear voices in his head, Terrah. Without warning, gray figures stood in front of them. Their oval black eyes stared at them with interest, the connection was broken immediately.
Everyone connected, breathed heavily, and then calmed themselves.
“What happened?” Draco asked, looking confused at what had transpired.
Apparently, the Destroyers have known about Terrah for a long time.” Jay only added to Draco’s confusion.
“I’ve got torpedoes in the water, circling, they’ve locked on to us,” Athene-A reported from the sketchy readouts. “Evidentially, they don’t care if they blow themselves up as well.”
“Alright, time to leave,” John said, controlling the ship further down, and then pulling up, blasting above the water surface.
Jay was back on his cell phone. “Abigail, we really need assistance.”
The phone crackled. “Jay, my satellite images show you’re headed toward the task force. Aircraft are inbound, maybe-,” He couldn’t hear her over the blast that flipped the boat over into a barrel role in the air and landing back on its hull. John dove as deep as he could. “John, task force aircraft are on the way to help. We need to keep going in this direction.” Jay looked down to see a puddle of water collecting on the floor. John just nodded.
They skipped along the water like a stone, and then went airborne, until he sensed they
were being targeted. He then jerked the ship to the left, and then right, diving for the water. Shells and tracer bullets whizzed by them. When they surfaced, the shelling suddenly stopped. Jay looked back to see the Andromeda firing away at the Navy ship, with whatever it could get to work.
“Thank you, Aidan,” Jay said, loud enough for the others to hear.
He watched as the shuttle took missile after missile hit. Aidan maneuvered the sluggish shuttle around, but couldn’t dodge all of the fire power. Smoke began to wisp out from venting plates, while the Destroyer had large chunks blown off of it, smoking and spreading debris in all directions.
“I don’t think the shuttle is going to hold up,” Jay expressed his concern. “Tell Aidan he needs to get out of there.”
Shells began landing near them, again. “Here they come, again,” John stated the obvious.
A squadron of low flying F-35’s came swooping in from overhead. Aidan, bowed out of the fight, swinging around, trying to catch up with the small boat. Missile upon missile impacted the Destroyer sending plumes of smoke and metal everywhere. But still, the ship chased the little boat. The aircraft switched to bombs and laid out a pattern of destruction that could be seen beyond the horizon. The little boat began pulling away.
“They’ve slowed them down, I think we’re almost out of their range. They were all looking back, when the warship exploded in a mushroom cloud. The shock wave was barely felt, as John slowed the boat. Instruments began to reboot, and come back on line, warning sounds of all the damage blinked and scrolled across the screen. They could now visually see the task force in the distance. Comm lines came back on.
“John, are all of you, alright?” Aidan’s voice boomed.
“Yes, we are unhurt, but the vehicle...uh...Samm is badly damaged.”
“Jay must be naming things again. Prepare for pick up.” Aidan pulled the smoking shuttle ahead, while the Atlanteans lifted the vehicle into the bay. The last of the smoke was vented and Samm came to rest in its usual spot.
“I’m getting a request,” John said, flicking a button.
“Unidentified flying object, this is Captain Fred Smith. We have orders to escort you to the USS George Washington. Follow us, or be destroyed.”
“Wow,” Jay said, “I always wanted to be a UFO.”
“Aidan,” John spoke through the comm, “can you get us out of here?”
“We’re badly damaged. I’m not sure we can withstand another attack.”
“Very well, we’ll get started on repairs. Do as they ask.”
“Unidentified flying object, please respond or we’ll open fire,” Captain Smith said again.
“Other, unidentified flying object, we mean you no harm, and thank you for your assistance. But, we’ll be on our way, now,” Aidan shakily said.
“This is Rear Admiral Hernandez, of the USS George Washington, commanding Task Force X-ray. My orders are for you to follow my escort back to our ship, or I will destroy you.”
“We are in international waters, we demand to be released,” Aidan kept stalling.
“I’m only giving you one more chance to comply,” the seriously gruff voice of the Admiral came over the comm, again.
“This is Captain John-Athain, of the...” He cut the comm and looked around for help. “Atlantean Space Ship?”
“ASS,” Jay said, shaking his head. “No, no, leave the names to me. Terrah Space Ship, TSS, or Top Secret Ship, TSS, try that.”
“This is Captain John-Athain, of the TSS Andromeda-” A spark shot across the bay, causing the ship to slightly dip into the water.
“We’re going to have to set down somewhere,” Aidan remarked over the comm.
John let out a breath. “Very well, Rear Admiral Hernandez, it appears we are in need of assistance, at the moment.”
“Please follow,” Captain Smith’s voice said from the lead aircraft.
“You heard him, Aidan.”
The fighter aircraft took up positions all around the shuttle and headed for the flattop.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Stand Down
The shuttle limped into place near the aft of the aircraft carrier. Moving carefully, the shuttle sat down, taking up most of the aft section of the runway, and partially hanging over the side. The carrier sank deeper into the water. Ballast weight was shuffled to the bow to level it out. Crews and sailors stood around the deck with their mouths open. The ship was nothing like anything they’d ever seen, real or imagined. A squad of Marines, fully armored, and armed, ran out onto the deck, pushing sailors out of the way. They did a half circle in front of the ship, weapons drawn.
The comm kept repeating, “This is Admiral Hernandez, commanding the USS George Washington. Come out. Captain Athain, please respond.”
The group stood around the bay.
“Aidan, how long for repairs?” John asked.
Aidan stopped diagnosing and categorizing the damage. “The nanits, and bots, will have Andromeda flyable in six hours and forty-three minutes.”
“Thank you. Well, how are we going to talk our way out of this one?” John walked over to the comm station. “Back up system is better than none.” He waved a hand. Colonel Masters appeared on a 2-D screen. “Hello, Colonel.”
“John, you’re alive, How’s Shell, and the rest?”
“We’re all unhurt. I’ll let you talk to her in a moment. We took some damage from the Destroyer controlled warship. We are currently sitting on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, making repairs. We need at least six hours. Rear Admiral Hernandez is not very patient. I believe he’ll use violence to gain entry, and our secrets.”
“I understand. I’ve put the whole carrier fleet on comm black out. Don’t know how long that will last. But, yes, Hernandez is a prick, but I believe he is loyal. We had a rather heated discussion, and after exchanging a few threats, the Joint Chiefs of Staff shut him down. He gives orders, but is not very good at taking them. So, he’s probably not very happy, and I venture to guess, his crew is loyal to him. I’ll try to get through to him again, and try to get him to stand down. If it comes down to contact, you can use the cover story of top secret assets, above his security clearance, or classified information of national security. Keep your answers short and vague.”
“Understood, Colonel. We have done this before.”
“Sorry, I’m just worried.”
“We will be fine. Now, Shelly wishes to speak with you. Until we speak again, Colonel.”
“Good luck, John.”
Shelly moved in and started quickly chatting with her mother. John moved over to the group. “You heard her, we’ll probably have to make contact in order to avoid violence, and buy time.”
“You had better do something soon,” Aidan said, “He’s getting really irritated.”
John could hear him in the background. “-if you don’t respond in five minutes, I’ll blow a hole in your hull and walk in. Do you read me?!”
Admiral Hernandez, your hostility is unwarranted.”
“Who am I speaking to?” he gruffly asked.
“Uh, Captain John-Anee-Athain of the...TSS Andromeda.” Jay smiled, and gave him a thumbs up. “Thank you for your assistance. We’ll make our repairs and be on our way.”
“Oh, no, you’re not getting away that easy. I demand you allow me to board.”
“Um, I’m afraid that’s not allowed.”
“Classified,” Jay whispered.
“Yes, I mean, classified. You don’t have the clearance.”
“I assure you, I have the highest clearance, and you’re on my ship. That gives me in command of your vessel. Now, open up.”
John thought for a second. “Admiral Hernandez, I cannot allow that, but we are hungry. Could you spare a meal?”
Everyone, who wasn’t helping with repairs, had a quizzical look on their faces. Jay could only imagine what the look on the Admiral’s would be.
“Uh, well, I could have the Mess, Chief Master Sergeant prepare something.”
“Excel
lent, we’ll meet you on the deck in one hour.”
“Uh, okay, I look forward to it.”
John waved a hand over the console. “I bought us an hour. Now, we’ll have to stall for the rest. Let’s see where those coins lead us.”
Rhe-A took the one she had been admiring, and tossed it on the battle table. Draco took his six out, and did the same. They never touched the table and just hovered in a scrambled mess. Suddenly, they formed a triangle, all spinning in place, where they abruptly stopped. All the tear drop tips pointed in the same direction. John waved a hand and brought up a topographical of the area, with the coins representing their position. The medallions pointed North East, a line was drawn all the way around the planet.
“I don’t see anything significant on that bearing,” Jay stated, as he walked around, studying it. The Atlanteans looked at each other, like they were mentally communicating. “Okay, what gives?”
“Power point eighteen is on that path, “Athene-A said, not taking her eyes off of the table.
“The one that was captured by the Destroyers? I should’ve guessed. Why? Do we need more coins? Do the Destroyers already have the tracker skull?”
John studied the situation. “No, Jay, I don’t think we need more medallions, and why would the Destroyers risk exposing themselves if they already had the skull, no, something else.”
“Neutral area,” Rhe-A started, “The Destroyer power point area has a dimensional bend to it. Negation, if the coins are placed in that area, there will be no interference, and they will point to the closest, largest deposit of agoam crystals, or anything that was exposed to them in large concentrations.”
“Excellent, Rhe-A,” John told her. “But, we would be walking in their front door, and ringing the bell.”
“But, what if we walked up to the door with a fleet of warships?” Jay suggested.
