by Darrell Pitt
Agent Palmer led us over to a spare console where Ferdy quickly brought up some information. He examined the display.
“How does it look?” I asked.
“It looks like a computer screen, Axel.”
“No. I mean, is there a way through the barrier?”
“There is a way,” Ferdy confirmed. “There is a small gap surrounding the point where the beam intersects the dome.”
“Is it possible to get through that gap?”
“It would require an expert pilot.”
“I could fly through the hole.”
“If you touched the edge of the dome you would be vaporised,” Ferdy said. “An aircraft would deliver a margin of safety. There are small fliers on board the Helix known as Atom ships. One of them may be able to fit through.”
The voice came from behind us. “I can pilot that ship.”
“Mr. Brown!”
The black military man had been my trainer when I first joined The Agency. I had not seen him in months.
He gave me a quick smile. “I’ve logged over a thousand hours in Atoms.”
The general joined us and we quickly explained the plan to him.
“All forces will need to attack at the same moment,” Ferdy continued. “Ferdy believes that may weaken the dome enough to increase the size of the hole. Once the Atom craft is within the dome, bringing down one of the Tagaar vessels may collapse the entire shield.”
The general started barking orders. Ferdy was to remain on the Helix to monitor the readings from the dome. Brodie and Ebony would stay with him. Myself, Chad and Dan would squeeze into the Atom with Mr. Brown at the helm.
It sounded like a plan. Whether it was a good plan or not remained to be seen. As we followed Mr. Brown from the bridge, I felt a hand on my arm.
Brodie.
“You’re leaving without saying goodbye?” She looked furious and upset at the same time. “Don’t you have anything to say?”
“I don’t need to say goodbye,” I said. “We’ll all meet up on the island.”
By now the others had stopped in the corridor.
“Axel,” Mr. Brown said. “Will you just kiss the girl?”
So I kissed her. We hurried away down the corridor. I looked back one last time to see her watching me. She gave me a small wave.
Goodbye, she mouthed.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The Atom zoomed away from the Helix at an incredible speed. I had thought the Flex Fighters were fast, but they had nothing on this. The Atom was built more like a conventional jet, but the three of us were squeezed into a tiny space directly behind the pilot’s seat. Mr. Brown did a loop of the dome to get a sense of the area where the pulse broke through at the top.
“I’m not sure I can see a gap,” he said.
“Get Ferdy on the comm,” I said. “He can give us some direction.”
Mr. Brown communicated with the bridge of the Helix. Ferdy’s voice came through loud and clear. After a brief explanation of the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly, he explained how to best approach the gap.
“It surrounds the exit point of the beam,” Ferdy said. “It is currently quite small. Only about two metres across.”
“Great,” Mr. Brown said without enthusiasm. “Atoms have a wing span of six metres.”
“Ferdy will direct the general to start a simultaneous attack on the dome,” Ferdy replied. “Be ready to make your final approach.”
Mr. Brown circled around the top of the dome. I could see a multitude of ships in the sea as well as jet fighters and tiny figures in the air.
“I can see other superheroes,” I said. “A lot of people know how to fly.”
“I wonder if our Russian friends are down there.” Chad peered downward. “I’m sure they’d love to get together for a game of chess.”
“I’m sure.” I glanced over at Dan. He was very quiet. Actually, he looked quite pale. I diverted my gaze to the windscreen behind him as a slow realisation came over me. It was all too easy to forget we were a bunch of teenagers. We might have superpowers, but we still felt fear.
“How are you holding up?” I asked Dan.
He looked at me. “Fine. Just thinking about what’s ahead.”
“I’m a bit nervous,” I admitted.
“Really?”
“I always am when I have to go into a fight.” I turned to Chad. “What about you?”
“I’m never afraid,” he said. “Well…not much…”
“I just don’t want to let anyone down.” Dan’s eyes were downcast. “There’s so much riding on this –”
“You won’t let anyone down,” Chad said. “Axel might. He freezes up sometimes. Falls apart at the seams –”
I rolled my eyes.
“It’s often up to The Chad,” he continued, “to save the day.”
The Chad?
Ferdy’s voice came over the radio. “The general has arranged for the forces to strike in sixty seconds.”
“Roger that,” Mr. Brown said.
We felt the Atom begin to swing around in another enormous loop over the dome as Ferdy’s voice counted down the seconds. Looking over Mr. Brown’s head, I could see the yellow beam filling most of the windscreen. That beam was in direct contact with the sun ninety-three million miles away. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if we came into contact with it.
“…three…two…one,” Ferdy said.
Even from our position within the flier, we could hear the enormous barrage rise up from beneath us. At the same moment we saw a gap appear in the dome around the beam. I felt the Atom accelerate.
“This’ll be close,” Mr. Brown grunted.
We headed straight toward the hole. At the last moment, he seemed to push the Atom into a dive. I felt increased G-forces upon me and then we were through. Suddenly blue sea lay directly below us.
Something flew past the window.
“Watch out –” Mr. Brown started.
Ka-boom!
A missile exploded near the craft and it shuddered wildly in the sky. Mr. Brown rolled the fighter. “There’s a Tagaar vessel closing in on us,” he said. “I’m returning fire.”
I felt the Atom rock as it fired back at the Tagaar vessel. I could not even see where the alien ship was in relation to our position. We were moving so erratically I could not tell up from down.
“Can you take us closer to the island?” Chad asked.
“I’m trying to do that,” Mr. Brown said. “Wait –”
He rolled the vessel again and we heard another concussive blast emanate from our aft side. I had an idea, but I needed to see the craft to make it work.
“Mr. Brown,” I said. “Can you bring us around so we can face the Tagaar ship?”
“Yes, but –”
“Do it!”
Rather than argue, I felt another massive G-force plaster us into our seats. I struggled to speak as the ship cut a wide arc through the sky.
“Chad,” I said. “When we catch sight of the alien ship –”
“Gotcha,” he said.
He didn’t need the plan explained. In the next instant I saw an alien craft appear in the window. Chad raised his hand and the other ship began to glow. No, not glow. It began to reflect light from the sun as Chad completely enveloped it in ice.
Then it fell from the sky like a rock.
We whooped with delight. Even Mr. Brown punched the air. At the same moment I saw the dome flicker once, twice – and then disappear completely. Chad continued to laugh like a mad person.
“The Chad does it again!” he whooped. “The Chad –”
He didn’t finish the sentence because at that moment a missile struck the wing of the Atom and tore the ship apart.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“General!” the pilot of the Helix shouted. “The barrier’s down!”
“Take us in,” General Clarke ordered.
Brodie and Ebony grabbed Ferdy and drew him away from the console.
“
It looks like this is it,” Ebony said.
“This is what?” Ferdy asked.
“I mean…oh, never mind. Let’s just hope we get to the island in one piece.”
“There’s an alien vessel closing on us,” the bridge commander announced. “It’s firing.”
“Raise the Grav shields and start our descent.”
It occurred to Ebony that the US government had technologies that no one else had ever heard about. The Helix was one of those technologies. She wondered how they had kept their equipment a secret for so long. She felt her ears pop as the Helix slowly descended toward the water. At the same time she felt the vessel shudder as missiles from the approaching craft slammed into their vessel.
“The Grav shields are holding,” a lieutenant announced. “But a Tagaar ship is closing rapidly.”
Ebony could see the approaching vessel clearer now through the view screen. It was larger than the others she had seen after they were captured by the aliens. The approaching ship was definitely not a fighter craft. Even at this distance it seemed to rival the Helix in size.
“Close weapons on the target and –”
“It’s on a collision course!” the lieutenant yelled.
“What?” the general roared.
“Collision course! Range five hundred feet!”
“Fire on it!” General Clarke roared. “Keep firing until –”
The vessel suddenly disappeared from view.
Brodie and her friends looked at each other.
“Where did it go?” Brodie asked.
General Clarke was asking the same question. “Location of Tagaar Vessel?”
“It’s…it’s…not there anymore,” the lieutenant said. “It’s as if –”
The Helix lurched to one side and Brodie found herself flying through the air. She hit the floor, banging her elbow hard on the edge of one of the consoles. The ship lurched again – this time in the opposite direction. She caught sight of arms, legs, chairs and General Clarke as they tumbled about on the floor of the bridge.
What the hell was going on?
Most of the flight personnel had kept their seats. “The Tagaar vessel is directly above the Helix,” she said. “It’s attached to us.”
Alarms rang throughout the Helix.
“Boarding…boarding…boarding…” The computer repeated the same word again and again.
“What’s happening?” Ebony asked.
“The Tagaar have started to board the Helix,” Ferdy explained.
“In mid-flight?”
The ship shuddered again and this time Brodie heard the sound of firing coming from the corridor. A computer voice started to intone another warning.
“All civilians to evacuation stations…all civilians –”
“That’s us,” Brodie said.
She grabbed Ferdy and Ebony and half-dragged them with her as they hurried down a corridor away from the bridge.
“Shouldn’t Ferdy and his friends stay and fight?” Ferdy asked. “The crew of the Helix may need us.”
“The planet needs us,” Brodie said.
They raced down a corridor. Military personnel were dashing in all directions. Brodie grabbed a passing soldier by the arm.
“Where’s the evacuation station?” she asked.
He pointed down a vertical ladder leading to the lower decks. They hurried down it until they reached a docking bay for aircraft. Several scientists and other civilians were climbing into egg-shaped escape capsules. These were being ejected from the side of the vessel. Brodie could hear the sound of fighting from the decks above. It sounded like a full-scale war was in progress.
She grabbed the others and they jammed themselves into one of the evacuation pods. It readied itself to fire.
“Ferdy estimates we only have a forty-two percent chance of surviving –”
“Enough with the numbers!” Brodie snapped.
The Helix shuddered again as an ominous groan resounded throughout the body of the ship. Brodie was slammed back into her seat as the egg was ejected from the Helix. Then they were in mid-air and heading rapidly toward the water.
Ferdy activated a panel and a control column shot up from the floor between them.
“Do you know how to fly this thing?” Ebony asked.
“Ferdy has read the manual.” He peered at the controls. “But there is a problem.”
“What is it?”
“The engines have failed.”
Brodie blanched. “What does that mean?”
“The chances of surviving a descent into the water are now only twelve percent –”
Their fall was abruptly halted in mid-flight. Brodie swung about and saw a masked face at the side of the capsule. The mask was blue in colour and had a small Union Jack above the eyes. The young man behind the mask looked to be about twenty years old.
“What is it?” Ebony screamed. “What’s happening?”
“It’s okay,” Brodie said. “There’s a flying…super person at the window. He’s got us.”
“Oh, good.”
They watched the island draw closer. Finally the masked man gently placed the escape capsule on the rocky beach. Brodie disengaged the lock and they climbed out onto the pebble beach as the masked hero leapt back up into the sky. He sailed into the distance with his crimson red cape flowing gently behind him, his rear end very comfortably encased within a pair of stretch pants.
“Very nice,” Brodie said.
“You mean the uniform?” Ebony smiled.
“Oh…absolutely,” she said. “The uniform. We need uniforms.”
They stumbled to their feet. Out at sea the battle was continuing. The sky had become a mass of fire and smoke. They saw something slowly falling toward the ocean. Ebony cried out in shock.
“That’s the Helix,” she said.
Although there had only been five Tagaar warships, it appeared they were all carrying a full complement of fighter craft. There were now hundreds of airborne vessels roaring across the sky. Costumed heroes were in the middle of the fray. Battleships were firing at Tagaar vessels whilst taking fire from alien ships. At least one cruiser was on fire and sinking.
Their vision was cut off by another barrier of green light.
“What’s going on?” Ebony asked.
“It appears the Tagaar have reinstated the barrier,” Ferdy said.
“You mean –”
“We are cut off from the outside world.” He nodded toward the Solar Accelerator at the top of the hill. “Only Ferdy and his friends can stop the EMP now.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
I landed us safely at one end of Cargill Island. It had been a tense few minutes as the Atom had fallen apart in mid-flight, but I was able to fashion a flying platform and take us in toward the island. Despite a killer headache, my powers had worked fine. Just as we landed on the beach, I heard a hiss behind us as a second dome encased the island.
Mr. Brown was clenching his leg.
“Are you all right?” Chad asked.
“My leg is broken,” Mr. Brown said. “I don’t think I can go on. You’ll have to leave me.”
I looked more closely at Dan. He was gripping his arm. “Is your arm okay?”
“It’s fine.”
Chad examined it more closely. “I’m no doctor, but I think it’s broken too.”
“It’s not.” He looked angry. “I can keep going.”
Laying a hand on his shoulder, I said, “I know you can, but someone has got to look after Mr. Brown.”
“But he can –”
“This island is probably crawling with Tagaar warriors.” I drew him to one side. “He needs protection.”
Dan nodded. “Okay, but I’m happy to come if you if you need me.”
“I know,” I said firmly. “But we need you to guard Mr. Brown. And yourself.”
Chad and I carried Mr. Brown across the rocky beach until we reached an enclave in the rocks. We placed him inside. I looked up and down the beach. I doubted anyone woul
d see either him or Dan as long as they stayed out of sight. Dan still looked rebellious and annoyed at being left behind.
“We’ll be back for you ASAP,” I promised. “Stay alert.”
Dan nodded. “Be safe.”
We hurried up from the beach until we reached a clump of trees. I could see a small, winding street with a scattering of houses on both sides. One of the buildings had burnt to the ground. There were dead bodies in the street. Beyond it the road continued up toward the installation. The yellow beam of the EMP was growing brighter with every second.
“We’re at the right place,” I said.
“I’d say so,” Chad said. “You know something else, buddy? It’s you and me again.”
“The dynamic duo?”
“More like The Chad and…well, Axel.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s go.”
We hurried up to the closest house and took shelter on the side away from the installation. The body of an elderly woman lay on the stone path outside. The sight enraged me.
“The Tagaar think they’re warriors, do they?” I asked. “Hard to imagine a harmless old lady putting up much of a fight.”
“They don’t know what fighting is,” Chad said grimly.
We hurried up to the next building. I saw a Tagaar warrior marching down the hill behind the group of scattered houses. I wanted to attack, but I fought the urge. Our goal was the Solar Accelerator. We waited until the alien moved out of sight before continuing up the hill. Taking refuge in the ruins of another building, I saw one of the Tagaar warships perched on the hill next to the Accelerator.
Something dripped down my shirt. I was having another nosebleed.
“Are you okay, Axel?” Chad asked.
“Absolutely. I normally save this trick for children’s parties.”
“Very funny.” He watched me closely as I pinched my nose. The bleeding stopped after a moment. “If you need to stop –”
“Let’s keep moving,” I interrupted, and hurried away from the building.
We continued up the hill until we reached a stone wall. We peered around it. A wire fence surrounded the installation, but this had been torn down in places. The body of an elderly security guard lay on the ground near the gate.
