“Ready to go, boys?” Mark asked.
Both men looked at him with manic grins on their faces and simply said, “Go for it.”
Mark switched on the startup sequencer and was relieved to hear the whine of the twin repulsor engines building up an operating charge. Everyone on the ship was tense. If the transport was spotted by Jerrollite ships they would check the security credentials of the transport. Since they had no way for the humans to respond properly, they would be sitting ducks. As the engines came up to full power, the hull of the ship resonated with the harmonics generated by each power plant. When the cockpit indicators all showed green, Mark lifted the transport from the roof, hovering only inches from the ground. He removed the black box from his pocket and fingered the detonator switch. He looked over at Johann and grinned.
“Here we go!” Mark said, slamming the first switch home.
At first, nothing happened. Looking down at the detonator, Mark actuated the switch again. Still, nothing happened. Damn cheap-ass government batteries, he thought.
“Shit! The missiles didn’t fire!” Mark said as he hit the switch again.
Just as he was about to land the ship and go back to check on the wiring, a loud whoosh filled the air, accompanied by a blinding light as all forty missiles launched simultaneously.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Mark watched the night sky blossom into a fiery spectacle as all the missiles reached their destination within seconds, impacting targets all over the enemy camp. The transport shuddered violently as it was blasted with the shock wave. Mark and Johann watched as it became quickly evident that the destruction wrought by the missile attack was devastating. No enemy response would be coming from that direction.
Mark slammed the throttle to maximum, causing the ship to lurch forward over the edge of the building and swoop down to street level. A jubilant cry erupted from the men in the back of the ship. Feeling his spirits soar, Mark kept the ship in a low trajectory, following a zigzag path across the city to avoid detection. If they were spotted, no one would be able to tell in which direction they were truly headed.
“Your turn, amigo!” Mark grinned, tossing the detonator across to Johann. Johann laughed and pressed the second switch, which was followed almost instantaneously by a deafening explosion. Mark looked over his shoulder to see a giant fireball rising from the munitions plant. The heat from the explosion scorched the already blackened walls of the surrounding buildings. Secondary explosions continued for several seconds until nothing of the plant was left standing. Looking in the opposite direction, Mark could see scores of Jerrollite bodies strewn about the streets around the camp. One of the missiles had hit an ammunition dump right in the heart of their camp. The resultant fireball and shock wave had succeeded in killing any living thing in a two-hundred-yard radius. The destruction of their camp was almost total, with only a single, heavily damaged ship remaining and a few injured personnel wandering around aimlessly.
Mark piloted the alien ship toward the mountain ranges in the distance. Johann checked the rear scanners for any enemy pursuit. A couple of alien ships approached from the front but did not challenge them. Because of the distractions caused by the exploding munitions building and the missile attack, the Jerrollites were too busy to challenge one of their own. The fates were with them, Mark realized, as he saw dozens of enemy ships swarming over the destroyed campsite and the munitions plant.
“Man, that worked better than I thought it would,” said Johann.
“Any pursuit, sir?” asked the sergeant. Mark looked to Johann for an answer.
“None at all. They’re so confused right now they don’t have any idea what hit ’em,” the Jamaican said.
“Good. Let’s see if we can get the hell out of here without getting killed, shall we?” said Mark.
Running with normal lights in standard power mode, Mark piloted the ship in the same fashion he had seen many Jerrollite pilots do as they had attacked human cities, blending in to the chaos surrounding the city because of their attack. They stood a good chance of making it to the recovery area without any Jerrollite complications.
CHAPTER 11
As the transport approached the city limits, all that could be seen of the destruction that had been wrought was a dull, flickering, orange glow reflecting off the bottom of the overhanging clouds. Looking forward, Mark noted they were about to leave the city and enter the darkness that lay beyond.
“Enter the coordinates of the Alternate Assembly Area into the flight computer, Sergeant,” he said.
The sergeant pulled his map out of his pocket, unfolding it and spreading it out in front of him. After looking at it for a few seconds, he leaned forward and began entering the coordinates into the alien computer, occasionally glancing at the map to confirm his input. He paused, hoping that he was doing it correctly. It was an alien system, after all. He leaned back and looked over at Mark.
“You know, sir, the Jerrollites will probably figure out what just happened and then come after us.”
True enough, thought Mark. “We’ll be long gone before anything like that happens,” he said aloud, with more confidence than he actually felt.
“Hmm. Sure,” grunted the sergeant as he shrugged his shoulders and returned to the task of entering the coordinates into the system. Snapping the keypad cover back into place, he sighed heavily and leaned back in his seat. He folded the map neatly and placed it into the map pocket on his uniform. Mark found what he thought was the automatic flight control in the instrument cluster and activated it. The computer would now fly the ship automatically to the coordinates entered by the sergeant, keeping low to the ground and out of enemy sights.
As the ship passed the perimeter of the city, it plunged into an inky blackness, punctuated only by the occasional visible star. Looking up at the night sky, Mark thought how foreign the world had become in just a few short weeks since the war had begun. He no longer felt as if he was on Earth at all, but instead on some alien planet far, far from home.
A gentle beeping sound from the console stirred Mark from his thoughts, advising that the ship was rapidly closing on its final destination. Mark dimmed the lights in the cockpit so they could see out the windows. On the horizon the massive black outline of a mountain could only be distinguished as a deeper shade of black than its surroundings. The ship automatically began braking maneuvers, easing into a slow descent toward the valley floor. Mark toggled the intercom.
“Brace for landing, men—T minus thirty seconds.”
He snapped off the intercom as the engines fought to slow down the mass of the transport. The ship stopped its descent only ten feet above the surface, hovering momentarily as its computers calculated the thrust needed for a soft landing. Slowly settling down to the surface, the transport’s engines kicked up a large cloud of dust and debris as its landing skids made contact with the ground. Mark quickly ran through his shutdown procedures, bringing the engines to a slow idle.
“Why are we stopping?” the sergeant asked.
“We need to make contact with the ARA to let them know we’re coming. That cave is equipped with some mighty fearsome defense weaponry, and I have no desire to be on the business end of it,” Mark said.
“Makes sense to me,” the sergeant said.
Mark reached across the sergeant to power up the radio, tuning it to a special frequency set aside for emergency use by the military in crisis situations.
“If the ARA is following procedure, they should be monitoring this frequency for messages. Hand me my pack over there,” Mark asked, motioning toward his gear stowed in the corner.
The sergeant handed the pack to Mark, who opened it and removed a small security container. He entered the access code, causing the lock to pop open. Inside were several documents labeled Top Secret. He rifled through the pages until he found the one he was looking for and removed it from the container. It listed the secret codes required to pass messages over an unsecured channel. Mark took a moment to compose a brief messag
e that would identify him to the base and then began to transmit the information. After several minutes of sending, a brief burst of static, followed by a curt “acknowledged,” issued from the radio’s speaker. Satisfied, Mark replaced the materials in his pack and stowed it again.
“What did you tell them?” the sergeant asked.
“I told them we would arrive in three minutes and to have everyone ready to evacuate when we got there.”
The sergeant nodded as the engines powered up once again, the whine increasing in pitch until it was just out of audible range. The flight computer caused a minor increase in output power, lifting the transport into a low hover. Mark nudged the throttle forward, and the transport shuddered slightly as they once again got under way. Mark scanned the readouts in an attempt to discover whether they had been followed. He was relieved to see that so far no pursuit had come from the city. Mark killed all exterior illumination on the ship and proceeded in total darkness.
Rocketing through the black night, the transport approached the mountain very quickly. When Mark felt they were close enough, he once again settled the ship to the ground and placed its systems on standby. Unbuckling his harness, he motioned for the sergeant to do the same. Johann shut down his console and followed the other men out of the cockpit.
They exited the cockpit on the underside of the transport and stood together, looking up at the dark, silhouetted shape of the mountain before them. Far up on the hillside, Johann saw a brief flash of light, indicating where they were supposed to go.
“Look, up there!” Johann said, pointing out the signal.
“Okay, that’s our signal. Let’s get the men unloaded. Sergeant, prepare a plan for getting to that point as quickly as possible,” Mark said.
“Yes, sir,” he replied, already trotting toward the back of the ship where their equipment was stored.
Mark activated the access ladder leading to the crew compartment. He climbed in, followed immediately by Johann. He was pleased to see the men were already gathering up their gear, preparing for the trek up the hillside.
“All right, gents, let’s go. Follow Johann,” Mark said.
“Okay, all you pretty boys, it’s time to earn your pay! Get your gear and assemble outside in one minute! MOVE IT!” Johann bellowed. The cabin erupted into a flurry of activity as each man grabbed his pack and scrambled for the hatch. Johann refused to let up.
“MOVE IT! MOVE IT, MOVE IT, MOVE IT!” he yelled at each man as he went down the access ladder. The cabin rapidly emptied out, the bustle of activity replaced by an eerie silence.
“Man, Jo, try not to kill ’em before we even see combat,” said Mark.
“No problem, mon. It only takes their mind off of how scared they are,” Johann said.
Questionable as his tactics were, Johann had a point. Mark could ill afford to have a man go nuts on him at the wrong moment. He just smiled and clapped Johann on the back.
“Let’s do it,” he said.
Climbing back down the ladder, Johann went to the front of the assembled men, going over their plans, making sure they were all ready. The sergeant joined him. While the squad was occupied, Mark decided to take the opportunity to prepare a little surprise for their Jerrollite hosts. He climbed back up into the cockpit, knelt in front of the flight computer keyboard, and proceeded to program in a course that would fly the transport back to the city and crash-land it in the middle of the Jerrollite camp. That would take care of the last remnants of the camp. Mark had a self-satisfied smile on his lips as he snapped the cover back on to the keyboard. Not only would sending the ship back to the city throw the Jerrollites off their trail, but crashing it into their camp would provide another great diversion.
Mark climbed down the cockpit ladder quickly and secured the hatch. He walked to where the sergeant and Johann were standing.
“You better tell everyone to get away from the ship,” he said matter-of-factly.
“What’s the hurry?” the sergeant asked.
“The ship is going back to the city,” Mark said.
“WHAT!”
“You heard me. I don’t want any Jerrollite patrol ships to spot this thing out here in the middle of nowhere. It sticks out like a sore thumb. Besides, Reeves will be picking us up in our own transport when I call him. Got it?” said Mark.
“Yes, sir, Colonel,” Johann replied. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, wanting to form a smile. “Present for the Jerrollites, huh?” he whispered under his breath. Mark met his level stare head on.
“You got it, my friend,” he said, a roguish glint in his eye. “Should keep ’em busy for a while, don’t you think?” Johann broke into a hearty belly laugh, thinking of the Jerrollites scrambling for cover when they realized what was about to happen.
“That it should, Mark, that it should.”
As the automatic takeoff sequence started, the faint whine of the engines built in pitch as the now-unmanned ship began to rise on a cloud of dust. Executing a sharp turnaround, the transport flew off into the night in the direction they had come, the noise of the engines fading into the distance. That Jerrollite camp was in for a nasty surprise in just a little over twenty-five minutes.
With Johann taking the lead, the squad began to make their way up the hillside. Although it was fairly steep, they were able to make good time, reaching the perimeter of the ARA in a little over an hour. Johann motioned for the squad to halt while Mark stepped forward to identify them to the security system. Finding the entrance to the cave was proving to be no easy task; it was extremely dark, and the entrance was very well camouflaged. To the naked eye, it appeared to be a solid stone wall. Feeling his way gingerly, Mark finally located the security panel. Wiping the sweat from his eyes, he keyed in one of the secret access codes he had been given earlier by General Matheson.
The code was accepted, and the main entrance to the cave slid aside with a silent whoosh as air rushed in to fill the void left by the door. Signaling the men to join him, Mark entered the cave. Light was almost nonexistent, allowing them to see only vague shapes in the darkness. As the last man crossed the threshold of the door, it rumbled shut automatically, sealing the entrance to the cave and leaving them in total darkness.
The hackles on the back of Mark’s neck began to rise as he realized how vulnerable they were in the dark. He could not even tell where Johann or the sergeant were standing. He called out, “Is anyone here?”
He was answered only by the sound of his own voice echoing off the walls. He was reaching toward his pack to pull out a glow rod when the chamber filled with an intense white light, momentarily blinding everyone. Mark’s eyes began to tear as he rubbed them to regain a clear field of vision. He could hear weapons being cocked and readied all around him. A single man stepped away from the wall toward their position.
Mark crouched low, his rifle leveled at the approaching man. The man cringed as he realized he was on the business end of several very nasty weapons.
“Wh-who are you?” the man asked timidly.
Mark lowered his weapon, motioning his men to do the same. “Colonel Mark Hunter, United Military Forces. This is my team,” he said, indicating the men standing behind him. “And just who might you be?”
“My name is Bill Johnson. I was a research scientist at the Pentagon.”
Mark extended his hand. Bill shook it firmly. “Good to meet you. We’re here to take you and the rest of your people back to the USS Hercules.” Looking around the room, Mark asked, “By the way, where is everybody else?”
“I would appear to be the only person who made it. The Pentagon was under attack when I left. The only reason I got out was because of a hidden entrance the Jerrollites had not spotted. As it was, I barely escaped with my life.”
“I see,” Mark said. This did not bode well for their mission. They could not spare the time to wait for anyone else who might or might not show up. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah. I’ve got nothing left here. My family was killed i
n the first wave of the attack. All I really care about now is a chance to even the score.” As timid as he appeared to be, Mark saw that his eyes burned with the same fierce determination he had seen in his men’s faces.
“We’ll leave tomorrow night, at dusk.”
Bill nodded. “I’ll be ready. Your men can follow me. I can show you where the sleeping quarters are,” he said. He turned on his heel and began walking away.
Mark motioned for the sergeant and Johann to follow and began walking in the direction Bill had gone.
CHAPTER 12
Mark rubbed the knotted muscles in his neck as they made their way down the passageway toward the sleeping quarters. It seemed like forever since he had been able to simply relax under a hot shower. He looked around at his men and could see the same fatigue on their faces; giving them time to rest while they had the chance was a good idea. He personally was looking forward to dropping like a stone into a bed. Mark was startled by a slap on the back and a voice in his ear. He turned to see Johann standing next to him.
“How you doin’, ol’ boy?” he asked in quiet tones.
Mark grinned. “Fine, I guess. At least for an old dog who’s been out of commission for a while.” Johann chuckled under his breath, clapping Mark on the back once again as he made his way to the front of the squad. Mark was amazed at Johann’s stamina. He never seemed to show any signs of weakness. He decided after watching him for a few minutes that Johann could simply hide it better than most men.
Their brief chance to rest suddenly ended. The ground bucked violently beneath Mark’s feet as a colossal explosion ripped through the cave. The massive doors covering the entrance collapsed inward like a waterfall of stone and mortar. A geyser of flame shot through the main entrance, coming toward the squad like a blazing demon released from the pits of hell. Bodies scattered and fell as the fireball passed, scorching everything in its path. Mark could hear several muffled gasps as his men tried to breathe the oxygen that had just been consumed by the jet of flame. As Mark was sure his own burning lungs were going to explode, a fresh wash of outside air passed over him. Automatic systems had kicked in and begun pumping in large amounts of air from external vents.
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